Reflection

Add a reflection here. TBC.

Focus Areas

As usual, there are four areas that I wanted to focus on:

• Improve fitness by training more. My goal is to get above a 75 fitness score on intervals.icu
• Sleep better by improving my sleep hygiene and experimenting with meal timing.
• Reduce Stress by examining meal composition and avoiding anything that might impact my sleep
• Improve Biomarkers by looking at my nutrition, as well as the above items.

Overall most metrics are improving, as we can see with the following key metrics.

Over the previous year we can see that:

• Resting Heart Rate is decreasing ✅
• Stress is decreasing ✅
• Steps are maintaining ✅
• Body Battery (max/day) is increasing ✅

We can see correlations for the quarter with the below correlation matrix.

Looking at the correlations, here’s an analysis of the relationships and whether they make intuitive sense:

• Sleep is the most powerful driver of recovery (Body Battery), not activity volume.
• More movement predictably raises calorie burn but also nudges up stress and lowers recovery by bedtime.
• Heart rate measures (min HR, resting HR) are excellent indicators of stress load.
• Weight is largely independent from short-term fluctuations in activity, sleep, or stress.

Let’s go through how I did this quarter and what I experimented with.

Improve Fitness

Goals

• Average intensity minutes (Garmin) of 800 or above ✅
• Improve Vo2Max ✅
• Decrease RHR ✅

Analysis

I look at intensity minutes as a way to make sure I’m getting enough fitness, regardless if I’m running or at the gym or kayaking. My goal is 800 minutes per week 80% of the weeks, which is significantly higher than the commonly recommended 150 minutes per week. The reason I’ve chosen to say “80% of the weeks” is because there are some weeks when I need to travel for work, and it is harder to reach this target.

For example, on one of my trips to China I only managed 348 minutes. Part of this was due to accidentally leaving my running kit in my check-in bag, but there was no way I was going to hit 800 minutes: I was working 12 - 16 hour days every day, and it was 40C outside, so could only run on a treadmill.

Similarly, I had a bit of a drop when I traveled to Singapore on a Monday, and back on Thursday. I did manage more intensity minutes, but did not meet my 800 minute goal.

My average intensity minutes for Q3 was 846 per week.

In addition to load we can have a look at Resting Heart Rate, as that is often related to sufficient recovery.

And let’s look at Vo2Max, which stayed roughly the same this quarter.

Experiments

Towards the end of August I decided to make one big change to my fitness routine: trying to get both my run and strength training session completed before work. There are two reasons for this:

• Firstly, I sometimes run out of time to go to the gym at lunch, or I have to cut workouts short.
• Secondly, to group all my exercise together. If doing a significant amount of exercise this could be a problem, but a 60min run and 30min strength session isn’t really that much. What I am about to say is my opinion only, and I haven’t read any research to substantiate. Here goes… due to my splitting of running and strength training, I’m activating mTOR twice per day, and sometimes consuming extra protein at lunch for the gym session. Additionally, when going to lunch, my Garmin highlights a significant amount of stress, which is why I avoid going to the gym at night (plus it being logistically challenging).

My experiment was to wake up, have a protein shake supplemented with EAA, and go run straight away, and when returning home doing a strength session immediately afterwards. Then I’ll have an extra large Nutty Pudding + LF yogurt + granola with my morning supplements, then shower. If I can turn this in to a long term habit I should be able to save some time each day, as it will cut down on the extra shower at lunch.

Improve Sleep

Goals

• Improve sleep quality ✅

Analysis

Let’s have a look at my sleep scores since buying my Garmin:

And then when comparing each quarter this year we can see some trends with each day of the week. Although this quarter has seen an improvement, it looks like something happens midweek that knocks me off my sleep game.

My trip to China was also challenging for my sleep, even though I managed to avoid an overnight flight. My hotel room the first night was too close to the elevators and kept me up - until I requested to change rooms at 11PM - but even then I never really got back to sleep.

