Throwing the Kitchen Sink at it!

6 months off my 2024 summer 6 pack challenge and I’m already upping the ante 🌡️. I’m in my bag and pulling out all sorts of tricks. Here’s what I’m doing and why:

Hydration 💧
5 litres of plain water daily. Primarily to keep my joints lubricated and improve digestion.

Sleep 😴
7 hours of daily sleep, preferably on the floor with a sleep tracker (via Garmin 55) activated to monitor sleep quality. I have an alarm for both bed time and waking up time, and the more consistent I am with following this structure the easier managing my sleep tends to be. I wake up most mornings without any weird aches and strains and reasonably recovered. When I can  I sleep more, usually over the weekend.

Gym 🏋🏿‍♂️ 🚶🏾‍♂️ 🚴🏿
2 hours of daily activity split between 1 hour of heavy lifting and 1 hour of cardio (30 mins indoor cycling + 30 mins uphill treadmill walking). EVERY DAY. This keeps me built like a brick house but with a resting heart rate of 58 BPM. ⚠️ This is not for the faint-hearted.

Fasting 🍲 🕰️
16 hours of intermittent fasting. I don’t eat anything until 1 PM. Everyday. And then I stop eating at 9 PM. I drink nothing but water and green tea during my fast. My wife indicates that this approach may not be ideal for women, based on her and her friends' experiences, but for me it’s working wonders and would likely do the same for others (read males).

Food 🍝
When it’s time to eat I keep it simple by avoiding sugary drinks and fast food. For most people simply choosing water, and only water as their primary beverage will yield tremendous results. I eat everything else that I feel like during my eating window that moves directly from a non-commercial pot to a plate. The only thing that I’m very intentional about eating is a serving of muesli and yoghurt mainly to develop and maintain a strong relationship with the bathroom 💩.
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Supplements 💊 
I use them and I like them. Currently stacking them for maximum benefit:

• Multivitamin. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies don’t always get in your face, they often just leave you feeling suboptimal. I take them because I’d rather attribute a crappy feeling to something else.
• Psyllium husk. It’s soluble fiber that I’m currently running with bucket loads of water to ensure that what I swallow finds its way on the other side, expeditiously.
• L-tyrosine. Inexpensive ‘limitless’ supplement for drive and motivation. A morning dose gets me ready to attack the day! Another benefit that might be unique to me is appetite suppression, at least for a few hours after ingestion.
• CLA. Known for its ability to reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass. The benefit obtained is likely minor, but I still take it because every little advantages helps.
• TNT Mercury Magma Burn. Off the shelf fat burner (caffeinated). I sweat a great deal and generally feel ‘charged’ throughout my session and day when I take this. It helps me shed water weight while giving my metabolism a little boost.

🔌 The local plug as always is Supplement World Zambia while the international plugs are Xtreme Nutrition in South Africa, and Bulk Powders in the UK.

My final trump card will be elimination of alcohol at 3 months out.