We need to talk.
Men everywhere are cringing in fear. Oh wait, very few men come here. ‘Eh, you get the idea.
Before I jump right into my monologue, because believe you me I’ve got one coming, I need to give a shout out to our lovely hostess, the very witty and talented Jenn over at Peas and Crayons. Jenn was one of the very first food bloggers I started following back in the day, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Now about that talk….
I consider myself a Healthy Living Blogger. I paid the membership fee (I’m pretty sure that’s all it takes), adjusted my tiara and declared myself healthy. At one point I even had the cute little HLB stamp on my sidebar to prove it, although I think he jumped ship when I switched templates (mental note: add HLB picture back to sidebar). I’m sure it had nothing to do with my mass consumption of cheese.
I stand by my food choices as being predominantly healthy, which is why I’m comfortable dubbing myself as such and also why I keep sharing them with you. I also happen to think veggies are the cats pajamas and if you don’t agree, well then you probably aren’t cooking, blanching, roasting, or preparing them right. There, I said it.
I’ve been remiss though.
Week in and week out, I’ve been a willing and happy participant in Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday posts. I’ve also been promulgating myself as healthy and literally sharing my daily eats. The unintentional, yet implied, message is if you eat like me, you will be healthy too. Quite frankly, I’m pretty sure that’s the message delivered by most in the healthy living community, whether we want to deliver it or not.
It’s the same when it comes to advertising. If I use this ridiculously expensive shampoo, my hair will suddenly become thick and luxurious overnight. I shall wake up looking like Elle MacPherson and wave my rich and beautiful locks all around. The sun will rise behind me, and the waves will crash upon the sand. (Mental note: get some of that shampoo).
While I might not have the popularity of Elle, for reasons beyond my comprehension, there’s a chance someone, somewhere out there (♫ beneath the pale moon light ♫) is saying, “If I eat what she eats, then I’m going to lose weight.” I have to tell you that might not be true, not unless your diet consists of fast food, processed food, and liquid crack (i.e. soda pop) on a regular basis.
The simple explanation is I don’t eat for weight loss, and I haven’t in nineteen months. I also don’t eat any meat, which isn’t necessarily healthy for everybody. While less meat is generally better for everyone, including the planet, removing meat entirely from your life should be done with the assistance of a doctor or nutritionist.
Therefore, I have to apologize for my negligence. Specifically, I’ve been giving you guys the goods, labeling myself as healthy and not actually giving you any background for it. That’s not cool, and I promise you it was never my intent.
If I’m doing this right, and labeling myself as such, then I really need to be giving you some context. You need to understand where I’m coming from and where I’m going.
I don’t eat to lose weight. Nor do I eat to gain weight. I’m happy with the number on the scale and have been since July of 2012. My weight is good, and my vitals are rocking.
For me, food is a source of pleasure, not deprivation. It’s also a way to nourish, heal and fuel my body. I have a strong focus on quality food in the right quantities, which does exemplify a healthy lifestyle.
So if you are looking to me and my choices to become skinny, I’m not the blog for you. If you are looking to be healthy though, I say let’s do this.
Whew, I’m glad we’ve got that cleared up.
What’s your take on the healthy living blog community and this post? What would you like to see more of from me, in relationship to being healthy? If you’re a blogger, what message intentional or not, are you sending with your blog?
Carly @ Snack Therapy says
You, m’dear, rock my face off. I think I often send the message that my life is actually put together… HAHAHAHAHAHA as if. I try to talk about struggles and problems, but because I don’t often recap my day-t0-day life anymore, it’s just not as fun to talk about the mental breakdown I had when my roommates left dishes in the sink AGAIN, or how I spent the night watching The Bachelor instead of reading textbooks, or… You get the picture. Life isn’t perfect, and everyone reading blogs should try to consciously remember that.
As for the healthy thing, I definitely think that people read HLBlogs and try to emulate whatever the person is doing: diet, workouts, etc. I don’t think this is always a bad thing, since picking up on new ideas is always helpful, but I also think it’s important for HLBloggers to at least acknowledge that their daily eats are what’s right for THEM, not anybody else.
Wow. Rant status up there. It’s 6am and my brain is still warming up.
Meghan says
This is you warming up….I can’t wait to see you at full force.
I needed to give some explanation since I have tagged myself as healthy. While my regular readers might know what’s up, my newcomers might not. It seems like a message I should deliver every so often.
Laura@fitfreshnfunny says
That’s too funny-I was just about to do a similar post. I totally agree. Also, would love to see the margins of your mental notebook-I bet there’s some good stuff in there.
