[rubysoho]

Wow, that's interesting!

It seems to me that everything about lotus is very similar to cannabis. It's similar in regards to smoking it, not only in the sense of the effects (though lotus seems much more mild), but in the sense that if you smoke cannabis seeds, nothing will happen, whereas if you smoke the buds (or leaves) of the cannabis plants, that's what gets you high.
Same with everything I've seen on lotus - it's not the seeds people are smoking, it's the bulbs (or petals), and that's what causes the 'high.'
That's probably why from having the lotus seeds I haven't had any calming or sedating effects; it's not like sprinkling hemp seeds over a salad is going to get you high lol (i wish!). It's the bud (or bulb) of the plants that have those qualities.

It's also interesting because lotus seeds have some phytoestrogens, and hemp (which is a strain of cannabis) seeds have phytosterols, which not only help lower cholesterol, but apparently have estrogen-like properties as well. Here are a couple links I found on phytosterols:
http://www.xagena.it/news/medicinenews_n...79fc5.html

http://122.249.91.209/myukk/free_journal...4_full.pdf

I'm not at as good at researching as you are, so maybe I missed something! I just thought that it was interesting how similar lotus and cannabis are. And could hemp seed oil be considered helpful for NBE as well?

I definitely do see a difference with doing the lotus seed NBE, but it hit me this morning that maybe it's just that I'm gaining weight! After all, the routine involves putting the lotus seeds in dairy products and having it 3 times a day - maybe that's the difference I'm seeing? I haven't really gained weight anywhere else, but... I have no idea! That's why I'm going to keep it up for a little while more before I officially declare it to work or not.

Thanks for bringing all this new info to the table, Isabelle! I feel like I'm learning more from you than I did in school!

[Isabelle]

Thank you rubysoho,

I learn more here than at school too.

The articles are a good read. I always thought NBE herbs contribute to a healthy diet. The first article proves part of that idea. The second is even more interesting: I didn't know some phytosterols are estrogenic. In the two preparations they tested, the most abundant phytosterol is β-sitosterol. β-Sitosterol is in PM and in WY too. Unfortunately, the article does not prove that either PM or WY is estrogenic, because the two preparations tested are from wood and from soy.

Hops is a member of the cannabinaceae, the hemp family, so I wouldn't be surprised if hemp or other cannabinaceae are estrogenic too. It's like dietary sources of isoflavones: many are leguminaceae, like soy, alfalfa, red clover, etc.

I'll wait for your experience report on lotus seeds, then. If it's good, I'll try and squeeze in an experiment too

[Rosance]

Isabelle, I have another question...is the combination of SP and PM acceptable for a biological female? I read a post from Pansy-Mae regarding biological males.

[Isabelle]

Hi Rosance,

Most women don't need SP while on PM, but before that became clear, many used them together without too much trouble.

SP is not for everyone, though. It kept both Susan and me awake at night.

[Isabelle]

The day before yesterday, I was at
http://www.jacob-hooy.nl/
to buy new hops. It's still 200 g for € 7.40. The shop is a tourist spot in Amsterdam, because it's so traditional. They take a wooden drum off the shelf, and scoop up the hops into a brown paper bag on the scale.

They wholesale from a big logistics center out of town. If you search "hop gemalen" or "hopbel gemalen", google comes up with a long list of on-line retailers who offer Jacob Hooy's 250 g packaged powdered hops, for € 6.10 plus postage.

[Isabelle]

81.5 kg This morning, that's 180 lbs. Body Mass Index (BMI) is 25.6. Above 25 is overweight. Next week, I want to go down below 25 for the first time in seven years.

So this week-end, I'm determined to stay away from carbs. No ice cream after the cozy dinners with the kids

[Isabelle]

Women who are new to the forum need tips on cycling PM. What I know, I wrote on one page here:
http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=11098&pid=44209#pid44209

Personally, I think PM is not the herb for women who are new to NBE, and want to keep a natural cycle. That is, until experienced forum members come up with a cycling schedule that works. NotSoBusty is experimenting with different ways of cycling now:
http://www.breastnexus.com/showthread.php?tid=8419&pid=44249#pid44249

[Rosance]

I have noticed that my breasts need a lot more roundness For roundness you recommend progesterone. For my luteal phase I am considering FG, WY, and FN, however, I see that there are stronger phyto-progestins than FN (Thyme and Turmeric). What would you recommend? Thank you in advance

[Isabelle]

Hi Rosance,

I wouldn't overdo it. Only Susan (beachbumbythesea) has experimented with turmeric so far.

I ran out of hops tonight. I used 200 g since December 15th, so that's in 17+31+14=62 days, or 3,200 mg a day. That's a lot. I'll decrease it to below 3,000 mg.

[Isabelle]

I'm focusing on weight loss now. Last Friday, February 10th, I weighed 81.5 kg. On Tuesday the 14th, after two days with the kids, 83.0 kg. This morning, 81.5 kg again. Two more days to try and go as low as possible, before the dinners on Sunday and Monday cause another jump. I hope I can go below 80 kg this Saturday. At 79.5, my BMI drops below 25, which is no longer overweight.

Even though I lost weight, the lower outsides of my breasts itched a lot. I have no illusions: the weight loss will cost inches. But the itching is promising.

Meanwhile, I'm in a pretty serious tranny identity crisis. Susan was right again: the other half of me is in love. The past six months have shown real NBE progress. I should have a sexy body by summer. And then what?

Because of all the theoretical discussions about People in the Middle on the male forum, I have settled on dressing in women's clothes, but stayed away from really feminine looks. That's what makes me feel most comfortable. But I want to stop wearing out that mirror. So what am I going to do when the need to cross dress pops up occasionally? Shake what my program gave me. But where? Parties again? The beach? I'm 51, for Priscilla's sake