EATING WITH EASE:

C O M B A T I N G D I E T C U LT U R E I N A
S O C I E T Y T H AT C O N D O N E S I T

LAURA BAUMAN, M, PLPC, NCC

OBJECTIVES

• Understand what Diet Culture is and how it presents itself

• Gain an understanding on the effects of dieting
• Learn how to discern when eating patterns become disordered
• Gain skills to combat diet culture and eat in line with personal values and
desires
WHAT IS DIET
CULTURE?
AN OVERVIEW
DIET CULTURE

• Focuses on and values weight, shape, and size over wellbeing

• Assigns hierarchical value to bodies
• Gives food moral value
• Drives one from their values and persuades to conform to external commands
• Glorifies the thin-ideal
• Influences unrealistic and many times unhealthy body goals such as “thigh
gap,” flat tummy, anti-cellulite, etc.
WHAT DOES DIET CULTURE LOOK
LIKE?
• Eating patterns that on the surface appear in the name of health but in reality,
are about weight and size
• Assigning labels such as “good” or “bad” to lifestyles and choices, giving these
things morality
• Restrictive and/or rigid diets
• Making food and exercise choices based on external things rather than
internal desires and needs
• Using terminology such as “cheat days,” “junk food,” “clean,” “detox,” etc.
when describing foods and lifestyle choices
WHAT DOES DIET CULTURE LOOK
LIKE?
• Cutting out entire nutrients or food groups for purposes unrelated to taste or
cultural preferences
• Manifestations of “food rules” such as
– I don’t eat white bread
– I don’t eat after 8pm
– I can’t eat THAT type of cereal

• Not the foods themselves that signify their worth, but the meanings attached to
them
• Feeling the need to comment on someone’s food choices signifies that it is
time to reflect with yourself
“Diet culture encompasses all the messages that tell us that we’re
not good enough in the bodies we have, and we’d be more worthwhile
and valuable if our bodies were different. Our culture is SO
embedded with body and weight-centric messages that they’re
sometimes imperceptible. Diet culture is deeply ingrained in our
everyday existence and prevents us from living our most full and
meaningful lives. To break away from diet culture, we need first to
expose it, then find alternative ways to feel connected to ourselves,
each other, and the world in a way that moves away from defining
our worth according to our body shape, weight or appearance.”
– Fiona Sutherland
 RISE IN
EATING
DISORDERS
THE AFFECT OF DIET CULTURE…
 • ~30 million suffer from an eating disorder (ED)
in the US
• Every 62 seconds, someone dies as a result
of their ED
• 95% of ED’s occur in those aged 12-25
• ED rates have more than doubled in past 10
years

Restrictive Eating Disorders Among Adolescent Inpatients

(Whitelaw, Gilbertson, Lee, & Sawyer, 2014)

• People between the ages of 15 and 24 with

anorexia have 10 times the risk of dying
compared to their same-aged peers
• The most common ED is Binge Eating
Disorder (BED)

(Galmiche, Déchelotte, Lambert, & Tavolacci, 2019) (National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders,
2020; National Eating Disorders Association, 2008; Grygiel, 2019)
 ETIOLOGY OF AN
EATING DISORDER:
• Genetic traits predisposition
– Perfectionism, compulsiveness, impulsivity,
avoidance, neuroticism, anxiety
• Triggered by environmental factor
– E.g., dieting, diet culture, media, bullying,
family pressure/ diet talk, stress, sports/
activities w/ a weight focus, overt
parental control during developmental
stages, poverty, etc.

“Genetics loads the gun; environment pulls the trigger.”

Laura L. Hill & Marjorie M. Scott (2015): The Venus Fly Trap and the Land Mine: Novel Tools for
Eating Disorder Treatment, Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention
WHAT AN EATING DISORDER LOOKS LIKE
• Change in daily behaviors • Withdrawing from normal activities
• Change in personality • Signs of physical deterioration
• Irritability (brittle hair & nails, dry, cold skin,
etc.)
• Secrecy
• Loss of energy
• Difficulty concentrating
• Taking trips to the bathroom after
• Excessive exercise
eating
• Dramatic shifts in weight
• Avoiding atmospheres where food
is present
• No longer wanting to eat around
others
• Preoccupation with weight, food
facts, meal rituals
SPOILER ALERT! YOUR PROBLEMS/ ISSUES
STILL EXIST REGARDLESS OF YOUR
CURRENT WEIGHT
• Long-term effects of dieting:
– At Best: biological processes and hormones
are thrown out-of-whack, metabolism slows,
and your body ends up regaining the weight
– At Worst: an Eating Disorder erupts
• Diet culture brainwashes us into thinking that
changing our weight is the solution to any and all
of life’s problems. In fact, it has become such a
commonly accepted reality that we no longer
even realize when it has morphed into our own
thinking.
THE DESIRE TO
LOSE WEIGHT
• Where is the motivation coming
from?

