I don't know, personally, whenever that happens to me, I tend to go heavy on the lip balm or something similar—just so it doesn't feel so tight and dry. It’s basically just a cracked lip, right? I guess I’d probably dab a little bit of honey or some antiseptic ointment on there too, just to be safe so nothing gets infected. Luckily, at least this stays quiet for a while, unlike my situation with cold sores lately... which have been a total nightmare...
For the most part, yeah, I am 😁 I’ve just been dealing with these little, nagging, annoying issues lately—nothing life-altering or catastrophic, I guess, but they're just incredibly drawn-out, tedious, and honestly pretty uncomfortable.
I make it a point to shower every single night, without fail. I’m definitely one of those people who loves a steaming hot shower—I know, I know, everyone says lukewarm is better for you, but honestly, there's nothing like it for relaxing. It’s almost like I’m washing away all the stress and bullshit from the day, if that makes sense. I also always make sure to clean up after sex; I use a specific intimate wash for that area, and I tend to wash more frequently during my period too. As for baths? Never. I just can't stand that pruned, wrinkly feeling you get on your fingers.😁
I make it a point to eat breakfast, regardless of whether I roll out of bed at 7 AM or closer to 11! If I manage to get up early, I usually end up eating about four times a day, but if I sleep in until 11 or later, sometimes I only eat twice. I just shift my other meals around so there's a 4 to 5-hour gap between everything. I don't really have a fixed schedule for eating—not that I could afford to be that strict right now, since I'm not working. Usually, I’ll have something around 9 in the morning, then lunch around 2 or 3, and dinner somewhere between 7 and 8. I can't exactly go on a binge of all sorts of things anymore (which, honestly, isn't even a problem because you eventually get used to anything), so for breakfast, I mostly stick to some kind of grain—maybe some oatmeal, millet, or buckwheat—with soy milk and seeds. Or maybe one of those grains paired with rice cakes along with some sheep cheese or tofu; occasionally, I’ll toss in some soy pâté too. About once a week, or maybe once every ten days, I give in to a "cholesterol-heavy" breakfast: polenta, some dry homemade sausage, and an egg—sometimes I'll swap the sausage for bacon. After breakfast, I might have a little something 😁 as a dessert, like carrots and some dried fruit—apricots, figs, or prunes—along with some nuts like hazelnuts, almonds, or walnuts. Sometimes I'll even have a bit of carob. That serves as my dessert, and sometimes I do the same thing after lunch.
My body just doesn't function properly without regular meals every few hours; my blood sugar drops or I get so hungry that I can't focus on anything else.
I know, I know, I'm being complicated, but I truly believe I'm eating way healthier than I used to—back when I was basically inhaling sandwiches, junk food from a bag, ice cream, and chocolate... Ugh, just thinking about it makes me feel sick. For instance, for Valentine's Day, I made some homemade pastries for my sweetheart 😍, and when I tried one, I almost spat it out (but since they were my very first attempt, I forced myself to swallow it 😍) because it was just presladak! It makes me wonder how I ever managed to gorge myself on that stuff! I guess it's all just a matter of habit....
And then there's the portions—you really have to practice moderation, which means you can actually enjoy everything. But me? I definitely have a tendency to overdo it 😬
Jacob Wood9 said:That’s just what it is called because they're small. I mean, if she were growing mushrooms out of her backside, maybe we could change the name and move this entire thread over to the food section.😬 🤣
Buhahahah 🤣 🤣 🤣 👍
Anyway, the candidate is a total nightmare. I'm dealing with one myself. Sometimes things are okay, sometimes they're a complete disaster, but right now, I guess it's mostly under control...
I don't usually go through these "seasonal shifts" (which is probably a pretty good way to put it, 🤣), but I guess that’s just how things turned out this time around... I started getting back into a workout routine, but then my appetite just went absolutely haywire. I was constantly hungry and felt completely wiped out, so I ended up scaling back the intensity and switching things up, though I still found myself eating way more than usual for a while... My goal is to try and settle somewhere between 120 and 125 pounds, but we'll see if I can actually pull that off... Honestly, the main thing is just feeling good in my own skin and being relatively happy with how I look 👍
I don't really know... I was hovering around 119 pounds last summer, and honestly, I haven't really bothered stepping on a scale since then, but since all my clothes were still fitting me just fine, I figured my weight hadn't actually changed much. So, I decided to just hop on the scale one day out of curiosity, and wouldn't you know it, 😈 125! 🤣 That’s what they call "stealth" weight gain—you really have to watch out for that kind of thing! 🤣 🤣
And besides, why do you even care, Susan James42? 😬
Nicole James said:P.S. If you start growing a beak, then we can officially conclude that the bird flu virus has mutated... like, SERIOUSLY.
