#they taste basically the same w the same texture except so much better

[notwaitinginthecorner]

Hot dogs are a lot like bananas for me. I looooove the smell and the idea of eating them but if I actually eat them I get kinda sick after a bite or two

[joeydaccord]

hi! how did you make you banner i love it!! :)

thank you! i’ll give a detailed rundown under the cut! i was actually in the middle of making a new header when you sent this, so good timing!

a quick explanation is that i cut out an image, paste it onto a fresh canvas, edit to my desire, and then use a gif overlay on top to give that snow effect!

so i’m going to explain this in as much detail as possible to try and make it as clear as possible, so hopefully this will be useful no matter how much PS experience one has! i used photoshop cc 2017 to make this! i’ve learned ps pretty much through just trial and error so if i do things weird, im sorry sdklfjdslk

start:

the first thing i do is open a blank document in PS sized to the tumblr header size which is 640x360 on mobile, you can size up if you want, but just keep the ratio the same!

player image:

so first i grabbed a picture, and for this i prefer pictures where the player(s) is(/are) isolated, and it���s even better when there’s not much going on behind them because it makes it much easier to cut out the part you want!

the picture i used for this is from this post on the yotes instagram!

next, i open this up into PS, so i have both the photo and the blank canvas (red arrow) open. the blue arrow points to where you can change workspace presets to allow different tools onto your workspace. i’m currently using the photography preset, but will eventually switch to motion later on.

now i begin cutting out my player. there’s multiple methods to do this and each once has it’s pros and cons. the quickest way for me is not necessarily the best way, but it does what i need it to do, especially when the item to be cut out is isolated in front of a quiet background. i use the quick selection tool to quickly select the area i want with a larger brush, and then i go in with a smaller brush size to clean up the edges and details.

when the option with the plus is selected you are grabbing more area, and when the option with the minus is selected you are are deselecting area. the 22 highlighted above references the brush size, the appropriate brush size, or what is “big” or “small” will depend on the size of picture you’re working on so just play around with what you’re comfortable with!

nick is selected, as you can see below, with the line around his body. this is not quite as careful as i would be if i was actually making this for someone to use, but for demonstration purposes it works. you can zoom in further and use the smallest brush size possible and really be careful cutting things out. you can zoom in but uping the number at the bottom left handside of the screen!

once you have everything selected, right click and choose layer from copy which will create a new layer with just the area you have selected.

now i turn off the layer with the full picture, leaving only the layer i just created. to do this, click the little eye next to the bottom layer on the right hand of the screen, as seen below.

now you’re left with a transparent player to work with! this is where i do any coloring i want to do as well, so i will quickly do that. i am not great at this part so i will just recommend looking up coloring tutorials if you want more specific help here, or just mess around with different adjustment layers which is what i do lol. once it’s colored to my liking, i merge the layers together, making them into one layer, which means the coloring won’t impact any layers below it once i move it to the canvas where we’re actually going to create the header. you do this by selecting all the layers (ctrl + click all the layers or shift + click the top and bottom layers to select them all), and then right clicking and selecting merge layers from the options.

assembling the image:

now im going to work on the base of the header, or basically the rest of it except for the moving bits! what i want to do here is move the player image over the header canvas, resize the image, decide on the color of the background, whether i’ll use any other images or textures, etc.

first i’ll think about my background color of choice. a lot of people use the color that they use for their mobile blog on here, or something complimentary or matching their accent color, etc. i really like a simple clean look so i used a white background for this header because i think it makes the image itself pop and allows the accent colors on my blog to also pop because i use white as my main color on my blog.

if i wanted to use another color, i normally pull from some part of the image i’ll be bringing over. for this i’d use the color dropper tool (see below), clicking on color on my image i want to use.

then i’ll pull up the color boxes in order to create a custom color from that color (click define custom colors), and then you can mess around with by clicking different boxes on the color scale along the right side of the panel below, or if you want an unrelated color, click on parts of the entire rainbow scale thing. once you have a color you like, selected add to custom colors and you can work with it. i create a new blank layer and then use the paint bucket tool to color it in. this is where you could also use gradients to jazz up the background a little too.

now i’ll drag my player over into the header canvas. i do this by click + dragging the layer from the right side over to the tab of the header canvas until the screen changes over to that workspace and then i drop the layer onto the canvas.

and

now nick is over on the blank canvas but as you can see, he needs to be resized. so i ctrl + t, which allows me to transform his layer (make sure you only have the layer w the image selected on the right hand side layers panel). i hold down the shift key (this keeps the ratio true) and begin to make him small by dragging the arrows. make sure you do not let go of the shift key too early or it will fuck up the image and make him too long or too wide, etc. then i hit enter, and it completes the transformation. i then drag him to wherever i want him.

now that he’s resized and where i want him, i mess with the blending options to blend him into the background more pleasingly. now this really isn’t gonna look good since i was so sloppy cutting him out earlier, but just mess around with it until you get something you like. you do this by right clicking on the layer you want to blend and then selecting blending options. i normally do a drop shadow and maybe some other stuff, but i find this changes depending on the image, background, colors, etc.

there’s a lot of stuff you can do here, with the different options and the different settings for each one!

gif overlays:

now it’s time to add a gif overlay which i how get the snow falling effect. there’s multiple posts with these kinds of gifs out there, i’ll be using one from this post (method one) and one from this post (method two). neither are the one i used when i first made this header but i cannot find the one i used then; the principles still apply. now is the time to either add the timeline to your workspace, or change it to the motion preset.

on the timeline section at the bottom of the page, there should be a create timeline animation button, click that.

as with gifs from videos, there’s multiple ways of making these gifs. i’ll run through two here.

method 1: this is the method i used when i first made this header!

if you use a gif overlay, and it comes with frames, create as many frames as that gif comes with to then copy those frames onto. open your gif and see how many frames/layers. this one has 29 as you can see below. 

now click the little button with lines at the top right corner of the timeline. it looks like this.

next click select all frames from the menu that pops up, and then select that menu again and click copy frames. now go back to your header and create the frames i talked about earlier, you need 29 (or whatever it may be for your gif). do this by selecting the button below, located along the bottom of the timeline. do this as many times as needed until you have enough frames.

now select all the header frames once again and go back to the menu where you copied the frames and select paste frames this time. a menu will pop up, and choose paste over selection. this will match up the frames/layers so frame one of your header will match with frame one of the gif. adjust the gif size if you need to, once again using ctrl + t, and make sure you still have all the layers selected and that you are still on frame 1. also make sure you move these layers under nick in the layer order.

