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Shroomsperiment!

Experiment: Take 3g of psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and see what happens.

Photo by Marco Allegretti

Ok, so why…

  • Psychedelics such as psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms) have had a major revival of late. Shrooms seem to be popping up all over popular culture.
    • Michael Pollan’s fantastic book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence talks about early research into the potential benefits of psychedelics in the 1950s. Pollan reports how moral outrage toward LSD in the 1960s and government prohibition created a long gap in our knowledge about these compounds. Recent interest, political and medical lobbying, and the resulting legalization in certain cities and states have literally brought them back out of the woods.
    • Sam Harris, in his Waking Up app and on his Making Sense podcast, has discussed details around his mushroom trip experiences. He warns that not all trips are good trips, but that there is value in the bad trips too. He cites his trips, both the good ones and the bad ones, as among the most powerful and meaningful experiences in his life. He goes so far as to say he thinks his daughters would miss out if they didn’t get to experience a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at some point in their lives.
    • Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour everything [Workweek, Body, Chef], has been a staunch, vocal supporter of research into psychedelics and how they can aid in treating PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Here is a Psychedelics 101 list of resources he’s compiled. In a related post, he shares, “Psychedelics have saved my life several times over, including helping me to heal from childhood abuse.”
  • These admirable influencers and many others have written about their mostly positive—and all enlightening—experiences on psychedelics.
  • Studies have shown that shrooms (psilocybin) are our friends with benefits, including:
    • Potential use in treating:
      • Depression
      • PTSD
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
      • Cluster headaches
      • Cancer-related or other end-of-life psychological distress
      • Eating disorders
    • Potential to help curb addiction to:
      • Nicotine
      • Alcohol
      • Cocaine
      • Opioids
    • Feelings of euphoria
    • Spiritual benefits
      • These can be hard to quantify, but 2/3 of patients in one study considered their trip to be “either the single most meaningful experience of his or her life or among the top five,” ranking it on par with the birth of a child.
  • For these reasons, psilocybin had been on the (very) short list of recreational drugs I’d had interest in trying for a while.
    • Add to that a sense of urgency, since we were expecting a baby in early 2022, and I knew this experience would be harder to coordinate after her birth.
    • I checked this experiment off my pre-baby bucket list in the fall of 2021, but I’ve been preoccupied with all things baby for a while, so here we are.
      • Side note: Our daughter Amaya was born in February 2022. She is healthy, sweet, and lots of fun and work. Perhaps being a new parent will be the subject of a future blog post.

Uh oh…

  • Bad trips are an absolute possibility. Sam Harris and others have described having trips in which you are stuck in a psychologically painful or disturbing loop.
    • The one comforting note here is that those who have had horrible trips still benefit from these in the long run—maybe due to uncovering a new truth that was hard to swallow—as they still cite these “bad trips” as among the most meaningful moments in their lives.

About that…

  • I wasn’t too worried though, because I was better informed than many are when they try mushrooms for the first time. I’d read Michael Pollan’s book mentioned above, listened to several podcasts on the topic, and pored over a bunch of articles and YouTube clips. Here is one clip I would recommend.
  • As a result, I knew:
    • If I had the right set and setting, everything would likely be fine.
      • Set refers to your mindset. It’s in your best interest to calm your mind and enter the experience with a positive outlook.
      • Setting refers to your physical setting. Are you in a noisy, crowded, stressful place or ideally a calm, quiet, open, and natural one?
    • Psilocybin mushrooms won’t kill you. On a bad trip, they might make you think they can, but they can’t. This was one of the most reassuring things I’d learned.

I betcha…

  • I’mma love it and will feel a deeper connection with nature.
  • At the same time, I think I’ll be fine with letting this be a special, big occasion type activity, as opposed to something more regular like a glass of wine with dinner.

Here’s how it went down…

GIF by Face The Truth - Find & Share on GIPHY
  • Everything was planned to allow for a low stress start to our trip. We’d booked an Airbnb nestled in the mountains in NorCal. It would be Will, 3 close friends, and me.
  • One friend burned sage in the house beforehand to cleanse the environment.
    • Not a bad idea, I thought, to match the mysticism and sacredness involved with this experience. A mushroom trip is not like a keg stand or bong hit, and it helps to treat it with a little more respect.
    • But also, ICYDK, sage smells fantastic.
  • We started by sitting in a circle and each sharing what we hoped and expected to get out of the trip.
  • Then, we opened our tin of dark chocolate magic mushroom truffles, broke off the planned amount—3 grams each for our journey, cheers’d each other with our chocolates, and consumed them.
    • Side note: I’ve heard dried psilocybin mushrooms on their own taste bitter and nasty, but these chocolates were heavenly, so I’d highly recommend the chocolate route.

NATURE

  • We then went outside and lied under a massive tree during the warm, sunny afternoon, closing our eyes and relaxing for a bit to let the mushrooms do their magic.
  • The effects started somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes in for me.
  • Andrew, Will, and I walked around the grounds for a bit and I had started to feel a bit of euphoria, heightened senses, and an increased appreciation for the beauty of nature.
    • These would continue to grow over the course of the trip. I would feel more connected to all living things and the presence of some greater good.
  • Andrew picked a small fragrant, yellow flower bud and smelled it. He shared it with Will and me, and its scent was far stronger and more interesting to me than I imagine it normally would have been. The scent went from being like listening to FM radio from the next room over to walking among a live string orchestra mid-concert.
  • Upon returning to the “mother tree” that we spent some time under, I became mesmerized by the forest I was looking out at. It appeared to be breathing and it was as if I could see the trees and their branches alternatively growing, receding, and then growing again.
    • I found geometric patterns amidst the collection of trees that I doubt I ever would have noticed. Now, they gladly revealed themselves, and things like the veins of leaves became more pronounced.
    • I felt protected by the tree we were under, its branches seeming to hang down over us like an umbrella.
    • The leaved branches appeared to creep down closer to us, as if to shroud us in a loving embrace.
Loop Trip GIF by Psyklon - Find & Share on GIPHY
  • Everything seemed a little brighter. I had to check a few times to confirm that I indeed had sunglasses and not regular, clear glasses on.
  • I felt more aware of insects and was completely ok with them.
    • A bee was crawling on me as I was jotting down some notes, and I recall thinking this is OK. It’s all good, buddy.

TIME & MINDFULNESS

Only that day dawns to which we are awake.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden
  • Time seemed to expand as we gave greater attention to the present.
  • We experienced an amazing, seemingly endless sunset—and a whole evening of wonder—that, fortunately in this case, felt like it lasted far longer than it did.
    • This is possible when you’re inhabiting the present moment. And psilocybin is a natural medicine that guides you to do this.
    • You escape the treadmill of thoughts and the stream of technological distractions.
    • The experience is an invitation to move from a doing mindset to a being one. It’s less “what am I trying to accomplish?” and more “what is happening now?” “What am I feeling, hearing, and seeing in this moment?”
  • In pausing the doing—the ceaseless forward motion of life—you zoom into and appreciate the richness of the present moment and become more alive.
    • When you decide to “go” again, things are different because of the pause you took. You’ll be able to continue with greater perspective on what’s most important in your life.
    • Note: You can create such pauses in your day by focusing on your breath, even if just for a few seconds. I’ve found a physiological sigh to be a great way to reduce anxiety. This is a useful tool for a time-strapped new parent!
  • This experience was a powerful reminder that life is simply the sum of many moments.
    • When we’re not fully present for most of these moments, we 1) miss what’s important in our lives and 2) miss opportunities for personal growth and transformation.
    • When you truly focus all of your attention on the moment, you get so much more out of it. If you can carve out a little time for it, meditation is one of the best ways to practice this.
    • In summary, my epiphany…

To live longer in the same amount of time, be present.

GENERAL THOUGHTS

  • All the intentions I set before the trip manifested in some form during the trip.
  • It came to me that my purpose in life is to make others feel good.
    • I had a strong desire to express gratitude for the people around me, which happened to be mutual.
    • My cousin Jessie and I had a moment of mutual appreciation that we ended up in the same city at this time in our lives. We’d barely gotten to spend any time together as kids, and now we were reveling in the chance to enjoy a close friendship as adults.
    • I spent a lot of time checking in on everyone else, including our dog Zara. (To be sure, we did not and would not give her any mushrooms… although she could probably benefit from them given her general anxiety. 😆)
    • I realized this nurturing side has grown and is continuing to grow, probably as I prepare to be a dad. It comes from my parents, especially my mom.
    • My friends there shared that they appreciated my sense of joy and wonder, more than I realized. This, I mused, comes from my dad.
    • It was a reminder to be loving, compassionate, and forgiving with myself, because I’m probably more critical of myself than others are, and it allows me to bring my best, most secure self to others and for others.
  • I wanted to both capture everything happening during this experience and simultaneously just be in it.
  • It was easier to “catch and release” potential negative thoughts, nipping them in the bud.
  • I contemplated how alcohol and TV are fine to enjoy but should take a backseat to other activities and conversations, because there’s already so much to do and experience—especially to foster greater growth and happiness—without them.
  • We all loved coloring in adult coloring books with markers, far more than expected. The pages transformed in cool ways, e.g., dots growing and shrinking and shapes shifting. The transfer of the color from the marker to the paper seemed somewhat magical too.
  • I experienced a strong oneness with our dog Zara.
    • I realized I’m almost always moving, either physically or mentally, much like Zara. Others agreed that she and I are connected that way.
  • I felt in control during the experience, which was something I’d wondered about prior to it. I probably would have been fine even at a higher dose.
    • There was a lot of laughing and happiness throughout.
  • The first day after was a little less fun, being reintroduced to the less savory aspects of the world. Also, things were slightly duller in comparison. It was kind of like returning to the regular grind after an inspirational retreat.
    • But I quickly remembered Sapana’s sage advice to take the experience with me into my daily life.
    • The next few days I was able to recall, inhabit, and appreciate the experience and its teachings.
  • Some of us enjoyed dancing to rhythmic music. We felt a little less self-conscious and more able to just let our bodies move in a way that felt good.
  • I had brought some family photos, a suggestion I had read about. I was glad I did so. Looking at them and sharing them with my friends allowed me to feel a deep connection and sense of gratitude toward my family members.

