The Extra Mile

Earlier this month, Virginia Sole-Smith, bestselling author of Fat Talk, published a podcast/essay titled "Nobody Cares About Your 'Health and Fitness' Journey." I'm not a premium subscriber to her Burnt Toast newsletter, I confess, so I couldn't listen or read; and it's never great to judge a book by its cover yada yada yada. It's likely that Sole-Smith is discussing weight loss – something that, I agree, is too often conflated with "health" and "fitness." But I don't agree at all that "nobody cares." Indeed, the headline really irked me, and it's been gnawing at me since.

I mean, obviously I feel a little implicated in her condemnation. Second Breakfast, despite my best efforts (on the days I make the effort, that is), is about my health and fitness. And technology. My grief. Things I ate. Ways I moved – all trying to cope.