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Wow, I could have written this. I'm down 54 lbs as of this morning (220 to 166).

First, please check out r/loseit. There are wonderful people over there who absolutely excel at providing advice and support much better than me. You'll see thousands of stories of people just like you (and me) who have been where you are and who are still where you are.

As others have said, motivation fades and sheer determination is what will pull you through. Just take one small step every day. Today, just read a little on r/loseit. Next week, google TDEE and write down what you eat without trying to restrict.

Also - No zero days

You've got this and people are here to help!

EDIT: OK, now I'm on a computer and can type for real. I'm 35, female, 5' 5" tall (or 1.67 meters) and weighed 158 lbs at 10 yrs old. I've been there. I've been depressed. I've felt worthless. I won't pretend to understand exactly what you're going through, but I think I can relate.

First, let me say congrats on taking a step by posting here. You know you want to change and that's the first thing you have to do - make a decision. The second step is much harder...actually taking the step. You can plan forever and feel like you've accomplished something, but planning doesn't count without action.

Before I type out actual weight-loss advice. I want you to check on one thing - your medication. I'm absolutely not saying you need to go back on it, but please take a hard look at going off and if what you're feeling is related to that. Please, make sure you're working with a doctor to change/go off your medication. You may still be "coming down" from it. I truly don't know the specifics of these things, but I've seen the effects. I've seen too many people go off their medication because they "feel fine" not realizing that it's the medication that creating that feeling. Talk to your doctor, (s)he may say it's normal, maybe you need to try something different, maybe you don't need them any more, but please please please put some hard, rational thought into it. OK PSA over.

I know you're looking for motivation, but motivation fades. And it's not even determination that keeps you going. It's habit, making something so common, so boring, so regular that it feels weird to not be doing it. Measure your food (e.g., servings) until anything more than one serving that looks weird. Walk 15 minutes everyday at 4:45 PM until going a day without it feels weird. By the way, it took me maybe 3 months of dedication for these things to become habit. Make a chart. Do your habits 3 days next week. 4 days the week after that. Work up to 6 or 7. Give yourself gold stars. (No zero days...)

Ok, some concrete things. I'm going to offer a few universal pieces of advice, followed by a few things that worked for me. Take everything with a grain of salt. If I've learned anything, it's that everyone needs to figure out what works for them.

• Small steps - Please don't go from 2500 calories a day to 1200. You'll fail by dinner. This week, just weigh/measure and write down what you eat and look up the calories. Don't try to cut anything out yet. You need to get a baseline. Maybe all you need to do is cut out the daily Starbucks. Maybe you eat healthy, but too much - cut each serving by 1/4 cups. You won't know unless you figure out where to start.
  
• Don't set an "all or nothing" attitude - I'M NEVER EATING SUGAR AGAIN!!! The quickest way to get a stubborn asshole like me to do something (i.e., eat sugar) is to tell me I can't do it. I feel this is a universal issue.
  
• CICO - aka Calories in vs. calories out. This is the weight-loss guiding principle. Google and read about total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). The amount of calories you burn in a day. Using 5'5", 21 yrs old, and "sedentary lifestyle" you burn about 2,100 calories by simply sitting on the couch and breathing. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you burn (calories in vs. calories out - CICO). Period. That's it. A 500 calorie deficit per day = 1 lb lost per week. If you want to eat more, you're going to have to move more. I eat about 1800-2200 calories per day, but I make sure I move a lot too. If I didn't want to exercise so much, I would have to eat less.
  
• Be prepared - Have healthy snacks on hand. Have water on you at all times. Know when you're going to a party and may over-indulge (and that's ok). EXPECT THE SCALE TO GO UP AND DOWN. Get your mindset around that now. You will probably drop up to 5 lbs the first week you really go hard at this. That rate won't last, be mentally prepared for that. Here's my daily weigh-ins. Be mentally prepared to gain. lose, and plateau.
  
• Stick to it - This is the single most important thing you can do. You fucked up yesterday. It's going to happen. Ate a bowl of brownie batter crying alone in your bed with your cat while watching old Friends re-runs? (My husband is a lucky man). Ok. But this is something you're going to have to fight for a long time. It can't be all or nothing (see above). You have to find a way to pick yourself up and try again. So many times I've said, "well, fuck it. I ate the brownie batter yesterday. What's the point? Might as well just quit. But if you're in this for the long haul, the concept of giving up doesn't make sense. Give up what? My treadmill habit? What's the point.
  
  Ok some specifics that worked for me.
  
  
• Daily weigh-ins - most people will tell you to weigh yourself weekly or monthly. However, after doing that for years, I would always get discouraged when my weekly weight was higher. I started doing daily weigh-ins and learned to embrace the ups and downs. When you pull back on a year's worth of work it puts everything into perspective. It also helped keep me focused. 2 days up meant suck it up buttercup and put down the peanut buttercup.
  
• Take a few before pictures - Take more photos every 10 lbs you lose. I saw results in the photos before I saw them in the mirror.
  
• No cheats, just treats - There is no "off limit" food for me. I pretty much eat what I want. Having said that, what I want is to lose weight and what I want to eat is food that will help me do it. I have my treats, but maybe one cookie, not 12. We're going out to dinner tonight so I'm having a light lunch. I'm not "doing" Keto, paleo, vegan, whole30, weight watchers, Facebook milkshake diet. Props to those of you who do, but to me, those are not permanent. And anything that I "go off of" when I'm "done" = massive weight gain post-"diet" in my world.
  
• Pick a tracker (MyFitnessPal, FitBit, SparkPeople, excel, whatever) - Most people use MyFitnessPal to track food and weight. I use a combination of SparkPeople, Fitbit, and excel. I like excel. I'm both fat and a nerd (my husband is a lucky guy). Make tracking a habit. If you miss a day, start again tomorrow, MyFitnessPal doesn't care. I get excited to update my spreadsheet. Hell, I'll send it to you if you want (PM me).
  
• Start at home - It can be daunting starting something new, luckily we live in the internet age. No one cares if you can't do a 30-min YouTube work out in your basement. No one has to know. People get intimidated by the gym - I was. I still don't go to a gym. But there are millions of workout resources online. You don't need equipment or training or cute workout clothes. You just need 3-4 days per week to form a habit.
  
  I've become addicted to seeing results and, frankly, it's kinda fun at this point. People notice. I get compliments. I feel proud. You can do this.
  
  Today is Sunday. Pick one of these things and implement it tomorrow. Download MyFitnessPal. Buy a food scale. Set up a spreadsheet. Take your before photo. Or at least read No Zero Days.
  
  Hope this helps!
  
  EDIT 2: Several people have asked me for my spreadsheet, so here it is. I'm not going to lock cells so people can edit it as they like, but the idea is that you only type in the pink cells. I filled in the first row as an example. Everything else will fill in automatically. You'll need to fill in your goal too if you want it to appear on the table.
  
  It's up to you to track calories in and out. Like I said, I use my FitBit for this . I also have a cheap fat monitor and started tracking that when I started HIIT workouts and the weight loss slowed. Anyway, add columns, delete those you don't need, and most importantly keep with it!

I'm going to third Taking Charge of Your Fertility and also the subreddit /r/tryingforababy has some great info.

I wish your doctor would have explained that to you more thoroughly because it takes a long time to get a handle on what this all means.

If you're still worried, ask for a referral to a reproductive endocrinologist for testing. This is expensive and so I wouldn't consider it the first course of action.

Basal Body Temperature

Spend at least one cycle taking your temperature with a basal body thermometer (they're more sensitive to slight temperature fluctuations) at the same exact time, every morning before you even get out of bed. It's very important that it's done upon waking without getting up for at least 3 hours prior.


Chart this temperature for a whole cycle (if you ovulate, it wouldn't be unusual to see the temperature spike several tenths of a degree around days 14, 15, or sometimes even 16. It should then stay up for two weeks (use the first day it spiked as ovulation day and you can predict your period should come exactly 14 to 15 days afterward.) Were you to get pregnant it would have been due to sex three days before up to one day after ovulation day. If you're pregnant, your temperature will stay up past the two week mark. Then you would want to take a pregnancy test.

Some women chart their Basal Body Temperature, or BBT, on paper, but many use FertilityFriend.com. It's free and extremely helpful in visualizing what your cycle is up to.


Ovulation Predictor Kits, or LH Surge Predicting

Your LH hormone surge is what tells your body to release an egg. Test with urine (preferably after not drinking water for two hours before you test, which sucks) with these - most women use them and they're cheap and effective. Did I mention cheap? The directions are on the packaging but the test line needs to be as dark or darker than the control line. The best time of day to test is anywhere from 11am to 3pm. That's when your surge should show up in urine.


Cervical Mucus

Another great way to see if you're ovulating is to monitor your cervical mucus. Here's a great website explanation of the different consistencies you should watch for. Basically, if it's super slippery, stretchy and wet/clear, like egg whites, it's go time. Think of it this way: if you were a little sperm, what would be easiest to swim through? The stuff that's already like semen. Wet, slippery, etc. Not dry, not like hand lotion, and definitely not sticky/pasty/thick.


Finally,

If none of these signs point to ovulation, then I would see a specialist. If you seem to ovulate but still aren't getting pregnant, it could be your tubes or your uterus creating an issue. For all else, the ladies at /r/tryingforababy are great with answering questions, too.

Welcome! However, I don't want you here ;) - we don't want to be here either, so I hope you're going to be okay and won't need to come back to this sometimes sad place. Good luck.



Edit: Also, the good news is your age - the sooner you learn what's going on, the better, because your body is still so young!

Hey! Congrats on deciding to make a lifestyle change. I just did, too! About to finish week 2 of keto. I’ve lost weight already and feel really great about it! I haven’t followed a specific meal plan, but I have mapped out my grocery lists and stopped eating out at restaurants and strictly cooking my own food, with the exception of 1-2 meals at my restaurant job that I work several shifts a week at. This really helps me count my carbs and calories in the really helpful app Carb Manager.

I feel less bloated without gluten! It’s awesome. I made my first fathead pizza last night with my coworker and friend who went keto too! Having someone else who is willing to undergo the change with me has been more than helpful, especially since my spouse is still eating carbs and sugar in the same apartment as me!

Things that have helped me so far:
-buying a great food scale

-buying an awesome body weight and body fat scale ...this scale comes with an app that shows me statistics like bone density, water weight, body fat %, and weight. It also tracks my progress, shows me healthy/normal levels and percentiles, and more. I really like it. Almost as much as I like watching my weight decrease every few days from keto.

-having a friend or two who are new to keto as well. They have recommended different products to me like:

1. Skinny girl sweetner
   
2. Fiber supplements for when the cheese hits you hard
   
3. Tape measurers (simple and common item that won’t deceive you like the scale often can!)
   
   Personal mantras I remind myself to continue keto in a healthy way:
   -don’t obsess over the scale. NSV pop up daily and they’re sometimes even better than watching the number on the scale drop. It’s not healthy to let your mood rely on scale results. Once a week is enough moderation in terms of weighing yourself. (I’m struggling hard with following this direction myself)
   
   -make sure you hit your protein quotas! They’re important. You need protein for muscles, and so much more.
   
   -try not to eat sweets at all for the first few weeks. You need to give your body time to stop craving sugar (and it will happen!)
   
   -drink a fuck ton of water. It will help you feel less full at first, and you need it especially to keep healthy while your body transitions from eating carbs to eating fat. Water is your new bff.
   
   -listen to your body. Eat when you’re hungry. If you’re hungry, eat. Don’t starve yourself, you will begin to feel less hungry as you continue on tho. If your eat something that’s keto friendly, but it makes you feel funky, try to feel out different options. You want to feel your best in order to keep up the inspiration to continue!
   
   -last but not least: TAKE PROGRESS PICS!!! I lurk this sub/weight loss subs constantly and I always see ppl talk about regretting not taking more before pics! Once they reach the time to take after shots, they really wish they had a lot more to compare them to!
   
   Hope this helps :)
   

A good place to get started is by watching videos on YouTube. There are several 25+ minute long videos of people disassembling, servicing, and reassembling pocket watches. Once you have watched some videos, then you can start google searching about watch repair for more information. Things such as how to properly oil a watch. The names of different components, how to put a watch "in beat", etc. The message boards at NAWCC.com are a GREAT help. Read, read, read. Study. If after you do this and still want to get into the hobby then read further. I have to note that you must be mechanically adept to do this. You'll need to be able to observe a mechanism and deduce exactly how it works. This is how you solve a problem that a timepiece may have.

Honestly, a lot of the "Getting started" guides out there recommend spending thousands of dollars on tools. 30 dollars for one single screwdriver, 300 dollars for this, that, etc. If you're wealthy, then go for it! The expensive tools are great, but it's not necessary to service movements that are worth less than a couple hundred bucks for hobby. I'm very financially poor, so I had to shop around for the least expensive tools I could find. Here are some of the tools I use. I did purchase them from amazon. You won't be able to do all repairs with these tools. There are repairs that will be a bit out of reach, such as balance staff replacement and component fabrications.

1)Screwdriver set. I get a ton of use out of these. They're Chinese made, but they work perfectly fine. Definitely a must.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JPXW0N8/

2) Magnifying eyeglasses. LED illuminated. I cannot live without mine, it really works great and takes regular AAA batteries. Human hands are capable of very fine motor movements, what limits us is our eyes. Watchmaking requires steady hands, and for that you'll need to see up close.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCODIA/

3)Movement holder. This is self explanatory.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005URKGDO/

4)Brass tweezers. You will need these to insert screws for installation, various pins, etc. Brass is a softer metal, and thus makes it less prone to scratch/damage steel parts such as the threads of screws. Learning to use tweezers can be quite difficult at first. You need to be very light fingered with them. Too much pressure, and your teeny tiny screw/pin/jewel will go flying across the room never to be seen again. Too little pressure, and you will drop the component. It takes practice.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RB7C5I/

5)Hand remover. Self explanatory.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I02NW82/

6)Watch oil. I use this Liberty brand oil. Seems to do the job just fine, and it's affordable.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CM19L5K/

7) Dremel. Harbor Freight sells a knockoff brand dremel for something like 10 bucks. It comes with several attachments. I mostly use mine for buffing cases.

8) Jewelry pliers. They sell these in craft stores and such. Basically a pair of needle nose pliers without teeth on them, they just have smooth round points. These come in handy for removing pins and canon pinions and such that the brass tweezers cannot remove.

9) Several clean cotton cloths. I buy mine at the automotive department in walmart.

10) Goof-Off cleaning solution and a toothbrush. Goof-Off contains a mixture of acetone and xylene. This works great for removing old oil, gunk, and dirt.

11) Toothpicks and a sharp knife. Wood toothpicks work great for pegging/cleaning out jewels and pivots. Sharpen the tip of a toothpick, insert it in said jewel, spin it around a bit, it'll come out gray. Then clean with the chemical solution.

Now you'll want a watch or two to work on. I highly recommend sticking with an 18 size or 16 size movement at first. Larger parts and such makes it easier. You'll be able to find them on eBay. Generally I can find good size 18 movements for 30 to 50 dollars. Sometimes it's a good idea to buy a watch that already runs, but needs fully disassembled and cleaned. That 1898 Hampden 18s 11j in my photo album? I paid $30 for it in an eBay auction. It needed fully disassembled, cleaned, lubricated, mainspring replacement, and the balance put in beat. I knew that if it had a problem which I could not cheaply repair then I could simply resell it and get my $30 or more back. Often times you'll be able to buy entire lots of uncased scrap movements for less than 50 dollars. Having a lot of scrap parts movements around comes very much in handy. Stay away from watches with broken balance staffs for now. If you buy a broken watch that cannot be repaired cheaply, simply resell it on eBay.

Take A LOT of photos while you tear down a watch! Before you start removing screws, take photos on your cell phone. This will help immensely with reassembly.