However, it really validated some hunches I was having: eating a heavy carb meal seems to disrupt my sleep. I can see this even on my Garmin, where my stress levels spike after certain meals, but not after others. I ordered a small bowl of noodles around 4:30PM when I arrived, and while glorious, my stress levels were elevated for hours. I even did a little walk afterwards to try and stabilise my blood sugar and insulin levels.

Experiments

I conducted a few experiments this quarter, including:

• Nutrition: adjusting my final meal of the day to be a bit earlier (~4pm) and then also reducing the amount of lentils in it, increasing broccoli, and eliminating the raisin toppings. I also adjusted the seeds I topped it with to try and hit my Omega 3 : 6 ratio better.
• Hygiene: I continued to use my blue light blocking snap-on glasses every evening
• Morning light: I continued to use my DIY SAD light whenever possible.
• Caffeine: I continued to consume almost none, except for a tsp of matcha in my morning smoothie.
• Supplements: I’ll continue with Tart Cherry for now, but I’m not certain on its efficacy.

Overall I’d consider these experiments a success.

Decrease Stress

Goals

• Decrease stress ❌

Analysis

Let’s have a look at stress per quarter grouped by day of the week:

We can see an overall decrease in stress, and the lowest for the year. My stress levels on Tuesdays have decreased on average, but I think that is more likely because I slowed down going to the gym due to injury. Monday is the least stressful day of the week; my guess here is because that is when I tend to have a rest day.

Week 31 appears to have been fairly stressful, and coincidentally I started feeling like I was fighting something the week after. At the end of Week 32 I travelled to China, and then was there for all of Week 33. The days were quite long, and I had less control over my nutrition than I normally would.

Experiments

No stress-related experiments for the quarter.

Improve Nutrition

Goals

• Stick below 20g of saturated fat per day ✅
• Get between 110 and 125g of protein per day ✅
• Get over 70g of fibre per day ✅
• Meet 100% coverage of micronutrients ❌

So, why am I not at 100%? Let’s look at areas where I can improve.

Metabolism Support

I’m probably close enough here to not worry about it.

Antioxidants

I now add a single carrot to my Nutty Pudding, so I expect that to slowly increase my beta-carotene levels this next quarter, and I’ve started eating “Melonballs”, basically just small watermelons, so lycopene may increase. Ultimately I need to eat more tomatoes. This is an area of focus.

For Lutein & Zeaxanthin, I believe my values are actually a little higher than this, but missing in some of the nutrient values in certain foods that I’ve added.

Men’s Health

I’m OK with 112g. Cronometer does % for targets, so unless I can do a fixed target and combine that with % for fat and carbs, then this will be hard to always meet.

That’s it. Everything else is where I want it to be.

Macronutrients

Let’s see some other trends from Cronometer. We can see my energy consumption decreased in Q3, as I was doing less exercise, so my weight has remained stable. Saturated fats have decreased which is good, but that could just be due to eating less.

Vitamins and Minerals

Not many surprises here; B6, B12, and Vitamin D all increased. Interestingly Leucine and Methionine also increased despite fewer calories, which could be because I am eating more sardines and travelled more.

Improve Biomarkers

Goals

• Decrease IGF-1 ❓
• Decrease MCV ❓
• Decrease RDW ❓
• Increase Albumin ❓
• Decrease hsCRP ❓

Analysis

[INSERT CHART FROM PHENOAGE]:

(Blood panels still to be taken)

Experiments

I did have a fair amount of experimentation here, including:

