Man, oh, maaaaannnn
This was a FABULOUS lunch!! Matt is still talking about it!
***
But first, this morning was a bit….rocky. If you haven’t heard/read about the article Marie Claire published about healthy living blogs, then you might take a look. The article, written by Katie Drummond, is the most one-sided report I’ve ever read. I’m not sure what their intentions were, but this seems like a huge missed opportunity not only to share the wonderful benefits of the blogging community, but also to create a dialogue about the concept of blogging about food and lifestyle, IRONICALLY, one of the topics we discussed at the Healthy Living Summit. I guess Katie was too busy digging through the trash to see exactly what we ate for breakfast to attend that session.
My blog is about my LIFE. It’s about biking on sunny afternoons and eating amazing mussels and a flight of wine on a chilly Sunday evening. About drinking my husband’s fabulous homebrews and eating hunks of his bread. It’s about organization, and art gallery crawls, and parties, and being a nerd. About oatmeal and friendships and entertaining and roaches! About becoming a yogi and being thankful I can run. It’s about wine tasting and traveling and photography and eating REAL FOOD that tastes great.
We knew this article was coming because we all answer>ed questions for Katie. I asked her MULTIPLE times what the angle of the story was and she always responded that it was about the positives of the blogging community.
“This [article] is about the positive – the world you are a part of. It’s easy to distinguish the “healthy” from the non, but they are two different communities, and there’s a lot of positivity being put out – OB [Operation Beautiful], for example, or the Exposed movement – that are remarkable examples of the power of the ‘net to reinforce good over bad.”
Of course one would expect a good journalist to include both sides of a story, so I wasn’t surprised to find a few questions about some of the negatives in the mix. Here’s a set of questions I answer>ed. Did you see any of my responses in the article? I didn’t.
-How do you respond to the suggestion or concern that food/fitness blogs are obsessive, or overly fixated on food, diet, exercise, fitness?
I can’t speak for the whole blogging community, but if you think my blog is obsessive than you haven’t spend enough time reading it! My blog is so much more than the food I photograph – It’s a creative outlet. It’s a journal. It’s a place where I hang out with friends. It’s romantic. It’s my life, in words. Blogs are platforms for socialization about whatever topic suits the day. Food is just a conversation starter.
-What about the concern that popular bloggers might negatively influence other women, to modify their own eating habits or exercise habits in a way that might not be right for their bodies or health?I prefer to look at blog influence as “inspiration.” When I was losing weight a few years ago, I read blogs as inspiration. I found it no different than reading a magazine article with tips for healthy eating or a cookbook full of healthy recipes. For me, blogs are one of the best ways to share ideas. I find my co-bloggers incredibly inspiring.
-We’ve discussed this before, but how do you respond to the criticism that this community is a haven for eating disorders? Do you think it is?
I think the connection between healthy living lifestyle blogs and eating disorders ended a long time ago. Food blogs were misunderstood for a while before people understood that healthy meals were just a conversation starter. These days, I think more people realize how much blogs serve as platforms for friendship and the sharing of ideas.
-Where do you think reader responsibility and blogger responsibility intersect? To whom does it fall to be sure that women reading the blogs aren’t harmed?
I believe we all must make choices that are best for us.
-Do you think there are bloggers in this community take food and fitness too far? To an extreme that could lead to injury, harm, long-term damage?
I’m sure there are some that take blogging too far, but to blanket the entire community with an opinion is just as bad is any other stereotype out there – online or not.
The article would have been laughable if it weren’t so cruel. I don’t read Marie Claire because I have never had an interest in getting a virtual body makeover, hairstyle dos and don’ts, or learning the “new” diet rules (my “diet” has no rules). Many of you have already written letters to the editor [you can email her here if you’d like: [email protected]] or comments on their Facebook page or personal emails and comments on KERF, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart <3
Now, on to that Bacon Cheeseburger!!
Our fridge is rather empty right now after our dinner party and I was so busy buying ingredients for that, that I neglected our regular meals. But we did have BACON and CHEESE and BEANS and this creation is a new favorite.
I used my homemade bean burger recipe but added a few extras.
I started with a can of pintos – the best bean burger because they mash well!
Mashed per the recipe with Worcestershire, olive oil, salt and pepper – PLUS two slices of bacon that I cooked in a skillet first.
Then I formed two patties and seared them in the bacon grease
Flipped and topped with leftover cheese from our party
Covered for ultimate meltage (also cut the heat so they wouldn’t burn)
Voila!
Served over mixed greens in Garlic Gold with cheese, celery and peppers.
Served with corn chips and Matt Cracks and a side of ketchup and mustard for dipping
On that note, we have a fun plan for the evening to look forward to!
Andrea (@ Puppy Dog Tales) says
Keep doing what you’re doing Kath. I love your blog and think you portray a very healthy lifestyle. I look forward to checking in with you every day!
suki @ [Super Duper Fantastic] says
That burger is mouth-watering! 🙂
She really should have included this response in her article: It’s a journal. It’s a place where I hang out with friends. It’s romantic. It’s my life, in words. Blogs are platforms for socialization about whatever topic suits the day. Food is just a conversation starter.
Christine says
I agree with both of these things! That really was a thoughtful and beautiful response to her question!
Natalia - a side of simple says
You’ve inspired so many, Kath. It can never be summed up in any article or with any statistics. Keep it up. And now I think a bacon cheeseburger is on the menu for me.. 😉
Jen says
Kath, this paragraph is from facebook… interesting!! I bet this was the “point” of the article- her personal revenge for her personal eating disorder.
“Does Marie Claire do fact checking on their writers? Katie Drummond has been known for years as “misspickle” on the Runner’s World nutrition forum. She participated in the “dailies” and posted every single thing that she ate and every workout that she did for YEARS. She was a strict vegan and often participated in up t…o three different workouts a day. The fact that she is now bashing these healthy, beautiful ladies is absolutely inconceivable. Not only is the article basically a grossly slanted version of the “truth” (I use that term loosely), the author herself is incredibly hypocritical. She even ran her own healthy living blog for a while.”
Keep doing what you are doing, I love your blog!!!
Mary Frances says
Jen, You probably hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, in our society–any publicity (negative or positive) is great for business. MC’s numbers will be huge if everyone in the blogging world (and then some) click on their article. I will not bother to read this article or their magazine in the future. However, I would be curious to learn if MC does some sort of retraction or publishes an accurate article written by Kath. Keep us posted if something positive progresses in that direction.
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
thank you for shedding some light into the reporting style of the author of that article. her response to your question about the angle of the article is an outright lie. very shameful, if you ask me.
i appreciate your dedication to living the healthy life that is right for you. if we can gain ideas about how to incorporate more veggies into our diets from reading KERF posts, than that’s great… but i read your blog because i enjoy following the journey of your life.
Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin says
i LOVE that you made veggie burgers with bacon in them. Amen.
Heather @ Side of Sneakers says
Ever the classy lady 🙂 Amen.
Holly @ couchpotatoathlete says
Kath thank you for providing your side of the story — this whole thing is just ridiculous. I do read your blog every day and I enjoy getting ideas for meals, exercise and how to just have fun! Beer and wine tastings, art crawls, bike rides, etc. I like that you and Matt are a young couple who seem to have a great relationship. Keep doing what you’re doing and although I appreciate some of the discussions that came out because of the MC article, I wish it had been done in a different way. I felt the article attacked the six of you (and also Liz Stark) and that is not necessary.
And that cheeseburger looks freakin amazing!
Heather (Heather's Dish) says
that burger looks SOOOOOOO good…i actually thought it was meat at first! it sounds incredible!
Hawley says
Hi Kath-
I have been a reader for awhile now, and what I LOVE about your blog is your dedication to showing how you really live, and your incredible lust for life.
If being an avid reader of numerous healthy living blogs, I have come to learn many things- none of which are negative or harmful. If I have learned anything from reading your (and others’) blogs, it is that we should listen to our bodies, indulge when necessary, and be true to ourselves in a conscious and healthy way. After being surrounded with negative thoughts through the media, I find that the blogs I read promote healthy attitudes about our bodies and ourselves. It taught me to let go of the shame in our society associated with passionate eating and living, and to live my life in a fuller, richer way.
Your blog is amazing, and you rock! Keep on doing your thing.
Erin @ Shortcut to Bliss says
What a tragedy to take a movement that is such a postive force in so many individuals lives and portray it as a falsified monster.
Cathy B. @ Bright Bakes says
gorgeous plate! And on a positive note…I just had sardines for the first time today! And I can honestly say I probably never would have tried them if it wasn’t for your encouragement! 🙂 It wasn’t that I didn’t expect to like them…they just seemed a “meh” food…until I heard you rave about the benefits…thanks for the push! we can all use healthy motivation…
Love,
Cathy B.
Kath says
YAY for Sardines!!!
Cathy B. @ Bright Bakes says
..and you can now guess who is touting the benefits (+tastiness) of sardines to her friends and family…you got the ripple going! 🙂
Cathy B. @ brightbakes
Deirdre says
Thank you for giving your side of the story. The article is so one sided and cruel. After meeting all of you in real life at multiple meetups and both Healthy Living Summits I can say that I think you all have a very positive view of food and exercise. Thanks for doing what you do. I am proud to be a part of such a great community. I wish Katie would have explored what a positive community we have and shown both sides.
Melissa @ HerGreenLife says
I think there’s a fine line between healthy and not, and that line can blur when there’s a big emphasis on food and exercise. I’m not really familiar with any of the blogs she mentions other than KERF, but most of what I read here seems pretty balanced, with a focus, like you say, on the life that goes on both around and outside the food.
Anyway, I like how bean burger recipes are nice and flexible for whatever ingredients are on hand. I toss in whatever beans (including lentils) that I have, along with leftover grains.
M. Carter @ the Movies says
I agree with Melissa — yours is the only food blog of the list that I read because I feel like you keep emphasis on balancing life with healthy eating. You exercise, but you know when to cut yourself some slack; you eat right, but you know that sometimes you need to cheat and have a little fun. If that’s unhealthy, well, we should all aspire to be unhealthy!
RhodeyGirl says
Beautiful reply Kath.
Love the cheeseburger in paradise!!
Freya (Brit Chick Runs) says
I read that article and hated it with a passion. It was so incredibly wrong..I can’t imagine how you (or any of ‘The Big Six’ -!!?-) must feel! But at least we readers know the truth. Keep doing what you’re doing, cos it’s fabulous. You are inspiring!
(ps – I was inspired to put ON weight after reading blogs, not lose it. They’re not all about weight loss!)
Emily says
Best response I’ve read all day! Thanks for posting the email exchanges you had with the author…that is the best defense of all. Thank you for your beautiful blog, and for always inspiring me to eat my veggies, and giving me creative ways to eat them!
Estela @ Weekly Bite says
What a lovely lunch! I have yet to make bean burgers!
Angela (Oh She Glows) says
Your answers to her questions were really beautiful and very true. It’s such a shame that she chose not to include any of the positivity you all shared.
I think your quote ‘I guess Katie was too busy digging through the trash to see exactly what we ate for breakfast to attend that session.’ summed it up PERFECTLY.
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers says
lol – totally agree. 🙂
barefootgirl says
this comment massed me chuckle as well… greater comeback, Kath!
Lisa @bakebikeblog says
Oh Kath. I am sorry to hear that the article was framed in such a negative way. Please keep doing what you are doing – you bring so much inspiration to so many people 🙂
Jil says
I laughed out loud at the digging through the trash sentiment. haha Love the idea of this burger…and I def gave the MC FB page a piece of my mind.
Julie says
“My blog is about my LIFE. It’s about biking on sunny afternoons and eating amazing mussels from a flight of wine on a chilly Sunday evening. About drinking my husband’s fabulous homebrews and eating hunks of his bread. It’s about organization, and art gallery crawls, and parties, and being a nerd. About oatmeal and friendships and entertaining and roaches! About becoming a yogi and being thankful I can run. It’s about wine tasting and traveling and photography and eating REAL FOOD that tastes great. ”
You just perfectly said why I follow your blog. The article was so opposite of anything I have ever thought about when reading your blog that it thoroughly confused me.
Maureen says
I couldn’t agree with this comment more!
Wendy @ Seriously Sassy says
TOTAL DITTO!!
NC says
I can’t believe she left half the information that you guys provided her , that’s really shameful . I mentioned this over at Caitlin’s too. a short version of my story ….
As an individual who did restrict her eating to lose weight , KERF , HTP blogs were a blessing in disguise , since I came to know so much about healthy eating and yes I am 7 pounds heavier but happier .. .This blog truly gave me ideas about how to make food fun and healthy in the same manner . Keep doing what you are doing. I love the blog !!!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat says
I think all of your responses to her questions were great, and it was incredibly cruel for her to put an entirely negative spin on the article. Keep doing what you’re doing Kath, because we love it! 🙂
Helen says
WOW. Yours is the only blog of the six I read, so I can’t comment to what Marie Clare says about them, but I think the article makes it sound like they are totalling bashing you six and all healthy living blogs. I don’t see them presenting both sides of the issue. Again, WOW. While I may look at your photos and think you are thing, I never think you are too thin or overly obsessive about your food, etc. You have a lot of fun and say how it makes you feel to eat “non-real” foods. I just don’t understand why they have this vendetta against you. Makes the six of you sound like a whiny bunch of anorexic teenagers. sheesh.
Thank you for all your blogging efforts. I love the recipes 🙂
Audrey says
I have an eating disorder, and I find that last sentence of yours very hurtful. Please be mindful that eating disorders are mental diseases, no more a choice than ADHD or bipolar disorder. I read this blog, when I am doing well in my treatment, to look for challenging foods for me to eat under close doctor supervision to see how I physically and mentally handle real food. I agree that Katheas.com is a pro-real food site unlike some of the others, the MC article mainly commented on Boyle’s unhealthy posts and eating and excerising habits.
Ashley says
What a nasty article… I have enjoyed reading your blog and Jenna’s blog over the past year, and have never felt the way Marie Claire potrayed your blogs in their article.
Don’t allow them to make you doubt yourself. I think that people who are so ciritcal of someone’s lifestyle have a few issues of their own.
You and your fellow bloggers have a lot of support. Hang in there!!!
Katie says
That article is ABSURD. How many of those negative parallels can we draw with Marie Claire?!!?!?! If someone finds something destructive for them (e.g., FASHION MAGAZINES! …and perhaps for some, a food or fitness blog) for the love of God don’t read it! It’s common sense. And to criticize those of you who are helping to encourage and support others seeking a like-minded community is simply and completely hypocritical and biased. Trying to villainize the bloggers seeking to help people create better lives for themselves only indicates that these magazines don’t have anything important to say, or any valid podium to pontificate from. Ugh! This reminds me why I refuse to subscribe to magazines like that. This is yet another attempt to make women into “victims” — of anyone and anything BUT the magazine industry. Which, as we all know, does a damn lot more of harm than any food blog I’ve ever seen!
!!!! (can’t say anything more. SO FRUSTRATING!) Kath, thank you for putting up with this junk and persevering. We certainly benefit.
Christena says
My thoughts EXACTLY! How absolutely ironic that a fashion magazine is bashing the healthy living blogging community for inspiring negative body image!!! It is laughable!!!
Karen says
The best healthy living blogs are all about “undoing” the destructive, unrealistic female body image myths the magazine industry has fed us for years and many of us have come to reject. The beauty magazine industry professionals got it wrong. Reading Marie Claire, etc. during my formative teenage years (and way too many years beyond!) only resulted in self loathing. Kath’s blog is REAL and relatable and therefore, inspires.
(Something is glaringly “off” re. this article. There are so many omissions, esp. re. the positive, supportive culture, that it raises some serious suspicions re. the author’s agenda.)
Becky says
Agreed 100%! I had to go back and look at your post after I read the article just to make sure the author and I saw the same thing. Clearly we did not. The pix of you on the biking garden tour clearly show a healthy person with a zest for the good in life. You are not some sour puss waif we might see on the pages of the magazine the author writes for. There is no way she even reviewed your blog. Or she did and that’s why she didn’t include your comments. You didn’t give her any ammo. Keep it up sister! I love your blog and read it every day while I’m supposed to be working. Now, that is one way that it might be harmful. 😉
wishful nals says
Kath, kudos to you!! I love your blog and hope that you continue doing what you love!
Angie @ Musings of a Violet Monkey says
I look forward to your entries every single day. 🙂
I read the Marie Claire article only after reading SweetTater’s post about the hullabalo. I’ve only ever purchased that magazine while travelling and looking for something light to read, but I certainly won’t be giving them my money in the future. That was terrible journalism!!
It was crappy, pure and simple.
Take no notice!
We love what you do. 🙂
~
Maria says
That burger looks divine!
Katie says
Umm…I’m pissed! How dare MC be so ridiculous! I’m not certain, but I don’t think I’ve ever written an Editor of a magazine before, but this time I just couldn’t keep my anger to myself. I read almost all of the blogs mentioned in that stupid article and never once has it ever crossed my mind that you or any of the other women have disordered eating/exercise patterns (and that’s coming from someone who did suffer from these things). The amount of thought, energy and time that you dedicate to your blog is clear every day and I know I’m just echoing so many other readers when I say THANK YOU!
