Health: Feeding the Mind and Body with Ben Brown

[00:00:00] Ben: We have things that are vying for attention at all hours. We have food, and access to high calorically dense, highly processed, refined food at all hours of the day. And so my point in all of that is this level of emotional, psychological, physiological stimulus is.

[00:00:21] Ben: Significantly more than it ever has, right? Than humans have ever been exposed to the degree that it is detrimental to our physiology, to our biochemistry, and that's where we need the modern day. in some capacity, might need the modern day medicine to offset

[00:00:45] Ben: the detriment of, the lifestyle that we live,

[00:00:49] Hector: Ben, welcome back to the Modern Masculinity Podcast. It's great to have you back.

[00:00:53] Ben: Well, it's great to be here. Thank you for having me back.

[00:00:57] Hector: Take us into your world. you mentioned that you are right as soon as we finish up, you're rushing off into dad duty. And so I know you're like,Clark Kent and, wearing a number of hats and outfits.

[00:01:08] Hector: What, what roles, responsibilities, do you find yourself playing most these days?

[00:01:17] Ben: So I have a 16-year-old. Who, so I have two girls and a boy. I have a 16-year-old girl, 14-year-old girl, and 10-year-old boy. And, I obviously run a business, that requires quite a lot of attention. And then my wife has recently started a business.

[00:01:36] Ben: And so she's kind of cranking away and grinding on that. And we, we have a myriad of responsibilities, obviously with the family and businesses and kids. And so, between driving duties. Fortunately my oldest now drives, which is wild,and somewhat stressful, although we're sort of easing into it.

[00:01:56] Ben: She only crashed into the house just once so far. So. not to, not too bad. but,it's funny, I'm, I feel like I'm describing this circumstances in the situation more and more frequently with guys like you,with colleagues, with peers, with clients, with other parents in this crazy season of life because it really is just a wild time.

[00:02:19] Ben: In that there's just a lot of moving pieces. There's the kids sports, the extracurriculars, so my oldest, despite the fact that she drives, she has dance and she has theater, and she has musical practice, and then you know, she has friends over or. She wants us to drop them off somewhere. my middle is a competitive volleyball player and she has club volleyball practice multiple days per week.

[00:02:44] Ben: she and my wife were just in Vegas for a tournament. And then my wife's taking both girls to New York City next weekend, and then the following weekend they're in Salt Lake City for another volleyball tournament. I'm spearheading my son's athletics with. our rugby season just ended and now we're in soccer season.

[00:03:04] Ben: And,so it's just like, there's just this endless flow of family duties and which is wonderful and responsibilities, but then layering in, your business obligations and being,being a small business owner, the fact that sometimes it's just really hard. To turn it off, and so you're kind of working all of the time and how to find any proverbial balance there, Hector, and then you know, what else is happening in this season of life?

[00:03:32] Ben: I mean, I'm 46 and so it's like you have kids are not cheap. You have financial stressors, you have aging parents, you have your own health that you're trying to prioritize and the changes that happen. for what? Both for men and women. So we have perimenopause and then for men, what we call andropause, which is less recognized, but it's still a decline in hormone function.

[00:03:56] Ben: And that's a lot of the guys that I work with. And so there's a few things going on.

[00:04:03] Hector: Yeah. and that's just like within our own walls, right? And so it's like, it makes me realize how much I need to shut out all of the nonsense that's going on around us because there's so much going on.

[00:04:15] Hector: There's so much that can be, that we can't focus on. And I, you, it's funny you talk about all of the different sports that you're going through. I am. My first little league season, and it's nothing compared to what you guys are in, there's nothing. It's so far from travel. It's so far from competitive stuff, but I am just like, I'm so overwhelmed.

[00:04:35] Hector: I joked on the show before that I, like, I had to create like an AI agent to like help me like, figure out all the things I need to do just to get, my kid in, just to start the season I had to create like a checklist of all the, different things that needed to be filled out and signed up for, and all those different things.

[00:04:50] Ben: That's a good idea. Yeah, but no, for real. And you know what, it's different. It's always different, like the seasons, it's never not quote unquote busy. And it's probably the word I hate the most, because it doesn't really mean anything. We're all busy, but you know, they're all perceived stressors, right?

[00:05:07] Ben: And I feel very blessed to be able to have these. Has, right? Like if these are the worst thing, the, these are the most stressful things that we have the opportunity and the privilege to experience well then. life is pretty damn good. So I say all of this with, just with the full transparency of like, this is not bad thing.

[00:05:29] Ben: This is a wonderful season of life. but. it's still perceived stress and with that comes a number of challenges.

[00:05:38] Hector: Well, it's an interesting thing that to think about because I think, a lot of guys will hit this season at some point, right? They have kids and then, however long it is, I tried to hold off, but it took me seven years with sort of get back, to get pulled into it.