• When coming from place of

shame or disgust, the changes
you make will be forever be
connected to those feelings
and you will feel resentful about
any changes made
THE WEIGHTED
EFFECTS OF
DIETING
(PUN INTENDED)
 PSYCHODYNAMIC
Psychodynamic BRAIN
Brain

LO W E R B R A IN HIGHER BRAIN

• Limbic system and brain stem • Neocortex

• Basic bodily processes
• Automatic thoughts
• Emotions, motivation, arousal, temperature,
respiration, heart rate, etc.
• Concerned with keeping you alive
The THE
• Logical thinking & cognitive functions
• Concentration, reasoning, planning,
sensory perception, generation of motor
commands, spatial reasoning, language,
processing information

• Making rational decisions

• Thinks twice as fast as Higher Brain • One’s “true” self
• Cannot decipher between good & bad • Can decipher between actual wants and
needs vs. those not in line with self
WEIGHT SET-POINT THEORY
SIGNIFICANT DIETING & WEIGHT-
RELATED STUDIES
• Minnesota Starvation Experiment (1944)

https://youtu.be/oDhPh4GuxTY
SIGNIFICANT DIETING & WEIGHT-
RELATED STUDIES (CONT.)
• Vermont Prison Study (1964)
– Participants overfed for 3 months (approx. 5,000-10,000 calories/ day)
– Weight initially gained quickly, but became increasingly difficult as time progressed,
requiring recurrently more calories to maintain
– Significant increase in metabolic rates, body temps, and heartrates
– Body weights returned to previous, lower weight range

(Salans, Horton, & Sims, 1971)

SIGNIFICANT DIETING & WEIGHT-
RELATED STUDIES (CONT.)
• Parabiosed Rats Study
– Pairs of rats, joined surgically to share a joint blood supply
– Lesions made in the ventromedial hypothalamus of one rat in each pair to induce
obesity
– Obesity-induced rats exhibited an increased appetite for food and gained weight
rapidly
– Adjoined rats exhibited significant decrease in food intake and began losing weight

– Obesity-induced rats’ blood supplies signaled satiety reflected in adjoined rats’ behavior
of eating less
– Additional techniques used to induce obesity in one rat of a parabiosed pair, with
adjoined rats consistently eating less and losing weight

– Takeaway: the increase in eating was balanced out as evidenced by the decrease in
appetite and body weight in adjoined rats

(Harris, 2014)
SIGNIFICANT DIETING & WEIGHT-
RELATED STUDIES (CONT.)
• Adoption Studies
– Data results from adoption studies consistently show that weights of adopted children
correlate with their biological parents rather than those of adoptive parents

• Twin Studies
– Sets of identical twins separated for 100 days; one isolated in the wilderness given no
access to foods other than those provided by investigators, while the other was overfed
– Body weights and fat stores evaluated following the study – results revealed a closer
association in body weight and visceral fat within each twin pair than among twin pairs

(Bouchard, 1997; Classen & Thompson, 2016; Sorensen et al., 1998; (Stunkard et al., 1990)
DIETING’S
INFLUENCE ON
WEIGHT
SET-POINT
• Decrease in metabolism
• Reduced ambition to exercise & reduction in calories utilized during exercise
• Increased motivation to eat
• Reduction in satiety (satiety remains diminished after regaining weight, despite the
decline in metabolism)
• Lower caloric requirement becomes a burden that one must compensate for in
order to remain at the reduced weight
(Kissileff et al., 2012; Kizer, 2018; MacLean et al., 2011; Redman et al., 2009;
Rosenbaum & Liebel, 2013; Shaw, 2012; Stotz, 2019)
DIETING’S INFLUENCE ON
WEIGHT SET-POINT (CONT.)
• Hypothalamus undergoes extensive changes promoting weight regain
• State of burning fewer calories persists throughout weight regain, rising back to
normal levels only after the lost weight has been regained or surpassed
• Considerable rise in body fat %, as the body prepares for future famine
• 2013 study on metabolic responses to weight change confirmed that
maintaining a 10% decrease in body weight results in a 20–25% decrease in 24 –
hour energy expenditure, as well as a 30% decrease in calories used during
exercise
• Studies following weight-reduced individuals over the long-term indicate that
80–90% return to previous weights

