I’m doing a giveaway! The prize is this festive bag for carrying a laptop computer. What you need to do to enter is to write a comment about how and why WRITING (blogging, freewriting, journaling, Twittering etc) is helping you in your quest for healthier living (eating well, exercise, dealing with illness, etc).
The winner will be picked only semi-randomly. I will choose the top five posts in terms of thoughtfulness. It’s too easy to just write “I love to write, and I want that laptop bag!” THEN I’ll send those top five to the random picker. The deadline for this giveaway is Monday, May 25th.
I truly believe that writing has made my journey towards health possible. I’d like to hear about yours.
foodfoodbodybody 
May 18, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Twittering and youtubing and blogging has opened up my mind to the truth that I do NOT have to do this alone and I think that’s why I’m finally succeeding in my weight loss. I’ve met great people who make me feel like this is more than just me and who really care about me and my journey and that we are all doing it together.
May 18, 2009 at 3:45 pm
writing (aka blogging and tweeting) has really helped me come to terms with my sometimes lengthy and usually frustrating food intolerances. my connections online have helped me come to terms with my dietary needs and learn that it doesn’t have to be painful in order to eat well and feel well.
writing has also given me a much needed outlet to talk about my frustrations and learn from those who have gone down a similar path. particularly when there is limited information and resources…
May 18, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Twitter/Blog/Message Boards make me more aware of other’s people interest in leading a healthy lifestyle. It also allows me to talk to people who have the same interest as me! It keeps me on track!
May 18, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Writing about food has really been great because:
1) It keeps me honest for practicing my ideals about food in my every day life – I blog literally everything that I make, so you all know what I am eating and how I choose my ingredients/meal choices etc.! Taking the time to actually think about where my food comes from with every meal I make in a way that I can write about it for others has really been an educational process for me, and raised my level of awareness about my food tremendously. The first important step about health is eating real food. If we don’t know what our food is and where it comes from it’s very hard to decide what choices are healthy or not.
and 2) interacting with the food community through blogging and twitter etc. has allowed me to meet a number of others, especially in the gluten free cooking world. I think building those relationships and sense of community are extremely important to developing our own sense of what real food is and what it can be. I would never have been inspired to create some of the dishes that I have without the support and community of others!
Everything that I can make that is gluten free is not only helping my husband (who gladly eats whatever i cook, haha), but also helping others in the GF world not feel trapped by their limitations, but to realize that with a little bit of creativity, one can have a satisfying and fulfilling GF lifestyle.
May 18, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Weight Watchers has taught me that journaling is the most honest you can be with yourself. As a result, I blog about my WW progress (lavagal.wordpress.com). For every day that I work out at 24Hour Fitness I tweet my calories, strides, miles, and minutes along with two photos: the first at the start of my workout, the second at the end.
I do this to encourage others. I kid about waking at the butt-crack-of dawn (330am) to get to 24HF Hawaii Kai by 4 a.m. M-F for an hour of hard work and lots of sweat. On the weekends I go longer. If I don’t show up or if I don’t tweet about the workout, I get needled by those who count on me to inspire THEM.
I have 20 pounds to go. I’m half way toward my goal of reaching BMI. Without my WW group, the Internet, and my family, I’d have thrown in the towel. But I’ve learned that my goal pulls others along toward theirs.
Believe me. I eat like a cow so I have to work like an ass, LOL! I love to cook and eat, but I also like to paddle out on my surfboard and wait my turn in the lineup. I’m 50. I still have plenty of waves to catch. Rather than look like a manatee in the lineup, I want to be the chick who’s still hip!
May 18, 2009 at 9:07 pm
OH where to begin… blogging has opened up my eyes to a whole new world of food, eating styles, and to the fact that there are hundreds or even thousands of people out there who are going through very similar stuff as me. Tweeting has allowed me to a) meet amazing people like you, and b) connect with people who keep me sane. For example, a tweet about a not-so-successful weigh in can be met with a response about how the number is no big deal!
May 19, 2009 at 6:39 am
good gosh I could go on and on forever.
in a way my post today nails it all.
It keeps me accountable and makes me stay on track.