[00:05:51] Hector: and what's interesting is that now the secondary effects is that I've got less time for me. Less time, the routines shift. and then also, habits are being sort of tested because now we're sort of being forced to eat at the ball field, we're going out with the grandparents after the dinner.

[00:06:08] Hector: And so just all of the routines and all of the things that got shaken up or excuse me, all the things that were sort of stable are now getting shaken up and. If I am, I'm sort of now realizing, oh, like, here's why you're burnt out. Like you're shoveling, Buffalo Wild Wings, Two or three times more a month than you were previously or just all these things that, that we're, say, we're doing for our kids and as we should, but it doesn't mean that we can't take care of ourselves amidst that. Right. Or like, that's just not gonna come on its own.

[00:06:38] Ben: That's the, that's always the proverbial trade off, right?

[00:06:40] Ben: It's like we, we justify putting ourselves on the back burner because obviously our family is our priority. And it's easy to rationalize, well, my kids need me. My significant other needs me, the team needs me, the school needs me, the church needs me, whatever the committee that I'm on needs me.

[00:07:03] Ben: And I'm gonna put all of, you put all of those things first, but, that ends up and we frame it as sort of this sort of selfless position of giving when in my mind it's actually. Quite selfish or, and put differently as we look at, well, if I focused on me and my nutrition habits or my exercise above someone else's needs, that might be framed as selfish.

[00:07:30] Ben: and again, I would say that's actually just the opposite because if we truly are committed to showing up as our best. Right then we know we need to be fueling ourselves effectively. Leading with confidence, teaching our kids how to make better decisions given the circumstances, right. Showing up with energy, and truly being able to kind of commit to everyone who is relying on us and so those are a lot of the conversations that I have with clients around.

[00:07:58] Ben: Okay. Well. if you're not happy eating out all of the time, you're not happy with what it's doing to your energy or your waistline, then, what can we do to put yourself in a position where you are in fact committing to eating better, exercising more structuring or creating more of a schedule that's conducive towards,following through with those commitments.

[00:08:23] Hector: Yeah, it's, it's interesting that you know that my. Son is playing baseball, and so my parents are coming down to watch the games and so we're just, we're seeing them more often. And I love my parents and I've talked about them a lot on the show, and they're great parents and they're wonderful grandparents and I'm so grateful for them.

[00:08:39] Hector: But it's just so interesting because to them, the idea that food is like a fuel. That idea is sort of just coming online and I don't think it's my dad yet. Like I don't think he's totally registered. You know that what you like the whole you are what you eat, like, no, that's. No, that's it. Like that's actually true.

[00:09:00] Hector: It's not just sort of a saying. and so there's the mindset or perspective that needs to come online first. And then it seems like the habits sort of follow, and both of those don't always come at the same exact time. And what's interesting now is that things are advancing so quickly with, medicine and peptides and,All supplements, right? Like some people are just now kind of catching on to, to sort of supplements, but we're even beyond that. And so the decisions that we make throughout the day are really having an impact on. On our results. and I also think that like we, we used to have to barter for like eight hours of energy.

[00:09:39] Hector: how do I get, how do I have eight hours of energy to get me through work so I can get home and plop on the couch and, redo for the next day. And that was sort of one way. And now that's not quite enough anymore for a lot of guys out there because, they put in their eight hours at work and then they come home and they need to do another, rightfully so.

[00:09:56] Hector: They need to be on for another X amount of hours while they're at home.

[00:09:59] Ben: Yeah, it's, you. Listen, there's nothing easy about it. it's, seemingly challenging and that's where, it's about setting yourself up for success. But you're right. depending on the season of life and with kids, it's like you need to be on, especially if you want to be present and involved and, Show up as a committed parent or leader. and that requires you to, like we said, prioritize yourself. It requires you to have the energy to be able to do that, to fuel yourself effectively, to know how to fuel yourself, to get good quality sleep, all of like the foundational pillars around nutrition and exercise and lifestyle.

[00:10:38] Ben: to say nothing of. The oppor, the potential opportunities to leverage modern day medicine and perhaps supplementation to improve that process. I think that's relevant and I, and we can certainly talk more about it, but I also think it's about looking at, is it, Is it improving the process or is it just a requisite to be proactive against the modern day lifestyle that we're living?

[00:11:09] Ben: Does that make sense?

[00:11:12] Hector: Tell me more about, about that part. The, the prerequisite part.

[00:11:16] Ben: Yeah, so, so essentially the lifestyle that we live now is very different than humans have ever lived before, right? the fact that we are literally stimulated from sun up until sundown and beyond, right?