(Kissileff et al., 2012; Kizer, 2018; MacLean et al., 2011; Redman et al.,
2009; Rosenbaum & Liebel, 2013; Shaw, 2012; Stotz, 2019)
 “Biological pressures emerge after weight loss
to impart a more prominent influence on the
process of weight regain. It is the dieting and
the deviation from the ‘steady-state’ weight
that awakens the body's defense system. The
biological response is persistent, saturated with
redundancies, and well-focused on the objective of
restoring the body's depleted energy reserves.”
- MacLean et al., 2011
PROBLEMS WITH BMI

• Invented in the 1800’s by Adolphe Quetelet, a mathematician for a single

research study with no intention of it becoming the norm for measuring weight
and health
• 1998, National Institutes of Health (NIH) lowered overweight threshold from 28 to
25, declaring 29 million Americans as “overweight” with one quick change
• This change was enforced by diet companies and weight-loss manufacturers

“How can 29 million Americans become too fat overnight by not gaining a
pound? The answer is there is a lot of money to be made by telling people their
bodies are a problem and they need to lose weight.” – Elisa Oras
PROBLEMS WITH BMI CONTINUED
• Assumes something as simple as a height and weight ratio can indicate an
individual’s health
• Fails to consider body fat percentage or lean body mass
• Neglects to acknowledge weight set-point
• Done on European males; fails to account for cultural differences
• Fails to consider biochemical markers (e.g. blood sugar, cholesterol, blood
pressure…)
• Increases weight stigma by failing to take into account other factors of health &
wellness (spiritual, social, emotional, mental, etc.)
• Numerous individuals living within their natural and appropriate set range qualify as
“overweight” or “underweight” according to BMI
• 70% of the US population rests between BMI’s of 23-31… If over half of the
population is naturally “overweight,” why is it referred to as “overweight” instead of
“average weight” given that BMI identifies averages, not norms…
• Evidenced that using BMI as a basis for “healthy weight” misclassifies roughly 75
million American adults over 2/3 of those in the “overweight” and “obese”
categories are metabolically healthy
Chopra, 2019; Tomiyama et al., 2012)
https://youtu.be/0diS49kvWWE
WHAT WE EAT CONVEYS A MESSAGE TO
OUR BRAINS & BODIES:
THE BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO
CONSUMING “DIET” FOODS
• Granola bar study
– “Healthy” framed group, not only
hungrier than group that was
assigned “tasty,” but the group that
ate NOTHING AT ALL

• Milkshake study
– Both shakes 380 calories
– Group that consumed shake labeled
“Indulgent” – Ghrelin levels dropped
– Group that consumed shake labeled
“healthy” – Ghrelin levels REMAINED
THE SAME

(Crum, Corbin, Brownell, & Salovey, 2011; Finkelstein & Fishbach, 2010))
 AFFECTS OF DIETING
• Pre-occupation with food
• Decreased metabolism
• Decrease in hormones that trigger fullness (peptide YY, cholecystokinin, leptin)
*changes observed to remain up to a year after dieting has ceased*
• Increased levels of cortisol, more vulnerable to effects of stress
• Development of binge-eating behavior
• Increased food-related thoughts & cravings (typically foods high in fat & sugar)
• Intensified symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Diminished hunger & fullness cues; increase in “satiety boundary”
• Developed “all-or-nothing” approach resulting in loss of control (LOC) eating
after a perceived “diet violation” or emotional distress
• Increased reward expectancy when viewing hedonic food (as evidenced by
brain scans)

(Coletta et al., 2009; Finkelstein & Fishbach, 2010; Massey & Hill, 2012; O’Connell,
Larkin, Mizes, & Fremouw, 2005; Wilson, 1993; Tomiyama et al., 2009)
KET- NO! THE DANGERS OF LOW-CARB…
• “The cardiologist’s nightmare”
• Glucose = Brain & Body’s primary source of fuel
• Ketones can only compensate for 70% of the brain’s requirements
• Decline in brain function/ cognitive performance
• Decreased ability to pay attention
• Mood imbalances, irritability, and INCREASED cravings for carbs
• Muscle loss
• Trains the body to store energy (the reason one often ends up surpassing their
original weight after following “keto”)
– “Now you’re back at your starting weight, but you no longer have the muscle mass
to burn the calories that you did before. That can have lasting effects on your
resting metabolic rate and on your weight long-term.” - Kristen Kizer, RD.
• *Keto is especially worrisome for athletes*
(D’Anci, Watts, Kanarek, & Taylor, 2009)
KET- NO!