OTHERS’ EXPERIENCES

Some highlights from my friends’ trip experiences:

  • Andrew demonstrated clairsentience: the ability to perceive emotional or psychic energy that is imperceptible to the five standard senses. The type he experienced deals with feeling sensations through other people’s body. He felt the sensation in his throat of the bubbles from a sparkling drink Sapana was having across the room.
  • Sapana experienced this too and said she does so regularly. She experiences the emotions of others around her, tapping in almost like X-Men’s Jean Grey or Eleven from Stranger Things. This can be overwhelming for her since it can be a heavy load to carry.
    • Though we couldn’t really tell during most of the trip, she let us know later that she was having a negative experience for much of it.
    • She was being bombarded with thoughts of death and the feeling that she had a choice of whether to live or to die in that moment. (Again, magic mushrooms can’t kill you, but they can potentially make you think otherwise.)
    • This was likely due in large part to some serious health issues her mother had been facing at the time, which had brought life and death to the forefront of her mind.
    • Also, later in the trip, she was able to pull out of those feelings and talk to us all about it, which I imagine was therapeutic for her.
  • Will experienced more intense color visuals and patterns, including feeling like he was inside a lemon at one point and a strawberry at another.
    • He also experienced synesthesia, seeing the music we were hearing as different color patterns.
  • It was fun to watch Jessie and Sapana dancing. They had very different styles—Jessie’s bold and staccato, connecting more with the beat, and Sapana’s smooth and flowy, connecting more with the melody. Yet, both fully inhabited the music.

Where I Failed…

  • Personally, it was quite a success. I had just one regret:
    • Despite my efforts to check on everyone, I didn’t realize what Sapana was going through at the time. This was at least partly because she didn’t let us know, whether that was to protect us or because she didn’t know how to. Still, I could have helped her more had I known.

Where I Won…

  • I took notes during the trip to remember key highlights. This post is the result of those.
  • I picked a great natural setting for us.
  • Bringing both Zara and the pics of my fam turned out well, helping me to feel closer to them all, especially to my parents.

What Surprised Me…

  • The greatest surprise was the distortion of time I described above and the resulting everlasting sunset.
    • Perhaps our dilated pupils also contributed to this, permitting the dwindling light to linger a little longer.
Tripping The Simpsons GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
  • I didn’t expect to feel as lucid and in control as I did while having such an altered experience.
    • Psilocybin can be quite different from alcohol and weed in this way.

Whoomp, there it is…

  • Do I recommend it? Yes, with two tips:
    • Learn more about it to determine if it’s right for you and so that you feel adequately prepared. This helped me greatly.
    • Select a set and setting that are likely to enable you to have a great experience, ideally in or near nature.
  • Would I do it again? Absolutely. It’s more meaningful than a glass of wine with dinner and should be treated more as a once-in-a-while type of experience. That said, I’d love to do it again when the time is right.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback, what you think my next experiment should be, or just to let me know you stopped by. Some ideas:

  1. Recap of experimental abstract painting installation I created during the pandemic
  2. Daily Journaling Practice
  3. Daily Affirmations, e.g., writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  4. What I’ve learned as a new parent, e.g., including how it’s one giant experiment
  5. Your suggestion?

Re(Sources):

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn

https://www.psycom.net/psilocybin-magic-mushrooms#:~:text=to%20be%20conducted.-,In%20addition%20to%20treating%20addiction%2C%20psilocybin%20has%20also%20shown%20impressive,treating%20depression%20and%20death%20anxiety.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/benefits-of-medical-mushrooms

https://www.newsweek.com/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-shrooms-denver-legal-how-take-1445041

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Extended Fasting: Why I Ate Nothing for 3 Days & How It Felt

Photo by Michael Oeser

Experiment: Do a 3-Day Water Fast (consume nothing but water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea)

Disclaimer: I’m still not a doctor. While I do recommend trying some of my experiments like this if they make sense for you, none of this should be taken as medical advice. Any action you take based on the information presented here is at your own risk…

Ok, so why…

  • Like most humans, I ate/drank more and different things than I usually do over the holidays. Fasting is a great way to clean house in your digestive system and reset your eating habits.
  • This also meets my two requirements for an experiment: 1) I believe it can make me a better person… or at the very least teach me something worthwhile and 2) it’s challenging enough to scare me a little.
  • I came across far more benefits than anticipated in my research. Here are 10 of the most compelling short-term benefits, which are often the sexy hooks that get us into fasting:
    1. It’s a Time and Money Saver
    2. It’s Simple to Try
    3. Productivity Gains (yes, please!)… for bonus gains, try this technique
    4. Reduce Your Addiction to Food
      • Hunger is more a psychological response than anything else. The hormone that activates your hunger gremlin is appropriately called ghrelin.
      • It comes and goes cyclically with our daily eating routines, much like melatonin comes and goes with our daily sleep routines.
      • Fasting throws a wrench in ghrelin’s cogs, much like exposing a gremlin to sunlight. Do this enough and it stops. No more addiction to food. You’ll still enjoy eating, just on your own terms. Without all the ghrelin gremlin chatter.
    5. Get Well Sooner
      • When we are sick, we do not typically feel as hungry. This is our body’s triage plea: give me a break so I can tend to what matters most right now.
    6. Dump the Extra Junk Out Yo’ Trunk
      • Our digestive systems have been working hard our entire lives. They can use a break and take the chance to clean out the extra crap that has accumulated over the years.
      • Sages like Aristotle, Socrates, and Hippocrates practiced fasting for its professed purification and healing abilities.
    7. Upgrade Yourself
      • After 16 hours of fasting, autophagy begins. Translating to “eating yourself” in Latin, your body is finding and consuming broken and old cells. This is good.
      • When those junky cells are left to accumulate, they can lead to degenerative diseases like cancer or Alzheimer’s over time. Eating them is thought to reduce incidence of these diseases. Your body grows new cells to replace the old ones, giving you an upgrade from the inside out.
    8. Easier Travel
      • Once you beat hunger addiction, you won’t get hangry and throw a toddler-like tantrum if the planes, trains, and automobiles don’t have Biscoff cookies for you.
      • You also don’t have to plan your trip rigidly around mealtimes.
    9. Fall in Love with Food Again
      • For many people who do prolonged fasts, the first taste of food again is incredible. I’m looking forward to that moment!
    10. Spread the Movement
      • Since most businesses stand to benefit from increased—not reduced—consumption, don’t expect to see them advertising fasting. It’s our job to spread the word about it, and the best way to do this is through our actions.
  • Now here are the true reasons you should practice fasting… the long-term bennies:
    • Boost your metabolism (& shed excess weight)
    • Cancer prevention and chemotherapy effectiveness
    • Prevent onset of type 2 diabetes (or reverse it for those who have it)
    • Better blood sugar control
    • Relieves inflammation
    • Gain greater awareness of your eating habits and appreciation for food
    • Can clear up your skin (as long as you stay hydrated – you better drink that water)
    • Helps you live longer

Uh oh…

  • The most I have gone without eating is 24 hours, so I’m just trying to do that again… 3 times, consecutively, with no breaks. No big deal.
  • Some people who have done extended fasts report being so wired at times that they find it hard to sleep. Yikes. This is likely due to the body switching into ketosis—fat-burning mode—but may be a bit unsettling nonetheless.
  • No free samples at Trader Joe’s… I kid. That is definitely not happening right now. Remember those days though.

About that…

  • Won’t I starve? You won’t starve. We all have reserves of fat, 34 pounds for the average human. Since each pound represents 3,500 calories, or nearly 2 days of food, we have plenty of built-in “snacks” for our body to consume for a while without eating.
  • In fact, the world record for the longest fast ever is 382 days!
  • According to Dr. Fung, author of The Complete Guide to Fasting, “Fasting is running for health. Starving if running because a lion’s chasing you.”

I betcha…

  • Based on what I read, I am expecting Day 2 to be the hardest. Most people say it gets much easier after that point, roughly when your body switches from burning glucose to fat, which we have far more of readily available.
  • I am expecting to have some periods of low energy as well as periods of high energy and productivity.

The Last Supper (Pre-Fast Meal):

  • For my last meal at 5:30pm on a Thurs evening, I enjoyed a large but light arugula salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, some pistachios, and half an avocado. Note it was intentionally very low carb to help my body reach ketosis—and thus make me feel much better—sooner in the fast.
    • You feel better because your mind and body don’t have to work to find glucose to burn for energy and instead use available ketones, an alternative source of fuel that the liver produces from your body’s fat.

First 24 hours (Thurs eve – Fri eve):

  • Day 1 was not too tough, though this was never the part that concerned me.
  • I slept great Thursday night, as expected, given I was only a few hours into the fast at that point – nothing for my body to have even registered yet.
  • On Friday morning, I had unsweetened coffee… not my fave, but better than I remembered it being from my month of No Sweetener. I sprinkled in some cinnamon and sea salt for a little flavor enhancement.
  • I also took 2 salt pills—I like Salt Stick brand—and ½ tsp Trace Minerals drops, recommended by a friend to maintain electrolyte balance during the fast. In the evening, I took 2 more Salt Stick pills to maintain electrolytes and retain water better.
    • Quick note: While it’d be awesome to get paid for my brand recommendations, I have no current affiliations with any of them. They have just worked for me.
  • I did a rigorous strength training workout and didn’t feel I was lacking any energy to do so. Counterintuitively, I often feel more energy to work out after a shorter-term fast, which this has been so far. I don’t plan to do strenuous activity during hours 24-72.
  • Hunger came in a few times during this 1st 24 hours as if it was a little phone notification, reminding me “Hey, we usually eat now. Do you wanna do that?” But just like a phone notification, it was easily dismissible.
  • I accomplished more at work without spending any time cooking, eating meals, or having any snack breaks.

