Really really enjoyed this, Gabe. It feels like you JUST got below 400 (399.9 as I remember). How is it possible that you're already 380? Is that a different thumbnail? You look great, it's astonishing the difference in your face. It seems crazy to me that I was here for the beginning, which seems like yesterday. And that I'd already known you a long time before that. You say you're just starting to trust in the process, that goes for me vicariously.
Many aspects of this podcast I loved but of course, your mentioning of the politicization of weight loss. I wonder if Malone is on Ozempic? Didn't Aseem Malhotra become something in MAHA with his weight loss agenda?
You're so right about that fine line between taking agency without blaming yourself. And the first step in changing the inner dialogue. The life lessons apply to so much. If my daughter Cassandra listened to just one, I'd pick this. It has so many topics up her alley. I feel that Malhotra is an anti-fat people activist, which is very different from Cassandra's activism on behalf of fat people--a word she prefers to obesity. And the social causes are real, not just the individual ones. What you and she are figuring out is moving everyone forward, I think.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was eagerly looking forward to your thoughts on this. 😄
It means a lot to me that you find this iteration particularly valuable because I'll admit it still feels *risky* to bring some of these thoughts up. When I started talking about my experiences, there was a creeping thought that reaching my destination would 'entitle' me to not be dismissed as much on some of the thornier points. Your encouragement has meant a great deal to me. You've helped me find the courage to wrestle with these questions sooner than I would otherwise and I think I'm better for it.
I haven't had Malhotra on my radar specifically. Based on what little I saw of him, I would have flagged as what Margaret Anna Alice calls a 'mainstream straddler'. These days I'm more convinced than I was in the past that the "food fight" detachment of MAHA are effectively operating as a limited hangout.
I read Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" which is over two decades old nowadays and many in that crew haven't even seemed to wrestle with the issues raised in the book, despite talking a great deal about the importance of healthy food. On the author's blog, she explicitly calls out MAHA for cozy relations with the industry. (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2025/06/maha-let-the-lobbying-begin/)
In the past, I wouldn't have identified these actors as "anti fat people activists" but I'm starting to see it. It's now very clear to me that these over-simplified approaches to health are not only downstream of public health's bad incentives, but also more about branding/PR than addressing root causes. Given that Trump's already bombed Iran, I feel vindicated for taking the position that MAHA was only allowed to be part of the discussion for it's usefulness to military stakeholders. (https://rumble.com/v5t2w1b-maha-and-the-military-round-table-with-liam-sturgess-michael-kane-and-gabri.html) It is a shame that my audio in that interview was so bad, because I regret not emphasizing this talk more.
My spicy summary of the big picture here is that I expect anti fat people activism to continue to rise. To many people, fat people (and others) are a highly visible overt sign that there are problems in society that we should be tackling. Blaming it all on food choices is one of many ways to diffuse responsibility by putting all the blame on those struggling, which I see parallels for on many other issues. This makes me wonder if all top-down health initiatives are just about concealing problems rather than addressing them, it certainly looks like it in hindsight.
Marion Nestle! Love her! Great quote: "RFK Jr is merely calling for companies to take voluntary actions, and individuals to take personal responsibility—neither of which is likely to have any chance of Making America Healthy Again."
Thank you for those kind remarks, Gabe. I'm honored that my responses are meaningful and encouraging to you, especially to address those riskier, thornier issues. It takes a lot of courage to be sticking out your neck.
There was one time that Cassandra said she wanted to post what she ate in a day, to show what normal people ate rather than the kind of people who DO post their daily food intake. Imagining the responses she might get made me cringe. But I also want someone to show that what fat people eat isn't so different than everyone else. There's no straight line cause and effect.
There have been some memes making the circuit that ridicule fat people. They hurt my heart. Somehow this has become part of the anti-woke agenda. It's another form of that superiority except it's okay because it's their own fault. I haven't commented to those posters but I'm working up to it, or maybe to my own post.
There's something fishy about the impersonal term 'obesity,' as if you can talk about it as a 'thing' that's no reflection on actual people. Like you can be anti-obesity and that's different than being anti-black, for instance. No one can help being black while being obese is a choice. You're not against fat people, you want to FREE them!
I listened to the beginning of the MAHA roundtable and look forward to hearing more later. I forgot how much I like Liam! I'll post more thoughts when I've had a chance to finish. I remember Audrey Gordon (of Your Fat Friend) researching the President's Fitness Challenge/ humiliation ritual and finding it was all for battle-ready military recruits. Yes, glad you're going into the thorny weeds!