[00:11:29] Ben: we're stimulated from the time we wake up until the time that we go to bed, whether that's, and it's usually before sunup, and it's usually well after sundown, in fact, that we have, artificial lights, we have blue lights, we have camera screens, we have phone screens, right?

[00:11:43] Ben: we're obviously doing this virtually. We have things that are vying for attention at all hours. We have food, and access to high calorically dense, highly processed, refined food at all hours of the day. And so my point in all of that is this level of emotional, psychological, physiological stimulus is.

[00:12:06] Ben: Significantly more than it ever has, right? Than humans have ever been exposed to the degree that it is detrimental to our physiology, to our biochemistry, and that's where we need the modern day. in some capacity, might need the modern day medicine to offset

[00:12:30] Ben: the detriment of, the lifestyle that we live,

[00:12:34] Hector: right? So the reality is that we're not going to get away from the plastics. We're not going to get away from the processed foods completely. and so it's really about establishing. Clear decisions, clear habits that are proactive against those things.

[00:12:52] Hector: Because if you just take the default, then you're gonna end up with things that are not necessarily in your best interest.

[00:12:58] Ben: Yeah. it's just looking at the trade-offs all of the time. And I think that's, life is very much about trade-offs. but with respect to our health these days, I agree with you.

[00:13:07] Ben: is, I don't know that you know it, it's relevant anymore to suggest. Moving off of the grid and living on a farm or growing all of your own food, and, maybe homeschooling or doing these things that would potentially be healthier for us, maybe physically, mentally and emotionally, but.

[00:13:30] Ben: Again, what are the trade offs there in, in the modern day lifestyle that we live? And so if we're not willing or able to do that, then what do we need to do to make it work?

[00:13:47] Hector: Yeah. I think one of the problems that a lot of people experience is there's so much. Noise out there. There's so many things that you can do.

[00:13:54] Hector: It's sort of this analysis paralysis, or I call it like the 31 flavors problem, where if you just give me three options on what kind of ice cream, and it's probably not a great example for this conversation, but it's much easier to pick from chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry as opposed to, I go into.

[00:14:11] Hector: cold stones are 31 flavors and there's, I'm inundated with options and choices and I dunno which one is the right one. I see people doing that sort of with health in the sense of, oh, there's so many things I could try and maybe it's just an easy excuse to not do it. But my question that's wrapped up in that is that,

[00:14:28] Hector: Is there a signal in that noise that you think is worth people paying attention to? or things that have a, an outsized impact and oversize, index Well, in terms of the, results that people can get from some of the things that are out there,

[00:14:46] Ben: is there a signal in the noise? Maybe you could just. Reframe the question for me.

[00:14:52] Hector: Yeah, I think there's so many things that are in the news. So many things that you could try, fad diets, peptides, GLPX, Y, Z, there's so many things that are out there and coming about. Are there things that are worth guys?

[00:15:08] Hector: Spending time looking into, or things that are actually working or being effective.

[00:15:15] Ben: Yeah. So I think you make a great point and listen, we have more information at our fingertips than ever before in human history, and it lends itself to more confusion than ever before about what? We actually should be doing, could be doing what works, what doesn't work, what the latest influencer suggests, what's sexy, what's not, and so it's worth acknowledging that, we have evidence for certain things.

[00:15:44] Ben: We have evidence, very clear. Calculated unequivocal evidence to suggest that exercise is great for us and we need a certain amount of exercise and we need certain types of exercise. We have evidence to suggest that we need to eat nutrient dense foods and we need to eat a certain amount of protein and we need to manage our calorie intake, and we need to create some semblance of a caloric deficit if we're trying to lose weight and a caloric surplus of some degree.

[00:16:14] Ben: If we're trying to gain muscle mass, we need to get enough sleep and recovery and quality sleep at the right times. we need to manage stress, and surround ourself with people in a community that is gonna be supportive and uplifting and positive, right? And so we have these foundational pillars at play that I think most people overlook.

[00:16:42] Ben: Especially because we kind of wanna focus like that's not super fun or sexy. It's like, okay, yeah, I get it. Like I need to manage my calories, but wouldn't it just be easier if I just followed some diet or cut out an entire food group, or took these supplements or just went on a GLP so I just wasn't hungry, or just intermittent, fasted or, right.

[00:17:02] Ben: And so all of those things contribute to. Why the foundational pillars work. In other words, every single diet that we have available to us is some, in some way, shape or forms helps us control for our calorie intake. There's just a lot of different ways to do that. and so I think what's most important for people to acknowledge first and foremost is not to put the cart before the horse and.

[00:17:32] Ben: Make sure that they are in fact focusing on those foundational pillars of like, if we're truly being honest with ourselves here. Right? Like, I, again, I'm mid forties. I work with a lot of hard charging guys and some badass women too. but. In the, in, in medicine now there's the glp, there's the other peptides that can help support inflammation and weight loss.