Nicole James said:Fine... if someone tries to sell me some overpriced vitamin juice right now, I might just grow horns too.😈
🤣 🤣 Well, this definitely made my day! 👍
OT: My mom had this issue for a while where she felt like there was a tiny splinter stuck in her heel; she kept wearing some kind of cushion insert, and then I guess it just worked itself out on its own because she eventually stopped complaining about it.😬 Honestly, just go see a doctor, just in case, so you don't end up stressing yourself out over nothing if it turns out to be something more serious!
Kate Garcia2 said:I feel you...😬 So, do you have those light bones? 😁
173 lbs / 55 years old—though at this rate, if a strong wind blows through Chicago, I’ll probably have to grab onto my husband just so I don't get carried away 😬 )
I don't 🙄 But I don't really have any 🙂 I mean, I've got some curves... I'm thin, sure, but I'm constantly bloated so I've always had a little tummy—except maybe first thing in the morning when I wake up 😬 😁
I absolutely love Harry Potter, though I suppose "devoured" would be a more accurate way to describe how I flew through all the books—except for this last one—and watched every single movie. I actually just got back from the theater after seeing this latest installment, and honestly... what can I even say? For me, it was just plain 😢 dosadan. There weren't any of those lightning-fast, hilarious lines of dialogue I was hoping for after reading some of these posts; it was mostly just a few funny facial expressions and then nothing. The soundtrack is decent, I guess; that’s the one thing that really caught my attention, but the overall vibe is 👎 boring. The book is way better. I'll admit, though, trying to squeeze a massive novel like that into a single movie was probably a pretty impossible task, which I suppose explains a lot.
Thanks for the reply, but honestly, I only need this kind of thing once, so I really don't see the point in dropping money on some fancy gadget just for a one-off.
I’ve been having some issues with my period lately, so I did a little digging online and saw on mayoclinic.org that menstruation can actually stop if your body fat percentage drops below 12%. It’s not like I’m extremely skinny or anything, but maybe I’m just close enough to it that it's worth checking out.
Does anyone happen to know where I can go in Cleveland to get my body fat percentage measured? I think I might have heard once that you could find this kind of thing at certain beauty salons or maybe some of those local fitness centers... I don't know, does anyone actually have any first-hand experience with this? Thanks
I honestly think the ChapStick is pretty solid. I ended up picking some up back when I was dealing with a cold sore outbreak, mostly because my lips were constantly cracking and peeling like crazy during that time. It actually did the trick for me, I guess.
According to www.webmd.com, if you're dealing with constipation, you should try drinking about half a cup of warm Donat on an empty stomach. I think there were also some specific guidelines from Donat mentioned in a recent issue of Vita magazine—I caught it yesterday, actually—but I can't quite recall the exact measurements. It supposedly breaks down exactly how much you need depending on what specific issues you're trying to address. I guess it varies from person to person; for some people, it seems to work almost immediately after the first dose, while others might need to take it more regularly for a little while before they see any real results.
In general, though, you should probably just try to stay hydrated, eat plenty of fiber (just, you know, don't go overboard with it), and make sure you're getting some exercise—physical activity really does help get things moving.
