THE PUBLICATION.
An independent almanac, based in London, dedicated to the considered examination of everyday food choices and their long-term relationship with weight and wellbeing.
Where This Came From
Tarlona Almanac began from a specific dissatisfaction with the way food and weight are usually discussed in public. The dominant register is either commercial — a product, a programme, a subscription — or it is the register of crisis and intervention. Neither captures the quieter truth: that weight, for most people, is the accumulated result of years of ordinary food decisions made in ordinary circumstances, shaped by habit, food environment, income, time, and a hundred other structural factors.
The almanac exists to make space for a different kind of examination. One that is informed by published nutritional research but written in a register that acknowledges complexity. One that regards food choices as embedded in a life rather than as a set of optimisation targets.
The name reflects this orientation. An almanac is a record of observations, a document of what was noticed over a period of time. It does not offer solutions; it offers perspective.
The Editorial Team
Eleanor Whitfield established Tarlona Almanac in 2025 following a decade of writing on nutrition, food culture, and public health communication. Her editorial approach draws on published nutritional research while maintaining a commitment to accessible, non-prescriptive language. She oversees all editorial decisions and contributes two to three pieces per quarter.
Read Eleanor's work →
Tobias Ashcroft contributes to Tarlona Almanac as a specialist in food systems and nutritional journalism. His background spans public health writing and long-form editorial work on the structural dimensions of diet and weight in England. His pieces tend to examine the policy and population-level context that shapes individual eating patterns.
Read Tobias's work →Subject Areas
Eating Patterns
The structural dimensions of how people eat — meal timing, interval length, weekly rhythm, and the relationship between eating occasion structure and long-term weight trajectories.
Food Quality
The distinction between whole and processed food forms, nutrient density as a variable in weight management, and the practical implications of food quality over quantity in everyday eating contexts.
Satiety and Fullness
How protein and satiety interact, the role of fibre in generating and sustaining fullness signals, and the way portion perspective is shaped by the composition of what is eaten rather than by conscious restriction.
Carbohydrate Perspective
The carbohydrate role in weight, beyond the simplified dichotomy of "good" and "bad" — examining type, form, processing degree, and timing as the variables that actually matter in practice.
Energy Balance
Energy balance explained as a more nuanced phenomenon than simple arithmetic — including fat intake and body composition, the role of metabolic adaptation, and the long-term eating rhythm that either supports or undermines stable weight.
Plant-Based Patterns
What the evidence says about predominantly plant-based eating patterns and weight, including the practical translation of plant-based eating principles within the English food environment.
Our Approach
"We are not trying to resolve the question of how best to eat. We are trying to make the question more interesting — more precise in its language, more honest about its complexity, more useful to someone sitting with the question on an ordinary Tuesday."
— Eleanor Whitfield, founding editor, 2025
Tarlona Almanac is an independent editorial publication focused on everyday wellness practices. The publication is not affiliated with any commercial, governmental, or institutional body. Articles published here are editorial in nature and reflect the writers' observations on everyday eating practices. The content is not intended as professional advice, nor as guidance for the management of any specific condition. Readers with specific concerns about their daily routines are encouraged to speak with a qualified nutrition professional.