What's on your mind?

[AlSymerz]

It is a pain in the arse. I've got two new computers to set up and have data transferred to them. The new ones arrived here yesterday and the old ones were dumped here this morning. I told them if they want all data transferred I need logins, passwords etc so they've given me about half what I need and when I ring and ask for another bit of information it's like the CIA questioning a Russian spy. I understand the need for security but if you want someone to do the entire update give them the details they need and change the passwords after the machine is delivered.

Tonight is the twins birthday too which means not only do I spend all day working on their machines I have to go out for dinner with them and the rest of the family. They wont be getting their computers tonight but I also don't think I'll be getting a free meal from their kindness!

 

[BLAMO]

I'm mainly using work computer for forums since I don't have PC anymore and I prefer typing on a keyboard not on the screen. But I cannot use any USB slots and nothing that is not work related, I am still waiting to get a call from the man what is this forum I spend my working hours on and why are they talking about Albanians riding camels in loin cloth and stuff like that on it

The main issue is that my ex and I are going through some legal issues and I'm suing her for custody of our daughter which means I have to get as much evidence as possible and the best idea, as my lawyer advised, would be to put everything on USB. I could use one of my friends and send them documentation and they would put it on it but I'm not comfortable sending these files around

So I'm buying new computer today just so I can upload some files to USB and since I'm not really good in computers I'll end up sending files to my friend

 

[AlSymerz]

I prefer typing on a keyboard too. I've rarely felt the need to use my phone for the internet, partly because until the last few years in Australia it was too expensive, but also because it's a fucking phone!! Maybe I would feel differently if I wasn't at home 95% of the time, maybe it would be different if mobile reception was actually attainable at all times where I live, but I doubt it, I'd just rather use a keyboard and a screen.

[markm]

Who's laughing their ass off at Kevin McCarthy? Trump won't help him, because you know, he only likes winners. 

[AlSymerz]

Thankfully I don't know what all that BS means. Our news reports have been going on about it for two or three days now and every time it starts I just hear white noise.

[markm]

6 minutes ago, AlSymerz said:

Thankfully I don't know what all that BS means. Our news reports have been going on about it for two or three days now and every time it starts I just hear white noise.

Kevin McCarthy, the heir apparent Republican Speaker of the House can't get get enough votes in his party because the extreme right wing of his party don't trust him. They don't think he stands for anything, and he doesn't, he just wants power and can't control his tribe. They're divided. The right wing, the uber Trumpers,  for the most part aren't interested in governing, they just want chaos. They want to get rid of the U.S. constitution and instill a dictator. 

[AlSymerz]

In this country the leading party chooses the speaker of the house at the start of their tenure we don't have one for each side as far as I know. I suppose there is a vote like system in that the person chosen needs to be popular in his/her party, but it's all pretty much done without public fanfare and news coverage. Our speaker's job just seems to be to sit there listen to both sides talk shit then interject when they start yelling at each other. He can kick pollies out of the sitting if they get too unruly, or if they ignore requests to shut up, but they don't seem to do much else. In fact half the time they look like they are asleep.

[RelentlessOblivion]

It works in a similar fashion over there in the states. The speaker does have more power to appoint members to house committees, and decide on the house rules, but essentially serves the same purpose as ours. I just think it’s funny that because they are so divided, eight votes on the speaker and counting I believe? There is a possibility, moderate Republicans will vote for the Democratic nominee and the minority party in the house could end up with the speaker ship. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

1 hour ago, markm said:

Kevin McCarthy, the heir apparent Republican Speaker of the House can't get get enough votes in his party because the extreme right wing of his party don't trust him. They don't think he stands for anything, and he doesn't, he just wants power and can't control his tribe. They're divided. The right wing, the uber Trumpers, for the most part aren't interested in governing, they just want chaos. They want to get rid of the U.S. constitution and install a dictator. 