And for any MC subscribers/buyers out there the best way to voice your opinion is with your money.
Laughter-Loving Stacy says
Alright, I was going to have many different responses to what I think of that awful reporter, but my comments were bit inappropriate for the blog. 😉 It was so ridiculous!
Anyway- that burger salad looks bomb.com, and I shall be trying it soon!
(ps: your blog is most definitely a source of inspiration for me. Thanks!)
shannon (the daily balance) says
i’m not even touching on this article nonsense. talking about it just gets people talking about marie claire, giving their website traffic, etc.
To be honest, this is not even worth discussing it is such an enormous pile of bullshit.
you are fabulous and that’s all that matters.
glad to see you aren’t letting this get in the way of your day — lunch looks absolutely delsih!
Kim King says
My post on the Marie Clare Facebook Page:
I do not carry an issue to Marie Claire, but after reading “Hunger Diaries” I never will. I am a fan of a majority of the bloggers that make up the “Big 6” and have used their blogs as way to gather inspiration for writing my own blog. As KathEats said in a post today referring to blogging- “It’s a creative outlet.” We are all responsible for our own actions, so whatever information we take in from reading books, watching TV, and blogging it is our choice what we to do with that information in regards to our own bodies. So as for me I choose not to read Marie Claire and will continue to read the blogs I have come to love to read on a daily basis.
Lauren at KeepItSweet says
i love your response to the article- so interesting to see what you said to her vs. what she printed!
Megan S says
Editor,
I am a reader of three of the blogs mentioned in your article and I am appalled at the lengths your writer went to to sensationalize and distort the truth. It is obvious the article was aimed at people who have never read Tina, Kath’s or Meghann’s blogs. Any one who has read even a few posts from any of these writers knows how off base your article was.
For as many posts as there are touting healthy eating and large amounts of exercise there are more posts about cookies and beer and food festivals, dinners with friends, fun meals out and vacation splurges. I am all for realistic portrayals of concerns that healthy living blogs could lead to health obsession, but to distort the truth in the manner that you did was unethical journalism and I will no longer be purchasing or reading your magazine.
Thank you
Megan S
Kacie (Nonexistent Colors) says
I couldn’t believe it once I read the article. You six have seriously created a new movement for health! You all are inspiring and it’s infectious!! America needs more of the BIG SIX!! No one is perfect. And no one has a perfect diet. But the point is, you guys are all making an effort to be your best possible HEALTHY self. Sometimes that means blisters. Sometimes that means tears. Sometimes that means making a batch of cookies, eating four, and giving the rest away. Sometimes that means overdoing it, sometimes it means not doing anything. It’s all about balance, and everyone’s balance is different. Unique unto yourself. But we can all learn from each other in the everyday little things, to help us better accomplish the future big things!
Kacie
ps. Lunch looked AMAZING! 😀
april says
I also loved the fact that you put bacon in a veggie burger! It looks amazing!
jennifer @ take the day off says
Man oh man. That was a super mature and articulate response to an article that likely knocked the wind out of you (and the rest of the bloggers in the mix). No need to defend yourself. Your readers know where you stand!
Jennifer says
Perfect response to utter nonsense. After reading the article and bloggers’ responses, I choose to think that something postive will come out of this. That women reading this magazine who are looking for the next “trick” to feel skinny, look beautiful, and therefore, be happy, will check out one of these fantastic blogs and realize that you don’t need “tricks” to be healthy and happy. So maybe this “author” did the world a favor. 😉
And on another note…OMG, that bacon burger looks amazing!
marie says
I read the article this morning after other bloggers posted about it and I find the whole thing quite sad and upsetting. I’ve already emailed that woman.
I just want to say that you are a huge inspiration in my life. You, and other blogs as well, have INSPIRED me so much in terms of trying out new foods, and have a positive outlook on life. I don’t want to say that I was sheltered as a kid and growing up, but I did grow up in a family where there was little food diversity and a huge emphasis on meat, especially red meat. From your blog, I have learned about quinoa, wheatberries, plain yogurt, oatmeal, pumpkin everything, butternut squash soup (which is now my FAVOURITE!!!!!! I even got my mother to plant some this year for me since I live in apartment), almond butter, pea soup, roasted brocolli, KALE CHIPS, and so much more. I am also more open to trying new things.
You blog is extremely positive and inspiring, and I don’t get why Marie Claire was so harsh and one sided.
LOVE YOU.
Manissa says
Wow, great idea. I never thought of making burgers from beans, I’m gonna try it soon – maybe tomorrow! I wonder if we can substitute whole wheat flour with instant oats? Just an idea that popped out of my head just now 😉
Rachel says
Magazines are facing the end of their own existence with the growth of the internet and blogs like yours, that are popular, are pulling readers away from them right before their eyes.
Not condoning her behaviour or article, but there is the explanation, I believe.
I’ve read your blog for more than 2 years and in no way recognise the blogger she describes :shrug:
Katie says
Kath – glad to see you’re not taking the article too hard. Just want to THANK YOU for being brave enough to put yourself out there and blog every day. You guys in the “big 6” – haha – have been an encouragement for me when I needed it the most and meeting the other amazing women at the HLS and the support and knowledge I received there changed my life for the better. Just wanted you to know that I support YOU and keep doing what you’re doing!
Barbara(Blood, Sweat and Heels) says
There will always be a bad egg in the bunch. I checked out the FB page for MC, allot of VERY upset bloggers and readers. I think your blog is upbeat, creative and full of healthy info.
Allison says
I thought the article was crap – if anything, I’m amazed at how much you and Matt eat (and drink, more him than you) and remain at a healthy weight.
And I may be in the minority here, but I read less for the food and more because I’m fascinated with your lifestyle. It’s all childless and carefree and you basically get to do whatever you want, whenever you want and your families seem so supportive. If I told my parents I was going to use my 150K Davidson College education to go bake bread for a living they would be less than thrilled.
Kath says
Hey Allison, be careful with your word choice! Being a small business owner is very commendable! Education is never wasted.
Kath says
PS. I work really really hard everyday too. Don’t think our life is all fun and games.
Mom says
Actually, Cliff and I feel it’s an excellent use of their Davidson educations, which they use and appreciate at work and in living every day!
Allison says
I meant that as a compliment to you both and your parents. And I didn’t say you don’t work hard. Clearly this blog is a full time job. And it goes without saying that being a small business owner is very rewarding, challenging and commendable and respresent (guessing) over 95% of the businesses in this country. Geesh, so sensitive.
Jordan says
I think most people would be offended by your word choice and what you were suggesting. I certainly would.
Mom says
Allison,
Good reply! I guess I’m a little sensitive as actually a few of my girlfriends have made that comment (about Kath and Matt and Davidson and the bakery.) But truly, we are delighted–with their educations and the bakery and the freelance writing.
Peter says
You tell ’em, mom…
HTP Dad
Olivia says
I’m not sure she was being overly sensitive. I thought your comments were a bit passive-aggressive.
lucille says
“Education is never wasted.”
exactly what my mother always told me! it’s true!
Clare says
Hmmm…I’m a stay-at-home mom (to three fantastic kids). I like to bake (and not for a living). I wonder if my parents feel this way about the money they spent on my education?
Mom says
I bet your parents do. My kids have asked me some of the most challenging questions of all, especially when they were little.
In earlier centuries, many of the activists for women’s education promoted it for that very reason. Educated mothers can teach their children!
Clare says
Thanks Kath’s Mom. That’s so nice (and a really good point). You made my day!
Ginna says
I agree! Don’t ever discount yourself. I believe being a stay at home mom is probably the best thing you can do for your children. I don’t have children but I plan on staying home with them when I do have kids (and I have a masters degree!). Its very important! Keep up the great work!
jenn says
Gosh – I’m so sorry this happened to you. But she’s right – since I started reading your blog – I’ve made a lot of changes in my life. Like eating Greek yogurt, or learning to love oats mixed with pumpkin. 🙂 I certainly have NEVER felt that you promote or portray an unhealthy lifestyle & it’s clear that the woman writing the article has never actually read your blog. What’s even more shameful is that she’s writing for a magazine that consistently promotes horrible body image by using stick-thin models, or raving about the newest fad died. I hope you’re able to let her horrible critique roll off your back. If nothing else – she will direct tons of new traffic to your site, and those people will get to see what you’re really all about. If people take even 2 minutes to actually read what you say – they’ll know she’s a fraud.
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Pintos really make the best burger! The deconstructed bacon cheeseburger looks amazing! I LOVE burger salads!
On the article note. I appreciate what you and the rest of our community does. You are so right, we are able to relate to each other on a level where some of my face to face friends look at me like I am crazy when I talk about food or my healthy habits. I have thought about this quite a bit today, but I wonder if publications like this are starting to feel threatened by a community like ours. I mean we are advertisements for a lot of companies by sharing our experiences with food, products, festivals, farmer’s markets, fitness events…I will be honest, I don’t read nearly as many publications any more because I can get real reactions and feedback on products people try or a new fitness DVD they have tried out. I just find it odd that this woman was so nice to all of you and then switched it all up. Thank you for what you do Kath.
Beth @ bride in the little white dress says
Your blog was the first blog I ever read… and I’m so glad I did. Your blog as well as the other ladies show the balance between moderation and indulgence. I feel us Americans have been sidetracked with super size this and biggest loser that that we have lost sight in listening to our most important tools, our bodies. Thank you for showing the world that we don’t need to be satisfied with eating the whole cake, one slice is just perfect. Unfortunately intuitive eating is something we have lost sight of in the recent years (decades, even).
PS I find it ironic that they would publish this article and have Victoria Beckham on the same cover model.
Jean@RoastedRootsandPumpkinSpice says
That article truly upset me also. Your blog has helped me out so much with leading a healthy lifestyle. No need to get discouraged about it. Keep up the great work!
Maureen says
THANK YOU! For all that you do to inspire people……thank you for sharing your recipes and your life, your ups and downs. And today, thank you for giving such a thoughtful and eloquent response to that article!
Halley (Blunder Construction) says
You really used your bean for this recipe! Bean burgers are so deceivingly perfect, my boyfriend won’t know what hit him! 🙂 Keep on KERFing!
Jackie says
Kath, there’s really no way you would be able to win in a situation like this. If you weren’t exercising at all and posting blogs about a delicious recipe for lard flavored muffins, someone would be blaming you for America’s obesity problem. There are always going to be writers out there who take things to the extreme when they feel strongly about something. Unfortunately, she felt strongly about bashing something that you feel strongly about. I know it’s frustrating, but people are always going to disagree. I’m sorry her article came out so one sided.
Amanda says
What a great lunch! And I applaud all of you for such classy responses to an unfair and hurtful situation. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, eh?
Becca says
Two words best describe you and your blog = Class + Act.
barefootgirl says
AMEN!
Maureen says
Absolutely!
Andrea says
Kath, I absolutely noticed that you were mentioned almost only-in-passing in the MC article. Clearly as an RD you couldn’t support her interpretation. It’s unfortunate that MC didn’t invest more time in the journalistic aspects of the article but that’s why I don’t subscribe. As I said on Caitlin’s blog, I find it ironic MC is presenting such a distorted image of you ladies, an image of you inspiring a distorted body image in women. I agree with your comments to Ms. Drummond: if you think my blog is obsessive than you haven’t spend enough time reading it!
Love your blog and I’m so glad you’ve turned me on to Caitlin, Emily and others. I’m learning so much about diversifying our diet and nutritionally eating less meat. Love you all! So Group Hug and great way to address it.
rachael says
Love your response! I couldn’t believe how vindictive the article was. You all embrace life in a way that is inspiring, and that is what healthy living is all about in my eyes.
Marisa @ Loser for Life says
Kath, I think you’re awesome! And I think Marie Claire is not!
Your blog is the VERY FIRST healthy living blog I ever read and I was so inspired by it. I wish I ate as well as you when I was your age(yes, I am ancient)! I’ve been a long time reader and know that your blog IS about your life (as are most blogs). The fact that you and the others have been attacked and called-out to be responsible for all the blog readers of the world is completely ridiculous.
Heidi says
I don’t ever comment on your posts, but I read your blog daily, and I wanted to say that the Marie Claire article was ridiculous.
Your blog is beautiful and inspiring. I love to read it, and see the beauty of your town and the food you and your husband cook.
Please keep doing what you are doing.
Rachel says
Coming out of lurkdom just to say that I knew you would defend your blog as beautifully as you maintain it. You’re a true gem.
I’ve been known to order veggie burgers with cheese and bacon – the pub version of your creation.
Alex says
Kath,
First of all, your burger looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it!
Second, I was completely shocked to see that article today. I have been a reader for a year (or maybe two…) now and you and many other healthy eating bloggers have been truly inspiring to me. I hope that the article backfires and a wider audience is able to see how amazing you all really are. Your story and your day-to-day life have really pushed me in the right direction toward loving my body and treating it right.
Thanks so much for everything. Keep doing what you do!
J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
First, your lunch looks spectacular!
Now, about that article. Oy! I think it’s rather harsh and one-sided; I imagine they have shock and fear in mind when they sensationalized the story. They make it seem very demented and obsessive and fail to see that there is more than one way to live a healthy and balanced life. Take the Pioneer Woman for example: she blogs about life and many wouldn’t consider her recipes to be healthy, but many people would consider them to be wholesome, REAL food. There’s more than one way to achieve health and happiness.
However, I do sort of agree that I many “healthy living” bloggers seemingly overdo it with exercise, but don’t adequately compensate with their food intake and purposely choosing very low calorie foods on a daily basis. And I definitely don’t mean just the “Big 6” — I see it all over the blog community. I also notice so many bloggers–myself included at times–tend to be apologetic for overeating or indulging in “taboo” foods. This mentality is not healthy and promotes the notion of “bad foods.” Personally, I don’t think there are any bad foods, there’s just some that we NEED far less often than others.
I’ve also observed some competitive healthy eating/exercise habits amongst bloggers, and again, I DO NOT mean just the 6 bloggers featured in this article, I’m talking about dozens and hundreds of smaller bloggers, too. It seems like some bloggers are afraid of what another blogger in their clique might think of them or how a few people in their audience might judge them. We shouldn’t worry about who judges us, ever! To thine own self be true.
I blog about my life, the ups and downs. I believe in the “80/20” rule when it comes to healthy living; 80% healthful and mindful, 20% discretionary and relaxed. I believe in striving for balance, NOT perfection. As a fellow blogger, I often hesitate to tell my audience that I ate 10 cookies and fried shrimp, but I do it anyway, because I am NOT ashamed of anything I do. My blog is about me, not about upholding a perfect image that I will NEVER have. I live and blog for myself first and foremost, if people don’t like it, they definitely don’t have to read it. 🙂
I think this article is biased and a bit cruel, but I also think it beams a shred of truth on the obsessiveness in parts of the community and raises questions about orthorexia and too much intense activity. It bothers me when I see a blogger habitually showing half-eaten cookies that they DIDN’T eat, as if they have something to prove. It makes me feel bad as a reader and as a person with overeating issues.
I’ve been overweight all of my life and started blogging after I lost a considerable amount of weight. I don’t always have an ideal lifestyle, exercise plan, or menu according to many people, but I am happy and getting healthier, and most importantly, I never feel guilty about anything I eat or don’t eat; exercise or no exercise; smaller sized clothes or larger sized. Happy living > * 😀
I recently read the book The Blue Zones by Dan Buettner. It’s about centenarians (people that live to be 100+) that live active lives and there wasn’t ANY mention of running marathons or intense exercise among any of the hundreds of centenarians that were interviewed. Their secret was moderate daily activity opposed to stressful, hard exercise that wears down your joints and leads to premature aging.
Here’s a link to a summary of his research: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/live-longer-dan-buettner-text/1
I highly recommend the book to everyone! 🙂
We need to emphasize that there is more than one way to be happy and healthy and that “healthy living” blogging is just one outlet, it’s not superior, but it’s also not unhealthy depending on the overall message and lifestyle. I’ve heard many people that have the same perspective as the person that wrote that Marie Claire article. Some people think that the “healthy living” blog community is fanatical and extreme, but I think the same can be said for just about any type of lifestyle that isn’t exactly mainstream. Do what works for YOU, but never, ever let anyone bring you down or abandon YOUR principles. 😀
Shauna says
I really enjoyed reading this comment, and the article from the link was very interesting to read. Well said!
Tammy says
Excellent, excellent comment, J3nn!! I agree with you and would like to see your message out there in circulation! Whats ‘healthy’ to one person might be nuts to another, or extreme, I suppose.
I, too, noticed the obsessive trend on some food blogs and I know that my 90 y.o. gramma wouldn’t do anything that some of the ‘healthy’ bloggers I read do. Food for thought, I suppose!:)
MelanieF says
In all of the comments I’ve read today, this is by far the one that reached to me the most. I, too, am an overeater and I’ve been overweight since the age of 7. I have lost around 75 pounds since the year 2000. How? Eat less, move more. I cannot count calories because I become way too obsess with food and exercise. If one day I don’t feel like exercising, I don’t. Of course, I always try to go walking as much as possible. I don’t run marathons, 5K’s or 10K’s. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with doing so, it’s just not for me.
