Lifestyle changes that are sticking - Protein, sleep, strength training & reducing coffee

 I have been continuously reviewing and hence updating my lifestyle.

This includes reviewing all the choices that I make.

I try to not just review them but also try to dig the reasons behind.

Why am I addicted to drinking tea, or coffee, or paranthas, or nankeens and what not?

For last three years, I have changed several of these things, and for good.

But, I am sharing the lifestyle changes that have stuck with me, and become part of my personality.

The reasons for making these changes are mostly for health benefits.

Some were driven by scares of High cholesterol & blood pressure, which has been a constant threat for a few years now. I overcome them, and then fall behind.

This tug of war keeps happening.

Vitals aside, i feel my best.

lets review my top 5 lifestyle changes as of Aug 17, 2026.

1. Reduced Coffee to one cup a day. 

It is the first cup of espresso which I consume in the morning before leaving for the gym. that's it. No more coffee, tea - black or green during the day. I do consume a very good decaf during the day, but no more buzz for me. 

how did this help? 

my sleep has definitely improved. 

Soon after going from 3 cups of coffee, to one, I noticed my Resting Heart Rate came down.

That just means that the buzz is gone, and the nervous system is a lot more calmer.

In early January, I had started to noticed some occasional twitching in my right eye.

Upon research, I found that it could be stress or too much caffeine.

Surprisingly, since dropping the coffee, that twitch disappeared too.

I am not looking to drop this one cup of coffee, because I love It so much. 

But, looks like I may have found the sweetest spot for myself.

2. No Fried Namkeens

This was my soft spot. Some of my favorite Indian namkees and snacks. 

the problem with these was that you are always on a slipper slope.

One mistake, and off you go.

For me, peanuts were a huge deal. and when fried and salted, they were a landmine.

I just could not stop. Even when I would know that it would wreck all of my progress and great work.

How did this help? 

I cant directly tell, but it has implications across the board.

High calories, negative impact on cholesterol & blood pressures.

The habit of contionous snack also wreck havoc on your body.

I have been able to get rid of in-between snacking completely or replaced it with better snacks like greek yoghurt with protein and fruits or protein shakes or just a handful of nuts.

the cravings are completely gone and now, it feels like how did I ate those?

3. Fixing my sleeping time

I was not in a very bad place before, but I knew I needed to make a change.

This is also highly dependent on my environment, but with my current job and profile, I am able to fully control this.

I used to go to bed by 11 pm. it would always be a struggle. right between 10:30 to 11:10, I would pull myself from in front of the TV to the bed.

Some days, "a great show" or that "match" would delay things even more.

For past 2 months, I have fixed that. I am in bed by 9:30.

During my travels to india recently, and back, jet lag also helped getting me back in the bed early.

and I have stuck to this for two months now.

How did this help? 

Getting good sleep fixes a lot of things. another foundational habit that has impact pretty much on everything.

4. Increasing Protein Intake

While apart from getting rid of the friend Namkeen, most of my diet was in good place, but I specifically increased my protein intake. 

for past three months, my breakfast is the same. 1 egg, 2 egg whites, lots of vegetables. 1 banana. about 20 grams of protein.

after returning from the gym, I have 2 to 4 scoops of protein. that is about 21 to 42 grams of protein.

my snacks are replaced by protein yogurt, and can add 30 grams of protein every day.

and some days I have egg salad in the later part of day made with boiled eggs, so it can mean I have another 15 grams of protein.

Overall, I think I able to get to 100 grams of protein per day from these changes.

whatever protein we get from other food like lentils, nuts is separate.

I am not at a point where I am able to count everything fully.

Increasing protein has significantly helped with the recovery. I would stay sore for 3 to 4 days from a solid back or leg workout, but that has changed since I increased the intake.

5. Regular strength Training

During 2018 and 19, I got hooked to weight training and never looked back.

It made me realize what a difference a strong body makes to ones day.

You feel amazing. Clothes fit better, but even more so you feel fantastic.

Its almost in a way you feel more useful when doing day to day tasks.

then in 2024, I got seriously into running. In 2025 I ran several half marathons and a full marathon (Chicago).

that year, while filled with great accomplishments, made me realize that long distance running with some strength work is leading my body open a lot of injuries. Endurance running didn't make me feel astonishingly strong, like before.

So, this year I pivoted back to strength training.

For past 2 months I have made a habit of waking up early and hitting the gym. this has improved my consistency to the gym, since there is really no distraction.

and I feel great, strong and on my way to building a great foundation again.

May be we will get back to running again next year, but if I did so, I will keep that with keeping my strength training really up there.

so that is my list.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Killing social media and becoming a creator again

After last night's post, the One thing I realized I must do is kill my social media.

I realize that is the source of it all. 

It is interesting that our social media addictions can take months to ward off but they can come back and stick to us in matter of hours.

Our brains are so malleable.

Moreover our brain plays different and fishy games to get us back there.

For me the excuse was, my motorcycle groups are now on Facebook so I only login to check those once in a while.

Or I love photography so I login to Instagram to see new content related to that.

Or I am continuously learning and upgrading myself that is why I am using YouTube.

But the reality of these claims lie in the audit of your time.

These excuses are just the gateway drugs.

I am killing them.

Instead will focus on creating than consuming.

Happy Friday.

Getting stuck and unstuck - Update 2

My stuck life continues. 

I wrote a piece back in the month of May as a piece of self documentation.

It surprises how true those same things are true even today.

and this is after I have just returned from india after a 2 week vacation and I didnt work at all.

hence, It can not be burn out.

it has to be lack of meaning.

We earn money, but after a certain amount, it becomes meaningless.

I flew to India in business class. the travel was comfortable and I slept a large portion of it. but the utility stops there. for others it may look glamorous. but it is highly utilitarian and that is the value of money.

That utility fades as you step away the plane. In the past I have travelled via business and first class internationally several times. and the experience is the same. every time.

money can solve money problems.

but what I am facing and experiencing for several months now is not something I can fix with money.

No amounts of scrolling on Facebook or Instagram has been able to help.

These feeds are nothing but distractions. So, no distractions help.

Ultimately you are reminded that you are shirking away from what you should be doing.

there are a few things that have been going well too, though.

my focus on working out everyday has become really strong. 

Even during my travels to India, I stayed committed. I worked out everyday and also lifted weights.

and I can absolutely feel the difference of that in my body.

and with my motorcycle, my vlogging journey has started well too. I have done good Vlogs and recorded videos of my trips around Naperville. Infact, I took a long trip of two days and I recorded those vlogs as well.

My reading habit has definitely taken a hit. I am not reading much.

So, this is a continous struggle for a while now, and I am dealing with it daily.

I have also attempted to change the location of where I sit and work.

unfortunately that didnt work on multiple levels. I could not fully move upstairs as dipti uses the room and it become a huge conflict point. she completely disagreed to even discuss the possibility of her doing her classes in the basement.

and then I lost interest upstairs, because it made no sense to keep moving from the room, and having this continuous reminder on where it was her class that day.

I have been to coffee shops too, and that has been decent, but I cant do my other stuff on the side, like recording videos when I am outside. but it was a lot better for me, for sure in comparison to the home.

I am committed to breaking this cycle of lull and esp getting rid of social from my life again.

I will report back soon with the outcomes.