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heavy_industry - Health Improvement Q1 Progress

heavy_industry

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Inspired by @Spenny and @REV5028 , I decided to document my progress for Q1.

This thread is about using a systematic approach to improving my health and fitness.

Health is very difficult to measure objectively, so I will have to use a few proxies, such as strength, body fat percentage, and levels of energy and happiness.

Quantifiable goals:
  • Squat 100kg / 220lbs for multiple reps
  • Drop body fat percentage below 10%
  • Remove caffeine

Methodology:
  • Add 5kg / 11 lbs to the bar every week, if I can do it safely.
  • Induce deep ketosis and autophagy
    • very strict 0 carb diet
    • at least 1 full day of fasting every week
  • Reduce the amount of coffee by 1tbs every week

I will write a brief report of the week every Sunday.



Week 7/9 edit:
This thread originally included some of my business and academic goals, but for the sake of simplicity and focus, I decided to use this thread only for documenting my health improvement protocol.



Q1 has been finished!​

Final update and results here.
 
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heavy_industry

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Current state:
  • Squat: 70kg / 154 lbs
  • Body fat: 15% (already very slim)
  • Diet: solid for 2-3 weeks, with a small accident a few days ago. Now it's time to get serious.
  • Caffeine: off the charts
  • Work/Study: worked very hard this month, but now it's time to measure it.
 

Spenny

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Absolutely love this. Awesome to see your goals for this quarter.

Study for 200 hours
Cool tip for this: Get a jar & marbles. One marble represents one hour. Everytime you finish an hour of study, add a marble to the jar.

Me and my brother use this method and its crazy motivating.
 

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For squat what’s really helped me improve was asking various people in gym for form advice. Getting advice in person is so much better than videos. Just wondering why remove caffeine?
 
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heavy_industry

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Just wondering why remove caffeine?
I've been using it daily for the last 7 years.
I want to remove it from my system for a few months, and see what happens with my sleep, energy and motivation.

I will re-introduce it later, but will use it very strategically and control the dosage. If you develop a physiological tolerance to caffeine (what people refer to as "addiction"), all the positive cognitive effects are gone and you have to keep drinking coffee just to return to baseline and feel normal.
 

N.S.

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I've been using it daily for the last 7 years.
I want to remove it from my system for a few months, and see what happens with my sleep, energy and motivation.

I will re-introduce it later, but will use it very strategically and control the dosage. If you develop a physiological tolerance to caffeine (what people refer to as "addiction"), all the positive cognitive effects are gone and you have to keep drinking coffee just to return to baseline and feel normal.
Nice one - I was a daily user for several years until June 2022.

Then I came off it, took a break for some weeks and then reintroduced. Now 7 months later I only drink 1-2 cups a week because the "addiction" is totally broken and I only drink it when I feel like it to enjoy it and crucially NOT to try and get false energy from it.

Why did I do it? Partly to come off any sort of addiction - which you can never know until you try to stop - and partly to make sure I don't have any physiological or psychological "need" for it - which you can also only know if you stop.

How I did it - tapered my dose down to zero linearly for 2 weeks (that's a pro tip to stop any headaches, energy crashes etc). Then replaced it with non caffeinated herbal teas, to trick my brain into having the "same" habit of a hot drink in the morning.

In my case it was surprisingly easy to quit and now I have gone back to really enjoy my coffee 1-2 times a week, knowing there is no addiction, knowing I'm not "using" the substance and - as I thought it might - my energy is smoother and better throughout the day.

Like you I also combined this period with getting fitter, which together with getting caffeine out of my system means I sleep way better.

Caffeine is the most used drug in the world, so it's quite empowering to know I'm not blindly addicted to it.

Hope that's helpful or interesting to know (and apologies if it comes across as unsolicited advice etc, that wasn't the intention).
 

heavy_industry

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@N.S. Thank you for your input.
We are exactly on the same page. I see things the same way, I am quitting for the same reasons and will use the same method.

I'll just taper off very slowly over the course of 6 weeks because I have a lot of work to do and cannot afford to experience any energy crashes or side effects.
 
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N.S.

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@N.S. Thank you for your input.
We are exactly on the same page. I see things the same way, I am quitting for the same reasons and will use the same method.

I'll just taper off very slowly over the course of 6 weeks because I have a lot of work to do and cannot afford to experience any energy crashes or side effects.
Awesome!

Yeah Linear taper is the way to go, and 6 weeks sounds sensible. I remember at the end of my taper I was having such weak coffee and thinking "is this worth it?" but my body and business was definitely grateful that there were no crashes.

For reference / data point I did about 3 months with no coffee at all, and only reintroduced when I felt like a cup to enjoy. I never once drank it the few times I thought "a coffee would be nice to perk myself up a bit". That was the trap I was trying to break out of. Now I only drink to enjoy and it's so nice to be free.

Good luck, excited to hear how you get on.
 

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Remove caffeine
I took a gut biome test and it told me I should totally avoid coffee (not for the caffeine, but for some other compound found in coffee) as it was not agreeable to my gut health. Apparently, gut health is super important and tied to so many interesting things. So, anyway, I quit coffee (all caffeine, actually) for a few months and I was sleeping so much better and my energy levels were much better sustained throughout the day. I hope you find the same benefits!

I like your idea of reducing intake by 1Tbsp per week! For me, I started mixing in decaf and gradually increased the ratio until I was drinking only decaf. Then it was much easier for me to quit coffee altogether. I felt I had better chances of quitting when I kept the volume the same to try and trick my brain into thinking I was still getting the same amount of caffeine. I'll be interested to hear how reducing by 1Tbsp/week works for you!
2. Finish the current stage of one of my projects.
I like @Spenny 's marble idea! I might just try that myself. Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed by an ever growing to-do list, so I've started a to-did list - I start each day with an empty list and only add one thing at a time, and I cannot add another item until that previous task is done. So, at the end of the day, instead of looking at a long list with only a few things crossed out, I get to look at a list of 5-10 things I accomplished without the nagging noise of all the things I didn't accomplish.

Can't wait to hear more about your progress!
 

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@REV5028 that's a super idea on the to-do list. I am immediately going to use GoalSumo.com just like that - add one thing at a time, starting in priority order. That will force me to push past the procrastination I do where I tick off something easy before I do the most important thing. Thank you!
 
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REV5028

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@REV5028 that's a super idea on the to-do list. I am immediately going to use GoalSumo.com just like that - add one thing at a time, starting in priority order. That will force me to push past the procrastination I do where I tick off something easy before I do the most important thing. Thank you!
You're welcome! I find myself doing the same thing - doing little easy things to procrastinate on the bigger/harder/scarier things. I'll be curious to know how this approach works for you!
 

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@REV5028 The full strategy is this.

Open the lid, you are now mentally preparing yourself for work
Add the marbles you want to complete for the day within the jar lid.
Immediately begin work to get yourself started. Work throughout the day with good planning. Pomodoro technique is good. I do 1hr on, 15 mins off.
You cannot add the lid back on until you finish, or decide what you're doing with the marbles. Pure accountibility.
Once you fill the jar, you prestige. Add a sharpie mark and buy yourself something as a reward. Congratulations.
 

heavy_industry

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Week 1 / 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 75kg / 165lbs :check:
  • Diet compliance: 6 days :check:
  • Full days of fasting: 1 :check:
  • Daily coffee intake: 8-5tsp:check:
  • Units of work: 2:xx:
  • Hours of study: 15:xx:

Comments:
Reducing the daily coffee from infinite to about 6tsp a day caused massive withdrawal symptoms. Having difficulty focusing and staying awake in the second half of the day.
I will taper off more aggressively and try to get some days with 0 coffee so the tolerance drops faster. I want to get rid of this bs ASAP.

Work and study: Absolutely horrendous. I am very disappointed at my weekly performance.
But at least I now have a clear picture of the magnitude of the problem. The numbers are very clear.

I will learn from my mistakes and do better next week. I will aim for 7 units of work and 30 hours of study.
 
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heavy_industry

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Week 2 / 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 80kg / 176lbs
  • Diet compliance: 5 days
  • Full days of fasting: 2
  • Daily coffee intake: ~4tsp / day
  • Units of work: 2
  • Hours of study: 13

Comments:

Work and study:

An absolute catastrophe.
I am working all day every day, but still failed at doing this specific work because I have multiple things to focus on. I need to prioritize better.

Coffee:
I am getting accustomed to the lower dosage of caffeine and I've had some amazing nights of restorative sleep.

Diet:
I had 2 weeks of pure joy and energy.
Today I diverged from that and ate a full dark chocolate (very low sugar) and 10 eggs. I'm not exactly sure which one of them did it, but I had massive lethargy and fell asleep on my couch in mid day :rofl:

Clearly there is some food allergy going on. I will try this again after a few weeks, first with chocolate, then with eggs and see which one is the problem.
 

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Today I diverged from that and ate a full dark chocolate (very low sugar) and 10 eggs. I'm not exactly sure which one of them did it, but I had massive lethargy and fell asleep on my couch in mid day :rofl:
Isn't there a rather large amount of protein in a full chocolate bar and 10 eggs? If so, then you will need to drink water like a fish to allow your body to process all the protein. If you don't, you will dehydrate rapidly and sleepiness will follow.

The other possibility is stress. If you are having withdrawal symptoms this can lead to physiological stress. This can lead to elevated cortisol and one of the symptoms can be sleepiness in the afternoons.

So it might not be a food intolerance as such. Just sayin'

EDIT: There's also caffeine in your chocolate. So I don't know if you exceeded your daily caffeine allowance by eating that.

TL;DR Feel free to test for food intolerances, but don't jump to conclusions that it definitely is one, there might be other explanations.
 
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heavy_industry

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heavy_industry

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Same (squats first too, icf 2.0). Do you find it hard to progressively overload with fasting and 0 carb diet?
My preferred method of training is doing a 6 day split with each muscle group twice / week.

For Q1 I've chosen to do full body x 3 in order to focus very hard on the squat. Doing it as the first exercise feels great, and I also get 4 days a week of full neurological rest and recovery.

Most people can't do their workouts without carbs, let alone make any strength progress. But I am very well adapted to ketosis and I can hit the weights very hard after 48 hours of fasting without any problem.

Once you become fully adapted to fat metabolism carbs are no longer needed.
 
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REV5028

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Coffee:
I am getting accustomed to the lower dosage of caffeine and I've had some amazing nights of restorative sleep.
That's great news! I'm sure laser focus on your prioritized work/study will soon follow.

In one day?! I saw a comment about the amount of protein in 10 eggs, but I immediately think of cholesterol; that's quite a lot. I'm all for experimenting for food intolerances/allergies, but as mentioned by robdavis, it could also be worth keeping other possibilities in mind. Along the lines of keeping an open mind, I recommend the documentary The Game Changers if you haven't already seen it. It's about high-performing professional athletes and what works for them in terms of nutrition/diet.
 

heavy_industry

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In one day?!
:rofl::rofl::rofl:
The word "balance" is missing from my dictionary. I am a nutritionist's worst nightmare.

I am currently doing a high fat, high protein diet, in order to reduce inflammation and sustain my heavy training sessions. There is no way in hell I would be able to perform on a high level while fasting for multiple days in a row, unless I am in deep, deep ketosis.

But I promised to myself that I will try all the diets in the future, including vegan.

There are countless theories and scientific research that often provide conflicting information, so I think that the best course of action is to just do experiments and try all the diets for 3 months, and see which one works best for you.

We are the same species, but there is a lot of individual variability, so it's best to just experiment and see what happens.

I think I'm the biggest diet nerd on the forum. :innocent: :halo:
 

heavy_industry

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Late update. Should have happened yesterday.

Week 3 / 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 80kg / 176lbs
  • Diet compliance: 6 days
  • Full days of fasting: 0
  • Daily coffee intake: 4-5tsp / day
  • Units of work: 2
  • Hours of study: 17

Comments:

Training:

I'm using my brain and I do not add more weight than I can safely handle.

Coffee:
I've fallen off the wagon a little bit, but nothing crazy. Still on the path, and this week I will do better.

Work / Study:
Things have started to move in a very positive direction.
I prioritized my tasks better and I follow a daily schedule, so things will start picking up steam from now on.
 
