edit

Please be fucking careful. Don't be stupid. Take the time to accurately prepare your solution and to diligently track your usage. Don't use too much, be careful what you combine this with, and don't get careless. There are few drugs more susceptible to overuse than cocaine. I can personally say that switching to this method made me eventually get tired of coke, because once you can do it non stop all the time it loses it's appeal and you start to feel a bit like a junkie.

I would highly recommend keeping your solution strength as low as possible and limiting your use to no more than two days per week with at least 3-5 days between sessions, and taking a month or two off every once in a while is always a good idea. You'll spend way less money and will feel better physically, and you will be more able to maintain that sweet spot where you are feeling good but are still mentally sharp.

Typical nasal spray bottles seem to be designed to coat your entire nasal cavity with a widely dispersed mist, which means most of the solution ends up being absorbed by the nasal mucosa and having to travel through the blood vessels in your nasal cavity to the brain. Something that allows you to target (idealy) the olfactory epithelium and or the trigeminal nerves in the nasal cavity will allow faster delivery to the brain and reduced waste. This will also help to limit damage to the nasal mucosa by allowing you to use less solution while delivering more directly to the brain. See:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_administration#Olfactory_transfer
  
• http://www.fiercepharma.com/partnering/3m-takes-on-blood-brain-barrier-impel-neuropharma-nasal-drug-delivery-alliance
  
  Ideally you'd try to find something like Impel NeuroPharma's POD (Precision Olfactory Delivery) device, which is designed to target the spray more effectively to the nerve clusters in the upper nasal cavity. However, it seems to be nearly impossible to source one of these devices online. That being said, there do appear to be at least a couple available devices that might come closer to the POD than standard nasal spray devices:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725DKD3S/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N9PPZH5/
  
  Note that you'll probably want something with a clear bottle, which makes it much easier to see how much solution is left in the bottle and allows you to spot any impurities in your product (cocaine should rapidly dissolve and leave the solution nearly completely clear, while many adulterants will take longer to dissolve or will not dissolve at all, leaving the solution cloudy with particulates at the bottom of the bottle.
  
  I haven't personally tested these devices so I can't say for sure if they are any more effective than a standard spray device, but it looks like they should give you greater control over the dispersion target. If anyone knows where to find one of the specialized delivery devices, please let me know.
  
  Once you have your nasal spray device, you'll probably want some way to consistently prepare your solution. A simple oral syringe will allow you to measure an exact amount of solvent (saline solution):
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BM3MC40/
  
  Saline Solution:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IN5GENU/
  
  A digital milligram (.001g precision) scale will allow you to measure your solute (the powdered, water soluble drug) with reasonable (but not perfect) precision:
  
  Scale:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012TDNAM/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/B06W5VXN53/
  
  A funnel will make it easier to get everything into the bottle and is recommended:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MEFE7YO/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CUQ0ITO/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N2NYC1K/
  
  Once you have all the necessary supplies, unscrew the cap on your nasal spray device and put the funnel into the bottle mouth. Figure out your desired strength for your solution and then measure out the corresponding amount of saline solution and cocaine. The trick with this delivery method is figuring out the correct concentration for your solution depending on how strong you want each spray to be. I've found that 25mg/ml is perfectly sufficient, 50mg / ml is more than enough, and anything stronger is a bit of a waste. In fact, there seem to be diminishing returns anywhere past around 20mg/ml, and in many cases 15 or even 10 mg/ml seems to work just fine.
  
  First pour the cocaine into the funnel (you don't need to pulverize it), and then using your oral syringe squirt the saline solution onto the cocaine in the funnel where it will rapidly dissolve and fall into the bottle. You could mix the solution in the oral syringe or elsewhere, and you could add the saline solution before the cocaine, but then you'll either end up with wasted solution in another container or a funnel that still has some powdered cocaine on it. If you pour the cocaine straight from the scale into the funnel and then use the solution to wash it down, you should end up with very little wasted cocaine and a nearly clean funnel.
  
  I'd recommend to start with a weaker solution and try it out, you can always add more cocaine until you figure out the optimum concentration. If you decide to do this, replace the saline you've used each time you add more cocaine so you can accurately track the strength of your solution at each interval.
  
  At this point you're ready to screw the cap on and use the spray. I'd recommend one pump in each nostril - any more and you'll end up with wasted solution dripping down the back of your throat. However, you can limit waste by laying over the edge of a surface and tilting your head back so that gravity naturally draws the solution towards the olfactory epithelium. In this case two or three sprays per nostril seems to deliver a stronger dose with negligible waste. 30 seconds to one minute seems to be long enough to avoid excessive waste, and 15 seconds may in fact be long enough.
  
  I think that pretty much covers it. Be forewarned that this delivery method makes it much easier to redose, which would probably contribute to an increased risk of addiction and a tendency towards excessive and chronic use. Also, some have said that this method doesn't deliver the same powerful "kick" as snorting powder, which makes sense as you are using much less of the drug per spray than you would if you snorted a line. For an illustration, lay out what would be a typical line for your and weigh it with your scale. The spray devices listed above typically deliver 0.1ml of solution per spray, so if you have a solution with a concentration of 50mg/ml, then you're only getting 5mg of cocaine per spray, as opposed to something like 20mg for even a small line of powder. I haven't personally tried making a high strength solution, but you could try mixing your solution such that each .1ml spray delivers an amount of cocaine equivalent to a typical line of powder. This would also minimize the total number of sprays needed and the total volume of liquid you'd need to spray into your nose, perhaps limiting irritation.
  
  However, I've found that even though the absolute dosage is lower the efficacy is much greater, perhaps due to the added liquid facilitating easier absorption and almost certainly due to the decreased waste from powder dripping down your throat or being dispersed and carried elsewhere by the mucous in the nasal cavity.
  
  As a final note, even though the saline solution will moisturize your nose, I'd still recommend using the plain nasal spray to irrigate and clear your nose periodically or at least at the end of the night, as the solution is quite irritating (though of course much less so than dry powder).
  
  Good luck and be careful!

Generally, you don't want to buy a set (this applies to most consumer goods) as they usually are compiled of subpar or superfluous items, aimed for the uninformed beginner who just want to get started, but instead pick good stuff yourself.

• I'd say buy a shaker from one of the places mentioned here - buy a 'Tin on Tin' Boston shaker. Cobbler shakers need to be kinda expensive before they're good, while Boston shakers are great, even if the machining isn't ultra precise. They are also simpler to work with and clean.
  
  
• Downside is that you are going to need a strainer for a boston shaker as well. The one I see recommended the most is the OXO Hawthorne strainer (Link) - which I own as well, it's great and cheap. Most other hawthorne strainers are fine too, as long as they are big enough to cover the shaker, and won't fall in.
  
  
• If he doesn't have one already, I would also get him a fine strainer. This one you can buy from any kitchenware store / amazon, and it doesn't need to be fancy.
  
  
• He will probably also need a measuring device. If he likes showmanship, get him some jiggers from one of the cocktail sites, or if he's more practical, get an OXO Clear measuring cup (Link). I would reccomend the latter to any home bartender. For a compromise between the two, there's also the slightly fancier steel measuring cup (Link) or the OXO Stainless double jigger (Link).
  
  
• Finally, I'd also recommend some kind of juicer, as most drinks contain some kind of acid, usually citrus. Personally, I like the Chef'n'FreshForce Citrus Juicer (Link), but others are available.
  
  With a Shaker, a Strainer, (a Fine Strainer), (a Juicer), and a Jigger, you can make pretty much any shaken drink. If you want, you can look into a muddler as well. I'd recommend staying away from buying anything expensive. Best deal is buying a french rolling pin and chopping it into two muddlers (Link).
  __
  
  Even though shaken drinks are the majority, most of my favourites are still stirred drinks. If you want you can splurge on a mixing glass from one of the cocktail sites which are pretty but really expensive, or you can check IKEA. Their VARDAGEN or BENUNGE cups are pretty perfect for this (Link). He'll also need a cocktail spoon for stirring. Either buy one from the cocktail sites (Avoid those with the red tip), or find a neat pair of chopsticks. The chopsticks are untraditional, especially in the west, but are functionally as good or better as a spoon for most use cases.
  
  __
  
  Apart from gear to make cocktails, one thing which is always nice to get, is glasses for serving them in. I don't know if this applies to your dad, but some fancy stemmed glasses are always cool to get.
  
  
  
  If you're in Europe, check out Cocktailkingdom.co.uk or Cocktailian.de. Otherwise, Amazon is great (remember to check .co.uk and .de for better deals). I bought my shaker and cocktail spoon from Homestia.com, and am happy with them; good quality, great price, and arrived in a fancy box. The only downside is that I think they ship from China, so it might not arrive prior to christmas.

Hey man, let me hit you with my personal coffee journey. It worked super well for me, and it starts pretty entry-level. I highly recommend.

So, first and foremost, you need to start with pourover. Here's a pretty cheap starter set. Then you'll also need a kitchen scale, here's one of the smallest, most accurate ones I've found.

I'd also recommend getting an automatic burr grinder, which isn't exactly entry level, so it could be a secondary purchase if you find that you really want to get ball-deep into coffee. I started off with the Infinity Grinder, which worked well for me until I got an espresso machine (more on that later). But for pourover and most other methods (aeropress, coffee maker, even shit like siphon coffee, it's perfectly fine). Having an electric grinder is just going to make your life easier overall. But if you don't want to jump right into that, you could use the grinder included in the set I listed (I've never used it - it's probably not great, but I'm sure it'll work).

And that's all you need to make one god damn good cup of coffee. I've spent thousands of dollars on coffee equipment over the years, but for me, the best way to brew a simple cup of coffee is using a pourover method. And it's incredibly fun!

Now, once you've got a few months of pourover under your belt, it may be time to move onto other methods of brewing. Grab yourself an Aeropress. Aeropress effectively is the midpoint between normal coffee and espresso. It absolutely does not make real espresso, regardless of what anyone tells you, but that doesn't mean what it makes isn't super delicious. Plus it lets you start experimenting with the closest thing you'll be able to get to cappuccinos, and other fun things like flavored lattes when you have company over and want to impress them with some tasty java.

The Aeropress is fantastic, and it's ridiculously easy to clean. It's a nice way to be able to travel with a decent coffee maker, too.

Then, once you've got a couple years of delicious coffee down, it's time to get into the big leagues. Espresso.

Holy fuck dude. Espresso is complicated, and you really have to throw away everything you thought you knew about coffee. I know how pretentious that sounds, but it's super true. What I went with was a Crossland CC1, which was mainly because I got it for cheap on Craigslist for $400. But, warning, the Infinity Grinder will not grind accurate enough for espresso. For that you'll need something like a Baratza Hario or Sette 270 (I went with the Sette 270).

Anyway, that's waaaaaaaaay in your future. I'd highly recommend just starting off with pourover and some great beans (check locally, or order from Intelligentsia).

Enjoy your journey, bro. It's a great world out there.

looks like anchorworms to me, hookworms are an internal parasite. I am not completely sure if its anchor worms from the pic, but that is what it looks like to me, do some research and make sure

The first step is to do a water change (as you know water changes are the first step to pretty much every aquarium problem) frequent water changes will physically remove larva from the tank.

To get rid of any worms that are on the fish but not yet attached you need a bath of potassium permagnate. It can be found as a powder here on amazon. This stuff is a very strong oxidizer and you need to be careful getting the dosage correct. A good scale like this one is key. You are looking for a dosage of 25 mg/l so for a bath pour 2 gallons of water into a clean bucket and let it get to tank temp. After the fishes water temp and the bucket temp match, add in 0.190 grams of potassium permagnate. Make sure it is completely dissolved before adding the Betta. once completely dissolved put the fish in the bath for 30 minutes

The anchorworms that are already attached are very difficult to kill off. They have to be physically removed. Get a pair of tweezers and some nitrile gloves, rinse the gloves with tap water and then tank water. holding the fish in your hand put one finger as close to where the worm is attached as you can get while still being able to get to the worm with the tweezers, the goal is to support the skin of the Betta while you pull the worm out. placing the tweezers as close to the head of the worm as you can get pull the worm out in a quick smooth motion. repeat as needed to get all of the worms off of the betta(make sure that you put the fish back in water between pulls to keep everything wet).

next treat the tank with Dimilin. three treatments spaced 5 days apart, because it does not kill anchorworm eggs. during this time you have to keep your invertebrates clear of the tank. As with any medication remove the carbon from the filter if present.

After this, you may want to treat the tank with aquarium salt. This is controversial. I personally think that it is not a bad thing if properly controlled, but you have to have a real attention to detail to make sure you keep it at the right concentrations. Bettas natural habitats are paddy fields, floodplains, ponds and marshlands. they did not evolve in salt free tap water, there is natural salinity in these locations. I not saying they are not freshwater fish, they certainly are, but carefully controlled salinity can help prevent fungal and bacterial problems. You have to be very very careful though, to much salt and you will destroy their kidneys. Lots of research and attention to detail are required for this.

