HOW TO BUILD A HEALTHY LIFE

Architecting The Fundamentals IN FIVE WAYS

If there’s anything I’ve learned about pursuing good health over the past several years, it’s that if you want to live longer—live better—and look your best— you have to be willing to put in the work.

Good things, including good health, don’t come easy. And that’s coming from someone who’s been fortunate enough to have a pretty easy ride. But, I’ve never taken it for granted.

Sadly, I watched my father die a slow death over the course of twenty years as he battled one issue after another—heart attacks, strokes, diabetes. And the real killer? Knowing that lifestyle changes could have changed the course of his life, or at least extended it, but he refused.

He and my mother belonged to the post-war food generation, where industrialized, convenience foods that were greasy and processed—from TV dinners to the rise of fast food—took root. We’re from the south, so add in Southern cooking, and there was little chance my father was ever giving up his favorite meat-and-three.

He loved all the wrong things (food mostly). I wish he had loved life as much—though that’s hard to say, because no one complained less or enjoyed life more. Still, in the end, while he lived longer than anyone expected, those years weren’t happy, let alone healthy, ones.

I don’t think my mother and father’s generation fully connected the dots between cause and effect, or understood the true agency we have over our health—though, to be fair, I’m not sure doctors at the time fully understood either.

Anyway, hate me, but by the grace of good genes, I never had to watch my weight or think much about exercise. I could eat whatever I wanted. It wasn’t until my mid-forties, around the same time my father’s health began to decline—that I realized I needed to start paying back the debt I owed my body.

Not because I had abused it, but because I had been on a free ride. I started to notice small changes in my musculature and my energy, Nothing dramatic—but just enough to know it was time.

Since then, my own journey has been a fairly steady one—some years more dedicated than others—but I’ve figured out what works, what doesn’t, and how to get meaningful results without turning health or exercise into a full-time job.

I enjoy it enough to get it done, but more importantly, I associate it with feeling my best. I see real physical results and feel the mental ones too when I stay committed.

For me, it boils down to finding what works for my body, fits into my life time-wise, and is actually sustainable. Efficiency matters.

More on that—and my own protocols—next week. But for now, I’ll say this: there’s no fast fix. When I say fast, I mean efficient—the best ways to build the healthiest version of yourself in the most sustainable way. Which, by the way, is never perfect.

So this week, instead of talking about trends, I want to talk about fundamentals.

Here are the five pillars that actually move the needle.

STRESS A NO-NO

Why Monday Mornings Matter.

Because they come first, of course.

Unmanaged stress at the start of the week has a way of quietly multiplying. Stress on Monday becomes stress on Tuesday, which bleeds into poor sleep by Wednesday, compromised focus by Thursday, and by Friday, fumes.

A bad start to the week is the surest way to feel irritable and under-recovered, wondering why everything feels harder than it should.

Do this long enough and stress becomes chronic—it doesn’t stay contained. Cortisol levels rise, creating a bad cocktail that undermines sleep, digestion, performance, and more—nearly every system you rely on to function well can be affected, including immunity and recovery.

And here’s the part that matters most: stress isn’t a personal flaw, and it’s not a failure of discipline. It’s biological—and very often, it comes from outside you. Life is fired at us point blank. Which is why putting guardrails around your week matters.

Your body doesn’t distinguish between the source of stress—emotional strain, cognitive overload, poor sleep, or physiological pressure. To your nervous system, stress is stress. When it accumulates faster than you discharge it, things begin to fray.

Another truth: stress is inevitable. That’s why a healthy life isn’t about eliminating it, but regulating it. The goal is to influence as much as you can—you won’t be able to influence everything—to minimize stress where possible and prevent it from compounding.

These are the fundamentals I return to again and again because they’re well-supported, practical, and effective.

STRESS: WHAT HELPS

LIGHT

Light is not just aesthetic. It regulates stress. It’s critical information to your body.

Morning light, in particular, is one of the most powerful regulators of cortisol and circadian rhythm we have. Just a few minutes of natural light early in the day—ideally outdoors—helps signal to your brain that it’s time to be awake, alert, and steady. This sets the tone for energy, focus, and mood for the rest of the day.

