No Megan Kelly, nobody needs to be fat-shamed ever.

Where to begin with this one? Megyn Kelly was interviewing Maria Kang. Remember Maria? A few years back, she was in the bikini, surrounded by her babies,with the “what’s your excuse” caption that made every mom/woman inAmerica hate her? It's funny, the things I said in my post, about Maria, 4 years ago, still hold. Megyn, in a discussion with her about fat shaming. said “sometimes you need to be fat shamed” and described that if she went to the fridge, during law school, she asked her stepdad to say, “where are you going fat ass?”

I am someone who doesn’t ever mince words and I ever had trouble typing that.

There are many ways this could’ve been semi-acceptable. “Everyone needs accountability” or “sometimes you need a reminder” but in the weight, body image space, there’s never a time for shame. Aside from being cruel, it’s ineffective. 

Kelly retracted her statement, or tried to explain it away the following day, after the backlash (no pun intended). Some things can’t really be taken back. Kelly talked about her own struggles with weight and how she’s now in in a healthier place with her food. I beg to differ. She may have dieted, I hear her book is generous in terms of food advice, but if you’re talking about yourself in those terms, you’re not healed. The honest follow-up would’ve been- while I would never call anyone else a fat-ass, I shouldn’t be using that language toward myself. Clearly, we are all still works in progress. There has been excellent dialog, of late. about male-female interactions, what's acceptable and what's not. But women also have to focus on their relationships with women. When you have a big platform, it's just as damaging, to other women, to denigrate yourself, as it is to use those words toward others.
Did you hear about this? Do you think fat-shaming is ever ok? What do you think Megyn's follow up should've been?

Foodtrainers’ Healthy London Guide

For winter break, my family and I were in Manchester and London. For my sons and husband (my 3 “boys”) the focus was football. As for me, I’m always looking ways to up the healthy ante while away. I haven’t been to London in a few years and the wellness scene really impressed me.

Before I forget, and in case you have London plans in your future, here are my picks, I will add pics and links in later but seriously my mental database only holds so much.

Farm girl - Farm girl has a few locations in London. The Notting Hill location is insta-known for their French bulldog lattes. I stayed closed to their Soho location which is a Sweaty Betty shop.

Also inside the shop, is a Duck and Dry blow dry bar. Yep, all (ok mostly all) my needs met under one roof. I loved the lavender bowl, they make excellent matcha latte & I snagged a few Kat Kombuchas to take to my hotel rooms.

Speaking of our hotel, I will never stay anywhere in London except for the London Edition. It’s gorgeous, the staff is unbelievably friendly (our amazing in room dining person brought the boys scarves for their favorite teams). Plus, green juice and serious gluten-freeness on the room service menu and the spectacular Berner’s tavern restaurant adjacent to the lobby.

Deliciously Ella- Deliciously Ella has a tremendous social media following. So, I had to hit one of her café’s. Our phone’s navigation had a seriously hard time finding their location just off Oxford street, Marc and I walked for an hour earning our food. Try their turmeric latte and also

the coconut yogurt with some sort of heavenly compote on top.

For my fellow gluten free-ers, try Beyond Bread or we did B Bakery’s teatime on a double decker bus. They had a gluten free option for this as well. I will not say it was healthy but it was so enjoyable to taste a scone again.

In terms of dinners, perhaps my best meal of 2017 took place at Nopi, one of Ottolenghi’s restaurants. My review may be inflated because our boys sat this one out and hung at the hotel. And since we all love Indian food, we were practically tandoori Slaytons by the time our trip ended (my family even had tikka masala in the VirginLounge, I was overjoyed with a kale salad and tea). The wait was too long (90 minutes) at Dishroom, that’ll have to wait for our next trip.

There is a place (will get name) I love to buy tea to take home at Borough Market. They make a real chai tea with freshly grated ginger. My family had paella.

If you’re detecting a theme, yes, I peel away a little bit from the “three boys” when away. I may have “peeled” into the best spa in London, Akasha wellness, for some sauna and massage time.

Akashaha was recommended to me by my friend Clarissa. She is the owner of Clarissa Lerherr nutrition.

OK, now it’s time to talk to CBS about failed resolutions, 10 days into the new year.

What are your favorite healthy hotspots in London?

New Year, New Blog, New Wellness “truth” to question

Saturday night, I waited up for my son to come home (do other parents do this, please advise) and then couldn’t get myself back to sleep. I’m sure the remnants of jet lag didn’t help matters. My body has no idea what time it is. I did what every sleep expert would advise against and started reading things on my phone. My phone wouldn’t have been next to the bed, if not for the teen at a late movie, but still.

I started scrolling through my Instagram feed. I am a little bit of a quote whore, so many people that I follow tend to post quotes. However, some are snarky and hilarious (my preference) and others are more of the annoying Instagram variety, you know what I’m referring to. I get it, I should love myself and some days I do. I read this quote “watch your habits not your weight.” At first glance, I was on board. Habits, and establishing them, are a good use of your time. Fixating on weight and the scale, we all know that helps us as much as a Mallomar when it comes to actually feeling good. But the commentary- and I realize many people respond to this type of thing, bugged me. The poster explained she is starting the year at a higher weight and it doesn’t matter because she now cares more about habits. I felt a pang of doubt, I call it my quote intuition. It happens when I read a quote, wait for it to inspire me, and sometimes react with “nope, that doesn’t work.”

Carolyn and I had lunch, ok hot toddy’s with some eggs on the side, on Friday. We talked about this recent ethos of “weight doesn’t matter.” And we weigh our clients backward, so it’s not like we’re weight fixated but, call it what you will, size matters (to some) J I feel accomplished when I take my vitamins or make my matcha. It feels good. But so does putting on my ski pants, or any pants for that matter, and feeling fit and pretty. If things fitting snugly or a muffin or mini muffin top doesn’t get under your skin, that’s great. But I don’t necessarily aspire to not care about size. I care about my house being decluttered, I love pretty flowers and I love feeling confident or sexy. I like that boost.

I’ve talked about this holier than thou social media movement before. Diet is a bad word, as is thin, forget skinny- the wellness elite will excommunicate you for that one.  But we all agree, I hope, in using our energy to feeling good, have less negativity and guilt. If, for one person, that means weighing more and accepting that, amazing. But feeling that way isn’t necessarily morally superior to putting on an outfit and liking that way it fits. It’s all about keeping it positive and knowing which camp you’re in. Speaking of camps, our New Year’s Squeeze week starts today. Good luck to our 50 Squeezers, many of whom have goals, of feeling "lighter", "leaner" and "debloated", at the end of the week.

Happy New Year!

P.S. How do you like the new blog? Any topics you’d like us to cover? Are you a size doesn’t matter person or does it matter to you?