[00:17:58] Ben: it's a very timely and popular topic. So a lot of people are asking questions around, well, is this something that I should be doing? And I think a more important question to ask is, well. How impactful might that be relative to all of the other things that you are or are not doing? Right? Because if you're not managing your calorie intake, if you're not exercising enough, if you're not prioritizing sleep, rest, and recovery, if you don't have control over your schedule and you're prioritizing your exercise within, your day.

[00:18:31] Ben: If you're not happy with your significant other, your spouse, your job, your relationships, the people that you surround yourself with, well then we've got bigger fish to fry, and I can assure you that you adding peptides or hormone replacement therapy probably isn't going to be the biggest needle mover over.

[00:18:52] Hector: Yeah, I think as you're saying that, because I'm such a. I am like, before the early adopters, I'm like the, I don't know,the crazy weirdos, It was like, I remember, Back in 20, probably 20 11, 20 12, something like that. one of my mentors at the time, I had just started doing, like bulletproof style coffee and I just started putting butter in coconut oil in my coffee.

[00:19:16] Hector: And for the longest time he was like, what you're putting butter in your coffee? And I was like, yeah. And he's like, how much? And I was like. Like, like this. And he's like, of butter. And I was like, yeah, but like for, it was this whole, it became this whole joke between us. But he was so shocked by the idea of doing a bulletproof style coffee that, and I look back, I look on that now, and there's stores that are, sort of dedicated to that.

[00:19:39] Hector: And I was, so, so I say all that because I kind of. Not poo-pooed to that mindset, but I downplayed it in the sense of like, oh, you're right. It is not about the method. It is about the principle, but what I can get behind now is that if it's easier to get to the principle. Another thing like with counting calories I've talked a little about on the show is like I, I was using AI a lot to sort of track my macros and track my calories and, I would have a scale and ask, chat GPT at the time or whatever I was using.

[00:20:10] Hector: this much, many grams of chicken, how many calories is this? How is it? And I was able to, really make some progress because before doing all of that stuff Was painful and was arduous. And so now some of these things, perhaps if we can not get romantic about the method by which we do it, but if we can see the principle behind it, then at least we can, better discern which of these methods are better for us to utilize.

[00:20:36] Ben: Yeah. So here's what's fantastic about the. The age that we're living in is because if we can agree that those foundational principles reign supreme, right, the principles reign supreme, then there's a lot of different ways to get there, which I think is most important for people. So it's not to say that peptides aren't for you because that might very well be the gateway.

[00:20:59] Ben: It could very well be. Listen,my testosterone levels are low. Because my testosterone levels are low, I'm experiencing very low motivation to want to go exercise and to eat better and to improve my lifestyle behaviors. And so by virtue of me, undergoing therapeutic testosterone replacement, that's the inertia that I need to.

[00:21:25] Ben: Improve my motivation, my intrinsic drive to then want to start eating healthier and starting to feel better and wanting to exercise more. And it becomes this very feedforward cycle, so, so I don't think that any of the things that I mentioned in terms of whether it's the restrictive dieting, whether it's peptides itself, whether it's GLP peptides, whether it's testosterone replacement therapy,

[00:21:48] Ben: or some newfangled dieting methodology. I don't think any of it's bad. I think it's all actually good in that it helps the individual get closer to what it is that they actually want and how they're gonna get there, and most importantly, how they're gonna stay there. Because I've had a lot of people come through our community where perhaps they've done very well for a short period of time on carnivore or keto, right?

[00:22:15] Ben: And they've gleaned some important nuggets from that dieting methodology that's, they've also acknowledged several components that don't actually work for them. And I believe that's just as powerful, right? And when you can collect enough of those nuggets from enough different avenues. And then you really start to develop your own personal operating system, which is ultimately what we're all about.

[00:22:42] Ben: You have to be able to kind of figure out what the path looks like for you. No one can tell you how to do that. Now, I can help you, I can help guide you because I've guided a lot of people before in a number of different ways, and I know where obstacles lie because I've traveled those paths before Rector.

[00:23:01] Ben: but at the end of the day, you still gotta carry the pack. You still gotta do the work. You're still gonna hit some roadblocks and obstacles and crevices, if you will, but. Right, but at least you're equipping yourself with more and more tools to be able to. Get to the top of the proverbial mountain.

[00:23:20] Hector: So is that you think the principle that people are missing the most?

[00:23:26] Hector: Because if everybody sort of understood the principles, I feel like, we'd be in a much different place societally, but is that what a lot of people end up missing is that they're. They end up that they're going to need to create something bespoke for themselves. That there is no one size fits all.

