Body

No alcohol for a month – here’s what I found

Edmond Chan · Dec 7, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I wrote the below in August 2019 but it’s been in draft until now. I thought about it again now I’m basically dry until the baby arrives.

I’ve never done a period off booze. Not that I’m a heavy drinker or ever have been. I’ve enjoyed social drinking and good binge session for more than 2 decades now and never felt the need to do a dry January.

In recent years, I’ve enjoyed boozing less and less. I still love the taste of craft beer and good wine, but my hangovers are getting longer and longer. Sometimes they last until the third day.

It isn’t always throbbing headaches. It’s also a feeling of not being too sharp and slightly foggy-headed. I’ve toyed with the idea of would my life improve greatly if I just gave it up.

At the end of July, I went to a craft beer place with one of my best mates and some of his mates from Sussex, and one or three turned into 6 or 7 strong ones, and before I knew it, I couldn’t remember how I got home. I haven’t been like this for a long, long time.

I decided to stop drinking any alcohol for the month of August. I’ve heard about One Year No Beer, where you sign up for a year-long challenge to not drink any alcohol. Testimonials rave as to the benefits of clarity and clear-headedness. A year was a bit too long for me and my Dad was surprisingly sceptical about me giving up booze. His main reason was that he didn’t want me to beat myself up if I ended up having a drink. Surely, it isn’t that hard to give up drinking? I’m not an addict. I don’t drink on weekdays and I generally steer clear of getting drunk these days.

People who give up alcohol generally report vague words like: “more clarity”, “more energy”. It’s all very vague. For me, the thing I’ve noticed the most is that I feel like I have a To-Do list that I just want to keep adding to and I have this urge to consistently smash my to list. I suddenly want to get things done that I would normally put off such as emptying the vacuum cleaner. I get up early on Saturdays and Sundays and go swimming. I just feel ‘on it’. Sharper and more mentally agile. My aggression levels are up a bit (not that I’m shouting at people) but more that I push harder in the gym and better shrug off things that would normally give me anxiety.

I’m also sleeping better. I’m starting to feel tired around 10pm and actively yawning. My eyes start to feel heavy and the pillow on my face is a welcome relief. I don’t sleep all the way through unbroken but this is a serious improvement on my normal sleeping patterns.

Could this be down to something other than not drinking? Quite possibly. I’ve also been exercising a lot. Lots of cardio and lots of weights. That could be raising my testosterone levels. But it could be down to no alcohol. Alcohol increases oestrogen, so it makes sense for the opposite to reduce oestrogen and therefore increase testosterone. My sleep is also better quality and for longer which also has a direct positive effect on testosterone.

I also like the feeling of exerting self-discipline. Not cracking when I would normally fancy a beer, particularly on weekends or at social events. It’s been fortunate to coincide the dry month with a month where I have very little in the calendar in terms of socials. If it had been a month full of 40th birthday celebrations, then it might have been a bit more of a struggle. Peer group pressure is a powerful thing even if wielded with subtlety. I find that there’s even self-peer group pressure, as you don’t want to be the party-pooper.

Do I miss alcohol? Not for the first weekends. I still love the taste of craft beer and good wine. And I still like feeling tipsy and drunk (but not too drunk). That first drink after the break will be interesting. I wonder what I’ll like and dislike about it.

So back to today! How did the rest of August go? By the end of the month, I was gagging for a beer or three. Particularly on some of the blazingly hot and sunny Bank Holiday weekends, when all I wanted to do was have an ice-cold beer. The last weekend fell on the 31st Aug, and it would have been easy to capitulate but I resisted, just to get the full calendar month.

I’m doing it again at the moment as the due date for baby Chan is Boxing Day, and I don’t want to be a bit pissed if suddenly labour comes on. It’s been two weeks without a beer (bar a couple of afternoon glasses of wine last Saturday in the pub). And I’m starting to feel similar effects to what I felt in August: feeling more ‘on it’ and more ‘getting shit done’ and it’s probably no coincidence that I went swimming this morning and about to go for a run.

Give it a go. Commit to a month without booze and see what the effects are. If you’re a social drinker, I’m sure you’ll feel the positive effects!

This app will change your life AND this video will change your wife’s life

Edmond Chan · Oct 4, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I’ve started using an app called Streaks app. It’s on iOS and you set a goal you want to do daily and each day, you mark it off when you’ve done that goal, and leave it unmarked when you don’t do the goal. If you do it two days in a row, you’ve built the smallest possible streak. The aim is to do the goal daily so that you build a huge, unbroken streak, and therefore built a habit.