Really really enjoyed this, Gabe. It feels like you JUST got below 400 (399.9 as I remember). How is it possible that you're already 380? Is that a different thumbnail? You look great, it's astonishing the difference in your face. It seems crazy to me that I was here for the beginning, which seems like yesterday. And that I'd already known you a long time before that. You say you're just starting to trust in the process, that goes for me vicariously.
Many aspects of this podcast I loved but of course, your mentioning of the politicization of weight loss. I wonder if Malone is on Ozempic? Didn't Aseem Malhotra become something in MAHA with his weight loss agenda?
You're so right about that fine line between taking agency without blaming yourself. And the first step in changing the inner dialogue. The life lessons apply to so much. If my daughter Cassandra listened to just one, I'd pick this. It has so many topics up her alley. I feel that Malhotra is an anti-fat people activist, which is very different from Cassandra's activism on behalf of fat people--a word she prefers to obesity. And the social causes are real, not just the individual ones. What you and she are figuring out is moving everyone forward, I think.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was eagerly looking forward to your thoughts on this. 😄
It means a lot to me that you find this iteration particularly valuable because I'll admit it still feels *risky* to bring some of these thoughts up. When I started talking about my experiences, there was a creeping thought that reaching my destination would 'entitle' me to not be dismissed as much on some of the thornier points. Your encouragement has meant a great deal to me. You've helped me find the courage to wrestle with these questions sooner than I would otherwise and I think I'm better for it.
I haven't had Malhotra on my radar specifically. Based on what little I saw of him, I would have flagged as what Margaret Anna Alice calls a 'mainstream straddler'. These days I'm more convinced than I was in the past that the "food fight" detachment of MAHA are effectively operating as a limited hangout.
I read Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" which is over two decades old nowadays and many in that crew haven't even seemed to wrestle with the issues raised in the book, despite talking a great deal about the importance of healthy food. On the author's blog, she explicitly calls out MAHA for cozy relations with the industry. (https://www.foodpolitics.com/2025/06/maha-let-the-lobbying-begin/)
In the past, I wouldn't have identified these actors as "anti fat people activists" but I'm starting to see it. It's now very clear to me that these over-simplified approaches to health are not only downstream of public health's bad incentives, but also more about branding/PR than addressing root causes. Given that Trump's already bombed Iran, I feel vindicated for taking the position that MAHA was only allowed to be part of the discussion for it's usefulness to military stakeholders. (https://rumble.com/v5t2w1b-maha-and-the-military-round-table-with-liam-sturgess-michael-kane-and-gabri.html) It is a shame that my audio in that interview was so bad, because I regret not emphasizing this talk more.
My spicy summary of the big picture here is that I expect anti fat people activism to continue to rise. To many people, fat people (and others) are a highly visible overt sign that there are problems in society that we should be tackling. Blaming it all on food choices is one of many ways to diffuse responsibility by putting all the blame on those struggling, which I see parallels for on many other issues. This makes me wonder if all top-down health initiatives are just about concealing problems rather than addressing them, it certainly looks like it in hindsight.
Marion Nestle! Love her! Great quote: "RFK Jr is merely calling for companies to take voluntary actions, and individuals to take personal responsibility—neither of which is likely to have any chance of Making America Healthy Again."
Thank you for those kind remarks, Gabe. I'm honored that my responses are meaningful and encouraging to you, especially to address those riskier, thornier issues. It takes a lot of courage to be sticking out your neck.
There was one time that Cassandra said she wanted to post what she ate in a day, to show what normal people ate rather than the kind of people who DO post their daily food intake. Imagining the responses she might get made me cringe. But I also want someone to show that what fat people eat isn't so different than everyone else. There's no straight line cause and effect.
There have been some memes making the circuit that ridicule fat people. They hurt my heart. Somehow this has become part of the anti-woke agenda. It's another form of that superiority except it's okay because it's their own fault. I haven't commented to those posters but I'm working up to it, or maybe to my own post.
There's something fishy about the impersonal term 'obesity,' as if you can talk about it as a 'thing' that's no reflection on actual people. Like you can be anti-obesity and that's different than being anti-black, for instance. No one can help being black while being obese is a choice. You're not against fat people, you want to FREE them!
I listened to the beginning of the MAHA roundtable and look forward to hearing more later. I forgot how much I like Liam! I'll post more thoughts when I've had a chance to finish. I remember Audrey Gordon (of Your Fat Friend) researching the President's Fitness Challenge/ humiliation ritual and finding it was all for battle-ready military recruits. Yes, glad you're going into the thorny weeds!
Genuinely laughed at the toweljack in the beginning. You have an awesome sense of humour Gabe. Keep going.