Hi everyone, I'm just checking in on everyone. I know in the summer months schedules get a makeover while everyone is enjoying the hot fun in the summertime lol. Just letting @Bo McCoy and everyone here know I'm still locked in family just giving myself more easy does it days. Enjoy the rest of summer!

How to Not Get Distracted by a Squirrel A field guide to shiny objects, scale drama, and the fine art of staying on your own path. There comes a moment in every weight-loss journey when a squirrel runs across the road. Not a real squirrel — although, frankly, those little lunatics have caused enough problems already. I mean the other kind of squirrel. The shiny thing. The new thing. The thing over in the corner that suddenly looks like the answer to every problem you have ever had. It may be the next pill, the next surgery, the next supplement, the next diet plan, the next higher dose, the next revision, the next "doctor-approved breakthrough," or the next person online announcing, "I lost 47 pounds in three weeks and all I did was drink lemon water while standing near a magnet." And just like that, your attention is gone. You were doing fine. You had a plan. You were working on your habits, your mindset, your identity, and your relationship with food. Then the squirrel showed up wearing sunglasses and holding a clipboard, and suddenly you are ready to abandon everything you know for one more shot at "finally fixing it." That is how squirrels work. They do not show up looking foolish. They show up looking like hope. The Weight-Loss Squirrel Has a Very Familiar Voice If you have struggled with weight for any length of time, you know the voice: "If I just lose more weight, I will feel better." "If I can just get the scale moving again, I will be okay." "The scale went up two pounds. Something is wrong." "I must need a revision surgery." "I probably need a higher dose." "This stopped working." "I failed again." "I am broken." That voice feels urgent. It feels convincing. It makes you believe that whatever is happening right now is an emergency. A plateau becomes a crisis. A normal fluctuation becomes a moral failure. A hard week becomes proof that you are doomed. And once that panic shows up, the squirrel starts looking very attractive. The squirrel says: "Come over here. I can fix this. Forget the plan. Forget patience. Forget the boring stuff like protein, water, walking, sleep, follow-through, emotional honesty, and not letting one bad day become a whole identity. I am shiny. I am new. I am the answer."

https://beginpurpose.com/blog/why-do-i-feel-lost-after-losing-weight

I lost 400 pounds and became the most celebrated person in every room I walked into. It took me twenty years to understand why that nearly broke me. https://beginpurpose.com/blog/the-400-pound-lesson-what-weight-loss-taught-me-about-identity

https://beginpurpose.com/blog/identity-management-the-missing-link-in-the-weight-loss-industry This is a good read if you are curious about the effects of rapid weight loss on identity.