Check out the Bloggers of the Day! Chosen from yesterday’s comments 🙂

• Follow My Fitsteps – Natalie shares regular healthy living tips and is promoting positive body image around her campus this month
• Knack For Nutrition – Jennifer has a remarkable sense of humor all tied into living a balanced life
• Mindfully Emily – Emily is such a beautiful soul and it shows in her blog with a great attitude and wonderful messages

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Some mysteries appear in my life that make no real sense. Sometimes I have to sit back and say, “I just don’t get it”.

I just don’t get why people set their clocks 5-10 minutes fast. You know its fast. Whenever I do that, I simply compensate in my head and it makes no difference. I just don’t get it.

I just don’t get the chick at my gym who will come in to workout (even yoga!) in tight cropped jeans and a dressy tank top…which she folds up over her chest to show off her stomach. Girlfriend looks fit, but wearing those clothes just makes her look ridiculous!

I just don’t get why food inevitably tastes better when it looks pretty.

Like this morning, I felt like using up some pumpkin I have opened and opted for an oat parfait. Same thing I’ve eaten a few times over the past couple weeks, but it tasted extra good from being prettified.

I just don’t get why a baby that weighs no more than a pound or two can hurt me so much. This kid thinks my insides make for a fun punching bag, that’s for sure.

I just don’t get how fall can come so fast.

I love it! The fall “chill in the air” has taken up residence here in Georgia for the foreseeable future. It was a fabulous low 60s at our visit to the park yesterday afternoon. Which reminds me…how am I supposed to make 2 pairs of long pants last me through the remainder of my pregnancy? I don’t think my maternity shorts and capris will quite cut it. It will pain me to buy pants I can only wear for a few months.

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One last thing I just don’t get. The Marie Claire article bashing particular healthy living bloggers (most harshly Caitlin, Kath, and Meghann). Chelsea from Strawberry Sweat shared the article, “Hunger Diaries”, last night and it pretty much shocked me. In a weird way, it upset me and angered me for those bloggers. Yet at the same time, I think it brought up some necessary points such as the fact healthy living and food blogs can be triggering to those with disordered eating and that sometimes not the healthiest things occur in them.

As bloggers in the public realm, we do have to consider that what we write has an impact and take that into account with what we share. However, I do not believe we should type on egg shells to prevent rocking anyone’s self-image/health philosophy boat. I don’t mind bringing up topics that will spark discussion and personal reflection, but I do try to share such messages in an uplifting, helpful manner.

I certainly agree with the article that some actions, when viewed outside of the whole, display very unhealthy lifestyles and mindsets. If in fact these bloggers ate only 1100-1400 calories per day while training for long races, lost their monthly cycles but did nothing to regain them, or sabotaged food on a regular basis, they would not be healthy and could cause harm displaying that as a balanced lifestyle. I do not ever get that impression from any blogs I read, however. Including the “big six” (which where in the world did that name come from?!).

I think we all have days where we may not make the best decisions. We all have moments where we feel “guilty” for skipping a few workouts. I can relate to what they shared about Meghann losing her period. I lost mine from training for the competition and I got mine back after training finished. I don’t think losing it prevents me from living as a healthy example. I know I would have felt the same frustration as Caitlin when she  trained for a race and dealt with a minor injury of blisters setting back her runs. And I have tossed food in the trash that I didn’t care to eat. Why do I have to get rid of it by eating it or letting it mold on my counter?

My main problem with the article lay in how distorted the author presented the blog authors and their approach to food, fitness, and living. We all have little quirks. We all make mistakes or do things that if done on a continued basis would be detrimental to health. But when viewed through a macro sense, we are all pretty dang healthy and inspiring as well. And I certainly believe the bloggers in these articles showcase a great example on how to live a balanced lifestyle. For this, they will always have my support.

**I will not share the article on this site due to possible copyright issues. Marie Claire did have it on their website, but I heard it was removed. Other bloggers may be hosting the article as well if you wish to do a search. Or you can always pick up the current issue, where the article is published to my understanding.*

• What do you think makes healthy living blogs so appealing that they would reach this level of attention? And what responsibility do we garner from that?
• Do you agree that sometimes our actions may not be the best, but on the whole still represent a real and balanced life?
• For a lighter question (:D), what are some things you just don’t get?

Today started off like any ordinary day. I woke up and got the morning’s 30 Days post written. Then I spent the morning with Makenzie and preparing breakfast. We had one of the standard fall breakfasts I have enjoyed recently – some waffles with a pumpkin + maple almond butter topping.

We then headed off to playgroup, where I spent time in the company of good friends. And where Makenzie pursued her little love interest.

After that, we came home to eat lunch then get her settled for nap time. Nap time = my time to get blog posts done and catch up on other things. Nap time today = hit a mental wall time for me.

It’s not often that I can’t come up with some sort of topic to share. Normally, so much rumbling goes on in my mind that the words just flow when my fingers hit the keys. I could only think about one thing today though. I feel a bit hesitant to share. It may even fall under the description of a confession. Since that is all that I can think to write…and I don’t sugar coat my thoughts, feelings, etc…I will share this confession. Here goes….deep breath…I am happy that the 30 Days of Self-Love is over. Really happy.

Please do not take that the wrong way. I stand behind the topics and the purpose for starting it in the first place. I believe in everything I shared. My sincerity and care filled each post written. Beyond all that, however, part of me felt that the 30 Days didn’t mesh quite as well as I hoped with my blog as a whole, with my personality, and also with many of you all.

As much as I loved writing each post, I think thirty days straight of such serious topics was a lot to swallow. I realized I much prefer sharing such messages and encouragement in smaller daily snippets through my regular posting. I don’t enjoy feeling like I overwhelm my readers and I know I felt overwhelmed at times with the day in and day out heavy topics. I do believe they played an essential role in helping us grow and reflect on important messages, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy to move on to a more laid-back approach again.

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So, where does Faith Fitness Fun go from here? I plan for Faith Fitness Fun to continue to be a blog sharing positive messages through my daily life, regular experiences, and the thoughts or lessons I garner from them. The same mindset behind the start of the 30 Days will still show because it is an essential part of who I am. I believe everyday moments can carry great inspiration and I hope to express that here.

I desire to continue a community of support, friendship, and fun revolving around many different areas of life. In light of how much I loved learning about you all and my appreciation for everything each of you gives to me, I want to share some blogger love. Each morning I will post a special, fun question so I can learn more about you. Then, the following day I will share a random selection of a few of the comments with fun blogs to check out. I know I always love finding other bloggers! After the 30 days I don’t want to tie myself to anything, but I figured this would be fun to try out and a way for all of us to discover new friends. I really feel like doing something light and fun after the past month. Are you with me?

• What pros/cons did you feel during the 30 Days of Self Love?
• Do you have any constructive criticism you want to share? Things you would like to see more or less of on Faith Fitness Fun?