Dean's Diet & Exercise Regime, Tips, and Motivation

[TomBAvoider]

Nice to hear from you, Dean. I don't want to impose on your posting semi-retreat, so feel free to answer or not, but I'm curious as to whether you've moderated your exercise just based on the knee feedback or whether it's the result of much bigger re-evaluation of the pro/cons of exercise. FWIW, I'm curious, because I've done a lot of thinking/stewing about exercise and decided that I should cut back from my current 4 a week, 50 minute each, jogging sessions. I've been mulling it over, but have not pulled the trigger yet.   

 

All the best!

 

Tom 

[Dean Pomerleau]

Tom,

 

My decision to cut back on the amount I exercise was based solely on feedback from my body.

 

--Dean

[TomBAvoider]

Thanks, Dean!

[VeganCarbSmart]

Hi VeganCarbSmart,

 

<snip>

 

Yes I'm still around. I have cut back on my exercise, especially the biking, since (as you suggest) I was starting to feel it in the knees. These days I'm jogging a little over one (hilly) mile, resistance training for about 30 minutes, casual (stationary) biking for 30-60min, and walking ~3 miles each day.

 

 

Little has changed in my diet except I'm eating less (with less exercise) and I dropped the durian (too expensive to justify). I'm still eating only a single meal each day in the early morning consisting of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and a small portion of my 'starch mix' - legumes, sweet potatoes, barley & rice. I've moderated my weight somewhat - I'm now 135lbs (BMI = 20.0).

 

Hey Dean, I've just got to say that if Dr. Walford is "out there" and could know this, then he's smiling and extremely pleased with where you're at right now. You can attract far more people to this lifestyle with what you're doing now combined with your past experience at being at the extreme with more health vulnerabilities put at risk. I'm sure you know to keep your cycling rpm above 90 and/or at very low resistance in order to preserve your joints long-term.

 

1) Now that you've had your exercise bike for over a year now would you still recommend this same model or try something else?

 

2) I guess you're trying to increase your BAT using cold exposure techniques too? I have not read that thread yet, but if anything has changed w/your experiments doing that please update us on that too. And, are there any methods or tests or markers to verify if it's working?

 

3) Have you posted your favorite Vegan related websites and YT channels that you follow somewhere "here" at CRS? I think it would be helpful to know, since you're so experienced with this diet long-term and continue to stay informed about it. Your opinions and commentary about any of these favs might be helpful too.

Edited September 30, 2017 by VeganCarbSmart

[chrysis10]

Hello Mr. Pomerleau,

Thank you for sharing so many details about your CRON experience. I did my best to follow CRON for a few years after my son was born, and I did really enjoy it - but that was 15 years ago now. I'm curious about muscle mass and your lower protein diet now than before. When you reduced your protein, did you find (either soon or much later) that it affected your muscle mass? At some point, did you add extra weight training to compensate? Or do you feel that the amount of protein you eat is adequate enough that you don't appreciate a loss of muscle -- if so, how did you determine the "right" amount of protein for yourself? If you have already responded to this question (and I just have not come upon it yet), I'd appreciate a link or a pointer to where I might find that. I'm very interested in changes, both positive and negative, to your body composition over the years; and what factors led to each.

Sincerely,

Karen C

 

 

[Dean Pomerleau]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the CR Forums! Thanks for your questions. I'll try to answer them.

57 minutes ago, chrysis10 said:

When you reduced your protein...

Somewhere around 2005 - 2007. There is some discussion of my diet evolution earlier in in this very thread (which I'd forgotten!), but the best discussion of my protein history and motivation for reducing it can be found in the following discussion between Michael and me:

The TLDR of the above thread is that back in the early days of the CR Society (early 2000s) both he and I used to eat a relatively high protein diet (~30% of calories - 30/40/30 "Zone Diet") until we participated in a human CR study by Luigi Fontana [1] which found that those of us who were following a high protein CR diet had a relatively high level of IGF-1, which has come to be though of as pretty pro-aging.

For a discussion of the tradeoffs associated with high vs. low IGF-1, see this thread:

Back to your questions:

57 minutes ago, chrysis10 said:

When you reduced your protein, did you find (either soon or much later) that it affected your muscle mass? At some point, did you add extra weight training to compensate? Or  do you feel that the amount of protein you eat is adequate enough that you don't appreciate a loss of muscle.

