Jan 4, 2022·edited Jan 4, 2022Liked by Virginia Sole-Smith
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.
" 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.
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.
" 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.
You are wise and hilarious! Thank you, Virginia, and Happy New Year! Here's a virtual toast to NO DIETS EVER!
I needed this reminder! Gah I’m so tired of all of it, and so frustrated that I fall for it again and again.
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.