Life Lessons: Food Photo Diary
Day Ten of the 100 Reps Challenge
wall squat: hold for 20-60 seconds (don’t let your knees extend past your toes!)
20 superman’s
Do this set 5 times for a total of 100 superman’s and a long-ass time of sitting against the wall.
Fitness Tip: Stretching with yoga positions- try the child’s pose and the cobra– before and after doing the superman will alleviate any pain you might feel if your body isn’t used to moving in that way.
Experimental Food Photo Diary
There are a lot of bloggers out there who keep track of what they eat and photograph it every single day. Every single day! And these are quality drool-worthy photos, too. I have kept my own food diary multiple times over the past few years, but I no longer do it because the past couple times I started diligently writing everything down, I went overboard and became far too obsessive about it for my liking. So now I just don’t do it.
That being said, the food-blogging-with-photos thing really intrigues me and I had never done it before, so I decided that I would give it a shot, just for one day, to see what the life of a food blogger is like. This is from Wednesday of last week:
7:30am 1 glass skim milk
11:00 am 1 mug of green tea
Oh who am I kidding. Over the course of the day, I drank virtually this entire thing by myself:
11:00 am 1 bowl oatmeal (1/3 cup oats, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 banana, lots of cinnamon)
12:30 pm 1 apple
2:00 pm 1/2 banana, 1 orange
4:00 pm 1 granola bar (one of the treats that I won in Kelly’s giveaway!)
5:30 pm salad with spinach, cucumber, and carrots
7:45 pm 2 mini oranges!
8:15 pm cannelloni with healthed-up Caesar salad
…and then some more Caesar salad
8:45 pm chocolate PB2
So, what’s it like to live a day in the life of a food blogger?
This day was interesting for me. I usually eat nearly twice as much as this (at the very least, normally I would have had 2 bowls of oatmeal and 2 bananas, as well as twice as much cannelloni, plus some fruit at breakfast), and there was a couple of important reasons as to why I ate so little:
1. I was sick all last week. Seems like everyone’s been sick. Wednesday was the worst day of it for me, and it was completely unintentional that I happened to be carrying out this experiment at the same time. My throat was sore so I couldn’t swallow all that easily, and my stomach wasn’t very pleased every time I ate. So even though I was hungry, I wasn’t particularly interested in eating because eating didn’t make me feel good.
2. I was at work during the day and in the evening, so I always eat slightly less than usual on those 10-11 hour days (I don’t like to come home at 8pm and have a big meal if I’m just going to fall asleep in a couple hours anyways)
3. I was lazy. I’d consider eating something, remember I had to take a photo of it, and decide I couldn’t be bothered to snack.
4. I became incredibly aware of absolutely everything I was putting in my mouth and felt that if I ate my normal amount it would simply be too much. The normal amount I eat, is a lot of food for someone who’s only 5 feet tall. And I felt a bit embarrassed when I thought about just how much I can pack away.
A food photo diary is not something I could keep up*. That’s a lot of work! As well, I know that I’d get very obsessive. I’d start to feel shame or guilt, so I would probably choose to go hungry rather than eat. Or, alternatively, I’d over-eat and feel bad about it, and maybe even though I’d admit to it I wouldn’t take a photo.
We all have different w
ays to keep ourselves on track and it seems as though food diaries can really work for a lot of people. And they would be very useful if you are just curious to know about your eating habits, or if you are looking for a way to stop yourself from grabbing a couple of almonds or a handful of cereal every time you walk in the kitchen.
I have been thinking a lot about the pros and cons of keeping a food diary, and yesterday I tried out a different experiment. I photographed all of the food that I ate when no one else was around. This way, I wasn’t getting strange looks from people from taking photos of all the food I was eating, I wasn’t forced to write down everything, and I also didn’t need to measure portions. The condition was that when no one was around and I was eating, I had to take a photo of what I ate. The results? I didn’t deprive myself by letting myself be hungry, and I didn’t mindlessly munch. Taking a photo, even though I knew no one else would be seeing these photos, allowed me to be more aware of what I ate but also to be flexible in not being anxious about what others might think about my food choices. If you’re struggling with deciding whether or not a food diary is right for you, I strongly recommend you try doing this! It’s the perfect medium.
I have never had an outright eating disorder. But I do know the consequences of obsession with food and I have absolutely felt the effects of it before (the term “disordered eating” would fit perfectly in here for some of my past eating habits). For those of us who have mild cases of disordered eating (and most of us have a mild case of some kind of disorder!), I think that as long as we’re aware of it we can control it and be able to be healthy without obsessing.
This post is fantastic and really sums up my own personal struggles with this issue, and I’m sure it speaks to just about anyone who has ever had “issues” with food or health. The difference between the physical and mental aspects. And I am so glad that I have figured out by this point that food diaries aren’t for me, because this way I can avoid any such trigger. And just be.
*My food choices are, for one thing, too boring for people to want to read about/look at. Ditto with my photography skills. Especially when you look at some of those fantastic bowls of oats with the creamy peanut butter melting on top and sparkling pomegranate seeds sprinkled over it… dammit, just thinking about all those great food blogs makes me want to get a snack! 🙂
I know exactly what you mean – I’m always intrigued by food blogs! But I would never do one myself for exactly the same reasons as you- I know I’d just end up eating less and less.