• MCV & RDW: After my biomarkers showed that I remain low on B12, Iron, and Vitamin D, I opted to focus on getting those in to better ranges. I swapped out the B Complete with a B12 (methylcobalamin) and L-Methylfolate combination, which I hope will increase absorption. I have also started to take a sublingual B12 every morning. There’s also a need to optimise my iron balance by increasing my ferritin levels from 41 µg/L to somewhere between 60-80 µg/L; I’ve increased my frequency of taking a 20mg iron supplement.
• I’ve added in iodine (via kelp) now, too, given I’m essentially on a vegan diet and don’t eat much salt.
• Updated my daily smoothie to have a carrot to try and increase my beta-carotene (vitamin A) intake without supplementing.
• Increased Vitamin D from 1,000 IU to 4,000 IU because my vitamin D levels have been deficient all year.
• Started eating sardines. Ideally I would like to drop or reduce the fish oil, as this has shown no impact on health or life span via the ITP.
• Started eating watermelon for the lycopene.
• Albumin: Potentially related to the FMD, or perhaps I just need more protein due to higher levels of training. I have contemplated cutting down on my protein consumption to lower IGF-1, but I think I’ll keep the pea protein in my daily smoothie.

Because of subscribing to Cronometer I’m able to get more reports, such as my Nutrient Balances and Nutrient Targets, which have encouraged me to tweak the food I eat.

Supplement Stack

Some principles that I tried to follow:

• Avoid bill burden; prefer food over pills.
• Wait until a supplement is on the ITP supported interventions page, or has significant evidence behind it
• Have a biomarker in mind that a certain supplement will change

And here’s what was in my stack for Q3:

Here are the changes that I made this quarter:

• Increased TMG from 500mg to 1.5g to try and better support methylation and decrease homocysteine.
• Removed HCP in order to try and decrease IGF-1.
• Added a liposomal form of B12, just in case I have absorption issues.
• Moved iron from being ad hoc to every evening, and taken alongside vitamin C.
• Removed magnesium glycinate from evening stack, as getting enough from diet.

I may add some of these back in at a later date.

Focus For Next Quarter

I’ll keep experimenting with Cronometer to refine my nutrition, and I’ve found great insight so far. Really really valuable increase to my understanding and approach to nutrition.

I’m contemplating dropping the following supplements, as it appears as though I am getting enough from food:

• Calcium - remove
• Fish oil - move to evening pills
• Lysine - remove
• Iron - every evening
• Vitamin C - every evening
• Zinc - increase to 15mg from 5mg

Wish me luck!

Background

Lots of fibre.

Ingredients

• 125g steel cut oats
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp goji berries
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1/2 tsp turmeric, ground
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 tsp ginger, ground

Directions

1. Put in a jar
2. Add water about 50% above the oats
3. Let soak overnight
4. Eat

Version History

Background

My primary goal here is to boost lycopene. Courtesy of Serious Eats.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane grater
• 1 small onion, finely sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into rough 1/2inch pieces
• 2 800ml cans whole peeled tomatoes packed in juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over mediumhigh heat until shimmering. Add garlic, onions, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently until onions are softened but not browned, about 4 minutes. Add bread and tomatoes. Roughly mash tomatoes with a whisk or a potato masher. Add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer half of the soup to the jar of a blender. Blend soup, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to high. With blender running on high, gradually trickle in half of remaining olive oil. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large bowl and repeat with remaining half of soup and olive oil. Ladle into individual serving bowls, top with minced herbs, drizzle with more olive oil, and serve with toast or grilled cheese.
3. Divid in two portions and serve with bread or crackers.

Version History

Background

I typically don’t do many races, but signed up for the Coastal Classic - my first race in a year. There were some things that worked well, and others that could have been improved. This isn’t meant to be a recount of the event, and instead notes for next time.

The Course and Result

It was a new course this year, so roughly the same distance, but more elevation; around 31km, with 1000m of elevation gain. I’ve done this route quite a few times, so was pretty familiar with the entire course. Great atmosphere, and a feeling of community.

