u/zorandzam

51F, I drink about 2-4 (usually 3) beers nearly every single night. I don't get drunk. I have a job and a spouse and have never experienced an obvious health effect from this habit. I have successfully done Dry January several times. I have had periods when I don't drink as much as I currently do, and I have had periods when I drank a little bit more. The current habit has been going on for most of this year. I want to cut down for several reasons:

1. Perimenopause and drinking this much do not mix, and I know that. I have more symptoms on nights when I have had more to drink, so the connection is obvious.

2. I am a fitness nut, and drinking this much of something that is so high in calories is stalling my ability to make progress with my goals. I suspect I would drop a huge amount of weight if I stopped drinking entirely, and based on how much muscle I've built through strength training, I know this would really do a lot to improve my body composition.

3. It's expensive.

4. I'm doing it out of boredom almost more than anything else. Drinking every night this level--even not getting drunk at all--still blunts the boredom I often experience with having kind of blah evenings at home with not much to do.

I feel like I'm very logically processing points 1-3 and see there are very tangible benefits to reducing my alcohol consumption. But #4 is still tripping me up. I just honestly don't have a very exciting life, I'm tired by the end of the day, and having a couple of craft beers makes a night of watching TV or reading a book feel just that much less blah.

I have had some success with NA beer, so that may be Step One of just tricking my brain. I also have a plan to start systematically and methodically increasing my weekly "dry days" starting next week. My goal is to be down to drinking a max of 2 days a week over the next couple of months, and then stay there indefinitely.

Any other tips specifically from folks who have struggled with the "every night is boring" factor? Yes, I do have hobbies, but I sort of engage in them already for my job, and so my nights really are just sort of empty if I don't have plans.

Changed jobs over the summer. The last 10 years I've used primarily Canvas. I did use Brightspace a little as an adjunct off and on, but the place I used that had pre-designed courses, so I wasn't seeing under the hood as much. I just spent the past two weeks getting my fall courses set up in Brightspace at my new job, and good grief it is just clunky as all get out! It's actually sort of cute and aesthetically pleasing, but it feels so far like I'm doing things multiple times, clicking so many extra boxes, and the end result doesn't do as many easy drag-and-drop things as Canvas. Also, I can't find that they have a mobile app, and I did used to very occasionally grade on my phone.

Canvas clearly has major security issues, so I'm not begging to go back to that, but has anyone made this transition and has any easy tips and tricks they've mastered? I went to a training last week, but even with that, it still feels clunky. I also notoriously hate change.

Basically title. The little boutique studio I go to in a midsize city (conveniently only 10 minutes from my house) just went through a big remodel, and I hate the result. There are a variety of things that make this new set-up just truly no longer work for 8-person reformer classes, mat classes, or much of anything. The biggest issue is that three times a week they used to have a hybrid class that blended barre, sculpt and a reformer flow, and the new configuration does not have wall space for a ballet barre, so they have changed it a little and rebranded. I tried that a few days ago, and it was honestly just not the same. If I want a mat sculpt class, there are other options near me. It was the combo that made this class special. Everything from the size of the room to the storage to the lights are just all terrible, and it has made me not want to go back. I fortunately don't have a membership there and just do drop-ins, but I do that 1-2 times a week and have been a client for about 2.5 years.

The issue is that while there are other reformer studio options, none of them are as close as this place, and the two highest-quality places are chains (CP and one other brand that isn't as well known). There is another indie boutique that I have tried out before, but their pricing and payment system is weird, and again they're pretty far from where I live.

I did say something to the woman who teaches the former barre class, and I have a class this morning with the studio owner, so I'm thinking about asking her if there are more renovations coming up that might address some of the issues, but I'm seriously disappointed and just feel like they made a bunch of bad decisions that don't serve clients. :(

I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has gone through this and if it sounds like enough to give this place up for.

ETA: At my class this morning, I noticed that the reformers are now actually close enough together that you have to be careful not to tap your neighbor in legs in straps. The session itself was wonderful, so maybe I'll get over all this, but IDK.

