The Sunday Read: ‘I’ve Always Struggled With My Weight. Losing It Didn’t Mean Winning.’

<p>We cannot escape our bodies. So how do we reconcile them with who we really are?</p><p>Sam Anderson, a staff writer, considers this particular conundrum of the human condition by recounting his lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight: his teenage triumph over the “legendary snacker” he was in middle school, the slow creep of the pounds in early adulthood, and the pandemic’s expansive effect on his waistline.</p><p>Anderson also explores what it takes to monitor food consumption, the linguistic legacy of 1980s diet culture, the curse of intergenerational weight problems, the natural limitations of weight-loss efforts and the importance of self-acceptance.</p><p><i><strong>This story</strong> <strong>was written and narrated by Sam Anderson</strong>. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, </i><a href="https://www.audm.com/?utm_source=nytmag&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=age_old_question_jabr" target="_blank"><i>download Audm for iPhone or Android</i></a><i>.</i></p>