(TW: Discussing food and diets) Recently my parents have been on a bit of a health kick. By health kick I mean that they have become obsessed with sugar and carbs. They aren’t full keto crazy, but it is hard to find bread in my house. I am grateful that I live on campus and can take a break from their obsessiveness, but I find that I have to undo a lot of the messages I am receiving when I live at home. Just yesterday my mom sent me a TikTok from their idol, a man named “Bobby Parish.” He declares foods as “Bobby Approved” if they meet his personnel criteria for food. He even has an app for your phone that you can use to scan products in the grocery store to see if they meet his requirements.
He often shops at Whole Foods, which alone shows the privilege he has to completely remove everything that is contains sugar and vegetable oils. Anyway, my own mother sent me a TikTok of Bobby tasting the new holiday drinks from Starbucks and talking about how much sugar was in each of them. Honestly, I didn’t know how to respond to it. I’m pretty sure one Starbucks drink is not going to drastically affect my health. I have done a lot of work to try to undo some of the things they say to me. But sometimes I catch myself thinking about how much sugar I put in my coffee. But, I think I am doing an okay job because now my TikTok shows me videos of dieticians and nutritionists debunking some of the things Bobby says. It’s funny how my social media algorithm is kind of an indicator of how I view about myself and my relationship with food.
A lot of what we talked about in class during the critical weight studies week really helped solidify that it’s okay to have a different relationship with food than my parents. I really enjoyed listening to the Maintenance Phase podcast, it helps to point out how little we understand about food and people’s bodies. AND I will be eating a frozen pizza for dinner with real crust and putting croutons on my salad.
Unruly Bodies 
Hi,
Tiktok is informative yet it makes us insecure sometimes. You have your own journey with food and the ingredients you choose to put in your body. Takew your time understanding everything and doing what you feel is the best for you. Don’t feel pressured into doing something because of your parents new eating lifestyle. But you are right sometimes I think about all the sugar I put in my body as well. And one day I will be able to control all of that sugar but for now I want to enjoy my sweet foods.
JESUS CHRIST THIS GUY…. I HAD TO BLOCK HIM ON TIK TOK. HE IS FULL OF SHIT, I can name 3 doctors and dietitians with multimillion followings who have basically told him to STFU.
It’s so frustrating to see people getting on their high horses and looking down at other people for what they eat. If a certain diet works for them that’s amazing, genuinely, if they feel good with what they eat that’s fantastic, but I DID NOT ASK. They are not me, I don’t all run off of they’re engine model, we are not carbon copies. Also if they think I have health issues because I eat “trash” that doesn’t mean I have those problems. It’s a pet peeve of mine that I also got from one of my parents, sometimes when they judge me for eating sweets I take another out of spite.
I’ve also been listening to a lot of Maintenance Phase, and it seems like all these diet influencers are just trying to sell something. Not that this food is necessarily bad, it’s inanimate, but this way of thinking, of constantly counting calories, definitely plays into people’s insecurities.
I’ve noticed with these diet influencers, they end up profiting off of their content. In the beginning, they act knowledgable and like they’re doing us a massive favor and “saving” us. Then not too long after, boom- there’s their new protein or diet plan or cook book. Oh here’s the protein I use, use my code and receive 15% off!
Meanwhile the “advice” they’re spilling just creates body dysmorphia and isn’t really good for us. Carbs matter. Our bodies need them. Sugar is okay. Enjoying things are okay. Everything is okay in moderation.
I find that lots of different diets are beneficial and have been heavily researched, but many are treated as a sort of religion. On social media platforms such as TikTok, diets are advertised by a good looking charismatic character who makes promises, often with no evidence. Like cmon how do you not see the comparison to a cult or religion. It seems like your parents needed something to focus onto and the trends on TikTok is what hooked them