Conquering depression

[heavy_industry]

Day 16/30 review:

• 6 AM wake up time: Yes
• Morning cardio: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Coffee removal: 4tsp

Notes:
Today started at a horrible 0/10, but got increasingly better as the day progressed. I attribute this to the very bad sleep that I got last night.

But I've learned my lesson and since today I've limited caffeine quite a bit I'm now feeling very tired and I expect an amazing sleep. Also, electronic devices are banned from my bedroom forever.

I know it sounds so pathetic, but sleep is one of the key pillars of our health. It's constantly being overlooked by modern society and it's seen as "unproductive time", but it's really what keeps us young, healthy... and alive. This is when the body and brain repair themselves.

Overall rating of the day: 6/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MTF]

I know it sounds so pathetic, but sleep is one of the key pillars of our health. It's constantly being overlooked by modern society and it's seen as "unproductive time", but it's really what keeps us young, healthy... and alive. This is when the body and brain repair themselves.

What sounds pathetic? If anything, pathetic are the people who claim they can function great on 5 hours of sleep. You're doing a lot of stuff man. Recovery is extremely important assuming you have your shit together and train hard.

 

[999michaelh]

What sounds pathetic? If anything, pathetic are the people who claim they can function great on 5 hours of sleep. You're doing a lot of stuff man. Recovery is extremely important assuming you have your shit together and train hard.

As a kid who used to be really impressionable I regret listening to people with the “sleep is for the weak” mindset lol

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 17/30 review:

• 6 AM wake up time: No
• Morning cardio: No
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Coffee removal: 4tsp

Notes:
Today was not a very good day.

Overall rating of the day: 3/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MaxT]

I see that you don't abandon my brother, it's good, don't let go we are all with you!

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 18/30 review:

• 6 AM wake up time: Yes
• Morning cardio: No
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Coffee removal: Excessive

Notes:
Today was way better than yesterday, but I'm looking to improve my consistency in the habits that I've started.

Thanks @MaxT for the kind words! I really appreciate it.

Overall rating of the day: 5/10

 

[MTF]

I'd rethink the 6 am waking time and instead focus on when you go to sleep (for example, be in bed by 9 pm reading books, even if you don't fall asleep).

This way you'd be more likely to get enough sleep and get up early. Otherwise you can stay up to 1 am and then aim to wake up at 6 am and almost guarantee failure in all your goals. It would negatively impact your recovery from powerlifting and cardio performance as well as increase your desire for caffeine.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[StrikingViper69]

I'd rethink the 6 am waking time and instead focus on when you go to sleep (for example, be in bed by 9 pm reading books, even if you don't fall asleep).

This way you'd be more likely to get enough sleep and get up early. Otherwise you can stay up to 1 am and then aim to wake up at 6 am and almost guarantee failure in all your goals. It would negatively impact your recovery from powerlifting and cardio performance as well as increase your desire for caffeine.

Solid advice

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 19/30 review:

• 6 AM wake up time: No
• Morning cardio: No
• Cold shower: No
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Coffee removal: Low amounts

Notes:
Seems like today I've been completely off the track in terms of habits.
However I think it's a good thing that I keep documenting this journey, and I am consistently aware of my own shortcomings.

Still, it's been an upwards trajectory since I've started this. Even if some days are completely failed, it's the average progress that will matter most in the end.


Overall rating: 6/10

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 20/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Coffee removal: 3 tsp
• Nicotine removal: 9 mg

Notes:
Today was AWESOME.

I've made a few changes to my protocol:

Sleep: I won't be using an alarm anymore. I'm curious what's the natural wake up hour for my body, now that I'm removing caffeine.

Exercising: I've stopped completely and I'm deloading for a while in preparation to starting lifting weights again.

Diet: I removed the carbs and I'm now following a low inflammation protocol.

Nicotine: I failed horribly in attempting to quit cold turkey. Had debilitating withdrawal symptoms, including an inability to stay awake. This endangered my whole 30 days process, so I decided to buy a vape and taper off using lower and lower concentration nicotine until the end of the month.


Overall rating: 7/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

Day 21/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Coffee removal: 3 tsp
• Nicotine removal: 9 mg

Notes:
Business as usual.


Overall rating: 5/10

 

[RicardoGrande]

Hey heavy!
Good job with everything

Looks like you're still working on waking up early. I don't know if you have a dayjob, but here's my two cents on how I went from being an after-midnight sleeper to an in-bed-by-8pm kinda guy:
- Switch to using only a desklamp in the evenings for your room/study, and swap out the bulb for a red-light only bulb (the best 8$ you will ever spend)
- Try not to eat after 6pm
- Set two alarms, one for 7:45pm and one for 8pm
- at the 8pm alarm every device is SHUT OFF
- Meditate for 10-20 minutes if you like
- Close your shutters/curtains completely and lay in darkness
- Upon waking, immediately step outside to catch the FIRST rays of sunlight you can
- Don't forget to get sun throughout the day

Falling asleep around 9pm is a challenge a first, you can take like 1-2mg of melatonin 30 mins before your planned bed time but only once or twice in the beginning to speed up the process, but basically you're going to try to reset your circadian rhythm. I used to be friggin horrible about "accidentally" staying up past midnight but after about a week I had a rhythm and two weeks and it was no problem. I also have a shiddy dayjob so I really need to be up at 5 which helps- maybe you're in a similar situation.

Hope this helps

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 22/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Coffee removal: 2 tsp
• Nicotine removal: 6 mg

Notes:
Since I've reduced my coffee intake I've experienced extreme fatigue during the day and deep restorative sleep during the night. I'm now sleeping 10 hours a day.

I wonder how will I feel once the caffeine is gone and my system adapts to this. I've learned that this process might take several weeks. Caffeine is way more powerful than most people realize.


Overall rating: 7/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kak]

@heavy_industry

Have you tested for the MTFHR gene mutation? It is very common and specific supplementation can make a big difference. Some people call it life changing.

 

[heavy_industry]

@heavy_industry

Have you tested for the MTFHR gene mutation? It is very common and specific supplementation can make a big difference. Some people call it life changing.

Thanks!
I haven't checked it yet, but I will look into it and have it checked in the future.

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 23/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Coffee removal: 2 tsp
• Nicotine removal: 6 mg

Overall rating: 6/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

Day 24/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Full day fasting
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Nicotine removal: 3 mg

Notes:
I've once again stopped tracking my coffee because I want to focus solely on removing the nicotine. After watching this podcast I learned about the health effects of nicotine. It's way more dangerous than I thought.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXs-zPc63kM&ab_channel=AndrewHuberman



Overall rating of the day: 8/10

 

[DougRMR]

Day 15/30 review:

• 6 AM wake up time: No
• Morning cardio: No
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Powerlifting: Rest

Notes:
Starting from tomorrow I will taper off coffee once again.
The sleep that I was getting was amazing and it made me feel calm and restored for the entirety of the day.

Overall rating of the day: 6/10

Also curious, what are you considering as entertainment? I'm assuming you're talking about like TV or Youtube and not including stuff like hobbies. Maybe you explained it in the original post but I can't remember. Cheers on the progress, man!

 

[heavy_industry]

Also curious, what are you considering as entertainment? I'm assuming you're talking about like TV or Youtube and not including stuff like hobbies. Maybe you explained it in the original post but I can't remember. Cheers on the progress, man!

Low value screen entertainment, such as Youtube (excluding educational stuff), social media etc.

Thanks!
I haven't made all the progress that I wanted, but at least I've made some progress and I've been able to measure it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Patryk.]

Today I was so lazy I couldn't do anything productive. Couldn't even focus on one simple task so I spent almost whole day in lethargy, close to being depressed (I don't know what serious depression means but you know - I was lost).
On the evening I decided to do at least some workout. Got my bicycle and rode to the nearest park. Before I got there I met an older guy on cool bicycle - small talk with him and just after that we decided to do some rides on bicycle together. Lol, we spent two hours just riding and talking in the woods - there was no more room for my "depression". I just enjoyed his company and thanks to him I found what was the cause of my temporary depression - I need to go out to people more. We aren't made to be lone wolfs.

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 25/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Nicotine removal: 3 mg

Notes:
Today was awesome.
I did 5 sets of pushups to failure and it felt amazing. I can't wait to get back to lifting weights.


Overall rating of the day: 9/10

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 26/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Yes
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Nicotine removal: 2 mg

Notes:
I've started making progress towards the goals for the near future.

Today was another great day!


Overall rating of the day: 9/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DavidePaco00]

That's what this is about. My weak point is my muscular strength (so opposite to you - I wouldn't mind running daily but I need to focus on my upper body). I train calisthenics and it's very hard for me. I suffer a lot during the workout. But I feel F*cking great afterward.



Try hill sprints. You'll F*cking hate me while doing them but they're incredibly good as a proper resistance workout. You can go for a jog first to warm up, do the sprints, and then jog back home.

