Meant to Live is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute personal medical advice or establish a physician-patient relationship. Always consult your own healthcare provider regarding your individual health and medical decisions.

I’ve exercised consistently since I was a teenager, but my reasons for exercising have changed a lot over the years.

In my 20s and 30s, I was mostly motivated by “staying in shape.” As I got into my 40s, running became a stress reliever while I worked as an academic physician and raised a young family. But over the past four years, as I’ve learned more about the effects of exercise on aging and longevity, I’ve changed the way I train.

I don’t just want to be “in shape” today. I want to move well, stay strong, and remain independent when I’m 80. So how should we exercise if that’s the goal?

A few weeks ago, in What Should You Actually Eat?, I divided my nutrition recommendations into three categories: musts, shoulds, and it-may-be-good-ifs. I’m going to use the same framework here, with one difference. This time, the categories are based more on priority than debatability. Ideally, you’re doing things from all three tiers. But if you only have the bandwidth for one, start at the top.

You Must...

Exercise several times a week, consistently, in a way you don’t dread.

Consistency may be the most important part of improving your health through fitness. The perfect exercise program is worthless if you stop doing it after six weeks. So instead of asking, “What’s the optimal workout?” start by asking, “What will I actually keep doing?”

That’s where you may need to get a little creative. Most people don’t love sweating in principle. (See my post on mixing long-term and short-term gratification.) What about your workout makes you want to show up? Maybe it’s training with friends, the smoothie afterward, or simply the mood boost you get from exercising. For me, it’s a 5 a.m. group class. What gets me out of bed is knowing which friends I’ll see—and the coffee and banana afterward while we catch up.

Consistency also depends on staying healthy enough to keep exercising. Nothing derails progress like an injury that takes you out for weeks or months. Increase intensity and weight gradually, pay attention to your form—especially when you’re tired—and learn the difference between normal muscular discomfort and pain that signals something is wrong.

Do both cardiovascular and resistance training.

Cardio improves cardiovascular fitness and creates adaptations in your mitochondria—the energy-producing structures inside your cells—that help your body use oxygen and produce energy more efficiently. Resistance training builds and preserves muscle, which becomes increasingly important as we age. Muscle helps maintain strength and independence, improves glucose metabolism, and protects against frailty. You need both.

Some forms of resistance training can also provide a cardiovascular challenge, particularly when exercises are performed with shorter rest periods. But I wouldn’t use that as an excuse to skip dedicated cardiovascular training altogether.

Give yourself room to progress.

Your body adapts to what you ask it to do. Say your routine is walking around the park with friends a few times a week. That’s great for movement, motivation, and mental health. But if you walk the same route at the same pace forever, eventually your fitness gains will plateau.

Somewhere in your week, give your body a reason to adapt. Lift a little heavier. Walk a little faster. Go a little farther. Add an incline. You don’t need to constantly push yourself to exhaustion. You simply need to occasionally ask your body to do a little more than it could before. That’s progressive overload, and it’s how we become fitter rather than simply staying active.

You Should...

Include both lower-intensity and higher-intensity cardiovascular exercise.

Most of your cardiovascular training should be relatively easy. You’ve probably heard people call this “zone 2” training. It’s an intensity where you’re working but can still carry on a conversation. For many people, that’s a brisk walk, incline treadmill, bike ride, or light jog. I like this type of training because you can accumulate a meaningful amount of cardiovascular work without exhausting yourself or requiring a long recovery.

Then add some harder work. Once or twice a week, depending on your fitness level and health, incorporate shorter periods of higher-intensity exercise where carrying on a conversation becomes difficult or impossible. This type of training challenges your cardiovascular system differently and can improve VO2 max—your body’s ability to take in and use oxygen during exercise. You don’t need every workout to leave you lying on the floor. In fact, most shouldn’t.

Strength train all of your major muscle groups.

Your resistance training should include your legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms, and core. You don’t need an elaborate bodybuilding program to accomplish this. For many people, two or three resistance-training sessions each week can produce meaningful benefits. You can do full-body workouts each time or divide your training by muscle groups. The goal is balanced strength throughout your body—not just training the muscles you can see in the mirror.

