To achieve and maintain significant long-term behavioral changes, especially in weight loss, cultivate a new identity that aligns with your goals, actively ‘killing off’ the old self and its associated habits daily.
Select a form of dietary restriction (nutrient, time, or calorie) that feels the least restrictive and is sustainable for the rest of your life, as adherence is the most critical factor for long-term weight loss success.
Engage in regular exercise, as it is a powerful ‘hack’ to improve health biomarkers like insulin sensitivity and inflammation, even independent of weight loss.
To build muscle and improve body composition, prioritize consistent hard training over getting excessively bogged down in scientific minutiae, as hard work and consistency are the main drivers of progress.
Learn to genuinely enjoy the process of training hard, eating well, and tackling challenging tasks, as cultivating enjoyment of hardship is a powerful psychological tool for sustained effort and confidence building.
When bad things happen, reframe them as exciting opportunities to overcome obstacles and learn, rather than dwelling on misfortune, as the biggest lessons and best outcomes often arise from challenging experiences.
To improve gut health, focus on not overeating, exercising, and consuming diverse sources of dietary fiber (a prebiotic), as fiber positively impacts the gut microbiome, leading to beneficial short-chain fatty acid production.
Aim for 15 grams of fiber per 1000 calories consumed daily, or as much as comfortably tolerated, as studies show a 10% reduction in mortality risk for every 10-gram increase in fiber, positively impacting cardiovascular disease and cancer risk.
Aim for at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, as protein is the biggest lever for muscle building benefits with very few downsides.
Consume adequate protein (e.g., 1.6 g/kg body weight) because it has a higher thermic effect of food, helps preserve or build lean body mass, and positively impacts appetite, making it a powerful tool for body composition goals.
Focus on consuming minimally processed foods for about 80% of your diet, not because processed foods are inherently ‘bad,’ but because they tend to be highly palatable and lead to spontaneous overconsumption of calories (e.g., 500 calories/day increase).
Incorporate regular exercise into your routine, as it increases sensitivity to satiety signals, helping you regulate appetite more appropriately and maintain weight loss long-term.
Aim for at least two to three high-quality protein meals per day, as protein distribution matters more than frequency, and this approach is likely sufficient for maintaining or building lean body mass for most individuals. For plant-based diets, consider isolated protein sources or blends to ensure adequate protein and leucine intake without excessive calories.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom, every day, and track the weekly average to accurately monitor weight loss progress and avoid discouragement from daily fluctuations.
Track your daily step count (e.g., 8,000 steps) and actively maintain it, as spontaneous non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) can decrease unknowingly during a fat loss diet, requiring purposeful activity to compensate.
Drink one packet of Element (electrolytes: sodium, magnesium, potassium, no sugar) dissolved in 16-32 ounces of water upon waking to ensure proper hydration and electrolyte balance for optimal brain and body function. Also consume during physical exercise.
Engage in meditation, yoga nidra, or non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) sessions, even short 10-minute ones, to restore cognitive and physical energy and place the brain and body into different states.
Do not purposely restrict specific nutrients (e.g., sugar) if it leads to increased cravings and a higher likelihood of binge eating, as this can lead to disordered eating patterns. Instead, focus on overall dietary balance.
Focus on consuming sufficient fiber (30-60+ grams daily) rather than strictly limiting sugar, as high fiber intake can mitigate potential negative effects of sugar, especially when overall calories are controlled.
If you consume sugar-sweetened beverages, replacing them with non-nutritive sweetened beverages (e.g., diet soda) is a net positive for improving adiposity and health markers, and may even be slightly more beneficial than water for adiposity in some contexts.
Limit saturated fat intake to 7-10% of total daily caloric intake, as this is generally considered wise for cardiovascular health, though going too low might modestly reduce testosterone.
During your menstrual cycle, auto-regulate your training intensity and volume based on how you feel; if you feel good, continue as normal, but if you feel terrible, it’s appropriate to reduce intensity and volume.
When cooking meat, avoid charring it, and if it happens, cut off the charred portions, as charring can create potentially carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons.
Supplement with 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily for increased phosphocreatine content, improved exercise performance, recovery, lean mass, and strength, with potential cognitive benefits. If prone to GI issues, split into multiple smaller doses and avoid loading.
Consume caffeine for consistent improvements in exercise performance, as benefits are observed even in habitual users.
Explore Rhodiola Rosea as an adaptogen to reduce physical and perceived fatigue, potentially enhance memory and cognition, and smooth out caffeine’s effects or mitigate caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Consider Ashwagandha, which shows promise for modestly increasing testosterone, decreasing stress hormones (cortisol), and aiding sleep, though more research is needed to confirm its effects on lean mass.
Supplement with Citrulline Malate to reduce fatigue, increase time to fatigue during exercise, and potentially gain small recovery benefits.
Explore L-Carnitine (especially Carnitine Tartrate) for recovery benefits and potential increases in androgen receptor density in muscle cells. L-Carnitine also shows good evidence for improving sperm and egg health for conception.
Consider Beta-Alanine if engaging in high-intensity training lasting 45-60 seconds or more, as it appears to help delay fatigue in that specific context.
Explore Betaine (trimethylglycine) as a supplement, as there is some evidence suggesting it can improve lean mass and power output.
Utilize the Carbon app to track food and weight, as it automatically adjusts your calorie, protein, carbohydrate, and fat targets weekly based on your progress towards weight loss, muscle gain, or maintenance goals.