Sample Size: One

 One subject. No control group. Questionable consistency. Detailed notes.

This is what happens when a mid-40s IT geek and science nerd decides to stop winging it.
Taking the time to actually write things down and actually get a little serious about my health. 

LONG first post warning so for those with a modern attention span:

TLDR: mid-40s IT geek and science nerd blogging about trying to improve his health.
Tracking along the way bit of exercise, nutrition journalling and probably some peptide support.

1. What this blog is (and isn't)
Writing things down so I stop guess and stop pretending.

This is basically me keeping notes on what I try and what seems to change when I do.

It's not advice, not a program and not an attempt to convince anyone to copy it.

I'm not selling anything and I'm not optimising this for reach.

This is just a record.

What worked, what didn't and what I actually did rather than what I planned to do.

Think less "transformation content", more "field notes from someone paying attention."

2. Who I am (relevant context only, no waffle)
Enough background to make the data make sense, without turning this into a memoir.

I'm a mid-40s guy in Australia in a stressful IT job, a family and a fairly normal (boring) adult life.

I'm not broken or sick. I'm functional. I get through my days fine.
I'm just noticeably less fit, less resilient, more tired than I used to be and I know I've been better before.

I tend to think in systems and measurements, and this blog is that mindset pointed inward.

With fewer guarantees and a lot more variables.

3. Why I'm doing this now
Nothing broke, I just noticed the warning lights had been on for a while.

Nothing dramatic happened.

No wake-up call, no single bad result, no earth shattering kaboom - just a slow drift.
Training that went from "fairly regular" to "on and off" to "I'll get back to it." 
Eating that was mostly fine, plus a steady background hum of sugar snacks that felt deserved at the time.
Recovery that now takes longer than it used to and a body that feels sore more than it should.

Let's be honest:
I like beer and pizza.
I sit in front of a computer a lot.

I'm very good at convincing myself that tomorrow is a better day to start.
None of this is unusual, but it adds up.

At some point I realised I was mostly guessing, training inconsistently (or not at all), eating reactively, and hoping things would sort themselves out.

This is an attempt to stop guessing, take responsibility for the inputs, and see what actually changes.

4. What "Sample Size: One" really means
An experiment with exactly one subject and plenty of flaws.

There's no control group here. No blind studies. No funding.
No ethics committee approval beyond me deciding what I'm comfortable with.

Everything in this blog sits firmly in the "correlation, not proof" category.
I'm not trying to be right, I'm trying to notice patterns, learn faster, and adjust when things don't work.

Being wrong is part of the deal. Writing it down just makes it harder to ignore.

5. What I'm experimenting with (high level - aka I've done my own risk assessment)
No silver bullets, just a few levers, pulled on purpose with intention.

This isn't one big intervention. It's a bunch of overlapping experiments, including:

• Training structure, consistency and importantly recovery
• Nutrition timing and habits (not diet tribalism but low carb is the way!) 
• Sleep, stress and workload
• Baseline and follow-up blood work
• Some supplements and possibly medical or peptide-based interventions.
  These will be clearly labelled and are purely documentation of what I am doing.
  There won't ever be a recommendation from me to take x or y or not to take z.
  This is a personal choice and requires you to understand risks, benefits and your own body.

Some of this will be boring. Some of it will help. Some of it will quietly fail.
The point is to track it honestly rather than hype everything up like an over-sugared influencer.

6. What I'm measuring
If it matters, it gets tracked or at least written down honestly. 

If I'm going to do this, I may as well measure the boring stuff consistently.

That includes:

• Body weight (trends, not daily emotional reactions)
• Basic body composition like waist measurements, photos and how clothes fit.
• Training performance and recovery
• Sleep quality and general energy
• Blood work when available
• Any supplements taken (including limited dosage information)

There's a mix of numbers and "how did today feel." Neither is perfect on its own.
Together they're usually more honest than memory.

7. What success actually looks like
Not heroic, not shredded, just more capable, more present and less hidden.

This isn't about getting shredded, being a massive gym-bro or chasing some unrealistic aesthetic.

I'm fine with a dad bad. I'm even a bit proud of it.

I just don't want to be the guy defaulting to baggy clothes to hide a beer gut or quietly opting out of things because it's more comfortable to sit than move. 

Success looks like:

• Being in a weight range where I don't think about my body (and what I can't do) all the time
• Feeling solid and capable instead of slightly breakable
• Keeping up with my daughter without needing a 3-day rest and recovery plan
• Saying yes to active stuff with my family and my partner because it sounds fun
• Moving through the day with more energy and less negotiation
• A little less pain in my body day to day
• Heading into my 50's looking and feeling good, not like I I'm clinging on to health by a fingernail

If I look better along the way, great.

If I feel better, move more and show up more: That's the actual win.

8. What I'm not doing
This isn't a purity test or a personality transplant and absolutely not about tracking with obsession

I'm not trying to optimise every variable or chase perfection.

I'm not giving up on normal life, social events or the occasional beer in the name of progress.
I'm also not pretending discipline magically appears without structure.

This is about making things better, not making them brittle.

9. Boundaries and disclaimers
My choices, my risks, my responsibility.

This isn't medical advice, and it's definitely not a recommendation.

Anything health-related here is something I've chosen for myself, based on my own risk tolerance.

I have support of my partner in what I am doing but have not consulted medical professionals.

I have researched and made informed choices, but I am not a fitness or medical professional.

If something goes badly, that's on me.

I'll share results and mistakes, but I'll keep some lines around privacy and family.
Any peptide information used in my personal research will be kept to high-level information only.

This is a journal, not a full dissection and certainly not a sell of any product or service.

10. Why bother writing this at all (vanity, ego, look at me?)
Because attention changes behaviour and memory lies.

Mostly, this is for me.

Writing things down creates useful friction. 

It makes patterns harder to ignore and excuses harder to reuse.

If I say something is working, I want to be able to point to why I think that.

If someone else finds it useful or relatable, especially if it helps normalise slow, imperfect progress:

That's a bonus, not the goal.

Closing

This will be messy at times.
There will be contradictions, false starts and ideas that seemed good at the time.

That's fine. This is what it looks like to pay attention with a sample size of one. 

Hopefully through the journey you enjoy the read and I enjoy the writing (and the health gains).