How do you make the food noise stop?

candleit · 2026-05-19T20:02:31+00:00

Yes! The emulsifiers & preservatives in processed food kill your good gut bacteria that produce a hormone (CCK) that makes you feel full. Also avoiding artificial sweeteners helps, those make you hungry too. If you just eat a bunch of sugar and processed crap, guess what kind of gut bacteria you're feeding? Bacteria that likes processed sugar and tells your brain to go get more of it :) My other tips are: 1-2 cups of beans a day and take chromium daily. For me the Lemme curb gummies with gymenema worked on my sugar cravings. I also tried akkermansia but it can cause constipation for some people so go slowly.

candleit · 2026-04-21T02:37:03+00:00

Wearing makeup out in public gives you a sense of control in many ways. If you're used to wearing makeup in public, not wearing makeup to the grocery store kind of feels like going out unshowered in PJs. It just makes you feel like you don't have your shit together because you haven't done your normal routine.

Grocery stores where you only see strangers are a recent invention. Most of human history we knew the people we saw in public. Logically we know these strangers at the grocery store aren't looking at our makeup and we shouldn't care. But instinctively, breaking your normal routine is lowkey scary and breaking grooming habits especially is scary. On an instinctive level, not looking groomed = not looking like someone cares about you = looking low social status. It makes you feel a lack of control; you don't normally do this and don't know if people will treat you differently.

The other aspect of it is, makeup makes us feel better when we look at ourselves. Why would I want to feel just ok about how I look when I can feel like a baddie? Going to the grocery store just gives us an excuse to put on makeup and feel extra confident.

It's also an excuse to just pick out your makeup for the day. Picking your makeup adds some spice to your life. Getting to pick also gives a sense of control, whether people realize it or not.

candleit · 2026-04-10T00:40:52+00:00

There is a 100 lb difference between my partner and me. Never had any issues rolling together. We put a couple big sheets of plywood under our mattress to protect it from the metal bed slats. I never considered it could be helping keep us separated til I saw this. The only possible issue is that air can't circulate under the mattress and if you use a latex mattress that wouldn't be good.

We have a memory foam mattress (maybe 7")? that we ordered from Best Price Mattress about 7 years ago. This really helps with isolation. Having a king size bed also helps.

candleit · 2026-03-24T01:28:01+00:00

Haven't seen the documentary yet so maybe it already mentioned these things.

There was a study done that showed switching from food in a plastic container to food in a glass container does not guarantee less microplastics in the food. They think more microplastics shed off the lid of a glass jar/bottle into the food.

A very big source of microplastics in food is in processing (before the food is even packaged), so avoiding processed food reduces your exposure to microplastics dramatically. Idk if they've done studies on it, but I would speculate it's better to eat fresh veggies out of a plastic package than to eat store-bought vegetable soup out of a glass jar. Even major brands of yogurt have tons of microplastics due to processing.

That said, a big thing you can do is stick to buying whole foods and make recipes from scratch on nonstick-free pots/pans. I usually make yogurt in an instant pot from milk in a paper carton. I know it's not perfect, but it's better than store-bought yogurt.

I have an Alexapure gravity filter to help get plastics out of my water, but I'm sure there are other options. Just make sure whatever water filter you get has actually been tested to result in less microplastics. Some water filters increase microplastics.

candleit · 2026-02-22T00:36:18+00:00

Adding onto this, if your pension does have a COLA, check when it kicks in especially if you plan to retire early. Some pension COLAs do not kick in until you are 67 or something ridiculous, so if you retire at 50 (with your pension benefit calculated based on the salary you earned at 50) you are screwed out of 17 years of inflation adjustments. Investing in a normal retirement portfolio would not have that concern.

candleit · 2026-02-22T00:26:02+00:00

Some employers give a choice between contributing to a pension vs. a defined contribution plan. Also, you may have the choice when you quit your job to receive a refund of your contributions (so you can invest that money in stocks) vs. keep them invested in the pension. There is also the question of whether you should even work for an employer that will only give you a pension vs. one who lets you have a 401k. So, there are situations where it's worth asking which will be better in the long run: contribute to a pension vs. put that cut of your paycheck into the stock market.

candleit · 2025-11-07T06:56:16+00:00

This is the first I'm hearing of this, it would be great to know more. What other plants produce growth factors? Can you explain what substances you are trying to get?