20 of the psycho hardcore MAGA caucus are trying to hold the government hostage in an attempt (which will ultimately fail) to get one of their own in as Speaker or at least someone they see as more sympathetic and loyal to the MAGA cause. Obviously with only 20 votes (218 needed) all the "Never Kevins" can do is block McCarthy's election. The Dems have cast all of their 212 votes for their guy Hakeem Jeffries for all 11 rounds of voting (they're 6 short) while the Repubs are split 201 to 20. I guess the ultra conservative Senator from California's just not crazy enough for them. House Minority/Majority leader since 2014 they see him as part of the old guard leadership from the pre-MAGA days. All I can hope is that Repubs will split their votes like this again between two different candidates in the next national election.

3 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

There is a possibility, moderate Republicans will vote for the Democratic nominee and the minority party in the house could end up with the speaker ship. 

Wishful thinking. He's got Buckley's chance.

[AlSymerz]

In all honesty when it comes to US politics I still don't know which team is which, who bats for which team and which team people want to root. I know there is some old guy who looks like he wants to have a nap but may not wake up from it. There's some fat rich dickhead who seems to get everyone upset and the rest is just white noise.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I know, for a start that implies there are any moderate Republicans left in the party of maga. Unless Trump loses the primary in 2024 and starts his own party. I don’t see the lunatic fringe losing any sway over the Republicans any time soon.

[navybsn]

18 hours ago, AlSymerz said:

In all honesty when it comes to US politics I still don't know which team is which, who bats for which team and which team people want to root. I know there is some old guy who looks like he wants to have a nap but may not wake up from it. There's some fat rich dickhead who seems to get everyone upset and the rest is just white noise.

They're on the same team. That's the trick. They just wear different jerseys. Both are working as hard as the can at staying midfield, not making progress towards a goal in either direction. Biggest trick of modern American democracy has been fooling the people that there is an actual choice. Neither are working for what the people want or need which allows minority interest groups to hold the country hostage (mega-rich, religious nuts, etc).

McCarthy's situation is hilarious. I hope it burns both parties to the ground and we can start over with more choice/representation for what people actually want. McCarthy getting over the hump after 43 votes is probably more likely however.

[AlSymerz]

That sounds like Australia, both teams sit on different sides of the fence but they still sit on the fence making sure they never stray too far away from each other, while at the same time screaming loudly about how different they are.

I know which figurehead is which in this country because I have to vote for the party lead by one of them. Without thinking about it though I couldn't tell you which team is which colour. I don't know which is left, which is right, which in central and which is left right central conservative, but I also I don't particularly care what left and right actually is, I care about what the fuck these idiots do when in power. Their policies really don't mean much because election promises only come around every 4 years or so and no politician ever really makes those with the thought of keeping them. Career politicians have ruined this country because they only care about the pay cheque. They are more worried about being re-elected next time than actually doing something positive into the future. A 10 year plan? Get fucked their plan only goes as far as tomorrow. They know it, we know it, but they still do it because the system allows them too.

I totally admit that US politics is something I just don't care about and that lack of interest means not knowing which side is which, or who runs the show, or even how the show works. I get sick of the media forcing feeding us BS political news from our own country, therefore barely tolerate it when it comes from the rest of the world, (although I have to admit the UK system has been quite comical for a few years now). I'll laugh at US politics when something funny happens, just like I expect the world to laugh at us when we have 4 leaders, only one of which was voted in by the people, in a single year, but I don't have any real inclination to understand or care about it. Therefore I probably also need to be told what is funny or I could just boldly laugh at the entire circus.

[RelentlessOblivion]

3 hours ago, navybsn said:

They're on the same team. That's the trick. They just wear different jerseys. Both are working as hard as the can at staying midfield, not making progress towards a goal in either direction. Biggest trick of modern American democracy has been fooling the people that there is an actual choice. Neither are working for what the people want or need which allows minority interest groups to hold the country hostage (mega-rich, religious nuts, etc).

McCarthy's situation is hilarious. I hope it burns both parties to the ground and we can start over with more choice/representation for what people actually want. McCarthy getting over the hump after 43 votes is probably more likely however.