[00:23:44] Hector: that eventually, even this program is gonna have its limitations when it comes to its impact. On, on, on that person.

[00:23:53] Ben: I,I genuinely think that people are missing the inherent level of ownership and responsibility that comes with making. Change, and the discomfort that is going to be experienced along the way, and this is what's so challenging about losing weight, gaining muscle, changing your body composition, improving your health, is it's no, there's no clear cut.

[00:24:23] Ben: It's not just, it's never just tell me what to do. That just doesn't work. And so it has to be something that becomes, I mentioned the word intrinsic motivation, but it has to become from, motivation from within. Something that you ultimately enjoy doing. Enjoy creating, the process of changing your behaviors.

[00:24:46] Ben: The process of, not to be cliche, but changing your identity, to the tune of. ultimately becoming someone different, someone that enjoys being physically active and eating healthy food and going to the ball game and bringing their own cooler bag. because you, one, you like those foods, they make you feel good, the other foods don't, right?

[00:25:07] Ben: Because you're taking a certain level of personal responsibility. You're also setting an example for your family. It's part of your non-negotiables and sort of that baseline level of standards that you hold yourself to. and so I think if people could commit more to that level of ownership and responsibility of like, this isn't about the diet or not, it's about showing up at my best, even on the worst possible days and determining what are my non-negotiables.

[00:25:37] Hector: Yeah, I'm reminded of James Clear's, atomic Habits book where he talks about, that's really the battle that you're on when you're establishing habits is that the habits is a byproduct of the identity shift and that, and it makes total sense that whether we're trying to improve our relationships or our finances or our health, that the identity is sort of going to be the,the hinge that everything else swings on.

[00:26:01] Ben: I had a, so I got a message, I reached out and was just checking in with the client. I've got a husband, wife, client, combo that I work with, and wonderful people. They're making great results. And, they're both down, whatever, 25, 30, 35 pounds respectively. between, her and him and, She, it, it was her birthday yesterday. and I messaged her and she, I asked, how the week's going and she kinda alluded to like, she said, I'm gonna take this week off. I'm not gonna track my food. I haven't been training. I'm not getting my steps in. And I kind of cringed a little bit because I think it's a perfect example of.

[00:26:45] Ben: We're not there yet, despite the fact that she's made great progress. It just haven't embraced the identity of like. If this isn't your on or you're off, this is just something that you are, I'm someone who gets a certain amount of steps every day. Even on my most stressful days, I'm certain someone who just trains multiple days per week because I enjoy the training process.

[00:27:10] Ben: I'm someone that genuinely just makes healthier food choices because it makes me feel good. It's not I'm giving myself a break because it's my birthday or because it's a holiday or because I'm traveling. Or because of all of the reasons that we have, and it's so, so fundamentally, it becomes this very important mindset shift whereby you don't, that no longer becomes part of the equation.

[00:27:36] Ben: It's just, again, I am someone who does these things. Because it's important to me. It's part of who I am. Right. Does that make sense?

[00:27:46] Hector: Yeah, totally. And I, in, in doing that though, as you're saying that I'm, my own brain is sort of wrapping around like, are you ready to make that decision? are you ready?

[00:27:54] Hector: But I also think that I come at things with sort of an all or nothing sort of mentality, or at least that's my, that's the default.

[00:28:04] Ben: I think most hard chargers do, and that is, in my opinion, and if I might challenge you for a second, I think that's part of the problem, right? Because it does become this very, what we call dichotomous behavior.

[00:28:19] Ben: It's this black or white, it's sort of this all or nothing perspective. Either I'm in or I'm out and we don't learn how to live in the gray. We don't. We don't learn what we call unconditional permission to. Just do better to just be pretty good all of the time versus great. Sometimes that's a quote that I use a lot.

[00:28:43] Ben: right. And what would that look like for you? Because oftentimes we're like, okay, you know what? This week hasn't been going great, so screw it. I'll just, restart things on Monday. I'll just find the most restrictive diet that I can. And it's pushing back against that so that we can infuse the pretty good, consistently that's gonna make the biggest change over the longest time horizon.

[00:29:09] Hector: Yeah. And I think it requires a lot of honesty or humility, or, I'm not sure right, because it's, as you said that it's like,but to accept being pretty good at something, it's. I guess again, it just bumps up against that identity shift where I want to be the best. But it also begs

[00:29:26] Ben: okay, but if you're not all in, what are you doing?

[00:29:32] Ben: And so if objectively, if we're tracking things, what is more likely to score higher and to drive better results? Right. If I, I could. Diet at 2000 calories and be aggressive and make great progress over a three week period. Right. Or I could, and then I say, screw it, and I go off the rails and I eat at 3,500 or 4,000 calories for a period of time.

