Lady Mags

It seems like right after I posted a list of my favorite healthy living blogs, Marie Claire wrote a pretty scandalous "take down" that targeted several of the blogs I listed (among others). Basically, Marie Claire accused these bloggers of eating and exercising in a disordered way and being a bad influence on their readers.
As a long time reader of several of the blogs in the article, I was struck by many distortions and inaccuracies that were obvious to me. However, someone who doesn't read those blogs regularly probably would miss a lot of that because the article referenced posts that were written in December and January. Ultimately, my impression of the article is that it was written to be deliberately misleading.
I'm writing this post because I don't want anyone who reads me regularly to think that I would willfully suggest blogs that I believe promote a disordered lifestyle. Here are rebuttals from some of the bloggers who were profiled.
I hope I'm not the only person who immediately sees the irony of a magazine so enmeshed in the beauty industry accusing anyone else of promoting an unhealthy beauty ideal. The link between fashion magazines and poor body image in it's readers isn't exactly a secret. One of the first things I learned years ago in therapy that really changed my life for the better was that reading fashion and beauty magazines was incredibly bad for my self esteem. Now, when I read something I think about how it makes me feel. Reading those magazines does make me feel temporarily entertained but it also makes me feel like I'm not good enough. It makes me want to buy things I don't have and don't need. It makes me feel like I don't make enough money when I can't afford the things they're showcasing. It makes me hate my skin and my hair and my features because I know from experience that I will never look like the women I see in those pages (and neither can they!). But most of all, reading fashion magazines makes me feel fat. That's why I don't read them anymore.
I apply this litmus test to other forms of media I consume. I encourage everyone out there to do the same. I wouldn't read healthy living blogs if they made me feel bad about myself or made me feel like I should eat less. On the contrary, they make me feel like I should eat more- more healthy fats, more vegetables, more whole grains, more great foods that make me feel good and give me energy. Healthy living blogs have inspired me to revamp the way I eat and to become more athletic. This has improved my health and my self esteem.
However, I believe that every person has a responsibility to determine for themselves whether something is good for them.
There was definitely a time in my life when I was eating in a disordered fashion. At that time, I wasn't reading healthy living blogs. I was reading Marie Claire.

Inspiration

I'm loving the comments in my post on vegetarian meal ideas and I found out that my friend Lauri now reads one of my favorite blogs, Oh She Glows, and found it through my site. I've decided to quickly list some of the bloggers who inspire me to eat delicious food and lead a healthier lifestyle.
So if you're looking for some inspiration to cook something healthy and delicious or get your tail off the couch and into the gym, I really encourage you to click over. I started my journey towards healthy eating by visiting a nutritionist back in Feb. 2009 but following these blogs has really helped me maintain the good habits I learned. They've encouraged me to try new things in terms of both food and fitness, and I owe a large part my complete obsession with all things healthy to them.

Oh She Glows
Healthy Tipping Point
Carrots N' Cake
The Fitnessista
Heather Eats Almond Butter
Eat Live Run (she's transitioned from a healthy living blogger to a more standard food blogger- aka she uses white flour now when it's called for and sometimes eats bacon-, but all of her posts are great)
Daily Balance

I've also been inspired by Mark Bittman's philosophies regarding food as well as his recipes, Simply Recipes, 101 Cookbooks, and Smitten Kitchen.

There are many more blogs that I subscribe to and enjoy, but this is kind of a primer on the blogs that really color the way I look at and enjoy food and fitness.

What are your favorite blogs?

Guest Posts

My guest posts are up! And of course, they are about food. :)
Check out my post on creative grilling at The Daily Balance and my post on the infinite variety of beans and rice on Bench Fly.

Why I'm Writing

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! I have actually been blogging on another site since 2004, but have decided to move to blogger in 2009 for a number of reasons. I started blogging primarily to keep in touch with my IRL friends and most of them have since stopped blogging. Now I'm stuck on that site, feeling rather lonely and disillusioned with its format. Unfortunately, its a pain to export the contents of my old blog into blogger so feel free to contact me if you would like to read my old blog. I'll give you the link, but I'm not sure I want to put the link directly on this blog. I'd like to let it speak for itself and see where it takes me.