Evening light matters just as much. Artificial brightness late at night confuses your internal clock, keeping cortisol elevated and melatonin suppressed. Sunday nights, especially, are not the time to push through. They’re the prep night for the week ahead. Begin dimming the lights, reducing stimulation, and signaling to your body that it’s time to power down. The promise of a good Monday starts on Sunday.

Understanding your circadian rhythm is foundational. When your internal clock is off, stress rises even if nothing stressful is happening.

MOVEMENT

Stress is stored physically. Moving your body discharges it.

Movement—especially low-intensity, rhythmic strides like walking—is one of the fastest ways to discharge accumulated stress hormones. A workout can help too, but you don’t need one to reduce stress.

You need motion. A short walk, steady breathing, light stretching—even a brief pause to reset your body—can bring cortisol levels down and restore a sense of equilibrium.

This is also why sitting in stress all day rarely resolves itself. The body needs an outlet. When stress hits, don’t overthink it—just move. If you’re depleted, a low intensity yoga class, stretch, or short power nap can be more restorative than pushing through. If you’re confined to an office or can’t leave your space, slow your breath.

The key is remembering that stress isn’t resolved through thinking alone. It’s resolved biologically—through the body. So when you can’t move, the fastest way to access that release is by calming the nervous system through the mind, which in turn allows the body to let go of what it’s holding.

SYSTEMS

Today’s stressors don’t usually stem from just one thing—and they’re rarely dramatic. They’re cumulative.

Too many decisions. Too many inputs. Just too much that creates mental clutter. The nervous system experiences this as a constant, low-grade threat. The fix? Systems. These are what protect you. They reduce decision overload.

Reliable routines—like setting out clothes the night before, repeatable mornings and rituals such as a scheduled workout or having your coffee or tea preset—and simplified evenings go a long way in stabilizing stress and emotion.

When fewer decisions are required to get through the day, especially workdays, stress has less opportunity to take hold.

I’ve also learned when things feel easier, it’s usually not because of discipline—it’s because I’ve removed a friction point. Systems do that. They make good choices easier to repeat.

Just remember, stress thrives in chaos. It recedes when structure is present. You already know what works best for you. The first few weeks may be bumpy, but put what’s reasonable in place—and then protect your time and space around it.

SLEEPY HEAD

The Superpower Of All Superpowers

I’ve come to believe that if there’s one non-negotiable when it comes to health, it’s sleep. This is the big one. The one lever that governs nearly everything else—metabolism, cognition, mood, immunity, recovery… mere survival. No small thing. Without sleep, you’re half witted at best and drunk at worst. And both are dangerous.Get sleep right, and most everything begins to fall into place. Get it wrong, and no amount of discipline, supplements, or good planning can fully compensate.

Sleep isn’t passive. It’s your brain and body’s nightly cleaning and repair system.

While you’re sleeping, your brain clears metabolic waste, your tissues repair, your hormones recalibrate, and your immune system resets. Miss enough of it—or disrupt it consistently—and the effects show up everywhere: low energy, poor focus, heightened stress, blood sugar instability and increased inflammation. The downside? When sleep is off, nothing works as well.

And yet, sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice.

SLEEP: WHAT MATTERS

There’s no shortage of advice on sleep, but the fundamentals are surprisingly simple—and well supported.

CONSISTENCY

It’s not just how long you sleep; it’s when. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day does more for sleep quality than chasing an extra hour here or there. Your body runs on rhythm. When sleep timing is erratic, your system stays on edge slightly, even if total sleep hours are within optimum range.

Think regularity, not rigidity.

YOU’RE ON THE CLOCK

Your circadian rhythm is regulated primarily by light, not willpower. Morning light signals your brain to be awake and alert; evening darkness tells it to power down. When that signal is delayed—by screens, bright lighting, or late-night stimulation, sleep quality suffers.

This is why mornings matter so much for nights. Get outside early if you can. In the evening, dim the lights, lower stimulation, and let your body know it’s safe to rest.

PROTECT THE NIGHT

Sleep quality is largely determined by what happens before your head hits the pillow. Late meals, intense workouts, alcohol, heavy screen time, and mental stimulation all delay recovery. You don’t need a perfect wind-down routine—but you do need a clear off-ramp.

For the past few years, I’ve made a real effort to wind things down a few hours before bedtime and to be more consistent about when I go to sleep. It’s not perfect, but it’s made a noticeable difference. I use an Oura ring to track sleep time and quality, which has helped me better understand my patterns.