I love Kath’s blog and she does what works best for her. But I don’t always agree with how she eats or exercise, and it’s ok. I don’t have too. I do what’s best for myself and it’s all that counts.
Jaime says
You inspire me! The world needs more people like you not trashy magazines or T.V. shows. When I started eating healthy and stopped trying to be someone from a magazine, a beautiful thing happened…I became happy. Keep up the great work!
Jordan says
Hate hate hate this for you gals.
The ONLY problem I see with healthy living blogs is that I can’t find one written by a woman that works full time, is married (to someone who may be a fellow couch potato but is still rocking the high school body…haha) and has kids (stepson in my case). That would help me tremendously with inspiration. Any ideas???
Shanna @ Weight And See says
First of all, Kath I adore your blog! I think you and Matt are just adorable “normal” people who love to brew beer and cook dinner and it’s so refreshing! Secondly, Jordan, one of my favorite blogs over the years has been Roni’s Weigh (www.ronisweigh.com) I highly recommend it! She’s married wit a son (and a baby on the way!).
Third, as a blogger myself (admittedly wit a much smaller audience) I think it’s clear that the article was written from a place of anger. I like to focus on the positive and in this case the positive is that we are now having a honest discussion about disordered eating/exercising among the blog world and what can/should be done. Personally, I read blogs that I find funny/entertaining. I believe we are all responsible for our own health and that means I don’t read blogs that don’t make me happy. My blog is a glimpse into my life, which I hope people find entertaining, but I write it for ME. I hope everyone continues to do the same!
Jordan says
Thanks Shanna! I’ll check her out. I do know that Kath, Caitlin, and Tina are married and all had 9-5 jobs at some point (and they are by no means just lounging around now) and Meghann works full-time, but I don’t want to go back through their archives. 🙂
I’m just so busy with life in general and need some inspiration from people in similar situations!
Jessica says
I agree. I’d love to find one written by a mama with two little ones.
Freya (Brit Chick Runs) says
peasandthankyou.com 🙂 1 vegan mum, 2 small children, 1 husband.
Eileen says
Onemominmaine.com
She’s NOT married to a couch potato, but she is a working mom who is POWERING through fitness goals, and is an excellent writer and photographer, to boot.
Kath, this is a very interesting conversation. I was a journalist for a long time. Newspaper reporting was blissfully straightforward. If it happened, it made the paper. Not much embellishment needed.
After a few years, I made a WRONG TURN to a major magazine. It was so horrible that it ultimately drove me right out of the profession. With extra time to play with, they “sculpt” every article to fit a certain message, or a certain editor’s idea. Including your conversations with that reporter is very illuminating, but she may have seen her original story grossly distorted by an editor with an idea of her own.
I am completely hooked on your blog for all the reasons already mentioned. Rock on!
Maureen says
Shanna
I agree…….onemominmaine is a fantastic blog about a working mom with two kids! You should check it out.
Lori says
yep…. I would say that you have definately had an influence on me… I have started to eat oatmeal 5 days a week! And sometimes I put things in it like Heath Bar Curnch – how unhealthy of me. I never liked eating oatmeal until I started reading your blog the first of this year. Day after day reading about you eating that oatmeal made me want to try it. Now I love it and I love it mixed in yogurt. One month I challanged myself to eat it 30 different ways. I have actually found that reading your blog and Carrots N Cake has made me think more about what I put in my mouth to fuel my body for the day. It appears to me that you have a healthy balance. Over the years I have ready just about everybodys diet book and diet plan. But I now see it as eating to fuel my body to perform it’s best. Not counting calories or fat grams or points, just eating real food, not something from a box or a drive thru. At 52 I would guess that I am probably older that morst of your readers, but I love your healthy approach to food, exercise and life. Keep up the good work!!! I live about 90 minutes from Charlottesville and can’t wait to try some Great Harvest bread.
Sara says
I’m shocked at the article. In case you are staying away from it, I wanted to let you know I commented in your support:
‘I can fess up to only being a follower of KathEats. However, with that limited view, I want to say that I love her blog for portraying a HEALTHY, WELL-BALANCED, ACTIVE lifestyle. I love that there are pictures on her site of healthy foods that look so delicious and colorful! It INSPIRES me to include even more veggies in my daily diet. In a country where an outsized proportion of the population is obese/overweight, it should be EMBRACED that young women are out there showing how rewarding and fun it can be to live healthfully. “Then there’s the effect on readers. “The sheer number of food images and intense exercise descriptions can be particularly triggering to eating-disorder-prone followers,” says Dr. Robyn Silverman…” someone is prone to an eating disorder, it is highly unlikely that Kath’s blog (the only one I am familiar with) will be the final push. If anything, it may push someone to get off the couch and feel inspired to start working out! And KUDOS to that type of inspiration. Women’s mags should be CELEBRATING the women who are out there trying to promote healthy eating habits, a love for fitness and a love for self. Marie Claire, this is quite the disappointing “bash” article!!’
I know from personal efforts that it takes a lot to be healthy, with the time it takes to cook, prepare, shop, find new ideas, and the time it takes to find motivation to get off your butt and get moving…!!! I think it’s so admirable that even with how much all of that takes – you still find the time to share it with the blog world! Good for you and keep it up! 🙂 Also, the burger salad looks fab, I will definitely be trying it out!
Deah says
Anyone who thinks the food blogging community is a haven for eating disorders needs only to look at today’s posts for a very quick reality check. Your posts have always been a celebration of food, which is why I love your blog. It appeals to all of my senses, which is how food should be enjoyed. From the brilliantly color-saturated colors, to the photos so detailed I swear I could smell them, your blog has served as nothing short of an inspiration to try new foods, ENJOY those foods, and indulge every once in a while. Hello, has this woman not read your tribute to oatmeal? And I can’t remember the last time someone with an eating disorder praised the merits of bacon grease as a method for cooking. Keep doing what you’re doing, Kath, and know that the negativity falls on deaf ears among your readers. I for one THANK you for helping me overcome food phobias and obsessively counting calories, and moving to the pleasurable relm of actually enjoying my food.
Jessica says
Thank you for sharing your life on this blog. You are an inspiration. Your blog is absolutely romantic and honestly that’s why I read! I’m not looking to diet and that’s why I come to your blog, to find good food, creative recipes and cute stories about you and your family. Keep doing what you’re doing! 😀
Tori says
I think that woman didn’t mention you a lot in the article because she couldn’t find anything bad to say about your blog. You are probably the healthiest and realist one of the bunch. You don’t have “rules” and you eat what makes you feel good. And that’s a real inspiration!
The Wife of a Dairyman says
Shake it off! Once a new reader comes to your blog and sees for themselves that your lifestyle is more like “everything in moderation” type of living, they’ll be back for more! Just think about how many more readers you’ll get! Keep up the good work:)
Grace says
Hi Kath. I’m glad you have taken this in stride and can see the irony in their attack.
I really resent the implication that they made that any of your “followers” or “readers” are just some mindless drones that can’t seem to think for ourselves. I mean, WOW. I don’t worship anyone, no matter how lovely they are. I have disagreed with your opinions a few times in the past, but I actually take the time to read your blog and can see that you are genuine. There are no doubt blogs out there with people that do struggle with eating & other disorders, I’ve certainly run across them… to try to categorize your blog (or Meghann’s, Caitlin’s & Tina’s) as one of those was a mammoth stretch. At times you fall & make mistakes, like every other normal human being on Earth, but for as long as I have been reading your blog, you have *always* consistently promoted a truly healthy, balanced life and I respect you for that.
But let’s get real here. It’s “Marie Claire” and quite frankly, I’ve always considered it too shallow to be worth the cost of a subscription. We know what kind of articles they usually publish. If they had any sort of credibility at all, I would be more concerned. As it stands, I don’t even want to “fan” them or sign up on their website to make a comment. Katie Drummond’s methods just serve as an example why print media is on its way out. No integrity, no unbiased reporting, just slanted accusations without base, jumping to unfounded conclusions at every turn.
Jen says
I agree with everyone else about the MC article — what trash! Thank you for posting your conversation with Drummond, Kate. It only proves how hard she pushed to manipulate your words and others’ in order to conform to her slant. Just look at how negative those questions were! She was REALLY stretching for something. Uggh, makes me sick.
Anyway, I sent an email to the editor of MC. Hopefully the magazine will publish a retraction or an apology? I’m not cool with them dragging you ladies through the mud for the sake of a sensational, dramatic story.
I read your blog and Tina’s blog everyday–you two (and other healthy living bloggers) are very inspirational and your positivity, in turn, helps ME be positive about good food, fun exercise, and life. I love what you ladies are doing, and thank you for brightening many of my afternoons with your awesome attitudes or for enriching my kitchen with your recipes. <3
Jen says
*Thank you for posting your conversation with Drummond, KATH (not “Kate” – my apologies)
And I forgot to add that I think this is the first time that I have ever actually posted on your blog. XD Usually I’m pretty shy, but that article really really got my blood flowing.
Anyway, enjoy your evening!
Joanna says
Kath:
I’ve been reading your blog for almost a year and you’re one of the people who has inspired me to start my own. As a person who attended HLS and reads your blog, I found this article to be very strange. It was like a non-reality, I felt like I was in the Twilght Zone when I read it. At the HLS my experience was that I’ve never been in a place where so many women (and a few guys) were so supportive of each other in achieving their own personal fitness goals. This is a community with no judgments and promotes people to think for themselves. What a missed opportunity for Marie Claire to not share about that side of things.
It’s so rare that people these days get together to do something positive and such a shame that Marie Claire did not report on that.
I think critique is great it helps one become stronger and to improve, I hope that you can take away something positive for yourself from this experience. You still have a reader and avid follower in me. Our lifestyles are very different and that’s one of the reasons why I love your blog.
stepf @dailyspark says
Kath,
You and the rest of the “big 6” (who calls you that?) are amazing and inspirational. You’re a registered dietitian, and we’ve all seen how hard you worked to earn that. You’ve earned your place at the top of the healthy blogging community. You’ve never once assumed a grande dame attitude, and you impart one of the healthiest food philosophies I’ve ever read.
I won’t comment on the article because I think there is enough negativity out there. As I told Caitlin earlier today: “When you lie in bed tonight, you’ll have a clear conscience. You’ll know that you’ve given this world all that you could, that you’ve loved, shared, and inspired. The same cannot be said for that writer.”
Your description of food and your blog was truly poetic. Your blog evolved past “this is what I ate” a long time ago. Thank you for sharing your life with all of us.
Katy @ A Shot of Life says
Kath,
I have been reading your blog for awhile now, and although I have never commented, you have been a huge inspiration to me. I expected a smart and classy response from you on this article and you definitely delivered! Your blog is a celebration of your healthy life and I’m sure all of your readers know this. Hopefully the article will bring some new readers into this inspiring community!
HefiA says
Oh Kath. You’re so sweet. I absolutely love your attitude about the article. That’s why I love reading about your “thoughts”. Your outlook on life is very healthy, in every way. All of us who follow your blog know that. No explanation is needed. But…you know, people are mean. Especially when it comes to power, popularity and money. It’s a competitive world. And believe me, there are not too many journalists who could truly rejoice about the fact that a little group of girls can make such a big difference through their writings. And without any journalism training. 🙂
So, dear Kath. Forget about Katie Drummond. Really. Who cares about her poky mean comments? You know the truth. And that’s really what matters. Just remember: I’m thankful for who you are and how you and Matt choose to live your lives on a daily basis.
Reka
lady bookworm says
Kath,
I’ve been reading your blog for about a year. When I started reading it, I thought you were crazy for eating so much healthy food, exercising almost every day, and *enjoying* it! However, I kept reading, and then realized that I needed to make some changes for myself. I eat healthy, balanced meals, and I just finished my first half marathon!
I’m sorry that Katie Drummond chose to portray you in that light. Please know that you continue to inspire me on a daily basis. I respect your knowledge as an R.D., and I love your encouragement for all of us to live a healthy, active lifestyle. In other words, thank you for helping me to live and enjoy my life to its fullest.
Erin says
Kath,
I never comment on your blog and I read it daily. I just want to let you know that you are inspiring and a great read. I commented on that terrible article because you have inspired me to conquer my health and fitness on my own terms. 🙂
Rebecca says
I stumbled upon your blog about a year and a half ago while looking for an oatmeal recipe.
I am soo glad that I did. You have very much inspired me to try new foods that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I have also tried and fallen head over heels for yoga, and I lost over 40 lbs. I am very appreciative of your outlook on life, and I think it’s amazing when women can inspire each other to be the best that we can be.
Tina says
I shared my thoughts on this article on my post this morning, but I want to be sure you know that you always have my support. You truly display health and anyone to say you don’t eat enough or go crazy with workouts or are food-obsessed in an unhealthy way doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Cortney says
I can see how, as one of the bloggers mentioned, you would feel offended by this article, but honestly I think the general point it is making is spot on.
A lot of the “healthy” blogs do kind of border on obsessive. I think you have a good mix of life+food, I check in on your blog about twice a week on average, but I agree with many of the observations made in the article- some of the blogs mentioned are pretty hardcore. And it isn’t that far of a stretch to say this might be a way to “justify” disordered eating. Is it one sided? Yes, but honestly, from the ardent fan base and the praise that most of the blogs get, including yours, this is the only remotely negative thing I’ve read about the “food blogger phenomenon”. When 99% of the conversation is positive, and someone brings up something negative, it can often seem very one sided because they have to really emphasize their negative observations in order to be heard in the clamor of positivity, if that makes sense.
Bottom line is, if you are sincere in your intentions and you know that the article doesn’t apply to you, brush it off and carry on. I think your blog is balanced, but I can certainly agree with the red flags that the author points out in her article in reference to certain unhealthy memes and borderline obsessive trends that can wind their way through the food blogger community.
Eileen says
I commented above, but wanted to agree with this one, too. There was a *germ* of a good idea behind her article, but she either picked the wrong targets or failed to support her assertions.
Anne says
I totally agree with this assessment. Kath’s choice to become a RD makes her a professional who is capable of giving tested advice. Thus, I trust her personal diet and exercise choices and have learned/gotten new ideas from her habits, meals, etc. Some of the other bloggers mentioned in the article are less reliable because they lack the professional backbone. This doesn’t make their blogs any less interesting, entertaining, or inspiring. It’s just a fact. I have wondered occasionally about some of the diet and exercise habits on other food blogs — both the healthy ones and the ones that focus on eating to the exclusion of exercise. I think ultimately the conversation this article will start is a good one. All over the internet standards for content and quality are being developed. It’s only natural the healthy living blogging community would undergo these growing pains too. Hopefully it will just lead to even better blogging.
Kat says
I never comment on anything, but that article is ridiculous. I’ve been reading your blog, and Tina’s and Jenna’s, for a year now, and yes, you guys have had an effect on my eating. In fact, you’ve all had a hand in my RECOVERY from bulimia. Too see how much a ‘normal’ person eats daily has made me realise that my binges came from not eating enough of anything and my body just wanting some nourishment. To see how you guys deal with the occasional ‘blowout’ has really helped me to see that it’s not the end of the world if I eat too many cookies one day. This healthy knowledge also got me away from some of my biggest triggers, such as magazines promoting airbrushed perfection and bullshit diet plans. Thank you so much for doing what you do.
Tamara says
I’ve never used pintos for a burger, only black beans- great idea!
I couldn’t wait to read your response. I have been riled up all day by it all, because like most readers, I feel like you are my friend (though you have never met me!), and all of us feel like our friends were dissed. I think the support and overwhelming positivity on the reader’s end has shown what a wonderful community you have helped construct.
Power to the positive, beautiful, healthy, smart, strong women of the healthy blogging world! WOOHOO!
Angie says
Hello,
I’m a loyal reader, healthy eater and a journalist (though not the one who wrote the article!). I feel compelled to stand up for the writer a little bit…
Journalists are not a public relations resource and we can’t use every comment or bit of information from a source. Sometimes I will interview someone and use one sentence or one thought… or none at all. Drummond balanced the story with multiple sources. And, can it really be denied that constant photography and talk of food may have negative consequences for some readers that may latch onto your healthy expression in an unhealthy manner? It’s unrealistic to refute such an idea.
Despite the blog being solely a creative outlet, it has grown. I think with a public persona comes both the learned ability to be thick skinned and the knowledge of the responsibility of what you portray or encourage. It’s not cool or what you may have sought when starting the blog, but I think there’s some truth to it.
You disagree with the article and express it in a very classy fashion, while encouraging your readers to comment as well (totally acceptable). Please don’t project the perceived negative actions of one journalist on the whole lot of us. I can’t describe the frustration of trying to interview someone who had a bad experience with a reporter 15 years ago (News flash: I’m a different person!). I don’t think one single article is the gospel, just as no single blog should be.
P.S. Tried the tofu tips last week for my first try at tofu—loved it!
Rebecca says
So well written. Agree!
lucille says
you inspire me, kath! while reading that article i was shocked and a little disturbed at the thought of you (and others in the “big six” whatever that even means, LOL) having disordered eating/exercise behaviors and trying to hide it from your readers. it seems like that was the main implication of the article. i’ve read your blog for a long time and that is just a completely nonsensical idea! how silly. i’m sorry this has happened to you!
Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine says
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I am so, so sorry that the six of you (7 including VeggieGirl) are being put through this, but rest assured that you and the other women have never been anything but a positive influence for me (and I’m someone who has recovered from a REAL eating disorder with the help of blogs). Stay strong- we’re all here to support you!
LindseyAnn says
Kath,
Thank you for posting your actual response to Ms. Drummond’s questions. Seeing that truly proves that there was a gross editorial slant put on that article. You and the other “Big Six” are truly a classy bunch, and I’m glad to see that you all aren’t going to be swayed by this.
Jessica says
Your blog is awesome Kath. I would much rather read your blog than a fashion magazine.
This makes me think of FInding Nemo: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!”
Have a good evening!
Jessica@tastyandtrim says
That article is completely out of line. You are such an inspiration to me and I love reading your blog posts as motivation to find my healthy balance. Don’t let that article get to you at all, you’re amazing and I appreciate all that you do!
elaine! says
Thanks, Kath. What I love about the internet is that you and the other bloggers were able to keep track of the article’s interview history and publicize how insidious it was.
Sarah R says
Ok, when I saw the first picture, I thought that it was a ground beef burger, you totally fooled me with the pintos! RE: the Marie Claire article. I think that you all have handled this in the best way you possibly can. Your loyal readers know the truth and that’s what really matters. Anyone who reads that article and comes to your blogs will see that you are real people making the best decision for you and your own life. It was just so ironic that a magazine that often has the latest diet trends, and rail thin models chose to criticize gals who are trying so hard to do things right.
In the end, you know you’ve got the support of the blogging community and readers behind you. One article will not deter us 🙂 Keep doing your thing–it’s worked for you!
Rebecca says
Kath,
Your blog is wonderful! I love that you share your life with us readers! You lead an active lifestyle and pursue your interests and share it with the world. Your blog has so much depth. You take us on hikes, share your bears with us, bring us to art galleries and family functions! You visit different cities and reach out to your readers wherever you go. You eat REAL food and that is commendable and something that everyone should do! I am sorry that you were misrepresented in that article, but please know that your readers love and appreciate the blog you have created. You embrace HEALTH mentally and physically and that does not go unnoticed by your readers.
Melissa A. says
I only just started reading your blog and I love the food pictures and the recipes. I would never think you have a problem with eating and exercising. That magazine article is so one sided it’s sick! They obviously went out to write that kind of article to begin with. Why did the author even bother to interview you? North Americans are over-weight, while at the same time being obsessed with fad diets. People have forgotten how to just eat real food and be active. You’re not saying everyone has to eat like you or exercise as much as you. I know if I made changes in my life based on what I read here that I would probably be a lot healthier and as a side effect might lose some weight.
Katie (Sweet Tater) says
well said, kath!
tricia says
Kath, I am so sorry that you and the other women mentioned in the article are being subjected to such poor representation of who you are, what you are about and what your readers get from reading your blog. You live a balanced, healthy, intentional life and should be very proud of that fact. Keep it up!!!
Amber from Girl with the Red Hair says
One of the best responses I’ve read yet! Bravo!
jamie says
Hi! I don’t comment much, but I read your blog regularly (and you gave me a free pass to Y2 this summer 🙂 ) I just wanted to say the REASON I read your blog all the time is because it is such a great example of living a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle! There are definitely a few blogs that aren’t the most healthy to model oneself after if you are prone to eating/exercise problems, as I am, but yours and the ones featured are not at all.
thanks for being such an inspiration for BALANCE!
Alexa @ The Girl In Chucks says
I think I am out of things to say about that article.
So I’ll just tell you that your bacon cheeseburger looks delicious and I want one!
Trish Blackwell says
Kath,
What a sad article, especially in light of all that you and I talked about on Sunday. I firmly believe that what you and the other girls are doing in the food blogging world is so wonderfully positive and instrumental in encouraging readers to feel well in their skin — please continue setting such a wonderful example, you are changing more lives and bodies than you could possibly imagine.
Thank you for what you do. 🙂
Trish
Elyssa says
Hi Kath! I just wanted to add my support…I love reading your blog and hearing about how you balance all the aspects of your life (work, relationships, adventures, exercise, and yes, food!). As so many have already said, you’re a source of inspiration and I thank you for sharing your story with us each day. Don’t let one person’s negativity get you down!
Mastering Public Health (@MasPublicHealth) says
The fact that the clearly attention-seeking author (who is now getting what she wanted, I guess) tried to paint these blogs somehow as pro-anorexic or touting self-abuse and -starvation is the most heinous part of all. Because of the way in which the article painted the blog community as a cool inner circle/clique of sorts, what’s actually worst is to think of all the unsuspecting — perhaps impressionable — magazine readers that will read that article and think this alleged self-torture/-deprivation may be a good idea and a way to realize some sort of physical or social goal.
Katherine says
Wow, harsh article. I don’t read any of the other 5 blogs, but it sounds like some of them might be overdoing it (i.e., being 20 lbs underweight). I think you come across as very balanced and seem to have a very healthy approach, though. If nothing else, at least she called you photogenic 🙂
Laura @ Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness says
Hi Kath – first off, your cheeseburger-inspired salad looks great! I love that you started with a bean base, then added bacon and cheese, but then served atop a leafy green salad. It’s healthy and decadent, all at the same time!
Regarding your response to the ridiculous article, it doesn’t surprise me that the author also lied to you about the angle she was going for. While at the Healthy Living Summit, I was approached by her with a few interview questions, and up until now had been excited about the article being published. She had mentioned that she discovered fitness / food blogs through her passion for running, and I guess I mistook that ‘passion’ for enthusiasm! When interviewed, I told her how healthy living blogs like yours provide a sense of community, camaraderie and support that I don’t currently get from my ‘real life’ friends. I mentioned to the author that one reason I have gotten so much into photography again is thanks to your blog and your gorgeous photographs! It’s all so frustrating and I feel so naive for having been excited about her article.
I think that the response you’ve shared above is well-articulated, and thank you for sharing your correspondence with the author. I hope that if the author and Marie Claire don’t issue a public apology and retraction, you ‘Big Six’ bloggers will file suit for libel. It wouldn’t be far-fetched!
Mastering Public Health (@MasPublicHealth) says
I agree, perhaps even if they do apologize and/or retract.
Lauren C says
Kath, you are awesome. I’m a recovered/ing ED-sufferer and your attitude towards food and your body inspires me to see myself as beautiful and healthy. THANK YOU for your awesome blog, and for putting your life out there for the rest of us to learn from!
Jillian@ Reshape Your Life says
Keep your head up Kath! I love your blog, I love reading about all of your adventures (and the food along the way!) It’s obviously just a mean spirited article with no real basis on fact.
You are beautiful and strong and a TOTAL inspiration! Thank you for sharing your life with us!
Jeni Wood says
Thank you so much for posting the link to that article. I definitely posted in support and wanted to thank you for such a mature response!
Elizabeth says
Kath,
I love this blog and I also regularly read carrotsandcake. That being said, if the allegations about one blogger running a 5K, 15K, and marathon in one weekend or about how a blogger takes a picture of a full plate but then only consumes a small portion of it but posts the full picture, etc is not only unhealthy it is misleading. If someone read a blog about losing weight and wanted to follow the blogger’s plan it would seem to be setting them up for failure if the blogger was dishonest about her eating.
I don’t think your or Tara’s blogs are at all problematic for young women.
Kamille says
i hate how people insist you have an eating disorder when youre only trying to eat HEALTHY. i mean, what do they want? to see you devour an entire 24-inch pizza by yourself? hay… some people are just too ignorant.
Bri says
Kath,
This is all just so out of context. This woman clearly put zero effort into her research, otherwise she would know that when you recently polled your readers asking them what they wanted you to write about most, you got an overwhleming number of requests for ORGANIZATION TIPS! Like you said, the food is just the conversation starter, but clearly we’re not as food obsessive as she makes us out to be.
On a more personal note, I love your blog. It’s really taught me to pay attention to what I’m putting in my body and how it makes me feel. It’s also really changed my outlook on food and exercise, and if anything has made me less obsessive. I also love the recipes you publish and try them often (salmon salad, kale chips, sweet potato gnocchi). Thanks so much for doing what you do and I look forward to reading the next post!
Sandy says
Thank you Kath for your Blog..you have brought many hour’s of enjoyment to my life..I appreciate you and Matt sharing your life, and both your Parent’s also!
take care! Sandy
Izzyy says
Please don’t stop what you’re doing, Kath, and don’t let this poor excuse for a “journalist” get to you or make you think that any of your devoted readers will look at your (or the other five lovely ladies’) blogs any different. I’m a devoted reader of yours ’till the end!
izzyy
xoxo
Simply Life says
oh those burgers look great! Nice work!
Amy says
KERFs Mom, Way to get in there Mama Kerf and defend your daughter and son-in-law. That was touching. I let out a hearty hoot when I saw you get in there and surprise the passive-aggressive commenter. I’m not sure my own mother would have done that, so that was very protective and nurturing of you. Respectfully, Amy
Kath, I’ve been on bed rest and the only thing that has gotten me through the day is seeing what visual feast and outing you will take me on next. You provide readers an escape for awhile. Futher, I am a little older so I don’t read MC, but I will check if any of my other publications are from the parent company, Hearst. Then I shall discontinue supporting these publications and their sponsors. The journalist mislead you which was unethical, manipulative, and self-serving. You keep doing what you’re doin’, hon. You bring lots of smiles to peoples’ days. Don’t let anyone take that from you. Fondly, Amy
Mom says
Thanks!
Kaci says
Yum yum yum!! I admire your ability to whip up something from “nothing”!
In reference to all of this Marie Claire shenanigans:
I can’t express how much I love your blog. It is so much more than the food for me (however I do drool over it often!). It’s an escape. I feel like you’re a close friend. (I know that’s cheesey but true!) I’ve had a different college experience than most (which I’ve learned to appreciate) and sometimes so turning to your blog for support for leading a healthy lifestyle or enjoying certain things is so uplifting. Keep doing what you’re doing.
In reference to the above comment about your education:
Education is NEVER wasted. Education is so much more than just the book material. It’s about learning how to communicate, create time management, work hard, positively deal with stress, and I could just go on and on. Your and Matt’s rich lives inspire me so much. It’s a great reminder for me to not get overwhelmed with planning my future. If people were forced to only work in the fields for which they have been academically prepared for, this world would be a sad and monotonous place. I still think about the post Matt wrote last spring about his choice to embark on this bakery journey and how he finally figured out what he wants to do with his life after dabbling in other careers. That was really powerful and has definitely made a mark on my life.
Have a great one!
Katie says
Thanks for showing us your responses to her questions. I think the article shows an incredible lack of integrity on her part. Especially after seeing your responses and those of the other bloggers in the article. She should be ashamed of herself.
Michelle says
I love your blog–I’ve never taken it as gospel, but it’s really good to get inspiration for my own meals and to think about pairing things I wouldn’t have (you have me hooked on oatmeal!) and to think about the different nutritional elements in planning my meals. Thank you!
Kayla says
You are truly an INSPIRATION to me and all of these women! Keep doing what you do… you will always have this communities support 🙂
Mary @ Bites and Bliss says
It really makes me angry when people try to argue and they don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s like fighting with a wall- seriously..they won’t take anything in because they think they’re so right. Like you said, her article was one sides and prejudice. It was ignorant.
On a happier note, the burgers look fantastic!! You got me in the mood to do some kitchen experimenting with some chick peas I my cabinet..
Amy* says
Well said, Kath. I find it disheartening that this journalist portrayed your so unfairly. And to hear that she reassured you that the article would be positive really speaks to her character. Don’t take what she wrote to heart. Keep doing you, and I’ll keep reading!*
Katie @ Her Inner Shine says
I just wanted to say that I love your blog and in no way feel that the article reflects your blog. You always have great (real) food and give me lots of yummy oatmeal recipes to try.
I wrote my reaction on my blog and I hope it does you and the other ladies justice.
http://herinnershine.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-turn-to-respond.html
Emilie says
Kath,
You handled that silliness exceptionally well. Onward! I love your blog.
Julie says
Kath, your blog and lifestyle have positively influenced my eating and exercise more than anything else I can put my finger on! Thank you for being such a great example of balance and healthy living. Keep up the good work!
Deanna says
Kath, I absolutely love your blog and I think you were one of the first healthy living blogs that I started reading regularly. Your blog is about just that – healthy living – and it has been so inspirational for me. I have actually made some much better food choices for myself and been inspired to COOK! because of your blog. As an overweight woman, I have always struggled with food, but reading your blog makes me realize that I can be fulfilled with food that is fresh and full of vegetables. And guess what, I feel more fulfilled and accomplished with my life because I have started to make these different food choices. It’s a start, and I have more choices to make, but I am so proud that I have actually started. So thank you! Thank you for sharing your life and your recipes and your healthy choices. The article in MC was completely unfair and the author completely missed the point of the blogging community, and I’ve already expressed my opinion on the article on Facebook.
Oh, and the burgers are going to be on my menu for this week! They look yummy!
Lily says
Kath,
I find you to be a complete inspiration to leading a healthy lifestyle. I found the article to be completely unfair to all bloggers mentioned. The article made me upset to see how someone could feel so negative about the healthy living blogging community, as reading your blog among others have changed my life in such positive ways!!!
Kristin says
Kath- You doing okay? considering…
Leng says
Hey Kath!
That pinto/bacon burger with cheese looks awesome!! I’m a vegetarian, but I think I’ll switch over after this. lol no no just kidding. I’ll remake it using morning star “bacon” strips instead. Thanks for the recipe idea.
Those articles are stupid. I honestly don’t know why they keep trying. As I wrote on Tina’s Blog, they just need someone to blame for America’s obesity and weight issues. The food blog world is unfortunately their victim. Don’t worry about them. Marie Claire just ran out of interesting things to write about, so they had to tweak words around.
Laura (spokesnoats) says
Wow, that article is harsh!
Mama Pea says
Just voicing my support and love for KERF and this blogging community we are a part of. I had no doubt you would brush this article off as the unfounded trash that it is.
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
That article completely shocked me! It was totally one-sided and took so many things out of context. While there are SOME blogs out there that may portray unhealthy or obsessive habits, your blog and the rest of the 5 blogs written about certainly aren’t included in those! You guys are the exact opposite – you’ve inspired me to stop my restricting and eat properly. So keep on doing what you’re doing Kath! 😀
Erin says
Kath… I wanted to forward you the email that I sent to Marie Claire. Please know what an amazing difference you have made in my life. 🙂
“I want to start off by saying that I have read Marie Claire for years. It was the one that I usually picked up at the grocery store or while browsing through the magazines at whatever random store I was at. This article infuriated me. I was disgusted. Why do women always have to rip each other apart? Who is the journalist to say what is healthy for those women? And, who is she to assume that those of us who faithfully read those blogs aren’t intelligent enough to know when we aren’t eating enough, or when we are eating too much? Your journalist basically called all of those bloggers liars and all of the readers stupid. And you publish that? I was morbidly obese when I, in June of last year, went to meet with a gastric bypass surgeon. I scheduled the surgery, I felt it was my only way out. After I scheduled that, I started walking and dieting. I was embarrassed to go into surgery as big as I was. I went walking at 5am every day, early enough that I wouldn’t be seen by many people. I was that ashamed of myself. I started reading katheats.com, eatliverun.com, caitsplate.com, carrotsncake.com, and many others. I used these blogs that your journalist bashed, and these women who write the blogs, as inspiration. I needed ideas, I needed motivation. I needed to feel like I wasn’t alone in my desire to be healthy. I needed to feel like life could be worth living. Those blogs, those women, and their writing and ideas for balanced living, helped me to lose over 100 pounds since June of last year. I never did have the surgery. I know that a strict diet isn’t the way for me. I had, before last year, tried the fad diets. I tried the pills, Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers, and Slim Fast. Nothing worked for me. It would work short term, but I couldn’t stay motivated. I din’t want to always hear about what I couldn’t ever eat again, what I shouldn’t ever have. These blogs have helped me see that I can eat a balanced diet, have a treat now and then, and exercise. I have lost a significant amount of weight, but what I have gained from these women is so much more than that. I am sorry that your magazine thinks that placing blame on these women and taking away from the good that they do is more important than acknowledging how much they have helped people. People like me. One of your former readers. I am so diappointed in your magazine.”
Carol Hoyt says
Kath: KERF is the first food blog I ever read and you are my inspiration to getting healthy .I’ve lost 16 pounds, and consider you one of my “best buds” ! I get my bowl of oatmeal and coffee and start my day with you . .. . Keep on keepin’ on , my friend !
Mary @ stylefyles says
Hey, any press is good press, right?
Despite the fact that you’re already clearly super popular with tons of followers, I just found your blog today (led here by outrage over The Article).
Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be back….despite your apparent lack of responsibility and/or terrible motives.
Magazines are scared of blogs.
And that’s the bottom line.
