Nutrition Journal

[bender22]

Since my last post I've reintroduced dairy, chicken, oats, etc... Just didn't make any noticeable difference when I eliminated them.

Still really struggling with my hair. It seems like every week, I lose more and more hair in the shower. I'm now suspecting it's more of an environmental thing than anything in my diet that's causing it. I'm going to get some blood tests done soon to see if they show anything out of balance that could be causing so much hair shedding. Until then I'm not going to worry too much about trying to modify my diet to fix it. There are just too many unknown variables.

In the past week or so, I've been manipulating my diet to boost my immune system. I was originally planning on going to Singapore this week so I was trying to boost my immunity to avoid catching coronavirus or a cold. To do that I was taking in a lot of probiotics, fermented foods, ginger, cinnamon, camu camu (good source of vitamin C) and vitamin D supplements.

Going to focus more on cognitive enhancement in the next few weeks. A few things I'd like to experiment with...

-intermittent fasting
-higher caffeine intake in morning
-nicotine spray
-20 min/day meditation
-lions mane

I really think enhancing cognitive performance is one of the most worthwhile things I and anyone else could do. Just imagine how much more productive you could be, how much more creative you could be, how much further you'd get ahead if your brain was performing 50-100% of your baseline level every day.

Some days, I'll have such intense focus, alertness, mental sharpness, come up with great ideas but that's far from being every day. I want to find a way to get that almost every day.

I could achieve that by taking modafinil every day. But I don't feel comfortable taking something that we know so little about the long term effects.

 

[bender22]

I'm going to experiment with a new diet strategy for the next month at least. It's basically carb cycling - high carb intake some days and very low carb/high fat on other days.

There are a couple of reasons for this...

1. I want to build some more muscle mass up again and I'm hoping the high carb days will help me do this
2. I'm interested to compare my focus/attention/motivation on the high carb vs low carb days

I will also be doing intermittent fasting two days per week on the low carb days. I think this will help with my focus on those days, increase my growth hormone (which should help muscle growth) and improve my insulin sensitivity after the high carb days.

My diet plan looks like this:

[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Monday: IF in morning. Low carb, yoga or functional workout/HIIT workout[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Tuesday: High carb, upper body hypertrophy training[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Wednesday: High carb, lower body hypertrophy[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Thursday: High carb, upper body hypertrophy[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Friday: IF in morning. Low - medium carb, functional workout or HIIT workout[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Saturday: Low carb, rest or functional workout[/font]
[font=-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont,]Sunday: Low carb, rest day[/font]

The high carb days will be paired with muscle building, weight training days. And then on low carb days, I'll either rest or do a functional training workout or cardio style workout.

 

[bender22]

I did about 2-3 weeks of the carb cycling described in the post above. It seems like a decent diet to follow for healthy muscle gain but I think it's too much in conflict with my goal of developing mental sharpness.

The high carb days, I found my energy was pretty good but focus and mental clarity was lacking. On the high fat, low carb days, I found my focus was pretty good but I felt a bit sluggish.

I think the type of peak mental performance I'm seeking requires several factors: focus, energy, motivation and creative thinking. Each of these is needed to reach peak mental performance. Which is something I have only come to realise just recently.

A few weeks ago, I tried a dopamine fast. You can Google dopamine fasting for more information but basically you just withdraw from all the main activities that release the chemical dopamine in your brain for a short period of time. For example, food, digital devices, music, sex, masturbation, ****, etc..

I didn't want to completely fast from food but all I ate during the fast was vegetables with butter. I didn't use my phone at all, didn't listen to any music, watch TV, etc.. All I did was reading, meditation and some walking. 

What I found was my focus was extremely good. I was able to easily read my book without getting distracted. And when I meditated, my mind was much clearer than usual.

But my energy, motivation and creative thinking was relatively low. I wanted to do some writing during this dopamine fast but when I sat down with a pen and paper to start writing, I just couldn't get into the right state of mind to do it. My desire to write and my creative energy just wasn't there.

I think that's when I first realized that there is more to mental performance than just focus and attention.

