#I am at this point mostly carbs

[andhumanslovedstories]

I just ate a whole pot of mac and cheese which in retrospect is an end of day activity, not what you should eat to get started for the day

[hurtspideyparker]

Peter places an envelope on Tony's desk.

Tony looks up confused, "huh? What's that for?"

"It's for you," he points awkwardly at the plain blue envelope, held closed with a Darth Vader sticker.

"It's not my birthday kid." He snaps the protective face shield back down as he picks up his soldering iron, sparks flying as he gets back to work.

"I know that I, uh. It's from, it's for. It's yours. I gotta go, see you later Mr. Stark!" Peter hikes his backpack up tighter as he skips out of the lab.

Tony grunts in acknowledgement without looking up, eyes focused on the searing metal in front of him.

* * *

"Tony? I thought you were gonna have dinner with me after Peter left," Pepper saunters down into the workspace in a flattering pair of jeans and baby blue blouse.

"I was. I am. He left like five minutes ago," Tony waves at her without taking his eyes from the computer he's typing on.

"Happy drove him home two hours ago. Come, have a nice sit down meal with me." Pepper wraps her arms around his shoulders from behind, kissing the top of his head.

"I can have a sit down meal. I'm sitting right now, bring the carbonara down here and it'll be a proper date," Tony replies.

"Yeah, you me and your computer. How romantic. Tony, come upstairs- what's this?"

Tony glances up to see her holding a blue envelope.

"Uh, it's the kids."

Pepper flips it around, "it says To Mr. Stark From Peter on the back."

Tony just shrugs and goes back to typing on his computer.

The delicate glue of the sticker is undone under Pepper's sharp nails as she opens up the envelope and pulls something from inside.

"It's illegal to open someone else's mail y'know," Tony teases.

"Tony this- god you are such an asshole!" Pepper smacks Tony on the back of the head with the envelope.

"Ow! What the- what did I do now! I was just joking about the carbonara thing... mostly."

Tony finally meets Pepper's eyes of scorn. She tosses something in front of him with a huff.

"Tony, he even used a Darth Vader sticker. Do you know how adorably geeky and topical that is? You have got to start paying more attention to the living breathing people in front of you instead of your machines. Dinner is ready, please come upstairs."

Tony watches her leave as the clack of her heels fade away with every step. He's not sure what Darth Vader has to do with missing dinner, but he's quick to get up and start to follow.

He pauses before he makes it out the door, turning to finish the last line of code before he forgets the function. He pushes something off of his keyboard to type and press save.

Tony can't remember the last time he looked up from his work long enough to consume solid food. He's so ready to carb-load with some Italian food, turning away from the computer and blue envelope.

Tony's eyebrows furrow. Hm. Darth Vader sticker.

Tony turns back around and picks up the envelope from beside his keyboard.

This must be what the kid was yapping about earlier. Tony sticks his hand inside and finds a card, pulling it out.

"Father's Day it is," the front says in bold lettering with a picture of Yoda crudely hand-drawn with a sharpie and green highlighter. Tony flips it open, "celebrate you we must" is written in the middle of the page.

Below is a message in smaller writing; "Thank you for everything Mr. Stark, we wouldn't be here without you!" with a blob of sharpie that looks suspiciously like it's scribbled out a small heart, then signed "From Peter, Dum-E and U" each name written in their own unique handwriting.

"Friday, what day is it?"

"It is Sunday June 16th, also celebrated as Father's Day in countries such as the United States, Canada, and the UK."

Hm.

Tony stands there and stares at the card for longer than he'd ever admit before looking up at Dum-E.

"You help with this?" he asks, pointing at the card.

Dum-E chirps happily, twirling his claw around.

"Your hand writing's terrible."

* * *

Peter enters the lab slowly, an unsureness to him that's out of character.

It's Wednesday, his usual day for coming over to Tony's workshop. He hasn't heard anything from Tony since Sunday, not that he usually does. Still, the quietness has unnerved him. He's not sure what he was even expecting from his mentor; silence is probably the nicest response he could hope for after embarrassing himself like that.

"Hi Mr. Stark," he greets once he spots the older man sitting next to a complicated tangle of wires.

"Hey kid, can you go to the computer and run the command I have open for me?"

"Sure thing!" Peter says as he dumps his backpack onto the floor and jogs over.

The two get into an easy rhythm and Peter's practically forgotten why he was nervous in the first place when, "hey grab us some sodas will you," Mr. Stark asks him.

Peter walks up to the fridge in the corner of the room when he notices something new.

In the center of the silver metal lies a single piece of paper, stuck to the refrigerator with a plain magnet seemingly scrapped from some old hardware in the lab.

Tony has his Father's Day card displayed like some dorky parent whose kid got a half-decent report card, showcased on a fridge like a toddler's finger painted masterpiece.

It makes Peter so happy he can't wipe the stupid grin off his face the entire time he's grabbing sodas and delivering one to Tony.

The older hums a thanks without looking away from his project, but as Peter turns away Tony's own face contorts into a pleased smile all of his own.

The two share identical smiles all afternoon, hidden behind soda cans and computer screens.

[ms-demeanor]

Okay THANK YOU for saying “your body craves what it needs” is bs because that felt like bs this whole time.

Like you don’t need more sugar if you crave sweets that is NOT what that means. Sugar is a food that people crave because it tastes good/sugar I think is an addictive food??

Idk it just felt like people making excuses when they’re supposed to be trying to eat a little healthier (healthier, not low cal, not low fat or keto or whatever. Diets are bs but craving sweets does not mean sugar is healthy thing for your body rn)

People crave sugar because it tastes good, which is not a bad thing, and there is an evolutionary reason that sugar and fat taste good to us. Carbs are your body's favorite thing because it is SUPER easy for your body to break them down into useful molecules.

I'm not a fan of the idea that any foods are addictive and I'm skeptical of models that suggest "refined food addiction" is a thing with a measurable, real-world impact; there's a lot of debate in that area of nutrition science and to me it kind of seems like the tools people use to track food addiction aren't really examining the addictiveness of specific foods, but are decent screening tools for people who have compulsive behaviors around food (for instance, one group of people who the Yale Food Addiction Scale has repeatedly been demonstrated to be REALLY good at identifying is people with anorexia).

But your body needs sugar all the time, whether that's in the form of complex carbohydrates that get broken down into simple sugars by your body, or simple sugars that you stir into your tea that then gets sent to your cells as energy. If your diet doesn't have enough sugar in it, your body has a processes to turn non-sugars into sugar so that it can use the sugar (gluconeogenesis!). Sugar is unambiguously good for you in the way that fat is unambiguously good for you. You need sugar to survive and it's not a bad thing if you want to have a cookie or a soda or some candy, and again - your craving probably isn't telling you that you're deficient in a specific micro or macronutrient, but I still think that you should listen to your craving.

Like, I don't know how much you know about psychotherapy but the attitude that a lot of diet-focused discussion takes toward cravings reminds me of cognitive behavioral therapy. "When you crave chocolate, no you don't! Don't think about the chocolate, you actually probably need starch or sugar or something, let's redirect that into having a banana, or some frozen berries, or some spinach. Point away from the unhealthy craving and into the healthy replacement, or, better yet, ignore the craving. Mind over matter. You choose how you act."

