Half Baked Harvest's Tieghan Gerard Responds to 'Negative Comments' About Her Weight

“It is so sad and at first it killed me,” the food blogger said in the Mimi podcast

Food blogger Tieghan Gerard is addressing online comments about her weight.

While on the Mimi podcast, the Half Baked Harvest founder spoke to host Mimi Bouchard about the pros and cons of her foodie fame.

Gerard started her blog back in 2012 and has since grown 5.3 million Instagram followers, which she calls “the most loyal community.” Gerard describes her cooking style as a “wholesome decadence, non-fussy approach" with "smart twists on comforting favorites” on her website. But not all of her followers focus on the recipes she shares.

The blogger has seen more negative comments "pick up in the past year, especially since I’ve become more forward-facing," she said.

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"I think because I’m in food and I’m a very tiny person, I get a lot of negative comments about my weight and all these things," she said, "and it’s just like, you don’t know me. You don’t know how I live my life.”

“It is so sad and at first it killed me,” Gerard added.

Bouchard asked the cookbook author how she deals with comments that "genuinely come from a place of concern." Gerard explained that if a fan messages her directly with concerns then she will reply, whether they are being “so hurtful or [they're] being so genuine and kind.”

"I'll just respond with the truth. I have nothing to hide. I think that's all you can do," she said.

But she feels differently when they publicly comment.

“If someone is leaving something in a public space, I don’t tend to give it energy because I think you’re not doing it out of best interest," she said, "and I don’t want to feed the comment threads because if I jump in then it is just going to create more commentary around it.” 

Related: Tieghan Gerard's Herb & Parmesan Potato Gratin Stacks Recipe

Gerard sticks to a healthy diet full of vegetables and healthy grains, she said. Bouchard ended the podcast with a quick-fire round of questions, including asking some of Gerard's favorite meals. She listed avocado toast, kitchen sink salads, and yogurt bowls.

"I love a good roasted vegetable dinner where it's just a medley of a ton of roasted vegetables, some avocado. I'll do a rice or some kind of grain, always. I'm a carb girl for sure," she said. "Something really, really simple like that and then a really good sauce or dressing."

If Gerard is cooking for loved ones that's when she'll lean on some of her more rich, comforting dishes like lasagne.

"If it's just me, you kind of just do what's easiest," she said.

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