Because I don't have enough to do already, and because having 12 blogs, a Flickr account, Facebook and Twitter accounts plus a vanity web site on the net isn't nearly enough, I've started a new project.
I read an article recently about the rise in the number of food blogs. I know I take lots of pictures of food. Some get posted here, some to Facebook, lots get posted to Flickr in my "And then I ate" set. Mostly when some food I am served looks particularly appetizing.
But after reading the article I got to thinking that it would be fun for me, and maybe mildly interesting to others, to take a photo of everything that I eat.
There is method to my madness. I do have this creative side to me that wants to make food photos look as good as possible, so pictures of a year of toast isn't going to cut it. My normal diet tends to be pretty monochromatic and not very healthy. By having to plan a photo for every meal and every snack I take, it's going to force me to think about (a) do I really want to eat this, (b) do I already have 50 pictures in the past week of a handful of peanuts? (c) what can I add that will make this look more colorful. (I notice that today's food intake is all rather monochromatic, at least up until dinner!)
The time it takes to gather food and set it up can get me past the crazy "gotta have junk food now" point and maybe result in less snacking and more healthful foods.
When I make a commitment to a project like this, oddly enough I generally stick to it. If I eat 10 donuts for breakfast and pick at peanuts throughout the morning and have ice cream for lunch and a couple tablespoons of peanut butter in the afternoon and a snack after dinner, I really will record it. But actually I won't be recording it because the mere fact of having promised to stick with that commitment will give me pause, make me think about how this is going to look on a food blog, and maybe help me get some eating behaviors under control.
I'm not doing anything radical like going on a diet or promising to eat only nutritious foods. Heavens no. We've all been there with me for those kinds of projects more than once. No, this is simply going to be a record of everything that I eat and I hope that over the next months I'll begin to make better, more photogenic choices.
I've already started. I've created another blog here on Blogger. The brunch I had on Monday was so pretty that I started with that, but the project didn't really go into gear until today. I had an English muffin for breakfast and then went to donate blood and had a donut and some string cheese after my blood donation. All dutifully recorded.
(Look at all that lack of anything healthy, except the fruit!!)
As I said, I don't know what this is going to become. It could be one of the most boring ideas I ever had and I might end it after a week or so. Or it could actually do what I want it to do, which is to help me get a handle on my food intake.
If you're into food, or if you're just curious and want to check up on what I eat during the day, it will all be there for you to see. And if nobody cares at all, well--it will all be there for me to see, and perhaps improve upon as the weeks pass.
I went and gave blood again this morning. I was thrilled that the droplet of blood didn't even hesitate before plunging to the bottom of the little blue solution that determines the amount of iron in your blood. In all honesty, I was surprised because often I do some special eating the week before I go to give blood, making sure I concentrate on iron-rich foods and I usually have a bowl of oatmeal before I go to Blood Source, but this date had crept up on me and I hadn't done any preparation. So where all that iron came from, I'm sure I don't know. But it's nice that I was able to donate successfully this time ... and they didn't even need to run the blood through a centrifuge first.
3 comments:
Good luck with the food photos. It's said that keeping a record helps.
Over the last 2 years, I've lost about 80 pounds. No diet, nothing special, no denials - I quit eating between meals. I pretty much ate what I wanted at meals - although that decreased over time - and I do eat dessert, or something sweet, if it's served at the meal.
I'm one of those who believes that diets don't work - only stuff in your head. But this is working for me. Good luck!
One of the best things about having the kids grow up was that I no longer had to plan meals. (Well, I did have to please Husband, but his preferences are such that I could often get away with just opening a can...)
And here you are, starting a project where you have to plan meals again! It's a good thing I don't have the talent to do that, 'cause I certainly would not.
Oh, I've planned meals all along, kids or not. Heck, my MOTHER plans meals and she lives alone!
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