Meghan says
You should. I’d love to hear some more thoughts on the topic. My notebook is stuffed and overflowing with chaos. Alright that’s not true. Because of my self-diagnosed OCD it’s very structure and measured out chaos.
Nicole @ FruitnFitness says
I like reading about other peoples lives and eats. I don’t think I look to eat like others, but I can see people feeling that if they did they would be healthy, skinny or whatever as the person they are following.
Meghan says
I’m all about seeing what others are up to as well, whether it be reading their blog, or peering into a strangers cart at the grocery store.
caren says
I love this. It provoked deep thoughts in my pre-coffee morning state which is almost unheard of.
I think the idea of healthy is such a broad term which means different things to different people. I think your message has always been consistent and (beautifully photographed btw).
You make me want to eat berries.
Meghan says
Pre-coffee deep thoughts. I am impressed. I think I’ve been pretty consistent as well, but if you’re a new comer, you might not realize that about me so I figured a refresher couldn’t hurt.
I got a window of time on Sunday along with some great lightning that made all those pictures possible. It felt good not to shoot in the dark.
I love berries. Love, love, love them. I’m glad it comes through.
Davida @ The Healthy Maven says
AMEN SISTA! I don’t eat for weight loss (I certainly do not need to lose weight!) and my version of healthy works for me and yes donuts count as healthy in my world as much as kale does.
Meghan says
Ooh, you had me at kale. 😉
Yep, everyone’s version of healthy is going to be a little different, and you need to do what works for you.
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
This is weird, I know… but I’ve not really read blogs from the perspective of “eat like this person and lose weight-be healthy-achieve perfection. I read them for ideas, humor, and – as I developed relationships – for friendship. You provide all 3, my friend!
Meghan says
It’s mutual baby. 😉
Marina @ Lazy for Diet says
Can strange sound, but I never read blogs to use food of bloggers for growing thin. I read because I simply love food. I like to try new recipes (even if they were thought up by others), I like to look at beautiful food and I like to be inspired! And I try many combinations which can be strange for the majority of people, but are good nevertheless 😉
Meghan says
That’s actually why I read too: a simple and straight up love of food. Well said.
Amanda @ .running with spoons. says
My version of healthy is rockin’ a cookie in one hand and a carrot in the other. I love my veggies, but my soul needs cookies — I cut them out of my life for a good handful of years, and my health suffered as a result. True story. I love you because you’re balanced… and freakin’ hilarious.
Being a blogger can be a tough road to navigate. On the one hand, yes we have a responsibility to our readers to be honest and upfront about stuff, but on the other hand it’s impossible to share every single little aspect of our lives, and putting a disclaimer at the end of every post is sort of awkward. Ultimately, readers need to remember that a blog can only show so much, and that everyone needs to do what works for THEM.
Meghan says
That’s kind of my version of healthy too so pass the carrots and cookies already, would ya?
I think everybody’s souls need a cookie or some kind of mental comfort food because the mental is just as important as the physical. Heck, the mental usually drives the physical so you have to get the all squared away in your mind before you can really tackle the physical.
I think disclaimers in general can be awkward but I figure I’m the one who labeled myself as healthy, so I need to explain it every so often for new readers.
Julie says
I love that you put so many fruits in your smoothies and it’s layered so perfectly – mine never look like that! I always add greens too since it’s the easiest way to get it in.
Meghan says
The smoothies are actually the things where no real staging is involved. Go figure! I always show pictures of them preblended though because a) you can actually see what’s in them and b) they look 100 times better and yes to greens in smoothies. Bring on the iron and calcium.
Eating 4 Balance says
I want nothing and everything from you! And by that I mean that I release you to be whoever you want to be, no constraints whatsoever 🙂 Go run with those unicorns and rare species of gorillas (that also happen to be vanilla?) and “Do What You Want, Be Who You Are.”
I will continue to praise your for what I like in your posts though, which I guess does offer some direction. The spotlight photos highlighting the food? Perfect. Buckeyes? Ohio approved AND delicious.
This post? Wonderful. I honestly don’t know what message I send with my blog. I know what message that I would like to send and attempt to send, but whether or not I actually succeed I guess is never 100%. I do know that it is never my intent to tell anyone what to do or try to show myself as “ideal” or “perfect.” I offer recipes that can be eaten by those with food allergies and do my best to make them interesting. And then interspersed I try to share my some life updates as I journey through all of those food allergy obstacles. While I don’t always directly talk about them in my posts because I think that would grow tiresome for others, every part of my life is impacted and I think is somewhat reflected in my choices.
Meghan says
I love this comment; head over heels and now I want to run with unicorns and find my people. I would fit right in with all my chest thumping and banana eating ways. You think they’d let me bring my blender though?
