A Cup of Catherine

Am I A Healthy Living Blogger?

by

When I started my first blog, I was bored and unfulfilled.

I fondly remembered the days of Live Journal, but I didn’t even know that blogs were A THING until I stumbled upon a few recipe blogs (namely Oh She Glows and The Full Helping—both of which I still read).

From there, I discovered the world of HEALTHY LIVING BLOGS, which became my favorite thing.

I was a teensy bit obsessed.

I’d spent a few years getting used to the working world (post-college) and I’d begun to realize how my sedentary work environment and poor diet were taking a toll on me. So I jumped fully into the HLB world.

I started pinning workouts and nutritious recipes like crazy. I began running and signing up for races. I even created my own little healthy living blog, “foodiecology.”

And yet…I am NOT a healthy living blogger.

healthy living blogger

Am I a Healthy Living Blogger?

Do I value a healthy lifestyle? Absolutely.

Do I like vegetables and nutritious foods? Yes, I love a variety of foods.

Do I enjoy exercise? To an extent—but mostly I just hate sitting still.

I have now realized, despite my attempts at creating workouts, purchasing enough tank tops and crops to dress an entire BODYPUMP class, and sampling every protein powder known to man, I just am not a healthy living blogger.

I don’t wake up craving kale in my smoothies (although sometimes I do crave zucchini in them).

I usually have to force myself to go to the gym (but I love it once I’m there and become more tolerable when I’ve practiced “endorphin therapy”—just ask my husband).

I have never purchased coconut flour or tapioca starch and believe in the sanctity of marriage between white flour and refined sugar.

And I am much better at counting how many bottles of $3 Whole Foods wine I’ve consumed in a week than I am at counting macros or calories (ok, that one is a little concerning).

Maybe this is part of growing up. Of realizing that my value isn’t the ratio of vegetables to carbs on my dish or how long I can hold a plank before I start shaking and/or crying.

Maybe healthy living is finding my very own balance and not emulating the movers and shakers in the quote-unquote HLB world who make a living off promoting fitness/health.

Maybe #healthyliving is finding your very own #balance #sweatpink #fitfluential #TOL Share on X

I believe healthy living is the realization that caring for our bodies by feeding them properly and moving them often is essential to good health and longevity, but so is a routine Netflix binge or nightly bowl of ice cream.

I’ve been down that uneasy road of pressure, criticism, and worry over “should I eat this?” or “do I need to work out today because I skipped yesterday?”

And that pothole-filled road leads to nowhere good.

I’m not saying that writing about weight loss or sharing workouts, nutrition tips, and “health-ified” recipes isn’t a noble or respectable pastime or career—I follow many incredible bloggers who do these very things and do them astoundingly well—but as I grow and learn what things are important to me as I raise my child and live my life—I’ve realized that clinging to certain labels is disingenuous.

So, am I healthy living blogger?

In the traditional sense—no, I don’t think so. But maybe I’m my own “brand” of healthy, and I think that’s ok.

Is your “brand” of #healthyliving authentic? #sweatpink #fitfluential #TOL Share on X

[thanks for letting me think out loud]

So tell me…

  • What’s your brand of “healthy living?”
  • Is there anything prevalent in the “healthy living world” you don’t agree with?

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. I totally think you are. I was actually just thinking about this the other day. I think making food with good ingredients, watching the amount of crap you put into your body, and having a healthy relationship with food totally considers you a healthy living blogger. I know where you are coming from, though. And it annoys me to have all these recipes with 17 kinds of flour. I have white and wheat, lol. I guess I can make oat ;0

      • Haha, that’s what I have, too – white, whole wheat pastry, and oats that I can grind up. It’s one thing to eat a certain way because of allergies or intolerances, but it’s another to avoid REAL food just because somebody tells you it’s “bad.”