Yes, they hit the glutes nicely too

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 27/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: Full day fasting
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: Yes
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Nicotine removal: 2 mg / 1 mg

Notes:
Third awesome day in a row!
It's ridiculous how quickly things can change.

Right now I'm very tempted to break the fast and eat something, but I won't.
But tomorrow morning starts with 5 eggs - non negotiable.


Overall rating of the day: 9/10

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 28/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: No
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Nicotine removal: 1 mg

Notes:
Unexpected energy crash after breaking the fast with a bunch of eggs. Perhaps a small allergy or I did something wrong with the fast. I will repeat this experiment in the future and see if I get drowsy once again.


Overall rating of the day: 7/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DougRMR]

Day 28/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: No
• Cold shower: Yes
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Nicotine removal: 1 mg

Notes:
Unexpected energy crash after breaking the fast with a bunch of eggs. Perhaps a small allergy or I did something wrong with the fast. I will repeat this experiment in the future and see if I get drowsy once again.


Overall rating of the day: 7/10

Hey man, have you been trying CBT as well? I'm about a week and a half into it doing it "by myself" with a workbook and I'm seeing a difference. I've also been struggling with depression this year. Gotta recommend it:

Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks: A Workbook for Managing Depression and Anxiety by Seth J. Gillihan​

Pretty cheap for what it is. Gotta finish the seven weeks so that I can really give a good review on it but so far so good. Wish you the best, man. I'm thinking of making a progress thread as well, so thanks for the inspiration.

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 29/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: No
• Cold shower: No
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: Yes
• Nicotine removal: 0.5mg

Notes:
Tomorrow is the final day.


Overall rating of the day: 6/10

 

[heavy_industry]

Day 30/30 review:

• Anti-inflammation diet: No
• Cold shower: No
• Wim Hof breathing: No
• Avoiding entertainment: No
• Nicotine removal: 0 mg

Notes:
Today was the last day and it seems like I've done everything wrong except for the nicotine removal.

Tomorrow morning I will write a conclusion for this thread, describing my experience, what has changed, what I've learned, and what will I do differently in the future. Has been a very interesting month.


Overall rating of the day: 7/10

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[heavy_industry]

@Matt Lee @sev969 @p.m @Guyfieri5 @Kak @Antifragile @Andy Black @S.Y. @999michaelh @MTF @Gavingonz @MaxT @Brissy @DavidePaco00 @PetitBourgeoisie @Martin Z @Gavingonz @Happyheart @AceVentures @DougRMR @joel.nilsson @SamRussell

The 30 days are over. Here is my conclusion:

Health, and mental health in particular, is the most important asset that we have and is the foundation of everything else in our lives. If this fundamental pillar of our existence fails, everything else in our lives crumbles like a house of cards.

This is not something to be taken lightly.

Even if I've failed to achieve maximum consistency in the habits that I've tried to pursue, I've certainly moved the needle in the right direction. And at least I've done something. And doing something beats the hell out of 0. This was a first good step taken in the right direction.

Health is multifaceted, it's a complex problem. But I strongly believe that the food we eat is foundational for our health. The kind of garbage being sold in the supermarkets, filled with sugar and rancid industrial oils, might not be conducive to good mental health. Eating those food-like items produces systemic inflammation affects all the organs in the body, and I don't think there's any reason to believe that the brain is somehow spared from this harm.

I'm not saying that junk food is unanimously responsible for all the evils in the world, but I don't think that the diabetes, obesity, and mental health crisis epidemic that we face in the western world are just a coincidence. I will continue to experiment with nutrition and fasting and measure the health outcomes.

I would like to thank everybody that has supported me throughout this journey. I was astonished by the kindness of this wonderful community.

Thank you.

 

[DougRMR]

I would like to thank everybody that has supported me throughout this journey. I was astonished by the kindness of this wonderful community.

Thank you.

Hey man. Thank you for this progress thread. It was pretty inspiring, tbh, and I admire that you really nipped it in the bud when it came to your mental health. Meaning, you took initiative as soon you felt that depression was "creeping" in.

One of the harshest lessons I learned this year is that, yes, mental health is everything. And it doesn't mean being completely stress-free because life will always throw stress at you. It's dealing with it in a way that helps and frees you rather than suppressing it and having it compound. So yes-- FOLLOW THE SIGNS! Your body will tell you when you need to slow down and if you don't, it ain't gonna be pretty.

So good on you, man. Keep doing what you're doing and you will get better! Hope you give CBT a try, I know I've been preaching it non-stop lol but it has really helped me. Good luck!