[00:30:08] Ben: Right just to gain the weight back and get frustrated and keep playing that yo-yo game. Or I could eat consistently at 2,700 calories and still be in a modest deficit and ski. See the weight change week over week. Right? While still being able to eat some of the things that I would otherwise consider to be off limits, to have more flexibility and freedom to enjoy things with my family, to have my date night, maybe to have a cocktail here and there.

[00:30:37] Ben: Right. And that's where psychologically speaking, people are a lot more likely to be able to be consistent. So we're not white knuckling it. We don't have the black or white mentality. And objectively, when you think about it. It actually makes a lot more sense. and because of all of those things, you're a lot more likely to be consistent with it.

[00:31:02] Hector: Yeah, I, it's such a, it's a really interesting, I. I don't even know if it's I'm having this epiphany. 'cause it's one of those things where like, you know it, but how much these decisions lean back on, on how we view ourselves and our identity and the programming and the mindset that lies underneath it.

[00:31:21] Hector: Because once that sort of gets into place, the rest of these downstream things become a lot easier.

[00:31:28] Ben: I mean, like I said, I think the biggest obstacles are just people not taking ownership or responsibility over their behaviors and making, whether they realize it or not, excuses or rationalizing why they can't do all of the things.

[00:31:42] Ben: And if we can accept that for a lot of people what they think they need to do is. In and of itself is probably not realistic or sustainable. Then it also gives us permission to acknowledge, well, what would be realistic and sustainable for me, and even if there meant that there was room for improvement, right.

[00:32:08] Ben: Well, it probably would help me make more progress more consistently than to keep playing this on a on again, off again game.

[00:32:18] Hector: Yeah, and I think how we sort of perceive ourselves is so critical in that I had a, a friend in a mastermind that I'm in talk about how. A big shift for him happened when he started to see himself as an athlete.

[00:32:31] Hector: he had never had that identity and thus his habits and his workouts and the things that he did sort of followed. But it was when he started to see himself as this new, he sort of. Included this in his identity, it was so much easier to make those harder decisions to do the things because it's like, this is what that person does.

[00:32:49] Hector: and it seems like that's ultimately what we're trying to get. And I would imagine that there are some different, techniques or strategies or hacks or whatever it is to get there. But ultimately, like that's what we're trying to do is get ourselves to that place so that way we can do it until it's not, like you said, there's no, not like we're gonna have a day off.

[00:33:06] Hector: it's like we're gonna do it until. Until,

[00:33:10] Ben: yeah, listen, I think that's, that's what has to happen. That's my experience at least over the past 20 plus years. And, again, it's not easy, but it's also not hard. it's just right. It's just inherently that the level of commitment that you're willing to apply.

[00:33:30] Hector: Yeah, I am sort of curious though. we've talked about,supplements, glp, peptides. what sort of, are there things that, what, that you find yourself prescribing or recommending, or advising more today than, say three, five, 10 years ago?

[00:33:49] Ben: what I do advise and recommend much more now at this stage of life with the clients that I work with, is comprehensive blood work first and foremost.

[00:33:59] Ben: I think that without question, there's a lot that we can get done just by focusing on the foundational pillars and I come from a background, so like you. I've always been very ahead of the curve. So I was studying functional medicine in 2006, studying diagnostic testing, adrenal function, organic acid profiles, looking at gut health, parasites, all of this kind of, digging into supplementation, all of this kind of stuff.

[00:34:30] Ben: and so I realized early on the value of diagnostic testing. Almost to a fault. and so I kind of swayed the other direction and know again, just like you get someone moving consistently, you get them eating better, you get them managing their calorie intake, improving their sleep behaviors, like you can make massive change, but.

[00:34:55] Ben: Over the past few years, I really started to butt up against the fact that our physiology does in some way, shape, or form start to change. And it's not just like the second we turn 40,we get this shift, but it very much progressively is this. This slow change over time, and in terms of like a losing lean muscle tissue, especially for not consistently strength training, it's an accumulation of visceral body fat.

[00:35:23] Ben: That's that body fat that surrounds is deep around our organs, right? It's the impact of stressors over time. It's when you have kids and the sleep debt that accrues and how all of these things contribute to hormonal decline and increase in inflammation, of inflammatory mediators in the body, and of blood sugar dysregulation and so on and so forth.

[00:35:48] Ben: And so. My suggestion and the, how we work with most clients is we'll actually run a comprehensive labs, through, and we partner directly with the telehealth company and clinicians to do this. But it's just getting a deep dive under the hood to look at. Okay. What is actually going on?

[00:36:10] Ben: Now, it goes without saying that we're gonna work on improving all of the things that I've already talked about ad nauseum, right? But beyond that, how can we provide some additional support to the system and where do we need it? Do we need it in terms of managing inflammation and joint health? Do we need it in terms of managing,of supporting gut health, of thyroid function, of insulin and blood sugar management of cardiovascular health and cardiovascular risk factors, and then ultimately of hormonal health.

