Protocol

17 September 2024

Last summer I was in a bad place health wise. My habits had increasingly gotten worse over years, it took me many hours to properly wake up, exercise was non-existent, I constantly felt bloated by the food I ate, and I stayed up until the middle of the night in front of a bright screen. Overnight I changed all habits related to sleep, exercise, diet and meditation. I now feel as energetic as I was at 20, stronger and calmer than ever, and overall in a great place. Lonis, Will and Eric knowingly and unknowingly played a big role in my transformation. Below is my current protocol.

Sleep

• Track sleep using Apple Watch and Sleep++
• Consistently go to bed at the same time
• Avoid early meetings at all cost (avoids subconscious cortisol release from waking me up prematurely)
• Aspirational goal: avoid screens 30-60 min before bedtime

Exercise

• Usually I exercise every other day, but when stressed or unfocused I might go immediately
• Alternate between strength training and cardio
  • Strength training: 50 min calisthenics (one of my early goals was to do a muscle up, which I achieved after <6 months). Pull ups, push ups, dips, core, muscleups, etc. With a set of gym rings I can exercise basically anywhere.
  • Cardio: 1h zone to (~140 HR) biking or running. Sometimes increased intensity for VO2 max training
• For a while I exercised every day, but that made my RHR go up, HRV go down, and sleep score to deteriorate. The changes in in metrics was immediate, both when beginning and ending the increased exercise routine.

Diet

• Lots of lentils
  • Bryan Johnson's Super Veggie
  • Lentil salad (usually some mix of spinach, lentils, avocado, tomatoes, bell peppers, pesto, mozzarella, olive oil)
  • Lentil stew
• Nuts and fruits as snacks. Haven't eaten chocolate for soon two years, but banana + cocoa is a close alternative.
• 2 meals a day (usually around 13 and 18)
• Avoid eating too late
• Avoid white rice, pasta, grains, etc. It destroys my mental clarity, makes me feel bloated and sleepy
• No alcohol, coffee, tea, drugs, etc. 100% control over my dopamine levels (most of the time)

Meditation

• 20+ minutes of meditation every day
• Started with 5 min of silence, then I increased it by 1 min every day

Misc

• Day starts with 20 min stretching, 20 min meditation, and exercise every other day. I usually don't look at my phone during this time. Once done I can start working with a clear mind and am immediately focused.
• Blood test every ~6 months

Supplements

• Creatine
• B12 (because of vegetarian diet)
• D
• Omega-3

Results

• 70kg => 80kg (some of it water weight from creatine, but mostly lean mass)
• I remember when I was ~20 as the time when I had the most energy. I thought my decrease of energy was due to me aging, but it was probably due to worse habits. Now I feel closer to 20 than 25 energy-wise.
• Almost every week I notice something getting better. Some examples:
  • Posture (still not perfect, but getting better)
  • No more neck pain when meditating
  • Takes just a few minutes to get into and out of bed
  • Progress pics 🤤
  • No foggy mind
  • Never sleepy after food
  • People rarely approached me in any social situation, but now people do