If prioritising your physical health is a goal for you this year, avoiding the pitfalls of diet culture can feel tough. Here Kat Nicholls explores how to do it with compassion and integrity
CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Happiful
I’ll be honest; for many years I shunned any notion of working on my physical health. As an anorexia survivor who now embraces body positivity, health at every size and fat liberation, it’s felt safer to reject the fitness world altogether.
This year, though, something’s changed. My body isn’t feeling good. My joints hurt; I’m getting out of breath doing simple tasks and I feel held back by my lack of fitness. So I decided this year to bring my physical health to the forefront. Entering the fitness world in this context has felt challenging – a little like fumbling around in the dark as I try to block diet culture rhetoric from view and find my own way though. There have been some pointers that have lit up a path, however, guiding my way through.
Get clear (and compassionate) about your health goals
My first task was to look at my health goals through a critical lens. What did I really want? What was driving my desire for change? Thankfully, this was pretty clear for me. I want to strengthen my muscles to support my joints and I want to be able to walk long-ish distances without feeling like I’m dying. I’ve got a trip to Sedona coming up this year, and I want to be able to join my family on hikes through the incredible scenery, so this has given me a helpful boost of motivation (and a deadline!)
What’s important to note here is that none of these goals are to do with the way my body looks, or how much it weighs; these are the sort of goals which diet culture loves to feed us so, if your goals are centred around aesthetics, it may be worth having a re-think and questioning where these ideas are coming from.
Finally, be compassionate about your goals. Acknowledge that, as humans, we live in cycles, just like nature. We can’t expect ourselves to be full of energy and excited to work on our fitness goals every day; sometimes life simply gets in the way. Allow space for rest and recovery, and avoid beating yourself up if you don’t meet your goals. Treat yourself with kindness, pick yourself up and keep going – progress is still progress.
Explore intuitive movement and intuitive eating
‘Intuitive eating’ is something I’ve been practising for a long time now – and I rave about it to anyone who’ll listen. The premise is to develop a more intuitive relationship with the foods you’re eating, eating what feels good to you, and what makes your body feel good. It’s not about restriction, and it isn’t about giving food a sense of morality (food can’t be ‘good’ or ‘bad’, it’s simply food).
‘Intuitive movement’ is a concept I’ve learnt about more recently. Describing it as being a way to help people develop a good relationship with exercise, author, podcast host and personal trainer Tally Rye says, “Focusing on how we feel, rather than how we look, is most important.”
Again, this is about rejecting the narrative that weight loss = health, and punishing ourselves through exercise. Instead, it’s celebrating movement for the health benefits it offers and finding what makes you feel great. For some, that may be HIIT workouts and lifting weights; for others, it’s roller skating and yoga. We’re all different and that’s something we should celebrate, not shame ourselves for.
Leaning into both intuitive eating and movement is, therefore, a brilliant way to shift your mindset and start really connecting with your body.
Find support that makes you feel good
There are countless apps, plans and professionals out there that can help you on your fitness journey but, if you want to steer clear of diet culture and punishing regimes, it’s important to be intentional and careful about the support you seek. As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid anything and anyone that requires you to:
weigh/measure yourself;
take before and after pictures to show #transformation;
count calories/carbs/syns;
push through injury/pain.
Surround yourself with inspiration
To help you avoid unhelpful messaging as much as possible, I’d recommend a good social media clear-out. Go ahead and unfollow/mute accounts that feel unhelpful or triggering to you, and fill the void with inspirational people. Following accounts like the aforementioned Tally Rye, as well as Lauren Leavell and Jessamyn has been really helpful in reminding me what it’s all about. If you’re looking for some gentle accountability too, why not set up a chat group with others who have similar goals to you?
Set boundaries
Diet culture is called ‘culture’ for a reason; it is embedded in society and considered ‘the norm’. This can make it challenging when you find yourself in conversation with others about fitness. Other people’s skewed views can easily bleed into yours, so it’s important to set yourself some boundaries. This may mean keeping certain topics off the table for discussion with some people, or tactfully changing the subject when dieting comes up.
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