March 09, 2019

Recommend: The Longevity Solution

March 09, 2019/ Ivy

Just finished reading “The Longevity Solution” by Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. James DiNicolantonio. It has good, evidence-based nutrition tips on what to do and what not to do to help improve health and longevity. What I enjoy about books like this, is that they break down the body basics (mainly physiology and biochemistry) to understand how things work. It’s quite a departure from news articles about health today, which make a myriad of claims with little to no backing. These authors cited all the studies and publications they used.

The Longevity Solution covers the following areas, some more in depth than others:

Recommend: The Obesity Code

March 02, 2019/ Ivy

For many years, I received bad advice on nutrition and exercise from someone I trusted, and I followed it. The end result was metabolic syndrome, although I was fortunate to not develop other diseases that stem from hyperinsulinemia.

I’ve read dozens of books on the matter, trying to find a solution that wasn’t extreme and that could be sustainable. Nothing worked, and it wasn’t for lack of discipline. I knew there was a problem because of the symptoms, but none of the information I had access to got to the root of the issue.

Late last year I came across a video from a Toronto-based nephrologist, Dr. Jason Fung. It was a half-hour talk on metabolism, describing the body not as a bank account (which the calories in/calories out model proposes), but rather as a chemistry lab, wherein metabolic issues come down to hormonal imbalances triggered by diet, exercise and other factors.

Recommend: Can't Hurt Me

February 16, 2019/ Ivy

I read a book last summer, “Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet” by Jesse Itzler—an enjoyable and hilarious read. Itzler, already an intense guy, hires David Goggins, possibly one of the most intense people on the planet, to train him for a month. Goggins had me at, “This ain’t a dress rehearsal, bitch.”

This year, Goggins published his first book. It’s part autobiography, part inspirational (Seal style, of course). It was honest, visceral, action-oriented and very moving—lots to learn from here. If you’re in a rut, need some inspiration or just want to marvel at the resilience of the human spirit, I highly recommend reading it. Here’s one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Our governor is buried deep in our minds, intertwined with our very identity. It knows what and who we love and hate; it’s read our whole life story and forms the way we see ourselves and how we’d like to be seen. It’s the software that delivers personalized feedback—in the form of pain and exhaustion, but also fear and insecurity, and it uses all of that to encourage us to stop before we risk it all. But, here’s the thing, it doesn’t have absolute control. Unlike the governor in an engine, ours can’t stop us unless we buy into its bullshit and agree to quit.”

Worth writing down