Issue #296: Schedule a Monthly Check-In
Good morning. It’s Saturday, January 27th.
In today’s email:
Focus: The Monthly Longevity Check-In
Listen: The Good & Bad of Ozempic
Laugh: Too Much Buffalo
Brain Games: Estimation. Revisited
Stat of the Day
We’re 42% more likely to achieve our goals if we write ‘em down. Just imagine how high this would be if you had ongoing checkpoints. (CNBC)
Revisit
This week we explored energy and fat and how this delicate balance impacts your Health & Longevity.
Issue #294 - understand the balance between glucose intake, energy management, and fat storage, to avoid metabolic health issues
Issue #295 - all about fructose, how it differs from glucose and its pervasiveness in processed foods. Check the nutrition labels and avoid added sugars
Click HERE to check out the entire Thrive25 archive.
Focus
The Monthly Longevity Check-In
It’s easy to equate a healthy day with “did I work out today?” But those other 23 hours in the day matter - a lot.
So far this year I’ve been working out everyday, but without even realizing it my daily routine has gone from exceptional to average. And now, I’m feeling just that - average.
For example - for the past few years I’ve stuck with a 16-hr intermittent fasting schedule. Dinner done by 7pm and protein smoothie at 11am the next morning.
I definitely allowed for some cheating - maybe breaking out a little dark chocolate as an evening dessert or getting the blender out at 8am when I was really hungry.
I also used to commit to getting in all my steps (plus the workout) and doing little energy bursts throughout the day. It was rare when I’d be glued to my desk unable to find the time to get out and walk.
But these exceptions have slowly become the norm. Now I am having chocolate almost every night, blending my smoothie as soon as I wake up, and going 3-4 days a week without walks or a quick set of 25 push-ups, jumping jacks, and squats.
The point is - we can fall off a healthy routine without even noticing it. Then one day we wake up and are like - what the hell happened?
One way to combat this is to have a monthly longevity check-in with yourself.
This check-in includes two parts:
1. Results
How are you feeling?
Literally ask yourself - how’s my energy? Am I feeling positive and clear-headed? Am I having fun and enjoying life?
We refer to these as our EMJ - Energy, (Positive) Mindset, and Joy.
What’s your performance?
This is about assessing what you can do - are you still able to run at your same pace? How’s your strength? Are you still knocking out the NYTimes Connections Puzzle in under 2 minutes?
We think about this as our Functional Age.
2. Process
You can’t always control the results, but you can control your actions.
What did you commit to doing and are you still doing it?
To have this conversation you need to literally put it on the calendar.
Schedule the 15-20 min meeting with yourself every month for the rest of 2024 - including the agenda.
Why is the monthly longevity check-in so important?
The longer we neglect our health, the harder it is to get back to even where we are today.
It’s like our financial portfolio:
Say you start with $100,000. If that money goes down 10%, then you’ve got $90,000. But if you get a 10% return on that $90,000 you’re back up to $99K - almost at breakeven.
This is like having a week or two when you neglect your health - not ideal, but you can quickly get back to where you were.
But, if instead you start with $100,000 and that money goes down 50%, then you’re down to $50,000. Even a 50% return only gets you back up to $75,000 - well below breakeven.
This is like having a bad couple of months - it can take a year or more to get back to where you started.
That’s why the monthly longevity check-in is so key - even if you’re slightly off track, you catch it before a massive decline. I just did this yesterday and have a clear plan for the next month.
When it comes to your longevity - don’t settle for average, be exceptional!
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Listen
The Good & Bad of Ozempic
Regardless of your opinion on Ozempic and these GLP-1 drugs - they’re coming. Derek Thompson suggests these drugs might impact society more than AI in the next 5 years. I wouldn’t say it’s completely objective, but here’s an interesting podcast with guests who are both promoting the drug (Zach Reintano, CEO of Ro) and using more caution with these drugs (Dr. Robert Lustig).
Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Laugh
Too Much Buffalo
Wait - why are the Bills called the Bills, but have a Buffalo as the mascot?
P.S. Sorry to all those Bills fans sitting through another “wide right” playoff loss. From one tortured fan base (Cleveland) to another - we feel you.
Brain Games
Guesstimation Station #2
We received a lot of positive feedback on this segment two weeks ago (Issue #290 - apparently everyone is prepping for an interview at Google!). Let’s stretch out those frontal (planning) and parietal (calculations) lobes again. Estimate the following:
1) How many times heavier than a mouse is an elephant?
2) How many firefighters are there in Melbourne, Australia?
3) How many trees are there in NYC’s Central Park?
4) Bonus: How many trees are there in the world?
Credit / Inspiration: SharpBrains
**For answer, scroll to the bottom of the post
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Thanks for another great week!
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** Brain Games Answer **
Remember, this exercise is less about the right answer and more about how you think through the problem:
1) ~218,000. An average African elephant weighs 6 tons or about 5,450kg and an average mouse weighs 25g. Maybe you went with a 3 or 4 ton elephant in Asia
2) Around 350 firefighters are on duty on any given day out of a pool of 1,900 total firefighters
3) There are over 18,000 trees (of approximately 170 species) in Central Park
4) 3.04 trillion. That’s almost 400 trees per human being on Earth
Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.
To health!
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.