Debunking Food Fear: My Journey Out of Diet Culture

I used to be scared of bananas.

Bananas.

As in... the fruit God made. The fruit that babies eat.

Why?

Because diet culture told me they were “too high in sugar,” and I believed every fear-based headline I read. (Literally, everything used to get to my head.

)

If it wasn’t zero-calorie, low-carb, or sugar-free, I didn’t want it.

But deep down, I wasn’t trying to be “healthy.”

I was just trying to feel in control.

Diet culture didn’t teach me discipline — it taught me fear:

I feared gluten like it was poison

I tracked every bite like it was a moral decision

I punished my body for being hungry

And I praised myself when I felt dizzy because “at least I wasn’t overeating”

That’s not health. That’s bondage.

But God...

God met me in my obsession.

He gently opened my hands and said,

> “This is not what I want for you, daughter. You were never meant to fear the things I created for your good.”

That truth rocked me.

Now?

I eat bananas. I eat bread. I eat full meals with joy and peace.

I’ve learned how to listen to my body without fearing it.

And more importantly, I’ve learned how to trust God more than Google.

Food is not the enemy.

And you don’t need to earn your nourishment.

> “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31

That includes enjoying your food. That includes trusting your hunger. That includes releasing the fear and choosing faith.

If you’ve been trapped in food fear, I want you to know: there is freedom.

And it tastes a lot like grace.