Over the past week, I have been thinking more and more about what I want to do on Oh She Glows. I have come to the conclusion that I want to write about the topics that I feel passionate about- body image, self-esteem, eating healthy, finding a balance, motivation- just to name a few.
For example, I think somewhere along the way I started to focus more on the number side of things with my workouts (e.g., distance, calories burned, etc) rather than how working out makes me feel, how it makes you feel, and why we do it.
How do I feel when I enjoy a good hike in the woods or after a run that doesn’t leave me feeling winded? How does it feel to be able to hold a side plank for 20 seconds longer than I used to be able to? Or climb 3 flights of stairs? Or train for my first race when I used to not be able to run more than 1 minute at a time?
And I don’t want this to be the case. I do realize that many of you find the details of workouts to be helpful, and I will continue to post much of the information, but at the same time I also want to focus more on the big picture.
Which brings me to this afternoon’s topic. Last night I was a bit upset about a comment that I got in the survey, I’m not going to lie. I am a sensitive person and things like that do hurt me. However, I take it with a grain of salt because we are all unique and we all have our different opinions. The amount and/or what I eat will not be suitable for everyone. Yes, I do eat a lot, and I am proud of that fact. When you have struggled for years like I did and suffered from low self-worth, low self-esteem, and poor body image, the ability to eat freely is a huge bright spot in my current life.
I don’t try to assume that what I eat will be the same amounts that you will need for yourself. I just show snippets of my own life and what is working for me! I don’t expect you to eat dandelion, green monsters, veggie burgers, or herbal tea. What I do want you to get out of OSG is a way to challenge yourself to change up your current routine and to try new things. Maybe for you that is getting a bike and hitting some roads or trails instead of biking at the gym on a stationary bike. Or maybe it is trying a class at the gym when you have been scared to for the past 5 months. Whatever it is, I hope that this blog will make you think differently about the way you view ‘static’ things in your life.
I received a beautiful email today that I knew I had to share with you all.
Hi Angela,
I am relatively new to reading your blog, but am loving all the different facets of healthy living you talk about: exercise, eating, cooking, body image and care, attitude, etc.
As someone who follows a few different blogs to get ideas on continuing my own healthy lifestyle, I really appreciate your honesty, especially with eating.
Your post from yesterday, about your snacks, was really good for me to see. I workout every day and try to eat very healthy meals, but sometimes I feel like I must be overeating if I’m hungry for lots of snacks between meals. I feel like I’m always eating (which I don’t mind, but I don’t want to overdo it either). I don’t have any weight to lose, so I’m sure it’s fine (in fact, my boyfriend is constantly telling me to eat more), but seeing your post about snacks helped to reassure myself that it’s okay. My body needs fuel if I want to workout and lead the hectic lifestyle I live (I’m a high school teacher). I eat before I workout every morning (4am), then have a bigger breakfast afterwards (which is at 6:30 am), eat a snack at 9 am to hold me over to lunch at 11:00 am. I then end up eating another two snacks, at least, before dinner, which is usually around 6 pm. Sheesh. Doesn’t that seem like a lot??? Anyways, thanks for grounding me in the fact that if it’s healthy food (which it is!!!), then it’s okay! Sometimes I need that reminder–and I’m sure many other young women need it too. I just needed to take the time to say thanks for being a great role model!
M*
I am so glad that M* emailed me and told me this. I think it can help a lot of people. It is easy to look at food blogs and think ‘Gee I must be eating way too much!’ and then feel down about yourself. I don’t want this to be the case on OSG. That is why I did that post yesterday because I realized that I don’t often talk about the snacks I eat during the day. I eat a lot of food that doesn’t get shown on the blog. Some days I am plain old hungry and when I am hungry I eat. I don’t deprive myself anymore.
In my reply to M*, I said:
It is crazy how women deny themselves with such basic things, isn’t it?
