How Almond Moms Became The TikTok-Friendly New Face Of Diet Culture

[@Emma-zq3ep]

I can't hear "moderate to severe" without automatically saying "plaque psoriasis" in my head. Whoever came up with that ad campaign deserves an award.

[@haleymist09]

LOL 😂

[@sleepingone]

ulcerative colitis for me 😂

[@rmcnally3645]

😂😂😂 all I read was "moderate to severe" and finished it with "plaque psoriasis" 😅 🤷‍♀️✌🏻

[@thishappycrafter272]

😂😂😂

[@danielleraso5419]

Lol me too and i dont even know what that is

[@ariwl1]

I'm not on Tik-Tok so every time Chelsea brings it up I feel like an anthropologist looking into a world I never knew existed. Me: Almond moms? That's a thing? Chelsea: Right now "Almond Mom" videos have amassed over 940 million views. Me: ...Oh.

[@elly7199]

Seriously!! I rely on TFD to keep me updated on these societal trends.

[@CrystalRicotta]

No Tik tok for me either. Yes China is spying on you lol of course they are.

[@CaitlinMaeLorenzana]

If it makes you feel any better, I am on TikTok and haven’t come across this yet!

[@somethingcooliguess]

Yes this, Tiffany Ferg, and Tara Mooknee expose me to the most fascinating internet phenomena that also sound exhausting.

[@ashieash46]

😂so true!!! It’s the first time I have heard of almond moms

[@BrittanyCollinsBand]

The cancer comment really hit home. I still vividly remember how my heart broke when my grandmother proudly proclaimed (after being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing chemo therapy) that she had lost X amount of weight. It made me so sad that we’ve been so brainwashed to believe weight loss is virtuous that we are happy about weight loss even when it is clearly an indicator of our bodies not thriving. I suddenly recalled every time some woman I’ve known has proudly proclaimed that they lost weight while sick.

[@alexandrac591]

This is really sad and familiar. My mom endured something similar. She's recovered from that now, but it upsets me a lot when she talks about her breakfast choices (soup) and emphasizes how it is "low in calories" as a positive thing. Like, maybe she needs some calories in the morning?!

[@mariamelnitskaya4493]

Same with my boyfriend’s grandma. She’s been hospitalised with covid, was quite close to death and afterwards was saying “oh, this cloud has a silver lining, I’ve lost 5 kilos”. Dear God…

[@amanda_ash]

TW: eating disorders Thank you for talking about this, I just lost my aunt (second mom) to orthorexia. It was an extremely traumatic way to watch some one end their life. She maintained a highly restrictive diet for many years, until things just spiraled out of control. It was very much a fixation on purity and self-control. Also, she, like many women of her generation, was extremely fat phobic. It was just this toxic mix of fat phobia, goopy new age woo woo, and extreme religiosity (she was obsessed with all types of purity). It was so hard to deal with because she would just deflect with, ‘I’m eating healthy, you’re eating toxic processed things.’ She had a whole industry (that was taking advantage of her) to back her up. Back in her high school (70’s) year book there’s a photo of her wearing a groovy looking patch that said ‘fight fat.’ Well, she won. She died weighing 55 pounds. Please, if notice yourself (or anyone you care about) restricting foods and/or doing dangerous ‘holistic’ treatments, get some help if you can. This is no joke.

[@DemureSpectabilis]

How awful. Hopefully someone reading this today will use this as the catalyst for getting the assistance they need to be truly healthy, not the “wellness” industry‘s definition of living well.

[@Monicalala]

I’m so sorry. Orthorexia sufferers are obsessed with eating healthy and oftentimes that goes with having a healthy BMI. Her weight of 55 lbs sounds like she was undereating. May she rest in peace and my condolences to your family. 💐

[@alexandrac591]

I am so so sorry for your loss. I'm sad that she went through all that.

[@goosewithagibus]

55lbs is insane. How tall was she?

[@IceGoddessRukia]

YOOO I audibly GASPED. 55 POUNDS??? At that rate your organs are pooping out. JFC

[@lesliemartin1520]

It's sooo hard as a mom not to fall into this trap. The pressure I feel to make sure my kid is healthy and eating fruits and veggies every day, staying away from sugar, etc. is high because I want him to have a healthy life. And I know, for better or worse, people who are overweight get judged differently in this world. My husband and I run naturally on the heavy side. None of us will ever be influencer thin, and I don't want us to be. I just want my kid to be healthy and have a good life. But junk food is everywhere all the time! Ugh. Sometimes life is impossible and you just can't win.

[@vulpixelful]

I feel sorry for parents nowadays. Sugar is in everything! And too much of it. Most store-bought juices are worse than pop now. My and my partner switched to water (including carbonated, flavored with fruit, no sugar added, etc) for every day drinking years ago. Now we joke that we only have water and alcohol, so any kid visiting us is SOL 😂

[@BioBioLove]

Yes as a mother I face a similar challenges. I want the best for my child and the best is to be healthy and have a healthy weight. Me and my husband need to actively work to not spiral out of the healthy weight range, which we do cause we want to live as long as possible 😅 everywhere around me I see kids obsessed with sugar and I really want something better for my kid. Hearing the almond mum traits I do identify with some. “Keeping no processed food in the house” sorry but why do I need chips and chocolates in the house? We arent meant to eat these stuff every day, are we? Or “keeps ingredients vs. snacks” am I suppose to keeping lunchables on stock to not give my kid orthorexia? Eg. I keep bread and nutbutter what’s wrong to make a nut butter sandwich? What kind of snacks am i suppose to have to not teach disordered eating? Are bananas not ok? How many chocolates is the balance between obesity and orthorexia?

[@SusanaXpeace2u]

Yes, I was an almond mum, then my daughter pushed back and ate a lot of junk food. She is a bit overweight now. I say nothing now but I agree, the world we live in makes it hard to win

[@victoriaelliott8753]

Yes 🙌🏻 I don’t want my kid to have a binge eating problem, but also we all know that we feel better when we eat more whole/unprocessed foods. I try to offer lots of variety, but currently we have a hard stop on pop and candy (he’s only 3 so I don’t think he needs to try that yet.) We have a homemade sweet treat everyday after daycre and I find that helps curb his and my sweet cravings

[@lindag.9069]

I mean, maybe reconsider the approach of trying to make your kid less likely to experience weight stigma by perpetrating it. I had a mom who tried to "protect me" from the harsh judgment of the world by controlling my diet and forcing me to play sports I had no interest in, therefore I blamed myself for failing to be thin and believed I deserved to be judged negatively or bullied. (Also, the more she tried to make me thin, the fatter and more confused I got. Whoops.) The onus is not on your child to be thin for others so they won't judge them, your job as a parent is to build a confident, nurtured, supported child who knows that they will be okay even IF people might judge them for their body size or anything else they have little control over. You might benefit from reading the work of Virginia Sole-Smith, who has a book directed at parents called Fat Talk. All foods can fit into our diets. Restricting "junk food" just adds to the allure for kids, which you probably feel yourself if you are trying to not eat certain foods, and can create mental and physical health problems, too. Your child will not have a good life if you are fixated on their weight and eating habits -- you just become their first bully and experience of weight stigma.

[@heyjustj]

Your comment about cancer was great. I’ve always considered myself pretty healthy with a good relationship to food. After being diagnosed with a rare stomach cancer I had a few people not overtly say I didn’t take care of my body or that somehow I was unhealthy in my eating, but I could tell that’s what they thought. And many suggesting that I could cure my cancer through changing my diet. While my doctor basically said “sure healthy eating will help, but you can’t eat your way out of cancer” Sure some cancers can be traced back to life decisions but so many we just don’t have data on. Even Lance Armstrong got cancer and I’d put him up there with people in peak physical condition.