I've never noticed that protein per se was a big driver of my muscle mass. When I went on CR in 2001, I dropped about 45 lbs (172 -> 127, BMI 25.8 -> 19.0). During that drop I lost quite bit of fat, as well as muscle and bone mass. It's just something I accepted. I've always done a modest amount of weight training, and haven't changed that in an attempt to maintain extra muscle. I consider my muscle mass sufficient for health purposes and enough to avoid late-life sarcopenia.

 Because I'm once again exercising an unusually large amount (after a drop for while in 2017), I eat a lot of calories and despite being a vegan, my protein intake is more than adequate - in the neighborhood of 100g / day.

57 minutes ago, chrysis10 said:

how did you determine the "right" amount of protein for yourself?

I've never worried about it beyond trying to keep my protein intake from being too high (see above threads). If I'm getting enough high-quality calories from a variety of (vegan) sources I figure I'm getting sufficient protein.

--Dean

------------

[1] Aging Cell. 2008 Oct;7(5):681-7.

Long-term effects of calorie or protein restriction on serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3
concentration in humans.

Fontana L(1), Weiss EP, Villareal DT, Klein S, Holloszy JO.

Author information:
(1)Division of Geriatrics & Nutritional Sciences, Washington University School of
Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. lfontana@dom.wustl.edu

Comment in
Aging Cell. 2009 Apr;8(2):214; author reply 215.

Reduced function mutations in the insulin/IGF-I signaling pathway increase
maximal lifespan and health span in many species. Calorie restriction (CR)
decreases serum IGF-1 concentration by ~40%, protects against cancer and slows
aging in rodents. However, the long-term effects of CR with adequate nutrition on
circulating IGF-1 levels in humans are unknown. Here we report data from two
long-term CR studies (1 and 6 years) showing that severe CR without malnutrition
did not change IGF-1 and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3 ratio levels in humans. In contrast,
total and free IGF-1 concentrations were significantly lower in moderately
protein-restricted individuals. Reducing protein intake from an average of 1.67 g
kg(-1) of body weight per day to 0.95 g kg(-1) of body weight per day for 3 weeks
in six volunteers practicing CR resulted in a reduction in serum IGF-1 from 194
ng mL(-1) to 152 ng mL(-1). These findings demonstrate that, unlike in rodents,
long-term severe CR does not reduce serum IGF-1 concentration and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3
ratio in humans. In addition, our data provide evidence that protein intake is a
key determinant of circulating IGF-1 levels in humans, and suggest that reduced
protein intake may become an important component of anticancer and anti-aging
dietary interventions.

PMCID: PMC2673798
PMID: 18843793

[Mike41]

1 hour ago, Dean Pomerleau said:

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the CR Forums! Thanks for your questions. I'll try to answer them.

Somewhere around 2005 - 2007. There is some discussion of my diet evolution earlier in in this very thread (which I'd forgotten!), but the best discussion of my protein history and motivation for reducing it can be found in the following discussion between Michael and me:

The TLDR of the above thread is that back in the early days of the CR Society (early 2000s) both he and I used to eat a relatively high protein diet (~30% of calories - 30/40/30 "Zone Diet") until we participated in a human CR study by Luigi Fontana [1] which found that those of us who were following a high protein CR diet had a relatively high level of IGF-1, which has come to be though of as pretty pro-aging.

For a discussion of the tradeoffs associated with high vs. low IGF-1, see this thread:

Back to your questions:

I've never noticed that protein per se was a big driver of my muscle mass. When I went on CR in 2001, I dropped about 45 lbs (172 -> 127, BMI 25.8 -> 19.0). During that drop I lost quite bit of fat, as well as muscle and bone mass. It's just something I accepted. I've always done a modest amount of weight training, and haven't changed that in an attempt to maintain extra muscle. I consider my muscle mass sufficient for health purposes and enough to avoid late-life sarcopenia.

 Because I'm once again exercising an unusually large amount (after a drop for while in 2017), I eat a lot of calories and despite being a vegan, my protein intake is more than adequate - in the neighborhood of 100g / day.

I've never worried about it beyond trying to keep my protein intake from being too high (see above threads). If I'm getting enough high-quality calories from a variety of (vegan) sources I figure I'm getting sufficient protein.

--Dean

------------

[1] Aging Cell. 2008 Oct;7(5):681-7.

Long-term effects of calorie or protein restriction on serum IGF-1 and IGFBP-3
concentration in humans.

Fontana L(1), Weiss EP, Villareal DT, Klein S, Holloszy JO.