(I actually think "X craving means that I want Y food so I shall replace it with Z, which is similar" "craving salt means that I am dehydrated and need electrolytes so instead of potato chips I'll have some soup" is how this goes most of the time. I think this is a diet culture thing, not a food positivity thing.)

And you know what I think that's a garbage way to look at both food and emotions.

When I'm craving ice cream it's not because I've been mostly vegetarian for a week and am low on dietary cholesterol (AN IMPORTANT NUTRIENT. Don't be scared of consuming some cholesterol), I'm craving ice cream because sugar and fat taste good. So instead of trying to pretend that I'm getting "what I need" from a piece of salmon the size of a deck of cards with no salt and some lemon squeezed on top, I'm going to scoop out a moderate portion of ice cream and eat it while focusing on how much I enjoy it. And I'm going to do that instead of sitting down with a pint and a spoon while I'm stressed at work and eating something that tastes good to distract from the fact that work is stressful. (And sometimes it's fine to sit down with a pint and a spoon but I will say that's generally best not to do while you're in the middle of something stressful)

And if you want to relate that back to therapy I see this as more of the DBT approach. I've accepted that I want ice cream so I'm going to eat it in an intentional way and enjoy it instead of eating so much that I don't want dinner, or that it makes me feel sick, or that I eat it without noticing it because I'm using it as a distraction instead of a snack.

I'm not trying to shut down the negative emotion or shun the "bad" food, I'm accepting that I have that emotion and I'm working this neutral food into my day so that I'll feel good tomorrow and won't get heartburn overnight.

So I see that you're trying to be kind of anti diet culture here, but I don't think people need excuses to eat sugar, and I actually think that making excuses to eat it is significantly less healthy than just eating the sugar (which, again, is unambiguously healthy to eat as part of a varied, filling, nutritious diet). It seems like you may have internalized some ideas about sugar that are not great even if you are trying to separate from diet culture.

Nobody is ever going to eat a diet so healthy and nutritionally complete that they don't want candy or cake or cookies sometimes. Food is not only fuel, it is entertainment and culture and comfort and distraction and celebration and a million other things, but it is not bad. I don't think there's a single universally bad food out there, or any food that never belongs as part of someone's diet (unless it's something you're allergic to - I don't care if you're craving peanuts, do not eat peanuts if you have a peanut allergy).

So it's okay to make sugar, you don't need to make excuses. It's okay to eat sugar if you're craving sugar, even if that's not what your body "needs". But also sometimes a craving is your body saying "I'm hungry and this sounds good, please feed me" even if you're not a finely-tuned spectrometer that's craving blueberries pie because you actually need antioxidants from the blueberries (you're not a finely tuned spectrometer, you don't need the antioxidants from the blueberries, it's perfectly fine to just eat a slice of pie).

[veryberryjelly]

hold on

carmen berzatto x fem!reader

summary : reader reveals to carmen that she has a hard relationship with food.

a/n ; content warnings for disordered eating, throwing up, talks of disordered eating. i am not romanticising eating disorders !! loooong boy. 1.2k words

𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

you never thought this would have been an issue.

you had never been in a relationship long enough for it to be important.

but 3 months.

you had to tell him.

but you had no idea where to start with admitting it.

somehow in the three months of dating carmen you had managed to avoid any conversation relating to your issues.

you had been out to dinner a few times, but every time you managed to find something easy or small.

and if you weren't able to do that, you had gotten good at making a plate look like you had eaten some if not most of it.

the issue only really came to a head when you had arranged to stay over at carmen's place after he cooked for the both of you.

you had been stressing over it for the last two days about something so simple as him cooking for you.

along with his insistence to keep it a secret what he was making, you were getting anxious about it.

your anxiety riddled mind was quietened when carmen opened the door to his apartment and your eyes met his.

the soft, relaxed smile on his lips mirrored onto your own.

" hey sweetheart, come in. dinner shouldn't be too long, just finishing up "

the mention of food brought almost all of your anxiety back.

you shut the door behind you as you walked in, setting your bag down on his couch as you headed towards the kitchen.

" gonna tell me what you're making yet ?" you questioned, keeping your voice level as you leant against the counter.

you could spot a few elements of the meal carmen was making, but none that would tell you what he was making.

you were almost relieved to spot a salad on the counter.

you might be able to get through this meal without feeling the urge to throw up.

" spaghetti bolognese "

two words that had your stomach falling.

carbs were very hard for you, but you couldn't not eat what carmen had cooked for you.

you took a slightly shuddering breath which was thankfully hidden from carmen as he tended to his sauce.

" sounds delicious "

thankfully, both of you talked through most of dinner, and it wasn't out of place for your fork to just rearrange your food instead of pick it up and eat it.

the few bites that you did take were mostly salad, apart from two initial bites of the pasta when you first sat down, which was hard to swallow.

after dinner you offered to do the dishes, practically insisting. you didn't want carmen to see how little of his food you had eaten.

he wouldn't let you do it all on your own and offered to at least dry up after you.

he didn't see the amount of food from your plate that ended up in the trash.

you definitely felt guilty about throwing it away, but you couldn't physically stomach the food or telling him after he made so much effort.

after you finished cleaning up the two of you were quick to retire to the couch for a movie.

carmen's arm wrapped around your shoulders and the steady beating of his heart underneath your ear wasn't enough to erase the burning feeling in your stomach or the gags you could feel climbing up your throat.

it got to the point where you couldn't take it anymore.

you muttered a quick excuse before rushing towards the bathroom.

you should've known that carmen would be hot on your heels the moment he heard you emptying your guts into the toilet.

you heard his voice behind you muttering a short string of curses when he opened the door.

the next thing you knew, his hands were swiftly collecting your hair from the base of your neck to keep it from getting messy.

after you had nothing more to give, you flushed the toilet and leant back to move away from it, only to be met with the solid feeling of carmen's chest against your back.

" 'm sorry. didn't mean to ruin your night " you muttered quietly, your eyes not lifting from your lap.

" baby, you didn't ruin anything. just want you to tell me why you're throwin' up after you barely ate anything "

a shiver of dread raced down your spine.

" thought maybe you just didn't like the food but now i'm thinking that something's wrong "

his voice was warm and comforting even if what he was saying was chilling you to your bones.

you had to tell him.

you began twisting the towel that carmy had handed you in your hands.

" what's going on, baby ?" he questioned, his hand lifting to brush some hair behind your ear as he dropped his head down onto your shoulder, pressing a soft kiss onto the fabric of your sweater.

you were silent for a few minutes, but carmen never pushed you to speak, only waited until you were ready.

" there's something wrong with me carmen... i- i hate feeling full. i can't eat like a normal person. i don't- " a sob wracked through your chest as you spoke.

carmen's arms wrapped tighter around you as tears began falling down your cheeks.

he held you there until the tears stopped, and even a little bit longer.

when he finally stood from the floor and walked out of the bathroom you thought he was done.

that he didn't want to deal with a girlfriend with these kids of issues, especially as a chef.

but when he returned a few moments later with your pyjamas and your toothbrush all of those feelings disappeared.

he delivered them to you with a kiss to your temple before he was back out again.

you didn't question him, or say anything, just brushed your teeth and washed your face before changing into your pyjamas, a pair of long pants and a t-shirt that carmen had given to you with 'the beef' logo on your chest.

after folding up your other clothes you padded out into his living room, keeping your head down as you put your clothes in your bag.

but you couldn't avoid it any longer.

you found carmen in the kitchen pouring hot water into two mugs from his cabinet.

you were only sat down for a moment before he came over with both mugs in his hand and slid one towards you.

chamomile.

your hands wrapped around the warm receptacle.

there were a few moments of silence before you heard the voice you found so much comfort in.

