Breaking Free from Diet Culture
We grow up in a world obsessed with diets—the “easy fixes,” the “one-size-fits-all” formulas, the never-ending pendulum of yo-yo dieting.
That path looks so simple at first: you follow a list of dos and don’ts, you’re walking someone else’s plan, and suddenly, you feel like you have control… but it’s not your control. It’s borrowed power. And sooner or later, that control slips away—just like every other diet before it.
When the path breaks down, what happens? Your confidence falters, and you feel like you’ve failed yourself. Then shame starts to creep in. All around us, in private moments or while we scroll feeds, we whisper: “Why can’t I just get it right?”
We feel alone. But you are not alone.
In fact, this experience is shockingly common—and the shame isn’t a reflection of who you are. It’s a reflection of a system that wasn’t made for your unique body, mind, and life.
How Diet Culture Hurts the Mind & Body
The Mental Toll of Dieting
Diets promise control, but deliver pressure. That incessant worry—”Did I mess it up?” “Will I regain the weight?” “Why can’t I just stay on track?”—wears down your peace of mind. Instead of living freely, you’re living in constant anticipation of failure.
We naturally rebel against restrictive rules. Many of us have a streak of “don’t tell me what to do” running through our being, and dieting is essentially about being told what to do and what not to do.
What’s more, our bodies rebel against restriction. Even plans that claim to allow you enough to eat will have restrictive rules, such as limiting food types, meal times, or portion control. It is all the same to your body.
Our bodies have evolved over millennia through periods of catastrophic famine. These bodies know how to keep us alive. Over time, your body slows down your metabolism, making you exhausted.
Bodies also fight back against dieting. You may find yourself obsessing over food, dreaming about it, and constantly thinking about recipes. And the fatigue! You’re so tired all. the. time. This isn’t by accident; your body is responding to the pressure to find food and nourish itself.
This all leads to…
Yo-Yo Dieting.
Dieting Hurts Our Body, Our Metabolism & Our Energy
You restrict… then rebound. You restrict again… then rebound. Over time, your metabolism, energy, and relationship with food feel like battlegrounds.
Studies consistently show that long-term weight loss does not happen in 95-98% of the population. Within five years of a diet, we typically regain all the weight we lost and often a little extra. This is your body doing what it needs to keep you alive.
“Interestingly, research consistently shows that attempts at dieting are often unsuccessful and do not predict weight loss or maintenance, but instead predict weight gain and over-weight status” (Denny, 2012).
(As an aside, we do not use the words “obese” or “overweight” on this website unless citing research. To learn more about why we use different words, check out this post, The Future of Healthcare Why Weight-Inclusive care is the Game Changer We all Need.
Weight is not the demon we have made it out to be. We come in all different shapes and sizes. That’s just normal body diversity. However, living in a culture that proclaims only one body type as worthy, lovable, and successful does make it hard to watch as we once again find ourselves climbing the scale.
While weight loss and gain take us on an emotional roller coaster, the far more problematic thing is how this impacts our health. Studies show that losing and regaining weight puts a significant strain on our cardiovascular system and negatively impacts our metabolic functions, sometimes even years later (Look AHEAD, 2014).
It is clear from the research that allowing our bodies to naturally find their ideal weight (even if that is higher than society suggests) is far healthier than fluctuating between extremes.
All of this also impacts our mental health, causing…
Isolation & Shame
You think, “No one else is struggling like I am.” However, the truth is that many of us are in the same storm. Diet culture makes us feel like outliers—but really, we’re part of a massive, under-noticed wave.
When we fail at our diets time and time again, we blame ourselves. That’s the beauty of the diet industry. They have the perfect way to keep us coming back for more:
- Convince you that something is wrong with you.
- Sell you the solution.
- When it fails, they make it clear it was your fault for not doing it right.
- Sell you a new solution.
- Repeat…forever.
This hurts our finances, health, and mental well-being. For many, this can lead them to disordered eating, and 1 in 4 dieters will develop a full-blown eating disorder (ANAD).
Thankfully, there is another option. Embodied Core Nutrition is here to show you a better way, that is backed by science and medical providers around the world.
What Is Intuitive Eating?
Intuitive Eating is not another diet. It’s a reconnection to your body, your instincts, and your interoceptive wisdom. This approach removes the mental battle from eating and teaches you how to trust yourself again.
Let me share the analogy I use with clients:
- Diets are like walking a predetermined path.
At first glance, a new diet is sexy! You have clear markers and clear rules. It’s comforting—”I know what I’m doing.” But that path was designed by someone else, usually for profit, and was not custom-made for you. Eventually, the rigidity becomes suffocating, the steps feel heavy, and you lose your way. Worse yet, you might start to feel like you are the one broken, not the plan.
- Intuitive Eating is like learning to sail your own boat at sea.
At first, the vast ocean feels overwhelming. You don’t know the winds or currents. You might long for the clarity of that rigid path. But bit by bit, you learn your boat—and you learn yourself: how to adjust the sails, how to read the breeze, how to navigate storms. Over time? You’re not stuck. You can go anywhere, do anything that feels good and right for you. You have found freedom in your mind and body around food.
Why Intuitive Eating Works for Both Mind & Body
Your body has been by your side, through every challenge, every milestone, and every meal. It’s survived, thrived, and protected. It knows what it needs—what brings energy, what brings comfort, what brings balance. Practicing Intuitive Eating gives you the tools to tune back into the wisdom that is programmed into your very DNA.
This approach empowers you to:
- Trust your body’s signals—hunger, fullness, satisfaction—no rulebook.
- Make choices rooted in self-care, not self-control.
