My Health and Fitness Journey – week 3
For 5 Days I only ate tinned Sardines!
After such great progress in Weeks one and two where over those two weeks I lost 4kg in weight by following my own programme. It’s something that I put together based on the input from several health and fitness experts and prior knowledge of what worked for me in the past. However, I decided to do something more radical for my third week.
1. Exercise:
I continued my daily exercise regime with 1 ½ to 2 hrs at the gym every day. Continuing with some high intensity cardio to support cardiac care and to work on increasing my VO2 levels.
Weights and resistance training form an integral part of my routine to build muscle to strengthen my overall body and tone up in the areas I want to focus on.
2. Healthy Eating:
I continued to eat healthy with a high protein, low carb diet but gave myself a couple of treats at the weekend, as a form of reward after such great progress and sticking to my plan. However, I had seen a YouTube video and carried out some research on what is called the “Sardine Fast” and decided that I was going to give it a go.
The sardine fast is simply eating only 3 tins of sardines in olive oil per day for 5 days. Sardines are high in protein and nutrients but contain zero carbs.
The idea is that you stay in ketosis all week and your body burns fat for energy.
See more about the Sardine fast below where I go into full detail of how my 5 days went.
3. Intermittent Fasting:
I continued with the 16/8 intermittent fasting all week as well as doing the sardine fast. This meant hat by the time I ate my first tin on Monday at around 1pm, my body was already in ketosis. With fasting once in a routine, it gets easier and I’m now so used to it, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to eating breakfast and 3 meals a day.
4. Supplements:
I continued with all the supplements as I had finished week 2 on which are as follows:
NMN – really helps boost NAD+ levels and in turn helps to give more energy and boost Mitochondrial function.* NMN Supplements UK | High Purity Nicotinamide Mononucleotide Powder – Voyager Life Limited
Nitric Oxide (L-citrulline & L-arginine) – is reported to improve cardiovascular health and reduce blood pressure, as well as improving exercise performance and faster recovery times (available from Amazon)
Magnesium – this helps with sleep and rest, but also with muscle relaxation, bone health and cardiovascular & metabolic health. Magnesium Citrate 500mg 120 Capsules – Voyager Life Limited
Multivitamins – these cover almost everything and are the staple essential if adding supplements to your diet. Vegan Multivitamin & Minerals 60 Capsules – Voyager Life Limited
Vitamin D – helps with bone health, immune system support, muscle function, mental health and energy. Vitamin D3 4,000iu 365 Tablets – Voyager Life Limited
Creatine Monohydrate – this enhances muscle energy, strength, recovery, and may support cognitive function, making it one of the most effective and well-studied supplements for athletic performance. https://voyagerlife.co.uk/products/creatine-monohydrate-powder-500g
Resveratrol - offers antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive benefits, supporting overall health and potentially slowing age-related decline. https://voyagerlife.co.uk/products/resveratrol-150mg-90-capsules
Vitamin K2 MK7 - offer significant benefits for bone health, cardiovascular health, and calcium metabolism, making them essential for overall wellness. https://voyagerlife.co.uk/products/vitamin-k2-mk7-100ug-120-capsules
Results at the end of week 3:
Apple Watches are a great and they provide so much data that can show changes and progress over time. I wear mine every day so there is a good history and data range to compare from.
Blood Pressure:
I have a blood pressure monitor at home but I never use it, however, I started during week 3. I had my blood pressure tested about a month previously, a few times at various Doctor and hospital appointments, so I know what it was.
On day 5 blood pressure was 124/77 whereas previously when I was at the Doctors a few weeks ago it was 156/92. That is a significant decrease. I will keep monitoring at different times of the day and night to see any patterns and monitor changes but overall, it has been reducing.
Heart Rate:
My resting heart rate is now the lowest it has been in a year by a significant margin. The average for the last 6 months is 75 bpm but this week I’ve averaged 68 and saw it below 60 on Monday. The trend has been decreasing since I started my health kick 3 weeks ago.
VO2 Max:
VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume and use during intense exercise, serving as a key indicator of aerobic fitness and cardiovascular health. This is another indicator that my apple watch measures and I’ve seen some progress in the last few weeks, up from 26.7 to 27.7 but at that my levels are low, and it highlights my need to get fitter. My aim is to get it above 33 and to do that I need to push on some HIIT training once a week, on top of my usual workouts.