That's all I can think of now. Getting a bit sleepy so I'm sure I'll think up some more advice tomorrow. I hope watchmaking is still enticing to you after watching some youtube videos, it really is a most rewarding hobby.

very nice work on it, im building a near strait build of this same kit and am still finishing up the finer details on the weapons as i got most of the rest of it done. i am just really waiting on my MR. metallics paints i order to get here so i can finish blade as i want to make it into a black blade.

the line work is very nicely done on this mama mobile suit (after all Amida is a mother/hot mom/ word not appropriate for a discussion form that children may see.) what did you use to make them as i use this badass TAMIYA 87154 Tamiya HG Pointed Brush Extra Fine.

after having several problems doing lines with a gundam marker getting clogged up (i did not know you should top coat it first if you paint the kit, and at 29 years of age i was around for the first golden age of mecha kits in the united states, and how i miss those yea it was my first time lining, and i had built around 30 gunpla kits in that golden age and proceeded to break them, repeatedly playing with them but i was between the a immature 13-15 year old at the time. i had also built about 7ish zoid models under my belt as i dont quite remember what ones i had aside form liger zero X and the command wolf.

my gundam gusion rebake test colors was my first time lineing the kit and i didn not know you were supos to topcoat once before doing the lines with a GM(i am just getting a bit of irony form this) so ireally messed up the markers i was using. then i whent and used a gundam brush type marker on a straite build kit i had done and did not like how it turned and i had already bought this bad boyTAMIYA 87154 Tamiya HG Pointed Brush Extra Fine and if it was not both sacrilegious and against my religion i was religion i would paint this brush gold, mount it on an raised stone alter. i would then worship it as if it was the eternal god itself, i would bring animal sacrifices to it as well. but i am being a bit goofy cause my sleep meds are kicking in so i will need to retire soon but i want to finish my critique of your work..

you did a great job posing the you matched the box perfectly and i love the little stand you created for it. what did you use for a top coat? i am planing on looking into more kinds of coating to go with my mettle finish (i like my gundams to be so shiney they blind the enemy as the sun glints off them.

hears a few tips for your next strait build:
first off you should invest in a small amount atleast gold sliver and black paint, with any other color you happen to like. the silver is for the edge of the blade weapons. gold is nice to have around as you can paint the yellow plastics some kits have with it to give it better look the using just using the plastic. you really need to prime these parts first if you paint them, but if your painting the howl kit its a good idea to use primer first. as for the black well you can use it with the god of detail brush i have been talking about in this review
to get great lines on pritty much any kit. but it also serves a more intresting perpose. insted of useing the eye stickers you first paint the eyes black, then using what ever color you prefer that day paint in the eyes, however this does require a magnification device to really do this technique well. i recamend using a head magnafire as you dont have to be carful of bumbing magnafing glass as you work. this is the one i use http://smile.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multi-Power-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00


if you end up buying this style i strongly recamend wearing a banana around your head for comfort reasons. magnification also makes doing lines easier.
sorry thins got goofy i cant wait to see what you do next.

To give you a more detailed answer, here's what you'll need:

• A soldering iron, like this one
  
  
• CR2032 battery holders (I've used [these] (https://m.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-Plastic-CR2032-CR2025-Cell-Button-Lithium-SMD-Lead-Battery-Socket-Holder-/111611684009) successfully in the past)
  
  
• CR2032 batteries (you can find these at just about any grocery store)
  
  
• A 3.8mm Gamebit bit or screwdriver depending on what you already have
  
  
• Some good heat resistant gloves probably
  
  
• Not required (I've so far done all of my own replacements without this) but definitely helpful: a "helping hand" like this one
  
  
• Patience
  
  If you're at all worried about doing this, I can tell you that, having no prior experience to soldering, I've successfully replaced batteries on 8 of my own carts without damaging any of them. You can do it!
  
  

1. Start by taking the two 3.8mm Gamebit screws out of the front of the cartridge and removing the plastic shell. Since you have the board out, now would also be a good time to clean it and the plastic. Use soap and water on the plastic (letting it dry thoroughly) and isopropyl alcohol on the board's gold contracts (where it plugs in).
   
   
2. Heat up your soldering iron by just plugging it in, resting it on its stand, and leaving it for a few minutes. IT WILL GET VERY HOT, DON'T TOUCH IT. To test if it's hot enough, just put your hand near it. You should be able to feel the heat coming off it if it's warm enough.
   
   
3. Begin removing the old battery. Locate it on the board, then find the two corresponding points on the back of the board where it connects. Also, take note of the polarity of the connections; the tab that runs from the top of the battery down is the positive end, the bottom is the negative. Start heating one of the contacts while pulling up on the battery away from the board (this is where those gloves and helping hand come in handy) Once you've got one end out, go for the other one.
   
   
4. Take your battery holder and (if you're buying the ones I linked) bend the tabs so they're perpendicular to the holder itself. I used tweezers to do this. Be careful not to bend too much, or you may snap the metal tab off! (I've done that more than once...) Once you've done that place a fresh battery in the holder
   
   
5. Now comes the hard part: putting the new battery holder in. Remember the orientation the old battery went it, and orient the new one in the same fashion. If you forgot how the old one went in, the two tabs are actually different sizes, so you shouldn't be able to put it in the holes if you've got wrong. Proceed to heat the solder under one of the tabs until it flows again and slide the tab into it. You may have to alternate back and forth to get it in fully, but by the end the holder should sit flush against against the board
   
   
6. Place the board back into the plastic and screw the screws back in. One note about bigger boards (like the Yoshi's island cart you have): some plastic pieces may interfere with the board when you put it back in. One thing you could consider doing to remedy this is using a file to scrape away some of that plastic if you don't mind doing that to a cart or (preferably) the holder. Also something to note, Yoshi's Island and other Super FX carts have metal tabs on the plastic of the cartridge that act as a ground by touching the outside of the cartridge slot. If this isn't placed back properly, your cartridge may not boot, so that's one thing to check if that's the case after reassembly. Now, congratulate yourself. You've done it! Give yourself a pat on the back and get back to gaming. Good luck with 100%! :)

I have done natural cycle (so timed with OPKs, no monitoring/meds) IUI using frozen donor sperm! In my case, it's because I'm a woman married to a woman.

I started off using the cheaper OPKs that you can get online (a lot of people here use Wondfo, I happened to use Easy@Home). Those are nice because you can buy a ton of them for not much money. A lot of people tend to use them twice a day, and I did at first as well, but I quickly learned that I pretty much can only catch my LH surge between 4-6pm. Most people tend to surge in the late afternoon-early evening, but that's not always the case.

If you aren't comfortable with trying to interpret the cheaper OPKs (determining if the test line is the same color or darker than the control), then I highly recommend the Clearblue Digital OPK (specifically NOT the advanced version - that one will give you a bigger fertile window range which is not important/helpful when timing IUI). When you are having your LH surge, you get a smiley face. Simple but definitely much more expensive.

I definitely recommend supplementing the OPKs with temping. You can use a Mabis or any other basal body thermometer to take your temperature daily first thing in the morning and then put those numbers into a TTC app such as Fertility Friend. It won't tell you when you're ovulating before it happens, but it will tell you after the fact and then you will know if your IUI timing was good or not.

Also, you should check out the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It will give you a lot more information on charting and helping you to pinpoint your ovulation day.

I hope that helps a bit! Please feel free to ask me any other questions 🙂

I know it's hard to do but I really suggest ignoring the scale because weight by itself is useless as a measure of body fat. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger weighed around 235 lbs in contest condition which would put him in the obese category according to standard weight charts even though his body fat was around 8% during competitions. BMI is similarly misleading as a measure of body fat because it also completely fails to take into account how weight is distributed between muscle and body fat. (Schwarzenegger's BMI was around 30% when he was in contest condition, which again puts him in the obese range.)

In other words, what you are really concerned about is not your weight per se but what percent of your weight is body fat. The simplest way to track body fat percentage is to just keep track of how your clothes are fitting, for example, is it becoming easier to button your pants, is bending over in pants that were tight before becoming easier and more comfortable, etc. You can also take photos of yourself in the mirror every two weeks or so in shorts and a crop t-shirt or sports bra to assess your fat mass loss. A simple tailor's measuring tape, e.g, this one from Amazon, can also be used to track belly fat (be careful to use the same location and tape tension/tightness each time).

If you want to be more precise about tracking your body fat %, you can try skinfold calipers, for example, these from Amazon are a bit over $6 and will be perfectly adequate for your purposes. Read the instructions thoroughly, practice a bit so you get the hang of using them, then use them every week or two.

Aside from checking how your clothes fit, try to limit yourself to using whatever other method(s) you use to track fat mass loss to once every week or two because day-to-day changes just aren't going to be measurable. Also keep in mind that it is common for people to gain muscle on a higher protein diet even without trying to do so. This is especially likely to happen if the prior diet was protein-deficient. As a result, weight gain doesn't necessarily mean an increase in fat mass, indeed, it could actually represent increased muscle mass which is a good thing. Again, ask yourself how your clothes are fitting, do you feel stronger and have more energy and stamina?

Anyway, I hope this is useful. Congratulations on getting off the antidepressant and good luck to you.

Hey girl! Congrats on losing the first 50lb! That's amazing!! Here are some notes for you, based on your post:

1. You cannot target any part of your body for fat loss. Carb cycling is no more helpful than any other method of weight loss in terms of reducing belly fat. Genetics is the only factor that determines where you will lose fat first, which, unfortunately, we have no control over.
   
   
2. In order to get a flat stomach, you will need to drop your total body fat %, and not necessarily your weight. (Many women actually end up gaining weight to get a flatter stomach, believe it or not!) This is because muscle weighs more than fat, meaning that 1 lb of fat takes up a lot more space (volume) than 1 lb of muscle. Because of this, I would highly recommend you stop weighing yourself. You can buy a BF% scanner on amazon for $30 if you want to track your numbers, but honestly, the best way to judge your progress is to take photos and go by how your clothes fit.
   
   
3. Diet is 80%. Exercise is 20%. Yes, I would recommend lifting heavy, and starting a workout program (see side bar). But more importantly, I would recommend cleaning up your diet. As in nixing processed food. As in, if the ingredients list has more than 10 items listed, or things you can't pronounce, then don't eat it. Flat stomachs are made in the kitchen.
   
   Best of luck! And again, congrats on your progress thus far.
   
   

These are the ones I bought, from Easy@home:

http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Home-Ovulation-Strips-Pregnancy/dp/B00DOJG6RA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

So far I'm very happy with them, the strips themselves seem very well put-together, whereas some photos of other internet cheapies look kind of flimsy, if that makes sense. I paid extra for faster shipping, but otherwise these are SUPER low-cost. I got the 50-OPK/20-HPT pack, but they come in other sizes and mixes, if you aren't interested in the OPKs.

For tracking, I rely mostly on CM, which was SUPER important this cycle. Before my last TWW, I had been taking a regular multi-v plus folic acid supplements, but during my C1 TWW I started taking my prenatals daily, and I'm pretty sure they caused me to ovulate early (lots of B vitamins). My cycle is normally like clockwork, so any change is very abnormal, and if I hadn't been checking CM, I would have missed it completely. I ovulated on CD13, versus CD16, and I hadn't even started the OPKs until CD14. Luckily, I was temping, so I was able to confirm my O-date after the fact.

If you are looking into getting a thermometer, I ended up getting mine at the grocery store, and it was like $5. Still a BBT, and I've not had ANY issues with it: Veridian Healthcare 60-Second Digital Basal Thermometer. The price online varies from $6-10.


I swore I wouldn't start temping, but I do honestly feel relaxed by doing it. I think it just suits my personality, because I really like data analysis and following a routine. I do wake up a lot at night and temp at different times each early morning (usually from 3am-8am), but even so, my chart looks consistent enough! :)

> So, to start off, I downloaded MyFitnessPal.

Excellent! I like MFP, it's working well for me even with its quirks.

> it's been awhile since I've had access to a good scale for people of my weight

You are going to need some way to measure your progress, eventually! I had a poke about amazon and they're not hugely expensive:

eatsmart scale

this one measures %bodyfat and is on sale!

%bodyfat information is hugely valuable for accurately tracking your progress and adjusting your diet.


> Excersizing has always been hard for me, I have severely flat feet, even my specially made inserts don't do much to prevent masshive pain if I'm on my feet too long

Stationary bike is your friend!

If you can, start walking second daily/daily for 10-30 minutes.

> It asked how much weight I wanted to lose a week, it recommended 1 pound. Is going with 2 pounds a week that big a deal? Do you think it'll be harder?

If you are 5'10" and 360lb+, you should eventually aim for 2lb/week. You may want to start at 1 pound a week to see what it feels like though.

> White bread, frozen things such as chicken tenders, sandwhich meat, cheese, baked chicken, hamburgers.. I used to eat other less healthy things but I've cut a lot of food out due to my chronic acid reflux, I eat a lot of bread and drink a lot of milk because they're relatively safe for me. I also tend to drink two cans of pop a day, though I'm going to try cutting those out.

You can eat, what you can eat. That said, as you lose weight, your reflux may improve.

If you are having trouble working out what to eat, just start with what you already eat, but control the quantities with calorie counting. You will want to do a few initial days of just counting what your current intake level is, so you can slowly lower your intake.

The easiest way to generate meals is to start with some good lean protein, then add some vegetables to that, and some flavouring, but don't forget that sauces count as calories!

Frozen food has the useful benefit of having very detailed nutritional information on the side of the box, and snap frozen vegetables have high nutrient value.

> How do you guys go about snacks? I usually eat something, be it some chips or something microwavable every few hours.

Chips are generally not great, but if you need them, count their calories into your budget. There's definitely a range of microwave foods out there with decent nutritional value (good amount of protein and essential fats).

> Also, what do you do at night when you're trying to sleep but it feels like you're starving?

When you get your eating right, this may be less of a problem. The right balance of proteins and fat help with satiety, whereas not having enough of those in your dinner meal may leave you hungry as you go to sleep.

> it says that I should consume no more than 2290 calories a day. I've used other calculators online though and have seen anything from 2600-2900 calories a day.

You probably have relatively little muscle mass because of your issues with your flatfeet. The main determinant of how many calories you should have is muscle mass. (%bodyfat measurements will let you determine this far more accurately though).

2300 calories per day is probably a good eventual target. However, first you need to measure how much you are currently eating, then work down from there.

> a bit of weight training.

I would suggest with working towards bodyweight squats and lunges. You may or may not be able to do a full movement with your current size, but a few partial squats are safe and will start conditioning your knees and muscles.

Also, try to get your hands on some cheap dumbbells and learning what movements you can do at home. You don't need the gym to lift weight!

Overall it sounds like you have a good attitude and an openness to learning. With patience, time and the right feedback, you can definitely achieve not only your temporary goals, but more than you thought possible!

I too started losing recently (on my way down from 6'3" 313 to 270 now) Here are some things that are helping me:

I started doing a healthier/vegetarian rendition on this:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup/detail.aspx

Plenty of leftovers too, so you won't have too cook for a while. Take leftovers of healthy meals as portable foods. As far as snacks go: 100 cal popcorn packs and almonds are favorites of mine. They have different flavored almonds in most supermarkets as well (wasabi soy are my favs) Also, fresh fruits and veggies cut up and in individual portion are great for quick on the go snacks. FiberOne bars are great and relatively healthy as well.

You can get an electronic scale at any big box store (e.g. target/walmart)

I also picked up a body fat calculator and a fabric measuring tape, which is a great way to track your progress. Sometimes your weight won't drop, but the inches and body fat percentage will:
http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK

I just graduated with a degree in engineering (and started in grad school) so i'm a HUGE numbers geek. I chart all of my progress, whether it is good or bad in a spreadsheet. I plot all of my numbers, by date, against a trend line (such as a weightloss goal of 2-3 lbs/week). I feel like it makes a huge difference in your outlook on things. Eventually you will get to the point where you are trying to get below that expected progress line. And whenever you are feeling like you have plateaued, just go to the progress and see how many inches/lbs you have lost.

Also, take pictures of yourself before you start. You don't have to show them to anyone or post them anywhere if you dont want to, but in 3-6 months when you have lost weight but you dont think you look any different, take more pictures and compare. Trust me, you wont regret it, and you will always have a reminder of where you started and where you don't want to be again.

Exercise: check out r/fitness and I would recommend a c25k or c210k program if you are interested in running.

Advice: Don't give up! Everyday that you make an effort to be healthier is a step in the right direction.

Also, if you need help with the spreadsheet, I can send you a template...

Good luck!

This is my iron. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It's not a great iron, it's a good enough iron, and you can get replacement tips pretty cheap. (I'm actually wanting to upgrade to a $150 Weller, but my iron still works fine. I want better heat control and thermal capacity, but this is one of those "if you can't explain why you need it, you don't need it yet" things.) I also bought this tip cleaner on the same order apparently, I prefer it to a sponge but it's not necessary.

This is the solder I bought most recently. It's honestly a little on the thick side, and multi-core would be better, but it was cheap and works fine. Without the rosin, you'd need flux; they etch the metal to remove the oxide layer that naturally forms and would inhibit a good joint. Thin solder melts faster and gives you more control over how much you apply.

There's other stuff that isn't strictly necessary, but is useful. I have a heat antistatic may on my work bench, and a cheap fume extractor set up behind it; I won't bother linking it because it doesn't have any kind of filter in it. The rosin smoke and the lead are both kinda toxic, so a well-ventilated area and/or a good fume extractor are important. I also keep flux paste, desoldering wick, a solder sucker, and a set of helping hands on my workbench, but I use all that stuff because I do a fair bit of electronics work, YMMV.

For references, Dave of EEVBlog fame has a three part tutorial on soldering which covers all the bases pretty well. He'll also leave you saying "sohldah" instead of "sodder," which is a fun way to annoy American EEs.

