Diet Culture Didn’t Disappear.
It Just Rebranded.

👋Hello friends!

Welcome to the January 20th edition of Menopaussible—bringing you the news you can use and the ⚡ energy ⚡ you need to support your menopause journey.

I’m Maria Caracci Ciccolella—health + life coach and menopause advocate. (Connect with me on IG or LinkedIn!)

We’re just two months away from spring (but who’s counting?), yet still knee-deep in resolution season—which, at this stage of life, can feel…loaded. Everywhere you look, there are ads for gyms, “healthy” eating plans, and workout programs. And if you weren’t already grappling with the idea that you should lose weight or “get healthier,” you might be now.

Which brings me to the focus of this newsletter: diet culture. You may think of it as a relic of the 80s and 90s, but the truth is—it never disappeared. It simply rebranded. Today, it often shows up under the banner of wellness, reinforcing old beliefs and introducing new ones that may not actually serve your health.

So in this issue, we’ll take a closer look at that rebrand—and offer some reframing of our own—so you can think about health on your terms.

We Were Raised in Diet Culture—Even If We Don’t Call It That Anymore

A diet by any other name today is called a wellness program—and neither may be promoting your health, especially if deprivation is on the menu. What in the 80s and 90s may have presented itself to you as an “1100 calorie diet” may now be looking like a “clean eating” program or “biohacking.” And even if you are not subscribing to the latest version of a healthy eating program, echoes of past messaging (“fat is bad,” “carbs are bad”) may still be deeply rooted and affect your choices.

That’s because diet culture IS deeply rooted—reinforced on so many levels outside of just food and exercise—that ascribing to its norms is as subconscious an act as breathing.

Ultimately it comes down to this—the achievement of a thin ideal, an idea of weight as the only determinant of good health and to a large degree, status. But just like age, weight is only a number—and a limiting one at that for weight alone does very little to tell us about strength, resilience, metabolic health, or well-being.

Research consistently shows that the vast majority of intentional weight-loss programs don’t deliver lasting results—estimates suggest that 80–95% of people regain much or all of the weight lost within a few years, and many regain more than they started with. This isn’t a failure of willpower; it’s evidence that the model itself is flawed.

And this is where many women find themselves caught. We’re told—explicitly or not—that if our bodies are changing, we must be doing something wrong. That the answer is tighter control, cleaner eating, more discipline. But during menopause, the body isn’t malfunctioning—it’s communicating. And what it’s communicating is that the old rules were never designed to support it.

Menopause to the Rescue

I know that might sound counterintuitive. After all, menopause is often framed as the problem—the reason your body is changing, the thing that needs to be managed or mitigated. But here’s what those changes actually reveal:

As estrogen and progesterone fluctuate and decline, the systems that once buffered us from stress, under-fueling, and overexertion lose some of their margin for error. The body becomes less tolerant of deprivation. Less forgiving of skipped meals, chronic dieting, and endless cardio. And far more responsive to whether it’s being adequately supported.

That weight gain everyone talks about? It’s not a moral failure. It’s the body asking you to reassess how you’re fueling, moving, resting, and recovering.

Because the body you need now—and the one you’ll rely on in the decades ahead—isn’t built through restriction. It’s built through nourishment, strength, and care.

And this is where diet culture’s old playbook falls apart.

From Diet Culture → Capability Culture

It’s also worth saying that disentangling from diet culture isn’t easy. These beliefs were formed over decades, reinforced quietly and consistently. Every now and again, I still catch myself surfacing old ideas that equate food consumption with how much I’ve worked out—and that’s the important inflection point. I pause, reflect, and choose a different response.

And that response is to focus on gain over loss. The opportunity to gain: strength, energy, mobility, confidence, opportunity—and enjoyment (we should love food! It tastes good!).

To move from:

• appearance or a number, to how well I can move and function

• being rigidly in control to living in a manner where I am supported

• feeling deprived to well nourished

So if those old mantras show up (and trust me, they will), don’t despair, just ask a few questions. Every time you notice and reflect, you loosen the grip just a little bit more:

Instead of: “How do I lose weight?” → Ask: “What helps me feel strong and supported?”

Instead of: “Was I good or bad today?” → Ask: “Did I fuel and care for myself?”

Instead of: “How do I control this?” → Ask: “What does my body need?”

Making the Shift

Letting go of diet culture isn’t about getting it right—it’s about noticing when old rules show up and choosing, again and again, to meet your body with support instead of scrutiny.

Menopause doesn’t ask for more discipline. It asks for attentiveness, nourishment, and respect for a body that’s adapting in real time. That shift may feel subtle, but it’s powerful—and it’s available to you, one choice at a time.

If this issue sparked reflection or resistance, I’d love to hear about it. Hit reply and tell me what you noticed. These conversations matter, and they’re better when we have them together.

In the News

Speaking of the body communicating…

Tech that tracks what your body is saying

A new wearable tracker, Peri, was introduced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, promising to detect a spectrum of perimenopausal symptoms, including anxiety, hot flashes and menstrual changes. For those seeking “translation,” pre-orders of the device, which retails for $449, are available.

What the data is saying about MHT and dementia

A new UCLA-led systematic review and meta-analysis involving over 1 million women found no clear evidence that menopause hormone therapy (MHT) raises or lowers the risk of dementia in post menopausal women. The study authors further concluded that current guidelines should be guided by perceived risks and benefits and not dementia prevention.