snoopfrog

M | 41 | 6’2 (188cm) | 325lbs --> 189lbs --> 192lbs (147.5kg --> 85.75 --> 87). I’m not educated on the matter or an expert but can share from my experience.

I am a spreadsheet nerd and get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I’m tracking and working with good data, regardless of what I’m doing. So I weigh myself daily at the same time (morning after I use the restroom but before I eat/drink anything or get dressed), weigh and track my food (Cronometer is my app of choice), and I use weekly averages to observe trends and adjust calorie intake. That’s only part of it though.

I had to address why and how I became overweight myself. I was binge eating to help calm myself down, mostly from stress and anxiety. I reduced the stress (different job), went to counseling, and looked what I was binge eating. It was always sweets. I haven’t had anything with more than 1-2g of added sugar in several years now - I just don’t do it. That’s the only thing in my diet that’s off-limits at this point, and it’s just going to stay that way.

I started weight loss pretty extreme by cutting all carbs and just having lean meat with some green veggies for two weeks. I wanted to kill the sweet tooth, and I did. I slowly reintroduced carbs. I added an apple a day, then a second apple, then wild rice, and so forth - always healthy carbs. I started reintroducing fats in the form of largely unsaturated fats with peanut butter and nuts. I do consume dairy as well and have no digestive issues with that, but I do so in more moderation. I reintroduced these types of foods over the course of ~1-1.5 years.

I also started exercising after losing the first 40lbs (18kg). I haven’t found cardio I like enough to program regularly (not that I skip it entirely), but I love weightlifting, so I focus on that. I started with Starting Strength for a few months, moved onto 5/3/1 (several variations of this - I bought his books) for a couple years, and now that I can handle more volume, I do PPL/UL (push, pull, leg, upper, lower) each week. I’ve tried to do PPL six days a week, but every time I try to add that extra day, my body complains about the volume, so I move back to PPL/UL.

I’m at the point where I’m actually trying to lean-gain, which is freaking terrifying after walking around overweight for so many years. Even a 200 calorie surplus makes me feel more nervous than it should, but I’m sticking to it for the fall, winter, and spring to see if that + the work in the gym will help me gain a little muscle mass. If not, I’ll just cut a little to get back to the ~14% body fat I was at, and maintain there. I think of food as fuel now and don’t really care what I eat as long as it’s good, whole food. I don’t really eat out and prepare all my own food, including meal prep for work lunches. Cooking has kind of become a hobby. Figuring out flavor/seasoning and making my own sauces is kind of fun.

This is the perfect situation where a purely democratic vote is appropriate (not that we should even have to vote on this, but I digress). This doesn’t affect your wholesome, small-town voter at all. All they have to do is not have an abortion, and they can make abortion illegal within their own life just like that. Of course people are going to vote for the freedom of their own choice as to whether they have to carry a parasitic body within their own. They should have that freedom to do it or not to do it.

There’s only one thing I still do that requires tipping, and that’s because I want to get tattoos. After I started seeing tipping screens at restaurants where I pick up my food at the counter, I stopped eating out entirely. I don’t even do fast food. I’m tired of trying to remember or decipher what is socially expected and am just done participating in that system. Just pay people a living wage, charge what you need to charge for that, and if you’re offering a worthwhile service, you’ll be fine.

I’m going to complain about not having a primary option for president, vote for the left-most person I can in the primary, and then vote down-ballot (D) in November. There’s nothing I need to research with respect to these modern conservatives. Most democrats aren’t really much better in most ways, but at least I can look my marginalized friends and colleagues in the eye after the election.

I’m admittedly not well-versed in international affairs, but hasn’t Israel been waiting for an opportunity to do exactly what they’re doing for decades? We’ve armed them to the tooth, and that has always been at least a little concerning because we understood this to be their disposition. I fully expected some light genocide after hearing about the Hamas attack. It’s looking like they might exceed expectations too. I’m a little shocked at our indifference.

Real question if I can sneak one in. If I want to buy a machine suitable to run Darktable for photo editing, which Linux distribution would be ideal for that? Other than photo editing, I might watch movies in browser while browsing other sites on a different screen. That’s all I really use PC to do these days. Advice? I don’t want to accidently use a butt plug.

Edit for additional context if it wasn’t immediately apparent: I am a casual who just doesn’t like Microsoft. But I don’t use anything else that concerns me for a switch to Linux. I just want easy setup and use for my purposes.

Team Visible here too. I wanted unlimited so I can stream at work and do some things the firewall would forbid. It’s also just my wife and me, so we don’t need four lines. They’ve been excellent for the three months we’ve had them. It’s my first experience with e-sim, and that has been smooth. I’m a little apprehensive about switching it over when we upgrade phones, but we’ll figure it out.

Why don’t you already have chopped onion in your fridge for when you’re feeling lazy? Be kind to your future self when you have the time and motivation. I chop a sweet onion or two every weekend and use it throughout the week on whatever. Gotta do peppers a couple times a week though. I put that stuff in everything.

This sounds much easier than creating a society where people feel happy and secure enough to have families. I wonder when 45 will add this to his campaign checklist.

Used market used to be better-priced, but I felt it was sketchy unless you were handy or “knew a guy” who could repair it. I decided years ago to only buy new so that I knew it was well-maintained and not abused. I make payments into a savings account and pay cash, or if the best offer is a financing offer, I’ll take the financing and either make payments or pay it off right away, depending on whether my savings interest is outperforming the rate of the loan. I only buy pretty basic things. Last car was a base model 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer. I’m in a 2022 Honda HR-V now. My next car will probably be something that takes advantage of the EV tax credit before it expires in 2032. Wife and I share one car, for what it’s worth, since we work in the same place.