[@ariwl1]

Yep...a relative of mine was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer last year, and there's no clear indicator what causes it. My relative themselves asked their doctors multiple times if it was anything they did and the doctors had to reassure them multiple times it wasn't.

[@vulpixelful]

Yep, health isn't guaranteed even if we are in "peak shape". I focus on activities and nutrition that make me feel better on a day-to-day basis instead of cancer stats. Cancer is a mutation, it's not always predictable.

[@Ariel310791]

Chelsea à chaque fois que je t'entends parler français je suis impressionnée par cet accent "aune flique"❤

[@andifadeaway11]

People want to feel like they have control over their lives, and the idea that someone could get cancer even if they're doing everything "right" scares them and makes them feel out of control. That's why they want to blame it on you. Sorry you're going through that though, definitely not nice to already be dealing with disease and have people pile on by acting like it's a personal failing.

[@GoldenVulpes]

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My dad got diagnosed with a similar type of cancer. He was the healthiest guy I knew. Ran marathons, ate healthy. Cancer is an asshole and doesn't discriminate.

[@timp1389]

Am I wrong to think all 90s moms were almond moms? I grew up surrounded by my mom, aunts and older cousins who always had conversations about the latest diet and what size they currently were or wanted to get too.

[@TheMagdalenaBB]

My mum wasn't one, but she is an immigrant. I am sure they were everywhere in the 80s and 90s. However, social media amplifies it. You also cannot call it weight loss anymore. At least in the 80s and 90s, there was less bullshit around it.

[@thisisyourfinalwarning]

I feel the same way, as a child who grew up in the 90s, all the women around me was on some kind of diet.

[@pisceanbeauty2503]

Fortunately I did not have that mom, but that kind of rhetoric was common among women of the era, especially a certain kind of middle/upper class, keeping-up-with-the-Jones type set.

[@candifred1234]

My mom always said eat until your full.she wasn't an almond mom but my.mother in law never left that mindset.

[@teresamesa]

my mom wasn't because she came of age in a feminist group. she never preached feminism to me but i ended up in the same organization as her. but she is definitely an exception, all of my aunts and friends moms are like that.

[@cramperella]

“Wellness” has replaced religion. Just look at the language. Good vs bad foods, feeling guilty or in control. Envying people who are virtuous in relation to food and health above all else. Feeling like a moral failure if you’ve sinned and can’t adhere to strict diet dogma. Judging harshly or shunning people who don’t follow the same body or weight ‘religion’ especially women. We need to stop moralising food and eating. It’s just food, not the devil.

[@ifetayodavidson-cade5613]

I believe in X = I will eat X. I don't believe in Y = I refuse to eat Y.

[@lob1523]

Ok but the ingredients part growing up Mexican we never did pre packaged snacks in our household. It was more of a American thing to have packaged snacks. My mom was not a almond mom but anytime I asked to buy snacks she would always tell me to just eat whatever leftovers we had.

[@KatrinaAmyT]

Agree. What's wrong with buying ingredients instead of packaged food??

[@leo9597]

@@KatrinaAmyTit’s not that that’s a problem in itself, it’s a problem when it’s part of a pattern of other behaviours.

[@xarenigalindo9774]

My mom use to say “you want a snack? Eat fruit! Or a tomatoe with lemon and chili or a carrot or a cucumber”. Those were the options! Not packaged food, or snaks, even popcorn where made from scratch!

[@RachaelTheRed]

I only very recently realized that my own body insecurities and disordered eating habits stemmed from my mom's "Almond Mom" tendencies. She was never controlling about what I ate and we ate pretty normal food as kids but she was always on a diet and always talking about how she wanted to lose weight. She's in her 50s now and is on keto and makes herself a special diet friendly version of whatever she serves my dad for dinner. I even remember her going on a liquid diet when I was 6 or 7 because she was so frustrated that the weight she gained from being on bed rest while pregnant with my brother would not come off fast enough. And now, if she gains weight while on the maintenance phase of her keto diet, no matter how little it is, she instantly goes back to "phase one" to lose those few extra pounds. It's been kind of world shifting to wake up to this realization in my 30s. Now that I'm aware of it, I see it in every conversation with my mom and I've had to be vigilant about constantly reminding her that I can't participate in those conversations because they're triggering. Unfortunately, she just doesn't seem to get it. She knows I've struggled with binge eating but will casually talk about how she can't believe how much people will eat in one sitting or how people who eat until they're sick are disgusting... And I have to be like "Mom, that's an eating disorder. Have some compassion." It's absolutely insane.

[@lijohnyoutube101]

I think you are being a bit passive aggressive and should be kind but way more blunt and tell her she really should go to therapy.

[@LilyDenholm]

@@lijohnyoutube101 you should go to therapy

[@Mallory-Malkovich]

I don't know any person of any size or age or economic bracket that likes the way they look. That is the most messed up thing about our culture - that we have all accepted that our society is making us hate ourselves for profit. This is the Bad Place.

[@RaccoonInACocoon]

My mother never said I needed to lose wait, but at the same time she always mentioned how much skinnier she was at my age 🙄

[@Forceprincess]

I try with my daughter to avoid calling foods good or bad. I give access to foods with high nutrition content and hope for the best. But she is allowed to have chips cookies or candy sometimes. These are "sometimes treats", that taste yummy but have low nutrition. My moms house was full of cupcakes one day and my kid asked for an apple. I'm not saying my way will work for everyone, but I try to achieve balance and positive associations with food.

[@AmyOfEarth]

The huge irony of the Moon Juice founder is that she quite obviously gets Botox and fillers and yet sells the most insanely “pure” diet supplements and beauty products. I’m quite certain you could achieve the same look by just getting the injections and skipping the mushroom powder.

[@Zeverinsen]

Maaan, I just want to be at a weight where my body doesn't constantly ache from the pressure of my body weight. Sometimes it feels like people are vilifying losing weight regardless of the reason, and I get so tired of hearing that everyone and everything is "fatphobic", when it really isn't. My mother is basically the opposite of an "almond mom", and for that reason all her kids (including me) are overweight overeaters who are quite unhealthy. I feel like if we so openly want to discuss these almond moms, we should also talk about the effects of having junk food moms too, because that also has lasting effects on your body and psyche. I moved out almost 10 years ago, but I _still_ struggle with knowing when I'm hungry or full, with guilt about not finishing meals, overeating or just knowing what a normal portion size is.

[@sierratree93]

I grew up with what was probably the opposite of the almond mom, but it had a similar effect. My mom was morbidly obese and housebound, and it honestly made all the "bad" foods scary because it made me feel like eating certain things would make me end up like her.

[@HeatherSchrivener-el2mx]

Yes, this! My parents aren’t that bad, but they’re both the fattest and unhealthiest members of their families. Meanwhile I nosedived into neurotic levels of fitness/dietary fixation.

[@vulpixelful]

There has to be a balance. Some kids really do only eat out of boredom or sadness outside meal and snack times, and need help to learn to self-soothe. And I wish I was told it was fine to not "empty my plate" because I ate well past my satiety cues, and I had to do the work as an adult to get back in touch with my body. And you couldn't pay some kids to stay hydrated 😅 But obviously, under-feeding and weight comments are harmful. Even if you do have an overweight child, focusing on how it feels better to eat better and stay hydrated will make any changes they make sustainable. Childhood diets are not sustainable at all.