[00:36:42] Ben: Than looking at testosterone and estrogen and DHEA and progesterone. And oh, by the way, for most guys is also free testosterone and SHBG, which stands for Sex Hormone Binding Globulin because despite the fact that we could be doing everything right, foundationally, if anyone or all of those things are off, it's going to significantly impact how much progress you're actually making.

[00:37:12] Ben: So then we're in a great position to have already improved a lot of those variables or be in the process, right? Because it certainly is a process. And then be able to apply, alright, here's where supplementation makes sense. Here's where a manipulation in the diet or the types of foods that we're consuming make sense.

[00:37:32] Ben: In other words. For someone that has perhaps more cardiovascular risk factors, it might be a strategic decrease in dietary or saturated fat intake. Right? it could be,

[00:37:45] Hector: can you illustrate for the guys I'm, whether it be, yourself or clients that you've worked with in terms of. Things that, either weren't obvious that they sort of saw through blood work and, you were able to make some changes and some hu big differences or, things that, I guess that's probably the biggest thing that, that blood work does, right?

[00:38:04] Hector: or by being able to see these diagnostics is that you're able to see, like you said, under the hood and identify things that you wouldn't otherwise just be able to do by feel.

[00:38:13] Ben: Yeah, well that's, and especially if you've got someone who's like going down the keto or carnivore route, but they have, where that, whether it's a genetic predisposition to, hypercholesterolemia or,high LDLs or A POB or Or a couple other markers that, that I'm just spacing on at the moment, but it really lends itself to like, Hey man, eating a high fat diet probably is not the best idea for you because of. What's clearly visible on the labs and what we know from the research relative to elevated levels of these numbers, and these aren't numbers that you know the typical your typical medical professional will run.

[00:38:55] Ben: These are much more comprehensive and based much more in optimal ranges than your typical normal. Again, conventional lab ranges, and I think that's a really important component to understand is the vast majority of, listen, we all know how, Standard insurance based labs run the docs, generally speaking, and it's not 'cause they have, they certainly don't have bad intentions.

[00:39:19] Ben: I believe every doctor has the best intentions, but just based on the ways that they're trained and what medical system will allow, it's like they're gonna run the bare minimum of shit to basically say, listen, you're not, in a diseased state yet, you're quote unquote normal, and therefore we don't need to prescribe or treat anything.

[00:39:39] Ben: To keep you alive. Essentially. We're not optimizing for health. We're not being overly proactive to make sure you're looking and feeling your best. Has nothing to do with that. We're just making sure you're not gonna be in disease state. And by the way, the norms are based on the standard American population.

[00:39:56] Ben: If you've looked around recently, the standard American population is fat, sick, and diseased. And so we don't have a very strong baseline to compare. Our numbers too, if we're someone who genuinely wants to again, look and feel their best. And so that's where we really wanna do our diligence beyond the spectrum of norms and really look to optimal lab values.

[00:40:22] Ben: And that's kind of how we approach the process to then be able to say, okay, in addition to potentially making tweaks to the foods that you're consuming, we can look at hormone optimization and say, are your. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone levels low. Why could they be low? Is there things that we can do from a nutrition lifestyle supplementation standpoint to make sure we're improving them?

[00:40:48] Ben: For example, we'll have guys with low levels of testosterone, but they might be, they might have sleep apnea. And so depending on where their numbers are, if we can fix their sleep through losing weight, through improving their nutrition and exercise habits, by getting them on A-C-P-A-P by implementing some strategic supplementation, they can actually start breathing at night, actually start oxygenating the blood.

[00:41:15] Ben: Then they're act, they're automatically gonna be start to, to create the precursors to hormone production and they can naturally start to correct those testosterone levels. It's an absolute game changer, but it's a perfect example of, how the testosterone is simply a downstream player of the lifestyle and nutrition behaviors, right?

[00:41:36] Ben: And so that's just one of many factors that we look at.

[00:41:41] Hector: Yeah, I don't think, I think a lot of guys are waking up to it and they sort of realize that there are all these sort of, there's much more knobs that you can turn to feel better than just the ones that they would tell you at the doctor's office.

[00:41:53] Hector: 'cause to your point, they're not going for optimal. They're going for,you're not dying right now. and so that's. Probably what not, what guys are not listening to this show for, I mean, they're going for optimal and they're trying to be and feel their best.

[00:42:07] Ben: I think most guys want to go for optimal, and we make it very challenging in the transactional world that we live in with the healthcare model that we have.

