u/miss_isolation

I’m 47, 5’6”, perimenopausal & struggling to lose weight. I’ve been consistently working out for almost a year, but struggled to get under 1800 calories per day. I could get a few days at 1600, but would end up binging on weekends or randomly during hormonal shifts, keeping me at/above my TDEE and gaining/losing the same 5lbs.

I started Foundayo on May 3 weighing 183 hoping to get down to 160/165. My doctor wants me at 150/155, but I’m not sure I can get there. Side effects were random & subtle: queasiness & vivid dreams, but not much else.

I was losing about a pound a week at .08, so reordered the .08 for month 2. I was able to stay around 1600 calories per day. My weight stalled weeks 4-6, and while food noise/appetite was decreased and fullness was increased, I couldn’t get under 1600 calories per day.

So I upped to the 2.5. I actually doubled the .08 for about 5 days, with no additional side effects. At 2.5, I’m getting 1200-1400 calories per day. I have less energy and more constipation, but not much else has changed.

Overall, I lost 5lbs in 7 weeks on .08, and 4lbs in the last 3 weeks on the 2.5 (with 5 days at 1.6). I still get kind of queasy when I don’t eat, and I’ve realized that protein really does help me feel fuller longer. Food noise and cravings are almost non-existent. When cravings hit, they are super manageable and easy to ignore or satisfied quickly.

I’d love to stay where I’m at, getting 1200-1400 calories on the 2.5. I’m curious if/when the suppression will wear off. I don’t want to drop calorie intake or lose weight faster, so I feel like I’m at where I want to be until I plateau.

What’s going on at Target Encinitas? I feel like last summer there were a million employees, and now it seems like they’re on skeleton crew/stretched thin.

My kid needs a job and they have fliers up for several positions, but I would like to know what he’d be walking into if he applied.

Does anyone remember a time capsule buried at Boone Elementary when it first opened? This may absolutely be a created memory since time capsules were the range in the 80s.

I remember being able to vote for the school mascot & colors while at Sunset Valley the spring before Boone opened. Then I remember being able to vote on what should be placed in the time capsule (vaguely remember voting on a cassette tape and other random items). I want to say once the votes were cast, we had a big ceremony and buried everything by the flagpole as the school was still kinda under construction.

I haven’t been able to find anything about it being opened online and even dug out my old yearbooks because it’s been bugging me. Nothing there but black and white pics and fond memories of a simpler time.

This may be an absolute fever dream because it was also around The Challenger mission and maybe we voted on things we would send to space instead? Maybe I’m just remembering a flag or opening ceremony and combining the two?

Would love to know if anyone else remembers anything about a time capsule buried at Boone Elementary when it first opened, and whether anyone knows if it’s been opened at all.

Thank you!

My kid is 19 and taking the summer off before continuing community college in the Fall. He, like many in his generation, suffers from social anxiety and building relationships.

He would really like to work on building social skills, general communication/collaboration skills, etc., so we’re looking for opportunities, paid or unpaid, to help him build skills to be more comfortable around people. We’re new to SD (North County specifically), so don’t really have connections here yet.

What companies have good customer service training programs? Any volunteer work with patient mentors that can help him build these skills as he gives back to the community? Where would you send your kid if your focus was personal growth, not just income (we will continue to support him while he is in school)?

Thank you!

Have we talked about this? Sheets’ sexy saxophone walk up music? I noticed it at a game a while ago, but it’s so loud on the TV. It makes me giggle. It brings me joy.

Licensed in TX over 20 years ago, vowed to never do it again, but moved family to CA and here we are. Working full time, married with kids, pets, aging parents, etc.

I initially intended to take J25, purchased Themis & was overwhelmed. I read all the materials and completed the lecture handouts by beginning of June and then life hit and I decided to withdrawal J25. I do think this initial review of the material was helpful because it had been so long since I was exposed to this much info.

Signed up for F26 and for Themis’ free repeat class. Started reviewing the big outlines via book in Oct, just skimming for familiarity and exposure.

