Apple Cider Vinegar...

Why are you drinking acv?

Whatever the reason, there are probably other things you can substitute that are palatable.

henbutt
There is some research that suggests drinking ACV is healthy, but I have never tried it. This highlights one of the main issues with the health industry, as I see it. Stuff which is healthy also has to be extreme. The supposed benefits of ACV are less than a healthy dose of exercise and watching what you eat. The problem though is that because it is hard to swallow, that as stated, people will put sugar in it. Honey is a healthier form of sugar, but still mostly sugar, and so whatever health benefit of ACV is probably more than offset by the effects of the sugar on your liver.

I don't want to come off as too critical, if you think this can help, but moderation in diet and exercise tends to be the key.

Io6 CaptainCanuck I have been reading about the benefits and a lot of them sound very appealing. Main benefits I look at are decreased bloating, increased energy and a fuller feeling throughout the day. I'm constantly tired and could fall asleep anywhere if I tried for a moment. I am on testosterone injections every 11 weeks and it causes immense hunger all day every day and I have to eat about two full meals to begin to feel full. In turn I have an ever growing pot belly which is probably a good mix of bloat and weak abs (working on that).
If you have alternative methods, please share. I am a huge carb lover and diet restrictions are my worst enemy.

henbutt I think most people in the Hive can understand this problem well enough. I don't think any of us started out here because we were elite performance athletes but because we struggle with fitness in one way or another. As I said above though, I find this to be a little troublesome as most of us have been through diets that don't work, and generally what does work is to make gradual changes to our diets. Good diet doesn't happen overnight and everyone of us still has slip ups. I have found that as we get active that these problems somewhat regulate themselves though

At the moment my wife is making her way back to shape from a second pregnancy, and I am about three months on from losing 90 pounds. At the beginning of January she challenged herself to cut out sweets and sweet pastries. I told her if she did it that I would buy her some donuts on February 1. She had a cheat day on her challenge about halfway through the month so I told her that I would restart the challenge with her for February 12. It only occurred to both of us last night that this is now in three days. When I told her about it she said she is not sure if she wants them.

At the beginning she had a hard time to control her habits, but ad she got them under control it gave her a different perspective on how she wants to stay healthy. She doesn't want a reward any more for achieving her challenge, the challenge is the reward.

It can be challenging to be on this journey and to look for something like ACV that is going to hasten results, but as I mentioned it is effective but the taste makes you want to either avoid it or drown it in sugar, both of which are counter intuitive to healthy living. A lot of people ask me how I lost 90 pounds as though I have the secret to weight loss. Most people think that I am on the keto diet (though I get the impression that most people don't know what that is.) In truth I just ate healthy and generally less while increasing activity. The thing about diet though is that it starts out meaning that most of the time you have to do what you need to and only sometimes get to do what you want. The longer it lasts though, what you need becomes what you want.

Every single person here wants to see you succeed, but we have mostly been through the same journey, including most of the staff. I am not 100% sure of the history of Darebee, but I think it started out as an exercise site but then the Darebee team realized that if they want to help people and I'd the exercise was going to be effective, that they had to provide some help with nutrition as well. This is why there is a great nutrition section here. If you find that it is food that you are struggling with, I would start there.

Thank you, that's a great insight. I guess my main struggle is the ravenous hunger I seem to have most days. I would have to eat a meal every 2 hours to not feel this awful hunger feeling. And the lack of energy is what usually makes me quit doing things for myself and my child. I wish I had the energy to do some activities with her after 8 hours of work, but I usually just end up on my laptop and turning on the TV for her. My apartment is never clean because I just don't have the energy to clean, and when I would have energy to clean, I'd rather spend it doing something with my kiddo or seeing friends. I have been through endless blood tests and mental health programs to see if we can find out why I've been tired since my teen years, but nothing's off except my depression, which is pretty mild at this point. My last hope for an "easy" cause is an ADD diagnosis, and treatment. If that's not the case, I might just be lazy or lack a good routine (I admit, I'm not one for routine, but I'm getting there).