[@ifetayodavidson-cade5613]

I think the lack of balance is a symptom of the lack of balance in the USA. Our income inequality is clearly shown in wealthy neighborhoods with many grocery stores with beautiful, varied produce, and poor neighborhoods with food deserts, and tired looking produce. We have kids in $$$ travel team sports with access to specialized coaches, and other kids who are at risk for violence from humans, autos, and stray dogs when trying to go for a walk.

[@polamundson2660]

The most nuanced and common sense comment! Thank you!

[@TB-rx1ue]

I grew up with “finish your plate as there are people starving in Africa” 💀

[@annaleena1975]

​@@TB-rx1ueThat was my grandmother's go-to line in the 90s whenever I couldn't finish my food.

[@erinsymone1645]

Some kids do eat out of boredom and to self soothe (I was one of them). Dieting still wasn’t the answer for me, and only left me as a fat adult. I needed to be taught how to regulate my emotions, not count my calories. Controlling food intake will never be the answer for these kids, no matter how uncomfortable adults were with my weight (I was chubby at best back then) - which is what it really came down to.

[@K_Rae_Bee]

This message is important and I think there is a lot of truth in it. I struggle with these issues as a mother of a 15 year old. She has gluten sensitivity and lactose intolerance. I am often trying to encourage her away from those foods and to add more food that won't make her feel terrible or cause negative symptoms. She absolutely feels better when she eats more whole foods. I try to be careful not to be dogmatic about it. I try not comment on her choices and enjoyment of processed foods/ snacks. It's hard though because I know damn well she is going to feel crappy after some of these choices. I think it's best to be kind and encouraging as she figures it out in her own. I don't claim to know the answer though.

[@jucxox]

I would have loved a mother like you, and deeply appreciate where you are coming from. My mom couldn’t care less what I ate so I ate everything terrible you could possibly eat. I have had to teach myself better choices and continue a life long struggle with my weight and other health issues. I had no control and used food as an emotional coping tool instead of nutrition for my body. I would never wish doing it alone on anyone. I believe we struggle so much in the US because no one wants to tell others how bad what they are putting in their body is.

[@vulpixelful]

This is such a healthy way of approaching this 🥹

[@maggierobertson2962]

Wow. This sounds so hard! I have littles and am not in the stage yet of giving me kids this kind of autonomy. Kudos on the thoughtful parenting. I can only imagine how you have to bite your tongue.

[@vulpixelful]

​@@jucxox Yeah we don't live in a country where it's not rude to comment on somebody's weight. But that also means we're free to almost harm ourselves with overeating or eating _too much_ junk. Some occasional junk is fine, obviously. We can get poor health effects from foods marketed as good for us, which is frustrating. Like, most store yogurt is just candy. Plus they literally engineer some food to trigger our dopamine centers to get us hooked on it. It's wild what they can do with food chemistry.

[@ifetayodavidson-cade5613]

I grew up with food allergies and was grateful that my mom didn't have food issues to push on me. She encouraged me to read labels, speak up for myself, be prepared (Benadryl and epi-pen), and NOT cheat because itching hives are a clear tell. In addition to her feeling better when eating whole foods, now is a great time for her to find a type of movement/exercise that she LIKES in order to build healthy habits as a child. It's easier to do in childhood compared to adulthood. Also, I find that regular exercise encourages healthy eating because it's unpleasant to exercise when your stomach is full of processed foods.

[@lauradogg534]

Don’t get me wrong, I agree with most of your points. I always go back to the world our parents grew up in. My mom is Asian and her worth was built on how slender she was and how good of a cook she was (freaking ironic really). It’s not right, but I get why she passed that ideology onto me and my sisters. I feel like the “almond mom” trend is exclusively white, but it’s rampant in the Asian community as well. It’s just more accepted and laughed at because it’s all of the moms that talk and act like that.

[@werepanda4991]

Yep. My grandmother is from Taiwan and so my mom is Taiwanese and white so I really feel this. My sister and I got into weight training and recently my mom mentioned that she realizes her life would be easier if she were stronger. For instance she loves wood working and gardening and sometimes she struggles to load up her vehicle with the needed supplies, just to name one example. But even that being said, she admitted she was afraid of putting on muscle and feeling any bigger. I won’t say the exact number because I know that can be triggering to some, but she said she hated getting up to that particular number and felt was way too big. You have an Asian mom so you know that number was wildly low to be considered ‘so big.’ It made me so sad that she is so hard on herself that she can’t even think of putting on weight that would help her hobbies and projects that enrich her life. At that point it can’t even arguably be considered ‘healthy.’

[@Ykoz2016]

My mom let me do whatever I wanted when it came to food. We were broke so there were some tense dinner moments involving our lack of resources that might have been handled better. Like being yelled at to finish my plate by my dad, or my mom being frustrated / annoyed/ tired if we complained the food was gross (because there was no other options. ) But never was the commentary about my personal health or weight. And while the money talk accidentally gave me some eating issues (finishing my plate no matter how full) as a side effect, I don’t have any others that come directly from them. But honestly? I kinda wish I did. I wish we had been more of a sit down, planned meal type of family. The kind with well-balanced, thought-out menus that always had a vegetable side dish. Instead of the junk food/ frozen food filled fridge free-for-all we could open at will. I wish I had been told to not eat so fast or to wait 15 minutes to make sure I was still hungry. Cause I really do eat too fast, and ALWAYS regret not waiting when I’m so stuffed I’m sick. This is stuff I had to learn on my own as an adult. Bad habits formed in childhood I’ve had to practice unraveling. I might have resented it back then (the independence to eat what I want when I want was cool to me as a kid) but I’d appreciate the habit building now. Because it turns out I feel better when I eat better (and yes better is subjective but I mean behaviors like not mixing up hunger cues with sugar cravings, or eating 90% bread only). I think like anything it’s about balance. I think I was raised too far the other way. But I also don’t have body image issues from my mother or childhood so that’s a huge win. 👍

[@vulpixelful]

I had a similar childhood. By the time I was a teenager, I was on my own for dinner, and they didn't care that I was using my min wage job money to get takeout or cheap ramen every day. I had chronic migraines as a teenager and young adult. I thought I had a brain tumor or something. When I decided to unlearn bad eating habits as a 30-something, including not drinking nearly enough water, I don't have that issue. And I used to have to get an IV drip for migraines that lasted _days_ It's weird to think about my parents watching me go through that without any curiosity around what I was eating.

[@Ykoz2016]

@@vulpixelful God, the headaches sound awful. I’m so sorry you had to go through that! I’m glad you don’t get them anymore. (I’m also sorry you had to pay for your own food as a teenager. I get how hard that is). To be fair to my mom, my parents weren’t home 99% of the time. I was a latch key kid and fended for myself at dinner starting about 7 years old. Often she didn’t get home till after I was asleep. But still. She never really asked what I ate. Or thought about what was in the cupboards/ fridge as long as they weren’t empty. If I had said to her “don’t you want to know what I ate today?” she’d probably only look at me and say “why? Are you hungry?” . We just….never though beyond that. I don’t think it would even occur to her. The opposite of an almond mom 😂

[@katarh]

I'm with you, there has to be some middle ground. My mother had mental health issues and we had major food insecurity when I was a teenager for a few years. It got better when I was close to graduation, but I developed a different kind of disordered eating, more like that of a stray cat, eating food whenever I saw it because I never knew if we'd have anything made for dinner when I got home. That let to a whole host of other problems - including actual, genuine obesity - as a result. (Add in what I know now was undiagosed ADHD-PI, and somehow my brain associates food and treats with "reward." That's.... that's not good. I'm not a dog!)

