17/10/2025
In one corner we have diet culture telling you "lose weight at any cost", and "thin is best".
In another we have food marketing saying "eat more of our delicious (calorie dense) food".
And somewhere in the background we have SOME wellness culture saying judgily "you have to look after your health".
Meanwhile you're stuck in the middle feeling pulled in all directions and like it's sometimes just enough to try to live life.
All these competing demands - whether you're consciously aware of all the different pulls or not - can leave you feeling overwhelmed and pressured when it comes to thinking about healthy eating, exercise, and so on.
When we try to make a change, often we don't acknowledge this context, and we end up fighting against it rather than navigating it as it is in reality e.g. relying on willpower means fighting every food ad we see, which is also harder when you're hungry. We're driven to lose weight to meet someone else's expectations, rather than acting for our own, deeper reasons.
Much like with the people around you, you can't change this context (hopefully we'll see some shifts one day), but you can change how you respond to it. I'm not saying that's easy - it's everywhere, it's engrained - but it is possible to take a step back, go your own way, and let it happen waay over there somewhere.
