I Chose Health. It Chose Control.

Four days a month, I'd eat almost nothing. Called it "fasting-mimicking." My doctor loved my blood work. I measured everything. Counted every almond, every drop of olive oil. The scale moved. My heart age dropped. I was winning. But I started planning my life around those four days. Canceling dinners. Lying about why I couldn't eat. The food tasted like cardboard, but I convinced myself it was discipline. My body got smaller. My world got smaller too. I remember staring at my dinner one night, afraid of a single extra calorie. That's when I realized the diet wasn't just changing my arteries—it was rewiring my brain. Healthy numbers. Unhealthy thoughts. The study said I'd live longer. I just forgot to ask if I'd actually be living. #HealthAnxiety #ControlIsExhausting #NotJustNumbers #Health #Diet