Books didn't help in my case. YMMV but this what worked for me: eating clean (avoiding fast food as much as possible), exercise (anything you enjoy works), and limiting my snacking. I didn't even count calories, if I had to guess I was probably consuming a bit less than 2000.

The two biggest reasons were severe burnout and private equity acquisition. I could see the company "tightening the belt", so I knew I had to leave before the cuts come. I kind of want to strike out on my own, and I'm not sure how to do that, but I guess I'll figure it out.

There was a website where you could download and play free games called gamehippo. I don't know if they still exist, but it was one of the best sites to discover free games.

This one is hard. Once you leave the company that's it; you'll probably never hear from them again. Can they still be considered friends if you're on their contacts list, but you haven't spoken/messaged them in years?