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
What an absurd article. I agree that the decline of print media may have something to do with this. The democratization of food and communication is a threat to them, so their best bet is to discredit the “riffraff.” Here’s my response on their article:
You’ve managed to write a pretty despicably biased piece here. I’m not a healthy living blogger, but I read several. While there are negative issues in any broad community, the vast majority of posts I read are focused on enjoying hobbies (running, biking), ENJOYING food (at very reasonable levels), and basic holistic health.
I wonder how “journalists” like you calm your conscience? Does it not bother you to purposely misrepresent a community for a sensationalist story? I’m a writer too — in fact, I write a food blog (different genre from healthy living, fyi), write for education journals, write poetry, etc. etc. etc. But one of my number one rules is to be genuine. We have enough worthless, idle, agenda-driven drivel in the world.
Also, NOT smart to write this sort of one-sided story about the BLOGGING COMMUNITY. Hello, they have BLOGS with huge followings that KNOW what you’re saying isn’t true! Smooth move, Marie Claire 🙂
Sara @ myfancytuna.blogspot.com says
First of all, those bean burgers look awesome. And I have to ask, do beans give your stomach a hard time? I’ve had to cut back on my bean intake b/c they tear up my stomach, which is sad because beans are the bomb. LOL, sort of a random question amidst all of this hub bub about that dumb article.
And on that note, I think the article is in large parts a piece of crap. I only really read yours, Tina’s and Jenna’s blogs, but I think all of ya’ll have balanced, healthy, inspiring lifestyles. I love how Jenna makes good, Southern food and great desserts and isn’t afraid to treat herself every day, along with being active in ways she loves. I love how Tina is training for a marathon, yet listens to her body and refuels appropriately. I love your fresh, gorgeous meals, whether they’re homemade or from a cool, local restaurant. I also love how you are just flat out ACTIVE. You bike, you walk, you run – and none of it seems like traditional, monotonous exercise. I mean, if that works for you, fine, but I love how you incorporate those activities into your day.
I come to your blog for recipes, for entertainment and for inspiration. You honestly inspired me to go whole hog and study Dietetics, even though I have to take 8 science classes and stay in college an extra year. Your blog was the first food blog I stumbled upon – I discovered the awesome healthy food blogging community through you, and I’m so grateful for it. You showed me the deliciousness of stovetop oats, sardines, kale, winter squash, almond butter, yogurt messes, OIAJ, green monster smoothies and SO MUCH MORE! Marie Claire is stupid. That reporter is stupid. You are awesome. Keep on keepin’ on!!
Kath says
Beans are OK – so long as I don’t eat the whole pot! Now squash skin I cannot do.
Kasey says
Kath,
I’ve been reading your blog for over a year now and never commented. I’m kind of irritated with myself that it took this ridiculous article to finally say something! I’m 30 and I’ve been overweight my entire life. When you don’t know what a healthy lifestyle looks like on a day to day basis, it’s very difficult to adopt one. When all you see are either friends who live on fast food or other friends who starve themselves, it’s hard to know what a real, sustainable healthy lifestyle looks like on a day to day, meal to meal basis. I’ve learned more than anything on your blog that food is not about feeling guilty. A healthy life is about balance. And that is not abusing your body by eating too much OR abusing it by eating too little. It’s about listening to your body and giving it what it needs.
Reading your blog each day inspires me to eat the beautiful whole and real foods that you photograph eat day. It motivates me daily to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather and the way my body feels when I’m taking care of it and being active. Since I started reading your blog, I’ve lost 50 pounds and completed a triathlon in August on my 30th birthday. Friends and family of mine have started training too because they see a vibrance in me that wasn’t there before and they want it to. Sorry this is so long but I’ve been thinking it for a while now. So…KEEP IT UP. You’re awesome and your enthusiasm for life (not just food or exercise) is contagious :).
Joan says
Your blog has helped me to be more of the woman I want to be! I still have a lot of work to do, but I am happier and healthier than EVER, and I attribute a ton of my change to using your positive and healthy attitude toward life. My friends as well as my parents have noticed the change in me. While I don’t know you personally, I can honestly say that I couldn’t have done it without you. Your blog is WAY more than the food you eat. Sometimes I really feel like I DO know you, since we, as readers, have seen so many ups and downs in your life. Even though we only know what you share on the blog, you are so open and honest. You are a real person, just like the rest of us and I appreciate your blog each and every day!
Thank you, Kath!
Julia says
I think you and the other blogger’s responses to this article have been very well written. I also hope that the end result of this whole article is a positive impact on the healthy living blog community, and I think these responses are on the right track there.
And on a completely different note:
That cheeseburger looks really good. And may I ask where you got those green patterned placemats 🙂
Aly says
I think that, sadly, there is a lot of negative media out there. I remember a few years ago when the massive amount of eating disorder-related websites started getting attention. People realized that the internet is full of dangerous information. But it’s disappointing that those websites overshadow the amount of healthy, wholesome blogs you can find. Starting to read food blogs was a very positive experience for me! I continue to learn so much about nutrition and well-being from them. I find average people like me, not fitness gurus or personal trainers, talking about how they’re making positive changes. They have helped me move from an eating disordered past…so I find it incredibly ironic that the article you mention related the two. There couldn’t be a bigger difference!
Hillary says
Hey Kath,
I read your blog every day, but this is my first time commenting. I read the MC article and the responses from you, Meghann, and Caitlin today (I read your blog and Meghann’s regularly). I know you’ve gotten hundreds of comments saying the same thing I’m about to say, but I felt like another one couldn’t hurt. As a former journalism student, I’m appalled at the one-sided and completely unbalanced article that MC decided to publish. I understand the points that the author was trying to convey, and I do understand some concern in the healthy living blog community re: triggering people with EDs. However, in no way, shape, or form do I feel like your blog fits the description that she painted of a severe, deprived, and desperate woman milking her blog for all it’s worth (and leaving emaciated groupies in her wake).
I suffered from bulimia when I was in high school and from severe exercise-induced bulimia in college. I fought my way through several years of deprivation and exercise guilt. Ironically, it wasn’t until I started reading blogs like yours that I STOPPED feeling guilty and deprived and started focusing on foods that are good for me (and make me feel good!) and that fuel my body for what it wants to and can do. Your blog has given me countless healthy recipes, ideas, and inspirations, and you have motivated me to just be more active in my every day life. Instead of focusing on the number on the scale or on the tag in my jeans, you have made it easier for me to be proud of my body for what it can do (running its first half marathon in less than two weeks!), to fuel it well, and to keep it happy.
Thank you for all you have done, and for what I know you will continue to do. MC has lost many readers today. May you continue to only gain more. You deserve it far more than they do.
katie says
Reading your response to the article was the first time I’ve visited you’re blog, and you are now on my favourites bar ;p
I actually laughed when I saw your little blurb about what you did.
A dietition. Really. Katie whatever her name must have known or at least asked what you did for a living. Your profession is a dead giveaway that you know the proper way to fuel you’re body properly.
I enjoyed how you included the questions and responses. 🙂
Kathy W. says
Hmmm, it’s funny that those bashing food blogs don’t demand that The Food Network be dropped from the cable line-up, that Cook’s Illustrated magazine immediately cease & desist, and that Epicurious.com remove all those “triggering” recipes and pictures. Marie Claire likes to run articles like this because they are constantly criticized themselves for running photo spreads of the usual painfully thin models, and because of how often their own cover is featured on the Photoshopping disasters blogs. (Real women are a problem to them, which is why their veiny hands or real hips or even a whole finger, in Beyonce’s case, must be edited out.)
And in addition, it gets their latest issue free! publicity! online, as everyone talks about it. Win-win for them.
Just keep on keeping on, Kath!
HKF says
For the record, I do read your blog (originally shown it by an orthorexic gf actually), and I think the concern in the Marie Claire article is not directed at you, but rather many of the people that followed in your footsteps.
While your blog is very balanced, and you seem to live a healthy lifestyle, I think the article has some very valid concerns, especially with a vast majority of these types of blogs. Many blogs were started after yours rose to prominence, and plenty in the blog roll are crude copycat setups that miss the balanced lifestyle, and instead focus solely on the meal cataloging/workout explanation. Yours on the other hand adds entertaining aspects of your life, amateur photography, recipes, healthy living philosophies, along with the standard documentation of each and every meal. With its concise, engaging style, it is light-years more professional than most of your peers’ blogs.
Rationalization is a powerful mechanism everyone has to deal with. But when is total food documentation obsessive? If blogging is so successful that it is a ‘job’, even if only part time in compensation for some per the article, it is very easy to explain not being able to miss a meal’s documentation, to obsess over the presentation and content of every single meal, to have have blogging interfere with social engagements. For some it can be hard to realize when such behavior goes over the line from healthy and engaging to ‘healthy’ and obsessive, especially with constant positive feedback from such loyal readers, in addition to the compensation.
Additionally, that compensation (free samples, free gear, free travel and rooms) can blur the lines to readers, as these popular health blogs are the newest form of relatively cutting edge social marketing. Extremely loyal readers can be introduced to brands over and over with each meal post if a blogger fancy’s the brand, and this subtle advertising is much more palatable than a glossy ad for Kashi in some health magazine for this readership.
I would venture your blog is one of the healthiest showings of this mini-‘movement’. It stays mostly upbeat, is engaging, and has generally positive messages, not to mention your new certified expertise. That being said, most of the other blogs in this vein are trite, amateur, unqualified to extend what can be serious advice, and can easily descend into obsession and unhealthy focus. I wouldn’t take the article personally, but I do encourage you to look a little more closely at other examples from this ‘community’. While you have no control over them (naturally), your prominence and success lumps you with them in a leadership role, as your inclusion in the article suggests.
Kath says
Well said!
Jen says
Kath –
I’m a long time reader but rarely comment. Today I want to say that it’s really unfortunate that MC took this approach – I can sort of – sort of – see how someone could see health blogging in the light it was portrayed, but it’s a stretch. I’m wondering if portraying the summit and the participants in a positive light felt too boring to them, while implications of eating disorders and obsessive exercise were more glamorous and would get readers’ attention.
About a year ago, there were two prominent bloggers who I personally thought a) weren’t eating enough and b) looked extremely unhealthy. I stopped reading both blogs, and I notice both bloggers include decidedly posed pictures of themselves now (I checked today). Neither of these ladies were members of the “big six.” So there is some of what MC is implying out there, but not, from what I’ve seen, among the six women they spoke to.
I read health blogs because I know that I am extremely suggestible – given the opportunity to observe good/better/responsible/healthy behavior, I can make positive changes. I emailed you Kath a few months ago to report how I felt that KERF was instrumental in my losing over 60 pounds. And I’m over 35 by a few years. I’m a much better eater now – people constantly ask me what I did and I send them here.
Again, I’m very sorry that MC reported in such a biased and untruthful way – I’m going to say that there’s rarely such a thing as bad publicity however, and I think the “big six” will bounce, no problem. MC on the other hand was never my source for truth or health or anything else.
Jen
Gina says
So sorry to hear about that article! That just makes me angry! Finding your blog was such a blessing to me! You guys inspire me everyday to live healthy and enjoy life! Keep up the good work Kath! You are changing the world for the better one oatmeal post at a time! 🙂
Elizabeth says
That cheeseburger looks very good!
Dee says
Hi Kath – I wanted to take a moment to say Thank you (to you and the others who were written about) for being so open and sharing of yourselves with your blog readers. 🙂 We really appreciate it. <3
Much respect,
Dee.xoxo
Cara Craves... says
Apparently that writer does not take the time to actually “read” the blogs and skims through to find quotes and such that pertain to her side of the story…stupidity!
Jerilynne says
Hi Kath,
I follow your blog daily and I don’t usually comment much but in light of everything today I just wanted to say THANK YOU for being yourself and putting so much work into this blog. I really look forward to your posts! I get so many great ideas from you (recipes (like those bean burgers!) and otherwise), and I honestly strive to be more like you – not in a creepy way, just in the way that you seem so balanced and positive and happy and I hope I can get to that someday. I think I’m on my way, thanks to bloggers like you =). I find inspiration in your blog every day and I really believe that anyone who reads even just a few posts would feel the same!
xo
Jamie @ Food in Real Life says
I totally agree with you that it is a shame she took the angle that she did. There are so many wonderful things going on in this community and she chose not to acknowledge it. With all of the negative influences out there that tell women they aren’t thin enough, or good enough, THIS IS WHERE THEY WENT WITH THIS???? I mean seriously, turn the page in MC and you’ll see a bunch of unrealistically thin girls that I’m supposed to look to for inspiration. No thanks. I’d rather come here and see beautiful food, a beautiful girl, and a beautiful life. At least that’s what I take from it. That writer must be wearing some crazy goggles to see what she saw. I feel bad for her, honestly.
Nora@LifeLifeEatRight says
WELL SAID KATH!!!! WHOOH! Food blogs are about LIFE! Food is a huge part of life for everyone–yet bloggers have a bit more zest. We love to take time to make a nice breakfast instead of mindlessly eating breakfast on the go. We cook because it brings joy and warmth into our lives and the lives of others. We talk about food because it is our passion. Not everyone will understand but to each their own. I am so proud of you—you inspire me daily!
Kristin says
FIrst of all, that article made me mad. She must be jealous of the audience you all have garnered in the blogging business – all without the support of a big publisher. Kudos to you all. And she obviously has not read you blog very well. i think your food and life is inspiring. The other ironic thing is that the article is followed by a link to ways to detox – with instructions on restrictive juice fasts and other ways to “detox.” Which for many is not healthy.
And as for your Davidson education being used for what you have chosen – I think it is terrific! Sometimes, I wish I had made a different choice with mine. I decided to become a doctor – which I love. But your lives seems much more spontaneous and fun. I think it is a great decision.
Rachel says
Kath, I only started reading your blog recently but it resonated with me and my life immediately. That is, it resonated with the part of my life that started after I reached a healthy point in recovery from an eating disorder. I succumbed to anorexia in college and worked out of it with the help of several excellent nutritionists and therapists. I can confidently say now that I know the difference between healthy eating/exercising and unhealthy eating/exercising.
Everything that I’ve seen on your blog falls into the healthy and balanced category. I love that you incorporate a variety of nutritious foods, plenty of calories, and real life activity.
I recently decided to start a food blog of my own, not so I could obsess about food in a unhealthy way but so I could revel in my enjoyment of good, real food!
The Marie Claire article is garbage. I hate how popular perceptions of eating disorders always find some way to blame them on the media. Models or healthy food bloggers do not cause anorexia. It is a psychological condition caused by all kinds of issues but not magazines or blogs!
Keep up the good work. You’re fighting unhealthy eating not encouraging it!
Wendy says
I THINK this is the same Katie Drummond who wrote a less than complimentary (and not exactly factual) article recently about the use of CrossFit workouts in the military physical training programs.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/crossfit-troops-fight-for-their-right-to-curl-until-they-hurl/
Maybe she has it in for people trying to take care of their bodies through healthy eating and exercise? Keep on keepin’ on, Kath!
Emily @ OneSweetVegan.blogspot.com says
It’s unfortunate that such a horrible article was written. My hope is that the readers will go to your blog, and the other blogs that were mentioned, so they can see for themselves that the accusations aren’t true. Keep doing what you’re doing and hold your head high. You’re a blessing to so many people! 🙂
Kristen says
I don’t often post on the blogs I read, but I wanted to make sure I did say something after reading this post. I look forward to coming home every day and reading a variety of healthy eating blogs. I can’t wait to see what kind of inspiration I can find. It’s hard to find clean, healthy food in this day and age and its remarkable that people like you take the time to share ideas, stories and tips. Shame on mainstream fashion mags for printing negative articles that are designed to sell more copies. I stopped subscribing to those types long ago. Shape, Oxygen, Clean Eating, Health, Vegetarian Times (I’m a meat eater, but they are friendly and encouraging) are actually worth the paper they are printed on. Thanks for taking a stand and taking the time to do this blog every day. I absolutely love it. Keep up the good work for those of us that really enjoy the special zest of life!
kat says
Wow – I guess this is what comes with the territory now, huh?! You know you’re doing something right when you’ve pissed someone off.
I personally love your blog – it has inspired me, and several others it seems. You can’t knock healthy eating…surely?! Best start hitting up the McD’s and posting pictures of the crap you eat from there everyday and see how many articles get written about that!
Chin up – i look forward to your daily recipes/eats, I’d be disappointed if that changed!
xox
Kelly Ann says
Kath….keep up the good work, I started following you after having a chat with Pablo of GHB Warrenton, and I find your blog to be a lifestyle blog, and a well rounded lifestyle includes, riding a bike on a sunny day, having a good glass of wine or homemade beer, fun foods and friends. Your blog rocks and that’s all that counts.
