Breaking Up Your Diet

Why food should be your lover, not your frenemy.

- M Vinayak

W e've all heard the whispers-keto, paleo, intermittent fasting-diets that promise us not just weight loss but a completely transformed life.

For many, diet culture becomes a constant companion, quietly dictating food choices, instilling guilt when we indulge, and making us feel like food is something to be controlled, managed, and feared. But what if I told you that it didn't have to be this way? What if food wasn't a foe to be conquered but a partner to be cherished, nurtured, and enjoyed? For years, my relationship with food was toxic. I meticulously counted calories, cut out carbs, and labelled foods as either "good" or "bad." My self-worth became entangled with the digits on the scale, and I lived in a constant state of anxiety around food.

Social gatherings became stressful events, as I mentally calculated the "damage" from every meal, and treats were followed by feelings of guilt and shame. Diet culture had convinced me that controlling my food intake would somehow grant me control over my life.

But somewhere along the way, I began to question this narrative. Why should I be at war with something as essential as food? Why should I deny myself the pleasure and nourishment that food offers? After all, food is more than fuel; it is memory, culture, and connection. Whether it's the smell of freshly cooked biryani wafting through the house or the warmth of homemade dal and roti on a rainy evening, food has the power to comfort, to heal, and to bring people together.

I vividly remember the moment I decided to break up with my diet.