OFFICIAL 2026 New Year, New Me! Health and Wellness Accountability Thread

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

My #1 2026 goal is to fix my chronic fatigue.

My energy levels for 5 years is near 0, never felt awake, sleep 8.5 hours and still dead, can't stay asleep, keep waking up.

Just picking up on the sleep thing.

How old is your mattress? How old is your pillow? Last year (or was it two years ago now) I was looking for a new mattress because I realized my existing mattress had aged out.

I am an all over the place sleeper, so basically depending on the day and physical state I could sleep on my side or front or back. My mattress no longer let me sleep on my front without a ton of pain, which sometimes I just need if I have a very busy brain, something about sleeping on my front calms me.

Anyways. I spent a ton of time doing research and trying out mattresses. I wouldn't say I sleep like a baby right now, but it's definitely improved.

Pillow wise I am using a bamboo pillow from Costco a few years ago. It's probably time to get a new pillow but I haven't come across anything that's good.

I sleep with a heavy old school blanket from China. IIRC my blanket is an 8lb double. Wife uses a 10lb double. Might be worthwhile to look into a weighted blanket or just something old school.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

I would becareful with company provided mental health support. No judgement sure, but they will know that you accessed help and it may be detrimental to your chances to move up in the future. That was second hand info.

Technically it's not company provided, its provider provided mental health support.

While I'm sure that there are companies out there that find ways to get access to the records or even look at them I've never in 20 years in management heard of this happening in any of the companies I've worked at. Nor has use of benefits ever been a consideration in any promotion or performance evaluation I've been a part of - this is covering hundreds of employees (probably well over a thousand).

OTOH, the "anonymous" employee satisfaction/engagement survey is not truly anonymous. There's enough demographic data that we can narrow stuff down pretty good if we wanted to - I know of one person that was fired for their comments in the survey.

[spoon.ek9]

I get dry needling from my physio, really helps loosen things up. Also getting RMT once per week which is nice. Back when I went to chiro, that would also make me sleep quite well.

I don't tend to have trouble sleeping on a normal basis, but these things all make me wanna nap lol.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by noclue

HowÂ’s your posture? Are you a back or side sleeper? Compressed/pinched nerves can affect sleep that wont get caught in a blood test. Or if you had bad posture, it could have accelerated osteoarthritis in your spine. Have you tried a different mattress or a pillow? What does your sleep score say on your smartwatch?

Hokey pokey science but dry needling/acupuncture might help with your sleep.

Edit: splurge and go to an asian country that offers a full medical checkup like mri/ct scan, colonscopy/endoscopy etc that you can buy for a second opinion.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Not good, lean to one side due to uneven hip seen on the dexa. I typically start back and move to the side and alternative back and forth discomfort. I'm very fidgety too.

I'll look into the pinched nerve, I recall I did have a back pop when I was 20 - 23 twice during squats. No major issues but there were 2x I had insane back spasms for a month out of nowhere.

Mattress is really good, optimized that, same with pilows, going to try the custom airsleep.jp ones that ohtani uses in Japan next time. My friend has a mattress store and I've been tryna see if he can wholesale/export it over here.

Open to pillow recs, I have 4 different ones on my bed.

I also dry needle / acupuncture a specific area in my mid back that's consistently tight



I just told my family, I might go to Taiwan/Korea/China to do that foreigner full check-up for $1,300-3,300.

My dad died from cancer at 48? His brother just died from cancer at 79. 2 Uncles in that side also died from cancer in last 5 years in early 70s. Don't think it's a hereditary thing but at this stage, I should check.

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

Just picking up on the sleep thing.

How old is your mattress? How old is your pillow? Last year (or was it two years ago now) I was looking for a new mattress because I realized my existing mattress had aged out.

I am an all over the place sleeper, so basically depending on the day and physical state I could sleep on my side or front or back. My mattress no longer let me sleep on my front without a ton of pain, which sometimes I just need if I have a very busy brain, something about sleeping on my front calms me.

Anyways. I spent a ton of time doing research and trying out mattresses. I wouldn't say I sleep like a baby right now, but it's definitely improved.

Pillow wise I am using a bamboo pillow from Costco a few years ago. It's probably time to get a new pillow but I haven't come across anything that's good.

