Originally Posted by
steve_d
Take 95% of the people who get into the sport. They originally never had issues with food, dieting, they ate when they pleased, and while their diets sorta sucked, at least they we're at a decent bodyfat level. Then enter the world of competing. Getting meticulous with food, having the bad relationship with making sure every calorie is in check, etc. Now this person seems to be the expert on nutrition, and does everything right - but because of the obsession, they have a hard time not thinking of food as fuel, but rather the obsession. I am generalizing - since not all fit the bill. I used to have issues with food or post-contest stuff when I first started (<20 years old), but not anymore.
Again, not trying to say this is you, but I warn anyone reading, try to have balance and normalcy. I bet you so many people wish they could go back to the way they were and not caring about food so much. Of course, there's a limit - in order to not care about food, you still have to have a head on your shoulders and know that there are generally bad options out there.
I always look at these sort of things with the same analogy - is putting 100% effort and getting 90% results worth it when putting 50% effort gives you 89% results? For some people, yes, and that's fine. Same concept - if you could work 40 hours a week and make a million $, or 50 hours a week to make 1.2 million, or 80 hours a week to make 2 million, where would you stop? I'd be the guy working 4-8 hours a week to make 100-200k. (Or perhaps the guy that works 40 hours a week for a year or two than retires.)