This might not work for everyone but this is honestly what I did:

• I made sure my health was in check. Were my Hashimoto's medications up to date? Did I have any deficiencies? etc

• Started eating filling food, without calorie counting. Both when I cooked and when I ate out I picked options that used nutritious ingredients and a variety of food groups, but also weren't absolutely fucking dreadful to consume. Getting rid of enjoyment from your diet completely is the fastest way to relapse into binge-eating and just generally isn't helpful.

• Started not just exercising, but also moving around more. Either alone to run errands or just with friends, we can just walk around and talk, see where the road takes us. (I understand this might be difficult for suburbia Americans though)

• Understood my goals. I wasn't sure initially if I wanted to just lose weight or gain muscle. I had some not-so-great experiences with the scale when I was an athlete that I only just started overcoming. I wanted to decrease my overall volume so I stopped looking towards the scale and just made sure to do the workout exercises that catered to my body's needs and checked for progress in the clothes that stopped fitting me.

Hope this helps! I've been a lot healthier and happier since taking my health into my hands and staying away from the disordered habits of my gymrat family 🫡