• The brain needs roughly 320-480 calories per day from carbohydrates alone
(80-120g) and that’s not even taking into account the needs of the body!
• There is a reason carbohydrates are one of the MACROnutrients; our bodies
are designed to take them in and require them in large amounts to function.

• Good rule of thumb:

– any diet that cuts out an entire food group or macronutrient is unsustainable and
incredibly rough on the body, not to mention evokes a response from the
hypothalamus that alarms one’s survival mechanisms.
EATING FOR
YOU
MAKING CHOICES BASED ON YOUR
PERSONAL DESIRES AND VALUES
 “Any attempt to prioritize
external cues over our own
internal body cues when it comes
to food is a diet.”
- Unknown
Allowing external
things to dictate
eating behavior, What motivates
sets one up for a
negative
relationship with
your eating
behaviors? EATING IN
food
LINE WITH
We have to eat
to survive, so it
YOUR
VALUES
Catching and
must be an
reframing
enjoyable
irrational food
experience to
thoughts
remain
sustainable
 BUT WHAT IF I JUST WANT TO EAT
EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME??
• When you allow yourself to eat what you want, the food loses its power
• The brain learns that the food is allowed, thus can have it anytime so no drive to
binge on it right now

But what if when I honor a craving, I end

up just wanting MORE??
• Wanting more of the “fear food” after eating it is more attributed to the internal belief
system/ deceptive brain messages than the food itself producing more cravings
• What sparked the consumption? A craving or an undesired emotional state?
• Importance of cognitive rewiring/ putting immense effort towards reframing irrational
food thoughts

Ex: Think of someone in your life who has a positive relationship with food. Does honoring one of their cravings
result in a binge?
INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS
• Allows us to sense when we are hungry, stop eating when full,
and be in tune with our body’s needs and desires
• Entirely unique to each individual
• Relies solely on internal signals

• Allowing external sources to determine/ influence food choices:

- Teaches oneself that they cannot trust their own physiological signaling
- Loss in ability to be aware of one’s own hunger and fullness
• Allowing oneself to assume when and how much they eat is associated with
- Normal eating patterns
- Healthy relationship with food
- Positive body-image
- Keen awareness of hunger and fullness cues
REFRAMING UNHELPFUL FOOD
THOUGHTS
Reframes:
• When I eat fast food, I must order the “healthiest” option. → When I eat fast food, I
will honor both my cravings and what feels best for me in the moment. I
understand that unless I am eating fast food for EVERY meal, I am not going to
suddenly gain a surplus of weight.
• I can’t eat sweets because I can’t control myself around them. → Actually, by
allowing myself to have sweets, I train my brain to respond to them as it would to
any other food, thus I don’t crave them constantly and then bingeing on them later.
• I shouldn’t snack between breakfast and lunch → I will honor my hunger whenever
it arises, understanding that hunger looks different from day to day and trusting that
when my “fuel is running low,” it’s time to refuel.
 • Food has NO moral value

• Emitting words, phrases, and thoughts that assign moral

value, pride, shame, etc. to food choices
– E.g. “clean,” “detox,” “cheat day,” “I’ve been bad
today,” “I shouldn’t have eaten that,” etc.

CHANGING Reframes:
YOUR • “I’ve been good today.” → “I feel good after eating the way
that I have today.”

“LANGUAGE” • “I feel like crap after eating so badly. I should have never
eaten so much.” → “I don’t feel the best after the choices I

AROUND made this evening. It is not the end of the world however,
and I learned from this experience.”

FOOD
• “I’ve eaten horribly today.” → “I don’t feel the best after the
food decisions I’ve made today.”
COMPASSION FOR YOURSELF AND
OTHERS
• Reframing your inner-dialogue
– use words that make you feel worthy & empowered
• Refusing to talk in a degrading way about yourself and your body diffuses the
power of diet culture
• Accepting yourself unconsciously gives others permission to accept themselves

• It’s a practice; work on daily

“Girls compete with each other. Women

empower one another.” - Unknown
DEVELOPING A HEALTHY
RELATIONSHIP WITH
FOOD:
• Regular Eating (Structure – Pre-planned –
Dietary Balance)
• Honoring cravings/ Incorporating “forbidden
foods” into plan
• Practicing Mindful Eating
• Making food choices based on values and
internal cues
 REGULAR EATING
(STRUCTURE – PRE-PLANNED – DIETARY BALANCE)

