WHY DO I POST SO MANY FOOD PICS?!

Recently I listened to a podcast where the host was questioning the validity of social media and the frivolousness of SOME of its use.

Not gonna lie, I had mixed feelings about it. I see its’ use-FULL-ness, and I see its’ use-LESS-ness.

But one of the comments really struck me. “Why do we have to post every little thing in our lives on social media? Why would I care what Great Aunt Sally had for dinner?! I don’t need to know that!”

And I felt this one because, honestly, I’ve been posting a LOT of my meals lately.

Why?

In a word – ACCOUNTABILITY.

And another word – Inspiration.

Accountability because when you’re on a health/nutrition/weight loss journey, the importance of accountability cannot be stressed enough. Before I knew what I now KNOW, I didn’t understand what role accountability played. Frankly, I didn’t WANT other people to know what I was doing.

What if I failed?

What if I couldn’t meet my goals? 

If I told people I was trying to lose 20 pounds, and I only lost 5? Or NONE! 

How would others judge me?

Turns out, I’m not the only one working on health/nutrition/weight loss goals. (Insert sarcasm here)

Other busy moms have been there too! And rather than judgment, I actually realized there was SUPPORT out there to go along with that accountability. Rather than being used to “shame”, that accountability can be used to motivate. It helps me KNOW that I’m not only talking the talk about my nutrition, but I’m walking the walk, too.

The Inspiration part comes in because I like showing how an everyday, average mom can work healthy foods into my day. Sometimes we’re so used to reaching for the junk food instead of the healthy food, we don’t think about how easy it is to eat something good for us.

For example, Hubs and I went grocery shopping last week. I told my daughter that as soon as the groceries were put away, we were going to take the ENTIRE bag of mandarin oranges and peel them, bag them up, and put them away. She objected, but I told her it wouldn’t take long and it would be nice to have them ready to roll for the week.

We sat on the couch, watched a movie, had a bowl for the peels and a bowl for the fruit, and it took us about 10 minutes (or less) to peel the entire bag. And every one of those orange slices were gone within 4 days. They were ready and available, and it was one of the go-to snacks for that week.

I did the same thing with a package of strawberries. Posted pictures of all of it.

Why?

Because when we see others doing things, buying things, or EATING things we like, we want to do it too!

And maybe I’m just a closet food addict, but when I see pictures or videos of food, preferably health but also looking delicious, I want to try it! You show me a recipe of healthy tacos that also look amazing in the pictures or on the video, and you can bet the farm I’m gonna try them.

Not to mention, I think sometimes “healthy” food gets a bad rap. We think of lots of green, leafy things that are dry and tasteless, and forget that TONS of different foods are actually good for us. Not to mention the dry green leafy things can also be prepared in a way that makes them taste great, too!

And seeing pictures of healthy foods prepared in delicious ways; sort-of healthy-ish foods prepared in healthier ways; or foods that might not be healthy at all being prepared with healthy foods to create a decent hybrid that isn’t COMPLETELY terrible for you is a good way to get inspired and maybe try some new things on your own.

So, yeah. I understand that not everyone is going to be impressed with my fruit salad snack, or care that I took leftover spaghetti, leftover shredded chicken, a zucchini and turned it into a quick, healthy, and delicious Asian-inspired noodle dish.

But I’m gonna keep posting anyway. It holds me accountable when I know I’m going to be showing what I’ve been eating lately and that can be a candy bar, or a fruit and cheese plate. It also may inspire someone to make a fruit and cheese plate for themselves, or try to make some seriously amazing chicken tacos with “hidden” extra veggies.

It’s all fair game, and I’m going to continue experimenting and posting about my successes and epic failures (and there are PLENTY of those!).

www.denicemurrayhealthcoaching.com