Never thought of myself as a biohacker but I’ve been wrong. Week 2’s adventures ended on a yin-yang of discouragement and enthusiasm. Discouraging in terms of weight loss — using a strict self-imposed protocol of no alcohol and healthy but low-fat, very low carb eating –yielding stuckness after just a 2 kg drop. However some massive learning and biohacking are keeping spirits high…. Considering how physiologically similar the attraction to both food and wine is, my Intuition and connections led me to Hip Sobriety School (http://www.hipsobriety.com/ run by Holly Whitaker) — chock-full of sparkling wisdom, online community + tools for addictions and their myriad physical, emotional, mental and spiritual qualities. Yes, along with a desire to drop weight, I’ve also wanted to take a break from alcohol….and yes, it’s always initially a rough ride for me after daily wine intake for most of this year (meaning: at very least, sharing a bottle of wine at dinner). Holly deep-dives into so stuff like anxiety, socializing, specific inner support systems such as meditation, targeted breathing techniques, podcasts (such as Naked Mind, by Annie Grace) = an eye-opener for me, more on that later), essential oils and just plain exploring specifics for this journey. Another discovery this week came via my genome results (I’d done the 23+Me testing last year). Thanks to the nudging of another coach from the well-loved Bulletproof community, I had further analysis done via Dr Rhonda Patrick (“Found my Fitness”) and discovered that I carry 4 types of FTO gene — the one related to obesity. On one hand, I feel vindicated since I’ve struggled with a little extra weight all my life, not knowing why, and on the other hand, I’m feeling fortunate to never have been even close to obese. Going to be exploring more about what this means for me. One more reflection-pond moment came up in exploring the possible link between TMS (The MindBody Syndrome, ref. Dr John Sarno) and food/alcohol/weight gain. Sarno posited that physical symptoms are generated by the brain as a diversion from unwanted emotions which threaten to break through into consciousness. What more can I excavate here? More biohacking involvement with the arrival of my Oura ring (ouraring.com) which is a comfy titanium ring that I’m sporting on my left index finger to track physical activity, sleep and heart rate variability. Oura, along with more regular pre-bedtime usage of True Dark Twilight glasses that fit over my prescription glasses during our evening film viewing, not to mention the absence of wine from my blood stream, seem to be super-charging the quality of my sleep. Finally, here’s a sophisticated yet elementary concept that’s growing in my heart: “At a given point you can no longer do, but can only be and accept.” — Etty Hillesum
