The Forever Strong PLAYBOOK: Your 6-Week Field Manual for Muscle-Centric Longevity

Why not just that one book, that one book that became a guidepost to going in a direction that helped you create a better way? Helping people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be has been my mission. And I believe collectively we can all become a stronger, better, more resilient version of ourselves. The protocols I share in this playbook will guide you through a six-week program, and it combines science, experience, but most importantly, it's an invitation, an invitation to change. I was holding back tears, and the reason that I was holding back tears is because I saw something that I only believed was possible. I only ever thought it was maybe what happened one day. In fact, I don't even know if I ever thought it was going to happen? Who are you at your best? And what are the factors that play a role in helping you evolve and show up as your best every day? The forever strong ethos. Aging is inevitable. Muscle is the organ of longevity. Strength is not a luxury, but a responsibility. Through discipline, clear intention, and a collective path of growth, we choose to build bodies and minds that thrive under pressure. We train not just for performance, but for life. We don't shrink from adversity. We are sharpened by it. We lead with clarity and act with integrity. Strength is our choice and our standard. Resilience is our language. Contribution is our calling. We are forever strong. Welcome friends. I am thrilled to share with you the forever strong playbook. Now this playbook, It's been in the works for two years. It's the first of its kind. And no, it is not a workbook, but it is your tactical field manual for having a muscle-centered life. And first of all, why I need this? I'm going to read through the book and I'm going to highlight the various pillars so that we can execute together, but more importantly, truly become forever strong. And so with the ethos, there's this old saying that if you don't know what you stand for, you'll pretty much fall for anything. And we see that. And throughout my work helping individuals transform their lives, I've seen that people rarely act on information alone. There are lots of things out there and there's a ton of information. But what makes people close the gap from being interested and then educated, possibly informed, but moving towards action? And in essence, when we lay the foundation of an ethos, it creates a way of being in a way that we think about things, the way that we behave. It almost creates a culture, one would say. And this playbook, now I've spent a lifetime learning and studying and treating patients, going through life, being a parent. But helping people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be has been my mission. And I believe collectively we can all become a stronger, better, more resilient version of ourselves. And the protocols I share in this playbook will guide you through a six-week program, and it combines science, experience, but most importantly, it's an invitation, an invitation to change. Most of us have grown up in a society that favors looking good over being good, looking good over actual health. And that, frankly, that stops today. You know, there are a lot of external drivers and much of that is destruction. We're going from one diet to another. And, you know, if I think in my experience, how many nutrition and training books that I've had, probably at least 50. Many of my other patients, maybe you, maybe you watching this and listening to this. Also, you have a ton of books on your shelf. And within that, we have to think, well, why not just that one book? that one book that became a guidepost to going in a direction that helped you create a better way. And prioritizing not just what you eat and how to move, but also prioritizing how to think is going to be very critical. And in this playbook, we cover various pillars. And the reason that we do this, and the reason that we start with the pillar of how to think is because it doesn't matter what you do. You could have the perfect protein plan, which I'm going to give you. You could have the perfect training protocol. But if you are shackled by the way in which you think about it and the way in which you think about your life and how you manage your internal landscape, Which, by the way, most training programs or medical schools or even regular school, it doesn't teach. They don't teach how to think. But we're going to cover that. And frankly, I am deeply concerned about the velocity, the speed at which information spreads. You know, I think about Dr. Atkins. Dr. Atkins worked an entire career to be able to create a movement. Now, you can go on TikTok, and if you have 3 million followers, in three hours, you could probably have the same influence as Dr. Atkins, a career scientist. That seems innocent until we recognize that there are a certain amount of reps, no pun intended, and a certain amount of scientific rigor that becomes critical for human health. And the foundation to that is put in this playbook. Now, you have possibly lost your way, and that's okay, but this is a roadmap back to reclaim your strength. And when I think about muscle-centric health and the overarching objective for every element of the programming you're about to receive, the coming pages, or if you're watching this, the coming video, mostly pages, will reframe the way you think about health and wellness to a concept called muscle span. and muscle span is the length of time you live with healthy skeletal muscle. The most important organ system in the body, again, I tease if you're a OBGYN, you might think that the uterus is more important or if you're a urologist, you might think a different organ is important. But the reality is the health of all of those organs depend on the one organ system you have voluntary control over. And that, my friends, is muscle. It's time for a muscle mandate. Since the launch of my first book, Forever Strong, a new science-based strategy for aging well, people have been hungry for more. They've been hungry for practical, tactical information. And in this six-week playbook, you will get exactly that. These protocols will equip you with tools to address various aspects of your life. Together, we'll shed the past and, more importantly, move towards a better, stronger, more resilient future. Now, strength is built. You know, I think about, okay, well, what are the things that you can buy? You can buy good skin care. You can buy nice clothes, some books. But there are a handful of things in life that you have to earn, really, really earn. There's no way around it. Strength and muscle, it's one of those things. And muscle-centric longevity is the way of the future. Skeletal muscle is the organ you build to protect everything else. And just briefly, I'm going to highlight one or two points from a metabolic perspective of muscle. Skeletal muscle helps regulate blood sugar, also helps with insulin sensitivity. The root of insulin resistance is a root of many of the chronic metabolic illnesses that we see. From a structural foundation, skeletal muscle produces force, power, and strength to, of course, enable functional and just being functional and also mobility. as an engine for self-mastery, which is going to bring me to the first pillar, how to think. It is a tool. That's right. That's right, friends. Skeletal muscle is a tool