So now I've started thinking about how I can simultaneously improve each of those factors that I mentioned before. Because if just one of those is off, I know my overall mental performance will be sub-par.

Here are some brief thoughts on each...

FOCUS

I've found the biggest thing for improving focus is avoiding distractions. And perhaps the biggest distraction that I struggle with (and probably most other people as well) is food cravings. Cravings are a massive distraction. This is why my focus wasn't so good on the high carb days. Because I was eating a lot more sugary foods, which increases cravings.

If your body is constantly craving sugar, salt and other foods, you can't possibly focus well. Right now, I'm experimenting with very little food intake in the morning - just some caffeine and a few supplements to give me the energy I need. This seems to be working pretty well. My food cravings are so much lower for the rest of the day and I'm able to focus a lot better.

Other distractions should be minimized as well to maintain good focus. Such as having less tabs open on your web browser, no background music, putting your phone in another room. Still experimenting with these things.

Oh and meditation does help with focus for sure.

ENERGY

Because I eat a mostly clean diet, my energy levels are generally pretty stable. But when I feel like I have higher energy levels, my mental sharpness does seem to improve. Caffeine does the job for me sometimes. I recently tried a green tea energy supplement which gave me a surprisingly good boost of energy. I will continue to experiment with that. And I think it's important to avoid too much sugar intake, which will lead to energy crashes. 

CREATIVE THINKING

This is probably my weakest area. Just a few weeks ago, when I went back home, I was coming up with all these great, creative ideas relating to business and other stuff. And I was writing them down when they popped into my head. There have been other times in my life where this has happened as well...my mind is just full of creative ideas.

But most of the time, I rarely get these sort of creative insights. I was trying to figure out what it was that lead to that creative thinking when I returned home a few weeks ago. I'm honestly not sure. I don't think it was anything diet related. Perhaps being in a different environment? But that hasn't happened other times I returned home.

Something, I've just started experimenting with it is writing down at least 5 ideas everyday (with pen and paper). This is something I have done in the past and it did help to spark some creative ideas. I might start doing more brainstorming soon as well.

And I think exposing your mind to different ideas and different subjects can be a good way to spark creative thinking too. So I might start spending some more time learning about subjects I don't usually pay a lot of attention to.

This is all stuff I really need to experiment with and see what works. 

MOTIVATION

My motivation levels fluctuate a lot. And it's definitely an area that I don't understand as well as I'd like to. I think I need to develop a lot more self awareness to understand what gets me motivated. 

I have no idea what role nutrition plays in motivation. This might be something to explore further.

 

[bender22]

Think I've achieved somewhat of a breakthrough with 'hacking my mental performance.'

My levels of focus, clarity of thought, motivation and creativity have been incredible this week.

It's like I'm operating on a whole new level. Like I've got access to parts of my brain that were locked up before.

I mean I have experienced similar levels of focus, motivation, etc.. in the past. Especially when using modafinil. But it's never been consistent and I've always struggled to generate it through lifestyle, diet interventions. It sort of just happened. 

So what have I been doing?

This has been my routine over the past week...

Cocao mint latte with coconut milk in the morning with cinnamon and ginger. I have this straight after getting up. I don't think there's anything particularly special about the cocao mint latte that produces any great mental benefits. But it's low carb, low calorie and just enough to suppress any hunger I have first thing in the morning. 

Then I brush my teeth and go for a walk. I think it's good to get the physical movement and sunlight first thing in the morning. The sunlight helps to set your melatonin levels. 

I've been trying to avoid looking at my phone as much as possible early in the morning. I think spending too much time on my phone in the morning sets me up for a day of distraction and poor focus.

When I return from my walk I've been having a bulletproof coffee. This is made up of coffee, coconut milk, grass fed butter, coconut oil and a bit of whey protein. That gives me more energy and doesn't trigger any food cravings.

Then I do some reading, I do a Spanish lesson on Duolingo and sometimes 10 minutes of meditation. I think it's helpful just to have some sort of routine in the morning like this. But it's something I could probably refine further.

And then I've been having a nicotine lozenge. 

