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5 thoughts

1. Big Magic

I just started listening to Big Magic on Audible.  Have you read it? I’m liking it a lot.  One of my favorite questions Gilbert has posed so far is, “when do you feel light, joyous, and creative?” I feel a journaling session coming on! 

2. A quote

I saw this quote this week.  I love when I’m in the type of empowering mood that the quote talks about.  It comes and goes…like all emotions :)

3. Halo Top

In Halo Top’s defense, I’ve never tried their “ice cream.”  In my defense, I’ll never try their “ice cream” because I don’t eat my ice cream for protein.  I eat it because my tastebuds love it and I know that sugar and fat make things taste good and both of those components belong in ice cream.  

One issue I’ve seen with Halo Top is that it promotes bingeing behavior.  Instead of mindfully enjoying ice cream until your tastebuds get bored and don’t want anymore ice cream, some people sit down with the mentality of “i’m allowed to eat this entire pint because it’s only X.”  Also, the marketing on the website with the, “Save the Bowl: You’re going to want the whole pint” is just so ughhhh.  I’m not a fan of encouraging people to disconnect from their hunger and fullness cues and just eat the whole pint.  If you feel like you want to eat the entire pint of regular ice cream:

1) you may simply be really hungry and need the whole pint
2) you aren’t eating ice cream regularly enough so you tend to eat large amounts of ice cream every time you do because your body is all like, “this is it! We never get this! Eat it all now!!”
and / or
3) there’s some confusion of which type of hunger you are experiencing.

Also.  The fact that it says, “halo” in the name implies it is a “good” food.  I don’t believe there are good or bad foods because all foods are protein, carbs and / or fat.  You body needs all 3 of those components.  The mention of, “this is healthy ice cream” is comical to me.  Normal ice cream is healthy.  Eating carbs, fat and protein is healthy.  I hate when people water down health to mean, “low sugar,” “low calorie,” and “high protein.” 

Speaking of real ice cream…

4. Milkshake + smoothie concoction 

Last night for dinner I made a milkshake + smoothie fusion because I’m back in a season of pregnancy where nothing sounds super appetizing.  Dinner was Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream + frozen bananas + Andrew’s random protein powder that was in the pantry + milk + ice.  Gonna need a substantial night time snack since my dinners tend to be larger than this.

Also, it’s been a few months since I’ve had a between the eyebrows pimple.  Oh hayyyyy! I see you coming! Occasionally I’ll put on foundation and THEN pluck my eyebrows…BOOM.  That always tends to create a pimple for me.  One day I’ll learn.

5. Heated Knee Wrap

I ended up buying this knee wrap for my painful knees and I’m loving it.  Heat seems to really help them! Finally! Something that helps the pain.  I’ve been heating them multiple times a day and am loving the relief.

Also, (things you don’t need to know about me and my feet, but since we’re here…) I have crazy high arches.  Andrew says my feet always look like I’m flexing my toes back because they are so curvy lol

Hope everyone has a great weekend! 

46 comments

  1. Halo! PREACH!!! Yes to everything you said. If you are craving ice cream, go eat ice cream. Maybe you need to eat a few spoonfuls to crush the craving, or the entire pint, who cares. And their name not only alludes to good/bad, but religious morality – whoa there. Food is just food. We all need to get over it. Eat and move on to your actual life.

  2. LOVE that quote!
    Samesies for the between-the-eyebrows pimples, I always get them there and it drives me crazy :(

  3. Ugh, Halo Top. I so agree with everything you said about it. I definitely ate whole pints of ice cream back in my disordered eating days, but I don’t think I have even once since connecting to my body–just doesn’t make me feel good at all. If I want ice cream, I’m just going to eat actual ice cream in whatever amount is satisfying and makes me feel good! I feel about Halo Top similarly to the way I feel when anyone mentions a “cheat meal,” ha.

  4. excellent point about Halo! I still haven’t tried it. 

