#57: Natasha Stagg

"Learn not to be a picky eater — it’s unattractive."

#57: Natasha Stagg

Natasha Stagg is the author of Surveys (2016), Sleeveless (2019), and Artless (2023), as well as the forthcoming novel Grand Rapids (out this September). She also writes the newsletter Selling Out.

It’s tempting to reduce Natasha’s writing to buzzwords: internet, fame, internet + fame (Surveys essentially predicted the rise of the influencer, in a time that was decidedly pre-Instagram). But what’s stuck with me since the Spike column days is her aloofness; the almost clinical way in which she dissects and characterizes our cultural tides. She is both participant and observer, in the circus and yet very far away…

Anyway, this isn’t a literary newsletter. Onto the health:

Health Gossip with Natasha Stagg
Responses recorded April 2, 2025
East Village, Manhattan

What does health, or being healthy, mean to you?

I go with how my body feels, I suppose. If something is off, I try to eat better, stretch, run, sleep more, sleep less, drink less, take a bath, deep clean the apartment, etc.

I’m not particularly mindful of my health, to be honest, and that very fact scares me, so I tend to ignore it. I find the endeavor of figuring out one’s daily nutritional needs, if they happen to be at odds with relaxing or spontaneous behaviors, counterintuitive, and therefore perhaps counterproductive.

How do you start and end your days?

Usually, I wake up, make coffee, shower, then use whatever skincare products I’m testing out at the time. The rest of my day might involve a lot of being on my computer for work, with lunch of something from my refrigerator (likely a salad dressed with fresh caesar — anchovy paste, dijon, lemon, garlic, oil, parmesan) around 1pm. I will try to run errands that get me out while the sun is up. Otherwise, I’ll often make dinner plans with a friend at a restaurant. I try to be in bed by 11pm, but sometimes, like last night, that doesn’t happen.

Natasha's lunches

Can you recall a moment when you became more aware of your health, or your relationship to it changed?

I believe my relationship to health is still evolving, but I know that during the pandemic, I was quarantining with a vegan and having fun with more extensive grocery shopping, time-consuming recipes, and moderation, seeing as the days were wanting in segmentation. I believe I felt better then: I was sleeping well and lost some weight, even though I was not exercising as much as I had before lockdown. I realized that much of what I eat at restaurants, no matter how nice, was not particularly healthy. Getting fresh produce and making a meal at home may not be cost effective anymore, but it does make me feel better, and I should definitely do it more often.

Do you work with any practitioners, texts, or modalities on a regular basis?

Zero. I am pretty skeptical of self-help books and alternative medicine in general, as well as the pharmaceutical industry, of course. I grew up in a hippie household with a lot of rituals, readings, and tinctures that turned out to be snake oil. I won’t go into the tragic consequences, but suffice to say it pains me to hear about most New Age tactics, knowing that they are likely placebos and/or only serving one’s own ego, something one might be better off starving.

How do you reset?

If I am sick, I implicitly follow my father’s advice, strangely enough: change the bedclothes, take a bath but end it with a shower, get some sun, drink ginger tea and eat oranges.

When do you feel the most nourished?

On vacation in someone’s summer house near the sea.

What types of foods are you typically drawn towards? Do you have a favorite meal?

I don’t usually crave meat and grew up mostly not eating it. I’m drawn to salty foods but can easily overdo it in that area. I love artichokes in every capacity. I love dairy, bread, and pasta, but have lately been feeling like I shouldn’t ingest it, not due to any reaction, just a suspicion. I will never tell anyone I have food restrictions and will eat whatever I’m served, but that’s a personality defect (people pleaser?). I eat a salad most days, sometimes both for lunch and dinner. I love the to-go bowl craze and hope it lasts forever.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Get a credit card.

To the person reading this?

Learn not to be a picky eater — it’s unattractive.

What would you like to see or create more of in the world?

The produce options in my neighborhood are pretty sad, if I don’t make it to the farmer’s market. I’d like to see less faux-health things, like juice bars that just make sugary drinks from frozen blends.