I sleep with a heavy old school blanket from China. IIRC my blanket is an 8lb double. Wife uses a 10lb double. Might be worthwhile to look into a weighted blanket or just something old school.

Got current mattress when I moved out, 5 years old, I read swap every 10? Pillows are 1-5 years, will also swap out again now.

I have a bedjet, going to buy a 8sleep pod to ensure I don't wake up from running hot.

There's an odd case that if I had a bigger than King sized and run 2 Queens, I could sleep better, my neck prawns on the top of the headboard so my feet don't fall off the bed.




This was a few days ago - > snowballed into a nap - > 2:30AM fall asleep time day after.

These wakeups are killing me, I'm getting crazy ass dreams where I'm being killed. I've had sleep paralysis 200-300+ times, where I don't get scared anymore.


Regardless, in 6+ months time, I hope to re-read this and not be dead lool

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

Not good, lean to one side due to uneven hip seen on the dexa. I typically start back and move to the side and alternative back and forth discomfort. I'm very fidgety too.

If you have an uneven hip, have you looked into / tried chiropractic treatment? Granted, IMO the effectiveness of chiropractic treatments is highly dependent on how skillful the chiro is, a lot more so than other forms of paramedical treatments like physio / massage, and I don't have a good recommendation for you anymore since my chiro is retiring the end of this month. But if you can find a good chiro, it can be life changing and soooo liberating. I swear to god every time I see my chiro, I come out feeling like a fresh new person.

[whitev70r]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

My #1 2026 goal is to fix my chronic fatigue.

I told my doctor this week, I've been seeing him for fatigue for annually for 8 years, and at this stage, I'm pretty sure I am dying. My energy levels for 5 years is near 0, never felt awake, sleep 8.5 hours and still dead, can't stay asleep, keep waking up.

Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear of troubles. I don't usually like to offer 'suggestions' but your sleeping, have you got tested for sleep apnea?

[red kryptonite]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

Training for a Triathlon, Day 1
Subaru Triathlon Series, Milton - June 7th
Try-A-Tri race: 375m Swim, 10km Bike, *2.5km Run*

Spoiler!

Conditions: -8°C, slushy
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Completion: 2.52 km
[xxxxxxxxxx]x

Pace: 7.4 km/h
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Mental Anguish: peak HR 191 bpm
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Athletic Condition: very obesity
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Weeks Remaining til Race Day: 15/16
[xxxxxxxxxx]

wow welcome to the party!
swimming sucks, bike ride should be breeze, running sucks.

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Where was this from? Gotta add it to my list when I'm in town later this summer!

red k's kitchen

[EvoFire]

2.5k run is nothing, 10k bike is nothing. The only thing I would be worried about is swimming cause I can't swim worth shit.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by red kryptonite

lol who the fuck does Subaru think they are making you jump through hoops for $750 rebate.

Training for a Triathlon, Day 2
Subaru Triathlon Series, Milton - June 7th
Try-A-Tri race: 375m Swim, 10km Bike, *2.5km Run*

Conditions: -1°C, clear
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Completion: 2.5 km
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Pace: 8.9 km/h
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Mental Anguish: peak HR 197 bpm
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Athletic Condition: very obesity
[xxxxxxxxxx]

Weeks Remaining til Race Day: 15/16
[xxxxxxxxxx]

[mikemhg]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

Aw shit did you actually break up after all that drama? That sucks man, but sounds like it was for the best.

Can we go after Vlad now?

Ya we broke up in the worst way possible, I never would've thought it would end the way it did.

I have a high EQ and can read through bullshit very easily with people, it's always been a strength. I spent months having this "feeling", an inclination that something else was going on, the "peeing on my feet and telling me it was raining". I leave to Mexico for a few weeks next Friday, and I had to get a final confirmation of what my gut instinct was telling me this whole time.

I finally broke last week and went into her phone, as I had known the password, I've never done that with a GF before, I've always believed in the adage that if you go digging, you'll find dirt.

Boy did I ever find dirt. A bunch of things that were happening behind my back, of which I don't want to post about on this forum. Needless to say, what I read and saw made me sick to my core, and broke my heart utterly, the stuff that was going on was diabolical, lying to my face this entire time in full confidence.

