March To Optimal Health
One Sentence Summary
Improving my health after a blood pressure scare by focusing on sleep, nutrition, stress, and exercise.
Purpose
The primary motivation and objectives behind this project.
My interest in this project started because I had a blood pressure scare in March 2023. My blood pressure was measured at 160/110. That alcoholic uncle in your family probably has a lower blood pressure than me. Also, 3 out 9 of my aunts and uncles have passed in their 50s and 60s. The majority of them have diabetes. I want to have longevity and a good life, so fixing my health is important to me.
Principles
Guiding principles or constraints of this project.
Principles and constraints include following WHO's dietary and phyical exercise suggestions as well as a broke college student's budget and time (meal-prepping). I don't have a preference for meat-only or vegan: it just needs to meet my dietary needs and budget constraints.
Outcome Visioning
Desired outcome of the project. Wild success.
- Blood pressure seriousness confirmation: after 90 days of following a disciplined plan (sleep, nutrition, exercise, and stress), either my blood pressure reaches a healthy level or I have confirmed there is something more serious that needs to be checked by a specialist.
- Healthy weight: I want to reach a fat mass percentage of around 19%.
- Be more fit:
- V02 max of 60,
- run a marathon in 3 hours and 30 minutes, and
- run a mile in 5:30.
- Near perfect sleep score: Get a sleep score above 90 on the majority of days.
Format
How I will accomplish this effort.
Introduction
I am on a journey to achieve the best health possible. I say optimal health because striving for perfect health could cost a lot of money, take up too much time, and even make life less enjoyable. I admire the centenarians in Sardinia, Italy. They didn't have all the fancy food, supplements, and health knowledge we have today, yet they have lived longer and healthier lives than many in the West. My goal is to live to 100 by meeting the basics of good health, along with my personal ambitions.
The first step is to plan your regimes for sleep, nutrition, fitness, and mental health. Everyone has different constraints and goals, so consider my goals my own. I start with trusted general advice, such as the World Health Organization's recommendation for diet and exercise, which you can take and adjust for your own goals. I've included all my sources in the reference section if you prefer to do the research yourself. Researching took me over 40 hours because I have high blood pressure, so I needed to delve slightly deeper to understand how to manage it better.
Once you make your plan for the different pillars of health, you can optionally measure biomarkers. This helps confirm your progress or may guide you towards the areas you need to focus more on. Biomarker tests include a blood panel, body composition, daily health information, fitness measurements, and blood pressure. Note, some of these I have added for my own goals.
In parallel to measuring your biomarkers, you can start purchasing equipment based on priorities and available resources.
Lastly, remember, life doesn't have to be filled with comfort or ease of living. I read that a centenarian survived war and poverty. Don't let the pressure of being poor act as an additional stressor, and don't adopt a victim mentality -- both will only add weight.
Preparation and Planning
My plan is to improve my mental health and reduce stress through meditation, breathwork, and self-therapy. Both meditation and breathwork are new to me. I'm inspired by Dr. Alok Kanojia's insights on the benefits of meditation, which motivate me to give it a try. I'll continue to update this section as I delve deeper into these practices.
My Goals
For the past seven years, I've pushed myself hard in my studies, which has brought on a lot of stress and what I'd call "trauma". I don't mean trauma in the sense that I regret choices or feel like a victim, but more like I'm unnecessarily carrying burdens. My main goal is to lighten any subconscious loads I may have.
Growing up was tough. I was raised by a single, immigrant mom who was often stressed. Being an immigrant myself and quite introverted, I often felt out of place. This background has led a bit of stress and trauma from both childhood and social situations. Again, my aim is to relieve myself of any burdens I am subsconsciously carrying.
These stresses and the way I respond to them have shaped my relationships with my wife and family. They are not the worst, but they could be better. Since life is short, I want to actively work on improving these aspects of my life.
Meditation
Meditation can be tricky because there are so many different variants. I will follow the suggestions provided from [x]:
- Sit in a quiet place with your eyes closed.
- Relax your muscles and silently repeat a word, phrase, sound, or short prayer of your choosing over and over.
- When stray thoughts interfere (as they will), let them come and go and return to your word, phrase, or sound.
Given this suggestion, I will try to mix my meditation with breathwork: I will focus on the sound (and rate) of my breath. See the section below for more details.
Breathwork
Similarly to meditation, there are so many variants. Breathwork as clarified in [x] consists of:
- depth of breath (i.e., at least 80% of vital capacity)
- rate of breathing (i.e., approximately 6 breathes per minute or fewer)
Thus, I will shoot to meditate with breathwork 5 days a week, twice a day, for 10 minutes at a time.
