Start with what’s on your plate, the rest will follow

You are what you eat, right?

Personally I like to think I’m a little more!

But I do like the idea of starting somewhere and what you eat seems a pretty good start considering what’s on your plate is the raw materials for your body to 3d print the new you?! Something that then opens up inevitable questions - what’s enough? what’s too much? how do you know?

What’s too much?

Intricate supplement regimens, wearable tech monitoring our every biological function, the pursuit of peak performance in our daily health to the expense of all else, has become an obsession. Yet, in this relentless quest to "hack" health, we often overlook a fundamental truth: genuine well-being isn't something you can do more of, no matter how magical or technological that can replace the foundational pillars of health. You simply cannot biohack the crap out of life.

Enough

How do you know how much to eat? Do you keep going until you’re full up, limit yourself to one plate, smaller plates, one serve, family style? No carbs, protein only, low fat no fat no saturated fat no seed oils? Whaaaaaa? Please!

Enough seems to mean ‘not too much’ to most of us but there’s actually a minimum requirement we need to just function (think lying still and still breathing), a minimum we need to be functional (like being a taxi for your kids before and after school activities and all weekend) and then to be active (to do and to actually want to do, something for you after all that!). How do you find it?

How do you know?

In a world overwhelmed with information, disruption, and distraction, it's more important than ever to take time to just think. Contrary to the advice we often hear about always taking action in the face of doubt, we must carve out time to reflect.

More information doesn't necessarily benefit us; it often just brings more bad information.

We have an almost infinite array of sources, influences, gurus, and mentors available to us. To effectively sift through all of this, we need to first limit what enters our consciousness, and second, prioritize time to think critically about what we allow in.

Warren Buffet famously spends 80% of his day reading and thinking. While we may not have that luxury, we can certainly do better than rushing from one task to the next, thinking that as long as we're busy, we're being productive.

Thinking requires deliberate practice.

Let's not confuse "busy" with "effective." By intentionally setting aside time for thought, we ensure that we are making the most of our time. Everything we do is shaped by the quality of our thinking. And like any other skill, we can't expect to be good at it unless we practice.

So what do you do?!

True health and vitality stem from consistently adhering to the basics: nourishing your body with whole foods, engaging in regular physical activity, prioritizing sufficient sleep, managing stress effectively, and fostering meaningful social connections. These are not glamorous "hacks" or complex protocols; they are the simple, often inconvenient, yet incredibly powerful habits that form the bedrock of a healthy life. Attempting to circumvent these fundamentals through an ever-growing array of "optimising" products and practices is not only unsustainable but often counterproductive, leading to burnout, frustration, and a deeper disconnect from our innate well-being.

Thinking, moving and, most importantly to this blog eating, requires deliberate practice. Lucky we’ve nearly 100000* chances in our lifetime so plenty of opportunities to work it out! Why not try your next meal - how do you feel before, during, after? Start there.

(* 85 years, 31046 days, 3 meals a day)