A Note To My Younger Self

Hey , Brothers!

Welcome back to the LenDentonThrive Letter, 

Have you ever wished you could go back in time in order to change the future? 

In this week's edition of the newsletter, we're going to do just that with 7 things that I would tell my younger self about my personal health and fitness. And, this applies whether you're 30, 40 or beyond.

Looking Back To Move Forward

Wouldn't it be great if we could go back into our past to tell our younger selves something important that would change our life for the better in the present? Things like buying Amazon stock in 2001! It was $0.54 a share. Today, that same stock is worth more than $270 a share!

As the old saying goes, everybody has 20/20 hindsight!

In this edition, I'll use my own 20/20 hindsight to share 7 things I would tell my younger self that would have helped me to live a happier and healthier life today. I’m really excited about my personal fitness journey (my ThriveLife) over the past 13 years. However, I really wish I would have started it sooner.

Today, my chronological age is 68. But, my calculated fitness age is 58. And, I actually feel like I’m 48-50 years old. 

I credit this to my ThriveLife. But, I still think I could have done better if I had started sooner. 

At 50, I thought I had everything pretty much figured out. I had a well-paying job, I traveled the world, and felt like things were generally going my way.

But, as I look back now, I realize that I was all work and no play. I was working too much. Stress had become my constant companion. I was eating poorly, and my weight had started to climb. There was little time for exercise. I was too busy to take the time to see my doctor for regular checkups.

At the time, that seemed okay because I was still healthy…sort of. I seldom thought about my family’s bad history of heart problems that had ended my dad and my younger brother in their 30s.

By the time I was 55, I was 70 pounds overweight and my cholesterol was quickly becoming a problem. Just before Christmas that year, my doctor radically changed my life when he told me that I was a poster child for a heart attack or stroke. 

That got my attention and radically changed the direction of my life.

So, with all of this as my historical backdrop, here are 7 things I wish I had known earlier. Like at age 35 or 40. 

But - it’s also what every Guy should know whether you're 30 or 70!

Seven Things Every Guy Should Know

1 - Your First Wealth is Health - Your health is the single most important thing that you have! Without it, you have nothing to build a successful life on!

Think about your health as a bank account for a moment. Are you making deposits that grow the balance of your health account over time? Or, are you doing what I was doing between the age of 35- 50…making withdrawal after withdrawal, while making very few deposits? 

What happens when your health account runs low?

What healthy 40 or 50-year-old man would trade places with the wealthiest man in the world, if that wealthy guy was on his deathbed? 

Health is Wealth!

Note #1 to My Younger Self: Make your health a top priority!

2 - Don’t Avoid the Doctor - Going to the doctor for regular check-ups was not a part of man culture when I was growing up. Doctors were to be avoided, except when you were really sick.

So, I wasn’t doing annual checkups.

Now, I know that it’s better to prevent illness than to treat it. Regular check-ups help you find problems earlier, when they’re easier to treat. I call this my Medical Early Warning System (MEWS) and you can read more about it here.

Note #2 to My Younger Self: The key to a long and healthy life is to find problems as soon as possible and treat them early. Get your check-ups! 

3 - Sleep More - I used to consider it a badge of honor that I was able to operate effectively on 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night.

Today, I know that every night that I slept less than 7 hours was another withdrawal from my health account.

We have learned so much about the importance of sleep over the past 10-15 years. We now better understand the role that sleep has in our brain’s healthy functions, including avoiding nasty diseases like Alzheimer’s. We know that a lack of sleep lowers our effective IQ and raises the level of inflammation in our bodies. Furthermore, we now also know that lack of sleep causes our bodies to retain excess weight. 

Getting 7 or more hours of sleep per night is my #1 health and fitness goal this year. To learn more about the importance of sleep, read more here and here.

Note #3 to My Younger Self: Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night!

4 - Eat Smarter - I wasn’t eating a healthy diet back in my younger days. Instead, I was eating what I now call the Standard American Diet (aka SAD).

The SAD is basically the product of Big (corporate) Food in America. It’s one of the major reasons why the obesity rate among American men of all ages is skyrocketing.

Most of the foods we eat today are highly engineered and highly processed. They are engineered to be inexpensive and addictive. Often, these foods are filled with hidden sugars and sweeteners that actually engage the pleasure centers of your brain to cause you to want more of those foods. (That’s the definition of addictive.)

Another problem related to our eating habits is portion size. America has super-sized everything from french fries to restaurant servings.