Nancy says
What a misguided article in MC. Not that I’ve ever read or had interest in the article, but I followed the link from KERF to see what it was about. I haven’t read any of the other bloggers besides KERF, and I”m new here (followed a link from somewhere-or-other about a month ago). Frankly, I’m an overweight 42 year old slug, and I don’t kid myself or anyone else that I could ever eat, exercise or look as great as Kath does — but I love reading her posts! I don’t view this site (or any other) as advice or a goal — just entertainment, with bits of knowledge thrown in. As an RD, Kath knows a ton more about nutrition than I ever will. But I don’t read KERF to get nutritional advice – it’s just fun. I won’t bother signing up for an account at MC to leave a comment there, nor will I “like” their FB page to post there. Just wanted to put in my two cents here, and leave a note of support for KERF and other bloggers like her who have the balls to put anything online for others to read. If they make money at it, so much the better for them!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape says
Oooh, those burgers looks amazing!!!! Lots of burger love on the blogs lately, it seems.
christine louise says
Wow. I must disagree with Katie Drummond. She couldn’t be farther from the truth! I think you, Kath, are such a great role model! I am currently finishing up the DPD and am in the process of applying for DI’s! I think you maintain such balance and you are a real woman who loves to eat real food! I admire you, and I have never once thought that you set too-high expectations for yourself or for your readers. Keep it up!
krisitn says
hey kath, i dont often comment anymore but i wanted to tell you that i love your blog and i totally disagree with the angle of the article. i began reading way back when, during the beginning of KERF. i began reading when i had an eating disorder, i found the blog through the self blogger “eat like me”. at the time i was looking for actual “healthy living” inspiration to try to get back in touch with how i should be eating to feed my body in a healthy way. the tone of the article is so far from reality, it actually really upsets me! i’ve recovered with the aid of therapy and supportive people in my life and it really helped seeing strong, healthy, active women living such as yourself sharing your life with little old me. i can can finally say i am happy and healthy! you, tina, cailtin and jenna have all helped me so much! i’ve run a half marathon the past 2 years in celebration of my health and recovery and i plan to continue this tradition as long as i can! thank you for your blog.
stacey-healthylife says
That article is ridiculous and untrue. The blog world is a place to share stories and words of encouragement. It’s a good place that focuses on healthy eating and exercise. It’s about moderation and fun at the same time.
I can see from the editors questions where she was going to go with the article, and she went there.
It’s appalling.
L says
I’m a little late to the commenting game but wanted to throw in my $.02.
First, let me say that I really didn’t like the tone of the article. It was one sided, hypocritical (as several people have said, look at the models in their magazine–or just about any fashion magazine, while we’re at it), and a bit sensationalist. Not surprising given the source.
Having said that, I think I would have been equally skeptical of a purely glowing review of food blogging. The possibility for good and a positive impact brings with it the possibility of having a negative impact–not that this is ever intentional on the part of the blogger, but it’s possible.
The fact of the matter is that the distinction between healthy and disordered eating can be really nuanced. You don’t necessarily wake up one day and decide “today is the day I am going to be anorexic”; from what I have observed and experienced, the transition is more gradual. And, if we’re honest, women can compete with one another to have the “best” body–that’s one of the reasons why eating disorders can spread so quickly on college campuses, a time when women are living together and frequently eating together as well. That’s not to say that these blogs create that kind of community–I don’t think they (or at least KERF–I guess I can’t speak for the others) do. But, is it possible that some people read this blog or others and use it as a source of competition, not inspiration? Certainly.
Perhaps we can all use Katie’s article as an opportunity to do a gut-check about our attitudes toward food and our bodies, as well as our motivations for choosing the foods that we eat. To me, that’s the silver lining for an article like this one. Kath, you seem to take great pleasure–as you should! as I hope we all do!–in fueling your body with good food (and beverages :). I deeply believe that eating should be an enjoyable experience, not a guilt-ridden one. There will be days you indulge and days you do not, but frankly, I don’t think guilt need be a part of the eating equation. I think we all owe it to ourselves to make choices that allow us to feel like the beautiful people that we are. If writing or reading a food blog(s) help you do that, hooray! They’re doing their job.
Pam Lambert says
I don’t think I’ve ever posted on this blog, but Marie Clarie should not slander anyone considering the unhealthy crap they put in their magazine. Was this a joke, perhaps? Yes, I am making a complaint to Marie Clarie. Stupid Magazine!
Katie says
Hi Kathy, I want you to know that I hadn’t come across the article until I saw it referenced here. I read it and could not believe that they were talking about you, carrots n cake and katheats. I’ve been a reader of your three blogs since discovering them this summer. and your blogs are nothing like what the article describes. I wanted to leave a comment at the end of the article but I am not inclined to become a member just to do so, which is what is required.
I suffered with Bulimia through my mid and late twenties and finally, after my fourth lenghty stay in treatment was able to become symptom free. And I’ve been symptom free for over 10 years. I say symptom free because I have to continually check in with myself, reach out for help and surround myself with people and things that quiet the negative backtalk that seems to taunt me. ( I think of it as being similar to a symptom free alcoholic… always aware and vigilant to keep doing what keeps them sober) There are times when I have to excuse myself from conversations that certain people at work have because it is what we called table talk in treatment. Weight, diet food talk that is in one way or another negative or makes me return to that all or nothing negative thinking. Eating disordered thinking. This blog, and the others have in no way ever felt that that to me. They are not judgmental How much I needed that years ago. Never have i felt encourage to be anything other than myself, and semi regular 5K jogger who eats meat and struggles to work raise her boys, be a good wife and feel good about myself. Your blogs are something I use to remind me what intuitive eating is, which is what I continue to strive for. ( after having 2 boys and trying to get back to feeling and eating like myself …without the voice taking over)
ANd don’t even get my started on the influence of magazines on women’s eating habits and body image. WIth all “love your body!” in red and “how to lose 10 lbs for the party this Saturday!” in blue ON THE SAME COVER! (HOW COULD OPERATION BEAUTIFUL BE SO DISMISSED IN HER ARTICLE? Operation Beautiful is the opposite of the way magazines make you feel. Operation beautiful tells you that you don’t need a glossy magazine for the answers. You are enough and you have your own answers)
I would be profoundly hurt by that article, so I understand your reactions, but the article is absolutely without merit and without any of the kindness that I see over and over again on your blogs. Keep your chin high. And, thank you.
P.S. I’m not one to comment. But the absurdity that you all are having to deal with deserved one
Katrina says
I spent 5 minutes looking at her “works” and it took me about 30 seconds to realize she’s full of some bitterness and needs to get off the treadmill and eat some fiber. She bashed a “Shape” magazine for showing skinny models and giving bad fitness advice..kinda like MC. So needless to say, she’s way off in left field. She herself has struggled with ED and is still looking for someone to blame for her ED instead of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for her own thoughts and actions.
Keep up the great work!
Signed,
Katrina, Avid reader for over a year and I haven’t developed an ED yet.
Heather says
don’t worry Kath, I got your back. I blogged about it and then sent the blog link to the editor. So frustrated for yall. I hope this brings more traffic to your blog than ever! many hugs!
citygirl says
boo. marie claire. boo boo boo.
caronae says
Your response was simple, eloquent and on-point. We all know and love you.
chelsey @ clean eating chelsey says
I am so glad you are holding your head high – I kkne wyou would. You are such a graceful and tasteful lady! That lunch looks awesome!
Christina @ Food.Fun.Fabulous says
I’m so glad you (and some of the other girls) posted the real questions and answers so we can see what the article really should have said! Nothing written in the article made sense! You inspire so many and we’re all here to support you 🙂
Lindsay says
Well done on the burger and the response to the article 🙂
I have been reading KERF for about 6 months now…in January, my resolution was to eat less processed foods – not to lose weight, not to exercise more, just to eat less processed foods. I googled “real foods” and found YOU! And you have inspired me to make wiser decisions about the food I eat – where it comes from, how its processed, what is added to it, etc. and I thank you for that. Have a great night Kath!
Chrissy says
Wow. I’m glad for once you defended yourself with some real venom and fire!! It’s good to see you a little fired up. Good for you. I personally am offended that she suggests that your audience is a bunch of self-obsessed morons who have no ability to make decisions for themselves. Most intelligent people can see through the blogs that are harmful and would stop visiting their sites.
Let me just say that I have embraced more healthy foods than I would have ever been willing to try thanks to your own encouragement and creativity. I eat oats regularly, started running (Girls on the Run inspired me), and even incorporated sardine salad and kale chips into my previously routine and boring diet. But I also think, “What would Kath eat?” on a regular basis, reminding myself to incorporate more veggies in my diet. Seriously!!
I really appreciate that you have opened my eyes to so many new ways to be active and eat well. You’ve been such an inspiration and don’t even know how many people you really have touched. Please don’t let one person’s negative view sidetrack your amazing progress.
Missy says
What a shitty article….I just started being a “blog reader”…your blog and Eat, Live, Run has become one of my daily rituals…I started eating oatmeal because of you!!!! Thanks!!! Anyway, I think that both of you have wonderful blogs….this Katie girl that interviewed you really needs to research her stuff…I hope she can sleep at night…I wouldn’t be able to if I were her…
Christa @ O, Cake! says
Kath,
You are inspirational. Thank you for what you do. I know I enjoy it, and obviously countless others do too.
Amy says
I second citygirl. I’ve been a loyal reader of your blog for several years. What makes this blog so special is that every day I can take a peek at something inspiring. Thanks for putting yourself out there and working so hard on the blog. The Marie Claire article is completely off, but I think the response just goes to show how much you are appreciated!
Nicole says
First of all the Marie Claire article is crap. I was shocked last night when Twitter blew up about it. Kath, all I have say is YOU are the reason I am here. You are such a beautiful person inside and out. I’m pretty sure you’ve read my About Me but when I was at my lowest and research healthy living YOU were the first blog I came across and why I am here. Once I get a letter together it’s going to the editor……. but I thank you and all you other bloggers who are just as amazing!
Now to that burger! Yummmmmmmmmmmm I think that is going to be on the menu this week!
Maggie @ Say Yes to Salad says
I blogged about it too for y’all – you guys have always inspired me to be the best person I can be and I LOVE this community. Keep rocking. <3
Larbs says
Well said sistah
Kath says
🙂
M says
Hi Kath,
I’ve read your blog for over a year now and LOVE it. That article is very shameful and shows a complete lack of integrity on her part. I have never read a Marie Claire and definitely will continue my trend.
Your blog and lifestyle have positively influenced my eating and exercise immensely. I have experienced so many new foods because of you. Thank you, thank you for being such an incredible example of balance and healthy living!!
Ashley says
LOVE YOU dear!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3
jessica says
Your blog has help me to OVERCOME disordered eating, take that Marie Clare!!
steph @ goeatapeach says
I remember you talking about this at Sweet Frog in August- I’m sorry to see your fears were valid. I’m glad to see so many readers have offered their support but I’ll throw in my .02. As someone who recovered from an eating disorder with the help of healthy living, I found the article incredibly offensive. Blogs like yours were the only place that taught me about what 99% of magazine “diet” articles never mention: real food! I finally got the message and started feeding my body the nutrition it needed to recover. I’m extremely disappointed in Marie Claire’s lack of professionalism and journalistic integrity in this matter.
Heidi - apples under my bed says
I love your blog Kath. As a fellow dietitian I can fully support you. The article was ridiculous and one sided, and honestly you girls cannot be blamed for individuals who have eating disorders taking the wrong message. It is as simple as that. If they call you girls emaciated and eating too little, then they are just insane. You eat well, and are healthy and happy. Keep rocking on 🙂
Heidi xo
tieghan says
Kath,
I can not believe that article! I have been reading your blog and many others now (yours being the first I discovered) for close to two years now. I just have to say that your blog has influenced my life in so many AMAZING ways! When I started reading I had for the most part just recovered from my own battle with anorexia and though my health was stable I was still hung up in the whole eating disorder mind set. Low calorie this, fat free that and just no eating REAL food! My world change for the better when I began reading your blog. I learned so much and realized food is fuel and you need to fuel your body with the proper nutrients, In their purest and most simple form! LIttle by little I started eating peanut butter, nuts, cheese, bread, pasta and so much more! These foods used to be extremely scary to me, but you help me realize no food is off limits! For this I am so grateful, your blog and the blog community really help SAVE my life!! I am now happy an in great health! I was inspired so much that I have found a love in nutrition and am majoring in food science and nutrition to become on Registered Dietician! In four years I hope to have and R.D behind my name! so no matter what the article says it is so wrong!! Thank you so much for your help and KEEP ON BLOGGING!!
Tieghan!
misty says
bitter much, colleen? perhaps you should spend that energy somewhere else – like the personality department. it seems you are in desperate need of a new one…
misty says
sorry, it looks like the comment i was replying to is gone. good!
Kath says
🙂 Bitchiness is not tolerated here.
Sarah says
Kath…Have been reading your blog for quite awhile but in silence (w/out posting comments, etc) Recently started a little blog after being inspired by you and some of your colleagues. Just something for fun. After all of the Marie Claire business, had to shout a few of you out, thanks for the ongoing inspiration & here’s hopin’ your readership only increases! Best to you!
Julie says
After reading the article, I could see immediately how one-sided it was. I appreciated Heather’s comments that it failed to look at the ways in which the media–including women’s magazines like “Marie Claire” are guilty in propagating an obsession with being skinny and “pretty” (whatever the hell that means).
Kath, in so many ways your blog reinforces that people should follow their heart and live everyday to the fullest. As a young woman, that is the main message I have taken away from your blog and continue feel each day.
You keep doin’ you, lady! Don’t let that dumb, unprofessional article get you down!
Nikka B says
It was my pleasure/duty/right as a member of the healthy living community and one of your readers to contact Marie Claire. The article was lame. The way this community rallied was awesome.
I will be making that burger in the very near future, thank you for the inspiration…yum yum yum!
anon says
Just wondering — why wasn’t Jenna at the HLS this year?
s says
classy response to the craptastic marie claire article!! as someone who is maintaining weight loss i enjoy reading your blog and find it inspiring.
notyet100 says
keep blogging and inspiring,..:-)
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef says
oh goodness. that article was ridiculous. thanks for sharing your thoughts on this… MC has no idea what they’re talking about.
WestCoaster42 says
I just wanted to let you know that I think that Marie Claire article is so bogus. While I don’t doubt there’s orthorexic blogs out there, YOUR BLOG IS NOT ONE OF THEM! You’re inspiring and a great food/exercise/balanced living role model. As a dietetic intern, you honestly inspire me to be a better nutritionist. You have shown us how to balance so many different demands- school, work, AND a happy marriage- all while keeping up a healthy lifestyle in the meantime. You should be incredibly proud of your achievements.
Maybe a little criticism is the best type of flattery- you’ve succeeded on a national level! It’s disheartening that a journalist would want to criticism women that inspire women to be healthier.
Jennifer says
Kath – I have been reading your blog for going on two years now. You are inspiring in so many ways. I’m not a journalist or a blogger, I don’t understand the rules of the game, but I do know that the article that was published was cruel. Honestly, I don’t care if you make money off of your blog – kudos to you, your ingenuity and your dedication to leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle (and sharing it with us). I will certainly continue to read your blog and expect that you will continue to write and post all about your good times and balanced lifestyle! (I have to admit, had I not read your blog, I would never had tried kale chips – they are AWESOME!!, my next adventure, okra)
WestCoaster42 says
PS It makes me so happy to read these comments and see so many future dietitians that “get it!” YAY REAL FOOD!
Laura says
I hope something good comes from this…..like more readers finding your blog and seeing for themselves how healthy and positive and helpful you truly are!
Katie says
The Marie Claire article made me cry today, I think I am just overly emotional but yeah…I am so proud of how the community has stood up for you and the other bloggers and against Marie Claire (who is totally hypocritical to even put this out there since they airbrush everything which I think is the worst thing that can be done for women’s body image).
BECAUSE of learning that every person eats differently and has a right to do so for what is right for their bodies, I have learned to do that for myself. THAT is what I have learned from this community and what has helped me on the road to recovery from so many things. T
We are all hear for you! I personally wrote a letter to the editor today, I hope they are inundated with emails and print a retraction!
Marcy says
Kath, you played right into the magazine’s hand by encouraging your readers to view the article. The point of the author’s story was to incite comment and questions and by your response, you helped sell more ads, more magazines and create more viewership for Marie Claire.
Turn the other cheek and just let the story drop. There is no need to give any more time or energy to the event.
Tiffany (Stuffed With Fluff) says
I couldn’t believe the Marie Claire article when I read it last night. It’s horrible b/c I don’t view your blog in a negative way at all. I’ve searched your blog so many times for delicious and incorporate REAL ingredients. Keep your head up, and know that your loyal readers know the truth =)
Leslie says
Ha! Kath, you are the LEAST “disordered” eater I can think of! If the MC article wasn’t so hurtful, it would make me laugh hysterically. Ree-diculous! Thanks for making me feel that healthy eating does NOT have to be punishing. I hope the silly article gets you even more readers.
I think the most truthful thing in that article is that you are, in fact, super photogenic! I just looked at your “after” photos today for the first time– you look fantastic and HEALTHY!
That bean burger is going on my list of recipes to try…Mmm…beans and bacon grease…!
Jen says
There’s nothing in my mind that hasn’t already been said here. However, I can tell you that the support of family and friends is the most important thing, and it’s clear that you have that. Be strong. Karma works in mysterious ways.
Hannah says
I’m sorry that you all got a bit “taken for a ride” by this journalist. I personally think that there can be dangers for people with eating disorders in terms of *reading* food blogs, but no one could accuse bloggers like you of putting forward an unhealthy approach to life.