Edit: This is my workbench, for reference since I'm in that room right now. There's heat shrink on the helping hands, a trick I straight up stole from /u/bulbufet. It keeps the alligator clips from digging into wires, though the heat shrink has to be replaced periodically as the teeth will eventually work their way through it. And if you don't want to slap together a solder holder out of MDF, you can buy them, but where's the fun in that?

I don't really read music either. One of my goals but it hasn't been very important, I pick up things by ear fairly well.

First and foremost, get the best used guitar you can afford, preferably from a music store that knows what they're doing. Do not get a new cheap guitar. This is because cheap guitars have crappy action. The "action" is the space between the strings and fretboard. Quality instruments can be made to have very low action, which is easier on the fingers, while cheap instruments tend to warp and thus make it harder to press down on the strings. Also cheap instruments tend to go out of tune easier.

Next learn to play your favorite yet easy to play songs. You're more likely to keep up with it if you love the music you're playing. Get the chord books or tablature books for your favorite bands. There are a lot of "how to play this song" videos on YouTube.

Prepare for your fingers to hurt and bleed. This is normal. You'll build callouses eventually. Do warmups. Get a finger gripper like this to help strengthen your fingers.

If you get an electric guitar, don't worry about the whammy bar/tremolo/etc. Though a lot of electric guitars have them by default, the cheaper ones will knock your guitar out of tune if you don't know how it all works. Floyd Rose tremolos work fairly well but are a bitch to change strings. Beginners don't need them anyway.

Regardless of type, pick it up and play it with a strap or sit down with it. If it hits your arm in a funny spot, choose a different one.

Be careful of having your belt buckle exposed when you try guitars. They'll scratch the back of the guitar.

I bought all my materials from Amazon and I've done about 3 Mods.

Heres a little documentation of my 1st one.

Seiko 5 Mod; PAM Cali Dial & Sword Hands & some more photos

Some things that I suggest you get before starting.

• Magnifier Opposed to a Loupe this works well and is rather convenient with 3 magnifications
  
  
• Precision Tweezers You need, need this. Seriously
  
  
• Crystal Press Self explanatory
  
  
• Dust Blower Often times you get dust on your dial while it sits, so get this to get rid of it
  
  
• Hand Press I don't particularly like the hand remover included but it does the job just fine
  
  
• Cushioned Holder I used this to hold the movement taking it out of the case
  
  
• Silicone Grease Used to grease the gaskets for increased water resistance
  
  
• Caseback Ball One of the best things you can get to be honest, it removes most casebacks
  
  
• Movement Holder To uhh, hold the movement
  
  
• Precision Screwdrivers You need this to unscrew the movement from the holders, also good tool to use for when you take apart movements to learn
  
  
• Hypo Cement Used this for bezel attachments for when you change em up
  
  Let me know if you've any questions, I'd be willing to help you out and answer them to the best of my ability :)
  
  Cheers!

Step 1: count calories

Don't change a thing about your diet yet, just track. I use MyFitnessPal because it's easy. Haven't looked at alternatives yet.

Guesstimating is an anti patten, but you know what? It's honestly better than nothing at this point.

Personally I recommend leaving out steps any exercise sessions unless you're doing serious amounts of cardio.



Step 2: WAM (weigh and measure)
Cool, you've tracked for 2-4 weeks. Now, if you cook or meal prep , go on Amazon and buy a food scale. Learn what 4 ounces of chicken looks like. Learn what a tablespoon looks like. Your estimates from the past month will start being far more accurate.

FYI this is the food scale I use. No idea if it's the best, but it does the job: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004164SRA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Step 3: Weigh and measure yourself
Once a week, same time of day and situation. I do It after I poop on Monday morning.

Weight is one measurement, I also recommend a caliper. Depending on your situation, lean muscle mass gain might nullify fat loss. Caliper doesn't lie. Relatively simple so long as you are consistent. Measure multiple areas (chest, iliac crest, arms, thighs).

I bought this caliper: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000G7YW74/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1



Step 4: Long haul
You're making a lifestyle change. This isn't "a diet", it's "your diet ". Diet meaning your day in, day out style of eating. Making one better decisions day could mean 500 calories a day. 500 * 7 = 3500, the calories in a pound of fat.

Make allowances

• eat garbage if you want to. Make it fit your macros.
  
• think weekly rather than daily, if you want to go out with coworkers and have some beers, swap out an item tomorrow for a lower calorie item. No big deal.
  
• don't be a fucking Nazi. Enjoy life. Long term his is an equation you can balance. Gain 5 - 10 lbs during a Thanksgiving, account for it and realize it'll take 5-10 we is after the new year to lose.
  
  Sidebar, if your female, account for your cycle and water retention, and a slower rate of fat loss.
  
  
  
  
  
  

BMI is bullshit. I am a BMI of 31.1 and am much healthier than average. What you should be measuring is bodyfat percentage. Pick up a pair of these if you want a credible basis to begin your fat loss. If I had to guess, your bodyfat is around 25-35%. It should be much lower, high teens at the most.

Try cutting out foods that have the highest concentration of "empty calories" (ones that cannot be efficiently used for fuel and are stored as fat). These food are ones with very high sugar and simple carbs.

Stop consuming these foods, and slowly begin to introduce whole grains, vegetables, and lean meats into your diet. Don't buy any "weight loss pills", as these are a scam of epic proportions. The most you will see from these is rapid water loss (looks good on the scale), which is unhealthy. Eat a large breakfast, and try to eat frequent, healthful meals. Don't consume large ammounts of food at night or in the late afternoon.


Cheat days are going to be vital to keeping yourself on track. At first, you might need 2 or 3 meals a week but slowly change this to 1. You must not binge, try to keep to only consuming 1 unhealthy, moderately sized meal for your cheats.

I know your situation well, I love food myself. There are many healthy (and tasty) alternatives to your favorite foods. You just have to make an extra effort to include them into your diet.

I hope the advice helps, good luck and feel free to contact me if you wish to know more.

edit: damn this may be harder than I thought, you eat some pretty good food! :)
It seems like you eat out alot, so this may be of some help to you

I assume you're referring to a bathroom scale to weigh yourselves, instead of a kitchen scale to weigh your food. (Even then, kitchen scales are good things to have, you should get one if you don't have one already).

Also, are you in North America? You didn't specify.

Generally speaking, a digital scale is going to be better than a mechanical one in both precision and accuracy. I'd stick with digital. If you still can, return your current one. No point in keeping a product you're disappointed with.

Consumer Reports does reviews on bathroom scales. CR does good work. They refuse advertising from product manufacturers, to avoid the appearance of bias in their reviews. They've been around since the 1930s, and they're also behind The Consumerist blog. Their reviews aren't geared toward the enthusiast or high-end hobbyist, but they're great for general product reviews.

I bought a Taylor glass and chrome digital scale after seeing a favorable review of it in CR. I've been happy with it. Mind, CR may have changed or updated their product reviews since I purchased that scale.

In my opinion, checking Consumer Reports should be always be a component of the decision-making process before buying a product.

Two more things to keep in mind. First, your weight is going to fluctuate a lot over time. You probably already knew that. Just making sure. There was a post on Reddit, within the past few months, I think, of someone who weighed himself multiple times a day, for several days, and wrote down the numbers. The amount of variation was amazing. I wanted to find the post again and link you to it, but...I think the Reddit search function doesn't like me. Ever.

Secondly, while you're at it, get a skinfold caliper to measure your bodyfat percentage. That's the more important number. In terms of fitness, your weight without your body fat percentage is useless. The gold standard for finding your BF% is plethysmography--think the Bod Pod™. Minus that, a simple, US$5.00 skinfold caliper will get the job done. I've read that digital BF% meters, which use electrical current resistance, are not very reliable, especially because your level of hydration will skew the results. Skinfold calipers have their flaws, too, but if you learn how to use it well, and apply it consistently, it's best for tracking BF% changes over time.

I find this light to be very effective, not to mention pretty cheap, and I like that it has a few different "temperatures" of light and has more than enough flexibility for me to get it in just the right spot.

​

I also rely heavily on this head magnifier as my vision isn't what it once was. It's super cheap and works great.

​

I find that Army Painter brushes work really well and cost much less than most of the other brushes I like. I particularly like their detail brushes. I don't think I could paint eyes without my beloved "The Psycho" brush.

​

I love this light box. Also very cheap (noticing a trend, I'm always looking for a deal, lol). These acrylic display boards fit nicely inside the light box and give photos a cool, polished look.

Might be worth getting a solder wick for when you inevitably screw up. Solder vacuum isn't a terrible idea either. I have both, I use them for different things. A third hand is also useful. I find myself using the glass more than the arms but it's all useful. If the iron you buy doesn't come with one a brass ball is great for keeping your tip clean without cooling it off like a sponge will. Micro-cutter is useful, not sure if angled or straight is better, up to you I guess. Last but not least a pair of angled tweezers. You can get those anywhere.

These are all the things I have within arm's reach when I'm doing a project. Have fun!

I wish I had gotten my scale sooner... for the whole IF journey.

​

The data is from the Feelfit app (ios) that came with my Abyon scale... link to scale: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BJY6GTJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

There are a lot of sub $30 scales on Amazon right now.

​

Here is a better rated model that I have seen recommend on this sub.

Link to Renpho scale:

https://www.amazon.com/RENPHO-Bluetooth-Body-Fat-Scale/dp/B01N1UX8RW/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3SZXYAHOZ5XGC&keywords=renpho+bluetooth+smart+scale&qid=1552506618&s=hpc&sprefix=ren%2Chpc%2C128&sr=1-3

​

Disclaimer... I'm not sure if I would trust the measurements coming from these scales implicitly, but as a point of reference the information is good to have.

​

I love having the data at hand for future reference, sharing and motivation.

​

Cheers!



​

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Happy to :)
While we always enjoyed doggy style we do a lot more of it these days.
Also, we picked up a wedge pillow (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009HHLBKK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01) and it has been fun. My wife can lay on her back with it under her hips and it is great as it raises her hips and it changes the angle that I enter her and where I hit internally. It also allows us to maintain eye contact. ;) It's also a great position for me to give her oral as I can go for up to an hour without getting a sore neck.
She also likes to lay face down on it with it under her hips. Very similar to doggy but it's a lot easier on her arms.
We love to spoon but entering her while spooning is difficult now. We've compensated by spooning from the waist down which allows penetration and I can still touch her back, arms and face, maintaining a level of connection.
I think the final one that we enjoy is where she lays on her back and I lay on my side next to her, maybe at a 45 degree angle. She raises her leg closest to me, I slide my top leg under her raised leg and extend so that lies on top of or next to her other leg. This allows us me to enter her and get really deep into her.
Another one that we've added is where she lays on her side and moves her top leg forward with her lower leg running parallel to her lower leg. I then straddle her lower leg and slide into her. It's ok for us. I mention it as it's worth trying and I know experiences vary by person.
If I wasn't clear or descriptive enough let me know and I'll try to clarify.
Oh, and one more thing... We added a Hitatchi magic wand and she loves having a non-penetrative vibrator.

Must:

1. Variable temp (some times you need it really hot, sometimes hot melts everything or makes all the SMTs start moving- YIKES!)
   
2. solder WITH lead - lead free is impossible
   
3. rosin core (acid core is not for electronics
   Suggestions:
   
4. Get a cheap holder "third hand".
   
5. Get a visor magnifier (Like this: http://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multipower-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405288738&sr=8-1&keywords=visor+magnifier) It makes it MUCH easier to see small solder joints.
   
6. Get a "copper scrubber" - like a copper brillo pad. It is the best way to clean tips. If you buy one "especially for soldering" it will be the same thing for 10 times the price.
   
7. Get some CELLULOSE sponges (not any other material). Slightly moistened, they can also keep your tip clean. I use the copper scrubber most of the time, though.
   
8. Get a "diagonal clipper". Also known as "dikes". Some people say you should spend a lot on a good one; I do not. There also some very light duty versions that are very handy.
   
9. Get some paste flux. Use a toothpick to apply to hard to solder things like plugs and jacks (impossible without it).
   
10. Get some de-soldering braid. We all make mistakes. Also, there are some techniques where oversoldering then clean-up is the preferred method (tell that to people if they make fun of you ;-) ).
    
11. A small fan (like a "muffin fan" from a computer helps keep the fumes out of your face (unless you like them?).
    Enough for now.
    73

You're not eating enough to build muscle. Building muscle will make you feel better about how you look. You can do muscle building activities like squats/situps/crunches without even using any weights.

You need to eat MORE healthy food. You will not get fat. You will get defined.

If you're nervous about eating more, just add a little tiny bit more per day for a week or two at first and see what happens.

Also I have a scale that measures body fat % and muscle mass % and that's super motivating to me, I care so much less about my "weight" now and care a lot more about how my body is built, it helps motivate me to eat healthy and work out.

Here's the scale I have.

Also if you use this scale and you ARE NOT eating enough you can really see how much that will cut into your muscle mass and you'll end up with a higher body fat percentage. I know that because I work a super active job and occasionally get really busy and don't eat enough, it really messes with my muscle mass. So I eat a lot more snacks than I used to like nuts, apples, protein bars.

Get as healthy as you can.

I was super obese. I lost 115 lbs... then got pregnant, but I still need to lose another 100 or so pounds to be at my goal.

Talked over with Dr and she said because of my age (32 at the time), and wanting 2 kids, that she was fine if I kept up my healthy lifestyle changes and started to try.

We got pregnant very fast (2nd cycle after pulling iud). Unfortunately I miscarried. Know that not every pregnancy is successful and viable. Not to scare you, but had I known 1/4 of pregnancies end I wouldn’t have felt so alone.

The miscarriage was in Nov. after taking a little break, we decided to use ovulation strips

https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Home-Ovulation-Strips-Pregnancy/dp/B00DOJG6RA/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=ovulation+test+strips&qid=1565659016&s=gateway&sprefix=ovulatio&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&smid=A2X1ZITIH00L9R&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzMEpaSTVTVEQ3NE5TJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjY1NDYwMjVMWlpZTEJMR0w4VyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjc2MzI1MzhCVThTUThGRFZWQSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

(Cheap and effective and the app is simple) also you don’t need expensive pregnancy tests.

We used the strips because we didn’t want to waste time, and we got pregnant after 2nd cycle of trying (mentally I needed a few months break).

I’m now 26 weeks :)

First response was super spot on and great.

In my perfect timeline, I’d have been at goal weight before TTC, but that would have taken at least a year longer and by then my clock may be ticking too much.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 camera module replacement

I just replaced the wifi module in my wife's Note 2.. The Logic Board (aka- motherboard) in mine.. and then had to finally find a replacement for (b/c the connector ripped the male contact off of the logic board inside of the wire's female connector and I couldn't get it out.. super tiny shit) and install the USB/Cell Antenna cable in my Note 2.. With the tools, patience, PARTS lol, and instructions, you don't need a new phone as often as you'd think ;)

Total cost.. About $50 for all of those parts on ebay and ifixit-(which is expensive, but it's quick and reliable.. the bad cable I got was from them, and they replaced it free w/o a return of the faulty one) The tools aren't that much either.. ifixit has their stuff overpriced.. just find them elsewhere.. then, just watch a lot of videos, and go slow.

Did you know? you can use 2x magnifying lenses held at just the right distances from each other to create a MUCH more powerful magnification? I use a set of Helping Hands (not the best design btw) and then use a smaller magnifying glass held by one of the alligator clips held infront of the larger one to make a laymans microscope..

Here's an example of how I have mine setup.. This is an old RadioShack version that I paid waaaaay too much for back before I used the net lol.. Like $40?? I think ughh.. Pretty sure there's better for less now.

Shit.. I just reread what your issue was and it's the Vibration lmao.. I'm sorry, bit tipsy but I'm leaving all of that above. Did you try this?

> What thermometer are you using?

I use the Mabis one.

> Where did you get it?

Amazon

> How long does it take to give you a result?

One minute

> Does it remember multiple readings?

Nope, just the last one, but I enter the reading into my phone before I leave for work (or before I go to bed, if I've forgotten!).

> What do you like and dislike about yours?

Cheap, remembers the last reading (so I can temp half asleep and enter it into my phone later) and the beeps are fairly quiet, so I don't disturb my husband.

> Should I go for one that gives two-decimal readings?

Yep. The changes are so tiny that the more detail, the better!

> And does anyone prefer something else over FertilityFriend to chart temps?

Some people do, but stick with FF. I tried about six different apps when I started, but FF is SO clear. And all the extra analysis stuff is awesome.

what about a sex wedge? There are some cheap varriations on Amazon, like this one. It might help her open her hips.

This might not work for her, but what I thought of when I read your post was restorative yoga, which is basically about putting your body into poses that are supported by blankets and pillows and allowing yourself to open up your hips and shoulders. Obviously I don't know anything about her level of mobility, but if you think she could benefit from it, maybe this book and a commitment to help her with it might increase your intimacy AND help her become more flexible and comfortable.

