Happy Saturday sweetlings! 😀
I hope you’re enjoying a sunny one. We, unfortunately, are not. I think June is experiencing some kind of an identity crisis and has itself confused with, oh, March maybe? Needless to say, I wasn’t all too pleased when I woke up this morning to temperatures like this…
Gah! You’re kidding me…
BUT, I felt much better after cursing like a sailor getting some breakfast in my belly…
Eggified steel cut oats, banana, blueberries, cinnamon, almond butter.
Mmm comfort food, there’s nothing you can’t cure. Well, except Mother Nature’s moodiness… and maybe cancer. But for everything else, you’re an absolute godsend.
After satisfying the beast that lives in my belly, I decided to brave the elements and try to be at least a tad bit productive. I made it to the gym and the grocery store before calling it quits and coming back home. I don’t know about you guys, but bad weather puts a serious dampener in my desire to do anything – all I end up wanting to do when the clouds come out is to curl up on the couch with a blanket and immerse myself in a good book. So, after whipping up a quick and tasty breakfast lunch, that’s exactly what I did…
Salad beast; vanilla tofu protein pudding with trail mix and puffs; toast with cream cheese.
… except that the book was actually a laptop, and I immersed myself in the blog world instead; which, when you think about it, isn’t all that different from getting lost in the fictional/fantasy world of a book.
The blog world is like an alternate reality – a separate world that closely resembles the one we live in but that also differs in some pretty significant ways. If we’re not careful, it becomes all too easy to confuse the two – to look at what we see on blogs and believe it to be an accurate representation of the “real” world, when in a lot of cases, it’s not.
Baked sweet potato with maple syrup, cinnamon, cottage cheese, and almond butter.
Healthy living bloggers are a specific type of people – a small subset of the general population. They eat healthy. They exercise regularly. They’re passionate about their well-being. And that’s fine; there’s absolutely nothing wrong with leading a healthy lifestyle. In fact, it’s far better than the alternative.
Unfortunately, people forget that there is an alternative. When someone spends all their free time browsing through the pages of healthy living blogs, they begin to believe that everyone lives on superfoods and runs 8 miles a day. This, then, can lead to feelings of guilt and inadequacy…
Why am I craving sugar and pizza? No one else eats it…
Why am I only running 3 miles a few times a week? I must be lazy…
News flash. Not everyone lives that way. In fact, the majority of people don’t. Take a look around. Do you see everyone running marathons and eating chia pudding? (I’m sorry for hatin’ on you so much, chia) No – you see plenty of people who call taking the stairs instead of the elevator a good workout, and who have no problem eating burgers and fries on a regular basis. Now, I’m not suggesting that this kind of lifestyle is a good one, but it is the most common one, believe it or not.
And I know it’s easy to forget. I know that it’s easy to become blind to the rest of the world, and therefore to reality, when you spend all your time surrounded by the blog bubble. You start believing that what you see on blogs is the norm, and then feel pressured to live the same way. So you go out and buy all these superfood powders when you really have no idea what they’re supposed to do, and your pantry becomes stocked with 15 different types of flours when you really only use 2. Believe me, I know…
And that’s not even half of it. But even worse than the hit that your wallet takes, is the hit that your self-identity and self-esteem take. You compare yourself to what you see on the computer screen, and instantly feel a tad bit worse because… well… you feel crappy on some days… you feel too tired to exercise on some days… you crave sweets like crazy on some days… and you feel all the more guilty for it because other people don’t seem to be dealing with that kind of stuff.
But I’ll tell you a little secret – they are dealing with it, they just don’t let on.
My nightly noshings! Vanilla oat bran with Greek yogurt, flaxmeal, maple syrup, and cinnamon; vanilla almond butter protein frosting.
Most bloggers put up a happy front – they talk about the good without ever mentioning the bad. And it’s not as an attempt to be intentionally deceitful, but to give people what they want. Let’s face it, no one really likes reading struggling and depressing posts – they’d rather read something positive and uplifting.
That’s fine. But again, that’s not reality.
Reality is waking up with a big zit on your forehead, craving chocolate like nobody’s business, a day (or several) spent sitting on your butt, and sometimes being in such a bad mood that you want to kill everyone you see. At least, those are the kind of days that are a part my life, and if you don’t experience anything like that, well then… consider yourself lucky and don’t rub it in.
Potato rounds baked in olive oil and rosemary; steamed asparagus, scrambled eggs and veggies.
I guess what I’m really trying to say here is don’t forget to keep yourself  grounded in the real world. Don’t feel pressured to act/eat a certain way because of what you read on blogs, and don’t feel guilty for the deviation. Remember that not everyone eats superfoods and runs marathons. If you do, then great; more power to you. If you don’t, then that’s great too; neither does the majority of the rest of the world.
What I think the blog world could use is a bigger dose of reality.
. – . – . – .
Do you feel pressured to live a certain way because of the blog world?
If you’re a blogger, do you feel pressured to portray yourself in a certain way?
Hey! I’ve been horrible at keeping up with blogs lately, but I was going back through your posts and just had to comment on this one. I completely agree that blogs can give you a distorted view of reality. I’ve never been the type to compare myself to others, so reading blogs never really makes me feel inadequate about myself. That being said, I do occasionally feel guilty when I go out and drink. I’m sure there are a lot of bloggers out there who do drink and just don’t post pictures and/or advertise it, but it’s easy to feel like an anomaly in a community that is so…well…sober. You always hear the health world talk about how “evil” alcohol is and how we should eliminate it from our diets. The health nut in me is always semi-guilty about drinking alcohol (“so many empty calories!”), and the blogging community only reinforces this idea for me. But let’s face it…I’m 20! I’m *supposed* to be making bad decisions and being silly on occasion!
