In this episode I discuss the four levels of health, from 0-4, with their various habits, expectations, body fat percentages, amount of exercise required, knowledge of health, etc.
I scrutinize everything from macronutrient tracking to exercise and nutrition, setting the record straight on what it truly means to be in top physical form.
While the allure of a Level Three lifestyle often takes the spotlight on social media, I make a compelling case for the sustainable contentment found at Level One, challenging the assumption that peak physical condition is the zenith of health.
Find episode links, notes and artwork at:
https://blog.dirobi.com
This show is for informational purposes only.
None of the information in this podcast should be construed as dispensing medical advice.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
In this episode I discuss the four levels of health, from 0-4, with their various habits, expectations, body fat percentages, amount of exercise required, knowledge of health, etc.
I scrutinize everything from macronutrient tracking to exercise and nutrition, setting the record straight on what it truly means to be in top physical form.
While the allure of a Level Three lifestyle often takes the spotlight on social media, I make a compelling case for the sustainable contentment found at Level One, challenging the assumption that peak physical condition is the zenith of health.
Find episode links, notes and artwork at:
https://blog.dirobi.com
This show is for informational purposes only.
None of the information in this podcast should be construed as dispensing medical advice.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Hello and welcome to the Derby Health Show. Today I'm talking about the four levels of health, a useful guide for leveling up. At least, this was very useful to me years ago when I learned about it, and I hope it will be super useful to you as well, and hopefully also very affirming and motivating, because this is not about getting to the top level. As a matter of fact, I think what you're going to find is it's really great to just move from level zero to level one. These were developed by Precision Nutrition. I find them to be quite accurate, quite useful. Although there's some people that operate at level two in some areas of their lives, level zero in other areas, etc. For the most part, they're quite good at defining where we're currently at and where we might want to be and establishing some form of a baseline so we can see where we're at and also some motivation for where we want to go. Let's dive into it. Interestingly, precision Nutrition deals with everyone from pro athletes all the way down to beginners, trying to help them to reach very simple goals. Their scale is from one to two to three, with three being professional athletes or models. For example, we have to have very low body fat and level one being eating fairly healthy. We'll get to that, but I'm just calling level zero the standard American diet, the place where most of us start, the place where many of us were raised, without even realizing it.
Speaker 1:Level zero is kind of how people eat if they just don't know anything about health or fitness. It's dominated by processed foods, insufficient activity, abundance of stress. It's a lifestyle that, sadly, is more normal than abnormal. It represents a diet and lifestyle that many might not consciously choose but they find themselves doing out of convenience, lack of knowledge or just the demanding pace of modern life. Now again, this is not to be all judgy and get down on ourselves if we have level zero characteristics. Rather, it's to recognize them and then to challenge ourselves and figure out where our weaknesses may be and what our strengths could be if we just worked on them. And so let's go through the characteristics of a level zero lifestyle, or the standard American diet, or sad as it is fondly known here in the US. The sad diet consists of a high consumption of processed foods, fast foods, sugary beverages, alcohol.
Speaker 1:Nutritional knowledge for a level zero eater is typically low. A level zero person may not be able to recognize the difference between carbs, fats and proteins. For example, they are likely are not a label reader or aware of just how much sugar, alcohol or other unhealthy foods they have consumed by the end of any given week. Physical activity is minimal to no regular physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle is common, with many hours spent sitting at work, commuting or during leisure time.
Speaker 1:Stress management probably poor stress management leading to chronic stress. This may be exacerbated by fast-paced, high-demand nature the fast-paced, high-demand nature of many jobs and lifestyle. Supplement strategy probably not strategic. They may take a multi-year or a mineral or something they've just kind of come across from some friend or show that they saw that they thought would be cool, but likely it's some random collection in their cupboard. They may run out on a regular basis and it's probably not very well thought out or strategic and may even be done in a sense to compensate for some of the poor behaviors done in their nutritional, eating and nutritional habits.
Speaker 1:Number four sleep habits probably inadequate or poor quality sleep, often due to this bad lifestyle or the over the overuse of electronic devices before bedtime, etc. Hydration insufficient water intake, often replaced by high-calorie sugary drinks or caffeinated beverages. Body fat of a level zero person is typically over 20% body fat for men and over 30% for women. These are some of the markers. The health challenges of a level zero eater are chronic health conditions over time, increased risk of developing chronic health conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer. These conditions are often linked to diet and lifestyle factors. Energy levels in mood they're subject to low energy levels. Mood swings, higher risk of mental issues like depression and anxiety. Their diet and activity levels have a significant impact on overall mood and energy. The immune function is poor. Sleep quality is bad. Overall quality of life is reduced because they have a lack of energy. Chances are they have to take some drugs eventually to manage these chronic conditions. And so, again, those are the common factors and definitions of a level one person.
