Breaking Free from Diet Culture
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Kim Logan
Gut Health Nutrition Specialist
I spent most of my life skipping from one fad weight loss program to another. I cycled through restricting fats, carbs, calories, and, at times, food altogether. And, I ran countless miles week after week, only to return to the same dissatisfaction with my body that I started with. While I was never truly overweight by the conventional standard, I was also never fully happy with my body, nor fully well. In fact, from my teen years through early menopause, I haphazardly managed an autoimmune disease which I had “inherited” from my maternal grandmother.
Fast forward to early 2024. My daughter, who accepted her own autoimmune disease as her birthright, had just had her second child. After more than two years of pregnancy and nursing, she was struggling to manage her condition in absence of her regular, Pregnancy Category C biologic. So, I embarked on a journey to “experiment” with natural ways to calm my own symptoms, so I could offer her some credible advice. Surely by the grace of God, I stumbled onto the term “gut health,” and I went quickly down the rabbit hole of learning all I could about the gut microbiome. Previously, I had never really thought about what an autoimmune disease meant; how it functioned; how it thrived.
And so, it was here--in abandoning the idea that wellness could only be found on the scale, the size of my jeans, or chasing the next weight loss trend--where I had my Dorothy moment. I had the power all along. Over the following months, I changed my nutrition choices from “dieting” to a diet of real, whole foods; I stopped the never-ending cardio routines and began a realistic body strength training program; I managed my stress through gratitude and honoring my own body; and, I learned to work with my natural circadian rhythm to prioritize sleep.
I no longer made my wellness decisions based on weight loss. Instead, I made them based on how they would impact the intricate ecosystem in the lining of my small intestine where 70% of immune cells live, 90% of serotonin is produced, and where the body’s “second brain” exists. More directly, I was making decisions based on how my body responded to my new daily habits.
I found strength in my body that I never knew before. I found joy in watching the sunrise and the healing energy that it brought each day. I found my autoimmune symptoms dissipating. I found I no longer suffered from seasonal allergies, unexplained rashes, chronic sinus infections, and UTI’s. And yes! If you’re wondering…for the first time without intention, I lost 20 pounds that I had accumulated through the Covid years, which I thought were my rite of passage for a woman in her early fifties.
So, what does this really mean? For me, and for those who prioritize gut health, it means freedom from the burnout of dieting, trends, fancy and false marketing, and so often, failure. It also means sustainability because making choices based on how our bodies feel does not begin or end with a specific number. When we take the time to tune in to our bodies and listen to the responses, we no longer need to chase the next fad to be well.
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