Friday, March 7, 2014

Are 'healthy living' blogs healthy?

So, I was thinking about how long I have been reading these so called healthy living blogs. Years! I have wasted years of my life reading them...that's right...I said wasted! I started reading them when I was still in a phase of disordered eating and I just kind of got sucked into these blogger's lives. And without even realizing it, I started to truly believe that these people were the picture of health. I believed what they did was what we should all strive for. Thankfully, I have come to the realization that this is not true!

The truth is, most of these healthy living bloggers have suffered or are still suffering with eating disorders. While many bloggers profess health and well being, they take it to the extreme and their past/present disorders  deceive them and others into believing that their behaviors are healthy.

The truth is, it is not normal or healthy to restrict food intake or exercise daily to maintain a weight that is too low for YOUR body.

The truth is, women need to be at an optimal weight for THEIR body in order for it to function properly.

The truth is, you don't have to be a runner, cross fitter (?), body builder, professional yogi, etc. to be healthy.

I fell into this trap where I was believing these healthy living bloggers more than doctors! My doctors  were telling me that I was unhealthy. They were telling me that my body was too stressed and my bmi was too low (for me- even though it was in the normal range) to have normal menstrual cycles. But, I didn't believe them. I mean, bloggers x,y, and z all ate waaaaaaay less, exercised waaaaaay more and had waaaaaay lower bmis, and they are 'healthy'. I avoided following the doctor's advice for a long time, until one day it dawned on me...perhaps these 'healthy living' bloggers aren't really healthy. Sure, they may have low bmis, they may have muscle definition, they may run marathons, they may eat clean.... But they may be tormented with addictive/disordered thoughts and behaviors. Some of their bodies may appear healthy on the outside, but the things they 'must' do to look that way- that's what's unhealthy.

So, if anyone ever stumbles upon this while looking for a healthy living blog, I pray for you. I pray that your heart and eyes will be opened to the truth. The truth that we will all age. Our bodies will all deteriorate and we will all die. And when we do, it won't matter how thin we were, how many days we worked out, how many races we ran or how clean we ate. You are so much more than all of this. You were created to thrive! Stop looking at healthy living blogs to tell you who you are and what you should be doing. Start reading the truth!