Self-Therapy
See my Healing (self-therapy) project for details.
Plan for Sleep
I created my plan for sleep mostly using these resources: Sleep Tips From A Sleep Scientist and My Evening Routine - Top 1% Sleep Ranking . My plan is to:
- Reduce light in your room at bedtime. Blackout your windows if needed.
- Reduce noise in your room at bedtime. Use earplugs if needed.
- Set room to a comfortable temperature. Try 67ºF (19.4ºC) if no preference.
- Have a 1 hour wind-down period where no devices are used. Use this time to clean up a bit, brush your teeth and do your skin care routine, read, or spend time with family. Personally, I will also use this time to:
- Measure my blood pressure.
- Meditate for 10 minutes.
- Listen to theta waves to further increase my sleepiness.
- Sleep at exactly the same time. I will aim to sleep at 9:30 PM.
- Wake up without an alarm, allowing for 8 to 9 hours of sleep.
Plan for Nutrition
Guidelines
Let's start with guidelines from trusted sources. These are guidelines the majority of people should aim to follow.
Do:
- A varied, largely plant-based diet, and balancing energy intake with expenditure [x].
- High-protein. Shown to lower triglycerides, which lowers the risk of heart disease [x].
- High-unsaturated fat. A large portion of centenarian's diets in Sardinia seemed to consist of unsaturated fats [x]. Note, this slightly conflicts with WHO's recommendation [x].
- "Obtaining the largest amount of energy from carbohydrates, mainly through legumes and wholegrain cereals" [x].
- "Reducing total fats to less than 30% of total energy intake, shifting fat intake away from saturated and trans fat to unsaturated fats, and eliminating industrial trans fats from the diet" [x]. This is the statement which conflicts with centenarian's diets, in which 40% of calories come from unsaturated fat.
- "Reducing free sugars to less than 10% (ideally 5%) of total energy intake" [x].
- "Limiting sodium intake to less than 2 grams per day (equivalent to 5 grams of salt)" [x].
- "Consuming at least 400 grams of vegetables and fruit per day in adults and children above 10, and 250–350 grams per day in younger children" [x].
Avoid or minimze:
- Processed, baked, and fried food. Too many issues, such as high trans-fat, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar [x].
- Saturated fats and trans-fats [x]. Typically from fried or baked foods. "Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake" [x] and "trans-fats less than 1%" [x].
- Sugary snacks and drinks [x].
- Salt over 5 grams (or one teaspoon) [x]. "Salt should be iodized" [x].
My Goals
My goals are as follows:
- Get BMI into the range: 18 to 25. This is about 118 to 164 lbs. I'll aim for 150 lbs.
- Meal-prep my own food. No pre-made food. Minimally processed food. Minimal sugar and flour.
- More fruits and veggies.
- Affordable meal plan.
- Do not overeat. Eat baseline needs (balanced energy expenditure) once I reach my optimal weight.
- Appropriate salt (max 2,400 mg a day). Inherent in the meals I have in mind, but I thought I should be explicit. In fact, I need to add (iodized) salt to my meals to meet my sodium intake goals.
Plan
- Use my Garmin watch to track my active and passive calories (total energy expenditure).
- Use Cronometer.com or (free DRI Calculator) to determine macronutrient and nutrient targets.
- Macronutrients I am tracking: calories, protein, net carbs, and fat.
- Nutrients I am tracking: fiber, fat (unsaturated, saturated, trans fatty acids, cholesterol), B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, biotin, choline, folate, A, C, D, E, K, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc.
My meal plan looks like:
Overnight Oatmeal
- Oatmeal - 1/2 cup dry
- Flax seed - 2 tablespoons
- Chia seed - 2 tablespoons
- Raw Greek yogurt - 1/3 cup
- Banana
- Almonds - 30g
- Raisins - 40g
- Whey Protein - 1 scoop
- Kirkland Almond milk - 1 cup
- Brazil nuts - 2 nuts
- Kirkland daily multi - 1 tablet
Sad Lentils
- Lentils - 1/2 and 1/8 cup dry
- Chicken - 4oz
- Potatoes - 1/2 cup diced or 75g
- Yam - 65g
- Iodized salt - 2.4g (1.6 x 1/4 tsp)
- Quinoa - 1/4 cup
Salad
- Power greens (spinach, chard, and kale) - 1 cup or 42.5g
- Baby carrots - 8 or 80g
- Cherry tomatoes - 3 or 51g
- Broccoli - 45g
- Eggs - 3 or 132g
- Extra virgin olive oil - 1 Tbsp
- Iodized salt - 1.5g (1/4 tsp)
Food Guide
I didn't realize how difficult and time-consuming it can be to create a meal plan to max out all of my macronutrient and nutrient needs until I planned my meals down to the gram.
