Off-Topic Rant

Doing some experimenting right now. Using new recipes and cooking a lot.

Sidetrack before a rant about carbs, though.

Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash

Community has been the most helpful tool for me staying on track. If you look through this blog, you probably see the many ways I have tried to find it.

That whole community thing has been... rather hit or miss.

The brunt of my success happened while I was active on myfitnesspal. The website/app is a great tool. Has some really great features. Meal tracking, progress charts, and, you guessed it, community.

The reward for building your friends list? Accountability, support, and inspiration.

But I got rather obsessed. I didn't realize how bad it was until I got derailed by “the unfortunate job.”

Calorie counting with a database takes away so much of the guess work of the early days of calorie counting. Thinking about it all day everyday, though? Just as stressful as it ever was.

Anyway, back to community.

At one point, I tried to start a support group with my friends, using the well known failbook. I obsessed about that, too. The group was okay. It even almost took on a of a life of its own. Briefly. I also thought mine was a more positive, inclusive group than some of the groups I had been part of prior. But people don't change. They are opinionated, and some shame each other, push their extreme diets and exercise routines as the only solution, and argue about who is right. Block, leave, etc. You know, typical internet shenanigans.

While all this was going on, I started doing live challenge weigh ins with a local supplement shop. If you've read the old posts (incessant, weren't they?), you probably know that, too.

The point is, I stayed on track best when I was actively engaging in these various formats.

However...

"The unfortunate job” disconnected me from that structure, though it did give me space to gain some necessary perspective.

Now that I'm recovered from the physical injuries... the mental exhaustion...

Now that I am three years in and proven that I can, in fact, maintain!

Now!

Now, it is time to examine how my psyche responded to structured lifestyles I have subjected it to, identifying the best and the worst.

I can be healthy about getting healthy, right? I can figure this out and maintain my individuality?

I got this. I'm pretty sure, anyway.

End unscheduled rant about community.

If you want to hear my opinion on carbs, don't worry, it's coming....