May 19, 2009 at 11:13 am
Sounds like you had a great retreat! Don’t know if I could keep quiet for that long though! 😀
I love writing my blog because it helps me stay accountable for the things that go in my mouth and helps me try new things instead of fixing the same five dinners week after week!
I also like the fact that its an online journal and my mom and parents-in-law can see what we do and live “with us” when they don’t live near us.
If I don’t post breakfast by 10:00 a.m. my MIL emails me and says “what did you have for breakfast today?”
May 19, 2009 at 4:39 pm
I am by no stretch of the imagination a writer (way too visual) but Twitter has become a great outlet for me to talk about my ED and have sympathetic and knowledgeable people on the other side to gently take me by the hand and show me the way to healthy living. (longest. sentence. ever.)
May 19, 2009 at 4:42 pm
it’s as simple as this…
blogging helps me get out what food helps me stuff in.
emotions, thoughts, issues, concerns, dreams, fears. and the daily struggle to balance child, career, home, and me– that stuff only gets done by writing/blogging. otherwise, it sits, festers, infects me– takes over my subconscious until i’m doing things i don’t want to do.
writing is a way to cleanse my soul, process my emotions, and find the energy to clear a path to a healthier happier life, even if its obscured. it bring me clarity and serves as a conscience. the words bear witness and keep me honest. they provide solace and comfort. writing allows me to listen without responding and gives me time and space to clear away the layers until i am sure of myself again and can face the challenges of weight loss, food demons, and personal growth.
May 20, 2009 at 10:47 am
This is an easy one!! I love blogging because:
1. It allows me to hold myself accountable for the food that i eat because of my blog (and having to take pictures!!! That takes quite some commitment!)
2. I want to make sure I never forget the DELICIOUS food combinations that I come up with in my quest to be healthy so I will always have go-to choices when i’m lazy or out of ideas. Therefore, there’ s NO REASON to eat crappily!
3. I love sharing tasty food ideas and restaurants with other food lovers!! Esepcially if we food blogger have similar interests in eating healthy but also eating YUMMY!!!
4. I like sharing. When I see other bloggers’ great food ideas, I wanna try ’em too! So this is my way of “giving back”!
5. I LOVE how supportive the blogging community is!! Love. When I trip up and fall off the bandwagon, there always seems to be someone who has been through it and is ever so kind with their support and advice!
PHEW, so these are only a few reasons why I blog, but I do love writing stuff that is useful to more than just one person (myself!)
THANKS FOR this awesome giveaway. 🙂 I hope i win the super cute lap top bag! hehehe
May 20, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Ok that laptop bag is SWEET! and I will be getting a new laptop for work so this bag would come in handy.
Oh where to begin on writing & healthy living connection ~~>
I started my blog shortly after I joined Weight Watchers. The day I joined WW I came home and tweeted about it and within minutes I have lots of new followers who were also doing WW. It was amazing the support I received from “strangers.” I soon became friends with the “strangers” on twitter and I learned that many of my new friends blogged about their weight loss journey. I really got to know my new friends quickly because of their blogs and I wanted my own. Blogging was so easy to start and I soon realized how much I loved it. I love to write (I am an English teacher after all) and found a place to write and reflect as I lost weight. My blog gave me a place to reflect, celebrate, vent, bitch, moan, and learn about myself and weight loss. Weight loss is a mental process and having a place to put all my thoughts was great. I am still shocked that people read my blog. I don’t think I will ever get over that shock. I am just a nerdy bookworm trying to lose a ton of weight and writing about it helps me stay focused and on track. I blog to stay accountable – to myself and now to my readers.
I have been using twitter and blogging to stay motivated and accountable. I tweet constantly with fellow walkers. I came up with the virtual walking club The TweetWalker ClubHouse where currently me and 15 other walkers blog about our walks. We are a source of inspiration, motivation, support and encouragement for each other. We have each set goals and are walking away our extra pounds.
May 20, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hey, if I don’t win could you tell me where I could buy that bag??
