I’ve finally broken up with the cyclical manipulation of diet culture. This has been a hard post to articulate because I don’t feel that I’ve had a terrible experience with diet culture as some, but I’ll share with you my journey.

Let’s start with genetics. (Yay, family!) You can’t control the family you were born into nor the genetic makeup of your body. There is a history of diabetes in my family which I’ve heard it is not fun to deal with. So yes, eating healthy and not getting diabetes are both important to me.

However, I’ve always thought, well, I eat healthy, why am I still this size? Enter in diet culture. People who promote diets are usually trustworthy sources (hello Oprah!) or friends and family members that show transformation pictures. Diet culture gets you to believe that you will be able to achieve the same results even though, your body wasn’t made for those results.

I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel when I lived in DC. Strong is the new skinny was starting to trend and macro counting was introduced me. This concept blew my mind! The idea that you had to eat MORE food to get better results was a total cluster f*ck for my mind. This was really when I learned about nutrient dense food, how to eat protein, fat and carbs for my own body’s needs.

Currently, I track macros for a week every 3-4 months to make sure I am giving my body what it needs. If I was really trying to tone myself I would probably be more religious about the macro tracking.

Please be aware that this is my experience.

1. Do not assume that all overweight people are at risk for diabetes. This is a generalization and largely dependent on genetics.

2. I’m not a trained professional on this topic and if you’re seeking advice, I would suggest reaching out to a dietitian or a clinical nutritionist - both have studied nutrition and health, just like you would seek a doctor for a physical illness or a therapist for a mental illness.