She would be absolutely stunned. Probably wouldn’t believe me. At 43 I’m married to the guy I was dating at 19. At 19 I had dropped out of college and thought I wanted to be an artist; at 43 I’m already retired from a successful career in academic research. At 19 I had no thoughts about politics or the world as a whole (9/11 hadn’t happened yet); at 43 I’m pretty informed and opinionated. And she’d probably be surprised how much I’m into the outdoors, healthy living, and weightlifting, given that she had negative interest in those things. The rest is pretty consistent - e.g., I’ve always loved music from the '60s, fun nail polish, scifi, swimming, and handmade art (drawing, beading, etc).

As a kid I made a PB, banana, mayo, and potato chip sandwich pretty often. I fucking loved it. As an adult I’d never eat that, but occasionally I crave it.

You should check out the Fairy Voice Mother on YouTube. She talks all about how positioning the lips, jaw, and larynx in certain ways helps create certain sounds. Very interesting!

Oh man dat lil toof.

“Ah you know, same old.”

I’m curious how that works for health insurance and saving for retirement. Presumably van dwelling requires some amount of working to fund food, gas, and repairs. So I’m guessing Obamacare or maybe Medicaid for health insurance if your income is low enough. But how does planning for the future work?

Becoming healthy is tough and can suck. But being healthy is its own reward. I really enjoy eating clean, lifting weights, going on hikes in nature, etc. You can find joy in life through healthy living. YMMV if you don’t have the right attitude though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Man I love your stuff!

Ugh me too!

That’s actually pretty attainable!

Rapist Brock Turner, aka rapist Allen Turner, who got a 6-month slap-on-the-wrist sentence for what his father called (and I quote) “twenty minutes of action”? That rapist Brock Allen Turner? The one who only served 3 months?!

Solves all problems.

cries in irritable bowel syndrome

Great advice tho

Track your calories, macros, and any micronutrients that you’re concerned about (e.g., sodium, fiber). Set a goal and stick to it. I use the LoseIt app and a digital kitchen scale.

Drink a lot of water. Half your body weight (in lbs) in ounces. So if you weigh 130 lbs, drink 130 ÷ 2 = 65 oz of water daily. This is your baseline; add more for exercise. Don’t go overboard because too much water is bad for you.

Aim for 45-60 minutes of vigorous exercise 3-4 times a week. I like weightlifting for this. On the other days, be active, but don’t push yourself too much. You need rest for recovery.

After your workouts, don’t eat back all your calories, but do consider having something protein-heavy.

Sleep. I can’t emphasize enough how important sleep is. Try to get 7-8 hours every night. This is the hardest one for me personally; I don’t have a ton of advice. But developing a bedtime routine helps.

Weigh yourself every day first thing in the morning, after you’ve used the bathroom and before you’ve had anything to eat or drink, with no clothes on. I like my Withings scale because the app tracks my measurements over time.

Have a mindset of lifestyle change - otherwise, if you go back to old habits, you’re likely to gain back any weight you lose.

Good luck!

Yeah I love my Withings scale

No idea. My uncle Joe has dwarfism and he makes a mean bowl of Count Chocula.

Ooh, I didn’t see zombies as a possible outcome

I’m not sure, and I know it depends both on the severity of a person’s IBS and the type of magnesium supplement. But I drink a ton of water so I’d hate to have it supplemented with magnesium!

Haha sure, it’s not mine - it came from Muhammad Ali & Sly and the Family Stone

Man I loved Myst, this is cool!