Do you ever hear the men in your life complaining because they eat too many snacks or have too big of an appetite! Not usually! It’s usually something like, ‘Wow look at his appetite! He eats like such a man!’ In fact, I used to feel a bit strange when I would eat more than Eric. And to be honest, many days I do eat more than Eric! Guess what? Eric sits all day at his day job and doesn’t workout. Guess what I do during the day? I exercise almost daily and I am often on my feet baking. Our calorie needs are not the same which is why we shouldn’t compare what we eat to anyone else but ourselves.
I used to deny my hunger for many years. After I began my road to health, I slowly started listening to my body.
You know what I finally realized?
Hunger is NOT a bad thing! If you are truly hungry, you do need to eat. There is no other way around it. I know, it’s not rocket science, but when you deny your true hunger signals for so long it can seem like a foreign concept, right??
This is what now works for me:
When I feel true hunger pains, I eat. There is no denial. Sometimes, it is trickier to discern whether it is true hunger (or whether it is dehydration, tiredness, etc) but for the most part my body does a good job of letting me know when I need some fuel. We need to stop denying ourselves and start listening to ourselves.
Our bodies are amazingly smart machines that are extremely efficient. It’s only when society started to put pressure on women (yes, men too more and more) that we started to have problems with eating disorders, negative body image, and the like.
Do you ever notice that people who don’t diet also don’t binge? My urge to overeat only stopped once I finally gave up calorie counting and denying my body what it needed.
I think if we started listening more and over-analyzing a bit less, we would lead much more content and full lives. Get back to the basics with your health and simplify what you are currently doing.
Your body will thank you for it.
How are you with listening to your body and hunger signals? Are you trying to improve how you listen to your body? Is it difficult for you? What works for you?
See you tonight for a baking recipe + how to!
I really appreciate your attitude to food. It is such a wonderful thing that should be enjoyed to the fullest! I think your snack post was really important as well, so many young women restrict themselves with food and you are a great role model for what a beautiful, healthy, active woman eats! As for the rude comment about your snacks, I find there are always anonymous commenters on blogs who leave mean comments out of spite or jealously, especially when they can’t be identified. Whenever you are doing anything honest and unique you will always get a mixed response, and judging by your followers you have a very positive one for the most part! Keep being yourself and inspiring us all!
Such a night post. I just wrote about how big portions I was eating and felt bad about it! But you pointed out the right view, if it’s real hunger, go for it! :D Thank you!
M* (and Angela)-
I know exactly how you feel. I am CONSTANTLY eating and it feels like such a head game. On one hand, I know I need the fuel, but on the other, eating all the time makes me feel like I must be eating too much. I second your “thanks for putting your snacks out there”…food is not a bad thing. I hope we can all end up with good food attitudes!
I was always a three straight meals kind of person. After looking at some of your daily eats I realized how important snacking is! I think it is just so much more important to snack as it keeps your energy high steadily.
I really think that the mean comment was purely out of jealousy. You are doing a great job Angela and you have your loyal OSG readers to vouch for that.I mean you share a part of your life with us, the anonymous commenter should be bold enough to sign their name and then comment on others life. Just ignore the comment and keep up the good work!
So funny that you just left me a comment. I am SO sorry that you had to deal with a negative comment on your survey. I hope you never forget how much you’ve helped people just by sharing your journey. OSG was the first blog I ever read and you’ve encouraged me in so many ways. I can’t even begin to explain how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into this site. YOU are the reason that readers come back – try not to worry about those who don’t love it…they don’t have to read! :) Keep on truckin! I like your idea about going back to the basics…thats what got me hooked. Even though I don’t always comment…I never miss a post. :)
Have a wonderful Tuesday, sweet Angela!
Kaneil, balanceisbest
I’m sorry you were hurt by that comment. I think being on the internet people feel more removed and able to say whatever they want (I’m sure you learned all about that with you psych background!)
I appreciated your comment about how you eat more than eric. I sometimes feel like I eat more than James and it’s tough to see since he is a guy and weighs 60 pounds more than me!! But I also realize, like you, that I exercise and make it a point to be active.