Hours 24-48 (Fri eve – Sat eve):

  • Brrrrr… I normally run cold during the day and heat up at night. However, my body temperature is running lower at all times now, as I find myself bundling up more during the day and actually using a blanket at night. And I’m usually a just-undies-and-a-single-sheet kind of sleeper, even in the winter.
  • I slept wonderfully again. Hoping the trend continues during the final night.
  • Woke up very thirsty Saturday morning. Will repeat my electrolyte protocol and aim to get in a little more water today.
  • My typical morning routine includes a 2-minute HRV (Heartrate Variability) reading using the free Elite HRV app. This morning my HRV was very low, indicating elevated sympathetic activity in my body.
    • This is expected since it is the body’s involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations, i.e., when it thinks you cannot find food.
    • A flood of hormones kicks in to boost your alertness. For this reason, I’m feeling greater mental clarity than usual.
    • At the same time, it’s a good indication I should take it easy, as planned, and not do any substantial exercising today.
  • My nose feels clearer and more powerful.
    • My sense of smell is heightened, maybe more than necessary. I can smell our dog’s breath better, as well as my own. (Shame!) Less than ideal breath is a side effect of extended fasting.
    • It is refreshing to wake up and be able to take deep, clear breaths 1st thing in the morning though. Stuffiness be gone.

In general, I feel a heightened awareness… of my body, mind, and surroundings. There is something very primal about the feeling.

  • Occasionally, I feel slightly lightheaded but nothing concerning.
  • I felt a little meh in late morning and went on a long, sunny walk outside—another tip from a friend. This made me feel wonderful and gave me a chance to catch on the phone with my family—a great way to spend some of the extra time you have.
  • Around midday when I typically feel that circadian rhythm slump—on top of lagging a bit while digesting lunch—I felt supercharged today.
    • I didn’t even need the 15-20min siesta power nap I take religiously after lunch.
  • I’m drinking lots of water and loving naturally flavored sparkling water (zero calories) as a means to mix it up. Squeezing in a little lemon or lime juice is fair game too and is helping jazz up my agua.

Hours 48-72 hours (Sat eve – Sun eve):

  •  Phew… Slept great again. This was a big relief because this was the night some bloggers had expressed trouble sleeping due to their elevated heart rate and racing mind.
    • I fortunately did not have these issues.
    • When I did my morning HRV check, my heartrate was 30% higher than usual. Not an issue though, as I otherwise didn’t notice it.
    • Went for a hike with my husband Will, cousin Jessie, and our dogs. It was a bit hillier than expected, so I felt a little hungry afterward. Some tea helped handle that though.
      • This was the first time I enjoyed green tea without any almond milk or sweetener.
      • Also, Will was a great partner and joined me for the final day of the fast—especially nice since I didn’t have to see or smell his tasty food.
  • It really does get easier after you’ve hit a certain point in the fast—which I clearly have based on my energy levels and heart rate—when your body kicks into fat-burning ketosis.
    • You would think hunger would grow linearly or even exponentially as the fast progresses. In contrast, the strength of the little hunger waves that come and go has diminished.
    • In the same vein, while there can still be challenging moments, the practice of fasting gets easier once you get some initial experience. When you disrupt your hormonally driven hunger patterns, your body adjusts, and the hangry pangs lessen. Once you’ve tried and succeeded, you gain the mental confidence that you can do it again whenever you want to.
  • Woo hoo – I made it! Admittedly, I have been counting down the hours, mostly because I started to miss the enjoyment of eating food. I was so focused on what I was working on at the time though that I blew past 72 hours before realizing it!

Before & After…

I lost 4.2 pounds, from 140.6 to 136.4.

The Aftermath: beyond 72 hours:

  • Surprisingly, I wasn’t super hungry at the end… certainly not starving. I could have easily gone another day if I wanted to.
  • In no rush, 24 minutes after I hit 72 hours, I started slow and savored some delicious Trader Joe’s grass-fed organic beef broth. Just 100 calories but full of flavor and very satisfying.
    • I would recommend starting with this or, for vegetarians, miso soup.
  • Two hours later, I consumed a spinach salad with olive oil and red wine vinegar, cucumbers, roasted pecans, some avocado, and nutritional yeast, followed by a square of dark chocolate.
    • I truly appreciated the food and process of eating more than usual. The flavors were a little bolder and brighter, or in the case of the chocolate, more complex.
  • The rule of thumb for refeeding after a longer fast (24 hours+) is to ease back into your normal eating patterns over a period equal to ½ your fast, i.e., a 1.5-day recovery period for my 3-day fast.
    • This means starting by eating about ½ as much as you’d normally eat in a meal and then building back up to your normal intake over the course of this period.
    • There are also a few things to avoid in order to be gentle to your digestive system, which is being kickstarted back up:
      • Cruciferous veggies (e.g., broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale)
      • Lots of carbs (especially processed ones)
      • Lots of meat (some is fine – just don’t go crazy with it right away)
      • Beans
      • Alcohol
      • Dairy
    • Some recommended foods: some chicken or fish, spinach, cucumbers, bell peppers, walnuts, macadamia nuts, some sweet potatoes or squash, blueberries, dark chocolate.
    • It is a quite an interesting sensation to literally feel your digestive system booting up again. I followed these tips and had a smooth recovery.
  • The body and mind reset from the fast have lingered for days after I started eating again. My mind feels clearer and sharper and my energy level consistently better than it had been pre-fast.
  • While it wasn’t the main driver for me, I did lose 4.2 pounds, from 140.6 to 136.4. Typically, most of this returns as water weight, as you start refeeding and the sodium in food helps you retain more water. Not to mention, many foods like fruits and veggies contain water in them.
    • On average, the amount lost that stays off is 0.5 pound/day.

Where I Failed…

  • I had some Teeccino (caffeine-free coffee-flavored herbal tea) that I’d picked up during my No Coffee for 2 Months experiment. I wanted a little more after my morning coffee on Day 3 but didn’t want to go crazy on the caffeine—especially with my heart rate up a bit—so figured this would be a good solution. As I was finishing the glass, something in my subconscious urged me to confirm that there aren’t any calories in this. But to my disappointment, there are 15 calories in it. Fortunately, this was not enough to ruin my fast, but I’m just glad it wasn’t any higher and will keep this in mind for future fasts.

Where I Won…

  • I ate very low carbs during the day leading up to my fast. I believe this, along with burning up remaining glycogen via my Day 1 strength workout and my Day 2 80-minute walk, helped me reach ketosis faster. This improved the way I felt from midday Day 2 forward.
  • The mineral/electrolyte supplements I used seemed to work, as I avoided some of the physical challenges some others have had during a 3-day fast, likely because they were electrolyte deficient.

What Surprised Me…

  • Not eating made black coffee taste better.
    • Based on my No Sweetener experiment, it became clear to me that black coffee was something I could endure but not really appreciate. I normally add a splash of almond milk and a mini dump truck of organic stevia.
    • Day 1 the black coffee was better than I anticipated. Day 2 it became moderately enjoyable. And Day 3, to reward myself I enjoyed a black coffee from Peets that tasted delicious, something I’d never enjoyed before without sweetener.
    • Perhaps it was because my taste buds were so excited for any flavor beyond water. Or maybe it was thanks to my heightened senses of smell, and thus, flavor.
  • I expected the magnitude and frequency of discomfort to be much higher throughout the fast than they were. I didn’t have nearly as many bouts of low energy as expected. It helped that I read a bunch beforehand to avoid the mistakes others have made. I’m grateful to them all for sharing these!

Whoomp, there it is…

  • Since it was relatively easy and I felt great nearly the entire time, I would absolutely repeat this.
    • I’m excited as it feels like I’ve unlocked another tool that can be incorporated into my long-term habits for increasing my immune function, productivity, and longevity.
    • I’m going to plan on doing this 1-2 more times this year and see where I want to go from there.
  • I highly recommend a crawl-walk-run approach. Start with Intermittent Fasting first, and then try a 24-hour fast or two, before attempting a 3-day fast. Much like in motor development, or training with a 5K before jumping to a marathon, the mental and physical conditioning will make the 3-day fast far more enjoyable.
  • I also recommend using LIFE Fasting, a free, easy-to-use app to track your fast for you.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be.

Did you dig this experiment?

Re(Sources):

https://www.austinrileygray.com/blog/3-day-fast-results

https://ideapod.com/3-day-72-hour-water-fast/

https://www.whitneyerd.com/2020/01/i-did-a-3-day-water-fast-the-how-why-tips.html

https://superhumanacademy.com/podcast/3-day-fast/

https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/3-day-fast/

https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/prolonged-fasting-benefits/

https://www.theunconventionalroute.com/water-fasting-tips/

7 DAY WATER FAST – NO FOOD FOR A WEEK (Before & After)

https://www.ryanandalex.com/3-day-fast/

https://www.hoylesfitness.com/weight-loss-and-nutrition/i-did-a-3-day-fast-heres-a-detailed-account-of-what-happened/

Posted on

How I Finally Started Reading More Books

Experiment: Read visually (rather than aurally) for 20 minutes every day for 30 days.