[@lijohnyoutube101]

My husband grew up with a lot of food issues due to poverty.

[@mattmatical2235]

My step mom is just like this. Her newest diet, weight, and current body image are her biggest topics of conversation. She’s a nice person and it’s sad that so much of her personality is eclipsed by her constant desire to be thinner. What a waste of a life.

[@ILikeBigCatsAndICannotLie]

In my house we were only allowed to eat certain foods. Everything was the light, diet, fat free version. Kids in other households were average weight because they got to eat a variety and we because we were eating too few calories on my mom’s diet food likely ate more to make up for it (at grandmas and school) and ended up weighing more than average despite my mom’s restrictions.

[@abbydonaldson3421]

I'm fully on the rootbeer float auntie campaign! That being said, I think it's equally important to remember that almond moms don't have to be the pinnacle of 'thin health' (i.e. diet culture/American standards of health). Your mom can be overweight and just as critical of your food consumption. Frankly, I see a few solutions going forward. I think talking about food in a helpful versus fun way is good (veggies are helpful for our bodies; chocolate is fun for our bodies), but also, steering away from a culture in which we find commenting on -bodies- is acceptable. If your child is unhealthy, inactive or poorly nourished, then the solution should be focusing on nourishing foods and fun movement, not appearances. Similarly, I think complements will do well to move towards choices as well. I don't want to hear how pretty my birth mark is, I want to know you like the outfit I had the autonomy to choose and express myself with. Natural beauty is amazing, but so is commending people for the choices they make over the body they happened to have been born in. Love this, love you! Thanks always

[@dimplesd8931]

So true. My mom, Af. American, “battled” her weight for years. I have done the same but I don’t discuss diet or weight with my nieces even though in my head I hear my mother’s voice when one of them gains weight. My sis in law, who’s mom is a T1D and super thin, and I are trying to let the girls live in their bodies and navigate their weight and diet but it’s hard because the cultural norms are to fat or diet shame girls. #croissantauntie 😊

[@elizamartin4263]

This comment!!!

[@MsSarcasticSmirk]

Never heard of almond moms before. This video unlocked so many memories of terrible things my mother has said, I stopped watching yesterday and am still feeling the effects of that anger this morning. To anyone who reads this and was subject to the same emotional abuse, I send you love, comradery, and acceptance. Know that you're beautiful.

[@elizabethleighton9195]

I wonder how much of the "wellness" food advice is the natural outgrowth of our society making healthy eating strictly an individual choice. The burden of eating healthy is placed on individuals to make the right choice and by extension understand nutrition. Many food companies then want to use least expensive ingredients (those ingredients are less likely to be healthy), have their products taste good (more easily achieved with salt and sugar/sweetener), and market those products as healthy. It ends up being that consumers have to navigate a confusing mess of information and marketing. It's no wonder we have "almond moms," paleo/keto, and many other diet grifts.

[@wordstowordlessthings]

recently diagnosed with adhd and struggling to process that during my childhood i often *was* eating out of boredom in the truest sense of the word (being chronically dopamine deficient), but that it's even more fucked up that i was told over and over by my parents and other adults that i could just stop if i wanted to badly enough.

[@Michaeleism]

Thank you for mentioning the ADHD factor. I went through the same issues with dopamine deficiency and using food as a coping factor.

[@elizamartin4263]

As many people are sharing, this concern is compounded by the fact that the American diet (through little fault of our own) is EXTREMELY unhealthy. Even "healthy" foods like fruits are much lower quality than elsewhere in the world, and there's a ton of sugar in products that aren't even meant to be sweet. Combined with our car dependency, it's hard to strike a balance!

[@SetyTheBlue]

So true. Current American taste seems to run on sugar. I get meal kits sometimes, and the recipes call for added sugar where no sugar is needed. At least for meal kits, I just skip that. Never had an issue where I thought I should have followed their instructions and added sugar. I also shop in Indian and Asian grocery stores. The quality of vegetables, fruit, spices, even premade foods are much higher, and way less sweet.

[@vikm1341]

i suffered with anorexia, even though for my height i am considered to be a “healthy weight “. I went to the hospital because I wasn’t feeling well.. and they dismissed it, and just said “ oh everyone just wants to be thing now a days”. Just because im considered “a healthy weight “. I think its also messed up how its normalized as “everyone wants to be thin now a days “.

[@janiec3915]

My mother wasn't an Almond Mom. She was overweight but my father, who was thin, always criticized her for it. So I grew up terrified of getting fat. I was in my 20's during the 90's and jumped on the low-fat, fat-free, no-fat, low carb train. I am thin today but still fear gaining weight. I just try to make the best choices around whole, fresh foods, I'm not beating myself up anymore when I indulge in sweets and stay as active as much as possible. It's such a shame our society is so focused on weight and dieting. It really screws with your mental health.

[@wordstowordlessthings]

i'd only heard effective altruism in the charity sense. there was a book about it outlining how the "sexy" solutions we often throw money behind are not at all useful and often even degrading or bad. while things like mosquito nets to prevent malaria and other "boring" things without a lot of media coverage are the most effectively altruistic in terms of $ to impact.

[@kathy994]

In my opinion, we are too quick to criticize the almond mom but we refuse to acknowledge the society and patriarchal criticism that made her that way. I have an almond mom who use to tell me that hungry means skinny. As I get older, I realize that her whole life she’s been treated poorly because of her larger size and that she did not want the same thing happening to me. Although I am aware that she never worked out these insecurities and perpetuated her struggle onto me and my sisters, I also recognize that she is human and that ultimately all she wanted to do was to protect us. And I love her for that.

[@danielleb6708]

I was thinking something similar. I think almond mom could also be an unprocessed trauma response of mothers who've experienced the negative aspects of not having the "right look" and wanting to spare their daughters that fate.

[@SS-yq9ku]

So sad but true 😢

[@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254]

Can we also talk how diet culture has roots in white supremacy and ableism?

[@JAH-iu3yh]

TLDR…. OK some of the characteristics in the beginning, ie: making healthy swaps might be done to help kids overcome or avoid sugar addiction altogether. My husband admitted to eating sugar straight out the bag when he was young, if I saw my kid doing that I might not keep it around either! Processed packages snacks are known to be addictive, empty calories that are a waste of money. I struggled with the 3 major EDs & although we’re better now, we don’t want our kids going down that path. So we limit those types of foods. No one NEEDS dessert every night. I do make an effort not to comment on my body in front of my girls. And reminded their dad we should not tell our 6 year old to put on weight, to which he agreed. She has our genes, so she’ll be relatively slim & love sugar but it’s our job to keep it in check & be role models. In defense of zoodles & spaghetti squash: what’s wrong with serving a hot bowl of buttered vegetables instead of actual pasta sometimes? Edit: Sorry this is so long… thank you for standing up for moms like me who are just trying to do the right thing! 🤗

[@joelleweir9535]

I personally don't think anything is wrong because some people have different goals (i.e. fat loss or weight loss, medical concerns, aspiring for a healthier lifestyle) but at a certain point it can get very toxic. I think you just know it when you see it

[@amysofia5783]

I honestly didn't think the list at the beginning was bad either. I definitely think it's a problem if you're saying these things because you are ignoring your child actually being hungry, but it is true that sometimes boredom or dehydration masks themselves as hunger and if dinner is in just a couple hours what's wrong with recommending a light snack? Idk I did "intuitive eating" most of my life and while it worked most of my life, there wa da point where I suddenly started to pack on the pounds because I lost sight of what a normal portion size was and I felt like I always had to finish my plate. It's good to have someone reminding you that you don't need to finish the whole plate if you don't want to.