" why didn't you tell me ? " he questioned, his voice the farthest thing from accusational.

" didn't want to scare you off. most people go running when they find out. wanted to hold on a little bit longer " your voice was nothing more than a whisper and your eyes were burning into the mug of tea in your hands.

carmen wasted no time in moving around the counter to stand beside you, his hand moving to tilt your chin up and bring your gaze towards him.

" i'm not goin' anywhere, baby. but you gotta let me help. "

his thumb began moving against your cheekbone, and that simple action was all you needed before you wrapped your arms around his torso and buried your face into his t-shirt. his arms held you close to his chest.

" could you give me a ride to my therapists tomorrow ? "

" anything, baby "

[somarysueme]

Gaaaawdddd. I am so overwhelmed with happiness over the finale, over Do The Work, over seeing and being there for each other, over EvSam CANON. REAL. LOVE.

But there are already so many beautiful posts about the nature of love and care. (About Evan’s unwavering respect and advocacy for Sam!!!!)

Instead of retreading that, here is detailed headcanon about every permutation of the Pilot Program fucking it out:

Sam/Evan: It doesn’t happen that often because neither one actually has a very high sex drive. Mostly they just like to snuggle and kiss a bit. But when they do actually get into it, it so tender and gentle oh my God. Lots of Evan checking in with Sam, helping her figure out what she actually likes, unwavering dedication to Making It Good For Her.

Yes, they do eventually dabble in pet play but it’s 100% not sexual. (In fact any kind of sexual power exchange is a pretty big turn-off for Sam.) That said, sometimes it’s OK to let your boy be nekkie and in a collar while you watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He will bark every time they violate established lore, and that’s also love.

Sam/K: have you ever read Maka Maka? Sometimes two besties just want to sit on the same hitachi and talk about boys. Nothing weird about that!

Sam/Jammer: I feel like it would take some Circumstances to happen, but it certainly could. He would be a little less Constant Explicit Checkins than Evan, because he trusts his read of his beloved friend Sam’s signals. But he’s still such a gentleman as he encourages her to bounce on it in a self-respecting life-affirming way until she is getting Magic Funnel Sweaty.

Jammer/Evan: this would also take some Working Up To It (I think this is true for all Jammer/Any Team Mate because he worries about blurring those lines) but when the feelings and circumstances align it is the most athletic bro4bro nonsense in the world. They just hype each other up mid-coitus and there is a 100% chance of causing structural damage to whatever bedroom was unlucky enough to contain them.

Evan/K: pre-breakup they were just wild horny teen poorly negotiated kink exploration 24/7. They both enjoyed it but also both needed A WHILE to digest it before the possibility of being intimate together could even be on the table. K dredged all kinds of weird shit out of Evan’s id that he has a hard time reckoning with once they break up. Is he ACTUALLY into that or was he just indulging K’s weird fetishes? He compartmentalizes it for a long time, until they are older and he’s once again comfortable with dipping his toes back into Weird Shit. Someday he will be, and the elaborate forcefem roleplays will be waiting for them both.

Some other day, when they are even older than that, and only once in a while, he’s willing to go Dark Lord on them in bed again.

K/Jammer: again, never really occurs to him, but K is like “Jammer I need to figure out how to have normal sex”. And he’s like “wow. Uhm. OK? Well that’s a wild proposition even setting aside the implication that sex with Whitney Jammer is “”””normal”””” but OK!”

They both have to have a couple beers or possibly vodka cranberries for less carb load, and also he does have to frequently refocus K on their intention to Not Get Weird With It. But when a team mate comes to you recognizing a need to improve their game, you respect that. You honor that. You help them figure out what sounds they can make that don’t come from hentai. That’s what a good point guard does.

[lowspoonsgourmet]

The easiest best two to three days of food for one person I know of. A flexible modular recipe. This is going to sound high work at times due to how broadly I am writing this, it is not as bad as the vagueness and intentional broadness makes it sound signed a person who has frequently accidentally had sleep for dinner after being unable to make it too damn much.

Rice cooker needed.

Ingredients:

Rice (any), lentils or beans optional (one or two cans), frozen vegetable mix (any and in as much quantity as you want, I like potato, carrot, peas, and corn you like what you like)

Sauces (teriyaki sauce and kewpie mayonnaise is what I swear by because of how easy they are to manage and pour and how well they compliment the food and each other but use whatever you own and can stomach or nothing at all, extra points for one having some fat), seasonings (curry powder and salt is my standard, really the salt is enough) Oil

Additional protein (tuna, cheese, ham, chicken tendies, shredded chicken, tofu, more beans, egg, mushroom, setian, nutritional yeast, you do you, two seperate sources for the different days useful)

In to the rice cooker, put two cups rice with water in proportion, one or two cans lentils or beans if using (strain and quickly rinse them if you can, if not just pour out as much of the liquid as possible and dump), and a lot of frozen vegetable mix in whatever variety you have on hand/like. It's going to look like a lot. That's because it is. This is good. Add more vegetables. Two cups of rice makes more than you think so it's very hard to add too many vegetables to this if you're at least neutral on vegetables. Let the rice cooker cook. It's going to take a while so do whatever.

This is now a mostly complete meal if you add fat and salt, so the teriyaki and kewpie in my version. The additional protein will make it more filling and better in general, so adding a low effort one

Turn off the keep warm on the rice cooker and dump out the leftovers on a plate or something. Or not and just put the whole pot away. Leave in fridge overnight.

If you're ambitious/need variety reheat by frying with a different seasoning and secondary protein source #2 for best results. It's all already cooked so you just need to add the extras and to have it be warm. If you want to then use the fried rice in multiple meals, it reheats in the microwave better than the unfried. If you're not, reheat in the microwave with extras and enjoy that yesterday you making food for today you really helped out today you.

This provides two days of main meal food that are both very presentable and flavoursome, and are sufficiently different to each other it takes a long time to get sick of/makes it easier to feel like you're "doing well". I have had friends compliment me on how nice I am eating despite being in states that would usually leave me struggling to make myself food that mildly disgusts or concerns them. It dirties the rice cooker bowl and paddle, one eating bowl and utensils, one plate (optional), and a frying pan (optional). Most of those I just rinse out or soak not wash properly tbh, it's not like it has cheese to scrub off if you don't use it. This whole process takes about five minutes of active prep and clean up both days. The worst pitfalls I have found with it are getting too ambitious on the secondary protein for day 1 and eventually just having nothing, which I fixed for me by switching to canned tuna or shredded chicken, forgetting or otherwise failing to empty or turn off the heating of the rice cooker, and getting overwhelmed having to use the stove at all day 2 and avoiding the nice but optional upgrade.

I hope this is helpful for someone out there, I know how often most of these from around the place sound "oh my god you think that's simple??" But, and I say this as one of you, the backbone of this is having the machine that boils carbs boil a bunch of carbs for you and cramming as much of a "complete" or "fancy" meal's prep in to that process as possible then finishing with stuff you just pour, drop, or slice in.

