Before I discovered this, I was the woman who tried on three outfits every morning because none of them fit her like they used to.
The one who only took photos from the shoulders up.
The one who told her husband, "Don't hug me around the waist."
Every morning was the same: the alarm went off, I went to the bathroom, and there it was—the swollen face, eyes as if I'd cried all night, a belly bloated like I was 4 months pregnant.
And I was doing EVERYTHING right.
I counted calories. I walked my 10,000 steps. I drank lemon water on an empty stomach, just like they said on TikTok.
Nothing.
My doctor ordered tests. They came back "normal." She told me to lose weight and manage stress.
Manage stress? Ma'am, I have two children, a full-time job, and a mother-in-law. Stress manages me.
After the third time I left the doctor's office feeling the same as when I went in, I started thinking what many of us think but never say: