WeltenAsche

I don't have the best mirror for that.

The nail was praised for holding fast, for making broken rafters last. No one asked why it obeyed, or what had bent it in this way.

They valued the weight it learned to bear, the roof it kept suspended there. But every nail that holds such weight, was hammered down into its fate.

Maybe, but I still don't really enjoy dressing up. It just feels a bit too formal and not very "me".

The only somewhat fitting picture I have is fresh out of the shower, wearing suit trousers and the undershirt I was going to wear under a nice button-up shirt afterwards, so it's more "halfway to dressed up" than actually dressed up.

Nice as in comfortable, well-made clothes that feel good to wear? Yes, definitely.

I did not ask the morning in, it entered like a thief and laid its little golden hand upon my private grief.

I had been absent for an hour, or centuries, perhaps. The dark had folded up my name and kept it in its lap.

But day, too honest to be kind, returned me to my breath, as if the heart were not a door that sometimes longs for death.

I believe I mentioned that they're either getting bigger or, relatively speaking, already appear more developed, since the upper arms are naturally bigger than the forearms to begin with.

I'm not quite sure what to tell you, so I searched for a photo. Of course, the upper arms aren't flexed here, whereas the forearms are, but I think that, due to the sports I do, a slight imbalance has developed between the two; which was the point I wanted to make with my original remark that you mentioned.

I do track calories and macros, yes. I've been doing it for years at this point.

It's definitely not something you need to do to lose weight, but it can be really beneficial, especially in the beginning. When you're just starting out, there's often a lot of uncertainty around how many calories are in certain foods and what your actual daily energy needs look like.

Tracking helps build that awareness. It gives you a clearer, more objective sense of what you're eating and how it aligns with your goals.

I'd generally recommend it, at least temporarily, until you've developed a solid intuition for the caloric content of the foods you eat regularly. Or, if you're a bit of a perfectionist like me, you might just keep doing it until it becomes second nature. At that point, it barely feels like effort.