I definitely eat a LOT more than you posted here volume-wise even when I’m on a diet. I think I’d have a hard time posting all mine too. You can eat an awful lot of food with a low-calorie density and still maintain weight, but I’d just think everyone was thinking “greedy”!
TA x
You’re too cute Sagan. I think you did a great job in the shoes of food bloggers. I found your photographs were great, and nothing was boring at all.
And come on girlie, I have been eating the same tuna sandwich day in and day out. Think that is a little repetitive and boring? I find it tasty though -nom,nom,nom- 🙂
LOL! Somebody got a camera for Christmas 🙂
Great work as always!
Sagan, you might want to go back and see a video of my horse on the “Jockey” column I wrote, as it just was added today.
Wow, what a healthy bunch of food! Great pics.
There’s NO WAY I’d be willing to snap photos of all my food choices. Partly laziness, partly “do as I say not as I do!”
TA- I eat a lot more on a normal day too, but like I said, I was sick this day. Usually I’d eat probably eat nearly twice as much as this (and yes, I went to bed feeling hungry!). And I’d be worried that everyone would be thinking the “greedy” thing too!
Sharon- you have no idea how many times you’ve posted photos of your tuna sandwich or of a wrap and I’ve thought “oooh I want that!”. You eat good food:)
Dr. J- I love my camera:) That’s a beautiful horse!!
Crabby- That day was a fluke. I’m so bad for “do as I say not as I do” hehe. Especially because now there’s homemade pumpkin cake and an enormous amount of nuts and bolts waiting for me at home…
Loved all the photos. It’s always different when you know someone else will be watching what you eat that day. The portions are what blows me away. I measure quite a bit until I get use to what a normal portion looks like. Even then…they gradually get smaller over time, and I need to go back to measuring to bet back down to my usual smaller portions.
Sorry you were sick. I still have sinus pressure but it’s getting better =).
As a food blogger I have to agree, it is hard work! Then again, I’m not on a diet or anything so I don’t take pictures of the majority of my snacks or nibbles, just the major meals. I can’t be bothered worrying about whether I have my camera as I’m eating chips out of the bag or having a glass of wine to relax. To those who actually do that, kudos to you! I’m sure it would be a great way to be accountable if you’re on a diet plan, but for me I just do it so I can keep a file of all of my recipes (my ultimate plan is to create a cookbook).
I think about this a lot, too!
There are several reasons I choose not to food blog, but mainly because of the a. time and b. I know it would absolutely drive me to decrease my food intake. That said, I LOVE to look at others’ food blogs! Although, it does always make me hungry. 😉
I think it’s just different strokes for different folks…but at least it sounds like we both know ourselves well enough to be able to make the right choice (for us)!
Your experiment coincides with my week long experiment of not blogging everything I eat. I started blogging to “fix” my disordered eating, and it worked, at first. But recently I have become even more obsessive and falling into even more binge/restrict cycles and finally I realized that I needed to take a stop back and just stop for a while. It’s actually working so far. I’m glad to hear your thoughts on the topic 🙂
Fitness Surfer- I go overboard with my portions all the time… especially with popcorn!! Am glad you are feeling better too:)
Catherine- Did I hear cookbook? Pick me pick me to be taste tester!
Holly- yes, its definitely different for different people. Makes you really wonder how much your food choices would start to change, too…
Magpie- sometimes things that once worked just stop working after a while. That’s great that you realized it was necessary to take a break- definitely don’t want to get too obsessive!
I love this post. I think blogging my daily eats has been very good for me. I, too, wish I could have beautiful eats and photos all the time…that’s just not realistic!
Great job with wall sits! Fantastic post!
Wow – I love epiphany #3! That’s awesome. I know it was a lot of work but you did a great job. I liked your short succinct comments about each thing you ate. 🙂
Wow, maybe I should take pics of my food intake….might scare me into watching my diet more! 🙂
There are a couple of food blogs that I read and enjoy, and I do think it could be an excellent aid in being aware of what you eat and being accountable…But I could never do it – too much work! 🙂
cool! you were a food pic blogger for a day! I need to go reread your experience…how does everyone make their oatmeal look so yummy? I totally see how this would make me a little nutso, tho….
I hate, hate, hate keeping a food diary. But it sure does make me think it through before I eat or drink something. I haven’t done it since I stopped writing the Weight-Loss Diary column, but it was a valuable tool during that process.
I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have to take pictures of my food.
Loved your food photos!
Hope you’re feeling 100% better, Sagan!!
I’m in awe of people who can take photos of everything they eat, every day. But even though I’m in awe, I wouldn’t WANT to do that. It just seems too obsessive.
Interesting. I think I’ll try it for my blog. If you do it again, remember to put the fork on the left and the knife on the right. Also, give some thought to using attractive dishes and making the food look nice.
My blog is The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide at http://boomersurvive-thriveguide.typepad.com
Rita