Podcast host and women’s sports advocate Kylie Kelce is not afraid to keep it real. She proves this yet again in a recent clip from her podcast Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelcewhere she responds to U.S. rugby bronze medalist Ilona Maher’s clapback on “skinnytok.”
If you’re not in the loop (if not, we’re jealous), #SkinnyTok is the newest iteration of diet culture on TikTok, where phrases like “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” have grown in popularity. Maher’s response to this phrase in particular? “Uh, [have] y’all tried being strong? I feel good, I feel well fed.”
Kelce not only praised and agreed with Maher’s sentiment, but she had more to add to the conversation—and we think that everyone needs this reminder.
“Tiramisu, a fat-a** piece of chocolate cake, a 3 p.m. cold turkey sandwich on the beach, a bowl of pasta with more Parmesan than pasta—all of these things are things that taste infinitely better than skinny feels, I can promise you that,” Kelce says. “I don’t like the idea that we need to sacrifice having delicious things to be skinny.”
Before she continues, we want to note that we full-heartedly agree with both Kelce and Maher. At EatingWellwe are firm on the stance that all foods and drinks can be included in a healthy eating pattern, and nothing needs to be completely restricted from a routine unless for allergies or medical reasons. Moderation is key, and enjoying your favorite foods should be a part of living.
Kelce also said that she has changed the way she speaks about herself to reflect a more positive tone, especially in front of her daughters, and she encourages others to do more things out of self love.
“You don’t earn a treat when you work out; you should work out to feel stronger, to have better endurance, to feel healthy, to feel better overall, but you should not be working out to earn any type of food,” she explains.
Some other phrases that Kelce (and the EatingWell team) are officially banning: “I’ll work it off at the gym tomorrow,” “A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips” and “Bounce back after pregnancy.”
Speaking of the latter, Kelce notes that the idea of “bouncing back” after giving birth shouldn’t be an immediate goal, and some compliments can be damaging.
“For all the people who are in the comments saying things like ‘You look fantastic after having Finn’ or ‘You look amazing after having your fourth,’ I know you mean that nicely, but at the end of the day, if I looked like this and I hadn’t just had my fourth child, would you say I look tired?” Kelce explains. “My point is, we don’t need to comment that a woman is postpartum and how she is doing on her postpartum journey physically, and I think we should be more concerned about the overall well being of women postpartum—I don’t think we need to ‘bounce back.’”
It’s never OK to comment on someone’s body, even if you have the best intentions. You never know what someone is going through, and more often than not, it will do more harm than good. Instead, ask how they’re feeling, as that can open up a more useful and productive conversation.