Sounds helpful

[avocado-writing]

I am BEGGING for more essentially modern au stuff like the road trip one please!!!! I’ve had the worst anxiety all week and it’s the first genuine giggle I’ve had in forever 💞 thank you! (Also no pressure tho omg I’m sorry)

awww I’m so glad I made you laugh!! Ok how about… modern au, picnic in the park:

Tav

you organise everything. You always organise everything. These guys are not capable of getting together without your direct involvement.

you bring a couple of dishes and drive those who can’t be bothered to walk or take public transport (astarion, shadowheart)

try to be the first there to get a good spot so you tell your passengers you’re meant to be there an hour earlier than planned. they both complain but help you set up anyway.

Gale

brings the majority of home made dishes.

he is the best cook in the group, and he always has a great mix of stuff to bring - salads and sandwiches, pastas and fruit kebabs. it’s all pretty healthy and the plates are cleared by the end!

walked from his house with massive IKEA bags full of food. had to stop three times on the way to the park because he was exhausted.

meticulously counts his Tupperware as he packs everything up afterwards and goes hunting if any of it is missing.

Astarion

tries to steal Gale’s Tupperware.

spends most of the picnic in the shade of a tree pretending to read a book, but really he’s just spying on everyone. It’s fun to eavesdrop.

brought wine. it’s mostly for him. he will share if he’s asked to but he will complain the whole time.

lightens up as the day goes on, doesn’t even complain about the cooking!

Shadowheart

also tries to steal Gale’s Tupperware, but worse at it than Astarion.

immediately picks a fight with Lae’zel when she gets there but the two of them spend the whole day next to each other, anyway.

by the end of the day she’s just lying back on a picnic blanket, vibing, picking the leftovers off of her plate.

everyone has had a heart-to-heart with her at some point.

Lae’zel

mostly comes to eat the proteins. doesn’t indulge in the carb-based foods, she won’t even have a cheat day when she’s meant to be having fun.

ends up with Shadowheart’s head in her lap and plays with her hair. Glares at anyone who mentions it.

will not organise any team sport games, but will become captain if one is suggested. She is fucking brutal. You do not want to be on her team or it gets intense.

Karlach

brings a portable grill so she can get some BBQ going!

Gale is the best cook but Karlach is grill master. She has an apron which says it. Keeps topping up everyone’s plates even when they ask her to stop.

can still play frisbee with no issues after eating 3 plates of food? How? Is this woman magic??

Wyll

is the one who organises the team sports, and you do want to be on his team.

makes the whole day better. If he gets there earliest he also set up a scavenger hunt for everyone!

constantly checking in on everyone to make sure they’re having a good time. Eventually you have to sit him down and remind him to eat, he’s meant to have fun too!

in charge of the sound system. Picks the best music.

Halsin

knows the best spot in the park to set up the picnic!

goes on long tangents about local flora and fauna, but it’s good. Like listening to an ASMR video.

takes off his shirt to lie in the sun. Everyone stares. At one point a fucking butterfly lands on him and it’s like he’s a Disney princess.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

my mom for some reason bought a whole spiral cut ham and so it's time for my favorite "low effort quick and easy healthy and delicious dinner with Lu, who just got off a 10 hour shift and is, perhaps, Hangry":

don't talk to me scramble

(so named because when I come home from work and am eating a late supper I want everyone to shut up and let me eat in peace)

YOU WILL NEED:

3 of the biggest eggs you've got - 4 if they're smaller than LargeTM

ham: deli cut works here but I literally just grabbed the spiral cut ham and ripped pieces off with my bare hands until I had a generous handful of Ham Bits (you can probably use whatever lunchmeat you have in your fridge for this tbh)

about like 3 tbsp of cream cheese?? Gordon Ramsay it babey

one(1) slice of pepper jack cheese or whatever kind you like

big handful of spinach (frozen works but I used a slightly wilted leftover salad since it needs eaten soon) or other vegetables of choice. bagged frozen stuff is great in eggs

optional carb (bread, tortilla, biscuits, et cetera)

LET'S CRACK THIS THING.

butter or oil in your pan. crack ya eggs. throw the Ham Bits in immediately or else they will be Cold. once eggs start to cook throw in your SpinchTM or ~vegetals of choice~ so that they'll wilt/heat up. this is the point where you want to toast your bread or heat a tortilla or whatnot, if you're into that kind of thing. once eggs are MOSTLY cooked, toss in your pepper jack and cheem creams and stir it all around until it's melted. it will probably look a bit watery — if this is a texture no-no I suggest making this in omelette form, bc yes, cream cheese is awesome in an omelette. serve with Optional Carb if you wis, or by itself, possibly eaten directly out of the pan you cooked it in. you are adulting so well. your tastebuds and your body think you're the coolest 👍 go forth full, happy, and proud of yourself

[cocaineverr]

is eating too many carbohydrates going to make me gain weight? i stay in a low intake deficit but i noticed most of my macros are from carbs. are there any setbacks to not prioritizing protein?

hii anon! Thank you for sending an ask! ❤️❤️🙂 also I am sorry I am late on this response 🙁🫡I’ll try to be better!

TL;DR : your BMR can slow down .

So regarding a high carb diet it is what a lot of muscle builders / weight lifters use to keep their energy and strength up through the day. That’s only because they eat in an excess. Now there isn’t really a benefit to prioritizing fat or protein really because when you eat more of it and less of other macronutrients then it will get stored as fat, especially protein. That’s harder to loose because it weighs more and you’ll have to fast for longer to tap into that muscle/protein reserve.

If you’re in a low intake state then there really is no benefit to eating too much of one macro, especially carbs. If you’re a student or someone who deals with having to retain information then this is very helpful. Of course it depends on what kind of food you’re eating because straight junk will not do any favors.

If you want to do high carb, here are some healthy foods to help support this:

whole wheat bread

whole oats

Starchy vegetables

Starchy fruits

whole grain pasta

legumes

HOMEMADE grain/oat based sweets

Avoid ultra processed foods. Avoid sugar being the first listed ingredient (that means it is what the product is mostly consisting of). Avoid foods that claim to be “whole wheat” because they often are scams. Instead try to make your own alternatives, especially to foods like cookies, granola bars, pastries, salad dressings, and fruit snacks.

If you want to do high protein, here are some healthy foods to help support this:

whole eggs (including yolk)

cheese

skim milk

cottage cheese

lean cut chicken, salmon, fish, and beef

home-cut deli meat

certain legumes (such as black beans)

Avoid products that claim to be low fat, high protein. Avoid products that claim to be plant based if you are omnivorous. Avoid products that have too much sugar compared to protein, specifically YOGURT. avoid any ultra processed meat, and try to buy meat raw when you can. You can make your own high protein snacks at home.

If you want to do high fat, here are some healthy foods to help support this:

Starchy vegetables

Avocado and the oil

EXTRA virgin olive oil

Flaxseed and other nuts

coconut

sardines

nut butters

full fat yogurt

dark cocao

High fat is good for those who like to fast or workout, or if you are having a hard time with binging because of the flavors. Avoid foods that have sugar loaded into them. You can make your own high fat options at home in your kitchen , ranging from prepping and roasting starchy veggies with olive oil to spinning your own almond butter.

