u/Clashrtc

Looking for some advice on what to do in Whitefish for a few days this week. We won’t have a car, so we’ll be relying on walking, Uber, shuttles, or tours.

We get into Whitefish around 11:30 AM Thursday. We can leave our luggage at our place, but can’t check in until 4 PM. We were thinking we’d spend some of that time exploring downtown, grabbing lunch, etc., but would like to fit in at least one actual activity that day or Friday before the wedding weekend really starts.

Friday we’re free most of the day, but need to be in Columbia Falls by about 7:30 PM for a wedding meet-and-greet. Saturday is the wedding, and then we also have Sunday completely open, although we may be moving a little slower after the wedding.

For first-time visitors, what would you prioritize? We are really there for the wedding, but it is also my GFs birthday on Sunday and I would like to get at least one fun activity in.

Also curious how reliable Uber/Lyft is between Whitefish and Columbia Falls, especially later at night.

42M, 6'0", 193 lb. I lift 5–6 days/week and run 3 days/week. No symptoms.

This started with routine blood work before my annual physical.

My initial labs were:

• AST: 49
• ALT: 47

At the time I had been training normally and hadn't had alcohol for about 5 days.

Because of the elevated liver enzymes, my PCP wanted to repeat the labs at my physical a month later and told me not to drink beforehand.

Before the repeat labs, I asked whether my lifting and running could have contributed because I had read that strenuous exercise can elevate AST. She just told me to avoid exercise for 72 hours before the repeat labs. At the physical she told me that she was just "humoring me" when she told me not to work out and that the elevated AST "is from alcohol only".

For the repeat labs, I followed those instructions:

• ~10–12 days with no alcohol
• 72+ hours with no lifting or running

Results:

• AST: 31
• ALT: 38

That made me wonder whether the rest from training had actually mattered, so about a month later I ordered another set of labs on my own.

This time I again avoided alcohol for 9 days but otherwise followed my normal routine (3 heavy lifting sessions and 2 runs during the previous 4 days).

Results:

• AST: 51
• ALT: 34
• GGT: 11
• Bilirubin, ALP, albumin, and the rest of the CMP were normal.

For context, I usually drink about once a week, but when I do it's often around 10–12 light beers over the course of a day golfing or out on the boat.

So the trend is:

• AST: 49 → 31 → 51
• ALT: 47 → 38 → 34
• GGT: 11

Does this make exercise seem like a plausible explanation for the isolated AST elevation, or would you still be looking for another cause?

42M, 6'0", 193 lb. I lift 5–6 days/week and run 3 days/week. No symptoms.

This started with routine blood work before my annual physical.

My initial labs were:

• AST: 49
• ALT: 47

At the time I had been training normally and hadn't had alcohol for about 5 days.

Because of the elevated liver enzymes, my PCP wanted to repeat the labs at my physical a month later and told me not to drink beforehand.

Before the repeat labs, I asked whether my lifting and running could have contributed because I had read that strenuous exercise can elevate AST. She just told me to avoid exercise for 72 hours before the repeat labs. At the physical she told me that she was just "humoring me" when she told me not to work out and that the elevated AST "is from alcohol only".

For the repeat labs, I followed those instructions:

• ~10–12 days with no alcohol
• 72+ hours with no lifting or running

Results:

• AST: 31
• ALT: 38

That made me wonder whether the rest from training had actually mattered, so about a month later I ordered another set of labs on my own.

This time I again avoided alcohol for 9 days but otherwise followed my normal routine (3 heavy lifting sessions and 2 runs during the previous 4 days).

Results:

• AST: 51
• ALT: 34
• GGT: 11
• Bilirubin, ALP, albumin, and the rest of the CMP were normal.

For context, I usually drink about once a week, but when I do it's often around 10–12 light beers over the course of a day golfing or out on the boat.

So the trend is:

• AST: 49 → 31 → 51
• ALT: 47 → 38 → 34
• GGT: 11

Does this make exercise seem like a plausible explanation for the isolated AST elevation, or would you still be looking for another cause?

42M, 6'0", 193 lb. I lift 5–6 days/week and run 3 days/week. No symptoms.

This started with routine blood work before my annual physical.

My initial labs were:

• AST: 49
• ALT: 47

At the time I had been training normally and hadn't had alcohol for about 5 days.

Because of the elevated liver enzymes, my PCP wanted to repeat the labs at my physical a month later and told me not to drink beforehand.

