But Can This Walking Pad Raise Your Kids?
Moms are getting their steps/liberation in.
Well here we are, halfway through January, the longest, darkest month of diet culture’s year. Anecdotally, I feel that the diet chatter is maybe a little quieter this year—though I’m not sure if that’s because: A. So many people are suppressing appetites via Ozempic now there is less need to performatively cleanse? Or B. Between the wildfires and Monday’s looming inauguration, we have realized now is not the moment to stop eating cheese, for the love of God?
Both are fairly depressing prospects, if I’m being honest. So let us turn instead to Instagram (and TikTok while we have her) where there is, indeed, at least one trendy New Year, New You meme delivering exactly the kind of old school Weight Watchers—inspired diet culture so many of us know and (don’t) love.
I’m talking about moms on walking pads:
This reel is by Gabrielle St Clair, a mom and clinical nutritionist with 516,000 followers. It has 10 million views and over 179,000 likes. As best I can tell, it was inspired by this reel, which has over 26 million views and 500,000 likes, which took its cue from this reel (only 1.2 million views, but from much tinier account). I also found plenty of moms on walking pads over on TikTok, like this mom, this mom, and this frankly kinda cute wine mom.
All of these videos rest on the same conceit: Here is an everyday mom, just like us, trying to do it all—dishes, childcare, cute house projects—and meet her fitness goals… by dragging her walking pad around her house to get her steps in while cleaning, cooking, working, and performing childcare.
Ladies, who says we can’t #haveitall!!!!
Before we go any further: Yes, I know these reels are supposed to be funny! They are not intended to be consumed as workout content. These moms are not claiming they actually tote their walking pads from room to room all day long. We are talking about a fitness device marketed as less bulky than a treadmill but it’s still…quite chunky if you’re carting it into your bathroom to clean the tub while balancing on it?! This is obviously a bit.
Except: This meme is #funny but not…actually funny.