If you prefer to not prioritize protein, as i do, you will loose muscle mass. Muscle mass weighs more therefore it has more calories. When you loose muscle mass your metabolism slows down because it isn’t burning as many calories to keep up with it. You won’t feel full and at some point will develop an intolerance to any protein rich foods. You will start to dislike the taste of meat and your body will have a hard time producing the enzymes needed to break down other foods, so you will become constipated. When you do eat protein, despite the bad reactions, you will feel fuller.

I hope my post could help you! Please stay safe and stay healthy! ❤️❤️🙂

[nancypullen]

I Was Almost On CNN

It's been a day. Living in Dogpatch has many drawbacks and for the most part I have adjusted. I've been looking for a certain food item, nothing fancy, and haven't been able to find it. I'm not searching for white truffles or beluga caviar, just a freakin' carton of peppermint ice cream. Let me explain. I'm a granny, and for decades I have put Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners on the table. All of the family favorites, mostly southern recipes, make an appearance. The table groans under the weight of all the casseroles and we groan after we eat all of that buttery, rich food. Last month as I cooked our Thanksgiving feast, I was not having as much fun as in years past. I kept looking at the massive amounts of not-so-healthy foods and just felt icky. My family, however, is sentimental about the traditional meal. So I cooked for two days, put it on the holiday table, and the meal was over in 25 minutes. I'm not saying it wasn't appreciated, my family is very kind about that - but it took longer to clear the table and load the dishwasher than it did for the meal to be consumed. Just one more reason to make a change. A couple of days after Thanksgiving I declared that our Christmas dinner would not be the same old stuff. The menfolk looked at me like deer in the headlights. It wasn't until I said that maybe I'd make a brisket that they relaxed a little. Did they think I was going to put a platter of PB&J on the table? I told them that the sides would be greatly reduced because we don't need all of the carbs/butter/sugar/name a poison. Sure, they'll miss the sweet potato souffle covered in brown sugar and pecans, but they'll thank me later. I'm keeping the hashbrown casserole for two reasons - it'll go great with the brisket, and they'd really miss it. I'm going to add some maple bacon brussels sprouts, and a sheet pan of ranch crescent rolls. . I'll marinate the brisket overnight and cook it slow in the oven on Christmas day. That's it. It's an embarrassingly simple meal, and about a week ago I started feeling guilty. I mean, really guilty. Those old holiday meals made my family happy. They expect those twice-a-year dishes from me. I just ripped those traditions to shreds because I'm tired.

I was swimming in that guilt when I realized that although I've got brownies, sugar cookies, etc available - I'd made no plan for a dessert after Christmas dinner. I am failing at every turn. That's when I decided that we'd have a dense, dark chocolate cake...and peppermint ice cream. I've done it before and it's a delightful, wintery, holiday dessert. Easy, simple, winner! Until I started looking for peppermint ice cream. In the past *cough*not here*cough* I'd drive 4 miles to any number of fine grocery stores, pick up a carton, and toss it in the freezer until needed. Not here. In Caroline County people act as if they've never heard of it. Today I dragged Matt with me and drove the 30 minutes to Easton because according to their website Harris Teeter had some in stock. They lied. I looked at every freezer shelf and even the seasonal end cap freezers. No dice. Another phone consultation showed that Target had 4 in stock. They also lied. Mind you, this hunt involved searching for parking and working through crowded stores because it's the 23rd of December. Normally I wouldn't be caught dead in a store at this stage of the game. It would have been easier at this point to just choose a different flavor, but nothing else would have the same festive flair. I considered a carton of black cherry but I just couldn't give up. Another phone search revealed that the Giant supermarket across town supposedly had peppermint ice cream. Off I went. I was not feeling optimistic. In my head I was feeling the burden of my family's expectations - I'd already torpedoed their normal Christmas meal, then I'd chosen to take the easy way out on dessert as well. I'd promised peppermint ice cream and I would die trying to make that happen. I'll add that I am tired, I have a lot to do the next couple of days, and I JUST WANTED THIS ONE WIN. We pulled into a parking spot at Giant and I looked at Matt who had been cheerful all day (this quick trip had turned into 3 hours), and I said, "Just warning you. I'm this close to a melt down. If they don't have it I might turn into that crazy customer that starts pushing over displays." His eyes widened for a second and then he grinned. Deep down, he knew that I wouldn't do any such thing. But he'd also get a kick out of witnessing it if I did. We walked to the back of the store to the freezer section and began our search. Various vanillas, so much mint chocolate chip, butter pecan, Oreo, Snickers, pistachio (my favorite!) and just as I was suggesting that maybe I could just buy vanilla and crush up candy canes to sprinkle on top - Matt spotted it. Not a carton, but four of those pint-sized Häagen-Dazs containers of peppermint ice cream. I started hemming and hawing because buying four pricier pints was not my plan, and that's when Matt scooped them all up and said, "I'm buying them." I think he was over the whole issue. Fair. Especially after I'd said I might go postal in Giant. So I grabbed a carton of neopolitan for the grandgirl and hurried to check out. Matt was already in self-checkout and we met at the door. I felt awful that he'd paid for the ice cream (I'll sneak cash into his wallet) and then felt like a big baby when he whipped out the latest copy of Southern Living. I'd reached for it earlier and then decided I didn't need it because it would be full of recipes that it's too late to include in my plans. He was sweet enough to surprise me with it. Four pints of Häagen-Dazs and a magazine kept me off CNN. There will not be a feature story of a crazy woman flipping shelves of candy canes and poinsettias in a small town grocery store in Maryland. It's a Christmas miracle. I did this to myself. I changed the tradition, my stress is self-inflicted. I'm was so worried about Christmas not being perfect for my family that I forgot how sweet they are, and what's important. I could serve Beanie Weenies and we'd still laugh around the table. I could have chosen any flavor of ice cream and our

 holiday would still be merry. I'm surrounded by kind,loving people who would really prefer that I stop stressing over the little details. That should probably be a goal of mine for 2025. What's that old saying? It's not what's on the table, it's who's in the chairs. Looking at it that way, our Christmas is already perfect. I'm one lucky duck.

From me to you, whatever has your shoulders up around your ears and your teeth clenched. Let it go. None of it will matter in a year. The people who love you will keep right on loving you, and those who don't...well, who cares? Take a deep breath and thank your lucky stars for the good people in your life. What a gift.

Stay safe, stay well, stay sane. XOXO, Nancy

[aloy-sobek]

Vet Bills and a Sick Kitty Boy

Hello all, over the past month and a half I have incurred some medical bills for my cat Alistair, that while one bill hurts but isn't world ending. Multiple have put us in a bind.

Our Total: $430/$1176.86

My Paypal: tielfingriley or paypal.me/tieflingriley

The Story:

So my sweet yet very hungry boy Alistair, had been having stomach troubles. He's 12 years old, so not uncommon for a cat his age, and he has always had a bit of a sensitive tum, but this was different. He was projectile vomiting mostly water, and I had noticed he was loosing weight. He is a long cat, and his healthy weight sits at 15-16 pounds.

So we take him to the vet and the do a initial blood panel with a special panel to check a for a heart protein, it is here that I learn my asthmatic cat also has a heart murmur! But because of the special check it had to be sent to THE ONLY LAB IN THE US THAT CHECKS FOR IT, which meant it was pricey

Good news, blood came back fine. His heart and kidneys weren't failing but he was still vomiting water at this time. At this point we were moved to a different vet who noted his long term tum issues. Informing me that long term inflammation can lead to Gastrol Intestinal Cancer. (Maybe) They only DEFINITIVE way of checking was to slice him open and do biopsies, which wasn't ideal. Instead we opted for an Ultrasound, it would check for inflammation, which would say absolutely yes or no on inflammation, but would still be a maybe on the cancer (however its the same treatment either way). But could also check Liver, Pancreas, and Gallbladder. I of course chose this because it was far less invasive to the boy. Alistair did need to be sedated. He isn't a violent cat, but he is a squirmy noodle.

