How to change your life using biohacking: personal experience

How it all began

I am 25 years old, I live in Vologda. As a child, I was a sickly child - so much so that I practically did not attend school. As a result, after the 9th grade, I left her. I have no higher education either. By the age of 18, I was a classic loser: I weighed 51 kilograms, hung around my parents' necks, living with them in a dilapidated wooden house, and had a bunch of complexes. In my head there was a complete misunderstanding of how to live on.

At some point, I decided that this could not continue, so I began to look for opportunities to earn money and change myself. Since I couldn’t do anything, I started by selling votes and ratings in the old version of VKontakte and thus managed to consistently earn 30-40 thousand a month. My initial "capital" was literally 300 rubles.

I decided to invest the first money in myself, namely in working out my main "pain" - thinness. Without really delving into the system, I bought a standard set of sports food and a bench for the bench, began to work hard, but in a year I gained only 4 kg. The result did not suit me, and I began to study the information for days on end, after which I gained 24 kilograms in six months.

Visually, I have become two or even three times larger, but most importantly, my thinking has changed. From a quiet, insecure loser, I turned into my opposite: the chronic fatigue that tormented me all my life was gone, my productivity increased significantly, new ideas were constantly coming in, my energy was overflowing. In parallel with the muscles, my income also grew: I started promoting groups, creating several large communities. Then he sold them and opened with friends the best hookah bar in the city with restaurant cuisine and food delivery.

The difficulties I faced

Lack of specialists

Biohacking is a relatively young area of human development, and when I started, I had no one to consult with, except for ordinary doctors, who often turned out to be incompetent. As a result, hundreds of supplements had to be bought and tested on myself. Due to my inexperience (and sometimes stupidity), I was on the verge of death seven times and was in a state of coma twice.

Lack of knowledge system

The Internet is full of various sources of information, which often contradict each other. For the sake of grains of knowledge and effective practices, I had to read hundreds of pages of unnecessary text.

Social rejection

In my close circle of friends from the past, only two friends remained, the rest were not ready for my changes and did not want to develop themselves - as a result, they remain in the same swamp. At first, my parents reacted extremely negatively to my new hobby, but seeing positive changes, they began to trust me. Now they themselves have almost more additives than me.

High costs

Over the years of experiments on myself, it took about 10 million rubles. The main expense item is ordering food from restaurants, which saves 1-2 hours of the most irreplaceable resource - time. In second place are the supplements that I test on myself: out of a dozen new dietary supplements, two or three remedies really work, otherwise this is wasted time and money. Also, money goes to books, massage and spa, but compared to the above, these are insignificant expenses.

Why do I need all this

The population on the planet is becoming more and more, and resources - less and less. The development of artificial intelligence and automated systems devalues the human workforce, which means that the struggle for resources will be even tougher. I want to be ready for this.

If everything depends on how effectively your body functions, then why not allocate at least 10–20% of your resources for its upgrade? Now I spend 150-200 thousand rubles a month on biohacking, trying to choose the best available products and supplements.

I am 100% sure: if I did not supply useful substances to my body and did not apply various useful practices, with my genetics and my level of education, a very unenviable fate would await me.

What exactly am i doing

I eat right

I eat the highest quality and most varied food that supplies the body with the necessary substances - numerous studies have shown a correlation between dietary diversity and longevity. At the same time, I excluded from the diet foods that are harmful to the body (they will be discussed below).

I take supplements

Despite my thoughtful diet, I take a huge amount of supplements and would recommend it to everyone I know. There are several reasons for this:

I am close to the position of the Nobel Prize for Medicine nominee Joel Wallock, who claims that modern foods are poor in nutrients the body needs, since the soil is largely depleted.
If somewhere it is said that a product contains many useful substances, this does not mean that you can assimilate them in full. Most people have overt or latent gastrointestinal problems that further reduce the rate of absorption of nutrients.
There are people who can eat everything, lead the opposite healthy lifestyle and still feel great thanks to good genetics. I belong to the category of people who are unlucky in this regard, therefore biohacking gives me what nature did not give.

This is what my daily supplement set looks like:

I lead an active lifestyle

I try to exercise regularly in the gym 1-2 times a week and walk a lot. The number of trips to the gym is completely individual - this is also a question of genetics. A classic beginner's mistake: watch enough motivational training videos for naturally gifted people (who also have access to the best nutrition, crazy pharmacological support and ten years of training experience), try to repeat them and end up with nothing but injury and chronic overtraining.

Listen to your body and don't forget about recovery - for most people, two workouts a week is more than enough.

I regularly take tests

Prevention is better than treatment, so every few months I donate blood for extended analysis and mineral metabolism, I monitor the state of the liver and thyroid gland. Without fail, I monitor the level of these hormones:

estradiol;
prolactin;
cortisol;
testosterone;
free testosterone;
globulin;
insulin.

Four tips for positive change

Biohacking is not necessarily expensive and difficult: it is possible to optimize the body's work even with a very modest budget. Below I have given several ways to improve your body, available to more or less everyone.

We are not talking about situational biohacks that change the state of the body and mood here and now. The actions described below will only work if you carry them out in the long run.

1. Change the power system

You need to understand: all people are different, and what benefits one person only brings harm to others. It's all about your genetics and the adaptation of humanity as a whole: progress is many times faster than the adaptation of the body to the new realities of life, and first of all it affects the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

If 100 years ago people were dying of hunger, now they do not know how to deal with obesity.

In developed countries, dairy products, fast carbohydrates, trans fats, gluten, animal protein, and so on are abundant.

A person who consumes "junk" foods (sweets, chips and so on) or even simple food in a larger volume than he physically needs, strikes a blow to the enzyme system. This means that food is not completely digested and begins to rot, bringing pathogenic microflora with it into the large intestine and causing a bunch of health problems in the form of viral, bacterial and fungal diseases.

