“How I lived my life and how my brain worked as a vegan was actually harmful. It was no fun to sit around a dinner table with me talking about veganism." - Rachel Brathen, aka Yoga Girl
You do such a nice job Brittany, providing different perspectives on eating habits!
It's funny though, how my own public eating habits are just the opposite of what you describe in this article. Rather than wearing my diet on my sleeve as a "badge of honor", I try to eat "normal" in public, while for medical reasons, try to do better at home to keep my saturated fat and cholesterol intake to within recommended guidelines. Do you have a perspective on "closet dieters"?
Interesting point! I think any kind of performative eating could be problematic for your own relationship with food. It sounds like this comes back to feeling like you're being "watched" by others - which in some cases could be true, since people tend to lack boundaries when it comes to making comments on how people around them are eating.
I think the best approach is to eat in the way that makes you feel comfortable, regardless of who is or is not around. Sometimes you may feel best when you're eating in a way that is best for your personal health, but there will be other times when you want to eat for the joy of eating itself, and health may not be front of mind. Sometimes, you'll have to make do with foods that aren't your favorites OR fitting within the health standards you've set for yourself, just due to the environment you're in.
But if you're at a social gathering and people are saying, "hey, come on, eat some ______", you should be able to politely decline and have the conversation end there, without needing to go into your reasons. I also think it's kind of nice to not share your reasons, since you could reduce another person's enjoyment of a food by saying something like "I'm not eating cake because I am trying to eat 'healthy'" :)
You do such a nice job Brittany, providing different perspectives on eating habits!
It's funny though, how my own public eating habits are just the opposite of what you describe in this article. Rather than wearing my diet on my sleeve as a "badge of honor", I try to eat "normal" in public, while for medical reasons, try to do better at home to keep my saturated fat and cholesterol intake to within recommended guidelines. Do you have a perspective on "closet dieters"?
Interesting point! I think any kind of performative eating could be problematic for your own relationship with food. It sounds like this comes back to feeling like you're being "watched" by others - which in some cases could be true, since people tend to lack boundaries when it comes to making comments on how people around them are eating.
I think the best approach is to eat in the way that makes you feel comfortable, regardless of who is or is not around. Sometimes you may feel best when you're eating in a way that is best for your personal health, but there will be other times when you want to eat for the joy of eating itself, and health may not be front of mind. Sometimes, you'll have to make do with foods that aren't your favorites OR fitting within the health standards you've set for yourself, just due to the environment you're in.
But if you're at a social gathering and people are saying, "hey, come on, eat some ______", you should be able to politely decline and have the conversation end there, without needing to go into your reasons. I also think it's kind of nice to not share your reasons, since you could reduce another person's enjoyment of a food by saying something like "I'm not eating cake because I am trying to eat 'healthy'" :)