Great article! What’s so striking to me about the excerpt from Malmberg’s book is how much it seems like it could have been written today.
I feel like there’s also so much stigma around food itself. There’s this idea that eating French fries or a brownie needs to be apologized for or excused. Like if it’s not a meal that you would find on the Instagram of a raw vegan blogger who does plant-based keto and goes and forages all food themselves, it’s “bad” and you have to a acknowledge that you’re “giving in” and eating it “just this once” and then mention the 10 miles you ran that morning. Just eat the brownie! Definitely easier said than done, though, because diet culture dies hard.
Oh man, yeah, I thought about getting into the ridiculousness of value judgements about food, and calories, but I was running out of room! Lol. Maybe I'll do a follow-up about morality and foodstuffs.
Yeah there’s (unfortunately) too much to say on this topic. It’s something I talk about with friends fairly frequently and I’m hoping to eventually touch on it in some of my future newsletters. I’d definitely be interested in reading your follow-up!
I really enjoyed your “rant” so much! The historical references really ground our obsession in useful background and give us all something to chew on--non-caloric to boot! I’ve been obsessed with my weight since arriving in the world as a little plump baby eons ago. I’ve spent my entire life trying to measure up to an ideal of thinness I have never--and will never--achieve. So thanks for your post. I think you have just inspired me to write one or two of my own on this ever timely subject. If I do, I will reference your excellent piece, of course! I love the title, by the way. Seems timeless, like the topic.😊
Yes thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was a "chubby" kid, and while I avoided most of the bullying, there was always the undercurrent of unacceptability for being overweight. I've struggled with it in my adult life, too, but despite a fairly "healthy" life, I've decided that eating vegetables is great, but you need to have cake and bread, too. So I try not to worry about it too much.
Absolutely, cake and bread are essential, along with the greens. I still think that the old saw, all things in moderation, applies. I’ve found that the more I cut out whole food groups the more I crave them. While I don’t live to eat, food is one of the great pleasures I enjoy--at least when I’m not feeling guilty about it!
Yes! Life's too short not to have cake. The problem for me is only having one slice. Lol. Although I'm better about it than I used to be - paying attention to what I'm eating and actively enjoying it instead of mindlessly snarfing. But food is just too delicious, and our evolutionary biology is too strong, to cut out whole food groups. Except beets. My evolutionary biology tells me beets are disgusting. Even the golden "gateway" beets. Oh well.
I’m definitely NOT a beet fan either, though my evolutionary biology (mainly Eastern European Jewish) probably ought to make me love them. But I know what you mean about stopping with just one slice of cake. For me, it’s less cake than fresh bread, crackers or chips. Definite deal breaker when it comes to moderation. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.😅
The Economist did an article about the fallacy of counting calories in 2019 (sadly paywalled, but available here: https://www.economist.com/1843/2019/02/28/death-of-the-calorie), and also a summary video, which is quite good. But here is yet more evidence that flawed Progressive Era ideas about nutrition continue to influence our modern lives: https://youtu.be/avcQy2_yEkk
Great article! What’s so striking to me about the excerpt from Malmberg’s book is how much it seems like it could have been written today.
I feel like there’s also so much stigma around food itself. There’s this idea that eating French fries or a brownie needs to be apologized for or excused. Like if it’s not a meal that you would find on the Instagram of a raw vegan blogger who does plant-based keto and goes and forages all food themselves, it’s “bad” and you have to a acknowledge that you’re “giving in” and eating it “just this once” and then mention the 10 miles you ran that morning. Just eat the brownie! Definitely easier said than done, though, because diet culture dies hard.
Oh man, yeah, I thought about getting into the ridiculousness of value judgements about food, and calories, but I was running out of room! Lol. Maybe I'll do a follow-up about morality and foodstuffs.
Yeah there’s (unfortunately) too much to say on this topic. It’s something I talk about with friends fairly frequently and I’m hoping to eventually touch on it in some of my future newsletters. I’d definitely be interested in reading your follow-up!
I really enjoyed your “rant” so much! The historical references really ground our obsession in useful background and give us all something to chew on--non-caloric to boot! I’ve been obsessed with my weight since arriving in the world as a little plump baby eons ago. I’ve spent my entire life trying to measure up to an ideal of thinness I have never--and will never--achieve. So thanks for your post. I think you have just inspired me to write one or two of my own on this ever timely subject. If I do, I will reference your excellent piece, of course! I love the title, by the way. Seems timeless, like the topic.😊
Yes thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I was a "chubby" kid, and while I avoided most of the bullying, there was always the undercurrent of unacceptability for being overweight. I've struggled with it in my adult life, too, but despite a fairly "healthy" life, I've decided that eating vegetables is great, but you need to have cake and bread, too. So I try not to worry about it too much.
Absolutely, cake and bread are essential, along with the greens. I still think that the old saw, all things in moderation, applies. I’ve found that the more I cut out whole food groups the more I crave them. While I don’t live to eat, food is one of the great pleasures I enjoy--at least when I’m not feeling guilty about it!
Yes! Life's too short not to have cake. The problem for me is only having one slice. Lol. Although I'm better about it than I used to be - paying attention to what I'm eating and actively enjoying it instead of mindlessly snarfing. But food is just too delicious, and our evolutionary biology is too strong, to cut out whole food groups. Except beets. My evolutionary biology tells me beets are disgusting. Even the golden "gateway" beets. Oh well.
I’m definitely NOT a beet fan either, though my evolutionary biology (mainly Eastern European Jewish) probably ought to make me love them. But I know what you mean about stopping with just one slice of cake. For me, it’s less cake than fresh bread, crackers or chips. Definite deal breaker when it comes to moderation. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.😅
Loved this, so relevant!
Interesting article! Thank you Sarah. I enjoy your newsletter so very much.😊
The Economist did an article about the fallacy of counting calories in 2019 (sadly paywalled, but available here: https://www.economist.com/1843/2019/02/28/death-of-the-calorie), and also a summary video, which is quite good. But here is yet more evidence that flawed Progressive Era ideas about nutrition continue to influence our modern lives: https://youtu.be/avcQy2_yEkk
Fantastic article, Sarah! (And thanks for the links) Loved the discussion of the potato. So much ‘food for thought (pun intended) I’ll be re-reading!