OMG This (and the entire paragraph): "Probably your life will change a lot if you deprive yourself of simple carbohydrates while the Supreme Court deprives you of your reproductive rights."
Imagine the world we could live in if so much time, energy and headspace weren’t wasted obsessing about what we're eating and what we weigh. Diet culture is truly toxic, harmful and oppressive.
SO much SIDE EYE to the NYT Well Section. They have nice sounding headlines but they're still all so diet-y! (I imagine you'd writing this while furious as you are lying on a heating pad?)
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, it amazes me that I "needed" permission to get off the dieting merry-go-round, and I did and you just gave it. You are so correct that they don't work. I listened to the podcast and so appreciated that you mentioned that whatever we are depriving ourselves will be the very thing we obsess about.
My goal this year is to be gentle with myself and focus on what makes me feel good. Thank you for being so very timely. Happy New Year!
I have all sorts of feelings on this. I know diets don’t work. I will never again make a resolution about weight loss. I know every time I diet I gain it back plus 10-20lbs. I know this.
But as I get older - the need feels different? I used to diet to look “better”, feel more accepted, blah, blah — all the crap reasons. All not worth it. But I’m in my late 30s now. My knees hurt. And I don’t want to be in pain. And when the doctor sends me to PT and doesn’t even bring up weight loss until I do and confirms that yes - if I lost weight my osteoarthritis would be less painful - I don’t know what to do. In that exam room intermittent fasting does not seem so terrible if it will ease my knee pain.
And I know when I start it’s more likely than not that I will regain it back plus 20 lbs. It’s maddening. But shouldn’t I try? I’m not sure what the alternative is. Sigh.
Looks like you’ve gotten some great advice here but if you need another resource, here is some great information on a weight-inclusive approach to knee pain:
Imagine if the cure for cancer was to run a 5k every single day. 5k is not particularly onerous as far as running goes; the majority of people can run a 5k in about an hour. It might seem a minor, trivial thing to have to do when faced with a threat like cancer.
But you have to do it *every* day or else it doesn't work. You have to do it when you're stuck late at work one night. You have to do it when you've caught the flu. You have to do it when you're on vacation, and when you're taking care of an ailing parent, and just after you've given birth, and after you've developed shin splints from so much running.
Maybe you can do it. It's not technically impossible. There are other people who've managed to do it; they say it's hard, but it is achievable if you're willing to contort your life around it. Maybe you can be one of them; maybe you have the monomaniacal force of will and a predisposition towards not getting shin splints.
But...is it a realistic goal? Idk.
(Sorry about the knees...I'm a touch younger than you and mine have been acting up too. I might be more freaked out about it had my younger and rail-thin brother not spent all Christmas complaining about how his knees clicked and ached. Bad genes/luck are unfortunately inescapable.)
Here's an alternative way to think about this: thin people can also have knee pain from osteoarthritis. As we get older we must pay attention to our joints. Losing weight might help, and it might not. I can say from experience that the best things for your knees in general as you get older are to make sure your feet, ankles and hips are as strong, mobile and flexible as they can possibly be. Joint pain is lame, to be sure. Hang in there.
" I get that it might even feel easier than not doing it, and is certainly easier than doing a lot of other things."
That's a good thing to point out. I never found dieting particularly burdensome (my autistic brain adores strict rules), though I never found it particularly successful either, and sometimes I find myself pondering dieting again just to see if maybe this time the thing everyone confidently asserts will happen will happen, even though it never has before. But the reason not to do it isn't that it's easy or hard; the reason not to do it is that it accomplishes nothing (at best). I'm willing to knock wood to dispel bad luck for my favorite sports team, but up-ending my entire lifestyle is perhaps a bit much for a hope and a prayer.
I love this essay big time. You call out bullshit in a way that makes me burst into laughter rather than rage. I mean, the audacity of our bodies to not be up to date on Optavia…!
Also, brilliant idea to channel your tracking energy into reading books. What a novel (no pun intended) concept—make a “resolution” about something you actually like to do and know you can accomplish! I’m stealing this.
OMG This (and the entire paragraph): "Probably your life will change a lot if you deprive yourself of simple carbohydrates while the Supreme Court deprives you of your reproductive rights."
Imagine the world we could live in if so much time, energy and headspace weren’t wasted obsessing about what we're eating and what we weigh. Diet culture is truly toxic, harmful and oppressive.
Yup. Naomi Wolf is too bat shit to quote anymore but she was right in Beauty Myth about dieting as women's most powerful political sedative.
Yes she was!