Hope the fish comes out ok! keep me updated.

Okay, here we go...

Mandatory items:

• Food processor or stand mixer
  
  
• Baking scale that measures in grams and ounces
  
  
• Baking stone ^1
  
  
• Wood pizza peel ^2
  
  
• Aluminum pizza peel
  
  Notes:
  
  ^1 Most people will swear by a baking steel instead of a ceramic stone. If your budget allows it, a 1/4" thick steel is much better than a stone.
  
  ^2 I linked to a fancy one, but it really makes dismounting your raw pizza onto your hot stone/steel an easy task. There are cheaper wood peels that don't have the canvas conveyor.
  
  Recipes:
  
  For the dough, my favorite is Kenji's. I follow it to the T, weighing out each item in grams, and it's perfect. Honestly, I've only tried two other dough recipes, and the differences between all of them are minor, but Kenji's is the lightest and crispiest, but not too crispy.
  
  For the sauce, I've only tried a couple, but I love u/dopnyc's sauce. I tweak it a little. I use canned whole san marzanos, but only the tomatoes, I omit the juice they're in and the water in the recipe. I blend the whole tomatoes and then add all of the other ingredients. This makes enough for about four 12" pizzas. It will freeze well.
  
  For the cheese, the most important thing is you need whole milk, low-moisture mozz. Avoid pre-shredded anything, the added cellulose prevents proper melting. Avoid skim/part skim, and avoid fresh mozz (the stuff in water). It's kind of hard to find, but at my local grocery store, Kraft sells string cheese called Creamy that works great. It's delicious. However, it doesn't shred well, so I have to freeze it for about 15 min before grating. Now, I'm not saying that string cheese is the best option, it's just my only option at my local store. There are better options sold in a brick. Again, whole milk, low-moisture is the key.
  
  Toppings:
  
  Try to find a log of pepperoni and slice them off yourself. This will usually yield the coveted pepperoni cups once baked, each with their own personal portion of delicious pepperoni grease.
  
  I like Kenji's itallian pizza sausage recipe. It's very flavorful. You can make this with a food processor instead of a meat grinder/stand mixer.
  
  I gotta go for now, but let me know if you're still interested, I can write up some more on technique for dough balling and stretching and baking.

• favorite grocery-shelf items - Cottage cheese, 4% fat small curd. Salty cheesy deliciousness that is surprisingly low in calories and high in protein. We taste tested a bunch and found that we liked the cheap store brand the best.
  
• workout clothing - I've found Athleta really has the best quality, not see-through, work out leggings. The Be Free Knickers with side pockets have been amazing for tennis
  
• every day clothing - GoodWill/Salvation Army/Savers/etc Thrift stores really are amazing. Now that I've started shopping there I don't think I'll ever stop. Last weekend I found a pair of NYDJ jeans for $8 that I had been willing to pay over $100 for in the store.
  
• blog with great healthy recipes - SkinnyTaste has the best selection of healthy recipes I've found so far.
  
• smartphone app - The LoseIt! app is great. The LoseIt! website is also fantastic.
  
• Wearable - I have enjoyed my Jawbone Up2 and the associated app is also very well done.
  
• travel essentials - I travel quite often for work and I have invested in a small food scale and plastic storage containers that go with me on every trip.
  
• Other items - Favorite water bottle; Super awesome food scale I use every day at home; I have tons of these glass food storage containers with snap lids from BBB for food prepping

I started getting into coffee nearly a year and a half ago, and here is what I did to start:

I bought

• A Hario V60 02 Pour-Over Dripper ~$20, with filters, ~$30
  
  
• A Hario Buono Gooseneck Kettle ~$50
  
  
• A Bodum Bistro Burr Grinder ~$150
  
  
• A scale ~$25
  
  
• Freshly, locally roasted whole beans ~$10/lb. Dark roasts tend to be less acidic, sweeter, and have less caffeine (when brewed correctly); light roasts are the opposite: acidic, fruity, and more caffeine.
  
  Now, bear in mind that I knew that I loved coffee before I invested all this money into it; you should obviously really consider your situation and really get into "good" coffee before splurging on all of this equipment. I now have a French press, a moka pot, and am going to invest in an Aeropress soon, but I still prefer the pour-over method to any other coffee that I've had, thus why I recommend you go that route. It can take some definite getting used to and has a bit of a learning curve, but it is easily worth the effort (tutorial videos will help immensely.
  
  Keep in mind, you needn't buy exactly what I did. Shop around, see what you like and what is in your price range. I will say this, however: if you do go the pour-over method, go for the V60 or the Chemex, they are both easily the best on the market, and the same goes for the Buono kettle, though if necessary you can purchase a different kettle, just so long as it is a gooseneck (which is required to finely control the flow of water).
  
  Many other people will tell you to go with a French press. This is good advice as it has a very slight learning curve in comparison to pretty much every other method (besides maybe the Aeropress, depending on who you talk to): it is literally grinding the coffee coarsely and letting it sit in water for X-amount of time. It also does not take filters, is easy to clean, and is a relatively cheap initial investment (~$20). I like the Brazil model that Bodum makes.
  
  No matter which method you choose to brew with, there are three things that you should not underestimate the importance of (and thus should not skimp on):
  
  
• Freshly ground and roasted beans are a must. The fresher, the better.
  
• A blade grinder will always do a worse job of grinding than a burr grinder. It is worth it to spend the extra cash for a burr grinder right off the bat, as, if you get at all serious about coffee, you will eventually purchase one anyway, rendering your blade grinder useless and a waste of money in hindsight. Blade grinders make it nigh impossible to control how fine or coarse the grind is, which is one of the biggest variables in coffee brewing. There are absolutely cheaper models out there than the one that I linked to, especially if you get a manual one rather than the electric one that I own.
  
  
• A scale is essential. Coffee brewing is very much an exact science. Making sure the ratio of water to coffee is exact and being able to fine tune down to the gram/milliliter can create some of the biggest deviances between batches next to grind size. This cannot be overstated.
  
  Best of luck. There's a lot of good knowledge on this sub, on this sub's How to Coffee: A Primer, and on the Internet in general. Check it all out, pick your path, and enjoy the ride!

Don't buy the kit - maybe this will help in addition to enfier's comments

(1) Cleaning. You will want to buy oxyclean versatile free. This is an oxygen based cleaner I use for homebrewing, laundry, and general purpose cleaning.

(2) Sanitizing. Star san is the standard, you can start with a small bottle ( a little goes a long way). I recommend going to the dollar store and getting a 1L spray bottle for application.

(3) The boil. You will need a 4 gallon stock pot to do 2.5 gallon batches. 2 gallon stock pot for 1 gallon batches. I bought a 4 gal stock pot for $20 dollar off amazon. "Bigger is better" is often preached on homebrewing forums, I am happy with 2.5 gallon batches for apartment brewing.

(4) Chilling. This can be pricey. for 1 gallon batches, no chiller needed, just an ice bath. For 2.5 gallon batches, I found a chiller to be a nice time saver, but the cost was not an issue for me. Don't spend more than $50 (amazon pricing)

(5) Fermentation vessel. This will hold the beer while it ferments. For a 1 gal batch, get a 2 gallon food grade bucket (amazon, or try your local super market for a better price). For 2.5 gal, get a 3.5 gallon bucket. Always want 1 gallon of head space above the fluid level.

(6) Fermentation chamber. This is often the biggest expense in both money and space. Temperature control will allow you to make better beer, but you can make perfectly fine beer without it. Consider a Craigslist mini fridge and ink bird temperature controller ($30). Swamp coolers are common for beginners. (bucket, water & revolving ice packs).

(7) Bottling, odds and ends. You will probably want to use a siphon and bottling wand to fill your bottles. Do it over a dishwasher door (if you can) because you will spill / drip. You will need a bottle capper & caps. I recommend a cooking scale I have this one for measuring water by weight, and grains (if you get there). Also useful for cooking in general.

(8) Cost. By the time you buy: cleaner, sanitizer, stock pot, fermentation bucket, siphon, capper, bottling wand you are looking at $75-$100 dollars. You can get the optional ferm chamber, scale and chiller for another $125 dollars.

Good luck, feel free to hit me with questions!

Butterball.com has tons of info on turkeys. Get a probe thermometer with an alarm, put the probe between thigh and breast and set to 170F. I dry the turkey with paper towels and coat with melted butter and Adobo, if you can't find Adobo, kosher salt will do. I don't measure, but don't go too heavy on the salt. Get a silicone roasting rack too which lifts the turkey above the liquids in the pan. Add celery, onion and carrots chopped up to the bottom and add some chicken broth. Put the turkey breast down, this allows juices to go thru the breast and juice it up. Brining is a pain and unnecessary to me, I've done it and don't get any big difference. Be sure to have the turkey rest or all the juice will come out , you cover with foil on the counter and make the gravy will waiting.

You don't stuff the bird because you have to overcook the turkey to cook the stuffing. Dressing on the side is just as good. If you can't find premade stuffing bread, just bake some stale bread till it is dried, online you can find details. I use a wok, but a good skillet will do. I weigh some ingredients, because what is a large onion? I use bouillon, but you can use broth.

A saucier pan has rounded corners for easier mixing, but a regular sauce pan is okay. You can use only poultry drippings if you have more. You strain the pan dripping and then reduce by half for better flavor. You should get a fat separator cup to get rid of the fat.

I've made a lot of turkeys and tried many things and this is my way of getting a great turkey. As to looks, I don't care what a turkey looks like when done, I am going to eat it, not have a photo session with it!!! LOL! As for carving, any good knife will work for the breast and a boning knife is great for the legs and thighs. Wings you eat off the bone.

~<DRESSING - GOOD OLD COUNTRY-BASIC >~

1-12oz bag-6C herbed dry stuffing bread.........4 oz crushed Ritz crackers.......6 oz bulk breakfast sausage.......8 oz ground pork......4 large stalks celery, chopped......1 large onion-212g, chopped......1 1/2 cup chicken bouillon......1/2 cup water.......1 tsp salt.......1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper.......1 1/2 Tbsp dried sage or 6g fresh........1 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley or 6g fresh......1 Tbsp poultry seasoning.......2 eggs, beaten......1 stick-8 Tbsp butter........2 large loaf pans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

PREPARE INGREDIENTS - Put everything in separate bowls:

Chop celery.

Weigh out onion and chop.

Grind crackers.

Put herbed bread in 12 qt container along with ground crackers.

Beat eggs and add to bread mixture, stir.

Grind parsley and sage.

Put parsley and sage into small bowl, add poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, mix.

Saute sausage and pork in large wok.

Add browned meat to container and mix.

Add butter to wok and when it melts add celery and onion with sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper mixture..

Sauté until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread mixture and stir.

Add bouillon slowly to bread mixture, stir.

If needed add water.

Pour stuffing into a greased pans. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until thermometer reads 165F.

https://www.amazon.ca/Polder-362-90-Digital-Oven-Thermometer/dp/B0000CF5MT

https://www.amazon.ca/Sundlight-Silicone-Roasting-Microwave-Bakeware/dp/B07VC3FXYG

