a mind that's weak and a back that's strong

[the_siobhan]

"I have an exam today and I forgot to study" anxiety dream has apparently been supplanted by "I'm on a crowded city street and I forgot my mask at home" anxiety dream. I've been getting them a couple of times a week - last night I was at a birthday party inexplicably being held on a street corner.

***

Reduced-drinking experiment has yielded the following preliminary results:

1. I can drink occasionally and be absolutely fine. "Occasionally" means once every two weeks or less.
2. My tolerance dropped off really fast.
3. There are demons in that there bottle, and if I forget item two, they will come out and eat me.

So drinks on special occasions is still a thing, I just have to pace myself so that I don't drink as fast or as much as "normal" because that will make me regret my entire life.

Other associated factoids:
Even one drink has a profound effect on my balance. (I deal with low-level dizziness all the time anyway because of a borked vestibular nerve.) Yoga is good vestibular physio and for the last month or so I've been doing yoga first thing in the morning and wow, does it ever make a difference if I've had a drink the day before. I was a clumsy person even before the nerve damage, I don't think I would have noticed the difference if I hadn't suddenly started trying to do tree pose before I've had a bloody coffee.

I am dropping weight really fast, and it's weirding me the fuck out.

***

It's ridiculously muggy because Toronto is a swamp in August and we've had a number of really heavy thunderstorms in the past two weeks. (Current tornado watch count this summer is up to 3.) One of them resulted in some water in the basement, so Axe got up on a ladder and cleared out the gutters and then spent some time patching cracks in the concrete around the walls. Basement DJ has reported dry carpet ever since and we've had a couple more storms since then so we have our fingers crossed that's taken care of it.

***

Work is gradually returning to normal after Big Project of Doom. One of our people has just returned from leave and we have a new hire starting today so I'm looking forward to our work load returning to something like manageable levels. I might even take some time off in September. That would be nice.

Comments

[elusis]

Wet basements are a misery. However, they also provide something for my father to talk to me about.

I admire your efforts. I am riding the exercise bike every other day but I have to have my Diet Coke and a little wake-up time first. I got up today and first thing, KEXP unexpectedly started playing a bunch of songs that are on my "BIKE BIKE BIKE!" playlist. I looked over and thought "should I..." but then I almost tripped over my coffee table as I got up and that answered that. Need a little more time to get the meat sack online.

[the_siobhan]

It's hard because I hate yoga so much, but I can't deny the results.

[elusis]

Same re: riding the exercise bike. I'll be sitting there in the afternoon thinking "man, it is SO FUCKING ANNOYING that I feel good right now!"

[houseof9cats]

Big RELATE to this conversation. I've been beating the shit out of new dx diabetes with body fascism for several months now and feel tons better. Doctor was like, "How did you do it?" about most recent results. Answer: shut up and give me a goddamn donut.

[elusis]

Mm, can't with any kind of body terrorism, sorry.

[houseof9cats]

It was that or shoot myself in the thigh with a needle five times a day. Six and one half dozen to the other, really, except I hate needles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[greylock]

I'm in for a penny, may as well ... pound:

I have only once had the exercise= "I feel good right now!" and that involved (as it turned out) a mang0-flavoured protein powder with a SHITLOAD of caffeine.

I have no idea how my experience relates to anyone else.

[the_siobhan]

I don't get the so-called runners high so much. But I know that if I do exercise consistently I hurt less and the mental background noise is much reduced.

If I got the runner's high it might be easier to force myself to do it.

[dark_phoenix54]

Alcohol has a massive amount of calories; the body processes it as fat. Dropping alcohol can create a sudden weight loss.

[elusis]

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. There's no such thing as selective processing of calories based on source. It's a myth.

[greylock]

You may be correct, but anecdotally, when I stopped drinking for three months*, the weight just melted off me, especially in the face and stomach.

It was amazing.

So... my experience isn't that all calories are equal.

(*that wasn't the only reason, but it made a big difference)

[the_siobhan]

I'm not sure I understand your point. You think if you had stopped consuming a ballpark of 2000+ calories a week from a non-alcohol source, you think you wouldn't have lost weight?

[greylock]

I was doing calorie limiting for two years, and exercise, but the three months I stopped drinking entirely the weight loss accelerated like no-one's business. It was insane.

[houseof9cats]

Yeeeah, drinking mainly went out with vertigo. I couldn't justify the misery. Plus, I could simply turn my head to the left and feel drunk. Very cheap. My understanding is the dehydration contributes to low fluid levels in the inner ear, like salt does.

[the_siobhan]

Oddly, when I am actually drunk there's no dizziness at all.

[greylock]

That's just your dizzy being self-correcting with the drunk-dizzies. :)

[houseof9cats]

My hangovers are always vertiginous, especially after wine. :/ Drunk just makes me break things on my body bc I don't know where my feet are.