It May Be Good If...

You add balance and power training.

These become increasingly important as we age. Balance work can be very simple. Stand on one foot while brushing your teeth. Practice movements that challenge your stability. You can also use equipment such as a BOSU ball if that’s appropriate for your ability.

Power is different from strength. Strength is your ability to produce force; power is your ability to produce that force quickly. Think jumping, quick medicine-ball throws, or other controlled explosive movements. We tend to lose power as we age, and maintaining it can help us react quickly, move confidently, and potentially reduce the consequences of falls. These exercises aren’t appropriate for everyone, so scale them to your fitness level and physical limitations.

You periodically measure your progress.

I like objective data. A DEXA scan can estimate your body composition, including lean mass and body fat. A VO2 max test can give you an objective measure of cardiovascular fitness. You certainly don’t need either one to become healthy. They’re expensive, access varies, and you don’t need to repeat them constantly. But periodic measurement can tell you whether what you’re doing is actually working.

And you can track progress without sophisticated testing. How much weight can you lift? How quickly can you walk a mile? How many push-ups can you do? Is your resting heart rate changing? Can you climb several flights of stairs without getting winded? The specific measurement matters less than having some way to know whether you’re improving.

You use a heart-rate monitor for a while.

A smartwatch or chest strap can be useful when you’re first learning what different exercise intensities feel like. Eventually, you’ll probably develop a pretty good sense of your effort without constantly checking a screen. That’s actually the goal.

For some people, the built-in goals and feedback are also motivating. If closing a ring gets you off the couch, I’m all for it. Just remember that the technology is there to serve you—not the other way around.

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The Bottom Line

Exercise is the most powerful tool we have for improving our health and extending our healthspan. But you don’t need the perfect exercise program. You need one you’ll keep doing.

Start by moving consistently in a way you enjoy enough to repeat. Include both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. Stay healthy enough to keep showing up. And give your body opportunities to progress.

Once you’ve built that foundation, you can fine-tune things. Add higher-intensity work. Train balance and power. Measure your progress. Use technology if it’s helpful. But don’t let optimizing your exercise become an excuse not to exercise.

Consistency first. Optimization second.

The goal isn’t simply to be fit today; it’s to build a body that will keep carrying you through the life you want to live for decades to come.

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First, thank you to all of my new subscribers. And to my wife, , for telling you all about Meant to Live. I’m glad you’re here.

I recently received a comment from a reader who sounded understandably overwhelmed:

“I’m having trouble figuring out what type of diet is best for me, and I have no idea where to start with exercise.”

I suspect many people feel the same way.

Every week there’s a new diet, a new workout program, or a new expert promising the answer. Keto. Mediterranean. Carnivore. Vegan. Low-fat. Low-carb. Intermittent fasting. Zone 2. HIIT. Strength training. Each has passionate advocates and impressive testimonials, making it difficult to know where to begin.

When I find myself sorting through competing ideas, I try to come back to first principles. Rather than asking, “What’s the perfect diet?” I think it’s more helpful to ask, “What principles are most likely to improve health for almost everyone?”

That’s the framework I use when thinking about nutrition—and really, about most aspects of wellness. I divide recommendations into three categories:

• The Musts — Principles that apply to almost everyone.

• The Shoulds — Practices that benefit most people but allow for individual variation.

• The “It May Be Good Ifs” — Ideas that may be helpful for some people but are less certain, more individualized, or based partly on personal values.

I find this framework helpful because it keeps me focused on what matters most, rather than getting distracted by every new nutrition trend.

My one Must is a principle that is difficult to argue with and applies to almost everyone. The Shoulds benefit most people, but there may be legitimate reasons to do otherwise. And finally, the “It May Be Good Ifs” are ideas I think are worth considering but are more individualized and far more likely to spark debate.

In this post, I’ll use this framework to share how I think about nutrition. In future posts, I’ll apply the same framework to exercise and sleep.

Let’s start with the easy stuff.

