Biohacking... a new direction

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According to Wikipedia, the definition of  "Biohacking"  refers to managing one's own biology using a combination of medical, nutritional and electronic techniques. This may include the use of nootropics, non-toxic substances, and/or cybernetic devices for recording biometric data.


I have already stated that my plan on this blog was to get my life together and track my journey along the way, but the method has yet been undefined. I have decided to take the biohacking approach. Of course there is much controversy in playing with your own body biology to find optimum results, however, I feel that given my current state of health, I am not in any danger of getting worse.

My friend, and now somewhat of a mentor on this journey, whether he knows it or not, Troy Angrignon gave me a reading list of sorts and I have been reading voraciously for the past week and I want more! However, I already have enough information in my tool kit to get started without reading anything else.

I have always been a voracious learner, so whenever I learn something new, I read and read and read until I satiate that thirst for knowledge. Once I told Troy that I wanted to lose 50 pounds, get off of my anti-depressants, lower my blood pressure, sleep better, quit smoking and just generally, get healthier, he recommended a few books which have encouraged the direction of my path. Before I get into the reading list, I am going to say that I am not interested in a fad diet, rather a way of life. I did not really intend for this to be a New years Resolution, although the timing is certainly working out that way. I just had to get right in my own head, if that makes sense. When you live with depression, as I have for many years, it takes a special motivation to turn course and I had to come to terms with this in my own mind. Sort of a "Fake it, till you make it" premise. I do not often have the energy or feel like doing more than going to work, coming home and curling up in my bed. This is NOT who I am nor who I want to be, so I have done much reading about how to change my life and yet I haven't done much about it. This requires action, and as any depressed person will tell you, Action, is one of the last things I am interested... Theoretically, that is. In my mind, I want to be more active, I want to get out of bed, I want to do more, be more, be happier, so I just have to do it! So, when I read a book about having more energy, healing adrenal fatigue, which I have long suspected I have, balancing your hormones, sleeping better AND losing weight...I am interested.

So, I read the book, Bulletproof Diet and needless to say, I am very intrigued. I do not know if it works, I have looked at reviews and seen both good and bad, but as I said, I am not in great shape now, I can afford to experiment a little with my body, in hopes of a miraculous transformation. I know I am going to have to work at it, so why not try something that might achieve multiple benefits at one time?

The other big part of the process, which seems to go hand in hand with Bulletproof  Diet is Body By Science, as they basically recommend the same workout. I will get into both of these books more in later posts, as I begin my own personal experimentation. But these are my chosen avenues of transformation, at least for now. As I said, there is no guarantee of success with these methods, but I am going to do what I can and make adjustments as necessary.

Perhaps the appeal of these two books is they both promise results with minimal effort, which is very appealing to someone who has difficulty getting out of bed most days. I am not going to dwell on that fact, rather put it out there as a potential reason for my intrigue. However, I have read, several years ago, The Four Hour Body, and felt just as intrigued by it, I even gave it a half-assed attempt back then. However, I was not as unhealthy back then, as I am now. I was not as motivated then as I am now. I was not as determined then as I am now. The Bulletproof  Diet is a mildly upgraded version of what Tim Ferris recommends in his book, The Four Hour Body.

This post has been a very long-winded way to say that I am going to try a version of a high fat, low carb diet with a lot of protein, minimal carbs and a High intensity interval training method of exercise. I am excited to see if I get results, I am particularly interested in losing weight and sleeping better as these two big issues seem to contribute to the majority of my health problems, including depression.  I have only a few days remaining before I start my journey (mostly because I am waiting on some products). Have you tried any of these? I hate to call them diets, as I really am looking for a long term lifestyle more than a fad, but the book is called the Bulletproof diet, as anything you eat becomes part of your diet. I am not referring to a fad, but a way of life.

I would love to hear your thoughts, have you tried a High fat, low carb diet? Have you tried High intensity interval training? What have your results looked like?