In this article, we’re discussing the quote, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” This is arguably the most harmful diet quote ever created and it’s deeply connected to the diet industry. I’ll also share my personal experience with the quote.

This quote has a significant impact on self-esteem, body image, and the diet industry’s influence on long-term weight loss. You might be surprised by how much a quote can impact us.

I’ll guide you through the impact on overall self-esteem and body image, and then explore the origins of this quote. I used to have it as my phone’s background for a long time before I healed my metabolism and broke free from the restrict-binge cycles.

Let’s dive into the quote itself, its impact, and some tips on escaping from this toxic mentality. “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is the worst diet quote ever.

For a long time, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” was my motto when I was personally struggling with restriction and fear of weight gain. After a binge, I would repeat this quote to myself to try and prevent the next binge, to keep myself in a restrictive state and stay in the diet world.

It’s fascinating to me because I’ve always known how powerful our minds are. If I repeated the quote enough, I thought I would start to believe it and feel happy in my body. But what I wanted at the time was to be skinny and to stay away from “bad food.”

Let’s look at a specific example of this around Christmas 2012. My family has a big tradition of having our friends over. We have a feast, complete with appetizers, a grand dinner, and desserts. These days, I look forward to the holidays because it means good food and time with my loved ones. But back then, I felt fear, anxiety, and stress about getting off track. Most of my thoughts were about not eating certain foods or not getting off track, and very few were about enjoying the time with my family and friends.

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” was also my phone’s background when I was in social settings or on vacations. I would remind myself to stay away from the appetizers, to only eat salad for dinner, and to snack on celery. But eventually, I would get really hungry; I’d give in and have some cheese and crackers and then fall into a binge, thinking I’m already off track so I might as well keep going.

When you’re in this mindset of trying to eat as little as possible, it slows down your metabolism, leading to low energy, low libido, weight regain, hormonal imbalances, and irregular periods.

So where did this quote come from? Why is it here? It was actually created by the diet industry. The less dieters ate, the more weight they thought they could lose. They believed they would feel better in the end. However, we know that massive calorie restrictions lead to weight regain and a slowed metabolism.

Our minds are powerful, but we also have to direct our mind in the right direction. It’s crucial to follow sources that are educated and share true education about how our body works.

Looking back, I realize that by posting this quote everywhere, I was seeking external validation from others who were also dieting. We often seek validation from other dieters who are going through the same struggle of restriction with us, and this creates a society that tries to normalize under-eating and skipping nutrients.

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” leads us into a world where we want validation from other dieters because we are scared to change. We’re scared to accept that we shouldn’t be dieting, we shouldn’t be restricting.

After getting my master’s degree and starting to coach full-time, I created a community that teaches about nutrition, how to truly fuel your body, and how to step away from the diet world and into a life of sustainability, freedom, and true long-term happiness.

The diet industry plays a powerful role in our society, making us feel like we can’t eat the foods that don’t have a nutrition label or that are less nutrient-dense. We should aim to be healthy and feel good, rather than focusing on maintaining a skinny figure. Instead of seeking out diet communities, look for communities that educate about nutrition and how to truly fuel your body.