​

~~~~~< GRAVY - POULTRY >~~~~~

3 Tbsp butter.....1/4 tsp sage.....1/4 tsp sage.....3 tsp flour.......1 cup poultry broth or bouillon.......1/2 cup saved poultry drippings(opt)..............Salt and Pepper to taste........2 tsp wine or 2 tsp cup cider and 1/4 tsp cider vinegar or 1/4 tsp lemon juice

Set heat to 3 and in saucier pan melt butter, add spices.

Keep cooking butter till it is popping, you want water to boil off about 5 minutes.

Slowly add flour. Cook until brown, 10-20 minutes.

Add wine or cider mixture, stir.

Add poultry drippings and stir.

Add stock a little at a time till you get the right consistency. Should stick to bottom of spoon.

https://www.amazon.ca/OXO-Good-Grips-Fat-Separator/dp/B0002YTGIQ

I am grateful for my boobs. They get me free drinks sometimes, but on top of that, they actually hold my drinks for me! This is great whenever I do recreational activities because I always have water at mouth level. On top of that, they can hold my cat for me so I can do stuff with my cat, but still have my hands available. They also act as a great safety pad when I pump into things. Sometimes they work too well and bump into things without any provocation. But they do a great job. 15 10 Or a gift card! Thanks for the awesome contest!

Very cool, man! thanks for doing this! (and mods, I can do one of these too. Just let me know.)

Questions:

• How do you like that pH meter? I know /u/sufferingcubsfan just got the Omega pH-7011, and I was considering that, too. I was afraid the one you have doesn't have the accuracy. What are your thoughts on it?
  
  
• Have you ever used an immersion chiller? Or went straight into counterflow? Just curious how much better that works, etc. I've been using immersion my whole brewing career, and honestly haven't even looked into plate/CFC much. Usually I just get the hose hooked up, run it into my sump pump drain, and let it run for like 20 minutes while I clean up/sanitize my fermenter etc.
  
  
• What are all the kegs for in the pics? Do you use them as keggles or anything? Or is it just a table?
  
  
• Have you thought about springing for BeerSmith? It has a nice calendar feature that I use to schedule and keep track of brews, and it helps me document my recipes, etc.
  
  
• You still don't have a scale for grains? They're super cheap.. I'm sure your GF would let you invest in that yet this year :)
  
  
• How the f** do you get brew day done so damn fast!? Maybe I'm just not as focused, but even with 60min mash and 60min boil, I don't think I've ever* broken like 5 or 6 hours... I do piddlefart around a lot, but still... My process is very similar.
  
  
• I was thinking of doing starters with the wort and pitching the next day. I do like that idea. Let it sit in the fermenter and settle down to temp... I assume you oxygenate the next day, too? Just before you pitch? Or do you oxygenate right away after brewing?
  
  And some general comments:
  
  
• First of all, I'm from WI, so I definitely hear you with New Glarus! Their fruit sours are fantastic, but everything they brew is spot on. Spotted Cow is WI's most popular craft for a reason.
  
  
• I also like Hopalicious, but my fav IPA is still Lupulin Maximus from O'Sos. Fantastic, and you can probably get that nearby there!

Just an FYI, you responded to a random person that was just asking about the ferts. You might want to post the second half of your comment to the OP. You've got some good and useful info in there that they might want to know about!

Also, amazon sells some mini teaspoons that make dry dosing 1/64 teaspoons really simple. I prefer the flexibility of dry dosing, but others may prefer liquid so your info is definitely really useful.

Thanks for the link to Stingray PAR! I was pretty off with my estimate (and 65g height!), so its good to have the real info. People are always asking about the Stingray and that video is perfect for giving some real and trustworthy PAR values!

Congrats on the wedding! It really is all about proper diet, you see it being said everywhere, but I had no idea how off my eating was until I started tracking. I was way over on fats and carbs and not even close to hitting 1g per pound of body weight for protein. I used myfitnesspal in the past when I was doing P90X and that's when I had my best results, so I decided to pick up the habit again. Today, I actually hit a 115 day streak on the website. I highly recommend getting a food scale, this is the one I have. And just start measuring and tracking everything. It's easier when you cook and eat at home, just keep it simple to start. Definitely check out r/mealprepsunday if you havent yet, lots of good ideas there!

As for the kale shake, I bet that was insanely thick! Sorry, I didn't mention I had 2 cups of water to that haha! Woops! Try it with the water, that'll make a huge difference, and let me know what you think!

Thanks for the kind words. If you have any more questions I'd be happy to help or at least give you my insight/opinions!

Just a note, a Lemon Martini is usually not made with vermouth, and white (dry) vermouth isn't sweet. : )

But as someone who has been bitten by the cocktail bug in the last few years, here's my humble advice. Pick one or two drinks you want to learn to make. Don't go crazy buying a huge number of liqours to start. Buy good quality ingredients for your two, and start making and tweeking them. This time a little too much lime juice, next time a little too little, until you dial in what it is you like. Things like fresh lemon juice, versus the stuff in a plastic yellow lemon bottle really make a difference. You don't have to go top shelf on liqour, but stay out of the low-end stuff. And it really is important to actually measure every single ingredient. This is the best cocktail making purchase I've made!

The glassware doesn't have to be perfect - yes, you can make it in a coffee cup - but it is kinda' nice. Don't spend money on fancy glassware to start. Hit your local thrift store and pick up some cheap, but correct-for-the-drink glasses, and you'll appreciate it. Plus you'll feel classy!

Garnishes are actually not as easy as they sometimes look, so learning to make garnishes is a skill. Sometimes, as /u/stormstatic said, they are part of the actual flavor of the drink, sometimes they just make it pretty. To start, focus on mixing the drink, later add the garnishes. Heck, what's a tiki drink without all the stuff and paper umbrellas sticking out? : ) Goal!

I'd use the 3 Rivers dynamic spine calculator to help you with that. It isn't the only one out there, but it's free and works well.

For weights, 12 USD will get you this scale. I find it to be very helpful and of excellent quality. This way you know the total front-end weight of your arrow, not an estimate.

To use that calculator correctly, don't worry too much about tip vs insert weights, just make sure that the total is the same as your total. You'll notice that if you swap them around it makes no difference, because all the weight is still at the front of the arrow and thus will influence the dynamic spine so similarly that for real-world archery purposes they are the exact same. I just screw mine together, and I also weigh my nocks (I add weight to both nock and tip to get a very heavy shaft with appropriate dynamic spine)

You can, and should, select your bow and arrow shafts as much as possible and make sure the listed bow spine and arrow spine are within 2 lbs of each other. If you aren't quite where you want to be, just add weight where you need it: If your calculated dynamic arrow spine is too high, add weight to the tip. If it's too low, add weight to the nock.

To add a little custom weight to the front, either buy insert weights (expensive) or take your insert to the hardware store and buy a long machine screw (costs very little) that fits, cut off the head, then weigh it all together and file off metal from the remaining threaded shaft. To add weight to the back, pretty much do the same thing but stuff the weight or screw into the inside of the nock with some thick construction adhesive, epoxy putty, or a resin of some sort. Let it cure, then get to cutting and filing so that you can get your arrow perfect.

You can also enter specific shaft characteristics for unlisted shafts, but I think you'll find what you need in their list.

Damn. My friend just bought 200 labels, that will probably will never get used, but it was only 8.99 with amazon prime free shipping. Also got this scale only $10.

And ordered some bubble mailers as well off amazon. I love their prime 2 day shipping.

I don't think this will really pan out. My friend is selling this stuff at basically a loss, just to build his seller rep and thinks he will expand. But I think the mkt. for vape stuff is just way to saturated/competitive.

Damn Since '99, can I ask what are some of the things you sell? (If you dont mind answering, if not its cool).

I'm trying to convince him to find something else to sell that might do better.

I just printed out my first label through ebay on regular paper, I can't believe I wasted time at the post office yesterday and paid extra for priority when I could have done it this easily.

So it just needs to be taped to the bubble mailer and its good to go? There was an instruction saying not to tape over the barcode? Any particular way I should tape it?

thanks

Don't know the size of your studio, but IKEA sells several nice islands to fit many budgets and space constraints. A good quality kitchen doesn't really need that much - I like the nesting bowl/measuring cup, but if you don't like plastic, I bought [these] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000VLCEW/ref=pd_aw_sims_6?pi=SL500_SS115) and love them. I love that they have a half meSurement.

Regarding your wall mount situation, usually that's about tenants damaging the walls. If you know what you're doing and can patch a hole well (also, how often does your landlord swing by), you could be fit from a knife rack and/or [utensil rack] (http://m.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/art/50072645/). Might be worthwhile to talk to your landlord and suggest splitting some of that cost if you agree to do the labour and keep the improvements in the apartment. That's what we did and they were fine.

This is the scale I use.

https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Scale-Bakers-KD8000-Weight/dp/B00VEKX35Y

Pros: 8 kilogram capacity. the quantity settles quite quickly on it's final amount (some kind of internal stabilization). I can use very wide cookie sheets and still see the readout. Precise (to a gram). Can be calibrated. All the units I would ever need.

Cons: Boot sequence could be 4 seconds. It's big, and it's kind of ugly.

Overall, I really like this scale. I came from a scale that was similar to the AMIR and I would frequently see the error code because I maxed out the weight, I couldn't use most of my pans, because they were too wide, and while the fraction of a second that it took to settle on a weight didn't drive me nuts at the time, it absolutely would drive me nuts now.

I never had .1g accuracy, but if it came down to .1g accuracy vs. greater than 5KG capacity (which, I believe it does), then I need the 5+KG capacity more.

As you can see, my ratings are based on pretty personal needs. You might be able to function within 3KG. You also might need that .1g. I purchased this for lighter ingredients:

https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-GEMINI-20-Portable-MilliGram/dp/B0012TDNAM

but I don't find myself using it. My pizza recipe is large enough (three 17" pies) that 1g accuracy is perfectly fine for oil, sugar and salt, and I'm more comfortable using teaspoons for yeast.

Now, I did get the 8000 for $32 off of ebay, and I've gone back and looked for that price since, and I haven't found it. I don't ever plan on using the functions that the 8000 gives me over the 7000 (other than perhaps the weight), but the 7000 was/is about $40 as well. $32 for the 8000 was a pretty easy decision, but, for $40... I don't know.

I think 3KG might catch up to you in terms of capacity. I spent a lot of time looking through the $10 5.5KG/1g accuracy scales and, I'm not going to lie, I couldn't find a single scale that stood out. That was a big driving factor for the 8000.

You know what's funny is we both started at the same exact weight, even though you are 5 inches taller than me.

I can tell you I've had a lot of success on my journey so far(10 pounds in 1 month), much better than the 16 years I've struggled with weight. Here is everything I've learned and I really think this can help you make quick gains while keeping your muscle mass :)

Here is how you should start out:

1. Use Myfitnesspal https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.myfitnesspal.android&hl=en . Myfitnesspal has been a complete lifesaver for me. It shows me what foods are really breaking up my diet and what I can eat in a manageable way. An example is I can still eat 4 servings of chips, and put them into the app. But I don't touch anywhere near as much chocolate as I used to. I didn't realize how powerful a few small high calorie chocolate pieces were. I also changed the bread I eat because it was extremely high calorie. You'll find it will give you a LOT of insights into your diet. Weight loss really is 90% diet if you want to be honest.
   
2. Set the app to lose 1 pound per week and it will give you a very generous calorie amount. After a month, if you really want to shed the pounds off, you can do what I did and have it burn 1.5 pounds a week.
   
3. Get a food scale so you can know your exact proportions. Here is an example of one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OSUIYG/
   
4. Get some sort of exercise in. At the very least try walking 2 days a week for 30 minutes. It's VERY very addictive. Schedule the time in EVERY week, same days. If you have a friend or a significant other, walk with them. The walk will spur you on and help you do higher levels of exercise as you continue on your journey.
   
5. You're still young so don't be upset with yourself. If you fix your weight by 21, you've still beaten me who will be potentially 28 or higher, so chin up :)
   
   Also ask me any questions you might have, and I'll give you whatever advice I know :)
   
   Goodluck Bobo!
   
   

What is your favorite food?

Grilled Cheese is easy. Skillet to medium-high. 2 pieces of bread, a pat of butter, and a few slices of cheese. Half of the butter in the skillet with the bread on top. Layer the cheese on top of the bread and cover with remaining piece of bread. Cover (very important to melt the cheese). Cook until bottom of bread is starting to blacken, spread butter on other piece of bread and flip. Cook til starting to blacken or cheese is melting like crazy. Remove and serve.

Also, I suggest my easy lunch special. 1 medium sized chuck roast. Rub a modicum of kosher salt on it the night before. Preheat oven to 225F. When hot lay roast naked on the rack with a drip tray below. Let cook for 4 hours. Remove and wrap in foil. Return to rack for another 4 hours. Remove and wait 15mins before unwrapping. If you want to be awesome puncture the wrap and drain the juice into a cup before removing from foil. To make the lunches with this start a whole diced yellow onion in a skillet w/ some butter on medium-low. Sweat the onions for 5 mins then add diced green pepper. Throw on some Ms. Dash and a bit of soy sauce and skillet for a bit. While this is cooking take your leftover roast and chop into bite sized pieces. Throw onto a separate skillet on medium/medium-high. If you saved the juice throw it in there as well. If you removed the fat from the juice it'll be even better. Skillet until reheated, you are not cooking this meat. When it's done and the veggies are done, mix and skillet on medium for a bit to mingle the flavors. Now, this part is done. You are going to be pairing it with either Rice or Couscous. Couscous is easier unless you have a rice cooker. Either way, layer your lunches rice first then veggies/meat on top. Easy to microwave, tasty too.