Okay, here we go. First of all, good job having safe sex but let this scare be the motivation to have safer sex, i.e. get on some birth control on top of the condom use. There are a variety of options and is cost/parents are an issue go to your local Planned Parenthood to go over your options. :)

That being said I understand what you are going through right now. A lot of what you're describing is what I suspect not pregnancy just because it'd be crazy early to be getting signs of being pregnant. I'm thinking you're just being hypersensitive to things because you're stressed and worried. Google is hell for people who suspect unwanted pregnancy, haha. If it would make you feel better, take a test, but I'm not sure it'd pick up on pregnancy this early so it may be a waste of time.

http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-25-count/dp/B0002YIQEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342981043&sr=8-1&keywords=pregnancy+test

I would buy a pack of these for the future to have on hand for possible scares like this one down the road. They're cheap, work, and it's nice to not have to worry about picking up a test at the store when you're already stressed, especially with you being so young. I would also pick up the morning after pill to have on hand. Not now because it is not an abortion pill and will not work if you're already pregnant and you can only take it up to 72 hours after your sexual encounter, but again, good to have on hand.

Overall, however, if your condom didn't break then I'd say your chances are slim to nil that you actually are pregnant.

I would also take this as an opportunity to talk to your partner about unwanted pregnancy. Would you want to adopt, get an abortion? It's your decision, but would you have your partner's support both emotionally and possibly financially? Would he want to keep it? These are important questions that I think it's important to ask your partner.

If you have any more questions, ask. I've been in your shoes before and know how it feels.

I don't have any suggestions on soldering irons, but I do recommend a brass wire sponge over a regular sponge for tip cleaning.

They work great and don't require any water. I personally feel they are better for your iron tip and don't get nasty like a sponge can.

Something like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000PDQORU/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1373850851&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX112_SY192


Edit: that weller above that you listed is a good iron. Because you are doing SMD as well I would also recommend a solder sucker, as I call them ha.

This here http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002KRAAG/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1373851104&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX112_SY192

Helps a ton if you get solder is the wrong place or need to take some off or out of a through hole.

Lastly, these third hands can be a life saver at times if you will be working alone often. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000RB38X8/ref=pd_aw_sim_indust_2?pi=SL500_SY115

Good luck!

Look up some tutorials on youtube. A good iron makes a world of difference. I struggled with properly tinning all the irons I've used previously which were just those cheap $8 dollar irons from like walmart. The weller that was in my dad's stuff wasn't much more expensive but they make quality stuff.

The tip tinned very well and everything was fairly smooth. If you don't have a decent stock of soldering supplies I would purchase them before you start.

Here's a quick rundown of what I would recommend:

Simple Weller Soldering Iron

Helping Hands

Desolder Wick

Kester .03" solder

Having the desolder wick saved me a few times when I had some bad flow from the parts not having adequate heat and the solder just clumping on the pin rather than flowing into the connection. You just lay the braid over the solder and press your iron on top and it will soak the solder into the braid and leave your parts clean. You'll probably want something to clean your solder iron tip with. You can buy a Hakko cleaning stand with wire brush for $10 on amazon or you can just wet a scotch brite pad you buy from walmart for a few dollars.

You can use solder you already have if it's a small enough diameter. You want small diameter so that when you touch it to the part (not to the iron) it melts quickly and you dont have to continue to apply heat to the parts. As far as actually handling the solder while you're trying to work I like to cut a small length of solder, maybe 6-8 inches and then wind it in a mini spool around my pinkie finger and leave a length of it sticking out so you have something to hold on to that will give you good control.

How-To Solder Instructable

Once you make the connections look at them, a good connection should typically be shiny and not cloudy. It's likely overkill for this project but those are good practices.

I saw this in another thread recently and it's pretty awesome: https://www.amazon.com/ClinicalGuard®-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-Individually-Sealed/dp/B007VT30C8

"Pee stick" pregnancy tests work just fine, even at the dollar store. They use the same testing method as the clinical strips above (react to presence of hormone).

With any of these tests, there's basically no such thing as a false positive. If it's positive, you are definitely pregnant. If you get a negative result, you will want to wait a few days and test again - if you still haven't gotten your period. Also make sure you get plenty of urine on the stick to minimize the chances of false negative.

I'm not sure how it is in Canada, but if you do end up needing an abortion, most likely you will still need to have a test done with a positive result at the doctor's office. You may also be required to confirm the pregnancy with an ultrasound (the trans-vaginal kind; unfortunately the over-the-belly type isn't accurate enough in the early weeks of pregnancy).

You can do all of this at Planned Parenthood if you have anything like that up there. If you absolutely have no other options and are close enough to the border, I'm pretty sure PP doesn't have citizenship requirements. But you would probably want to call them to make sure. They generally provide services based on a sliding scale and should be able to give you a quote over the phone with your income information. I don't know for sure if they're able to provide services non-residents but at the very least, they won't judge you for calling and asking.

I'm really sorry to hear that your doctor is like that. I imagine it's also not that easy to switch providers. Best of luck to you and let us know if you need to talk or need any more advice.

Wow, yea don't be... it's like the #1 biological sign of fertility and sexiness in women. Something like 98% of cover models have your measurements, my girlfriend has those measurements and my friends are always like man your girl is sooooooo hot. Hahaha, you sound like me - I'm a 6'3 guy and i always used to be insecure about being "too tall" lol.... the things we tell ourselves. Enjoy!

----- Also side note, i saw your other post where you said your Dexa scan is 32% bodyfat. ZERO chance, you look great and those things are so inaccurate. I workout and eat amazing, have abs and my dexa came back as almost obese. Get one of these https://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Handheld-Body-Monitor/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1536171049&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=omron+bodyfat+tester

Test yourself every morning for a week when you first wake up, whatever the average is will probably be within 2% of your actual bodyfat.

Also, if you are trying to gain curves and get rid of fat you need to be lifting heavy weights. Deadlifts and Squats. If you eat at a deficit without lifting you will just get skinnyfat which is no fun.

​

Congratulations!

A good overall tip:
If you don't consume the calories, and you are exerting energy (working out), the energy has to come from somewhere (fat). Keep in mind though to stay healthy, we all need to consume a safe minimum number of calories.

Have you tried calculating your total body fat percentage/mass? It sounds like your body may just be burning the fat stores, which is good.

I recommend the caliper method. This is the one I have, and it works okay. The "click" sometimes does not work properly if you hold it incorrectly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G7YW74/

I use the J/P4 method, although J/P7 can be a bit more accurate because if you get one measurement slightly wrong it will impact less.
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

I recommend having someone else help you to make the measurements, and take every measurement three times.

Also, this is a small note, I recommend weighing yourself on a mechanical scale (gyms normally have them), and take a "fasting measurement". In the morning, after bodily functions, before eating or drinking. Once per week should be fine. The critical component here is repeatability. Do it the same way every time.

I hope this helps!

Liberator has foam ramps:

https://www.liberator.com/

and look there's a 30 % off sale this weekend!!! With the code GOBIG

https://www.liberator.com/wedge.html

this is the wedge...I think it would be great for you guys, since you're beginners -- If you scroll down, there's a scrolling bar of sex positions that they recommend with the wedge... the standing ovation will likely work well for you guys! The elevated wheel barrow ... really I'm betting the wedge will help you tons.

If you don't want to pay 90 for this pillow, there's this: https://www.amazon.com/InteVision-Wedge-Pillow-Quality-Removable/dp/B009HHLBKK/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467501998&sr=8-1&keywords=sex+position+pillow

on amazon. its 40 bucks.. however I can't attest to quality, since I don't own it.

On stretching... this is pretty big, especially for women as having wider, more open access will make penetration easier for you and more pleasurable for her. Obviously, she doesn't need to be doing the splits here. But I agree that a little bit of extra flexibility will help a ton. Doing a little bit of stretching during foreplay will also help keep those muscles from cramping up ;)

Whatever works best for him; I would always wash my shoulders with my hands in the shower, so if he can get some cleanser on a soft brush in the shower that will make it easier to rinse off. I just found this on Amazon and it looks like it would be a nice gentle scrubber. Apparently they even make things to help you put lotion on your back!

By "don't overdo it," I mean the exfoliants I linked to are pretty high-strength, so even though it's his back and not his face you'll want to take care not to do it too often or it will probably dry out his skin and make some things worse (I can't say how often would be best, it will just be trial and error). Paula's Choice sells more gentle, lower-concentration exfoliants if the ones I linked are too hard on his skin.

It is totally possible to ovulate but not have a period. In a woman with 100% normal function, she'd ovulate somewhere near the middle of her cycle, conceive, and then not have the next period two weeks later. So, yeah. You could have gotten pregnant. I would go get a blood test ASAP. And, depending on your type of PCOS, I would recommend using ovulation tests for a month to see if you have significant fluctuations in your Lh levels. A significant spike would indicate ovulation. I use these to see if/when I will start ovulating (I don't currently, but I am on meds and dieting so that may change!) http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Step-Ovulation-Strips-50-Count/dp/B004IJHDN6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425582295&sr=8-1&keywords=wondfo+ovulation+tests Good luck, OP! And congrats - maybe? - on baby and your engagement!

Absolutely! Honestly, if you're not a little worried about bringing a person into the world, then you're probably not ready. That's the way I've always felt about it.

As for getting ready, now is the perfect time to pick up a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility, a Mabis basal body thermometer, and to find a good pre-natal vitamin and DHA supplement. I personally use a combination of Vitamin Code Raw Prenatal and Nordic Naturals DHA. They work well for me, and I got my period right when I expected to after getting my IUD taken out and have been regular as clockwork since.

I would also recommend signing up for FertilityFriend; it's the most common app we're all using, and does a great job of helping you keep track of your cycles. You don't have to go all in on temping (and if you choose not to, don't worry about the thermometer), but I've found it to be so helpful to keep my expectations in check rather than clinging to hope that "Maybe this period is just implantation bleeding".

But in terms of priority, I would highly recommend you pick up TCoYF, and getting started on a good pre-natal. Hope to see you around!

I just went over to it and picked it up and was surprised by how light it is. I think the wider base gives it better stability than the old one I was using but the old one might actually be heavier. I just weighed them, the new one is 13.3 ounces, and the old is 12.2. So not much difference in weight, but the new one sits higher and has the wider base, that makes it more useful to me.

I just remembered this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/diypedals/comments/5fu93u/i_finally_bought_an_oscilloscope/

The helping hand in that picture might be worth pursuing. Whoever's desk this is has obviously spent a lot of time perfecting his workstation. I'd imagine he's gone through a few helping hands before settling on the one on his current desk.

I will say that this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCODIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

has been my single most useful DIY helper....

I want to start off with this very important thing to remember, "take your time" while doing this model there was times I only sat down for a few minutes and times I was there for over an hour.
I would recommend practicing the techniques listed below on the sprues (the frame surrounding the parts of the model)

I over do the details,(lot of it you can't see in the pictures. I post) but I enjoy the painting and get satisfaction off of it, it can be toned down and still look good

I normally look over the book, Google the characters/vehicle down load multiple pictures to refer to and get an idea what colors I want before getting started. I also watch YouTube videos to see if there is something difficult I need to be aware of.

Sometimes it is easier to paint some of the details while the parts are still on the sprues, see the black in the chest plates I painted them before I cut them loose, it was easier to do them that way. But I always waited until I put section together (ex: chest, waste , arms , legs and head) to do the wash "weathering" this way they all blend together. With this one, I want it to look more weathered at the bottom and less as it went up

Some definitions:


Wash "weathering" this is how I made the "dirty look" i did not let it set for 10 mins. I applied small sections and wiped off what I did not want with a Q-tip. The darker parts, I just applied small amounts with with a fine tip brush.

Dry brush

As you can see here Dry brushing really gives the look of age /worn out.
you would be better off going to the link I provided and watching a few videos.

Variety of brushesif you buy the dirt cheap brushes, you will get a cheap paint job. The ones I linked are a good set to start with, they give you a wide variety of choices. Main thing to do is CLEAN...CLEAN CLEAN...them after each use. With thinner and soapy water. Do not leave them setting in the thinner or water, the points and edges with get messed up quick. Wipe them off with a paper towel, reform the ends when done.

Magnifing head set is the best way to get the small details, i have this set and they work okay, there are better sets out there.

Hope this helps

You just rinse but don't use it on the ACTUAL bits. Since you are using a chemical to dissolve the hair you do need to be careful.

Since the anus, and especially your actual genital skin, is rather sensitive you want to not hurt your self. Spread the nair in a thin is layer across the hair you wish to remove. Though the backdoor is a bit more resilient and it wont be bad if you get a little on the old rusty sheriffs badge . So it's more the front bits to worry about. As long as you are careful and follow the instructions exactly it's all good! :)

EDIT: Make sure to either buy an applicator or get some nitrile gloves to protect your hands. Also I have heard you can use it on your actual junk if you get the sensitive areas stuff, just don't leave it on for longer than instructed.

Also IF you can trim the hair first it helps as it makes the Nair not have to eat through so much hair.

Men's Nair

Applicator

NitrileGloves

Your other options are if you look like Robin Williams chest...like I do are:

A Norelco Bodygroom Electric Razer

Electrolysis

Waxing / Sugaring

I've just started painting as well, and I'll second that the initial investment is rather high. I'm probably in 50$+ in just painting gear now...

First. Watch some youtube tutorials. I found Miniature Painting 101 by Miniwargamer Jay to be very helpful.

I only went high end on the paints and washes that are my primary color scheme. They're a mix of P3 / Citadel paints. The pots are pricy, but they do go a long way.

I grabbed several brush sets and a 12 pack of basic color acrylic paints from a craft store. You'll want mainly fine tips a a few small flat brushes. These paints are more for mixing (white and black) and areas I only need a little paint.

I used a Krylon white primer for plastics, mainly because I had it. Just use very quick sprays to keep a very light coat.

I built a work-rack out of a piece of 2x6, some large nails, and some nickels as I didn't have the right size washers handy... Drill holes in wood large just enough to hold the nails, super-glue the nickels on top of the nail to give a larger base (I used Gorilla-glue). Then use sticky-tack to hold the miniature on. This lets you use the nail to hold and manuever the miniature during painting, then just set it in the wood to dry... Hopefully this link works:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202655502284955&set=pcb.782763288446523&type=1&theater

I got a set of Magnifying goggles from amazon for 8 dollars. Their not the most comfortable things to wear, but they really help with the fine detail work...

http://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multipower-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1407928227&sr=8-2&keywords=magnifying+goggles

Overall, be patient, take your time, and enjoy, and you can make some beautiful pieces of art.

I'm new at this, too, but as I understand it... you should use them 2-3 times a day (preferably afternoon & evening, the levels are higher then) until you figure out the best time of day. Then do 'em daily until you see the patterns!

As far as I know, it's usually something like no line if you're nowhere near ovulating, then faint lines that get darker as you get closer to O, super-dark during O, and back to faint and then nada as you're post-O. However, again, I'm new and if I'm totally bass-ackwards, I hope somebody corrects me. =)

And FYI, Amazon sells the cheapies! http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Step-Ovulation-Strips-50-Count/dp/B004IJHDN6/

They have pregnancy tests, too - just check for the Wondfo brand. I've had good luck with them, and I don't feel guilty if I waste one... but hey, if you're trying to figure out how your body is working, that's not wasteful! =)

I’m with you!! I’m a pretty normal-sized 5’4.5” person, but I weigh 145. I keep comparing myself to the size I was when I got married at 22 (125lbs), and I tend to be on the higher BMI side. But I’m very strong for being a woman/my size so I try to remember that :)

This is the scale I have! I’ve had it for two years and I like it a lot. The app is pretty good and of course it connects to health kit if you’re and apple person.

"NZ invention" is a stretch. Here's one on Amazon for $19.99 (or $213.32 for a pack of 10! ???)

https://www.amazon.com/Squatty-Potty-Original-Bathroom-Toilet/dp/B00ESKVN7W/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1542696554&sr=8-3&keywords=toilet+foot+stool

> "The Original Squatty Potty - Made in U.S.A. As seen on Shark Tank and The Howard Stern Show

> If you are a new squatter, the 7” is a great place to start or if consider yourself an advanced squatter, a 9" Squatty Potty will work best. Younger children should use a 9 inch Squatty Potty while teenagers tend to prefer the 7 inch height

> The Squatty Potty may feel different at first, but the body quickly adjusts and the new healthy way of eliminating quickly becomes second nature

> Doctor recommended / endorsed, Strong & durable, Family-friendly and weight capacity-350 pounds"

Would legit recommend, though!

do you think it could possibly have to do anything with the fact that hes ...well a he? I saw a male doctor in my practice, which is made up of 2 males and 4 females, and he kept telling me I couldnt possibly be feeling the things I was feeling. And I'm not talking about symptom spotting or anything Im talking about pre-TTC pain I was having and terrible periods. I was like seriously? Any of the female doctors took my concerns seriously though. Maybe try this; make a phone call and ask the receptionist to have him give you a call back. When he does just say 'hey I know you dont want to do anything invasive TTC wise but can you just send me for bloodwork?'. If he says no then you should see another doctor. You can also try your primary doctor who should be able to send you for bloodwork no problem. Or just do yourself a favor and try out a different gyn

as far as temping goes this is the thermometer I use and love it. I also have two apps (free on iphone), one is ovia and one is fertility friend. I prefer fertility friend for charting but ovia is easier to keep track of symptoms such as cramping and things like that. These are also the OPKs I use. They inexpensive and I can use 2 a day if I think I'm going to be getting a surge soon. At least if you use those two you can go to your next appointment with some info.

