It feels like you can’t scroll through your phone for more than five minutes without seeing it: a new "what I eat in a day" video, a miracle workout, or a list of foods you should never, ever eat. It’s all wrapped up in the language of "wellness" and "health," promising to make us feel our best.

But lately, I’ve been wondering if it's actually doing the opposite. I was looking at an ad for a new diet plan the other day, and it hit me: is all this wellness talk just a prettier, more acceptable way of making us feel bad about our bodies?

When I first heard the term "diet culture," I thought it just meant fad diets like Atkins or keto. But I've realized it’s so much more subtle than that. It’s the little voice in your head that labels a slice of pizza "bad" and a salad "good." It’s the constant, nagging feeling that your body is a "work in progress" that's never quite finished or good enough. It’s the idea that being thin is the same as being healthy and happy.

And that's where the guilt trips in, right? You eat the "bad" food and suddenly feel like you’ve failed. A "cheat meal" feels like you're doing something wrong that you need to make up for later at the gym. Don't even get me started on the "before and after" pictures. They’re supposed to be inspiring, but if I'm being honest, they often just feel like a huge sign telling me the "before" version of a person isn't worthy.

Now, I get it—this isn't black and white. People absolutely change how they eat for real health reasons that have nothing to do with a bikini body. A friend of mine has to follow a specific diet for a medical condition, and it's been life-changing for her energy and comfort. That's completely different.

The real question I keep asking myself is about the why. Am I making a food choice because I want to feel energized and take care of my body, or am I doing it because I feel this intense social pressure to look a certain way?

Honestly, the mental gymnastics of it all can be exhausting. The constant planning, the worrying about every meal, and the feeling of being on a hamster wheel of restricting and then feeling like you've blown it—it just creates so much noise in your head.

I’m not suggesting we should all throw nutrition out the window. But I am starting to wonder what would happen if we just changed the goal. What if, instead of focusing on shrinking ourselves, we focused on adding things to our lives that make us feel good? More joyful movement, more nourishing food that we actually enjoy, and a lot more self-acceptance. For me, that feels like a much healthier conversation to have.

"Is all this 'wellness' talk just a prettier way of making us feel bad about our bodies?"

— Maya S., 36

This story was submitted by one of our readers. We share it here to give voice to real experiences and perspectives.