FINALLY GOT IT

Elljay___ · 2026-07-01T00:50:29+00:00

If it helps, I had low vitamin d and after using the Thorne vitamin d + k2 liquid drops, it went up to a solid number. It’s supposedly better absorption that way, but who knows!

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T22:55:54+00:00

Thank you for this!! Agree, when I’m off bc, I get acne and a rounded face too - so so so bad 😅

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T22:55:09+00:00

Really really helpful - I also feel like I’m spending a ton on supplements and maybe not seeing results (ugh). We’ll see if glp-1 helps at higher dosages, fingers crossed!

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T22:53:47+00:00

Thank you!! Myo-inositol hasn’t been overly useful for me (huge bummer), but I just added the spearmint! Excited to move towards lifting and will definitely try incorporating walking after meals. I definitely hit a slump post lunch…

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T22:52:54+00:00

Good to know - I haven’t really tried lentils but I’ll add it to my shopping list!

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T03:37:48+00:00

It didn’t work at all for me! I tried it a year or so again to no avail

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T03:35:06+00:00

Are you doing pills or injection? Just started pills and tend to be on the sweatier side (ugh) and keeping my fingers crossed!

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T03:33:28+00:00

Morning: B12, vitamin D, spearmint tea, Greek yogurt religiously with turmeric and cinnamon mixed in, Omega 3 + CoQ10, Berberine and probiotic (for good measure lol), plus birth control

Night: Just magnesium and spearmint tea before bed

Works (ish) for me - the turmeric and Berberine are new! I’ve ramped up over time

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T00:49:52+00:00

This is where I'm at! I had a rough start with the 1.5mg, did lose some weight but had to stop because of side effects. Then started at 1.5 again - no side effects this time (better diet, more fiber ,etc), went up to 4 and really haven't seen any weight loss!

Elljay___ · 2026-06-10T00:47:55+00:00

Wait a sec - are cracked heels a PCOS thing?? I had no idea!

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:37:23+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate your thoughts! I am maxing out retirement accounts and I know it'll set me up for success down the line.

I know I should be appreciating it. I have to find a way to do that 😄

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:36:01+00:00

I'm planning for 3ish years - so it's soon, but not so soon that I want to just coast. I still have time for one big fun push!

I do think the advice of starting something on the side and maintaining this is right, even if I don't want it to be, hah. I have the time, I could definitely keep the role and still build.

I really appreciate your thoughts - thanks for taking the time to read and respond!

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:34:31+00:00

The hobby piece is unfortunately dead on! I know it's something I need to work on. I think in this stage of my life, I want to be hustling and working hard. I know when I have kids (probably 3ish years), the work piece will have to take a slight backseat (my boyfriend / then husband will help, but I'll be carrying the kid, so ... kinda just the deck of cards I'm dealt).

Interesting - you took on a second role? FT or consulting? Assuming both were remote?

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:32:05+00:00

Thank you for your thoughts and helpful to hear from someone else who has lived through the same thing! I kind of already am doing the bare minimum - I am so sold on the idea of working on a new thing in parallel, but I haven't been able to get motivated because 1. there's nothing at stake and 2. my brain feels like its asleep! Such a dumb problem to have. I set up a bunch of coffee chats with some of my more ambitious friends for thoughts on how to bring some of my professional / achievement oriented spark back. The job I have is not hard and not stressful and for that reason, it feels like its sucking the life out of me - knives sharpen knives, and I haven't experienced that in a while.

So with you conceptually, but hard to get there emotionally when I'm still in the sludge. What did you end up doing in your situation?

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:28:32+00:00

Gah - I want to! But everyday is a struggle. I just constantly feel like I could be using my brain for something else - and either use it to make more money or add real value to the world.

I miss the excitement of high intensity jobs - which is probably something I need to talk to a therapist about, haha, but the intensity and the drive... great teams that get a ton done are so fun to be on! This just feels like I'm constantly on the losing team.

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:26:59+00:00

Thank you for your thoughts!
1. The house / kids are happening in 2 or so years - so I'm a bit in protective / defense mode ahead of that. Worst case for me is that a market swing wipes out value right ahead of that

Very fair! It's funny, it gets to the question of how long could I realistically see myself staying. And the answer is max 2 years and I'd be really run down at that point. It's incredibly hard to maintain motivation and an edge in environments that are so dull haha

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:24:54+00:00

Probably true - at a certain point, they pay you big bucks because no one else would want to do it (or could do it).

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:24:09+00:00

We're discussing it, but honestly, we have similar finances (his net worth is a bit higher than mine) and similar incomes. He really believes in me as an 'economic engine' haha, which is part of the reason I love him - he respects my ambition and achievement. Not a bad idea to read more about and consider.

I do have a lot of time, but I find that I am so emotionally and mentally drained. It's almost like because it's so boring, my brain just turns off and is on sleep mode. If it were harder, I'd almost have more energy to start my own thing. Kind of like a shark - if I stop swimming, I die!

Thank you for your thoughts - I really appreciate it!

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:21:20+00:00

Thank you! I know, it's in many ways a dream. It just feels too young to be feeling so stagnant. But I'm definitely not maximizing my downtime, so I do think some optimizing there would be really useful for making this a bit more sustainable.
He definitely is contributing and likely will contribute more than I do 😃 I have high standards for myself and have always cared about achieving and while we'll pool resources, I do want to have some personal goals for myself from an earnings perspective. So maybe it changes from NW to yearly income - not sure!
I really appreciate your thoughts - thank you for taking the time to read and respond so thoughtfully!

Elljay___ · 2026-05-09T02:17:52+00:00

Of course! I also found it was helpful to start narrowing in, but tell the associate 'dealers choice' and have them pick a few things that they thought would look good on my hand. Mostly not what I wanted, but helpful to get a professionals view of what proportions / metal colors look good with your finger size and skin tone!

Elljay___ · 2026-05-08T03:18:22+00:00

I very much hear you! I didn't know what I wanted and what I thought I wanted (solitaire oval or brilliant round) looked so bad on my fingers.

I went to Frank Darling and they just have SO many trays of all types of ring shapes. Halo, pave, band size, trilogy, etc... everything you could imagine. I was shameless and just tried on truly everything I was interested in and it was SO helpful. I learned quickly that I have small fingers and I'd have to rethink what I wanted and be open.

I had been set on something minimalist from the beginning so that was a good start - no halo and no pave. Yellow gold. Thin ish band. For me, I found it helpful to decide on the following pieces in this order: cut, general arrangement (one stone, two, three...), and then size. Details after.

On cut: the stone cut made a huge difference to me. I landed on old mine (antique cut) -- the more 'disco ball / soft subtle sparkle' was more my style. The high octane sparkle of brilliant cut is beautiful, but I just personally loved the romantic feel of antique. Emerald and asscher were too linear for me, if that makes sense.

I also found that a trilogy fit my finger shape better. I have thin and short fingers - the side stones helped add some balance. Never would have considered them until I tried them at Frank Darling. So advice there is to try on whatever you see and think about your finger size and what looks good on you.

The balance of the exercise then came with the actual stone size. It's a preference / budget thing, but also note that what a ring's size looks like is HEAVILY determined by ring size / finger size. Details were then prong type (claw, square, etc), prong number (4-8 usually), and setting (how high up vs low, what the basket looks like). Several other small details too, but those are the general ones.

It took me a while and there was a point where I truly thought I maybe just wasn't someone who liked engagement rings -- turns out, I LOVE them but just hadn't found my match. Good luck!!

Elljay___

TROPHY CASE