Ok, so why…

  • The pandemic was highly destructive. But like most things that radically impact our lives and culture, it produced some positive effects. One was an increased opportunity for many of us to introspect. To clean house once again, both literally and spiritually, by doing more of what brings us joy and following less of the other noise.
  • Also, in Dan Pink’s fascinating book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, he explains that common milestones – birthdays, holidays, the new year, or even the weekend – provide natural opportunities to start or stop a habit. With my 38th birthday approaching, I felt ready to challenge myself again and keep trying new experiences.
  • While I’ve become an avid reader, finishing a couple of books each month for years, I do nearly all of this aurally via Audible. Audible is a godsend because I can read with my ears while cooking, cleaning, eating, walking, and working out. I’m not planning to stop this anytime soon, because there is so much I want to read—about 300 titles on my ever-growing To Read list—and I can soak up way more information at a far faster rate this way.
  • However, there is an argument to be made for uni-tasking when reading certain materials. I recently listened to and loved the book Essentialism, which argues for focusing on the one most thing most important thing right now before moving on to the next. When my husband asked me what the book was about, I found myself struggling to give him a quick summary of all the key points. It’s a straightforward book. But I realized in that moment what I’d long suspected: my comprehension, and more importantly, retention are better when I read—and only read—visually. So, this is an attempt to build that habit and see what happens.

“New goals don’t deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.”

James Clear, author of highly recommended book Atomic Habits

Uh oh…

  • When am I going to fit this in? Morning seems the obvious choice to ensure it gets done, but according to Dan Pink’s book mentioned above, I’m a 3rd bird. This is the catchall group that’s neither an early bird nor a night owl, i.e., a 3rd bird somewhere in between. At this stage in my life, my ideal sleep time would be 11pm-8am, but I already shift it an hour or so earlier for work and to meditate and/or workout before work.

About that…

  • I chose a number of minutes rather than pages as my success metric because it’s simple, achievable, and more consistent from book to book. It’s much harder to plan around something with a more nebulous time requirement, e.g., reading 20 pages. That could be a few minutes for a simple book with lots of dialogue, large font, and a small page size or much longer for a book with dense content, small font, and textbook-sized pages.
  • I researched habit trackers to help keep me on track. Ultimately, I realized I could just use Asana, which I already leverage for my personal To Dos as well as shared family To Dos.
  • If you don’t have a something like this already, the two that sounded best to me are Habitify, mainly for its simplicity, and Coach.me for its community features, including a discussion thread with tips from others who have worked on the same habit. Both are available on Android and iOS and their basic habit tracking features are free.
  • Here’s how I set up my daily task tracking for the month in Asana:
Reading is sexy. Let’s go Hot Boy Summer, y’all!

I betcha…

  • I expect to enjoy this habit and want to continue it. I will most likely choose personal development and other nonfiction for visual reading, i.e., the stuff I most want to retain. For fiction, biographies, and other lower stakes books, I’ll continue to use Audible and crank up the speed to 1.5-2X.

Here’s how it went down…

  • At first, it was a lot like starting an exercise routine. It is something I value and enjoy, and yet I also find making time for it to be a chore . This soon changed though. I chose material I enjoyed, e.g., Tim Ferriss’ behemoth Tribe of Mentors or a surprise birthday gift from my sister, The Art of Drag. This helped it shift from feeling like an obligation to feeling more like a “Treat Yoself” moment.
Parks And Recreation Treat Yo Self GIF
  • I struggled to fit it into my morning routine on days when I was also trying to meditate and work out before work, so I became more flexible with when I did it—as a lunch break or after work.
    • As you likely know, it can be hard to find the mental willpower after a full day to exercise, especially to do so alone.
    • In contrast, reading later in the day was far easier due to having material I enjoyed.
  • When first building a habit like this, it’s not the best time to take on War and Peace, though I would like to get to that book eventually. Set yourself up for success and choose wisely! In short…

“Read what you enjoy reading until you enjoy reading.”

-Adam Gray
  • I still listened to some audiobooks during this experiment, while cooking, eating, and exercising. I just made sure to do this for books I didn’t need to take notes on, like the latest from my favorite writer Malcolm Gladwell.
    • I enjoyed and would recommend this book, The Bomber’s Mafia, which he originally produced as an immersive audiobook—with historical audio clips throughout—and later published in print.
    • You don’t have to be a war history buff to enjoy it either. I’m not one. It focuses more on a smart, scrappy brotherhood, a riveting rivalry, and intriguing ideologies around the most effective and humane way to bomb another country.

Where I Failed…

  • Asana. This was an “it’s not you, it’s me” sitch. I realized that I typically only use Asana on the weekends for things I want to get done then. I also avoid push notifications from nearly every app on my phone (sorry, not sorry ‘bout it). So, I wasn’t getting the daily alerts that would have been useful in this case. Since I’m a Slave for Goo…gle Calendar, I ended up just creating a recurring daily time block there.

Where I Won…

  • Mission accomplished!
  • I ended up doing my reading in the morning or at least by midday most days. This gave me an early win, a sense of productivity, and honored my lifelong learning principle.
  • I finally made some significant progress on Tim Ferriss’ Tribe of Mentors and read over 1/3 of a book on Zen Buddhism I’d heard good things about: Dropping Ashes on the Buddha.

What Surprised Me…

  • Two things used to happen when I’d try to read:
    • I would frequently daydream, sometimes rereading the same line or paragraph, unaware until I snapped back into the moment.
    • I’d get sleepy and start nodding off.
  • Over the course of the month, I’ve found my ability to stay present, especially while I was timing myself, has improved. Meditation also helps with this. I’ve also stopped falling asleep, for which I credit both my reading selections and focus on sleep health—which could of course be another whole post.

Whoomp, there it is…

  • Full circle moment: I went back through the digital bookmarks I saved in Audible for Essentialism to review the key points of the book. In the first bookmark I’d saved, the author recommends starting your day with 20 minutes of reading. My conscious mind had completely forgotten this part, but perhaps my subconscious mind had not.
    • Side note: saving digital bookmarks in Audible and going back through after you finish the book to take notes on these is a great way to retain more of what you hear when you read by ear.
  • I enjoyed the experiment enough that I plan to integrate this habit as a regular part of my lifestyle.

“Once you stop learning, you start dying.”

Albert Einstein

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be.

Did you dig this experiment?

Re(Sources) & books mentioned:

WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
https://www.pushkin.fm/audiobook/bomber-mafia/

Essentialism
Dropping Ashes On the Buddha

https://collegeinfogeek.com/habit-tracker/

Posted on

CoachArt: Laugh & Learn from Afar with a Kid in Need

Experiment: Teach a skill of interest to a chronically ill child (and/or their sibling)… over Zoom.

Ok, so why…

  • It’s a way to give back during a time when many of us are blessed to have jobs that allowed us to work remotely—and thus stay less at risk of disease—and have been impacted less overall than many others by the socioeconomic repercussions of the pandemic.
    • It’s quite manageable from a time perspective—one-hour lessons once a week for 8 weeks.
    • With the ability to teach remotely now, it’s also more convenient than ever.
  • It’s a great learning experience, especially for someone like me who does not have kids of their own yet. As Atomic Habits author James Clear says, “The teacher learns more than the student… The way to learn is by doing.”
  • It’s fun!

Uh oh…

  • How am I going to hold the attention of a 6-year boy for more than 5 minutes—especially if he’s got Zoom fatigue from using it all day for school?
  • Am I qualified to teach yoga?
  • What if he hurts himself?

About that…

  • I’d done this program in 2019, teaching creative writing in person to a couple of pre-teen and teen siblings.
Pre-Pandemic: Playing a Roll-a-Story Game
  • I thought it’d be fun to switch it up and work with a younger child this time and on a new hobby.
  • I’ve been practicing yoga weekly for at least 10 years so felt experienced enough to at least teach the basics to a beginner.
  • For the sake of the family’s privacy, I won’t get into the specific health condition they’re dealing with or my student’s real name. For this post, let’s call him Juan.

I betcha…

  • He’s going to be a natural at some of these poses, as flexibility comes easily at a young age. (Jealous… me? What, no, never…)

Here’s how it went down…

  • There are plenty of free resources available online to help with lesson planning. CoachArt provides a Pinterest page with sample ideas and you can find several other sources with some searching.
    • I’ve saved my resources, so if you happen to volunteer to coach a kid in creative writing or yoga, let me know and I’m happy to share them.
  • Each weekend, I’d spend a little time—no more than an hour—planning the lesson for the coming week.
  • I’d start with icebreakers, including getting to know you questions or spelling out our names using our bodies. Then I’d get into the main lesson, focusing on mindful breathing one week, animal poses another, holiday-themed yoga, or how to do a vinyasa flow.
  • I even got a couple of yoga books, for which CoachArt reimbursed me, to use in the lessons. I would read the books to Juan while he did each of the corresponding poses.
Breaking the Ice

Where I Failed…

  • Silly me… I tried closing each session with Savasana, the sweet, relaxing pose we adults cherish at the end of our practice as a reward for our hard work. Juan did not need and was not really feeling this. I scrapped it after our 2nd lesson.

Where I Won…

  • I soon realized that I was going to be able to teach Juan a few new poses and explain a little bit about the purpose of yoga, but I was going to need to be flexible with how much we tried to cover each week.
    • I made the lessons 40-50 minutes vs. the typical 60–70-minute lessons I’d spent in person with older kids. And I let go of my expectations on how much material we’d get through.
    • Some days he had more energy and was able to focus a little longer. Others not so much. I learned to watch and listen to him and adjust to meet him where he was.