From that point of, I've been starting the work day with incredibly sharp mental focus. My mind is full of great ideas. I haven't been getting distracted (especially in the morning, maybe a little later in the afternoon) and I've been getting so much done.

I'm only one week into this regime and so far the results have been amazing. Whether it will continue to work so well remains to be seen. I won't be doing it over the weekend, because I don't want my body to develop a tolerance to the caffeine and nicotine. I do still have a fairly low caffeine intake compared to most people and the nicotine in those lozenges is only a fraction of what you get in a cigarette.

In the past I've used bulletproof coffee and seen decent results from that. But I'd never tried the combination of bulletproof coffee and nicotine on the same day. It seems to be that combination (as well as the other things I mentioned) that is producing the cognitive improvements.

The other thing, I've been doing that I think has helped a lot is writing down 5 new ideas on paper everyday. I mentioned this in my last post. At first, I was having to really stretch myself to come up with 5 ideas everyday. But in the past week, these ideas have just been coming to me throughout the day effortlessly. 

If anyone else reading this wants to improve their mental function, focus, motivation, etc... try this routine! And let me know if it works for you. Would love to hear how it affects others.

 

[priscella]

This is a very interesting thread and well attended to but I tell you if I eat that much I would be dead...I forget maybe when a person is younger and just losing their hair maybe their appetite is great especially if they work out. I am lucky enough to walk around the block..lol lol Fun reading it...

 

[Finished]

BTW, in response to earlier posts on this thread, nobody should be eating chocolate every day. I too used to eat 2 - 4 squares of 99% pure chocolate everyday, which virtually sugarless. Cocoa contributes to GERD. It relaxes the stomach sphincter. I damaged my throat from the stomach acid and had to stop eating the chocolate.

 

[bender22]

BTW, in response to earlier posts on this thread, nobody should be eating chocolate every day. I too used to eat 2 - 4 squares of 99% pure chocolate everyday, which virtually sugarless. Cocoa contributes to GERD. It relaxes the stomach sphincter. I damaged my throat from the stomach acid and had to stop eating the chocolate.

I've never heard of that before but I'll look into it.

In the last few months, I've been having much less hair fall out which is great. I suspect it might be a seasonal thing. Where I live now, it gets very humid during summer and that's when my hair loss was at it's worst. Right now, it's winter so there's no humidity and I'm not losing so much hair.

My energy levels, focus, motivation, etc.. have all been great for the last few months. Still doing a bulletproof coffee for breakfast every morning (weekdays) and then a nicotine lozenge when I get to work. Seems to be a very potent combination.

 

[Finished]

Glad to hear you've been having some success. Caffeine is a stimulant. So it should perk one up and bring more clarity. One just has to make sure to limit themselves. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-...healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

Redbull gives you wings if that's something you're interested in. Ha! Ha!

[img=250x217]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca8...Pn3lQwQy5lh7KtdOI1ncTnGPXFB5RB4AlIAy7-I[/img]

In my late twenties I started loosing hair like crazy. Several co-workers felt the need to keep pointing it out to me. Then about three months latter quite a bit of it grew back. I never did figure out why that happened. About twenty five years later it still looks the same. There's not even any grey in it. I thought for sure I was going to be bald by 40, definitely 50. It's funny because I was really concerned back then. Now I don't care if I have hair or not. Although it does provide some sun protection. Ha! Ha!

BTW, you are doing a great job with your journals. It's nice to see someone make real effort to improve themselves. Good job for that!

 

[priscella]

I agree your journals are interesting and nice and shares some different aspects of your life.  When I get out to the store I am going to try your mint latte made with coconut milk and cinnamon and ginger. I vap nicotine and also use instant coffee to get me started in the morning. I imagine in the end it will get to me--lol lol. I use them at the same time because when I smoked regular cigs I always had a cup of coffee with a cig., so I guess it is a habit for me.. You seem to be doing well with the mental and physical aspects of your body and so glad that you are showing some success for yourself. As far as that old Finished is concerned I pictured him with red bull coffee--lol . We are all doing the best we can to live comfortable with respect to our different ages and situations in life. My late husband's hair got sparse and grey and what he did was shave his head and he looked like "Kojak"--years ago...I will let you know about the "latte" when I get the ingredients and try it.

