Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 24th.

In today’s email:

• Learn: Trust Yourself

• Try: Produce + Protein + Water

• Inspire: Powerlifting at 82

• Explore: Run on July 4th

• In the News: Cognitive Decline from Inflammation

Stat of the Day

The percentage of men who eat recommended daily vegetables every day. But women aren’t too much better - only 12.4% eat their veggies. (CDC)

Learn

Trust Yourself (not the media)

I’ve been pretty frustrated reading The Atlantic lately when it comes to health -

For example - re: protein - “Some people - those who strength train, for instance - certainly benefit from increased intake. But for the average person, most experts don’t see the point in going wild with protein…”

Huh? All of us should be strength training.

We just hosted a Thrive25 breakfast in Chicago and one of the women who had just gone through menopause commented that she was just diagnosed with osteoporosis.

We’ve been preaching the value of strength training since we started this newsletter (check out the “Inspire” story below).

I’m not talking about deadlifting 400 lbs (I don’t do that), but few things are more important to our longevity than maintaining strength and muscle mass.

So when the article says - “those who strength train certainly benefit from increased protein intake” that should refer to ALL of us.

Now the point of the article was the absurdity of putting protein in everything these days - like ranch-flavored protein tortilla chips.

Just because the junk food in the middle of the grocery stores adds some protein (the source is questionable at best), that doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

Another example was an article on continuous glucose monitors (CGM) - “If you get a clear readout from a CGM that your blood sugar has risen after you’ve eaten refined carbs, and it moves you to eat fewer refined carbs, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

No - I’d say that’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, it’s a great thing!

The entire article questions anyone who wants more information about their own health and that normal people just range between 70-140 mg/dL throughout the day.

I wore a CGM for a month.

It taught me a lot about which carbs really spiked my glucose levels, how sleep and exercise affected my results, and that I was hypoglycemic at night - which is why I was waking up at 3am. (Pro Tip: If that’s you - take a spoonful of raw honey before bed).

See “10 Things I Learned from CGM”.

Any tracker isn’t a cure-all - but they can help inform us, and even nudge us, to make better nutrition choices in a world dominated by unlimited calories created in a lab to hook our taste buds and ads shoving those calories in front of us 24/7.

These media outlets are so worried about the messenger that they lose the more critical point - to make it easier for people to take control of their own health.

The whole goal is to start to change the fact that 93% of us are metabolically unhealthy without pills or injections.

Try

Produce + Protein + Water

The easiest way I’ve found to change how we eat - focus on eating more of the good stuff that really fills you up so that you don’t spend as much time thinking about what you’re not eating.

1. Produce - eat as many fruits and veggies as you can every day. I actually challenge myself with how many different types of produce and how many colors I can eat in a day or week. No limit - eat all you can of these foods full of nutrients and fiber.

2. Protein - yes, it’s good to eat high quality sources of protein. Especially protein with the amino acid leucine (see sources HERE). Don’t go buying those “protein waffles” in the frozen section, go for clean sources and remember amino acids are building blocks of life and muscle. Protein Calculator

3. Water - every time you drink water, you’re hydrating your cells, making yourself feel full, and avoiding sugar (go with H2O - too many of our drinks are loaded with sugar). But 8-10 cups of water (even more now during the hot summer) is a sure-fire way to not overeat or get a reading of 140 on that CGM. (see: Optimal Water Intake)

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Inspire

Powerlifting at 82

Faith O’Reilly is signed up for the 2025 National Senior Games in the powerlifting competition - she’s 82 years young.

This is after she took a gold medal two years ago in the women’s triathlon relay in the 75+ age group.

But she still has her sights on the future - she said the oldest lifting competitor was 103 and so she’s got her sights on setting a new record.

Pretty amazing what the combination of goals and exercise can do!

(maybe I should work more on my deadlift)

Explore

Run on July 4th

This week we’re not suggesting any one place - but no matter where you are on July 4th, there’s probably a race you can join.

There’s over 500 races across the country on our nation’s birthday. So before you join Joey Chestnut to see how many dogs you can eat at the afternoon BBQ, get a sweat in to celebrate the day off.

I’ll be running a 4 mile trek in the FL heat at the St Pete Pier.

If you’re in the area let me know ([email protected]) and come join in the race and we’ll grab a celebratory breakfast after!

Or find out if there’s a race in your city - Running in the USA.

H&L in the News

Inflammation’s Hidden Brain Tax: New research links IL-10, an immune molecule, to brain vessel blockages and cognitive decline in diabetes - offering a fresh target beyond blood sugar for protecting brain health and longevity. (Peter Attia)

Garage Gains, No Excuses: Transform your garage into a powerful, personalized home gym with expert gear picks - from kettlebells to power racks - so you can train hard, skip the commute, and never miss a workout. (Outside)

Escape the Script Trap: Neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals three hidden mental scripts - Sequel, Crowdpleaser, and Epic - that shape our choices. Learn how to break free and build a life driven by curiosity, not convention. (Big Think)

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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 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 [email protected].

To health!