Writing on Medium is more difficult than losing weight and running a marathon

In 2020, the “pandemic” year, I lost 30 pounds. It was through a lot of running and calories restriction. I also shared one small tip in this short story.

It took me about 5–6 months to lose that much. Feeling and seeing my new body was one of the best experiences ever. Even now, a year later, I notice, almost every day, my own skinniness.

In hindsight, it wasn’t an easy journey. Patience is not one of my virtues. Once I get excited about something I want that something fast, like a child. I knew what weight I wanted to achieve and the commitment seemed strong. I’d read however that the sustainable path to weight loss is 1–2 pounds a week. A journey of several months to see my fat go away? That felt like a long time. Let’s say I’d stick, day after day, to my diet for a couple of weeks. I’d only see a couple of pounds go away. My weight can fluctuate many pounds during a single day because of hydration and other things! A strong commitment to something without an intermediate — let alone immediate — reward in sight is a tough challenge.

With Medium writing, it feels even worse. There is no visibility whatsoever on how long the loneliness of my blogging will last. There is no equivalent of 2 pounds per week or 10 seconds off my mile time. It’s possible that a year from now I will have written thousands of words and have no readers.