Diet culture. The insidious beast that tells us we’re never quite good enough, always needing to shrink ourselves to fit an impossible ideal. I was a card-carrying member for years, bouncing from fad diet to restrictive plan, chasing a thinner, “better” version of myself. The result? Exhaustion, food obsession, and zero lasting confidence. Then, I decided to quit the diet game cold turkey.
It wasn’t easy. Years of ingrained dieting rules are hard to shake. But I started by unfollowing diet gurus, unsubscribing from weight-loss newsletters, and muting any social media accounts that triggered body comparison. Instead, I focused on nourishment, not deprivation. I ate when I was hungry, I chose foods that made me feel good, and I stopped labeling foods as “good” or “bad.”
The weight didn’t magically melt away (and honestly, that wasn’t the point anymore). But something far more valuable happened. The constant food anxiety lifted. I stopped obsessing over calories and macros. I started to trust my body’s signals. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, confidence bloomed. Not “skinny jeans” confidence, but genuine, deep-rooted self-acceptance. Ditching diet culture wasn’t just about food; it was about reclaiming my mental space, my energy, and my right to exist comfortably in my own skin, exactly as I am. Turns out, the best diet is no diet at all. Just listening to your body and treating yourself with kindness.