I Trusted The Label. I Shouldn't Have.

Three years of weight loss. Countless diet sodas and sugar-free sports drinks. I thought I was being smart—zero calories, staying hydrated, avoiding real sugar. I read every label, counted every macro, trusted every "safe" ingredient. Then the FDA banned brominated vegetable oil. The same chemical I'd been drinking daily, thinking it was helping me stay on track. All those headaches during my cutting phases. The brain fog I blamed on low calories. The fatigue I attributed to working out fasted. Turns out, my "healthy" choices were slowly poisoning me. I spent so much energy avoiding sugar, I never questioned what replaced it. The irony stings—I was so afraid of gaining weight, I ignored what was actually harming my body. Now I stare at ingredient lists differently. Trust feels expensive when you've been betrayed by your own discipline. #TrustedTheLabel #ControlIsExhausting #FoodGuilt #Health #Diet