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Spenny

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Daily coffee intake: 4-5tsp / day
Well done on this man. You've nearly halved you caffeine intake over three weeks! I would put this as not a red, progress isn't linear.
 

heavy_industry

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Week 4/ 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 85kg / 187lbs
  • Diet compliance: 5 days
  • Full days of fasting: 0
  • Daily coffee intake: 3-4tsp / day
  • Units of work: 2
  • Hours of study: 19

Comments:

Coffee:

Slight improvement over last week.
Starting from tomorrow I will reduce my intake in half (2tsp / day). Will not have coffee in my house. I will have to walk to the shop every morning to get it. This will make it harder and more annoying to get.

Work / Study:
Slight improvement since last week.

Diet:
When I am very strict with the food intake, I am full of energy and feel amazing. When I decide to cheat, I suffer.
I do like the fact that the feedback that I get is almost instant. I am starting to understand how impactful diet is on our overall health.
 

heavy_industry

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Another late update.

Week 5/ 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 80kg / 176lbs
  • Diet compliance: 4 days ?
  • Full days of fasting: 0
  • Daily coffee intake: 4-2 tsp / day
  • Units of work: 2
  • Hours of study: 15

Comments:

I was under the impression that I did a lot of work. But now when I checked the numbers I am grinding my teeth out of anger.

I will no longer go to sleep until I hit my daily work/study quota. I don't care.
 
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BizyDad

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My dude, you got a progress thread?

Cool cool. But where's the business talk? What are we getting after? And what are you studying to be?

you have to keep drinking coffee just to return to baseline and feel normal.

I feel personally attacked. :rofl::rofl:
 

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I like what @BizyDad & @heavy_industry have going on with their pf pics, had no idea. I thought heavy was just talking to himself at first glance!
 

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heavy_industry

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Week 6/ 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 85kg / 187lbs
  • Diet compliance: 5 days
  • Full days of fasting: 0
  • Daily coffee intake: 4-1 tsp / day
  • Units of work: 3
  • Hours of study: 16

Comments:


Work and study:

Productivity improved by 50%, as I've managed to finish 3 units of work instead of the usual 2.
Managed to get 1 extra hour of studying compared to last week.

The numbers would have been even better. Here is what happened:
Started the week very strong, but fell of the wagon on Friday and Saturday, which lowered the total and average week output.

I am starting to understand that the key is to stop looking at things cumulatively, and focus exclusively on the tasks that have to be done today.

You can't work yesterday, you can't work tomorrow. You've never experienced those days. They do not exist.
The only place and time where life takes place and things can happen is today.


Coffee:
Following the exact same pattern as my work output, I started the week at the low dose of 1-2 tsp / day and fallen of the wagon massively by the end of the week.

Was interesting to see the stark difference between how I seep on low vs excessive amounts of caffeine. Now that I am getting off caffeine I start to understand what sleep is actually supposed to be like.

If everything goes according to plan, the following week will be the last one with coffee, at a dose of 1 tsp / day.

I'm really curious to see how this will play out and how long will the withdrawal last after I stop completely.
 

heavy_industry

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Week 7/ 9 finished.

Overview:

  • Squat: 85kg / 187lbs
  • Diet compliance: 5 days
  • Full days of fasting: 1
  • Daily coffee intake: 1-2 tsp / day
  • Hours of study: 13

Comments:

Coffee:

On the right path. Felt great the entire week and respected the schedule.
Except for today where I had like 4 cups - but that doesn't matter. The trajectory is clearly positive and I like how things are going.

Work:
Will no longer post updates on this because it's redundant. It's very hard to quantify the amount of value that is actually being produced.
Finishing a task might take only 1 day, or 2 weeks of hard work. It's very hard to measure, and quality is much more important than quantity. Things need to be done right.

Study:
The numbers don't look very optimistic but this week has actually been extremely productive. Didn't have enough time to study but I got plenty of things done.


Keeping track of my weekly progress has been a complete game changer.
Things have started to move in the right direction and I've never been happier. I will elaborate more on this at the end of the final week.

Very grateful to be part of this community.
 

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