for emotional regulation. Through directing your muscles through how you move, you can actually transform the way you think. And here's how I use it in my own life. Now, I don't know about you. I did put a meditation or two in this book. But if I am really upset and I'm hyper fixated on a problem, trying to solve this problem, trying to think about it, or let's just say I had the worst day ever. There's no amount of meditating. I'm sorry, Elena Brower. There's no amount of meditating. There's no amount of positive thinking that is going to move me out of the negative state or at least break those repetitive thoughts. What does do it? try getting into a cold plunge at around, I don't know, 50 so degree water. Just try a cold plunge. Try to have those negative thoughts while in a freezing cold plunge. It's, I'm telling you, it is nearly impossible. You're using your body as a physical tool to break the negativity of your mind. Another way that it can be used. Imagine you have just had really just rough news, rough day. And you're thinking about, gosh, you know, you get that moment where your face gets flushed. You've heard bad news. Someone betrayed you. Something happened. And you just cannot lower your anxiety or your nervous system. It's been hijacked by aliens. Try, I don't know, a max out airdyne sprint on the bike or on the treadmill or a really heavy lift. Just imagine putting yourself in that position where you can do nothing else but give your full best effort. Nothing is more effective in 20 seconds to allow you to have the space to transform your mind. And that's really what we think about in the first pillar, which the first pillar is your mind. And in how to think, here's a few things that we're going to cover. How mindset, stress, and habits shape your physical health and how to rewire your brain for lasting change. We're also going to cover how to eat, which is the obvious, how to eat, especially with the new food guide pyramids. It's no surprise that the protein recommendations have changed. You may or may not know this, but Dr. Donald Damon, my longtime mentor and my co-author in the nutrition portion of this book, wrote in part those guidelines and wrote the nutrition chapter in this book. It is a tactical way forward. How to move. How do you build a training plan that fits your life while improving your strength, muscle health and smart, effective, intelligent workouts. And then finally, my most challenging pillar, which is how to recover from sleep to light exposure. We're beginning to hear more about that. And what are the other tools that we need to master for recovery to be able to grow and restore and get stronger? Now, every choice you make informs how you show up in the future. And in mastering your mindset. This is really critical. You might be thinking, listen, I don't have time to master my mindset. I don't have time for all of these protocols. I don't have time for any of this stuff. My answer to you is, well, then do you have time for sickness? Because that is exactly the route that you are going. And I have to say, success requires a few things. And it requires you to get exceptionally clear on your why to gain clarity so that you can deliberately choose your next right action. And we start with finding your why. For example, what motivated you to listen to this podcast if you haven't turned it off already? What are your reasons for committing to your health? Maybe it's a family member. Maybe it's a child. Maybe it's because you saw your parents or your grandparents get old and sick. Maybe it's a sibling. Whatever that why is, you have to assess where you are at this moment and then where you're going to be. There's a number of questions in here that will prompt you. And one that I think is really important is we think a lot about our weaknesses. You know, oh, well, like Friday night came and I fell off my game plan. But we all know who we are at our worst. And my other question is, who are you at your best? And what are the factors that play a role in helping you evolve and show up as your best every day? How do you climb the right ladder? And this is the power of discernment. you've probably seen it or maybe you've even lived it the same faces day in and day out at the gym showing up at the gym they're there they are there faithfully sarah i've seen those same spandex for the last 10 years i know exactly what you're wearing tomorrow and i love that you're there they're disciplined and they're determined but they're stuck despite putting in significant effort, they never seem to get the results they seek. Now, I see this in my practice. Patients, they are committed, they are consistent, and they're frustrated. They're doing what they were told was healthy, but their bodies aren't changing. Their energy isn't improving, and they're not moving the needle. The problem is not lack of willpower, it's a lack of strategy. That's where muscle-centric medicine changes everything. This section is on discernment. So my question to you is, are you sure you're climbing the right ladder? Because what's the point of climbing a ladder that's leading you to the wrong place? The first step is surveying the landscape. And that's both internal and external. your mindset, your environment, your objectives with clarity and intention. Now, I don't know about you, but I have engaged in a million different diets and a million different types of exercise. And none of it mattered because it wasn't aligned with where I wanted to go. I've spent countless hours in gym. Yes, I have. And I thought that that was what was going to make the best progress. I thought, of course, the only way forward was to beat my body into submission. And you might have been there too. But that's actually a flawed understanding. And the same goes for your mentality. And I want to walk you through a framework and some of the tools that you will need every step of the way. Now, you don't need all the tools in this playbook, but you need the right ones. And I want you to find as you when you pick up this book, there are a number of tools. But the first one that I want to share with you really is discernment. And it's how do we get the freedom that we need from physical strength, metabolic health, all of those attributes, attributes, those desires, those characteristics, they don't happen by accident. Freedom is built through disciplined choices. It is earned through clarity, and it begins with right thought and ends with right action. Discernment lies at the root of true strength and power, not just physical might but also cognitive clarity to see through illusion resist distraction I guessing that distraction kills more people than obesity And how do we choose actions that align with intention? Each of us has, you know, we have thousands, thousands of thoughts, maybe millions of thoughts per day, many of which are useless and demotivating. Just because a thought is ours, meaning I had it, doesn't make it any more relevant. You know, the human brain has evolved to conserve energy, and so it often defaults to assumptions and familiar patterns. Think about this in your own life. You're going about your day, and without even your awareness, you've shifted into default thinking. Well, that can be problematic. In some ways, it can be protective. You know, you get in the car, you put on your seatbelt. But in a world that is engineered for passivity, discernment, the ability to focus on the