    2. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I find a lot of things that ‘healthy living’ bloggers do are not healthy at all (*cough* all that protein powder *cough*). I prefer to think I also follow my own brand of healthy too! Focus on eating FOOD not powder, focus on making yourself happy, and take pleasure in life!

      • Yeah – I find myself shaking my head or shrugging my shoulders when I read some blogs (not all, of course). It actually makes me sad to think they believe some of their choices are healthy when they’re really not. I definitely agree with your last sentence! <3

    3. I loved that you called it your own brand of healthy. I thinking healthy living means finding balance in food and exercise. We all have those days where we don’t wake up craving vegetables and skipping into the gym. But it’s finding the mental strength to make healthy choices when necessary.

    4. YES! Catherine, I love how you just dig right into these topics, and I would totally agree that I’m probably not the traditional healthy living blogger, but we all have a different version of healthy, so we could both be healthy living bloggers, just a bit different. 🙂 I think you’re great too at remembering to touch on the mental part of health too.

      • Thanks, Emily. I think healthy living blogging can be compared to the whole HAES movement. Find what’s healthy for YOU because you FEEL better doing it – not for some false sense of doing things to look a certain way or fit in. I think your blog is a great representation of this mindset.

    5. Oh this is so spot on. I think my blog also started out “accidentally” as a HLB. I was all about trying Insanity and signing up for my first half-marathon and eating well right when my blog started. That was 5 years ago though! I had time to focus on all those things. And while I do value health, I don’t have the time I used to as a younger 20-something to be that intently focused on how to make a cauliflower crust pizza. Most days, I’m just trying to make sure we have something on the table for dinner!

      I feel like I completely fell off any sort of healthy living for a while now (moving, crazy toddler, & pregnancy are my excuses!). I hope to be healthier, but I’m never ever going to consider myself a HLB either. My blog will simply be about whatever I am focusing on in life at the time.

      • I started my blog (the first one that nobody read, haha) around the same time you did, so I think we were definitely both part of that “oh my gosh – I want to be a HLBlogger – they’re so cool!” crowd.
        But now, I think your blog is the perfect HONEST look at health. Real life, real things that come with motherhood and finding time for yourself. I think those are the kinds of blogs I want to read because I relate to them more than the training for a marathon all the time blogs (not that there’s ANYTHING wrong with those BTW).

    6. This is so so me too. I just really didn’t feel like I fit in with that whole healthy living crowd. I don’t wanna put collagen on my breakfast or do burpees everyday. I’m much happier just walking my dog and eating normal food.

      • Haha, not going to lie, I am kinda curious about collagen, but I totally get what you’re saying. Do I like some stereotypically healthy foods like chia seeds and hemp? Sure, but I’m not into the frankenfood thing either.

    7. I say that I am a Healthy life blogger. I lead a healthy life, and that is more than what the typical person thinks of when they think of a healthy living blogger. I eat, I run, I deal with real problems. That is why I call my blog Suzlyfe–it is my life. every part of it.
      I don’t deal well with labels, as you know. I won’t be defined–I don’t think that we can be defined. You do you, lady!

      • I think your blog is a perfect representation of your life and all the healthy and “normal” things that come with it. You’re right – we just gotta keep being ourselves.

    8. love this and totally agree. I don’t identify myself as a healthy living blogger. I don’t like tying that label to myself! I think with that label comes a whole lot of pressure.

      • I think it’s such a positive thing you don’t cling to that label – even though I feel your blog embodies healthy living – both physical and mental – perfectly.

    9. I really love this post!! I dont like it when people think healthy living is one solid thing for everyone. Also? Not eating certain “bad” foods or eliminating foods because they arent “healthy” or a perfect health food…I dont think thats healthy either! It makes me sad when a healthy living blogger is the kale eater who eats no cupcakes! If thats the case…I sure as heck aint a healthy living blogger either hahahhaa

      • YES! I feel like eliminating foods (allergies don’t count, of course) just because they’re PERCEIVED to be bad is just setting yourself up for failure. Glad we can agree on that!