Anti Inflammatory Diet- Week 3

Benefits Noticed this Week

I have felt continued steady energy this week, and mental sharpness and focus. Another benefit has been (generally) good quality sleep throughout this program. I recently obtained a smart watch, which has a feature to track sleep quality; this will be interesting to track during the final week of my anti-inflammatory program.

Challenges this Week

Getting completely back into the onsite work flow and commute to work was a challenge this week, in terms of timing in my routine and food prep. My solution was to continue what worked last week, which was having a coffee with coconut oil on my way to work, in order to help me fast longer and effectively eat one meal per day (without getting ravenously hungry). Any change to routine and requirements of your life comes with challenges, and so far the solutions I have tried for these challenges are working well.

Another challenge I noticed was related to my intermittent fasting and exercise routine. I found that on Tuesday when I deadlifted, I was more hungry by the time it was time for my meal as compared to the other days of the week. In addition to being more hungry, I found myself wanting/craving the potato chips that were left over from my wife’s sandwich (as you see from my meals log, I had the chips).

I’m not sure if the deadlifts revved my metabolism more, but I am interested in tracking this as a possible trend. Normally, I eat a meal relatively soon after weight training, which is just a habit from my days of being an athlete. My routine the last few weeks puts my workouts at around 6 am, and my meals around 4 pm. I plan to keep my one meal per day routine going, so I will monitor my hunger levels on lifting days vs cardio. In general, I have found it very easy to extend my fast after a walk or a run, as compared to how I felt on deadlift day.

Tip of the Week

Sleep! Pay attention to your sleep, try to get at least 7-8 good hours nightly. Getting enough quality sleep will enhance everything you are doing related to your well-being (including keeping chronic inflammation low); lack of quality sleep will have a detrimental impact. My (brief) tips related to sleep are:

Set yourself a routine. Include the time you start winding down in the evening, the time you go to sleep, and the time you wake up as part of your routine.
Make sure your room and your bed are comfortable, and remember temperature can be a factor in comfort.
Make sure your room is completely dark.
Try blue light blocking glasses an hour or two before bed. Blue light from the lights in our homes, TVs, phones, and other screens can make it harder for your body to wind down and go to sleep.

Meals

Sunday

Morning: Coffee and water.

Around 10 am: 2 spoons of peanut butter, 2 spoons of chia seed pudding, coffee with coconut oil.

Around 12 noon: Green tea

Around 3:00 pm: 3 handfuls of cashews, 1 spoon peanut butter.

Around 5 pm: Slow roasted salmon with a lemon garlic dressing, tomatoes, asparagus, small side roasted potatoes.

Monday

Morning: Coffee and water