Tag: NotJustAboutTheScale

#NotJustAboutTheScale

MysticMingle

I Stopped Using Forks to Feel Again

Three months into maintenance, I was still eating like I was being watched. Measured portions. Perfect posture. Fork, knife, repeat. Then my therapist asked me to try eating rice with my hands. Just once. I cried the first time. Not because it was messy—because I could actually feel the temperature, the texture. I realized I'd been so focused on controlling every bite that I'd forgotten food was supposed to have sensation. Eating with my hands slowed me down. Made me present. For the first time in years, I noticed when I was actually full instead of when my app said I should be. It wasn't about the ancient wisdom or metabolism benefits. It was about remembering that my body knew things my spreadsheets didn't. Some days I still use forks. But now I choose. #ControlIsExhausting #MaintenanceMode #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

LuminousLynx

I Still Read Labels, But Not For Calories

I used to count every gram, every calorie, every macro. Now, I stand in the grocery aisle, holding a microwave meal, reading the label for words I can’t pronounce—phthalates, pFOS, microplastics. I tell myself it’s just food, but the packaging feels like another thing I can’t control. I swap the plastic tray for glass at home, but I still think about what’s already seeped in. Sometimes I miss when my only worry was the number on the box. Now, it’s the invisible things I can’t track, can’t see, can’t burn off. I wish eating could just be simple again. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

CrypticChameleon

When 'Healthy' Turned Into Too Much

I used to think more vitamins meant more health. Every morning, I lined up the bottles—D, C, B12—like a ritual that made me feel in control. It was easier than listening to my body, easier than trusting food or sunlight or rest. No one warns you about the quiet ways you can hurt yourself trying to do everything right. I never felt sick, not really, until the blood tests came back. The numbers were too high. My doctor’s voice was careful, almost apologetic, as if he knew I’d tried so hard to be good. Now, I stare at the unopened bottles in my kitchen and wonder how much of my life I’ve spent chasing safety, only to find another kind of risk. #ControlIsExhausting #HealthAnxiety #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

CharmingChameleon

I Counted Every Pumpkin Seed

I used to toast pumpkin seeds after Halloween, weighing out exactly a quarter cup. Not a seed more. I’d sprinkle them on my salad, telling myself it was for the magnesium, the fiber, the heart health. But really, it was about control. I’d count the calories, run the numbers in my head, then double-check the label just to be sure. I knew the benefits by heart, but I never tasted them. Every bite was a calculation, not a comfort. Sometimes I wonder if I ever really liked pumpkin seeds, or if I just liked the feeling of being good. Of being safe. Of not messing up. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

CyberSparrow

The Avocado Didn’t Fix My Fear of Food

Every morning, I’d slice an avocado, telling myself it was a step toward health. I read the studies. I knew the fiber count, the heart benefits, the way it looked on someone else’s feed. But I still weighed the halves. I still wondered if I was doing it right—if one avocado could cancel out the shame of everything else I ate. I wanted to believe a single food could make me better, safer, less afraid of my own hunger. The truth is, I never tasted the avocado. I only tasted relief, for a moment, before the guilt crept back in. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

MidnightMuse

I Ate All the Right Things. My Heart Still Raced.

Dinner is a checklist: two servings of vegetables, a handful of nuts, fish instead of chicken. I know the numbers. I know what the studies say. But I still stare at my plate, heart pounding, wondering if I got it right. Sometimes I eat the exact foods they recommend and still feel like I’m failing. Like my body is a math problem I can’t solve. I read about risk and prevention, but no article tells you how to stop the quiet panic that comes with every bite. I wish I could trust that eating well is enough. But most nights, I’m just hoping the next meal will feel less like a test. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

aquaRanger

I Skipped Meals. The Hunger Stayed

I used to think skipping breakfast made me disciplined. I’d watch the clock, waiting for noon, feeling proud when my stomach growled. Intermittent fasting sounded scientific, like I was hacking my body into something better. But the hunger never left. Even after the weight dropped, I still measured my worth in empty hours and smaller numbers. I told myself it was just about health, but every meal felt like a test I could fail. Now, I know the scale can’t tell you when you’re finally enough. It just tells you what you’re willing to give up to get there. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

TwilightDreamer

Why I Counted Every Strawberry

I used to measure out exactly two servings of strawberries every morning. Not because I loved them, but because the article said it was good for my heart, my brain, my future self. I’d slice them carefully, watching the red stain my fingers, thinking about antioxidants and cholesterol and the right way to eat. But under all that science, I was just scared—of getting it wrong, of not being healthy enough, of losing control. I’d read about the benefits, but never about the panic that came with missing a serving, or the guilt that followed a different breakfast. Some days, I wonder if I ever tasted the strawberries at all, or if I was just swallowing the rules. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

TranquilTide

When I Stopped Eating Cake, I Lost More Than Sugar

I used to believe every sweet bite was a setback. I’d skip cake at birthdays, sip water while friends clinked glasses of soda, and tell myself it was discipline. But the truth is, I was scared—of losing control, of what the scale might say, of what I might become if I let myself enjoy anything. The irony: the more I restricted, the less alive I felt. I watched others laugh over pastries, and all I could think about was the number I was trying to outrun. I thought I was protecting my heart, but it just felt emptier. Sometimes, I wonder if the real harm wasn’t in the sugar, but in how much I feared it. #FoodGuilt #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

BlossomBlaze

I Drank Tomato Juice Because I Was Supposed To

I read that tomato juice could kill bacteria. So I bought a carton, poured a glass, and told myself it was for my health. I didn’t mention the real reason: I wanted to feel in control. Every sip was supposed to make me safer, cleaner, better. I counted the vitamins, not the calories, but the feeling was the same—like I was chasing some invisible finish line. When I finished the glass, I waited for something to change. But all I felt was the same quiet anxiety, sitting heavy in my stomach. I still didn’t trust my body to keep me safe. I still didn’t trust myself. #ControlIsExhausting #FoodGuilt #NotJustAboutTheScale #Health #Diet

Tag Page NotJustAboutTheScale