Self-Care Requires Care
(Content warning, talking about weight loss and diet.) A few years ago, I lost…I think it was eighty-eight pounds? I saw Onederland for one brief shining moment. Then everything went kablooey, but anyway. That took me about a year, and it wasn’t all that hard. I just followed the routine. Every(ish) Sunday I would prep five breakfasts of overnight oatmeal, and five salads for work lunches. Dinner would be a chicken breast prepared some way, and vegetables. Easy, no thinking, but as variable as I want–you can cook chicken so many ways, and vegetables…yeah. And I’d generally come in well under on the calorie goal, so if I decided to have that donut someone offered me at work, it didn’t set me back far. I’d go for walks. I had a gym membership, and I went to the gym! What’s the point of all this? What the title says. Self-care requires care. It takes time, and it takes energy. Everything went kablooey last time because I suddenly didn’t have the time or the energy to devote to the meal prep and the long walks or even the shopping. I’ve been trying for years to get my mojo back, but Stuff Kept Happening. And I’ve figured out (I’m a bit slow) that Stuff and brain chemicals had pushed me into an actual real depression. But finally I got help. Will it take this time? I don’t know. But I know that I’m trying. I’ve lost a few pounds already. I’ll take…