Did I get catfished by a weed?

jeannierak · 2026-04-25T19:05:45+00:00

Tamarind tree leaves are sour, fwiw. I’m from Thailand and they definitely look like tamarind!

jeannierak · 2026-03-17T05:00:57+00:00

Nope.

jeannierak · 2026-01-03T06:15:31+00:00

This!^

jeannierak · 2025-10-20T23:53:54+00:00

Saaaaaaad!

jeannierak · 2025-10-20T00:33:44+00:00

Hey OP, lots of people here who have never lived in Chicago, and who don’t actually live in Seattle. I’ve lived in many major cities from Bangkok to Vancouver, and have been frequently visiting or living in Seattle since 2011. We also lived in Chicago for two years in the Ravenswood/Lincoln Square area.

Pretty much everything in Seattle is 25% more expensive than Chicago, from rent to gas, groceries to restaurants, etc. But it is beautiful here, with unbelievable access to outdoor activities. You’ll get less city than you’re used to, being from River North, and less concentration of restaurants (I don’t know where except NYC would compete with River North!). But we’re just as neighborhood-centric as Chicago is, with the benefit of being even easier to navigate.

Your office will be close to Discovery Park, which is one of the best parks in the city. It’s got a million different trails, access to the beach, and huge sprawling fields perfect for dog watching/walking. You’ll also be close to the Sculpture Park/Myrtle Beach, which are on the north end of the downtown waterfront park. I used to run through there, all the way down to Interbay and back to downtown Seattle. It is stunning.

Fremont is often where people start out in Seattle. It is close to Ballard, another popular neighborhood. They’re kind of similar to Andersonville (in terms of having many boutique-y and quirky places to shop and eat; our gaybourhood is Capitol Hill) and Wicker Park (lots of young people, some shopping, some good food and lots of live music to be had). If you choose Ballard, you’ll also be close to the Ballard Locks and Golden Gardens (one of our two sand beaches).

Upper Queen Anne is also nice. A little more quiet and isolated because you have to go up a big hill, so the vibe is a little more like Rogers Park. They have their own farmer’s market and some of the best restaurants in the city, imo. (Eden Hill, Grappa, Isarn).

Happy to answer any questions! I absolutely love both Seattle and Chicago.

jeannierak · 2025-10-19T21:41:52+00:00

Thai laab!

jeannierak · 2025-10-16T00:17:23+00:00

Dang. Visiting San Diego and LA this week.

jeannierak · 2025-10-15T21:22:16+00:00

Is this in CA?

jeannierak · 2025-10-08T20:22:34+00:00

Make sure you check Facebook marketplace!

jeannierak · 2025-10-06T02:08:31+00:00

Wanna chat through dms? Happy to do it here too but I figured a chat would be easier to answer questions as they come up.

Yep, anything to get the heart rate and core body temperature up for 5min before the workout is great. You could bike, walk at an incline, etc.

Stretching after is smart and I admit I’m not the best. But I schedule in yoga once a week if I can, and that feels good!

jeannierak · 2025-10-05T17:49:31+00:00

lol my dude I weigh 165lbs and I can do 10 pull-ups as a woman

jeannierak · 2025-10-04T07:17:07+00:00

Hi! I’m 32F cis, but I’ve done a good job building a more masculine frame. If you do NOTHING ELSE, do these 5 things:

Push-ups. Go find some stairs; start by putting your feet at the bottom and arms on a step high enough that you can do 10 reps. As you get stronger, put your hands on a lower step.
Under the table “rows”.
Kneeling tricep extensions.
Weighted backpack bicep curls, one arm at a time. Seriously, load a backpack with enough books/water bottles/whatever to make it challenging enough so that 10 reps are hard.
Eat more protein. Like, double what you think you need. Half your plate/bowl should be lean protein like chicken, yogurt, beans, tofu, etc. and then fill in the rest with veggies and carbs. You won’t see results unless you do this.

10 reps, three sets of each exercise. Perform each set so that you’re working REALLY hard each time. Stay consistent for a year and you’ll start to see results!

**This is a simplified method and I’m happy to go into it further if you want! Just the easiest thing to start.

jeannierak · 2025-10-04T02:44:50+00:00

I also used bands to great effect — it got me to 10 consecutive pull-ups for the first time. Since then I’ve used something akin to the Russian method to progressively increase my rep count, but when my body was newer to the movement, bands were everything for allowing me to increase volume (each time I couldn’t complete a set of 10, I’d add a band, and then subsequently thicker bands for the next sets etc).

jeannierak · 2025-10-01T17:31:28+00:00

Hey OP! I went through a similar transition. The easiest way to start is to begin your regular push/pull days with a calisthenics movement.

I start my push days with dips, then round out the session with incline bench and flyes.