[00:42:18] Ben: And even with. Like we talked about just the misinformation or the massive amounts of information in social media with how disjointed every aspect of the healthcare process is. It's like I get supplements from one person and I see my doctor over here, but I have a different specialist over here. And then I have a nutritionist, but I have a personal trainer and then I've got a functional medicine guy.

[00:42:40] Ben: And my experience over again, over the past 20 plus years has been very much. Around creating as much of a cohesive plan, team and strategy as possible, because I've been very, disappointed with everything that I've just explained with the fact that I will refer out a client to a medical professional for blood work and they don't even run.

[00:43:09] Ben: The appropriate tests, there's no follow up or follow through. The person will show up at, abysmal numbers, but because they're in the normal range, they're told, they're quote unquote fine. And to just again, quote unquote, eat better and exercise more. there's no. actual follow up and follow through with the practitioner, even when they do get a client on a medication or, something to make sure that the numbers that, that they're actually benefiting from it.

[00:43:43] Ben: so it's just a myriad of so many things that I had to essentially just put all of this stuff into together in our own business to say, listen, this is gonna be very much a team approach. We're gonna take care of every aspect of the process for you to the degree that we're gonna cover, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, accountability, supplementation, medication, and all of the support and structure and consistency and accountability along the way.

[00:44:10] Hector: Are you leveraging AI at all in, are you seeing what's been your experience with that and what you are doing?

[00:44:16] Ben: I leverage AI from a content creation standpoint every single day. From a communication articulation,just a thought formation, almost, like a confidant to just bounce ideas off of and.

[00:44:32] Ben: Give me the opportunity to kind of verbalize and think through things and then get what I perceive to be some valuable feedback, assuming we can prompt, we're inputting the right prompts. I haven't, I don't utilize AI in my practice as of yet. Virtually any capacity outside of perhaps note taking summaries. some tools that I've built for my clients to leverage around their nutrition and exercise. but what about you?

[00:45:08] Hector: like I said, I was, I found a lot of ha Benefit in tracking, both, workouts and,calories, recipes or, asking for things to, like I, I realized that, I was drinking.

[00:45:23] Hector: A tea that I, had all of the great,things, the turmeric and all this sort of stuff, but there was a couple, I was probably mistiming it and not including a couple of things to actually, get the most out of it. And so, AI sort of straightened me out and said, why don't you drink it this part of the day and add in a little pepper and, get a lot more.

[00:45:43] Hector: So, so those sort of things has been helpful. I haven't, uploaded my blood work or anything like that, but I've heard, a number of people say that they've gotten a lot of benefit.

[00:45:52] Ben: I'd be very careful uploading blood work into ai unless you have a very clear, Framework or structure for it to base its analysis on.

[00:46:06] Ben: otherwise it's not uncommon to get a ton of misinformation.

[00:46:10] Hector: I would, I could totally see that. 'cause I think that we're not out of the woods yet. We still need, we need humans in the mix. so that's refreshing to hear. I got two questions for you. The first is if people wanna get more info on you, stay connected, find out about, what's going on in your world.

[00:46:26] Hector: Where's the best place for people to go?

[00:46:29] Ben: Yeah. our website is body systems.com and people are welcome to reach out to me directly, ben@bodysystems.com is my email. I'm pretty active right now. Somewhat reluctantly, but I'm pretty active on social media, on Instagram, it's at body systems coaching. I think that would probably be the best place to follow along to get the flavor of the type of information that I put out, who I'm speaking to, kind of a bit more about what we do.

[00:47:01] Ben: I try and give as much value, valuable nuggets of information as possible on, through Instagram. And so that would be the best place.

[00:47:10] Hector: Sweet. And we will, link all that up as always. And I'm sure I asked you last time, but I'll ask you again in your opinion, Ben, what is the, what is your definition of modern masculinity?

[00:47:29] Ben: I think, I think that there's a tremendous responsibility, and I probably said something similar to this last time, but I think that we have a tremendous responsibility as men at this day and age, especially at this juncture of life to lead. Despite, I think that there's a lot of pressure to be a guy at this day and age, and two.

[00:47:52] Ben: Represent what masculinity means. But I think that there's just a tremendous responsibility to lead with confidence and clarity and control, to set an example, for our family, for our loved ones, for our community. and I think that it also begs. Being a servant in some way, shape or form. And you can interpret that however you want, but giving back,as we alluded to early in the conversation, Hector, I mean, I feel very blessed and privileged to have the type of problems, if you can call it that, that I have on a daily basis.

[00:48:33] Ben: And with that said, I feel a tremendous responsibility to be able to give back in every. Any way that I can. and for me right now, what I do and helping other men live their best lives, is sort of the definition of that to say nothing of like teaching at the university and just trying to help others be as healthy, happy, humble humans as they can possibly be.