Hello Reader

I like to think of longevity lifestyles in levels.

If you are familiar with my 7 pillars for a longer and richer life, you know that there are many factors that contribute to lasting health.

It may seem like a lot to tackle for someone optimizing for longevity.

But in my experience, these lifestyles are built layer by layer.

There are levels to this.

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Level 1: Let go of what is robbing you of your life

Back in 2016, I had a very problematic relationship with alcohol. I was also smoking cigarettes.

I've always been a serious person.
When I was drinking, I was able to let loose. I was a sillier version of me.
I remember thinking that I liked myself a bit more after a couple of drinks. Talk about a red flag!
Today I feel embarrassed thinking back on what I would do when I was drunk. A lot of climbing stuffs for some reason...

But at the time, this was the only way I knew to let off steam.

I have since then learned that I used alcohol to manage emotions. Emotions that I was not ready to connect with.

I also had a work addiction.

I LOVE to work. I still do.
But now that I have much healthier coping skills, better awareness of my emotions and ways to manage stress, I am not addicted to work anymore.

I am no longer convinced that my life is only worth as much as my accomplishments.

Something shifted for me on my 35th birthday.

I realized that, while I was in the lab developing a therapy to undo aging, my lifestyle was making me age faster.

Around the same time I was also struck with the revelation that most of the vices I had were a way to poison myself.

Deciding that my life was worth it, that it was my responsibility to care for it, was the lead domino that changed everything.

I first quit lying.
I then quit smoking.
Next I quit drinking.
And I took control of my stress.

To clarify, I did not tell myself I would never had another drink in my life. I still do sip on wine every now and then.
But I knew I was done getting inebriated to the point of losing control.

Why is this level 1 of a longevity lifestyle?

Because alcohol, tobacco, telling lies, and excess sugar are cutting our lives short by:
- shrinking the brain
- increasing the risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer, diabetes and cardio vascular disease
- dysregulating blood pressure
- stressing our heart and vascular system
- negatively impacting relationships with people close to us
- weakening our immune system
- accelerating aging

There was a series of shifts that needed to happen for me to be able to quit, and that would be true for most people reading.

The first one is to want to quit. To be ready to let go of smoking. Wanting to make drinking an option rather than a given.

In my coaching, I facilitate these shifts.

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Level 2: Food choices that fuel your life

You could reclaim so much focus and energy, experience elevated mood and feel at the top of your game with relatively small changes in your food choices.

A study published in 2018 following more than 60,000 men and women between 45 and 83 years old, for a period of 16 years, found that people who had a diet limiting inflammatory foods were
- 18% less likely to die of all-cause mortality,
- 13% less likely to die of cancer and
- 20% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease,
compared to the participants who were consuming inflammatory foods.

To get the most bang for your buck with your diet, you can
- first reduce or eliminate the top 6 most inflammatory foods,
- then apply 5 easy principles for a diet that supports longevity. Download it here.

For most people, it can feel daunting when first making some changes in the way we eat.
In my program, I help people create systems so they can quickly put food on autopilot.

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Level 3: Exercise that builds you up

Physical activity is the most influential lifestyle factor for health and longevity.

This is where most of our effort will bring the best return.

You could 5X your life, both lifespan and healthspan, with an increase in your VO2 max (cardiovascular fitness) and muscle strength.

Research shows that those with the highest cardiovascular capacity are 5 times less likely to die than those with lowest capacity.

The reason I think of exercise as level 3, or layer it on top of the previous ones, is because for most of the people I work with, it requires a lot of reshuffling in their lives.

I know that by experience too. After completing level 1 and 2, I was active and thought of myself as healthy. I felt very confident in my lifestyles.
I knew that the next step for me was to build strength.

I dabbled at first. I found some body weight work-out I found on youtube.
I bought a pair of 4 lbs dumbbells that I used occasionally.

Then, after having 2 children, I realized I was getting weaker. Lifting the vacuum out of it's corner felt more difficult.
Once my toddler reached 25 lbs, I was having a harder time picking her up off the ground and I could not carry her too long.

Feeling diminished was the trigger I needed to really do the work.

I knew it was time I invest more effort in strength training.

It's not until I went all in with a clear commitment, a measure of body composition and joining some group classes that I built this habit.
I now work with a coach for a higher level of accountability and to accelerate my results.

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Dabbling is a trap

Dabbling is a sign that we're ready for something and we're taking action.
We can learn a lot while dabbling: how much time it takes to work out, when to schedule this habit, what to do with the kids, what type of equipment, etc

But the danger of dabbling is that we tell ourselves something that is not really true. ​
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"I am working out", when in fact I was doing it a few weeks and then back to not at all.
"I want to get stronger", when in fact 4lbs-dumbbells were not stretching my capacity enough for gains.
"I'm doing it", when in fact I had no system to track what I was doing or an objective measure for my goal.

I was going nowhere. The vacuum was just as heavy as ever.

If I could talk to this version of me, I'd say "Grow up and put some skin in the game".

Now that I am all in, I
- have seen my body transform
- am truly stronger and feel unstoppable
- see my daughter excited that I am stronger
- have grown in character for crushing my excuses
- am proud for having built consistency and discipline

Dabbling may be fine for a minute, but can also:
1. Waste a lot of time for no return
2. Create the false view that we're "doing it"
3. Keep us from reaching our goals
4. Diffuse energy and resources chasing too many rabbits

Most of the people I talk to have a version of dabbling: "I do great for a while (ie eating healthy, exercising, etc), but then I go back to old habits."

If that's you, great, that's your sign that you're ready for more.

You could 5X your life with one step further: go all in.

I'm here to chat when you're ready for it.

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Level 4: Beyond

Once you have killed the boss of level 1,2, and 3, and have taken control of your stress, this is when you can venture in the world of stem cells, peptides and other fringe longevity treatments.

The "beyond" level is the level for people who are interested in experimental protocols and have the means for it.

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Living a full, happy, rich and long life is really accessible for anyone.

You can build the longevity lifestyles to support this, layer by layer.

Each level brings treasures.

Think about my program as the strategy map to finish each level.

Talk soon

Jihane