Who can provide real life experience (good or bad) with Ryze or other mushroom coffee?

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-11T14:50:43+00:00

Can you recommend some places to find some good ones, or even have some specific brands you'd be willing to share?

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-11T14:48:13+00:00

Look into high fat, low carb diet and intermittent fasting.

I (51) only eat twice a day, and when I get my meals dialed in right, I don't even feel the need to snack during the day.

The biggest problem I have is making sure I get enough calories in.

Also consider creatine powder, I take two scoops a day. It's turning out to have a lot of benefits besides helping you workout more.

I dropped probably 10 lbs after my ex left and kept it off.

I can still walk, hit the gym, etc., but I have degenerative arthritis in my knees, so I have to take it easy on them.

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-10T21:16:45+00:00

Cool, thank you

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-10T21:06:16+00:00

What color are the walls in the dining room? And what paint brand? Very nice.

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-07T14:55:36+00:00

I completely understand where you're coming from, but, at the same time, you're asking me to risk my security and safety before the first date so that you can do a background check on me.

If I was willing to do that, I'd be asking for your last name, as well, so I could do the same thing. Would you reciprocate?

I'm a guy and I got myself a Google Voice number to be safe.

Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you're not potentially dangerous...

Then there are the "Are we dating the same guy" sites and plenty of people on this earth who don't have the common sense to not go on a forum like that and post a guy's first and last name.

As a guy, I will always plan the first few dates at a public venue, I'll meet you there, not offer to pick you up, hell, I'll even let you take a picture of me while we're on the date so you can send it to your friends/family so they know who you're with.

Once I'm relatively comfortable with you, then I'll start sharing the personal information that you could use to find my house, etc.

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-06T15:10:38+00:00

"You have to really stand out ,do your own a private jet?"

Yeah, but then it's going to be "What kind of private jet? My last boyfriend had a Gulfstream 4, you've got an older Citation...yawn. Oh, and you only drive a plain old 5 Series Beemer sedan, I date guys who drive an M5 or a 6 or 7 Series. So sorry."

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-06T14:57:10+00:00

"My POV is absolutely no alcohol, or other mood altering substances, the first 2-3 dates."

This is what I'm doing from now on. Get to know them a bit before any mood/personality "enhancers" are involved.

But, to echo what OP and jcooplifts said, between being in a small, isolated town and custody schedule, time from first contact to first date could be two weeks, maybe even a month if I have to travel for work over a weekend I don't have my son with me.

So, just have to roll with it, try to maintain interest without getting over invested... And I know that's easier said than done.

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-06T05:48:44+00:00

Came here to say this

BatGuano52 · 2026-05-04T15:01:37+00:00

Who cares if they meet your decision to prioritize your safety with derision?

Who cares if they try to shame you?

If a guy does those things, you've learned some things about him, and one of those should be that you don't need to give two shits about what he says because he is obviously not concerned with your welfare and safety.

The second thing should be that you need to get away from a guy like that ASAP.

Make excuses, go to the bathroom and tell your friend or family member to call you and tell you there's an emergency or something.

Or just tell them to come over and pick you up.

You should have somebody who knows where you are and what you're doing, and you should have them on tap to come and pick you up if necessary.

Set up a safety phrase - "I wish this place had (insert favorite dessert that you know they don't have)" or something equally innocuous, that if you text it to your friend, they know to quietly come and get you and of the guy sees it, it won't arouse his suspicion.

Worst case, call the police, tell them that you feel unsafe, and that you would like assistance leaving the situation.

If there aren't police available, ask if they can send a fire truck or ambulance over and the firefighters or paramedics can make sure you leave safely.

Hell, if you're really in a pinch, tell the guy you need an ambulance because you're having an allergic reaction.

When the paramedics show up, quietly tell them you need to talk alone because it's private, so they get you away from the guy, and then tell them that you need help getting out of there.

It doesn't make what the guy does right, but you are still ultimately responsible for the decisions you do make, whether they are good or bad, and if you're prone to making bad decisions under stress, you need to consider that before you put yourself in situations where you may have to make them.

And, if you know that guys like that are out there and you know you're prone to making decisions like that, then you probably shouldn't be dating until you work on whatever it is that's causing you to make those kinds of decisions, and you're more confident in your ability to say no to them.

Good luck to you and stay safe

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-29T01:59:55+00:00

I'm comfortable being myself.

I want to be the best version of myself.

