December 2023

This week was an absolute shit show when it came to recovery and diet scores. Considering the data and how I felt, wheat, dairy, and meat are all problematic now. Specifically, in this order:

1. dairy,
2. flour, and
3. meat.

I had copious amounts of pizza this past week, and it appeared to take two days or so to recover, according to WHOOP. I didn’t have meat on the pizza because I wanted to see what that would look like. It didn’t look good.

The weekend before was a heavy meat day; it only took a day or two to recover.

We headed to Nashville, TN, for a Yule celebration with friends and family. I had a fair amount of lasagna. The next day, I was in the red for recovery.

When we came home Saturday afternoon, Becca ordered food. I had a double Greek salad with a vegetable medley of hummus, quinoa, tabouli, and similar. I packed that in. Drank a bunch of water. Took my supplements. And I downed two protein bars. I woke up this morning, and my recovery was in the yellow, roughly 50 percent.

For the past week, my weight has been around 220. While I pay little attention to weight as a goal or target, I weighed in at 230 this morning. From a calorie perspective, I didn’t overindulge; therefore, I think some inflammation and swelling are at play here.

For this coming week, I’m going to keep the change I was experimenting with last week:

• Meal 1
  • Banana smoothie
  • Protein bar
  • 100 grams of sunflower seeds
  • 12 ounces of green peas
  • Fish oil and turmeric
• Meal 2
  • Berry smoothie
  • Protein bar
  • 100 grams of peanuts
  • Glucosamine chondroitin, vitamin C, and calcium

Because we were out of town, I didn’t get a chance to run to the grocery store. I’m not looking forward to doing that today.

That said, I haven’t been having feelings of indigestion or bloating. So, it appears dividing the seeds between the two meals is the way to go.

I also wasn’t doing my morning system integrity check. But I did it this morning.

And the experiments keep on cruising.

I decided to switch my breakfast with my dinner. That hasn’t been going well, and I’m considering a new change. Let’s start with why it has yet to go well.

I noticed that I would have a slump after the midday feeding time. From what I understand, this is normal for humans; however, I haven’t been experiencing it over the last couple of weeks. Then, having all the seeds packed at the end of the day is too much. I end up being bloated and gassy. I’ve also been experiencing indigestion pains.

I will try to have half the seeds with breakfast and shift the banana smoothie back to being in the morning. This means I’ll divide the 2 Builder Bars between the 2 meals instead of having both with the day’s first meal.

Most of the other variables will remain the same.

I’m hoping this will reduce the feelings of indigestion and slight constipation. If it is working out, I’m thinking about returning to eating earlier in the day (around 8 am), with my second meal being around noon. This will maintain the 5-hour feeding window but give me more digestion and water-drinking time between the last meal and sleep.

ps. I also didn’t update the main title of this page to December. Fixed it!

I had a whole week of being vegetarian this past week. The WHOOP shows that having roughly eight servings of fruits and vegetables and a higher caloric intake contribute significantly to my recovery score (around 7 percent). My recovery scores for most of the week were above 90 percent.

On Saturday, I decided to go in the opposite direction. Mostly meat and grains, specifically chicken, lamb, and rice. I also had ice cream and a cookie. My recovery score this morning was around 70 percent.

I’m feeling pretty good physically, though I’m not doing the intentional exercises as much as I planned. Looking for a job and working on these projects is filling a lot of my usable hours.

This isn’t my first time unemployed, and I treat it like I still have a full-time job. I wake up when I usually would for work and try to start my day at the same time I would. Then I spend about an hour on the Mastering the Mundane: Time book. Then, I spend another hour working on another book that may not see the light of day as its own book; I’m considering doing something else with it, but it’s cathartic. Then I’ll spend about 30 minutes on one of the other books.

Around noon, I shift gears and start looking for employment and working on some infrastructure things. Writing this and the Building Wealth Paycheck to Paycheck series counts as infrastructure things.

I’ve added 8fold as an organization on Open Collective. As of this writing, Open Collective seems to align best with 8fold’s culture and purpose compared to similar crowdfunding platforms. So, if you’re interested in supporting my work, that’s where you can find it (I even have a profile page that can lead you down all the rabbit holes).

Who knows, maybe I’ll build up enough support that I won’t need to work for someone else and focus my time on other interests (it shouldn’t take a lot; I’m a cheap date). I mean, that’s always been the dream. It just takes time and has been low-and-slow (like a good barbecue).

I launched another website for Mastering the Mundane, which I’ve decided is the home for my work related to individuals. I provide coaching and consulting on making peace with time (productivity), space (organizing, decluttering, and downsizing), and money (financial literacy and independence).

I have noticed my hips don’t like me on most nights. With that said, I think it’s okay and natural. I’m working a lot on mobility, and ligaments and tendons take longer to adapt and adjust than muscles, and the hip mobility work is just causing adaptation. I can pass a shoulder mobility test, at least in one of the two possible configurations.

Let’s get back on the toenails for a second.

My left big toenail is growing attached to the nailbed and without curling under. During the week, I use pedicure tools to lift and flatten the nail. While holding the nail in the flattened position, I’ll apply the anti-fungal lacquer to the base of the toenail. The theory is that the lacquer will reduce the nail’s rebound and curl. It seems to be working, and I can feel the nail reestablishing the groove.

My right big toenail is also flattening out more. It may not be growing normally across the nail, though. The middle of the nail isn’t growing or even trying to. The last time I gave myself a pedicure, the nail on the inside edge wasn’t securely attached, and I trimmed it back to the attachment point. I use the lacquer on this toenail as well.

My right second toenail is responding to the anti-fungal lacquer. The layers of the nail are blown out, similar to what happened with the right big toenail.

From a nutrition perspective, things are going well. The caloric intake has reduced again. I no longer need a stovetop or frying pan.

From a physical fitness perspective, I am still working to bring myself back up to par.

I’ve added all my projects to the 8fold Open Collective. I’ve also added the book titles to my account on Leanpub. (If you’d like to show your support or interest, that would be lovely and greatly appreciated.)

I’m planning to start publishing chapters in January. I’m also preparing two different websites. One is geared toward helping individuals, and another focuses on coaching and assisting organizations.