The Must

You need to have a general understanding of your body’s energy needs. If your goal is to maintain your current weight over time, the energy you consume should roughly match the energy you expend.

At its core, this is simply energy balance. The biology of weight regulation is incredibly complex—hormones, sleep, stress, medications, genetics, and metabolic health all influence how much we eat and how much energy we burn—but over time, energy intake and expenditure still matter.

The challenge is figuring out your own daily energy needs. Wearable fitness trackers can provide a rough estimate, but they’re often not accurate enough to determine exactly how many calories you burn.

Instead, start by observing what you’re already doing. Eat as you normally would for a week or two and track your food using an app like MyFitnessPal or even your Notes app. Weigh yourself first thing each morning under similar conditions, ideally after using the bathroom and before eating or drinking. Daily weight fluctuations are normal, so don’t overreact to a single number. Focus on the overall trend.

If your weight is gradually increasing and that’s not your goal, try reducing your intake by 200–300 calories per day and continue monitoring. If you’re trying to lose weight, this same approach can help you create a modest, sustainable calorie deficit without making dramatic changes.

That’s really all I have for the “musts.”

From here, nutrition becomes much more individualized. How you divide your calories between protein, fat, and carbohydrates, the types of foods you choose, and even when you eat can all be adjusted based on your health, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.

This is where nutrition starts to become more of an art than a science.

The Shoulds

You should try to eat fruits and vegetables of different colors throughout the day.

The vibrant colors in plants often reflect the presence of various phytonutrients—naturally occurring compounds that support many aspects of health, including immune function, cardiovascular health, brain health, and protection against oxidative stress. Rather than trying to memorize which foods contain which compounds, I think the simpler advice is to eat a wide variety of colors.

Phytonutrient Spectrum Foods

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When it comes to vegetables, I encourage people to regularly include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, arugula, and radishes. These vegetables contain compounds like glucosinolates that support the body’s natural detoxification systems and help maintain normal cellular health.

Whether we realize it or not, we’re all exposed to environmental chemicals through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the products we use every day. Thankfully, our bodies are remarkably equipped to process and eliminate many of these compounds, and a nutrient-dense diet provides the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients those systems need to function well.

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If consistently eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is difficult—or you choose a way of eating that limits them—a quality greens powder can be a reasonable supplement. Just remember that supplements are meant to supplement, not replace, whole foods. Whole fruits and vegetables provide fiber, water, and thousands of beneficial compounds that simply can’t be fully replicated in a powder.

Next, you should prioritize protein.

For many active adults, a reasonable target is around 0.8 grams of protein per pound of ideal body weight, depending on your age, health, and goals. Protein helps preserve muscle, particularly as we age, and provides the building blocks needed to build and maintain muscle when combined with resistance training.

Why does muscle matter? Muscle helps keep you active as you age, protects against frailty and injury, and plays an important role in glucose metabolism. In other words, muscle isn’t just about looking good at the beach—it’s one of the strongest predictors of long-term health, independence, and resilience.

For many people, consistently eating this much protein from whole foods can feel like you’re eating protein all day long. For example, my ideal body weight is around 200 pounds, so I aim for at least 160 grams of protein each day. That’s roughly the protein you’d get from four 6-ounce chicken breasts, 26 eggs, eight cups of Greek yogurt, or 24 ounces of lean steak or salmon. Most people aren’t eating that much of any one food, which is why spreading protein across every meal—and sometimes using a high-quality protein shake or protein bar—can make meeting your goal much more realistic.

In my opinion, it’s far more important to consistently reach your daily protein goal than to chase the “perfect” protein source. Whole foods should form the foundation of your diet, but a high-quality protein supplement can be a practical tool rather than a compromise. This is our family’s favorite protein that’s whole-food-based and minimally processed.

A lack of protein is one of the biggest reasons people lift weights consistently yet don’t see the strength or muscle gains they expect. Training provides the stimulus, but protein provides the raw materials. You can’t build a house without enough bricks, and you can’t build muscle without giving your body enough protein to do the job.

You should eat plenty of fiber.

I generally aim for at least 30 grams of fiber each day.

