Health & Fitness - Vehicle for Life.

Small, consistent acts of care make a life well lived. Consistency powers your vitality. Vitality, the fundament for life, to me consists of 3 components and 0 shortcuts.

My Futile, Future Self.

3 Elements... Nail those and it's like living in a movie. You'll feel stronger, brighter, and more alive. Beware: We really have troubles to think of our future selves. Treat your body poorly and your quality of life suffers - with time increasingly. It's much easier to build good health early on, but it never is too late to start.

Vitality is Individual.

👉 This is all individual. Do yourself a favor and invest in expert help: a session with a personal trainer (or friend who is) instead of a night out. Work with a nutritionist (online or offline), instead of a weekend city-trip. A blood test to see what nutrients are missing for a happy body.

That being said, I want to share 3 Principles I found compelling since they are very difficult to dispute:

Natural Nutrition.

1. Choose food that is fresh. When you cannot pronounce an ingredient, chances are high it's not great for you.
2. Start with the greens, then proteins, then carbs. This avoids glucose spikes, fills you up with greens and proteins first.
3. 18/21 rule: nail 18 out of 21 meals (3 meals a day, 7 days a week) and you should be good.

👉 There's a great book about nutrition and sugar, one of our biggest challenges, it's called "The Glucose Revolution*" By Jessie Inchauspé I can recommend.

There's so much more on nutrition I want to add. Come back in a while to learn more.

Exercise that Excites.

I know many people that have a rather flaky relationship to working out. My past (and at times present) self included. That limbo of picking it finally up again, 110%-style committed to gym, crossfit and bootcamps to make the most out of the new found momentum.

A few days or weeks in, a tiny thing disturbs the new routine and - gone the new "habit". Picking it up seems wonderfully pointless and difficult.

👉 It seems much easier to stick to a workout I am actually enjoying. Even if it is just a walk in the park, or a short boxing-session at home. Better than nothing, and it will pay off, too. And it feels better than beating myself up for giving up on a pro-intense-ultra-ironman-bootcamp.

1. Do what's fun, not what seems to be most effective.
2. Consistency: the difference between average and outstanding is often just one more day/rep/time or % - it compounds.
3. Rest and Sleep are as crucial as activity.

Sexuality that's Yours.

"Eroticism Is Not Sex Per Se, But The Qualities Of Vitality, Curiosity, And Spontaneity That Make Us Feel Alive." - Esther Perell

1. Talk with an open, curious mind. Express yourself.
2. Say "no" passionately. A "maybe" is a no, at least for today. A passionate, couragous "yes" feels awesome when you say it.
3. Ask about and respect fantasies, you shall enter a different world.

Excurse: Dopamine from Porn (over-) consumption.

"It's the big peaks in dopamine that are not associated with any prior effort or organization of self that are particular dangerous for the human being." - Andrew Hubermann (see Video below)

Amongst others, it's the aspect of novelty that we crave. Those who are consuming porn therefore realize a certain trend towards the more extreme. There's at least one big problem with that: any activity with high dopamine release will make it harder to achieve the same or even higher level through a subsequent interaction.
Or in other words: often watching porn? You're setting the bar (too) high for yourself and your partner and risk feeling too little pleasure from "the real thing" offline. Read more on Dopamine here: Emotions.

If you are like me - a rather rational and logical personality - you might be interested in what I think about thinking

• Disclaimer: Links with an * asterisk are affiliate links. I earn a small commission when you buy a product I recommend. This does not mean you pay more - but it helps me maintain this website.