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ailbheOn Thursday someone at the library remarked on her packed lunch - "Look at how healthy I'm being!" she said. I looked; potato, salad, stuff in a jar. Looked like lunch. I made a noncommittal kind of noise, because I was busy doing something, and she continued, "I have to be careful because I gained so much weight over Christmas!"
I believe I grunted. But she went on... I don't remember what she said, but eventually she asked for a sympathetic response (along the lines of "because we all need to lose weight sometimes, don't we?) and I said "I don't do weight-loss conversation."
She went on, so I explained myself further, in as socially acceptable a way as I know how - I said something along the lines of: All my weight problems are from being underweight, not overweight, and usually if someone says "Oh wow Ailbhe, you've lost weight!" I say "Yes, I'm REALLY ILL."
What I didn't do, and want to be commended for, is give her a lecture on the health and political stuff around the whole "women all want and need to lose weight through their food choices based on the moral value of foods" and all that. You all know what I'm talking about. Sometimes it's carbs bad, protein good - sometimes it's refined bad, raw good - sometimes it's real food bad, peculiar milkshake science goop good. It's never chocolate good; chocolate and cake are universally evil foodstuffs, and will go straight to hell. And it's never "most women look fine just as they are and should stop worrying about whether they're fat or not because worrying won't change a damn thing."
Jeez.
I believe I grunted. But she went on... I don't remember what she said, but eventually she asked for a sympathetic response (along the lines of "because we all need to lose weight sometimes, don't we?) and I said "I don't do weight-loss conversation."
She went on, so I explained myself further, in as socially acceptable a way as I know how - I said something along the lines of: All my weight problems are from being underweight, not overweight, and usually if someone says "Oh wow Ailbhe, you've lost weight!" I say "Yes, I'm REALLY ILL."
What I didn't do, and want to be commended for, is give her a lecture on the health and political stuff around the whole "women all want and need to lose weight through their food choices based on the moral value of foods" and all that. You all know what I'm talking about. Sometimes it's carbs bad, protein good - sometimes it's refined bad, raw good - sometimes it's real food bad, peculiar milkshake science goop good. It's never chocolate good; chocolate and cake are universally evil foodstuffs, and will go straight to hell. And it's never "most women look fine just as they are and should stop worrying about whether they're fat or not because worrying won't change a damn thing."
Jeez.