51F. Had four polyps removed in a colonoscopy three years ago (non-cancerous), so they put me on a three year re-check, which was today. Prep was Dulcolax/Miralax, which I mixed with the cherry glacier Gatorade. I did everything super perfectly, as I am a perfectionist, and I love nothing more than a specific to-do list. 😆 I will say that this time around, the prep "sessions" were more annoying than I remember from 2023, possibly because I made the mistake of going to a strength training class the morning before I started, and I was sore and running on no food. ANYway! I was really prepared to get bad news, like more polyps, obvious cancer, or just to still be on a three year cycle or worse. But when my doctor came into the recovery room with a big smile on her face, I knew I could relax. NO POLYPS! She has me on a FIVE year re-check, so it looks like the dietary and lifestyle changes I made either helped or I won the lottery.

All this to say, don't let the process scare you. It's mostly just gross, boring, and annoying. My husband got me a sausage bagel sandwich and big coffee on the way home, and about six hours after first waking up, I feel almost totally back to my old self. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend now. I definitely recommend doing it on a Friday!

I feel like Kroger has really made some missteps with the Taylor Farms stuff, so I'm curious what the best alternative to them is that would be more transparent and cautious about customers' health while also not breaking the bank. I do get some things from DLM, but it's not necessarily affordable for weekly groceries and they aren't as comprehensive IMO as Kroger. Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, Aldi and Trader Joe's are national chains, and the 2nd Street Market only has so many vendors. Am I completely out of luck? Gem City Market is a little far for me.

I popped into Epic Coffee in Kettering today for the first time in a while, and they used to have amazing breakfast/brunch/lunch items, but now all they have is pastries (which are good). Their coffee, décor, and music are always great, so I'll still go back, but I went in hoping to enjoy their avocado toast with hot honey. :(

While I'm at it, does Midday still do coffee, or is it now just cocktails?

I know scales that have body fat measurements and whatnot that you can buy for home use are not necessarily the most accurate ways to measure that, but a while back I did a full measurement test at home and then got this scale, and the numbers aligned, so I figure it's probably at least close. I'm (50F) 5'4", currently 147.5 lbs., and have been verrryyyyy slowly losing weight going back to the past two years but really ramping it up this year. (HW 164, GW ~126 or whenever I feel like I look and feel my best). I work out a LOT: heavy weights, Pilates, running, a variety of fitness classes, 10K steps daily, stuff like that. Despite being a couple of pounds into the "overweight" category, I feel the absolute fittest of my life, and have been doing 1500 calories a day and tracking it, although I know to really make the biggest difference I need to be more diligent about that than I am. The whole time I've had this scale, the body composition tag that appears has been "Muscular," which I was very proud of. Yesterday, it literally said that, and I logged the day's weight at 147. This morning, perhaps because of throwing some caution to the wind last night and having pizza for dinner, I weighed in at 147.5. Not a surprise, not a big deal, I'm still generally trending downward. I did a hard weight lifting workout in the morning, took a 2-mile walk, got my 10K steps in as usual, and even did a little 30-minute light cardio workout, too. All in all, in terms of my activity, my day yesterday was normal for me, and other than dinner, my food was on target. When I've had the exact same day before, it still registers "Muscular." But today it said "Heavy."

Heavy. When I am literally 3.5 lbs. overweight, and nothing truly out of the ordinary happened. It's not like I ate 2000 calories over budget or something. It was probably more like 300-500.

Anyone else have a scale like this with that tag? I guess I'm feeling a little discouraged. It probably is a wake-up call that I need to be more mindful with every meal if I want to see faster progress. I am a BIG proponent of CICO and going slow, etc., but this is messing with my brain a little.

I'm almost 51F and have suffered from borderline hypertension (which I thought was largely hereditary) for about 7-8 years or so. I get white coat syndrome at every doctor, even having it shoot up over 150/90 at the dentist recently. I've been on several different doses of amlodipine, currently at just 2.5 mg. Over the past few months, I've been changing my diet quite a bit, working out a lot, and lost almost 10 pounds since the start of the year (going very slowly, but I think doing it that way has made it more sustainable). I'm currently only about a pound away from being at a healthy BMI rather than slightly overweight. I also got laid off from a very stressful job last month, and although I have a new job lined up, it doesn't start for a few months, so I have kind of a summer vacation situation going on. I'm mildly stressed about money, but I'm not the sole breadwinner, so while I'm not completely without stress, my days currently resemble a lifestyle without a care in the world: Pilates classes, running chill errands, keeping house, reading, watching movies, etc. I feel basically like I'm in a little temporary retirement, and it's pretty nice, honestly.

