I'd benefit from some "friends"

Phaewryn
Phaewryn Posts: 142 Member
in Introduce Yourself
If any of you would be interested in following a 45 year old disabled transmasculine person who has struggled with undereating and is trying, with the help of a professional dietician, to eat a healthy amount of food and restart exercising/weightlifting, I feel like I would benefit from having a few "friends". Currently I post my food pics and macro screenshots to a mostly empty echochamber of my feed with only 2 friends on it, and it would be nice to feel seen or heard because I am really trying hard and making some progress and while I know that's all that really matters, it would make me feel good to feel seen.
1. I'm transgender. I use they/them pronouns. You have to be OK with that. NO PMs asking me to explain that, please (these are often thinly veiled transphobia). You can google if you really want to learn. You don't need to fully understand my gender to support my fitness journey anyway.
2. I have several conditions which make exercise difficult/painful at times.
3. I have never been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and have never been underweight, but everyone tells me 800-1000 calories isn't enough, so I am trying real hard to eat 1500 now (keep in mind my activity level has been 0, all I have been doing is sitting in a chair or laying in bed all day, and I'm only 5'1" & 124lbs).
4. I used to be fit when I was younger. I used to weightlift. I know how to do it all (although I'm sure a lot of my info is outdated), I just struggle to now because of my conditions/disabilities. I've been in a rut. I haven't been taking care of myself. My days have been spent either at my desk scrolling FB endlessly, watching Prime TV, or laying on the sofa or in bed reading. I'd microwave a Lean Cuisine and throw some chicken in it once a day, and that was my food other than my coffee with half&half and sugar.
5. I have changed my whole life in the past month. Everything from setting a bedtime, morning alarm, set meal times, and basic executive functioning. I have gone from 0 responsibilities/tasks/schedule to fully scheduled in an effort to fix my problems. I've gotten a therapist, a dietician, and scheduled appointments with specialists for my chronic pain issues so I can get back to exercising again hopefully. I've even limped around the block a couple of times already (podiatrist and new orthotics is scheduled). I've started cooking again, cooking real meals, not just chicken to throw in my Lean Cuisine. The only thing I need now is a support system: AKA. "friends". I don't have any in real life because it's so much work, but I could really use some on here.

I put up a bio on my profile that goes a little deeper, feel free to go read it. Skim my feed, see what I've been doing. Then add me, if you think you might not mind seeing my posts. I'm not asking for a ton of support, just knowing I'm not posting to an empty echochamber would be great (although the occasional "nice work" would be awesome).

Replies

  • Terra_Incognita
    Terra_Incognita Posts: 1,465 Member
    #5 Sounds like you have been getting organized along with some great support. I definitely feel that is nice work(:
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,997 Member
    Hey! Autigender here! I’ll send you a friend request now!
    I also struggle to eat enough. I can actually forget to eat. Often.
    Logging everything, and protein shakes are my lifesaver. Literally.
  • Phaewryn
    Phaewryn Posts: 142 Member
    MargaretYakoda wrote: »
    Hey! Autigender here! I’ll send you a friend request now!
    I also struggle to eat enough. I can actually forget to eat. Often.
    Logging everything, and protein shakes are my lifesaver. Literally.

    Yes, this was a big struggle for me! And drinking! I now have alarms set on my phone at mealtimes and a Trello checklist for basic tasks like getting a seltzer from the fridge at least three times a day (which I sometimes remember to drink more than half of before I get side-tracked, but I always finish later no matter how warm and flat)! I now have a couple of weeks of success so far! Mostly succussful, anyway.
  • fernCWM
    fernCWM Posts: 18 Member
    Hi! I was just about to add you when I realized we were already friends! As a transgender man with a long history of anorexia and ARFID, I am always down to meet people in similar situations. My first goal is to manage 1500 calories a day as well, and it seems like we're starting from about the same place (I currently manage about 1000-1100).
  • MargaretYakoda
    MargaretYakoda Posts: 2,997 Member
    Phaewryn wrote: »
    MargaretYakoda wrote: »
    Hey! Autigender here! I’ll send you a friend request now!
    I also struggle to eat enough. I can actually forget to eat. Often.
    Logging everything, and protein shakes are my lifesaver. Literally.

    Yes, this was a big struggle for me! And drinking! I now have alarms set on my phone at mealtimes and a Trello checklist for basic tasks like getting a seltzer from the fridge at least three times a day (which I sometimes remember to drink more than half of before I get side-tracked, but I always finish later no matter how warm and flat)! I now have a couple of weeks of success so far! Mostly succussful, anyway.

    Oh. We adore those seltzers at my house.
    My husband has dementia and it was a real struggle to get him to drink enough. But ever since I’ve been buying cases and cases of the “water pop” he is at least drinking something every day. Probably four cans?

    Also? “Mostly successful” is really just successful. That’s what I think, anyhow. 😁

Categories