I'm happy to chat whenever or if you have any more questions

Yes, that's possible. I have friends who had periods the entire way through multiple pregnancies - everyone's different. I've had several losses, and I know exactly what you mean as far as how it feels. We might all have different experiences, but I know what my body feels like when something's up, and it's very different from anything else. Best thing to do is test! =)

FYI, tests are super cheap. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AOMAOG/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We're not TTC yet (soon! can't wait!) but I have a couple of medical issues that necessitate weekly testing. Holy fuck, if I had to pay $10/test, we'd be in the poor house! =)

Good luck!

You probably want to go back in and clean up your lines a bit. I can see some bleed from the tunic onto the left leg, from the arms onto the bands, and a few other places. Totally normal but I would strongly suggest some jewelry goggles. I use this one personally:

https://www.amazon.com/SE-Illuminated-Dual-Flip-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=jewelry+goggles&qid=1565111795&s=gateway&sr=8-15

Other than that good work. The wash and the dry brush on the tunic looks great. You did a great job on the wash and brush on the hands as well.

OPKs

OPKS (Ovulation Prediction Kits) are used to let you know when your body is producing more LH. LH ramps up in the body shortly before you ovulate. These kits are often a dip test that you use with urine you have held for 3-4 hours. Unlike pregnancy tests, these strips are only positive when the test line is as dark or darker than the control line. Having a +OPK does not guarantee you are going to ovulate. Instead, it says that if you do ovulate it will be within the next 12-48 hours. Though some people ovulate as soon as 6 hours, and some as late as 72, most people ovulate 12-48 hours after a positive OPK. Many women do not surge until the afternoon, so it is a good idea to test in the morning and early evening when you are getting close to the day you normally ovulate. Many of our users purchase bulk packs of Wondfo Ovulation Prediction Kits as a cost effective and reliable way to test during the cycle. Here is how to tell if your Wondfos are counterfeit. Sometimes your body gears up to ovulate and then decides to abort the ovulation for whatever reason. If that happens you will have a positive opk, however, if you keep using them you will find another positive opk in a week or two. If you are not expecting this, it may seem like you are late for your period, when really you are not.

Noodles! Happy birthday to your little one!! Here's a picture of my dog that cheers me up! I recently got a little rat from ikea for my dog and she immediately loved it!

https://imgur.com/gallery/e7wsR4F


RENPHO Bluetooth Body Fat Scale Smart BMI Scale Digital Bathroom Wireless Weight Scale, Body Composition Analyzer with Smartphone App 396 lbs - Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N1UX8RW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_NkgDCbAGY4E46

I'd really like to keep up with my weight better now that I'm working out and eating better. I've never had a digital scale and heard they're more accurate. The scale now I have was my grandmothers scale.

I use an eatsmart scale (specifically this one: http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Capacity-Recognition-Technology/dp/B004L6NTHU/ although the "body fat %, body measurement calculators" are to be taken with a grain of salt as they are seldomly very accurate but could be good for consistency measuring purposes). It's a great scale to track weight and I tried "fooling" it like you did (stepping on, stepping off, letting it reset, then stepping on again) and it always gave me the exact same reading...even if i waited like 5 minutes.

So personally, I can vouch for that one but reading the reviews on Amazon, any of the eatsmart scales (there are 3-4 of them..$50 being the most expensive) should be good.

Cool, sounds like you have a good nutrition game plan.

I use an Omron Fat Loss Monitor to track my bf%. It initially showed an unrealistically low bf% for me but it is very consistent. I used a tape measure and a bf calculating website to figure up the difference then used that number as my offset. i.e. Omron says 12% tape measure method says 20% so your offset is 8.

The benefit to doing it this way is the Omron is easy and quick where the tape measure pretty much requires my wife to help do it accurately. I try to measure every week or two. After 6 months or so do another tape measure check to ensure your offset hasn't changed. Mine changed by 2 over the course of a year.

Take this advise with a grain of salt, I concocted this method after reading many articles and /r/fitness posts about bf%. It seems reasonable to me.

A lot of people here use the MABIS thermometer and really like it. I just got a cheap one from Target and it works just fine. As far as OPKs, the Wondfo brand/other internet cheapies are really popular and super cheap compared to some of the digital ones (Clearblue, etc). It depends on your preference, though. My first time around I used the Clear Blue digital OPKs and I liked that they were cut and dry with their negative/positive response. This time I'm using Wondfos because they're much cheaper, although there is more room for interpretation with the negative/positive. You can check out /r/TFABLinePorn to see what pictures of positive/negative cheap OPKs look like. You can also get cheap HPTs bundles, too. Happy shopping!

MABIS Basal Thermometer, Digital BBT Thermometer, Basal Body Temperature Thermometer... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O6YCZY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_mdyrzbBGK3WVV

Wondfo Combo 50 LH Ovulation & 20 HCG Pregnancy Test Strips https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RY8UBNC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_blyrzbS8T1B71

Clearblue Advanced Digital Ovulation Test, 20 Ovulation Tests https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AOJ5R8W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_ZlyrzbKCE31EJ

There are several different ways to do it but most all require special gizmos. The usual cheap method is using calipers like these, but from what I've heard that can be pretty inaccurate and inconsistent unless you really know what you're doing. I use this little guy, it's pretty consistent though I'm not completely sure how accurate it is because I have nothing to verify it against other than the fact that it seems to be in the right ballpark. Then there's fancy water-dunking type tests you can get done but they are expensive.

I think I've heard other people on here say that some gyms will have the calipers or a digital thingamabob like mine that they can measure you with so you could ask at your gym if you're curious.

• A redditor put together this site to use for visual body fat percentage estimates. It's not super well populated, but I think it's better than the other visual estimate site that normally gets referenced.
  
• There are a variety of websites that will estimate your body fat according to your measurements. I like IIFYM because they've got a great TDEE calculator, too.
  
• You can use a hand-held bioelectric impedance tool to estimate your body fat, or there are bathroom scales that use the same method.
  
• Josh-j mentioned calipers, but these can be tricky to use alone and consistently.
  
  That gets me to my last point: no matter what home method you use to estimate your body fat, be consistent. These are estimates and you might find that you get a different reading from your scale, your calipers, and the internet on the very same day. Body fat % a great way to track trends in your body composition, and you won't see those as effectively if you just back and forth between measurement methods. Unless you want to get a DEXA scan every week, the very precise number is less important than seeing trends.

I've built 2 RGs and haven't had any problems due to size or parts being flimsy. I also have big and very shaky hands. Here's my advice:

• I think we all drop and lose parts from time to time. The best way to handle this is to build in a clean space. Make sure your floor is clean, vacuumed, etc. before you begin. Make sure your lighting is good too!
  
  
• A good pair of tweezers is a godsend when working with small parts. Also consider a helping hand.
  
  
• When making the frame, make sure to gently bend the joints back and forth a bit to loosen them up before putting the armor on them. If you fail to do that and attempt to move the piece before loosening it up, you do risk damaging the part. This is mostly due to the pre-assembled nature of the RG frame.
  
  RGs are very fun kits that don't take up a lot of shelf space while also looking very impressive. I'm very happy with the ones I've built and I've got a couple more on deck. I highly recommend you try one. People talk up the RG 00 Raiser a lot and I personally built the RG Wing Zero and RG 00 Qan[t] and had few problems with them. (The RG 00 Qan[t] does have a loose V-fin problem so I recommend some plastic cement or glue for that.)

I'm still pretty new to this myself, but like you I have some electronics experience in the past. I just got this Weller 40w iron station with a desolder braid/sucker and a solder tip cleaner. Oh and a more precise tip for the solder iron

I'm really happy with it all so far, and couln't imagine needing more for a while. A heat gun would be nice for de-soldering and reflowing premade boards (like modding Boss pedals), but that can also be done with a regular solder iron as far as I know. You can get the above for about $60 total, so it's a nice way to get your feet wet without a huge investment. Then you gotta add on components/enclosures/pots/switches etc. Maybe get a helping hands and/or circuit holder if you need

Oh and get a good multimeter. I went a step up from the $20 ones and got this one which I'm also really happy with.

In terms of strength and flexibility - you have several options:

- use certain hand exercisers like this ( https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Varigrip-Adjustable-Hand-Exerciser/dp/B001OCGGEM ) or smth similar, it really helps to get a grip.

- play and play rhythm guitar songs over and over, and over time it will become easier

- try to learn chord based songs on acoustic guitar, with hard and nasty chords (after acoustic switching to electric guitar is live going to Bahamas for vacation)

For me a good inspiration is Django Reinhardt ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQhTpgicdx4 ), he only had two fingers working properly due to fire accident, and still he had became a well-known guitarist in blues / jazz scene. When i fail in guitar i take inspiration from his courage and continue trying.

For me personally it wouldn't be worth it to take another Plan B. Plan B is only about 95% effective anyway, and it's really only pumping progestin-only birth control into your body, which is what your Nexplanon is already doing in a pretty decent dose.

What I would do, however, is go to Amazon and buy some of their pregnancy tests. They sell packs of 25 for about $8. Super duper worth it for helping put your mind at ease, and they'll be useful to you in a few weeks when you should test anyway just to be safe.

Yep you're correct.

When soldering there are a few basic things you have to consider. The main idea is that you want to heat up the wire and the contact point to the point that the solder will "wick" to the parts. You don't want to just melt the solder on the iron itself and have it drizzle on the parts.

Here are some other basic tips I wish I had been told when I was learning to soldering electronics in no logical order:

• USE A WELL VENTILATED AREA. DO NOT BREATHE IN FUMES!!!! That stuff is really bad for you. Do it in an open garage, or under a kitchen hood.
  
• Make sure you use solder with rosin core flux. NOT ACID CORE FLUX. That's for plumbing.
  
• Thinner solder is easier to work with, you can always use more.
  

3. Use the appropriate size iron for the job or you risk problems like the OP. For something like the 3DS, I'd probably go no bigger than a 35W iron.
   
4. You want the solder to look shiny when you're done. If it's dull looking, it's a cold solder point and a bad contact point. Any movement while cooling frequently causes this problem.
   
5. One of these makes a huge difference. It's cheap and worth buying if you plan to do much electronics soldering.
   
6. Keep your soldering iron tip clean. Frequently wipe it down on a wet paper towel or a wet sponge while using it.
   
7. Don't reuse solder. It's cheap, and the flux inside is important to help it flow.
   
8. Tin the tip of your iron with solder as well as the wire you plan to solder. It's easier to just hold the tinned wire down with an iron where you need to solder than to use another hand to hold solder.
   
9. Don't bother with those gimmicky solder removers to take solder off. Just buy some solder wick and watch it suck all solder off using the solder's wicking action as you hold it on with an iron.
   
   But most of soldering is just practice. It's a pretty easy skill to get proficient at. After a few projects it'll be almost second nature.
   

BF is what percentage of your body (as an estimate) is made of as fat as opposed to muscle, etc. Muscle is more dense, so for people that lift weight BMI doesn't work (for example, probably ALL NFL athletes are "overweight" to "obese" including wide receivers, quarterbacks, etc according to BMI scale because they "weigh" a lot, however most of that is muscle).

160 is probably the "proper" weight (according to BMI) for someone 5'11" that may not have as much muscle on their body, but is in no way even close to overweight.

There are a couple ways to get the most accurate measurement for BF%: Link

It's kind of an inexact science to detect body fat composition because SO MANY factors change it (your hydration level, heart rate [I think], food in your stomach, and so on) that quick and easy ways don't always work well (calipers test I'm told is pretty inaccurate).

I got my estimate from this thing from Amazon, which got favorable reviews: Link

It is however an estimate, so you can't just use something like that and go "well, there you go, that's for sure my BF%"

I've been on a generic version of Lybrel for almost a year now. I had some break through bleeding for the first few months, but since then it's been perfect. No cramps, no bleeding, no pregnancy. No weight gain for me either. I absolutely love it and it's totally worth having to take a pill every day.

Like /u/CreakyTom mentioned, i would definitely recommend the bulk pregnancy tests. Link.

And just think of all the savings on tampons and pads!

Stores do....but they can get expensive! I ended up ordering the test strips off Amazon. You end up using so much it's better to buy the strips that you pee in a cup and then dip! They sell combined pregnancy tests/ovulation strips...this is the one I got https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DOJG6RA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1481161728&sr=8-1&keywords=easy+%40+home&pi=SX200_QL4
This amount lasted me three months trying! The lh is the ovulation test, hgc is pregnancy. The pregnancy tests are also super sensitive so you can test earlier than some of the more expensive tests. Feel free to message me if you want more info! It can be overwhelming, and in totally type a, but we were successful on cycle 3 of trying, so I'm more than willing to share what worked for us! I had a friend talk me through her process and I found it so helpful!

2nd this. I've had this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032TNPOE/ref=cm_sw_su_dp for about 8 months & I love it. My parents bought one too.

I initially thought the massive # of reviews was a bit weird (I think there were exactly 1200 when I bought mine), but they actively encourage customers to do an Amazon review. In fact, there was a "Please Review!" note in the box when I got mine, and I did (which is rare for me) because it is a great scale for a really reasonable price.

I started it around the same time I got a bioimpedance fat loss monitor, which was in April. According to it, I've lost almost 10% body fat since then. I don't know how much I trust the monitor but honestly, I love the E/C stack for its appetite suppression. I cycle on it for 8 weeks and off it for 2 weeks. I can tell the difference when I'm off it, hunger wise.

It's nothing crazy but when I'm on the E/C stack, I have to set an alarm to remember to eat when my feeding window opens up. That's pretty useful. I could live without it but the appetite suppression + fat burning makes it pretty worth it.

It makes some people jittery but I have no adverse reactions personally.

Hi!!! So my son has been exclusively breastfed (aside from introducing solids at 6 mos.) and my period came back at 4.5 months postpartum. Every woman is different in regards to breastfeeding/fertility. I've had 3 cycles since they first came back, but I just started temping this month so I can see if i'm actually ovulating. We don't want a big age gap so we are trying, but haven't had any luck. Breastfeeding can cause short luteal phases, but since you're done breastfeeding then this might not be an issue for you. My advice; get some cheap OPKs. Get a mabis basal body thermometer and start temping. Track your temps with Fertility Friend. This will hopefully give you some clarity so you can start to understand what's going on with your body! Good luck :)

Do you have a body fat% scale? I have one (and granted they're all a little inaccurate) and it shows my body fat and muscle mass % which really motivates me. I know it's not 100% accurate but the percentages changing over time IS accurate. Mine was pretty cheap too and gets great reviews on amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Capacity-Recognition-Technology/dp/B004L6NTHU/

There are different ones on there too.

I also just bought a garmin vivofit band to count my steps and I love it.

Sorry I'm so late to respond, but I just got whatever was cheapest on Amazon. I think I have this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B001D8ZGAM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_RlSpzb4MP5KC8

I wash it with soap and water after each use or around once a day on beach trips and it has held up really well. The handle gets sticky from holding it with lotioned-up hands, but if you clean it regularly it's not an issue. It's honestly so helpful, even when I'm on vacation with friends and family, because then I don't have to rely on anyone else getting out and drying off to help me get my back covered.

No such thing. Use a cheap white plastic caliper, it's honestly the best thing you can use for yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/Accu-Measure-Fitness-Personal-Caliper-Measurement/dp/B000G7YW74/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426946909&sr=8-2&keywords=body+fat

It's a single measurement, and while it's not perfect it is excellent for self-tracking. I've used it and it's pretty much been right on.

I also have top of the line Harpendens that cost $350, which I use for multisite analysis. I have a pretty good basis for comparison, I'd say.

For what you want, the $6 dollar thing I linked to is just fine and infinitely more accurate than the scale.

1. This blanket because I'm a tiny bit obsessed with Harry Potter.
   
   
2. This scale because it gives a lot more information than just weight which is more helpful in the weightless process. It would be helpful to know how my body fat/muscle/water weight/etc. is being impacted when my weight doesn't seem to be moving the way I'd like.
   
   
3. This artwork because I'm also a little obsessed with The Legend of Zelda.
   
   
4. This dress because it's perfect for valentine's day.
   
   
5. This because it looks cute and comfy.
   
   Your boss sounds great, and you do too. Thanks for hosting this :)

I love a good ice pack.. It's what use, very cold but doesn't stay cold that long.

