Back to the beat!

eenix0

Good morning all!
My name is Liz, it's been a LONG time since I've been on. I used to used MFP to manage weight for sport-specific goals, where they require weight management down to a tenth of a pound - but am here for a different reason now.

I'm 29 and trying to "get back on the horse" after a death in the family, a transition to a super unhealthy office job, and a series of super stressful events led me to gain 40lbs last year and, what's worse, dissociate fairly badly from my body. Definitely in that space where I'm learning how to push myself in a healthy way while still being very cautious to allow myself to heal and make sure I'm listening to my body and not just whipping it into the shape I think I want. Working not just on weight, but on being present in my body and celebrating everything it can do even though it doesn't do it as well as it did in my early 20s. It's a bit more beat up and tired, but it's a good body, and I want to love it for the rest of my life, instead of forever comparing it to my early 20s. Reminding myself that the numbers - calories, weight, measurements - are just tools to help me measure some parts of my progress. They are NOT the actual progress itself, which is much harder to truly calculate, but much more important.

Always open to online friendships, especially if any of this resonates with you! I'm trying to surround myself with other holistically healthy (not necessarily just "thin") people. I'm really big on asking questions about what FEELS right, rather than what looks right or what the numbers say...but let's be honest, it's hard in practice. So. Here's to healthy living, learning to live fully in our bodies, learning to celebrate what our bodies are capable of and everything they give us, and maybe even learning things about ourselves that we didn't know before in the process. Best wishes to all of you!

AnnPT77

Hi, and welcome to the MFP Community.

It sounds like you have a really good, thoughtful approach and plan. That's excellent.

I wish I had been so wise, when I was your age, instead of waiting until age 59-60 to get to a healthy weight. I've been there for a while now, and it's a huge quality of life improvement, as was (finally) getting active in my mid-40s. I could kick myself for not starting younger, because both of those things were more achievable than I'd imagined, and much, much more rewarding than I might have guessed.

Wishing you huge success here!

Mikeruns2021donotaddme

Welcome 👋🏻