right thing and thought at the right time is an act of resilience. it's what keeps you on track and dialed in it's what allows you to interrupt the script and ask is this thought aligned with the person i want to be or is this thought aligned with the person i don't want to be how do you practice discernment someone's like well um okay so you're saying i have five million thoughts a day all of which are mine most of which are not relevant how do you begin to practice telling what is helpful and what is not. One way that you can practice discernment, the obvious, is meditation. I have a meditation from my dear sister, Lena Brower, and you can actually listen to that online. It's amazing. She has a beautiful voice. It allows you to steady your mind and slow down so that you can hear. But for my cognitive champions and for those of you who don't like to meditate and to slow down, just speaking from a friend, of course, we have the three A's of mental strength, awareness, assessment, and activation. Your three tools or strategies to become more discerning, to be able to focus on what really matters. Number one, awareness, catch the thought, name the trigger, become an observer, not a reactor. This is your first rep in mental discernment, the entry point for mental mastery. The first rep is witnessing an unhealthy or unimportant thought that is pulling you off target. You've probably had a few of those while you've been listening to this. Assessment. The second tool in becoming more discerning is understanding that not all thoughts are worthy of your attention, nor do they tell the truth. we often do not challenge our own way of thinking. You know, I have two little kids and I see my son, my son who's four. He, by his own attributes, he's very resilient and very gritty. My daughter also has grit and resilience, but I see that she doesn't talk back to her own way of thinking. She believes all of the things that she's thinking. My son, he loves to cold plunge. OK, kids four. And as I watch him listening to Frogman thumping on his chest, listening to Whiskey Myers, telling himself he's tough and he's got this and this ain't cold versus my daughter who, I don't know, she's kind of dancing to Victoria's cast saying she's scared to go do some pushups and she doesn't want to. And it's there's just this spin of emotion, which, of course, everyone is different. But my goal is to help teach her how to be able to assess her own thoughts. And, you know, as we think about it, we can see it in other people. We can also internalize it within ourselves. And by assessing is it a valuable thought or not will allow you to take the next right action in alignment with your why. Finally, activation. and this is the ability to select a response that reflects the identity you're building instead of the habit or habits you're looking to break. You respond from strength, not defensiveness. What do I mean by this? We're thinking about how do we build into the identity of the person that you want to become versus how do I break the old habit of negative thinking? How do I break the old habit of switching to a new training program? throughout this book you will find that there's a lot of positivity and it's not this think positive mindset per se but it's how do we build ourselves into becoming a better stronger more resilient human versus how do we lose those old negative thoughts how do we lose weight how do we do the the negative side of things and and frankly I don't think we need to I think we need to ask ourselves a handful of questions. And here are a few to think about. Is this thought accurate? Is it true? Or just familiar? Is that thought useful? Am I seen clearly through a framing lens that aligns with who I want to become? You know, as I think about my son, who's again, very little, he's not processing this idea of framing it through a positive lens. And same with my daughter, She's not trying to process it through this negative lens, but we do have inherent ways of being that there's a natural proclivity to be able to cultivate one or the other. And if you are listening to this and you're thinking, wow, I maybe am not the most positive person, then that's amazing because you are going to be able to adapt into that. And it's kind of like this flex of your mind. You know, I won't go through the rest of the pillars. I think discernment is really one of the most important, and that's why I started with it. It's understanding that know what you stand for, which begins with an ethos, a collective ethos, and then a personal why. After that, you get to decide the person you want to become, but it requires you to become very aware, acutely aware of the thoughts that you are thinking, because those thoughts, you determine are they relevant or not, which then inform the next right action. Through time, then, obviously, you build discipline, the ability to take that next right action every time it shows up. And as Jocko Willink says, freedom. Discipline equals freedom. I cannot disagree. I know that there's an ability to adapt and flex our mind. Beyond that, you'll be able to learn how to adapt and cultivate a growth mindset and develop emotional agility, which is the ability to move quickly from feelings. You're very agile. And really my favorite one, which I don't have time to cover in this episode, but my favorite one is the ability to maintain a neutral mind. Friends, as high as you go, the more amped up you go, the more excited you become, the more disappointed you become, any of these big emotions, as high as you allow yourself to go, is as low as you will fall. It's very predictable. And at the height of excitement, you're vulnerable because typically after a high, there's a low. And at that low, you're also, you're most vulnerable from a mental standpoint, from a physical standpoint, from an emotional standpoint. You will learn how to maintain and leverage dopamine and your physical environment to build a level of neutrality that will allow you to push forward. And ultimately, it's just like reps in the gym. You build your capacity. You build a capacity. You train your mind, not just by doing hard things. I mean, listen, some people are crazy. They're into these ultras. You know, my husband's decided that he wants to go from running marathons to now running ultras. That is only one lane of developing mental toughness. What about the other ways that we can add in subtle friction in our life, whether it's emotional friction, having the conversation that you don't want to have, having friction when let's say you're a very personable person and you want to spend time with people. You don't. You spend an hour in silence, no phone, no music, no nothing. Or let's say you love Starbucks. I don't know. Flip a coin, heads you get that, coffee, tails you don't. As you begin to implement emotional friction, physical friction, mental friction, you will find that you build capacity and those things that used to irritate you and erode you over the day, they don't anymore. There are many different ways to help develop a stronger, more resilient mind. We talked about discernment, assessing your narratives, and my favorite, neutrality. But what else is on the table? And that is finding your people. You do not need a crowd. You need a few, a committed few. You know, humans are social creatures. We draw strength, particularly through adversity, from those around us. This is why it pays to surround yourself with