I approached my meal plan by starting with a list of raw foods I could afford and finding combinations that work well together. For example, oatmeal is really cheap yet it is packed with nutrients. From there, I add foods that slowly get me towards my goals through trial and error. Alternatively, I could have started with eggs. There are too many other foods that make sense for breakfast. For this process, I previously attempted to use the DRI calculator and an Excel sheet to track everything, but that was too time-consuming, so I ended up purchasing a yearly subscription of Cronometer.
Here is the list of foods I referenced:
- Fruits (dried, fresh, frozen): Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Canteloupe, Grapes, Oranges, Raisins, Tomatoes.
- Vegetables (fresh or frozen): Arugula, Asparagus, Bamboo shoots, Bok choy, Brussels sprouts, Carrots, Celery, Collards, Green leaf lettuce, Kale, Mustard greens, Purslane, Red leaf lettuce, Rhubarb, Spinach, Watercress, White mushrooms, Zucchini.
- Starchy vegetables (does not count towards vegetable serving): potatoes, yam, taro, cassava.
- Whole Grains: Barley, Millet, Oats, Pasta, Rye, Unprocessed maize, Wheat, white rice, Whole grain bread.
- Legumes, Nuts, and Seeds: Nuts: Almonds, Brazil, Cashew, Walnut, Pecan, Peanuts, Peanut butter; Beans: black beans, edamame, White beans, Lentils, pinto bean.
- Lean Proteins:
- Dairy (low-fat or reduced-fat options): Milk, Yogurt (e.g., Greek yogurt), Cheese; Eggs;
- Fish: Halibut, Yellowfin tuna, Sardines, tuna, Salmon;
- Lean meats (minimal red meat); Poultry (white meat): Chicken, Turkey;
- Plant-based: Tofu.
- Natural Fats and Oils:
- Avocados
- Unsaturated Oils: Olive oil (with >400 HPLC (USA) measured total polyphenols or > 600 NMR measured (Europe), >67% oleic, and >90% diacylglycerols), sunflower oil, corn oil.
- Seasonings and Supplements: Iodized salt.
Plan for Fitness
Guidelines
Let's start with guidelines from trusted sources. These are guidelines the majority of people should aim to follow. WHO recommends:
- At least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity (50 to 60% of your max heart rate) aerobic physical activity; or at least 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity (70 to 85% of your heart rate) aerobic physical activity; or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity throughout the week [x].
- Muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week, as these provide additional health benefits [x].
- Limit the amount of time spent being sedentary. Replacing sedentary time with physical activity of any intensity (including light intensity) provides health benefits, (note, remember that blue zone people walk all the time) and [x].
- to help reduce the detrimental effects of high levels of sedentary behaviour on health, all adults and older adults should aim to do more than the recommended levels of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity. [x].
My Goals
- Follow minimum guidelines.
- Become more flexible.
- Manage my blood pressure
- Improve my V02 max, running speed, and stamina.
- Cardio Goals:
- run 1 mile in 5 minutes
- run 3 miles in 18 minutes
- run 4 miles in 28 minutes
- run a marathon in 3 hours (6:50 pace). Top 25% of runners in the world (link).
Plan
- 150 to 300 minutes in zone 2 or 75 to 150 minutes in zone 3-5. See my half-marathon training project for specific details on how I will achieve my cardio goals.
- Dynamic resistance 2x or more per week. Details TBD.
- Limit sedentary time:
- Stand up at desk for at least 3 hours a day with an aim to go to 8 hours.
- "If you sit for several hours a day, try to take 5 to 10-minute breaks each hour to stretch and move. An inactive — also called sedentary — lifestyle is linked to many chronic health conditions, including high blood pressure."
- Use a fitness tracker (Garmin, Apple watch, Whoop) to determine max heart rate and track time spent in each heart rate zone.
- Blood pressure exercises:
- isometric wall squats for 4 reps × 2 min, separated by 1 to 4 minute rest intervals, performed at least three times a week.
- yoga for 20 minutes a day (flexibility, breath work, meditation, and isometric positions).
Measuring Biomarkers
Measuring biomarkers includes blood panels, body composition, daily health stats, fitness records, and blood pressure.
Blood Panels
Blood panels is a tricky subject. I personally don't have an in-depth knowledge of this area, and I don't know what are the key tests to ask for. I defer to Bryan Johnson's Blueprint 5000 study, which has us take the tests below.