I never would've believed she'd do this to me, and to that degree, we were lovers and best friends, but here we are. The confrontation did not go well, it was like a mask came off to reveal the true person I had been with, it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when the mask came off. She was more concerned with how I found out, as opposed to what she had been doing to me all this time behind my back. Then came the insults, emasculation, provocation, it all escalated very quickly, I ended up having to call the police to de-escalate. We haven't spoken since.

I'll be in Mexico when she moves all her stuff out, who knows if we'll speak again. Part of me does want some closure to all of this, I want to understand it all, why did she do all this. I hate ending things on these terms, and don't want to walk away thinking she's this evil, vile being, and second guess the person she ever was in the first place. It's fucking with my head to a degree, and I don't want to believe that.

Perhaps closure will never come, in hindsight this might've been the best way to have ended this 6-year relationship, and to allow me to move on. She moves into a new place 5 minutes down the street from me, and this breakup could've strung me along for months more thinking we were working on things from apart, trying to "reset", when clearly that wasn't the case. She had other intentions not known to me.

[spoon.ek9]

damn dude, sorry to hear all that. you can always PM if you want my opinion.

[SSM_DC5]

Wild!

Makes me sad...... Sad because Gerbs and bic baws dating scene just got a whole lot harder!

[mikemhg]

Man I have no intentions to jump into the pool as quickly as she did, we were still living together, cuddling in the same bed while she was out in the streets going crazy.

Besides, Gerbs, BIC, and I are going after different demos, I honestly don't think I want another Asian chick anytime soon, hate to say it. Cultures matter, I might be better with the whites

I adopt a dog from a rescue the week I'm back from Mexico in March, she will be my new muse for the foreseeable future

[red kryptonite]

Dude sorry to hear that but better to find out sooner rather than later, especially before kids are involved.
To quote Eminem. “bitches they come they go… not a jealous man but females lie”
Time to go rescue some lonely hoes tonight Superman Mike!!!

Anyways!
PSA to my gym bros: eat the crab tonight crab is calories free.

[MarkyMark]

Sorry to hear Mike, it's disheartening when you think you know someone and they are capable of doing shit you never thought possible. I always look at my relationship as being good "right now" because you never know what can happen, people change over time, someone new comes into their life and all it takes is a weak moment from someone and it can fall apart.

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by mikemhg

Man I have no intentions to jump into the pool as quickly as she did, we were still living together, cuddling in the same bed while she was out in the streets going crazy.

Besides, Gerbs, BIC, and I are going after different demos, I honestly don't think I want another Asian chick anytime soon, hate to say it. Cultures matter, I might be better with the whites

I adopt a dog from a rescue the week I'm back from Mexico in March, she will be my new muse for the foreseeable future

Good for you my brother. Better to know now than to oblivious to the true person behind the mask. Especially when she was basically forcing you into marriage and creating a family.

Doggio will be your true love. They always are

[68style]

It’s crazy to me when you bust someone for something and all they care about is getting to how you figured it out and THAT is the despicable part to them. Happened with my ex-wife. Definitely made it easier to say hey at least I don’t have to worry about thinking I made a mistake when literally the only thing they cared about and are angry about is how they got caught.

[GS8]

Originally Posted by mikemhg

Ya we broke up in the worst way possible, I never would've thought it would end the way it did.

I have a high EQ and can read through bullshit very easily with people, it's always been a strength. I spent months having this "feeling", an inclination that something else was going on, the "peeing on my feet and telling me it was raining". I leave to Mexico for a few weeks next Friday, and I had to get a final confirmation of what my gut instinct was telling me this whole time.

I finally broke last week and went into her phone, as I had known the password, I've never done that with a GF before, I've always believed in the adage that if you go digging, you'll find dirt.

Boy did I ever find dirt. A bunch of things that were happening behind my back, of which I don't want to post about on this forum. Needless to say, what I read and saw made me sick to my core, and broke my heart utterly, the stuff that was going on was diabolical, lying to my face this entire time in full confidence.

I never would've believed she'd do this to me, and to that degree, we were lovers and best friends, but here we are. The confrontation did not go well, it was like a mask came off to reveal the true person I had been with, it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when the mask came off. She was more concerned with how I found out, as opposed to what she had been doing to me all this time behind my back. Then came the insults, emasculation, provocation, it all escalated very quickly, I ended up having to call the police to de-escalate. We haven't spoken since.

