How To Detox From Diet Culture This Summer

Learn how you can feel better in your body without having to go on a detox or cleanse.

**Disclaimer: Please note that the information in this or any other blog posts on this site may not be suitable or apply to you, depending on where you’re at in your mental health and/or eating disorder/diet recovery journey. This information is for educational purposes only and not meant to be a substitute for medical or psychiatric advice. Please consult your healthcare practitioner before making any changes. See full disclaimer here.

Summer, often a time of year that is supposed to be joyful and rejuvenating, has unfortunately, along with other joyful season’s like Christmas and New Year’s, been co-opted by diet culture. In fact, for many dieters who may have “failed” (though fyi, you don’t "fail" diets, they fail you) their New Year’s resolutions, Summer often becomes that second chance to try again, and seek out another diet or lifestyle change that will "work". 

Weight-loss and fitness companies know that the beginning of Summer is another time of year where people are feeling vulnerable and are looking for quick-fix changes to their body. I mean how many times do we need to hear, “get your bikini body ready for summer!”? Ugh, never. We don’t ever need to hear that. But we do, or something like that, all the time.

And I get it. I get that after a long winter of probably moving less and vegging out on the couch more, that you might be feeling meh. That you’re wanting to do something different to shake off the winter fog. And that the allure of a 14-day or a 30-day "detox" or “cleanse” sounds like the best way to do this. But the truth is, a detox or a cleanse, even the “natural” ones, that involves restricting or manipulating your food intake with the goal of weight-loss is just another diet. And there is mounting evidence to show that diets don’t actually work in the long run, and may actually be harmful to your mental and physical health. If you want to read more about why our body doesn’t actually need to “detox” read this and why detoxes are just another form of dieting, read this.

Yes, if you restrict your food intake and start exercising intensely for 30 days you might lose weight. But what about after the 30 days? And what about the mental and physical consequences of rigid and extreme changes to your diet and/or exercise plan? How many times have you or someone who know that has tried a “detox” diet been counting down the days when they can eat a cookie again, or have a bowl of pasta? Most people don’t feel good doing a “detox” and can’t wait to come off of them. Because they know they are not sustainable. But yet, it is so easy to believe to that “this time it will work”, and you’ll never want to eat “bad” foods again.

I’m not judging you if you feel this way. I’ve been that person. I thought I had to swear off sugar forever so that I’ll never crave it again. I thought that if I just take these “natural” pills or drink green juices for three days, my digestion issues will be resolved. I thought that if I can just completely restrict all the “bad” foods for at least 30 days, then eating would become so much easier and my relationship with food would improve. Now I see how disordered that thinking is, but it wasn’t obvious to me at the time. I truly thought that by starting a new diet or “cleanse” that I was doing something healthy for me and my body. That I would feel better, not worse. That it would somehow solve all my problems.

But believing that the next Summer detox or “beach body” fitness plan will solve all your problems is just another sneaky guise of diet culture and won’t actually help you truly make peace with food and you body.

So instead of repeating that same old pattern of being “on” and “off” a detox or diet wagon, I invite you to think about alternative ways to find joy and feel better in your body this Summer, that have nothing to do with going on a diet or cleanse. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Move more in ways that are nourishing, not punishing. 
Having worked as a personal trainer and yoga teacher, I understand that moving your body feels good. But when exercise just becomes about burning calories or losing fat, it really takes the joy out of it and is usually not sustainable. Moving more can be great for your health, but it’s going to be even better for your health when it’s done in a way that is joyful and energizing. This means that you listen to your body and adjust your exercise as needed, eat enough to fuel your activities and take regular days off too. So if you’re used to picking exercise routines based on how many calories it will burn, try to focus on picking physical activities that you enjoy, that make you feel better in your skin, and that give you more energy and stamina for your day. Getting outdoors can be a great way to take advantage of the Summer weather and get some more joyful movement into your life.

Instead of restricting foods, think of adding more foods that satisfy you and nourish you. 
The non-diet, Intuitive Eating approach to eating would say, don’t restrict any foods. Because physical and/or mental restriction of any foods will only backfire and keep you trapped in the diet cycle of restriction and binge/overeating. So instead of suffering through another diet or detox that we know will not be sustainable, start asking yourself, what foods do you actually like? What kind of foods do you enjoy in the Summer time, as the weather gets warmer? What would give you more energy and satisfy your taste buds? There’s no right or wrong answer to this. What satisfies you may not satisfy someone else. If you’ve been restricting foods on/off now for a long time, it might seem totally foreign to ask yourself what do you actually like to eat? But this is an important question to start asking and investigating if you truly want listen to your body and never feel like you have to detox again. The more you can eat foods that are satisfying, and eat enough, the more likely you will sustain healthy and nourishing habits over the long haul.
 
Practice respecting your body even if you don’t like it right now. 
It can be hard to practice joyful movement and eating more satisfying foods if you still feel like you have to change your body. So instead of believing that you have to shrink your body to feel better, try practicing body respect (see a detailed article on it here). In general, this means making sure your body is comfortable, taking care of it’s basic needs, and treating it with kindness. Punishing yourself with intense exercise or food restriction is NOT respecting your body. Because your body doesn’t like to be starved or chronically stressed. There are lots of ways to practice body respect and what’s important is to start in a place that feels most comfortable for you. Considering it’s “beach body” season, a good place to start could be to stop following any social media accounts or blogs that promote dieting, detoxes, weight-loss or trying to achieve a “perfect” body that is completely unrealistic and unattainable for the majority of the population. Another place to start would be to buy clothes that fit your “here-and-now” body. Don’t buy summer shorts that are too tight now, thinking that you’ll be able to fit into them in a couple months. That’s just asking for disappointment and disordered eating/exercise behaviours that are just totally unnecessary and keep you further away from actually feeling good in your body.
 
Focus on other goals and activities that bring you meaning and joy that have nothing to do with changing your diet or body. 
Eating and exercise are just a small component of health. Being “healthy” also includes our psychological, social, spiritual, and relational health. Like I said before, changing our food or exercise habits for the sole purpose of health or weight-loss will not solve all of your problems. Nor give more meaning to your life or bring you true happiness. So another way to look at feeling better in your body, is to ask yourself, what are some goals, activities or pursuits that would actually bring you happiness and more fulfillment in your life? It could be finally taking that drawing class you’ve been wanting to do. Or spending more time with your friends and family. Or applying for that job you’ve been working towards. In other words, the confidence and fulfillment you’ll get from pursuing other avenues of health and joy (that are not just food or exercise) can filter into your confidence within your body and yourself, and help you see that you don’t need another detox to make you happy.

In sum, a fresh start to Summer does not have to involve restricting your food or punishing workouts. In fact, doing that will most likely only keep you stuck in the diet mentality and feeling worse about yourself. Instead, give yourself the gift of detoxing from diet culture this Summer and never have to go on another cleanse again.

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