You may or may not have heard about the controversial Marie Claire article that hit newsstands this week titled “The Hunger Diaries: How Health Writers Could Be Putting You at Risk” by Katie Drummond. Feel free to read the article, the comments and the rebuttals for yourself (you can find links to all the rebuttals here). In my opinion, I am disappointed that Marie Claire would print such a one-sided story with twisted facts and an obviously negative agenda. If you read it for yourself, I think you will come to the same conclusion.
One of the main points of the article is that these “healthy living” blogs (mine falls into that category) can be dangerous because people may try to imitate the author and live up to the life that is being portrayed on the blog. I have to assume that you all are smart enough to know that Inspired RD only shows a small portion of my life. But let’s get it all out there, just in case someone is trying to live up to who they think I am.
-I am a registered dietitian and certified personal trainer
-I do love to cook healthy meals and share them with you
-I do get a little too excited over a basket of fruits and vegetables
-I could talk about health and nutrition all day long
-I try to work out on most days
-I don’t work out every day
–Sometimes I eat at In-N-Out
–No, we are not a vegetarian family (see above)
-I do prefer carrots to carrot cake but I also prefer chocolate to spinach
The point is, I am a real person with a real family who is trying to live a healthy life and inspire others to do the same. I am not perfect (wouldn’t it be annoying if I was?), and I don’t want to pretend that I am. I always want to be honest with you, and I hope you appreciate that about me and my blog.
Feel free to leave a comment, I always love reading them. And thank you so much for your support. You inspire me more than you know!
Interesting that they post this article bashing the healthy living bloggers but the magazine promotes being emaciated and unhealthy body images.
Bah. Epic fail Marie Claire.
SO glad you posted this! I had heard little Twitter rumors about this article but couldn't find anything about it myself. UGH!! I can't believe they wrote that. Just a way to stir up controversy, right?
I can totally relate to ALL your points. Yes, I am an RD, yes I enjoy healthy food but NO I am NOT perfect and no one should try to be completely perfect all the time! Part of being healthy is ENJOYING life and that includes the occasional indulgence on delicious foods!
If the theme of your blog is a "health food blog," then of course the majority of posts will be about healthy foods. That doesn't mean that's all the author ever eats.
Thank you for your concise and well thought out response. I enjoy your logical approach to being healthy. The whole thing is so hypocritical coming from a magazine that so obviously promotes the emaciated model look itself. I think the print ads of models do more to sabotage body image expectations than all the healthy bloggers out here.
It definitely can be a touchy subject, but you are right many of our blogs are only a small snapshot. Everyone is not perfect and I like chocolate too! Definitely second what Carrie said about a magazine that lives up to false portrayals of physical perfection.
I enjoyed your concise and thoughtful comments, and just wanted to say this…
You are well-rounded and grounded, and the reason I follow you on Twitter and FaceBook is because the things you post resonate with me, and have been taken as a part of the "lifestyle makeover" I'm going through (eating better, exercise, etc.).
More than anyone else, YOU have helped inspire me to implement and facilitate the changes I need to make in my eating and exercise habits. Good grief; I'm even going to take a yoga class to see if I like or not! That wasn't me a year ago…
There are folks like me out there that look forward to hearing about what you have to say because it's just good common sense.
I've often thought about the purpose of a restaurant menu being to show what is offered and to provide something for varying tastes. In your own way, that's what you do… And if someone doesn't like what's on your menu they're free to go elsewhere. As for me, I intend to continue to frequent InspiredRD.
Keep up the good work!
Alysa, I am just now reading this..not sure why I think I meant to awhile back but got distracted as we so often do.
I have always loved that you are not perfect. And that is why we all can relate to you so much. I LOVE your blog and I LOVED your nutrition class so keep up the good work!
I would hope that your audience is smart enough to know that you dont ONLY live off the bountiful baskets and that you (as we all do) splurge sometimes…some (me) more than others maybe 🙂
Jess