I am a much happier person now that I don’t count calories. I’m glad I did it at first to help me lose weight and realize proportions but now I just enjoy my food. It’s so wonderful and freeing.
Have a great day, Angela!! :)
great post. I kind of found that exercising naturally made me focus on the big picture. I track distance and that is about it, and that is really for training purposes. Usually, I look at the distance and think, wow I am strong!
I am sorry to hear your feelings were hurt, but one reader out of thousands ain’t bad. I have to say, I am a little jealous that you can eat 2,200 calories (as you mentioned recently) and stay so tiny! I must be really honest and admit, I am also jealous that your body shows results so fast. Mine does not! In fact, I often find the harder I work out, the less seems to happen. So it’s a good think I don’t focus on numbers.
I guess my question is, do you think the fact that you don’t have white flour or sugar or much salt in your diet is the reason you can eat in healthful abundance and stay so trim, or do you think it genetics and metabolism.
xoxo
That commenter was just jealous!! You eat a LOT of DELICIOUS food and its awesome! That doesn’t mean you are eating too much. CLEARLY you are not!
My favorite thing about exercising and eating healthy is being able to eat a lot of food. It feels so good to actually be full and not feel guilty about it!
I just happily polished off a whole wheat tortilla full of black beans, roasted zucchini and squash, spinach, and tomato, with a slice of pepper jack cheese and hot sauce and it feels great! :)
I love the fact that I can fuel my day and my workouts and have so much energy!
I think its difficult to wrap your mind around eating in a new way, and exercising a lot; and its much easier to just be scornful of people who make the effort to put good things in their bodies. My family is like this and it is frustrating to hear my father tell me that I’m going to be in a wheel chair from putting extra strain on my joints by running- oblivious to the fact that the extra 100 lbs. he’s carrying around are certainly doing his joints no favors- and that the food I eat is gross. I think fried food is gross- so there! Haha. (I really do, it tears up my stomach and frankly, I’d rather taste what I’m eating than taste fried batter.)
Ultimately, that’s how he chooses to live his life and this is how I choose to live mine. I just focus on how good I feel to motivate me and ignore the haters! :)
I am disgusted that someone would criticize the way you eat. You are such an incredible role model. You eat what your body craves, you are SO healthy and active and everything I aspire to be. Some people just need to vent their own self-loathing onto other people. It’s so sad. It is almost comical to say “you eat so much” and what you eat is “disgusting” if you ACTUALLY read this blog. It’s impossible. You really are such an inspiration to me, I hope one day to be able to just eat what I know will nourish my body and not be fixated on calories and the scale. It takes a weak person to criticize others. They should look inside themselves.
i like your idea for this blog! i’m a bit surprised that someone made that comment. there is really no such thing as eating ‘gross’ and ‘too much’ since every body is different and has different preferences and exercise habits. personally i think you eat too much AT ALL. i prob eat more and workout less but i don’t think it matters. thanks for being so open and honest here, it is such a great site :)
This is an amazing post Angela. I love it.
Dear Angela. Please don’t be discouraged. This is your site- your blanc canvass to work with. When posting a survey like this one you always take a chance on someone being rude and insensitive but just think how awful that person must feel to having to dump it on you. I always think that when I feel like someone has offended me in some way- its their problem not yours. I’m all for constructive criticism, but lets face it- some people are just *insertyourwordofchoicehere*. Hopefully the reader will just take their blog-reading elsewhere.
You are doing a really good job here, and it shows how you pour your heart into it.
Best of luck and keep developing your ideas. I really enjoyed this post- I pop in here a few times a day to see a new post:)
People get ugly when they have the anonymity of the internet to hide behind. Don’t worry about it – you eat a fabulous, healthy diet. I find that many times I get feedback about my food posts and how the food doesn’t look that good…but my response is that I’m not a professional food photographer, and I’m hoping that people are looking at the content of the recipe more than at the quality of my food styling.