[@vulpixelful]

Yeah the only thing I have a problem with is body shaming. Everything else seems like almost a requirement these days. Also let's keep in mind that Chelsea is in NYC and takes public transit. A lot of people in the US have a much more sedentary lifestyle that we have to adjust our eating habits to.

[@michellewaterhouse6361]

The more I hear about it, the more I take issue with this whole "Almond Mom" thing. Aside from the terrible body shaming, parents today HAVE to protect their kids from what has become a real source of danger. Food today is literally designed in a lab to be highly addictive. It's cheap, everywhere and marketed heavily to kids/teens. Getting back to whole foods and an awareness of nutrition/health is essential. All the while we have to try to balance this with an awareness of ED's in our culture. Videos like this ignore the national, and now global, obesity epidemic and it's devastating impact of everyone, including kids. Late stage capitalism has corporations turning food into a toxic, addictive and nutrition void commodity for profit. Moms who teach nutrition as part of their health for their kids are not at the heart of this problem but there its little to no discussion of the systemic causes.

[@AutumnMoonlight95]

I grew up eating mostly healthy meals. We only had dessert as something special, and it would be a small bowl of ice cream or pudding. Soda was rare. Pizza and fast food was not something we ate. We had Snackwells and grapefruit, the expected Slim Fast shakes that you made from powder, etc. I was very thin for awhile as a kid. Then puberty hit along heavy stress from my home life. I gained weight, and I'm still fat at 46. Becoming physically disabled at 19 didn't help. But if you teach your kids that certain foods are "bad" they will grab for them when you're not around. I ought to know since I resold candy in middle school that I bought from the ice cream man to other kids, my best customer was a girl whose dad was a dentist and she wasn't even allowed birthday cake. People can take any diet to extremes. Being afraid of food is not good. I would think that if you suffered from EDs you would be careful of limiting foods as "bad".

[@amandad6513]

Thank you for shedding light on this topic. I suffered from Orthorexia for most of my life and appreciate that there’s more awareness about it.

[@1MegArbo]

I am Gen X and grew up surrounded by women who were constantly on a diet and have the body dysmorphia to prove it. This is NOT a new thing. It just has a new name.

[@rachelmikulinsky5884]

I grew up with a immigrant mom from the soviet union, so the environment I grew up in was kind of the opposite - you have to finish your meal, you have to eat enough, even if you don't like it. Me and my sister were small when we were little, so she and the aunties around were worried we don't eat enough. This clashed a lot with the diet culture of the 90's around us. Not sure it's much better though. Any forced relationship with food is problematic.

[@unicornishcornish]

Never heard of almond moms. My parents said that you have to eat the meat and can leave the potatoes. We ate healthy out of necessity. Vegetables were cheap and easy to obtain so our plates were filled with veg and had only small portions of meat. If I was hungry between meals I was told to drink water, it actually helped. We rarely had snacks because couldn't afford them or there weren't any in the shops and my parents believed snacks spoilt your appetite for proper food. Which is correct, better eat dinner than a bag of chips. Nobody ever talked about those things in terms of weight, only health and what's good for you and for your body to grow strong. I live in abundance now but still follow these guidelines, not to punish myself or for weight goals, but because it's healthy. I feel unwell after fast food and processed foods so I don't eat them. Home cooked meals make me very happy. I really love food and I'm thin without trying or thinking about it.

[@colettithekid]

For every almond mom there’s gotta be a dozen or so lucky charms for breakfast, little Caesar’s for dinner mom’s.

[@dejah2553]

My mom was similar except the only healthy foods like vegetables or canned food was kept exclusively for some far-off meal for an event or holiday and the only food i was allowed to eat was poptarts and cereal. There were very few meals and i was kind of expected to not eat or just eat some junk.

[@frappalina]

I disagree. Keeping ingredients instead of actual snacks is truly the right thing to do. I am naturally skinny and i can eat anything. But if i eat processed foods, especially sweet snacks, my skin breaks out. It has been like this since i was a teen, now I'm 42. When i was younger i didn't care and you know what happened? I was close to get a fatty liver and pre diabetes! I was on the verge of metabolic disease! Eating highly caloric food is healthy for me. But eating snacks that are full of sugar and preservatives is truly horrible, not because it makes you fat, but because it ruins your body systemically on the long run, and we moms should protect our children from it.

[@Nicole-yw4vq]

Have you ever read about the gut-brain-connection. Not only fatty liver, bad skin are caused by food choices, but also your mental health. I also think it's not about calories, but about quality of food.

[@Chinni_C888]

Same! If I have something highly caloric in the morning, I will be fueled for the whole day. If I eat something traditionally healthy, then I'm hungry and low energy in about an hour or two.

[@ADWebTV]

Yeh I don't get why that is bad.

[@camichiBichi]

What name will our Kids give us? The JUST LOVE YOURSELF AND STOP COMPLAINING, or JUST GET PLASTIC SURGERY IF IT HELPS WITH YOUR INSECURITIES, or JUST KEEP THE PEOPLE THAT AGREE WITH YOUR IN YOUR LIFE, or the LETS MAKE A TIKTOK BABYYY These moms where suffering, in the middle of it. We will do the same. Im glad people reflect on it, but also understand there is other side to their experience

[@elizabethwillis885]

Diet culture messed up my young brain in the 90s. Very thin was in. Even being 140lbs would be considered fat when I was in school. If I had an almond mom on top of the horrific 90s diet culture, I would have been even worse off. I don’t know how that’s possible though. My friends from childhood are all still unpacking the long after affects of the diet culture of our teen years.

[@ruthanderson4925]

It was my dad who taught me the adage, "A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips," and would reminisce about the old days when he lived on cigarettes, Tab, and 'diet pills.' I don't think he ever realized that he had an ED, or that it wasn't a good idea to talk fondly of those days....

[@starsINSPACE]

Nobody made me feel comfortable, supported or safe exercising in my body as a kid, but everyone judged me and said it was my fault if I didn't.

[@alejajm1666]

Same, I have extremely bad coordination and fine motor skills, and I was chastised for not exercising but made fun of and criticized for how I moved.

[@BoringTroublemaker]

This. I was a fat slow kid and when I couldn’t keep up with the other kids in gym class, my teacher made me walk the field during lunch (which was most days). She would say “You owe me a mile” and that “You probably don’t need to be eating anyway”. Probably no surprise that to this day (even at age 41) I will absolutely not step foot in a gym for fear of running into people like her.

[@tygressblade]

I am 5’9 and between 140 to 145lbs. Before I went on dialysis I was 125lbs. The day that I decided to go on dialysis I went to a fancy boutique to try on a ball gown (I never went to my proms). The sales lady (who was 5’2 and 100lbs soaking wet) asked me if I needed a size 10. I told her no I needed a size 2. She looked shocked that she was wrong when I tried on her skinniest size 2 and it was loose. Even women don’t know what women over a certain height should weigh. I wear size 2 jeans from Banana Republic at 140 to 145lbs post kidney transplant. People don’t know what a healthy weight is. My mother faced this and she was 5’10 and 120lb when she met my dad. He was happy when she gained weight. Eat and work out in moderation…and enjoy your life. Screw the world’s ridiculous expectations.

[@Housewarmin]

Not me realizing I have an almond mom! I am also now Plus sized, and have a binge eating disorder

[@axreason]

this is quite a common issue for especially girls and women. when i grew up my parents would constantly talk about eating healthy, we never had anything "unhealthy" in the house and only ate out like twice a year. i was always a little bit chubby (despite playing 4 different sports), and at the age of 12 they put me on a diet. it caused so much shame and unhappiness in me that i started eating sweets in my room at night. i eventually developed an eating disorder, and still struggle with it on a daily basis.