Food scale. My husband, who lost 80 lbs. a few years ago, swears by the food scale. When he moved in with me, we didn't have room in the kitchen for a food scale, so he got rid of it. Well, now we live in a place with tons of counter space, so he asked for a food scale for Christmas so he could break down the proteins we buy at Costco into equal parcels. I got him [this one]
(https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UIVIXVO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

It is GREAT! I weigh pretty much anything that doesn't have a scannable bar code (man, I love the bar code feature of LoseIt) or doesn't break serving sizes into discrete pieces. For instance, we had steaks last night, and I knew exactly how many ounces mine was. When I slice cheese off a block, I weigh it in ounces (or grams, if I'm feeling fancy). I've used the food scale long enough now that I can kind of eyeball certain common foods and know about how much equals an ounce, but unless I'm in a huge hurry, I usually still weigh it because I'm neurotic enough to want precision as much as possible.

When I'm eating out, I either try to eat at places that have nutritional info on their websites so I can have a fairly accurate measure of calories, or I eyeball it. Eyeballing it is easier now that I have a decent picture of what 2 oz. of cheese looks like or how big a 4 oz. portion of chicken is, thanks to the food scale.

It also gets easier once you've established some routine foods. I know that the egg I have for breakfast is going to be about 100 calories because I eat eggs a lot. I know that tuna salad for lunch (1/2 can water-packed tuna, 1 T olive oil mayo, 5 slices of spicy/sweet pickles - it's the same every time) is going to be 208 calories because I have that several times a week. The more standard a food is in your diet, and the better you're able to visualize how much food equals x number of ounces, the easier it is.

/r/keto is a good resource, check out the sidebar for piles of links, or dive in and ask a question.

80lbs down for me, works great. At the base of it all, it's still calories-in-calories-out, but it's so much easier to feel full and satiated on a keto diet, plus I feel much better without sugar/starches/etc. (that's all 100% anecdotal, not scientific data, but that's been my own experience with it!).

They say fitness is 80% diet and 20% exercise, you can't outrun the fork, and muscles are made in the gym but revealed in the kitchen. In my experience, these sayings are absolutely true. Your first step should be to control your diet, and get a handle on how much of what you're eating.

Before you go nuts, buy a digital kitchen scale, one like this, and set up a myfitnesspal account. Then, track and log your diet for about a week or two. Eat like you normally eat, but track everything, and be brutally honest. You might be surprised by what you find.

Then, figure out what you should eat. /r/keto has good resources for this - you want to figure out something called your "TDEE" - "Total Daily Energy Expenditure". If you want to be safe, assume that you're "sedentary" when calculating this. That'll tell you what you need to eat to stay the same weight you are now. Then, just subtract from this to lose weight.

So (just for example - figure out your own numbers!) if your TDEE is 2000 calories/day, then eat 1800 calories a day, and you're running a 200-calorie deficit. At 3500 calories per pound of fat, that deficit will get you losing somewhere around a third to a half a pound a week.

Myfitnesspal tells you how much to eat (and tracks how much you've eaten), and /r/keto can steer you right in terms of which foodstuffs to eat. The scale tells you exact grams of this and that, and all you need then is to introduce some exercise and baby, you've got some fitness going!

Best of luck!

It sounds like you're well prepared - you've got set and setting covered. Having a dog there to love up on will be an added bonus. If there's a park nearby or a place to go outside that's close to the house, that would be good too. Being able to get outdoors and connect with nature is always great on mushrooms.

But definitely invest in a scale - especially since this is your first time. Better to know the amount you're taking so that you're not overdoing it or under doing [I think 2g is a good place to start]. Also, you'll know whether to adjust up or down for the next time. You could certainly wing it - but how do you eyeball 2g if you don't know what 2g looks like? Shrooms come in all shapes and sizes - one decent-sized shroom could be 2g. Or, if they're smaller, you might need 3-4. Weigh it out. Safe travels either way. Have fun!

https://www.reddit.com/r/fitness/search?q=flair%3Arecipe&sort=new&restrict_sr=on Recipe thread monthly. They tend to be a good place to look for food related ideas.

For advice: r/loseit is an excellent resource.

For raw data, SailRabbit: BMR, TDEE and BMI Calculator is a helpful estimator. There is also a spreadsheet that you can use that will help you make better adaptations to your caloric goals. We all generally recommend MyFitnessPal or any other similar caloric tracker and a food scale (Amazon, $15).

I'd shoot for between 2000-2100 calories/day. From there you might also enjoy r/1500isplenty. For macros, I would generally say to lean more towards proteins so you can preserve those god-level calves you've been growing. Maybe a 30p/30f/40c split? Play with it and see what works best for you.

Lots of exotic flours I have only been able to find in grain form, so this would be useful for that. I've also heard that freshly ground flour is supposed to taste amazing, but I can't personally vouch for that.

What does your mom have now? If she doesn't have an electronic scale definitely get one of those.[This one is good.] (https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Scale-Bakers-KD8000-Weight/dp/B00VEKX35Y) I don't know what kind of bread she is baking, but a banneton would be nice if she doesn't have one, they are good for the 'rustic' breads you see here. A good electric thermometer is another one, I like this one. If she isn't baking in a loaf pan or dutch oven, a baking steel or baking stone are useful.

I feel exactly like this at the moment. I am a guy working a very high-pressure engineering job. I'll be fired very quickly if I am not 100% in a state of mind of ample creativity, enthusiasm and drive.

I started taking kratom about 18 months ago. While on it, I got this job, and I got into a relationship with an absolutely amazing girl.

But all this is a lie. They gave me this job based on my kratom'ed out personality. And this girl probably fell in love with that fake personality. Double life - I know exactly what you mean.

Nobody knows except for these internet strangers.

Over the last 4 months I've been trying to quit kratom from a 50g/day habit.

Last week, I came off kratom completely for 5 days. Brutal physical withdrawal. But I took a week off from work and told my girlfriend that I had the flu so I couldn't see her or text/talk to her. On the 5th day, the physical symptoms disappeared, and I thought I was free. But only then I realized the true depth of the problem. The acute symptoms were nothing at all. Over the 18 months, my brain has forgotten how to do anything with an innate sense of motivation and enthusiasm. I can only do anything while on a dose. On day 5, I was basically vegetative laying in bed all day. Zero dopamine for even basic bodily functions like drinking water or peeing let alone having the motivation to do anything for work or for my family and girlfriend.

I had no choice but to go back to the green shit. Back on it now. We both are so plugged into the lives we're living built on top of the mountain of this green shit. Removing that mountain would mean the lives would fall apart too.

We would wish more than anything that we could just pause our lives for a few months so our brains can recover the ability to do anything at all. But we can't stop this train. I won't tell you things are going to be easy. I can't know that for certain.

But I know for certain that you are a good mom and wife - kratom or not. Always will be. Don't ever forget that. The decision to go back on wasn't easy for you. But you did it to save your family. Never for a second feel bad that you relapsed or kept it from your husband. You had no other choice. Things in the past, let go.

Focus on the 'now'. We have much harder things to worry about now. We have to get off while keeping it all together. I am tired too. I am scared too. But we're going to do it. Random person on the internet, I don't know anything about you, what you look like, where you are, but I know exactly what you're going through.

So here is the fucking plan:

1. Make up your mind today that you're going to get off this green shit. You're going to do it for your children, your husband and for you. Take those feelings of futility, fear, betrayal and burn them into your mind instead as determination to get off this green shit.
   
   
2. Next, buy a precision scale. This one: https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Back-Lit-Function-Stainless-Batteries/dp/B01HCKQG7G
   
   
3. Order Kratom cheaply. Don't let this green shit get you into debt. I order online from <a vendor with the name of a greek primordial goddess>. $99 for a kg. Don't spend any more.
   
   
4. Copy this spreadsheet. This is your divine scripture now. Plug in your current daily dose and give yourself 6 months to taper off. The sheet will tell you how much your doses will need to be. Measure out your doses and record them. Remember that you made up your mind today to get off. Stick to the plan. Like commandments from God himself, follow the spreadsheet blindly.
   
   It's going to be hard for the both of us. But we're going to do it. History has shown people have done much harder things. Think of the recovering herion addicts who've managed to keep it together and continue on living well. Their struggles are on an entirely different level. We're not so unfortunate. We can and will do this. A month or so in and you've shown progress with your taper, tell your husband. Trust me, he will understand and be delighted with your progress.
   
   We're going to keep it together. We're going to replace the mountain of green shit underneath our lives with ourselves bit by bit, gram by gram. Have faith. Never forget that you're a good mom and wife always and forever. Let's forget decisions made in the past and focus on our tasks now. You are not alone.

Several thousand dollars?
17 dollars. With what you've done with your solution, slowly but surely, the material will break down. I suggest keeping it cold and away from light.

Scraping 2mg off of glass to put into a capsule is almost impossible. I have been there! Luckily, I have done something similar, needing small doses of a substance and wanting them in capsules for ease of dosing, so I'll tell you how I did it.

What I did is cut up tiny pieces of paper towel, say 1cm wide and 2cm long. Dropper 2ml of your %95 alcohol solution onto each of these strips and allow the material to evaporate on them. When no longer wet, roll the piece of paper towel up and put it into a capsule. Voila.

Reply if you plan on using this method, and if not, what you plan on doing. I am interested, because I have this substance and I wonder if it would be good to microdose.

Hope I helped!

Of course you can do it- many of us have and you can do.
The only advice I can offer you is to simply decide that nothing and no one is going to derail your intentions.
You need to assign this the highest priority in your life and don't allow any sort of excuse or rationalization to creep in.
Being in college during this process is both a blessing and a curse- the stresses are going to appear, but you'll likely be so busy you can't focus on being deprived, either.
You'll be going out with friends and will be tempted along the way, but plan for such evenings and have a strategy in place before you go. Eat first and then wander around with a glass of water with a lemon in it.
Keep grab and eat snacks handy in your room. Don't allow hunger to creep up on you without having something easily at hand to satisfy it.

Come here often when you need a mental recharge- read, search, browse around and find what works for others.
Read every link the auot-bot gives you- it is all in there.

There are many ways to track food intake but I encourage you to find one and use it- eyeballing portion sizes is not a viable way to go about it. A cheap yet very reliable and easy to use food scale is available on Amazon for under $15 and is the single most valuable tool you can own for weight loss. I have one in each food prep area in my house and couldn't do without it even as I am in maintenance mode.

Good luck.
DECIDE to do this and let nothing or no one stand in your way.

I LOVE the L-Ascorbic acid powder. Once you learn how to use it, it's a versatile, stable product that will last a long time. I'm currently mixing it with Hada Labo Premium. Here is how I measure for precision:

The scoop it comes with is far too large, so I bought these tiny measuring spoons: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009X1P9S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The smallest spoon is called "Drop" and it is equivalent to 1/64th of a teaspoon. I measure one level spoon of this and tap it into the palm of my hand. Next, I mix 4 drops of Hada Labo into the palm of my hand (**handy trick--one drop carefully dispersed from the bottle is equivalent to the "drop" measuring spoon). Use the spoon to mix it all up. The powder dissolves completely so there is no grittiness, leaving a perfect 20% strength, 3.0 PH Vitamin C serum in your hand. I test with these strips: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DTH14XZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This works out to be enough for my face, neck, décolletage, and the backs of my hands. Voila!

so, the dosing is tricky but it doesn't have to be perfect. 60-100mg is ideal depending on body weight, stim sensitivity, etc.

these little guys are perfect.

Try out a smidge sitting around the house and see how you feel. Adjust accordingly. Add a second smidge for gym time or if you're feeling ballsy, toss a pinch into your preworkout concoction. 1-2 200mg caffeine tablets to finish it off and prepare to leap buildings. If you like the tingle from Jack3d, you can get some Beta Alinine, but I don't find it purposeful beyond that neat little tingle feeling. Citruline Malate can be added for enhanced "pump", but again I don't find it necessary, when preloading on carbs can have the same effect.

That kettle will do just fine. Put a thermometer in it, or let it boil and then wait around 2 minutes before brewing.

​

I recommend a paper filter pour over, that bodum would be fine, but a plastic Hario V60 is great too (01 for single serving, 02 for two cups). https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Plastic-Coffee-Dripper-Clear/dp/B001HC9GIC/

​

Get a scale, a $12-20 one from Amazon that does 0.1g is totally adequate. Use it for measuring your coffee, and the amount of water you pour. Start with ratios about 1:15. https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Back-Lit-Function-Stainless-Batteries/dp/B01HCKQG7G/

​

Save for that Encore grinder, it will really help to have fresh-ground and the ability to dial in your grind size at home.

Started at roughly the same point as you, I'll second the comment about people noticing once 30-40 pounds are lost although people may have noticed earlier but may not say anything due to not knowing if you're ill or actually taking initiative.

It wasn't until sixty to seventy pounds down that I went down a shirt size but I went from a size 40 waist to size 35 within thirty to fifty pounds, lost half a size to full shoe size but didn't notice when.

If you haven't already my only regret is not taking a starter photo and not exercising as often with all the excess energy. Check out /r/bodyweightfitness (I like the recommended routine in the wiki).

Check out /r/intermittentfasting just to digest some more information as many have ended up doing both together with good results. (including discipline and whatnot)

Check out /r/ketorecipes if you need some inspiration or would like to change things up a bit.