I'll be in Mexico when she moves all her stuff out, who knows if we'll speak again. Part of me does want some closure to all of this, I want to understand it all, why did she do all this. I hate ending things on these terms, and don't want to walk away thinking she's this evil, vile being, and second guess the person she ever was in the first place. It's fucking with my head to a degree, and I don't want to believe that.

Perhaps closure will never come, in hindsight this might've been the best way to have ended this 6-year relationship, and to allow me to move on. She moves into a new place 5 minutes down the street from me, and this breakup could've strung me along for months more thinking we were working on things from apart, trying to "reset", when clearly that wasn't the case. She had other intentions not known to me.

I'm no expert but it sounds like you're experiencing ambiguous loss which in simplest terms means your mind doesn't have the closure it craves. There's 2 types which in my Phoenix University phantom graduate expertise tells me you're experiencing both kinds of ambiguous loss: physical and psychological.

Physical because the relationship is physically over but you're racking your brain over what happened. Where did it begin to go south? Was it one event? Was it me? Her? Etc etc. Your mind wants control over this situation but it cant because there's too many variables, leaving a conclusion to be ambiguous in nature. Also, you know she'll still be around but what willll she be like moving forward. Will she miss you? Will she regret it? Or will she move on like a Road Runner? From her perspective it's irrelevant because your mind is concocting all these questions.

Psychological because you're feeling the loss of how the relationship was at its best. The memories, the planning and just overall moments when you 2 felt indestructible together.

In the chapters we write in our mental autobiographies, we always seek a closure to that chapter before starting the next one. It's just how our brains process order in our world. But when it comes to ambiguous loss, it's like putting items in a box but you lost the lid and now have no way to seal the box because it requires that one specific lid and without it, your box isn't as ordered as you want because it can fall, get crushed etc.

Anyway, sorry to hear but deep down, I knew this would be the result. It sounded like the tension was already there. The gasoline was already spilt. Question isn't who had the match, it's who dropped the match.

Physically and biologically, women are awesome. Socially? Fucking venomous. Being gay would be easier (except for monkey pox).

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by mikemhg

Ya we broke up in the worst way possible, I never would've thought it would end the way it did.

I have a high EQ and can read through bullshit very easily with people, it's always been a strength. I spent months having this "feeling", an inclination that something else was going on, the "peeing on my feet and telling me it was raining". I leave to Mexico for a few weeks next Friday, and I had to get a final confirmation of what my gut instinct was telling me this whole time.

I finally broke last week and went into her phone, as I had known the password, I've never done that with a GF before, I've always believed in the adage that if you go digging, you'll find dirt.

Boy did I ever find dirt. A bunch of things that were happening behind my back, of which I don't want to post about on this forum. Needless to say, what I read and saw made me sick to my core, and broke my heart utterly, the stuff that was going on was diabolical, lying to my face this entire time in full confidence.

I never would've believed she'd do this to me, and to that degree, we were lovers and best friends, but here we are. The confrontation did not go well, it was like a mask came off to reveal the true person I had been with, it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when the mask came off. She was more concerned with how I found out, as opposed to what she had been doing to me all this time behind my back. Then came the insults, emasculation, provocation, it all escalated very quickly, I ended up having to call the police to de-escalate. We haven't spoken since.

I'll be in Mexico when she moves all her stuff out, who knows if we'll speak again. Part of me does want some closure to all of this, I want to understand it all, why did she do all this. I hate ending things on these terms, and don't want to walk away thinking she's this evil, vile being, and second guess the person she ever was in the first place. It's fucking with my head to a degree, and I don't want to believe that.

Perhaps closure will never come, in hindsight this might've been the best way to have ended this 6-year relationship, and to allow me to move on. She moves into a new place 5 minutes down the street from me, and this breakup could've strung me along for months more thinking we were working on things from apart, trying to "reset", when clearly that wasn't the case. She had other intentions not known to me.

Best to just rip off the bandaid then being strung along.

We can go grab a beer if you just want an ear. I want to meet the resident big guy anyways, missed you at the meet last time.