Speaker 1:Living out life of level zero without making any changes to improve diet, increased physical activity, managed stress or enhanced sleep can lead to a vicious cycle of poor health choices and outcomes. It's critical for a level zero person to recognize some of these pitfalls and hopefully at some point take control of their life and level up, as we're going to talk about in this episode. Luckily, and here's what's super exciting they don't have to level up to step four. As a matter of fact, there are downsides to step four. Level one is a wonderful sweet spot that is not that hard for a level zero person to maintain. Level one is where transformation begins. It's about mastering the fundamentals. This is where people start to integrate whole foods, establish a consistent exercise routine and lay down the habits that will support their health for years to come. And the beautiful thing about level one is it's achievable to everyone. It's not that difficult. It's highly rewarding. So let's talk about the characteristics of a level one lifestyle Diet.
Speaker 1:There's an emphasis on whole food, nutrient dense foods, as I mentioned before. A cutting down you don't have to eliminate this point processed options, but cut down on them. This includes also raising the amount of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats that you eat, and aiming to get as much of the vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients and zoo chemicals that you can get from food. You will not be able to achieve all your goals without supplements. This is established easily by a simple blood test. However, you don't have to get a blood test. We'll talk about supplements here in a minute. Back to the foods.
Speaker 1:There's an awareness by a level, when eater, of how much sugar, caffeine, alcohol and other unhealthy foods are consumed. They don't have to eliminate all of these things, but they do tend to know how much caffeine they consume in a day, how much alcohol, how many treats they have, whereas a level zero eater may be completely unaware of how much they had. I'll give you one quick example A Dr Pepper. A non diet Dr Pepper has 240 calories and is a sugary treat, and to a level one eater, that may be something you do once a day and that would be the extent of treats for that day. A level zero eater might take their massive cup to the 7-eleven first thing in the morning, fill it up with 50 ounces or whatever those things hold, and guzzle that thing down within the next couple of hours and then add additional sugary garbage on top of that. So that's just a quick example of the type of awareness that kicks in at level one.
Speaker 1:Physical activity. At level one, people incorporate regular, moderate exercise into their daily routine. It doesn't even have to be intensive, but it could include things like walking, cycling, yoga, resistance training anything that gets the heart rate up and promotes physical well being. Time spent exercising would be still less than about six hours a week, and we'll talk about what level two and level I'm sorry, level, yeah, level two and level three do Supplements.
Speaker 1:At this point become more important and more strategic. There'll be an awareness of what supplements they need and that will support their goals and activity level. Most people will understand the purpose of a functional multi and minerals. They may also be taking strategic supplements like creatine. If they're doing resistance training, they might use caffeine more strategically instead of a morning coffee. They might be taking a pre-workout, for example, and they would also be aware of prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes, both in their diet and through supplements. And so they're just a more awareness of the right supplements for them and how taking supplements strategically can help pour gas on the fire of their health. They're hydration they will prioritize water intake and cut down on other things, and they will maintain optimal hydration throughout the day. They will stress management-wise they will adopt a basic stress reduction practice such as mindfulness, meditation or hobbies that encourage relaxation and mental well-being. And sleep they will focus on establishing a sleep schedule and have some sort of sleep hygiene routine and try to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Speaker 1:The benefits of a level one lifestyle are significant Improved health markers, better control of weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar levels and reduced risk of chronic diseases. They'll have increased energy and vitality. They'll have a stronger immune system. They'll have enhanced mental health and they will sleep better. The compound effect of this leveling up will be dramatic. They may even, over time, reduce certain drugs that they've been on for some of these chronic conditions. I'm not advising anyone do that without having tests first and working with their health practitioner. But it's very, very common for people who move from level zero to one to have symptoms of diabetes, for example, reversed type two diabetes anyway, and other chronic conditions and inflammation and pain all kinds of things lessen when someone becomes a level one liver, is that the way you say it? And liver is actually like a gross meat, right? So maybe I should be careful how I use that. They will have a much healthier lifestyle than level zero.
Speaker 1:It may seem a bit daunting, but it's about taking small, powerful steps, one at a time. Start by swapping out some processed foods for whole foods. Buy yourself some high-end, good, functional supplements obviously from dirobycom, goes without saying. Adding in exercise is not just making you healthier, it's making you just generally feel good, and so you're really leveling up your entire life. So now let's talk about level two.
Speaker 1:Level two represents a more advanced stage. Now it should be said that a person should master level one before they go to level two. This is the arena of high-level recreational or amateur athletes seeking athletic performance and or physique competitors. Now I'll give you an example of this. I'm not against keto. I might have said some things on the show that make people think I'm not for keto. What I'm against is someone going from level zero to keto, which is sort of a level two way of living that very few people can sustain. It is almost impossible for someone to go from level zero to level two or level three and sustain it, and so what you really want to do is identify what level you're at and move to the next one. Don't move from zero to two or zero to three or one to three. So let's talk about why this is Well.