others committed to the same goal. And a community that pushes you forward, that accelerates your evolution. And with this playbook, and frankly, in the Forever Strong community, we invite you to become part of it. Because again, this is not about protein or muscle. what this really is, is this is about creating a cultural shift. You don't need a crowd. You need a committed few. And with that, we are going to move to my favorite part of the book, How to Eat. Now, also, I will say, depending on when you're listening to this, February 15th, right after Valentine's Day, so let's say you decided to eat a bunch of chocolate, chocolate strawberries, maybe some wine that you're perhaps not going to have anymore, we are going to have a six-week challenge in which we live this playbook for six weeks together. Thank you to Timeline for sponsoring today's episode. As we step into the new year, We're all thinking about routines, what to start, what to stop, and what to finally commit to. But the body doesn't respond to resolutions. It responds to consistency. And lasting health isn't built on trends. It's built on fundamentals. Quality nutrition, resistance training, recovery, and cellular energy. Every second, your cells are producing energy. That energy determines how strong you will feel, how well you perform, and how resilient you are over time. And unfortunately, as we age, that system breaks down. The mitochondria, which we know are the engines inside your cells, wear out faster than the body can replace them. And that's where a timeline powered by MitoPure comes in. MitoPure supports mitochondrial renewal and has been shown to increase muscle strength by roughly 12%, even without changes in exercise, by improving cellular energy where it matters most. Muscle is the organ of longevity, and without strong mitochondria, you can't have strong muscles. If staying forever strong is part of your plan, get 35% off MitoPure subscription at timeline.com slash DrLion. How to eat. The new dietary guidelines for Americans have just come out, and quite frankly, it is no surprise that the protein recommendations changed. Now, did I write these guidelines? No. Did I absolutely facilitate Dr. Donald Lehman being part of this committee? Yes. Why? Because he deserves to be there as a professor emeritus with Lifetime Achievement Awards, a world-class protein researcher, one with a ton of scientific integrity. And for the first time ever, ever, probably the most important statement that we have made when it comes to nutrition is we now recognize the importance of dietary protein from the minimum to now a more optimal range. And this is exactly reflected in the playbook, which is 1.2 grams to 1.6 grams per kg. Now, before we talk about how to eat, I have to address something that I've been hearing a lot. And what I've been hearing a lot is that, frankly, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what the dietary guidelines say because frankly, Americans won't follow it. Oh, is that true? Is that really true? So in the 1980s, the average cholesterol intake was roughly 700 milligrams, 700 milligrams. And then there was this Time article, there was bacon on the cover with eggs in the frowny face. And these guidelines came out that really highlighted the importance of and pushed the use of grains and reduce cholesterol, reduce animal-based foods. And that happened. You all remember snack well cookies. And if you're too young, well, you're missing a good thing. But you remember that now in one hand, for whatever reason, people are saying, well, nobody listened. Oh, really? They listened. Cholesterol intake went from 700 down to, I don't know, I think, don't quote me on this, but maybe it was 200 milligrams per deciliter over that period of time. What happened? Americans became overweight, obese, chronic disease increased. What about food sources? The dietary guidelines shape foods that become accessible to those that receive government funding. Child care, military, nursing homes. Our recommendations matter. And I believe in the American people that once given a guide post, once given a framework with a few people around them supporting them to better health. I know, I know the American people can make good choices and become healthier and stronger. And that starts with a unified message that is built on good foundational science. And you know what? I was actually in D.C. at this time. I was in D.C. I was on stage as they were addressing the dietary guidelines for Americans. And I got to tell you what, I was holding a sign that had steak. They made a good choice. It could have been eggs. It could have been apples. But I was holding back tears. And the reason that I was holding back tears is because I saw something that I only believed was possible. I only ever thought it was maybe what happened one day. In fact, I don't even know if I ever thought it was going to happen. And it did. Our country recognized the importance of dietary protein for the American people and for those vulnerable populations. And it starts with protein and the upside down pyramid reflects this. Now, you're probably thinking, OK, she just went on this whole rampage about protein. I've heard talk about protein, but why does it even matter and how should I do it? Well, I cover that in the playbook. Here's what you need to know. The playbook, instead of calculating all these crazy numbers and, you know, doing what you've always done when you've started a new nutrition program, is that this playbook teaches you visually how to design a plate. You start with dietary protein, typically high quality protein, and that could be steak, eggs, whey protein, yogurt. and then one-third of your plate, maybe like sardines. It doesn't make you popular on flights, but maybe like that. One-third of your plate should be protein. One-third of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. And then one-third of your plate, depending on your physical activity, can be starchy, sugary carbs. Typically, those are carbohydrates that we earn through activity. But the first thing is, prioritize protein. Well, number one, we have to get calories in check. Calories matter. You prioritize protein. And the new guidelines say 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kg. We typically recommend roughly 0.7 grams to 1 gram per pound on the higher end. And how you decide on dietary protein, there's a few decision-making moments. Protein decisions are based on four things. Age. If you are over 35, you guessed it, you need more protein. Physical activity. And this is interesting and quite fascinating. It's a U-shaped curve. The more sedentary you are, the more protein you need. When you think about how to live with healthy muscle, it requires two inputs. Resistance training physical activity and dietary protein As you exercise you shift the priority to stimulate muscle to exercise And of course what augments that is amino acids But if you are not moving, then that resistance training piece is off the table. You have to balance it with higher dietary protein. The more active you are, let's say you're like me, maybe you train four days a week, five days a week, your protein needs go down because you are stimulating muscle other ways. And then of course, if you're an elite athlete or you're someone who likes to do these ultra marathons, maybe you like to train with David Goggins, something like that, then your protein needs go up. We