When the full course opened mid-Nov, I watched the lecture videos on 2x but stayed focused and engaged, taking breaks when my mind started to wander. Since it had been so long for me, I found the lectures really helpful. I did essays open book to issue spot, write out rules and outline facts.

I mostly followed the material as scheduled, skipping the reading. I would get 1-2 hours done during the day and 1-3 hrs every night, taking off one weekday. I would try to study 5-8 hours each Sat & Sun and outline a PT every Sun. I took time off if really needed.

By the end of December I had completed all reading, lectures and some essays. I used Ide Don’s summaries to draft final outlines.

Then I reworked everything. I listed each essay available for each topic in Themis and drew a little checkbox next to it. My goal was to outline every essay and read every sample answer available. I made a weekly schedule through Jan from the remaining Themis schedule, noting the dates of graded essays.

Then I started over with Mary Basick. I spent time every day reading her book and combining her Attack Sheets with the Ide Don summaries. I liked his rule statements/explanations but they were so wordy. I liked her organization but often her shorthand was too simple. So I combined them, rewriting everything as I understood it.

I continued reworking my outlines, outlining essays open booked, and outlining a PT every Sun through Jan. By the end of Jan my outlines were basically more thorough Basick Attack Sheets.

I took off all of Feb for work. I reworked my study schedule to cover 2 topics per day, estimating 4-5 hours per topic. I needed more frequent exposure to every topic and this schedule helped me not forget material week to week.

I spent 1-2 hours reviewing & condensing my outlines & turning them into flashcards, 1 hour writing an essay closed book and another 1-2 outlining essays. I would sometimes update my outlines from sample answer rule statements if they clarified something I hadn’t quite understood or knew how to apply.

Some days I was too exhausted so I would just spot essay issues/rules and read through the sample answers. Some sample answers felt absolutely impossible so I would find passing essays online to review and sanity check. I tried not to spend too much time here because it’s just another time suck to get caught up in.

I was consistently getting 60-65s on my graded essays. Feedback was always strengthen rule statements, write with clarity, and beef up analysis. I was only writing 900-1100 words and I needed a more thorough analysis.

One of the best pieces of advice I read here was to play with the analysis. Write another sentence arguing against your conclusion and a second restating it. So instead of just, it’s X because…, say A will say it’s X because, B will say it’s Y because, and A will reply/ it’s X because…

It’s kind of natural for property/contracts, but it’s not always instinct for some issues or topics. I worked on that a bit and followed that advice day of. The shortest essay I submitted was 1400, most were 1600, one was 1800 and my PT was over 2200 words. They say word count doesn’t matter, but I wasn’t going to leave anything unsaid…

I know people also say to stop working on outlines, but for me, the process of rewriting, making flashcards, and summarizing concepts was helpful for memorization and time well spent. It was really just another way to review and reinforce the info instead of rereading the same page over & over. But practicing closed book timed essays was just as important for exam day, if for any reason than it helps identify weaknesses.

Half of the battle for me was relearning how to take the test. Writing and analyzing like a student was harder than I anticipated. Themis, especially their sample answers, helped the most with this.

I knew memorization would be difficult at my age and so long out of school, but I fell back into it. Basick helped the most with this as did reworking outlines and hand writing flash cards. It really all came together the last 3 weeks, even though I never really felt ready.

Day of, I completely panicked and spent no time outlining or organizing. I wrote out rule headings by hand on each essay and started writing when done. I did strike through each sentence as I used it, so that helped with organization. Themis’ process really made this instinctual, even without spending time on a formal outline. The PT was just pure determination to finish and I relied mostly on instinct and a close eye on the clock.

Hope this helps someone and good luck!

Free: 2024 Themis books; 2nd Edition Basick/Schindler Essay & PT books; & some Lean Sheets as well. I bought this set used at the beginning of 2025, didn’t use them. They look mostly complete but I can’t guarantee all the worksheets are included.

$150: 2025 Themis books, MBE book is unused. Completed video handouts and printed sample essay answers as well. Handouts removed from books, but organized by topic. 3rd Edition Basick/Schindler Essay book & eBook Code for PT book.

Pickup in Carlsbad