now adjust the frame rate. this will depend on your tastes entirely so test it out. my go to frame rate is 0.05 for everything i do pretty much, as a baseline, and then i adjust from there. to do this, once again select all your frames. next, click on one of these little carots, select other, and input your frame rate in the box that pops up.

method two:

this method is when your overlay comes in timeline form (idr what it’s called) instead of frames, looking like this.

drag the layer from the layer panel onto the header canvas, just like we did with nick earlier. make sure it goes under nick in the layer order. adjust the size if necessary, still using ctrl + f to keep the shape. make sure to click this button at the bottom left corner of the timeline to convert the frame into a timeline.

now, make sure to drag each layer to the same length, aka whatever length the gif layer is. make them match!

changing the color of the overlay:

this works with either method above! create a new layer and fill it with the color you want the snow to be. place it below everything except the background layer. add a gradient layer on top of the gif layer. right click on this layer and click create clipping mask. this is what my layers look like, i don’t normally label them but hopefully this is clear.

open the properties panel for the gradient map and make sure this gradient is selected and is black and white.

finally, change the blending to lighten on the gif layer! this should do the trick!

final touches:

i like to kind of have my header melt into my blog color, so i like to kind of transition the bottom of my header into whatever color my blog is. to do this, i use a multitude of methods. for this header in particular i used the eraser tool + a textured kind of fan brush to swipe back and forth creating the half erased look at the bottom. the setting seen below are probably similar to what i did when i originally did this header!

again, this is something that you can play with a lot yourself, especially by downloading brush packs and seeing what cool textures you can create.

saving:

to save, file > export > save for web

make sure you select “forever” and not “once” so that the gif loops!

original:

gif method 1:

gif method 2:

(ignore how this is also different i had to remake it once again bc i didn’t save it lmaoooooo)

[krispdreemurr]

samusestawesomus replied to your post “if you interact w me for longer than 15 minutes you risk having magic...”

Yes. Do explain. I need to hear this.

magic food is just dust and complicated magical fields giving it the appearance/taste/texture of other foods, both mundane and not. it’s usually foodlike in shape instead of Gray Cubes or whatever mainly for psychological/psychosomatic reasons - as part of their general mimicry of conventional biological life, monsters do better eating things that resemble, like, biological food (w exceptions - there may be magic “jet fuel” that’s popular around tsunderplanes and fire monsters, or whatever). there’s magic beverages and such, too, and some monsters can only consume magic food and drink (see: skeletons, who otherwise would just pour water down their throat).

most magic food is made using magic that skews towards the “green” part of the magical spectrum, basically meaning that it’ll help with any minor injuries and deterioration as well as providing the monster w a recharge of magical energy and their physical substrate. junk food tends to not have as much green, just providing the energy boost without any real health benefits. other magic colors can be worked in for other effects - orange provides effects similar to caffeine (see: sea tea), cyan helps calm you, purple provides sort of an “immune boost” by reinforcing the structure of your field, etc etc etc

monsters can store excess magic and dust the same way humans do. monsters can and often are chubby. you cowards draw monsters chubby

for humans, their bodies convert the magic into Energy just fine, and will to some degree process the extra effects (food heals you in UT and Sea Tea speeds you up and so on), but they don’t have to worry about, like, long term magical structural issues or whatever that would require a “balanced diet” - most food will have about the same effect for them, and a human could just eat nothing but magic chisps and probably be as okay as they would surviving on any other pure-magic diet. however, they aren’t getting a lot of vitamins and proteins and so on, and any excess magic gets burned off, not stored. while green magic can heal damage, it can’t prevent it, so an all magic diet could keep you alive but probably... with....... some scurvy, and youd feel lowkey hungry all the time

for our humans who lived with monsters, i think snail pie and a small herb/veggie section in asgore’s garden were the primary solution for supplementing chara’s meals. kris, meanwhile, probably drinks like meal replacement shakes once a day and has a multivitamin to take on the regular. both chara and kris probably ended up looking Worryingly Skinny, but thanks to toriel being a good mom, were/are otherwise pretty much healthy

kris’ “i eat nothing but magic pie, chocolate meal replacement shakes, and gummi vitamins” plan has been rejected by toriel multiple times

[tunnaa-unnaa]

Thoughts on Pokemon SS reveal trailer

I’ve been busy but I think it’s time to take a closer look at the gen8 reveal trailer and share my thoughts before more information comes out. Here we go.

+ Galar region looks great. Farmland, misty forests and classical european cities are cool additions to the environmental gallery of pokemon and I feel that they fit into it nicely. The map, being basically Britain upside down, has some nice variety of environments that Alola lacked in my opinion. A bit bummed if it follows the same pattern where the icy mountain area is placed near the very end of the game again, but that’s just my taste. PokeLondon looks like the main focus on the map so I hope it delivers in activities. The region’s name has a nice ring to it as well.

- I’m not too fond of the starters to be honest. None of them stands out to me particularly well and it’s kind of odd that two of them share the same eye style - something they haven’t done since gen1. Sobble and Grookey sharing almost the same body shape too is turning me off cause it makes their silhouettes almost identical. But as usual, it’s the evolutions that matter to me the most so I’m in no way deciding my favorite based on what we have now. Just saying that our starting options are far less varied than they have been for a long time.

- Trainer characters are a big disappointment. The male is as generic as he has been since XY and the female is uncomfortably close to the Sun&Moon girl protag. I really miss the variety the characters got back in gen2-5. And not just that, but their models and animations are the same as in Sun&Moon. This is extremely disappointing to someone like me who already disliked gen7 visual style when it was new. Bums me out to see the same wonky walk cycle again on a newer console. So overall, these two don’t get any points from me. The “female protag is an angry scott with a thick accent” meme is gold tho 10/10.

+ - Graphical look is unimpressive, but has a lot of charm. Let’s Go gave us a taste of what the Switch can do with lineless, smoothly textured pokemon and vastly improved lighting and textures, so I’m a bit disappointed to see them revert back to the cel-shaded, untextured style from before. That said, in a vacuum it looks wonderful and it’s much better than the pixelated style form the 3ds games. I was expecting more, but don’t hate what we got is what I’m basically saying. Battle animations look  a w e s o m e! Nothing to complain there!

+ - Random encounters are back, no more Let’s Go style roaming wild mons. I really liked the Let’s Go style but I could see where it was lacking. Going back to classic random encounter style id fine with me, no complaints. Except it might mean they’re making another Let’s Go game. Oh well.

- Sports? Ugh... Why? Because brits love soccer? It’s not like Unova had school shootings and super bowl like come on, I’m extremely put off by this and I HOPE it’s just a visual thing disguised as something more pokemon-themed than just straight up sports. Pokeathlon comeback? I’ll pretend that’s what it is.

