What does anti-diet even mean?
I feel it's important to clear up a common misconception about my work and my stance on well-being.
Anti-diet does not mean anti-health.
Diet-culture is the air that we breath, so of course the belief that diet = thinness, and thinness= healthy, and fatness = unhealthy exists. But when we actually look at the research and real life, that is a misleading and harmful simplification of health.
Let's be clear. Anti-diet is not:
"anti-health" or "anti-health promoting behaviors"
“anti-people who diet"
“anti-medically appropriate diet”
Anti-diet respects people’s autonomy to do what they want with their bodies.
Anti-diet takes a very compassionate stance on people, health, and wellness.
Anti-diet doesn’t make health a moral imperative. Which in my opinion, is what makes it the "healthiest" way of living possible.
3 main reasons why anti-diet is actually pro-health:
Focuses on eating in a manner that aligns with overall well-being
Not for the purpose of manipulating or changing your body
Focuses on behavior modification
Getting rest, increasing self-care and compassion, eating well, moving in ways that feel good, wearing your seatbelt, hydrating, taking your medicine and vitamins, decreasing smoking/drinking, etc. etc. -- those are modifiable health behaviors.
Guess what isn't a modifiable health behavior? Body weight/body size.
Promotes equal care and respect for everyone -- all bodies.
Anti-diet understands that not everyone will have access to improving their health in multiple ways (i.e. affording fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or a gym membership)
Anti-diet views people in larger bodies just as equally as the people in smaller bodies
Anti-diet creates a space for everyone, without making them feel trapped into a small box of "ideal" (i.e. thin, white, cis-gender, able-bodied, heterosexual, young, etc. etc.)
In summary, when we decrease our overall allostatic load (stress), our health tends to improve.
When we put less pressure on ourselves to be perfect, eat perfect, look perfect, and actually focus on how we FEEL -- the magic starts happening.
Contact Me
Haleigh Sanders is an eating disorder specialized dietitian who owns Sanders Nutrition LLC. She has an in person location in Tallahassee, FL and offers virtual services across Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
She offers individual nutrition therapy and would love to guide you to a better relationship with food. Click here to schedule a discovery call to receive more information about how her services can be of benefit to you. Also, you can sign up for her monthly newsletter and receive more free resources and information here.
