Many of us grew up in an era of punishing diets, prescriptive food rules and constant pressure to shrink ourselves. Cabbage soup diets. Grapefruit diets. Magazine cover promises. “Summer body” deadlines. Calorie counting disguised as “wellness”.
But diet culture hasn’t just influenced how we eat — it has shaped how we see ourselves. Decades of research now confirm what many of us felt instinctively: these approaches damaged multiple generations and contributed to the chronic self-criticism and body disconnection so many of us still feel today.
Midlife, with its hormonal shifts, metabolic changes and emotional recalibration, often brings these old messages to the surface again.
This Journal explores the science behind why diets distort both metabolism and self-image, why many of us struggle to see ourselves as others do, and the evidence-led tools that can move us from comparison and self-sabotage to acceptance, compassion and even awe.
How dieting reshaped our metabolism and self-trust
Restriction-based dieting has been shown to create long-term metabolic and psychological harm:
1. Dieting slows metabolism
Repeated dieting lowers resting metabolic rate — a well-documented effect. The body interprets restriction as scarcity and adapts by conserving energy.
This helps explain why weight loss often rebounds, and why maintaining a lower weight becomes harder after years of dieting.
2. Hunger and fullness cues become disrupted
Cycles of restriction interfere with ghrelin and leptin signalling — the hormones that manage appetite.
Over time, many of us lose touch with what hunger, fullness and satisfaction actually feel like.
3. Cortisol increases
Dieting elevates stress hormones, and high cortisol is closely linked to abdominal weight gain, cravings and sleep disturbance — all of which typically worsen during perimenopause and menopause.
This is one of the reasons many people feel steadier when they support their nervous system with nutrients found in MOOD-FOOD, which includes Magnesium bisglycinate, KSM-66® Ashwagandha and B-vitamins for emotional resilience and hormonal steadiness.
4. Dieting erodes self-trust
Possibly the most damaging outcome is psychological: chronic dieting teaches us that our bodies are untrustworthy.
We learn to override hunger, ignore exhaustion and fear weight gain.
These patterns can persist for decades.
Why many of us struggle to see ourselves clearly: the neuroscience of body image
Body image isn’t a mirror issue — it’s a brain issue. And midlife hormonal shifts make this even more pronounced.
1. The brain relies on internal templates, not just vision
Neuroscience shows that body perception is a composite of memory, expectation and visual input.
If we’ve been self-critical for years, the brain defaults to old templates — not what is actually visible.
2. Stress narrows perception
When the threat system (amygdala) is activated, the brain becomes more vigilant for “flaws”.
Midlife, with its fluctuating hormones and increased stress reactivity, amplifies this effect.
3. Comparison rewires the brain
Research shows that social comparison activates neural circuits linked to threat, shame and social survival.
Years of exposure to airbrushed bodies — now multiplied by social media — reshape these circuits.
These distortions aren’t personal failings. They are predictable neurobiological responses.
But they can be changed.
The generational impact of diet culture: a commercial system built on insecurity
From the mid-20th century onwards, Western wellness and beauty industries built immense commercial power by targeting the insecurities of girls, teenagers and adults.
Tactics included:
- Promoting thinness as virtue
- Selling diets as identity
- Leveraging shame as motivation
- Using pseudo-scientific claims
- Reinforcing stereotypes around weight, discipline and desirability
- Positioning women’s bodies as projects needing constant improvement
This created a cultural inheritance that many of us still carry: self-doubt, self-editing, silent competition, and a deep discomfort with our natural body changes.
Midlife offers the chance to question this system — and consciously step away from it.
So how do we move from criticism to compassion? The science is hopeful.
1. Self-compassion changes the brain
Research by Dr Kristin Neff shows that self-compassion reduces activity in the brain’s threat system and activates the caregiving system, improving emotional regulation and reducing shame.
This shift is one reason many people report feeling more grounded when using adaptogens and minerals in MOOD-FOOD, which support the stress response and help calm reactivity.
2. Curiosity interrupts negative self-talk
Behavioural science shows that replacing judgement (“I look awful”) with curiosity (“What’s going on for me right now?”) recruits prefrontal regions needed for wiser decision-making.
Curiosity is a physiological softening.
3. Naming the inner critic reduces its power
Labelling a critical thought (“There’s that script again”) moves processing from emotional to cognitive networks — reducing the emotional charge.
4. Stable blood sugar reduces cravings and negative rumination
Balancing blood glucose through whole foods, quality protein and plant diversity improves mood regulation and reduces intrusive negative thoughts.
This is the foundation behind PERI-BOOST and MENO-BOOST — nutrient-dense blends designed to support energy, hormones and nervous system stability through whole-food inputs.
5. Awe widens perspective
Emerging research shows that experiences of awe — nature, creativity, connection — reduce body dissatisfaction by broadening self-perspective and reducing self-focus.
Awe creates space: space between who we think we should be and who we actually are.
Reclaiming nourishment: a new relationship with food and self
Moving beyond diet culture does not mean ignoring health. It means redefining health as something rooted in respect, not restriction.
When we nourish ourselves well:
- Blood sugar becomes steadier
- Cravings soften
- Emotional eating reduces
- Energy stabilises
- Cortisol drops
- Inflammation lowers
- Sleep improves
- Weight becomes easier to manage naturally
- Self-trust grows
This is also why many people find that pairing whole foods with targeted daily blends — such as PERI-BOOST for hormonal foundations, MENO-BOOST for inflammation balance, and MOOD-FOOD for emotional steadiness — creates a gentler, more consistent baseline for wellbeing.
The combination of nourishment, compassion and awareness is far more powerful than any restrictive plan.
A future built on acceptance, awe and self-respect.
Self-acceptance isn’t complacency. It’s the foundation from which genuine, sustainable change can happen.
Awe reconnects us to something larger than perfectionism.
Compassion interrupts the violence of comparison. Nourishment restores trust in our bodies.
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