+ New pokemon game on the Switch. No matter what it turns out to be, I’m in.

Random list of wishes and predictions for these games:

Entirely new UI for battles since it’s back to a single screen format.

The good things from Let’s Go - size variations, nicknaming mons wherever you want, releasing multiple pokemon at once, accessing the box wherever (although maybe limited in E4 and some cool endgame dungeons) and Pokemon GO connectivity.

A more PSS-like online system instead of the nightmare that is Festival Plaza or Let’s Go’s online functions.

More varied trainer customization that isn’t just an abundant selection of colors to a very limited set of clothing. Bonus points if we get more unique hair and eye colors than before. It’s the least they could do since they’re recycling the models already.

A partner pokemon following you like in Let’s Go. You can’t give us something like that and then just take it away.

No HMs as it’s meant to be.

Longer and more puzzle-focused exploration (Twist Mountain & Victory Road in gen5 as examples) than what the simplified XY and SM gave us.

Z crystals get the boot. Out. Entirely. Maybe keep species-locked ones?

Mega stones are simplified into one stone that works for all of them.

No more regional variants. Instead more evolutions to old mons.

New pair of eeveelutions with evolution methods or items we already have. Trade Eevee holding a Reaper cloth to get the ghost evo? Or level up holding a Toxic orb to get the poison evo? Something like that.

Legendaries that are not shiny locked.

Wolf-based legendaries to match the logos.

Legendaries AND regular pokemon that are NOT based on british folklore and culture. Hawaii isn’t particularly known for its wrestlers, archers and draft horses now is it. Toucans are american, koalas are australian and Togedemaru is based on a mix of american and japanese rodents. All regions have and should have pokemon that are not “culturally appropriate for the region” and I want more of them.

New breeding mechanics or reworked breeding mechanics.

Difficulty. Even a resemblance of it like we had in USUM. Give out EXP share much later in the game, or only post-game even.

Now to wait for the next news.

[thechitchatbar]

Sensory processing disorder- reposted

was posted on old disqus moving here adding part to bottom

all the aspects of how it effects me

I cant do rough fabrics such as cotton can only do dresses or skirts can only sleep in dresses

male voices bother me so cant do audio books read by a male and very limited on music sang by a male (there are some exception) this part has perception involved so its not just the direct sound of the voice but the perception as well

I cant handle ppl singing in public near me in any form (im picky about the music I like but the music I do listen to is all professional with auto tuner anyone singing those no matter how good they are or how good there voice is triggers my spd makes it hard going to birthday parties and such also random singing on shows or commercials trigger it I couldn't even be in ear shot if a musical was playing omg that is terrible whenever theres singing on certain shows ill fast forward threw it tho certain background music is ok as long as its not the charecters and is professional meaning a real song (there are some exceptions to this very very few but some if only I can think of the movie where that girl who had no fear until she released some monsters on Halloween idk it was a Halloween movie now I cant sleep til I figure out the name of it next week learn how ocd effects me as I still try to figure the name of that movie out  btw to put yourself in my shoes whenever someone sings listen to a nail on a chalk board for equal the time

guys touching me bothers me(my spd may have more negative relations to guys for various reasons or just cause spd is an asshole idk mayby its cause im trans mayby its cause im attracted to girls mayby its maybeline idk) girls are fine unless unexpexted

to much going on quickly over whelms me and can create sensery overload really fast to many ppl really loud just to much going on

this next 1 may not be spd idk but I cant do conformity of any kind such as speaking as a group like some weddings do where they have everyone readingor group prayers even tho im a Christian (hope saying that doesn't break the no religion rule im only stating it not trying to start a convo about it)

light bothers me

things a req are a darker area in general for sleep I need silk/satin sheets my sensery lamp my music (ironic considering how easy music can trigger my spd) a cool environment or fans cool environment is better a silky feel dress and my silk/satin pillow case tho I feel some gentle movement might help which is why im planning to build a swing bed and surround it so its encased to hopfully help better

anyways ask questions if need be sure I missed something

[calvinlepesh]