henbutt Part of feeling hungry is because your body is attuned to when, what and how you eat. There are different cues that the body gives in terms of hunger. One is the grumbling stomach, but this specifically is something which is a physiological response by your body. I am not a life scientist nor a nutritionist, but from what I gather, the body sort of figures out when it is going to eat, and creates additional stomach acids based on those expected timings. Stomach acid without food is one of the great hunger cues (a rumbling stomach), but you can work on your own cues so as to avoid feeling so hungry. If you are getting consistently hungry at a specific time of day every day, then start scheduling in a small snack before then. Maybe a piece of toast with nut butter, or a hard boiled egg. This will stop your stomach from sending hungry cues. Or alternately just fight through the impulse for a few days. The human body is a fairly efficient machine, and doesn't like to waste resources, so if you are not eating when your stomach tarts to growl, then your body will just stop to produce as much, which creates a psotive feedback loop.

So in terms of your other problems, I get it but there are other workarounds as well. It is maybe too easy to just say to turn off the television but there are other alternatives. A lot of websites have workouts which are designed to be done in commercial breaks in tv, or even to be relatively easy as to be able to do while you watch. Darebee has some of these (if you search level 1 or level 2 workouts and anything with a couch or chair then you have found them). This creates another positive feedback loop.

Don't underestimate cleaning either. Cleaning is still activity, sometimes low or sometimes moderate, but you can get a decent workout from cleaning your living space. Even 5 minutes a day gives you a better place to live, and gives you some bonus activity (and creates more positive feedback loops).

henbutt, now you have a new reason for fatigue from your teen years: a toddler. They are EXHAUSTING. I had a similar experience so many years ago. I was low energy already in my teens, then at 22 yo, had a kid, worked full time, came home, crashed on the couch wishing I had enough poop left in me to play or at least attend to my kiddo. The only thing that saved me was actually getting up off the couch and taking her outside. To the park, for a walk/run in the stroller, anything WITH her to get some fresh air into my head. And then eating GOOD food. Like when I’m ravenously hungry between meals, have a whole orange, or a grapefruit or an apple. Or even nuke a potato really quick and put some nonfat Greek yogurt on it. The fiber content will fill you up, and you’ll get both the simple and complex carbs you’re craving. The “work” of peeling/cutting up the fruit and preparation, will get you up, DOING something, make you feel good for showing your daughter how to eat well, drink 12 oz water while you’re at it. Next time, switch it out for a head of broccoli cut up and nuked with olive oil and seasoning. You can, quite literally eat all day this way, walk the stroller all over the place and lose the belly. But, vinegar? Yuck. That just sounds awful to me. I would much rather see you going for fresh, or even dried produce to fill you up. Not juice, but the WHOLE fruit. Or even a slice of whole grain bread would work. Just not every time.
You aren’t alone in your struggle. It’s real. But there are practical ways to cope and still meet your goals.

P.S. My daughter is now 35 and...surprise!!! She has the same/similar complaints So, at my age, I can say, it does get better, but it’s still work. And the worry about an adult daughter never goes away🥴😝

Well to my advantage I LOVE grapefruit and almost always have some at home. I usually have one before bed. I should probably buy more fruits but kiddo's favorites, berries, are quite expensive here. BUT I have managed to switch from chocolate chip cookies to wholegrain biscuits, and she does love them just as much! The more healthy she eats, the less junk I have to have around the house lol. She drinks a lot of water and doesn't really ask for anything else unless she KNOWS there's something else in the fridge. So that's great. Our weakness is bread and baked goods. I'm not a great cook and as we both get varied meals at lunch (me at work, her at school), we usually just grab some yogurt, cereal, toast or porridge. Not the best, but at least I'm not getting two full blown meals a day, and can get away with minimal cooking, lol.

Hey henbutt. I drink undiluted cider vinegar. I do it when I remember: not every day, but every few days I should say. To be honest, I got into the habit when I was a kid and my mother used to treat us for colds with something called honeygar, which is just hot water, honey and cider vinegar (though it wasn't fancy organic, with-the-mother stuff back then). I think I'm a bit aclimatised to the taste as a result of this, but it's still raw vinegar... it's not pleasant!

