Bloggers of the Day!! (chosen randomly from your comments)

• Food In Real Life – Jamie has been a friend of mine through the internet for a few years. She’s a genuine person with a lot of passion for healthy living.
• A Fit and Spicy Life – I’ve known Mellissa just as long as Jamie. She is such a great person. She loves traveling, wine, and giving out amazing recipes!
• Mangiare Buono, Vivere Bello – That means “Eat Well, Live Beautifully” and describes Steph perfectly. She posts killer workouts too. 

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I hope you all have had wonderful weekends. Sad to think they are coming to an end. As you may have read, I had a fabulous start to the weekend yesterday morning. After a delicious breakfast (pumpkin stuffed french toast), some chill time, and an hour long walk with the family, we headed out to the fair!

 

I love county fairs!! This was the first time we went together as a family. I had more fun than I expected. Likely from seeing my little M enjoy herself so much.

The fair had so much to see and do. We started off with the mini-zoo to let M peek at some of the animals.

 

I think she would have stared at that zebra all day. But, we had other plans for her.

She didn’t feel too certain on her first two rides, but by the end of the day, she kept asking to ride things again, again. Sorry, baby. Fairs are dang expensive!

Amidst all the teacup, sky bucket, motorcycle, and horse riding, we also meandered through the little country sections of the fair grounds.

 

Too bad, it was too hot to try some fresh cider! We had to have some fair food and what better to choose than the classic choice of funnel cake?

 

I already can’t wait until next year! It’s one of those Southern things about me. Just like my cravings for BBQ, which is what we had for dinner last night.

The BBQ dinner came with an unexpected side, however. Not the cole slaw or sweet potato fries. Those are pretty standard. Something else. 

At first, I couldn’t tell what bothered me. I knew I didn’t feel guilt. After all, I had a healthy breakfast and lunch, then my dinner was kept to reasonable portions. I only ate the meat with a some of the slaw and not even half of the sweet potato fries. I enjoyed it all. Through talking it out with Peter, I figured it out. I feel as though I am in eating limbo. I have things I want to improve with my dietary choices, such as being more mindful of ingredients and choosing whole foods more often.  The issue? I have no motivation to do so right now.

It’s so odd to mentally want to do these things and get back to eating in a more 90/10 ratio of quality food over things that don’t offer much nutritional value. Yet physically, sweets and really hearty meals sound incredibly appealing and I go with it. By no means do I not eat enough quality food. I know I do. On some level, however, I still don’t quite feel like myself and it gets to me that during pregnancy I somehow lack the drive to just do what suits my personal preferences outside of pregnancy.

When I add all that in to writing a healthy living blog, sometimes I feel hypocritical. I guess because I know my normal, I feel a bit like an imposter sharing my current lifestyle as healthy when I know its not really MY healthiest. No matter what, I always believe in balance. Pregnant or not, I still indulge in treats without guilt. In a few months, I won’t drastically change into this all or nothing person who never eats anything processed or refuses to eat some funnel cake or BBQ. Believe me!

I guess I am trying to say…I’m ready. I get excited thinking about having the motivation and desire for my regular lifestyle. I await the days where my mental and physical cravings coincide. I enjoy learning more about fueling my body properly for my passion of working out and having fun along the way. In truth, I know I am not a hypocrite. I’m simply a person with one small piece of the whole puzzle missing. It will return soon and I cannot wait to share it with all of you.

• Have you ever felt in limbo over something?
• Do you like going to fairs? What’s your favorite fair food if you have one?

Today’s Bloggers of the Day!! (random from yesterday’s comments)

• Running Around Normal – Paige is a personal trainer and gives great workout ideas as well as meal ideas
• Healthy Coconut – Lea is gorgeous and loves sharing travels with healthy eating and fitness as well
• Live Love & Peanut Butter – Bec is a new reader (or at least commenter – hi!) and her blog seems to have some great stuff

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Last night began our weekly small groups in church. Each week, we spend part of this time together sharing a meal and catching up before getting into the discussion and prayer. Last night’s meal was fried chicken, potato salad, and coleslaw.

Not the most appetizing thing to me since realizing I don’t really care for chicken too much unless a small part of a whole dish (like a casserole or in a salad). I had a few bites of the chicken before it made me feel sick. And of course a meal of potato salad and coleslaw doesn’t quite make a satisfying meal. Lindsay asked me to do a post on how I handle eating differently than friends/family. So, here’s another Reader’s Request!

First of all, I don’t find I eat too differently from friends and family. Peter is always open to foods I prepare, even the more veggie based meals I’ve been whipping up. With friends, we usually dine together at restaurants or social events. At restaurants its easy to order what I prefer and at social events I usually enjoy to some extent many of the foods provided and there are always a few healthier choices, like below with a plate full of veggies to balance out other things. I wrote a post about not overeating in social situations here, if you’re interested.

However, I do still encounter some remarks and questions about my food choices. And I do find times I have to adjust things, especially when not pregnant because my preferences are different then and I will have to be more mindful while working to lose the baby weight (I’ll open the can of worms on how I plan to approach that process in the future).  So without further ado, below are the scenarios I encounter the most and how I handle them.

When I know there will be a limited selection of foods I enjoy or feel comfortable eating at a social engagement. I want to be clear here. I will always choose to eat things I enjoy. However, there may be times when faced with food you outright do not like, or times when options do not fit into what you can eat if you have food allergies or are vegetarian/vegan. In the past, I used to pack and bring my own meal. Now, I do not do so because I personally feel rude and prefer other ways. I will eat a satisfying meal before I leave, then still munch on what works for me with others without starving.

Remarks when you do eat something not quite so healthy. I think the most annoying scenario for me is when I do eat sweets or a heavier dish that I like and someone says something along the lines of “I thought you were a healthy eater’”. In that situation, I always laugh it off (because its usually not said with ill intent) and respond with “I believe its healthy to eat things you love and its all about balance”. Yes, I have said that. Numerous times. Including to the waiter at the Italian restaurant on Tuesday night after telling him I write a healthy living blog and ordering the cheesy fondue.

Remarks like how do you do it, don’t you get sick of vegetables, why do you even like that stuff, I couldn’t eat that way, etc. With this, I yet again remember that people likely intend to make conversation and are generally intrigued. I don’t think people attack me and my eating habits. So once again, I always laugh it off and simply state that I feel best eating the way I do and choosing healthier foods as often as possible. I will also at times bring lighter dishes or share recipes so people can see healthy doesn’t equal gross.

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Overall, I prefer to live my life and if it acts as inspiration or an example to someone, great. I refuse to divulge all my reasoning in a long diatribe or feel the need to defend myself. In other words, I simply don’t let it get to me. I think people generally don’t notice or don’t care and then, those that do comment, are either genuinely interested or validating their own habits. By not making a big deal of it myself, it once again doesn’t give food the power. I also always keep the perspective that one meal every now and again that isn’t my ideal choice won’t hurt me. So there are still plenty of times where I’ll just go with the flow, eat the sub-par to me, and enjoy the time…like I did last night.

• Do you ever encounter misunderstanding from others with your food choices? How do you handle them?
• What do you think of bringing your own food to social events and eating something completely different than everyone else? I can understand it and I’ve done it, but now I don’t see it as necessary and prefer being more laid back about it since I don’t have many dietary restrictions.
• Any other reader requests???