Weight-Loss Check-In: Healing My Relationship with Food
Two hundred pounds ago, I thought “healthy” meant saying no. No to pizza. No to drive-thru. No to birthday cake, wings, late-night tacos. Every joy was off-limits. I believed the only way to prove I was serious about my health was to restrict myself into misery.
But the real work? It’s been learning that food isn’t the enemy.
These days, I’m not eating McDonald’s every day, but if I want chicken nuggies, I’ll get them. If a friend wants to split a pizza, I’m in. I’m just not downing a whole pie or a 20-count to the face on autopilot anymore. And honestly, if I did, if I had one of those days, that’s okay too. One meal never undoes the progress I’ve made, physically or mentally.
I used to hate salads. They felt like a punishment, a flashing neon sign screaming, You’re on a diet again. Now? Give me a grilled chicken Caesar and I will absolutely wreck it. Toss in some goat cheese and I’m SOLD. It’s no longer about forcing myself to eat “healthy” out of guilt. It’s about craving real food, feeling good, and refusing to label everything as “good” or “bad.”
Another piece of this healing? Not obsessing over the number on the scale. I still check in sometimes, but it’s no longer my whole identity. What fires me up are the non-scale victories: my jeans having a little more room, walking up a flight of stairs without losing my breath, noticing strength in places I used to feel weakness. Those wins mean more than any single weigh-in ever could.
And yes, I’m still on a GLP-1. Because being medicated for weight management isn’t a flaw. It’s not an easy fix, and it’s definitely not “cheating.” It’s one of the tools that’s helping me stay on the path, just like therapy, movement, and balanced meals are.
Healing my relationship with food looks like this:
Eating what I love without spiraling into shame
Enjoying balance, sometimes that means meal-prepped chicken and veggies, sometimes it’s a late-night cheeseburger
Letting go of the all-or-nothing mindset
Celebrating progress that isn’t tied to a number
Owning every part of my journey, including medication, without apology
I’m still figuring it out, but I finally feel like I’m living in the middle ground I always thought didn’t exist. I’m not chasing perfection. I’m building peace with my body, with my plate, with myself.
-D