Fiber is one of the most overlooked nutrients in the modern diet. It promotes regular bowel movements, feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut, helps improve satiety, and supports healthy cholesterol levels and blood sugar control. In other words, it benefits far more than just your digestive system.

The best sources of fiber are whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains if you tolerate them. If consistently getting enough fiber from food is difficult, a fiber supplement such as psyllium husk can be a helpful addition—but, as with most supplements, it should complement rather than replace a diet rich in whole foods.

As you increase your fiber intake, do it gradually and drink plenty of water. Increasing fiber too quickly can lead to bloating, gas, and abdominal discomfort.

You should eat fatty fish several times a week.

This may be difficult for the fish-haters among you, but fatty fish are one of the best natural sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are essential for health, and inflammation is far more complex than simply labeling one “good” and the other “bad.” However, the modern Western diet tends to be rich in omega-6 fats from processed foods while providing relatively little omega-3. Increasing omega-3 intake can help support cardiovascular health, brain function, and a healthy inflammatory balance.

An easy way to remember the best sources is SMASH:

• Salmon

• Mackerel

• Anchovies

• Sardines

• Herring

These fish are generally high in omega-3s and relatively low in mercury compared with many larger predatory fish.

If fish is a complete no-go, an omega-3 supplement may be worth considering. As with most supplements, I prefer getting nutrients from whole foods whenever practical. But if a supplement helps you consistently meet your nutritional needs, it’s often a better option than not getting those nutrients at all.

You should limit ultraprocessed, highly palatable foods.

Sorry, Chick-fil-A.

The simple reason is that it becomes much harder to meet the goals we’ve already discussed when a large portion of your diet comes from ultra-processed foods. It’s more difficult to get enough protein, fiber, and phytonutrients while staying within your energy needs.

These foods are also intentionally engineered to be highly palatable, making them very easy to eat—and often very easy to overeat. That’s not a moral failing on your part; it’s how many of these foods are designed.

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Along the same lines, try to limit foods and beverages high in added sugar. Excess added sugar can make it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight, support good metabolic health, and protect your dental health. It also tends to crowd out more nutrient-dense foods.

I’m not saying you can never eat dessert or enjoy Chick-fil-A.

Nutrition is built on what you do most of the time, not what you do once in a while. If 80–90% of your diet consists of nutrient-dense whole foods, there’s absolutely room to enjoy the foods you love without guilt. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s building eating habits you can sustain for decades.

The “It May Be Good Ifs”

Okay. This is where some of you may start disagreeing with me.

These are areas where the evidence is either less definitive, more individualized, or influenced by personal values. I don’t think everyone needs to do these things, but I think they’re worth considering.

It may be good if you choose organic foods when possible.

The evidence that typical levels of dietary pesticide exposure directly cause specific health problems isn’t always as clear-cut as it’s sometimes presented. Even so, this is one of those areas where I personally lean toward reducing exposure when it’s reasonably easy to do.

My thinking is simple: if I can reduce my exposure to certain chemicals without creating significant stress or financial hardship, I generally choose to do it.

If buying everything organic isn’t realistic for your budget, don’t worry about it. You can be selective by prioritizing certain fruits and vegetables or simply washing your produce well. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is far more important than avoiding them because they aren’t organic.

It may be good if you choose higher-quality meat and eggs.

Pasture-raised eggs and thoughtfully raised animal products can differ somewhat in their nutrient profiles, although the magnitude of those differences varies. Some people also choose these products for animal welfare or environmental reasons.

If they’re within your budget, I think they’re worth considering. If they’re not, don’t conclude that you shouldn’t eat eggs or high-quality protein at all. Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good.

It may be good if you experiment with reducing gluten or dairy.

Notice that I said experiment.

I’m not suggesting that everyone should eliminate gluten or dairy. For many healthy people, there’s no good evidence that they need to. However, if you’re dealing with digestive symptoms, skin issues, migraines, or other persistent problems, it may be worth removing one food at a time for several weeks and paying close attention to how you feel before gradually reintroducing it.

