Thank you for this! I think #3 will be important for me because I do have a couple of body-adjacent goals for 2024, namely, doing yoga regularly and continued sobriety from alcohol (which I started back in November). I'm trying to shift my outlook from restriction to making room for other, wonderful indulgences. Ex.: I drank 3 Shirley Temples while bowling last week and got to remember how good they are. Seriously! Omg, they are delicious! And I cannot wait to have more lemonades and sparkling ciders and other fun drinks that were pushed out of my life because I was always reaching for a cocktail. And with yoga I can indulge in the feelings of peace and power that come from moving through the poses, without thinking of my appearance. (Though I still have insecurities that come to the surface! Working on it!)
Huge congrats on your sobriety -- that's amazing! And I love the reframe of, what are you making space to have MORE of vs what are you cutting out. There is so much potential for joy there.
Omg I LOVE a Shirley Temple!! Congratulations on your sobriety – I am cutting way back on my drinking too (doing a dry-ish December and January) and I have been enjoying Sprite a ton!
Thanks for the reminder to donate to NAAFA -- I just became a monthly donor. I’m fat, but in my 60s and out of the fray, but our daughter, who is a big woman in every way, is very much IN the working world, and in an industry space that, while not actively hostile to larger bodies, is at least indirectly judgmental. She just got a well-deserved promotion, but I think she had to fight harder for it than her colleagues, and I am convinced her size has something to do with it. There should absolutely be anti-discrimination laws to protect those of us in larger bodies. Thanks, Virginia, for goosing me. 😊
I just want to thank you AGAIN for pointing me in the direction of Lauren Leavell. I’ve never enjoyed movement more, and she is so affirming and supportive--a real gift. 💝
I see people co-opting self care language. So my friend’s resolution is ‘to be lovely to myself’. This required a NYE dinner of lamb and wine because apparently being lovely to yourself is about fish and no wine. Ah, the gift of deprivation.
I went with invitations this year. Invite more nature, reading, adventure and so on. Picking things that add value to my life, instead of trying to change me in some way.
I love these. I am doing a resolution of replacement...around Discourse. Like, being miserable on the internet Discourse. Instead when I feel the urge I'm going to try to do something that actually matters to the world or my community. Donations (NAAFA!), emails, calls to reps for justice. Opt out of judging others and opt IN to action that helps the world.
So many ads for indoor walking....we went on a walk around our neighborhood yesterday since my husband and I were both off (I go back to work today, and our daughter will be back at preschool, he worked last Wednesday-Friday but had New Year’s Day off), and our daughter wanted to see all the Christmas inflatables (I assume most people will take them down this week). We aren’t necessarily big on taking walks more than once a week since I don’t get home from work until dark, but I would much rather walk in the neighborhood than walk inside.
I am changing nothing about my eating habits, but I am really looking forward to Chari (our prep cook at school) being back on my list of favorite people who feed me because I have not enjoyed having to figure out lunch for the last week while we were off (Chari feeds the teachers and kids breakfast, lunch, and snack daily M-F).
My birthday is on January 4th which has made me doubly dislike New Year’s resolutions, as it lands just as everyone is embarking on “cleaning” up their lives and not in the mood for celebrating anymore!! Luckily my family has always taken this into account and makes sure our holidays always go through the first week in January, which helps bypass trying to implement big changes January 1!! 😉 😅
Yes to opting out! I've hidden the few ads that have snuck through my filters, but I also realized that I've been carefully cultivating my feeds over a long enough time that most of what I see is anti diet culture / anti toxic fitness content. I mean, I still get the occasional stealth stuff like the Facebook acquaintance whose first post since May was sharing how helpful he thought doing a detox will be in the new year (and sharing the MLM post of his detox "coach.") Yikes, double hit of MLM+ diet culture! But I'm also happy to be at a point in my anti diet evolution that I can look, roll my eyes, block, and move on. Also happy to be a member at a body affirming, anti diet weightlifting gym that limits the number of people who can be there at any given time, so even if there are new people who want to join because resolutions, there will have to be an open spot for them to come into, there won't be overcrowding and fighting for space (and I appreciate the enormous privilege I have to be able to afford the prices at a limited access gym).
My goal was to keep a string of pearls plant alive for all of 2023, and I did that! Virginia, I was thrifting today and there was a vintage wooden dollhouse kit that was never used, and I bought it for $9.75. Now I am a first time homeowner ;)
I’ve noticed a big trend of replacing Resolutions with a More/Less list but...spoiler alert...almost every list I’ve seen includes LESS...FOOD. Whether it’s “less sugar” “less carbs” or whatever, it’s so sad.
Needed to do one for a drawing class and I almost skipped the LESS section entirely because I was so annoyed.
Ugh it's just so bad! And this is the first year I know my kids are seeing it and hearing it (on the radio, on ads during televised sporting events). I just had my first conversation really about fatphobia with my straight sized son and he said "you've never talked about this before" and I said "well, we're talking about it now!" Next, to unpack that Jennie Craig ad...