What Surprised Me…

  • Physical flexibility was not an issue for Juan, as I expected. But balance was. It was interesting to see how much harder it was for him to balance on one leg than it is for me. I guess that can take practice at any age.
  • He was more worldly than I expected. In one of our icebreakers, we chatted about his love of Halloween and how we dressed up as a marshmallow one year. “How cool,” I said. “I’d never seen someone do that.” Then he clarified he meant Marshmallo the DJ, ran out of the room, and returned with a completely legit Marshmallo mask. Our lessons included plenty of fun moments like this.
  • Juan would often make up new yoga poses for us to try. It was a great reminder of the importance of play in life, something that’s easy to forget when you don’t have much interaction with kids in your daily life.
  • He shared a sweet, colorful, hand-made Thank You card with me during our last session.
Practicing our Lion Breathing over Zoom

Whoomp, there it is…

  • I would highly recommend this experience and plan to repeat it. In order to keep learning, growing, and pushing myself, I think I’ll work with a new student(s) on a new hobby. Some of the others I signed up to potentially teach include Computer/Digital Media, Cooking, Baking, Poetry, and Hip-Hop Dance.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be.

Re(Sources):

CoachArt.org

Posted on

No Sweetener

Photo: C. Drying

Experiment: Give Up All Sweeteners for a Month

Ok, so why…

  • Here’s the (sweet) T. I currently use stevia or monk fruit extracts 3-5 times every day. In the past, I’ve given up alcohol and caffeine for long enough stretches to prove to myself that I can at any point. Sweeteners are the one other extraneous thing I consume daily that I wince at the thought of giving up. This is how I know it’s the right choice for an experiment.
  • Stevia and monk fruit are both natural extracts that have been used for centuries, originating from South America and Southeast Asia, respectively. However, while generally considered safe for consumption, little research currently exists about the long-term usage and side effects of commercial sweeteners containing these plant-based extracts. So even though I plan to continue using them after this period, I like the idea of reducing my consumption until more research about them emerges.
  • Like some of my past challenges, especially giving up caffeine and starting keto, this one is daunting. I’m a kinda nervous about it. But I’ve found that when I am scared about doing something, it’s usually worthwhile.
  • Little challenges like this over time help me strengthen my discipline muscles. When I return to using sweeteners, you know what else I’m expecting to find in my beverages?Gratitude… and relief.

Uh oh…

  • I’m betting my creamy keto coffee* will be fine, but my regular coffee in the afternoon with no sweetener is gon’ be rough.
  • My afternoon apple cider vinegar drink will be rough.
  • My evening keto hot chocolate may be rough.
  • My potassium citrate supplement—a powder electrolyte supplement I take while doing keto—will be nose-plug-and-chug bad.
  • No more using monk fruit to make tasty, sugar-free cocktails like my naturally sweetened versions of the Old Fashioned and Margarita.

About that…

  • *Keto coffee is a rich, high-fat concoction that helps you become a fat-burning machine as part of the ketogenic diet. It’s also an uber decadent morning indulgence with coconut cream (thicker than coconut milk), coconut oil, and ghee (clarified butter). I also add collagen powder, cinnamon, a lil sea salt, and some stevia. Needless to say, it’ll be nice to cut one ingredient out of this list for a while.
  • While I can enjoy things that already contain a small amount of sugar/sweetener, e.g. White Claw, I won’t go crazy with these.
    • I’m trying to build willpower and reduce dependency on sweeteners—particularly in beverages—not trying to be a total asshole to myself.
    • We tried Trader Joe’s Kyla hard kombucha this month and dare I say that just may be our new replacement for White Claw! Sorry, girl.

I betcha…

  • Like coffee and alcohol, I’m 99.9% sure I will want to resume using sweeteners after this month.

My hopeful expectation is that I will adapt and need not dump small truckloads of stevia into my coffee anymore.

Week 1-2: The Struggle is Real…

  • The coffee tastes flat—even my beloved keto coffee. It’s like what I imagine fries without any salt taste like. Flat and meh.
  • My joyless plain afternoon coffee almost makes me want to just take caffeine pills instead, a la Jessie Spano. But we all know how that worked out (yikes)…
Im So Excited Saved By The Bell GIF
  • Almond or coconut milk, natural flavor extracts (e.g. peppermint, orange, rum), pumpkin spice seasoning, and sea salt all help make this a bit more tolerable.
  • While my daily beverages don’t taste wonderful, the implementation could not be simpler. As I do whenever I’m giving something up for a period, I say to myself, “Self, I am not a person who uses sweetener right now” at the beginning of the month. This simple internalization is all it takes.
    • The lesson I keep learning through these experiments and in life in general:

Dread lives only in your head… and only when it’s fed.

Week 3-4: Sweet Surrender…

  • Drinking beverages like coffee without sweetener feels similar to having a reduced sense of smell, like when you have a cold. The general flavor is there; it’s just a bit less satisfying.
  • By week 3 though, I started to appreciate the natural flavor of coffee more.
  • Temperature matters. Similar to how a warm rosé or white wine is a travesty, one should not subject themselves to cold, bitter coffee. It tastes much better to me when adequately warm, especially without the support of sweetener to prop it up.
  • Adding some cacao powder and orange extract became my favorite alternative. Terry’s Chocolate Orange vibes, anyone?

Where I Failed…

  • That cute thought about simplifying my beverage prep by cutting out the step of sweetening coffee, keto hot chocolate, etc. did not pan out. I found myself spending at least as much time trying to add other natural ingredients (e.g. peppermint extract, vanilla extract, cinnamon) to make it less offensive to my taste buds.
  • I stopped making my keto hot chocolate altogether because it was so dismal unsweetened.

Where I Won…

  • The winning combo I found to make coffee great again—or acceptable, at least—is a splash of almond milk, a few drops of peppermint extract, and a tablespoon of cacao powder. Mix it up, don’t think too much, and enjoy the minty hot chocolate sensations.

What Surprised Me…

  • I typically have an ACV (apple cider vinegar) drink in the afternoon. In addition to ACV, this health elixir includes lemon or lime juice, flavored sparkling water, and normally some sweetener to balance out the acidity. Surprisingly, this beverage was far easier to drink without my normal stevia than expected. The palatability ranges a bit depending on the sparkling water brand and flavor. The winners have been Trader Joe’s pineapple-flavored sparkling water and La Croix Mango.

Whoomp, there it is…

  • The first day after this experiment, I put on some Ariana Grande sweetener and celebrated!
  • Fortunately, I added just 1/3 as much stevia as I used to add, and my taste buds still rejoiced. That was plenty to make it way more satisfying… so I’d say this experiment was successful. (Yes, I’m a grande Ariana fan.)

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. Daily Journaling
  2. Daily Affirmations, e.g. writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  3. Read 20 minutes everyday
  4. Breathwork, e.g. Wim Hof Technique
  5. Your suggestion?

Re(Sources):

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/monk-fruit-vs-stevia

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/stevia-side-effects

https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19546604/monk-fruit-sweetener/

Posted on

Daily Acts of Kindness

Photo: Clay Banks

Experiment: Commit an Act of Kindness Every Day for A Month

Ok, so why…

  • I’m often focused on personal goals and self-improvement. This is an opportunity to shine the spotlight of my efforts on others. Trust, I will still benefit from the feelings of good will. But just because I can’t be purely selfless doesn’t mean I can’t inch a bit closer.
  • The world needs less stress, misinformation, and fear-inducing media… and more love.
  • Making other people happier is an easy way to make yourself happier. As my girl Anne Frank said, “Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.” So let’s create a happiness pandemic. Kum-bah-yah, namaste bitches, and LFG!

Uh oh…

  • I had to cut a significant number of my ideas that did not align with the current social distancing requirements. Giving up your seat on public transportation or sending dessert to another table at a restaurant, for example, are simply not options right now.
  • Rather than scrap or postpone this experiment though, I’ve opted to modify and move forward, because now is exactly the time when most people could use a little extra love in their lives.

About that…

  • The only person I’m recommended to come within 6 feet of, my husband, is going to be the easiest, obvious choice for many acts of kindness. In order to infect enough people with my kindness, I am limiting myself to a max of 5 of my 30 acts for him. The rest will all be for other people, including many strangers.

I betcha…

  • This will test my creativity and perseverance. I’m doing 30 unique acts, so this is something I’ll have to think about and plan out every day for a month. I may hit additional roadblocks given the rapidly changing environment, but that’ll keep things interesting and make this a worthy challenge.