yes here you go

  Workcrew immediately for incompletion of the run is common for new kids and previous strugglers. Workcrew is named so because it makes u do nothing because u cant do something so instead of WORKing on something because u suck at that you literally work doing nothing. You have to work to keep yourself entertained. Work to keep yourself from going insane looking at that orange peel textured wall. Yikes. work to not fucking freeze too jesus fucking christ fuck whoever controlled the thermostat. just saying. Sure they didnt know or didnt care but fuck them for that. anyway. After the run you come inside go back to ur room if ur not on workcrew you chill for a few minutes while the chef is done cooking for the entire facility. Obvisouly being on wprl crew You dont eat whatever everyone else eats they work they get reward u no work no reward. oats and water and those fucking goddamn apples. fuck They're probably eating some kickass breakfest burrito or A nice blue berry muffin with yogurt. actually I know and still know the food schedule for breakfest and lunch for everyday of the week. It hardly change and very slightly if ever. So i knew what I could've been eating worst part about it is they eat literally inches from you. Your back facing them listening to them eat and salvate smelling all the condiments and fresh bacon. Waiting patiently for all the other students to finish their meals and wash their dishwear and go to their rooms only after do they. Give you your W/C meal. Oats and water fuck me. The worst part about it was after awhile I got so skinny that parker had me start eating a bowl of oatmeal with every meal this is when i was doing decently well but still being full of shit just not as much. But the worst part was I got 2 bowls of it while all other w/c got 1 And i started to even like it. Almost as if my taste buds had adapted over awhile to enjoy the oats. fuck those apples tho sometimes they were a 3 out of 10. best compliment I can give there sorry not sorry. anyway eat ur meal. its time for group. Group is when the entire facility all families and w/c and parker the director sit down commonly in a circle with parker in a chair and the students on the floor but before I left They had been consistently all in the life timechairs except parker who stood at the front of the main room with the students in a movie theatur like fashion without the leveled tiers obviously. but in order of w/c to family 1-5 so work crew being at the very front right feet from parker. During group we would review issues regarding anything and i mean anything wrong with the facility or the students and staff inside of it. It is encouraged and heavily peer supported to tell on each other and to work on themselves and not let anybody even other students or roomates get in your way. WORK ON YOURSELF by Sourrounding yourself with people on the same mission as you and who do the things to suggest they are going to continue to stay on that mission was a huge message that was pushed in a variety of ways at liahona. through team building exercises, group discussion and definitely confrontation. It is common for students to lash out when they're new. Probably cause they're from California and think these motherfuckers cant do shit to me im a minor. Think again, welcome to Southern buttfuck nowhere Literally sand mountains mars-looking Hurricane Utah. Body slam ur bitchass for acing outta line. Talking back blatent disrespect and obviously anything suggesting possilbe physical or verbal outbreak resulted in a restaint. Most staff would warn u like chill out orim gonna put u on the ground. And you'd get in trouble just for that. Sometimes even a little more secretly I think for not following through. but maybe not considering its a change in behavior. im sure it could be situational. Regardless. back to the story. group typically lasted an hour or so sometimes would watch a documentary afterwards sometimes even a movie however those became quite rare as the students or cycle in. Called generations of students. I was the last of my generation for a good amount of time towards the end of my stay at liahona. Depressing very much so. Watching people who go there a year after u graduate before you. U began to believe those insecurities more and more. and if you have struggle throughout your life with putting negative energy in the universe in the form of speech by conversion of energy to your body which is apart of the universe. i know alittle hard to follow but bear with me and try your best. After group you'd either get on or off of work crew based on how well u did at nothing and the little something u do such as workouts the morning run how u address staff members how even how frequent you use the bathroom to see if ur trying to get up. What was cool at Liahona was doing what you were told. being obiedient at all times immediately and when you do fuck up take the mistake and turn it into success instead of letting it slow you down as a failure. With such a poor mindset at Liahona especially towards the middle of my stay. I stayed at level 1 for 16 months. Probably a record not really a bragging thing tho. The point is I sucked at being a normal ass human. Full of attitude and was disobiedent with little to no respect given off the bat to any adult. Like I was the shit... When you're the shit you don't have the same problems that people who arent the shit have correct. So tying all the way back to the hospital metaphor with my secret broken leg. Honestly was probably secret to me as receiving the injuries throughout critical young developmental stages. I had alot of problems being honest because I was the shit and the shit wasnt supposed to be doing all this disgusting and sad. self demeaning outragous nasty stuff. thats all im gonna say. currently. im not ready to open up about my full past for i feel currently it lays at rest where it belongs until decieded otherwise by me. Now.. where were me. I was the shit. after coming out with stuff half assed in anattempt to still look kinda like the shit. they caught me on my bullshit and I spilled the beans. No longer was I the shit. I was shit. They broke me down emotionally. Making me write my story over and over again my entire life all the things I had ever done wrong. Each time I either came out with something new or changed something becasue everything I told my therapist was true but skewed and I lost track of my story. I had fucked myself and they gave me the rope to do it because they wanted me to earn my coniquences no have them given to me based on a hunch. I fucked myself. and unfortunately it was just he beginning for my emotional workouts. For the next two years. I trecked on. Fast forward july 2016 Im level 4 shadowing a new student with a level 3. us three since we are shadowing can talk in the room about rules only and how to teach them. while having our responsibilities with the quote aswell. at this point I could memorize anything. Memorized some crazy shit honestly wish that the content of the quote was more useful in a sense of remembering important things. or things that are commonly remembered by some idk. the point is we were aloud to talk about rules only. this didnt stay over time after me doing well getting to level fucking 4 this was huge for me and I had gotten comfortable and complacent in my position halting any further actions towards bettering myself everyday. exactly what they don't want you to do. We ended up flying our shadow solo which means hes a level one and we cant talk to him anymore and its cbo. basically hes in the big leagues now. But the level 3 and the other roommate who wasnt aloud to talk but was in the room while we shadowed the new student literally everyday for a month or two. And we all started breaking CBO together. basically we literally talked. about any and everything. Eventually getting comfortable doing that after a week or so couldnt have been too much longer than a week or two before guess who our same shadowed new student turns us in... Just like we had taught him to do. He was rewarded heavily. This was 1 july 2016. the 4th was parkers fav holiday does a shit ton of fun shit for everybody and everybody can talk water balloon fights watermelon eating contest hot dogs play basketball freely. fucking board games bro straight up. I had been at Liahona at this time for 2 about to be 3 Fourth of julys at Liahona and they just got better and better problem was I spent all 3 on work crew. top that off I spent all of July and into August on workcrew. It started off as suicide watch run risk and do nothing. literally as worse at it got. You can use the bathroom and sit in this chair. and you can sleep on this mattress with the fans and AC on with no blankets or pillows. So It stayed like that for  a week. Miserable completely miserable. I had finally started doing well got to level fucking four and im on work crew do nothing sui watch run risk and Ive been here for two years sleeping in the commons with no blanket or pillows shivering. Ill still never forget that day parker said I could choose to have a blanket or a pillow. FUCK U THINK? blanket. ez. I was literally giggling with joy that night under its warmth. That whole month slowly and slowly got increasingly easier on work crew and I didnt know why I was even still on It'd been a fucking month this was august 1st. The next day august 2nd 2016 Parker