🙁
But keep doing what you know you’re doing well and healthfully – remember, in the end we blog for ourselves, not for media coverage!
Stephanie @ Laugh and Cook says
Kath, keep on blogging! Your blog is absolutely different than others because everything that you post is real, beautiful and with honesty. I’ve never felt brainwashed from this blog or led to being forced to eat or work out in a certain way. Your blog is truly motivational and inspirational. 😀 I always look forward to your posts everyday!
Marie Clair magazine staff, get a better job.
Kaleigh says
I really am disappointed. This makes me really doubt any published written word. It also makes me disappointed because the article in itself provides negative connotations about the “correct” way to eat or work out. I have a degree in nutrition myself and have counseled patients on how to eat, and guess what, I ate Oreo’s today! I am educated but I am not going to avoid eating cookies and having a beer. I do not read each one of the blogs, but I do read yours and Caitlin’s and like many readers have said so far, I absolutely can not see where this commentary is coming from. Your blogs are about living life and who wants to avoid things that make them confident and happy and HEALTHY?
Tracy says
Hi Kath! I just wanted to be one of the many today who said you are such a wonderful blogger, and keep on bloggin’ the way you do! I think that the “big 6” are examples of where the blog world has gone right! I have read too many blogs where there is an unhealthy approach to food, and you and Tina’s are decidedly not among them! (I have to admit, your blog and hers are the only one I read of the 6, but what I have read of the others has been totally balanced as well). I can say that personally, this blog has made MY days healthier, by reminding me of my love of yoga, totally revolutionizing my world on the oats front, and introducing me to chia seeds and Kodiak Cakes! When I read your blog, it reminds me to get in my fruits and veggies and that exercise is fun and good for you! I hate that they made it seem like my favorite bloggers who know the true meaning of “Everything in moderation” have disordered eating and workout too much, because it is magazines like MC that have detoxes and overly thin models that are causing the real problems. So thank you for being a voice of reason, and for sharing the other side of this story that none of us can see. It was so insightful to read your correspondence and see that not only did they write this hurtful article, but that they lied to you about the intentions for it! MC is looking about as credible as the trashiest of gossip magazines right now, and your readers know this. So, in conclusion, yay for KERF!
Leah says
I read your blog regularly and love it! I sent them an e-mail tonight which I never do but really they are being so mean. They are full of BS in my humble opinion. Your blog is wonderful, inspiring, creative and a pleasure to read. Keep it up!
Julia says
Hey Kath – just wanted to let you know that I wrote the editor of MC a ridiculously long email. I’m kinda surprised how mad I am about this whole thing. You, along with other HLBs, have really helped me through a tough year in my life. I’m finally finding my happy medium.. learning to balance food and fitness, along with the other things in my life. Anyways, YOU ARE WONDERFUL. Keep at it 🙂
Shannon says
Hi Kath,
I’m also another lurker that reads every day (x3!) but never comments. I just wanted to echo the majority of your other commenters by saying that you have been nothing else but an inspiration to me for healthy eating. I have used a lot of your recipes and have even started a blog with (VERY ameteur) postings of recipes focusing on real food!
Thanks again and keep up the great work 🙂
Amber K says
There are blogs I lurk on, blogs I respond to occassionally, and blogs I comment on regularly. But the ones that have truly hit a chord with me are the ones who show such a healthy outlook on life.
None of the bloggers I have ever read have claimed to be perfect. I am really impressed not only with your responses to her questions, but also to your response to her article. It was very thoughtful, mature, and raised many good points. Thank you so much for sharing your stories and, if anything, inspiring others to be healthy and live their lives to the fullest as well.
jae says
Kath, I read the article and it sounds like someone has a big fat case of the green eye’d monsters. She sounds like a spoiled brat that wants to point out what people are doing and give it a bad spin because she can’t join in.
I love your blog, it shows you can be healthy and active and have fun. Keep up the good work!!
Elle says
Hi Kath
I dont’ know if you’ll see this because i’m sure this post is going to have LOTS of comments, but I have suffered from anorexia and this blog is actually helping me a lot because I realized that I can be healthy and enjoy food and LOVE food and thank you for all your awesome oatmeal ideas 🙂 so keep it up your blog is so awesome!
Natalie says
You are amazing. Don’t let this get you down and just keep doing what you’re doing! Read every day, thanks for blogging : )
eliza says
i read all of your blogs nearly every day and that article is a bunch of bull! just wrote an email. i can’t even imagine what you all feel like; I’m furious for you! keep your head up!
Kathi says
1. Who reads Marie Claire anyway?
2. I do believe my pantry is stocked with the ingredients for that delicious bean burger and that is exciting because that salad looked amazing!
3. Maybe if the group was instead called the *Big 26*, you would be proud to a member!
Chelsea says
Hugs and I can’t wait to give you a real one tomorrow!!!!
Kate @This American Wife says
I’m an everyday reader and somewhat infrequent commenter, but that article is so silly I HAD to comment. I initially found your blog almost two years ago when I was trying to eat a little healthier, and honestly, I don’t eat a whole lot like you, Kath! I am a baker, so I’m more in line with Bakerella than you, and I’m not a big Kale-lover, but I LOVE onions! While I have discovered a few products and recipes that I love from you (Barney Butter and Garlic Gold to name two!), what I really love about your blog, and why I come back everyday, is the daily life stuff in between the food. So the fact that the article says that it’s all about obsessive food eaters and the people that thrive off of watching that behavior, is a hunk of poo. Love you Kath!
Debbie says
I LOVE your blog. I have never written to you before but I have to now 🙂
I’m a 49 year old female in MO. Three kids ages 26, 11 and 9. I USED to have a couple of eating disorders before I had my last 2 kids. No more! I love reading your blog because I believe it shows a healthy attitude towards food, exersize, lifestyle, marriage. I love that you aren’t afraid to use real ingredients and healthy fats. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about a magazine that promotes the paper girl cut out image and a new diet every week. You must be on the right track if they feel the need to diss you 🙂
Lorin says
Wow I just read it and they were so harsh! First of all, there is no way that you guys eat only 1100 calories like she said. She was definitely attacking you guys and it really bothers me. I’m sorry you had to have that written about you. I have been following you for a year or so and I don’t feel like you guys are obsessive at all. Sure I feel like running 3 miles is nothing compared to the 20 miles you guys run, but I am a different person and I know a lot of people understand that too!!
Stephanie C says
I don’t necessarily want to comment on the article, apart from saying that I think it’s interesting (to say the least) that this magazine chose to chastise a group of healthy living women, instead of encourage the message that I see you guys portraying so often (moderation, for the most part whole foods, and healthy self-esteem).
Mostly I just wanted to come and say I especially love reading your blog everyday. I like that you don’t blatantly do advertisements, like another poster said. I come here because, like others, I enjoy reading about your life.. the beer, the food ideas, the travel/food adventures, etc. I can’t comment on the triggers they speak of, but I know that no one should be idolizing you guys.. but you guys are great inspiration. Caitlin and you have inspired me to exercise more, and I used coconut butter to make a magic shell a couple weeks ago.. I also only recently started eating kale, chard and oktoberfest & pumpkin beer (which I thought I hated) because of you. I love coming here because you introduce me to so many new things, and not necessarily sponsored ones.
Anyways, all that to say that.. I appreciate all your work here.. your photos, food, recipes and (ESPECIALLY!) the beer.. keep up the good work!
P.S. I am dying to find the Pumking Beer.. but there are no distributors on the West Coast (boooo). However, I went to my local boutique wine/beer store and they said they would try their damndest!
Janelle says
Any suggestions on a replacement for Worcestershire sauce? I’m allergic to anchovies which are one of the key ingredients. Your burgers look amazing!
As for the Marie Claire article, it’s quite disappointing to see an establishment like that publish such…well, for lack of a better word, crap. I love reading your blog because it’s not just about food or health or anything. It’s about your life which has a lot more going on then just an “obsession with food, exercise, and weight” as Drummond put it. I’m glad to see y’all posted responses to it. I just hope Marie Claire has the decency respond.
Vicky @ eat live spin says
I just read the Marie Claire article! I don’t know what that reporter was thinking, she must be unhappy with herself to write such a nasty article.
Kim says
I support you the whole way Kath!
The inspiration you give me to live my own life to the fullest, healthiest and happiest says so much more than anything that woman has to say!
We know the real truth, and that is whats most important!
GO KATH! We love you!!!
Ned says
Hey,
I have never commented, but love reading the blog. I can’t really judge all the other blogs out there, but I see KERF as a celebration of life. Funnily enough, food is way many people celebrate, enjoy and find beauty in everyday life. Keep celebrating food and life the way you do, it’s one of the things that encourages me to!
Wendy Heath says
I’ll just cut and paste what I just put on the Marie Claire FB page.
*snip*
Pisses me off that I have to “like” your magazine here before I can comment. Have you actually read the healthy living blogs instead of just searching for the key phrases you decided to highlight in your biased article? As someone who has worked with those with eating disorders and who recognizes disordered behavior wh…en I see it, the healthy living blogs are the furthest thing from “pro eating disorder” that I have truthfully EVER SEEN from female bloggers. Notice how many of them encourage listening to your body, eating lots of healthy fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and good quality protein sources? I’m with the other ladies out there- I refuse to touch a Marie Claire again until you issue a formal apology for the article. It was grossly inaccurate, and much more poorly written than the blogs it chose to lambast.
*snip*
Hope you liked it…
Lynn says
Kath –
Love your blog. I agree the article was very one-sided and truly, has she read your blog or Hangrys? I refuse to create an account at MC so I can comment – no sense giving them my email address…
I read your site to entertain and inform…love your product reviews, they save me time shopping…
Rock on
Lynn
kathy says
Your blog is great! The article doesn’t represent your blog at all. You do a great job showing how healthy eating, exercise, and appreciating the world around you can add to the quality of one’s life. With that said, some of the “healthy” blogs are pretty extreme and I could easily see how young girls could try to imitate a life of someone they admire. The healthy eating imitation is great as long as the calorie intake is appropriate. The extreme exercise is probably where some take it too far.
I wish the author would have focused on your blog and those that are balanced. Her article is a necessary one but using the Healthy Summit as a podium was not the right venue. Keep up the blogging!
Lee says
Sorry that that happened to you guys! I’m sure you know that sooooo many people support you and hopefully the magazine will at least issue an apology.
Mandy says
I was just SICK when I read that article – the woman obviously has no clue what your blog (and the others listed) is all about! If she even read it she would know that what she said was untrue!!! Your blog and the others listed have inspired me to leave all the fat free crap behind and eat HEALTHIER! I’ve been reading your blog for years now and am horrified at the article – it’s so ridiculous.
You are an inspiration and I look forward to every blog post… every single day. 🙂
Rock on, Kath.
Canadian says
Sorry this has you feeling bad. I noticed that if you look closely at the article you will see that KERF is not actually criticized for anything in particular — because those criticisms do not apply to you. I do not read the other 5 blogs so I don’t know whether or not the criticisms apply to them, but I do know that they don’t apply to you. I think you promote healthy living and a balanced lifestyle. I have come across so-called healthy living blogs that sometimes lean toward the obsessive/disordered side of things, but yours is certainly not among them. I love that although you are focused on health and nutrition you eat cookies and use real butter and drink beer and wine from time to time. You get out and have fun, you are not only thinking of food and exercise and keeping slim. You don’t even weight yourself — awesome! I think you are a good example of moderation. I also find you more trustworthy than some other blogs (again, no comment on the others mentioned in the article, which I’m not very familiar with) because you were a nutrition student and now an actual R.D. — it means you know what you’re talking about, you ARE an expert. (Though obviously experts are not always able to live perfectly either — no one is. So I wouldn’t blindly trust any blog, any expert.) And your blog is one of the best of the genre, the only one I read every day. Your photography is excellent!
Just ignore this article and don’t let it get to you. When you are in the “public eye” you have to develop a thick skin in order to survive. And remember, if anyone checks out your blog based on this article they will see right away that the criticisms are totally off base. So maybe you will even increase your readership because of this.
Canadian says
I meant “weigh yourself”, not “weight yourself”. (sigh.)
Dana says
I do think the article had a valid point but was a bit on the extreme side.
Marcia B Compton says
Katherine, know that those of us who read you on a daily basic love what you say, know that somethings will not work for everyone and somethings will. I love the recipes and just keeping up with you. Your comments about daily life are great, your adventures are fun. But most of all I love the recipes. Because of this blog I have tried many new things I would have never tried. I love oatmeal, never ever would I have thought pb in it. But do not let a few silly words get you down.Keep blogging for us the ones who love reading it everyday, sometime two and three times over.
melissa @ the delicate place says
you’re the only blog out of the ‘big 6’ lol (who came up with that?) that i read. i never ever have thought your blog was disordered in any way. seriously, girl had an agenda. did you know that she was anorexic and broke her pelvis 2x from bone loss? yeah. she’s obviously not over it to try to cue up these kind of statements. hang in there KERF! we <3 ya
Lindsey says
You know I think you’re awesome and have my support! Now about that burger…YUMMM. I have pinto beans in the pantry and bacon in the fridge. Can’t wait to give this a try although my food never turns out as pretty as yours:) Glad you liked the movie — I saw it for the first time when I was a kid and couldn’t shower without constantly peeking around the curtain for months!
Erica says
Wow! What an intense and nonsense article. I just read your blog for the first time and took none of those thoughts that were discussed in the article with me after reading a few of your post. I think your blog has wonderful content and hope that this will past. It was definitely a one sided story.
Richard says
Kath: I’m really proud of you for the “dignity” with which you’re handling the article. I’ve been reading your blog, and occasionally those of some of the other food bloggers, for a couple years, and I’ve seen nothing but the positive aspects of your bloggings. I’ve also read the Marie Claire article, and see (1) a magazine which seems to have changed to “the sensational” over the last few years, (2) an article which is trying to be confrontational in order to work up the readership into controversy. Marie Claire seems to want to jump onto the food blogging phenomenon, and unfortunately they’ve selected a very negative way to do this. Actually, they’re trying to make money (readership!) off of your blogging efforts, in the most negative way possible. Your best approach is to ignore these people, don’t get involved with answering tit-for-tat silly arguments, and just keep acting dignified. Oh, and keep doing what you’re doing, exactly how you’re doing it. 🙂
Tehsina says
Kath, you’ve truly made a huge, positive impact on the blogging world. Your upbeat personality and love for life has truly inspired many followers and bloggers, including myself.
Keep doing what you’re doing girl!
xoxo
Danielle says
You are absolutely right in that Katie blanketed the entire blog community! Though she brings up a good point, it’s an awfully shallow article. I don’t read the other blogs as religiously as yours, but can tell you that I have no intention or desire to lose weight and KERF has completely changed the way I think about food- in a good way! Before discovering your blog, I had never thought to try kale, or use fresh figs, or make homemade sweet potato gnocchi. And probably most importantly, I made oats with just water and sugar… in the microwave! Now I could never imagine eating oatmeal without at least a banana, cool nut butter, and granola. Anyway… my inspiration from your blog has been to become a more creative and adventurous eater, not a food obsessed herculean exerciser, and I doubt I’m the only one! Thank you for having the most amazing and inspiring blog ever and changing people’s lives in a positive way. 🙂
Jen says
I just wanted to tell you that your blog is delightful. I stumbled upon it yesterday (in all that mess), and I find it upbeat, inspiring, and refreshing. I’m 3 lbs away from my goal weight and training for my first half-marathon. It really is wonderful to find other strong ladies out there trying to be healthy and still living life!! 🙂
sonya says
Yummy burger! Must try this. It’s on a very, very rare occasion that I buy or read Marie Claire. I read the article you mentioned and what a shame! Don’t you feel like you got stabbed in the back? I’m not a blogger who chronicles healthy living and I feel like I got stabbed and betrayed. Some of the comments under that article remind me of the old cliché ‘people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’. Based on that, I don’t think you bloggers should worry too much. It seems the article was written through unfiltered lenses and a biased agenda. Keep on blogging!
MaryB says
What a horrible article. Shame on her. I can only wonder what her real agenda was? I love Kerf and rest of the ‘Big Six” and I’m pretty sure the only eating disorder you have pushed on me is eating peanut butter in my oatmeal!
Cess says
Kath I have ghost read your blog for about a year now and I love it. here is what I posted on Marie Claires facebook page
Katie Drummond wrote an article that was untrue and did NOT uphold good, ethical journalistic standards. As of today I am cancelling my Marie Claire subscription. I bought the subscription because I like that fact that the magazine balanced (past tense) fashion with good, real life stories about women around the world and today that proved to be UNTRUE. I read most of the blogs that were used in the article and those women have done more to help women lead balanced lives in terms of food and excercize than MC will ever do. SHAME!
Veronica says
I’ll be honest — I started reading your blog when I was at the lowest point of my eating disorder and was obsessed with food blogs — I wasn’t eating, so I was obsessed with at least looking at food! Now that I’m in recovery, I still read your blog because it’s about your life and a healthy lifestyle, and not about tips and tricks. I appreciate that you rarely, if ever, talk calories, and you EAT! and DRINK!
know that the ED blogging community also thinks the MC article was lame.
