It all started when clips of Yolanda Hadid, 59, starring in The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills were picked up on TikTok.
The Dutch American TV star and mother of models Bella, 26, and Gigi Hadid, 28, was shown serving Gigi miniscule slices of her graduation cake because “to be on your best weight, you’ve got to make the right choices”, and advising Gigi to eat a couple of almonds when she was feeling weak.
Hence, the phrase ‘almond mom’ was born.
The parent has since defended her comments, saying they were “taken out of context”. She told People magazine she was “half asleep” and doesn’t “even remember why [she suggested] two [almonds] or what”.
“There was no rhyme or reason to it. It’s such a silly narrative that is out there, that has nothing to do with the reality of our lives,” she added.
So what is an almond mom?
The almond mom isn’t a new phenomenon. It seems that from time immemorial, some mothers have been prioritising thinness above all else.
The term almond mom is used to describe someone who pushes restrictive eating habits onto their kids.
They follow every new fad diet, from Atkins to Whole 30 to Paleo, eat Special K diet cereal for breakfast, rarely consume bread, pasta or other ‘bad carbs’, religiously attend Pilates, get their 10,000 steps in a day, and will miserably pick at a salad for dinner while casting judgement on everyone else enjoying their potatoes.
As well as Yolanda, Gwyneth Paltrow has served as the face of extreme wellness and diet culture, when she recently talked on a podcast about her love of bone broth in place of lunch. Registered dietician, Lauren Cadillac, responded to the podcast clip on TikTok, saying: “So much of what we see marketed as wellness is actually quite disordered.”
Paltrow has since defended the comments, saying she “eats full meals” and has “a lot of days of eating whatever I want”. She added “it was not meant to be advice for anyone else”.
No more toxic diet culture, please
Many users on TikTok are retaliating against toxic dieting culture, with the hashtag almond moms garnering 352.5 million views on TikTok to date.
TikTokker Carly Weinstein poked fun at the almond mom stereotype’s hatred for all things carbs when she posted a video cosplaying as one herself, saying: “For breakfast I had cereal, then I had a banana and then I had a salad, and then I had a turkey taco for dinner, but obviously I didn’t put the taco part on it…”
Other users are posting similar points of view, with TikTokker Alex Light sharing clips where she says things like, “You’re snacking? But we’re eating in four hours!” and, “You really can’t wait? Okay, have an almond, that’ll keep you going.”
Users have been sharing their experiences with their own almond moms in the comments, with some sharing, “My mom loves to say we just ate and don’t need dinner, when in reality what we ate was lunch and it was four hours ago.”
Another said: “This is exactly why, at age 60, I have pangs of guilt when I feel hunger. STILL!” And another person agreed with the rest of the comments: “My mother was anorexic. She put me through hell.”
The stereotype can be fun to joke about, but the damage almond moms can pass on to their children can be serious.
Toxic diet culture in the home can have a direct effect on children. A recent study showed that mothers who had eating disorders were likely to have an impact on their children’s psychological, cognitive and eating development, and might affect the development of an eating disorder
Virginia Sole-Smith, author of the upcoming book Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture, shares her advice for parents who want to raise children that have a healthy relationship with food: “Make the home a place where kids’ bodies are respected, trusted and treated with dignity.
“Make it a place where their food preferences are respected, treat foods aren’t demonised and where movement is encouraged in terms of how do you love to move your body, not movement for the sake of body shape.”
More ways to avoid toxic diet culture include:
- Avoid food shaming others,
- Don’t use scales or weigh yourself regularly,
- Don’t put foods into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ categories,
- Talk to a professional if you think you’re struggling.
Help and support:
Beat, Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677 and Youthline: 0808 801 0711 or email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (adults) fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (youth support)
Samaritans, open 24 hours a day, on 116 123
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393