Why I’m Changing My Fitness Goals — and Adding Fasting to the Mix

Here is a an honest update on where I am with my foundational health habits, my fitness goals, and my training.

This isn’t just a personal update — so, stick with me. Along the way I’ll show you why I’m adding fasting back into my foundational habits, the big change I’m making to my fitness goals, how I’m going to achieve them, and how you can apply the same ideas to your own health.

A quick look back (and forward)

August is always messy for me. We have summer holidays, my daughter is off school, a lot more travel and most routine goes out the window. I typically only track a few key habits while I’m away and accept that the rest will be spotty.

The truth is that May, June, and July weren’t great either. Quite a few habits slipped and I know I could have done better overall.

So, from September I’m regrouping. I’m bringing fasting back in (more on that shortly) and making a broader push across all of my foundational health habits. I want a big three‑month run — September, October and November—aiming for as much green as possible. December is always chaotic, so I want to bank some real momentum before then.

Below is a quick snapshot of where I’m at and what I’m focusing on.

Habit‑by‑habit snapshot

Alcohol: Easy. I’m four years sober and staying that way. 🙂

Sleep: My target is seven hours. This slipped under 80% in August and also for the months before. The fix is pretty straight forward: be in bed on time. I’m an early riser, so if I’m not in bed by 10:00 p.m., I won’t hit seven hours — period. So, the focus is a better evening routine and lights out by around 10:00 p.m.

Protein: My target is 150g+, although I’m often closer to 200g. When I was dieting on lower calories, protein sometimes took a back seat to hitting calories. That changes now. Protein has to be nailed daily.

Caffeine: My limit is two cups max, always before midday. August definitely got loose. I would usually have more than two, and often in the afternoon. That also stops now. My sleep matters too much.

Water: The goal is three litres per day. This is always solid, even around holidays. No change needed here, just keep it up.

Whole foods: The target is 80% of daily intake. This is one of my newer habits and still the most inconsistent, hovering around 50% consistency. I’ve got a sweet tooth and can be prone to bingeing, which pays havoc with my consistency. I expect bringing back fasting will help a lot here (more below), but I’m also recommitting to staying out of the binge cycle.

Steps: I aim for 10,000 per day. August (and the months before) weren’t great, with too many sub‑10k days. The fix: get steps earlier in the day and look for more opportunities to get a walk in. Steps matter a lot, and they’ll be a key part of my fitness plan between now and the rest of the year.

Fasting: This is coming back in as a foundational habit, I’ll cover that below.

Before we get into fasting, a quick reflection on meditation. I added it a month ago as a foundational health habit, but I’m pulling it out of the “foundational” list for now. I still want to build the practice for mental health, but just outside the health‑habit tracker. Once it’s established and I’ve felt the impact, I may bring it back in.

Why fasting is back

I used to think intermittent fasting (IF) was more of a tactic than a foundation. But, I’ve changed my mind. A recent Andrew Huberman episode gave a really awesome 45‑minute overview of why fasting matters and how to do it. The big insight for me: I’d underestimated the metabolic health benefits of IF. Even with a simple 8‑hour eating window, there’s strong evidence for improved liver health, longevity, weight management, and other metabolic markers.

Even if you put the metabolic case aside, fasting makes it far easier for me to hit my calories. And that is gigantic for me. If I eat early, my appetite tends to snowball. With a shorter eating window, it’s night‑and‑day easier to stay on target. Given my new training goals, calorie control really matters.

Fasting also supports other habits:

Whole foods: I’m less prone to snacking and desserts when I’m fasting.
Sleep: A cutoff before 8:00 p.m. means I’m not going to bed on a full stomach, which will definitely help me fall asleep faster and sleep better.

How I’ll fast

Eating Window: 12:00–8:00 p.m. (often I’ll start later, so some days this will be a 6–7 hour window).
Hard cutoff: No food after 8:00 p.m — I want at least two hours before bed.
Meals: Three eating times — lunch around 12–1 p.m., a snack around 3–4 p.m., and dinner around 6–7 p.m. I’ll avoid grazing between meals to reduce unnecessary glucose spikes and the “binge‑and‑graze” pattern that can creep in.

The base of the pyramid still wins

Allow me a quick riff on why foundational health habits are SO important.

I’ve been talking to people recently who desperately want to train and eat better but can’t stay consistent. They’ll manage a couple of sessions, then fall off for weeks. They want to eat better, but it never sticks. When I ask questions about their lifestyle patterns, the same things show up: drinking, 5–6 hours of sleep, low protein, caffeine whenever, almost no water, mostly processed food, and low activity.

In that state, it’s almost pointless to obsess over training programs or diet types. You won’t stick to any of it. But, if you become the person who is well‑slept, hydrated, high‑protein, mostly whole‑foods, and active — your capacity and desire to train consistently will be there. Foundational health habits and lifestyle are the base of the pyramid.

And I’ve lived this. A few years ago I struggled to put it all together, I looked like someone who didn’t train. Today, after building those fundamentals, I’m objectively in the best health of my life. If you’re struggling, don’t fall for hunting for a magic training or nutrition plan. Instead, build the foundational habits first and let training and nutrition ride on top of that.

My new goal: build muscle

The last 2–3 months I have been dieting for a holiday. I got down to 76 kg and could see four abs — probably my leanest ever. It worked. But, I really don’t enjoy cutting. It’s hard, you feel tired, and you can’t eat much food (kind of a problem for me lol). The good news is I only need short cuts now (6–10 weeks) because I stay lean enough year‑round.

So, now I’m shifting into a build phase. I want to add muscle while staying relatively lean. That means a change to both training and nutrition.

Training plan

Weights: 3 sessions per week. For the last 6–7 months I did two full‑body sessions because three made me feel creaky and injury‑prone. Now I’ll try three again, and we’ll see how my body responds.
Zone 2 Cardio: Two 45‑minute sessions per week. I’m a huge advocate of Zone 2 and credit a lot of my fitness to the last 12–18 months of work here. But with muscle gain as the priority, I’m keeping it to the minimum effective dose to avoid tipping too catabolic.
Steps: 10,000 daily as a baseline of activity.
Conditioning: Occasional circuits for fun (roughly every 3–4 weeks). I like touching zones 4–5 now and again, but I don’t want it to pull from the main goal of building muscle.

Nutrition plan

Calories: Start at 2,200 kcal/day, which I expect is around maintenance given my activity. I’ll track weekly weight and adjust after 4–6 weeks. If weight trends down, I’ll increase. If it’s flat, I can either stay there or move to a mild surplus.
Surplus (if needed): Likely 2,400–2,500 kcal/day—a small bump, not a bulk.
Protein: High — 150g minimum, often closer to 200g.
Food quality & structure: Mostly whole foods within a 12:00–8:00 p.m. window, three eating times, no grazing.

The next three months

September, October, and November are for tightening everything up. I’m leaning into fasting, pushing hard on the eight foundational habits (alcohol, sleep, protein, caffeine, water, whole foods, steps, fasting), and training to build muscle — while staying healthy and avoiding injury as I move to three lifting days.

I’ll share a monthly check‑in on how the habits went and how fasting feels in practice. So, we’ll talk again at the start of October about September’s results.

Lastly, if you’re stuck with training or nutrition, I can’t stress enough that you should start with the fundamentals. Build the base first. And if you’re curious about fasting, that Huberman overview is a great primer. Most people will benefit from a consistent eating window, better sleep, and steadier appetite control.

See you at the start of October!