Maybe a wedge pillow?.

I waste most of my in-bed time either reading, watching tv/movies or playing Xbox. I don't have a good network to make Facebook worthwhile so I find it hinders more than helps. Best of luck to you both

It's true that weight doesn't matter on its own. It's just a tool that we use to track fat loss. But depending on how quickly you're losing weight, it would be very difficult to put on muscle at the same rate, especially from cardio, as opposed to weight training. Muscle growth caps out around a couple pounds per month for most people. The world's strongest man may be around 400 lbs, but he can also deadlift over 1,000 pounds. It's just important to keep some perspective on that, because none of us are on his level.

It sounds like the psoriasis could play a role in the fat percent reading. You could try to use one of the impedance testers that goes through your hands (like this one). But I think the bigger factor is that the impedance fat percent testing just isn't that accurate to begin with. It can be influenced by all kinds of thing. When I test mine at night versus the following morning, it can easily differ by 4 or 5%. So I don't really trust it. The calipers are a good alternative, as long as you're careful to use them correctly, and the same each time.

I've been lifting heavily for some time now (while eating on a deficit), and muscle growth has certainly happened, but not quickly enough to stop weight loss. I find it's a lot harder to track getting healthy without being able to put some numbers to it. To each his own, though.

Gummies are fine, but be aware that most do not have iron. I've actually never seen a gummy prenatal that includes iron. If that's an important supplement for you, you'll have to get it a different way or choose a pill prenatal.

Fish oil probably doesn't hurt. I personally take one when I remember. I've heard it helps baby brain development or something, I don't remember. Either way, I've seen nothing that says it's harmful, just that it either does nothing or is beneficial.

Just remember that any vitamin or supplement is just that, a supplement. If you're getting what you need in your diet, then all you really need is a folic acid supplement for TTC purposes. Many women aren't quite getting everything they need, especially when they try to grow a baby, which is why prenatals exist.

An app that doesn't use temps is really just guessing. If it uses CM, it's educated guessing. If it just goes by cycle length, it's an averaged shot in the dark. My average cycle is about 25-26 days. A period tracking app would tell me that I probably ovulate around cycle day 11. I actually ovulate on cycle day 15 on average. If I used one of those app, I'd miss my entire fertile window.

OPKs will predict when you are about to ovulate. Temps will confirm when you've ovulated. OPKs can't confirm ovulation and temps can't predict ovulation. Temping is a very cheap and easy way to track your cycle, including ovulation date and Luteal Phase length, but it drives some women crazy with obsession and other women have trouble because you really have to temp at the same time every day after a decent amount of sleep.

Many people use Wondfo's. You can get them from Amazon for relatively cheap and they're easy to use. Just pee in a cup, dip the end for 3 seconds, and wait. They're also about as sensitive as most other pregnancy tests. There are some, like First Response, that are both much more expensive and more sensitive.

Good luck!

You might make a mess of a switch or pot on your first time around dripping extra solder and shorting out some connections but those are also the cheapest components involved so no sweat if you need to swap something out.

Before you solder you want to make a physical connection first. Twist up the tips of the wire so they're thinner and thread them through the little eye holes on the contact points and bend them over into a hook shape so they're now hanging onto the part before heat gets involved.

Now apply the iron tip to the component where you're going to solder for a second or two to heat it up and touch the solder wire to the component (not just to the iron tip) and it should melt and flow to lock down the physical connection you formed above.

Your biggest danger is mostly going to be burning/melting components by having the iron in contact with them for too long so just work quickly and deliberately and you shouldn't have any issues.

A higher quality iron with variable temperature control should make this easier as the really cheap $10 irons often don't get hot enough to melt cheaper solder quickly so you spend more time pressing the hot tip to the components trying to melt solder and burn up gear.

Don't skimp on tools.

Also wear safety glasses as the last thing you want to do is fling hot solder off a springy wire right into your stupid eyes.

"Helping Hands" tools can be really useful as well. Most of the time when you burn yourself it's when you're doing something that kinda requires more than two hands at once so instead of holding pliers and an iron like chopsticks with solder in your mouth and a row of blisters on your thumb just take a step back and find a smarter way to work.

Oh and just a reminder - metal is a great conductor of heat so if you're putting the iron to a component you'll notice pretty quick if your skin is touching another exposed metal surface of the same component or wire.

Bulk you say? Wondfo brand is super cheap on Amazon, but they are just the strips so you have to pee in a cup first and then dip. I personally prefer that, cause I think it's easier to pee in a cup than on a stick. It's always good to have another brand on hand in case you're not sure (something with a digital read out), but this really gives a good bang for your buck.

The daily chat is likely winding down at this time of night (at least in north america)! So, most people recommend either the mabis or the easy@home. I like the MABIS - quiet beeps, temperature recall, no backlighting. Lots of people like the easy@home for the backlighting.

Most of us use fertility friend - it does the best job at using your data in predicting future cycles. Wanna help people do science and get a free VIP subscription? Join the BU presto study. You might want to take the free course they offer to get started on how to temp.

Lots of people use OPKs - most people buy wondfo brand OPKs and HPTs so we can piss on something if the wind blows. OPKs are useful for timing sex. HPTs are useful if you want to have a drink on 10DPO but you're a little worried. At least, that's the only use I've found for them. :)

Lots of people take prenatals - a multivitamin that has 400 mg of folic acid should have you covered, but y'know. Talk to your doctor. I'm guessing if you're in the WTT crowd you got this covered.

You'll also find that we have a stickied thread at the top of the subreddit that goes over the sub's rules, and has additional information. Searching the subreddit will also often find you the answers you seek, in a more timely fashion.

>brushes

If you use GW brushes, get the Standard, Fine Detail, and Wash brushes. These give you a good starting point for most of the stuff you'll be doing. Otherwise you'll want to find similar brushes in other ranges (Windsor & Newton make good brushes). If you go with third-party brushes I think the sizes you'll want are 1, 0, & 3/0.

>mats,

You can get any sort of sewing mat, where it's basically just a piece of rubber you lay on the table. Joann's Fabrics or any sort of sewing store should have this. Here's one I found on Amazon.

>thinners

The paint you're working with is water based, so water will work as a thinner. If you decide to airbrush things that will change what you need but for now, build a wet palette.

>cutters

Try these

>etc

You'll need some glue at the very least. You might also want some helping hands to hold things while you paint them/glue them together.

>is there a site that tells you what colours you need to paint certain colour styles?

I'm not aware of any one site as a catch-all for painting any scheme, but googling things led me to this site that goes into detail about painting Space Wolves. You could also consider this video from Games Workshop where they go through the steps of painting the model.

As for the paints themselves, I'd recommend working with the Vallejo Game Color paint range. They come pre-thinned (extremely helpful for new painters) and convert to Games Workshop colors pretty easily.

Some more hobby stuff to help you get started:

Zenithal Priming

Airbrushing

Object Source Lighting

YES. SO TRUE! My boyfriend and I kept telling ourselves stuff like "they can't be that good, we don't need one, blah blah."

We finally bought one because he saw a sale and we LOVE IT. We also got a squatty potty stool and it is great. The experience of pooping has been transformed. You can get both for like $60 or $70 bucks total on amazon.

Our bidet is this one and I got this squatty potty.

OP, seriously. Bidet. Squatty potty. You won't regret it. Except maybe you will then regret that not every toilet in your life is as richly equipped as the one at home. Pooping elsewhere sucks ):

Those are referred to as 3rd hand tools or helping hand tools (this is the one I have). They can be useful, but I don't think they'll be helpful for the ErgoDox kit (haven't actually really done that sort of of soldering, esp the surface mount diodes). They tend to be particularly useful when you're doing through-hole soldering. Here's a video demonstrating some uses of a 3rd hand. Here's another video.

Truthfully, I'm not sure, but I would imagine the more money you spend on them, the better quality and finer results..? That being said, I went with a super-cheap pair with lots of high reviews on Amazon.

I got these ones here: (assuming it's okay to post links?) And they also came with a tape measure =)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G7YW74/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1495153866&sr=8-3&keywords=body+calipers

Otherwise, I used bodybuilding.com for the learns:

https://www.google.com/amp/www.bodybuilding.com/amp-content/how-to-measure-your-body-fat.html

And this is one of the places I used for the calculations =)


http://www.linear-software.com/online.html

>You don't need a soldering iron to fix a knob...

Oops, I meant to say that I broke the pot. I tried pulling the knob gently while also rocking it back and forth but I still managed to pull the shaft out of the brand new pot.

Sorry for the confusion; my phone was at 1% so I was typing fast. Perhaps I should have proof-read.
>Electrical work on guitars isn't really maintenance, as you should do it right the first time and never have to worry about it again. Unless you're really into modding and replacing pickups, I wouldn't jump on it.

Haha, I've managed to break an electrical part twice in the past month, and I expect it to happen at least a few more times as my guitar collection grows. I figured it would probably be cheaper and fun to learn how to do it myself.

>A multi angle vice can be very helpful as well.

Like this or this?

Welcome! At 2 months, you have absolutely no reason to worry that you won't be able to do this. It can take a healthy couple up to a full year to conceive.

Do you temp? Use OPKs? My suggestions:

Buy and read Taking Charge of your Fertility. This is going to show you things about your body that you never knew. It really is eye opening.

Buy a Basal Body Thermometer. You can take your temperature vaginally or orally, as long as you do it the same way every day. You want to take your temperature after at least 3 hours of solid sleep. Don't get up, don't move around. Wake up to your alarm, take the temp and go back to sleep. I believe the one I linked has a 'history' so you can read it in the morning.

Enter your temperature daily in Fertility Friend This is free and will help you track your ovulation. You should have a drastic dip and then a pretty drastic rise. This indicates that you have in fact ovulated.

Temping is only good in retrospect. You can see that you have ovulated, not that you are going to. That's where [Ovulation Predictor Kids] (http://www.amazon.com/Combo-Ovulation-Pregnancy-Test-Strips/dp/B001E1Y1X6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404993367&sr=8-3&keywords=wondfo) come in handy. You use these in the afternoon (when most women will have a surge of Lutenizing (sp?) Hormone. This indicates that you are gearing up to ovulate. And yes, it's true that it's possible that you don't ovulate every time you surge. That's why you want to temp to actually confirm it.

Combining these 3 things will give you a really clear picture of what's going on each cycle. For some women, it can really stress them out. For me, it makes me feel empowered. Let me know if you have any more questions!

thank you so, so much for your response — i'm also wondering why the hell i'm getting so slammed with anxiety and mood swings when it's been a month after i've taken it, same as you? i also get really nauseous when i'm anxious — super fun side effect, amirite. :/ hormones are no joke when it comes to how they affect mood.

if there's anything that will help ease your anxiety, take a pregnancy test. i have a giant pack of cheap ones i got on amazon that work well and are pretty highly rated.

thank you for your kind words and again, it's enormously reassuring that i'm not the only one going through this crap.

i hope you get your period soon! and i hope you ace your finals. you got this girl!

Buy a new scale and keep it in one spot. You're already all over the map when you move it around, so I think your (not ridiculous) fear of the electric one is valid, but misguided. Scales actually read better when they stay in one spot and don't move around a lot. Also, the floor material can change the scale. Don't weigh on carpets, try to make sure the floor is level.

FWIW, I was also terrified about this when I just purchased my new scale which I absolutely love. I was weighing at the gym with one of those sliding balance ones and was convinced there was a five pound difference. Turned out to be half a pound, and easily attributed to user error. Because your scale is all over the map, think about the peace of mind you'll have once you get a digital scale that you will leave in one place to make sure it stays accurate. You got this!!!

Nice - you'll be glad to have that variety of tips, depending on what you are working on! If you have any spare Christmas money, I'd recommend picking up one of these self-adjusting wire strippers - it sort of matches your color scheme too! And if you do a lot of de-soldering (anything with lots of headers or through-hole IC sockets), a desoldering iron can save a ton of time compared to your solder wick and desoldering pump.

A few other things that I've found useful (mostly repairing electronic keyboards / synthesizers, although I'm hoping to get more into Arduino / Pi soon):

Hakko wire cutter

Helping hand

Hemostat / Forceps

Digital multimeter with audible continuity tester

You madame, are genius! I'm getting an IUD later this month, but have been period-less on Depo for YEARS. Just ordered a pack to help ease my mind when I question if I'm experiencing side effects from my birth control or if they're actually symptoms... Bless you ❤
Similar version (US): Https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VT30C8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7eGIzb8Z7KG1Z

Take a test. It's not physically impossible for you to have gotten pregnant; it's just very unlikely if you used condoms properly. But not impossible.

Another possibility is stress, which can make your period late. It could also simply be your wonky cycle being, well, wonky. Mine is wonky too. It's been like that for so many years, in fact, that I go on Amazon and buy these in bulk because it's way cheaper than buying the pee-on-a-stick kind. This is what that use in doctors' offices, and they're easy and I'm poor.

I'd recommend also going and getting on the pill. Your period will show up regularly (or not at all, depending on which kind), and it's an added layer of protection on top of condoms. If you really don't want to gamble with pregnancy, it's a good idea to take the pill.

Congrats on losing your V-card. I wish you many years of happy, healthy fuckin'!

It's a little over $50, but I love my scale.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N9ENKDI/ref=cm_sw_r_taa_lyPEybA9040SV

the really cheap scales I've had in the past weren't as accurate, and broke quickly. I've only had this one a couple weeks but so far it's great! I really like having all my info added to my tablet automatically because I like data, and am usually rushing around in the mornings.

Yyou might consider changing the batteries before buying a new one. I know my scale goes stupid when the batteries are low. Which happens way more often than it should because apparently I have a ghost who likes to try to weigh in frequently too.

I have a weight watchers scale that I got through my credit card rewards program, I don't think the particular model is made anymore, but I've heard good things about the other weight watchers models too.

When I get a new one, I'm probably going to get this or another by the same brand. My mother has had one of that brand for ages and it still works great and she loves it. Also no waiting for it to be ready to use - it's just step on.

Hi, two months of trying isn't enough to start worrying about infertility. Doctors usually start asking questions after 6 months to a year of trying. I'm 30 and I also waited until I was financially ready to start a family. I also never thought about having kids when I was younger but I thank god I realized I wanted a family! I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant (high risk pregnancy due to a short cervix). Anyway, I used these products to know exactly when I was ovulating + to help me with lubrication since I tend to be stressed/dry during sex:

- Pre-Seed Fertility Friendly Personal Lubricant

- Easy@Home 50 Ovulation & 20 Pregnancy Test Strips Kit

I was lucky and got pregnant on our first try. Give it a shot and don't worry too much about your age or whatever else the other women are doing.

I'd suggest purchasing a Bio Impedance scale to help keep track of your body fat percentage. It's not perfect in that it can be off from time-to-time, but as long as you measure at the same time of day each week you'll get a roughly consistent measurement. This way you can eat more and know if you're gaining muscle or just gaining more fat (at least to a degree).


Below is the one I purchased a few years ago but seems like there's a lot of options now so you may want to do some research.


https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L6NTHU


I've gotten official DEXA scans which is the most accurate way to measure BF% according to many but costs $45 each time. The scale above was off by about 0.6% BF when compared to my DEXA scan. Eg. My scale said I was 10%, but the DEXA reflected 10.6%. No food or water before either measurement.


Outside of that, make sure you're getting enough protein (many studies suggest between 0.82g of protein per pound of body weight is the max your body can utilize, but some prefer to go by 1.0g per pound of body weight).


Hope this helps.

I used to use a gripmaster back in my climbing days, but now prefer this
http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Waves-Varigrip-Adjustable-Exerciser/dp/B001OCGGEM/

I find the adjust-ability of it to be very helpful.
Is it the same motion as playing guitar? No, but finger strength and endurance is still useful to you. I often use it with one hand while reading from my kindle with the other. Swap hands every 5 mins or so.

Here

I strongly suggest using a scale. Ignorance may be blissful, but awareness is successful.

The scale has a cool app, synchs with Google Fit, which can then synch with Cronometer. I'm sure there are other apps it works with, but that's just how I use it.

Haven't been disappointed and can only blame any inconsistencies on my own behavior. ;)

If you're the type who is paranoid about being pregnant (I totally get it- I am too) I recommend buying pregnancy test strips in bulk and keeping them on hand. Here is what I get, it's 25 strips for $12 and they work just as well as the store bought tests. https://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Pregnancy-Strips-25-count-medical/dp/B0002YIQEQ?th=1

$12 dollars is a great price for peace of mind in my opinion and I love that they ship to my house. I look much younger than I actually am and I always feel uneasy buying pregnancy tests in stores, like the cashiers might judge me. Buying the strips in bulk so they're there whenever I get paranoid has really helped me a lot with the "am I or am I not" anxiety.