Speaker 1:At this level just level two nutrition will become tailored to support specific goals, such as improved athletic performance, muscle gain or fat loss. This person will know exactly how many carbs, how many carbs, proteins and fats they consume on a daily basis, and when to take the right mix of those. They might have a higher carb ratio after a workout and a lower carb ratio for dinner, and they may even be using a scale to weigh out exactly how much of these foods to eat with every single meal. Their physical activity is very structured, more intense. These people train for six to 12 hours a week. They have very specific goals. It may be strength training, endurance training or sports specific workouts, but these people are driven. They have goals.
Speaker 1:Hydration and supplementation there's going to be an increased focus on hydration. They will probably add in some BCAAs and other things into their water. They'll also use supplements strategically. This is the point where they're probably starting to get blood work done. They will be using specific supplements to support recovery, performance and make sure they're getting enough vitamins and minerals. And this is kind of the realm of bio hackers, right, knowing exactly what's going on in your body. At this level of training, six or 12 hours a week they're depleting a lot of things more rapidly than a level one, and so they want to know they're not just taking a multi and minerals. They will probably also be finding out exactly how much potassium and and calcium and magnesium and they may have a very highly targeted set of nutrients that they take, based on their blood work. This is also the realm where hormone treatments and even illegal types of things may become tempting to them Performance enhancing drugs, unfortunately but this is kind of the realm where these things come into play Stress management and recovery. They will have a plan for that. They will be sleeping very well and men who live in level two regularly will have body fat between 8 and 12%. Women will be around 17 to 22%. That's the level two lifestyle and habits, and this is not easy. As a matter of fact, it's not even wise for many, many people to do, because it'll lead to burnout and be quite difficult.
Speaker 1:This is the realm, really, of fairly serious athletes. Let's talk about some of the potential benefits, though. Chances are they're going to hit some great goals. They're going to win that race. They're going to take home some trophies. They're going to have a lot of strength, endurance, agility and overall physical performance. They're going to be sleeping really well. They're going to look good and athletic and trim. They're going to have really good cardiovascular health and metabolic efficiency. They're going to have increased mental toughness.
Speaker 1:These are people who get things done. For example, the level zero person doesn't have much confidence in what they can accomplish, where a level one can do simple tasks up to 75% of the time in health, but a moderate person, a level two can do the simple tasks of health, like eating the right things, etc. 90% of the time or more, and a level three we get into the realm of they can do anything. These are the people that go throw me in, coach, I can do anything. Level one is like I have a lot of questions. Level two is I feel relatively confident. Level three is this is my life, this is my job. I will do whatever it takes. To just give you some ideas between the thought process between these various groups. Level three is the zenith of health and performance and yet again, it doesn't mean it's something to even strive for.
Speaker 1:This is for people who make their living with their body. Think, for example, of actors and actresses who need to get in peak physical shape for a movie. These are level three people Very low body fat. They look terrific. They're very, very strong. Their career may require that they do so. These are elite athletes, professional athletes, actors and models at the very highest level. These are often international, competitive, internationally competitive people. Everything in their health life is meticulously planned and executed to maintain extreme levels of leanness and muscularity. For men, this is below 8%, for women below 17%. They are exercising 12 to 20 hours a week and their lifestyle is one of precision, discipline and extraordinary commitment. These are the people you do not want to go out to dinner with. Chances are, this is all we're going to talk about, and if you were to feed them at your house, they would probably bring their own food, because you probably couldn't feed them the way that they want to be fed.
Speaker 1:It should be noted, very few people on this planet live at level three all the time, and often only hit it for short periods of time, like when they're competing in the Olympics, starring in that movie or modeling for a very specific shot photo shoot and so it's not even necessarily Something to strive for. But our modern society. Here's the problem. People who hit level three, even if only for a short time, post their pictures on instagram and we see them in the movies and we think this is the zenus zenith of health and this is how I really ought to look, if I was really doing everything right. That's not necessarily the case and, as a matter of fact, people who live at level three are actually more likely to get sick. Their immune system becomes compromised, and so this is quite an interesting kind of a dichotomy that they can look extremely lean and fit and awesome, and we may aspire to that, but overall we could actually be way happier at level one, then at level three.
Speaker 1:Now there's a lot of facts in this episode, a lot of detail. I'm gonna put it all at blog dot deroby dot com, called the four levels of health. As a matter of fact, let me get you the exact title if you're wanting to look at this and kind of review any of these facts or share it with someone else, which I would really appreciate. As a matter of fact, anytime you share the episode with other people, I really do appreciate it. This episode will be called the four levels of health A useful guide for leveling up, and so I hope you've enjoyed it.
Speaker 1:I hope, if you're at level zero, my, my wish is that you were inspired to go from level zero to level one, that you're also hopefully Somewhat motivated to learn that level three, while it looks terrific on instagram, is not necessarily a really great goal to strive for. That you can be perfectly happy human being at level one on the scale of zero through three. So thank you for joining me on the diroby health show. Remember to use the code podcast to save 10% off anything at the road dot com. Until next time. This is Dave Sherwin, wishing you health and success.