FOOD, BODY IMAGE, AND THE WHOLE DIET-AND-EXERCISE DRAMA
There’s a lot more to our struggles with food and our bodies than calories, willpower, or trying harder.
Here, I explore the assumptions behind the traditional diet-and-exercise model, why so many familiar solutions keep us stuck, and what changes when we approach food, exercise, and our bodies from a completely different perspective.
Some posts are personal. Some challenge conventional wisdom. And some might make you laugh.
Browse the articles below. Start wherever you're curious.
Why Knowing Photos Are Photoshopped Doesn’t Stop the Pain
I knew the magazine cover was retouched. I know every cover is retouched. And yet standing in the grocery store checkout line looking at Gwyneth Paltrow's abs, I still felt it. Here's why knowing something intellectually and really knowing it are two completely different things.
What Is Happy Calories Don’t Count? Here’s the Simple Answer
The first thing people ask when they hear my book title is "what's a happy calorie?" I usually answer with another question — what's an unhappy calorie? Here's what Happy Calories Don't Count actually is, and why it's fundamentally different from every other approach to weight loss.
You Are Perfect Exactly Where You Are in Your Journey
A passage from The Inner Game of Tennis stopped me cold. It's about a rose seed — but it's really about you, exactly as you are right now, at whatever stage of your journey you're in.
Why Understanding Happy Calories Don’t Count Requires a Light-Bulb Moment
Teaching Happy Calories Don't Count is like pulling someone out of the Matrix — except this Matrix pulls you right back in. Here's why making the shift requires more than just learning new information, and what that light-bulb moment actually feels like.
Why You Don’t Have to Love Exercise — You Just Have to Find What Works Right Now
I am not a treadmill person. Ask anyone. And yet last week, stuck in a hotel gym on a rainy travel day, I loved every minute of it. Here's what that experience reminded me about exercise, motivation, and why the "right" workout is never what you think.
Why 97% of People Regain the Weight (And What Actually Works Instead)
Most people diet to reach a destination — a goal weight, a certain size, a before-and-after photo. But what happens when you get there? Here's why the destination is an illusion, and what sustainable weight loss actually looks like.