SO much SIDE EYE to the NYT Well Section. They have nice sounding headlines but they're still all so diet-y! (I imagine you'd writing this while furious as you are lying on a heating pad?)
They are taking editorial direction solely from Noom now. And yes, so much heating pad rage here.
I tried Noom when it first launched- DID NOT WORK for me, too something, gimmicky?? Not sure what, just didn't like the vibe-HA!
maybe because it's a diet?❤️
Yep, wolf in sheep's clothing-HA!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, it amazes me that I "needed" permission to get off the dieting merry-go-round, and I did and you just gave it. You are so correct that they don't work. I listened to the podcast and so appreciated that you mentioned that whatever we are depriving ourselves will be the very thing we obsess about.
My goal this year is to be gentle with myself and focus on what makes me feel good. Thank you for being so very timely. Happy New Year!
So so glad this was helpful!
I have all sorts of feelings on this. I know diets don’t work. I will never again make a resolution about weight loss. I know every time I diet I gain it back plus 10-20lbs. I know this.
But as I get older - the need feels different? I used to diet to look “better”, feel more accepted, blah, blah — all the crap reasons. All not worth it. But I’m in my late 30s now. My knees hurt. And I don’t want to be in pain. And when the doctor sends me to PT and doesn’t even bring up weight loss until I do and confirms that yes - if I lost weight my osteoarthritis would be less painful - I don’t know what to do. In that exam room intermittent fasting does not seem so terrible if it will ease my knee pain.
And I know when I start it’s more likely than not that I will regain it back plus 20 lbs. It’s maddening. But shouldn’t I try? I’m not sure what the alternative is. Sigh.
Looks like you’ve gotten some great advice here but if you need another resource, here is some great information on a weight-inclusive approach to knee pain:
https://haeshealthsheets.com/joint-pain/
Imagine if the cure for cancer was to run a 5k every single day. 5k is not particularly onerous as far as running goes; the majority of people can run a 5k in about an hour. It might seem a minor, trivial thing to have to do when faced with a threat like cancer.
But you have to do it *every* day or else it doesn't work. You have to do it when you're stuck late at work one night. You have to do it when you've caught the flu. You have to do it when you're on vacation, and when you're taking care of an ailing parent, and just after you've given birth, and after you've developed shin splints from so much running.
Maybe you can do it. It's not technically impossible. There are other people who've managed to do it; they say it's hard, but it is achievable if you're willing to contort your life around it. Maybe you can be one of them; maybe you have the monomaniacal force of will and a predisposition towards not getting shin splints.
But...is it a realistic goal? Idk.
(Sorry about the knees...I'm a touch younger than you and mine have been acting up too. I might be more freaked out about it had my younger and rail-thin brother not spent all Christmas complaining about how his knees clicked and ached. Bad genes/luck are unfortunately inescapable.)
Such an interesting way to think about it - thank you for sharing the 5k cancer analogy. Food for thought for sure
Here's an alternative way to think about this: thin people can also have knee pain from osteoarthritis. As we get older we must pay attention to our joints. Losing weight might help, and it might not. I can say from experience that the best things for your knees in general as you get older are to make sure your feet, ankles and hips are as strong, mobile and flexible as they can possibly be. Joint pain is lame, to be sure. Hang in there.
" I get that it might even feel easier than not doing it, and is certainly easier than doing a lot of other things."
That's a good thing to point out. I never found dieting particularly burdensome (my autistic brain adores strict rules), though I never found it particularly successful either, and sometimes I find myself pondering dieting again just to see if maybe this time the thing everyone confidently asserts will happen will happen, even though it never has before. But the reason not to do it isn't that it's easy or hard; the reason not to do it is that it accomplishes nothing (at best). I'm willing to knock wood to dispel bad luck for my favorite sports team, but up-ending my entire lifestyle is perhaps a bit much for a hope and a prayer.
Yes. It's easy until it isn't easy. And then it's "your fault" that it wasn't easy enough to work.
You are wise and hilarious! Thank you, Virginia, and Happy New Year! Here's a virtual toast to NO DIETS EVER!
Cheers to that!
I needed this reminder! Gah I’m so tired of all of it, and so frustrated that I fall for it again and again.
It’s very very much NOT JUST YOU. Xo
I love this essay big time. You call out bullshit in a way that makes me burst into laughter rather than rage. I mean, the audacity of our bodies to not be up to date on Optavia…!
Also, brilliant idea to channel your tracking energy into reading books. What a novel (no pun intended) concept—make a “resolution” about something you actually like to do and know you can accomplish! I’m stealing this.