Leslie H says
Kath, your blog is a lovely display of a healthy lifestyle! I’m a 44 year old SAHM of three boys. My life couldn’t be more different than yours, but I love looking at your blog for healthy eating inspiration…and maybe to live vicariously through you for a bit LOL! Keep up the wonderful blogging…you are an inspiration!
Debbie says
Kath — so sorry to hear about this article. Thanks for posting your answers to her questions — great job with those!
The Healthy Apple says
xoxo; you are fabulous, Kath and you are a fabulous, beautiful, healthy blogger! Keep up the great work…I love ya, girl! xo
Aims
Rebecca says
I agree with the article. I have read and followed all of the blogs she mentions (for at least a year) and I think it’s obsessive; all of her claims about bloggers are true.
Jennifer says
I hate to say it, but I think this article is spot on about this blog and others. I’ve long thought that you exercise in order to eat, which I don’t think is healthy. And your workouts are a little much. I get that you make money from this, but you should be aware that your site is a homing beacon for those with eating disorders, and at the very least, promotes the message that food and exercise and body are the very most important things in life and should be the MAIN thing we think about all the time. (By the way, not a troll, have been following you for years.)
Kath says
You’re entitled to your opinion, but I think you’re in the minority.
Jess says
Yours is the only food blog I read that posts pictures of everything you eat. I read it because you are creative with food and obviously enjoy it in a balanced and healthy way. IYou’re right that the article would have been funny if it hadn’t been so mean–the irony of a magazine that features diet articles and ads with overly thin models accusing you of encouraging disordered eating is absurd.
Keep up the good work. You’re famous enough for Marie Claire to write an unflattering article about you! 😉
Alison (Ali on the Run) says
I love your response here (mostly the part about the cheeseburger—um, yum!). You ladies have all handled this “situation” with so much class and dignity, and it’s admirable. Keep up the great work on your blog. I love reading it!
Hannah says
Kath-
I’d just like to say that article was extremely offensive, and one sided. I am a 16 year old girl, who, thanks goodness, is RECOVERED from anorexia. I have spent five years of my adolensece in eating disordered habits, and actually looked to blogs like yours and Caitlin’s when I wanted to recover. In a large part, thanks to healthy living bloggers, I am now LIVING my life. You did that for me. That writer can’t say that much about herself. Because I have been on both sides of the spectrum, I can usually tell what is disordered, and of all the blogs, yours is probably the least. You drink beer, you eat cookies, you’re active. I look to you as inspiration for how I want to live my life as I get older.
I know you got a lot of responses, but I just wanted to give one from the under-18 age group!
-Hannah
Karen says
The irony is that I had never read your blog before the MC article; now that I have discovered your blog, I will be following you regularly.
Carolyn says
Hi Kath,
I also found this site through the MC article– and have already bookmarked it! The article was definitely unfair to your site, which looks awesome. Eating disorders/disordered eating is a serious problem, but it does not make sense to suggest that your site has anything to do with that issue. Can’t wait to try out your recipes!
Katy says
I think, perhaps, your blog (and the those of the other “Big Six”) is the platform for “fair and balanced” coverage regarding this topic. And because most of the big bloggers have huge audiences (who, I’d argue, make up a large portion of the people actually reading this MC article in the first place) you can respond right here, on your website, with your retort–you’ve got the eyes and proverbial ears of millions of people across all of your blogs.
You write every day, and you show people that you’re living a healthy life. Does an article in Marie Claire change that? No. And it doesn’t fool your readers, either, we know wassup. But like anything good (adoration, notoriety, and paid sponsorships), so comes criticism, undue though it might be.
Brittanie says
I really have no idea why you would link the article on your site. That is exactly what they wanted you to do. That being said, I love your blog and I couldn’t disagree more with the article. I think you do nothing but promote healthy lifestyles. I know since I have started reading this blog, I am incorporating more fresh foods in my diet and more healthy recipes. Keep up the good work.
Kristi says
Kath, I have been reading your blog for about two months now. Yes, I got on the wagon a bit late, but I will admit I have read every post from the past two years (still working on the rest! Work was starting to pile up so I had to cut down my 4-6 hour days on Katheats! You think Im kidding?!?!?!). Anyways, the article that Marie Claire published is very disheartening to me! I did enjoy their magazine and purchased it on a few work trips (after I had already read my subscriptions of Self, Women’s Health, Cosmo and US weekly) and was usually pretty satisfied. I did, in fact, stumble across your blog when googling healthy lifestyles but in all reality it was your humor, you and Matt’s admiration of each other and your love of beer/wine that had me sold…not the food/exercise that you blog about. It is definitely a plus, and I have tried some of your oatmeal creations (I am so having OIAJ tomorrow for the first time EVER and I cannot WAIT!!!) and took some of your staple salad items and added it to mine. Anyways, girl, with all of that being said I just want to let you know that you pretty much rock, continue doing what your doing.
Go on with your bad self!
KA
Colleen says
I have been reading all six of the aforementioned blogs for well over a year and a half and I’ve never commented. I’m doing so now because I want to show my support to you guys – I thought the article was one-sided and the magazine definitely missed an opportunity to have a great discussion about bloggers and healthy living. Carry on, be strong, and keep up the good work! 🙂
Julie says
Kath,
I think you have one of the healthiest views on life and living I have ever seen. Everything in moderation and striving daily to eat wholesome healthy foods and get plenty of exercise. You are a great example to many women who love to read your blog and Marie Claire really dropped the ball on this article. Keep on doin’ what you are doin’! So many love your blog and look forward to it daily.
Julie
Patricia says
I have been a somewhat regular reader for a few months now – an east coast transplant now in Tx and LOVE the beautiful pictures of the landscape, the delicious food, and overall what I perceive to be balance. Kath, you ENJOY food, you eat healthfully and for nutrition 90% of the time (while still enjoying it all) and have fun with food, too. The beer and wine tastings, delicious nights dining out, etc. I am sorry the author was so negative, part of me feel that she has a personal vendetta for some reason and took that an ran with it. Shame. on. her. I recognize that her points may be an issue, but not on the blogs I read.
Keep it up, we enjoy the nutrition and fitness inspiration!!!
terese says
That article is aweful. I can’t beleive someone would trash something that has had such a positive effect on so many. I truely enjoy your positive outlook to the world and that you share it with others.
Heather says
Hi there! I’ve never left a comment before, but I’ve been following your blog for a couple of weeks now. I happened to stumble upon that MC article and I have to say that it definitely caused my blood pressure to go up! Like you said, the article is so one sided and it’s cruel and poorly written. I wish I could un-read it! I just started following some healthy living blogs a little over a month ago when I was at a total lack of motivation to eat right and treat my body with respect. It was through these blogs that I was able to pull myself out of that downward spiral and start holding my chin up and loving my body. I find such inspiration from you and the other girls and it saddens me to think that someone would attack you in this way. I do believe in karma though…and while publicity is publicity-whether it’s positive or negative-what goes around, comes around!
Cosmos says
I’ve read your blog for a few years and I’ve NEVER thought of your blog at all like the article implies! I’m a middle age overweight woman who eats very similar to how you eat, and I exercise a lot — that doesn’t make me dangerous!
Don’t let the jackals (Jesse Ventura’s term for the media) get you down.
Amanda says
I actually just found your blog over the weekend (the tribute to oatmeal, which, by the way, made me want to go make myself a bowl. And I usually LOATHE oatmeal. But not the two batches I’ve made myself since that post…), but that Marie Claire article did nothing but annoy me. Especially on second and third readings. And, not being a regular reader of any of the blogs before reading the MC article, it annoyed me more for the logical leaps (off a cliff) regarding healthy eating and exercising than anything else!
Erin says
Hi Kath. Craziness aside, I love your blog and I love cooking with bacon and bacon drippings too! Yay for tasty and nutritious food!
alice says
i just discovered your blog last week and i truly love it. i really can appreciate your enthusiasm for life. i did read the mc article and agree that it is definitely one sided. i am being honest when i say your blog is one of the best because you share so many aspects of life whereas there are definitely other blogs out there that only focus on food and exercise, whereas you don’t limit yourself while still keeping a healthy outlook. thanks!
Annika says
Kath, my roomate suggested your blog 3 days ago and I love it! On Monday I made yummy spagetti sqaush with marinara and ground turkey and mushrooms and it was a hit with the roomies and my neighbor. Last night I made the cheese burger salad and it was delicious!! I look forward to more recipes and ideas!!! You are great!
Annie
ElizabethMDS says
I apologize for coming in late here, but I just wanted to extend additional support and applause for your wonderful blog, and the healthy lifestyle you share with us. I’ve yet to see ANYTHING that is excessive or “too focused”… Again, I appreciate your sharing so much GOOD with all of us!
Laura says
Your name says it all and it is all about you and food or you and exercise BUT there is nothing wrong with that. The rest of your life is thrown in as it evolves around food/exercise but again that is okay. Good luck
Ally says
I think the article was definitely slanted and necessarily mean. But, as someone with an eating disorder, I can honestly say that reading many of the blogs does make me more obsessed with food. I don’t think I would ever have started reading the blog if I wasn’t eating disordered to begin with and when I am doing “better” I find myself going to read the food blogs less and less. I do think your blog and others could help a lot of people that are trying to be healthier and don’t have disorders but for people with my mentality I think its best not to focus on food this much at all. Eat to live, not live to eat. After all, the blog is still primarily focused on FOOD and called Kath EATS. So, I can see it making people prone to eating disorders more obsessed with food and make them/us feel worse when we slip up and eat something unhealthy or more than we planned. I know you do that too on your blog sometimes but your version of overeating is nothing like my version of overeating! I’ve really never seen you slip up and pig out or ever eat “junk” food. I feel so awful going to buy a full bag of M&Ms from the vending machine or eating 8 pieces of halloween candy when you consider one fun size bar a splurge. I know its not healthy to eat 8 pieces of candy in a sitting but its not going to kill me to do it a few times a year either, whereas having an eating disorder because I feel like I have to “get rid” of the calories from it is way worse for me.
Again, overall I like to read your blog and do think its about more than food but I generally do worse as far as recovery goes when I read it regularly.
Okay, just felt the need to state my thoughts, the blog obviously works great for you and has totally given you a great opportunity in life so I think you should just not worry about the article and enjoy all the free publicity!! I predict you get more hits than ever!
P.S. Hope this didn’t come across as “b**chy”, like I said I do enjoy reading – just have to do it in moderation, and wish you all the best.
Ally says
* I meant I thought it was unnecessarily mean.
Katie says
I appreciate what you do….that being said. I understand that you write for a certain community, but please explain this – you have a substantial disposable income that others don’t have. Do you see where ‘inspiring’ others to live this way might be driving certain disorders? You don’t make choices for them, but you make it seem as though this is the ideal. I don’t mean to assign blame, only remind you of your privilege.
Kath says
You know nothing about my personal finances Katie.
Julia says
Absurd that a women’s magazine that photoshops ultra-thin models and celebrities to be “perfect” and constantly has “diet” tips and “makeover” tips and “how to land a boyfriend” tips (all of which fuel female insecurities) has the nerve to present itself as a protector of young women’s body images…from healthy living blogs?! Really?? Well done MC, you’ve just protected thousands of young girls from reading posts about making a good bowl of oatmeal for a nutritious breakfast or from seeing pictures of strong women running races. Phew! Lord knows we don’t want more young women eating oats or running!! But reading “New Diet Rules: 6 Ways to Lose Weight” (a current MC gem)…well, now that’s what I call promoting a healthy lifestyle. Yeesh indeed 😉
Jess - The Domestic Vegan says
Amen!!! My thoughts exactly. I meant to add this sentiment to my comment, too.
Jess - The Domestic Vegan says
I just read the Marie Claire article & was so surprised to see your blog listed as one that supposedly promotes unhealthy, restrictive eating or obsessive exercise habits. Unfortunately, I know that there *are* some blogs like that out there – but I don’t think yours (or any of the other five mentioned) is one of them. Not in the slightest! Even though I am vegan & don’t eat a lot of the things you feature on your blog, I still love reading because of your attitude towards health & well-being, in addition to your healthy attitude about exercise. You’re very inspiring, Kath, and your love of life, food, your husband, your friends, your hobbies, nutrition, etc. is evident!
This was an incredibly negative, one-sided article, and I really can’t believe it was published. How disappointing! Fortunately, though, I think most people can see through the BS. Thanks for posting your answers to the writer, as well. It’s really interesting to see the other angles she could have taken with this article – or at least covered both sides! Boo.
Jenna says
I find the article very negative and one-sided. I only read your blog and I really enjoy it. It’s interesting, inspiring, and surprising. I never know what you will be blogging about next. I don’t try and copy things you do or run 10 miles because you did. I do what’s best for me and think others do the same. I hope that lots of emails, letters, and complaints get sent to the editor!
Kayla says
Just read this post a few days late…I’m shocked re: the Marie Claire article! I love your blog because it IS about your life and all the delicious REAL FOOD photos! Personally, I am inspired by the diversity of food you & Matt eat, especially incorporating organic and more veg, it doesn’t seem like you’re deprived at all, just not eating “muffins and croissants” every day. I’m also inspired by how often you guys get up and move! Love hearing about Cville and how walkable, bikeable and runable it is, and especially the yoga 🙂 I don’t doubt that there are some blogs/websites that (perhaps unintentionally) promote extremes, but this blog is not one of them.
Tara says
I found your blog (and the other five) after reading the controversial “hunger blogger” article by Marie Claire. The article disturbed me, but made me curious. I was honestly expecting to find these blogs hosted by anorexics obsessing over calories and weight.
You, as well as your other healthy eating blog counterparts, however, offer up great inspiration for people who want to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle. The meals on your site look creative and motivate me to eat a more varied and nutrient-rich diet. So thank you. While the article obviously took your blogs out of context, at least it will win you all a host of new readers who appreciate your insight and values. Keep up the great work.
Audrey says
I have an eating disorder, and I do find similarities between some of the other Big Six’s blogs and those of pro-Ana blogs andd websites. I was hurt by what you wrote in response, not by the original article. I don’t Find your blog to be pro-ED (eating disorder), and in the article she never points to your blog in particlular as being unhealthy. I hope that the story about Boyle barely touching her food and banning mini muffins, fat free yogurt, and fruit due to carbs is untrue. If not, please tell us. Many of your readers are eating disorder victims and thosestruggling to recover. We have a right to know if it is, our recovery is at stake.
kay says
im not surprised that marie claire took such a negative view of you ladies. because from their point of view, YOU’RE the competition. ladies like myself would rather spend time reading your blogs than spending money on their overrated, overpriced magazine. that’s why they focused so much on the $$ you guys may (or may not ) make while blogging and sensationalized the entire situation. to create buzz! because that’s $$ that THEIR writers and staff AREN’T getting from ADVERTISERS. in the entertainment world, there is only so much pie to go around. and you ladies distract a huge chunk of THEIR TARGET AUDIENCE from shelling out $$ at the magazine stand (who pays for the print when you can get those topics/entertainment for free on the net? not me!). it’s not about you, your character, or your responsibility as a blogger (or whatever mumbo-jumbo they implied you were responsible for…) its about the benjamins. always. hang in there. keep at it. you got ‘em nervous. good job!
Kathy says
Why would you make a bean burger only to put bacon in it and fry it in bacon? Just wondering, not trying to be a pain. I guess it you liked it is all that mattered…so enjoy.
Kath says
Cost!? Easier? Pantry staple?
Katie @ Shared Bites says
Whoa. This burger is ingenious. I am not a vegetarian and probably never will be, but I love beans and generally prefer a veg burger over a beef or turkey burger. I guess since people never serve bean burgers with bacon, the thought had never crossed my mind. So simple, yet SO AWESOME. I’m envisioning your original bean burger recipe topped with two slices of my favorite pepper bacon from Eastern Market in DC and some Laughing Cow blue cheese spread. Yum. Yum. And yum. Thx, Kath!
Emily @ Perfection Isn't Happy says
Kath, I have been reading your blog for awhile now, but came upon this post as I was introduced to Caitlin’s blog. As a Comm. student with work experience in journalism and reporting, I was pretty disgusted by the article. It was written subjectively, and non-factual, two big “no nos” of any source that wants to be considered credible. You were obviously lied to, and in the end, the reporter is the one that is making herself, and the magazine, look bad. I am still one semester from graduating with my degree, and yet I know enough to recognize that the way she spun that story was immature, and wrong…and I’m sure she knows that in the back of her mind. It’s also kind of ironic, considering Marie Claire features models who don’t exactly scream “I’m the average girl”..and yet that’s considered healthy? I could go on and on, but I will stop now. I will continue to read your blog despite the new knowledge I came upon in that article 🙂
SJ says
I just discovered your blog today and it has been a delight to read! As for this ‘article’ in Marie Claire, I am appalled at such disillusioned and one-sided journalism! I am so glad that you and the other targeted blog ladies are taking this negativism in stride and going about sharing your life in words (and pictures) with us! Have a wonderful day! 🙂
Edith@TheSimpleEssentials says
I was just browsing around and I cam across this. Now you know you did the Right thing when you combined pinto beans (my favorite beans), bacon and cheese. Now, that’s some good eating.