You may discover that a particular food doesn’t bother you at all—or you may discover that it makes a meaningful difference. Either outcome is valuable because it’s based on how your body responds.

The goal isn’t to create a longer list of foods you’re afraid to eat. The goal is to better understand your own body and make informed decisions that help you feel and function at your best.

Learn the Principles. Then Pay Attention.

I believe we were created to eat in a way that allows our bodies to flourish, and that they generally respond best when we consistently provide what they need to function as they were designed. But I also believe we need to pay attention to the individual body God gave us.

Start with the basics. Eat mostly real food. Get enough protein and fiber. Eat fruits and vegetables of many different colors. Limit the foods that are easiest to overconsume.

Then observe.

How is your energy? How is your digestion? Are you maintaining a healthy weight? Are you getting stronger? Are you preserving muscle? How do you feel after you eat?

The longer I practice medicine, the more convinced I become that nutrition is both simpler and more personal than most people think. The principles are surprisingly consistent. The application requires wisdom, curiosity, and humility.

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We watch a fitness influencer demonstrate the “perfect” squat. We hear a podcast host rave about intermittent fasting. We see someone online thrive on a carnivore diet or train six days a week, and we wonder why we don’t get the same results.

The truth is, we were created as unique individuals. While the principles of good health are universal, the way we apply them often isn’t. As we age, one of the most valuable things we can do is learn how our own bodies work and tailor our approach accordingly.

I remember one of the first times I realized that my unique characteristics could actually put me at a disadvantage. I was 28 years old and in the middle of my Navy medical internship. As part of our training before serving in the Fleet as a physician, we spent a week at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio learning combat medicine.

San Antonio in the summer is brutally hot. We spent all day in military fatigues carrying rubber rifles. One exercise simulated a chemical attack. The instructors would throw colored smoke canisters and yell, “Gas! Gas! Gas!” We had to quickly pull a full hazmat suit over our uniforms and boots before putting on a gas mask.

There was just one problem: the suits were essentially one-size-fits-all.

That worked fine for many of my classmates. It didn’t work so well for someone who was 6’3” with size 13 boots. I vividly remember struggling to pull the suit over my boots while sweat poured down my face and the “gas” spread around us. I honestly thought that if this had been real, I might not have made it.

Looking back, I realized I had been set up to fail—not because I wasn’t capable, but because the solution wasn’t designed for someone built like me. (For the record, the next time I went through similar training with the Marines using actual tear gas, I did much better.)

Health can be like that too.

One Size Rarely Fits All

Take squats as an example.

Most trainers demonstrate a shoulder-width stance with an upright torso. That’s a perfectly good squat—for someone whose body is built that way.

But if you have relatively long femurs compared to your torso, as I do, you’re fighting basic mechanics. To squat deeply with a narrow stance, you’ll naturally lean farther forward, placing more stress on your lower back.

The solution isn’t trying harder. It’s widening your stance slightly and allowing a little more external rotation at the hips to create room for your femurs. For years, I assumed I just needed to get stronger. In reality, I simply needed to understand how I was built.

Getting to Know My Own Body

Over the years, I’ve learned several things about myself that have changed how I eat, train, and recover. Maybe they’ll encourage you to start noticing your own patterns.

I sweat more than most people. That’s generally an advantage because it helps cool my body during high-intensity exercise. But it also means I’m more prone to dehydration and electrolyte depletion. I intentionally replace both throughout the day.

I do well training fasted. After wearing a continuous glucose monitor, I realized my blood sugar stays remarkably stable even after an overnight fast. That explained why I’ve never needed breakfast before an early workout. However, because I also tend not to drink much first thing in the morning—and because I sweat heavily—I have to be intentional about hydrating. I’ve even developed rhabdomyolysis once because I underestimated how dehydrated I had become.

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I thrive on a lower-carbohydrate diet. My energy is steadier, and I avoid the afternoon sleepiness that carbohydrates often cause me. The tradeoff is that building muscle becomes more difficult. When my goal is adding muscle, I know I need more carbohydrates, even if that means accepting a little more fatigue after meals.