This is when things got really spicy for us financially. You see this happened RIGHT before my birthday. Like legit I found out my cat had maybe cancer the day before. And my husband a few weeks prior had bought me a rather nice gift of storage drawers? IDK what you would call it but furniture for my art supplies to be stored in. It was a bit pricey but I was having a rough time and a history of astronomically shitty birthdays. (As you can see, the universe has a sense of humor)

So the Ultrasound came back. Yes there are signs of inflammations, so cancer is still a maybe. However, what had the doctors eyes and was concerning her more was the pancreas. It was, extended and incorrect. She believed that it wasn't producing a enzyme to help break down food, particularly fat, for absorption. Essentially, on top of the inflammation, Alistair was slowly starving to death. However before just popping some pig panceas pills inside my boy, she wants to make sure. So more blood work, TO THE ONLY LAB IN THE US OF COURSE, an another bill.

Now we are waiting on this information. He is on some pro and prebiotics that have stopped the vomiting entirely. However his weight is still quite thin. I am unsure if we will have more hefty bills. For reference a checkup at this vet is 50 bucks. So normally its not to rough on us, and check up plus vaccines is 100 which is a planned event. None of this was planned to say the least.

AND NOW THE SAPPY SHIT

Alistair saved my life. I know logically getting a cat as a means to not kill yourself isn't the best thing to do, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Ive had him since September of 2012. I love that fluffy biscuit stealing bastard with my entire heart. I have a tattoo on him on my arm, my first and currently only tattoo. Because of him, I was able to live a longer and healthier life and I want that for him.

Despite being a cat, he loves biscuits, potato chips, and the tops of muffins but only the tops. He can and will open cookie jars for cookies. I have explained he is an obligate carnivore and he has explained like a good southern he cant turn down a carb.

He will fist fight you for cheese. Love to play fetch with a hair tie. Isn't a lap cat with the exception of me. LOVES NAPS, and likes to watch Markiplier.

He's a very good boy with separation anxiety, and tummy issues who just wants to nap and eat and I think we can all relate.

Oh...and he has a little mustache

Thank you to all who donate and to everyone who spreads the word to help us get out of this debt.

[t-oppenheimer]

Athlete, Compression, The Physical Split.

So begins the implicit critique of a popular system: What exactly constitutes physical acumen? That is a philosophical question which must be raised whenever we reproduce this trope of Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. Do humans, as they grow and train out, grow hardier and more pain tolerant without endurance and flexibility to match? I would hope that every time someone weight trains they do stretches beforehand and eat bulk carbs and protiens afterward. And while there are people with strength who lack fine motor function and the other way around, these two things are gained in tandem with experience and one is typically only lost in traumatic, disabling events.

So why have these? It's not for the monsters sake-- for although there is something to be criticized with the 'half-assedness' of symmetrical design when it comes to monsters (all player stats but meaningless equipment, level and arbitrary actions) these splits also reveal frustrations. Should amorphous creatures such as the Gray Ooze be infinitely dexterous (they are able to squeeze and bend and flex with little restriction) or not dexterous at all, for having only 'pseudopods' which lack nuanced control at all? According to WotC, the answer is 'mediocre dexterity' because the only time it ever comes up in actual play is "a fireball has been placed on top of me, despite having no where to go and not moving away from it at all would I be able to contort my body so as to diminish the damage I take from it?". Here of course, it having a '6' is literally just space being taken up for a worthless symmetry, the "-2" is what is relevant.

Pathfinder has tried to touch on this in some ways. My favorite example is the Armor Training trait exclusive to the Fighter class: this gives that character an incentive to maintain all three physical stats to emulate "the peak of physical acumen" by allowing dexterity an increasing benefit to one's strength build as they level up. One could even find a narrative springing from this unique aspect: The whelp who was once a mere town guard who knew how to keep a spear level at their waist and little else grows to find that the rigidity of their training and equipment maintenance proves more a hindrance than a boon. As they begin leveling, they tinker (or have someone else in the party) tinker and modify their equipment to work in ways only that fighter can use, and soon their plate armor isn't just any plate armor, but theirs, with the lion codpiece whose teeth functions for blade catching.

But that is that game and I am to discuss my game. Poison and disease is not a major element of the game, so Constitution is rendered almost completely vestigial. Strength does seem to be an objective thing (there is a difference between being able to dead-lift twenty pounds, two hundred pounds and four hundred pounds) but what justifies Dexterity? After sitting with it for a very long time: too much.

Dexterity controls how well one points a bow, swings a thin bladed weapon, picks a lock, sneaks across a hall and flies in the air? Preposterous. Especially in WotC's most recent products in which strength no longer holds the domain of weapon damage and modifications to your Constitution score no longer directly alters your maximum health value, Dexterity controls a disproportionate amount of the character's total acuity. This stat needs to be broken down.

The easiest angle to go about that would probably be to split fine motor control from gross motor control (you don't hear that one every day!). The strength and coordination of your arms, legs and back can be trained wholly separately from your dexterity between your fingers and... yeah, mostly your fingers. Now hands are central to the human experience so that's okay: the actual problem is likely our imagined "body" stat has is that it is almost exclusively about sports and sports related mobility. Acrobatics, maybe throwing and run speed?

Here, we can connect our "Body" stat to what remains as "Strength" because, as established before, these two seem to be trained in tandem such that there is no meaning distinguishing them. This is the summary of an "Athlete" and thus we have the final result of that thinking. But now fine motor control is only compared against directly, and has no control over secondary stats, the way Athlete determines AC.

Does anyone still have their 2014 5e DMG lying around? You might remember in the proposed "New Ability Scores" that no one ever adopted at any table. I kid, but what I say is not far off from the truth, for nothing else in the game supported either option, all implementation was by facilitator decree. If there is ever one singular sin of the most recent edition of Dungeons and Dragons, its enshrining their facilitating players to 'kinda wing it' as-- even more than a replacement-- the cornerstone of game design. In that ignored section is the ignored concept of a 'sanity' ability score which unlike the honor score is designed to support a theme plainly impossible with the game's progression. If I was an ninth level wizard and a cosmic horror tried to grab me, I'd simply teleport.

I do share the boilerplate objection to 'sanity' mechanics: tying mental health into a binary 'are you fucked up or Normal™?' is not representative of a very serious phenomenon which touches too many people to treat so lightly. Remember the tone of my game: satrical and brutal. What if instead of the Lovecraftian horror situation where you see exactly one (1) biracial person and go "WHAT THE WHAT?!?!?!?! BLBLBLBBL PFFFFFF KOOKOO; KOOKOO-- POLLY WANNA CRACKER" we went in the total other direction. A character who just loses their nerve and says "In this situation, I would fold." Throws their hands up in frustration, or decides this struggle isn't worth it and walks out of the door. It's not that you lose what you once had in a fit of irrationality, but in light of what you just witnessed you suddenly gain rationality and reconsider the stakes you actually have in this. If we maintain this 'nerves' idea, then what is strong nerves and what is weak nerves? One of the first things to go when you are frightened is your control. Fight, flight or freeze, goes the wisdom. When you jump you're liable to throw your pencil in the air, and when you're trembling you can't hold a pencil steady. This is what we tie with fine motor control to create "Precise".