I’ll share more about this next week. For now, just know this: sleep is a cornerstone of healthy living. It’s the stabilizer that allows regulation to happen in the first place. You don’t need to optimize sleep—you need to protect it.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT AND PERFORMANCE

Nutrition, Hydration and More

For years, nutrition has been framed as a math problem—calories in, calories out.

I’ve never found this approach particularly useful. For one, I really like food and have no interest in vilifying it by assigning numbers to determine its worthiness. And two—once you hit midlife, that thinking largely goes out the window. It becomes about how you feel and how you perform. And frankly, age is the least of it. At any age, nutrition is about performance.

Food isn’t just fuel for your body; it’s fuel for your brain, your mood, and your energy. When it’s off, everything feels harder. I liken it to feeling blunted.

The goal isn’t to eat less. The goal is to eat well and in a way that supports you.

FUEL: HOW AND WHAT

EAT TO NOURISH—NOT TO RESTRICT CALORIES

Energy crashes, brain fog, irritability, and constant hunger are often signs of blood sugar swings, not a lack of willpower. Long gaps between meals, overly restrictive eating, and relying on caffeine to get through the day all contribute. When blood sugar is unstable, cortisol rises, stress increases, and fatigue follows. Consistent, balanced meals do far more for health than chasing calorie targets ever will.

AVOID THE BAD STUFF— ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS

This is one area where the science is clear. Highly processed foods—refined sugars, industrial seed oils, packaged convenience products—create low-grade inflammation in the entire body. Over time, that inflammation shows up as joint pain, digestive issues, low energy, and impaired immunity. You don’t have to eat perfectly, but you do need to recognize that food can either calm your system or constantly irritate it.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The healthiest way to eat is often the least complicated. Whole foods. Repeatable meals. Ingredients you recognize. Rotating a handful of meals you genuinely enjoy makes eating well both sustainable and satisfying. Food should be pleasurable.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Yuka app, it’s a helpful tool for identifying ingredients in foods and cosmetics and flagging potentially harmful additives. I use it often and find it to be really helpful.

And remember: when food becomes overly complex, stressful, or moralized, it stops being supportive. Simpler eating patterns are easier to maintain and easier on the body.

I’ll leave the debates around macros, specific diets, and protocols to the professionals, but I’m happy to share my own go-to meals, comfort-forward recipes, and personal approach to healthy cooking next week.

Because food should make your life work better—not harder. When you eat in a way that nourishes, stabilizes energy and sharpens your focus, stress becomes easier to manage, and life simply feels better. And yes—it’s hugely more satisfying.

EXERCISE AND MOVEMENT

Start And Never Stop

Movement isn’t optional today. It’s not about exercise for exercise sake, and it’s certainly not about how you look. It’s about keeping your body capable and strong. Our bodies are designed to move and carry us through the world, and to support themselves.

When you stop moving, things begin to erode. Energy wanes. Sleep suffers. Muscles weaken and atrophy sets in. Bones lose density. Balance changes. Injuries can happen. What’s tricky is that these changes happen gradually.

What’s important to remember is that muscle and bone are always responding to how we use them. When we move, load, and strengthen the body, we’re either building what we have or reinforcing it. Without regular use and load, we lose strength and structural support over time.

Earlier in life, that work is about building and protecting structure; later, it’s about rebuilding and maintaining it. Either way, the opportunity is always there. You’re never too early to invest in strength, and never too late to improve it.

Where many of us get tripped up is treating movement as something extra instead of something essential—steps as an aspiration, strength training as something to put on the calendar. But movement isn’t an add-on. It’s part of how the body stays capable, steady and strong.

Movement for health’s sake is simple: it just requires that you show up consistently, in ways that keep the body strong enough to do what you ask of it—today and years from now.

EXERCISE + MOVEMENT: WHAT WORKS

DAILY WALKING, A MUST

If you do nothing else, walk. Walking supports circulation, blood sugar regulation, joint health, digestion, and mental clarity. It discharges stress as mentioned above doing double duty–and requires no recovery. Think of it as maintenance, not exercise. This is a non-negotiable baseline that keeps the system running.

