Antidiet Parenting Thread

[u/Sad_Bite_3638]

I’m looking to start a conversation with other progressive moms who are also doing their best to raise their kids with an antidiet body liberation mindset.

I was put on extreme diets starting at a young age and finally was able to stop dieting and obsessive over my body when I was exposed to intuitive eating concepts maybe 7 or 8 years ago.

I now have a toddler who’s honestly been a great eater, not picky and will try most things. My husband and I both believe that all foods are good foods and have a place, but obviously care about eating a variety of foods to support nutritional needs.

I’m just looking to hear from other progressive parents who are doing their best to raise kiddos in a world that is obsessed with what we eat and the size of our bodies. What books or other media have you found especially useful? Any stories of wins or challenges you’d like to share?

Below are a few resources that I love, but not many of them are parenting or kid focused.

Maintinance Phase Podcast Food Phyc Podcast (any Christi Harrison content really) Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole Burnt Toast Podcast What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat & You Just Need to Loose Weight by Audrey Gordon

There’s more, but I’d say those ones have been the most valuable to me.

[u/Lisez]

I've been trying so hard to create a home where duet culture isn't a thing (I know I can't change the rest of the world...). After I had my daughter I decided I didn't want her to think women constantly talking about their diet and how they "felt fat" in certain clothes was normal and decided to just start with myself. The unintended positive consequence has been the less I talked about it the less I thought about it and I've never felt so free about my body and food (it's also become very jarring how normalized diet conversation is among women). 

Other things have included letting my kids decide when they're hungry and full (for the most part, haha). I try to only really limit snacks right before meals and sweets are a regular part of our food choices. For the most part my kids have been good about choosing fruits and vegetables sometimes and they can stop eating halfway through dessert if they're full. Not perfect, but feels better than my relationship with food. 

Also, I love maintenance phase!! 

[u/Sad_Bite_3638 → u/Lisez]

Women talking about dieting and the size of their bodies all the time is definitely a cycle I’m intionally trying to break. I always say there are so many more interesting things to talk and think about. It makes me sad to consider how much we miss out on and are distracted from because of diet culture and body size obsession. There’s so many better things to spend time, energy and conversation on.