Skeleton Challenge: Take a crack at constructing your childhood. https://www.amazon.com/Puzzled-Styracosaurus-Wooden-Puzzle-Construction/dp/B000NQI25G/ref=pd_sim_21_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=61l1DyrUw5L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=AS8MHR9YY3FVKBJKCG7N

Humidor: Yes its a box, but a really fucking nice, specialty box.

The Scrap Challenge: Small bits, small projects, small works of art.

The Pizza Peel Project: Who doesn't like pizza? Let your creativity run wild!

The Fine Woodworkers Squatty Potty: Don't know what a Squatty Potty is? https://www.amazon.com/Squatty-Potty-Original-Bathroom-Toilet/dp/B00ESKVN7W/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1467259220&sr=8-1&keywords=squatty+potty+toilet+stool Just a stool to help your.......stool. Who wouldn't want a Kona, Walnut and Brazilian Cherry mini stool to put their feet up.

I second the EatSmart Scale but I got a slightly different one. Great scale, wide base, and excellent customer service.

Also, it's slim enough that my bathroom door opens overtop of it so I have more flexibility in where I place it. High weight limit, too!

Good luck to you! FYI, OPK tests can get speedy if you buy them from Walgreens, etc. amazon has a ton at a much better price. These get great reviews an are typically the ones I've seen used by the women here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004IJHDN6

http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1395077736&sr=8-15&keywords=soldering+iron

get a good iron, solder, and those magnifier hands. Then just start playing with soldering wire together and then do a project. Search youtube how to solder it's pretty easy. Oh and wear safety glasses sometimes the wire will slip or something weird happens and solder goes flying towards your eyes, better to be safe than sorry.


http://www.amazon.com/SE-MZ101B-Helping-Hands-Magnifying/dp/B000RB38X8/ref=pd_cp_hi_1

When I google and match the package to what Amazon offers, says they're sensitivity of 25miu (so a normal 'cheapie' strength, but not quite FRER which picks up on 12miu)

And yes looks positive! :)

I would write down ur different modes and scales and then buy the D’addario hand exerciser to improve your hand strength and use ur fingers the same way you would with ur scales, so it will help u memorize all them.

Here’s an Amazon link to the product: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001OCGGEM/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527557035&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=guitar+finger+strengthener&dpPl=1&dpID=31TKcbhXr5L&ref=plSrch

My eyesight isn't as good as it used to be and like you I took an approximately 20 year break from painting. I use this - https://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Flip-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1540999813&sr=8-4&keywords=jewelers+magnifying+headset

It really helps to see details while painting.

​

As far as the white goes, I'd recommend getting an airbrush. Then you can lay down a nice and smooth white basecoat on a squad in minutes. Then you just have to pick out the details. I used this basic airbrush setup -

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Airbrush-Multi-purpose-Dual-action-Compressor/dp/B001TO578Q/ref=sr_1_7?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1540999981&sr=1-7&keywords=master+airbrush

​

Welcome back to the hobby! Continue to keep us all in the loop with your progress.

Amazon.com. They have many options from packs of just pregnancy tests to packs like the one I get, which has OPKs and pregnancy tests. For $16.95, I get 50 OPKs and 20 pregnancy tests and my husband and I have amazon prime, so I get it in two days without having to pay any additional shipping. I use a pint sized take out tupperware to pee in and I haven't gotten any on my hands (more than I can say for the time I tried an expensive test stuck in my urine stream).

On the one hand, yeah, I should be supporting smaller, more local businesses. On the other hand, I can pee on things as many times as I want during the day and it's still cheaper than a Starbucks habit :)

A d&s abortion barely counts as surgery (dilation and suction). Nothing is cut, there’s no scalpels or scarring. It’s about as complicated as installing an iud. However if you’re from the United States, I wouldn’t take the ability to get an abortion now or in the future for granted, nor the ability to get the morning after pill.

I can’t take hormonal contraceptives and I bleed heavily already so copper IUDs are out for me. My birth control is condoms, and the morning after pill if they break. Abortion is also free and on request in my country, so failure of the first two methods is really not something I have to worry about because there’s always abortion. My partner is about to start contracting for an American company though, and it’s a possibility we may have to relocate stateside in the future. We’re both waiting for sterilisation appointments while we’re still here and still have inexpensive, comprehensive private health insurance where sterilisation is a policy benefit with no co-pay. (We pay around $80 USD a month each for the most expensive plan there is, which includes dental and optical cover and unlimited surgical and medical treatment in a year — my eyes water thinking what that same kind of cover is going to cost us in the US, hopefully we can get it as part of a renumeration package).

I think if you have the option of sterilisation you should take it. If you can’t handle it, next best option would be jadelle (the implant), with condoms, and the morning after pill (plan b) if you break any of those condoms. Stacked together that should lower the odds of pregnancy into the 1:100000s. Stock up on the morning after pill while you can still get it. Maybe even send away for some abortifacient pills from aidaccess.org as well. Pick a day of the month and test for pregnancy on that day every month with something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ClinicalGuard%C2%AE-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-Individually-Sealed/dp/B007VT30C8

The first thing I did was buy this body fat measurer and a good scale. My initial tracking was simple:

Get out of bed, take a piss, then weigh myself, take my body fat, and write it with dry-erase on my bathroom mirror, along with the date. When the mirror fills up, transcribe it all onto an Excel spreadsheet.

Takes 30 seconds out of my morning, but enables me to track over time what's happening to my body.

-------
Did I start lifting more and gain some weight? No biggie, body fat has gone down, I know it's just muscle.

Did I go off the lifting/eating routine for awhile? Suddenly my BF% is hitting a number I'm not comfortable with, and finding the time to start lifting again is much easier.

Not to mention the fact that I'm catching my weight gain/loss of fitness much more quickly than I otherwise would have.

-------

Make sense? The issue with logging everything is that it can be tedious and time-consuming, the key is to find ways to make logging easy

I recently stalled out, I mean stopped losing according to the scale completely. It hasn't moved in 4-5 weeks. Eventually I stopped looking at the scale and now I don't weigh myself every day like I used to. I am seeing much more progress in strength gains and physical NSVs such as clothes fitting better and more muscle definition. If you want to take fat% measurements I wouldn't suggest using a scale but rather either calipers as they are the most accurate but also the most work or if you have just a regular scale and know how much you weigh then you can do a handheld electrical impedance unit such as this one. The electrical ones wont be nearly as accurate as the calipers but are more work because you will need to do more math and maybe have someone help take measurements.

As for preventing losing muscle mass is to work out more and specifically focus on doing more resistance and strength training. Who knows maybe working out more will help to stimulate your appetite more.

Tomorrow is my birthday so that is what I am looking forward to most! I will be 23 years old! I also have a show on Friday with my new band which is both exciting and a little nervous! It is only a house acoustic show but it is with a bunch of people who have connections in the scene and if I perform well I might get offered bigger and bigger gigs! :)

This could help me strengthen my hands when I am not playing guitar.


oh and Catdog!

I own this scale from Amazon. It's less than $30 and I've had it for two months now. Beyond its body fat readings, which I'm not sure of the accuracy of most scales, the Bluetooth feature is really helpful for recording results to your phone in apps like Apple Health or My Fitness Pal. The scale also has a phone app that is pretty decent by itself; again, like any piece of technology, it will not be 100% accurate but if you're measuring yourself as well as weighing yourself consistently it can certainly help with organizing your data trends wirelessly.

I think this might be what you are referring to...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FYZMYK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=timscheblo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000FYZMYK

Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor, Black

I bought one myself, and I am pretty happy with it. I think that the measurements might a little on the low side, but still pretty nice tool, and very easy to use.

I use a basic digital scale by EatSmart. It's relatively cheap, easy to use, attractive looking, and so far seems really accurate. I love it and their customer service seems amazing so I'm not too worried about it breaking anytime soon.

Here's a link to my scale on Amazon

ABSOLUTELY! I have built well over 50 models being a mixture of RGs, MGs and HGs and I have gone through the gambit when building them when it comes to emotions and skills. I started with automotive grade side cutters and using a pocket knife to trim the nub. Than I started panel lining, got a pair of jewlery nippers, sanding the nub and than to my system now a tool kit that includes Gundam Planet nippers, two hobby knives, straight edged toe nail clippers, sakura 005 black pens, metallic sharpies, masking tape and foam finger nail sanders. It wasn't until I joined this community that I learned more about aspects like adding a top coat and custom painting.

Gunpla isn't about making your model look like everybody elses, its about making yourself happy and enjoying the process.

With regards to RG kits, as they do have tiny tiny pieces, if you're really worried about your hands shaking I would look into acquiring a work stand similar to what people use while soldering electronics and making miniature figurines.
http://www.amazon.com/SE-MZ101B-Helping-Magnifying-Glass/dp/B000RB38X8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1453307699&sr=8-3&keywords=solder+stand

EDIT: http://ragnaroc05.imgur.com/all/ In case you wanted to look around.

I found caliper to be the more precise of all way of measuring, I have a couple of model, but they are kind of hard to use in a consistent way.

Like you, I want to monitor my progress, especially monitoring that I am not loosing muscle or a minimum amount while cutting fat. In the past, I did loose a lot of muscle while loosing the last 20 pounds, so this time I just want to be sure this is in check.

Unfortunately, using caliper is kinda a pain in the ass to use and the slight variation in pitching the fat, or the emplacement and the measurement is off and hard to compare.

Personally, I am using this body fat scale:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N1UX8RW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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It measure your weight and you body fat, your lean body mass, etc and it sync with your phone automatically. Bio Impedance is not reliable if you want to know your true bodyfat percentage (can be off by +- 4%), but to track your progress it is awesome if you use it in the same circumstance. I weight in the morning at the same time every morning after I wake up and pee. On the other hand, in my case, the bodyfat this scale is estimating me is the same as what I measured using my calipers. So for me, it is pretty accurate while being very cheap and very very convenient.

I've gotten this scale about a month ago and have liked it. Pretty reasonably priced, and I don't put a huge amount of faith in the body fat %age, but all you have to do is have the app open when you step on the scale, and it'll log all the stats. i like to have the stats sent to my fitbit account because i prefer its graphing feature and bc it aggregates from other things I like to keep track of too. Hope that's what you're looking for

First of all, you're not stupid. You're stressed out!

Best way to know what's up - pee on a stick. =) (Seriously!) And if you haven't already seen them, Amazon sells them way cheaper than even the dollar store. (http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-50-count/dp/B004AOMAOG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376517187&sr=8-2&keywords=wondfo+pregnancy+test)

That said, I have several friends who've recently gone off the pill, and every single one of them has said the first month or so is absolutely nuts. Hormones are regulating, mood swings all over, total pregnancy symptoms as your body adjusts to 'normal', whatever that is for you.

As far as breakthrough bleeding (fake period) or a regular period, that doesn't 100% mean you can't be pregnant. Plenty of women have periods all the way through pregnancy, which seems almost impossible, but it happens more than you might think.

And what you're describing (food aversion, bloat, fatigue, etc.) are pretty typical symptoms of hormone flux, PMS and pregnancy. You know, because nothing can be simple. :P But really, all of that can be totally normal while your body adjusts to the hormonal changes from stopping the pill.

I know what it feels like when I'm pregnant because I've been pregnant, but it's going to be totally different for everyone. My telltale signs may not even exist for other ladies, and vice versa.

So... don't feel stupid, and if you can't handle the stress, pee on a stick! =)

Temping is good to give you an idea of when you ovulate, that way you can start using OPKs the days leading up to it. So if by temping you notice a pattern where you usually ovulate on CD15, then you start using OPKs starting on CD11 (for example). The line will get darker as you get closer to O, so that's technically when you should do it.

Temping for a few months beforehand is good to give you an idea of when you O and such, that way you're not going crazy using OPKs. I used these with great success using first morning's pee.

I cannot speak to accuracy because I haven't used any other method of body fat measurement, although definitely am considering getting a DEXA once I'm at goal weight to help with designing my recomp, so if and when I do that, I'll let you know.

But as far as scale stuff goes, I have the Bluetooth Smart Scale by Greater Goods ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N9ENKDI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). I've only been using it since February 15th. It shows muscle, water, fat, and bone mass as percentages, and those numbers do not add up to 100%. I assume that's because it's double counting water, so I just pay attention to the fat and muscle masses, since that's really what I care about. According to the scale, I've lost 13.4 lbs, 9.9 lbs of which has been fat and 1.3 lbs of which has been muscle. I have it calculate a running percentage, and it seems that 74-77% of the weight that I lose is fat, which seems reasonable to me.

We have similar stats, I'm 5'2.5" and 150.6 lbs. As of today, I'm at 29.2% muscle and 31.2% fat, which seem like reasonable numbers to me, given my body type.

An interesting sidenote: I donated blood a few weeks ago and my weight was significantly down the next day, which I attributed to dehydration, and it took me two weeks to get "back" to that number on the scale. But the body fat/muscle mass/water percentages were almost exactly the same those two times, and according to those numbers, I wasn't dehydrated at all.

Are you taking your temperature to confirm ovulation? A positive opk doesn't guarantee ovulation. Seeing your temp charts could help save $$ before going to the RE for blood tests to confirm ovulation. You can get one on Amazon for about $8. I like the Mabis that saves your temp until you take a new one. But make sure if you order one you get one. BBT are a common scam on Amazon. If you get a different brand than you bought, report it and Amazon will send you a new one. This is mine: MABIS Basal Thermometer, Digital BBT Thermometer, Basal Body Temperature Thermometer For Natural Family Planning, White and Pink https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000O6YCZY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IgG3BbW8ZHE1M

You're probably looking for something like this -

Helping Hands

I use one of these on occasion - I've stripped off the magnifying lense (too awkward), and have only one of the "hands" modules on it. With a little adjustment, you can move the miniature around to get at every bit of it, it leaves one hand free, holds it securely (so at least one part of brush + mini is steady!), and you can adjust the height of the mini pretty substantially.

I recommended this to someone else earlier today: please get opk test strips. I was also using Fertility Friend for about a year & when it came time for the first month to start trying to conceive, I got a BFN. I BDed every day that the app told me was within my fertile window. By using the test strips I was able to find out that I ovulate a week late and that Fertility Friend had gotten my fertile window wrong. Best of luck at getting your BFP in a few days or next month!

The best way would probably be just to use the heavier switches until your fingers naturally get stronger. If you really want to build finger strength, they sell finger strength trainers for guitarists like this.

I got a touch up pen from this website a few years ago and I was pretty happy with it. Get something like a dental pick and scrape the rust and crud off before you paint it. I use a magnifying glass to make sure I got everything completely clean. With all things paint, the result is completely dependent on the prep work.

I hope I can get it at the local supermarket :O I'll keep an eye out, for sure.

I think I saw someone link to a huge pack (10-packs, 20-packs, 30-packs?) on Amazon, maybe that's worth a look if you're really paranoid. Ideally, I'd get a 3-pack every time, just to be sure, because what if the first test is sorta iffy, and then the second test is really clear and then you're torn between the two results, so you should take a third one just to be sure?! My wallet doesn't allow that, though.

Edit: Found a link of a pack of 50 tests for the curious

Yeah, I definitely am not taking that measurement as gospel, but using the calipers is a pain and I haven't had any other really good way of doing it, so I'm just glad to have something to track. Percentage has been slowly going down from day to day, so I'm trying to pay most of my attention to that.

But here ya go, it works, integrates with fitbit/google fit, and it's pretty cheap. You will need a smartphone, though.

What calipers do you have? This have markings and instructions on them to make it super simple. Does yours have markings?

If not there is still a way but it may be less accurate since it'll depend on you making more measurements so the possibility of making a mistake is higher.. This came up doing a quick Google search, you may want to search more.

progress look good, congrats!

Ladies, I know this isn't ketobabies, but if you're trying for a baby with irregular periods, then get thee to Amazon and order an ovulation predictor kit. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DOJG6RA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1541726768&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=ovulation+predictor+kit&psc=1. The cheap ones work just as well as the expensive ones)

I've been trying too, and it turns out I was way off when I thought I was ovulating. The more you know! Good luck y'all!

For the software side, your screen magnifier will do the job. For Linux, use gnome's zoom for screen magnification. So far gnome's zoom is better then others shells I have tried, especially compiz's zoom that would take a lot of cpu memory. I haven't tried out RedHat or Cent OS as a desktop, so it may have a good magnifier. And so far gnome's zoom doesn't support separate monitors and so it makes one large desktop basically, where I'd rather have different content on different monitors.

If you can do most of your work remotely/from your own station, you'll be fine with the screen magnifier. When at another person's computer, you might be able to turn on zoom via keyboard quickly and turn it off as needed, if setup. However, if you ever need JAWS type text to speech, it might be harder.

On the hardware side, it would really depend on how good your close up vision is. If you can use magnifiers to read and such, something like http://amzn.com/B003UCODIA or http://amzn.com/B00OK7ANB0 would help to deal with hardware. (Though the more powerful the magnification, the closer the object has to be.) As such, a bioptic might be an option for you. A bioptic is a lens that has a tiny monocular in it. You need more light then usual with it for close up work, but if you're like me, you need plenty of light already.

tldr; just do it. Nothing is holding you back but yourself.

