Let’s be real for a minute. We live in a world that doesn’t know how to shut up about diets.

Everywhere you look, there’s a new diet trend, a miracle food, a fast fix promising to solve all of your “problems” (which, spoiler alert, are often made up by the diet industry in the first place). From social media to magazines, from celebrity endorsements to influencers pushing wellness products. It’s loud, it’s constant, and it’s exhausting.

And for those of us who’ve had a complicated relationship with food, whether due to disordered eating, an eating disorder, or just growing up in a culture that normalises restriction, this noise can feel like a minefield. You start questioning: Can I just eat without it meaning something?

I’ve been there (and still here) – stuck in the middle of a war between my mind, my body, and all the messages the world keeps feeding me. A place where food wasn’t a choice, it was a moral decision. Good or bad. Healthy or unhealthy. Clean or dirty. You weren’t just eating, you were either succeeding or failing.

And let’s talk about that for a second. The idea that food is a reflection of our worth. We’ve been taught that the things we eat define us, that our bodies are somehow an extension of our diet. If you’re good, you eat only this. If you’re bad, you eat that. As if eating an extra piece of cake or skipping a meal is a character flaw or strength. It’s all a cycle that messes with your head and leaves you thinking: Is food the problem, or is it me?

Here’s the thing: food isn’t the problem. It’s the culture around it.

In a world obsessed with dieting, recovery isn’t just about healing your relationship with food, it’s about unlearning everything you’ve been told. It’s about giving yourself permission to eat just because and not feel like you need to explain it. You don’t need a diet plan to validate what goes in your body. You don’t need to justify your food choices to anyone, especially yourself.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Unlearning diet culture feels like trying to unlearn how to breathe. It’s not just about eating when you’re hungry or stopping when you’re full. It’s about disconnecting from the deep-rooted messages that tell you food is something you control or manipulate, not something you nourish yourself with. The real work is in teaching your brain that food is fuel, not punishment, not reward, and definitely not the enemy.

It’s about reclaiming joy around meals. It’s about cooking, eating, sharing food without guilt hanging over every bite. It’s about learning to trust your body again, not second-guessing yourself every time you make a food choice. It’s about stopping the mental gymnastics that tell you one meal can ruin everything.

But let’s not sugarcoat it. It’s hard. And there are days where the noise gets so loud, it feels impossible. There are days when the temptation to diet creeps back in, or the urge to restrict comes out of nowhere. You’ll see someone on your feed talking about the “latest cleanse,” and for a moment, you’ll wonder if maybe it’s something you should try. But the truth is, you don’t have to get caught up in it.

You have the power to take a step back, breathe, and realise: You are not a project to be fixed.

You don’t need to “improve” yourself with diets. You are enough as you are. Right here. Right now.

In recovery, healing your relationship with food isn’t linear, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Some days will feel empowering, some will feel like a setback. But every single day you make the choice to eat without guilt, to trust your body, to reject the idea that you need to be fixed. That’s a step forward.

Healing your relationship with food isn’t about getting back to a “perfect” way of eating, it’s about finally breaking free from the toxic messages we’ve been fed our entire lives. It’s about unlearning the shame and embracing the freedom to just be with food. It’s about moving past the obsession and finding peace.

And for those who aren’t in ED recovery, it’s the same thing. Take a moment to sit back and challenge those thoughts in your head. Do you really dislike cake or biscuits, or have you just been told that they are bad? Do you really like salads with no dressing, or no carbs on weekdays, or is this just healthy? Take some time to review your relationship with food, as you’ll be surprised how much of diet culture has found its way into your head. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to raise your kids surrounded by diet culture, meal times, healthy vs unhealthy food sources – so why do it to yourself? Protect and heal yourself now, so that the next generation can be brought up loving food and having a good relationship with it – whatever that looks like for them.

So, the next time you see a diet trend or a “clean eating” post, remember: your worth isn’t on that plate. It’s not in the calories, the macros, or the “cleanliness” of your food. Your worth is in who you are, and you deserve to eat what makes you feel good, not what someone else tells you should make you feel good.

Let food be your ally, not your enemy. It’s a tool for living, not for punishing yourself. You are allowed to eat, to enjoy, to nourish, without any explanation. You are allowed to heal.

And that’s enough.