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I Don’t Need Your Permission to Eat While on Vacation, Thanks.
Leave the baggage of diet culture at home
“Take a girl like me to the Deep South but I WILL find a juice bar. And almond milk.”
These words were written on Facebook by one of my friends during a visit to New Orleans, a city known for its cuisine. It brought up a lot of anger for me, not directed toward her, but toward the diet culture we live in, one of which I was once part of it. And if I’m being honest, I still am to some degree.
I traveled to New Orleans four years ago and did the same thing, so maybe reading it was triggering. My (now) husband and I walked miles to the one clean-ish restaurant in the city. I found it on a Google search, and it ended up being in a large office building — It was one of those places. In the midst of some of the best food in the country, we laughed when we arrived from our long hike, expecting, well, not quite sure, but something else.
Jason has an overwhelming appreciation for food, so we went to the prominent restaurants of the city; all too many for my weight-conscious self. I ordered whatever looked the healthiest on the menu and then drove servers crazy with a gazillion adjustments to make it even cleaner. A part of me know I was missing out…