The result of these two factors is an explosion in the number of calories we consume. Most guys have no idea how many calories they are actually consuming on a daily basis.

I wish I’d understood this earlier. I didn’t think I was purposely over-eating, but over time the pounds began to pile on. It was only after I learned how to avoid the worst foods and actively control my caloric intake that I was able to return to a healthy weight.

Eating smarter is more important than just eating less. The key was to avoid the highly engineered and processed stuff that comes with “boxes and brands.” Learn more about Eating Smarter here.

Note #4 to My Younger Self: Eat smarter by choosing better foods.

5 - Move more - At age 50, regular, consistent exercise was not a part of my everyday routine. I was too busy to make it a priority.

Today, I understand the importance of exercise in creating and maintaining a fit and healthy life. Cardio exercise is an essential first element in developing and maintaining good cardiovascular health. It is also the best way to develop a calorie deficit which is essential for effective weight loss.We need more cardio exercise, not less. Learn more about the benefits of cardio exercise here.

Note #5 to My Younger Self: Get some cardio (preferably 30 minutes) every day!

6- Get Stronger - I am not a weight lifter. I have lots of friends who are, but it has never appealed to me. 

However, strength training isn’t optional! 

It has been shown to be essential for helping Guys of every age group to achieve and maintain their health as they age. Research has shown that men with higher muscle mass tend to live longer and healthier lives. This is because strength training increases muscle mass, which tends to improve bone density, increases testosterone, and the production of stem cells.

Strength training also helps to improve cognitive ability as men age. The more we learn about strength training, the more important it becomes. This is especially true for Older-Guys. You can learn more about the benefits of strength training here and here.

Today, I am building strength through body weight exercises and dumbbells in my home gym.

Note #6 to My Younger Self: Pump the iron, do the push-ups, or do both. Get stronger!

7 - De-Stress - At age 50, I was a stress-a-holic! I prided myself in being able to take on the most stressful assignments.

But now, I know that stress has consequences. And, excessive stress often comes with even bigger consequences.

Our bodies have both a mental and anatomical response to stress. Our minds may feel burdened or overwhelmed at times of stress, but our bodies react as well.

Stress causes our bodies to release cortisol, a hormone related to our fight-or-flight response. High levels of cortisol can cause inflammation in the body, which can lead to illness. Cortisol can also impact our ability to sleep and causes the body to retain fat.

We all have stress in our lives. However, it’s important to understand that excessive stress is bad for our overall health. I suggest two ways to deal with stress as we go through our daily routines:

1. Avoid excessive stress wherever possible. Remember that stress has consequences. So, if you don’t need to take on more stress - don’t.

2. Develop a way to de-stress yourself on a regular basis. That might look like some form of mindfulness. It could also be a hobby that allows you to decompress from the routine stresses of daily life. For me, long walks are the best form of stress relief.

You can read more about the negative effects of stress here.

Note #7 to My Younger Self: De-stress yourself by recognizing the harmful effects of stress and developing methods to counter it.

Smarter, Not Harder

So, those are 7 things that I wish I could have told my younger self. Having this knowledge then would have led me to start on a healthier path much earlier than I did.

Hopefully, you can learn from my 20/20 hindsight.

The key thing to remember is this:

The best time to start your ThriveLife journey was ___ years ago. (You get to fill in that blank.)

The second best time to do it is TODAY!

Whether you are in your 20s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, NOW is the best time to start your journey to the ThriveLife!

Remember, building sustainable health and fitness (for you or your family) isn’t about sheer willpower or perfection. It’s about consistency and making smarter choices. 

You don’t need crazy diets or killer workouts. Your ThriveLife is built on a few smart daily habits that fit into your life and that you’ll actually enjoy doing. 

Here are two ways I can help you build your own ThriveLife:

1 - Subscribe to the LDT Letter for weekly tips and strategies

2 - Join the wait list for my upcoming new book ThriveLife Transformation, where I’ll show you how to build a healthier version of YOU with 6 Smart Daily Habits that you can do in 30 minutes a day. 

To join the waitlist, just reply to this newsletter and say “Sign me up!” I’ll send you an email when the book is available.

Thanks for reading today.

And remember, God loves us. He wants us to thrive. 

All the best… Len

Healthy dads raise healthy families!

My mission is to help 1 million men raise healthy families for the Kingdom of God. So, I write this newsletter to make a positive impact on the lives of men and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week. And, please share this with friends or family that would benefit from the ThriveLife!

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