@skwigg I forgot about that! I was using the website at first, then switched to only using the app for some other reason, maybe easy picture adding. I guess using the combination is the way to go.

@skwigg You’re right, the mobile website does work fine. Thanks! I still wish this website would break long posts into separate page numbers. Maybe someday.

I’m glad you also liked The Stranger! That was seriously one of the best quality shows I’ve seen. I’ve seen Safe recommended on Netflix, didn’t realize it was by the same person! I started watching Bloodline which also has a similar vibe, slightly slower paced but it’s still a good family drama/mystery sort.

I still have an interest in exercise and health as well, but I have also seen that it can change from something negative to something that’s only positive. I actually feel a very strong life fulfillment, purpose, something like that? in things related to using our bodies to enjoy movement, touch, physical pleasures, improving abilities, keeping in good health, etc. Somehow I’m able to follow that now only in ways that are life and happiness enhancing, rather than stressful or painful, and with a good dose of hedonism and fun as opposed to being all control and denial. I don’t feel like I have a huge supply of things to keep myself interested occupied. and I think that’s one of the reasons I turned to dieting and fitness obsession as a teen in the first place, but I find a way to fill the time. I read a book every day or two, both fiction and non-fiction psychology, religion, pop science, self-help types. I enjoy online tv series and whenever I have a break from work where I have enough time to sit and watch (like this month) I go on a binge-watching streak. I like continuing my language and translation studies to progress in my work, and I get into learning other languages occasionally too. I was just reminded by Skwigg’s comment that accidentally bought an insanely expensive year subscription to Duolingo so I should be using that more actually. I have a few podcasts I really enjoy listening to while I go for walks outside (Terrible, Thanks for Asking is my recent binge-listen). As much as I complain about my kids being stress and work I do enjoy the constant busyness and especially taking them outside to play in nature. Now that I’m free from food weirdness I genuinely love food and eating, as does my husband, so a lot of our everyday free time and money is spent cooking and eating together, learning recipes and shopping, finding and going to restaurants, and so on. I also recently bought several field guides to birds and plants/trees so I can try to identify local nature around, since that was something my mom has always been into and I’d like to pass that onto my kids too. In my future, when the kids are big enough to not destroy things and/or are out of the house more often, I love puzzles so I want to start doing more of those for fun, and I also hope we can get into doing more recreational sports and hiking again. Something to look forward to. I started that by saying I didn’t have many things to keep me interested, but I ended up with quite a list!

Did anyone watch Schitt’s Creek? I’d forgotten about it but I just watched the 4th and 5th seasons. I don’t want to spoil anything just in case, but I actually cried at the engagement that happened at the end of season 5. I find all the main characters really engaging and endearing, and I appreciate the way they all have quirks and issues but care for each other despite, like a weirdly good concept of how family and friends should work.

I enjoyed the new Bodyweight Beginner workout #27 that was new a few days ago. It was simple and quick enough I actually did the whole thing as listed, and I thought it was a nice whole body workout without being challenging.

@melissa.stokes I totally binge-watched the entire thing in just a few days, and I loved it until the very end. Relationship drama+psych thriller/mystery are my genres of choice so it was perfect for me, but if you didn't get into it right away maybe it's not worth it for you!

I'm not sure how old or new it is, but has anyone watched The Stranger? I found it on Netflix and the first few episodes have been great, I'm totally hooked.

It is amazing how well hunger and food-wanting work when you’re operating from a non-diet mindset. I truly believed that my brain was broken and that certain foods were just plain irresistibly addicting to me for years and years, but I’ve proved myself wrong. in thankful for your evolving attitudes and you continuing to share your increased freedom. The binge response was so strong in me that clinging to any iota of restriction kept me stuck for...7-8 whole years after I joined here and started wanting to recover, and it took finally diving in headfirst to recover. But watching our fearless leader Skwigg walk into the water methodically sure helped me get the confidence to take the plunge, lol.

I forgot about this thread! i love Grey’s Anatomy. I may have missed the latest season but I’m going to go check now. I was pretty attached to the original cast of characters, but I still enjoy the latter episodes too. Also, I agreed on Pretty Little Liars. I wrote in my own journal a bit, but the shows I recently finished being hooked on are Black Mirror, Atypical, and The Good Place. Oh, and I finished the first season of Sex Education. Some of it was slightly over the top, but there were also parts that made me laugh out loud and cry.

I know you wrote this in response to something in my own journal, but I keep thinking how true and powerful the body image expectation part is. My disappointment when I saw myself in mirrors or pictures, and the feeling of disgust for my body itself and feeling too large, those always happened because I was hoping and believing my body should be something that wasn't. It still happens even once in a while lately, and that's why I picked up on it recently, where just a split second before I look in the mirror, it's like I'll be automatically expecting to see a thinner body, and then its the non-matching what's actually there that's jarring and makes me feel like something's wrong. It's like there's a sneaky comparison to myself hidden right inside my mind's eye, and I'd be subconsciously wishing that my body had magically become this fantasy version somehow since I last checked. When I've pre-accepted the reality, that how I am now is okay, fat is okay, curves here and there are okay, and that's what I expect to see and feel from my body, then it really does seem just normal and okay.