That’s only partially true though, the corporate Democrats are in the role of corporate America, but they aren’t also actively favour of marginalising communities, or causing active harm by stripping people of their rights like the Republicans seem to be. With that being said favour of election reforms for both America and Australia, ranked choice voting should be in your system we use, with term limits, and politicians should be legally obligated to publicly disclose all donations they receive, I’d rather not be allowed to take campaign donations from anyone, but that’s never going to happen. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

Sometimes I wish I could ignore politics altogether and just go about my business and let these idiots go about theirs. We don't even have compulsory voting here like they do in OZ so I could in theory just tune-out, ignore the whole thing completely and never have to think about any of it ever again. But yet I confess to generally finding most of it pretty interesting for some reason, I'm not even really sure why. I'm not a political junkie in the obsessive way that some people I know are, but I do like to keep abreast of what's gong on in the world outside my door because some of this shit might be important in that it can affect me and my family and friends. Thanks to technology the world has become a very small place. What used to seem like exotic far-away places when I was a kid such as: Ukraine, China and Iran don't really seem any farther away to me now than Iowa, Colorado or Florida. And since America needs to have her nose in everybody's business around the world at all times, I can't even limit my intake to just domestic news because it's all inter-connected anyway.

The modern day 24 hour news cycle has really done the world a disservice though. The for-profit news media has 24 hours they need to fill with content, so they need to find ways to drum up interest to keep the ratings high and ensure the ad dollars will continually keep flowing in. They do this by putting a divisive spin on everything. Pitting us against them. Just like a team sport where you're encouraged to root for your home team no matter what. Everything is made out to be a catastrophe, an emergency, a tragedy, the end of the world as we know it, OMG the fucking sky is falling down! It's easy to become numb to it all, because after awhile you see it's the same pattern over and over and over, it's basically all just bullshit sensationalism because 99 times out of 100 nothing ever really comes of any of it. Much to do about nothing.

But it's also very easy for not just the ignorant masses but even reasonably intelligent people who should know better to get caught up in the drama of it all. Just like a good drama show, and in many cases sports programming as well, the news shows need to create good guys and bad guys that people will want to love/hate. The best dramas will all have that irredeemable monstrous evil scumbag villian character that everybody loves to hate. The worse the villian, the more scumbaggery they're engaged in, the more it sends the ratings through the roof. The for-profit news media knows this, and they give us just exactly that in the form of political theatre dressed up as news. Their job is to identify their audience's hopes and fears, and then play up how wonderful and virtuous "our side" is while demonizing the other side. The demonizing is by far the most important part though. That's what drives their viewers to tune in the next day to see if there are any new plot developments, just like people can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next episode of their favorite Netflix show. The mainstream media has become essentially just another group of entertainment programs masquerading as "news." 

Here in the US most of the MSM outlets have been demonizing the big orange infantile shit stain on a daily basis for going on 7 years now. While the handful of right-wing propaganda outlets (no reasonable person could consider them "news") do the same thing just in reverse, they demonize and get their viewers worked up about the radically woke socialist commie left. But I'm gonna refrain from talking about that here in this post or I'll be sitting here typing till the sun comes up, and it's currently only 7:30 pm. The fact that our former POTUS is in fact an incompetent, low-IQ, mentally challenged, immoral piece of shit con-man and career criminal who can't seem to stop saying and doing incredibly stupid shit has made the MSM's job very very easy these last few years. It's almost too easy to pin basically all of the world's problems on this buffoon. It's as if he was tailor-made for them, they couldn't have come up with a better supervillian than this clown if they'd tried.

But he's old, obese, with a shitty processed fast food diet, in poor health and under enormous stress. He can't live forever obviously and then what will the news media do without him? Guess they'll have to scramble to invent the next supervillian because that's the M.O. now. They've no doubt started having meetings to work on this already. Always gotta have a plan B. I've no idea how the MSM ever got by before Donnie Dumbass came along. They've been stringing us along by telling us Benedict Donald's going down and will be indicted and sent to prison "could be any day now" on a daily round the clock basis for several years now. This will of course never come to pass because these corrupt, unscrupulous, uber-wealthy and powerful fucks won't hold each other acountale for anything - because they know it could just as easily be them in the hot seat next time. It's like an unwritten gentlemen's agreement.