On top of that, people often take antibiotics for no really serious reason, dealing a critical blow to the beneficial microflora, and therefore the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

To summarize, modern nutrition is harmful to humans because:

Mankind has not yet adapted to the most widespread food products and so many of them.
Due to the consumption of food in a larger volume than the body needs, the human enzyme system weakens and opens a barrier for pathogens.
Taking antibiotics without a doctor's prescription kills beneficial microflora.

I advise you to think about optimizing your diet and consume less:

dairy products (wash out calcium, cause The Tiredness Cure: How to beat fatigue and feel great for good digestive problems and quick fatigue);
fast carbohydrates (lead Why Refined Carbs Are Bad For You to obesity and heart problems);
trans fats (if abused, you will find Why Are Trans Fats Bad for You? The Disturbing Truth half a medical guide, from arthritis to cancer);
water with the addition of fluoride and chlorine (long-term use of fluoride weakens the Pros and Cons of Fluoride bones and negatively affects the brain, and chlorine increases the risk of cancer);
legumes, nuts and seeds (despite the abundance of nutrients, they are practically not absorbed due to phytic Legumes Contain Anti-Nutrients acid);
protein (causes Are There Risks Associated with Eating Too Much Protein - obesity, heart problems, and dehydration if consumed in excess);

2. Drink plenty of water

Despite the obviousness of the recommendation, not many people drink 2-3 liters of water a day (depending on body weight), and in vain - dehydration causes many uncomfortable conditions: from general lethargy to headaches. And water also improves digestion, thus helping to get rid of excess weight (a glass of water before meals reduces Water consumption reduces energy intake at a breakfast meal in obese older adults by 13%), removes toxins, lowers blood pressure. An important point: we are talking about clean water, and not about juices, soups and other sources of liquid.

Advice: Drink a small amount of alkaline mineral water on an empty stomach in the morning.

This will several times improve the action of the protective protein lysozyme, in an alkaline environment it works most effectively - pathogenic microorganisms cannot enter through the mouth. This will prevent a wide range of problems, from acute respiratory infections to indigestion.

3. Move more

One of the main problems of a modern person is physical inactivity. Biologically, a person is designed in such a way that he must constantly move: no movement - no blood circulation, no blood circulation - no life. Develop a love of walking, and if the habit is hard to get started, try gamifying the process: buy a fitness tracker and reward yourself for achieving your goals.

4. Take Basic Supplements

Since each organism is individual, it is better to consult a doctor before taking supplements, but the substances listed below should be more or less suitable for everyone: they are scarce in our food and are optimal in terms of value for money.

Omega-3

It is not synthesized in our body, therefore it is necessary to obtain this substance from the outside. Do omega-3 supplements really benefit the heart? energy and storage functions, thanks to which the body can easily accumulate and expend energy. Recommended for people who are prone to frequent stress: omega-3 improves 17 Science-Based Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids the functioning of the nervous system, attention Effects of ω-3 fatty acids on cognitive performance: a meta-analysis and memory.

Glycine

One of the types of amino acids actively involved in many biochemical processes in the human body. It plays the greatest role in the regulation of nerve impulses, due to which Plasma concentrations of excitatory amino acids, serine, glycine, taurine and histidine in major depression are leveled, and the psychological state also improves, and Glycine ingestion improves subjective sleep quality in human volunteers, correlating with polysomnographic changes sleep.

Melatonin

Directly affects the quality of sleep. Provides effective work of the endocrine system, slows down the aging process in the body, helps the body adapt to changing time zones, stimulates 24 Surprising Health Benefits of Melatonin - Sleep, Brain, Gut Health, Antiaging, Cancer, Fertility, the protective functions of the body's immune system and helps it fight against stress.

Coconut oil

Forget about prejudices about its harmfulness - this is an underestimated and truly unique remedy that has a number of beneficial effects: from acceleration Effect of virgin coconut oil enriched diet on the antioxidant status and paraoxonase 1 activity in ameliorating the oxidative stress in rats - a comparative study metabolism (including cholesterol metabolism Daily Consumption of Virgin Coconut Oil Increases High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Healthy Volunteers: A Randomized Crossover Trial) to improve Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Health: The Potential Beneficial Effects of a Medium Chain Triglyceride Diet in Obese Intestines work individuals.

Vitamin D3

Our skin produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, however, if you spend most of your time indoors or live in northern latitudes, you need to get this vitamin from the outside. D3 is rarely found in food, so many people are deficient in D3. It plays an important role in calcium absorption and prevents osteochondrosis and arthritis. Many scientists are inclined to believe that, among other things, Vitamin D and Mortality depends on life expectancy.

ZMA (Zinc + Magnesium + Vitamin B6)

Zinc is an antioxidant trace mineral that stimulates the activity of many enzymes required for biochemical reactions. Zinc is also critical for protein synthesis, which leads to 10 Powerful Zinc Benefits, Including Fighting Cancer Muscle Recovery and Growth.

Magnesium is also an essential mineral necessary for normal cardiovascular function, good metabolism and health. Why do we need magnesium? bones.

Vitamin B6 helps Vitamin B6 assimilate protein and fat, and helps prevent various nervous and skin disorders. Essential for maintaining brain function and helps The Health and Brain Benefits of Vitamin B6 solve the problem of cracked lips and in some cases of depression.

In the comments to any text about a healthy lifestyle, there is a person who will ask the question: “Why bother so much if the end is the same for everyone? Isn't it better to relax and live for your own pleasure? For me, the feeling that the body is filled with energy and the head is filled with ideas is the pleasure of life. And right now, having gone a long way of working on myself, I feel a real thrill. Which is what I wish for you.