Kelli's Story: When Criticism Becomes Part of the Weight Regain Problem

What happens when losing weight becomes as much about stopping other people's criticism as changing your weight?

Kelli had been dealing with weight criticism since childhood. At fifteen, she began dieting after a boy told her he would date her if she lost weight. Years later, after having two babies within twenty months, she found herself under scrutiny from her husband's family, who believed the solution was straightforward.

Her husband suggested running every day. Her mother-in-law gave her a gym membership for her birthday. Family meals included food specifically intended for dieting.

Behind these apparently helpful gestures sat three familiar judgements: wanting, willpower and weakness.

But Kelli's eating history was considerably more complicated.

Her Greek immigrant parents had experienced food scarcity before moving to Australia. Packaged supermarket foods represented prosperity, opportunity and fitting into their new country. Kelli grew up surrounded by abundant food, with few restrictions on how much she ate.

As an adult, she found herself caught between the food culture she'd grown up in and another family's expectations about weight.

In Episode 65 of Before Dieting, Bronwyn examines how criticism can become part of a repeating weight-loss and regain cycle. Kelli's efforts to demonstrate that she was doing the right thing became intertwined with her attempts to lose weight, while the history of her eating remained largely unexplored.

In this episode: the three ‘w’s of weight criticism, how apparently helpful advice can carry judgement, the reinforcing relationship between criticism and repeated dieting, and why understanding your family food culture can provide information that another diet cannot.

Your next step: Examine your own Family Food Culture

Kelli could tell you about every diet she'd tried. What she hadn't understood was how her childhood food culture had influenced the way she learnt to eat.

Your family food culture may be entirely different from Kelli's, but it has its own history. The foods available in your home, the rules around eating, who made the decisions, and what food represented to your family are all worth examining.

The Family Food Culture diagnostic gives you a structured way to examine that history and identify what you learnt about food and eating long before your first diet.

If Kelli's story reminds you of a woman who has spent years being criticised for her weight, please share this episode with her.

If you've repeatedly regained weight, another set of dietary instructions won't explain that history. Your own evidence is where a different understanding can begin.

Explore the Family Food Culture diagnostic at Weighting for Happiness, or, copy and paste the link below https://www.weightingforhappiness.com.au/family-food-culture-diagnostic