I went to the gym this morning intending to pound out thirty intense minutes on the stair stepper. Instead I came off the machine feeling weak and tired at the twenty minute mark.

I forgot to eat breakfast. Well, I didn’t forget (I’m not the type of person who forgets to eat), but I often put it off until as late as possible.

Why do you put off breakfast, Casey?

Well, because of diet culture. I’ve been awash in tips and tricks for eating less for years: take a sip of water between each bite, always use the small plates for portion control, only eat half the sandwich, never eat the fries. Putting off breakfast has been one of my personal tricks for eating less. I find my morning hunger easy to ignore, but about two hours after I eat a meal my hunger signals begin to become unmanageable. Putting off breakfast until nine was a quick and easy way to make the journey to lunchtime less of a slog.

This is bringing back so many memories of how hungry I was all the time when I was doing Weight Watchers. How obsessed with food I was.

Anyway, I don’t have to be hungry or obsessed anymore. I can eat my breakfast at 6:30 with the kids and then get in a good workout at the gym and have a snack at 10 and lunch at noon and literally nobody cares. NOBODY CARES. Weight Watchers isn’t doling out thirty measly points to me anymore. I get to eat food when I want food and when I need food and it’s great.

But it’s hard to break old habits! I need an adult to poke me in the morning and note that I’m not just making scrambled eggs for the kids. I need someone to hand me peanut butter toast and remind me that I need to eat this if I want to run on the treadmill later. Fuel your workout! Eat your breakfast!