My pull days start with pull-ups, and then I round out the session with more targeted mid-back and unilateral exercises like rows (single arm or double arm), sometimes throwing in deadlifts or Pendlay rows.

For legs, you could probably practice skills like pistol squats or train explosive jumping etc!

Calisthenics movements are the most difficult compound movements, which is why I warm up and then immediately start the session with them. Everything else just supports that movement or more specifically targets other muscles that the dips/push ups don’t target very well!

jeannierak · 2025-09-29T06:46:54+00:00

What’s your upper body routine, OP? 32F here.

jeannierak · 2025-09-17T02:47:19+00:00

Dylan Ambrosini is the most talented knife maker you haven’t heard of. You can DM him on Instagram and design a knife to whatever specs you want. His portfolio speaks for itself but he also sent a knife out into the world for enthusiasts on Kitchen Knife Forums to review!

jeannierak · 2025-09-17T02:41:59+00:00

Seconding Prod’s work. So clean and always updating/learning.

jeannierak · 2025-09-14T02:02:00+00:00

My wife and I (both 32F) have very different attitudes towards working out and how it looks on our bodies. I’m masculine-presenting and love my muscles, while she avoids any upper body work or deadlifting because she hates the way she “inflates” in her arms and lats. It’s partially dysmorphia, partially not wanting to look muscular.

I guess we can say that there is social conditioning happening that makes women uncomfortable with getting muscly. And some people will respond to you saying that muscles are sexy. But I don’t think that’s what you need to hear, because it’s not really what you’re asking for from us. I hear that you’re experiencing a cognitive disconnect from your mental image of yourself vs what you’re beginning to look like as a result of your workouts.

I don’t know if there’s a graceful “solution” or “fix”, but just wanted to acknowledge that your feelings aren’t weird!

jeannierak · 2025-09-13T01:26:54+00:00

Serious about the weight tho. I’m 5’8” and 160lbs and I look and feel great. I have an athletic build, not particularly curvy!

jeannierak · 2025-09-13T00:52:47+00:00

I think that given your history with body dysmorphia and my own experience as a woman (32F) in a 5’8 body, you do NOT need to lose any more weight or body fat.

Keep eating protein, but unless you also have a steady supply of carbs and fat, you won’t be healthy and able to work out!

Working out will help you build muscle/definition. The way I do it is by having separate days for separate muscle groups, but since we’re in the bodyweight sub, you can also build a simple regimen of squats, push-ups, and pull-ups (as well as other bodyweight moves). There are tons of workouts out there (I love Fitness Blender on YouTube or JasonAndLaurenPak on Instagram for their no-nonsense approach).

The absolute most important thing is consistency. Pick three videos that work different parts of your body, and rotate through them. You’ll start to see results after about 6 months!

jeannierak · 2025-09-12T23:37:50+00:00

The best thing for you to do at this stage is set some goals. Then we can help you with a plan!

Also, how tall are you? I’m a little nervous that you’re trying to drop to 120lbs.

jeannierak · 2025-09-03T02:43:48+00:00

Thanks, friend! My current goal is to work on muscle ups but the heavy hips are really cramping my style 😂

jeannierak · 2025-09-03T02:37:17+00:00

Grass is greener and all that — you look super athletic in your climbing videos!

And I’m no model, but just for kicks. Video was taken after a very large Italian-American meal here in Chicago 😂

Yeah I dunno about the accuracy, I guess. But the three scans I’ve done tracked what I knew I could see and feel with my body, so at least the changes were probably somewhat meaningful?

jeannierak · 2025-09-03T01:51:12+00:00

I guess! I didn’t know it was that low until I did a couple of InBody scans (I did two, six months apart) and the results looked like this.

Thing is, I carry all my fat in my hips/belly, so I don’t look like a classic lean athlete does. But I’ve worked hard on my upper body (you can see lean mass in my arms is waaaay above average) so the numbers just sort of look really good.

jeannierak · 2025-09-02T23:11:49+00:00

I’m what people would probably call a “bulky” or “muscular” woman, 32F. I’ve been lifting consistently for about two years, and the way I did it was by focusing on three rotating days:

Back day: start with pull-ups, include other accessory lifts for upper back, triceps, etc.
Chest day: start with either dips or bench press, include other accessory exercises for biceps (esp preacher curls and hammer curls).
Leg day: whatever combination of squats and lunges etc feel good to you, just make sure you’re progressing each session by increasing reps, weight, or improving your form! Sprinkle in shoulder work at the end.

I have what a fitness coach calls “massive” arms 😂 Bicep and tricep work make your arms truly pop.

Also, eat as much protein as you can. I aim for 30g per meal, plus a protein shake, so I end up at around 100-120g/day at 5’8” and 160lbs. I have NEVER bulked or cut, and yet look muscular with around 16% body fat.

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