My mental health has patterns too. Throughout adulthood, I’ve occasionally experienced brief periods—usually less than a day—when my motivation completely disappears, and I simply want to stay in bed. As I’ve improved my nutrition and exercise, these episodes have become much less frequent. Genetic testing also showed that I have a COMT variant that may influence how I process certain brain chemicals. Understanding that has helped me extend more grace to myself during those days and reminded me they’ll usually pass quickly.

My lower back needs extra attention. I’m relatively top-heavy, and at 6’3”, my posture isn’t always ideal. If I neglect my core and lower back exercises, I’m much more likely to develop back spasms doing movements that other people in my fitness class seem to perform effortlessly.

Know Yourself—But Don’t Limit Yourself

These are just a few examples of how I’ve learned to adjust my wellness strategies based on how I’m uniquely built. I’m sure you have your own examples as well.

One important caution, though. This way of thinking can easily become an excuse.

“It’s just not how I’m built.”
“My body can’t do that.”

Sometimes those statements are true. But don’t let them become your default response.

If something seems harder for you than it is for everyone else, get curious instead of giving up. Ask why. Maybe you need a different squat stance. Maybe you need more electrolytes. Maybe you need a bigger hazmat suit.

The goal isn’t to avoid hard things.

The goal is to understand yourself well enough to do the hard things wisely.

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Some are frail. They struggle to walk. Their hearing and memory have declined, and they spend much of their day sitting or lying down.

Others still have a spring in their step. They stand tall, stay active, and remain mentally sharp. They have an energy about them that makes you forget their age.

As a physician, I have the privilege of seeing both groups every day.

As an interventional radiologist, I specialize in treating enlarged prostates, so most of my patients are men in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s. One unexpected blessing of this work is that I’ve been able to observe what aging actually looks like—not from research papers, but from real people.

Two Different Paths

The majority of men I see in their 70s are overweight and have some degree of atherosclerosis. By the time patients reach their 80s, they tend to fall into one of two groups. Many have become frail, with hearing loss, cognitive decline, and difficulty getting around. But then there are the men who still look remarkably vibrant. They’re fit. They’re engaged. They’re mentally sharp.

Whenever I meet one of those men, I usually ask the same question: “What’s your secret?”

The answer I hear most often is surprisingly simple. “I’ve exercised consistently my whole life.”

Of course, exercise isn’t the whole story.

I’ve noticed other patterns too.

These men tend to have a positive outlook on life. Many are people of faith who still see beauty, purpose, and gratitude in each day. They also tend to have long, stable marriages. More often than not, they’ve had a wife walking beside them for decades.

None of this proves cause and effect, but after seeing thousands of patients over the years, the patterns are hard to ignore.

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My Dad

Then there’s my dad.

He recently turned 80.

He’s been overweight for most of his life and never made exercise a priority. Honestly, I’m amazed he’s made it this far—I think he is too.

But now his health is catching up with him.

His heart has worked harder than it should have for decades. His knees hurt so much that walking has become difficult. He’s largely confined to bed, and because he’s not moving, he’s losing muscle every day. Unless he fights to rebuild that strength, he may never regain the independence he once had.

Thankfully, he isn’t fighting alone.

My parents have been married for more than fifty years, and my mom faithfully encourages him every single day. Watching her care for him has reminded me that the consequences of our health choices rarely affect only us. They affect the people who love us most.

I suspect my dad is one of the reasons I’m so committed to taking care of my own health.

I’ve seen firsthand what excess weight and inactivity can do over the course of a lifetime. I don’t want my future to look like that. And I certainly don’t want Lara to carry those burdens if many of them could have been prevented.

The Choices We Make Today

Of course, not every illness is preventable. Some cancers, for example, develop despite our best efforts. We should absolutely pursue appropriate screening and early detection, but there are limits to how much control we have.

Heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and many forms of metabolic disease are different.

While genetics certainly play a role, our daily choices matter tremendously. How we eat. How often we move. How well we sleep. How we manage stress. Whether we maintain healthy relationships. These decisions accumulate over decades.

