Americans Kick the Diet Trend 

It’s the new year and it’s possible that one of your resolutions is to finally lose those last 10 pounds. But it’s also possible you’ve joined the millions of Americans who are tossing out their scale all together and kicking diet culture to the curb. People are finally fed up with the billion dollar industry that promises great results but rarely delivers. They don’t want to deal with an industry that profits on making them feel bad about themselves. Not to mention, they’re also living in a world that makes a healthy lifestyle increasingly more difficult. And that’s a good thing—if the game is rigged, stop playing the game. Here are a few things to look out for to help you embrace the anti-diet movement. 

Creative Diet Rebranding 

Diet has become a taboo word, no one wants to be on a diet in this day in age. But plenty of people are still dieting. It’s why we’ve seen a shift away from the word diet to zero sugar especially in the soda industry. While there are some taste differences between diet coke and coke zero, the artificial sweeteners are the same. And so are the risks of cancer and the question of whether diet or zero sugar soda is even good for you in the first place. Instead of falling for a new form of health washing, opt for water instead. It’s both good for you and isn’t trying to market a lifestyle at you. 

Another creative rebrand of the industry is reframing the goal from weight loss to health but in actuality it means the same thing. Be wary of people who equate health with thinness. Because plenty of people achieve thinness through unhealthy ways. 

Advocate for Yourself at the Doctor’s

Doctors are especially guilty of only looking at the BMI (a problematic calculation in the first place) and prescribing that the patient lose weight. They’re doing this without looking at their bloodwork or biometrics that may actually indicate a healthy person and they just see a number on the scale. Being your own advocate can be scary at first but it can be a helpful way to get the care you deserve, no matter what numbers show up on the scale. This might mean asking for yourself to not be weighed if not medically necessary, bringing along a friend for moral support or changing up your doctor completely. Remember medical care just like bodies is not one size fits all. 

Good Urban Design Means Weight Loss 

Have you ever gorged yourself on a European vacation and came back having lost five pounds? It’s probably because you ended up walking double or triple your normal amount of step counts. Living in a walkable city matters and the amount of day to day natural exercise (aka the exercise you get without dedicated time at the gym) matters. If you are stuck in a cycle of driving to your office, sitting all day and driving home, of course you are going to start gaining weight and losing energy. And especially as people try to ditch their cars for more eco-friendly options, a desire for walkability is on the rise. People have been known to pay significantly more for a walkable neighborhood. 

Americans are getting wise to the rigged game they are playing in. And they are starting to demand large scale changes from the top down whether it’s about how their communities are designed to make them unhealthy or it’s how the media is designed to make them feel bad to keep buying products to make them feel better. Now they are saying enough is enough. They are demanding more and we think that’s a good thing. 

We also think Spafinder has been way ahead of the no-diet trend. Check out this article from the Spafinder archives.