  5. YES! I complete agree about the Halo Top! I actually tried it once to see what the hype was about and it was just okay. I listened to my cues and stopped about 1/3 of the ways through and was immediately extremely, for lack of a better word, bloated. Then, about 20 minutes later my stomach was in awful pain and cramps. Like I literally wanted to cry the pain was so bad. My friend said she has the same experience so I told her basically exactly what you wrote her plus some info on why it caused the pain but she didn’t care because she still sees it as “healthy” because it is low calorie. For me, I’ll just stick to real ice cream when I want it because it tastes better and doesn’t cause me terrible stomach pains :)

  6. I agree with everything you said. But I admit I do love certain flavors of Halo Top, but I’m not against eating whatever ice cream my heart desires. I tried Halo Top to get an idea of what the fuss was about and found that I have loved a few flavors and hated others. As with any ice cream, however, I eat until I’m satisfied, then stop. A pint might last 2-5 sittings. And I find that when I have a pint, no matter the brand, I eat less in a sitting than when I buy a larger size.

  7. I never thought about Halo Top ice cream like that, but then again I have never had their ice cream. I’m one of those weird people who never actually WANT ice cream. I’ll have some sometimes when out with the husband or friends and they’re getting ice cream, but I never actually crave it. But cheesecake now….that’s a different story! Btw, did you see Cheesecake Factory just released a Funfetti flavor?! What?!

  8. I LOVE Big Magic!!! Such an inspiring book!

  9. Yes, yes, yes – couldn’t agree more about Halo Top! You said everything I’ve always thought but couldn’t put words on. I’ll stick with real ice cream, as much/as little as I want whenever I want, thank you very much :) 

  10. I was just thinking yesterday about how I wanted to start Big Magic! Thanks for the inspo :)

  11. Months ago, I tried Halo to see what the fuss was about, as some other commenters have stated. The peanut butter wasn’t peanut buttery & didn’t have the mouthfeel because of low fat. ??‍♀️ The lemon was alright, but I have no desire for any more. Give me the real deal always. We have a local ice cream shop that churns their ice cream from their Jersey dairy cows. Nothing compares. ??

  12. Halo Top, yaaaas girl! I am all about just eating exactly what you want. If I want ice cream, I want an awesome bowl of REAL ice cream. Not some frozen protein food. It makes me sad to hear people use the excuse of eating Halo Top because they can’t control themselves around the real thing. You can’t control yourself because you rarely let yourself have it. And when you do, you go HAM on it because it’s such a ‘treat’. Just eat the dang ice cream people!!

  13. Halo Top! Ugh! Could not agree with you (and the other commenters) more. It really bugs me when people try and promote bingeing behavior. Plus, I am really not a fan of alternate sweeteners like the erythritol used in Halo Top – they not only confuse your body and make hunger/fullness cues impossible to sort out (biology!) but they also cause extreme bloating! No fun!

  14. I tried halo top ice cream and thought it was gross.

  15. Hi Kylie!

    Thank you for always being so real. I loved your commentary on Halo Top. I, too, get really annoyed when I see ads for this product. I’ve tried it once (pistachio) and thought it was pretty bad! Anyways, hope you have an awesome weekend!

  16. Hi Kylie!

    I know this isn’t what your post was about but I just need some advice/inspiration. I’m struggling a lot with trying to eat intuitively and get away from diet mentality. Did you ever freak out in the beginning of recovery? Like in those months you didnt exercise? if so how did you cope in order not to go back to restricting? I’m really sorry if you’ve said this before but I just don’t remember.

    Thanks

  17. YES. I have not tried Halo Top for that reason. It’s amazing how many things in our culture are disordered but passed off as normal. Thank you for being a voice of true health!

  18. Yessss on the Halo Top! I bought some because so many of my dieting friends were raving about how delicious it was. That should have been my first clue to stay away. It was disgusting. One bite and into the trash it went! Why would I eat that when I can have real ice cream?!? Back in my dieting days I, too, would have convinced myself that it was “delicious.” So glad I’m not there anymore.

  19. I’ve never tried Halo Top either… and I don’t want to. I’d much rather have Ben & Jerry’s!

  20. I have had Big Magic cued up on Audible for the last few weeks and now I finally feel inspired to start it! I love finding good audiobooks for long drives and solo walks. 

  21. Have you listened to Liz Gilbert’s podcast, Magic Lessons? It’s wonderful when you need a boost of creativity and encouragement. Highly recommend!