What worked well

There were quite a few things that seemed to work well:

• I was never out of breath or feeling like I couldn’t hold a conversation, even when going up some of the stairs. Garmin reported my Vo2Max as 53 when doing the race, so I guess that was sufficient.
• My legs were never really particularly tired. Towards the end I supposed they were starting to get a little sore, but I never pondered slowing down because my legs were sore.
• Nutrition was solid. I brought around 225g of carbs in my Gu refillable tube, plus around 750ml of Poweraid, but double strength.
• My nutrition / water stops worked well. Garmin reported a difference of only 2 minutes between my moving time and elapsed time, which I supposed means I spent around 30 seconds at each stop. That seems about right.
• The week leading up the race I slept generally very well, and two nights before I had an 89 Sleep Score. My Training Readiness was well on the way to being optimal.
• Downhill sections and in particular the technical bits I was constantly passing people. The single track downhill I must have passed 25-50 people. I’m not actually certain why everyone was going so slowly; maybe the knew more than me!
• I tried to take a lot of the pressure off for the race by not setting a goal time, and instead just aiming to have an average HR of 160 or higher.
• Foot preparation: trimmed my toenails quite close, as usual.

What didn’t work so well

• Similar to my previous two marathons, my stress levels climbed significantly the day before the race. While I think this time was better, and the increase could have been due to stress at work, it might also have been due to the race. It might might have also have been due to changing my diet: for both marathons and this race I tried to carb load, and I don’t think that is working well for me. Even outside of taper I notice that when I eat high carb meals my stress levels go off, and I specifically avoid eating carbs prior to bed because I think they make me feel anxious. This makes me sound like I’m low-carb, but I’m certainly not. Timing is everything?
• The night before the race I had half a bowl of noodles, which I think was a mistake. I shouldn’t have. Because…
• While I went to bed at 9:30am, and fell asleep promptly, at around 12:30am some noise woke me up, and I never got back to sleep. I suppose the stress or anxiety from the race and some things at work were too much, and I just couldn’t get back to sleep.
• I felt decent at the start of the race - going up the hills it was a confidence booster to see others desperately out of breath, and I was doing fine.
• Overall my equipment worked well, except for my shoes. The foam is great, and the tread was great, however, I think they were just 1/2 a size too small. I had a feeling this might be the case from just some shakeout runs, and even pre-taped my right ankle. Unfortunately, I needed to tape a little lower, and needed to tape my left ankle. And tape my left pinky toe. And probably elsewhere. Oh, and my toenails on each big toe were aching, which I haven’t felt since I had a pair of Superiors that were a little too small.
• And my heart was uncooperative. My average HR for the race was 163bpm, but there were times in the beginning where my HR was surprisingly high for the speed I was going. Despite having a decent resting heart rate that week, two nights before and the night before it went up significantly.

Focus for next time

Although I do not have any races in mind, I’m sure I’ll do one at some point, so here

• I desperately need to get my HR under control, yet I suspect that just means an increased amount of zone 2 / aerobic runs. It will hopefully be easier if I lived somewhere a bit flatter.
• Experiment with other shoes. I’d like something with a wider toe box, and a decent foam, and I suppose something that actually fits me correctly!
• I can sense that if this was a longer race I might not have the muscular endurance to make it, so I’d need to train that, too.
• Potentially do more races, or race like situations, so my stress levels don’t increase.
• Change my carb load technique, or potentially find better sources that don’t spike my stress levels the day before. In fact, I don’t think I’m satisfied with my tapering approach whatsoever. I typically feel pretty good around 3-7 days earlier, but a bit lethargic the day of the race.

Overall I’m proud of the challenges I overcame, even if disappointed in the result. Hopefully by tweaking a few things I can do better next time!

Background

The primary goal here is to increase my lycopene consumption, as I was noticing this is one of the antioxidants that Cronometer reported as me needing to focus on.

Ingredients

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed

• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-inch piece ginger, grated
• 140g tomato paste (concentrated lycopene hit)
• 2 cans (400g) crushed tomatoes
• 2–4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for absorption)
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chili powder (optional, adjust to spice tolerance)
• 1 tsp black pepper (enhances absorption of antioxidants)
• 1 tsp lite salt
• Fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped (folate boost)

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add onions, cook until golden. Stir in garlic + ginger. Cook 1–2 min until fragrant.
• Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and spices (coriander, turmeric, garam masala, chilli, black pepper). Simmer ~10 min → this cooking step boosts lycopene bioavailability.
• Use an immersion blender to blend
• Stir in chickpeas and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 15–20 min, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
• Finish with lemon juice and lots of fresh coriander.
• Divide in to 6 servings.

