hunterweir's journal

[Scott 2]

Have you read Hacking of the American Mind by Robert Lustig? I think it might resonate with where you are at right now. He talks a lot about dopamine chasing behavior.

[hunterweir]

Just wanted to chime in to say your updates are inspiring and I appreciate getting to follow along.

+1 to the Huberman podcasts on dopamine, I got a lot out of those.

If ^H^H when you 'fall down' or feel like you 'failed' some aspect of this... remember it's part of the process. If you don't fail at this along the way here and there you're superman. It's okay to feel bad for a bit, the feels are legitimate. Just get back up and keep going (and check in that where you're going is still authentic to your desires etc).

I really appreciate you saying that, and for the sage advice. Its something I especially need to keep intentionally overwriting as pattern that's shown up majorly in my life. Want to keep building on my recent successes at proving something different to myself.

Have you read Hacking of the American Mind by Robert Lustig? I think it might resonate with where you are at right now. He talks a lot about dopamine chasing behavior.

I have not but I'll add it to my list! Dopamine hijacks are so foundational to our understanding of where were at right now. There's a BBC doc I've watched recently along some of the same lines is called "The Century of the Self" (free on Youtube)

[hunterweir]

Expense breakdown for July:
Rent $1,867.71
Child Support $276.00
Health Insurance $225.37
Auto insurance $141.83
Life Insurance $30.83
Internet $55.57
Electric $57
Design for the Web Tuition $834.00
Coaching $500
Groceries $777.54
Doctor $156
Auto Parts $157.79
Gas $120.81
Tolls $20
Nicotine lozenges $14.49
Parking $11.15
Coffee shops $11.33
Eating out $10.00
Stoa Patreon gift $5
iCloud Storage $2.99

Total Expenses
$5275.41

Total Income
$1836.81

Savings rate -187% (Ouch)

Parking thru iCloud storage were the last gasps of those expenses as a rule. I feel like I’m trending in the right direction despite the numbers telling a different story. The coaching expense will likely only be for another month or two and has been incredibly high ROI for me (it's the reason why I’m even here writing this right now).

I did my own car maintenance this month. I recharged my A/C and replaced a HID low beam headlight bulb (which required several different trial and error attempts.)

For now, I don’t qualify for ACP internet discount because of previous years income, but I will likely qualify once I can use more recent income proof.

I want to start tracking my weight here, since the number I saw on the scale has me dialing in my way of eating to move into a healthier BMI / [insert better tracking metric here]:
215 lbs

My target weight is 165 lbs, achieved in a way that doesn’t cause me to rebound binge and gain the weight back.

My way of eating is informed by Optimizing Nutrition, mostly high protein, high fiber, high nutrient density, low fat, low energy density foods. So far my energy levels have been up and down but today I mixed up their DIY electrolyte mix (Potassium/magnesium/sodium) which seems to have helped.

Grateful to have started this journey.

[Veronica]

I'm kind of curious about the coaching expense.

Is that like a life coach and general in nature, or is something more targeted, like a teacher helping you learn a new skill?

I'm only asking because I also tend to spend a disproportionate amount on access to learning resources, and a lot of people give me strange looks because of it!

[hunterweir]

Aug Expenses:

Rent 1873.89
Web Design Course 834
Coaching 500
Groceries 438.05
Child support 276
Health Insurance 225.37
Back to school shopping 195.01
Auto insurance 141.83
Gas 120.03
RV inspection 100
Web design software 99
Vehicle registration 100.75
Nutrition program/blood glucose monitor 89.63
Electric 83
Internet 62.98
Tolls 40
Food/drinks out 48.99
Web hosting 32.98
Life insurance 30.83
Nicotine lozenges 14.49
Total $5306.83

Income $1698.81

Savings Rate: -212%

Last month was tough. I had to bend my rules in order to shop for back to school, and in my relationships (food/drinks out with friend/gf). I’ve had to make my peace with being rigid for myself, flexible with others in regards to what I’ve committed to here (for now).

I read Jem Bendell’s new book ‘Breaking Together’ which was really a cold splash of water reality check for what may be on the horizon for us collectively. Tied together a lot of things I was already aware of and gave a good kind of roadmap for how to orient oneself after analyzing the trends.

On that note, I bought an RV and have plans to move it onto my friend’s permaculture farm. The same one I’ve been volunteering at for close to a year. I’ll help on the property in exchange for the RV spot. I may have jumped the gun a little bit and alarmed some of my peeps, so right now some of my bandwidth is going to the timing of transition/move. Making the change more gradual for gf/boys/ex/myself.

That may mean expenses stay elevated for longer (renewing apartment lease for a bit longer) but I feel like it's a more ethical path based on my conversations with those involved. I’ve gotten behind in my coursework but I have committed to finishing strong and keeping up my posting here. So far I haven’t let things fall apart even when I’ve wanted to, so my growth mindset is being proven.

The data driven fasting expense was an attempt to focus on weight loss using blood glucose monitoring as fuel gauge, but it got put on the back burner unfortunately. I paid to be in the course so I know the idea and can pick it back up when I feel I have the bandwidth.

Current weight: 209 (stalled)

[hunterweir]

I'm kind of curious about the coaching expense.

Is that like a life coach and general in nature, or is something more targeted, like a teacher helping you learn a new skill?

I'm only asking because I also tend to spend a disproportionate amount on access to learning resources, and a lot of people give me strange looks because of it!

It's kind of like life/professional/performance coaching. The expense feels hard to justify and yet very important for keeping up the momentum I have right now. It will pay itself off easily if I'm consistent and follow through, which I have been. Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with how these expenses look!

[sodatrain]

Hey there! Just finding your journal. Good stuff, how have the last few months been? Curious to hear about the permaculture farm move! The support available from the community here is fantastic!