Have you ever stopped to think about the way we think and talk about calories? In our fat-phobic diet culture, calories are often described as some sort of evil villain that we must avoid, or “burn off”, at all costs. We are told that we have to earn the calories or that they have to be “worth it” for us to be able to enjoy foods we love. I am a firm believer that language is very important, and that the way we talk to and about ourselves (and food for that matter) influences the way we feel about ourselves and the foods we eat. Let’s pause for a bit and consider what we are actually saying when we say these things.