Author information:
(1)Division of Geriatrics & Nutritional Sciences, Washington University School of
Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. lfontana@dom.wustl.edu

Comment in
Aging Cell. 2009 Apr;8(2):214; author reply 215.

Reduced function mutations in the insulin/IGF-I signaling pathway increase
maximal lifespan and health span in many species. Calorie restriction (CR)
decreases serum IGF-1 concentration by ~40%, protects against cancer and slows
aging in rodents. However, the long-term effects of CR with adequate nutrition on
circulating IGF-1 levels in humans are unknown. Here we report data from two
long-term CR studies (1 and 6 years) showing that severe CR without malnutrition
did not change IGF-1 and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3 ratio levels in humans. In contrast,
total and free IGF-1 concentrations were significantly lower in moderately
protein-restricted individuals. Reducing protein intake from an average of 1.67 g
kg(-1) of body weight per day to 0.95 g kg(-1) of body weight per day for 3 weeks
in six volunteers practicing CR resulted in a reduction in serum IGF-1 from 194
ng mL(-1) to 152 ng mL(-1). These findings demonstrate that, unlike in rodents,
long-term severe CR does not reduce serum IGF-1 concentration and IGF-1 : IGFBP-3
ratio in humans. In addition, our data provide evidence that protein intake is a
key determinant of circulating IGF-1 levels in humans, and suggest that reduced
protein intake may become an important component of anticancer and anti-aging
dietary interventions.

PMCID: PMC2673798
PMID: 18843793

All well and good but as I age I’m getting somewhat concerned about lower levels as this article points out:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197458014006952

[Ron Put]

It would depend how one defines "low levels of protein." 

I struggle to maintain my protein levels close to RDA and Longo-suggested levels and the average on my essentially vegan diet is 134% of RDA.  This seems to be more than sufficient to maintain my muscle mass at a relatively high proportion, with moderate body weight exercise I do at home.

I am focusing mostly on methionine and have been keeping it at about 0.9g, which for me is at 146% of RDA.

[mccoy]

 

On 5/30/2020 at 9:11 PM, Mike41 said:

All well and good but as I age I’m getting somewhat concerned about lower levels as this article points out:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197458014006952

We discussed the IGF-1 optimum at length, if I'm not wrong that's not a free article and we cannot see any graphs with proposals of optimum IGF-1 concentrations.

[Dean Pomerleau]

1 hour ago, mccoy said:

if I'm not wrong that's not a free article and we cannot see any graphs with proposals of optimum IGF-1 concentrations.

Sci-hub is your friend :-). Here are the tables from the paper in question [1]:

The p-values are impressive in Table 2 due to the large number of people in the study (n=3355). But the magnitude of the difference in cognitive test scores between quartiles of IGF-1 appear quite small relative to the within-quartile variance. For example, look at the TMT-B test I've highlighted. The difference in average test score between the top and bottom quartile is ~5.5, but the within-quartile range is around +-15, indicating there is much more variation within quartiles than between the various quartiles of IGF-1.

This suggests to me there are likely several factors that potentially contribute to having a low IGF-1. The speculation is that like with another growth-promoting hormone testosterone, there may be benign and potential even health-promoting reasons for having low IGF-1 and there may be other reasons that are associated with (or casually responsible for) poor physical and/or cognitive health - hence the wide within-quartile variance.

But it is a speculation which we've discussed many times before in threads focusing on the potential pros and cons of high vs. low testosterone and/or IGF-1 including the ones I linked to in the post above.

--Dean

-----------

[1] Neurobiol Aging. 2015;36(2):942‐947. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.10.035

Association of insulin-like growth factor-1 with mild cognitive impairment and slow gait speed. 

Doi T, Shimada H, Makizako H, et al.

Abstract
The decrease in serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) with aging is related to the neurobiological processes in Alzheimer's disease. IGF-1 mediates effects of physical exercise on the brain, and cognition has a common pathophysiology with physical function, particularly with gait. The aim of this study was to examine whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and slow gait are associated with the serum IGF-1 level. A population survey was conducted in 3355 participants (mean age, 71.4 years). Cognitive functions (attention, executive function, processing speed, visuospatial skill, and memory), gait speed, and demographic variables were measured. All cognitive functions and gait speed were associated with the IGF-1 level (p < 0.001). The association of IGF-1 with slow gait was weakened by adjustment for covariates, but MCI and the combination of MCI and slow gait were independently related to the IGF-1 level in multivariate analysis (p < 0.05). Our findings support the association of a low IGF-1 level with reduced cognitive function and gait speed, particularly with a combination of MCI and slow gait.

