Diet culture is so pervasive that it is nearly impossible to go an entire day without being reminded of its presence. It’s truly mind-blowing how often we encounter something related to diets and dieting! From television to the internet to advertisements, diet culture weaves itself into almost all the content we consume.
Think about the last time you mindlessly scrolled through social media to pass the time. Or listened to a podcast. Or picked up a magazine. How many diet-related ads or posts did you notice? Even worse, how many toxic, body-shaming messages do you think you might have internalized without even realizing it?
Unfortunately, diet culture remains part of the mainstream, whether we like it or not. For this reason, it’s essential to have alternative messages that we can fall back on when it feels like the world is full of shaming and diet quotes. Below, you’ll find over 35 powerful anti-diet and intuitive eating quotes to help reframe the harmful messages of diet culture.
Pick a few of these quotes that resonate with you and repeat them anytime you notice diet culture creeping into your thoughts.
Intuitive Eating 101
Intuitive eating was created in the 1990s by two registered dietitians as the solution to dieting.
Unlike most diets that try to manipulate your natural shape or size, intuitive eating is not about weight loss or changing your physical appearance. Instead, intuitive eating is an approach to health that helps you break free of the diet cycle and reconnect with your body’s natural cues like hunger and fullness.
At its core, intuitive eating is a dynamic process emphasizing the enjoyment of food and exercise, gentle nutrition, and unconditional respect for the body.
Since its introduction, intuitive eating has been shown to have many health benefits, including higher self-esteem, lower cholesterol, and decreased risk of yo-yo dieting, to name a few. Intuitive eating is also frequently used in treating and recovering from eating disorders, especially during the later stages of recovery.
Check out this comprehensive guide to the 10 principles of intuitive eating to learn more about intuitive eating.
Why You Need Intuitive Eating Quotes
(Please note that this paragraph contains some short descriptions of diet quotes. You can skip ahead to the intuitive eating quotes if this part isn’t for you.)
We’re all inundated with diet culture on a daily basis. Whether we realize it or not, we’re internalizing messages of dieting. Sometimes these messages are obvious, like when diet programs advertise their products. However, sometimes these messages are more subtle and harder to pinpoint.
Either way, most of us are exposed to diet culture to the point that it can feel second nature. For example, you’re likely familiar with the phrase “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Even if we know it’s wrong, most of us have the phrase memorized and can recite it by heart. In other words, we’ve internalized it.
Or perhaps the slogan “you are what you eat.” This saying is wrong on so many levels, but perhaps most of all because it reinforces the idea that our worth somehow depends on our health or body.
If we can’t eliminate those shaming, disgusting diet quotes, we can at least replace them with positive, anti-diet messaging.
Below, you’ll find 35+ intuitive eating quotes that you can use as a life raft in the dark sea that is diet culture. Hopefully, you can find the intuitive eating quote that works for you and repeat it as a personal mantra as you move through the world.
Intuitive Eating Quotes to Live By
“Guilt has no place when it comes to eating”
-Evelyn Tribole
Whether it’s through repeated dieting or eating to numb some emotion, we can lose the ability to listen to our body and our hunger. Intuitive eating is a different approach to health that helps us reconnect and trust our bodies again. Because the body knows what it needs, we just need to listen.
“Have you ever noticed that when a particular food is ‘forbidden,’ it can start to occupy your thoughts? When you limit or restrict foods, you give those foods power: the power to take up space in your mind, the power to make you feel guilty, and even the power to ruin your day. Food should not have this much power!”
“Physical activity should never be a punishment for eating.”
“Nutrition is not short for what I need to do to be skinny”
–Dietitian Deanna
“Have you ever considered that trying to control your food cravings may actually be creating those cravings?”
“My mind has a long history of telling me that I’m not good enough, not skinny enough, and not worthy of love. But do you know what? This is the same brain that made me believe that low-fat ice cream tastes just as good as the real thing. I’m beginning to think that not all of my thoughts are true.”
“Intuitive Eaters march to their inner hunger signals and eat whatever they choose without experiencing guilt or an ethical dilemma.”
–Evelyn Tribole
“The number one predictor of overeating is restriction. If you want more control over your eating habits, the answer is simple. Stop trying to be in control.”
Mindful Eating Quotes to Live By
“Mindful eating is about bringing awareness and appreciation to the foods that nourish our minds, bodies, and souls.”
“Contrary to what diet culture tells us, it is normal and healthy to eat for reasons other than physical hunger. The adage ‘food is fuel’ fails to consider the pleasure and satisfaction we derive from food.”
“Mindful eating is very pleasant. We sit beautifully. We are aware of the people surrounding us. We are aware of the food on our plates. This is a deep practice”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
“If you don’t love it, don’t eat it, and if you love it, savor it.”
–Evelyn Tribole
“Listen to your body. It knows what it needs.”
Mindful eating is about awareness. When you eat mindfully, you slow down, pay attention to the food you’re eating, and savor every bite.
-Susan Albers
“Mindful eating replaces self-criticism with self-nurturing. It replaces shame with respect for your own inner wisdom.”
-Jan Chozen Bays, Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food
“Every moment nature is serving fresh dishes with the items of happiness. It is our choice to recognize and taste it.”
-Amit Ray
“My father believes hunger is in the mind. I know differently. I know that hunger is in the mind and the body and the heart and the soul.”
–Roxane Gay
Are you interested in practicing mindful eating but aren’t sure where to begin? Check out the free Mindful Eating Challenge to get started.
Anti-Diet Quotes for Body Positivity and Self-Worth
“What is the best diet for weight loss? It’s a trick question; the answer is none of them.”
“What would you do with all the time and money you would save if you stopped dieting?”
“The problem with weight-loss diets is that they are unsustainable. They vilify certain foods instead of teaching us how to live with those foods or make smarter choices that honor our hunger and health.”
“One day I decided that I didn’t want to lose ‘just a few more pounds’ for the rest of my life…”
-Dietitian Deanna
You have grown so much as a person since your high school years. So why are you still obsessed with the weight that you were in high school? If you’re not the same person you used to be, why are you expected to be the same size?
“Intuitive eating is a journey. Remember that it takes time to unlearn the toxic messages of dieting and fully trust and respect your body again. Give yourself plenty of patience and grace as you travel this new path.”
“I choose to focus on my health and not my weight”
“It is a powerful lie to equate thinness with self-worth.”
-Roxane Gay
“My body is amazing and capable of far more than I realize. That is why I treat it with the kindness and respect that it deserves.”
Check out these positive affirmations for health for even more body positivity quotes.
Final Thoughts
Unlike any diet, intuitive eating offers a better type of benefit: peace with food and your body.
Starting your intuitive eating journey may seem daunting at first, especially considering the prevalence of diet culture. Anti-diet and intuitive eating quotes are a source of inspiration that can help fight the toxic messages of dieting. What are the intuitive eating quotes that you live by? Leave your favorite quotes in the comment section below.