My Streaks app tracks me doing 5 mins of core workout a day, reading 25 pages a day, doing 12 glute raises (can you tell I’m trying to improve my core strength?), writing 200 words a day etc. I’m not always consistent but over the past month, I’ve done more in these areas than I did for months and months before that, if at all.

What do you want to do? Give up smoking? Set it as a goal in Streaks and track that. Read more? Set a simple goal of reading 10 pages a day. Too much? Read 5 pages a day. Ramit Sethi says that instead of setting a goal to floss everyday, if it’s something that you haven’t done for ages, just aim to floss one tooth, just one. That’s such a small goal that you’re likely to not feel overawed by the goal, and it’s so easy to do, you’re more likely to accomplish it. You might even go on to floss another tooth and another. Same with press-ups. Instead of setting a daily goal of 50 press-ups, just aim for 1 press-up. This will lead to another. And another. Before you know it you’ve built a solid habit.

Check Streaks out to help you be consistent and do the day-to-day things that lead to your longer-term goals.

If you’re on Android, then you’ll have to find another app I’m afraid. There is one called Streaks on the Play store but I don’t think it’s the same company. The official Streaks app website only lists iOS on the site. (i’ve been gushing about this app but trust me, i haven’t been paid a penny for this 🙂

The video

I mentioned above that I’m using Streaks to do 5 mins of core work a day. This is because I’ve got a back like glass these days, and with a kid on the way, I don’t want to be crocked by the constant bending over and picking up that I’m sure is going to be a large part of my life for the next 5 years.

My brother in law Dan put me onto this great workout on Youtube by Ashley Conrad that focuses on core strength. It’s hard! I couldn’t do it all the way through for a couple of weeks, but stick at it and it’ll become easier. My core strength was appallingly weak and my belly was squishy. My obliques were so weak that I’m shocked I was able to hold myself up. But after a month or so, it’s not yet a corset 6 pack (or anywhere near) but I feel it’s stronger all the way round. My wife has been enjoying the results so far.

And with that I’ve done my 200 words today – tick off that goal on the Streaks app. 🙂

Have a great week!

Getting fit for fatherhood

Edmond Chan · Aug 11, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I’m 40 and just about to become a dad for the first time. I’m told that I need to work on my core and my lower back strength because there’s going to be a lot of lifting and a lot of bending over. I have a glass back these days so this prospect scares me a bit!

After poo-pooing it for a long time, I’ve signed up to my first pilates class at my local gym. I’m expecting to be terrible at it but hoping it gives me a much stronger core.

I’ve upped my speed work on the treadmills and trying to run faster instead of just steady-state 30 mins runs and I’m definitely feeling the benefits of extra lung capacity when I’m breathing in and out.

I’m still doing the same upper body workouts on the machines. 85kg on the chest press, 70kg on the pull-down, and 90kg on the seated row.

I’ve added in some hamstring exercises as I think my weak posterior chain (hams and glutes) is a major factor in my weak lower back. I need to add in some leg presses to strengthen my glutes as well.

Any recommendations for getting fit for fatherhood?

Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker – key takeaways

Edmond Chan · May 21, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Why We Sleep is a ridiculously valuable book for anyone who doesn’t sleep much on a consistent basis. Whether that’s due to insomnia or to being a total badass who thinks that sleep is for the weak and lazy.

Matthew is someone we should listen to. He’s professor of of neuroscience and psychology at UCLA and before that he was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also works as a sleep scientist at Google Life Sciences (Verily)

The main takeaways from Why We Sleep

Consistent sleep deprivation is really, really bad for you. By sleep deprivation, he means anything less than a solid 8 hours of sleep. Walker links consistent sleep deprivation to cancer, dementia, obesity depression, and anxiety. Also, the shorter you sleep, the shorter you live. All in all, really, really bad.
We have a chemical called adenosine that is continually produced from the moment we wake up. It builds and builds throughout the day until we can resist sleep no longer. This is called sleep pressure.
Caffeine blocks the receptors that register the adenosine build up and this is why coffee temporarily makes us feel more awake and alert. If caffeine is still in your system at bedtime, it will likely keep you from feeling tired.
Caffeine has an average half life of 5 to 7 hours. This means that 5 to 7 hours after your last coffee, half the caffeine is still left in your system. And in 10-14 after your last coffee, a quarter of that caffeine is still in your system.
Drink less caffeine! And definitely not too late i.e. not after 12pm