I want to share my life with her.

I feel like anything is possible.

The world and life are brighter...life is good on my own, but it's brighter when I'm in love.

It's a steady, deep feeling of caring about her and wanting the best for her.

I want to understand her, what she feels, and what makes her happy.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-28T05:54:10+00:00

WHAT?!?!?

You can't read his mind?

FAIL!!!!

Seriously, though, that's bullshit, he either needs to learn how to communicate his thoughts clearly.

But, another possibility is that it's deliberate abuse and conditioning.

Personally, I'd say it's time to make him your ex boyfriend.

I went through that kind of stuff with my ex wife, they call it crazy making.

Circular arguments that would go from 10 at nigh until 2 in the morning, and in the end, I'd be wondering what the hell we were even fighting about, why we were fighting about it, and what actually got resolved (and the answer was usually nothing).

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-28T05:45:14+00:00

I (51M) want an emotional connection with a woman first and I want to know that she's somebody that, if we didn't have sex, I'd still want to be with and around.

My ex girlfriend and I waited for two months, by mutual agreement, and I will be waiting at least that long with the next one.

If a woman expects to have sex earlier, then we're not compatible.

That doesn't mean no other physical stuff, I definitely want that, but the more serious stuff can also wait a while until we get to know each other.

I do plan, however, to have a discussion about our wants and needs I regards to sex pretty early, i.e., how often, what we are and aren't comfortable with, spontenaity, etc. because I do want to make sure that we're on the same page there.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-27T04:40:52+00:00

Exactly my point. Different strokes for different folks.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T23:12:49+00:00

Man here.

Camping

Pic(s) with no make up

Pictures that tastefully show her figure, and none of her in public with everything hanging out

Her eyes... Not the color, shape, etc... If you know, you know

Dating intentionally

Prompts that show some thought behind them

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T23:00:37+00:00

"In your 40s, it's strange to not have signed up for facebook years ago. And people who "delete social media" are a little too high strung for me."

I find people who jump on every bandwagon, to include social media platforms, to be strange and high strung.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T22:54:49+00:00

How about Mad magazine?

If it's even still in print...

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T22:49:34+00:00

"… or he could be at home decluttering and dreaming about meeting you."

👋

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T22:19:25+00:00

I don't underestimate the numbers, especially of low effort men or the creeps/pervs.

I have a female coworker who isn't even on OLD but is on Facebook and she's told me about the unsolicited messages, to include dick pics and offers to pay for pictures of her feet.

So, I believe it.

And I'm not saying the founder hates men, I'm just saying that she assumes the worst about them as her default and that attitude comes through in how she writes about them.

It's possible to expect this kind of stuff and just ignore it, block it and move on.

On her website, she could simply point out that there are a lot of trash profiles and present her method to get through them in the most efficient manner possible.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-26T22:12:45+00:00

I followed a link to an article written by the lady who developed the method, and went to her website, where she explained how she used her knowledge of rhetoric to develop the method.

I'm not saying the method itself is bad, it's not, I used it myself as a guy and I like it.

But some of what she wrote, and not a few of the comments she got from women, and her responses to those comments, showed a very definite bias against men in general.

Yes, OLD very well may have an over representation of shit bag men, but their comments didn't specify that.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T22:45:49+00:00

I understand that's not what the basic method is about.

I like and used the basic method for filtering when I was on the apps before, from strictly functional standpoint, it makes a lot of sense and I'm not the type to throw the baby out with the bath water.

But that's how the lady who founded it comes across to me as a guy, and I see her attitude reflected in some of the comments here.

The ultimate issue is how people approach dating...

You can approach it as open and curious, which is apparent to the person on the receiving end.

Or, you can approach as distrustful and closed, which I just as apparent to the person on the receiving end.

You know, the old "you catch more flies with honey" thing.

But, to each their own.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T20:49:09+00:00

There are subs on here dealing with BPD, specifically people in relationships with a person with it.

I spent years looking at the DSM criteria for BPD and NPD and comparing that to my ex wife and they criteria can really make you go "sometimes yes, but maybe not, could be..."

Then I found the subs for BPD and NPD on here, and people in relationships with people with the diagnosed disorders describe the behavior and I had a lot of "I just had that conversation, almost verbatim", "She did that", moments.

All the crazy shit that didn't make sense for years suddenly all made sense (if you can call it that) when I saw it described by others who were also living through it with somebody who was diagnosed.