DO try this at home…

  • Let’s goooooooo! Here are my 30 acts of kindness. What 1 could you try today?
  1. Wish someone happy birthday along with a compliment.
  2. Send flowers to a nursing home.
  3. Smile at everyone you encounter for a day and gaze kindly into their eyes as long as possible without being creepy… this doubles as a Comfort Challenge. Mother Teresa said, “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” I say, just remember to blink so you don’t look…
  4. Make someone a playlist.
  5. Leave a larger than normal tip just because (on delivery or takeout).
  6. Call your parents and have them share an old memory that makes them smile.
  7. Put change in someone’s expired parking meter. (Keep in mind that re-metering is illegal in some cities, especially when you are allowing them to stay beyond the time limit. Also keep in mind this makes it more fun.)
  8. Make an anonymous donation to a local charity.
  9. Let a coworker vent about an issue and, if appropriate, offer your advice.
  10. Leave a random uplifting note on someone’s windshield.
  11. Buy a $5-10 gift card and leave it somewhere for the next person to find, e.g. taped to gas pump with a “take me and pay it forward” note.
  12. On a local block, pick up all other dog poop (plus your own dogs’ poo if you have any, obvi). This also reduces the “social proof” that not picking up your dog’s droppings is acceptable for those considering this form of shit littering… or what I call shittering.
  13. Order and mail pictures to friends that elicit fond memories.
  14. Give someone in your home a massage. (Even a little shoulder rub can go a long way when a loved one or roommate is stressed.)
  15. Drop off or mail someone a book you think they’d like.
  16. Write a list of things you love about someone. Send it to them.
  17. Call an old friend you haven’t spoken with in years to reconnect.
  18. Keep your phone away entire time you are with someone (in your home or while on a video call using a computer or tablet).
  19. Send someone a handwritten letter or postcard.
  20. Cook someone a meal (in your home or that you can drop off somewhere).
  21. Give someone in your home a really good hug.
  22. Send someone a souvenir from your city (or from a past vacation).
  23. Recall a time together with a friend that makes you smile and send that friend a “thinking of you” message about it.
  24. Send someone a care package.
  25. Drop off coffee and treats or have a gift basket delivered to your local law enforcement or fire station.
  26. Send a Thank You note to a career mentor (or two) that has helped you.
  27. Send a free trial or discount for an app or service you enjoy with some friends who might appreciate, e.g. sharing a discounted meal prep service trial or a free month to a mindfulness app—a particularly welcome idea for most right now… On that note, I’m a fan of Sam Harris’ Waking Up app. Feel free to try a month for free here. I also love Sun Basket, which you can try here with a $20 discount (or $40 discount if your order is >$60).
  28. Treat friends to a meal, e.g. offer to order for them from a food delivery app or restaurant.
  29. Wash someone’s car.
  30. Ask someone about their day. Listen deeply. (Use your body language to make it clear to them that you are engaging fully.)

Week 1-2 Notes…

  • It felt good to do some good deeds anonymously, e.g. slipping some $ into people’s expired parking meters like a mischievous philanthropist or an urban modern Robin Hood, especially because I am not sure if it’s legal to do that here.
  • Acts like this also give me a little fuzzy dopamine glow for a while.
  • I learned some fun stories from my parents, like how after my family rode Space Mountain at Disney World when I was a kid, my grandpa asked my mom with a half chuckle, “What were you thinking letting me ride that?” In hindsight, it might have been a bit much for a 70+ year old to endure, but he survived.
  • I am becoming aware of and seeking out more little opportunities during the day to be kinder.
    • The trick is to balance this with taking care of your own needs too, especially in the uncertain environment we are living in now. You don’t need to become a people-pleasing martyr, but most of us are pretty far from forgetting our own needs completely.
  • There is comfort in focusing less on one’s own issues and reactions to the global pandemic and instead shifting some of that focus toward making someone else’s day a bit brighter (or at least less shitastic).
  • This roundabout way to improving your mood reminds me of a Henry David Thoreau quote: “Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will evade you, but if you notice the other things around you, it will gently come and sit on your shoulder.” 

Week 3-4 Notes…

  • It’s been argued that there’s a bit of selfishness in any altruism. If the intent is to help improve the lives of others though, does that matter? It’s a healthy, less selfish form of self-care.
    • When you make an effort to do something good for someone else, it sends a subtle message to your mind that you must be doing alright if you’re able to focus some of your limited resources on helping someone else.
  • It felt great to send a gift basket to Oakland police. I doubt they get much love and appreciation despite the tough job they have.
  • Be patient and take a long-term approach:
    • Sometimes your acts will go unnoticed or unappreciated—even the ones that aren’t anonymous. That’s fine.
    • Be flexible. I offered to treat friends to a delivery meal of their choice, and they requested I donate to a relief fund for their school instead. Of course! It was a thoughtful idea on their part that spread the kindness a little further and to those in a greater state of need.
    • Timing can matter. The time at which you’re ready and willing to help someone may not always align perfectly with their moments of need. E.g. How do you plan to “let a coworker vent about an issue…”? One approach is to have a list of acts, wait to pounce on the right opportunities, and cross them off as you go.
    • If we adopt a LT approach, while some acts will make more of a difference than other acts, the net effect for you and others is undoubtedly positive.

Whoomp, there it is…

  • This was a fun one. It took some planning and creativity but was well worth it.
  • After doing this for a month, I have trained these muscles to better spot opportunities going forward where acts of kindness can fit into my life.
  • I’d love to repeat this one in the future, especially post-pandemic, with a completely new list.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. No Sweeteners (I currently use stevia 3-5 times every day)
  2. Daily Affirmations, e.g. writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  3. Daily Journaling
  4. Read 30+ minutes everyday
  5. Your suggestion?

Re(Sources):

51 Random Acts of Kindness Ideas + Kindness Challenge!
https://www.success.com/how-30-days-of-kindness-made-me-a-better-person/

Posted on

It’s Keto, Sis!

Photo by Brooke Lark

Experiment: Follow keto diet for at least 1 month. No cheat days.

What is this keto business, anyway?

The purpose of the ketogenic diet (aka “keto”) is achieving ketosis, a natural metabolic state in which your body doesn’t have enough carbs to use for energy so instead burns fat. Your liver turns this fat into ketones, an acid, that it sends to your bloodstream for energy. The way to achieve this fat-burning state is via a very low-carb, high-fat diet. Note the focus is not on restricting calories, just carbohydrates.

When you eat less than 50 grams of net carbs (Total Carbs – Fiber) per day, your body depletes its typical fuel—blood sugar—and breaks down fat and protein for energy. It can take 3-14 days to reach ketosis depending on your level of carb restriction and how your body reacts. My no-cheat-day policy will ensure I reach and remain in ketosis for the duration of the month.

Ok, so why…

  • This falls under the category of experiments that I’ve been thinking about but intimidated by for a while now.
  • The potential bennies are ample:
    • Reduced inflammation – as someone who often gets leg cramps, this is a key motivator for me
    • Enhanced cognitive functioning – you can get more out of that beautiful brain of yours
    • Increased energy throughout the day
    • Better sleep
    • Weight loss – While not a personal intention for this experiment, it has been shown to produce over 2x the weight loss vs. a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet.
    • Improved endurance performance, e.g. running and cycling, by raising your muscle-to-fat ratio and the amount of oxygen your body can use when working hard
    • Longevity – in part due to preventing or treating some of the conditions below
    • Other conditions the diet helps to treat:
      • Heart disease
      • Alzheimer’s disease
      • Cancer
      • Metabolic syndrome
      • Type 2 diabetes
      • Parkinson’s disease
      • Sleep disorders
      • Acne
      • Epilepsy
      • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Uh oh…

  • Some of my favorite foods, which I normally consume on the daily—sweet potatoes, Fuji apples, popcorn—and beverages—kombucha, coconut water—are Gone Girl from this diet. Byeee!
  • We’ll see, but this could be annoying to navigate at parties and dinners with friends.
  • Side effects? The “keto flu”… this is not an actual sickness but a state of flu-like symptoms that occurs while your body is shifting from a carb processor to a fat processor. It can include lower energy, muscle cramps, bad breath and irritability.
    • However, this can be prevented or alleviated by consuming extra electrolytes… more on this to come.

About that…

  • So, is this a new, postmillennial fad? Nerp. The ketogenic diet was developed in the 1920s as a treatment for epileptics who didn’t respond to drug treatment. The treatment proved to be highly effective. The other benefits above were found later.
  • My husband and a good friend of ours both started this diet as well, shortly before I did, which has been helpful in collecting and sharing info and supporting each other through the shift.
  • Alcohol is ok in moderation [audible sigh of relief]. To be clear, regular beer is not ok, but that’s cool with me. (Light beer is ok at 3-4g carbs but it’s also light beer.) Thankfully, a glass or two of wine is fine, weighing in at 2-4g carbs/glass. Hard liquor is the best because it’s carb-free. Just be sure to use a low/no-carb mixer like soda water or naturally sweetened, sugar-free tonic or soda. Zevia, for example, is a tasty soda brand sweetened with plant-based stevia and comes in a variety of familiar flavors. Or enjoy it on the rocks!

I betcha…

  • This is not going to be as hard as it seems for me since 1) you can still have coffee and certain types of alcohol and 2) it will mainly involve removing a few key foods and adding lots of tasty fat to my diet, like Macadamia nuts, (even more) avocado, and ghee, oh my!
  • I’m thinking and hoping I can stick with this one going forward, perhaps with some cheat days built in (post experiment) to help with longer-term compliance.

DO try this at home…

  • Here is a primer on how to get started, with specific recommendations on what to eat during your first week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z15Z1-Og_pg. This video greatly simplifies what to do for the first couple weeks.
  • It helps greatly if you can prepare most of your meals for the week at home in batches.
  • Mexican and Mediterranean restaurants also often have great options.
    • Chipotle is a godsend—in general but especially for the keto diet. You can copy this order for a delicious, filling meal with only 12g Net Carbs. It’s tastier than my normal order, with all the good stuff and no filler:
      • Chipotle Salad Bowl (no dressing—it’s just not needed and adds carbs):
        • Chicken
        • Fajita veggies
        • Fresh Tomato Salsa
        • Sour Cream
        • Guac
        • Optional: Chipotle Tabasco sauce
        • Fat 38g, Protein 38g, Carbs 22g (Fiber 10g) –> Net Carbs 12g
  • Find an accountability buddy. Share this info with a friend or partner you’d like to join you in test running the diet. It has been wonderful having friends and my husband doing it too. Then, you won’t be the only crazy one asking the restaurant to ditch the bun and swaddle your turkey burger in lettuce.

DON’T try this at home…

  • …until checking with your doctor [obligatory disclaimer], particularly if you are diabetic, obese, or have a heart condition or high blood pressure.

