i just dont get it man like seriously it makes NO SENSE im a line cook right? for like ten years now been in kitchens since i was a teenager busting my ass twelve hour shifts on my feet nonstop running around like a headless chicken sweat dripping into my eyes constantly i mean we’re talking high heat heavy lifting constant motion i come home smelling like grease and onions and pure effort every single day and i used to be like rail thin right like always could eat whatever the hell i wanted pizza at 2am after close a whole damn tub of ice cream no problem metabolic miracle or whatever but now? now i look in the mirror after a shower and it’s like... who IS that dude? my damn waistline is spreading out like dough on a proofing sheet my chef pants are getting TIGHT like not even in a comfy worn-in way but like a oh god i gotta unbutton these before i pop a seam way and my stomach it’s just there now. like a permanent fixture. a spare tire despite running a marathon every goddamn day and it’s not even like i’m eating bad necessarily like yeah i’ll grab a burger sometimes but mostly it’s family meal whatever we make or just like quick stuff at home i’m too tired to cook a whole meal after cooking all day ykwim? but then i’m trying to study for my intro to psych class after work right and i’m sitting there for like two hours and it’s like my body just goes into chill mode and stores everything and it’s stressing me out cause i need this degree to get out of kitchens but if i get out of kitchens what am i gonna do for money? it’s a whole catch-22 and i just feel like i’m losing control of my own damn body when i’m literally on my feet for half the day every day. is this just what happens when you hit like… thirty-something? no one told me this was part of the deal. i thought being a cook was like a built-in gym membership for life. guess not. it’s just frustrating as hell.