By July, Diet Culture has left the group chat and started attending the BBQ.

You know the comments...

"I'll have to work this off tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm being naughty today."

"I've been so good all week."

"Go on, you've earned it."

Suddenly every burger comes with a side of moral judgement.

But it's funny when you think about it...nobody watches two episodes of Netflix and announces they have been "naughty" (only when Netflix shames us and asks if we're still watching...RUDE!)

Nobody spends a sunny afternoon in the pub garden and promises to compensate with extra productivity tomorrow.

Nobody enjoys a nap and then dramatically declares they are "off the rails."

Yet give someone a burger and suddenly we are talking about guilt, virtue, discipline, and whether we've "earned" dessert.

Diet Culture has somehow convinced us that eating is the only pleasurable human activity that requires a moral performance review.

And by July, when social events revolve around food more than ever, those messages can become deafening.

The problem is that food is about so much more than nutrition.

It is culture.

It is celebration.

It is connection.

It's the bowl of crisps shared between friends on a sunny evening. It's the spicy margarita after spending all day on the beach. It's the slightly burnt burger that somehow tastes better because someone else cooked it.

When we reduce food to calories and consequences, we miss the experience entirely - coming from someone who has missed out on a hell of a lot of experiences because I was too obsesstified with My Fitness Pal 🤦🏽‍♀️

And perhaps that's the greatest trick Diet Culture pulls. It convinces us to spend so much time analysing the food that we forget to enjoy the moment and focus less on things that actually matter.

So this July, if you find yourself at a BBQ, a festival, a family gathering, or simply eating chips in the park, try leaving the guilt at the door (or bush if you're in the park!)

The food was invited.

The shame wasn't.

Stay vigilant and take my advice and add ketchup and mustard to your burger... thank me later!

L x

P.S. If you've just realised you've spent years giving yourself a performance review every time you eat a biscuit, you're not alone. Diet Culture is sneaky like that. 🍪😉

P.P.S. I benefit from thin privilege. My body moves through the world with levels of acceptance and access that many people, particularly those in larger bodies, are unfairly denied. My perspective comes from learning, listening, and unlearning, and I never want to speak over those with lived experience of weight stigma and discrimination.