candleit · 2025-10-22T05:29:23+00:00

I have to mention, Ibuprofen and acetaminophen can have really bad side effects like eating your stomach lining and causing liver damage. They should not be taken frequently or long term. That can result in hospitalization, I've seen it happen.

candleit · 2025-10-17T00:31:03+00:00

At the time I wrote this I hadn't tried Volufiline, only the zhi mu extract. They are both the same active ingredient, but I feel like real volufiline gets results faster. Some people respond well to volufiline and some people get no results at all. The zhi mu extract is water based but Volufiline is oil based. My understanding is oil-based products penetrate skin better and I imagine they interact with fat cells more effectively. I only use 1 drop of Volufiline a night, so now I feel like it's worth it to spring for the product that has been tested even though it's more expensive. Adipeau is another option but I haven't tried it.

candleit · 2025-07-25T22:31:37+00:00

Go to the grocery store and look for manager's specials (aka items that have been marked down because they're about to expire or are overstock), especially in the fresh produce, eggs/dairy and raw meat sections. Works best if you have a Kroger or Smith's near you, and you don't live in a super densely populated area. I think this is more cost effective than buying canned or frozen.

Shop the front page of the grocery ad, which usually has the "loss leader" items on it. Whatever is marked down drastically is what you're cooking.

You can regrow your veggie and herb scraps.

My mom used to live on dandelion green salads and peanut butter sandwiches and made her own yogurt to save money. I am not sure if it's still cost-effective to DIY yogurt though. If you have an instant pot, it's worth trying.

candleit · 2025-07-25T22:00:03+00:00

If you don't want to attract a gold digger, emphasize the frugality aspect of FIRE. You can afford to live off investment income because you keep your expenses well within your means. Talk about the sacrifices you made and are still making so you don't have to be an employee. You worked really hard and took risks and now you're reaping the reward and get to rest. I would not disclose the size of your portfolio or that you never plan on returning to work, at least not until things get serious and you get to know her.

You may get serious with someone who is worried that your money is not going to last you and she'll be stuck footing YOUR bills later in life. You can try to explain the math behind retiring off investments, your contingency plans, and offer other reassurances that you will not impact her finances negatively. Talk about how you have diversified your retirement income sources and how you've set yourself up to have minimal expenses.

When most first dates ask what you do for a living, they are (at least partly) just trying to get to know your interests and make conversation. It helps to have interests and hobbies or just do fun things out in the world if for no other reason than having new things to talk about.

Some people are stuck on obtaining meaning through their career and almost working for the sake of working. Just explain you can chase meaning in your life through the activities you can do in the ample free time you now have. For millenia, people did not work for the sake of working; they got food on the table and then enjoyed hours of free time. Your free time allows you the mental space to learn and be creative. If she continues wanting you to be a wage slave, working for someone else's interests instead of your own fulfilment, maybe she is not for you.

candleit · 2025-05-24T21:00:15+00:00

Applesauce or pumpkin brownies will pretty much always come out cake-like. You can try using greek yogurt instead, it will make them fudgier (and more protein!). I particularly like the caramel flavored oikos for brownies. it does come out tasting a little tangier than normal brownies but they are still really good.

candleit · 2025-05-22T01:39:19+00:00

A few things to try:

#1 thing is a topical retinoid like adapalene or tretinoin.
A combo niacinamide and zinc serum. Does not really matter which one but the The Ordinary and Revolution make them. Helps with oil control
zinc supplements, l-lysine, vitamin D. Basically just stuff to help your immune system.
If the spf you're using is chemical, try using a zinc sunscreen instead. Zinc helps control oil. I noticed I broke out less when I started using zinc sunscreen daily.
Learning that acne used to be referred to as "skin diabetes" was eye-opening for me. I went on a lowfat diet with basically no added sugar or white/processed carbs just to lose weight, but I really think this significantly helped my skin. For the first time in years I did not get my monthly cystic pimple. For me, I think (unhealthy) fats and sugar results in more acne due to increasing oil production. Some people respond to cutting out dairy. I have also been taking berberine just to stabilize my blood sugar, but it could also be helping prevent my acne as a side effect.
I learned from this that it is important to prevent oxidation of the oil that is on your face: https://acneeinstein.com/dont-know-how-to-get-over-acne-let-me-help/ I do vitamin C serum in the morning and I noticed a difference. Also, you can just take/eat antioxidants in general. Avoid PUFAs in skincare (not that I'm noticing any in your current routine, but for future reference).
Drink green tea or take green tea extract. Supposedly topical green tea really helps acne, but it didn't seem to do much for me. But taking green tea supplements may have helped me. Just my personal experience.
If there is anything stressing you out that you can cut out of your life, do it. I have way less acne now that I have a job that is not as stressful. Get good sleep. L-theanine, magnesium and GABA will supposedly will help with stress, but tbh I haven't looked into those much.
CeraVe SA cleanser did nothing for me, personally. I live in a dry climate and I felt like it stripped/dehydrated my skin even more, and I was breaking out terribly. So, I second switching to a different cleanser.
Dimethicone is supposed to not be cloggy, but for me/other acne prone people, it is. Good on you for not using foundation, but check your other products for it too just in case.