Check out /r/ketogains or /r/bodyweightfitness once you become fat adapted and are able to use your energy productively.

Check out /r/ketodrunk if you'd like to find ways you can keep alcohol in your life.

Check out this graphic from Ruled.Me and depending on what you're craving supplement with that.

Things you might want to invest in (assuming you don't already have something comparable):

Food scales: this is what I use, this is what Keto Connect uses and this is what I bought for a friend of mine.

Take care!

Start simple.

For instance, today I started with grilled chicken breast, which was marinated in BBQ Sauce, steamed green beans and roasted sweet potatoes.

I just used a Jack Daniel's brand BBQ Sauce and grilled the breasts on a Foreman Grill, then added 1 serving of the BBQ sauce in a ramekin. Steamed a load of green beans for about 15-17 minutes and then seasoned with SnP. Diced, roasted garnet sweet potatoes marinated in olive oil, SnP and a healthy portion of chili powder.

Calculate how much of each you want in a meal, then purchase what you need. Buy a bit more than what you calculate as chicken will lose weight while cooking and you may trim. You may trim or peel the sweet potato. I buy prepped green beans to make it a bit easier.

I would ask your trainer for a calorie target, or speak to a nutritionist to get one which will cater to your current status and where you want to be. If you're going hard core, then I definitely would seek advice from a nutritionist as you'll be in a caloric deficit in order to lose the weight.

Measuring is simple, go to Amazon and get a digital scale. I personally bought and love this scale. You'll also want a digital body scale, to track your progress. Get an app that will help you track everything, The MyFitnessPal app is probably the #1 app for this. You can add recipes to get nutritional values, track what foods you are eating, and you can track the exercises to monitor progression.

the tare function is pretty much universal on digital scales, so that one is easy.

the small profile can be cumbersome when weighing things in large bowls, but some scales have a display that you can pull out to better be able to read it in those situations

the accuracy want is where you are going to have the toughest. the more precise the scale is, the lower the maximum weight the scale will support. a scale that is only accurate to the gram will have a higher maximum weight than one that is accurate to the 0.1 gram.

so to address that, I would recommend 2 scales, one for large bulk weighing (like weighing out meats), and one for the finer weighing of things (like weighing out ketoade ingredients). These are the two that I personally use, but I am sure you could find others that have similar properties (and I dont remember paying anywhere near $30 for the Oxo scale, might have better luck in stores rather than online).

https://www.amazon.com/OXO-1157100-Digital-Scale-Black/dp/B0020L6T7K/ref=sr_1_29?keywords=digital+kitchen+scale&qid=1574649853&sr=8-29

https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Signature-AWS-1KG-SIL-Digital/dp/B003STEJ4S/ref=sr_1_67?keywords=digital+kitchen+scale&qid=1574649976&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A7932983011&rnid=7932982011&s=kitchen&sr=1-67

Replying to confirm that I make the best coffee I've ever had with a skerton and v60. Here's my entire set up. These aren't necessarily the best in their class, but they do me well.

-Digital scale (or anything that measures in grams)
-Gooseneck kettle (they make ones that are electric, as well)
-Flow restrictor for kettle (not required, it's just what I have)
-Hario skerton burr grinder
-OE mod for skerton (not required. again, it's just what I have)
-Hario v60 02 (I have the clear plastic one)
-Gerber Pure water (available at Walmart, any "spring water" is what I recommend. My tap water smells of chlorine, so even Britta water is gonna be a bit better than my tap water. You want water that's not too hard, nor too soft. So don't use distilled or RO water or "mineral" water.)
-Digital timer (not required, but I like to time things)
-Hario filters (there's a couple different kinds, try any you want. Mine are the white without the "tabs")
-I'm not linking my mugs/servers. But whatever one(s) you use, I recommend preheating them.

(Edit to add: I have other methods of making coffee. This is just my personal overall favorite.)

One of my boys lost his top front teeth as well. They fell out on their own after a few days of difficulty eating (not sure how he broke them).

It took several weeks before the teeth were grown back in to a usable length. During that time, he was on a diet of omnivore power and herbivore powder. Basically mixed it around 1:1 ratio and added a couple drops of water to make an easy to eat paste. It worked super well; he continued to have tooth issues on and off for the rest of his life, and that mix was often an important part of his diet. The omnivore powder has to be through a vet (they may have it, or can order it for you).

You can try crushing some food as well; my boy was able to eat hard foods as long as they were small enough that he didn't need to use the front teeth to break it into bites! Potentially soaking his regular food in water (or even a low sodium broth) could work, but my boy didn't care for it.

Some meat, egg, bread, noodle, rice, vegetables are alright to help keep interest in food and weight up; fruits are kinda heavy on the sugar and moisture. Baby foods like "Brown rice and Turkey" are okay in moderation too, but probably not a good idea long term.

I highly recommend a scale to keep track of weight. I got this cheap scale. Weight loss is expected (a few grams), but too much more isn't good.

Best of luck.

Edit: added a little for the next time I copy and paste my comment :)

Thirded on the American Weigh, I bought that after initially purchasing an OXO Good Grips 5lb scale and have been far more satisfied with the AW SC-2kg. The 0.1g resolution is so* much nicer and I was having issues with the OXO changing its mind about how much things weighed (+/- a couple of grams, it was annoying).

The SC-2kg is surprisingly tiny when you first get it, but it's still large enough for the bin from my Baratza Maestro or my Chemex (8 cup I think?). As adrooo said, the blue LED is quite brilliant and very easy to read.

Get yourself one or two of the oxo mini angled measuring cup. They make a metal version too but I like the plastic. It lets you pour smaller measurements like 1/8 cup by looking down from above. It's a great kitchen and bar tool that I use every day.

OXO Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup, Mini, Clear https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FYL4MPY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vfP6ybVT8C1WE

It doesn't have much asthetic but https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Scale-Bakers-KD8000-Weight/dp/B00VEKX35Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523368659&sr=8-3&keywords=baker+scale this baker scale is awesome for general kitchen duty and coffee making. Scale plate is plastic and easily removable so wont absorb heat as quickly and easy to clean. I have not figured out how to turn off the time out but its like 5 minutes so I dont have an issue while pouring.

In regard to your pourover, you are going to have to dial in via taste instead of time. Pourovers IMO don't scale well to that big of a batch.

For small snacks that are around 100 calories I eat the following:

• Skinny pop 100 calorie popcorn, I find these in my regular grocery store but I you can also find them at Costco or online
  
• medium banana (around 100 calories but you have to weigh it to be sure)
  
• light Greek yogurt (many brands are around 100 calories but check the labels carefully because many are more than that too)
  
• light cottage cheese
  
• tuna pouch with 1 tablespoon of tartar sauce mixed in (most pouches are smaller than the cans and around 70 calories, I buy the Kraft tartar sauce which is 30 cal per tablespoon). The flavored tuna in a pouch is really good too, especially the buffalo flavor and lemon pepper flavor. When I buy the flavored pouches I eat them plain instead of mixing with tartar sauce.
  
• 1 granny smith apple (like the banana, you should weigh it to be sure, but an average size apple is usually around 100 calories).
  
  I weigh everything with a kitchen scale. When I'm making a recipe from scratch I weigh all my ingredients and add it all up to get the total weight and the total calories. Then just divide the calorie total by the weight total in grams and that number is the calories per gram. Then I weigh out my serving in grams and multiply that by the calories per gram number and you will get the total calories per serving. It may sound like a lot of math but it's really quite simple and quick once you get used to it.
  
  I bought this scale from Amazon for $10 and I've been very happy with it.

Buy yourself a shaker, and an accurate measuring cup/jigger. I like this one.

Some options:

• Grab some fresh limes at the grocery store. Pick up a bottle of gin - doesn't need to be too expensive but don't go bottom shelf. New Amsterdam, Beefeater, etc, will work for now. Grab a bottle of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and a bottle of green Chartreuse. Put 0.75 oz each of fresh squeezed lime juice, gin, Chartreuse, and Luxardo into your shaker, add lots of big hefty ice cubes, shake until very cold. Strain the liquid into a cocktail glass or whatever you have on hand, and you have a Last Word.
  
• Grab some rye-forward bourbon or rye whiskey - again, no need to go super expensive at first but don't go bottom shelf. Maybe start with Bulleit (either regular or the rye version). Get a good vermouth - Carpano Antica Formula is the classic, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino is cheaper and has a very similar flavor profile. Get a bottle of Angostura bitters. If you want, optionally get some good cherries, like the Luxardo brand ones - the neon pink ones from the typical grocery store are not adequate. Put about 2 oz whiskey, 1 oz vermouth, and 1 or 2 dashes of bitters into a mixing glass. The ratio of the whiskey and vermouth can be adjusted to your preference once you try a few. Add lots of big ice, and stir until very cold. Strain the liquid a glass, and optinally add your cherry. Enjoy your Manhattan.
  
  There are many more options. The tempatation will be to buy a bunch of shitty liquors and liqueurs. They will not taste good. I really recommend trying a smaller number of nicer things. This goes for things like beer, too. Anything will get you drunk, but alcohol can also taste amazing - don't miss out on that aspect.

I bought this one as a starter because I wasn't sure how much I'd be using it and didn't want to waste money. It's a great scale and it works just fine, it's one of my most used kitchen items! I personally would go back and drop an extra five bucks on one of the nicer ones, but that one works well. Check out the "best sellers" and you'll see there are a few really good options out there.

You need to be weighing your guinea pigs often. Weekly is best IMO. If you’re consistently weighing, you will know if your pig is underweight/overweight, or if they’re rapidly losing weight (which is often one of the first signs of illness in Guinea Pigs)

One like this would work just fine, and is super affordable. Place a bowl or box on top, tare, and put your guinea pig in. I’d keep a log of weights for every time you weigh them. This is crucial in assuring they’re at a healthy weight. You can find some great information on normal weights and normal fluctuations here.

Tried the ~5 mg experiment last night. Very glad we did. Wife reacted way more intensely than I did and had some negative thought loops that we didn't expect. Here's how it all went down (we might have made some mistakes here so listing for feedback/constructive criticism):

1. Measured out 0.005 g for both of us. Scale struggled with accuracy at this low weight. One moment it would show 0.000 and the next 0.007...here's the exact scale we use (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011J88S8M). Anyone have thoughts and tips on handling margin of error for milligram scales? I've read it can be +/- 4mg which, for 2C-B is significant. I'd happily pay more for a super accurate scale for example
   
2. Orally ingested mixed in with a tiny anount of OJ in a glass (why not?) - I went first, added a little more OJ to get the remnants then (and here is where we might have made a mistake) wife uses the same glass for her dose. Perhaps some of the material might have been left in the glass?
   
3. Come up was not much to speak of nor did we expect anything at this low dose. Still, got some energy feels and both of us enjoyed doing yoga. Music started to get nice.
   
4. Then things went south...wife started to get some interesting CEV's feeling like the floor opened up underneath her, maybe some tracers, etc....meanwhile, I'm mildly feeling mostly nothing. She then got into some hard personal stuff that can come up while on MDMA, but without the empathy of that substance, it just became hard shit that was now in the space and for the rest of the evening we couldn't get out of it. No euphoria, just kind of a bummer.
   
   Big question to the group: does 2C-B have a threshold dose (like MDMA) where you are for sure going to get the full impact? Wondering if a small dose, while good to get a feel for the molecule, might not get you all the way there. Wife is now not sure she wants to do it again so trying to gather some info. Still, really thankful for u/DrugsAreMagic for this reply as we would not have wanted this experience at the tail end of our roll. I now fully understand why the "rule" is the rule. Thanks all!

you have a lot of responses but ill add mine in my own words -

cutting - goal is to cut fat while keeping the most amount of muscle (you will lose at least a little) do this by cutting calories from your TDEE (read about this in the wiki). cut about ~300 cal or more for more rapid fat loss. keep protein HIGH - about .7-1g per body weight. better to overshoot it most days. get a food scale and know what you eat! go for chicken breast broccoli whey shakes and shit. learn more at /r/loseit

edit - this food scale has been a fucking hoss for me. 10/10

bulking - goal is to gain muscle, size, strength, and overall weight while keeping fat gain low (you will gain at least a little) do this by adding 300-500 cal to your TDEE. you want to gain maybe 1 pound a week for beginners, if youre lucky, half that will be muscle. you will get stronger quickly. getting a lot of protein is still very important but i find that tracking it is less important because youre eating so many calories you are just going to get more protein without trying. learn a lot at /r/gainit

lmk if you have any Qs

if you are going by volume, i would do 2x the amount of flour (unpacked). that should be reasonably close. I would highly recommend a kitchen scale though. It's not a must, but it's cheap and really helps ensure consistent results while you are first learning to bake bread. There are so many variables that affect the outcome its nice to remove a major one.

yeah, thats way too much starter. you don't want the yeast competing for food so you want to keep the population size down. Just an estimate but, I typically have around 1cup of starter when it's first fed and stirred down. It expands to about 2 cups

You're very welcome.

I'll throw in something I made last night - a giant pot of soup. I was short on parsley so you might want to increase that if you make it. This is what I put in it, not including water. That'll give you four huge bowls that are mostly food, not broth. (Noodles are added at the very end. If you want more carbs in there, feel free to replace with spaghetti. It'll have more calories but still be low-cal.) Here's the basic nutrition info. One bowl (a quarter of that recipe) is 152 calories and gave me 40% of my daily nutrients! If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend one. I have this one. You can plug recipes into cronometer. I just jot down my ingredients and their weight in grams when I'm prepping and I plug them in while the food is cooking.