have age, physical activity, metabolic health, metabolic health, which I think we're going to be able to transform in the country now. And finally, number four, personal choice. Anything less than 100 grams of dietary protein with reduced carbohydrates, dietary protein seems to lose some of its metabolic benefit. And what have we seen? I worked on some of these early studies. When you increase dietary protein, again, above 100 grams or more, what we see with reduced carbohydrates are better glucose levels, better insulin levels, better triglycerides. Typically, when we think about elevated levels of triglycerides, if you go to your doctor or you are a patient of strong medical and you look at your triglycerides, well, they should be lower. When you have triglycerides, I think roughly 20% of the population has a triglyceride number of above 200 or so, 170 to 200, this is a carbohydrate problem. And as we begin to think about how do we build a diet, we know that dietary protein helps with satiety. We've all heard of GLP-1s, helps with satiety at the same dose that dietary protein helps with muscle. And that number is around 30 to 50 grams. You feed muscle, you help with satiation, you help with better blood sugar regulation, and of course, protein turnover. You know, your body rebuilds and repairs itself roughly four times a year. The efficiency, the ability, the capacity to do this decreases as you age. However, you can have older muscle respond like younger muscle by augmenting with more dietary protein at one time, at one meal. Add on resistance training to that. You sensitize the muscle. Now you're talking, now that 65-year-old muscle is looking like a 25-year-old muscle. You had me at hello. Throughout this playbook, you will have formulas for those of you who want to understand what your resting energy expenditure is, how much protein you should have, how many carbohydrates. There are formulas that are very helpful, but there are also visuals. Now, for those of you who are watching this on YouTube, I'm just going to turn it around. It's very difficult to see, but this book is beautifully done and it has a color and some, you know, nice white thick pages. But you can see how we visually I mean, the idea is nutrition should be an afterthought. You should become so good at knowing what you're going to eat that it's not this constant obsession or struggle. But you sit down and you know exactly what that plate's going to look like. And when we think about how you portion your meals, here are a handful of protein objectives. Portion out your plate. Every meal that you're calling a meal should have 30 grams of high quality protein or one third of your specific daily meat. Smaller people, you can aim for 30 grams of protein, roughly a little over four ounces of meat. For larger people, you aim for around up to 50 to 65 grams of protein. Now, if you're using a plant-based protein like soy or beans, then you want to aim for 35 to 40 grams of protein due to less of the bioavailability. And I think that's important to understand is we recognize that not all proteins are created equal. It doesn't matter what your protein decision is, whether you like to lean more plant-based or you're more animal-based. What one must understand is that if you are choosing to get your proteins only from or primarily from plant-based sources, you need slightly more. And then, of course, there's a caveat to that because there are micronutrients of concern. Vitamin D, vitamin E, selenium, zinc, iron, B12, those are highly bioavailable in animal-based sources. So we think about dietary protein for muscle repair, protein turnover, all the enzymes in the body. Think about it this way. We don't just eat, quote, saturated fat. We don't just eat, I don't know, protein. We don't just eat carbohydrates. We eat steak and eggs with a side of sourdough toast and maybe a little bit of butter. We don't eat 30 grams of carbs at a breakfast. we have a cup of oatmeal with berries. We eat in a food matrix. And that becomes important to understand that the quality and the nutrient density of the food, meaning when there are a certain amount of calories, there's also a certain amount of nutrients. When we think about, quote, empty calories. And I think about potato chips or, I don't know, the snack wells. It provided calories and carbohydrates, the macronutrient, but not a ton of the micronutrient. And Don says, here's how you adjust your thinking. Instead of spaghetti and meatballs, think about meatballs and spaghetti. Moving on to carbohydrates. Carbohydrates provide an important fuel for your body. There is no essential carbohydrate need, but Americans just in general are eating way too many. Your minimum carbohydrate need is about 80 grams per day. But the RDA adds an extra 50 gram buffer as a safety measure. Carbohydrates provide an important fuel for your body. Now, we recognize that there is no essential need. There are no essential carbohydrates. But Americans eat way too many. They eat around 300 grams of carbohydrates a day. Your minimum carb need, which your body can make, is around 80 grams per day. But the RDA adds a 50-gram buffer as a safety measure, setting the recommendation at around 130 grams. Beyond that, your muscles, you heard that right, your muscles determine your carbohydrate tolerance. An elite athlete might need 400 to 500 grams daily. But to facilitate fat loss, most adults need to consume less than 140 grams. Now, there's a reason behind this. There is a one-to-one ratio rule, which is earlier in the book, and I'll just mention it here, but it's this ratio rule. It's a one-to-one protein to starchy carbohydrates. And if you're following along in the book, then that is on page 70. And follow a one-to-one ratio of protein to starchy carbs. If you eat 120 grams of protein daily, you have an equal amount of starchy, sugary carbs like pasta, potatoes, or rice. High fiber vegetables like broccoli doesn't really count towards that carb ratio. Let's say you want more starchy carbs. And again, the rule is that we want to balance the plate. So it's a third protein, a third fibrous fruits and vegetables, and then a third starchy carbs. If you want more, you can have it, but you have to earn it. And you can earn about 50 grams of carbohydrates for every hour of exercise. You can earn about 50 grams of carbohydrate per hour of exercise. Now think about it this way. The average American eats around 300 grams of carbohydrates a day, essentially three oral glucose tolerance tests. My ladies out there that have gone through a pregnancy oral glucose tolerance test, gross, one is enough, let alone three in a day. It's a lot. And with that, if it's 50 grams of carbohydrates for every hour of exercise and you're eating double the RDA, that's another three hours of exercise that one would have to do to be able to manage it with muscle health. Again, we are talking about the average sedentary person, which we're changing that. We are changing that. So this is where this one to one ratio comes in. Now, when we think about carbohydrates and we think about what we should have, you want to choose those that are high in fiber. On the muscle-centric portion protocol, we emphasize something that we call smart carbs. And these are rich in polyphenols, prebiotics, and dietary fiber, such as beans and colorful fruits and vegetables. Polyphenols serve as an antioxidant, helping mitigate inflammation, scavenging free