Live It

That’s why I often think about this question:

What kind of 80-year-old do I want to become?

If you’re in your 30s, 40s, or 50s, that question isn’t about someday.

It’s about today.

The decisions you make now are quietly shaping the person you’ll become decades from now.

From where I sit, the evidence is hard to miss.

There are two roads.

While none of us can control everything that happens to us, we have more influence than we sometimes believe over which road we travel.

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The problem isn’t a lack of information. The problem is doing those things consistently for years.

Baking my favorite protein muffins with my daughter.

Healthy habits usually offer long-term rewards, but our brains are wired to pursue short-term ones. If we don’t find a way to bridge that gap, even the best health plan eventually falls apart.

Making lifestyle changes to improve your health is only valuable if those changes can be sustained. Many habits sound like good ideas—daily exercise, eating less junk food, going to bed earlier—but they often end up like New Year’s resolutions. We start with enthusiasm, then gradually drift back to old patterns.

The challenge is that most healthy habits offer long-term gratification rather than immediate rewards. Exercise will make you healthier and can add years to your healthspan and lifespan. But will you feel those benefits after a single workout? Not really. You may get a boost from endorphins and feel good afterward, but that’s usually not enough to sustain the habit for years.

The Motivation Gap

So how do we make healthy habits more sustainable?

One strategy is to intentionally build short-term gratification into habits that deliver long-term rewards. To do this, you first need to understand what motivates you.

For me, it’s being part of a team.

Working out at Cor4 with my friend . He has some great posts on habits as well.

I grew up playing sports and loved the camaraderie that came from working toward a common goal with teammates. Today, I get most of my exercise at a class-based gym where I work out with the same group of people every morning at 5 a.m. We do the same workout, encourage each other, engage in a little friendly competition, and afterward complain together about how hard it was.

That sense of community and accountability keeps me coming back, even when I don’t feel like getting out of bed before sunrise.

Build Rewards Into the Habit

Here’s another example.

Every morning, I start my day with a high-protein shake mixed with creatine and greens powder. For a while, I found myself drifting away from the habit. When I stopped to think about it, the reason was simple: I didn’t enjoy drinking it.

So I started adding a banana.

That small amount of sweetness completely changed the experience. Suddenly, my brain looked forward to the shake instead of dreading it. A tiny adjustment made a healthy habit much easier to maintain.

Sleep is a more difficult example. You would think waking up rested would be enough motivation to go to bed on time, but many of us seem to value staying up late even more.

And sleep is incredibly important.

Sleep isn’t just about feeling rested. It’s when your brain processes information and consolidates memories. It’s when your muscles recover and grow. It’s when many of your body’s repair processes occur. Good sleep lowers blood pressure, improves metabolic health, and is strongly associated with longevity.

I’ll write more about sleep in a future post, but for now, let’s get back to motivation.

One strategy that works for some people is using a sleep tracker. Seeing a high sleep score can be surprisingly rewarding and can motivate people to keep repeating the behaviors that led to it. This worked well for me for a while.

When Rewards Backfire

Then something unexpected happened: I started becoming discouraged by poor sleep scores.

If I woke up feeling fine but my tracker told me I slept poorly, I was actually less likely to work out that day. In some cases, the feedback became more harmful than helpful. If I hadn’t seen the score, I probably would have just pushed through and had a productive day.

That brings me to one final point. Short-term rewards are only valuable if they support the long-term goal.

If friendly competition at the gym causes me to overtrain or get injured, it’s no longer helping.

If I add so much sugar to my morning shake that it creates a huge blood sugar spike and crash, it’s no longer helping.

And some rewards that seem harmless at first can slowly drift into unhealthy territory. Be vigilant.

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Consistency Wins

One of my favorite personal mantras is simple: Do hard things.

When I’m rested and motivated, that’s usually enough. I know that difficult things often lead to good outcomes over time. But there are plenty of days when I’m tired, stressed, or simply don’t feel like doing what I know is good for me.

Those are the days when the small rewards matter.

The friendships at the gym. The banana in the shake. The little things that make healthy habits enjoyable enough to repeat.

