'My Co-worker Won't Stop Talking About Her Diet'

"Every few months, she tries out a different diet or fad to try to Emma never parades her new diets around or tries to shame anyone about what they're eating, but she'll usually explain why she's not partaking in team lunches, office snacks, and so on. It's never meant as anything but idle small talk, but it tends to spark long conversations"

"I used to join in with these conversations and discuss my own Is there a way that I can avoid these unpleasant and sometimes triggering topics of conversation without coming across as rude? Nobody at work knows about my situation because there's no need for them to, and I don't want my medical problems becoming office gossip. I also don't want others to feel like they have to monitor what they say around me. Is there a way to explain"

A 15-person team operates on a hybrid schedule with mandatory in-office Mondays and at least one other on-site day. A colleague frequently experiments with diets and explains why she skips communal food, which sparks lengthy, loud conversations labeling some foods as "good" or "bad." These discussions occur in an open-plan office and can be distracting and triggering. The narrator has begun therapy for disordered eating and now finds such conversations stressful. The narrator does not want to disclose medical details or require others to self-censor, and seeks unobtrusive ways to avoid or deflect diet-focused talk without appearing rude.

Read at The Cut