Version History

Background

Another way for me to get lycopene.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or use more oregano)
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 140g can of tomato paste
• 500 mL vegetable broth
• 760g red lentils, soaked (use boxed lentils)
• 32g walnuts, crushed finely
• 800g can of whole peeled tomatoes, blended
• 1 tablespoon high quality balsamic vinegar (see note 5)

Optional

• Whole-wheat pasta or other whole grain base

Directions

1. Add olive oil then onion. Cook 10min, deglaze periodically
2. Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Stir frequently and cook for 60-90 seconds.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to caramelise, stirring very frequently, until it’s darker red in colour.
4. Deglaze with broth, add lentils and walnuts, bring to boil.
5. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for another 15-20 minutes
7. Finish with the balsamic vinegar
8. Makes 5 servings (about 475g per serving)

Version History

Background (OG)

It has now been quite some time since I’ve been making Blueprint’s Nutty Pudding. For future reference, in case the Blueprint site stops showing recipes, here is the OG:

• 50-100 mL Macadamia Nut Milk
• 3 tbsp ground macadamia nuts
• 2 tsp of ground walnuts
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp of ground flaxseed (seed that is ground into flour)
• 1/4 brazil nut
• 6 grams of Blueprint cocoa
• 1 tsp sunflower lecithin
• 1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup blueberries/raspberries/strawberries (your choice)
• 3 cherries
• 2 oz pomegranate juice

My Tweaks

Some of these items are a little hard to get in Australia, or have (in my opinion) below average value-to-benefit ratios, and I’ve decided to swap them out. Instead, this is the recipe I am currently using:

Powders / Base

• 10g whole macadamia nuts
• 10g cashews
• 15g whole walnuts
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp whole linseed/flaxseed
• 1/4 brazil nut
• 1 tbsp cacao powder (that’s CACAO, not COCOA)
• 1 tbsp soy lecithin granules
• 1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1.5g TMG powder
• 1mg Boron
• 1 tsp matcha powder
• 1 tsp taurine
• 1 tbsp wheat germ
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp of creatine
• 1 tsp inulin
• A dash black pepper

Liquids / At Consumption Time

• 200g frozen mixed berries
• 500ml of water
• 1 large carrot
• 50g of spinach
• 30g pea protein

Almost all of this is just from Woolies or Coles, but I did buy the TMG from iHerb, the Creatine from Bulk Nutrients, and the cacao powder and ceylon cinnamon from Amazon. Here is my justification for the adjustments.

