It’s definitely working! And it’s fun!
I don’t know why. I just can’t squat with my heels on the ground without my pelvis rounding under and my upper spine rounding forward. Never ever been able to. Is that bad? Idk. I end up looking like a shrimp at the bottom of a squat.
I forgot to comment on this, but that is insane. Over 1000mg of caffein? Wow. Isn’t the max recommended like 400mg?
Isn’t the max recommended like 400mg?
Not recommended, but that’s consider the maximum safe amount to consume. I was drinking 3 energy drinks with 300-350mg of caffeine each and a lot of diet soda.
I DO believe I’m a caffeine non-responder, as I can drink a black coffee and go right to sleep, but I was definitely trying to abuse it as much as I could then.
I can also get my RHR to 36 if I let my bodyweight drop into the 170s, so I have some margin for error as far as rapid heart rate goes…
Been following along, felt moved to share my experiences with apnea. I got diagnosed many years ago, the last time with a split study - four hours of study, four hours on CPAP titrating the pressure. Had to get up at 6AM dreading it after a night of interrupted sleep. Just kept feeling better as the day went on, thought I had found gold.
Fast forward, for several reasons I could not sleep with the CPAP so I got a dental appliance, paid $700 for it because it was not covered by insurance. Worked for a few months before my dog chewed it up. Bought one online that you adjust yourself, wasn’t the same.
Eventually, lost weight and the apnea disappeared.
Some context on weight loss and what has been working for me. I have lost significant amounts of weight over my life and am currently losing to improve my blood work. This time I started at 205 and 17/18% body fat last October. This morning I was 180 at 12.8%. So what I am doing is working for me - YMMV.
I fast 16/8. My first meal is a protein shake and 4-8 ounces of air fried chicken breast. I add olive oil as a condiment. I eat again when I am hungry, another serving of chicken breast. I eat whatever I want for dinner, including carbs. The fasting and the low carbs are to lower my blood sugar - my A1c was 6.1 (prediabetic). But, it also helps with weightloss.
I walk about a mile as soon as I get up. Lift about 7AM fasted, and walk after lifting. I have read that walking after lifting encourages muscle retention.
I do a modified upper/lower split, typically 4-5 days per week. Two working sets with progression.
My goal is 10K steps per day, but I am not getting it - currently averaging 8K per day.
I walk for about twenty minutes after most meals - lowers glucose spikes.
The big secret? I have been consistent for the last six months with this routine, have been consistent in the gym for the last 4-5 years.
Again, not necessarily recommending this program, it’s just what I have come up with after years of training (admittedly ignorantly).
Best!
Thats awesome man. Being at that bf% is no joke. You rock
is the cpap really that uncomfortable? I figured it would just take getting used to. If it makes it so I have more energy on less sleep then I will get used to it.
And when you lost weight, did your neck shrink a lot?
I actually slept like a baby last night, first time in a while. I don’t know why. Could be the fact that I haven’t doomscrolled since I uninstalled youtube. Or maybe my body is getting used to not eating processed sugar after 4 months. I was more back to my usual relaxed self yesterday instead of that “tired but wired” and on edge feeling I’ve had since I quit processed sugar.
No, I actually enjoyed sleeping with it - gave me a routine setting up bedtime, seemed to insulate me a bit - like earphones, eye mask and my weighted blanket. I had other issues with it that aren’t necessarily unique to me but don’t want to poison the well before you give it a try, let you just thrive on it without concern, if that makes any sense.
Appreciate the approbation for the BF% - caveat - I use a handheld monitor so I don’t know how accurate it is. It does provide insight via trends, and obviously a downward trend is good.
I don’t know if I would say my neck shrank a lot, but it did shrink, and like most, first lose weight in my face, which helps. I am 6’1’ ish (shrinking at 62 years old), and find that 195 pounds, right around a “normal” BMI of 25, is where my sleep improves, regardless of my body fat percentage. That may or may not correlate to your experience.