  22. Thank you for sharing your perspective on Halo Top!!  I’ve struggled with the whole idea and I thought I was overreacting because other people I follow in the body image/intuitive eating community were loving it, totally fine with it and even promoting it.  Obviously they weren’t saying that it was “good” for you and regular ice cream was “bad” but just everything about it made me feel icky.  So thanks…at least I’m not the only one?

  23. I’ve read Big Magic and I’m torn. I’m not really into the idea that there are ideas floating around in the universe waiting to inhabit a creator. Rather, I believe in a creative God who gives people unique ideas that express parts of his infinite character.

    I do like how Gilbert writes about living, loving, letting go, and being an artist even if it’s not your profession, though. We could all deal with more joy and happiness in life.

    • Yeah I agree, Sarah. I believe in a creative God who’s imagination is far greater than my own and he plants ideas in me, not that there are ideas floating around in the universe waiting to inhabit me. I took that part as make-believe / fiction. This past Sunday my pastor preached on imagination and how imagination is a beautiful thing, which I thought was so cool when I had just finished reading Big Magic.

  24. YES! Spot on re: Halo. I see it everywhere, always related to “no guilt”, or, if the person raving about it also supports the HAES/mindful eating/non-restricted health – they always comment they “could” eat normal ice cream, but it’s just so good, and who doesn’t need some extra protein, right? OMG. 

    I have read your blog for a while now and this is my first comment. Love everything you write and congrats on your pregnancy! So happy for you :-) 

    • YAY! I love all commenters (well…at least the kind hearted ones lol), but I especially love first time commenters! Thanks for the congrats, Koala <3

  25. Big Magic was SO good!! just might require a reread

  26. First, I love your Mama Bear shirt! So cute.
    Secondly, ugh…I hate all the instagram photos of Halo Top icecream and it’s ilk. I just can’t…and if I see too many photos of Halo Top on someone’s page I’m going to unfollow them ASAP. I don’t need that kind of ice cream discrimination in my life.
    I love the idea of that heated knee wrap! I need one for my abdomen. Ever since my big liver cancer surgery I have had so much pain in one end of the scar and heat seems to bring it lots of relief. Googling right now.

    • Hey Amy!

      My mom gave me a stuffed animal a while back that has a heated belly. So you can hold it like a pillow against your abdomen area and it’s warm & cozy. The brand is “Cuddly Hottie” –>lol I’d never looked at the brand name before. Maggie spends much of her life trying to rip it to shreds haha

  27. Oh my gosh I agree with the Halo Top thing elevendy times over. I haven’t tried it, and maybe it’s yummy but a) artificial sweeteners seriously mess with my digestive system and b) talk about a marketing ploy that promotes disordered eating. :( I’m with you–if I wanted protein, I’d eat scrambled eggs or tuna salad or a Greek yogurt or PB or a steak for crying out loud.
    Glad to hear that the heat is helping your knees. My boyfriend has a similar problem with his feet–he has to wear prescription orthotics for them.

  28. I absolutely LOVED Big Magic. I read it in two days. So good!

  29. I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT HALO TOP!!!!! 

    Back in my disordered days, I would “save up calories” (SO DUMB!!!) so I could eat an entire pint of halo top after dinner. I wish I could go back in time and learn intuitive eating earlier, but I do know that God allowed me to go thru it to make me stronger and to help OTHER WOMEN! 

    It’s so crazy to think that now, I don’t even want to buy halo top. I want to buy the tub of caramel ice-cream because it tastes DELICIOUS and I know I can eat it whenever I want, so I don’t feel the need to “not have it in the house bc I will lost control” like I used to do. Believe it or not, my husband has texted me a couple times while he’s grocery shopping saying “halo top is BOGO!!! How many do you want?” and I’ve actually turned him down! I’ve come SO FAR! My favorite is the Talenti Gelato. OH MY GOSH. It’s so smooth and creamy!!! 

  30. Spot on re Halo Top. The marketing of it bugs me too!!

  31. Pingback: 4 ways to support a family member in eating disorder or disordered eating recovery. – Yeah…Immaeatthat

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