1. I’ve used whole nuts instead of ground, as my blender (Vitamix) does a perfectly adequate job of grinding everything up. Anecdotally, I believe that ground nuts spoil more quickly than whole nutes.
2. I’ve swapped out cocoa powder for cacao powder, and it is less processed. It should have higher antioxidants, more nutrients, and fewer additives.
3. I’m experimenting swapping out the sunflower lecithin with soy lecithin granules. It is my understanding that there are two reasons for including lecithin in Nutty Pudding: firstly, because it adds choline, and secondly, because it improves the texture. Choline probably isn’t a challenge for people consuming a lot of meat or dairy, but consider I tend to avoid both, there is the chance that I need more. Of course, choline combined with meat consumption can be problematic, apparently. So, why soy lecithin? Simply because it is easier to get in Australia, cheaper, and has a higher amount of choline.
4. I’ve taken out the pomegranate juice because it is expensive, and the research seemed limited when it came to benefits.
5. I’ve added mustard seeds to boost sulforaphane, which is an antioxidant. Given I cook almost all my vegetables, it is my understanding that this diminishes the sulforaphane content of them. This is from How Not To Age.
6. I’ve added TMG to help with methylation and reduce homocysteine.
7. I’ve added taurine because it is apparently harder to get from a whole foods plant based diet.
8. Wheat germ is for spermidine, which is a compound linked to autophagy. This is from How Not To Age.
9. Turmeric is for it’s active component curcumin, which is anti-inflammatory. This is from How Not To Age.
10. Black Pepper to increase absorption of turmeric.
11. Creatine is to increase ATP production and hopefully allow me to build muscle faster. Apparently there are also some studies indicating it may be helpful to push back Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
12. Removed Macadamia Nut Milk, as I just use water. Macadamia Nut Milk is expensive in Australia.
13. HCP for skin health, muscle recovery (glycine) and joint/bone support. I’m on the fence if there is enough evidence to show efficacy here, and then there is the fear of contamination during the manufacturing process. Edit: I’ve taken out in an effort to try and decrease my IGF-1.
14. Pea Protein Powder to slightly up my protein intake. I’m currently 77kg and aim for around 125g per day, but don’t track macros anymore. As we know, protein is a double edged sword: on one side we build muscle to fend off sarcopenia, an on the other side we activate MTOR which inhibits autophagy. Edit: I’ve taken out in an effort to try and decrease my IGF-1.

Prep and Storage

I prepare about 15 days worth of dry powders ahead of time. I typically add some water in the blender and put the dry powders in, and then go on a run. My hypothesis here is that this helps with bioavailability, even though the blender chops things up perfectly fine. After my run I dump the frozen mixed berries in, and have a shower. After my shower I finally blend it all up, and enjoy!

Consumption

I make mine rather liquid-y, and use a metal boba straw to drink it. These are large peanut butter jars that I’ve stocked up on and re-use.

Background

My primary goal here is to boost Omega 3, B12, and Calcium. This is generally the only meat that I’ll consume outside of travel.

Ingredients

• 1 can 120g sardines in olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of low sodium salt
• Ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°C
2. Put sardines in an oven-proof tray
3. Cover with garlic
4. Sprinkle the oregano, kosher salt, and pepper on top.
5. Cook the sardines for approximately 15 minutes until they get nice and roasted on top. There is no need to flip the fish while it cooks.
6. Put on a plate and eat with a few crackers.

Version History

Background

Inspired from Bryan Johnson’s OG “Super Veggie” recipe, this is my version with some tweaks.

Ingredients

Base

• 1.5kg frozen broccoli / cauliflower
• 180g french style lentils

Sauce

• ½ tsp black pepper, ground
• 125g of EVOO
• 2 tsp of turmeric
• ½ tsp of black pepper, ground
• ½ tsp Lite sale
• ½ tsp ginger, ground
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin, ground
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Toppings

• 8 tsp hemp seeds
• 8 tsp sesame seeds
• 8 tsp of pumpkin seeds
• 150g of beetroot, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Add cold water to a big pot, put in lentils. Cook for 15 minutes.
2. Put in frozen vegetables. Cook for ~5 minutes.
3. Portion to 4 containers
4. Make sauce and spread evenly on each container.

Version History

Background

I remember reading somewhere that what a country deems as important changes as it becomes more affluent: people want a scooter, and then a car, and then move on to intangibles like clean air. It feels like longevity is the pinnacle of affluence, so it is worthwhile reminding myself that some of what I experiment with comes from a complete position of privilege.

This post comes from that position of privilege.

There are several key components when it comes to longevity: food, sleep, and exercise. Unfortunately, travel makes all of these more challenging.

Although I do not need to do significant business travel, I do usually travel 1-2 weeks per quarter, and then likely 1-2 larger trips for holiday per year. The purpose of this post is to document, for myself or others, what I have found to reduce the impact of travel on my longevity hobby.

Experiments

Nutrition

The first area I focussed was on nutrition, but you might be critical with what I’ve done. One of the challenges with travelling for business is that you have less control over your nutrition and timing of meals. There is a trade-off here, of course, as part of travel is enjoying local cuisine.