comes in and tells me im finally leaving. This was a really big day for me and brings to me currently some very strong emotions of relief and regret. For I hadn't completely wasted my time at Liahona but then again I typically in the past back then never completed anything. And honestly that is one of my bullshit things that I say to myself. and still have some belief in for good reason to gain perspective from it. Because unfortunately there are things in this world that are bad but also true. Thats just the way things work. There is good in bad and bad in good always. It may be hard to find or the pros out weigh the cons or vice versa. I see the bad, me not taking very good advantage at all of what Liahona had to offer for me at all times. However still gaining from it which is good aswell of course. But the bad being I did waste alot of my time. Now am I completely to blame for the duration of my time there. Yes because I made the decisions that led to me having to be there longer. honestly cause I needed to be there longer. Maybe a slight tiny bit of blame on my father for neglect to anextent of course when it came to life rules and making sure I know and remember them. But at the end of the day I kept myself on the wall and I have taken responsibility and if I havent i will now. I fucked up at liahona and I caused myself to be there for aslong as I was obviously not intentionally but for some reason. Cause I hated myself and nobody felt bad for me. I nolonger desire that attention. Because I know that If that attention is given to me in the quantity desired and by the form of attention inwhich idesired. Would inturn keep me immature as im hiding and nesting away from my feelings rather than pour them out and release the hate and sadness because its no good. it does no good besides grant perspective both to yourself and others. I never brag about giving to the homeless. Truly the reason I bring it up is because I may not have been homeless for very long or hadn't been homeless without atleast a couch or a garage to sleep in. But after enduring just that water down verison of being homeless. I know they need that damn money more than I do. Im not going to be unreasonable and give him everything I have on my card. but typically I give them at the minimum a cig if they want one and a conversation just cause people need to talk to people. whether they're drunk or not sad or happy talking turns our feelings into reality based on what you desire long term and short term almost combined in a way. You can switch up long term desires such as careers and lifestyles however it is not recommended. However also if you are still in a somewhat content mindset settling for like85 percent full on ur content scale. And this is what you need a little change up. Then by all means switch but keep the short term desires because those need to work first. Before you even decide what you want from life and ur existance ask yourself am I happy? If you are not atleast somewhat content with who you are an individual currently. You need to follow what I told you earlier. You need to dig deep in your heart and soul and mind. Focus on the center of your chest. thats where i feel my soul communicate to me. And i search it with my mind sending inquizitive thoughts to it for its response. Your body is a rosetta stone in a way for literal human communication (speech) and the vibrations of the universe. And vice versa. your body picks up things from the universe and world that it tells u. Maybe gut feelings? Hunches? A strong feeling for no reason??? EVERYTHING HAS A REASON. And if it isn't this than prove it to me. It proves itself and you can try it for yourself. Find contentment in your preplanned manifestation that we call "The Universe" by recognizing both your current insignificance in the real world possibly currently or maybe never; never in your mind atleast. But also your significance in how much control you have just because of what fucking species you are and all the things you can learn. Know you have significance because this is your world and you already chose how your life is going to end. What will last for you what won't. Because somebody (you u idiot) set it up to happen that way. Say you think im full of shit and just crazy. Let me ask you.... Lets just say for shits and giggles then, that you are God/ superior being so to speak. And you created everything we have ever known. Planets, plants, rocks .people communication, every conversation. EVERY FUCKING EVERYTHING WAS MADE BY YOU. so with that in mind given that and the vast amount of knowledge that comes with some power.literally unimaginable because we cant EVEN FUCKING COMPREHEND it.  ie You as God know that all good must have evil. So you realize large world thats actually rather small in comparison to alot of other fucking planets. Maybe it makes some people feel inferior maybe it turns people towards hate. But you decieded we're going to make a little safe haven whenthis random motherfucker wants to see if the world is flat. Killed all the indians. negative. USA positive. Rev war possibly hardcore karma for killing indians unlikely but it always is anyways. we win rev war Now we are free. Put Lepesh in free nation in 1999. He reconizes the power of the mind body and soul combined in the trinity. And wants to spread the message that you too can be happy. the suffering can end. Ive been diagonosed with depression add adhd odd ocd ptsd abcd u fucking name it. And they made a killing off of my parents. Granted I was a very problematic child so they started taking me in at a young age. over time with people telling me whats wrong with me. Yeah ima tell them to fuck off cause Im living the life i want to live. I may not know the consiquences are for me choosing to live like such. But I will and When I do I will weild that power given to me in knowledge and spread to you my wisdom. Speech isnt the only way to manifest things into your reality. Any human contact that can be described by and spoken with our apparently primitive words of any language. YOU MUST MEAN HOW YOU FEEL  Currently this is my world and universe because I value very few things about myself in the grand scheme of everything. Given that wouldn't I want the one thing I value a great deal to succeed and fulfill his dreams and have a goodass life? So thats what this mindset program will do. Others will use it becuase their kids are driving them up the walls and they just can't do it anymore. They're about to throw in the towel and don't know what to do anymore. Maybe its for somebody looking for love and they need to realize that u literally must love urself first. You cannot give what you donot already have. Unless you promiss to give which is an entire other problem in itself given that you can never give the love you want to give because you must find it for yourself by dedicating large amounts of time to yourself over time which you cannot do if ur constantly giving your feeling of infatuation and potential 'promise love' IE I promise you one day Ill love you but right now I cant cause I dont love myself. But I promise I will love myself but u wont. U simply wont. Until you learn your worth which by the fucking way bro. straight the fukc up listen. By the way. you decide your worth. The way you decide to change your worth is by finding the opposing core belief about urself the angelic side the white fluffy this is who I truly am side. The I wanna die fuck everything not even worth it this world isnt worth bringing anybody into is bullshit. However nesscessary for a short period for perspective and experiential sake. Bullshit. You manifested bullshit told to you over time in different ways. almost like taking pieces of gum out from underneath tables accorss every resturant you go through for example ur entire life. making a big ball of gross bullshit told to you in the forms of verbal abuse sexual physical. just bullshit. Best thing about bullshit is that it is always bad. The only good in the bad of bullshit is that it give great perspective and it helps this rant lol. Anyways, Realize that angelic force you hold and listen to your mind and heart tell you what you already know. and put it into action by reminding yourself about it as much as possible until its all you really think about. You'll notice key changes in yourself. Keep in mind these some of these effects happened immediately some over time some after forgetting my worth some during forgetting my worth.For myself after finding myself again focusing on the bullshit that isnt true. Radical difference in hesitation to speak to people. and to even what im going to speak. I used to care about everything and project that I care about nothing. It was fucking stupid sad and pretty pathetic actually. very sad now that I think about it. Pretending almost in a way. Sag my pants wear dark and almost shady clothing. ears pierced, quit sports, smoke weed, everything to say I don't give a fuck about anything at all ever and never will. I did it and said it. Of course with periods of absolute disbelief and saddness for I knew the whole time I was living a bullshit fabricated lie that directly stemmed from my self esteem issues and uncertainty in myself and the universe. Im very grateful for my current state of being however unsober. very very helpful and a clear message from myself that I believe I know what I need to do. Or what I want to