It might be because I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now, but I think your message is very clear. It’s right in your tagline; you’re eating with allergies. You’re getting crafty and creative in the kitchen despite those same allergies.
I don’t want anyone to think I’m ideal or perfect either. I also don’t want anyone to think they can consume huge sums of cheese and Buckeyes (Man I love those things) and lose weight. I also don’t want people to think eating those things will make you gain weight either. I feel kinda stuck in the middle of two audiences: those trying to lose weight and become healthy and the HLB community, where many are working to put on a few pounds. Then again, I can’t really tell if that’s the case since the same blogs aren’t always clear about that. I find myself on the middle road, and it’s an interesting one to navigate, so I want to make sure I’m doing it correctly or at least with some context. For some reason, I think you will understand this strange and rambling response.
Perhaps it is because I adore you.
Yamir says
Well, I search for new ways to enjoy my food. I don’t want to feel deprived, I fuck**** hate diets, having being in and out of diets since I was like 10 or 11 years old I think I’m entitled to say I hate them. In 2008 I started in Weight watchers and that’s the school that taught me about eating healthier, helped me drop 71 baby weight lbs, baby was 5 years old already jajaja. Got pregnant again and gained 85 lbs, I know. Seems like I learned nothing and ate everything in front of me. Month after giving birth went right back. I’m no longer on ww but if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been open to clean eating. This is what gave me freedom to eat, and eat well. I feel like a healthy food blogger wanna be but what I want is for people to get exited of being healthy, realize that we cannot keep eating trash on a constant basis, and that you can eat tasty food, beautiful real food that you will just love. Plus you can do this while working full + overtime hours, caring for children, making time to workout, all of this while rocking my full on makeup and heels.
Meghan says
Everybody finds something that works for them, although I couldn’t agree more about diets and depravation. That’s not sustainable in my opinion.
And I whole heartedly agree with the sentiment that healthy eating can be wonderful, beautiful and real food, all while wearing heels and make up. Amen Sister! You are singing my song!
kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts says
Well said–and beautifully illustrated.
Meghan says
Thanks Kirsten. I actually wondered in the pictures were a source of distraction this time. I’m glad I kept them though.
Jen@Twenty-Somthing&Starving says
You, Meghan, have a fabulous attitude!! I love this post. I love your candor and honesty and that you’re so witty simultaneously. It’s so wonderful that you are in a happy place with your body and life!
I enjoy many healthy living blogs – but I find I am less interested in the blogs where everyone is using fancy-schmancy protein powders and gluten free this and vegan that and “look all I eat is chia pudding.” I’ve never really found it necessary to label food that way.
As a blogger, I understand that for a matter of categorization and searchability perhaps it’s a good idea to tag my quinoa posts as gluten free so that people searching for it can find it. However, I think “healthy” has such a bizarre reputation because so many healthy living bloggers post so many things that aren’t really that accessible to some people. I, personally, find that “real food” is the best healthy food and I think it’s refreshing when I find other healthy living bloggers who seem the same way.
I love how everything you posted is something that I know I could make, eat, and enjoy with a happy face knowing it’s healthy! I like to think that’s how I present myself on my blog. Healthy living shouldn’t be intimidating and I hope that one day it can just be called “living.”
Meghan says
There are days I want out of the HLB community because I get overwhelmed with the protein powder, Quest bar, egg white loving, and chai pudding eating. I don’t see those things as whole foods, so I don’t want them in my diet, and by diet I mean food choices because I hate actually diets. Then again, a part of me says the HLB community needs people like me for the very same reasons. They need someone who loves cheese, butter, fruit and salad greens alike. Perhaps I could be a ‘healthy’ and positive influence and since I love to read about others who feel the same, I’m going to have to check out your blog. It’s nice to find others with similar school of thoughts. Perhaps we can carry the “living” torch together.
Arman @ thebigmansworld says
I have to echo Laura here but firstly, phew- your first line made my heart race 😉
I never go on WIAW posts to try to mimic a way someone diets- I think the nosy part of me likes to see what a typical day consists of, get some inspiration or just hire a second stomach.
When it comes to CEFF- What I love is your unashamed choices, your random rants and lists and of course, your amazing food (pictures and all- seriously, foodgawker WTF?) The fact that your lunch in itself used olive oil AND butter AND the egg yolks? I love it. I damn love it. Don’t change anything. Except your table setting when I come visit.
Meghan says
I would be thrilled to set a place at the table for you. Then of course, I’d drop the We need to talk line on you just to scare you. Ha.
I also know you’d happily eat my lunch, olive oil, egg yolks, butter and all. 🙂