'90's Era Diet Culture Advice is Back, and I'm Not Here For It

I grew up in the ‘90s, which means I’ve heard my fair share of unhinged diet tips. Some examples? 

“Smoke a cigarette every time you feel hungry.” 

“Tape photos of ultra-thin models on your fridge so you stop yourself from grabbing a snack.”

“Pour your drink over your plate of food after you’ve eaten half your portion so you can’t eat anymore.”

To quote Taylor Swift, I remember it all too well, and if you were around then too, you probably do as well. We made it out to the other side, to a place where we could look back and realize how extreme these tips and what they truly represented…yet somehow, we’ve found ourselves back.

I was scrolling TikTok recently and I came across a post of a woman spraying dish soap all over her food because she “has no self control”.  Honestly? In our current climate, I was fully expecting people who came along after the (temporary) death of diet culture to call this a “genius hack” or whatever. After all, that’s how these tips were framed back in the day.

Luckily, people seemed to see the issue here — because are we really so desperate to undereat that we’re willing to intentionally waste food we actually enjoy? In this economy?!?!

Several commenters pointed out the food waste of it all, and one commenter also clocked how icky this feels from a diet culture perspective. “I hope you find healing,” she wrote. The original poster's reply? “I hope you find humor.”

And listen, maybe I lack a sense of humor, but I just feel like this sort of thing is not funny. Perhaps that’s because I remember how it went back in the ‘90s. Maybe it’s because I'm raising a daughter in this world…and I desperately want to shield her from the messaging I grew up with.

On some level, I get it: We’ve all overeaten from time to time, only to feel sluggish and uncomfortable after. It’s okay to do things that help your avoid that. There’s nothing wrong with watching your portion size, IMO. 

And I don’t know exactly where the line between healthy awareness of what your body truly needs to eat and disordered behavior truly is. I don’t know if the diet tips a la “spray your food to make it inedible” qualify on one side of that line or another.

But I think at the very least, we can all agree that the slope is slippery...right?