here’s why I STOPPED counting calories 😭🥺🥲

before you decide to do any CRASH diets/diet plans without proper nutrition/fall into the BLACK HOLE of dieting just to get a “PRETTIER BODY”/“SLIMMER BODY”, please do read this. 🥹 OR if you EVER feel like commenting/speaking about ANYBODY’S bodies (be it for those who are super skinny or on the bigger sized aspect), please read this as well. 😞 TW: ED/bulimia/body dysmorphia etc.

NATURAL BODY GENES 😕 ———

some people are born naturally skinny & some are naturally more chubby - & that’s something society seems to forget all the time. unfortunately I belonged to the chubbier side, same goes for my family. 😭 as a dancer, that’s something that is even harder to deal with.. what that means is that I could eat half as much as a skinny girl with naturally good metabolism & id still gain weight 😅 that was something young me didn’t understand, before falling prey to harsh words.

UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP W FOOD 🍲 ———

i used to see food as numbers… if they were more than a certain number I’d not want to eat it 😭 therefore I ended up eating all those “healthy looking” good without knowing that there’s NOT MUCH nutritional value to them… needless to say, I was eating less than what normal humans need per day.. having <1000kcal a day means I was STARVING myself.. I had a hard time doing daily activities honestly, slept a lot, felt super tired & MOODY all the time!! I felt absolutely horrible…

EXERCISED LIKE CRAZY 😞 ———

as I was so obsessed with CALORIES, I believe I had to run over 10km everyday just to be at a deficit, regardless of how much I ate in that day 😭 there were times when I felt so faint but I just DISREGARDED that & kept pushing through the pain of hunger/fatigue 🥲 on days I didn’t exercise “enough” & ate “too much” (which wasn’t), my bulimia acted up & I can’t even start with how damaging that is for your body….

CONCLUSION? 😡 ———

i lost 8kg in around 2-3 months & got rly slim! at the cost of my physical health, mental health.. & guess what? the moment I stopped eating/working out like that, I gained back 15kg.. that’s DOUBLE the amount I lost 😭 & I never seemed to lose it anymore because my metabolism was RUINED.. so take it from me that a crash diet that gives you immediate results is NOT SUSTAINABLE & will actually cause MORE HARM in the long run. right now, I still weigh a lot more & is still working to lose the gained weight, however this is what I LEARNT!! & I hope this posts gives the girls/guys who struggle with body image like me some relief/relatability! also, nobody talks about this enough but the side effects are CRAZY!! hair loss, dry skin, bad skin, hang nails, headache, bad sleep quality, constipation, lack of energy to even walk, can’t seem to sweat well, the list goes on. 🥲

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT 😭 ———

don’t let yourself be defined by NUMBERS. so what if you’re on the heavier side? that doesn’t make you any less/any worse than others/doesn’t signify anything - of course we want to avoid being too heavy for health concerns!! sadly I’ve had comments on my body/weight a lot throughout my years, & it’ll be too much to go into it because people don’t seem to realize, no matter how they comment on it, sometimes it’ll just be triggering depending on what we’ve been through. while I’m still healing, I’ve had comparisons being done to me, just because I have a “bigger” body compared to my peer, sadly, at my previous workplace. & sometimes people just don’t know how much damage they can cause with their words, so we have no choice but to be strong enough to know our worth despite comments 😭

DO IT FOR YOURSELF ☺️ ———

if you decide to diet/workout hard to lose weight, that’s fine! because I am too but then, do it for yourself & not because others commented on your weight/for others! that won’t be sustainable cause you’ll always depend your worth/self esteem based on your weight/others comments 😭 be KIND to your body & mind, see food as nutrition & happiness 🥺 not NUMBERS!!

TLDR 🥲 ———

as part of #CelebrateWomen , I wanted to share my experience with body image, something I know a lot of girls struggle with especially with societal pressure 😡 but I’ve been through all the worst parts of being obsessed with my weight to know that unhealthy diets JUST to achieve society’s definition of “a good body” is #NotForMe … let’s all be kinder to our minds & bodies! 🤍 also to be sensitive & understanding enough to not comment on others’ bodies, no matter your intention & no matter their weight (on the smaller/bigger side) because most of us struggle with it due to body dysmorphia - & you’ll never know what might trigger painful/sad memories! spread more love!! 🫶🏻

#Lemon8Lifestyle #LoveMyself #Lemon8DaysOfLove #Fitness #bodypositivity #Health #fitnessjourney #loveyourself