is comparing yourself to others a good thing?

hey hey buddies. it's tuesday, jess!

i had a bombtastic day today. i acted like a blob all morning, read a little, went out to lunch with christie from honoring health (again! love her!), and knocked out a killer strength training workout.

yep. all in a days work :)

just a quick thought for you all tonight... i was reading some older posts from two awesome blogs and came across posts about how many calories they consume.

usually, i'm not really into other people's diets, but that day it struck a chord with me. i guess i was blown away by how active these girls are, and how little calories they actually ate (compared to me).

my first reaction was intrigue. they are both so healthy, and their diets really seem flawless! i'm amazed at their endless creativity and dedication to health.

... but then, i started internalizing. you know, comparing myself.

i started thinking about how beautiful and active these girls are, and how i move so much less, but eat so much more! it blew my mind.

i wouldn't say it made me uncomfortable, but i definitely had a few moments of uncertainty. how could this be? am i eating the right amount? am i overeating? 

i quickly came to a shocking conclusion: i am not either of them.

brilliant, i know. the important fact i lost sight of was that we are all unique. what's good for me may not be good for you, or anyone else for that matter. we are individuals, and we require different things to feel and look our best.

i know what i normally eat, and if i was to eat less, i would definitely lose weight that i don't want to lose. if someone else ate like me, however, they might gain or lose weight. or just feel like crap. or be bored. or not think i have very good tastes in snacks. whatever.

it was eye-opening, to say the least. i realized even when i think that i've conquered a weak area, i can always be taken off guard! i'm not immune to insecurity, that's for sure.

so i decided to do my own "day of food" post.

this is not meant to encourage more comparison. please, don't look at me as the standard. i'm quite the opposite, actually.

it's meant to be a declaration of self-acceptance: i am rebekah. this is what i eat, and i'm totally ok with that.

let's get started, shall we?

5:05am - must. drink. water. now.

5:31am - oatmeal time! oatmeal time! oatmeal time!

in the mix: chocolate chia tahini oats. yum.

6:00am - decaf coffee (and assume i am pounding water the rest of the day from here out)

9:20am - post-run recover smoothie (recycled picture, i ate too quick!)

in the mix: hemp protein, hemp milk, banana, strawberries, blueberries, + spinach

p.s. - you can tell it's finally daylight! lol.

11:40am - leftover amaranth savory pancakes

mix it up! try substituting leftover cooked grains in your next pancake recipe. blend them up a bit in the food processor first if you like a smoother texture.

+ snow peas and copious amounts of (unpictured) carrots

intermission: i just had to show you guys this shelf on our freezer.

i love my little brother! he's 16... can you tell?

1:30pm - gala apple + almonds + rooibos tea

second intermission: look at my mom's cute plants!

2:06pm - second snack. because apparently the first one wasn't enough.

(on a book up for review - coming soon!)

4:07pm - dinner, part one.

mom's homemade whole wheat bread + homemade hummus

5:15pm - leftover baked potato + homemade 3-bean chili

... where are my leafy greens today???

taa-daa! y'all sleepin' yet?

who cares what everyone else does? you are really quite lovely just how you are.

i want you to look at your body and what you eat, and promise not to judge yourselves, either. deal?

-rebekah

this is a random post. you've been warned.

happy friday blogosphere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


first, i wanted to let you guys in on some things i had been thinking about randomly:
1. i am still really unfamiliar with blogger. please pardon my ignorance.
2. i haven't felt super the last couple days, so i have a few pictures, but not many.
3. i just got my computer fixed and back from the shop (i had been using my mom's) so i messed with my pictures on my edit software. so no, i don't normally photoshop my food :)
4. i have been reading a book called "Foods That Fight Pain" by Neal Barnard, M.D., so i will give you guys a little review in the future.

OK - the eats!
here's the deal with the eats. the meals i've eaten at home this week have basically all been the same... so i'll save you guys scrolling through 1098403 of the same pictures of oatmeal. basically, every day i've eaten oatmeal, a salad, a wrap, and some other stuff i took pictures of. so i've eaten more than what i put up... i just wouldn't insult you guys like that!

I DIGRESS. without furthur ado -

 

cinnamon caramel oats... made like wednesday's with egg whites. heaven!

then i was off to the gym for my last day of the week! it was a full body day, and it's safe to say now my FULL BODY feels it :)

 workout recovery - strawberry, peach, flax, hempmilk, carrot, spinach, ice!

again... any of you guys use hempmilk!? love it! i got it on sale at kroger for $1.99.

that's all the eats i have from yesterday (told ya it was a bad day.) i also ate amazing black bean soup, one of my kitchen sink salads, MORE oatmeal, an apple, and veggie wrap. i didn't take pictures 1) because i didn't feel like it, and 2) because you guys have seen them before!

and p.s. - i'm avoiding dairy because i think i'm sensitive to it... but last night i hadn't eaten NEAR enough calories, and i didn't feel like eating anything, so i kinda made myself eat something (check out the bottom of this post). i ended up eating reese's ice cream because i had craved peanut butter, but it was GROSS. i think i've lost my sweet tooth, which is helpful in avoiding sugar :)

on a more positive note, here's today's eats.

brekkie - i made an sweet-egg white burrito (wrap, egg whites, vanilla extract, stevia, pinch salt, cinnamon), but was so hungry i didn't take a picture. which is just as well because it looked gross... but tasted OMGGG.

a bit later, i made some cookies as a thank you to a friend of mine. he lent me his stephen king book "under the dome." it was pretty good! dark, but good. he is a creative writing major at vcu and wants to do a guest post soon! (he's also a closet foodie!)

BANANA-WALNUT (OR PEANUT) CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

(recipe courtesy of martha stewart, my changes in italics)

Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour (i used an extra 1/2 c white flour)
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (i'm not gonna lie, i just dumped some in there)
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks (i used tj's semisweet baking bar)
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted (i used left over salted peanuts from my little sister's science project... hey, she didn't experiment with those!)
• (i also dumped in a about 1/4 cup white chocolate chips because they were sitting there from something my mom made last week)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
2. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

i have no idea what the junk i did to formatting of these, but here they are.