What If Romans 12:2 Is About Diet Culture, Too?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been told—both subtly and loudly—that smaller is better. That a thinner body is a holier body. That health is a moral obligation. That if I could just lose enough weight, I’d finally be acceptable.

But lately, I’ve been asking a question I can’t un-ask:What if Romans 12:2 is about diet culture, too?

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”— Romans 12:2

This verse has always been important to me, but recently, it hit differently. Because when I look at what the “pattern of this world” looks like today, I see diet culture. I see hustle culture. I see hyper-consumerism. I see a world that wants to shape me into something more profitable, more palatable, more productive. Something smaller. Quieter. Tighter. Controlled.

And I don’t think that’s what God wants for me—or for you.

The Patterns That Wear Us Down

Diet culture is sneaky. It dresses itself up as “health,” but at its core, it tells us we are not enough until we meet a certain standard. The right number on the scale. The right size jeans. The right food plan, exercise routine, or clean-eating philosophy.

But what if our bodies aren’t broken?

What if they’re just tired of being told they need to change in order to be worthy?

When Romans 12:2 tells us not to conform, it’s not just about peer pressure or pop culture. It’s about refusing to let the world shape our identity. And in today’s world, that includes pushing back against the toxic messages about our bodies, our productivity, and our worth.

Transformation Starts in the Mind

I’m currently on antipsychotic medication, and while it’s absolutely necessary for my mental health, it’s also changed my metabolism and how my body holds weight. I’m not 20 anymore, and I won’t weigh what I did then—nor should I have to in order to be accepted.

This body has carried me through addiction and recovery, abuse and escape, single motherhood, trauma, healing, and grace. This body houses a mind that God has restored. It holds a heart that beats with purpose. It is not less holy because it is bigger.

And that’s where the renewing of the mind comes in.

God wants to set us free. Not just from sin, but from shame. From the lies we’ve internalized. From the idea that we need to look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, or perform a certain kind of life to be valuable.

Living Transformed

I don’t want to live by the world’s patterns anymore. I want to live in the freedom Jesus offers—the freedom to care for my body without hating it. The freedom to rest without guilt. The freedom to eat without anxiety. The freedom to show up in a room just as I am and know that I belong there.

Romans 12:2 reminds me that transformation doesn’t start on the outside. It starts inside—where God whispers the truth I so often forget:

You are already enough.

If you’ve been exhausted by diet culture, worn out by hustle culture, or overwhelmed by the constant noise telling you to be more, do more, weigh less, and try harder—I want you to know you’re not alone.

And more importantly, you don’t have to conform anymore.

Let your mind be renewed. Let your heart rest. Let God define your worth—not the world.