Without a doubt, diet is very important, no matter if your goal is to change your weight or to manage your health. As with all things though, a noble aspiration can quickly harmful depending on the lengths we choose to go while we pursue it. There’s always a good and a bad side. And when it comes to diet, there are many ways that it can be a powerful form of medicine along with being a weapon against ourselves. But how do we know when our diet has completely taken over our lives and gotten extreme? And what can we do to make sure we aren’t turning it into an obsession? Today’s post is going to cover that and more, as we explore the darker aspect of diets that oftentimes are ignored or rarely get enough attention. Ultimately, we shouldn’t be making ourselves unhealthy while trying to be healthy.

Good Intentions Gone Bad

Diet. Dieting. Dieted. Today we often treat diet as an action. We don’t see it as its true definition, which is simply that it’s, “The kinds of foods that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.” [1] Today, what used to mean what a person regularly eats has quickly turned into what a person does as a means of restriction. When you say you’re on a diet, chances are that you’re eating to lose weight. Despite there being many people who truly need to lose weight, this does become a four-letter word for people who are generally healthy or are actively looking to improve their health or activity-related goals (i.e., athletes, bodybuilders, fighters, etc.). So, if a person claims to be following, say, a vegan diet, the other person might assume they’re doing it to lose weight. When in reality that couldn’t be further from the truth. They could be following it either for moral or health reasons. But we as a society associate the word diet with things like weight loss, restriction, and deprivation. Which is we think of dieting as something negative. And unfortunately, with the way things are going, it’s only going to get worse.

How do you know when things are quickly taking a turn for the worse with your diet? Here are some “red lights” to be aware of:

• Obsession: If all you can think about is food and your diet, then be careful. You might have an obsession on your hands. This can manifest in having to micromanage everything you consume. The portions, meal timing, frequency, and food sources must all be up to whatever standard you create. Usually, this means the best of the best- grass-fed, local, organic, pasture-raised, blessed by monks, certified this or that; absolutely no room for error, all-or-nothing mindset. If you can’t stand the thought of buying your food from a conventional grocery store or believe you’re going to die if you don’t go for organic, for instance, then again, I urge you to take a step back and question if you aren’t being too restrictive.
• Interference: Here’s another thing to consider-interference. And by that, I mean interfering with the other parts of your life that have nothing to do with food. Your social life, for one thing. Are you always having to cancel or bail out of social events because you can’t eat the way you want to? Or that you’re afraid of eating outside of the bubble you’ve created with your diet? Even if you do decide to go out with friends, are you forcing yourself to eat something because it keeps you adhered to your diet? Now, if you enjoy doing that or you haven’t any other choice due to an intolerance or health condition like Celiac disease (when gluten-containing foods can cause serious issues), then that’s a different matter. But if you’re doing it out of fear and it’s making you’re missing out in life, then that’s when you need to be concerned.
• Overly-Complicated: Similar to having an obsession, if your diet is becoming complicated and inadvertently creating stress, then once more, think about how it’s going to affect you in the long run. I’ve seen this happen with practices like food combining, when the right combination of certain foods can either heal or hurt you. For instance, you’re told to eat fruit away from other foods on an empty stomach and follow rules like avoid combining starches with proteins. Another example is the alkaline diet, in which certain foods and combinations can help to prevent your body from becoming too “acidic” and allegedly prone to toxicity and illness. (Never mind that both food combining and alkaline diets have been debunked.) [2] If those diets work well for you, then by all means, do them. But don’t ignore the fact that they still enforce a series of rules that over time can become burdensome for many people!
• Expensive: Let’s add a dose of reality here. Not everyone can afford to follow a certain diet. While we’re all trying to do our best when it comes to eating right, there’s no denying that a bit of financial privilege comes with it. Not everyone has access to farmer’s markets, specialty foods, supplements, and products. And not everyone has the time to cook and prepare their meals every single day! What really matters is that you do your best as much as you can (within reason). Is buying a bunch of of exotic superfoods, diet-based products (i.e., paleo/keto/vegan dressings, mock-meats, juices, bars, condiments, etc.) really the wisest choice if you’re already struggling to make ends meet as it is? Is it worth it if it means you can’t afford other things like clothes, gas, and insurance?
• Loneliness: Here’s the final sign that your diet really has consumed you: you’re literally isolated. You no longer go out to eat or spend time with anyone because of your diet. Maybe it’s because they don’t eat like you do, or you’re scared to eat outside of your house. You can’t afford to go out and do anything else because the majority of your budget is spent on food. All of the rules, complications, and nuances that come with your diet of choice can ultimately keep you locked in your own prison. Even worse, you can ironically become unhealthy because of your diet. We need some kind of social interaction and sense of community. Research has shown that people lacking in quality social relationships have higher risks for death than those who don’t. [3] If the side effect of your diet is loneliness, then consider the outcomes for your wellbeing.

What You Can Do Today

Does this mean we should throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to diet? Of course not! These are the consequences of extreme dieting. Let me repeat- extreme. This does not mean you should only eat processed foods or ignore the food that goes onto your plate. As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, what counts is that you do your best within your means. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t buy organic broccoli. And don’t think you can’t enjoy an occasional treat if the majority of the time you’re eating right. A lot of people like to follow what’s called the 80/20 rule, where 80% of the time, their diet is based on whole foods, and 20% of the time it contains treats like ice cream, pizza, and other indulgences. That’s one way to approach things!

Another thing I’d recommend is finding a community that follows your eating style. There are so many online groups you can join today, whether it’s vegan, paleo, or keto, and everything in-between. And in the real world, you’ve got meetups, cooking workshops, potlucks, and support groups that you can find in your local community.

At the end of the day, it helps to check in with yourself and become self-aware of your diet. Really ask yourself if it’s truly making a positive or negative impact in your life. If you’re noticing that any of the signs I listed are showing up, then consider loosening up a bit, being flexible, or possibly reconsidering the diet before it becomes all-consuming. The better we improve our relationship with food, the less of a stigma there’ll be for dieting as a whole, when we can see it not as a means of depriving ourselves but rather as a way to nourish or support our goals.

Sources:

[1] https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/diet
[2] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/food-combining#section4
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/