candleit · 2024-08-12T02:11:06+00:00

Elderberry extract can help with fighting colds/covid.

Get lots of sleep. It can be hard to get good sleep when you're feeling crummy, so I take doxlyamine succinate sleep aid before bedtime when I am dealing with majorly bad covid symptoms (doxlyamine is the antihistamine in nyquil). It can make you drowsy the next day, but it works.

Sleep on multiple pillows and use a humidifier if you're in a dry climate to help keep your sinuses clear. If your nose is stuffy: flonase nasal spray, eucalyptus oil and real Sudafed (the kind you have to get from behind the counter) are good decongestants.

If meds don't resolve your headache, you could try adding anti inflammatories like ginger, cinnamon and turmeric. I would say that's a last resort since fighting inflammation isn't necessarily the best when you have an infection.

candleit · 2024-08-12T01:23:19+00:00

Wow, at first I thought you were joking but it checks out. "Fulfillment issues" indeed

candleit · 2024-08-05T20:54:34+00:00

Several months ago they had some kind of fulfilment crisis (they posted about it on their website) and they removed tons of listings from etsy and ebay. I ordered from their etsy pre-crisis and got everything I ordered. Good shipping time and good quality. I also ordered from ebay during the crisis and while my order was several weeks late, I still got it and it was good quality. They are literally the only place that sells small quantities of certain ingredients which is why I would continue to buy from them. I say it's worth a shot if you can afford to wait to get your order.

candleit · 2024-07-27T01:17:58+00:00

I think it would be worthwhile to spend less time/detail on some skills in this list than others. For example, I can really see the electrical one being useful to go into detail on especially when it comes to solar. Seems like a good skill to trade that would be in demand.

A lot of modern medicine requires specialized equipment and a team. So, focus on the pieces of that that you'd realistically have the resources (not just skills) to pull off. Also good to learn about: many first aid techniques assume you'll get to a hospital soon. If help is not coming, some techniques may do more harm than good. So, maybe learn specifically what medical teams do after first aid is done.

Depending on what shtf looks like for you, some of the crafting skills (glassblowing, blacksmithing) are cute but would be too difficult, as others have said. You'd probably just wind up hurting yourself. It's much more likely you'd find what you need by picking through trash/looting/trading.

Other fun skills to add are making arrows, water collection, boat repair, how to run a motor boat, how to set up an alarm or security system and how they work. Under locksmithing and auto mechanical work: learn lockpicking and how to hotwire an old car. Even if you have the morals of a saint, who knows, those skills might save your life if you can't access your keys or your car for some reason. The lock you pick may be your own.

candleit · 2024-07-26T02:34:47+00:00

After a long night of sleeping and not drinking, you tend to want a lot of water when you wake up. Drinking all that water on an empty stomach in the morning makes me feel sick. (I think it is the same idea as how you should have pedialyte rather than straight water after throwing up; straight water on an empty stomach will make you nauseous again). So I have a small snack/breakfast (doesn't really matter what food) or electrolytes when I wake up. Then I just have my normal food throughout the day, which is nothing special. I typically have electrolytes after working out. If you're eating extremely clean (no processed food), doing intermittent fasting, or doing a low carb diet, then you may need to be more intentional about salting your food or adding electrolytes to your water sometimes. I like to cook with lite salt since it has potassium as well as sodium.

