• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
5 Secrets to Mexican Cooking

sign up to get my top 5 secrets to help you master mexican meals at home!

trending now: March Cooking Challenge!
  • About
  • Press/Advertise
  • Contact

Isabel Eats

Easy Mexican recipes for home cooks

  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Dinner
      • Sides
      • Desserts
      • Appetizers
      • Drinks
      • Soups & Stews
      • Salads
      • Salsas
      • Sauces and Condiments
    • Diet
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Carb
      • Paleo
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Chorizo
      • Pork
      • Turkey
      • Seafood
    • Occasion
      • Christmas
      • Cinco De Mayo
      • Easter
      • Game Day
      • Summer
      • Thanksgiving
    • Type
      • 30 Minute Meals
      • Mexican Basics
      • Freezer Friendly
      • Grilling
      • Healthy
      • Instant Pot
      • Slow Cooker
      • Enchiladas
      • Tacos
  • Dinners
  • Kitchen Tips
  • Life
  • Shop
  • About
  • Subscribe!

    sign up to get my top 5 secrets to help you master mexican meals at home!

Browse by Course/Type/Diet

  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Sides
    • Desserts
    • Appetizers
    • Drinks
    • Soups & Stews
    • Salads
    • Salsas
    • Sauces & Condiments
  • by type
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • Mexican Basics
    • Freezer Friendly
    • Grilling
    • Healthy
    • Instant Pot
    • Slow Cooker
    • Enchiladas
    • Tacos
  • by meat
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Chorizo
    • Pork
    • Turkey
    • Seafood
  • by diet
    • Gluten Free
    • Low Carb
    • Paleo
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
  • by occasion
    • Christmas
    • Cinco De Mayo
    • Easter
    • Game Day
    • Summer
    • Thanksgiving
Jump to latest Browse All Recipes
HomeLife

4 Strategies to Stop Diet Talk in its Tracks

rate recipe Shareshare
Share on:
3 shares
By: IsabelPosted: 1/6/20

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclaimer.

4 strategies to stop diet talk in its tracks
4 strategies to stop diet talk in its tracks

This post was written by my dear friend Paige Knapp who is equally as passionate about raising awareness about food and body image issues as I am. You can learn more about her below.

If you travelled home for the holidays, chances are you heard one of two things from your family:

“You’ve put on a bit of weight since I last saw you,” or “Oh wow! You really slimmed down. What diet are you on?”

For most, that’s just the beginning. Since everyone’s home for the holidays, old family pictures are brought out. Once they start to circulate, even more body comments emerge. People usually don’t mention how happy or joyful they look in old pictures, but they almost always start commenting about the way everyone looks. Fathers remark on sweaters they know they could never fit into now, and mothers comment how easy it was to stay thin before having kids.

And during all of this body shaming talk, we’re expected to indulge in tons of home cooked meals and sweets without feeling one single ounce of guilt. Talk about some mixed messaging!

It can be ridiculously difficult to get through this time of year if you’ve ever struggled with body image. That’s because no matter which way weight fluctuates, our families are the first ones to notice it. And whether we like it or not, those comments contribute to how we feel about ourselves.

Your family may mean well, but body-focused comments often hurt a lot more than they help. Even comments about looking healthier or losing weight could be misconstrued depending on the mindset of the person receiving them.

A few years ago, I struggled with orthorexia, a condition that includes obsessive behaviors around healthy eating and exercise. Visiting my family back then was one of the most stressful things in the world. They would constantly want to take me out to eat, but going out to eat was terrifying to me. After all, I wasn’t in control over the food at the restaurant. Whenever I tried to shut down their attempts, they’d comment that I could eat whatever I wanted and stay skinny.

And that terrified me.

Because they didn’t know what was going on in my mind. They didn’t know that every time they complimented my skinniness, they reinforced my orthorexia. There was a little voice in the back of my mind that worried that if I let myself go, if I let myself gain weight, that my family wouldn’t want to be around me anymore. That I would disappoint them in some way.

I know now that this is completely ridiculous, but at the time, it was very, very real. My whole identity and self-worth was tied up in how I looked and presented myself, and I know that many others feel the same way.

We’re taught to look outside ourselves for body image cues as soon as we’re born. Parents tell their children to eat so they’ll “grow up big and strong” at first. But after a few years, the advice starts to change. “Don’t overeat,” they say. “You don’t want to gain weight.” And the rest of the world agrees with them.

We’re constantly bombarded with messages about how to diet more and exercise harder so that our bodies stay the same. It’s the worst this time of year. The gyms are full of guilty resolutioners trying to “burn off the holiday treats” and every other person is doing a Whole 30. But instead of changing the way that your body looks to better your body image, I think it’s much easier and healthier to change the way you perceive body image instead. And it all starts with changing the conversation.

You can stop diet and body image talk in its tracks. The next time you’re at a family gathering, change the conversation. Use one of the following strategies as inspiration:

Stop justifying your eating. It doesn’t need to be justified.