radicals, while fiber, I know that some people find this controversial, but fiber facilitates intestinal function. It aids in satiety and serves as a prebiotic, feeding healthy gut bacteria. One other thing that I really appreciated this about the dietary guidelines is that comparing the current dietary intake in the USDA to the healthy eating index, so it's a USDA healthy eating index, illustrates that 95% of Americans over consume refined grains and 65% over consume total grains. While this comes as no surprise, but staggering 80 to 90% of Americans under consume fruits and vegetables. Very quickly, I'm just going to read this and then we're going to move on, just touch on fat and then move on to the third pillar, which is movement. Quality carb matrix. Again, we eat food matrix, the carb fiber ratio. When selecting carbohydrates, look for foods that are high in fiber and low in total carbohydrates, especially sugars. An easy way to evaluate this is doing quick math to determine the carb-fiber ratio. This is carb-to-fiber ratio, meaning you divide carbohydrates on top, fiber on bottom, and this ratio should equal less than six. And we have a chart in the book. For example, raspberries. Raspberries have a carb-to-fiber ratio of 1.7. This is a good food to eat. Or when I say good, I mean it's a high fiber, lower carbohydrate food. Strawberries have a carb to fiber ratio of 3.1, blueberries 5.1, and most beans are around 3. One cup of broccoli, just if we think about the math, contains 7.8 grams of carbs and 4.6 grams of fiber. So doing the math would be 7.8 is on top divided by 4.6 equals 1.7. All right, here's a did you know. I love the did you know. The carb fiber ratio of a banana is 10 with more than 17 grams of sugar and 31 grams of total carbohydrate. Fat is the final frontier and probably where we're gonna see the most amount of science and increase in really the ability or the focus and the resources to improving our understanding of fats, specifically saturated fat. We don't have enough data to actually change that. Do we know if 10% of carbohydrates is bad, if 10% of carbohydrates is good? I would say, frankly, that we don't have a great number. And that is emphasized in what we see as the guidelines. For example, how we define and develop diets. If someone has a 4,000 calorie diet and 10% or so of that diet can come from saturated fat and still be considered healthy, then that would be roughly 44 grams of saturated fat. If someone is smaller and their diet contains 1,500 calories and maybe 16 grams of saturated fat, their diet, which would have more than 10%, would be considered unhealthy. To say this clearly, if saturated fat was so detrimental, then we should have a number. Is that number 44 grams? Is that number 15? And this is where we are going to see some bigger changes and really thinking about the improvement and what the current recommendations are to eat whole foods. And with whole foods, there is some fat that ride along with that. I will mention that the fats, there's unsaturated fats, mostly found in plant foods such as vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and avocados, monounsaturated fat. Typically, we don't recommend you add extra fats to your diet. If you're eating whole real foods, then you'll get fat within that diet. And we show you exactly how to do that in the Forever Strong playbook. Now, if you are like, this is great, I love the overview, and I have no idea how to do it or what to eat. I've solved that for you. We have tons of recipes, ways in which you can design your own meal plan, which, again, And it's pretty amazing. I'm going to just tell you about my favorite recipe that I had for breakfast with some Greek yogurt. And it's this apple berry type of crumble. Really, really good. It has this oatmeal mix on top. And how about this? Now listen, I love my steak. I love my eggs. But I also love my spiced apple breakfast bread pudding. And I use low carb bread. It's amazing. cinnamon and cardamom. Come on. And we also have the breakdown of macronutrients. This has 28 grams of carbohydrates, six grams of fiber, four grams of protein, and five grams of fat. I use this after a heavy leg day. It's delicious. I love it. This episode is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. If coffee is what gets you through the morning, but also what leaves you jittery, unfocused, or crashing by mid-afternoon, you're not alone. A lot of people are using coffee to push through. I might be one of them. But not actually support their brain. And that's why for Sigmatic's focus, organic dark roast is different. You're getting a premium organic Arabica coffee blend with Lion's Mane. And hey, I'm talking Mufasa style and Shaga mushrooms. Lion's Mane supports focus and mental clarity. And because it's adaptogenic, it helps smooth out the spike and crash cycle that caffeine alone can cause. If you're thinking, hmm, gross, does it taste like mushrooms? The answer is no. But it's smooth, full-bodied, dark roast with subtle chocolate notes. It tastes like real coffee. And if flavor wasn't enough, Four Sigmatic third-party tests their coffee for mold, mycotoxin, pesticides, and heavy metals. It's also one of the best-selling functional coffees at retailers like Target, Whole Foods, with over 100,000 five-star reviews. And right now, listeners of this podcast can get a free bag of their best-selling dark roast ground coffee. Just pay shipping and handling. Go to foursigmatic.com slash Gabrielle. That's F-O-U-R-S-I-G-M-A-T-I-C dot com slash Gabrielle. Also might have it with some Greek yogurt or eggs, depending. Now, if you're thinking you love recipes, we do send out free recipes on our Monday email. And of course, they're beautifully designed in this book. Moving to pillar number three, the non-negotiable pillar. I mean, listen, they're all non-negotiable, but movement is medicine. And this is the how to move part. Movement is challenging, right? Because it's something that we should do rather than talk about. It's very hard to describe what a Bulgarian split squat is. But what I can tell you is that movement is as fundamental as breathing. and prioritizing this consistently, you'll be able to build your body, build up intensity. And, you know, there's this statement is, you know, how are you going to withstand the storm? And I'm sure there's some more poetic way to say that. But the reality is, how about we just think about becoming the storm, becoming stronger and more resilient, like this big oak tree that doesn't have to bend and break. Now, in How to Move, we have a background in terms of core principles and thinking about how you continue to have input into this dynamic tissue, which is your largest organ. We cover the basics of resistance training. Doesn matter where you are in your training program whether you a beginner or intermediate or advanced We have a there something for everybody We have a dumbbell only program We have body weights Dr Gerard D Physical Medicine and Rehab created our foundational five, which is essentially a prehab movement that we do. I probably do four or five times a day along with a ton of pushups. I'm a, I just, I just have to beat my husband in push-ups. It'll happen. It will happen. That and pull-ups. Next lifetime. Next lifetime. We also cover cardio. There's a lot of discussion around zone two versus HIIT. On page 160, we talk about HIIT and SIT, high-intensity interval strategies. We cover