The lonely (but powerful) middle ground in nutrition.
Polarization is loud. Nuance is quiet.
Marissa Beck, MS, RDN
Hi Reader,
Have you ever noticed how in food and health, you’re constantly pushed to pick a side?
- Are you diet-camp or anti-diet?
- All in on body positivity, or skeptical?
- Do you buy into weight loss programs, or reject them outright?
It can feel like no matter where you turn, you’re expected to pledge allegiance to one extreme or the other.
And yet… most of us don’t fully fit into either box.
The puzzle
Why is it so hard to question our own “side”?
On one side, diet culture still pushes restrictive rules that drown out your ability to trust yourself. On the other, the non-diet space can pressure you to accept every claim without question, which ironically, is just another set of rigid rules.
If you dare to raise a hand and say, “Wait, that doesn’t quite make sense,” you risk being ridiculed.
Sometimes pointing out the obvious (like saying “health is influenced by many factors, not just body size”) should be common sense.
But depending on the room you’re in, it can feel like saying the emperor has no clothes.
Where nuance lives
Here’s what nuance actually looks like in practice:
- GLP-1s & thinness: You can believe GLP-1 medications improve quality of life for many people, and still grieve that our culture pressures people to shrink in order to be valued.
- Weight changes: You can reject diet culture, and still acknowledge that intentional weight loss isn’t inherently disordered for everyone. It really depends on context, history, and motivation.
- Body autonomy: You can believe in body autonomy (i.e., that people should have the right to make choices about their bodies) and still notice that some in the non-diet space don’t extend that same autonomy when it comes to weight changes.
- Processed foods: You can wish for a world with fewer ultra-processed options, and still recognize that many of them offer nutritional benefits - and even athletic advantages in the right context.
- Healthy eating for kids: You can reject rigid “clean eating” rules for kids, and still care about fruits, veggies, protein, and fiber making it onto their plates.
- Sports nutrition: You can value intuitive eating, and still recognize that athletes sometimes need to eat by the clock (not just by hunger cues) to fuel performance and recovery.
- Eating disorder recovery: You can believe in food freedom, and still know that gentle structure around meals is often necessary in recovery.
- BMI: You can believe BMI is a flawed tool, and still accept that both very low and very high BMIs correlate with risks, from bone loss and infertility to sleep apnea and joint pain. And still, BMI is one data point not the whole story.
The bottom line
Health isn’t black-and-white.
When we stop thinking for ourselves and let entire movements dictate our beliefs, we erase the nuance (and evidence) that people’s complex lives require.
The middle might be the quietest place in nutrition. But it’s often where truth lives, and where real solutions begin.
I’d love to hear from you
Where do you feel the tension most? What messages about food or body have left you feeling like you don’t belong anywhere? Hit reply and tell me (I read every response).
P.S Fall feels like a new chapter with school starting up, Jewish holidays (for our family), and exciting new routines. But it also means more noise and less space to catch your breath. If there’s a way I can make this season easier for you, just reply. I’d love to hear.
