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Today’s Health Upgrade
Unplugging check in and one final challenge
The 1 Hour Fix
Twitter Q and A
Fully Unplugged
We’ve spent all week talking about the benefits of getting away from our machines and focusing on the real world. I just want to check in with all of you. How’s it feeling? Have you deleted anything off of your phones? Have you been doing an hour at the beginning and end of your day with no social media? Have you found 10 minutes a day, or even more, to hide your phone and sit with your own thoughts?
I hope so, and I hope you’re seeing amazing benefits. This weekend, I want you guys to go big. But only if you can. If you’ll lose your job, or if you have family that absolutely has to get in touch, don’t do this. I want you to go half a day without any machines. It could be breakfast to lunch. It could be lunch to dinner. Tell anyone you need to, “I will be out of touch for the next 4 hours”, plug that machine in, and head out into the real world. If you can, bring a piece of paper and a pen, so you can write down anything that comes to mind. Go on a walk with no podcasts or emails or phone calls. Go to a restaurant and remember what it was like. Sit in the park or in a coffee shop with a book (The book that started this week’s challenges might give you the strength to do this).
Once you get back on, tell me how it felt.
The One Hour Fix
If you want to help your brain support your body, a little extra rest can go a long way.
Adding 1-hour of sleep to your day can help support healthier eating habits, reduce hunger, and limit the likelihood that you crave foods that are higher in fat and sugar.
That was the result of new research that focused on improving sleep duration. In the study, those who could sleep 1 hour more per night — going from approximately 6.5 hours to 7.5 hours — ended up eating 270 calories less per day. This occurred without any dietary advice, changes in eating behaviors, or a shift in their metabolism.
The reason is likely linked to GLP-1, the same hormone targeted by the new weight loss drugs. In people with obesity, GLP-1 is damaged or broken, meaning it can feel impossible to be full, even when you’re eating the right foods. For everyone else, you can support the healthy functioning of GLP-1 through better sleep.
This adds to the growing evidence showing how sleep deprivation plays a big role in managing hunger, cravings, and total caloric intake. More importantly, it shows that small changes can lead to big results. Focus on getting one more hour — or making sure you don’t sleep less than 7.5 hours — to experience the benefits.
Questions
In case you all missed it, I also took a bazillion questions on reddit this week. Check that out here.
I have a badass woman for you. Sarah Reasoner, a firefighter from Minnesota, beat a bunch of the men at our first-ever World’s Strongest Firefighter at the Santa Monica Pier. She placed fifth, but the crowd loved her more than anyone. I reached out to get some inspiration. Sarah is our subscriber of the week! You can find her on Instagram.
How do you train?
My training has changed a bit these days. I am recovering from a back injury from a while ago and so I am working on getting some strength back with just some good old hypertrophy lifting (Editor’s Note: hypertrophy is training for muscle gain, often with higher repetitions than you’d do for strength training). My cardio in Minnesota winters has switched to indoor cycling classes and I'm starting to get really into rucking (Editor’s Note: rucking is pretty simple, it’s carrying a backpack with some weight in it and walking. Expect to hear more about this because Daniel has been doing it on his dog walks and telling everybody about how great it is) at the moment. I'm focusing on being in the best shape I can be for my job. It's a lifelong commitment to being an athlete, and being healthy and able to do my job is my priority now.
What would you say to all of our female subscribers?
Oh man I have a lot of messages for women who get this email.
I guess to start, I'd like to simply encourage all the women to find whatever motivates them, and to go forth and fucking crush it. Find your why, and absolutely rise above it all and go for what you want. If you're training for your job, for a competition, to lose a few pounds, that's awesome. Find your why, get a support group, throw your excuses out the window, and charge forward.
I think walking is fantastic. It’s a good start. If you are just starting any type of movement after a long time of sitting still, it’s perfect for you.
I would also encourage you to add some strength training, once walking is cemented as part of your routine. We have shared a lot of stories in this newsletter that demonstrate the long-term benefits of resistance training. You might remember the study showing that grip strength is a better predictor of longevity than blood pressure.
Besides keeping you around longer (and we want you to stick around), resistance training will help you with bone density, which becomes more and more important as you age. And it is good for your brain.
We don’t want to push you into it, but try stopping during that walk to hit a few squats, a few pushups, or a 10 second plank. Your mind and body will thank you.
I am so sorry to hear this. You know, I was recently being interviewed for my documentary, and I told them that when my mom passed away, I didn’t know who I was doing all of this for any more. It didn’t hit me until she was gone that so much of my drive was to impress my mom.
I suspect it’s that way for a lot of people. Here’s what got me through: first, I had my routine. Just because she was gone didn’t mean I was stopping going to the gym. It is a routine, it is automatic. So without thinking, I got my training in every day.
Second, I found new people to impress. I learned to do things to impress myself, but if I am completely honest, I took so much joy in impressing my kids. If you aren’t at that point in your life yet, maybe there is someone else.
Stay strong, commit to that routine, and remember that it’s your job to inspire the people around you like your mom inspired you.
I took a lot of questions this week just to see how you like it. I think I am going to make this a normal thing. You can send me your questions on reddit, Instagram, or Twitter and I’ll hit a few every Friday
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