Dear Diet Culture Letter: The Thanksgiving Holiday is Hard

Dear Diet Culture,

It’s me, Sunday.

We have arrived to the start of your favorite time of year. I mean literally everything you have worked hard for the whole year comes together in such a way that I could swear that you orchestrated it.

First up: Thanksgiving.

You are armed with messaging around “moderation”, tips and tricks on “how to fill up” so you don’t eat too much, drinking lots of water during the day and sometimes outright encouraging people to skip meals. You disguise disordered eating as “healthy tips” and send the entire wellness industry into a tizzy trying to put out content to “encourage” their followers. And here’s the thing, I know that you like to tell people that you are working in their best interest and that there is no harm in avoiding certain foods or reducing their food intake because “health,” but you know exactly what you are doing. As we have talked about before, disordered eating disguised as wellness is still disordered eating.

You also scare the hell out of people. So many people go into the holidays, in this case Thanksgiving, feeling like they are breaking rules and being “indulgent.” You make people feel like they have done something wrong and then encourage them to openly talk about it with their family. You influence the holiday(s) so much that people can’t stop talking about you! They will go on and on about their diets, how they feel about food, how they feel about their body, why they are being “bad” for eating, and so much more. You are inescapable at family (and sometimes friend) gatherings.

Nothing about your presence at the holiday table or your advice is helpful. You are armed and ready to turn the “season of indulgence” (yes, we know this is fear mongering) into “join this lifestyle change 2021.” Your every move is setting the stage for your next marketing campaign that profits off of fatphobia and preying on people’s fears.

Instead of people being able to connect during the holidays, which may very well be the only time of year that they get to do so in such a way, you infiltrate every moment of their experience with feelings of guilt and shame, and encourage people to body shame and food shame each other. You create the illusion of connection, but it’s just a farce. You are about a deep as a kiddy pool in comparison to the deep oceans and rivers of human connection, authenticity, vulnerability and love.

So this year, I am glad that some people will be slightly more protected from you because they need to stay away from their family due to COVID-19 while also knowing that many people cannot escape you. The bad news is, I know that you aren’t going anywhere and I imagine every year I am going to have to write a similar letter asking you, as I am today, to please leave this holiday season, and don’t let the door hit you in the butt.

And on your way out, please pass the pumpkin pie.

Sincerely,

Sunday, aka your most passionate anti-diet Dietitian Katherine who wants you to know that diet culture is a real bummer during the holidays and to know that you are not alone if your family often feels triggering and difficult to navigate during this time of year