We butchered conventional wisdom to place a new series of mechanics together which is easier to explain and work through while maintaining value for both and simply working. Ah-- but what we did to wisdom, and the other two, is a topic for another post.

[yowlthinks]

Some mornings I wake up and want to cry. I am exhausted, it is quarter to six and I would love to keep sleeping but my toddler is awake and full of energy so I slog downstairs, leaving everyone else to sleep. This happens every single day with the variety being the actual wake-up: sometimes it is earlier, sometimes I can even get to a little past 6. Sometimes I get up through the night too...

I deal with the evenings too, of course, and on weekends I am mostly there too. And I know children are only this small for a short period of time, and I enjoy spending time with them.

But I am also approaching critically low battery level. I need some sort of downtime, but at home, because I have so much stuff to do. But my days start with getting the kids ready, then work and then immediately dealing with kids again, there is hardly any downtime, and it is taking a toll on me and my health. Like physical health: I can see I look bad, and ai am somehow gaining weight, while I need to loose 20kg to feel myself, to like myself again.

The problem is, I don't know how to rebalance it all. I want to go to the gym, but by the time the kids are down and the key chores are done it is 9pm or even later, and I am exhausted, and operating on 5h of sleep is not easy. I am underslept, so my willpower is not great and I crave carbs (which is probably where the problems start).

I try to make sure my partner gets enough sleep, if I am already awake, what is the point of waking up someone else. I feel like I need to somehow plan time specifically to myself, but then... well, it is not very fair, is it? There are times when I take one or the other child to classes, so my partner is looking after the other. It is not like he is having some free time exactly, so I feel bad asking for time just by myself.

I am trying to figure out why I need this and my partner doesn't. I mean, he has the office commute, I wfh. He seems to be ok, while I am on the verge of tears and feel totally out of it. And the problem is, the more tired I am, the less I delegate and the more I try to crawl through it, what happens is that I try to withdraw more, which means others take more space, which means I feel cornered. It's a viscious circle, and I am trying to remember what the therapist said before they stopped my sessions nearly 2 years ago. The little recharging breaks like watching even half an episode of a series at lunchbreak come to mind. But my lunchbreaks lately are... well, taken over by work or I feel too guilty or too impatient, I have no idea why.

Many people here in NL take a 4 day week with a paycut (and less holidays), spend one more day with their kids instead of taking them to daycare or aftershock care. I feel like I have no capacity for this, with an already super-tight budget and the bare minimum of holidays, and already giving the kids all my spare time. I know a lot of people have it way harder, and I have no idea how you guys are doing this.

[kay-elle-cee]

Hi wow hello omg!! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this Ask the Author with me (': I just have a few questions about your first ever smutty fic, Things That Haven't Happened Yet...

What is your personal favorite (real) sex scene in the fic?

Which smut scene do you think is the most well written?

Which smut scene did you write first?

Do you plan to write more smut?

What's your favorite overall scene in the fic?

Whose POV was harder to write?

Knowing the other dreams James and Lily had but you perhaps didn't get to write about, who do you think has a naughtier mind between the two of them?

[SPOILER ALERT] Did they actually eat lunch? James surely needed some carbs by that point but there were other things to finish when the story ended. 👀

my article will be published in vanity fair next week, thx again for interviewing w me <3

Omg Charles 🙈 Thank you so much for all these questions, I'm so so so happy you loved TTHHY and am HAPPY to answer these questions!

Under the cut for spoilers and NSFW discussion!

1. What is your personal favorite (real) sex scene in the fic?

Ah this is so hard, because honestly I think it’s a tied between the first two. Because the first one is just the raw kind of heat and frustrated passion, but the second one is a little of that with the introduction of “oh wait actually maybe that’s not all it is”. If I HAD to choose, I guess I’ll say the second. Would love to hear other people’s opinions!

2. Which smut scene do you think is the most well written?

Okay I had to go back and reread them all and maybe it’s a bit of a cop out but I love the shower scene. It’s less detailed than the others but it’s very clear in my head and I liked the transition between the sex and the more intimate moments.

3. Which smut scene did you write first?

I mostly went in order for this fic! So that first time in the Order library was the first! (The only scene I remember writing out of order was that final scene outside of cottage—I've had that written since before chapter 3 was posted!)

4. Do you plan to write more smut?

I do! It won't be in everything I write, but I do have some other concepts/fics in my drafts. I unexpectedly had a ball with this and it's kind of hard to stop lol.

5. What's your favorite overall scene in the fic?

Shower scene. Hands down now and forever the shower scene. The idea that that's kind of like the shift in everything, and them finishing but just....staying there, connected, kissing (and through those kisses, at least on James' part, communicating things he's too scared to say). And then the follow up and the intimacy of just like, being together and showering together and those kind of gentle, not necessarily sexual touches. UGH. I'm sorry this is the scene I'm most insane over.

6. Whose POV was harder to write?

Weirdly, Lily's? I feel like I've been SO in her head lately for some other projects, it was just nice to be in James' head. And James is very straightforward, I think, with what he feels in this fic, whereas Lily has to come to terms with it. (Not that I don't LOVE writing that, but I think just wanting to make sure I wrote that believably contributed to a little more friction while writing Lily).

7. Knowing the other dreams James and Lily had but you perhaps didn't get to write about, who do you think has a naughtier mind between the two of them?

Okay so. I think for Lily for so long this has just (in her conscious mind) been about physical attraction. Her garden dream is the most...I'll say out there of the fantasies—all of James' were private moments (even the drunken alleyway snog), but Lily's garden moment was I think the riskiest we saw (OUT in the OPEN). So WITH all that preamble, I think Lily's dreams were a little more out there and riskier (against a window, chances of being caught, etc) BUT I think she's a bit better at controlling herself once they're together, and it's James that can't keep his hands off her and possibly instigates more of those scenarios.

8. [SPOILER ALERT] Did they actually eat lunch? James surely needed some carbs by that point but there were other things to finish when the story ended. 👀

Listen, maybe it's because I'm old (compared to them) but I do think they ate lunch. I think it was a very quick lunch and Lily was adorably a little nervous having him in her little flat, but James was just kind of in awe of this place he'd only seen like once irl and then reoccurring in her dreams of them. When they were done with lunch (or ate what they both deemed was 'enough for now'), she showed him her appreciation for the garden. They did not make it to her bedroom.

Thank you SO much for these questions, Charles! They were so fun to answer and I'm always happy to scream about my fics into the void. 🥰

[meditating-dog-lover]

Health update

My eczema has recently cleared up when I quit fasting. Some cuts and dead skin on my hands, but my fingers and the backs of my hands are no longer dry! I can bend my fingers and my palms feel so smooth. All it did was to quit fasting.

Now I do get allergic reactions, especially to dogs and pollen. My younger dog likes to sleep on my bed and licks her paws. I know my room is covered in dander at this point. I do get itchy on my face, neck, and hands. But it's not horrible. This is a separate issue from my hormone imbalances due to stress and prolonged fasting.

