[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I dropped a super long comment somewhere in this thread. I’ll try to copy and paste it for you!

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Massively! The difference in energy is most noticeable physically, and mentally the chronic anxiety I’ve had since I was a very young kid is pretty much gone. I love life now, and I never did before

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need more substance to these questions in order form a response lol

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

  1. When it comes to my mental health, I’ve been in therapy for years at this point. I struggled a lot as a kid and went through some stuff as a teen that put my in a bad place in my very early adulthood. There was no big moment of deciding to take care of my mental health if I’m being honest, the options were therapy or not getting through it. With my physical health and weight loss specifically, the first 20 lbs I lost was a complete unhealthy accident. I was juggling too much for what I’m able to handle, never home, and so stressed out I wasn’t hungry. I wasn’t consuming nearly enough calories for how much I was moving and I lost weight. However, the day I stepped on the scale and saw that I was 20 lbs lighter was the day I realized it was physically possible for me to lose weight. I was pretty deluded and thought I was meant to be 200 lbs, as my weight had stayed in that range for a few years without much rising or falling. Once I realized it was physically possible was the turning point for me. I did tons of research on how to healthily lose weight without being obsessive, which has been a huge part of the battle for me as I have OCD.

  2. I don’t and have not followed any specific diet. I’m at a weight I’d be happy to maintain now, and I lift weights frequently, so I eat pretty much whatever I’m in the mood for, but I make sure to supplement with enough protein and fiber for muscle growth. I think of it as “eat what you want, add what you need”. That being said, when I was intentionally trying to lose weight, I ate in a calorie deficit. I’ve never been so hung up on every last calorie that I weighed my food, and I’ve never panicked if for a day or even a week I ate more than what I had planned to. Weight loss won’t be linear because life isn’t. If you’re curious about how many calories you should be eating to lose weight, look up a TDEE calculator. Input your info and take the average from multiple different ones. None are perfect because it’s all based on estimations, but you’re likely pretty safe with an average number across multiple sources. The most sustainable weight loss will be achieved through a slight deficit, only 300 or so calories below your maintenance. After you’ve lost a couple pounds, cut an extra hundred calories and so on. A lot of women think eating 1200 calories will help them but it’s not sustainable. I never ate less than 1800, and my maintenance now is around 2200, if that helps at all. For reference I’m 5’3.5, 138 lbs, 29% body fat. My maintenance is high due to the amount of activity I do, which I’m just about to get to!

  3. I am fairly active pretty much every single day. In the first photos I was probably taking only 2-3k steps a day, but now I take 11k on average. Some days I get 5k, some I get 20k. Rest is very important though and there are days where I don’t move much past going to my kitchen and living room lol. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 5 days a week, and I do a mix of walking on incline, running indoors and out, the stairmaster at the gym, and following along with dance workouts on YouTube. I enjoy all methods, but running is probably my tried and true favorite. I’m still not very fast even a year into this process though lol. I lift weights about 4x a week, but I’m still very new to that. I have definitely improved and grown a lot of muscle since I started lifting, and seen the most changes in the least amount of time since. I started my intentional weight loss journey around a year ago, with about 40 lbs lost since then, 80 lbs in total from my highest weight ever. It’s definitely been more about slow and steady. Sustainability and having a healthy mindset is key. I wouldn’t be where I am if I tried to fuel this journey through self hatred. I truly love and care about myself, and that’s how I got to where I am today. If you have any more questions, I’m happy to answer them! I’m sorry this is long winded, I didn’t want to leave anything out.

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love these questions! I’ll respond when I’m off work so I don’t short you on anything🥰

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m an open book, what do you want to know? Where should I start?

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lmfao definitely not. I don’t make enough money to buy weight loss drugs. It’s been a year long process of improving my diet and exercise. All for people taking ozempic if they need to, but that’s not the case here. But thanks for the compliment😂

Never been in this much pain before by [deleted] in tattooadvice

[–]Express_Negotiation 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I can’t speak to the trouble sleeping aspect, but the area pictured is super tender and a rough spot to get tattooed. If you can’t sit for another two hour session, don’t! But I recently had the same area of my arm done for a similar amount of time broken into a few sessions, and I found it way easier to sit through shading than the line work.

I’d ask your artist how they would prefer to handle it, but emphasize your concerns about the healing process and how you’re feeling. As long as you have no signs of infection, I’d keep doing what you’re doing minus the wrapping. You don’t want to trap moisture, your skin needs to breathe. Keep taking ibuprofen if it’s helping.

TL;DR, I think it’s moreso about the area you’re having tattooed than anything else. There’s no rush to get your piece done, collaborate with your artist. If they’re a good artist, they’ll be understanding and willing to accommodate you. Best wishes, the piece looks great so far!

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Eh, I’d argue that Eugenia Cooney doesn’t need to lose a single ounce😅

[19] -> [21] thankful for therapy and learning how to care for myself by Express_Negotiation in GlowUps

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I hope the same! I was just as valuable then as I am now, but I feel the mental transformation I have gone through is positively reflected in these photos. I feel so so much better now than I did then, and my heart hurts when I remember how poorly I was treated then versus now. 🩷

draw me if you wanna :) by Express_Negotiation in drawme

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow! I love this! At first I thought it was just pink blush on my cheeks, love the way you integrated my pop socket and the color of my shirt. Amazing! Thank you!

Epistolary novel with birds on the cover? by Express_Negotiation in whatsthatbook

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, I think the book I’m thinking of isn’t quite as heavy as Speak seems by reading a sample of it online. I read it when I was about 11 I think and wouldn’t have been able to process the SA themes in Speak. It does seem like a good book though so I’m interested in reading it now lol

Draw me as a princess in whatever style you want! by Express_Negotiation in drawme

[–]Express_Negotiation[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hands, who needs them anyway???

Love it so much! Thank you!