PMID: 25467636

[Dean Pomerleau]

Someone asked me in a DM to detail the 12-grain cereal mix I eat for breakfast these days. I figured I post it here for completeness.

22 hours ago, someone said:

so you don't actually cook it? just used a blender to chop it up then soak overnight and it's edible? How long does it take for the blender to cut it and how much do you put in? why don't you cook it?

I have the special dry carafe for my Vitamix that is designed to grind grains. The normal Vitamix carafe or other blenders won't do the job (at least not well).

It takes ~30 seconds to cut a couple cups of whole grains into small chunks - i.e. about the size of steel cut oatmeal pieces. I have an appropriately sized seive that allow me to separate out the big chunks and continue grinding them until they are the right size. 

I grind ~3 cups of each of the following whole grains (nearly all organic, and all purchased on Amazon) in this same way and mix them together to make a huge batch of my 12-grain cereal:

• Whole oat groats (~15 cups)
• Hard Red Wheat Berries
• Rye Berries
• Unhulled Barley
• Buckwheat Groats
• Millet
• Sorghum 
• Amaranth 
• Quinoa
• Corn (popcorn kernals)
• Bulgar Wheat
• Spelt

I make about ~45 days worth at a time and store it in my standalone freezer.

I pour about 3/4 cup of the cereal mix (dry) into a bowl and then mix in homemade soy milk and homemade soy yogurt (both unsweetened, vanilla flavored and B12 fortified). I put in enough of the liquids to form a thick paste (~1 cup).

Then I stir in:

• 1 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp mix of coarsely ground nuts
• 1 tsp mix of coarsely ground seeds
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp fresh coconut
• 1 tsp dried orange peal
• 1 tsp raisins
• 1 tsp dried goji berries
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp beet+blueberry+pomegranate+tart cherry powder mix
• a splash of almond extract
• stevia to sweeten
• 1 tbsp dried mulberries (on top, for crunch)

I then let it soak in the fridge overnight. 

In the morning, I heat it in the microwave until it is warm but not hot (~90 seconds) and then I top it with a modest amounts of the each of the following fresh fruits (~1.5 total cups of fruit):

• blueberries
• strawberries
• blackberries
• raspberries
• apple
• peach
• pineapple
• mango
• pawpaw (frozen)
• banana
• kiwi
• orange

Needless to say it is delicious. Before you ask, I don't know exactly how many calories is in this breakfast but I just roughly calculated it to be around 1300kcal.

Why don't I cook it? Because it is a pain and takes time to cook hot cereal on the stove top and then clean the pan. There may also be modestly more nutrition in overnight cereal than cooked cereal, and the glycemic index should be lower because the grains aren't broken down as much when soaked vs cooked. Plus I like the meatier texture of the overnight soaked cereal better than cooked cereal. 

--Dean

 

[Dean Pomerleau]

While I'm at it I should also update my current exercise regime, since this most recent post in this thread about it from 2017:

is quite out of date. I'd cut back on my exercise at that time since (unbeknownst to me) I was suffering from a case of Lyme disease. Once I got it cleared up via a course of antibiotics, I went back to my more voluminous routine, allowing me to eat breakfasts like the one I just described.

Since them I've been doing about the same amount of exercise, although I shift between more running in the good weather and more walking in the winter. Currently my daily exercise routine is as follows:

• 6-7 miles of jogging
• 13-14 miles of walking
• ~45 minutes of resistance training
• ~30-60 minutes of gardening

I do the first three of those broken up into smaller chunks after each of my meals.

I estimate my daily energy expenditure to be ~2500 kcal from exercise and other light physical activity plus ~1100-1200 kcal in baseline metabolism.

--Dean

 

[Mike41]

Hi Dean. I like the grain thing, awesome. I was wondering if you order these organic or not? In the past you have expressed not much concern about this. Just curious?

[Dean Pomerleau]

1 hour ago, Mike41 said:

Hi Dean. I like the grain thing, awesome. I was wondering if you order these organic or not? In the past you have expressed not much concern about this. Just curious?

Thanks Mike. I'd say about 1/2 the grains are organic, depending on availability of organic and the price differential vs. conventional. In general, I'd rather increase variety by including conventionally-grown foods in my diet vs. sticking to a more limited range of foods available as organic.