But the mainstream news media carries on just the same with their divisive sensationalist bullshit just as long as there's money to be made from it. Remember Covid-19? Remember how that's all the media talked about for most of 2020? People were freaked the fuck out. It became a hugeely divisive political issue. But now when's the last time you've heard about Covid-19 on American mainstream news media? The news media sensed that viewers had lost their taste for Covid coverage, they were just over it. So they stopped. Funny how when coverage of a particular issue stops the country quickly forgets about it. In the US Covid is old news now, no one really cares anymore. The schools and most employers have all dropped all their Covid protocols like quarantining and mandatory testing and all that stuff when employees miss work or kids miss days of school being sick. Nobody cares anymore. At this point it's almost like it never happened. That's the power the newsmedia has to drive the narrative. Unbelievable to me that they are not regulated as far as truth in reporting. But this is America. The only regulations US news media has to abide by here are not allowing any swearing on the air. Because I guess swear words like fuck and shit and cunt are seen as the bigger threats to our society than supposed "news outlets" endlessly churning out their propaganda and the damage that causes.

[AlSymerz]

We still get quite a bit of covid news here, partly because the numbers have risen a bit but mostly because we've just made Chinese travellers pass a test 48 hours before arriving and the media are chomping at the bit to make the Australian Government seem inept in their handling while at the same time making China look like idiots for arguing the point. So Covid is still very political at the moment here even if it's not as wide spread as it once was.

The thing about the US Speaker who didn't get votes (I've already forgotten his name) is that he took Chinese travellers off our news for the 48 hour news cycle. In that time the announced policy about travellers became policy and the news media picked that up again and started talking to travellers at the airports. So it really does feel like we get slapped in the face with US politics, the same 3 minutes of footage gets used for 48 hours and then it's forgotten.

I know I could hunt the internet for information like the US Speaker's name, I could also find more information about US politics the same way but because it doesn't directly effect me I take it in the neck from a shitty half arsed media group that bludgeon on and on about it with limited story but maximum airtime for 48 hours and then forget about it.

In Australia however because it does effect me (a little more than US politics does) I do take the time to look at the parts that effect me. I don't trust the media to give me the information I want, the TV and newspapers are fucking terrible and they wont ever improve. But I also don't just read one site and decide that's the news I'm going to believe. In most cases I don't read the political jargon, I look at the topic and if it interests me I find actual sources not media reports. But I also admit that as I get older I do tend to do this less and less. These days I even refuse to vote in person at a polling booth forgoing my "democracy sausage" as so many like to call it, because I can't stand being faced with that much politics all in one place.

Bottom line really is that I know what effects me, I know where to get information on those things and the media are and probably wont ever be that source.That doesn't work for some and I'm fine with that but it works for me.

[MacabreEternal]

My walking habits take on new lengths as I clocked 8 kilometres yesterday before starting work.  Today was only 6.6km but still enjoying the mental clear out it gives me.  My buds and me have decided to do a step challenge for January (essentially whoever does the least steps in January needs to make a donation to a charity we know of that donates shoes to those in need).  I thought I was doing well clocking in nearly 14,000 steps a day but one of the group has smashed 24,000 today - the bastard.

In addition to this, I start intermittent fasting tonight with 8pm tonight until 12pm tomorrow meaning only water and hot beverages (minus milk or sugar) can be consumed, no food.  Chose this intro method to fasting because I do on occasion start work early and end up working through breakfast and I am not in the habit of consuming anything after 7pm anyways due to reflux, so I am predicting it easier doing this than what I tried some 8/9 years ago of eating in the morning and then going all day with nothing until 12 hours later.  One of friends has gone extreme already and is on just one meal a day which (certainly at this stage) would be too much for my fragile brain - and pot belly.

[AlSymerz]

I used to enjoy walking at 5am in the winter. I'd walk around the outer perimeter of the farm, along the river into town and back for a total of about 7-8ks. On weekdays I'd wave to my brother as he'd be heading off to work, on weekends I'd rarely even see a moving car. I don't know how many steps it was because that was before I got my tracker, but I gave up walking totally for 5am bike riding, which I also used to enjoy. However that turned to shit 6 months ago and I just can't bring myself to early morning exercise as well as what I do around the farm since I got sick. I keep trying to change that but I also keep making excuses not too.