Also, if you end up cutting carbs out (edit: what I mean is reducing carbs) with the calorie reduction, you can just reduce your bolus doses. This goes much more smoothly with a CGM and if you account for some wiggle room for when you need to bring up lows.

Best wishes to you!

They're pretty much all the same but I would choose according to your lifestyle. I would carry my Oxo foodscale food scale with me everywhere; restaurants, traveling, whatever.

If you plan on doing that, I recommend buying one that is rather rugged and small. I like the Oxo one because the display face pulls out (attached via cable) so it isn't covered up by large dishes as well as the ability to remove the top cover for dishwashing.

Most scales will measure in grams or ounces, you just push a button to switch between the modes.

A gram scale would be fine, as long as it's OK if it's off by a gram or two. Like "100g" might be close to 99g or 101g, since it isn't showing you if it's "101.4g" or "99.5g". And most gram scales will measure over 1000g. I have this one and it's great, it's one of the top sellers on amazon. I use it to measure food/ingredients and kratom.

But you can also get scales that measure .01g that can measure over 100g. Like this one.

This is the one I have, and it works like a charm :) Amazon is your friend!

Cups/spoons are not accurate unfortunately... for exact calorie intake anyway.

Healthy snacks.... CLEMENTINES which are in season. Seriously 35 cal a piece! Chips aren't a big deal or any junk, if it fits in your daily limit - don't sweat it!! In my opinion anyway.

Hi, first time poster here. I'm about to pull the trigger on my first turntable setup, but I feel I need to check in with the helpful people on this sub with the equipment I'm thinking of buying and whether or not its all compatible. Other things like isolation pads for the speakers, better record sleeves, a cork matt, a record brush, gram scale, and a cleaning kit are accounted for. Are any of those things unnecessary?

The following is strictly the hardware. I've been torn between two different set-ups however.

SET-UP 1: Audio Technica AT-LP120 ($299) & the Micca PB42X Powered Bookshelf Speakers ($120). TOTAL: About $419

SET-UP 2: Audio Technica AT-LP120 ($299), Micca MB42 Passive Speakers ($60), and the Yamaha R-S201BL 2-Channel Stereo Receiver ($130) TOTAL: About $489

I'm also unsure about adding a subwoofer for I don't know if one is essential or just a nice thing to include for the complete package. My eye is on this one: Pioneer SW-8MK2 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer ($160)

Any and all advice is much appreciated.

Myweigh KD-8000 a little pricey but uses AA batteries instead of the watch ones. It also has the option to use an AC adapter. Those features alone have paid this thing off. For those complaining of auto shut off this thing has a setting that lets it stay on indefinitely. Other cool features include a bakers percentage mode and the ability to calibrate. The only con I would say is that it requires a 5kg calibration weight to calibrate. Those things are expensive! I found mine to be true from the factory.

I bought it with the optional AC adapter. In hindsight I would of saved myself the $15. This thing has seen daily use with the same pair of AA's for the past few months. If you have rechargeable AA's you can save yourself some $$

With AC adapter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C6CN1VY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_YMfJAbFHNMT0G

Without AC adapter
Kitchen Scale - Bakers Math Kitchen Scale - KD8000 Scale by My Weight, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEKX35Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_aOfJAbM613BJX

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B011J88S8M?vs=1

I find this to be the best in the price range. I find it far nicer than the gemini 20, the build quality is great, the accessaries are ok, the carrying case is nice.
I have owned 2 other mg scales, a gemini 20, and a cheaper smart weigh, both were ok, but this one is very nice, especially if you can get it on sale.

Honestly, I think 6 months is probably enough time, BUT you have to make sure that you don't procrastinate on it and be all "I have tons of time" about it. If it takes you only 2 months, but the first 2 months, that's great, you can do other stuff!

You might want to estimate your time at the beginning though, so once you get your yarn, cast on knit a few rounds, then weigh the ball of yarn you're knitting with. (order a digital kitchen scale if you don't already have one. I use this one and really like it) Then, set a timer and knit for 1 hour. Then weigh your yarn again to find out how much yarn you used in that time. From there you can see that if you were able to knit 2g of yarn in an hour, and the 1800yds of yarn weighs ~205g (this is based on the yarn called for in the pattern, your yarn might be slightly heavier or lighter) you'll know that you need about 102.5 hours to complete the project, and you can set daily or weekly knitting time goals as necessary (I really recommend setting your goal to finish at least 3-4 weeks early, to give yourself a buffer for mistakes or life events that impact your knitting time, and to get it blocked).

The edge doesn't look like silver, the wavy edges of the planchet are common with Ikes, I've seen plenty of clads that resemble silver and vice versa.

The comparison shots don't tell me anything without the tissue paper test.

Your scale isn't accurate enough to say if it's for sure silver, but is the best indicator of it.

Possible? Yeah.

Get a better scale.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scale-Ac-650-Digital/dp/B0026KXU7W

Feeling the keel may be more useful, as a muscular but an underweight bird could weigh the same as a fat out-of-shape bird since muscle weighs more than fat. Combining both keel sharpness and actual weight is a more effective way to judge health. It's also a good idea to part the feathers and check for fat deposits on the abdomen and crop region once a month or so.
I usually do a keel and fat check after I trim my birds' nails. They are society finches and hate being handled, so I don't usually weigh them; the last time I weighed them (about a year ago), they weighed 13.59, 14.55, 14.53, and 14.36 grams. Interestingly the lightest bird looks the largest since he doesn't hold his feathers as tight against his body when he's relaxed. I think I got a scale like this.

I almost always use foil pans. I have never noticed the difference in smoke penetration by using them. It always tastes the same and just as good. The main reasons I do it is for how easy it is when you "crutch", just put foil over the top. You can always unfoil a little early and put it back out in the open pit to dry out the bark a little after the foil. Because the braising does cause the bark to get moist.

I also do it for saving the drippings. Buy you a fat/juice separator like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002YTGIQ?pc_redir=1395397137&robot_redir=1

Separate out the juice to add back to the pulled meat for moistness. Foil pans also make for easy cleanup. Give it a shot and see how you like it. You'll never know until you've tried it.

If you're worried about weight, I would highly recommend buying a food scale! Not for veggies, but for your guinea. One like this with a little dish that fits on top, so your little one can sit more comfortably.

I try to weigh my boys once a week (like after cage cleaning time so it's become part of the routine) so I can monitor their health. Weight is one of the main indicators of guinea pig health that you can reliably measure without a vet. Also it was really fun charting out how much they grew over time when I first got them! After a few times weighing your guinea, you'll have an idea of what a healthy weight should be, regardless of hair length.

Edit: I forgot to mention that a scale is an especially helpful tool if you think you'll be moving a few times in the next few years. I move my guys maybe 4 times a year because I go to college an hour away from my parents' house, and at first it was stressful for those little potatoes. They lost weight for the first few days each move, but slowly regained it once they settled in (they're pros at moving house now though). I'm not sure how long it's been since you moved to your parents' house but it may have contributed to her weight loss.

This scale so it can help me measure my food. I want one so it can help me manage my weight. Its like a gift that keeps on giving!

Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale Multifunction Food Scale with Removable Bowl 2.15L Liquid Volume Room Temperature and Timer, 11lb 5kg, Backlight LCD Display https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UIVIXVO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_F0X9Bb0X8BVG5

Sometimes those little clip on LEDs don't cut it, I'd suggest going to Home depot and getting a pack of their Daylight CFLS and a metal clamp light fixture for it, you could use one or two depending on the length of the tank. Also if you want to go another cheap route get Osmocote+ plant fertilizer. They look like little yellow balls and just stick them in the substrate, good for root feeders like swords. But if you have a lot of stem plants that are column feeders (Lugwidia repens, cabomba, ect.) I'd suggest going the EI route and getting dry fertilizers. They're much cheaper in the long run compared to liquid ferts. You mix them yourself with these There is measuring conversion in the comments section.

I have a full bag of purigen IN my filter Used this one, then I had an old bag, cut it open, and dumped out its contents, and used THAT bag for the filtering through the pump. However, there would be no problems if you got a full bag, cut it open, and then had it go through the mesh and purigen media, just make sure to put a chip clip on it so it doesn't spill everywhere between water changes, and store it in your buckets.

I haven't had a problem with the PH bouncing up and down like PH down will do. The peat actually softens the water through the tannic acid it releases, and it stays there. And yes, I reuse the tights.

Edit: Added links

Edit2: I've hardly ever had luck with any vals, might I recommend Hygrophila Angustifolia? It grows like a weed in my tank!

Yeah, definitely enough for daily use but like I said I would need more weight than that for bulk cooking at home (meat, fish, ect.)

There is another scale on Amazon that is 4"x4" with a 1kg limit here


Another thing to consider is that I couldn't fit a plate or large bowl on such a small scale without it covering the display, so something with a retractable or flip-out display like the 1kg scale I linked would be a good idea. I hadn't thought of that before.

This is the version of the "blade" scale that you would want... 0.01g resolution... but it's only good for mixes up to 100g.

Unless you're ok limiting yourself to batches of like 80mL at a time, you should consider a different scale.

The typical scale used around here are 500g limit with 0.01g resolution, like this one.

Expect to pay about $15 tops if you order it online. Local retail will be a bit more, but you're keeping the money in your community when you do that. The ability to do ounces and grams is an important feature in the USA.

This scale has been the most recommended in /r/loseit.

This one is the one that I bought. It's been very good for me. I have had it for more than 2 years.

I have this one in white, but I think most grocery or superstores will have basic digital ones that are pretty much the same. Use them enough and you'll understand why you need the pull out display. Also do your future self a favor and buy backup batteries lol

I found a set of mini measuring spoons on amazon and they are the perfect bowl loaders, there are a bunch of different sizes and it makes it so easy to scoop the perfect amount from your grinder to your bowl without spilling any weed, 10/10 would recommend, not a shill, just want to pass on the advice. Here's the link http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3080-Stainless-Measuring-smidgen/dp/B0009X1P9S [6]

I have this food scale. It's on sale right now for $9 on Amazon. I love it, I've found it to be very accurate.
I honestly would say it has made my food anxiety both better and worse. Like I know for a fact I'm not underestimating what I'm eating which helps me. But also I now weigh literally everything I eat, including slices of bread or rice cakes or whatever else.

Yeah, get a scale. I recommend this one if you're budget-conscious. I'm afraid to ask what kind of grinder you're using. A quality burr grinder will get you the best results.

The James Hoffman method that is popular in this sub is good, but for beginners, just keep it simple: 16 grams of course ground coffee to 300 grams of water (around 200F or just off the boil). Let it brew for 4 minutes. Press and serve.

You can improve from there if you want my experimenting with different ratios, blooming, Hoffman method, grind size, etc.

It's hard to get used to at first. I still don't trust myself to tare and add another ingredient to the scale so I mis en place everything in separate dishes like on cooking shows (which is a good idea anyhow).

What I've done is look at conversion charts and start by using imperial measurements as a scoop. So 250g is basically a heaping cup, etc. Now the metric is associated with a measurement I already can picture so it's quicker to get to the right amount by weighing.

It will also help if you get a scale that has a fairly large base. Ours came with a bowl and I really like it for medium amounts but it will also lift off and then you can tare out little ramekins or a large bowl on the remaining flat surface. We just got this one https://smile.amazon.com/Etekcity-Multifunction-Removable-Temperature-Backlight/dp/B00UIVIXVO/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1543168802&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=food+scales+digital+weight+grams+and+oz&dpPl=1&dpID=41i6dN%2BTssL&ref=plSrch and so far it's worked great, especially considering the affordable price.

Edit: corrected conversion

For me, a kitchen scale has been the most useful when calorie-cutting, because it gave me a good idea of portion size. This is the one I use, and its just over $10 and is nifty because it weighs in grams and ounces (although I'm sure most do). If you check amazon, some of the highest rated scales are under $15.

I really, really, really would like to get these sometime this year.

Edti: Oh...and a very happy anniversary and this makes me happy. Oh, and so do my baby kitties.

100% agreed, definitely get one with a pull-out display.

I have a basic Starfrit scale, and while it's good enough, everything but the smallest bowls in my kitchen cover the display when I use it.

P.S. The one above is good, but most probably don't need the 11lb version. Save yourself $20 and get the smaller 5lb scale

splenda and stevia products that measure the same as sugar are bulked up with maltodextrin, pure starch. a serving size is 1/2 a gram which means it can be rounded down to 0. That means a cup of splenda or stevia with maltodextrin in it has 24 carbs. for someone using a teaspoon here and there thats probably not a big deal, a teaspoon will have 1/2 a gram of carbs. I started drinking lemonade and tea by the gallon making it with splenda and that added up real fast, so I bought some pure sucralose. Sucralose is the actual sweetener in splenda without the maltodextrin, so instead of a cup of splenda with 24 carbs you use about 1/12 of a teaspoon to sweeten a gallon of lemonade. I bought this I got the 250 gram pack, its only about a cup, but its 600 times sweeter than sugar so its equivalent to about 330 lbs of sugar/splenda, so even a smaller package should last quite a while. it pairs well with these spoons its a set of tiny measuring spoons. drop= 1/64th tsp, smidgen= 1/32 tsp, pinch= 1/16 tsp, dash= 1/12 tsp, tad= 1/4 tsp, which works out roughly to the equivalent of 1/5 cup, 2/5 cup, 4/5 cup, 1 cup, and 3 1/8 cup of sweetener. you can also get pure stevia extract powder which is generally around 300 times sweeter than sugar, so about half as strong as sucralose, but it has a bit of a licorice taste. the sucralose tastes the same as splenda because it is the same sweetener, just no bulking agent to add carbs. I spent $39 on this 250 gram bag, sounds like a lot, but being the equivalent of 330 lbs of sweetener it works out to about $0.60 per 5lbs worth of sweetener, which is how much is in a standard bag of splenda.

