smallu TikTok, the hashtag #amygdalomama continues to collect videos of young women pointing out the preparation that fitness-obsessed mothers suffer: Let’s look at where the term came from and why it’s unhealthy
they are called “almond mom”, “tonsilla lovers”, and so on Tik Tok they have become, in spite of themselves, a trend. Which doesn’t so much celebrate their cuteness as the nickname might suggest, but openly criticizes a lifestyle characterized by great attention to physical condition, which promotes restrictive diets, intense training, supplements, and the now overused “detox.” Lifestyle that comes often passed on (in some cases imposed) to childrendaughters in particular, in an attempt to conform them to stereotypes and ideals of beauty that have long been defined as unhealthy and unrealistic.
Who are almond mothers and why are they called that?
On TikTok there are now hundreds of videos that come with the hashtag #amygdalomamaall inspired by a specific event familiar to fans of the Netflix reality show”The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills»: among the protagonists there is also the former model Yolanda Hadidmother of Gigi and Bella, and in one episode she is heard advising Gigi, now one of the most famous top models in the world, to eat almonds as a snack and chew them long and slow to get full.
“I feel weak, I’ve only eaten half an almond all day,” a 17-year-old Gigi Hadid tells her mother in front of the reality TV cameras, “Eat two more and chew well,” Yolanda replies. In those years Gigi appeared on the catwalks, she was heavily criticized for shapes that were considered inappropriate for the fashion world – read: too soft – and viewers did not miss the way her mother, a fairly famous model in the past, implicitly advised her . against self control and keep yourself hungry. And also the feeling of helplessness.
Statements that triggered a avalanche of protestsdefined as the manifesto of a type of mother who puts the well-being of her children in the background in favor of physical appearance. Obsessive motherswho transmit this obsession to their daughters without considering the risks that this message could entail, notably the development of eating disorders and other psychological problems (of which, among others, Beautiful Hadid said he was suffering).
Gwyneth Paltrow, forerunner of the “almond mom”
Yolanda Hadid is added to the almond mom category by Gwyneth Paltrow. In her 50s, the Oscar-winning actress, who founded lifestyle site Goop in 2008 and has never hidden the extreme regimes she follows to stay in shape, has returned to the conversation after a clip from the recording was released of the podcast “The Art of Being Well with Dr. Cole.” In the video, Paltrow explains her “wellness routine” in great detail: broth for lunch, usually chicken and for dinner with a paleo diet (the one, say, that eliminates carbohydrates, dairy products and sugars), the latter is eaten strictly early to observe the rule of intermittent fasting, that is, no food for 16-18 hours. . And then vitamin injections, pilates, infrared sauna, dry brushing (ie the ritual of dry brushing to eliminate dead cells and stimulate blood circulation) and so on and so forth.
The actress’ statements apparently did not go unnoticed, especially on TikTok, her favorite social network Gen Z, a generation highly aware of the dangers of promoting excessive lifestyles and diets with the sole aim of keeping weight and the signs of aging under control. This is where Paltrow’s video was flooded with critical comments, and it’s always here that they share those in which tonsil moms are “unmasked.” obsession with fitnesswho pressure their daughters to adopt their own way of life and habits.
Almond moms and the perils of the diet
Almond mothers have therefore become, without fully knowing it, its representatives food culturethat is, representatives of a lifestyle completely focused on food restrictions, which in some cases degenerate into real deprivations, and on the stigmatization of food and certain specific foods (such as pasta or sweets for example).
Food culture, experts point out, can cause serious harm, especially among teenagers, so fitness and fighting excess weight and fat can become an obsession, causing eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Added to this are the social and relational effects on boys and girls who are driven to seek and pursue perfection through dieting, sacrifice, obsessive training and beauty treatments.
The videos accompanied by the hashtag #almondmom serve precisely to highlight all the negative aspects of food culture and the ways in which some mothers contribute to the appearance of problems in their children: there are those who remember that “I only found out at 12 that there was salt in pastaand that you could use a whole jar of gravy instead of a dirty fork.’
There are also those who show the fridge full of vegetables, yogurt and other healthy foods, even calling it “your mom’s almond fridge”. And although there is nothing wrong with promoting a healthy lifestyle, it is much more dangerous air conditioning that the parental figure can operate on a young woman by forcing her to focus on achieving and maintaining a certain body shape.