Before the repeat labs, I asked whether my lifting and running could have contributed because I had read that strenuous exercise can elevate AST. She just told me to avoid exercise for 72 hours before the repeat labs. At the physical she told me that she was just "humoring me" when she told me not to work out and that the elevated AST "is from alcohol only".

For the repeat labs, I followed those instructions:

• ~10–12 days with no alcohol
• 72+ hours with no lifting or running

Results:

• AST: 31
• ALT: 38

That made me wonder whether the rest from training had actually mattered, so about a month later I ordered another set of labs on my own.

This time I again avoided alcohol for 9 days but otherwise followed my normal routine (3 heavy lifting sessions and 2 runs during the previous 4 days).

Results:

• AST: 51
• ALT: 34
• GGT: 11
• Bilirubin, ALP, albumin, and the rest of the CMP were normal.

For context, I usually drink about once a week, but when I do it's often around 10–12 light beers over the course of a day golfing or out on the boat.

So the trend is:

• AST: 49 → 31 → 51
• ALT: 47 → 38 → 34
• GGT: 11

Does this make exercise seem like a plausible explanation for the isolated AST elevation, or would you still be looking for another cause?

Edit: I just found a Samsung a36 128gb for only $240 so I am now thinking that paired with the tablet

My mom is 78 and needs a new phone. Historically, she just gets whatever old Samsung or Google flagship my brother can find, and he's obsessed with keeping her on an old Galaxy S8.

My thought was to go in a different direction. Since she mainly uses her phone for texting, YouTube, a few simple games, and occasional web browsing, I was thinking about getting her a Samsung A17 (or similar budget Samsung) and pairing it with a Samsung tablet.

The idea is that the phone would basically become her communication device for calls and texts when she's away from home, while the tablet would be her primary device for YouTube, games, texting, and general use. From what I understand, Samsung phones and tablets can work together pretty well, so she could still handle messages from the tablet.

A larger tablet screen seems like it would be much easier for her eyes than spending hours on a phone. She also doesn't travel much by herself anymore, so the downside of having a lower-end phone isn't a huge concern. She's almost always with family if she's out and about.

Does this seem like a reasonable approach, or would you still recommend spending more on the phone and less on the tablet?

Over the last four years, my A1C has gone from 5.7 in 2022 to 6.0 in 2024, and now back down to 5.7 in 2026.

I was a little confused by the results because I always thought A1C was basically a snapshot of the last three months. Over the last few months, I’ve been checking my glucose pretty consistently with a Contour monitor, and I rarely seem to spike very high. Most of my meals are fairly balanced, although some are more carb-heavy. Even then, the worst I usually see is around 150 at the 45 minute mark. By about an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, I’m generally back in the 130s, and usually under 120 by around 75-90 minutes.

Because of that, I was honestly expecting my A1C to come back lower than 5.7.

One thing to note is that since mid-January, I’ve gone from 218 pounds down to 197, with 190 probably being a normal weight for me. Could that still be part of why my A1C is elevated? There are even days where I test once an hour throughout the entire day, and my averages still seem pretty low overall around 108-110. I was just surprised that the A1C still came back in the elevated range. When are my levels rising? I am usually between 95-101 when I wake up, could it be elevated while I am sleeping or something?

I’m confused about the flavor differences between Ceylon and cassia cinnamon.

My whole life I’ve bought whatever cheap cinnamon was available (Trader Joe’s, Ralphs, etc.) and it always had what I’d consider a “normal” cinnamon flavor, mild, not overly spicy.

Separately, I’ve always associated things like Big Red gum or Red Hots with a distinct “cinnamon candy” flavor, which I assumed was different from actual cinnamon.

Recently I bought Ceylon cinnamon (Simply Organic from Whole Foods) to start using more regularly in coffee. But when I tried it, it immediately tasted and smelled exactly like that cinnamon candy flavor.

That threw me off, because everything I’m reading says cassia is supposed to be the stronger, spicier, more “red hot” cinnamon, while Ceylon is milder and more subtle. I looked this up after I had tried this cinnamon and was completely surprised to discover most people saying the opposite of my recent experience.

For comparison, I smelled an older generic cinnamon I had (likely cassia), and that smells like what I’ve always thought cinnamon smells like.

So I’m trying to figure out:

• Why does my Ceylon cinnamon taste like cinnamon candy?
• Why has the cinnamon I’ve used my whole life NOT had that flavor?
• Is this a freshness, quality, or sourcing issue, or am I misunderstanding the flavor profiles?