I'll eventually go back to fasting during week 1 and 3 of my cycle, and reducing the fasting on week 2 and 4. I'm not necessarily going to eat lower carb on week 1 and 3, as long as I'm eating mostly anti-inflammatory it honestly shouldn't matter. In general eating gut and hormone friendly foods and cycling my fasts in a way that will promote weight loss and autophagy, but no hormonal imbalances. I love carbs so I wouldn't go low carb all the way. My body doesn't have a problem with complex carbs. It does with excess sugar and junk carbs, but not things like fruit, whole grains, dark chocolate, or starchy veggies. Going too strict with my diet will definitely backfire.

So I've been balancing my hormones, and I've been eating anti-inflammatory. Of course we want a balance in life, so I'm going to fast cycle, not go low carb, and treat myself here and there so I don't feel deprived. I shared a pizza slice with my mom today. I got some aged cheddar popcorn so I have something to eat before my therapy session. Some "inflammatory" foods here and there won't do any damage. As long as most of my diet is low in refined sugars, white breads, fats, oils and processed meats. I know eating anti-inflammatory helps my skin. Combined with gut and hormone support.

I've been eating more pumpkin seeds which are great for hormones.

I've been looking into ways to support gut health. I've been chewing slowly, drinking aloe juice, eating anti-inflammatory (the best thing you can do for your gut), and eating Greek yogurt for probiotics.

I wanted to support anti-microbial effects so I don't experience any recurring infections like h pylori and staph and strep. I also want to ensure I have enough stomach acid and digestive enzymes. I'm doing an h pylori breath test in a few days and I hope I get a negative result. H pylori is a problem because it reduces stomach acid levels, which prevents proper digestion and allows for more downstream infections to occur (in the small and large intestines) because stomach acid also acts as a sterilizer that kills foreign pathogens. Stomach acid is important and I want to ensure I killed off the h pylori and am producing enough acid and can prevent further infections from occurring in the future.

I also want to ensure I am producing enough digestive enzymes. I know I am tired of taking multiple supplements, but enzymes can be so helpful. I know I prefer food sources, but the foods that are most rich in enzymes are tropical fruit, which I don't like. I do have a digestive enzyme supplement. I've been taking it a month or so ago and took it again today with lunch. I'll ask my doctor about all this when I do my mineral scan later this month. I'll also ask about acid, h pylori, and aloe juice.

I'm so happy because I feel better. Just some minor gut support and fast cycling and I'll be in good hands. I'm also going t get the psychological and psychiatric support I need.

[levil0vesyou]

Oh hey, I realised I can just ask for advice!

(Note: This is (mostly) not ebegging (nothing wrong with ebegging, just wanna be clear) even if it may sound that way in the first section. Please keep reading. It's pretty long tho, sorry. I'll put it under a cut as I am planning to pin it but please, please read it, especially if we're mutuals. Reblogs are welcome, especially within the german blogosphere, but don't feel obligated.)

So as some of you know, my flatmate has locked me out of the kitchen because I didn't have money for groceries and thus kept eating his food. This includes the electric kettle, microwave and most cutlery but I did accidentally keep a spoon that I still have now. (I have a small bottle of dish soap so yes, I can reuse it as I do still have bathroom access.)

I have since received my first unemployment payment which, due to my previous (necessary) overconsumption is mostly gone again now. I have 20€ and change (cash so paypal and my other debtors can't seize it) left for the rest of the month (new unemployment payment should arrive on the 1st) but I'm struggling to make it stretch.

I've been trying to search up advice on this but couldn't find anything useful. If you have links or anything, that'd be awesome. Here's the key points:

I live in Germany so subject to the German costs of living. Because I also can't afford public transport fare, my store choice is pretty much limited to a small-ish Rewe nearby. There's also a Mäc Geiz and a pharmacy but ofc those aren't grocery stores.

I do not have food allergies but I am a vegetarian and unless I'm literally dying, this situation will not change that.

As mentioned I have no access to a kettle, a microwave, a stove, a fridge or any of that. I do have access to my popcorn machine (many years of trusty service, real mvp) but that's it. I have access to a spoon and a sharp knife. Not a chef's knife tho. I do not have access to spices.

My mental health is still very bad, I cannot leave the house some days and I don't think I'd be able to do anything elaborate. Thus, whatever I eat has to be easily (or not at all) prepared but not easily perishable.

At this point, my standards are very low. My current main thing is eating unheated canned food but I'm prepared to eat basically anything I can stomach (excluding meat, as mentioned) in any way that is possible for me. I'm eating unseasoned chickpeas out of a jar right now. They're actually pretty good. I also (under normal circumstances) sometimes eat dry pasta for funsies so that might give you an idea.

I eat a lot. Less at the moment but still above average. I need plenty of carbs or I will still be hungry after. Essentially, pretend I'm feeding two people here.

I keep craving salt. I'm usually decent at telling what foods my body needs by cravings so I've been eating many crisps since I no longer have a spice cabinet. But they're 'spensive. I've also been craving eggs but I have no way to indulge since afaik boiled eggs are only sold around Easter. Also fruit juice but I can eat some vitamin gummies I still have instead, that'll probably be fine.

As stated, the budget is 20€ for 1½ weeks. I do have a bit of food already, some Zwieback, a pack of Leibniz cookies, a small jar of applesauce, a (hopefully not too spicy) can of chili sin carne, stuff like that. Also some hardtack I made months ago and just now remembered, but not a lot of it and I have no way to soak it, tho I might be able to clean an empty can.

While I'm not hoping to inflict permanent damage on my body, I am willing to take a few more risks than I usually would. That said, I can barely handle one or two short grocery trips a week so foraging isn't a good option at the moment. Also, laundry situation is difficult rn so avoiding diarrhea would be awesome 👍

While I am unemployed and legally homeless (I just haven't left yet) I have no documentation for this at the moment. I mention this because some food banks and similar require such documentation. Also, again, I have a very low travel range rn (like... 200m. 500 on a good day) but if you know like some kind of... delivery food bank?? that exists in Bavaria (dm me for the city) that would be incredible.

No, I can't get a job. I literally just tried that (again) and have reached a personal new low as a result. There were some in-between steps (like that fucking clinic) but yea, that's not an option. No, not even home office. No, not even freelance.

This one might seem entitled but. I cannot keep eating the same thing. I do have my samefoods (tho I cannot cook pasta rn for obvious reasons) but especially lately, eating the same thing for more than two or three days in a row has been low key driving me insane. Might be because I've been mostly cut off from society for months, might be because my body is sick of it, who knows. But I need variety. Same thing twice a week is fine, but more than that is pushing it. I'm very sorry.

As stated, this is not an ebegging post and I want nobody to feel any kind of obligation but if we're mutuals and you have a German bank account (or Schengen and are willing to pay the fee) and you desperately want to, you may dm me about it. But you do not have to!!! And I literally only say this because I know what it feels like to be on the other end of this. No, paypal is not an option, I'm triple digits in the red there. Water droplet on a hot stone etc.

What I am looking for is advice, especially from people who have dealt with severe financial issues and/or homelessness/kitchenlessness before. I've been kitchenless before but I had a fridge, microwave and somewhat reasonable money then so it didn't really prepare me. You can either comment or reblog directly or you can dm me or send me an ask. Anon is enabled.

Either way, thank you so much for taking the time to read all this! I love you, may you have a good day <3