Hi Virginia! i was hoping you could help me...I had signed up for the extra butter and paid for it but my apple podcasts still aren't reflecting it and so i can't listen to the full episodes and such. It looks when I'm logged in here that it is reflected though. I appreciate your help!!
Hi Cara! Hmm...You're still listed here as a regular paid subscriber. Can you email me your payment confirmation for Extra Butter so I can sort it out? (you can reply to any email or myname@gmail.com) Thanks!
Hmmm, okay well I can't find it but maybe I misspoke, I know I am a paid subscriber but was under the belief that when I became paid I would be getting to listen the podcasts without teasers and extra butter but maybe I am on a different tier. I recently did a full email clean out and think the paid receipt got deleted I'll keep searching!
Yes, regular paid subscribers get the monthly Indulgence Gospel episodes (and none of the essays will have paywalls for you, plus you can comment), but not the monthly Extra Butter episodes. (Extra Butter subscribers get both, plus full access to Cult of Perfect.) Let me know if you think you're still hitting paywalls you shouldn't, we'll figure it out!
Nothing on Burnt Toast includes ads! (Unless you’re talking about us explaining why people should pay for BT - I guess we have to advertise ourselves!) The Extra Butter sale ended last Friday but I’ve lowered the overall price to $99 permanently — and again, whatever you’ve paid towards your current subscription gets applied towards that. Hope that helps!
I don’t know how to email you but I tried signing up for the discounted extra butter for $75 and it won’t let me because my current account is still valid until Jan. 28. I don’t know how to bypass that. I tried using another card but it won’t allow it with the link you have in the post.
Hi! I just looked you up and it looks like you are now Extra Butter -- so I think it worked out? But not sure how? Email us (virginiasolesmith.assistant@gmail.com) if you're still not getting access!
Thank you for this! I think #3 will be important for me because I do have a couple of body-adjacent goals for 2024, namely, doing yoga regularly and continued sobriety from alcohol (which I started back in November). I'm trying to shift my outlook from restriction to making room for other, wonderful indulgences. Ex.: I drank 3 Shirley Temples while bowling last week and got to remember how good they are. Seriously! Omg, they are delicious! And I cannot wait to have more lemonades and sparkling ciders and other fun drinks that were pushed out of my life because I was always reaching for a cocktail. And with yoga I can indulge in the feelings of peace and power that come from moving through the poses, without thinking of my appearance. (Though I still have insecurities that come to the surface! Working on it!)
Huge congrats on your sobriety -- that's amazing! And I love the reframe of, what are you making space to have MORE of vs what are you cutting out. There is so much potential for joy there.
Omg I LOVE a Shirley Temple!! Congratulations on your sobriety – I am cutting way back on my drinking too (doing a dry-ish December and January) and I have been enjoying Sprite a ton!
Thanks for the reminder to donate to NAAFA -- I just became a monthly donor. I’m fat, but in my 60s and out of the fray, but our daughter, who is a big woman in every way, is very much IN the working world, and in an industry space that, while not actively hostile to larger bodies, is at least indirectly judgmental. She just got a well-deserved promotion, but I think she had to fight harder for it than her colleagues, and I am convinced her size has something to do with it. There should absolutely be anti-discrimination laws to protect those of us in larger bodies. Thanks, Virginia, for goosing me. 😊
YES. NAAFA is doing phenomenal work -- getting anti-discrimination protections in place truly is the foundation of all of this.
I just want to thank you AGAIN for pointing me in the direction of Lauren Leavell. I’ve never enjoyed movement more, and she is so affirming and supportive--a real gift. 💝
OMG, Lauren 4 Life.
I love the idea of adding things for the new year, not taking away. I vote: more bright colors, more time with friends, more flowers, more art!
I see people co-opting self care language. So my friend’s resolution is ‘to be lovely to myself’. This required a NYE dinner of lamb and wine because apparently being lovely to yourself is about fish and no wine. Ah, the gift of deprivation.
Sigh. Deprivation sounds so very very unlovely.
I went with invitations this year. Invite more nature, reading, adventure and so on. Picking things that add value to my life, instead of trying to change me in some way.
That's beautiful!
I love these. I am doing a resolution of replacement...around Discourse. Like, being miserable on the internet Discourse. Instead when I feel the urge I'm going to try to do something that actually matters to the world or my community. Donations (NAAFA!), emails, calls to reps for justice. Opt out of judging others and opt IN to action that helps the world.
omg I LOVE this.
Thank you for this breathe of fresh air. The diet culture feels totally suffocating in January
It's ROUGH OUT THERE. But safe and cozy in here!