Professor Walker’s top 12 tips for getting a better night’s sleep

Stick to a sleep schedule. Get up and go to be at the same time every day. Walker highlights this as the most important of his sleep tips.
Exercise is great. At least 30 mins most days and not too close to bedtime.
Avoid caffeine and nicotine. They make it hard to get to sleep and can affect how deeply you do sleep.
Avoid alcohol before bed. It will stop you getting into REM sleep and you may wake up in the middle of the night when the effects have worn off.
Avoid large meals and drinks late at night. This can cause indigestion which interferes with sleep.
Avoid medicines that disrupt your sleep
No naps after 3pm.
Relax and unwind before bed like reading or listening to music
Take a hot bath before bed
Dark, cool, gadget-free bedroom
Get enough sunlight exposure. This helps regulate sleep patterns. At least 30 mins of natural sunlight each day and preferably in the morning. Turn down the lights before bedtime.
Don’t lie in bed awake.

For me, the caffeine control has been incredible in helping me get more sleep.

Walker describes sleep deprivation as:

the greatest public health challenge we face in the 21st century in developed nations. If we wish to avoid the suffocating noose of sleep neglect, the premature death it inflicts, and the sickening health it invites, a radical shift in our personal, cultural, professional, and societal appreciation of sleep must occur.

I believe it is time for us to reclaim our right to a full night of sleep, without embarrassment or the damaging stigma of laziness. In doing so, we can be reunited with that most powerful elixir of wellness and vitality, dispensed through every conceivable biological pathway. then we may remember what it feels like to be truly awake during the day, infused with the very deepest plentitude of being.

Pick up a copy of Why We Sleep here.

Get more sleep!

Definitely feeling the benefits of implementing some of Aubrey Marcus’s book “Own The Day, Own Your Life”

Edmond Chan · Apr 25, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I love airport bookshops. It’s like the best of books distilled into a few shelves. I can never resist even though it will double my carry on luggage.

The domestic terminal at Melbourne Tullamarine had some enticing books: 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson (which I’ve read but only on Kindle, so I bought a paperback there and then), First Man In by Ant Middleton, who I’ve only recently discovered on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, and Own The Day, Own Your Life by Aubrey Marcus.

I snapped it up alongside Peterson’s. (Will get Middleton’s book soon.)

The premise of Aubrey’s book is that by making the right small decisions throughout our day, we optimise our health, mindset, productivity and overall well-being. This helps us to win our day, and if we do this day after day, we win our life.

The section I really like is on supplements. Now Aubrey is CEO of Onnit, a health company with a big focus on supplements, so you’d think of course he would be recommending supplements. But on the other hand, it’s reassuring that he does recommend them given that that’s his livelihood. But the best thing is that he doesn’t say that only his company’s supplements are the ones to get. Lots of company’s produce these supplements.

The ones he recommends that I’ve started using are:

Greens blend. He describes this as like ‘raiding the shelves at Home Depot when you’re trying to maintain your house’. It’s full of good stuff that your body needs to be healthy. I looked on Amazon and found this one by Hion which was very well rated. The ingredients are: “Wheatgrass, Barley Grass, Maca Root, Flax Seed, Green Tea Extract, Lucuma, Spirulina, Chlorella, Baobab, Acai Berry, Raspberry Fruit Extract (20% Ethanol 80% Water) 10:1.” That just sounds good for you doesn’t it?!

Krill Oil. This apparently is fish oil on steroids. Not actual steroids! But just an amped up version of fish oil. This is the one I bought on Amazon. The description states:

Superior source of EPA and DHA because the polyunsaturated fats are packaged as phospholipids, which can be used immediately by your body
More stable than fish oil because it includes astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant, that protects the fragile fats from oxidising

Vitamin D3. I was already taking this. I use this one by Nutravita and I bought it on Amazon. From the blurb on Amazon: “Nutravita Vitamin D3, (The Sunshine Vitamin) provides the preferred form of vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is the more potent form of Vitamin D, because it is the specific form made by the human body.“

I’m going to start taking magnesium as also recommended in the book.

So how do I feel after a few weeks of taking them? Really, really good. Full of energy and almost feeling a surplus of strength and energy. That may well be down to other factors, including sleeping well, doing lots of running, and also lifting heavier weights than normal. But I do think that small improvements stack up on top of each other over time. It all counts!

Do you take any supplements? And if so, which? Let me know in the comments!