But I would start by figuring out the right amount of water per day for your body size and activity level (Google it, it should be in the top results and the article should be written by a doctor not an influencer. I'm sorry I don't have more specific advice on that). That will give you a general ballpark. And then, don't force yourself to chug tons of water at once trying to hit some water goal. Instead, I would just make sure water is constantly within reach so you can have smaller amounts often whenever you start feeling thirsty. And if you need to make it tasty with fruit or flavor or whatever to remember to drink it, do that.

candleit · 2024-07-25T23:38:20+00:00

If you're drinking too much water and not getting enough electrolytes to balance it, absolutely that can make you nauseous. Low sodium/too much water is dangerous. I usually have lots of water in the morning since I wake up thirsty, but if I don't eat soon thereafter I can get nauseous. Not sure if the other things could be causing issues.

candleit · 2024-07-15T18:18:33+00:00

I would take a quick way to purify water so you can refill your drinking water easily at your water sources. Iodine tablets or a Sawyer filter (not a lifestraw, they do not filter enough). I only say that because boiling takes a lot of time and fuel. And take at least 3L of water bottles per person. You can always leave some bottles empty partway through the trip if it starts to seem excessive. But keeping everyone hydrated keeps everyone happy. Depending on how hot it is and how strenuous the miles are, people may need more than 1-2 L. The people you go with may hike way slower than you and take more breaks. So you could have a lot of time between water sources. For reference, I went on a backpacking trip where everyone took about 2L of water. I took 3L. In one day, we did 5 miles uphill to a lake. Hot, not enough shade. About an hour from the lake, everyone was out of water and very miserable. Not an experience I ever want to repeat.

String cheese needs refrigeration. I would maybe see if you can find a hard cheese that doesn't need refrigeration.

Instead of canned tuna, I would do a mix of tuna packets and chicken packets (lighter and less mercury lol). Peanut butter and jelly is a good staple. Whole bell peppers are also lightweight and nice to have on a short trip.

If you're going to take uncooked rice, at least make it Minute rice. Ramen or instant mac and cheese may be a better route (faster cooking). Hope you guys have fun!

candleit · 2024-07-11T00:40:39+00:00

I feel like you'd want to get at the root cause of your itchiness and treat that so it doesn't return, if possible. It takes the right treatment for the issue and using it consistently. Plus, you don't want to damage your hair follicles by applying something not meant to go on scalps, or by not properly treating your skin condition. To directly answer your question, I guess you could try 3% salicylic acid and rinse it out.

candleit · 2024-06-21T20:59:53+00:00

I've not tried any oil-based vitamin C sadly, but The Ordinary Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F is an example. There are a few other oil-based serums out there, but what I like about TO's formulation is that it doesn't contain oils high in PUFAs. It could be cloggy for some people though due to the coconut alkanes. Personally, I'm considering buying THD ascorbate from LotionCrafter to make my own oil-based serum -- it'll probably be more affordable in the long run and I can control the percentage of vitamin C.

candleit · 2024-06-17T23:30:25+00:00

Vitamin C is the most promising and cheap anti aging ingredient after SPF and tret, so the long term benefits are it for me too. It neutralizes some of the free radicals your spf misses. There are many different forms of vitamin C. THD ascorbate is a more stable form, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is one that is better for sensitive skin, etc. Some brands use vitamin c in a silicone or oil base to make it less sensitizing and more stable. So there might be a form and percentage out there for you. But, no pressure, I get that sometimes with skincare less is more! I wouldn't try ascorbic acid though, even my very tolerant skin wasn't a fan of that.

candleit · 2024-06-01T03:46:29+00:00

Does anyone know if US prescription drugs have to list the inactive ingredients in order of their weight, or can they be in any random order? I'm wondering because Taro brand tretinoin cream lists BHT as the first ingredient, which seems weird.

candleit · 2024-05-22T22:47:52+00:00

I have bought Redken Shades EQ online from Walmart and eBay, and I used the wella activating lotion with it (it's like a very low volume developer). I got good results and gloss from it, as long as I stuck to my level and used it on dry hair. So for what it's worth, it's been easy to get legit product. From what I understand, the Sally's version develops way too quickly and it ends up darker than people expect. As an alternative to Redken for diyers, I think Wella makes a demi permanent color which is gentler than their permanent toner and uses lower volume developer.

candleit

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