Ftrain, by Paul Ford

Here’s the big secret, which I have absolutely no scientific evidence to support but would nevertheless bet every cent I have, both my dogs, and my firstborn on: at least 95% of people who insist that “lifestyle changes” work (and who are not in the business of selling weight-loss products) are less than five years out from the beginning of a “lifestyle change.”

Better known, as they will see by the end of five years, as a “diet.”

As anyone who knew me between 1995 and 2002ish, but especially my sisters, can attest, I was fucking insufferable with my endless proselytizing about “lifestyle changes.” If I’d been more internet-savvy at the time, I totally would have been polluting every conceivable message board with my endless rambling about how easy it is, really, once you get used to it–once you’ve made that lifestyle change! About how much better it feels to be thin! About how I’ve taken control of my eating, my life, my destiny! About how I’m never, ever, ever going back!

And boy, would I feel like an asshole now. Specifically, a fat asshole.

--Kate Harding, Shapely Prose

My body is a battleground.