This is one thing about crockpot cooking that you just have to learn to work around. It's due to the nature of the slow cooker. Over the long cooking period, foods like meat and vegetables give off a lot of water. Since the slow cooker is a closed environment, that water has no place to go -- any that evaporates or boils off just condenses on the lid and drips back in. To my mind, you have three choices.

1. Flavor the liquid. Use salt/pepper/spices to season the liquid so that it's palatable. When you see recipes that call for onion soup or powdered ranch dressing, that's the point. I don't like this approach because you almost never need that much liquid, and it takes a lot of seasoning to make that stuff taste good. I personally don't use seasoning packets or premade mixes.
   
   
2. Thicken the liquid. Using either tomato paste or cornstarch or a roux. Usually you would remove the meat and the vegetables and cook the liquid with the thickening agent until the desired consistency is reached. Season to taste. This is what you want if you're going for a gravy or a thick sauce.
   
   
3. Concentrate the liquid. Again, isolate the liquid from the solids but this time just bring it to a boil and let that flavor concentrate. (You may want to use a fat separator to reduce the amount of fat in the liquid depending on what you've cooked.) You may need to reduce the total volume by half or more. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use this method if you want an au jus or dipping sauce.
   
   Try playing around with these methods. The last two add a bit more work, but I think that you'll find the results are well worth it.

0.001g scales are not that much more expensive, like $10 extra on amazon. I'd recommend getting one of those for better accuracy. Here is one that's like $40 off right now

I found my regular cheap scale to not be accurate enough for small doses. Just picked this one up on Amazon and am pretty happy with it so far for the price...


Smart Weigh Premium High Precision Digital Milligram Scale with Case, Tweezers, Calibration Weights and Three Weighing Pans, 50 x 0.001grams https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011J88S8M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_T-1WDbMYFEFP4

> setup for oxygenating

I don't put a ton of weight on a special setup instead favoring starters as a better way of yeast health. A paint mixer or egg beaters would work too.

> a mill

I like my Cereal Killer for the 5 gal batches I run it through. Some like Monster Mills

>a scale for minerals

I like this one from amazon

>a sightglass for volume.

I use a tape measure.

If you don't feel like skimming, you can always invest in a fat separator. I don't use mine very often, but if you're roasting a huge turkey or a big pork roast or something it can be a really handy tool (especially if you like to save fat for cooking with later).

I like the Oxo Good Grips scales as they have a pull out display which is great if you're weighing your dry ingredients in a large bowl. They come in 5, 11 and 22 pound capacities. I'm doing this from my phone so not sure if this link to Amazon will work: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0020L6T7K/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1413597696&sr=8-2

A fat separator is just a cup that you can pour all the rendered juices that collect in the bottom of the foil when you use a crutch. It will separate the tasty juices from the liquid fat. The benefit of this is that you won’t have all the fat harden up once you refrigerate the pork. It will help keep your pork feeling moist without feeling greasy. Taste great too.

Here is the one I use

That's pretty nifty.

I have these. I assumed steel would have the best measurement characteristics.

I bought this kitchen scale, so I can measure meats and cheeses: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OSUIYG/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_QbyWtb1EWFBKG

I also use a set of measuring cups, you can pick them up super cheap at Wal-Mart, the dollar store, or if you want a nicer set you can go to TJMaxx

)

I've enjoyed using this "Smart Weigh Premium High Precision Digital Milligram Scale with Case, Tweezers, Calibration Weights and Three Weighing Pans, 50 x 0.001g" for about a year now. It drifted a bit at first but with fresh batteries and stabilized to room temperature it's all good. Was $45 but currently it's $34 at Amazon.

I paid $1 more than this and grabbed the Amazon Basics scale. Didn't calibrate it or validate it in any way but it always correlates well to published weights for gear so I am super happy with it.

I have two. This was the first one I bought last year. It still works great. It's scuffed up a bit, though.

I bought this to keep at work. It works pretty well too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01HCKQG7G/ref=sxts_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510420954&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

This is the scale I bought. It works great and it’s cheap. You never know how much Kratom you’re actually taking though because it can be packed tighter or loosely. So a scale is really the best way of knowing

I’ve always used something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002YTGIQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_YdUVDbK5WBVDV

The fat rises to the top, and you’re able to pour the soup out. Works well hot, but I can never find one large enough so multiple fills and pouring is necessary.

Also if you have any large objects, like meat or noodles, it won’t work if you put it in this device. So you’ll never get all the fat, but definitely most.

This one. I love it. WAY better than my gf's and you can easily swap the plastic bowl for a plate and still read the display.

I use this OXO and it is perfect because it has a metric conversion. They do make one for $30. And I use MFP as well and save the ingredients I use most often.

If you don't have one, a fat separator would be great for removing the surface fat. (I'm not endorsing this Oxo - haven't used it - but here's a link to one.)

Food looks awesome.

There is no exact conversion because you are trying to go from volume to weight. That said, one level, unpacked tsp is approx 2.5g.

Here is approx conversion cc to tsp

1 cc ~0.20 tsp
1tsp (level, unpacked) ~2.5g
0.20 x 2.5=0.5g

Like I said, that's for level, unpacked tsp. If you're packing it in, then it's more (obviously).

tl;dr: No way to know for sure. Best to get a scale.

Here are three good inexpensive ones.

$8 (0.1) https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-AWS-600-BLK-Nutrition/dp/B000O37TDO/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540322695&sr=1-5&keywords=pocket+scale

$11 (0.01) https://www.amazon.com/Weigh-Gram-Digital-Jewelry-Kitchen/dp/B06Y61YW7S/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540322695&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=pocket+scale&psc=1

$11 (0.01) https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-BL-100-BLK-Digital/dp/B002SVLB8E/ref=sr_1_8?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540322695&sr=1-8&keywords=pocket+scale

Kitchen Scale - Bakers Math Kitchen Scale - KD8000 Scale by My Weight, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VEKX35Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_NqHWBbPV4KD5V

I bought this one for several reasons. One is it runs off regular batteries, not a weird round one. Two, you can also purchase an AC adapter (I haven't, see point 1 lol) Third and favorite reason is you can adjust the auto shut off time. Great when you are making a recipe and measuring and stuff. My old scale was constantly shutting off before I could record the weight of something. This stays on for several minutes and is adjustable. I believe it also can measure in pretty small weights and has a protectable cover for the buttons if you do messy baking.

You actually don't want nearly as much forskolin as is in one of those. I emptied all the pills into the bottle and measure out about 80mg at a time, which is around 3.5mg forskolin. I make gelcaps out of it, but you can also put it in a small piece of toilet paper, put it in your mouth, and chug some water. It's called 'parachuting'. The artichoke, tyrosine, and theanine are all pretty small.

Some potentially helpful equipment:

American Weigh Gemini-20 Portable Milligram Scale, 20 by 0.001 G

Norpro 3080 Mini Measuring Spoons, 5 Piece Set

Cap-M-Quik capsule filler

One of my favorites.

/np/https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-4-Cup-Separator/dp/B0002YTGIQ

Just wish it came with a bottle-brush that could clean the spout. I bought a brush set and none fit as well as I'd like.

Alright, that we can work with, 20$ budget and no existing bar:

-only two tools are remotely important: shaker and jigger. The rest is pretty much irrelevant, and can be easily replaced with things you have at home. Even the jigger is fairly irrelevant, because it only needs to be precise to itself. Doesent matter if the 3cl mark is actually 3.2
So I'd recommend you take the 20$ and buy a decent shaker, and maybe a small one-sided jigger.


you don't really need a Hawthorne strainer and weird spoon an all that, to be honest i usually can't be bothered to use them when im making cocktails for myself and are not in a hurry. Those tools are made to speed things up at a bar, but aren't a necessity.


i recommend spending the money on ingredients rather than additional tools for now, if you find out you really like that particular kind of cocktail then you should develop the bar in that direction.

Yeah, baby potatoes vary in size quite a bit, so it's hard to say. Potatoes about this size are roughly 90 calories per 4 potatoes.

As far as a scale goes, any digital scale that can be tared (zeroed) is fine. I have this one and I have no complaints.

A food scale is great because, in addition to being more accurate, you save dishes. Rather than dirtying a cup or spoon to measure out your ingredients, you can just set your dish (or the dish you are serving from) on the scale and pour/spoon/whatever until you hit your desired serving.

One thing you can do is never measure anything below 50mg, use a tray or measuring paper and instead of tarring just write down the weight, then add what you need. For example if your tray is 75mg and you want to measure our 30mg then you add to a total of 105mg.

I've got this one which has a varience of about 2mg. It costs a little more than a gemini20 but I recommend it to all my friends.

I bought this one a couple of weeks ago and so far have really been liking it. And I love that it already has a bowl with it!

I recently posted asking purple the same thing and he said up to a year if stored correctly (airtight container in freezer). Yep, that's exactly what I do. I purchased a set of these mini measuring spoons: https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Measuring-Spoons-smidgen/dp/B0009X1P9S/ and determine which spoon size matches the desired dose for each compound (weigh it out a couple times). Measure out a dose using said spoon and throw it back with some water in my mouth. Works great.

Another good one Frank. If you do this often, I'd recommend getting one of these fat separators. You could pour the last few cups into this and then pour off the solids cleanly. Thanks for the information as always.

If you let the drippings sit for a minute, the fat will separate (as you noticed) and float. So next time, let it sit before you serve it, and skim off the fat with a spoon or ladle.

You can let it sit right in the roasting pan, then gently tip the pan so the juices collect in the corner. The deeper the pool, the deeper the fat and the easier it'll be to skim.

Or you can let it sit in a separate container, like a measuring cup or gravy separator (the latter has a spout that lets you pour from the bottom, leaving the fat behind).

Etekcity Digital Food Scale and Multifunction Kitchen Weight Scale with Removable Bowl, 11 lb 5kg https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3J9EGO?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

I’m happy with that one. I like that it comes with its own bowl as well.

https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Back-Lit-Accuracy-Stainless-Batteries/dp/B01HCKQG7G/ref=lp_289787_1_10/138-3694717-0321953?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1510158410&sr=1-10

11 bucks free shipping. Its a very accurate one, very happy with this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018LXSPEA/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1495117279&sr=8-8&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=postal+scale

I have this one. Super light. It may not be the most accurate scale on earth but I am pretty sure it more than accurate for this application.

Eyeballing electrolytes is guess work.

1. Get a scale that goes to the hundredths in grams (0.00g) https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0012LOQUQ/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_inactive_ship_o1_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
2. Get measuring spoons, I even got smaller ones like this for things like caffeine when I make my own preworkout. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0009X1P9S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
   
   
3. Some combination of table salt, lite salt, nu-salt and I get magnesium citrate powder for magnesium.
   
   
4. Mix 5000mg sodium, 500-1000mg potassium during the day with whatever you want, I just drink salt water in a 40oz water canister twice. Magnesium I take before I sleep as it relaxes muscles. Somewhere around 500mg.

What is the auto-fill and tamp feature like? Does it weigh out the dose? Does the machine tamp the espresso properly and is the coffee distribution even?

The best way to get consistent results for your setup (since you have a PID and temp surfing is not required) would be to weigh your dose prior to extraction and then to weigh your shot during extraction using a gram scale. This will help you determine the extraction ratio and whether you need to adjust your grind if your shots are sour (under-extracted) or bitter (over-extracted).

my food scale is one of the smallest things in my kitchen honestly. It was $15 and basically enabled me to make my bread, coffee, and baking in general a hell of a lot more consistent. I have a tiny kitchen too (and a girlfriend who likes everything put away in our even smaller cabinets), so I know what it's like to have minimal space, but the scale is not gonna break the bank and won't take up a lot of space. Here's the one I bought, I'd highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018LXSPEA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just think about it, it's worth having!

I used to have this one and I liked it mostly. It broke after about four years. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P1PJL4

Now I have this one and I can't speak to its longevity since I've only had it for about a month, but I like it better than the old one (and it's cheaper). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9EGO

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Multifunction-Measurement-Supported/dp/B00F3J9EGO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1484270627&sr=8-5&keywords=food+scale


I have used that one for a year now and I love it over most of the other cheap ones because it has a bowl to weigh stuff that's easy to wash as opposed to a flat permanently attached platform.

I use this https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Scale-Bakers-KD8000-Weight/dp/B00VEKX35Y

Can use it with batteries or plug in. Sit in my kitchen all the time but will use it to weigh other stuff. It also has a "Bakers Percentage" feature that is great, at some point you may want this.

I really like these. The magnet's nice for keeping them together in the drawer, but the real appeal is the two ends in different shapes. So if I'm baking and need a tablespoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of cinnamon, I can fit the skinny end into the cinnamon jar and have the fat end for vanilla. Wet and dry without having to wash in between. And Amazon says I ordered them five years ago, so good longevity with heavy use.

I've been happy with the AmazonBasics Kitchen Scale. Very cheap. :)

complete agree. i use this one, i like the form factor better than the one you posted just because the display is always visible.

don't need a fancy scale, although having a timer built in would be nice...

These where the greatest investment and a digital scale but you don't need as scale just go by the Palm and Hand size portion chart but I'm counting micros so I use a scale to narrow down.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYGAHR8/

​

Edit: scale https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F3J9EGO

Buy a scale - use it for most measuring, especially flour.

Buy 2 thermometers - one to leave in the oven and one instant read for testing done-ness.

Use Instant yeast.

Besides that - read alot about baking then practice and experiment. Try adjusting the water/flour amounts and see what works best for you.

Baking is an art... but it helps if you also know the science.

There have been some recommendations on this subreddit for hot water. I've taken it a step further and after dissolving it in the water, I add lemonade and some raspberry flavoring. It makes it way more tolerable. My dose today even tasted good!

I have Red Thai, Gold Bali, and Purple 8-1 so I'll weigh some packed level teaspoons for you when I get home to gauge your dose. Definitely get a gram scale though, makes a world of difference. I have these two:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06W5VXN53/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000O37TDO/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A cheap digital scale made a huge improvement in my consistency.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W5VXN53

As with most cheap chinese goods, quality control is hit or miss so check it against a known good scale. But both of mine have been extremely accurate when I tested them.

Almost all packaged foods have serving size both in "Standard" units (which vary - most things are by volume) and in metric, which is uniformly either ml or g.

My bet is you're eating more than you think.

Buy a little digital scale. I've been happy with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OSUIYG .

Weigh everything and track what you're eating.

For drinks, if you go with "1g = 1 ml" you'll be close enough, because that's true for water, and most drinks are mostly water.

I'm not sure how high my scale goes since I didn't buy it, but it weighs my 800+ gram bp just fine.

It looks a lot like this one, which says it goes up to 2 kg. Females usually top out at 2 kg.

Doses can be really hard to eyeball and you can easily not take enough or do more than you want to do. Here's the one I got, it's cheap and it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W5VXN53/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon link

It was $12, now I can have nachos guilt free. The best investment I've made in this journey.

I use an oil separator pretty successfully on other recipes.

It's definitely worth getting a kitchen scale. There are small avocados and big ones, so going by ounces is much safer.

I have a 2 oz measuring cup from Oxo and it's perfect for measuring oils. I can clearly see up to half an ounce.

This scale

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002SVLB8E/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1422644813&sr=8-2&dpPl=1&dpID=31A-9YxUeuL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

This vacuum sealer

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008HMWC4A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1422644913&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=31r34tHcj1L&ref=plSrch

I think they are both a good value. I had one bag that the seal didn't hold but other than that I would recommend them.

4.99 with free shipping It's a jigger, make repeatably good cocktails for the rest of your life.

No problem! If absolute least expensive isn't an issue, consider how you might use it. Might you get into other supplements? Then consider goijg for higher precision. Do you want to weigh kilos you order without having to split it up? Then consider maximum capacity. Do you anticipate doing trades, sales, or rebagging anything? Then consider looking for one with a AC adapter that keeps the power from timing out. It is a huge pain in the ass to have to constantly turn it back on during the course of a project. I use two - this 3000g x 0.1 came with the husband and this200g x 0.01. The smaller one is an ascher elite brand but I see no difference between the Ascher and the American Weigh brand. I also just bought this one because it looks more funner. I have given that smaller one and this one to different people based on what's less expensive at the time and everyone seems happy with it.

this would be a pretty good investment for the future.

Yeah, I'd recommend this scale here, it's really cheap and super accurate for weighing out anything less than 20g. I also use it to weigh out my bud pickups and make sure I didn't get ripped off. Just use an index card as weigh paper and you're set.

Edit- also, a large part of what makes the salvia trip "good" or "bad" for me is set/setting. I turn the lighting low, turn on some quiet, peaceful music, and block the door and windows in my room so I can't leave while I'm tripping. I also trip alone, because I find doing it with other people around usually makes it bad.

Edit 2- also, it would be super weird if I were tripping without a shirt around other people. Another reason to barricade yourself in and take a short visit down the rabbit hole alone.

1. What is a Turkish-style long pour?...I truly want to know and would love a link.
   
   
2. You would benefit immensely from a cheap scale. You can find a cheaper one, but this is very similar to the one I use.

Eat what you like and log the calories. You can eat mayo, butter, and sweets and still lose weight. You just need to count the calories and ensure that on average you're at a calorie deficit. If you haven't already, read the Quick Start Guide, FAQ, Join MFP, and buy a cheap food scale from Amazon.

I wouldn't stress about macros for now. The only one I pay much attention to is protein because I feel less hungry throughout the day if I eat protein. Oil is fine, as long as it fits into your daily calories. Soy sauce is fine, unless you need to be on a low sodium diet for health reasons (hypertension, CHF, etc). You can eat anything you want as long as you count it in your calories.

yeah, theres a device thats used to seperate fat from drippings. it looks like this.

what i do is, i pour the hot (but not boiling) gravy into a zip lock freezer bag. then i "hang" the bag in the fridge. you dont want it to keep getting jostled, you just want it to remain exactly upright and stretched out. this basically amounted to hanging it off of one shelf and weighing it down with a gallon of milk.

the fat goes up, the gravy goes down. then you cut a corner off of the bag and let the gravy portion pour out, and pinch it shut/tip it when the fat gets to the bottom.

you can use it the same way you use bacon fat. also, in ramen and other soups, you can take a tsp or so of it and mix it into 1 cup of soup for some added richness and flavor.

NOBODY can give you an estimate as to whether the amount you think is in there is actually in there or not.

It's especially impossible given that not only is it photographed from just one side so we can't see the entirety of the physical volume, but that physical volume is comprised of mixed shake and nugs, which again, we can't verify the weight of not knowing the amount of each and their respective volumes.

You can only verify for sure by use of a gram scale, preferably a .00 scale , otherwise you're just wasting money and being a noob, buy a .oo scale , any other scale for measuring grams is worthless.

You don't have to get all crazy and get a .000 scale, .00 is just fine.

Here is a great .00 scale made by American Weigh, I personally recommend it.

I use that exact scale to weigh out Guarana seed powder, Maca powder, Elderberry Extract powder, pennies, and other things, and it's always spot on.

I use this scale for baking! I really recommend it. I like that I can put a bowl or plate on the scale and still be able to see the what the weight is.

these are the two measuring devices I use for whiskey. A more aesthetically pleasing stainless steel jigger that works fine. And the one I actually use 90% of the time 2 oz plastic measuring cup

I have a $10 "drug dealer" jeweler / gram scale that claims 0.01g accuracy. It has worked well enough. I'm sure you can spend more and get something that is more tightly calibrated.

​

It wasn't this unit, but it looked exactly like this unit: https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Upgraded-500g-0-01g-Stainless-Batteries/dp/B01HCKQG7G/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=gram+scale&qid=1574276922&sr=8-6

I ordered these from amazon and they work great for various vapes

To be honest I'm not sure what cool features you'd expect to find in a food scale?

To me the basic requirement is that I can switch units (which I think every single one offers anyway). I have this one.

I think some devices are better off left simple without any extra 'techy' things.

Unless you are looking to look fancy don't waste your money. Just go to amazon/walmart and find a shaker tin, all-in-one "jigger", and a pint glass from your local cabinet. That is really all you need to get started.

If you want to add on some stuff just to make life easier you can get a bar spoon, muddler, strainer, fine strainer (get rid of those ugly ice bits), and a citrus juicer.

Save your money for alcohol to make more drinks!

Nope, but you can use it to see how many calories are in each ingredient in a meal you make is/how much you are consuming. (I weigh my avocados out to get a rough idea, as well as note the type so I can find accurate results on MyFittnesspal). You will need to do some math after, but it works well for me. Also, protein shakes will be required to reach that goal, so I suggest investing in a type of shake that you think tastes good and doesn't make you fart yourself to death.
EDIT: Here is a good, cheap scale that I use

I just like it because it's kinda cute, but doesn't scream DRUGS.

I bought these based on the comments (clearly there are for drugs, but the comments were worth the $5):

https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Stainless-Measuring-Spoons-smidgen/dp/B0009X1P9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481858636&sr=8-1&keywords=spoons+tad

I've been happy with this guy (and I see I'm the 3rd person to post it): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012LOQUQ/

I've seen a lot of other people post pics with this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002SVLB8E/

Just watch the specs when you order, those above measure max 100 grams, and are precise to 0.01g. There are models that look identical but have different specs. This one looks like #1 above but does 1000 grams x 0.1g, so less precision, but can weigh more at once.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-Digital-Pocket/dp/B002SC3LLS/

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Multifunction-Kitchen-Removable/dp/B00F3J9EGO/ref=sr_1_2?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1502312305&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=kitchen+scale&psc=1

Get something like this. 11lbs max is not big deal if you are doing 5 gallon batches. If you need more than 11lbs you can just do it piece wise. Ditch the tray it comes with and get a large cheap kitchen bowl to use as a tray instead.

Jumping on the "scale" train.

I have a cookbook/textbook called "The Food Lab" by J. Kenji Lopez. In it he has several people measure out flour by volume in order to make a pizza. None of them were the same by weight and there was some serious differences between them.

Baking relies a lot on proportions for ingredients and a scale is important to make the right measurements.

I have This one and it works great for measuring baking ingredients because of the bowl. But most will work as long as it measures in 1 gram increments.

I got a kitchen scale:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000P1PJL4/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has a switch on the bottom to toggle between grams or ounces.

I like it because it has a bowl you can set them in. :)

I bought this one for 10.99, works great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013WU0CZW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought a https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B013WU0CZW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . It's accurate and repeatable. Though I noticed 2-3g deviation on a point load (1kg) when moved from centre. I can't testify to its usefulness in a kitchen. I use it for weighing refillable cylinders so I'm typically looking at 1lb - 3lb and only care about a 10g accuracy.

A quick test: 1 us quarter weighs at 6g, 2 us quarters weight at 12g and is repeatable.

You can get a fat/gravy separator. It looks like a measuring cup with a spout. Here's one for $15: OXO Good Grips 4-Cup Fat Separator

I recommend purchasing this scale.

OXO Good Grips 5 Lb Food Scale with Pull-Out Display https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0020L6T7K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_VM1rDbWQQ4V8Y

I use this one at work, and this one at home. Both work great and both use regular (not watch/button cell) batteries!

i got an ozeri scale off of amazon. Cheap, digital, pretty precise, however only accurate to 2 grams. so dont think you can get accurate enough gram measurements for yeast/salt/small ingredients.

it measures in ounces as well, and can be tared.

Slurpee straw bro. That easy.

Or if you want to get exact, which you should:

Get a mg scale from Amazon for $20. http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Weigh-GEM20-Precision-Milligram/dp/B00ESHDGOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414190633&sr=8-1&keywords=milligram+scale

http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-3080-Stainless-Measuring-smidgen/dp/B0009X1P9S/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_y

Edit: dafuq did I get down voted for?

Lesson here -- find the PERFECT spot to put your scale and DON'T move it. I was so frustrated with the $20 Walmart scales that I bought a Withings scale (totally a splurge, my husband thinks it's ridiculous but indulges me). Anyway, by the reviews I thought I'd be golden and get to avoid the all of the cheaper scale issues....

Nope. I moved the damn thing from the bedroom to bathroom and it weighed me TEN! pounds heavier. I had been weighing myself daily and losing quickly on whole30 so it was irksome to lose all of my weight loss badges.

I concur that you should get good tools. A tape measure is cheap, amazon has good food scales. I bought this one to replace a previous flat one I had: http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Digital-Kitchen-Stainless-Temperature/dp/B00UIVIXVO/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1458486534&sr=1-6&keywords=etekcity+scale I like the bowl feature and it looks nice on the countertop. Weighing my food I feel is more accurate than most measuring. Logging on MFP has really helped me learn calorie counts. For instance a bun is around 120cals and the same as a lower cal turkey burger.. so I could have a turkey burger with bun or have 2 turkey burgers with lettuce. I go for lettuce wraps.