- Biomarkers: Albumin, ALP, ALT, AST, BUN, Calcium serum, CBC, Creatinine (serum), Estradiol, Ferritin, GFR, GGT, Glucose, HbA1C, HDL Cholesterol, hsCRP, LDL Cholesterol, Magnesium serum, Potassium serum, PSA - Total, SHBG, Sodium serum, Testosterone, Thyroid Free T3, Thyroid Free T4, Thyroid TSH, Total bilirubin, Total Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Zinc serum, Copper serum.
- Sources
- Your Doctor or Provider. Not all tests may be covered by insurance.
- Function Health. A service that is in beta. I am considering trying it.
- Randox Health. Attempted to use them. Had questionable results.
- InsideTracker. I have no experience with them. Only listing as an option to research.
- LabCorp. I have no experience with them. Only listing as an option to research.
- OwnYourLabs. I have no experience with them. Only listing as an option to research.
Body Composition
- Biomarkers
- Weight
- Body (and Adipose) Fat
- Bone
- Muscle Mass
- Body Water
- BMI
- Equipment
- DEXA scan (comprehensive body scan). I scanned myself at the start and will scan myself in June to see my progress.
- Withings scale. This is the one I use. I measure myself every morning. Although its not needed once I follow my routine completely since my weight should stabilize, I am not perfect yet.
- RENPHO scale. More affordable than the Withings scale, and I think it does the same.
Daily Health Stats
- Biomarkers
- Heart Rate (Resting, Max)
- Heart Rate Variability
- Steps
- Calories
- Sleep Stage Tracking
- Respiration Rate
- Equipment
- Garmin. Fitness tracker I use. Seven day battery life (for smallest watch) and GPS (free) for hikes and runs is perfect.
- WHOOP. Popular sleep tracker. Don't like that it doesnt have a display.
- Apple Watch. Needs to be charged daily.
- Fitbit. Subscription tracker.
- Oura Ring. Subscription tracker.
Fitness Records
- Biomarkers
- Equipment
- VO2 Max. You can take a VO2 max test, but often the fitness trackers like Garmin and Apple Watches are accurate enough. I won't take the offical test because they typically cost around $150.
Blood Pressure
Purchase Additional Equipment (if needed)
Note, this is the equipment I use and am content with. Your needs may be different. I use affiliate links to support the time I took to create this guide; these links do not change the price of the items. I am in no way sponsored or sponsoring items that I would not use.
Meals
Daily Plan
Merging all my plans together, the daily routine I will strive to adopt is as follows:
- Wake up at 5:30 AM
- Weigh myself
- Exercise - 1 hour
- Walk dog - 20 minutes
- Shower + use benzoyl peroxide soap
- Breakfast
- Oral routine (brush, tongue scraper)
- Skin Routine (cleanse, moisturize)
- Take blood pressure
- Lunch - 1 PM
- Dinner - 4 PM (do not eat or drink after 6:30 PM)
- Drink 1400 ml of water
- Yoga - ? PM- 20 minutes
- Tinnitus hair follicle stimulation - 7:30 PM - 60 minutes
- Start Night Routine - 8:30 PM - stop using devices
- Skin routine (cleanse, differin, moisturize)
- Oral care (floss, brush, tongue scraper)
- Wind down
- theta waves *(theta wave 2.0 hQ binaural beats)*
- Take blood pressure
- Meditation - 10 minutes
- Read therapy book - 20 minutes
- Sleep by 10 PM
References (WIP)
Timeline & Milestones
Up-to-date timeline of project.
- 2024-5: Restarting this project. VO2 max dropped to 56 from inactivity.
- 2024-4: Prolonged moving out and personal challenges completely stopped this project.
- 2024-3-28: Updated VO2 max: 57
- 2024-1: Base metrics
- Daily steps: 3,983 steps (2023)
- Average sleep score: 77
- Average sleep time, deep sleep, and REM sleep: 6h 55m, 1h 30m, 53m
- VO2 max: 55
- Mile time: 6:37
- Predicted marathon time: 3h 42m
- Navy Seal PSATs: NA
Updates and Learnings
Edits to timeline and learnings from setbacks.
Learning #1: Aim for a habit at a time. Holy f. There are so many habits to change with this project. In retrospect, I would start with any single one of them. I have started to exercise consistently, and I have been meal prepping with about 50% completion. However, adjusting my sleeping schedule has gone horribly. I still think its possible to accomplish my ideal routine without it taking too much time from my day, but it's a long game.
Note, I only share links to products that I myself use in my own routine. Since I share all my project information freely, affiliate sales help support my efforts. This page contains some affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through the links on my site at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate and ShareASale/Cronometer Affiliate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases.