Happy Friday! Did this week pass by in a blur for the rest of you? It sure has gone by fast for me. Today will be quick too, because as you are reading this I am likely at the gym, at the doctor for a confirmation of pregnancy visit, or at lunch with Lindsey of Cardio Pizza. I’ll be back later with an update on all of those. Right now though, it is time for a flashback and something I saw that bothered me earlier in the week. We’ll get the irksome out of the way first.

In recent celebrity “news” articles, like this one, there has been discussion of Gwyneth Paltrow working out with her beloved Tracy Anderson in order to get in shape for her role in the Iron Man 2 movie. There are claims that Tracy Anderson’s special method helped Gwyneth put on 10 lbs of muscle…with “aerobic dance moves” and a leg workout similar to the following:

I’m sorry to be such a cynic…but a bunch of leg lifts, kicks, and funky body twists accompanied with “aerobic dance moves” will NOT make you gain 10 lbs of muscle. Especially while also leaning down. You would have to eat a great surplus of calories and do more concentrated weight lifting to gain muscle like that. I’m not saying that Tracy’s workouts won’t leave you with a good “burn”, because contorting your body in weird ways or kicking your leg out a 100 times will likely hurt, but it is not in my mind a quality workout that will extraordinarily change your body composition. Completely fake in my mind.

What isn’t fake is the gelato, gondolas, churches, and art in Italy. For this Flashback Friday I will share some of my visit to Venice & Florence during my Europe vacation.

Venice and Florence came at the perfect time of our trip. There wasn’t as much to do in these cities, so we really got to just enjoy the scenery, the culture, and the towns. In Venice, we sat in awe of the little water town and eyed the gondolas in the Grand Canal since they cost an arm and a leg we weren’t willing to lose with 1/2 of our trip remaining.

We shopped farmer’s markets for food and tourist markets for Ciao Bella shirts in the piazzas.

We traveled by water taxi when we otherwise would get lost in the confusing road setups that end in canals.

We viewed beautiful churches such as St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice and the Duomo in Florence.

We climbed the Camponile Bell Tower in Florence to take in the views of the town and even a little hint of Tuscany-esque views off in the distance.

We visited museums where we got to see all sorts of amazing Italian sculptures. I feel like I should have some tiny black rectangles strategically placed below.

But the best part? Getting real Italian gelato! It makes Italy that much sweeter to visit.

• What do you think of Tracy Anderson’s workout for Gwyneth Paltrow? Do you think she is credible?
• If you could go to Italy what would you be most excited to experience? If you have been, what was your favorite part?
• Do you enjoy the flashbacks? Would you like me to switch it up and do trips some weeks and other things in between? Or do you like the trip flashbacks in the order I experienced them? Or none of it and flashbacks bore you?

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, it has probably become pretty apparent that I am an open book. I don’t hide my feelings; I don’t hesitate to share my thoughts; and I will talk about most anything – nice, ugly, scary, controversial, whatever.

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I have shared specifics of my experience with binging. I have openly discussed facing depression in the wake of a very difficult relationship with my father. I discuss topics related to my faith openly. I tell the unglorious side of things like competing and don’t sugar coat it in the least. I share news right away, when most people would wait a couple more months. And don’t be surprised if some TMI info reveals itself in the upcoming months from the many pregnancy moments I assure you don’t have an “awww” or “how cool” reaction.  I could already disclose that at only one month in, my gas and bloat at the end of the day could either fuel a power jet or help keep the Titanic passengers afloat. Don’t act shocked. I gave ample warning of the TMI coming your way.

So you may wonder where all of this is leading. Awhile ago, Sophia posted about our responsibility as bloggers to consider the material we put out there. People are reading it and it is impacting others. Either for the better or the worse. She shared many useful tips and I would recommend reading her post. There was one thing, however, that I felt was missing. Honesty.

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I think there are many areas bloggers should be honest about to help aid a supportive environment for readers. Here are just three of the many areas I hope we are mindful of and truthful with in our blogs.

1. Having a "perfect” persona. If you consistently cover up or don’t discuss any imperfections and struggles you have, readers could end up with the distorted vision that you are “perfect” or “never mess up” or “always eat/workout/live right”. This type of persona could ultimately lead to others feeling not good enough about themselves. In an ideal world we would not compare ourselves to others, but as bloggers we should know that it happens. If you are honest about some sugar passing your lips, missing a workout, dealing with a negative body image on occasion, being angry or hurt about something, etc you will become more real. Many of us bloggers hope to set examples and help others. Acting the part of “oh-glorious-one-with-no-problems” could provide an unrealistic example and set others up for a sense of failure.

2. Having a platform about a diet/fitness lifestyle and claiming it is the only way. Being part of the healthy living blog world, we readily come across a variety of lifestyles touting the benefits of this or that way of eating or exercise. If you follow any particular lifestyle and openly share about and sing its praises on your blog, that is great. I am not negating that because it is after all what helps to distinguish one blog personality from another and we all have something we feel works great in our eating and fitness lives. What I am cautioning is advocating that your life choices regarding food and fitness are the only way or the best way. That is not honest. Different things work for different people. By all means share how your choices have impacted your life for the better, but be wary of giving your choices the “this is the be-all-end-all if you want to live well” description. There are many bloggers who stand for something, but do it with class that they do not judge others for their ways of living because they know what works for them doesn’t necessarily work for others. I respect that very much.

3. Not sharing openly on topics close to you. If you are going through something, have been through a trial, or have a topic close to your heart, I believe it is best to be shared. I understand some of us have things we simply cannot or will not talk about. It may be too personal and make you uncomfortable. Your choices on what you share are strictly that. Yours. But, there is one reason I support sharing more on certain things in your life. If you open up about a particular hardship you have/had you may be reaching out to readers in a way you never knew you could. You have the possibility of not only giving others support by allowing them to relate to you, but also receiving the companionship and uplifting you very well may need as well. You don’t have to share everything, but do try to be more open to the idea of sharing more about your life than what you ate today.

• Do you appreciate other bloggers’ honesty? What ways do you hope other bloggers are honest?
• Is there anything you have been honest about on your blog and were hesitant to do so, but now realize the rewards of opening up?
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