So many ads for indoor walking....we went on a walk around our neighborhood yesterday since my husband and I were both off (I go back to work today, and our daughter will be back at preschool, he worked last Wednesday-Friday but had New Year’s Day off), and our daughter wanted to see all the Christmas inflatables (I assume most people will take them down this week). We aren’t necessarily big on taking walks more than once a week since I don’t get home from work until dark, but I would much rather walk in the neighborhood than walk inside.
I am changing nothing about my eating habits, but I am really looking forward to Chari (our prep cook at school) being back on my list of favorite people who feed me because I have not enjoyed having to figure out lunch for the last week while we were off (Chari feeds the teachers and kids breakfast, lunch, and snack daily M-F).
My birthday is on January 4th which has made me doubly dislike New Year’s resolutions, as it lands just as everyone is embarking on “cleaning” up their lives and not in the mood for celebrating anymore!! Luckily my family has always taken this into account and makes sure our holidays always go through the first week in January, which helps bypass trying to implement big changes January 1!! 😉 😅
Ugh. But happy almost birthday!!
Thank you!! ♥️
Yes to opting out! I've hidden the few ads that have snuck through my filters, but I also realized that I've been carefully cultivating my feeds over a long enough time that most of what I see is anti diet culture / anti toxic fitness content. I mean, I still get the occasional stealth stuff like the Facebook acquaintance whose first post since May was sharing how helpful he thought doing a detox will be in the new year (and sharing the MLM post of his detox "coach.") Yikes, double hit of MLM+ diet culture! But I'm also happy to be at a point in my anti diet evolution that I can look, roll my eyes, block, and move on. Also happy to be a member at a body affirming, anti diet weightlifting gym that limits the number of people who can be there at any given time, so even if there are new people who want to join because resolutions, there will have to be an open spot for them to come into, there won't be overcrowding and fighting for space (and I appreciate the enormous privilege I have to be able to afford the prices at a limited access gym).
Ooh I have a lot of gym envy -- there is nowhere around me like that. Sounds heavenly!
My goal was to keep a string of pearls plant alive for all of 2023, and I did that! Virginia, I was thrifting today and there was a vintage wooden dollhouse kit that was never used, and I bought it for $9.75. Now I am a first time homeowner ;)
OMGGG what a dollhouse score. And a string of pearls triumph! Love this so much.
I’ve noticed a big trend of replacing Resolutions with a More/Less list but...spoiler alert...almost every list I’ve seen includes LESS...FOOD. Whether it’s “less sugar” “less carbs” or whatever, it’s so sad.
Needed to do one for a drawing class and I almost skipped the LESS section entirely because I was so annoyed.
Belatedly wish I’d added
“Less baseless restrictions” 🙃
Yeah, same with the In/Out lists, which I think is a fun concept and could be thoroughly non-diet AND YET.
AND YET!
Ugh it's just so bad! And this is the first year I know my kids are seeing it and hearing it (on the radio, on ads during televised sporting events). I just had my first conversation really about fatphobia with my straight sized son and he said "you've never talked about this before" and I said "well, we're talking about it now!" Next, to unpack that Jennie Craig ad...
Hi Virginia! i was hoping you could help me...I had signed up for the extra butter and paid for it but my apple podcasts still aren't reflecting it and so i can't listen to the full episodes and such. It looks when I'm logged in here that it is reflected though. I appreciate your help!!
Hi Cara! Hmm...You're still listed here as a regular paid subscriber. Can you email me your payment confirmation for Extra Butter so I can sort it out? (you can reply to any email or myname@gmail.com) Thanks!
Hmmm, okay well I can't find it but maybe I misspoke, I know I am a paid subscriber but was under the belief that when I became paid I would be getting to listen the podcasts without teasers and extra butter but maybe I am on a different tier. I recently did a full email clean out and think the paid receipt got deleted I'll keep searching!
Yes, regular paid subscribers get the monthly Indulgence Gospel episodes (and none of the essays will have paywalls for you, plus you can comment), but not the monthly Extra Butter episodes. (Extra Butter subscribers get both, plus full access to Cult of Perfect.) Let me know if you think you're still hitting paywalls you shouldn't, we'll figure it out!
the normal burnt toast podcasts should still have ads? oh man , i would like to still do the extra butter! did i miss the $25?
Nothing on Burnt Toast includes ads! (Unless you’re talking about us explaining why people should pay for BT - I guess we have to advertise ourselves!) The Extra Butter sale ended last Friday but I’ve lowered the overall price to $99 permanently — and again, whatever you’ve paid towards your current subscription gets applied towards that. Hope that helps!
thanks a lot for explaining!!
I don’t know how to email you but I tried signing up for the discounted extra butter for $75 and it won’t let me because my current account is still valid until Jan. 28. I don’t know how to bypass that. I tried using another card but it won’t allow it with the link you have in the post.
Hi! I just looked you up and it looks like you are now Extra Butter -- so I think it worked out? But not sure how? Email us (virginiasolesmith.assistant@gmail.com) if you're still not getting access!
Thank you for replying. Yes I finally found the problem and joined! 😊