My boyfriend and I are doing just the pill for BC. If it ever makes you nervous and you want to test to make sure, use these (not the seller):

http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-50-count/dp/B004AOMAOG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1311182944&sr=8-4

I bought them and they work really well. I also absolutely love not using condoms. It feels really good to just have him inside me :)

Felt exactly like period cramps for me, they just kept lasting on and on and I kept expecting my period to come and it just didn’t. After a week of that I took a test and it was negative. It continued for another week and then I tested again and it was positive.

Honestly pregnancy symptoms and PMS symptoms can be practically identical. The only way to know for sure is to pee on a stick.

Directly after your period ends can be a safe time for many people, but for those with shorter cycles 27 days and under it can also be the beginning of the fertile window for many women. So it’s doubtful you’d be able to predict it one way or the other at this time. I would suggest getting some pregnancy tests from the dollar store or order on amazon and test weekly until you get a positive or your period comes just to give you peace of mind.

(Amazon 25 pack for $8 ClinicalGuard® HCG Pregnancy Test Strips (Individually-Sealed, Pack of 25) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VT30C8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_oaKkDbM2EQ3JC)

To piggyback this comment, if you can afford one (they're pretty cheap), you should invest in a smart scale. They give you more metrics to track besides just overall weight. They provide a solid estimate of your total body fat percentage, subcutaneous fat, fat-free body mass, etc. Obviously they're not as accurate as something like a DEXA scan but they're the next best thing, IMO.

They're a million times more useful than a standard scale if you're bulking and cutting.

http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Pregnancy-Test-Strips-50-count/dp/B004AOMAOG/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371507696&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=wandafo+test

that's the best i could find right now. i guess their prices went up from when i bought them, but still 38 cents a piece is way better than like $5 or more a piece from the drugstore lol

They usually start showing positive from 25mIU/ml which is pretty sensitive and about the same as First Response. The hCG levels grow exponentially as the days go by, so even if you test negative 21 days after the sex that got you pregnant, testing a week later should definitely be positive (if you ever do get pregnant on the pill, not saying this is an inevitable outcome lol). Sometimes the withdrawal bleed does stop during pregnancy on the pill, but it can stop just because your lining was thinned out quite a bit by the hormones. That's why you can't rely on the withdrawal bleed as an indicator either way.

I use the Clinical Guard tests. Always gotten a negative on them but they have a pretty good reputation for showing true positives.

Always been pretty slim. When I wrestled in high school (103 lbs). I got down to 2%. (we had something like this http://www.amazon.com/Omron-Monitor-model-HBF-306C-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK )

I felt very fast is best way to say it. Everything was really easy to move, and to move quickly.

This is what I got off of Amazon and use... http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C-Loss-Monitor-Black/dp/B000FYZMYK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1312908998&sr=8-4

It's pretty simple to use...you turn it on, press start and hold it straight out in front of you with your thumbs on top. And it helps if you do it at almost a similar time everyday considering not using the restroom/showering/eating directly before or the day after drinking lots of booze. But it's also nice the first couple days you use it to use it at different times of the day to see the huge variation it gives (then stick to a schedule)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1UX8RW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I'm sure there is a lot of marketing BS in here. I don't know how it could track everything it claims it can. But, I was interested in the app that would easily record and track my progress and the body fat % measurement. I do know from experience that scales can measure body fat %, so as long as it does those things I'm happy.

its not so much about if i can afford it but what I want to spend my money on....i think this kinda purchase is the hardest haha

but thanks for your help im just gonna research around. just so im clear this is the one youre talking about right?

I've never used it, so, I didn't want to just launch in with a bunch of advice. If it was me, I'd use a magnifying visor and little tools like that.

You may need to lubricate the tools so they don't stick to the green stuff. Water works for Plasticine, not sure about, epoxy. (E: as below, Vaseline for green stuff, apparently) First, I would smooth the overall shape. Use a concave tool for convex edges, like biceps, and a convex tool for concave edges like saddles. Then, I would take a skinny tool and incise simple details, like those scales. Incision also makes little ridges, so you need to smooth those down while you work. You may have a limited time, so rather than get caught up in details and then have it dry half done, I'd work the whole thing all at once and get increasingly granular.

At the end of the day, if my level of control was not good enough to get the contouring and texturing that I wanted, I would try to design a solution that would still look good with the shaping ability that I knew I had, which is why I suggested scars or something.

Again, this is clay, not sure about epoxy. Your overall design is rad. This will look bad ass when it's painted, no matter how close you get your sculpting to your desired result.

E: tutorial for green stuff which says pretty much what I did lubricate with Vaseline, not water.

I just went on Amazon and wound up getting the nicest one that was under $50, which is this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N9ENKDI?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf (sorry I'm on mobile so I can't make that look nicer >.< ) Sometimes the app is buggy but the scale seems pretty accurate, not too far off from the doctor's last I went. Really though you just need something to help you track the trend: is your weight generally going up or down kind of thing. A lot of times (and I'm sure you've heard this already) you'll lose inches before you lose weight, so in that respect no scale is an accurate measure of how much fat is on your body. And you can get a little tape measure from Walmart for less than $2 lol.

I got a scale on amazon from a company called Renpho. It is bluetooth and it gives you: weight, BMI, Body Fat %, Fat-free Body Weight, Body Water %, Skeletal Muscle %, Muscle Mass %, Bone Mass %, and your BMR.

It was like $30. Even if it's not 100% accurate, at least you get see the fluctuation over time. I've had it about 5 months now and I really like it. There's an app on my phone and it pings once it had all the info it needs. Super easy to use.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N1UX8RW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

FRER will def show something if you're pregnant. For future attempts, try these they work well and are easy to read and best of all, super cheap.

I use glasses kinda like this

Makes it much easier.

I really love small, cute things so I was happy to make her!

I bought this scale recently. It's reasonably priced and I'm very happy with it:


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032TNPOE?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf



It would be best to weigh yourself at least once a week consistently to follow a trend of weight loss and make adjustments as you go along. Good luck!

I usually do two weighs just to be sure. If I get the same thing twice I stick with it. I just got a new scale from the hubs for Christmas and I tested it with hand weights to make sure it was accurate. It syncs with an app on my phone which is pretty cool. With my old scale if I thought it was acting up I would take the battery out and put it back in to reset. I don't know if that worked or not, but it put my mind at ease. My old one was just a digital one from Walmart. My new one that I really like so far is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Connected-Backlit-Greater-Goods/dp/B00N9ENKDI

I’m sure you know about the Squatty Potty but I didn’t know about it until a year ago or so so maybe you don’t! It’s supposed to help you poo better lol. 💩

I bought one of the cheaper smart scales of Amazon two months ago and I've been really happy with it.

Easy enough to set up, and I literally just opened the app on my phone and stand on the thing.

One downside: the companion app is super basic (The apparently it does integrate with several of the bigger health apps)

• can't remember the name of the company off the top of my head, but I'm happy to PM you later*
  
  Edit: WeightGURUS scale is the one I bought. dis one

I'm also a woman paranoid about getting pregnant. I go through the same shit, every month. FWIW, my cramps and other symptoms vary pretty wildly from month to month. I also found that as I've gotten older, my symptoms have changed. Maybe you're also going through such a change.

FWIW, /r/birthcontrol has a link to some very cheap pregnancy tests on Amazon - I bought a pack of these just to always have them on hand so if I ever feel anxious at all, I can just take a test and not worry about it any more.

The best advice I have is to maybe try one of the phone apps that help you make sure you don't miss any pills. I just started using one and it's been great for the ease of mind that I'll be nagged if I somehow forget.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032TNPOE/
Got it off amazon a few months ago. Big blue screen, wide platform for big feet. Pretty happy with it. I'd definitely recommend if you're looking for something simple. $36.95 and prime eligible.

>I never could comprehend how you people who actually play tabletop pull this shit off.

I play tabletop games and I will now reveal the great and terrible eight-fold secrets of good miniatures painting:

1. https://www.amazon.com/SE-MH1047L-Illuminated-Multi-Power-Magnifier/dp/B003UCODIA
   
2. Figure out your shading and highlighting BEFORE you start painting a model.
   
3. PRACTICE.
   
4. PATIENCE.
   
5. PRACTICE.
   
6. PATIENCE.
   
7. MORE PATIENCE.
   
8. EVEN MORE PATIENCE.
   
   Serious Version: Be confident, take your time, don't rush, don't stress, and don't worry. Channel your inner Bob Ross, and know that even a brushstroke made in grievous error is a step towards ultimate perfection. Miniature painting requires far less natural talent than other kinds of painting, but far more practice and patience.

I have this scale. Love it, always been accurate, fast readings and lot of other info like body fat %, muscle %, etc.

I also use LoseIt.com on my iPhone for tracking everything I eat. It's free and even gives the option to track nutrients and I really like their graphs and charts.

Are you using ovulation tests? That helped me a lot!

These are pretty great: http://www.amazon.com/Wondfo-Step-Ovulation-Strips-50-Count/dp/B004IJHDN6

Also, /r/tryingforababy has a lot of great advice on this.

Yeah :( thats the bad side. I really love my EatSmart Precision GetFit Digital Body Fat Scale and its on sale with free shipping at amazon, but its $55...which is a great deal, but over your budget :( Maybe ask for it for christmas?

Also since you are doing keto (which I am also doing) it is an awesome way of making sure you are not losing muscle mass too quickly...I had to up my protein (thus my calories) because I felt I was losing muscle too quickly. Now my muscle is much more stable, but my fat loss is still moving along.

Implantation bleeding is generally very rare. If it does occur, usually it is more like spotting, not a full blown period. Also, implantation would most likely occur at the earliest a week before your next regular period.

I think it's just an irregular cycle - probably anovulatory. Most women have at least one a year.

If your period stops abruptly or just to have peace of mind, take a test after your regular period would have been due.

FWIW, I highly recommend keeping these pregnancy tests on hand even if you're practicing safe sex, but especially if you're not on birth control. You get 25 for $6 and the peace of mind is priceless.

How about exercise? How much do you do?

For scales, I've seen these exact ones in my doctor's office before (alongside the proper ones). Out of like 12,000 reviews, a 4.6/5 score is damn good. Regardless of some problems, it should be a good scale if your luck isn't completely terrible. But with all glass scales: Make sure they're on a flat surface. I personally use the smaller one with a max of 400lbs.

What I can recommend to you is this:

You should speak with your doctor about what's going on. Perhaps they have more insight. If they hadn't done a hormone blood test, they probably would.

As with most "Help, I'm not losing weight" posts, if there's no problem with you counting calories or with your body, then it's down to either: Eating less calories. Or, exercising more. 2000 calories at your weight is quite the cut (at my 6' 233lbs, 2200 calories and that's deep for me). Because of that I'd recommend exercising more. If you're not walking (on top of normal activity) everyday, do so everyday. At least thirty minutes, and an hour is great. More than an hour depends on how you feel.

There are a lot of ways to measure body fat:

• Fat Calipers: https://www.amazon.com/Accu-Measure-Fitness-3000-Body-Caliper/dp/B000G7YW74
  
• Body scale: https://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-514C-Composition-Monitor-Indicators/dp/B007W82AZ6/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2ZSK9P0FX7IPV&keywords=omron+body+composition+monitor+with+scale&qid=1573130589&sprefix=omron+body%2Caps%2C264&sr=8-18
  
  Note that either method will not give you a very good absolute value, more of an approximation.
  
  In the end what is more important is:
  
  
• how you feel about yourself, if you like what you see in the mirror then you are at your optimal weight
  
• how healthy you are, if your have problems with your knees or you blood work then maybe it would be a good idea to lose some weight

Seriously, I don't know how i used to eat so much either. It's insane to think about the portions I used to have.

I wouldn't worry about small fluctuations like 204-206. Sometimes people post saying they never adjusted after losing 40lbs, and that makes quite a difference.

I use this one.

There are many ways, all vary in accuracy, but I think it's over hyped. Just use the same measuring method every time, since what you want is to see progress.

The method I use is as follows (Only the right side of the body):

1. measure the skin between the nipple and the arm pit (diagonal)
   
2. measure the skin by pinching belly button and to one side (horizontal)
   
3. measure the skin in the middle of my thigh (vertically)
   
   To measure, you just grab skin with your right hand and pinch, place the caliper about 1/2 inch away from your pinch, and close it till it pops into place. Add up the 3 measurements and plug it in to a calculator and you get your BF%.
   
   The one in the link actually comes with a little chart, so you could use their method also.
   
   As for portions, I caved and bought a scale. They are like $18 on amazon. It's kind of a pain, but I just measure everything that I make and then I know for sure. For eating out I just guestimate portion size, but I don't do that often anyway.
   
   And if you're an excel nerd, you can totally geek out so that all you have to do is plug in the number of grams of each item and it will calculate your total consumption automagically.
   
   EDIT: Tape measure works too, but measure both biceps, both thighs, waist at belly button and hips and take the total and track that, since you'll get some variation in specific areas. I quit the tape measure because I felt like my stength was going up and my fat was going down so the measure wasn't changing all that much.
   

Thanks for your reply. I'm 5 foot 8.5 inches. I'm still 2 pounds overweight and, yes, I'm sure I'd benefit from more fat loss. My end goal is 155, which I estimate would equate to 9% body fat. I've heard that at a low enough body fat the skin starts to kind of grab on to the muscle, but THIS amount of skin is just sort of hard to picture ever tightening.

I guess in an ideal world I'd get my body fat measured in one of those water tanks, but failing that I'm not sure where I'd find a better measurement option than BIA. I imagine calipers would be utterly worthless on my body given how much skin I'm able to pinch. I use this device which is pretty accurate from what I can tell. When I follow the instructions the reading is pretty consistent, and I've had a few buddies try it out, and they've all gotten readings that agreed with earlier measurements (and also just seemed to make sense visually). And for what it's worth, the Amazon reviews are glowing.

I love my helping hands tool. Only $7 and had never failed. Maybe if I were soldering very small electronics I could see buying a nice vise grip like tool. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000RB38X8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-L0HAbVWXN6R8

Heat shrink, why only pick one size?

If you're planning on using a lot of heat shrink it might be a good investment to get a heatgun, although a lighter works just fine.

[Cable sleeves] (https://www.amazon.com/PET-Expandable-Braided-Sleeving--10ft/dp/B00ZATLUZ0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1467915160&sr=8-3&keywords=cable+sleeve) on amazon, there are multiple different sizes you can pick from, a quick search will net you tons of results.

A Helping Hand can be nice, but isn't needed.

You'll need to get a wire stripper or an x-acto knife and a careful hand. A hot glue gun is necessary IMO, it will protect and insulate your solder points as well as hold cables down IF you don't have zip ties. Also get zip ties. I made use of a wood file I had so I could smooth out some of the sharp carbon fiber edges on my frame, just don't breath in the fiber dust. I keep my quad in a backpack, my tool and extra parts are all in a box under my desk. Organization is not my strong suit.

iirc these are the ones I had ordered, and I had no issues with them, but to make sure, if you get a positive, I would confirm with a storebought First Response Early Response. :)

Hey just putting this here for future reference (and for anyone else) - EVERY sexually active woman should have some pregnancy tests on hand, regardless of contraceptive method. Life, uh, finds a way!

Amazon sells packs of 25 for $12. Do yourself a favor and get some so you have them on hand in the future and don't have to pay $10 a test at the drug store.

If anyones thinking of getting into a hobby that requires soldering, a quality soldering iron where you can set the temperature is immensely helpful. The Hakko FX888D is great starting point.

Having extra hands to hold wires in place and a magnifying glass is pretty much a requirement as well.

My Mabis works great. If I'm sleeping in that day I'll take my temp and look at it and put it in FF, but it does keep the last temp if you want to look later. It's not backlit which I know some people like, but it has never bothered me much..my phone is always handy and the screen easily lights it.

Here's mine: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O6YCZY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1)

I'm lucky enough to keep my guitar in my office so I get about 45 minutes of practice each day on my lunch break.

There's a great app called Functional Ear Trainer that is really helpful for training your ear to better identify intervals. I highly recommend it.

You could try one of those finger exercisers (like this one). I'm not certain how well they actually work, but I've seen a decent amount of people who like them.

It's already been said, but you can never go wrong with listening to music. Try exploring bands and genres you don't normally listen to.

Lots of other ideas here.

Snake diet guru

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1onQ0nxgWFM

As far as the app, it’s pretty good and works well with $24 scale from amazon ( much better than the $100 Fitbit scale I had)

https://www.amazon.com/RENPHO-Bluetooth-Body-Fat-Scale/dp/B01N1UX8RW/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=scale+renpho&qid=1554946205&s=gateway&sr=8-3