May 20, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Where to begin…
Well…
I’ve been online for a very long time. I’m a diabetic (12yrs) who was not overweight when diagnosed but between insulin therapy & 2 pregnancies has had a difficult time losing & keeping off the weight…at one point I only had about 1/4 of my goal to accomplish…then “life” happened (bunch of family things, an injury, etc) and time flew by, before I knew it I was back up where I was with 60-70lbs to lose…I gave up caring about myself, I put myself on the backburner through all the trials and look where it got me =(……
I found tudiabetes.com, twitter and started journaling once again. I’ve always known about diabetic communities online but not until I fully engaged in the DOC (diabetic online community) did I realize how much I really needed them. Through writing and connecting with these fabulous people I started to put myself back on my priority list. Out of the 12yrs with diabetes I always took it very seriously and kept my #’s pretty much where they should be…that year I stopped caring was the worst A1c I’ve ever had. These people I started communicating with made me feel like I was not alone in my battle. Not only diabetics but other people on twitter that are living a healthy lifestyle. Even through the internet you could feel their kindness and they are always there to cheer me on when I need it the most. Since then I have become an online admin for tudiabetes & the socal ambassador. Sharing my story with weight & diabetes is also helping me push myself to get back on track and stay accountable. I recently went on an insulin pump & again by sharing my experience online the DOC was so supportive! I could not have done it without them!
If it were not for twittering I would not have had the courage to recently earn my kettlebell certification. (a trainer I met through twitter walked me through it & everyone else cheered me on) Being involved with kettlebells is very important to me because that is how I lost most of my weight the first time. Even though I still have plenty of weight to lose…the encouragement through sharing online with twitter & blogging has been overwhelming at times and really helps me to keep going….my tweetdeck is full of people that share kettlebell routines, healthy eating, diabetes tidbits and so much more!
I also never considered myself an emotional eater until I started to read the book “Shrink yourself”….I started journaling more and this has opened my eyes to why & when I feel the urges to eat…
It is a lifelong journey and a process…if we don’t keep learning we don’t grow… =)
P.S. “I love to write, and I want that laptop bag!” haha it’s pur-dy!
May 21, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Blogging has enabled me to meet like-minded women who are also in the pursuit of better health and a more active lifestyle. There is strength in numbers and the support amongst bloggers is fabulous.
May 22, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Writing (blogging) has really helped me feel as though I am helping others. Since my blog is dedicated to featuring, hosting giveaways/reviews for online shops – I get so much joy out of seeing those shops receive sales thanks to my posts! I truly love to help others- and blogging has become a great way to do that!
May 23, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I’m an editor and writer, but I’ve resisted personal journal writing for years – thinking that it was a waste of writing time because I wasn’t producing something for public consumption. I recently started journaling as a way to help deal with some personal issues, and that has serendipitously coincided with my beginning a new phase of healthy eating/healthy living.
Where I’d failed hundreds (thousands?) of times before at weight loss and healthy living attempts, this time around I’m finding it much easier to eat well and get my body moving. I believe this is because I’m journaling, which I’ve found to be a tremendously powerful form of self-care. By journaling, I’m allowing myself to feel what I feel, on the page. To process my life via words, instead of running from it by comforting myself with food. When I’m upset or stressed now, the first thing I think of is grabbing my journal, not grabbing a package of mini chocolate donuts.
I still love sweet foods, but I’m finding that I don’t HAVE to have them whenever I think of them, and they’ve lost their steely grip on me, which is something I never thought I’d see happen! Having my journal as an outlet for my feelings has resulted in me no longer feeling that I’m going to die if I can’t have whatever comfort food I crave.
May 26, 2009 at 10:28 am
Shari, I love the phrase that you used describing journal writing: a tremendously powerful form of self-care. Such an accurate description of the process. And that you as a professional editor and writer by-passed journal writing because it wasn’t for the public. I love how you discovered the power of writing for yourself. Thanks for writing that post!
May 24, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Writing about my weight loss and what I eat is about accountability. I am accountable to myself and recording what I eat helps me stay within my Weight Watcher points. I am also accountable to all my followers. They are supportive and I feel like I am not doing this alone. When I feel discouraged or unmotivated, I think of them and how I owe it them to do my best. I asked for their help, support, and advice, and to not show up at the finish line would be disingenuous.
With writing, I have found the courage to admit that I am overweight and that my lifestyle needs to change. I am learning from this community and it is learning from me. There is this exchange that I get on a constant and consistent basis that is hard to find in the “real world.”