do. But how? Im not worried about why because Its impossible and highly unlikely that the reason presents itself so early. And so it has before but many a few times and such a long time inbetween instances its almost radical to gamble on such things. Might aswell waste my time doing jack shit sitting on the fucking wall for no reason. Im going to end this in the same fashion I started it to an extent. Unexpected and unrehearsed and will summarize in steps how use this Mindset Program I designed to help those capable enough to over come depression and treat general unhappiness with the combined power of your heart mind and soul. Idk but i wasnt specifically planning on making a book for financial gain although it was a large contributing factor. and I as I sit here and think about what I typed it doesn't matter. Because regardless of what happens I wanted it to so it will in the exact way I want it to effect me. if at all idk if i will lol. Crazy man lifes a trip. I need money and i dont deserve it but I can say confidently currently right this moment I would spend my money according to what I desire in the long term. And it would help me start that journey so I may learn more. and continue to better myself as an individual everyday. or  at the very least do something that shows im a good person. In this world you have to keep your guard up not always but typically a great majority of the time. Given that, it's not hard to see why nobody trusts anybody on anything anymore. For a long time and still to this day a vast majority of humans have and will continue to act good but do bad consistently. They have simply been worshiping there bullshit thoughts. The best thing you can do for such a person who has potentially lost all hope. Or is on that path or near the end of it. Let that person know you love them. Only do so if you mean what you say tho. If you mean the words and they are looking at you when you say it. They will straight the fuck up feel your love. Might not be a fucking serotonin shot but its a little love that they will feel and remind them. Its never too late to change your mindset and find empathy for yourself and the world. Here are the current Finalized step by step instructions on how to use my newly developed highly successful Mindset Program. Guarenteeed to bring about contentment and feelings of joy to those who complete and follow these steps completely... 1.)FIRST OFF DO NOT READ THIS SHIT IF YOU AREN'T OPEN-MINDED OR YOU'LL NEVER HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN IT AGAIN, WAIT UNTIL YOU GET YOURSELF ATLEAST SOMEWHAT UNDERCONTROL.2.)EMPATHY Either Already have or Develop a very hardcore understanding and knowledge of empathy by having gratitude through perspective that you must gain. Gaining perspective can happen in a number of ways. The misfortunate are a great way to lead you to happiness. By giving away your money need it or not. who needs it more. and what are they spending it on. If you were homeless outside in january wouldnt you want to be drunk? you were gonna buy a steak and lobster dinner that night anyway even if you didnt have the 10$ cash you gave to Michael by the dumpster. That inturn puts you indebt in a way to the universe. Almost saying this guy will get something good from this at some point in his life. Could be your friend buying your next meal or an invitation to a crazy party. who knows and who knows when its going to happen. we don't the beauty of it is that you know its coming in some shape or form. infact it might have already paid its debt by making you feel better when you did it???? Put yourself in less fortunate peoples shoes. Take acid as much as you can within reason obviously you don't wanna end up fried as fuck. But definitely trip balls man go learn about yourself and the world. Acid is a key to more knowledge. You swim in it but its like trying to bring water (the knowledge) with you when you get out of the pool. You can never even get close to obtaining all of that knowledge. I just needed enough to know that my life isn't completely fucking worthless cause I truly can control my life and you can control yours. Is so empowering to see it happen first hand. To see success finally coming and showing itself after all this time. The worst part is I knew all of this shit long ago. I was told this stuff in Liahona and They knew we didn't fully get it yet. Now I get it. Finally. wtf. I can control my own life.3.)SEARCH YOUR SOUL WITH YOUR MIND. Literally ask yourself questions like a literal one sided conversation. Ask yourself. What do I desire in my life most? For me? Wife car house maybe a farm cat dog fucking dont care whatever she wants the house to look like. two cars actually. I want a boat. and a stable well paying job and some kickass kids. When do I want it to happen. I decided that before I was here. Because I was apart of the aliens maybe idk lol just a thought. Maybe they let me choose they were like yo man this is where ur coming into this planet. they're dumb but think they're really smart and theres lots of chaos they're pretty bad animals i know its a bad gig to send you into but if you like what you can make happen go for it. I wouldn't come into this world unless I knew that things would work out for me at some point. and idk if today is the day but ive realized again what I had already realized but soon forgotten about over a month after. Either from complacentcey or just down right bad memory. Either way I forgot the path and Now I am back.4.)YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE GOOD IN THE BAD AND THE BAD IN THE GOOD For example, for me my bads are so seldom compared to what some people across the universe go through on a daily basis. I have it so good already. Now compared to the rest of my country.. yeah Im not doing very well financially or on some of the selfs. I have the mental capcity and emotional knowledge and strength currently developed from years of deep depression and sadness. Drug abuse and wanting to be numb. Wanting to die or hurt myself. Here I am reconizing the bad in my life the symptoms of listening and believing other peoples bullshit. Reconizing that the bullshit isnt true and was never true. sometimes reconizing a genreal date that you remember yourself starting to believe what people bullshit to you about yourself. Maybe you remember how you felt about yourself before someone called you fat or ugly or hurt u in some way. Remember previous relationships that have cut u deep over time and may even hurt a bit to think about. Remember the fighting and bullshit. But most importantly remember the good times. Ive caught myself many times forgetting the numerous good times had with previous loved ones in almost a desperate attempt to save yourself. Its a protection tactic that completely stops any and all emotional grow. The only way you get stronger is if you do the work. Just like at the gym the only way you get a ripped ass chest or a 6 pack is by doing the fucking work and lifting it. There is no short cut that is worthwhile longterm. Roids give you boobs and shrink ur balls now ur shot on the kids Idea cause u tried to take a shortcut. Same with emotions. using heroin was a big thing for me for awhile i was at a point where I knew it was stopping me from growing emotionally. Because it doesn't allow you to feel anything. you feel numb you don t care. when I took heroin I felt like I really was who I said I was. I overdosed a few months ago and died onheroin. started using again a couple days later. I stopping in November and id be lying if I said it wasnt brutal. so sure I tried to numb the pain with other things. Alcohol is a big one coke, meth, lots and lots of weed, anything that would or could alter my mind besides heroin is what Ive been doing.  Now none of these things are beneficial in the long term except for weed and acid maybe coke if the universe allows it. The opportunity that you desire would not present itself to you without you first creating the desire. I have a desire for drugs. So I have drugs. But Im at the very least smart enough to realize that heroin is if not a complete block of emotions pretty damn fucking close to it. which allows for significantly less emotion growth through the actual feeling of your feelings and emotions. Another big thing that can help is talking about what you discovered about yourself all the bullshit you believed and the statements you have in place to replace them. My previous statement for example Im a fucking loser thats never going to amount to shit. My angelic statement, I've made many mistake and failures in my life at a young age that I wouldn't trade for the world for they have development me into me. You've made it this far havent you?5.) USE YOUR TRINITY TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE STARTING BY FINDING WHAT WORKS FOR YOU TO HAVE A CONSTANT REMINDER. Basically this means find a way to take your new angelic statement created from the good inside the bad and either associate that statement to whatever you see best fit. For example. I have an alarm in the morning that reads! Choose to be happy! with some other notes aswell. And I read that I think to myself. Its a choice. I can use my mind to change my reality over time based on how I feel. I DONT HAVE TO BE SAD ANYMORE BECAUSE I HAVE THE DESIRES IN MY LIFE THAT PULL ME TOWARDS THEM THROUGH MY DECISIONS AND ACTIONS CURRENTLY.

