Today I want to share how a day in the light of long-term health could look like. For me this means that I pay attention to four pillars of health: sleep, stress management, exercise, and food.

Sömn

First thing to take into consideration is sleep. That is the foundation that decides my activities for the day. I got a for me, good sleep of 7.5 hours. Also, my pulse lowered early in the night which catered for optimal readiness and a good HRV of 54. The fact that I am still hanging out in the follicle phase with cooler body temperatures also assists me in my readiness score.

To read more about sleep and HRV go hit..

Stresshantering

In the follicle phase I aim for practicing alternate day fasting (ADF) if my stress levels allow for it which it did today. Lately I aim for 18 hours. Then I check my blood sugars and sometimes also blood ketones before I break my fast with some lean protein or bone broth. When you break your fast your body is extremely insulin sensitive, what this means is that it will absorb anything you eat very effectively. If you eat something which has both carbs and fats in it you have a high risk of storing this as fat on your body.

To read more about the importance of protein go hit..

I had great energy and mental focus and sharpness during my fast and got a lot of things done at work. To read more about my fasting lifestyle and why I do it, please go hit..

Träning

If my day allows for it, I usually also do a strength training workout at the end of my fast. The purpose of this is twofold:

• To assist my body in going after stored sugars in my liver and muscles.
• To remind the body that we still need muscle and lean mass.

What we want is to burn mostly fat. To have a lot of muscles is costly for the body as it requires a higher metabolism. From a historic perspective our bodies do not necessarily want to ramp up our metabolism, but rather keep a fat reserve in case of scares periods with little or no food. That is why it is important to implement strength training into your lifestyle, especially if you are fasting.

My strength training session is usually on the lighter side on my fasting days. I usually train around 30 minutes or so. I push myself harder during my full eating days.

Mat

Today I chose to eat minced meat from lamb, chicken liver, parmesan, Brazil nuts and fresh dates as my first proper meal of the day. I held off from veggies to not upset my digestion too much. Usually liver is quite hard for me to digest in the first place, so I try to not overload myself.

Nutrient information

• Minced meat from lamb
  The body wants variation, so I vary my protein, today I chose lamb.
• Liver
  Why-liver-is-a-superfood
  Not many foods are worthy of the title “superfood.” However, liver is one of them. It’s rich in protein, low in calories and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. Liver provides more than the RDI for vitamin B12, vitamin A, riboflavin, and copper. It is also rich in the essential nutrients folate, iron, and choline. Per calorie, liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods around. Compared to muscle meats, it is lower in calories and fat and far superior in terms of vitamins and minerals.
• Parmesan
  Parmesan is a hard, aged cheese that is made from raw, unpasteurized cow’s milk that is aged for at least 12 months to kill harmful bacteria and produce a complex flavor. The final product is loaded with nutrients. Since Parmesan is rich in both calcium and phosphorus — nutrients that play a role in bone formation — it may promote bone health. But main reason for me is that I like the taste and since it is aged for a long time it is very low in lactose, which can instill inflammation in the body. Fermented products such as this cheese also benefits your gut bacteria.
• Brazil-nuts
  Gives me my daily dose of selenium.
• Dates
  8 proven health benefits of dates
  Dates contain several vitamins and minerals, in addition to fiber and antioxidants. Dates are high in fiber, which may be beneficial for preventing constipation and controlling blood sugar control. Dates contain several types of antioxidants that may help prevent the development of certain chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

The importance of high-quality food when in your eating window

Eating high-quality, nutrient dense and nutrient rich foods is always important. But when fasting you abstain completely from food (which is what we want) so to not start losing your hair, getting bad nail quality or in general not giving your body what it needs. It is so important to keep the food quality high.

By not paying attention to this, it will reduce the power of the fast. You might as well stop fasting all together as you may impact more negative effects then positive. So make sure you eat non-inflammatory, non-processed foods and instead lean into foods that supports your gut and lots of healthy fats and protein. When you fast around 24 hours you also do a reset of your gut microbiome. So it is a perfect opportunity to build it up again with good gut bacteria which in turn will increase the nutrient uptake from the food you are eating.

Summary of my day in the light of long-term health

So, there you go, a day in the my life with focus on my long-term health, hope you enjoyed it and perhaps learned something new! 😀