Braxton Hicks are so much fun!!! I have been experiencing them almost non-stop the past few days. Oh, the joy. Ironically enough, the only time I don’t feel them is when I work out. Or perhaps I simply experience a workout high and don’t notice them? Either way, it just reaffirms my desire to continue fitness, even at 7 months pregnant. And even when the man next to me in spin class tells me to please not go into labor right there. If it wouldn’t have disrupted class, I would have been highly tempted to fake contractions and freak him out. Now, that would have been fun!

Not as fun as this though….

It’s official!! I am registered! So, anyone going interested in rooming together? I will warn you that, with a 4 month old at home, breast pumping will be involved. As discreetly as possible of course. 😉 I’m extremely excited and know I will have so much fun. We’ll wait and see if BlogHer is in the cards as well. I hope so!

We had to be at church for a little while this afternoon to meet with some others attending a church retreat with us. I wasn’t sure how long we would be, so I planned for a dinner on the go. Normally I go for a sandwich from Subway, but a different sandwich appealed to me tonight.

I would also normally opt for the half sandwich and half salad option. Not tonight! Something about a full, hearty chicken salad sandwich from Atlanta Bread Co. sounded perfect. Perhaps because the last thing I had eaten was a bean, cheese, and rice whole wheat wrap/burrito with a honeycrisp apple about 6 hours earlier. Who cares on the reason?! It tasted delicious. Now, today’s Q + A!

Why do you not post everything you eat on your blog? Do you ever not post something because you feel embarrassed or guilty?

First off, I don’t post everything I eat because it simply is not my style. As my blog states, I believe life is more than diet and workouts. To coincide with that belief and fit my blogging style, I don’t post all my food. I would feel too tied down if I attempted to post all of my food. I LOVE reading blogs that share their daily eats and the ideas from them, but I don’t believe it suits Faith, Fitness, Fun.

Also, with my past, I don’t feel comfortable focusing that much on food. It works for some, but I fear I would lose my sense of eating intuitively. I could see myself feeling pressured to have interesting food or wondering if my food was “acceptable” in the blogging world. I eat a lot of repetitive meals and don’t have a passion for cooking like many other food bloggers. In other words, I would bore you all to tears if I blogged with more of a focus on food. I’m happy with how I eat and don’t want to take the chance of effecting that negatively.

With all of that said, I do not hide my food. I would do a play by play of my eats post without hesitation. And heck, right now I feel I post more of the meals I eat that aren’t the healthiest. I have no shame. I have a chicken salad sandwich on the blog tonight, some leftover Halloween candy on the blog yesterday, and a plethora of dinners out mentioned here. I even had an entire post dedicated to my “confession” of visiting a McDonald’s earlier in the pregnancy because I craved it and refused to feel embarrassed.

I do enjoy sharing meal ideas I feel worth mentioning or great new recipes I try. I also love sharing fun meals out as part of our weekend activities. In the future, I will likely have more to say about my food and will openly discuss my dietary choices when working to lose weight after pregnancy. Basically, I share food when it fits into topics I blog about. I will never share everything I eat, every post. I’m cool with that because that means I am being true to myself and my blog. 🙂 That is always a good thing, no embarrassment needed.

• How do you handle posting food on your blog?
• If you have something you wish to ask, CLICK HERE to do so anonymously. Or post a question in the comments.
• Check out my girl Jenn’s blog. She is a wellness coach and is giving away TEN FREE four week coaching sessions right now. All you need to do is comment so please CLICK!

Thank you to everyone for the get-well wishes and prayers for Peter’s grandmother. As far as we know, things stand pretty much the same right now. All we can hope for is as much comfort as possible. Also, thank you for sharing your love or dating stories. I loved reading them! Check out the comments if you’re in a mood to say “awwwwww”.

Do you remember my cardio session yesterday on the machines? Well, I discovered one other plus to it. The magazine reading! I haven’t picked up a magazine in forever. I read through the October Parenting issue and came across quite a few interesting topics.

Should there be a law forbidding smoking in the home/cars of those with small children? Hmmmm….I hate the thought of young children being submitted to 2nd hand smoke, but how could we even implement that?

Do magazines still have the same prowess in media despite the rise of internet information and other forms of media? I know I haven’t picked up a magazine in months because of blogs.

Although the above provide room for two very intriguing discussions, a different article caught my eye. It was an article about parenting, but it really struck me as something that could apply to our relationships with our bodies as well. The effectiveness and importance of using explanatory language instead of accusatory/emotional language. What does that mean?

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The article discussed how, in parenting, kids do not respond well to yelling and frustrated statements from parents. Comments like “Can you not clean up your toys? Are you that helpless?” won’t reach a child best. It shared how using explanatory language can more effectively discipline and guide children to appropriate behavior. Saying, with focus and calm attention to the child, “I see toys that need to be picked up. You have 5 minutes to put your toys in their bins.” will, apparently, prompt the desired action.

I’m not starting a discussion on parenting though.  Leave it to me to take that topic and relate it to how we relate to our bodies and ourselves. How often do thoughts like this come into our minds?

• I can’t believe you! You can’t even control yourself around this food at the party. You’re eating way too much. Ugh.
• You will never lose this weight because you’re a failure. You can’t do x, y, z and you can’t get in shape either.
• You aren’t as pretty as her. You aren’t as in shape as her. You aren’t as fashionable as her. You aren’t… You aren’t… You aren’t…

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We can get caught up in using that emotional or accusatory language instead of the realistic nature of explanatory language. If we used explanatory language with ourselves, I imagine we would gain confidence. Accusations against our looks or abilities set us up for failure by putting a cloud of doubt over us. Placing negative emotions on situations can shadow solutions and the opportunity for change and growth. Accusatory and emotional language, I believe, keeps us in a perpetual battle against ourselves.

Explanatory language, on the other hand, could look like this:

• I had a stressful day at work. I feel compelled to eat a bunch of chocolate to hide those emotions. It is okay to feel that way. But will the food really help? What can I do to calm myself instead?
• I feel frustrated that my diligence in eating better and working out isn’t showing up in the smaller sizes/weight I expected. I just want to give up. But, body? You do feel better and stronger. Maybe we should keep it up.
• I have cellulite on my legs. It’s there, but maybe it isn’t as much as I thought. I also ran three miles today. That’s really awesome!

Removing the emotions and stating the facts can help us clarify what we really need. Sure, it may not always work, but it very well could motivate us to take a step in the right direction. Worth a shot I would say.

• Have you ever thought about language being emotional or explanatory? Do you think the difference could impact our self-appreciation?
• Do you still read magazines? Which types/ones?