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

friday foodzzzz

i'm not quite sure why i'm not sleeping right now... i've been up since 4am and it's past midnight.

body, we need to talk. insomnia is SO 2009.

i didn't toss and turn or anything. i was just up and at 'em at around 4 something. it was a good thing, however, because shortly after my little sister got up to leave for her spring break. she and her buddy are driving to tampa, florida!!! when i was 18, there was NO WAYYYYY my mom would have let me do that. but i'm happy for her :)

some of her swag i picked up from wf...

cashew cookie larabars, justin's maple almond butter (!), ener-g brown rice bread, and cream of buckwheat. you know, normal stuff.

to send her off right, i made her some banana bread millet:

½ c millet

1 reaaaaally ripe banana (not sad to see him go!)

3 prunes

1 packet stevia

1 c milk

sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg

splash vanilla extract

how I did it, and what you shouldn’t do
I toasted my millet in the bottom of my pot first. That was all well and good. But I got the crazy idea (hey, it was 5am!) that it would be a good idea to go ahead and boil the milk in the micro so I could just add it right to the toasted millet. Sounds good, right? Well apparently I’m the only one who didn’t know that hot pot + hot liquid = hot explosion on your countertop.

it does.

after I washed the milk foam from all over hell and back, I brought the millet back to a boil, then cut it down to simmer for years and years… ok, more like 25 minutes or so. She loved it, so that’s all good.

because i'm a terrible blogger before sunrise, no pic. but here's another egg wrap to add to my growing collection:

1/2 c egg whites, pinch salt and pepper, garlic and onion powder, sauteed mushrooms.

sex on a plate!

after breakfast, my mom and I were supposed to go on a walk in our nice weather (it got to 85 here in Richmond!!), but she didn’t sleep much either, so we rescheduled until tomorrow. I went to the gym and started reading some new james patterson book. I got about 5 pages in, got bored, and talked to my friend zach for the rest of the time on the elliptical. today was an easy cardio day, so not too worried.

upon my return, i promtly snacked my face off on what else? cottage cheese oats!

1/2 c cottage cheese

1/2 c old fashioned oats

packet stevia

1/2 tbsp liquid crack (a.k.a. white chocolate wonderful!)

also, i daily consume about 10932043 cups of this:

deeevinee.

I threw myself at the bed for an hour after eating. It was gooood...

Eventually I reemerged, then went to California pizza kitchen for lunch with the boy!

 I hadn’t been in ages, and I totally forgot to take a picture because I was so hungry! the line to get in was CRAAAZY long today because of the nice weather, and the boy and i were not pleased. I got the grilled vegetable salad…

credit-o. because i was too hungry.

omg – it’s heaven. It has pretty much every grilled veggie you could ask for! grilled corn, asparagus, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, and avocado. I didn’t even need salad dressing it was so good.

The boy and I shopped in urban outfitters and levi’s for a bit before he had to go back to work. I got a scarf!

And I wore it. Obviously.

... still squinting from that flash.

and i finally got to wear sandals!

After that, I pretty much sat inside on this gorgeous day like a bum.

But… I won my first giveaway!!! Tropical traditions coconut cream concentrate!

If you guys have any ideas on what to use it for, please share! Thank you to Stephanie!

Later, mom and my older sister and I got a girl’s night out! We graced Tara Thai with our presence.

 It was fantastic, as usual.

i ordered the plah goong - cashew shrimp in lime-chili sauce!

i get it everytime. i try so hard to pick something else, but it's just that good!

and now, food porno, friday style :)

we're pretty heavy drinkers, us three.

mine.

mom's.

kristen's.

sense a shrimp theme?

us too.

right before that, i was totally vanna white-ing my plate, but mom couldn't get the camera to work.

so now, i'm just cheesin'.

and my nightcap:

trader joe's berry blend, sprinkled with stevia.

so good frozen.

well i'm finally hittin' the sack. hope you guys had a great friday!

tomorrow i am going bikini shopping (eek!), then to a friend's house for a little pre-easter dinner.

i also have a post planned on soy... stay tuned :)

- r