[mgjansen81]

Sourdough Technique Experiment: No Knead vs. The W...

New Post has been published on https://makesomethingtasty.com/sourdough-technique-experiment-no-knead-vs-the-w/

Sourdough Technique Experiment: No Knead vs. The W...

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My love of baking comes from experimenting with different techniques and ingredients and, of course, eating the bread. In terms of experimenting, so many factors influence the creation of a great loaf of sourdough bread: wheat and flour type, hydration, autolysis, stretching and folding, fermentation time and temperature, shaping, scoring, proofing, baking vessel, oven temperature and more.

An experiment I recently decided to do was to use Breadtopia’s Select Bread Flour a.k.a. “the Holy Grail of bread flour,” and hold all these variables constant except for autolysis and stretching and folding, in order to assess how much these activities actually impact the final product. I picked these variables to test, because they are somewhat time-consuming. They can intimidate new bakers and prevent people from baking during the work week. (There are two-plus hours of stretching and folding in most Tartine style sourdough recipes.)

I baked two loaves of bread using identical ingredients and weights, fermentation time and temperature, loaf shape and scoring pattern, baking vessel and oven. The only variations were that one loaf, called “S&F,” had an autolyse stage, and the dough was stretched and folded four times after the leaven and salt were added. The other loaf, “No Knead,” was mixed when the leaven and salt were added to the S&F loaf. Nothing was done to No Knead until the end of the bulk fermentation, when both doughs were preshaped, benched, shaped, proofed and baked in the same manner.

After cooling, I evaluated the loaves from the outside and inside (oven spring, crust, crumb), and compared their flavor.

My results were surprising. There was almost no difference in the final loaves; they were remarkably similar in shape, height, and crumb. A few slices show S&F being taller, but a few slices show No Knead with a more open crumb. A tie.

The oven spring of S&F had slightly wider and smoother openings in the crust, but I can’t be sure if this was from the autolyse and stretching and folding, or from inconsistent scoring depth on my part.

Also, the crust of the S&F appeared a little more carmelized, a deeper brown, but this difference might have stemmed from experiment-design flaws as well: the position of the boules in the oven or a different proofing basket/bowl. For 8.5 hours in the refrigerator, one boule proofed on a tea towel in a banneton with air flow, and the other on a tea towel in a glass bowl (more airtight). The lighter-colored No Knead loaf was in the glass bowl and had very little flour on it when I flipped it into the dutch oven. The S&F loaf was in the banneton, and it retained more tea-towel flour after the proof (perhaps was dryer because of air flow) and baked a darker crust under the excess flour.

In terms of flavor, I couldn’t detect a difference in the loaves, despite the 4-hour autolyse, which should have been long enough for any mellowing or enhancement of flavor to have occurred. My experiment did not have multiple taste testers, though, and I could lack the nuanced palate needed to pick up on a difference in the flavor.

During this experiment, I noted some differences in dough texture and handling. Although I added the starter at the same time to both doughs, the S&F dough started to develop bubbles earlier. However, a few hours in, the No Knead was also quite bubbly. The doughs at the end of the bulk fermentation still looked different, with S&F’s surface being bubbly but smoother, while No Knead had one large popped bubble and a rougher looking texture. Similarly when stretching out the doughs for preshaping, S&F was easier to manipulate. Though by the time the bench rest was over, they felt similar for shaping.

My conclusion from this experiment is that you should bake even if you don’t have time for the stages of autolysis and stretching and folding. For the sake of dough handling and perhaps modest improvements in crust, these stages are beneficial, but the general look and flavor of the breads were similar.

Ultimately, this experiment was limited in scope, though, and there are many opportunities for further study. I used a flour that is high in gluten, a long fermentation time (15% starter), and one hydration level (74% water). A difference in any of these factors or others could mean that autolysis and stretching and folding have a more dramatic impact on the final loaf.

For example, if these loaves were made from a flour with less gluten and more starter, autolysis and stretching and folding might lead to markedly better gluten development…or the opposite (see below).

Higher Hydration: I made a third loaf of this bread a couple of days later with 82% hydration. I didn’t autolyse the dough, and I stretched and folded the dough twice. Basically, I aimed for a halfway point in baking technique and upped the hydration. The loaf was flatter and the crumb more open.

Different Wheat: I repeated the entire experiment methodology using all whole grain einkorn flour several weeks later. The doughs were 70% hydration and 28% starter i.e. a faster ferment on a grain known for its low gluten formation abilities. As with the experiment described above, one dough was autolysed and stretched and folded four times; the other was mixed all at once and left untouched until the end of the bulk fermentation. In this experiment, the No Knead loaf was by far the winner. It spread less during the bench rest and the final loaf had more height and oven spring. So it would appear that in the case of whole grain einkorn wheat, extra handling harmed gluten formation.

See the Gallery below the recipe for photos of the bread from the original experiment, the high hydration bread, and the results of the einkorn of the experiment.

Sourdough Technique Experiment: No Knead vs. The Works

Experimenting with different baking techniques can yield surprising results. In this case, Breadtopia Select Bolted Organic Bread Flour performed as well with the no knead technique as it did with more elaborate gluten developing steps.

Ingredients

Instructions

No Knead

Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly and let the dough ferment until puffy, bubbly, and roughly doubled. This was about 8 hours for my dough at a room temp of 76F. Resume the instructions below under the header Preshape.

The Works

Mix the water and flour thoroughly. Cover and let rest for 1-4 hours to autolyse.

Add the starter and salt to the dough, mixing thoroughly. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Stretch and fold the dough four times, every 20-30 minutes, covering between handling.

Let the bulk fermentation continue until the dough is puffy, bubbly, and roughly doubled. This was about 8 hours for my dough at a room temp of 76F.

Preshape

Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface. Gently press it into a rectangle shape. Fold it in third and then in half.

Cover and let it rest 20-25 minutes while you prep a basket/tea towel with all-purpose and rice flour, or bran flakes.

Shape the dough into a boule or batard, depending on your baking vessel. Lay it in your basket seam side up for smooth scoring, or seam side down for a rustic look.

Let the dough proof 1-3 hours at room temperature, or 6-10 hours in the refrigerator. I did 8.5 hours in the refrigerator.

Thirty minutes before the end of the proofing stage, preheat your oven to 500 F with the baking vessel inside. (Follow the temperature limits of your baker.)

Flour your hand and flip the dough out of the basket. Gently place it in the hot baking vessel. Score the top, cover, and bake:

500 F for 25 minutes lid on

450 F for 15 minutes lid off

Or until the internal temperature is over 205 F.

4.21

https://breadtopia.com/sourdough-technique-experiment-no-knead-vs-the-works/

  About the author

Melissa Johnson: Devoted bread baker, inspired by the science and art of sourdough.

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Why Are People Freaking Out About Collagen Peptides—and What Do They Even Do?

Another day, another supplement’s taking over the internet. If you’ve been cruising around Paleo websites or following the latest beauty advice, you’ve probably seen the word "collagen" thrown around more than once. Until recently, collagen was a treasured ingredient in antiaging creams, but didn’t play a big factor in the Western supplement industry. But with collagen peptides gaining popularity, it seems time to answer the question: What exactly are collagen peptides, and even more importantly,Why should anybody care?

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Collagen is basically body glue.