what it is, how to do it, how you can do it anywhere with a jump rope, or perhaps you use a kettlebell, rowing machine, whatever. We will be able to work with whatever you have to make it happen. All you need is commitment and just a little bit of time. Now, why do we have a high intensity interval training program in here? Because high intensity training maximizes efficiency. And this is a lot of people are very busy. You can get gains in cardiovascular health. I have a baseline classic 10 minute hit program in here shows you four rounds of 60 seconds on 60 seconds off nice little protocol and then we have a special section called hit strong and this is an advanced hit circuit in our special section of the hit strong advanced hit circuit i have illustrations which i don't know if you guys can see it which again if you're listening you can't but they are little illustrations They're little cartoon illustrations. They're epic and they were not my idea. Very cool. Shows you how to do it in real time. It's like the old school cartoon book, comic book. And so we have sprint interval training, which is really the work interval is six to 15 seconds, 100 percent max effort. It's tough. Not for everybody. Takes time to build up, but it's in there. We put it all together for you. Helps you create a decision training framework. You know, you have to check in with yourself. Are you ready for this? You adjust accordingly. It's very, very helpful. We also talk about the power plan and the objectives. And we cover this in the six-week challenge that we're starting February 15th. Because again, you can start wherever you are, whenever you want. But that six-week forever strong power plan is designed on three sessions per week, dumbbell only resistance training and high intensity interval training. And Don Saladino, you guys all know Don helped design this program to build both strength and physical competency. Here's what I will say. We made a exercise library. You can go to drgabrielland.com and check it out. We created this exercise guide and then you can see how it is performed. There's also modifications along the way. Here's all you need to get started on this program. Dumbbells, either a set or varying weights, or we have an adjustable rack. 30 to 45 minutes, three times a week. 30 to 45 minutes, three times a week. We cover, for those of you who are new to training, how to begin to think about reps in reserve and whether it's mechanical failure or muscular failure, sorry, mechanical failure or technical failure so that you can readjust and also maintain or mitigate. It's really injury risk management and how you can address that for yourself. One of the things that I've seen in my clinical practice is that people will start a program and they will just go all out, go hard. And then all of a sudden your muscle strength outpaces your tendon strength and you get injured. We don't want this to happen. And it really is also about injury risk management. In our sessions, we progress the weeks, week one and two, you establish the fundamentals. There's a warm-up activation. It has tempo in here, rest, intervals, and then just a little bit extra. Really well designed. I know that many of you are listening and not watching, but if you happen to be watching, the book is beautifully designed with exercise examples and also a little place should you choose to use it. You can photocopy this and you can add in your reps and your weight and your reps in reserve. I wanted to make this playbook partially. So part of the playbook is a tracker and there's a forever strong power plan tracker. I'm just going to give you a sample of weeks three through six and there's progressions in here. Session one is a full body workout. It has warmup activation exercises like the following single leg glute bridge, lunge to reach, push up to reach, child's pose, and then goes into working sets, goblet squat, dumbbell RDL. And then there's the next working set has a flat bench, dumbbell, chest press, dumbbell alternating row, one of my favorites. And then there's the working set, the third one, and that's lateral raises, side plank, reverse crunch. There's a whole host of exercises and progressions. Session two for the week is also another full body and session three is full body. Again, how can I make you into a machine? And the machine, it doesn't have to be crazy, but you become efficient, capable, physically capable. You might be thinking to yourself, Doc, I don't want to do dumbbells. I don't want to do kettlebells. In fact, I don't want any equipment. And I will say, you know what? I got a solution for you. In fact, I have a no excuses solution for you. Plans are essential, but preparation is even better. Let's say you are someone who's traveling and you get stuck at the airport, don't have any tools with you, and you're just, you are really stuck there. I have a body weight program in here for you to keep you on track. And I would challenge you to do it, especially when you don't want to. Let's say it's after the parent-teacher meeting and you're just really tired or who knows, you're on call, you name it. But no equipment, no problem. And when you are traveling, the goal is to not execute, you know, a world-class bench press. Maybe if you're Jordan Shallow, maybe, or Michael Hearn, it's possible. But it's to actually maintain strength and mobility while you're traveling so you don't backslide. And I use the foundational five, which you will see, but also there's a bodyweight circuit in here that I use all the time. push-ups, side planks, lunges, single leg RDLs, all without anything, no equipment needed, no gym needed, just your body. Also, if you wanted to get one piece of equipment, I did this while I was pregnant, kettlebell, one kettlebell. This is a 15-minute kettlebell heater. The list goes on, Very valuable. Basically, what this pillar does is it provides you with a framework to make it happen for you no matter what. I believe myself and my team, we've come up with every possible reason why you might not do it. And we've created a way for you to do it. Possibility and invitation. Now, I've walked you through how to move. This brings me to pillar number four, the most difficult pillar for me. And this is how to recover. I have spent a long time believing that the best path forward had to be the hardest path, that I had to suffer and I had to really suffer in order to make progress. Unfortunately, I was wrong. And the lessons have been very expensive from torn hamstrings to torn shoulders. It's kind of the do what I do, don't do what I say. Or Wait, let me say that backwards. I said it backwards. Do what I say, don't do what I do. Do what I say, don't do what I do. It was a mistake. And the best piece of learning that I have done over the last five years has been this. that in addition to building a foundation of physical performance, we need frameworks to sustain and refine ourselves. These structures, reinforced through daily practice, ultimately begin to create refuge, both physical and mental, that we're eager to return to. In the recovery principles, the Forever Strong Recovery principles, here are a handful. Number one, active engagement rather than passive rest. Recovery is not laying on a couch with Cheetos. Number two, environmental mastery rather than reactivity. How do we create a or an environment so that it supports our recovery? Expectations of complexity rather than linear