I have a very small glass of it when I do have it, probably about the same as a shot of whisky. I have no real evidence that it does me any good: I've probably read something similar to you. I also drink a goat's milk kefir as a general health thing and specifically to help with my skin problems (persistent eczema and allergic reactions). This has worked* and they also recommended cider vinegar so I thought I'd give it a try.

*This is not straightforward, of course. I saw the company on TV, and they are based in an idyllic Welsh farm (I'm in Wales), and they linked it to Welsh folk medicine, and... there's probably a big placebo effect from all that, but my anxiety-related stomach issues and my skin issues have got better over this period, and dramatically so. (This is also a period in which I've started exercising, made other improvement efforts, and had six years of recovery from addiction, so, you know... it remains complex!)

I hope you find something that helps you. There was a not-very-scientific study on a TV show here recently that found peppermint (inhaling the oil, drinking peppermint tea) had some use as an anti-snacking thing. It looks like you're getting some good advice here, and I wish you well with your medical treatment. This might not be applicable, but when I was first recovering from alcoholism I used "transfer" my cravings and found that often, when I thought I was craving alcohol, I just needed a glass of water or a cup of tea. I hadn't been taking care of myself for years and had to learn. A glass of water goes a long way in my experience, and is much nicer than cider vinegar! Having been reminded of it here, though, I will give it a try again, and try to do it regularly, and perhaps we can see if it gives us anything!

henbutt how do you feel about salads? I have not tried drinking vinegar, but oil and vinegar salad dressings are super simple to make and most people find they enhance the flavours of a salad. Load your plate up with some salad greens, add whatever other veggies you like, plus fruit, nuts, seeds, cheese--whatever floats your boat--and then drizzle your oil and vinegar over the top. I've been getting about 1/2 a tablespoon of vinegar on a meal-sized salad, but you could go a little higher if you like and still get a good-tasting result. Plus the salad greens and any other veggies you add are loaded with fibre--so they'll help you to feel full while providing you with a more sustained source of energy than a sugary drink.

Rainbow Dragon I'm not super into salads or veggies sadly, waiting for my palate to evolve to be able to enjoy certain foods and drinks!

Apple Cider Vinegar is actually quite good when used as a digestive aid, over the long run. It builds up the pepsin in the stomach, which helps you digest foods better. The Mother has good bacteria.

I would say start with a teaspoon and build up to a tablespoon slowly. Maybe drink a larger glass of water with it. I agree that you should skip the honey though.

I don't think this will work. An expanded appreciation for flavours is not something that automatically happens over time. You need to train your palate to enjoy new tastes--and I suspect it may be much easier to teach yourself to enjoy eating veggies than to enjoy drinking vinegar. Certainly, training yourself to eat more vegetables will provide you with greater benefits than training yourself to drink vinegar. (I'm not saying there aren't benefits to drinking ACV, but there are risks to the practice as well. It's not a magic bullet. And it doesn't provide any benefits you couldn't also get, more safely--and more palatably--by simply eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes a wide variety of vegetables.)

I recently completed DAREBEE's A Salad a Day challenge, and it was a great experience. The basic challenge, just to eat a large salad every day for 30 days, was not a huge challenge for me since I do like salads and raw veggies in general, so I set myself the stretch goal of eating a different salad each day for the 30 days. I came up with several new flavour combinations I had never tried before. I also asked my fellow Bees for recommendations of their favourite salads. I received suggestions for flavour combinations that sounded delicious to me but that I'd just never thought to try before, suggestions for things that sounded bizarre but that I tried anyway and found that I love, and one suggestion for a type of leafy green I'd never eaten before at all and certainly would never have thought to put in a salad that turned out to be a great choice.

If you decide you are interested in giving salads a try, either now or at some time down the road, check out DAREBEE's salad recipes. There is quite a nice variety in the database, all of which are pretty simple and easy to throw together. If you're interested, you can also check out my daily menu thread here in the Hive, which includes links to all of the salad ideas I have tried. (My salads tend to be a bit more involved than the DAREBEE recipes, but they sure taste good!) Anytime a salad recipe calls for balsamic vinegar in the dressing, you can substitute with apple cider vinegar if that is your preference. (Although, I suspect that if you ate salad regularly, the problems you are hoping acv will solve for you would go away as a result of the general improvement in your diet.)