- Reconnect with joy in movement, in food, in being alive.
- Grow from a place of compassion, not shame.
But What About My Health?
To date, over 100 studies have been conducted on Intuitive Eating, and research consistently shows improvements in both mental and physical health.
Here are a few highlights:
- IE is associated with less disordered eating and more body appreciation (Bruce, 2016).
- “Intuitive eating is viewed as promoting a healthy relationship with food by discouraging restrictive eating, emotional eating, and eating in response to external cues” (Bruce, 2016).
- “The findings from this study suggest that IE may be a valuable intervention target for improving psychological health and reducing disordered eating behaviors, particularly binge eating” (Hazzard, 2020).
- IE improves LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, as well as inflammation markers, and may also help lower blood pressure for some individuals (Van Dyke, 2014).
- IE shows promise in improving: cardiometabolic outcomes, glucose levels, lipid profiles, and inflammatory markers (Hayashi, 2021).
- Studies have shown improvement in mental health markers and some improvement in physical health markers among individuals who are intuitive eaters (Van Dyke, 2022).
Many people are drawn to Intuitive Eating because they are tired of constantly fighting themselves and wasting a significant amount of mental energy on dieting.
While Intuitive Eating definitely brings relief, it also improves mental and physical health along the way.
Intuitive Eating and Our Core Values
Here at Embodied Core Nutrition, we have Core Values that we build into our work with our clients and within the community. Intuitive Eating aligns beautifully with these values:
- Authenticity: Intuitive Eating lets you show up fully as yourself—no hiding behind “shoulds” or external rules.
- Community: Sharing this journey opens the door to connection. You realize you’re not alone in the struggle, and you gain support.
- Growth: Intuitive Eating isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress. You’ll continue to learn, adjust, and evolve.
- Empowerment: This approach doesn’t take power away—it returns it to you. You become the decision-maker for your health.
- Simplicity: No complicated rules, just tuning into the wisdom your body already carries.
The Freedom of Intuitive Eating
The journey to Intuitive Eating isn’t always quick. There will be days you drift, days you get discouraged. Some people see Intuitive Eating as giving up, but really, we are just doing the hard, underlying work.
And as you do the work, over time, you learn to sail. When that happens, you’re not just feeding your body—you’re nourishing your mind, your spirit, your life.
You deserve to feel free around food again. You deserve to trust your body. You’re not broken—you’re brilliant. And I’m so excited to share this journey with you, because believe me: Intuitive Eating works—and you’ve got this.
If you are looking for personalized support and some easier ways to implement and focus on doing things that support your health, I would love the opportunity to work with you through this journey. It’s easy to get started. Contact IFXN to schedule your consultation today!
Resources:
https://anad.org/eating-disorder-statistic/
Bruce LJ, Ricciardelli LA. A systematic review of the psychosocial correlates of intuitive eating among adult women. Appetite. 2016 Jan 1;96:454-472. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2015.10.012. Epub 2015 Oct 22. PMID: 26474781.
Denny KN, Loth K, Eisenberg ME, Neumark-Sztainer D. Intuitive eating in young adults. Who is doing it, and how is it related to disordered eating behaviors? Appetite. 2013 Jan;60(1):13-19. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.09.029. Epub 2012 Oct 11. PMID: 23063606; PMCID: PMC3511603.
Hayashi LC, Benasi G, St-Onge MP, Aggarwal B. Intuitive and mindful eating to improve physiological health parameters: a short narrative review of intervention studies. J Complement Integr Med. 2021 Dec 16;20(3):537-547. doi: 10.1515/jcim-2021-0294. PMID: 34913327; PMCID: PMC10098784.
Hazzard VM, Telke SE, Simone M, Anderson LM, Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D. Intuitive eating longitudinally predicts better psychological health and lower use of disordered eating behaviors: findings from EAT 2010-2018. Eat Weight Disord. 2021 Feb;26(1):287-294. doi: 10.1007/s40519-020-00852-4. Epub 2020 Jan 31. PMID: 32006391; PMCID: PMC7392799.
Look AHEAD Research Group; Wing RR, Bolin P, Brancati FL, Bray GA, Clark JM, Coday M, Crow RS, Curtis JM, Egan CM, Espeland MA, Evans M, Foreyt JP, Ghazarian S, Gregg EW, Harrison B, Hazuda HP, Hill JO, Horton ES, Hubbard VS, Jakicic JM, Jeffery RW, Johnson KC, Kahn SE, Kitabchi AE, Knowler WC, Lewis CE, Maschak-Carey BJ, Montez MG, Murillo A, Nathan DM, Patricio J, Peters A, Pi-Sunyer X, Pownall H, Reboussin D, Regensteiner JG, Rickman AD, Ryan DH, Safford M, Wadden TA, Wagenknecht LE, West DS, Williamson DF, Yanovski SZ. Cardiovascular effects of intensive lifestyle intervention in type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jul 11;369(2):145-54. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1212914. Epub 2013 Jun 24. Erratum in: N Engl J Med. 2014 May 8;370(19):1866. PMID: 23796131; PMCID: PMC3791615.
Van Dyke N, Drinkwater EJ. Intuitive eating is positively associated with indicators of physical and mental health among rural Australian adults. Aust J Rural Health. 2022 Aug;30(4):468-477. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12856. Epub 2022 Mar 3. PMID: 35239235; PMCID: PMC9544126.
Van Dyke N, Drinkwater EJ. Relationships between intuitive eating and health indicators: literature review. Public Health Nutr. 2014 Aug;17(8):1757-66. doi: 10.1017/S1368980013002139. Epub 2013 Aug 21. PMID: 23962472; PMCID: PMC10282369.