[@meretc]

Opposite for me, my mother was obese and seeing her health suffer from it gave me anorexia for several years.

[@squirrelnibbler19]

As someone with a mom who had horrible eating habits, was obese and we had constant soda, pastries, fast food. I’d rather had an moderate almond mom, maybe I would have avoided a lifetime of fighting addiction to cola and McDonalds. Asking yourself is you are really hungry is step one of “intuitive eating” so this, when not taken to extreme sounds fine. Anyone who has a mom with control issues develops problems whether, in eating, striving career wise, socially, in sports. Etc. but I feel like we obsess over eating disorders and neglect the other kind of eating disorder which is very common, poor addictive eating habits passed down generations and encouraged by the food lobby and food science.

[@mgoodingsilverwood]

I still remember the visceral rage I felt the first time a pediatrician told me my 3 year old daughter was in the 99th percentile for weight with this concerned look on her face, and started questioning what I was “letting” her eat at home. I felt like I was under interrogation, like the croissant my child asked for every Sunday at the market was akin to a cigarette, a slowly building health concern. The kid loves pastries, but also kimchi, salmon, blueberries, and cucumbers - her palate is varied and her diet balanced, because I feel her body knows what she needs, just like mine did when I was pregnant with her. I pushed back, I said “how is this a problem if she’s also in the 99th percentile for height? Isn’t that how the growth curve is meant to be employed? And why haven’t you said the same about my son, who is 99th percentile for weight and yet only 90th percentile for height - a much wider discrepancy in the curve?” Needless to say, we left that pediatrician and found someone who does not shame me or my kids. But it cannot be overstated the insane standards that are pushed on mothers from every angle. I left social media almost 7 years ago, years before I had kids, but cannot imagine the lengths to which that shaming would be compounded were I watching this content. While we’re discussing almond moms, let’s bring the almond doctors into it.

[@KatrinaAmyT]

A lot of those characteristics of an "almond mom" are really healthy things to do like drinking water instead of other liquids, or waiting to make sure you're full and don't overeat. Then there are definite toxic traits.

[@Sunshineattacks3]

Yea that was my 1at thought

[@sp7749]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that too.

[@BRBRidingMyHorse]

There has got to be something between Almond Mom and someone like Virginia Sole-Smith (look her up) who seriously advocates that ice cream is as good for your kid as broccoli.

[@shockingheaven]

Lol, I had an almond dad. My mom was more on the "eat if you're hungry, food is food" side, while dad would criticize my food choices and shame me for eating junk food at kids' parties, you know, when I was an actual kid. I was still a child when I began feeling so anxious I didn't want to eat anything and started developing digestive issues, but he thought it was normal that a girl my age would start to "watch their figure".

[@ClaLu]

So...I cut ties with all my "almond relatives". Now, as a wise financial decision, I'm alkost 40 and live with both my parents: i take care of them in so many ways, they both worked them selfs to the bone and have the health to prove it 😢 so I'm giving them the golden years they deserve. At the same time we protect our selfs from abusive relationships. The sacrifice as been large on my part, there are benefits of course, but one of the sacrifices is living with my Almond mom...And I've always been fat so... There's that. At least i can debate and put boundaries, but still...

[@Catsandcoffee123]

Is there a term for moms who encourage the opposite? Snacking without any constraint, eating when not hungry, finishing everything on the plate even if unable to eat anymore, etc.?

[@Verdelish]

This is such a great palate cleanser after I just watched a video where a guy was unironically celebrating the rise of new weight-loss drugs and saying the whole world should take them for maximum eradication of fat people. It's reached a point where a lot of folks have made it clear they're not actually interested in "health" at all.

[@inuhundchien6041]

It's a problem when people use it to lose weight, not to manage diabetes. The medicine is not available for the real patient.

[@rj99545]

Not all content on the internet needs to be given attention.

[@aderita209]

Thank goodness my mom was not like this, but I had a friend in high school who had a really extreme mom, she was always taking my friend to gym and she was always on a diet and treatments to loose weight. My friend has a tendency to gain weight naturally, one day we were eating dinner at hers, it was burrito day but my friend had to eat a salad, I was so dumbfounded, and her mom was asking me how do I loose weight while I eat what I want, I was like I don’t is just how my body is. It was really sad, thankfully she didn’t end up with an eating disorder.

[@CaroleChiaki]

My mother was/is an "almond mom", but my father was the complete opposite. He would serve us monstrous portions every day and way too much junk food (he himself was overweight for most of my childhood). He would also get angry when we couldn't finish our food, so i felt pressure to always finish my plate, no matter how full I was. I gained weight from an early age because of the food given to me by my father and developed a bad habit of eating too much when I wasn't hungry, snacking when I was bored, and always feeling the need to clear my plate because I would feel guilty for "wasting" perfectly good food. Even as an adult, it's hard to break the habit but i'm slowly becoming more aware of these unhealthy tendencies and am learning to only eat what my body truly needs. On the flip side, I remember feeling shamed by my mother who has always been thin yet would call herself and other normal sized people "fat" and would comment on even my normal portion sizes like "woah, that's alot!". She never explicitly called me "fat" or told me I should lose weight, but she didn't have to for me to become very insecure about my body. Her own issues definitely rubbed onto me. Now my father went from over-eating to extreme restricting and exercise and looks completely different, but still unhealthy in the opposite way. I think parents really do run the risk of passing on disordered eating and body dysmorphia to their children. Children absorb parents' bad habits more than you think.

[@richardallen144]

I had an almond mom, and one of the reasons I don't want children is because I'm terrified I'll be one no matter how hard I try not to be.

[@mayramc7070]

I never found my mom’s diet ideas harmful until i turned 30 and I realized how terrified I’m of being fat, at the point that I keep delaying getting pregnant bcs I can’t bare the idea of gaining weight during the pregnancy

[@Elspm]

When I make diet changes to be more healthy I often get "but you don't need to" simply because I'm naturally slim. It reminds me that in diet culture words like healthy lode their true meaning.

[@catcreme]

at this point i just want to have a good relationship with food. i just want to be able to get into my fridge, pick out something to eat without feeling guilty, shamed or anxious. or have elaborate schedule of what should i eat, when should i eat or how to ''burn off'' foods i indulged in. i'm not diagnosed but I could have some mild case of an eating disorder, i'm just too broke to actually seek help.

[@behemoththekitty]

It's so easy for Americans to be critical of their food culture because you view your eating habits as something corporate interests and market forces instilled in you, but in places where food culture has older roots being critical of it is sacrilegious and it makes it completely impossible to have any kind of honest conversation on a social level about, let's say, the amount of meat we eat, let alone be critical of parenting around food.

[@CaraMarie13]

There is not a day that goes by where i don't give thanks for not being into social media.

[@sarahh3061]

I have a chronic gastrointestinal illness, had it for 2 years. I'm unsure what the cause is but it does seem like my small intestine is knackered. Even the gastrointestinal doctors implied I "looked" healthy. Other people also comment I look great. Well thats super because 1) I feel terrible and 2) Ive lost so much muscle mass and look emaciated at times. People have difficulty looking past how you look on a superficial level. I found it insane that even the doctors were like that.

