Eating well is, overall, good. Recognizing what your body needs and nourishing it properly is key for a long, healthy life. But the way society tells us to pursue “healthy eating” crosses the line into diet, or even disordered eating, potentially harming your relationship with food — and your body — more than helping it.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to honor your health and to eat in a way that’s genuinely healthy (which has become such a complicated word nowadays). Let’s take a look at the ways diet culture became synonymous with “wellness”, what happens when it takes over your life, and practical ways to break free from the “wellness” trap.”
The Sneaky Ways Diet Culture Hides in “Wellness”
How do you know when “healthy eating” has gone too far or when it crosses the line into diet culture? Let’s break it down the sneaky ways diet culture hides in “wellness”
- It’s food rules in disguise.
Diets used to be fairly obvious, right? Count calories, cut carbs, and track your macros. Now, it’s hidden behind the phrase “lifestyle choices,” like only eating organic, avoiding sugar for your health, or skipping processed food. While these “lifestyle choices” might sound different, they create the same restrictive mindset and have the same impact on us mentally and physically as dieting does.
- Food is “good” and “bad”.
Yes, “good” and “bad” foods have been around for a while, but now there’s brand new words to describe food:
- Clean versus toxic
- Whole versus processed
- Plant-based versus inflammatory
Labeling food this way not only fuels guilt, anxiety, and obsession, but it becomes an identity — “I’m the kind of person who only eats clean” — creating the pressure to maintain that lifestyle at the cost of your actual health.
- The Fear of Doing it Wrong
When you’re trying to eat “healthy” like the wellness gurus teach, soon every food choice becomes a test of worthiness. Suddenly, you’re checking labels for seed oils, lectins, gluten, and dairy so you’re “healthy”. This creates a fear-based eating mindset from influencers and “experts” who don’t have any clinical training, creating overwhelming pressure to optimize every bite.
Here’s what I want you to consider: If your food choices make you more stressed, anxious, or isolated — rather than feeling nourished and free — you might be in a wellness trap.
Can “Wellness” Become a Full-Blown Obsession?
The pressure created by dieting hiding as “wellness” can become a full-time job, and can turn into orthorexia. Defined by OPA Behavioral Health as “an unhealthy obsession with eating only foods deemed ‘pure’ and ‘healthy’”, orthorexia differs from being health-conscious in two ways: intent and impact.
The health-conscious person has a positive impact: enjoys meals without stress, eats a variety of foods without guilt, can be spontaneous with food, and is mentally at ease around food.
The negative impact (orthorexia) feels anxious or guilty if they eat something “off-plan”, avoids social situations because they don’t feel in control around food, spend excessive time researching, and planning, and worrying about food. Worst of all, their body suffers, from fatigue and loss of period to digestive issues and nutrient deficiencies.
How does orthorexia show up in real life?
Often, orthorexia starts from a desire to eat healthier, but then it escalates, typically from a slippery slope of elimination diets (like cutting out dairy, gluten, sugar, and processed foods). Here’s the typical path from good intentions to orthorexia:
- Stage 1 | Well-intentioned focus on health: “I want to eat healthier.”
- Stage 2 | Food rules develop: “I’ll cut out sugar and processed foods.”
- Stage 3 | Fear and rigidity increases: “I can’t eat that — it’s toxic!”
- Stage 4 | Negative impact sets in, such as increased anxiety, isolation, and food obsession
Tips to Break Free of the “Wellness” Trap
If your pursuit of health is making you feel worse, not better, it’s time to reassess. Here are the practical steps to break free of the “healthy eating” wellness trap and start making choices that truly honor your health.
- Notice your food rules and challenge them. Ask “Where did I learn this?” and “Is this actually serving me?”
- Reintroduce foods you’ve been avoiding. Start small. See how it feels.
- Unfollow triggering content. If someone makes you feel guilty about food, it’s not helping.
- Get support. Therapists, intuitive eating dietitians, and community help rewire these thoughts.
- Take my free quiz: If you’re recognizing that you still have some work to do on your relationship with food (hi, hello, that’s pretty much everyone who lives in our society) and you’re curious about what to focus your energy on or what next steps to take, I want you to go take my free quiz called Discover Your Unique Path to Food Freedom.
Wrapping Up
Wellness culture has become a branch of diet culture. While there’s nothing wrong with honoring your health, it can be just as damaging as dieting when taken to extremes.
Health isn’t just about what you eat — it’s about your mental, emotional, and social well-being too. Sometimes, the healthy thing is having the chips and salsa on margarita night with your friends, or getting ice cream with your kids. If your healthy eating rules don’t allow you to participate freely in life, then I’d argue it’s not actually healthy.
Here’s the truth: your body doesn’t need food rules; it needs trust. You can honor your health and be intentional with your nutrition without micromanaging every bite.
Your worth isn’t tied to your diet. You’re worthy just as you are.
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