Okay, so I know this is just a random idea for a post, and a lot of people really like talking about what they eat, especially if they’re creative with food or like to eat adventurously. But I do have bit of a cringe response to it, I have to admit. It can be a pretty personal thing to ask someone, and can also be a difficult one for others. There are those who have disordered eating histories, people who have difficult relationships with food (like emotional eating – that’d be me) or who just don’t have the money or time to eat like they know they should. And then there’s the way our culture is structured around thinness equalling beauty, and women in particular being trained to think that enjoying food or eating proper meals is a bad thing. I think it’s a topic that can bring up a lot of shame for people, or a lot of self consciousness – or even trigger some deeper emotional responses. I know this post was just meant to be prompt that would let people share a glimpse of their lives and write about something different, and that anyone who doesn’t feel good about it can just skip it. But I did want to acknowledge the potential issues here as well as actually writing my post, because I think it’s important to consider how some of these harmless subjects can be a little less so for some of us.
As for me, I don’t have a super healthy set menu every day. I eat a Clif bar or a yogurt for breakfast, lunch will be a sandwich or a scone or leftovers (whatever’s in the fridge). I’ll snack in the afternoon, usually some trail mix or something, and I always have some chocolate nearby that I’ll eat either when my energy is tanking (I don’t drink coffee) or when I’m feeling stressed, tbh. Dinner is usually a meal kit or something easy like pasta or burritos or one of the three other meals I can make easily. And I’ll eat something at bedtime if I need to to keep my blood sugars up through the night. But it varies, and some days I’ll just snack all day, or other days if I’m busy I might skip lunch or dinner. I try, but I’m not that good at having proper meals at proper times.
I’m not going to ask you guys to tell me yours, just in case that’s a hard one for you. But feel free to share whatever you’re comfortable with, or even share how this prompt made you feel if it made you squirm a little! It’s a personal thing, how we relate to food. So I’ll leave this one open to whatever you feel like sharing (or not)!
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is a blog hop hosted every Wednesday by Long and Short Reviews. The weekly prompts range widely, including both book-related and non-book-related topics. The idea is to get bloggers to interact, share a bit about their lives and connect with other bloggers. Click here for the list of upcoming topics, and visit here to join in the fun!
There seem to be book bloggers and food bloggers, two separate groups. One blogger I follow spun off her own personal blog into a fairly popular forum frequented by people she met from a big news forum site. At the news forum site people will share recipe and menu ideas. One day recently this blogger posted that she wanted people to share recipes…and hardly anyone did!
That’s an interesting observation! I don’t have any recipes I came up with myself, just ones I got elsewhere that I make regularly, so I’d feel weird sharing any of those as they aren’t actually mine!
Hi! TBH, I was a bit nervous about what I was going to write for the topic. I am just trying to have a better outlook on food and a different mindset. You wouldn’t know that to see me, though. I was an emotional eater in reform! I feel better to have written about it, though and I hope it helped someone.
That sounds familiar, except I can’t yet say I’m in reform! I’m working on it, trying to swap some unhealthy snacks for slightly less unhealthy ones, but it’s a work in progress. I’m glad that you feel good for having written about it, and I’m sure it will help those who read it and are in a similar place!
All this.
All. Of. This.
I struggle to keep on weight, I am a nervous person with a careless relationship with food, and I learned how to keep an eye on it. I’m happier when I get to have that little pouch on my belly.
I love the insight.
V
I hear you. I’m the opposite – I struggle to get weight off these days – but I have a family member who has a really hard time remembering to eat and is often underweight. It’s just as hard for her. It also impacts her health too, in different ways. She is chilled all the time, has trouble recovering when she gets sick. It’s easy to focus on the health issues that come from being overweight, but it’s hard from the other side as well. I’m glad you have learned how to manage it for yourself, that’s such an important thing to learn! Thank you for stopping by!
I 100% agree with your first paragraph. When I read the question yesterday, I thought, “Who asked this question?” I’ve never had a very healthy relationship with food, but the combination of my older girl going vegan and my late husband being diagnosed with kidney failure really helped redirect what I knew and got me onto a better path. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a lot of guilt attached to certain things, but I’m getting there. I’m also a comfort/emotional eater, so I feel you on that.
As for the rest, you sound a lot like me. Lunch is whatever I can scrounge to take to work!
My post
Yes! I had the same instant reaction. I think it’s one of those things that if you aren’t sensitive about it, you can not realize just how much is can feel uncomfortable. But still, it was a hard one for me. I’m sorry to hear about your husband – that sounds really difficult. I’ve known people who had to change their diet just for kidney stones, and that was pretty difficult, so I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. I’m not quite able to go vegan (I love cheese and yogurt too much) but I do know a lot of vegans. It’s great how many options there are these days for so many things – vegan marshmallows and plant based eggs… it’s so much better than when I was a kid! Yeah, the emotional thing is hard. Also missing mealtimes and then craving sweet, unhealthy things for a quick kick of energy doesn’t help. I put so much effort into making food for my kid that it’s hard to find motivation to do the same for myself when we eat different things. I feel like I spend half my day in the kitchen already – when it’s just for me I want to grab and go! Thanks for stopping by and for sharing.
Thank you for your thoughts… I have to admit that I love food. I enjoy everything about eating (well, not the cleaning up part). But, I do understand what you are talking about.
I do love eating (sometimes too much), but I often struggle to motivate myself to put effort into preparing healthy meals, and I end up eating unhealthy snacks that taste good, but come with a side of guilt. I feel like in some ways it would be easier if I could give up eating altogether rather than trying to force myself to put the effort into changing what I eat! Habits are hard to break.
I for some reason was a week behind and did something I am proud of today but think I may write a second to catch up. I am all over the place with my eating though so not sure how great my post will be.
Ooooh that was a hard one for me too! You know, I suspect most people are, in one way or another. These days it’s harder than ever to get access to healthy, balanced meals, to find time to make them three times a day, to resist all the fast food that’s everywhere, and to even afford some of the healthier options. I’d say try not to be too hard on yourself, because I think most of us are right there with you! (I’d starve without packaged granola bars, chocolate and ready-made scones that have zero healthy ingredients in them these days!)
Aw, I appreciate you, so much! I am one of those people who struggle with this topic, and I almost skipped it. However, I forced myself to be really honest and step out of my comfort zone, and I’m glad I did. It helps me to see that I am making progress even when I feel like I’m not.
Thanks for thinking about people like me!
I’m so glad that you approached it with the awareness that you could just skip it, but chose to challenge yourself a bit. I do think it’s hard to see how far you’ve come sometimes, so I’m glad this gave you the opportunity to acknowledge your progress. Food is such a hard one. It’s not like you can quit eating if it’s a difficult thing for you, because it’s necessary. That makes it so much harder to deal with any difficulties that exist around it. I’m always so impressed by people who are able to even make small changes that help them feel healthier in this area. Thank you for stopping by and for sharing. I had a hard time writing this one!