I read a lot of healthy living blogs. Less than I used to, but they’re still a sizable category in my Google reader, and I have a few that I catch up on that aren’t even on my reader.
I enjoy them because I like reading about other people’s workouts, seeing their workout clothes (it’s like a fashion blog with running shoes), and getting motivated to enjoy my own workouts. Occasionally I pick up a new recipe from them, but often I get most of my food ideas from food bloggers (another Google reader category).
During the Marie Claire controversy I really started thinking about my motivations for reading healthy living bloggers. Despite having a history of disordered eating, I was never triggered by any of the food posts on these blogs, even when bloggers took pictures of breakfast, lunch and dinner. I kind of assumed that they were probably eating other things, and my “magazine filter” was always on, assuming that the pictures of their food were posed and lighted to make them look their best. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I never expected that my eating habits, or even my food, would look anything like theirs. I also never thought that I should be working out exactly like the bloggers I read. Instead, I took their workouts as possible training plans, learned about new activities, and gained inspiration from their struggles.
I was reminded of that time this morning when I was checking up on Carrots ‘N’ Cake and saw some interesting comments on one of her recent posts. Apparently, she’s recently gotten into CrossFit (side note: yay!) and is enjoying her workouts, and enjoying sharing them with her blog readers, as well as sharing some of her eats during the day. I’ve been reading Carrots ‘N’ Cake off and on for years, and it was really cool to get caught up on her current life. But some of her readers were not so happy, with many choosing to comment that they were tired of “all the CrossFit posts” and that they didn’t think that her food posts were “demonstrating healthy eating.” A few readers even said that they wished she would go back to posting Body Pump workouts and running recaps like she used to.
What?
Bloggers aren’t our personal magazine columnists. They don’t always write about one exercise, one eating style, or one athletic event. I can see how someone might feel a little sad if they’d “bonded” with a blogger over their love of one sport, and then the blogger switched to something new, but these are people with their own lives. They’re allowed to do whatever they want, and if they choose to share, that’s great. But they’re not obligated to only do one type of exercise, wear one type of clothing, or eat a certain way. If they’re enjoying their lifestyle and their eating choices are working for them, then they are living their life the best way they can.
It seems so disingenuous to start complaining that a blogger isn’t doing what they used to. Of course they’re not. They’re people, who are trying to enjoy the lives they have, not follow some template that they’re locked into just because they wrote about it once. I’m thankful that so many people around the world want to allow me to learn something about a piece of their lives, no matter what pieces they choose to share.