Couldn’t have said it better. You are are a phenomenal writer and everything you said was beyond true!
I completely agree! I find myself comparing and I have to make an effort not too!
Do I eat pizza? Yes! Drink beer. Yes! Get pimples…you bet!
Here is to more real posts!
You just put into words exactly what I have been struggling with the past few days. As someone who is trying to recover from an ED, sometimes what the other healthy living bloggers are doing (i.e. exercising, eating only enough for weight maintenance and not gain) is not what is most healthy for me at the moment. Thanks for putting a voice to my thoughts, and reassuring me that its okay to be “normal” sometimes.
I’m SO glad you brought up this issue, Amanda, because I think the comparison ‘trap’ is something bloggers experience *every.single.day.* Whether it’s conscious of subconscious, reading about what other people are eating, how they’re exercising, what they’re wearing, who they’re meeting, where they’re working etc etc etc really does begin to take a toll. When I first began blogging, I found myself buying every new product I discovered on blogs (I too have 1723874 types of flour!). I tried going vegan, then dipped my toes into raw foods…Next was Greek yogurt everything…oh, and OATS (I don’t even like them). However, after a few months, I’d had enough. I realized that I was spending all of my time thinking about food and about how I could satisfy my readers with amazing new recipes. So I took a step back and made a pact with myself: I could only continue blogging if I promised to be authentic and real–to post when I felt inspired, to not ‘force’ it out. To eat what MY body wanted and to exercise when MY body craved movement. And you know what? I’ve never been happier! My blog is a creative outlet–a place where I can share things that excite me, inspire me, sadden me etc. I don’t post nearly as often as many bloggers, and that’s okay!
Cheers to diversity and loving ourselves just the way we are! xoxoxo
I loved this post, as usual 🙂
I definitely felt pressure when I first started blogging. Especially with the food items such as almond milk, chia seeds, protein powders, nut butters that cost an arm and a leg…
I now realize that those are great options, but they don’t have to be for everyone! I now make my own nut butter by buying almonds/walnuts/peanuts in bulk and then whipping out the ole food processor and grinding them up. Much cheaper and of course tasty!
I also have felt pressure to want to eventually run a marathon, and I should probably be training for one now. I do want to finish one eventually, but not because I feel like I have to….but want to 🙂
So right! I don’t know anyone who eats the way most of the people do on the blogs I read. I do like to read them to get ideas on new foods, and sometimes for a little motivation.
I loved this post so much! I don’t anymore, but I used to feel pressured like hell by the blog world. That’s why I could relate to this so much! It is so easy confusing the blog world with the real world…I definitely agree!
LOVE this post! Well said 🙂
Amanda<3 This was an amazing post! As always!
First of all, you are so funny! I love the way you write, I SMILE while reading your blog!
Second, I want that sweet potato- right now! Ill have to but sweet p`s and almond butters first thing tomorrow.
Third, thanks for reminding us that the blog world is not the real world. Of course, it is part of the real world, but not nearly all. Its easy to forget sometimes..
Hope you have enjoyed your Sunday, and that the weather havent been to bad on you!
aw you’re too amazing, honestly, this post helped me a lot. its nice to hear it from another point of view, and know that you’re not the only one thinking it. its sad though, like that i have to hear someone explain or reassure me, etc that its okay not to do something, or to do something, etc. im like that, i guess its a confidence thing, some people can be like fuck it i don’t care what you do, im going to do this and its okay. whereas others are triggered by things one way or another. and i guess im that person. but i love reading your bloggie 😛 and missed it sooo much last fall/winter/this early spring? aha. and we’re both canadian…thats cool because i love the people i’ve met through this but its nice to have someone else from the same country 🙂
i don’t blog too often and never had like many readers, so i guess i don’t feel as much pressure on that account but in general oh god yes like posting certain things or not, i don’t put everything that i have or do, but even that sparks comments like, ‘do you not post x whatever because you don’t eat it?” and im always scared its boring or maybe too triggering or just confusing. because i don’t write in any formal sense, just how i think in my head and its casual (like this message aha which is probably all over the place)…but i don’t want to change that since its just what i do. then i worry if i don’t mention things in my life or recovery stuff, etc then its like, what’s the point jen? its boring..
anywayyy…that was long. but yes i do love this post very much 🙂 xoxox
You rocked this post! Everything your saying is right on the money.
Being healthy means being happy, and if you are making yourself eat foods that you dont even like or suddenly attempting a Marathon just to keep up with other bloggers, then you are not living YOUR OWN LIFE. Do what fits your lifestyle and eat what your specific body craves. It’s ok if you don’t like Chia seeds, or prefer a bagel for breakfast over yogurt. Decaf coffee? Gimmie the caffiene anyday of the week. It’s all about balance and not having to deprive yourself.
When you get to the point when you don’t even know why are you eating the meals that you are, its time to take a step back and re-evaluate things. Don’t get lost in the blog world and try to be like everyone else. It’s important to stay true to who you are. Life is too short to not eat chocolate 🙂
Thank you for writing yet another inspirational post! xoxo
Feeling you on the weather front! I was sunbathing the other day, & now I’ve got the heating on & am snuggling into my duvet catching up on blogs. It’s June; what gives…?!
& I’ve been dipping in & out of the blog-world for the past 2 weeks, cos I’m too aware of the likelihood of guilt-tripping over the fact I’m eating inorganic foods/ unclean foods & taking it easy. I have to remind myself I’m eating to gain weight right now & that it’s okay that I’m eating more & doing less than these people. Saying that, I sometimes worry that a lot of bloggers are somewhat disordered in their habits & pass it off as “clean-eating”- just look at some of the portion sizes… been there, done that!
& ohmygod, sweet potato with syrup & nut butter! Did that yesterday & hello comfortfoodtothemax. So warming, filling & tasty! x