Let’s talk about diets… There’s detox diets, weight loss diets, all kinds of diets. Diets are something which are very common for people to take up. However, upon exploring Anthony Warner’s (AKA the Angry Chef’s) blog, Heart of the Problem, he claims, “maybe our diet is not that important after all.”[1] So, if this idea is accurate, then why are diets so common for so many people? I believe the answer is due to our generation’s popular demand for praise from others, where diets essentially allow us to present ourselves to the world in an exciting way.
Think about it, usually when a person starts a diet they will announce it to their friends, or post about it to their followers claiming; “this diet is going to be ‘life-changing'”… Honestly, I don’t think I have ever met anyone who has started a diet without telling at least one person about it.
However, this attitude can be problematic. It suggests that a lot of people in this generation often search for validation and praise in bragging and boasting about things like diets (a silly example of this shown in the picture/’meme’ above). To avoid this, what many of us need to realize is that at the end of the day, the opinions and approval of others through what we do (and eat) should not matter. And I don’t mean to brag but, I definitely need to keep this in mind.
References:
- Warner, Anthony. “Heart of the Problem”. The Angry Chef, Accessed May 23rd, 2019, https://angry-chef.com/blog/heart-of-the-problem
I’m definitely guilty of this! Your response to diet culture was different from mine but it still resonated with me. Maybe the reason we overshare is coming from a compulsion to signify an over the top sense of self-control or signaling concern for the environment or nutrition? I’m not sure?
Either way, I think it can very quickly become very unhealthy.
Thanks for sharing!
Hello hello, thank you for this interesting blog post.
I feel like the vast majority of us are very reliant on others and are constantly searching for validation. So it’s very typical to see people (especially from our generation) announce their “life changing” diet change on social media.
These behaviours make me anxious, what happens when no one wants to validate you? Or more realistically, how is self confidence impacted from consistent praise and attention seeking?
Here’s a thought, why don’t we try feeding the flame with the same wood that it burns on?
Hear me out, I doubt that people will stop thinking about themselves any time soon, but we could begin to stop bragging and boasting by being mindful about the number of food posts we are sharing. Or perhaps people could manipulate self absorption into validating themselves. This is so much easier and faster than waiting around for other people. But… I don’t know how satisfying or realistic this idea is. Hey, just food for thought.