• Provides organized eating pattern & sustained energy

• Takes the “mood” out of food by decreasing emotion-based eating decisions
• Reassures the brain that food supply is not scarce
• Decreases obsessive thoughts about food
• Essential for re-establishing hunger & fullness cues
The Purpose:

• Helps stabilize blood sugar & metabolism

• Prevents overeating & undereating
• Consistent meal & snack times serve as “traffic cones” during the
“construction” of re-establishing a positive relationship with food
 HONORING CRAVINGS/ INCORPORATING
“FORBIDDEN FOODS” INTO PLAN
• Decreases obsessive thinking about specific foods
• Teaches brain that the food is allowed
• Reduces impulsive decisions about food
• Reduces assigning moral values to food such as “good” or “bad” that reinforce
The Purpose:

bingeing
• Increased enjoyment of food
 PRACTICING MINDFUL EATING

• Increases awareness around eating behavior

• Emphasizes how to eat rather than getting eating plan “right”
• Helps separate food & feelings at mealtime
• While intuitive eating can be difficult to jump into right away, mindfulness can
The Purpose:

be incorporating into each eating activity

 REGULAR EATING
• Eating every 3-4 hours
• 3 meals & 2-3 snacks (select times in advance to establish pattern)
• Decrease intra-meal variety, while increasing variety throughout week
• Planned, Predictable, & Public (aim for planning meals & snacks 24 hours in
advance, both what AND when)
– Meals:
• Protein + Starch + Fat + Produce
• Entrée + 1-2 sides or Mixed bowl/ Combination dish
The Plan:

– Snacks
• Choose 2: _____ + _____ Protein, healthy fat, (whole) grain, produce
• Snack of choice (ideally a “forbidden food” or some processed
yumminess you tend to avoid)
 AT MEAL & SNACK TIMES:
• Pre-choose portions & place on plate, putting rest of food away before sitting
to eat
• Utilize Table, Plate, Chair technique
– Eating at the table, sitting down, with plated meal
• Practice Mindful Eating - slow down & savor; become curiously observant of
each aspect of every food
• Following meal, move onto pre-planned post-meal activity
• Avoid eating while standing, walking, working, driving, watching TV, etc.
The Plan:

• Avoid eating out of containers, bags, boxes, etc.

 CRAVINGS

• Honor them!! ☺
• Rather than having item the
instant it’s craved, schedule
into plan for the next day or
later in the week
• Schedule “forbidden foods”
into meals
The Plan:
INTUITIVE MOVEMENT
• Connecting with the body’s internal cues to
determine
– Type of movement
– Duration
– Intensity

• “Movement” rather than “exercise”

• Incorporating mindfulness
• Focus on enjoyment and how the body and mind feel rather than burning
calories or losing weight
EXERCISE: “FUN MOVEMENT” OR “WORK”
2015 study tested the effect of
framing of “fun movement”
versus “exercise” on the number
of M&M’s consumed following:
Participants all assigned same
walking route on a college
campus;
- One group told they were going
on a one-mile route of exercise
while the other was told that they
were going on a one-mile
sightseeing journey
- Offered self-serve M&M’s
afterwards; “exercise” group served
themselves far more than the “fun”
group.
Researchers concluded
Additional study interviewed
marathon runners and provided “focusing on having fun while
performing a physical activity
a choice of 2 snacks following:
reduces the amount of hedonic
snack served.”
Those who claimed to have
had fun during the race
chose the cereal bar, while
those who interpreted it as
exercise chose the
chocolate bar
(Werle et al., 2015).
BENEFITS OF EXERCISE UNRELATED
TO WEIGHT LOSS
• Improved brain function and neurogenesis
• Decrease in anxiety
• Improved focus
• Teaches self-discipline and perseverance
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Boost in mood (dopamine)
• Allows a mental release
KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Your worth is NOT tied to what you eat or how much you move
• Allow nothing but your internal cues to determine how you eat/
move
• Please, please, PLEASE do not go on a diet….ever
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Brain Over Binge – Kathryn Hansen

• Brain Over Binge Recovery Guide
– Kathryn Hansen
• Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary
Anti-Diet Approach – Evelyn
Tribole & Elyse Resch
• Ending the Diet Mindset: Reclaim
a Healthy Relationship with Food
and Body Image – Becca Clegg
• Laura Bauman, Food Freedom
Advocate on Facebook
CONTACT INFORMATION &
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
• Email: lebauman1s@semo.edu
• Facebook – Laura Bauman, Food Freedom Advocate
• Linked In – Laura Bauman