BendableButMendable Member

I just got back from my first day of work in over five years. It was only orientation and a watching a bunch of training videos but I'm exhausted. It didn't help that I didn't sleep well last night due to nerves and it being the first night I was able sleep in my bedroom again following a sizable wasp infestation, but all…

I'm definitely tired of dealing with the blow-back from men that behave that way. I used to have a coworker that I had almost no work overlap with but we seemed to enjoy each other's company and would sit and have lunch together whenever we had the chance. After a couple months of eating our lunches together she asked me…

I really hope this doesn’t come across as an attempt at “mansplaining” but I did want to offer my perspective from the male point of view. If you choose to post a “less sexy” (quotes because it’s very subjective) profile photo you may be able to reduce the amount of unwanted advances you get, but you shouldn’t have to and…

Sorry, I couldn't resist. You could always block the people sending you those messages. I know it doesn't solve the problem but it's probably your best option.

I don't think it's a blog, but it's certainly blog-like. The extra skin is hardly noticeable when I'm standing, although you can see the tell-tale shape of my belly button, but it becomes more obvious in other positions. When I hunch over my lower abdomen gets kind of a "crinkled" look to it and also first thing in the…

Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me.

Great job to both of you!

It sounds like you're doing all the right things then, and you've obviously had great results with it. The zigzag method is definitely one of the more common recommendations for re-feed strategies that I saw when looking into it. I can't speak to any of the methods personally since my plateau came after I was already below…

I read the thread about your progress (amazing job by the way) and you discuss being on your journey for 15 months. If you are not losing weight as quickly as you might reasonably expect after having maintained a long term deficit you might want to consider taking a break from the deficit and eating at maintenance for a…

I have only done a small amount of yoga in my life when I was looking for ways to regain my flexibility and started doing a bit here and there with fair success, but I didn't stick with it. I was just looking through my bookmarked sites and I found this playlist of videos, it is a thirty day challenge that I meant to get…

I only started therapy a few months ago so it is a resource I didn't have previously, I'm hoping that it will make a difference this time around. My plan to start off is basically to be polite and cordial but also probably be the quiet weird guy who doesn't talk a lot. I'm quiet by nature but I think I need to be extra…

Thank you, the support I've received on this site really helped me find the strength to take this step. Everyone here has been so kind and it has been a way for me to interact with people for the first time in a long while. I know I've said it before, and things on the internet can ring hollow, but it really has meant the…

I just got home from my interview and my anxiety must not have shown too much because they offered me the job right there on the spot. I am expecting to hear from them early next week about orientation and start date. I had to take some time to compose myself in the car with some deep breathing/meditation before I could go…

Thank you for the kind words, I hope this thread has helped someone out there. And thank you for the compliment. No one has seen me without my shirt on for a very long time so I was pretty nervous putting that photo on the internet for anyone to see. I guess I thought this thread would have more of an impact if I could…

That's an amazing and inspirational transformation! You should be very proud of yourself for what you've accomplished. Thank you for sharing and for such a well stated and logical post, it is sure to help others on their journeys.

Okay... scary but good update: Tomorrow (Friday) afternoon I have my first job interview since 2015. I'm not going to lie and say I'm not borderline freaking out with anxiety but I do recognize it as a good opportunity and a step in the right direction. I keep trying to tell myself that I'm more than qualified for the…

I'm sorry that COVID hit you so hard. I imagine that specific line of work was especially affected. I'm so happy to hear that you've taken control of your drinking and your weight loss, you should be very proud of yourself for that. Thank you for the words of encouragement, I feel like I've made a lot more progress this…

Thank you for the support and I'm glad you got something out of it. I honestly don't think I'm all that different, but I have just enough different about me that I've struggled to build community. Hopefully I'll have better success with a therapist helping along the way this time around. Thank you for the kindness and the…

Thank you all for the kind words, I truly appreciate them.

This doesn't explain why certain people become disenchanted with the answer, but I think the reason so many people, even well informed people, ask the question is simply to find a way into a conversation about a shared struggle or interest. It's the same reason people will walk up to a person wearing a shirt with the logo…

Hah! That's a fun gif. Thank you so much for the kind words, even though I don't think I'm deserving of "best kind of human" level praise I will do my best to live up to it. And you don't always need to have something deep and insightful to add to be a part of the conversation. Speaking as someone with severe anxiety,…

Your story sounds very similar to mine. The first time I struggled with my weight was when I got stuck working a graveyard shift for ~5 years at a job I hated. After I left that job I lost the weight but gained it back, and more, when I really started to struggle with depression and anxiety. Our stories differ in regards…

Here are the charts from my journey. The trends look fairly smooth in part because I only weighed myself every two months or so. When I was heavier I found weighing pretty stressful so I didn’t do it very often and just trusted the process. I still only check my body fat % once a month since I’m lean enough now that it is…

I suppose it's been long enough that this thread is due for a positive update, at least I think this is positive. I was finally able to bring myself to apply for some jobs. I haven't had an offer yet but it's a numbers game so I'll try to keep submitting applications and hopefully find steady work soon. It's at least a…

I've been an insomniac and struggled with my sleep patterns since I was a preteen. The last couple months I decided to try to reset my circadian rhythm by sleeping with my window blinds open so that sunlight will shine into my room in the morning. The recommendation I read was to get access to sunlight as soon as you can…

Limiting sodium intake can be a surprising struggle. I personally eat very few processed, or even canned, foods so my sodium intake is a lot lower than most. But I eat homemade rice bowls routinely and a reasonable portion of salsa (3 actual servings) is more than 25% of RDA and a single serving of soy sauce is more than…

Great job on the transformation so far, that's awesome progress. Don't let the weight gain this last week get you down too much. It is almost impossible to gain 10lbs of fat (or muscle) in that short of time. It is likely almost all water weight. You didn't say why you started taking TRT. If you started it for medical…

I think most people eat overnight oats cold, that's how I have always eaten them. Like you I was a little pensive before my first bight of cold oatmeal but I found them really tasty that way. The only thing I could think to compare it to would be pudding (USA style pudding not UK style). I don't see any reason you couldn't…

I'm not a teacher so I hope you don't mind me chiming in, but I would recommend overnight oats for a breakfast option and some kind of rice bowl for a lunch option. There are plenty of ways to make/flavor overnight oats so they're easy to adjust to personal taste and calorie amount. I like to make mine with peanut butter…

I'm sorry that you've encountered judgmental people or comments on here, you shouldn't have to deal with that. I hope nothing in my previous comment came across that way, I certainly didn't mean it to. You shouldn't feel embarrassed about the pandemic affecting you or your continued use of a mask. People have tried (and to…