I spent the last few days meditating on Jerry Saltz’s essay “My Appetites”, where he walks us through his relationship with food (in short: he’s not that interested in it, period) and gives a truly vulnerable account of how his past and present shape his eating habits. It’s exactly what I wish I could learn about everybody when they come meet with me about nutrition.
It reminds me of two things:
First: Every person’s eating pattern develops (and continues to evolve) over a lifetime of experiences, trauma, healing, good and bad relationships, and so on. Judging someone’s relationship with food is making a judgement on their lived experiences. An eating story is a life story.
Second: Healthism can be a harmful belief. Sure, I would love to speak to anybody about their relationship with food if they are interested. But I don’t hold the expectation that everyone should prioritize eating fresh fruits or vegetables, or microwaving less, over anything else in their life. As Jerry writes “I took my limitations and pared my life down to art, work, and Roberta. I couldn’t be happier.”
In my work, I hold space for everyone’s eating story. Please tell me yours!