I actually went through allergy shots—desensitization therapy—back in the day, so I was pretty used to needles. They didn't really rattle me much. Though, if I'm being honest, when I was a little kid, I used to absolutely lose my mind over needles; I’d be screaming like I was headed to the guillotine every time I had to get a shot. But regarding what you're talking about... man, I've had some weird experiences. A couple of times at the dentist, right after they gave me the local anesthetic, I started getting this intense dizziness and this ringing in my ears, plus this overwhelming feeling like I was going to throw up or just pass out cold. My dentist wouldn't even let me close my eyes; he'd immediately tilt my chair all the way back so I was lying flat. He told me it happens sometimes to people who just have a really sensitive system, especially if you happen to hold your breath while they're administering the injection. Then this past summer, I went in for my third tetanus shot, and yeah, the same thing happened all over again. I should mention that the first two shots were totally fine. So, I thought I was good, then suddenly everything started spinning and I felt like I was going to vomit. Apparently, I turned deathly pale, too. The doctor just said it’s something that can happen if you have a sensitive constitution. Having a glass of water—maybe with a bit of sugar in it—and just sitting there for about ten minutes helped me settle down. And oh, I remember one time when I was there for blood work; I was just sitting in the waiting room and this kid was absolutely hysterical, screaming about how much it was gonna hurt and all that nonsense, and suddenly I felt just as sick as him. I had to scramble out of there, sit down on some steps outside, and then I just vaguely remember some woman grabbing my hand and asking if I was okay. It’s pretty obvious I blacked out for a second there. It's not that I'm afraid of the needle itself. In fact, I always watch closely when they're drawing my blood because I want to know exactly what's happening to me. I just have a very sensitive system, I guess. And I always try to schedule my blood work so I'm one of the first people in, because that clinic smell just makes me feel nauseous.
So, my advice? Just try to stay calm, keep breathing, and really attempt to relax.
I actually have a magnetic trainer myself, and I’ve been really happy with it. I’ve had mine for almost two years now; I picked it up $700 at the Eurobike shop in San Francisco. I used to get quite a bit of training in on it, though I took a break for a while because I was bouncing between two different places, but I’m finally getting back into the swing of things.
Usually, I just stick to the lowest resistance setting—maybe level 2 if I’m feeling ambitious—and my goal is about thirty minutes a day, or maybe a few times a week depending on how I feel. Since I’m pretty out of shape right now, I’m starting off with just five-minute sessions. Honestly, it feels way more intense than a standard stationary bike, at least from what I can tell. I personally love working out during the winter because I absolutely hate the cold, and this really helps warm me up. It’s kind of the same reason why I used to prefer doing the dishes in the winter rather than the summer—though, thank god, I have a dishwasher now.
Oh, also, I wanted to ask those of you who train regularly and tend to push yourselves to the limit: Have you noticed that when you start, everything feels fine, then comes that phase where fatigue sets in, and then that point where you just want to quit entirely? But if you somehow manage to push through all those stages, the exhaustion and boredom just... vanish? Especially if you’re listening to music or watching TV, you suddenly get this sensation that you could just keep riding forever...
Thanks everyone for the input; I’ve actually been digging around in those directions already, but I’ll definitely check out the links you guys suggested.
It’s not even that my diet is unbalanced, because honestly, I think I eat pretty well: I get a good mix of everything—veggies, grains, fish, maybe just a little less meat and eggs (that was a suggestion from my holistic doctor), seeds, legumes, some goat cheese... stuff like that.
I guess I didn't quite manage to explain what's actually bothering me; let me try again. So, I’ll plan out what I consider a perfectly balanced meal, but then this sudden impulse hits me to eat more—like, say, some rice cakes—and I just end up doing it. And then I feel absolutely terrible about myself for doing it, though I can't really put my finger on why. It’s not like I’m overeating massive amounts of food or calories every single day; occasionally I might go over my 1,800 limit by maybe 200 or 300 calories, and I know, I know, obsessing over a specific number is a bad idea, but I just can't seem to stop myself... and sure, I eat out once in a while, but that's it. The other thing is when I sit down to eat something I genuinely love and that makes me feel great—I enjoy it so much (by the way, it's nothing fancy, just things like rice cakes, goat cheese, and soy pâté) that I get this intense urge to just keep eating more of it. So I do. If I don't, I just feel restless. But if I do, it’s almost like I’ve taken some kind of drug; I feel calm and happy... right up until the guilt kicks in, making me wonder how I can possibly be acting like this.
I mean, I realize I'm probably overthinking all of this, but that's just where I am. I try to fight it, and sometimes I actually do okay and don't even think about it, but then a bad day hits, everything feels wrong, and I suppose I just turn back to that false sense of security—which is defined by that 1,800 number—and start spiraling and posting this nonsense on the forum...