progression. This was a problem for me. I thought that, well, of course, I was going to put in more effort. More effort was going to come out. I was going to get better. It does not work like this. You should expect complexity. expect complexity in your own life. Number four, human agency. It really is about us instead of biological determinism. And number five, which is preparedness for both the expected and unexpected challenges. We start out this how to recover section with a understanding of what the recovery process is, how it is proactive. I tell the story of a dear friend and patient, Danica Patrick. She was totally burned out. And I don't know if you guys have seen her, but her body's looking pretty good these days. She's doing fantastic. And why is that? It's not because we push her harder. It's actually because we pulled her back. There's a quality sleep protocol, temperature conditioning, circadian alignment. Dr. Alexis Cowan covers this. I believe that this is the way of the future. We are going to talk more about how light, not just outside light, but inside light, under fluorescent lights, affects our mitochondria, affects our health. And the protocols in here and how pain happen and injury risk management, what you need to do is really, it's world class. Beyond just the normal massage and the things that you would think, we have fire and ice temperature protocols. There's a lot of questions online about should I cold plunge? Should I do sauna therapy? We cover that. And the fire and ice protocols are evidence-based. We put them in clinical practice. I use them myself. I find them incredibly helpful. Essentially, it's strategic heat exposure for muscle enhancement. We also cover how temperature conditioning can transform the body right now. Listen, we live in the temperature and the comfort of 68 degrees all day, every day, but humans weren't designed for that. We were designed for not just physical stress, emotional stress, but temperature stress. Did you know the benefits of sauna use largely overlap with those delivered by cardiovascular exercise. It's a great way for individuals who are recovering from something or unable to do a ton of cardiovascular activity. This is a great way to get cardiovascular benefits by utilizing a sauna when you are in a time of injury or an inability to be able to take those actions. We cover cold exposure protocols. this is this is our the family favorite which is level one and it's the face dunk yes come over to our house I will show you the face dunk and it it has a what to do it tells you what temperature to fill the basin dunk your face for 10 to 30 seconds you rest you repeat just super cool and then level two which is cold immersion gives you the beginner temperature the advanced temperature and then we move into strategic recovery through circadian rhythms, which is a 24-hour light cycle, light and sleep. This covers what light does, how it impacts your body, how you can create an environment that helps your muscle clock. Your body has clocks and your muscles have clocks. Muscle is on its own 24-hour cycle. We have ways in which we can enhance this. There's levers to pull and to involve the light spectrum for muscle health. In light management, this is engineering your biological signals. Our muscle-centric approach strategically uses light exposure to create the optimal biological environment for muscle growth. This covers morning light, midday light, or midday sun, and evening darkness. Talks about the wavelengths. For example, your body needs blue wavelengths, tells you when, tells you how to get it, covers red light and where it is. So where is the red light? Where is that wavelength versus the near infrared and what it does for the body? Then of course, the sleep section, good sleep versus poor sleep. I can tell you where I am on that spectrum. I'm getting better. I promise I'm getting better. I'm very inspired by all of you out there that can get your eight hours of sleep. I recognize how important it is. And so does this book. So does the protocol. But how do you engineer your sleep environment for a cooler, darker, more comfortable sleeping experience? I mean, for me, it's all about the sheets. I love, you know, like I'm talking about cozy earth. I love sheets. I love bedding. I just love laying there, but it doesn't mean I love sleeping. But sleep and metabolic health are very important. And we see this. It's no coincidence that there is that we do see a type two increase in type two diabetes and a lot of sleep dysfunction and insulin resistance. There's also protocols here for if you can't fall asleep. My solution, not in the book, is pull out a book on amino acids. Three seconds flat, you are done. Cody Sanchez, thanks for that tip. And finally, finally, finally, what you can do, this is actually very valuable. It's this idea of sleep banking. If you know you're going to go through periods of sleep deprivation, it's coming, you bank sleep. This is a way to buffer against performance decline when you are sleep deprived. Also, one of the things that I learned from many of my military friends is a, it's a, I think they call it a, okay, it was not, tell you truth. I'm married to a Navy guy, but here it talks about, and this is what we wrote in the book, was a Green Beret tactical nap. I don't know if they technically call it a Green Beret tactical nap, but they might. Nick Beringer, I know that you're a ranger. It is okay. We will get through this. And basically, here's what it is. This is just so cool. It's a tactical nap. And what this is, is you consume 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine before a 20 minute nap, that allows the caffeine to kick in just before you wake up, boost alertness, reaction time. And this is idea of kind of powering up. Pretty cool. Alison Brager, thank you for this. And this is from the Sleep Research Center. We did a podcast with her. She's extraordinary. Allison, waiting for you to come back on the show so we can cover this. Again, I'm not your physician. I might be if you are a patient of mine, but if you are not, then please talk to your physician before you try the tactical Green Beret nap time. Okay. Yes, recovery trackers in this book, hardcover, and we end out the 24-hour muscle building cycle. If you're ready to bring this playbook to life, join us for the six week forever strong playbook challenge. And that starts February 15th. Remember, you don't need a ton of people. You just need a few. Bring your friend, bring two friends, because you know what? I hope you agree and I hope you feel this. We are better together as a community and as a culture. And it really does. It starts with us, but it also is moved forward by us. This isn't protein. This isn't training. This is a movement. This is a call to action. I'll see you February 15th, Bringing the Forever Strong playbook to life. Forever Strong. No fate has forged this strength I claim. I rose through action, not through name. With iron will and quiet fire, I shaped a legacy that won't expire. No moment missed, no purpose lost. each rep, each breath, a vow within. I did not chase a trend or glow. I built the strength. I've come to know. Six weeks behind, yet more ahead. The path now paved by how I led. Not driven by applause or throng, but by truth that made me strong. So let the winds of chaos rise. I stand unshaken, clear and wise. I stand in truth where I belong. Unshaken, clear, forever strong.