You’re doing a great thing by putting yourself out there and being honest and open about all of your lifestyle choices. Unlike the coward who made a nasty comment in your survey, you’re not keeping your identity a secret. You’re being your true self and allowing all of your readers to benefit from the lessons you’ve learned.
Working on hunger cues is an on-going process. Sometimes boredom, HORMONES(!), and emotions get in the way but I find that the more balanced I eat, the better I feel and the easier it is to control those cravings and differentiate them from actual hunger.
You are a beautiful person Angela – inside and out – I’m sorry that someone left a comment that upset you!
BTW – did you get the battery replaced in your foot pod?
I love how you pointed out “Do you ever notice that people who don’t diet also don’t binge?”. I can completely relate to that. I have tried doing Weight Watchers because they claim it is a lifestyle change but I hit a bad cycle of good for two weeks, bad for one. I like your philosophy about the big picture, and thinking that you are moving towards a greater, longer lasting overall health.
I love these posts! Keep it up! I get your blog at work so I refresh it and re-read posts all the time, and I always take something new from them, even if I’ve read it before.
I’ve been reading for about six months and never commented until now (shy! Seriously, I have social anxiety disorder to the point where I feel nervous even commenting on the internet). I have to say that I would be very intrigued to see what this person actually said: if it was along the lines of accusing you of eating too much then I think it’s disgraceful and that person should take a long, hard look at themselves before criticising others.
Your blog is inspirational, but also aspirational: you are ultra slim and toned without looking sickly, you eat so healthily it’s amazing and there is no WAY that you eat too much in a day. 2200 calories is not an excessive amount for a woman as active as you and quite honestly I’d like to give the commenter a good poke in the eye. They’re probably an idiot living on 1200 calories and screwing up their metabolism, abusing their body and feeling so miserable that they had to pick on a sweet, caring, BEAUTIFUL woman like you. Your skin glows, your hair is wonderfully thick and shiny…who wouldn’t be jealous!
And I’m a bit peeved by people above making the ‘how do you eat so much and stay so tiny’ comment. It implies that eating 2200 is excessive when it’s NOT and to my mind reinforces the negativity of the insulting survey comment.
Beautiful post Angela! I couldn’t agree with you more! After suffering with anorexia for 4 years, I know how the importance of listening to our bodies and learning to do what we feel is best for ourselves. Every person is different and has totally different bodies, cravings, needs, etc., and our body will always tell us what each individual, personally, needs. We just have to learn to listen. Thanks again for the great post.
I think anybody that leaves mean, nasty or unkind commetns on anyone’s blog is a coward. If you don’t like what the author of the blog is saying or promoting, don’t read it. No need to be rude and/or hurtful! We all do this to promote a postive, healthy attitude and to have some fun along the way. None of us deserves to be cut down for it!
Thank you for posting your snacks earlier. Sometimes I get comments on how much food I eat or that I’ve been snacking too much and your snack post really reminded me that I AM eating properly for my own body. It really means a lot that you are truly honest with your foods, which is why I’m so hooked on your blog (I’m a long-time lurker, haha). You’re really an inspiration!
Wow, this post is very timely for what I’m going through right now. Thank you so much for addressing this and featuring M*’s email. It’s so reassuring to see that others have the same thoughts and issues and struggles as I do.
What really resonated with me was the no diet, no bingeing comment. I used to be super healthy in high school, and I never counted calories. I just wanted to eat what would nourish my body the most. Whole foods. I mean, I would obviously look at labels and such, but I would never add up the amount of calories I was getting in a day.
When I got to college, I started to count calories. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself because I way away from home, and I needed some sort of control over some part of my life because I was so homesick and felt so alone. Not until I started couting calories did I start to binge occasionally. It’s really unfortunate because I always thought I was “stronger” than those who binged or deprived themselves.
I’ll stop rambling and just say thanks. :) Keep up your great work.