"Setting boundaries might mean putting a moratorium on diet talk with your mother, or asking your doctor to stop recommending weight loss (and switching doctors if they won't).
It can mean unfollowing friends on social media who constantly post about their keto diets and Whole30s, or unsubscribing from the email list of every diet program and “wellness expert” you've worked with over the years.
Setting boundaries can also mean standing up against weight stigma just like you'd stand up against racism and sexism, or telling your best friend you won't be joining them for the dance class with the fatphobic teacher anymore. In order to deal with the inevitable diet culture that pops up in various aspects of life, from work meetings to play-dates, you need to learn to say no in a million different ways.
Boundary setting is a form of self-care, but diet culture systematically negates our need for self-care and replaces it with self-control. Diet culture teaches us we don't deserve to care for ourselves or have our needs met. It tells us that the food our bodies need and want is “too much," "unhealthy," or just plain “bad.” It tells us that it's our fault if we're getting disrespected for the size or shape of our bodies—and that if we're currently getting the respect we all truly deserve, it could disappear if we gain weight. It tells us we don't deserve fun, rest, or comfort unless and until we fit into an impossible ideal of what bodies "should" look like.
Diet culture disconnects us from our own needs and shames us for having them. No wonder so many of us have a hard time asking for and getting what we need. No wonder we have a hard time setting boundaries in the first place."
» Christy Harrison, Anti-Diet
