I have YEARS’ worth of selfies and pictures with friends and family that I’ve seldom—or most likely never—posted on social media.
Why?
I didn’t like photographic images of me NOT at an “ideal weight.”
It was always on my bucket list to reach an ideal weight someday, and I always fell short of it by 10, 20, and sometimes more pounds. . . so I hid from the potential of public judgment and criticism.
(Gossip is a form of criticism in case you’re unaware.)
Diet culture produced so much shame. . . and anxiety.
It was suffocating at times.
Shame causes desperation.
And desperation has the potential to trigger irrational thought patterns and behaviors
I encourage you to step away from scales and chronic weight checking/mirror checking.
Wake up to a morning walk in the fresh air; and/or the snuggles of a spouse, child or pet; and/or a nourishing breakfast instead!
The shame and shunning associated with diet culture will suck the life out of you if unaware. And it can quickly shift to disordered and maladaptive eating behaviors.
Yo-yoing weight fluctuations are the result of diet culture; not eating.
(At a young age, I watched my mom take scissors and cut herself out of pictures. I learned to be displeased with unacceptable appearances early in life!)
Here’s to freedom from shame, food addiction, and eating disorders to all!
Emily Boller, wife, mother, artist, and author is on a mission to create expressive works of art in her lifetime; and to bring awareness to the potentially harmful traps of diet-wellness culture.
In her free time, she loves to chase sunrises, grow flowers and vegetables, and can homemade soups.