 

[FatherAlabaster]

I've been too sick to go out on a real walk lately too. I tried going to the woods a few days ago, but I had to turn around about 10 minutes in and I spent the rest of the day sitting down. We're a lot better than we were around Christmas but still can't shake this cold, and I'm fucking tired of it.

[AlSymerz]

I'm sick of it too. There has been days when I've done 10,000 steps, over the whole day, and there has been times where I'd exerted myself to the point of exhaustion. But this fucking cough wont go away and some days it feels like a full on flu, others it doesn't feel like anything, then just when I think it's gone it comes back again.

[markm]

I've been doing intermittent fasting for several years now. I usually do 2-10 PM, 1-9 or sometimes 3-11 if I'm staying up late. I don't do it every day, but probably 5-6 days per weight. Why do I start so late in the day? It's mostly due to my kayaking hobby. When I paddle after work during, from Spring daylights savings until Autumn, I'll paddle with friends after work and as I'm an hour's drive from the river, I often don't get home until close to 10 when we have the most daylight. If I'm lifting weights, I have to adjust, but I don't strength train as much as a I used to. 

I dropped weight quick when I first started from about 185 lbs to 169 at which point I thought there might be something wrong and I started eating normal and sure enough, I started eating normal for a few days and put a few pounds back on. 

For me, it's just calorie control, but it's less effective than when I started. I think your body gets used to it. I'm about 6 ft and I like to keep my weight under 180, but it's more of a struggle now probably because I over feed during my eating hours sometimes and on the weekends drink more beer and eat higher caloric foods. When I first started, I was strict and was very careful what I ate during my feeding hours and I quit drinking for a few weeks an that helped too. But life is too short, I like beer. In fact, I'm going to grab another one right now. 

[GoatmasterGeneral]

32 minutes ago, MacabreEternal said:

My walking habits take on new lengths as I clocked 8 kilometres yesterday before starting work.  Today was only 6.6km but still enjoying the mental clear out it gives me.  My buds and me have decided to do a step challenge for January (essentially whoever does the least steps in January needs to make a donation to a charity we know of that donates shoes to those in need).  I thought I was doing well clocking in nearly 14,000 steps a day but one of the group has smashed 24,000 today - the bastard.

In addition to this, I start intermittent fasting tonight with 8pm tonight until 12pm tomorrow meaning only water and hot beverages (minus milk or sugar) can be consumed, no food.  Chose this intro method to fasting because I do on occasion start work early and end up working through breakfast and I am not in the habit of consuming anything after 7pm anyways due to reflux, so I am predicting it easier doing this than what I tried some 8/9 years ago of eating in the morning and then going all day with nothing until 12 hours later.  One of friends has gone extreme already and is on just one meal a day which (certainly at this stage) would be too much for my fragile brain - and pot belly.

I did one meal a day for 3 or 4 years. Lost 45 pounds (244 down to 199) but that was all in the first 6 or 8 months. I didn't find it tough to stick to, but I had already really only been eating one actual meal a day for many years anyway. I really just had to cut out the morning cofee & blueberry muffin, as well as the late night snacks and ice cream. The "morning" coffee never really left, I just pushed it back to somewhere between 1 and 4pm because I don't even want it without the cream and sugar. Only water before then. But now the last year or so the blueberry muffin has returned (some days) not so much because I'm hungry, but because I like to nibble on something with my afternoon coffee. For me hunger is all in my mind. I've found that if I eat anything early in the day I will get hungry again when my stomach empties out in a few hours, but if I don't eat anything at all then I won't get hungry and I can easily go all day and well into the night without thinking about food.

Dinner can be anywhere from 7pm til 9pm or sometimes later depending on how lazy I'm feeling and how much I'm enjoying what I'm listening to upstairs. (kid has a snack right when he gets home from school at 4:30 and then gets fed his dinner generally by 7pm because at 8 yo he doesn't need to be fasting) Problem with the intermittent fasting for me is I can't eat two meals within a 6 or even an 8 hour window. Once I've eaten a meal I'll continue to feel quite full as if I've just finished eating for longer than that. So I just have my one big meal in the evenings, that works better for me. I've always had problems with portion control, I don't want to eat these multiple smaller meals like many people eat that feel more like little snacks to me. That's no good, it just feels like a tease. I love food and when I'm enjoying my meal I want to shovel it in until I can't fit anymore. OMAD let's me do that because I figure you can only take in so many calories just eating one big meal a day.