 

[bender22]

Glad to hear you've been having some success. Caffeine is a stimulant. So it should perk one up and bring more clarity. One just has to make sure to limit themselves. 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-...healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

Redbull gives you wings if that's something you're interested in. Ha! Ha!

[img=250x217]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca8...Pn3lQwQy5lh7KtdOI1ncTnGPXFB5RB4AlIAy7-I[/img]

In my late twenties I started loosing hair like crazy. Several co-workers felt the need to keep pointing it out to me. Then about three months latter quite a bit of it grew back. I never did figure out why that happened. About twenty five years later it still looks the same. There's not even any grey in it. I thought for sure I was going to be bald by 40, definitely 50. It's funny because I was really concerned back then. Now I don't care if I have hair or not. Although it does provide some sun protection. Ha! Ha!

BTW, you are doing a great job with your journals. It's nice to see someone make real effort to improve themselves. Good job for that!

Thanks Finished! Wish I knew what reversed your hair loss haha.

I agree your journals are interesting and nice and shares some different aspects of your life.  When I get out to the store I am going to try your mint latte made with coconut milk and cinnamon and ginger. I vap nicotine and also use instant coffee to get me started in the morning. I imagine in the end it will get to me--lol lol. I use them at the same time because when I smoked regular cigs I always had a cup of coffee with a cig., so I guess it is a habit for me.. You seem to be doing well with the mental and physical aspects of your body and so glad that you are showing some success for yourself. As far as that old Finished is concerned I pictured him with red bull coffee--lol . We are all doing the best we can to live comfortable with respect to our different ages and situations in life. My late husband's hair got sparse and grey and what he did was shave his head and he looked like "Kojak"--years ago...I will let you know about the "latte" when I get the ingredients and try it.

Interested to hear your thoughts on the latte! I love them. They have tumeric ones as well but I think the cacao mint flavour would taste a lot better lol.

 

[Finished]

Although I don't drink coffee of any kind, I love the smell of it. The cacao mint flavored setup sounds very tasty. But, I'm definitely not going to start drinking coffee at this point. Ha! Ha!

 

[priscella]

Ahhhhhh------you should get addicted to it like I am----I love coffee...any kind and cannot wait to try out that latte when I get the fixings...

 

[bender22]

Thought I'd add a quick update since I've changed my diet recently.

Now focusing more on muscle gain. I'm doing 4 workout days per week and eating very high calorie + high carb diet on those days then low - moderate carb + high fat on rest days.

Average workout day looks something like this...
7am: Bulletproof coffee (chilled coffee with coconut oil and butter blended in)
12pm: Muscle gainer shake
1pm: Chicken, rice and vegetables + creamed rice and blueberries
4:45pm: Muscle gainer shake
5:45pm: Workout
7pm: Protein shake - rice milk, whey protein, banana, cherries, cocao powder
8pm: Pasta with carbonara sauce

I'm already up from 72.4kg to 77kg in just over 3 weeks, which I'm happy with because usually it takes me a lot longer to gain weight. I think I've been able to gain faster than previously because I've been intaking more liquid calories which are easier to consume than eating whole foods all day long.

Can definitely notice increased muscle density and very minimal fat gain. Would like to get to 80kg by Christmas time.

Surprisingly, my hair shedding is a lot better than it was previously. It has been better for several months but I was concerned that the higher calorie diet might make it worse but so far it hasn't. I've been doing the Wim Hoff method deep breathing 2-4 times per week for a few months now and although I can't be sure, my gut feeling is that's helping. Perhaps it's delivering more oxygen to the hair follicles.

The only consequence of the higher calorie bulking diet is my focus and mental clarity hasn't been quite as sharp as it was earlier in the year. I'm going to try doing more meditation over the next week to see if that compensates.

 

[Finished]

Yep. Sugar gets you fat storage. Working out turns the fat into muscles. If you start eating cans of frosting you'll gain even faster.