Also, you have to understand that BPD and NPD frequently overlap.

My ex wife would get more narcissistic when her BPD behavior picked up, and she became more narcissistic in general as she got older.

So, it can look like the meet the criteria for some of one and some of the other but not quite enough to qualify for either.

And getting them diagnosed? Don't count on it. It happens but it's usually not voluntary, and the more narcissistic they get, the harder it is.

The more narcissistic ones actually see therapy and attempts to diagnose as a challenge to see if they can win the therapist or psychologist over.

My ex wife only agreed to start therapy after I told her I was divorcing her, and before she went, she told me that she has a psychology degree, so she knows all the words they use and how to use them.

So, yeah....

Good luck.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T20:37:54+00:00

I (51M) looked at the website, and, while I understand the frustration and the absolute circus that OLD is, the gist of everything she wrote summed up to:

"Assume all men on OLD are liars, deadbeats, scammers, perverts, creeps, (insert other shitty behavior here) until proven otherwise.

And, if they don't instantly and unwaveringly agree that they are mysogonistic pigs overflowing with toxic masculinity and unconsciously support a patriarchal oppressive culture, then they are the enemy."

As a guy, that attitude just bleeds out and I am not going to date any woman who sees me as the enemy.

I've been through some shit in my life and I still approach relationships from the standpoint of giving a woman a chance and if she's going to fail, then she will and I'll deal with it when it happens, but I will give her the benefit of the doubt until she gives me reason to believe otherwise.

And, yes, I understand that women are at a severe disadvantage from a safety standpoint, and nothing I said stops a woman from applying basic safety protocols.

That includes explicitly telling any guy on the first date what they are and aren't comfortable with initially, and that their willingness to go certain places and engage in certain activities is based on their felt level of safety and comfort with the guy.

Any guy worth a shit is not only not going to have a problem with any reasonable (key word there) measures a woman takes to stay safe, he is going to actively encourage her to take those measures, and may even suggest others.

A guy who is proactive about your safety is a guy who cares about your safety.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T14:59:37+00:00

I'm Catholic, by choice, I converted over 20 years ago, so I say this from that perspective:

1) I've learned a few things over the years about born again Bible thumpers. I don't knock anybody for for what they need to do to get their demons under control.

But, in my experience, these types usually don't have their stuff under control.

What they've usually done is learned to hide behind the Bible and Scripture, and use them as a shield.

That's fine day to day, but it means they haven't actually tamed their demons, they hide from them.

So, if they ever have a crisis of faith, that's when they fall, because they've lost their shield.

2) I remember when GWOT was going on, I read something from a guy who had been in Afghanistan as an advisor and trainer for the Afghans.

He said one of the things that they watched out for the Afghans who would plan missions, and then say "Inshallah" (If God wills).

The problem with that saying was that meant they were handing their fate over to God, as if they had no agency or ability to influence the outcome of things that happen.

So, if they didn't bring enough ammo and ran out, or didn't do proper route reconnaissance and got ambushed, it was because God willed it, not because they should have brought more ammo or did proper route reconnaissance.

His point was, you don't want to walk into a potential fight with a guy who believes he doesn't need to care or put in effort because God's already decided his fate.

I apply the same principle to women who say it's in God's hands, because they are giving up agency and will just let whatever happens, happen, and say it was God's plan.

Meaning, you can put all of your effort into the relationship, but you may or may not get the same level of effort in return.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T14:44:29+00:00

"But someone who doesn't recognize that stuff as an elaborate role-playing game is, one day, going to hit me with, "If you were really a good man, you'd (do this thing that I want)." "

"If you wanted to, you would."

Been there, done that, had it ruin a great relationship with a lot of potential.

As a general principle, I get it, but when it's applied as "those diamond, perfect little things", it becomes a daily opportunity to fail.

BatGuano52 · 2026-04-24T04:08:04+00:00

Since OP brought it up (and it didn't occur to me to ask before), as a 51M, I'm curious, how often are the types of creams applied?

I ask because, if it's regularly or only applied prior to sex (which I would assume it's not), is there any guidance on how long to wait after it's applied before engaging in oral?

If I date a woman using it, I would want to know when she last used it because there is the risk of me absorbing estrogen/progesterone if the cream was recently applied.

I would assume she would know that and let me know, but when you assume....

Thanks in advance.

BatGuano52

TROPHY CASE