The late night snacks have crept back into my routine as well unfortunately, but they're nothing like they used to be. A glass of whiskey to sip on and a few little pieces of dark chocolate or some nuts at 11pm or midnight after the kid's asleep does the trick. In the past I would always have a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream each and every night in the wee hours, 2 or 3 or 4am accompanied by a massive 20oz cup of chocolate milk to wash it down. I don't do that anymore, and yes the added bonus is that the chronic heartburn and reflux I used to live with is now totally a thing of the past.

[MacabreEternal]

10 hours ago, markm said:

I've been doing intermittent fasting for several years now. I usually do 2-10 PM, 1-9 or sometimes 3-11 if I'm staying up late. I don't do it every day, but probably 5-6 days per weight. Why do I start so late in the day? It's mostly due to my kayaking hobby. When I paddle after work during, from Spring daylights savings until Autumn, I'll paddle with friends after work and as I'm an hour's drive from the river, I often don't get home until close to 10 when we have the most daylight. If I'm lifting weights, I have to adjust, but I don't strength train as much as a I used to. 

I dropped weight quick when I first started from about 185 lbs to 169 at which point I thought there might be something wrong and I started eating normal and sure enough, I started eating normal for a few days and put a few pounds back on. 

For me, it's just calorie control, but it's less effective than when I started. I think your body gets used to it. I'm about 6 ft and I like to keep my weight under 180, but it's more of a struggle now probably because I over feed during my eating hours sometimes and on the weekends drink more beer and eat higher caloric foods. When I first started, I was strict and was very careful what I ate during my feeding hours and I quit drinking for a few weeks an that helped too. But life is too short, I like beer. In fact, I'm going to grab another one right now. 

I am 6ft 3' and weigh 222lbs - the heaviest I have ever been and I feel sluggish and frankly fucking fat.  The exercise is the main missing part in my life from say ten or fifteen years ago when I was in the gym like four or five times a week before work (or after sometimes) and I always benefitted from a high metabolism up into my mid-thirties so could eat and drink whatever I wanted and it have little impact on my weight.  

I hear you on the body getting used to fasting thing.  I will switch up my timings once I have done this breakfast skip thing and I can figure out how it will work around my work schedule (meetings coming up in London and Scotland that I will need to think about).  Also with you on the beer, lost count of how many times I have vowed to give it up for good but fuck life is shit without it.

10 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I did one meal a day for 3 or 4 years. Lost 45 pounds (244 down to 199) but that was all in the first 6 or 8 months. I didn't find it tough to stick to, but I had already really only been eating one actual meal a day for many years anyway. I really just had to cut out the morning cofee & blueberry muffin, as well as the late night snacks and ice cream. The "morning" coffee never really left, I just pushed it back to somewhere between 1 and 4pm because I don't even want it without the cream and sugar. Only water before then. But now the last year or so the blueberry muffin has returned (some days) not so much because I'm hungry, but because I like to nibble on something with my afternoon coffee. For me hunger is all in my mind. I've found that if I eat anything early in the day I will get hungry again when my stomach empties out in a few hours, but if I don't eat anything at all then I won't get hungry and I can easily go all day and well into the night without thinking about food.

Dinner can be anywhere from 7pm til 9pm or sometimes later depending on how lazy I'm feeling and how much I'm enjoying what I'm listening to upstairs. (kid has a snack right when he gets home from school at 4:30 and then gets fed his dinner generally by 7pm because at 8 yo he doesn't need to be fasting) Problem with the intermittent fasting for me is I can't eat two meals within a 6 or even an 8 hour window. Once I've eaten a meal I'll continue to feel quite full as if I've just finished eating for longer than that. So I just have my one big meal in the evenings, that works better for me. I've always had problems with portion control, I don't want to eat these multiple smaller meals like many people eat that feel more like little snacks to me. That's no good, it just feels like a tease. I love food and when I'm enjoying my meal I want to shovel it in until I can't fit anymore. OMAD let's me do that because I figure you can only take in so many calories just eating one big meal a day.