[@beckieinnc12]

My mom has had an ED my whole life. She was opposite of an almond mom and used to live vicariously through her kids regularly making very calorie dense foods with low nutritional value. It was a way of eating that took me a few years of my young adulthood to retrain myself. ....what do you mean mac and cheese isn't a vegetable 🤔

[@Wilma.Flintstone]

Congratulations on 1 million subscribers! :)

[@ThatCho]

One of my biggest fears is having a child and ruining their relationship with food. I think I’ve come a long way in my personal issues with food, but I can understand how an almond mom would subconsciously rationalize her decision to force “healthy” habits onto their child.

[@sunflowervibes3041]

I became an almond lady after taking an all major required wellness and health class that was like "if you don't do x y z then you're going to die and get 40 diseases so only eat low fat cheese." Well, at least that's what I got from it. I'm trying to find that middle again.

[@surlespasdondine]

This is so interesting! I was born in 1982 and back then people were not super health-conscious when it came to food choices. We ate a lot of processed food. The only message related food-restriction I got, and which in my opinion was way more damaging than "you should eat healthy", was "eat in a way that keeps you thin". My mom gave me a calorie-counting book at 14 because I wanted to count calories. I was not overweight in any way, I just wanted to be super slim. It should come as no surprise that I developed anorexia and my mom still has an unhealthy relationship to food and her body to this day - so I get where she is coming from. I'm now a mom myself and I encourage healthy eating in my kids. We limit the sugary snacks we keep in our house (we allow them in moderation) and we have a lot of ingredients at home: fruit, veggies, healthy protein etc. But we also have snacks and chocolate to enjoy on occasion. I teach my kids about balance, not perfection. And I most of all want to teach them food is fuel, not an enemy that could make you gain weight. Being a little chubbier was considered a sign of health in the past. (My kids are naturally slim but if they weren't that would be fine by me.) And there is definitely no virtue to how healthily or not you eat. Feed your body so you have strength and can live a full life. Make healthy choices, but also allow yourself the little pleasures in life . (like chocolate) My daughters are 9 and 6 and I will never talk about calories or their weight (barring a situation where it would become a medical concern) To me calorie counting should be reserved for specific situations, specific diets due to medical conditions.

[@Natasha831_1]

Y’all hit a million!!!!!!🎉 congrats!

[@plcumming]

As someone who spent the last 2 years in and out of the hospital with my daughter who had anorexia, what you are saying is not wrong. I would just say - that although we as parents can and should do better, we are normally doing our best and eating disorders are complicated. We should definitely call out diet culture, but let’s be gentle on the parents, especially moms. We’ve grown up in a misogynistic and body shaming world. Encourage change, but let’s not shame.

[@jennaleethompson1790]

My Dad was a "why don't you have another donut," Dad...

[@FicoosBangaly]

I understand that this video is talking about some extreme conditions but I personally do find some of the characteristics of the "Almund Mom" actually useful. 1. We buy the ingredients instead of snacks and make the snacks myself (or with my kids). We do use sugar, chocolate and whatever else but it does usually come out better tasting, cheaper and healthier than store bought stuff. It's also a fun activity! 2. Drink if you are hungry between meals, this is obviously not for kids but it is true that the body sometimes makes you feel hungry when you are thirsty so it's good idea to try and make sure if you are and hour or two away from a meal. It's worth it to be able to enjoy the meal. For my kids though I just let them snack on a vegetable or a fruit. It has water in it and the possible crankiness is not worth it. They don't appreciate fine dining yet, I don't mind if they eat less during the actual meal. 3. We like to eat zucchini noodles (sometimes). They have their own kind of flavour and texture. You can also use the core of the zuccini the the sauce. My kids are on to it though so they don't partake. 4. Saying to kids that they don't need to eat the whole thing is good in my opinion. I don't say it at the start of the meal but I don't push my kids to finish off the plate if they don't want to. It's good the just listen to yourself and know what you are not hungry any more.

[@alyzu4755]

I remember watching a show in the aughties, when my kids were very young, called "Honey, We're Killing Our Kids!" So-called "experts" look at families with young kids and their diets and predict what the kids will look like on the future. It was awful! I felt so guilty for letting my kids have cookies once in a while. 🙄

[@SingItAgain89]

Saw this video at the right time. Yesterday i saw a video about a mpm serving her kids "lettuce chips". Large peices of chopped lettuce dipped in italian dressing. It drove me crazy!

[@alyssabou4704]

More people need almond mom's judging by the obesity rate

[@nadjetoti1700]

Sooo real🤣🤣 People are sooo worried about almond mom when america BIGGEST problem is obesity💀 It's so ridiculous !

[@juliette245]

My mom definitely fits the bill for orthorexia. She's an "ingredients mom", eats only local food (in Canada that means lots of canning and freezing), recently her boyfriend developed type 2 diabetes and she decided he would control it by diet only and wouldn't use insulin.

[@longlivebeans]

Oh god not the grapefruit diet lol I watched my poor parents choke those down every morning back in the 90s. I’d be sitting there with my waffles wondering why they were torturing themselves but now that I’m older I empathize with them a lot. They felt so much pressure to be thin.

[@hollyclark4518]

Ok, I have to vent here, and I'd love to hear people's opinions. I'm a server. Most weeks there is a family that comes in for brunch. The mom is a trophy and is obviously obsessed with her weight, but does eat most of a meal when she's there. Their 10 yr old is in the beginning stages of an eating disorder. She orders a diet coke and plain salmon (with nothing else). Last week instead of salmon she had a plain burger patty. It's not due to allergies. Anytime she reaches for anything else at the table her father will make fun of "how much she's eating". I'm recovering from an eating disorder (going on 25yrs) so it's pretty easy for me to identify this behavior, even though I'm pretty sure most people would. I'm not in a position to say something, but it kills me to see. Does anyone have input?

[@engineeringbookisha]

Ugh. I feel like this would be such a hard and triggering situation because there’s not much you can do. Idk if you can kinda jokingly push back against her Dad. Like when he mentions how much she’s eating you can be like “ how else is she supposed to grow. Humans need food. She’s not a painting.” My sister was starting to feel this way around that age so I made it a point to always push back when adults commented. When it’s family I would make them apologize and take it back. One day she mentioned how her stomach is not flat so I jokingly said, “Of course your stomach is not gonna be flat if you’re eating like a normal person? Where else would the food go.” Now she’s 13 and she seems pretty neutral about her body.

[@elly7199]

You could try to see if you could chat with her briefly if she goes to the bathroom. I wouldn’t do anything big cuz you don’t want to worry about her feeling uncomfortable but you could point out how much she needs healthy calories for a growing brain and body. If she diets at age 10, she could stunt her overall growth.

[@MamsirMamsir]

If you get a chance to speak to the girl alone, befriend her slowly. Over time: Tell her that it is not normal or healthy for other people to comment on her weight or looks. That she is perfect the way she is. If someone in her life that she has a modicum of trust in can come in with an alternative message, that will make a difference. Even if she only hears it 5 times, it gives her another option. Learning that the way things done at my house (as a kid) is not everyone's way, & not always the best way, is the first step to de-influencing from parents that harm.

[@ifetayodavidson-cade5613]

The others offered great advice, but the harsh reality is that if the mom is a trophy, it probably means the girl is growing up in $$$ people norms in school, her neighborhood, etc., which includes thinness as a must for women. Unfortunately, it extends beyond family.

[@engadmi1351]

LOL, the mute and watch. I do that sometimes on my laptop, and then watch again with sound on, on my phone later. I have separate logins on each device. This way I know you're getting ad $ from both! When I'm at home working I can also put it on the TV (another login), on silent or sound on. Also, this was my mom, and she always seemed miserable. It ended up making giving me an ED and I have always struggled with weight and I hate when I get too small. I know its the opposite of the typical ED, but it is still a real struggle. When I left for college I was nervous my mom would go to eating only salad and lose even more weight. I was the household cook since 10 years old, and while she wouldn't eat much, she'd at least eat. She also would freak out if I served her, she always had to portion her pate herself.

[@elainee313]

Your hair is perfection, Chelsea.

[@LindseyObrooke]

Hello, my entire upbringing. I grew up in an Almond Family. Entire family obsessed with toxic diet culture. I had multiple eating disorders, and still do well into my thirties now. I always think I could be a fcking astronaut who solved global warming if I was allowed to put as much thought into my education as I was forced to put into my body and weight.

[@boogrchic]

Does anyone else find all of this disturbing? How do we talk about food? How do we teach kids about food if we can't tell them what we think is good or bad? We HAVE to talk about food, how much food, what kind of food. It is the single most influential factor on our health.

[@jcrockett2544]

I’m here for the various languages in the intro😊

[@geneveiveharper]

There is a big difference between diet culture versus resisting snack culture, which is a major factor contributing to our country's rising obesity. Snacking is bad for you and it's important to raise kids with healthy eating habits, such as eating nutritious meals for sustenance, not grazing and drinking sweet drinks at all hours.

[@electriclilies2642]

Mindless snacking is not good, but when I was a kid my mom wouldn’t let me eat snacks before dinner, even though I was an athlete and would come home from practice starving. It led to me losing an unhealthy amount of weight. Restricting kids to only being able to eat at mealtime is not good, especially if those kids are physically active

[@malaikagordon6135]

What is and where can I find “Too Good To Be True”? She’s mentioned it in several videos and in this video she said she’d link it in the description box. But I don’t see it. I can’t figure out if it’s a podcast, another KZbin channel, a newsletter? Any directions would be much appreciated ❤

[@jd-hs5lj]

wait sugar is the new tobacco tho. not giving a kid sugary snacks is not a bad quality 😬

[@arachnid33]

Agreed

[@heyheyitsJoanna]

I'm confused by the title of this video. The almond mom label isn't at all "TikTok-friendly" -- its a complaint, a criticism, even an insult. There aren't loud and proud almond mom's claiming the label on Tiktok and making it appealing.

[@nikkimunir]

Your comparison to the market size of the romance industry had me rolling 😂. Made my morning.

[@juliemarsh94]

I grew up in an 'almond family', not sure if I can use the term like this, but both my mom and my grandmother have been absolutely obsessed with dieting for as long as I can remember. They still are and recently we had a phone call in which they criticised me for frying an egg on butter instead of no-calorie olive oil. It does shock me that they never come to realise they have absolute unhealthy habits just by the way they talk about food. I had a very severe eating disorders during my adolescence, both anorexia and bulimia. And I thank myself everyday that I now live in another country and don't have to see them everyday and listen to their nonsense about food and body image... I have been eating-disorder free for the past 9 years, and I must say life is a blessing, just love yourself and listen to your own body and not anyone else's bulls***t.

[@eggrat6]

I'm reading Reclaiming Body Trust upon my therapist's recommendation. It's been really helpful in challenging my views on wellness, disordered eating habits, and negative body image. I highly recommended it to anyone struggling with these things.

[@sunflowervibes3041]

I’m starting to suspect I have Orthorexia… which is of course very connected to societal pressure and beauty standards. But also because I’m terrified of death. Every time I hear “walking 30 minutes a day will prevent 20 diseases!” I feel utter panic for everyday that I don’t do that healthy behaviour.

[@sha2596]

I feel triggered!😩 I say many of the things because I have a 6 year old picky eater!😭😭😭 I am fine with him snacking, but his diet cannot consist solely of Green Mint Gummies (he would if he could). He also will choose not to eat whats on a plate at all if he thinks I want him to clean his plate. Telling him he can eat whatever and can stop when he’s full makes him more likely to start eating in the first place! Most of the day I’m practically begging him to eat.😅

[@inuhundchien6041]

Maybe try not forcing him to eat? Is it important for the child to eat the same time as the adults?

[@jennifernabrahamable]

does he like raw carrots/veggies? Peanut butter? Cheese? Fruit? Cheerios? Maybe let him have a "treat" of his choosing after he eats 1-2 foods of your choosing? I've been there, and it got much easier with age/time. It's a phase.

[@JeffMuehlbauer]

Jen makes an excellent suggestion. It’s so important to allow children a sense of agency while actually limiting their options. Also, it can be helpful to teach children about nutrition so that they actually understand why they should clean their plate rather than framing it as a moral failing if they don’t i.e. “there are starving children downtown” or “good kids eat all of their veggies”. If a child understands that certain foods help them feel well, they are more likely to eat it without complaint. Lastly, if a child is complaining about the taste of something, especially veggies, try to find a way they can learn to enjoy it by trying different seasonings or cooking techniques or plate displays.

[@LaLayla99]

I hardly think not allowing processed foods and refined sugar in the house is something to criticize. And the paleo and keto diets are bunk. After switching to a whole-food plant-based diet my health has drastically improved- lost 100lbs and I'm off several meds, without exercise or feeling deprived. I recommend The Physician's Committee channel for anyone interested the in true nutrition.

[@xocolaatl]

Many people here might be giving too much importance to what people on social media are doing and saying...

[@ceeemm172]

Two resources for parents in the comments: Ellyn Satter’s books and the blog Kids Eat in Color. Both are about how to model a healthy attitude towards food to your kids and put food in its place as a part of life, not a power struggle or moral battle. Re: ingredients vs. snacks, it’s on a spectrum, right? My mother was a midwestern cheapskate so we definitely had to slice our own cheese off the block, unlike the neighbor kids who got Kraft singles. This is not a source of childhood food trauma to me, trust me. But the list of things people “just don’t keep around the house” because they’re a temptation can get really wide - having to make your own sandwich is one thing, never having bread is another.

[@claram5482]

I loved the video but should I be worried that I keep ingredients instead of snacks? I don't snack a lot (I don't restrict myself, I'm just not used to snacking), I try to avoid plastic waste whenever possible, and if for some reason I'm feeling peckish between meals I usually have a banana or a yoghourt. Should I change my habits?

[@KM-hv1jg]

Croissant Auntie? CROUSSANTIE??????

[@MattieAMiller]

It irks me as well, just how little these diets are based in reality. They just have names to sound like they are scientific. Basically no one on a Keto diet is in ketosis. I found a real keto diet in a medical journal once which helped prevent seizures in kids with epilepsy. Those poor children had to drink five glasses of heavy cream every day, and about half of all vegetables were too sugary to be allowed in their diet. Paleo is even worse. If it's supposed to be what people ate before agriculture, then there should be absolutely no domesticated species allowed. Modern veggies and fruits have completely different nutrition content than their ancestors due to millennia of selective breeding. Not to mention that humans were likely eating grains for at least 80,000 years, and they didn't have access to plant oils until after agriculture began. So basically everything on their list is wrong except wild caught fish.

[@jag519]

are one of the links the "too good to be true" episode you were talking about?

[@brookew2403]

Going through puberty with an almond mom is literal hell! I remember her teaching me how to “diet”. She basically put a Disney spin on anorexia.

[@yolkir.]

anyone have an almond dad? my mom didn’t care too much for dieting and ate what made her happy (at least that’s what she made it seem like) but my dad would also be going on cleanses and made comments on what and when my siblings and i ate

[@engineeringbookisha]

My Dad

[@colleencook9149]

I had both!

[@aghinaf]

My mom was supportive & don't police my food,but my dad's comments land me straight to eating disorder.