Week 1-2 Notes…

  • As expected, it was not hard to adjust to the new diet as eating tons of fat is fun and satiating.
  • My morning coffee feels mind-blowingly decadent with ghee (clarified butter), coconut oil, and coconut cream added.
  • No cravings for either carbs or sugar. This was a big pleasant surprise. I don’t miss what I’ve cut out because what I am able to eat is so satisfying.
    • Doing this post-holidays was convenient too since many people are also experiencing a post-holidays sugar hangover and there’s an unspoken agreement to make/buy/push fewer sweets than in the celebratory months of Oct/Nov/Dec.
  • I experienced some of the keto flu symptoms during week 2. I was a bit sluggish, had some muscle cramps, and was less interested in socializing at times—which is saying a lot since I work from home and often crave these opportunities.
    • Electrolytes in the form of Salt Stick pills and nuun tablets were quite effective in quickly lifting the physical and mental fatigue though, making me feel much better.

Week 3-4 Notes…

  • I’m completely out of the woods on the short-lived “keto flu” and am feeling the sweet benefit of reduced inflammation, i.e. my legs don’t feel like they’ve spent the night being pummeled by American Gladiators like they used to.
  • I got a massage this week too and it was oddly refreshing to let the masseuse know my legs weren’t too bad for once. He noticed a difference in my back too, saying it used to “feel like a marble slab” but has loosened up a bit.
  • Yas, my skin and hair are looking good… thanks for noticing. I have been using a scoop of collagen in my morning coffee, which likely helps, but I think the diet is the main contributor. All that coconut oil and ghee is doing its thing, while sugar and wheat are no longer doing theirs.
  • I regularly feel a cognitive lift, able to focus more clearly throughout the day.
  • There are a few ways to test ketone levels. The quickest, easiest, and cheapest is via urine strips. Sexy, I know. Here are the ones I used. While less precise than blood or breath testing, they are a good indicator of whether you’ve achieved ketosis. According to my daily testing over the past month, I have – woo hoo!
  • While your options are certainly limited at parties and restaurants, I’ve found that deciding between 2 potential menu options—or maybe 3-4 with slight modifications—vs. 18+ options can help in deciding faster and with reduced risk of buyer’s remorse.

Whoomp, There It is…

  • Wow, in hindsight this big change I dreaded was not actually that big of a change at all. And I feel multiple benefits.
  • I’m going to renew this experiment indefinitely.
    • In fact, at the time of this post, I’ve already surpassed the 6-week mark with no off days.
    • I may tinker with returning to Intermittent Fasting in tandem with this new diet, as the two are compatible and have some similar goals and benefits.
    • I’ll also play with switching to 1-2 days of non-keto with the aim of staying in ketosis for the rest of the week. This could help with long-term sustainability and allowing for some social exceptions that don’t derail the whole plan.
  • The benefits outweigh the costs too handily for me to quit this experiment in the near future.

I’ll leave you with a quote I heard that resonated with me, particularly around this experiment:

                “It always impossible until it’s done.” -Nelson Mandela

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. Daily Affirmations, e.g. writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  2. CrossFit 2-3x/week
  3. Guided Breathwork
  4. Daily Acts of Kindness
  5. Your suggestion?

(Re)Sources: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-ketosis https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-ketogenic-diet https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-signs-and-symptoms-of-ketosis#section4  
https://www.ruled.me/how-to-know-you-are-in-ketosis/  
https://perfectketo.com/guide/ultimate-start-guide-ketogenic-diet/#What_Is_the_Ketogenic_Diet  

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The Path to Productivity is Lined with Pomodoros

Photo by Marco Verch

Experiment: Apply Pomodoro productivity hack Monday-Friday for a month. This involves breaking work time into 25-minute segments focused on a specific task or project, followed by a 5-minute break, and repeating for 3 cycles. This is followed by a longer break (15-30 minutes), and continuing this pattern for the rest of the day (with a longer break for lunch).

Ok, so why…

  • I’ve attended a few productivity webinars over the past year, and this is one of the tools the experts most commonly recommend.
  • While I have a decent sense of self-discipline, it’s easy to get sidetracked with lower priority tasks and spend too much time reactively replying to email rather than focusing in on the big rocks.
  • It’s a good way to eliminate distractions… e.g. news/political clickbait, movie/music info (do I really need to check what year the movie Casablanca came out, the name of an actor in a Netflix show, or Ariana Grande’s current net worth? FYI the latter is estimated at $80-100MM. Get it, gurl.)
    • I got so distracted while outlining this experiment that I had to start the practice then, putting on a 25-minute timer to help before the experiment month even started.
  • I’ve dabbled with this before and it has helped but I haven’t gone all in and used a timer all day before. Like this experiment, it’s about time.

Uh oh…

  • Will this feel draconian, adding a little too much discipline to my day?
  • What about when I’m feeling a state of flow when the timer goes off? Will stopping then actually damper my potential productivity or will the 5-minute break be short and refreshing enough that I can keep buzzing at that same level afterward?

About that…

  • Where did the Pomodoro technique come from? It was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. The name comes from the Italian word for tomato as Cirillo used a tomato-shaped timer.
  • I’ve used a few different online timers and I like this one, mainly because the alarm is gentler, less of an SOS, evacuate-the-premises type alarm than some of the others, and it includes multiple cycles in one timer.

I betcha…

  • I’m going to like using the clock as an automated accountability buddy but may need to play around to find the optimal amount of time per work session.
  • I’m thinking and hoping I can stick with this one going forward.

Do try this “at home”…

  • Try this timer out if you’re ready to dive in as it includes 4 x 25-minute cycles.
  • If you wanna wet your feet with a single cycle or two first, then try…
    • This one if the visual doesn’t matter much to you but you prefer a gentler alarm.
    • This one if you want a more neutral looking one for the office and don’t mind a slightly more jarring alarm.
    • This bonus option that I’ve just found at the end of my experiment but looks clean, is recommended by Lifehacker, and that I plan to experiment with in the coming week.
  • If 25 minutes feels too short for you, you can try using this 52-minute version.

Week 1-2 Notes…

  • Focusing on just one thing can be a challenge. I’ve found that while sometimes a more time-consuming task, e.g. building a presentation, will certainly take at least 25 minutes—or a few 25-minute sessions—to work on, sometimes I have a series of smaller tasks, e.g. emails. In these cases, I just work through chunks of smaller tasks till I hit the 25-minute mark.
  • I struggle to stop at 25 minutes when I’m in mid-thought or when it makes more sense for me to finish the step I’m working on before breaking. I find myself going to the timer and clicking it back to 5 or 10 minutes remaining to allow me enough time to finish the part I’m working on. (Shh, don’t tell.)

Week 3-4 Notes…

  • EpicFail.com! (I didn’t include a link to that site so that you don’t get sucked in.) This has not been working as planned. In addition to being mid-flow at 25mins, I often struggle to find something to do for a break for just 5mins. Time for a mid-experiment tweak… I’m trying a 52/10min approach. Let’s see how this goes…
  • It’s been a struggle, but I think I’ve figured this out. I was getting to hung up on sticking to a certain amount of time and forgetting that the real aim of this technique is simply to help you focus on pre-identified tasks for extended chunks of time.
  • At the start of a task or day, I just need to identify what I’d like to get done and the amount of time that will best match the task and use the appropriate timer. If I need to add a few minutes to either the work cycle or break, no biggie, as long as it’s keeping me mostly on track.

Whoomp, There It is…

  • It’s like meditation in that having a timer running—and maybe some instrumental music—provides a tool to remind you to gently keep bringing your awareness back to the task at hand. Acknowledge the sudden drive to see what movies are currently topping the RottenTomatoes.com critical reviews and let that thought go or at least jot it down to get it out of your mind, and then look it up during a break.
  • Merely being conscious of a clock ticking down can help prevent you from reemerging from information rabbit holes like someone emerging from a Vegas casino, wondering what time is it, how long have you been there, and what happened to your shirt?
    • It also helps you become better at understanding how long certain tasks actually take you to complete. It’s often longer than we like to admit to ourselves, but the clock don’t lie.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. Ketogenic Diet
  2. CrossFit 2-3x/week
  3. Daily Affirmations, e.g. writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  4. Guided Breathwork
  5. Your suggestion?

What will you be experimenting with in January or 2020?

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Whatever Floats Your Boat

Photo by Jaanus Jagomagi

Experiment: Try float therapy (aka sensory deprivation therapy) weekly for a month.

Ok, so why…

  • Unlike giving up coffee for two months, this one will be a breeze to plan and implement, and I’m ready for it.
  • I’m buoyed by curiosity. Since I first heard about this, I’ve wondered what it would be like to exist in total darkness with no real visual, aural, edible, or tactile stimuli, i.e. sensory deprivation.
  • With the digital whack-a-mole lifestyle we lead, I welcome the idea of another natural tool to help tune out the chatter for a while.
  • It’s all about the Benefits, baby…
    • Reduced anxiety, depression, fatigue
    • Pain relief, e.g. muscle tension and headaches
    • Improved sleep
    • Reported increased feelings of well-being, optimism and even mild euphoria
    • Potential cardiovascular health benefits due to reduced stress and improved sleep
    • Drastically reduces the effects of jetlag

Uh oh…

  • Who’s to say my monkey mind is going to be a willing participant in this relaxation technique?
  • Am I just going to be paying money to be isolated in a boring, dark pod for an hour? I’m seeing Scrooge McDuck locking me in his vault—except it’s filled with saltwater instead of gold coins—while he shuffles and sniffs the wad of cash I handed him for an hour.

About that…

  • Some people have reported hallucinating during sensory deprivation sessions… good or bad, maybe this isn’t going to be so boring, after all!

I betcha…

  • I love water. I drink a gallon a day and was one of those kids you had to drag away from the pool or beach after a long day of swimming, bodysurfing, and seeing how long I could hold my breath underwater—provoking great anxiety among the older women watching poolside. Feeling in my element in this element, I feel like I’m going to enjoy this… though I’m not sure exactly how or why yet.
  • Still, I doubt this is likely to become a part of my regular routine given the cost and impracticality involved.

