Well I think Mallory is a complete hater of women. The fact she can’t see this about herself is sad. But you don’t amputate parts of yourself, especially the woman parts, without hating them at least a little.
Mallory makes exceptions of course for the dipshit women like Nicole, but for any strong, in control, white woman who manages things—- pure hatred.
I’m reading this piece thinking her mom was trying not to gain weight and appears from the latest photos of herself to have achieved this difficult task.
Snackwells? Fun without the calories.
Trix yogurt? She’s doing something fun for the kids. I doubt her mom liked this. Her mom came from an era where Fruity Pebbles were high quality kid fun. She was being nice.
Laughing cow cheese? Probably her mom was doing Weight Watchers.
As a “sober” person who claims to understand addiction, it’s like Mallory simply cannot understand the power food addictions have. And you have to eat. You don’t have to drink or take pills. But you have to eat. It’s hard to feed a family. Not that Mallory would know.
No one in her family is painfully thin or fat other than Mallory, who never has been all that fat really. A mid fat maybe . Not a Death fat for sure. So maybe they were buying groceries so Mallory wouldn’t go nuts over them while still lovingly attempting to buy things kids would like. If that had been my mom, I would have been thankful honestly, not even joking. My mom was a relentless cookie, bread, pizza baker and quadrupled all her recipes. Fun until your pants don’t fit. And we were all trying not to be fatasses while surrounded by bulk chocolate chip cookies. But also, we didn’t starve and my mom worked her ass off providing meals for us consistently. I don’t know how she did it but she did. And sometimes it was Manwich or Campbell’s Chunky Soup. Kids gotta eat. And her mom was a clergy wife without presumably household staff.
Some bodies want to pack on pounds, and I think Mallory has that kind of a body. And it really does take serious attention and a lot of stupid mind games. I know a lot of people who claim intuitive eating is the right way and that’s awesome for many! Some people have to be extremely intentional . And PCOS is one of those conditions where 2+2 sometimes seems to equal 5. Thyroid conditions too. There is so much involved with some of these endocrine/metabolic disorders like fluid retention, muscle wasting followed by fat accumulation, brown fat vs yellow fat, fat placement, even fucking leaky veins and poor circulation. It’s a whole fucking science that even scientists can’t conquer all the time, even with some bariatric patients who are compliant. Losing weight doesn’t always look good and stay good. There are some promising things but sorry hon, in the 90’s snackwells were what we fucking had.
I loathe Mallory sometimes and I know that is awful. But it’s not her specifically it’s that traitorous daughter thing—- where a girl grows up seeing her mom navigate the patriarchy and watching a mother try to empower the daughters—- then giving a big old fuck you. There is nothing that hurts as bad as a daughter turning on a mother when the mother fucking loved that daughter. This hasn’t even happened to me, but I can feel it.
The same women will harp about a fair wage, while criticizing how their moms kept house or cooked food (for free). The same women will talk about women being used by men while literally complaining over their mom not being good, giving, and game enough around the house. Those traitorous daughters internalize all the judgment our society places on women and give it, sometimes solely, to their own mothers. Mallory’s mom is apparently a bitch for providing her plastic surgery. But Mallory supports “gender affirming care” for kids and young people. Fucking inconsistent.
In my every day life, if someone has estranged a parent, I have a red flag, and I have to kind of poke around to see what I think before they enter my circle of trust. Not all make the cut. Because there are those who are not abused, who were not despised or hated, who were loved even if imperfectly, who turn on their mothers. If they turn on their mother? They sure as hell will betray you, and you cannot trust them. I feel the same over some divorced people who leave and the memories over time become loaded and more fabricated until they are telling batshit lies of abuse. And it’s like you were there and none of those things happened. I might stay friends with them but with guards up. Mental illness is real and Mallory is deeply mentally ill.
What is supposed to be abusive/horrifying/in any way notable about any of this?
I mean yeah it's not gourmet. And by Current Year standards, it's not "healthy eats." But by the standards of middle class shmoes circa 1993 this is all very normal and typical.
It doesn't read like some kind of over the top diet or unusual in any way to the time and place.
I think she’s sexist and hates women (herself) and this piece is a dig at her mom.
Good moms are supposed to serve greens and bake homemade bread and simple country foods that would be appropriate in Little Women. Good moms are supposed to miraculously surround their tubby daughters with feasts or simple country food and somehow keep them from the complex medical issues involved with PCOS. Good moms should never let a daughter get lipo but they should have a party when they cut off their boobies! Good moms use wax paper not ziplock bags! Good moms get their food from either WIC (poor people are good and doing their best) or the farmers market or Draeger’s (rich people have good taste and are also good), not suburban chain grocery stores. Good moms should only serve seasonal foods. Good moms would never serve hamburger helper even if they have to provide meals every day. Home cooked, sensory, charming food delites only.
She hates herself and her own body and she wishes she could eat like those with an awesome metabolism, but since she can’t, she’s going to blame her mom.
Insufferable without even trying and with zero self awareness.
to blame circumstances for how anxiety disorders manifest. Seems really uncool to question people's self-reported mental illness and uncertainty about their 
