When you think of the word ‘diet’ I bet you immediately think of restriction. What we can’t have, when we can’t eat, how we have to reduce our intake, etc. Cutting things out and slimming down, right?
And that is DEFINITELY true! However, I am here to make a case for overconsumption in diet culture as well. Overconsumption would mean consuming something to excess, or much more than you normally would or would be reasonable.
How does this apply to dieting?
Have you ever said something like, “I can eat the whole bag!” Or, “the entire container is one serving!”? If you have, you are participating in overconsumption as it applies to dieting.
EXAMPLE 1
Think about foods that are marketed as healthy alternatives. Like Halo Top ice cream. It says right on the front that you can eat the entire pint for around 300 calories. It’s encouraging overconsumption because it’s healthier. Now, if you had a pint of a more indulgent ice cream such as Ben & Jerry’s or Talenti Gelato (my personal favorite, pacific coast pistachio ::chef’s kiss::) you probably wouldn’t sit down and eat the whole thing. It’s more filling, it has a higher fat and sugar content, so naturally less of it will be satisfying.
But for the Halo Top, it’s pretty unsatisfying (let’s be honest) so you feel like you have to eat more to make it worth it or get your fix. Or it might just be that you are allowed to, no encouraged, to eat more so you feel obligated. It’s healthy ice cream so it doesn’t count right?
EXAMPLE 2
Or, think about swaps. You could eat a “healthier” swap for 5x the amount than a more satisfying alternative for which the same amount of calories would be way less. Say an entire spaghetti squash is 200 calories but only a cup of cooked pasta is 200 calories. Why would you only have a cup when you could have an entire squash?! Well, because one is pasta and one isn’t. But we sacrifice what we really want to have so we can have more of something else.
EXAMPLE 3
Also on the list is anything that’s perceived as healthier. So when we see labels like sugar-free or fat-free or anything similar tell us that it’s okay to eat more than we would of the original alternative because it’s reduced calorie. I know I used to buy sugar-free cool whip, reduced-fat peanut butter, Oreo thins, sugar-free pancake syrup, fat-free cream cheese and similar items just so I could have more.
EXAMPLE 4
Lastly, large serving sizes on light and airy snacks like cauliflower puffs or something similar. You can eat 55 pieces or 60 and because it’s a high number you are more encouraged to eat a lot of that vs. something that might be more filling but you’d be eating less volume.
In all of these cases you are eating a higher volume simply because it’s encouraged as a lower-calorie or diet food. It’s all about how can we eat the most food to feel like we aren’t dieting but actually eating as few calories as possible. I think this can lead to a false sense of health or being fed, and definitely does not lead to satisfaction!
Why is it important for us to eat more vs. eating better quality?