--Dean

[Mike41]

18 hours ago, Dean Pomerleau said:

Thanks Mike. I'd say about 1/2 the grains are organic, depending on availability of organic and the price differential vs. conventional. In general, I'd rather increase variety by including conventionally-grown foods in my diet vs. sticking to a more limited range of foods available as organic.

--Dean

Thanks Dean, I tend to agree with that

[mccoy]

Back to IGF-1

On 6/2/2020 at 11:14 PM, Dean Pomerleau said:

The p-values are impressive in Table 2 due to the large number of people in the study (n=3355). But the magnitude of the difference in cognitive test scores between quartiles of IGF-1 appear quite small relative to the within-quartile variance. For example, look at the TMT-B test I've highlighted. The difference in average test score between the top and bottom quartile is ~5.5, but the within-quartile range is around +-15, indicating there is much more variation within quartiles than between the various quartiles of IGF-1.

What Dean is expressing can be grasped more clearly by a graph. At least, I wanted to see it plotted. The mean or median values for TMTBs are in red, the range is in blue. I infer the higher the score, the worse cognition is. A slightly worse cognition, but really slight, is evident in the first quartile, whereas in all other quartiles the scores are practically the same.

The same analysis should be applied to all results, also trying to understand the concept and the relative importance of the indicators applied (for example, TMTA, TMTBs and so on).

By a rapid look at the data my suspicion, which is probably Dean's suspicion, is that the authors' conclusions are a little biased toward the aim of their study, that is, showing that lower IGF-1 values are associated with less cognition and lesser energy (measured by gait speed). That may be true, but the association may be very weak. The objective reality could be different from that expressed by the authors. I have no time though to explore all of their data.

 

[pwonline]

Hey Dean, have you kept up the habit of having a cut off point for consuming liquids? Your previous time was ~3pm? You use to wake up at ~3am so in effect you was without fluids for 12 hours. Doesn't your physical activities leave you thirsty and the body getting dehydrated?
I'm drinking 5 litres of water a day and constantly worried I'm not getting enough water, I also practice 19 5 intermittent fasting so I use water to supress appetite (my only fluid intake is water, no coffee, no tea). I also keep an eye on the colour of my urine and if it's too yellow I drink more water. I would not dare going without water for 12 hours! BUT everynight I have to go to bathroom ~ 3 times.

[Dean Pomerleau]

3 hours ago, pwonline said:

Hey Dean, have you kept up the habit of having a cut off point for consuming liquids? Your previous time was ~3pm? You use to wake up at ~3am so in effect you was without fluids for 12 hours. Doesn't your physical activities leave you thirsty and the body getting dehydrated?

Now that you mention it I realize I don't drink after 11 am. These days I get up at 2:15 am these so that is ~15.5 hours without liquid. I'm very rarely thirsty. In addition to the liquid in the food I eat between 2:30 and 7:30am, I drink about 16oz of green/hibiscus tea plus about 18 oz of coffee. 

3 hours ago, pwonline said:

I'm drinking 5 litres of water a day and constantly worried I'm not getting enough water. 

Why the worry? Drink when you are thirsty. The idea you need 8 8oz glasses of water or other liquid a day is a myth. If it suppresses your appetite, all the worse. You need to gain back some weight and stop obsessing over calories. Eat some delicious fresh fruit. It is in season! 

--Dean 

[pwonline]

3 hours ago, Dean Pomerleau said:

Now that you mention it I realize I don't drink after 11 am. These days I get up at 2:15 am these so that is ~15.5 hours without liquid. I'm very rarely thirsty. In addition to the liquid in the food I eat between 2:30 and 7:30am, I drink about 16oz of green/hibiscus tea plus about 18 oz of coffee. 

Why the worry? Drink when you are thirsty. The idea you need 8 8oz glasses of water or other liquid a day is a myth. If it suppresses your appetite, all the worse. You need to gain back some weight and stop obsessing over calories. Eat some delicious fresh fruit. It is in season! 

--Dean 

How much water would you say you are consuming a day? 15.5 hours without water! surely that goes against modern literature on healthy hydrating habits! especially since your physical output is abnormally high! and since it's summer I'm assuming you are currently on this protocol! what colour is your urine and when do you pass urine?

you'll be consuming all your liquid in a short period of time and consuming excess amount of fluid is shown to quickly pass through you without it being utilised.