The late night snacks have crept back into my routine as well unfortunately, but they're nothing like they used to be. A glass of whiskey to sip on and a few little pieces of dark chocolate or some nuts at 11pm or midnight after the kid's asleep does the trick. In the past I would always have a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream each and every night in the wee hours, 2 or 3 or 4am accompanied by a massive 20oz cup of chocolate milk to wash it down. I don't do that anymore, and yes the added bonus is that the chronic heartburn and reflux I used to live with is now totally a thing of the past.

I find my meal timings are usually out from when my wife wants to eat.  She is like 7pm at the earliest but I just can't digest it that well if I am up early for a 5am drive out somewhere the next day and need to be in bed for 9pm to get my seven hours in (which I am fucking useless without btw).  Hoping the fasting helps me with flare ups of IBS that I get on occasion but will have to wait and see on that front.

[navybsn]

I'm sure I do IF, but not in a planned sort of way. I have delayed gastric emptying so I can easily eat once a day and be done. Even a small meal or snack will do. As a consequence, I never really get hungry. At 5'11 and 160, I struggle to stay there and have to monitor my weight regularly.  When I start slipping below 160, I have to make a concentrated effort to eat bigger/consume more calories to get back to the mark. At 47 years old, it's a better problem to have than being overweight and constantly trying to lose weight I guess.

In my 20's and 30's, pre-cancer, I was normally in the gym 6 days a week, ran 100-125 miles a week, and stayed around 190. Just don't have the time, energy, or ability to do that anymore. The only activity I get these days is from housework/yardwork and the occasional round of golf. I need to get busy working on flexibility to avoid becoming a decrepit old man too early. Yoga or something like that. I feel older than I am and my joints bother me daily. Everyone in the fam suffers from arthritis and it's starting to set in for me, so mobility is the key. And hormone regulation. My system is chronically fucked up, so I keep a close eye on it. Legacy of the stem cell transplant I had 10 years ago. Chronic anemia, low iron and B12, liver enzymes are whack... Keeping it all inline is a chore, and something I need to pay more attention to in the coming year. At my low point during treatment, I was 120 pounds and couldn't walk 15 feet. It wouldn't take much to get back there and that's scary shit.

Anyways, back on topic. It's probably just me, but I find it pretty easy to lose weight. Whenever I get hungry or thirsty and can't eat for whatever reason, I just acknowledge the feeling and move on. Learned skill I suppose from years in the military and healthcare where it's not always your choice when you get to do those things. Works too effectively for me I guess.

[markm]

Controlling  hunger is difficult for most people. With IF, I've found controlling my carbs is key. Not low carbs, but just cutting back. For instance, when I went back to work after the holidays after eating a lot of sweet pastries, too much white flour generally, I was super hungry Tuesday morning. I went back to eating more whole grains and less carbs, heavy on salads, protein and avoiding sweets and the hunger pangs were reduced. Then, the trick is to then eat healthy during feeding times and control your portions. It won't work if you eat junk food or overeat. Sometimes you want to gorge yourself on the first meal and you need to control that. 

Navy's situation is obviously different. And, Navy, kudos for you navigating all the shit you've got to deal with. I know we've posted about this before, but yoga has been a godsend for me. I often wake up with tight upper and mid back, shoulders and neck. When I do yoga I feel like the tin man getting lubed with oil.

Check out Yoga for Adriene on Youtube, she's legit meaning she's very well trained and has a good understanding about anatomy and has a mission to  provide high quality yoga for free and she's easy on the eyes.

She has a video for just about any physical issue you want or specific thing you want to address (I.e., sleep, core, strengthening, short wake up morning, evening wind down, yoga for knees for neck, yoga for beginners....you name it). I do some yoga probably 5 days a week or more.

My girl Adriene does a 30 day daily challenge at the beginning of the year where she pumps out a 20-30 minute video daily for the first 30 days of the year and is suitable for all levels. She gives you options to make the exercises easier or more difficult and always includes some core and some deep breathing for mindfulness. Best of all her videos are short-haha! . It's good shit. Check out her short intro video here: