I consider myself something of a lifestyle/healthy living blogger.  And I am perfectly transparent in what experiences/education that I feel make me at all qualified to dish on all that I dish on.

Here’s what I got real quick so you guys know where I’m coming from.

• Studied Psychology in undergrad.
• Studied Social Work, focused heavily on health and weight loss.
• Worked two full summers at a weight loss camp, spent time, after I got full-time work, at weight loss camp with my kids.
• Worked for Fleet Feet (running specialty) for…well I never really stopped.  I backed off of full-time when I was employed as a Director at a local nonprofit facility….
• I am Director of Group Fitness.
• Been teaching group fitness for over 5 years.  Zumba® Fitness, Toning, Step, Cycling, Body Pump™.  You name it I teach it.
• Also, I lost some like 35-40ish pounds I put on in college and while in a terribly volatile relationship.

This isn’t to say, like “la la la, I’m so fancy, I know all this stuff,” it’s more to say, I know some of what I’m talking about.  I still have bunches to learn, and I will never claim that candy, wine, and coffee never cross my lips, cause they totally do.  But I’m increasingly troubled by the rise of the “healthy” living blogger, or HLB, especially the sort that doesn’t work out, lost weight on potentially unhealthy and unsustainable methods, and then touts the weird crap they eat as healthy to unsuspecting followers.

Enter…well…let me know say her name, because I’m not here to embarrass anyone, but, she’s sort of what I described above.  Maybe a nice girl, but really in no place to be telling other folks what to be putting in their bodies to lose weight – and not because she hasn’t found success, but because what works for her simply may not work or be healthy for every body.

So the other day, aforementioned blogger posts a picture of a salad with what looked to be about 5 tablespoons of ranch dressing on it.

There’s nothing wrong with a salad, I think salads are amazing and awesome, but not only did she douse the salad in ranch dressing, but she very literally stated…

“The ranch is intentional…it’s a great source of healthy fat!”

And then when a follower questioned her on it, she then stated, ” The oil, eggs and cream found in ranch dressing are all healthy fats.”

Let me break it down for you really quickly.  Ranch gets like a D- from nutritionists.  It’s FULL of fat (and not the good kind), and even fuller of sodium.  There is not a nutritionist on God’s green earth who would EVER list Ranch as a healthy fat.  And FURTHERMORE the serving size is like 1 tbs.  Not 5.  Or whatever’s going on there.

All that to say, please, please, please, when you’re following HLBs, keep a few things in mind.

• We’re human.  We lose weight, we gain weight.  We run a good race.  We run a bad race.  Some of us have suffered with eating disorders.  Some of us just like to write!  Please don’t look to us as the gospel.
• Please be discerning.  How does (s)he  know what (s)he is talking about?  Did they do something idiotic like go on diet pills?  Do they look as if they have some sort of eating disorder?  Are they copious drug/alcohol users?  DO THEY WORK OUT?! No?  Probably not someone you need to be looking to for diet advice, and I think it’s important for us to recognize that in ourselves as the blogger.
• Call us on it.  Do you see something on the blog that doesn’t seem right?  Doesn’t make sense?  Email us, leave a comment, or ask a genuine question.

QOTD

On a more positive note, who are some of your favorite HLBs?