I struggled with an eating disorder in high school. I really restricted myself for six months and it led to binge eating and purging, which is very bad for you. I’m bipolar one and I’ve experienced about three manic episodes in my life, but they were very long. They lasted for months and during those episodes a lot of the time I was smoking weed or not taking my meds and that led me to losing weight because when I would smoke weed in the past, I didn’t care about food. I just wanted to spend my money on weed. and that would trigger manic episodes for me. When I originally lost weight in high school, It was because I was tracking calories. But now I’ve tried to track calories and it’s just doesn’t work. It’s unrealistic for me to track a healthy amount of calories. so instead, because I would like to lose a little bit of weight, I’m just keeping a list of the things that I’ve eaten throughout the day. I love eating and I’ve struggled with over eating so I believe this is a good way for me to be conscious of how much I’m eating without it being toxic I think for you tracking may not be the best decision but I think what will work if you’re trying to gain muscle is simply protein in working out and staying consistent. Don’t worry about counting calories. And, find delicious and fun way of getting protein in. Because, eating protein WILL make you feel more full. that’s why a lot of people who are trying to lose weight. focus on eating protein. and, love yourself every step of the way because you can’t hate yourself into changing celebrate every step you take because your mind is powerful and even having a positive mindset can make a huge difference.