• Breakfast: I bring sufficient material (steel cut oats, sunflower seeds, goji berries, nuts, and spices) for breakfast each morning.
• Lunch: I normally get taken out to lunch, so eat locally.
• Dinner: I’m a bit cheeky here. My preference is to eat dinner rather early, but usually there is a business dinner for me to attend. What I do is bring a meal designed for backpacking, e.g. Radix Nutrition, and eat that around 4PM. Then for dinner I focus only on vegetables, which often have fewer calories.

Luckily I operate under more of a ‘flexitarian’ model when it comes to nutrition, so while I am almost entirely plant based while home, I will still have chicken and eggs while travelling. However, I will still aim to avoid foods high in saturated fats (in particular coconut oils and full cream dairy), or heavily processed foods (e.g. baked goods, or certain meats like sausage or bacon). This does change how I participate in shared meals, and does mean missing out on some absolutely fantastic food!

Sometimes I can get in a situation where I need to try something, but only after trying it realise that finishing the item is incompatible with my longevity goals. For example, the below drink came out on a recent trip and I thought it was going to be a rose-flavoured tea, but it was more like juice. Given it was 8PM, after having a single sip I opted to skip the rest. While extremely tasty, I am experimenting with avoiding carbs in the afternoon and especially evening. Previously I might have felt it would be rude to not finish everything, but now I’m OK skipping items.

Here is what my supplies look like for 8 days (ignore the TimTams and Vegemite - they’re a gift!). That is 1KG of oats.

If my hotel offers a free breakfast, then I might get some additional food, but limit it to veggies and fruit. The below photo was from 5:30AM.

I’m currently bringing my regular supplement stack, but ideally I would like to take a single multivitamin that covers most of the stack and reduces the amount of items I need to bring.

One experiment that failed before it even got any traction was to bring a portal blender, and make smoothies. Unfortunately, I realised the morning before I left that the blender had a giant battery in it, and then blades that wouldn’t detach. In hindsight I should have thought this through, so the blender will go to work.

Sleep

Sleep remains an area where I think I can still grow significantly. The biggest change I am trying to adopt is avoiding overnight flights, as I’ve found these take a significantly long time to recover. My trip to China involved one leg and overnight in Guangzhou, which cost the same as a direct overnight flight. Sure, I lose essentially an extra day, but I justify this as a day I would lose due to being fatigued anyways.

Because of that first night in Xian I’m going to be asking to be far aware from elevators wherever possible.

I bring bluetac and a little cardboard to cover up any lights in the hotel room, as sometimes they are super bright. I also bring my blue light blocking glasses.

Finally, I maintain my glycine intake, which is especially important if my methionine intake increases due to more meat consumption.

Exercise

After a previous trip to India I realised that staying in a hotel with a fitness centre is crucial, so unless visiting somewhere where I can run outside, such an amenity is now non-negotiable. I will usually travel wearing a pair of trainers, and will pack my HRM as well as a headband; the headband is essential if using a treadmill!

It would be easy to bring too much clothing, but what I’ve found is that I can get away with 2x running shorts, 1x lightweight tank, and 3x running socks. I wash every evening in the hotel sink, and bring a Sea-To-Summit clothing line to let it try.

Some places are easier (Melbourne, or NZ) than others (large cities or places with sub-standard air quality).

If taking an overnight flight I would prefer a window, but with only daytime flights I would prefer an aisle seat, as this allows me to get up and stretch my legs without interrupting anyone. Yes, I’m that weird person to do lots of calf raises or squats in the back of the plane. There have been some flights where I spent 75% of the flight standing up reading.

I’m still looking at better optimisations in this space.

Others

Basic hygiene remains important, so washing hands or using lots of hand sanitiser, and bringing masks for high risk areas. While I don’t wear a mask in the office, I do while in airports or public transport, and generally while flying. Masks are also useful to have in your pocket just in case someone is super sick and coughing, or even if needing to be somewhere that has extremely poor air quality.