BatyaChavaGeee

Is hard cider a good choice for reintroducing alcohol? I know beer isn't because it has gluten, but cider doesn't. Maybe it has too much sugar to be a good choice?

Hello forum! I'm Batya Chava, underemployed teacher, CrossFitter, tea enthusiast, mother, afflicted with bipolar type II disorder, and sufferer of frequent migraines. Why I'm here: I lost 60lbs a couple years ago with exercise and calorie tracking, but since then I've found it hard to motivate myself to eat very healthy and not constantly "cheat." My diet isn't even close to as bad as it was when I lived off mostly pizza pops and Dr. Pepper, so I'm not really worried about being obese again, and I do hit the gym about six times a week, but the poutine and red velvet cake is holding me back athletically, and I don't feel like I have that "healthy relationship with food" that everyone's talking about. And my recovery sucks. DOMS lasts for days. The migraines. The medication for them is effective, but they happen way too often. My mood disorder, on the other hand, has been very resistant to medication. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy helps, so does exercising regularly (seriously, it probably saved my life), but I'm still cycling. Like, I can hold down a job now, but I still spend months at a time depressed. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point. I consider myself quite well prepared. I bought some paleo ketchup, made bulk breakfast sausage, and put all the dried pasta and sugary salad dressings in a box in the basement. Wish me luck!

I'm also starting on October 1st! Mostly because it's a Monday and Monday is for starting things, and so is the first of the month. Also my birthday is on the 27th, and my boyfriend's already planned tacos and beer. I lost 60 pounds almost two years ago now by starting to exercise consistently and tracking my macros. I'm happy with my weight now, but I feel like my athletic performance has stalled lately. Everyone says "have you tried cleaning up your diet? You should go paleo, dude." (It's CrossFit, we all call each other, "dude".) I'm also kind of at my wits end with my mental health. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type II a while back, and we've yet to find any medication that makes much of a difference. Exercising regularly made a dramatic difference in evening out my mood, but now whatever benefit I gained from that has levelled off. And it's not good enough, even if it's better than it was before because I'm still cycling and it's still really holding me back in my career, and relationships, and as a mother... Maybe it's the dairy. Though, to be honest, I'll be a little pissed if I've been suffering for all these years and the solution was to stop eating greek yogurt. I starting preparing a couple weeks ago, fo I've already starting sticking up on compliant panty item and have dozen upon dozens of recipes bookmarked. I've convinced my parents to join me and told my son he has no choice. Ten more days!

Boo-urns. No Stash Black Forest tea for me, I guess. Still better than the soy I found in some of my teas.

How do we feel about "vanilla extract" in herbal or black tea? As I understand it, normal vanilla extract is out because it has alcohol, but this is clearly dry, so it has no alcohol, right?