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that it was “okay” that they indulged because they went on a run or that they hadn’t eaten anything that day, I would have a lot of nickels. But the thing is, you never have to justify eating! Eating is something that everybody has to do, just like how we all have to breathe, sleep, and go to the bathroom. You’d never feel guilty for needing to pee, so why would you feel guilty for needing some food?

Reframe the way you talk about food and exercise.

Everyone jokes that they need to work out extra hard the day after a holiday meal, but the thing is, food and exercise aren’t directly exchanged. When you overindulge during a meal, your body finds tons of ways to put that extra energy to good use. Your body temperature rises, you’ll fidget a little more, and you’ll probably use some of that fuel to repair some muscles, too. Your body knows what to do with extra food. Trust it, and try to convince your family to trust it, too!

Start giving non-body related compliments.

There are plenty of ways to compliment a family member that have nothing to do with the way they look. Try saying things like “You’re such a good listener,” “You’re strong and hardworking,” or even “You’re a ray of sunshine!” These compliments dig deeper than appearance ever goes, and your family will definitely appreciate them.

Recognize that despite your best efforts, body talk will probably continue.

You may not ever be able to completely eliminate body image from your family’s list of topics, but every effort counts. Remember that you are always allowed to not participate in conversations that make you uncomfortable. Staying silent on the subject is okay. And if that’s a little too scary, you can always redirect the conversation to something new and non-body related.

Working on accepting the way you look and reframing your thoughts is more attainable and healthier than constantly trying to change your outward appearance. And remember — no matter what your family may say, only you have control over how you feel about your own body.


About the author

Paige is a 20-something NASM certified personal trainer and holistic health coach in Iowa City, Iowa. She empowers women to eat more delicious food and ditch chronic cardio to become their healthiest selves. She wants to help you sift through the diet & fitness culture BS to take control of your health, and you can find more about her here.

You may also like…

  • Tuesday Things
free ebook!

download my top 10 recipes book

Subscribe and receive a free e-cookbook of our Top 10 Easy Mexican Recipes!

Get My Copy!

Download my top 10 easy Mexican recipes!

Zucchini Enchiladas topped with sour cream and cilantro
Previous Post
Zucchini Enchiladas
Slow Cooker Taco Soup in a crock pot
Next Post
Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Use the form below to submit your question or comment. I love hearing from you and seeing what you made!
Recipe Rating:




  1. Lynn says

    Posted on 1/6 at 6:33 pm

    Thank you for sharing this post. These are things that some of us need to hear and be reminded of and I appreciate your openness in sharing your own experiences.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Isabel Orozco-Moore, Founder of Isabel Eats
¡Hola!

i’m isabel

A first-generation Mexican American who loves to cook! Here at Isabel Eats, you’ll find a mix of all your favorite authentic Mexican recipes with a twist!

Read More

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

free email series!

5 Secrets to Mexican Cooking

My top 5 secrets to help you master Mexican meals at home in no time!

Sign me up!

Sign up to get My top 5 secrets to help you master Mexican meals at home in no time!

Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.

Authentic Recipes

This Mexican Pork Chile Verde is made of tender pieces of pork simmered in a flavorful tomatillo and chile broth. Serve in a bowl or with a side of rice for an authentic Mexican meal! (low carb, gluten free, paleo)

Chile Verde Recipe

Masa for Tamales

Masa for Tamales

Six bolillo breads on a baking sheet ready to eat.

Bolillo Bread (Mexican Rolls)

Pozole verde in a bowl topped with shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, cilantro, and lime juice.

Chicken Pozole Verde

Pozole Rojo (Red Posole) recipe

Pozole Rojo Recipe

Cooked Mexican rice in a pot with peas mixed in.

Authentic Mexican Rice

Reader Favorites

Beef empanadas on a plate served with a side of guacamole.

Beef Empanadas

Chile relleno on a plate with red salsa.

Chile Relleno Recipe

Cooked canned black beans with tomatoes, onions and garlic in a bowl.

How to Cook Canned Black Beans

Chicken enchiladas in a baking dish topped with cilantro.

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Juicy pork carnitas in warm corn tortillas topped with cilantro, onions and limes.

Easy Carnitas Recipe

Conchas in a bowl ready to be eaten.

Conchas (Mexican Sweet Bread)

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

5-star faves

Frozen margaritas in glasses topped with lime wedges.

Frozen Margaritas

These were absolutely delicious. So fresh and the perfect amount of sweetness.

A bowl of borracho beans

Borracho Beans

These beans are delicious! Garlic, onion, beer and bacon…you can’t go wrong, lol! I loved these!

Chile Colorado

This recipe is so perfect and delicious. My entire family loved it! Big kudos to you for such an authentic masterpiece!

follow along @isabeleats

Favorites

  • Tacos
  • Sides
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Desserts
  • Drinks
  • Salsas

Browse By Meat

  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Seafood
  • Turkey
  • Chorizo
Back to Top
  • About
  • Press
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
© 2023 Isabel Eats Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled