So powerful, thank you once again for your continued body image support. I chant to myself every morning self love praise to drown out the sadness over the ever growing and changing female body staring back at me in the mirror. My once 8 pack fitness model abs covered by...I’m not sure what this is. All I know is that I am healthier than I’ve ever been off of drugs, alcohol, nicotine, adderol, and sugar. I practice mindful eating and this is what “healthy” wants to look like on me.
I love your comment that we don’t really know how the body works. This really resonated with me. A gift now engrained in my mind that I will carry with me. A new chant to support the desire to love myself. Because it feels so much better than the negative self talk.
I'm still struck by the moment in Oprah's interview with Adele when Adele talks about how she started lifting and identified herself as an athlete. Oprah was shocked. Which honestly made me sad. I wonder how much of Oprah's mindset/approach toward her body could improve with a strength regimen (that could also perhaps help with some of her see-sawing weight?). I appreciate your critiques here and your recognition of Oprah's humanity, and it also just sucks to see someone still trapped in a battle they've been fighting for 30+ years. When do we rest from our own self-criticism?
This was a great piece, Mikala - thank you for writing what I have been struggling to come up with myself. I think you're spot on about Oprah doing this because she's a "finisher" - I think my perfectionism is the reason I keep cycling between starting a "diet" or Noom or something and radical self-acceptance. I feel too that I am a finisher who maybe even isn't doing this because of other people's opinions of me, but simply to prove I can. This gave me something to think about. Thank you!
Thanks for all this. I’ve avoided the whole pearl-clutching scene around Oprah’s latest weight news as much as possible, but your piece made me finally click that NYT op-ed. Is it wrong to be shocked by Weiner’s lack of disclosure? They typically make you report on conflicts of interest, and I think if you’re going to use a massive platform like an NYT op ed to bash someone else’s body management choices, the writer’s involvement seems worth mentioning. And what was with the strange midpoint where out of nowhere came a bittersweet longing for a body positivity moment. Did I miss that? Near as I can tell, the Ozempic wave began building long before Oprah’s People interview. More diverse representation has been building, too. Pocketbooks will ultimately determine the victor. Businesses don’t advertise to be charitable. As you so deftly point out, the invterview is calculated to inflate Weight Watchers stock prices and Oprah’s pockets.
i really appreciate your writing and perspective. i spent college in recovery from a binge eating disorder, and only now, four years after college, have i been able to get to a place where the idea of losing weight and being conscientious about what i eat doesn’t feel like a regression on my recovery or a sign that i’ve slipped back into that familiar shameful, self-loathing mindset
because body positivity/neutrality is almost always presented as black and white: either you hate yourself so you’re trying to lose weight, or you’ve learned to accept yourself so you’ll just let your weight fluctuate to whatever number and never limit what you eat in any way. i’ve fully hit both extremes of that binary now, and i’m finding my way toward the middle. i’m so thankful you’re writing about that middle ground! it’s so important and we surely don’t see enough of it
So powerful, thank you once again for your continued body image support. I chant to myself every morning self love praise to drown out the sadness over the ever growing and changing female body staring back at me in the mirror. My once 8 pack fitness model abs covered by...I’m not sure what this is. All I know is that I am healthier than I’ve ever been off of drugs, alcohol, nicotine, adderol, and sugar. I practice mindful eating and this is what “healthy” wants to look like on me.
I love your comment that we don’t really know how the body works. This really resonated with me. A gift now engrained in my mind that I will carry with me. A new chant to support the desire to love myself. Because it feels so much better than the negative self talk.
I'm still struck by the moment in Oprah's interview with Adele when Adele talks about how she started lifting and identified herself as an athlete. Oprah was shocked. Which honestly made me sad. I wonder how much of Oprah's mindset/approach toward her body could improve with a strength regimen (that could also perhaps help with some of her see-sawing weight?). I appreciate your critiques here and your recognition of Oprah's humanity, and it also just sucks to see someone still trapped in a battle they've been fighting for 30+ years. When do we rest from our own self-criticism?
I really relate to this post so much. I appreciate that you're not condemning her.
This was a great piece, Mikala - thank you for writing what I have been struggling to come up with myself. I think you're spot on about Oprah doing this because she's a "finisher" - I think my perfectionism is the reason I keep cycling between starting a "diet" or Noom or something and radical self-acceptance. I feel too that I am a finisher who maybe even isn't doing this because of other people's opinions of me, but simply to prove I can. This gave me something to think about. Thank you!
This kicked ass
Thanks for all this. I’ve avoided the whole pearl-clutching scene around Oprah’s latest weight news as much as possible, but your piece made me finally click that NYT op-ed. Is it wrong to be shocked by Weiner’s lack of disclosure? They typically make you report on conflicts of interest, and I think if you’re going to use a massive platform like an NYT op ed to bash someone else’s body management choices, the writer’s involvement seems worth mentioning. And what was with the strange midpoint where out of nowhere came a bittersweet longing for a body positivity moment. Did I miss that? Near as I can tell, the Ozempic wave began building long before Oprah’s People interview. More diverse representation has been building, too. Pocketbooks will ultimately determine the victor. Businesses don’t advertise to be charitable. As you so deftly point out, the invterview is calculated to inflate Weight Watchers stock prices and Oprah’s pockets.
i really appreciate your writing and perspective. i spent college in recovery from a binge eating disorder, and only now, four years after college, have i been able to get to a place where the idea of losing weight and being conscientious about what i eat doesn’t feel like a regression on my recovery or a sign that i’ve slipped back into that familiar shameful, self-loathing mindset
because body positivity/neutrality is almost always presented as black and white: either you hate yourself so you’re trying to lose weight, or you’ve learned to accept yourself so you’ll just let your weight fluctuate to whatever number and never limit what you eat in any way. i’ve fully hit both extremes of that binary now, and i’m finding my way toward the middle. i’m so thankful you’re writing about that middle ground! it’s so important and we surely don’t see enough of it
Well said. It is human to crave belonging. It is so hard for fat bodies to belong in our diet culture society. 😣😞😡
Really well written and thought through
This is such a great piece! Thank you <3
Great job again, Mikala!