If you don’t mind, I would like to circle back to the ADHD possibility. Getting diagnosed made a HUGE difference for me in so many ways. I’m happy to expand if you want me too, but don’t want to clog up your thread if it’s not a priority for you.
Congrats on the doomscrolling achievment, and the processed sugar. You’re definitely on the right track and seeing improvements.
Well thanks for that. I will be doing the at home sleep test probably next week and might have the cpap in a couple weeks. I really am excited about it and I do think I have sleep apnea but I could be wrong.
So getting rid of your apnea through weight loss didn’t affect your ADHD symptoms? Because sometimes if I sleep really well for some reason, my mind is clearer and I have more energy therefore I am able to make myself do stuff that I usually can’t, which effectively reduces my ADHD.
That’s why I think maybe I have always had sleep apnea and just didn’t know it. Because even as a teenager to early 20s when I was about 140lbs I would start dozing off riding a lawnmower at work when everyone else wasn’t. Or when I was in my early 20s working on cars even with 2 monster energy drinks in me if I got under a car lying down I would want to just go to sleep lol.
4/17/2026
Calories: 2400
Sleep Night Before: 7.5 hours
Mood: I am more back to my normal relaxed yet focused self. Anxiety way down. I think not doing much on social media for the past 17 days (it’s been that long already?) has something to do with it. I also think it’s due to my body/brain getting used to being without processed sugar.
Energy Level: 7/10
Hunger Level: 3/10
Workout: none
Steps: 11000
Thought Process: I feel amazing today. Going from 1900-2100 cals back to 2500-2600 cals on average for almost a week really made a huge difference, it’s like I’m 2 different people. I guess there’s a difference between my actual food needs and my hunger level. Because I don’t really feel that hungry, I’m kind of just eating the last few hundred cals to hit the 2400 mark. But it makes such a difference in how I feel.
There seems to be a goldilocks zone where I can eat a certain amount of cals and it gives me so much energy that I end up burning more calories from doing stuff anyway. And it allows me to push harder in the gym to build more muscle.
My quads are still sore from Wednesday. I don’t think my quads have ever been sore before. So squatting to the balls of my feet is for sure working.
Oh, and I realized that my cardio is not as good as it was when I was doing 45 mins 3 times a week at a harder level. I did some jogging recently and man I get winded instantly. I am going to up the intensity of the 30 mins 2 times a week and see if that helps. When I was doing 45 mins x 3 I would incline walk at 15 incline but lately I’ve been keeping it at 10 incline because I thought it would be better for consistency since it wasn’t as hard. So I will push the incline to 15 again but only do 30 mins twice a week rather than 45 mins thrice a week and see how that goes.
Oh yeah that probably has a bunch to do with it. Assuming you are watching on your phone before bed. Blue Light is terrible for you especially before bed, tricks your brain into thinking the sun is up. I switched to red light before bed and saw a big increase in quality of sleep.
What do you mean by red light? Do you turn off all your lights and just have a red light going?
So I’ll start by saying I’m living in an extremely unique set of circumstances. I’m currently deployed on a ship with the Navy so I sleep in a “coffin rack”. It’s like a box with a curtain covering the open side. It get very dark which helps. My wife is into “bio-hacking” which I kinda roll my eyes at most of. However, about a year ago she ordered a red light therapy box and I decided to give it a try during one of my stints on the ship. I’m not sure if its placebo or what, but I sleep MUCH harder if I use it right before I go to bed. I use it in my rack with the curtain closed. It probably looks insane from the outside but it helps, I think.
It’s a 14 min NIR/Red Light therapy cycle. So it doesn’t take much time. I also read that depending on how you use it it can positively impact testosterone production, but who knows.
Damn thats badass. I will probably get one of those lights. I need to also block out the bright light coming in from the top of my blackout curtains. Where I live there’s bright white light everywhere at night and it kind of comes through the top and sides of the curtains.