My appetite isn't a problem, even with drinking water I can eat more if I want to. I've gained 4.4 lbs in the last 3 weeks. I'm actually worried about accumulating visceral fat if I increase my calories to quickly. Slow and steady, I intend to get to about 20 bmi, currently sitting at 17 (up from 16.4)

[pwonline]

also plenty of research on how fructose is pretty poisonous for the body. The way it's metabolised  means it will get mostly stored as fat on the liver potentially leading to non alcoholic fatty liver disease but it's also the fat that is first utilised and since you are on a calorie deficit, I'm assuming it doesn't accumulate on your liver.

Today's fruit is packaged sugar, bred for abnormally amount of sugar. Completely goes against my eating mainly low GI foods. I have also noticed I get cravings for food hours after my meal, a sign that I had an insulin spike and now crashing, so body trying to compensate for more sugar!

and lastly not eating fruits fine tunes my taste buds to view vegetables as delicious! I've experienced both sides where when I consumed lots of sugar that I found eating vegetables as like eating card board to now where I feel I will be happy if I just consume them and nothing else, the pleasure I get from eating raw collard greens and raw broccoli is comparable to eating a chocolate cake to me! It's hard for someone to understand that but it took half a year for my body to adapt.

and finally I believe life is suffering, I like to remind myself that and chose to include some suffering in life so I limit my indulgences and fruit is an indulgence.

[Dean Pomerleau]

Fructose in fruit is fine and my liver is fine. Between the food and liquids I consume, I get the equivalent of about 100 oz of water a day. Plenty. No, it doesn't go right through me. I pee twice overnight, after having not consumed any food or drink for over 12 hours. 

I'm glad you enjoy your broccoli and collards. I do to, along with the other 50+ varieties of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, tubers and 30+ different spices I eat daily!

I'm all for discipline and I don't mind suffering. But different foods have different beneficial micronutrients not captured in Cronometer so it wise to diversify. 

--Dean 

[pwonline]

22 minutes ago, Dean Pomerleau said:

Fructose in fruit is fine and my liver is fine. Between the food and liquids I consume, I get the equivalent of about 100 oz of water a day. Plenty. No, it doesn't go right through me. I pee twice overnight, after having not consumed any food or drink for over 12 hours. 

I'm glad you enjoy your broccoli and collards. I do to, along with the other 50+ varieties of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, tubers and 30+ different spices I eat daily!

I'm all for discipline and I don't mind suffering. But different foods have different beneficial micronutrients not captured in Cronometer so it wise to diversify. 

--Dean 

big part of why I don't consume so much variety is cost. I'll be studying for next 3 years and minimising cost is a high priority since I'm already low on funds (I'll be paying for it myself from my life savings).

I also love being a minimalist, I've spent considerable amount of time researching about nutrition and I think I've settled on a diet that seems to offer all the nutrients my body would need. As long as my body doesn't start rejecting my diet, I think I'll be happy consuming the same meal for the rest of my life. Also I like to limit my dopamine I get from eating so I can get more dopamine response from other activities that don't provide as much dopamine. Hoping to be a 100 millionaire in my life time LOL

Here is my nutrient profile 🙂

Also cronometer isn't showing most of the collard greens micro nutrient so I'ts actually more

Edited June 25, 2022 by pwonline

[mccoy]

Let's not forget that Dean's job is longevity optimization, so he has plenty of time to pursue food diversification and preparation, plentiful and various exercise, and so on.

There are not many people able to do so. When lacking time or money, the best is to find a diet suited to one's metabolic state and likings (or disliking if stoicism is the purpose) and objectively rich in known nutrients.

 

[Sthira]

On 6/25/2022 at 3:07 AM, Dean Pomerleau said:

These days I get up at 2:15 am ... I eat between 2:30 and 7:30am...

That's super interesting. To live on a schedule almost as if you're a monk. Have you always been an extreme early riser, or is this a habit you've cultivated?

[Dean Pomerleau]

2 hours ago, Sthira said:

That's super interesting. To live on a schedule almost as if you're a monk. Have you always been an extreme early riser, or is this a habit you've cultivated?

I've always been a morning person, ever since I was ~14 and started getting up at 4:30am for swim practice before school. I don't think as an adult that I've ever regularly slept later than 4:30 or 5am. When my son got sick in 2013 and most of day was spent helping him, I started getting up even earlier to have some time to myself and eating all of my food for the day early so I wouldn't have to take the time later in the day. I found such an early schedule agreed with me and so I've kept it up ever since. When evidence for the benefits of time-restricted eating, especially with calories concentrated early in the day came out, it reinforced my commitment to an "early to bed, early to rise" lifestyle with a limited eating window. In that regard the Buddhists had it right long ago. . 

--Dean