Before we get into the ins out outs of collagen peptides, it’s good to know what collagen actually, uh, is. Collagen is a structural protein that’s found in abundance in human and animal bodies. In fact, it’s pretty much the glue that holds all our parts together. As we age, we produce less collagen, which causes loss of elasticity in your skin and all the other fun stuff that goes along with getting older.

So, the basic idea of adding more collagen to your diet sounds like a great idea. Who doesn’t want to have fewer wrinkles and less joint pain? But do these supplements really make a difference?

What are collagen peptides?

It’s not a shock that collagen peptides are a form of collagen. But it’s slightly more surprising to learn that collagen and gelatin are almost exactly the same. Yes, the new supplement craze is basically just the stuff you use to make Jell-O shots; collagen naturally occurs in all animals, and gelatin is just the processed version of this common protein, or "hydrolyzed collagen." Sadly, the high sugar content of stuff like Jell-O pretty much outweighs the benefits of the gelatin, so don’t start mainlining Jigglers in the name of good health.

The biggest difference between peptides and gelatin is how they dissolve. Collagen peptide supplements are hydrolyzed to a low molecular weight so they can be dissolved in hot or cold water and are supposedly easier to digest. Gelatin can only be dissolved in hot water (something all you Jell-O shot pros already know). Eating undissolved gelatin can be a little harsh on the stomach. Also, it’s kind of gross.

Since a hot and cold water soluble supplement is much easier to use, collagen peptides have taken off in popularity. Plus, a collagen peptide-infused smoothie sounds a lot fancier than a gelatin juice.

Why take collagen peptides?

People all over the internet have been singing the praises of bone broth for years. Why? The collagen content. But since we all can’t keep a jug of bone broth around to swig from, collagen peptide supplements have become more and more popular.

Most blogs and wellness enthusiasts claim that collagen is a good source of protein that helps increase skin elasticity and strengthens hair and nails. You’ll also find claims that it’ll help you lose weight, sleep better, fix your joints, improve digestion, heal leaky gut, and make Jesus love you. Okay, I added in the last one, but if you look at enough websites, you’d think collagen was some kind of miracle powder that cures everything except cancer and herpes.

What does it really do?

Most supplements have evangelical enthusiasts, but most of the time it’s too good to be true. So what can collagen peptides really do for us? Well, it is a good source of protein. In one scoop of peptide powder, you typically get 10 grams of protein. At 40 calories a scoop, that’s not too bad. Now, if you’re a vegetarian, watch out. Most collagen products are derived from animal bones or fish scales, so it’s not vegan safe.

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When it comes to skin, there is some evidence to suggest that collagen supplements really do help. One study found that skin hydration and collagen density increased after eight weeks of oral collagen supplementation. The effect of oral collagen peptide supplementation on skin moisture and the dermal collagen network: evidence from an ex vivo model and randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials. Asserin J, Lati E, Shioya T. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2015, Sep.;14(4):1473-2165. Basically, collagen was considered a helpful tool in decreasing the skin’s signs of aging. Now, that’s only one study, but it’s hopeful information all the same.

What might collagen do?

The other collagen claims are a little harder to nail down. Sure, studies have been performed, but they offer contradictory results. Here are a few places where collagen might really work.

If you suffer from brittle or ever-breaking nails, there’s some evidence to suggest collagen peptides could get you the manicure of your dreams. Read anyone’s blog who’s ever taken collagen for more than a day, and they’ll insist their nails are better than ever. Some scientific studies support that claim. A German/Brazilian study found that participants taking supplements for 24 weeks had a 12 percent increase in nail growth and a 42 percent decrease in the number of broken nails. Oral supplementation with specific bioactive collagen peptides improves nail growth and reduces symptoms of brittle nails. Hexsel D, Zague V, Schunck M. Journal of cosmetic dermatology, 2017, Aug.;():1473-2165.

Before you start chugging collagen, know that this was a non-blind study with 25 participants and no placebo group. Basically, the study doesn’t mean much. Sorry to rain on your supplement parade, but the connection between collagen and nails still isn’t scientifically solid.

When it comes to joint pain, there is some evidence to suggest that collagen supplements might help your creaky bones feel a little better. A study from Penn State University found that athletes had significantly less joint pain at rest and in movement after taking collagen peptides. 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain. Clark KL, Sebastianelli W, Flechsenhar KR. Current medical research and opinion, 2008, Apr.;24(5):1473-4877. So collagen could have the capability to ease pain, inflammation, and reduce joint damage on the whole. Sadly, we can’t officially extrapolate all of that from one 97-person study, but it shows collagen's potential in the healthy joint world.

What can’t collagen do?

There are claims that collagen can help with digestion and fix "leaky gut." The science behind the whole leaky gut phenomenon is hotly debated, with many gastrointestinal experts denying leaky gut’s existence entirely. Now, I’m not an expert, and if your health professional diagnosed you with leaky gut, feel free to take their advice. Either way, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that collagen would help with any gastro problems.

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Lastly, collagen won’t give you a ticket to dream town. Many holistic sites claim that collagen peptide supplements help you faller asleep faster and sleep deeper through the night. Unfortunately, there’s really nothing to suggest that it will help you snooze. Sure, if your joints are less achy because of supplements or you’re so filled with glee over your collagen-induced wrinkle-free skin, you might sleep pretty well. But don’t turn to peptides to knock you out at night.

What did collagen do for me?

I added collagen peptides to my morning smoothie for a month, so I could have some firsthand experience with the collagen craze. Was my skin transformed? Were my nails healthy and long? Did my joints feel 10 years younger? No. No to all of it. Now, I didn’t notice anything bad, but in all honesty, I noticed absolutely zero difference in my skin, hair, nails, joints, sleep, or cellulite. (A lot of folks are hawking it as an anti-cellulite cure, but... there's no real evidence.) Of course, I only tried it for a month, and I’m only one person, so just because it didn’t work with me, doesn’t mean it won’t help you out.

Will I still take collagen supplements? Weirdly, yes! I don’t get a lot of protein, and I don’t like the taste of most protein powders. But the collagen blended easily into smoothies without adding any texture or flavor whatsoever. Even in thin juices, I could never tell it was there. So, for that alone, I’m willing to keep up my collagen intake.

As far as supplements go, collagen peptides seem pretty promising. Though the science to prove its efficacy is in the early stages, there are good signs pointing toward increases in skin and joint health when you add collagen to the mix. Will it change everything overnight? Of course not. But if you’re looking for an unintrusive protein powder that might do a couple other good things for your body along the way, collagen peptides are worth a try.

Amber Petty is a freelance writer in Los Angeles who writes for Bustle, Elite Daily, Thrillist, and a lot of other random sites. If you like easy crafts and Simpsons gifs, check out her blog Half-Assed Crafts.

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