I take my BP every morning without fail, and always after breakfast after I've had one cup of coffee. My systolic (except for when I went to the dentist the other day) has only been over 120 for 13 times since the start of May, and even then the highest is like 133. It's usually between 105 and 120 and is never below 90. My diastolic, however, has been under 60 for 8 times since the start of May, which my understanding is that is technically low blood pressure. Most days, though, it is in the low 60s.

VERY occasionally I do feel a little bit of dizziness, but amlodipine itself has that as a side effect. Otherwise, I don't notice any real issue with these numbers. I do use a wrist cuff, not an arm cuff, but I've used it for years and did have it calibrated at my doctor's office, so I'm confident that it's accurate. I also make sure to use it according to the directions.

I have a doctor's appointment in the early fall, at which time I planned to talk to my doctor about whether I still need the amlodipine at all, but is there anything very alarming about having an occasional low diastolic, given all the lifestyle changes I've made?

Maybe the headline is not quite what I mean, but I have been putting a lot of work in the past couple of years to feel good, get in shape, stay mentally engaged, get on HRT, reduce stress, have fun, be more optimistic, and maintain my skin and hair and whatnot as well as I can. I recently remarked to some friends that I don't want to "let my gray/silver" show, and I intend to not get plastic surgery or injectables but that they can pry my retinol and various moisturizers from my cold, dead hands. I take a lot of vitamins, try to eat right, get a crap ton of exercise in of all kinds, highlight my hair, wear makeup, and generally do feel kind of "high maintenance" I guess but I've always been sort of a city gal, into looking and feeling my best. I absolutely do not deny anyone our age the right to be happily invisible, to build a fairy cabin in the woods and embrace a crone era, whatever feels good for you. But I feel like I must be in the minority. To be clear, I am not some Mar-A-Lago styled Barbie. I wear a lot of jeans and sneakers, I just also like to generally feel like I still look like "myself" or as close to that as I can, and I don't really identify with being silver-haired or otherwise have obvious markers of being in my 50s.

Am I being delusional? I was just noticing Tina Fey on The Four Seasons, and while I am SURE she has had work done, she's 56 and looks roughly her age but also still has non-gray hair and looks fit and healthy without also looking like she's getting her lips inflated or too much filler or Botox. I am also not shaming surgery or procedures, believe me, or anyone else's approach to aging. But I guess what do you call it when you don't want to just "let it all go," but you also don't want to be facelifted and nipped and tucked? Like I'm doing my Pilate and weight lifting and running and really enjoying how good I feel, I'm thinking about retirement, I'm definitely aware that I'm middle aged. I just don't have any interest in looking middle aged.

I had almost no symptoms from the first dose of the shingles vax; mostly just sore arm. My doc gives them 6 months apart because he's found that helps reduce the intense of dose 2's effects, but even with that I am in rough shape today after getting it yesterday morning. The arm pain is definitely way worse, I have some pain along my traps and lats, as well as along the sides of my quads. Overnight, I thought I was having hot flashes, but it was more likely a lowgrade fever alternating with shivering. I had a little queasiness, too, and just spent most of the night tossing and turning. This morning, I'm still sore, have a not-quite-headache that is sort of like if you have eye strain, and I just feel fussy and irritable. I'm going to intermittently rest with trying to have a normal day, but I cancelled some social plans because I really doubt I would be much fun.

However! This is definitely better than shingles, I would assume, and I urge people to get this! I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow. Shingles itself can last up to 5 weeks and leave you with permanent damage. I remember my case of chicken pox as a kid was particularly gnarly, so there's absolutely no way I want to go through its angrier older sister.