I really like this, and I've seen it play out in real life for myself. For the first probably few years after I discovered Happy Eaters way back when, I was TELLING myself "I am totally free to eat any food, any time, as much of it as I want!" but never actually doing it, and that kept me stuck going back-and-forth. It wasn't until I took the plunge and physically did it that the it truly sunk in that I was going to eat the food, today and forever, and the crazy mental hunger and cravings and urges died down all on their own. I also noticed my disorder around exercise kind of solved itself when I was forced physically to let go of it, first when I could no longer compulsively exercise off my binges after having my first kid to look after all day, and then subsequently when I just couldn't exercise at all due to pain and fatigue from the next two pregnancies. After all that it was like my brain gave up and decided all on its own, "Hey, we don't need to do this anymore." I am a big fan of the "fake it till you make it" approach and the behavior-emotions-thoughts interconnected triangle thing for eating as well as most other things in life now.

I kept my subscription for a long time and am resubscribed now. To be honest I very rarely follow the schedules or watch any of the workouts... Other than a few of the Kettlebell and Killer Legs series, I mostly look at the workout and skim the explanation, then end up only doing the moves I like and making up my own thing. But yeah, for the price, I think it’s still worth it for just the inspiration. Way cheaper than any gym!

Oh, and I forgot canned fish. My husband recently went through a phase and now we always have a wide variety stocked tuna/bonito/mackerel/sardines in oil/water/miso. They’re so versatile in pasta dishes, stews, or just eaten plain on top of rice. We always also have a ton of milk, eggs, yogurt, and sausages because the kids fly through those at a ridiculous pace. We also always have natto (fermented soybeans?) to eat with rice as a cheap and easy meal.

Pasta and rice are our main go-to meals. We always have a variety of dried pasta and (this being Asia) cook rice once or twice a day so that’s always ready and waiting. I always have the fridge stocked with a bunch of assorted vegetables and meat/fish in the freezer. So whenever there’s no plan, we usually either make some sort of oil/cream/tomato pasta sauce with a random variation of vegetables/meat, or a variation on some sort of boiled/stir-fried/deep fried Japanese dish to go with rice. Or fried rice or curry/stew on rice made with packaged roux, that happens a lot too. I’ve become incredibly spontaneous with my cooking so I also tend to just stock up on ingredients and cook on a whim, unless someone wants something specific and then I’ll just make a quick trip to the store. We have a lot of grocery stores nearby and I’m always out and about anyway so I just buy food for the day spontaneously often too. I always wrap and keep even just tiny bits and bites of whatever is leftover from dishes that I reheat and put together for mish-mashed lunches for myself. To be honest we also eat out/order in takeout pizza or sushi or ramen or whatever several meals a week too, just because cooking and cleaning up three times a day while looking after small kids is a lot of work. And because it’ll be too expensive once they eat proper quantities of food, lol. In short, my brain cannot compute the idea of a meal plan anymore. I know it’s my past talking, but I still feel slightly allergic to anything that resembles a diet plan. I do remember a time when it used to feel only safe to eat the same foods and the same meals, but that just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle or my family’s lifestyle anymore. Too stressful, deciding and eating on a whim feels so much easier, and as long as I shop for discount produce it’s not a budget issue either.

My experience with breakfast mirrors everyone else’s comments. I skipped it for a long time, felt like I didn’t need it and actually had more energy not eating it. But over time I came to realize that eating more in the morning led to more stable moods and more stable appetite the rest of the day, and for the first time I started not getting that insatiable snacky hunger at the end of the day. I used to only be able to workout on an empty stomach, no matter how long that meant waiting to eat, but at some point I now feel ready to run around at any time of day and feel that eating breakfast and lunch does give me better, true energy to use. I don’t recall paying enough attention to when the switch happened, although it was probably during a period after my most recent baby when I was pretty tired all day anyway and exercise wasn’t even on my radar, lol. Maybe it just takes some time to adjust to new patterns? As for planning vs. spontaneity, personally I find that a structure like “three meals (not snacks) a day, most days” is enough flexibility that it’s ridiculously easy to stick to without any effort (given that societal norms and schedules are generally based on the 3-a-day structure) and I can still vary what, when, and how much I eat, but it’s enough structure and routine that my eating and hunger don’t end up getting off-balance. Keep experimenting to find what feels most right and healthiest, and your body will probably both adapt and guide you at the same time.

Can you get a doctor to give you a prescription or recommendation? From my pregnancies, I know that’s a common time to be iron deficient, and the doctors generally can give you a specific supplement that’s easier on nausea and other side effects. I also just take a multi with extra iron, personally.

Thank you very much for keeping it as long as you have, Skwigg. It’s a shame to lose the content, but I’m ready to let all my old posts go.

Today I did the Full Body workout #1. I just did three rounds without timing and minus pull-ups, since my bar is upstairs and people were sleeping. Kettlebells and sliding plank moves - loved it!

I did Beginner Cardio #13 today. I don’t like the timed exercises, so I just did four rounds of 10 reps each exercise with minimal rest, and it worked out about 15 minutes anyway. It was fun! I like cardio that also feels like a strength workout at the same time.