STRENGTH TRAIN FOR LONGEVITY

Muscle is metabolically active tissue, and we lose it with age unless we work to keep it. Strength training supports bone density, insulin sensitivity, balance, and long-term independence. This isn’t about building bulk—especially for women. The idea that lifting weights makes women bulky is an old wives’ tale. Without extreme dedication and time, it simply doesn’t happen. What you gain instead is lean, strong muscle.

Strength training is about preserving capacity, deferring aging, protecting brain health, and increasing overall healthspan by reducing the risk of injury. Two to three sessions a week is enough to make a meaningful difference—three, of course, is even better.

SHORT BURSTS OVER LONG SLOGS

Cardiovascular health doesn’t require endless endurance workouts. Studies show that brief, intentional bursts—sprint intervals, jumping rope, or structured protocols like the Norwegian 4x4—improve heart health and bone density very efficiently. These short efforts create adaptation without requiring hours of training and the long term benefits are substantial.

When movement becomes part of how you live—walk, lift, and yes occasionally push—the body responds. You don’t need a perfect program or extreme effort. You need repeatable movement that fits into your life. Consistency is what is key.

PRO MOVES

Add-On Protocols For The Glow Up

LAYERS: WHAT TO ADD

What follows isn’t required—but it can meaningfully level things up. These are tools that refine recovery, resilience, and regulation once the foundations are in place. Even one or two, used consistently, can make a real difference. (If I had to pick just one, sauna would be it.)

And to be clear: none of these work if the basics aren’t covered first. They don’t replace sleep, nutrition, movement, or stress regulation. These are amplifiers.

SAUNA

Sauna is one of the most well-documented recovery and longevity tools we have. Regular heat exposure supports cardiovascular health, improves circulation, promotes nervous system relaxation, and enhances recovery. It also mimics some of the benefits of moderate exercise—particularly helpful for people who are injured, depleted, or under chronic stress.

Most of the strongest research is on traditional dry sauna, not infrared. Dry saunas reach higher temperatures—often 170–190°F—which appears to be where many of the cardiovascular and longevity benefits occur. Large population studies show a strong association between regular sauna use and reduced all-cause mortality, with benefits increasing when sauna is used consistently—roughly 20 minutes, four to five times per week. This is why sauna shows up again and again in longevity research. It’s simple, accessible, and deeply effective.

COLD PLUNGE

Cold plunging is a stressor—but a short, intentional one. When used appropriately, it can reduce inflammation, improve circulation, sharpen mental focus, and increase stress tolerance and metabolic flexibility. It can also be a powerful nervous system reset.

The key is dose. Brief exposure followed by full recovery can be beneficial; overdoing it can backfire, especially for already stressed or depleted bodies. This isn’t about endurance or bravado—it’s about controlled exposure and adaptation.

Cold tolerance varies widely. Men and women often respond differently, and individual health status, water temperature, and duration all matter. This is one area where doing your homework counts. Thoughtfully applied, cold plunging can be a useful tool. Carelessly applied, it can do more harm than good.

RED LIGHT THERAPY

Red and near-infrared light support cellular energy production by stimulating mitochondrial function. In practical terms, that can mean improved muscle recovery, reduced joint pain, faster healing, and benefits for skin and scalp health. It’s subtle, but cumulative—think cellular support rather than dramatic change.

Red light works best as a compliment, not a replacement, for movement, for recovery, and certainly not for sauna. Consider it another layer, not a shortcut.

These add-ons work only when the foundation is in place. Sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress regulation come first. Always.

Next week, I’ll go deeper into some of these—along with my own protocols, favorite products, and additional tools like massage and bodywork, compression, and hyperbaric therapy. For now, think of these as options, not obligations. Choose what supports you, and leave the rest.

HELLO HEALTHIER YOU

If this feels manageable, that’s the point.

Health shouldn’t feel like a second job. It should fit into the life you already have—and into the home you live in. We’ll keep unpacking this in the weeks ahead: what’s worth the effort, what truly supports you, and how to design both your routines and your spaces to support the healthiest version of you.

I’ll also share more of my own journey along the way—what works for me, what doesn’t, and what I’ve landed on after plenty of trial and error. That includes the foods I actually cook and love (comfort-forward, always), along with the routines, protocols, and products that have earned a place in my life.

More soon.