Because when it comes to health, consistency is far more important than perfection. And consistency is what turns today’s healthy choices into tomorrow’s results.

So if there’s a healthy habit you’re struggling to maintain, don’t just ask whether it’s good for you. Ask yourself how you can make it more enjoyable.

A little short-term gratification may be exactly what helps you achieve the long-term results you’re after.

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What healthy habit are you trying to make stick right now?

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On one level, this wasn’t surprising. I was in my mid-forties. My blood pressure had been creeping up for years. Plenty of healthy, responsible adults take blood pressure medication.

But as I walked to my car, a thought hit me:

I was about to start another medication that I might need for the rest of my life.

I had already been taking medication for acid reflux for nearly twenty years. Now I was adding another “forever medication” to the list.

The strange thing was that I didn’t think of myself as unhealthy.

I was a physician. I exercised regularly. I avoided most junk food. I had been an athlete my entire life. I was working full-time as an interventional radiologist specializing in men’s health while trying to be a good husband and father to three young children.

But if I was honest, the signs were there. I had gained weight. My energy wasn’t what it used to be. My wife told me I was snoring more. I had a habit of falling asleep while reading to my kids at night. And for the first time, I started thinking seriously about the diseases that seem to stalk all of us as we age: heart disease, stroke, cancer, and dementia.

I didn’t feel old. But I could see where the road was heading. So I decided to ask a different question. Instead of asking, “What medication should I take?” I began asking, “Why is this happening in the first place?”

That question changed everything.

Over the following months, I immersed myself in books, podcasts, scientific papers, and conversations with experts. I studied nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, environmental toxins, and longevity science. Along the way, I discovered the field of Functional Medicine.

Functional Medicine approaches health differently from conventional medicine. Instead of focusing primarily on treating symptoms, it asks what underlying imbalances may be causing those symptoms in the first place. Why is blood pressure rising? Why is energy declining? Why is inflammation increasing? Why are we becoming sick?

As I dug deeper, I realized this way of thinking resonated with something I already believed. I believe in a Creator God who designed the human body with incredible wisdom and purpose. I also believe that many of the chronic health problems we face today are connected to the fact that modern life often pulls us away from the conditions under which we were designed to thrive.

We were created to move our bodies regularly. To eat nutrient-dense foods. To sleep well. To live in meaningful community. To manage stress. To spend time outdoors. To direct our worship toward God rather than ourselves. From my perspective, Functional Medicine is, in many ways, an attempt to restore the conditions under which we were meant to live.

So I started making changes. I changed how I ate. I changed how I exercised. I focused on improving sleep. I paid attention to stress. I reduced unnecessary toxin exposures.

And something remarkable happened.

My acid reflux disappeared. After nearly twenty years on medication, I stopped taking it. Previously, missing even a single dose would leave me miserable. Now the symptoms were simply gone. My blood pressure improved. My snoring decreased. My energy returned. I lost body fat and gained muscle. In many ways, I felt younger at forty-five than I had at forty.

The most surprising part was that none of this came from a miracle supplement, a secret protocol, or a new medication. It came from helping my body function the way it was designed to function.

About a year into this journey, I decided I wanted to learn more—not just for myself, but for others. I enrolled in the Institute for Functional Medicine’s physician training program and spent the next two years studying how nutrition, metabolism, hormones, sleep, exercise, gut health, and environmental factors influence long-term health. Recently, I completed the certification exam.

This newsletter is the result.

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I’m not here to promise that every disease can be prevented or that every medication can be avoided. Sometimes medications are necessary and lifesaving. But I do believe many people accept declining health as an inevitable part of aging when there is often far more within their control than they realize. My goal is to share practical, evidence-based insights that can help you stay healthy, strong, energetic, and functional for as long as possible.

If you’ve ever wondered whether getting older has to mean feeling worse...

If you’ve ever questioned whether there might be a better approach than simply collecting more medications over time...

Or if you simply want to steward your health well so you can better serve your family, your work, and the purposes God has given you...

You’re in the right place.

Welcome to Meant to Live.