Tell me more, tell me more…

  • How much does it cost? $45-79 / 60-minute session (depends on location and deal)
  • How long is a session? Typically, 60 or 90 minutes; 60 was sufficient in my experience.
  • What do you wear? Nada, as recommended… except the disposable earplugs they give you.

Do try this “at home”…

  • Search Yelp or Google for float therapy or sensory deprivation tanks near you and check the reviews. You can often find discounts for multiple sessions. 3-packs are common, and I would recommend them. More to come on this…
  • Minimize caffeine within 3 hours of a float. It’s hard to relax and clear your mind if you’re jittery.
  • Don’t shave the day of your float. That saltwater can be a real pain in the pores, allegedly. I still shaved my neck in the morning before an early afternoon session and didn’t have any issues.
  • Don’t pee in the pod, dude. For reals though. The first place I went to threatens a $500 charge for contaminating solution with bodily fluids, so no funny business y’all.
  • Turn on your inner Elsa and…

Let It Go GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Week 1-2 Notes…

  • The first time you go is mostly about understanding how the experience works and how you’ll react when spending 60-90 minutes in quiet isolation with yourself… something many people have not done in a while (or ever).
  • At some places, there are soothing sounds—you can choose the type and duration of these—that played for 10 minutes at the beginning with slowly color-changing mood LED lighting during the first 10 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of quiet darkness, and then 5 final minutes of the relaxing sounds and lights again.
  • It felt like floating in a countryside lake at night, minus the chirping of crickets and twinkling stars. While the setting is neutral by design, the lack of distracting sights and sounds produces a relaxing effect.
  • The idea is to be calm and still, but at least at first I enjoyed gently swishing back and forth like a piece of seaweed, savoring the idyllic experience.
  • Time seems to move slowly at the beginning, but then you settle in, and all of a sudden the gentle lights and nature sounds come back on to let you know you’re almost done!
  • You then saunter off slowly with softer edges and a glowing sense of calm. I’m laughing at my own phrasing here, but it is an accurate sense of how I feel afterward.

Week 3-4 Notes…

  • What’s that smell though? Wait a second… my sense of smell isn’t being deprived. I want a refund! I kid, but there was a faint chemical smell from the bromine used to treat water between uses at one of the two places I went to. It’s easy to ignore this soon after the initial entry. (This was also way fainter during a morning session I did later in the month than during the ones I did in the afternoon, perhaps because fewer cleanings were required.)
  • The 3rd float was when it all really clicked. I had my initial busy barrage of thoughts—do I try to block these, do I indulge them like listening to a song stuck in your head in order to release it, do I try to focus on a specific issue I want to solve? And then, after about 10 minutes, when the initial music stopped and I hit a button to turn off the colored lights, I slipped into a deep state of blissful relaxation—like the black, watery void Eleven travels to in Stranger Things, just without any of the creepiness she encounters.
    • Now that I know the drill, I can get in, slip away, and more quickly reach that state of neutral Zen.
  • By my final session, I reached the theta brainwave state—that border between the conscious and subconscious mind. I recall at one point having to blink in order to check whether my eyes were open or closed… and ended up repeating this a few times. Trippy, right?
  • The post-float effects were more transformative and longer lasting too, giving me a calm glow that lasted beyond the day of my float.

Whoomp, There It is…

  • Did I enjoy the experience? Definitely. Will I continue it regularly? Magic 8-Ball says “Don’t count on it.” While I enjoy the benefits, the time/money investment and convenience factor don’t justify them for me on an ongoing basis… but I do plan to try it after my next trip abroad to reduce the jetlag symptoms.
  • As much as it is a sure-fire stress relief option, so are meditation—which is free and more convenient—and massage—which is similarly priced and bears additional physical benefits.
  • Would I recommend it? If you’re looking for an alternative way to disconnect and recharge, go for it. If you are interested, I would recommend trying at least 3 sessions. It takes some time to get into the first time or two, and while you definitely reap benefits with each session, the real magic starts at session 3 for most people, myself included. This is why you often see floats sold in 3-packs.

A Year & Change of Change Here…

It’s been over a year since I started this blog and all my tinkering. Here’s a quick recap of what I have been and will be keeping up with regularly and those changes that were less sustainable for me:

Yas, you can stay:

Sashay away:

Sashay Away Rupauls Drag Race GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. Slow Carb Diet (from The 4-Hour Body)
  2. CrossFit 2-3x/week
  3. Daily Affirmations, e.g. writing out by hand a mantra 15x/day
  4. Guided Breathwork
  5. Your suggestion?

Reference: https://www.healthline.com/health/sensory-deprivation-tank

Posted on

Buzz Cut Results… What Happened When I Had 0 Coffee for 2 Months?!

It was easier than I’d ever imagined… but not permanent (duh).

Week 1-4 Notes:

  • Switching from my 1-2 cups of coffee/day to just a cup of green tea or yerba mate in the morning was not nearly hard as anticipated… so much so that I reduced the weaning period to just 1 week.
  • I discovered here that there is a supplement you can take to greatly reduce the effects of caffeine withdrawal. Phenylalanine is a simple and inexpensive amino acid supplement that can help. Here’s how:
    • In short, chronic caffeine usage depletes the brain’s stores of tyrosine and phenylalanine, amino acids that aid in dopamine and adrenaline production. Supplementing with either can make recovery quicker and easier.
    • Phenylalanine is likely more effective than tyrosine because tyrosine is synthesized from phenylalanine but not vice versa.
    • I started using this just after week 1, when I shifted from green tea to herbal tea (i.e. no caffeine) and I felt it helped make the transition smoother. To determine just how much it helped, I’d have to do this all again without the supplement, and I’m going to take a hard pass on that for now, thank you.
    • The one thing I would change: I would have bought and started using Phenylalanine sooner, i.e. during the first weaning week. While the 1st couple days of the coffee-to-tea switch were not too bad—just a slight dragging—they might have been even better with the phenylalanine supplement.

  • The 2nd key strategy I’d read about and used was changing my morning habit. Psychologists and behavior economists agree it’s easier to change a habit than to break it. This was my experience too. By switching 1st to green tea and then to herbal tea, I maintained my satisfyingly warm and aromatic morning indulgence, just with a fun new flavor profile:
    • Naturally, I took this as an opportunity to sample the full Trader Joe’s herbal tea selection.
    • My top pick: Yogi Ginger Tea. It smells and tastes warm and delicious, with ample ginger spice.
    • As an added benefit—especially helpful when giving up coffee—it aids in digestion so, you know, it keeps other important daily habits on track too.
    • Want something a little less gingery? Try TJ’s lively, fruity, and herbaceous Red Refresh tea or their Organic Detox Cleansing Blend, which is much tastier than it sounds.
    • Much like with coffee, I’d occasionally spice it up with some cacao powder, cinnamon, or vanilla extract. Cacao is known to have similar mood-boosting properties to coffee, without all the caffeine. (Some cacao or cocoa powders have trace amounts of caffeine but not enough to really register.)
  • Side note: I actually got a buzzcut during this 1st month… keeping it cool for the summer, okkurrr?

Week 5-8 Notes:

  • I still occasionally get what feels like mid-afternoon narcolepsy but overall, I experience fewer peaks and valleys, with a more even-keeled, sustained energy. I also fine myself a little less nervous, less prone to getting “on edge.” So, the effect of caffeine is basically the opposite of the edge-softening effect of CBD oil. Maybe a combo of the two would work well…
  • While I’m fortunate enough to be a good sleeper—till we have kids, at least—I undoubtedly fall asleep quickly more consistently than before this experiment. I bet it was the semi-regular afternoon cup and its half-life that was keeping me up at times.
  • It can feel tough to not have the “safety net” of caffeine if I’ve stayed up a little too late or made a little too much progress on a good bottle o’ wine. Because of this though, I’ve been better about getting to bed on time and not drinking too much… except maybe during SF Pride, but that’s day-drinking, so we’re good, right?
  • There’s something psychologically satisfying when you’ve had a productive day, morning, or even hour that was purely fueled by your own inherent focus and ambition, completely unaided by that magical brown elixir we’ve grown so fond of.
  • On weekends, I wistfully glance at passersby clutching coffee concoctions and have a mixed reaction. On the one hand, I acknowledge that I’ve moved on from my daily Joe, like an amicable ex that’s just not part of my regular life anymore. On the other, part of me remembers how good it can be—it wasn’t that long ago that I was holding, smelling, and savoring its richness as it touched my lips. Between this and the fact that I’d been literally counting down the days left in month 2, I know this is just temporary… not the end for me and my sweet coffee.

Whoomp, there it is…

  • TBD whether I go back to drinking it each morning or just when I “need” or want to enjoy it, i.e. as a productivity tool or a special treat but not a daily ritual.
  • Does 2 months without caffeine sound crazy to you? It did to me before this experiment. The good news is you don’t need to give it up for 2 months to get over a caffeine addiction. You can reset your tolerance in about 9 days. You could do this within the span of a long vacation. Check the links below for more info.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment with any feedback and/or what you think my next experiment should be:

  1. Sensory Deprivation Therapy (Float Tank) 1x/week
  2. Slow Carb Diet (from The 4-Hour Body)
  3. CrossFit 3x/week
  4. Daily Journaling
  5. Guided Breathwork
  6. Cryotherapy
  7. Your suggestion?

References:

https://medium.com/better-humans/how-to-quit-caffeine-in-one-week-e041892698ec

https://addictionresource.com/addiction/caffeine-addiction/

Grayscaling