Oh yeah dude, you could use Velcro to stick it to your wall. that what I do when I work nights back at home.
Better sleep minimized my symptoms, but AHDH (AuDHD for me) is more complicated than just your attention span.
There are two major types - inattentive and hyperactive. Some people are combined (like me). There is a whole host of symptoms other than just being inattentive or hyperactive and being rested won’t help them. If you do have ADHD, it is neurological - it is how you are wired - and you can’t change that. Being aware that you are neurodivergent helps you to recognize when you are having difficulties due to your biology rather than just being cranky because you are tired.
RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) is one symptom. Emotional dysregulation (0-Rage) is another. Craving routines but not being able to maintain them, hyperfocus, impulsivity, among others, are a few that come to mind.
ADHD is low dopamine. If you engage in dopamine seeking activities such as scrolling, gambling, smoking, sugar, sex, alcohol, drugs, shopping, those are signs that you have low dopamine, possibly ADHD.
I have been able to drink massive amounts of caffeine and go to sleep - ADHD thing. That might explain the lack of efficacy of the energy drinks for you.
Do some Google Fu, take some online tests for ADHD and see what you think. For me, the initial diagnosis cleared up enough of my red flags for me to recognize that I am on the spectrum for autism as well.
So, I am a fan of getting tested. You will at least know what you are dealing with and can decide how to treat it - you don’t have to medicate. I do, and it has made a huge difference.
You’re just picking on my favourite hobbies now!
Weighed in at 158.8lbs today with a 38.75" waist! Arms: 13 7/8" L, 13 1/2" R. Neck 14.5"!
Yeah I gravitate towards those types of things, but I have been succeeding in changing what I do like not eating processed sugar or doomscrolling. I’m still drawn to those types of things but as I distance myself from them it is getting easier to stay away and do healthier things.
I still remember the first time I ever had certain foods, like certain candies or fast foods. That’s how impactful those hits of dopamine were to me. And even though I’ve been off caffeine for like 2 years now, I still want it sometimes. And I’ve turned down weed before because I know it’ll lead me to doing harder stuff very quickly. My enjoyment of stuff goes down really fast. Usually after the second or third time doing something I’m ready for something better.
I think I’m autistic too. A lot of peeps in my family are not exactly normal. There’s like a barrier between us and the rest of the world. Like people are just going about their lives while we are kind of on an island. My sister went through a lot of therapy and knows about that kind of stuff and she says we are all autistic lol.
I’m already 90% sure I have ADHD but I’m just concerned with relying on a pill. What if the pill runs out or I can’t get it for some reason? Then the withdrawal will screw me over. I’m just concerned about that part.
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With quitting doomscrolling, I think it’s a change of mindset. When you are scrolling for hours a day every day you are training your mind to always look for the next thing and if something doesn’t hit you immediately you skip past it. Obviously this is an anxiety driven mindset so no wonder anxiety is increased when participating in this activity day in and day out for hours at a time. Gradually I have noticed this and started changing my mindset to “there is nothing next”. I just got finished watching a 2 hour movie with no phone or computer next to me. It did get kind of boring in the last third but I just stuck it out.
I think Social Media/Doomscrolling is the mental equivalent to fast food. When you are eating nothing but fast food, eating healthy and drinking water sounds almost torturous. But once you get away from the fast food and eat healthy for a few weeks you start wanting the healthy stuff and not wanting the unhealthy stuff. It is the same with doomscrolling. There is a transition period and habits you have to build to replace doomscrolling but eventually it gets easier.
I think partly why social media is so addicting is that it’s easy dopamine hits but it’s not actually satisfying (similar to fast food). You get that hit of feel good for not much effort but it doesn’t actually satisfy you so you keep coming back trying to get satisfied, but it will never happen. Just like fast food only fills you up for like an hour then you’re hungry again. I don’t know too much about that part but I think it could be a good theory.