Weight:
I was 85kg when I started my fitness journey. After week one I was 83kg and after week 2 I had reached 81kg. That was a consistent drop of 2kg per week.
In week 3 I wasn’t really expecting to drop so much as the initial easy gains of losing water retention weight and the easy to lose weight had been achieved already. Especially with the amount of gym work and weights I do each day - I’m adding muscle and muscle weighs more than fat.
I thought the Sardine fast would give a bit of a boost to this and at the end of week 3 it seemed it had made a difference and my weight was at 79kg, meaning I had lost a further 2kg and that makes 6kg in three weeks. The most noticeable change though is my body shape, especially around my tummy and midriff.
Mental focus
All week I’ve been alert and focussed. No brain fog and less tired than I can remember in a long time. I believe it’s the ketones and supplements that are helping. NMN and Creatine are believed to support brain function, as does Omega 3 oils and so, I must conclude that they are having a positive effect.
Energy levels
These have been really high and so much better than before I started this programme. This is despite 2 hours of exercise over and above what I was doing before. More energy despite working out more. I am certain that having things like Matcha Tea, adding in NMN and Creatine, as well as other supplements have helped with this.
Sleep:
My sleep patterns are better, and I have been sleeping well and longer than before. Despite having more energy when it comes to 10pm I feel sleepy and fall asleep quickly. In the morning I am waking up feeling more refreshed and I’m mot having the aches and pains that I was having before.
The only issue I would say is that because I’m drinking more water, I do wake up in the night to pee, but in most cases fall back to sleep straight away. I am sure the removal of alcohol from my routine will have helped with this and I guess I am snoring less too.
Joint Pain:
I have suffered with ongoing joint pain and arthritis in my knees and hips especially. I have noticed a distinct reduction in pain and it's in fact almost completely gone. The healthy eating, loss of weight and supplements like Omega 3 Fish oils are helping.
So overall my progress is very good and I am feeling good, much happier with my weight and my body shape. Having better sleep and more energy is a game changer too and is encouraging me to continue this programme.
The Sardine Fast
So now to the Sardine Fast, it sounds horrific and I guess it is, especially if you don’t like Sardines. The plan is to eat only tinned Sardines in olive oil, 3 tins per day for 5 whole days.
The Science
A tin of Sardines in olive oil (drained) has around 21g of protein and 0g of either carbohydrate or fibre. Sardines are also packed with Nutrients such as 900mg of Omega 3, 382mg of calcium, 348% of daily B12, Vitamin D, Selenium, Phosphorus and Taurine. It also has very low levels of Mercury unlike Tuna.
The aim is that the glycogen reserves in your liver and muscles are used up after a period and your body switches from using glycogen and sugar to a Ketosis which burn fat instead and converts that to energy that the body and brain need.
Having taurine helps with hunger feelings and acts as a hunger suppressant.
What should Happen:
By day 2 you should be in Ketosis giving more mental clarity, reducing inflammation and starting to sleep better. Hunger should also be lower, and it should feel easier than day 1.
By Day 3 your mood should improve as will cognition/brain function. Your thyroid should start to work more, and your body will be warmer and use more energy heating the body. By now you will have little or no appetite (getting sick of the fish no doubt) and your gut health will improve.
On day 4 you start to have more brown fat which is good for the mitochondria, and you start to see some weight loss. Inflammation should be significantly less across all areas of the body, and the skin should feel smoother and better.
On Day 5 you should expect even more weight loss, happy brain function, more flexible joints and deep sleep.
The Results:
So, what results did I have and how was the process? Unfortunately, this is where I am going to be cheeky and save all that for a different blog which I’ll publish in the next few days.
· Did I make all 5 days?
· Did I get the expected benefits?
· Am I sick of Sardines?
· Any issues?
· Would I do it again?
But I will answer all these next time…..
Don Marshall
Marketing & Sales Manager at Voyager Life
Link to Dr Eric Berg’s YouTube video on the 5 Day Sardine Fast: https://youtu.be/hmBCXFJoUcY?si=RD3l5DdendQfGQ2a
