Hey friend,

I don't talk about this often, but a book that has guided my life is ​The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss​.

First, it's well written. If a book can get me to laugh while teaching me something, I'm all for it.

Also, I don't work 4 hours a week. Much more than that. But the concept of lifestyle design is a philosophy I live by while trying to do great things in this world.

To me, lifestyle design is about knowing what you need out of life and then working your business (or work) around those needs.

My kids are small, and I want to be around them as much as possible. This means not building a business where I'm traveling for public speaking and having the ability to work from home.

I value my health so any type of business that has me sleeping less or ruining my body.

In general, it's about finding out the life you want to live and building your career around that.

Working 4 hours a week is not a goal of mine, but upholding the values I deem important is.

A good thought experiment I'd recommend is starting from the end: Ask yourself how you'd like to spend your time and work backwards from there.

It won't happen overnight, but you'll be surprised at the life you can build in 3-5 years.

Here's what caught my attention this week.

Here Is Your 4 Minute Friday:

1. The Stanford Diet That Lowered 19 Inflammatory Markers

When clients ask me what to eat for a healthy gut, they expect me to say, “more fiber,” but a ​Stanford study​ changed how I answer that.

Researchers split 36 adults into two groups for 10 weeks:

One group doubled their fiber from 22 g to 45 g. The other ate around 6 servings of fermented foods a day, like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut.

In the fermented group, they found 19 inflammatory markers went down, including ones associated with type 2 diabetes and arthritis. The fiber group dropped to zero.

This is not to say that fiber is useless. It's quite important. But the researchers suspect that due to the modern diet, many people are missing the bacteria needed to break it down, so adding more fiber on top won't do much.

What we tell clients is to seed before feed, which means eating 1-2 servings of fermented food a day to create good gut bacteria and eating fiber to feed that same bacteria.

If you deal with high inflammation or a dysfunctional gut, it's worth testing for at least 30 days.

2. The Surprising Truth About Building Muscle After 40

The biggest lie I hear from people when they turn 40 is that their body slows down and it's harder to build muscle.

In ​one of my favorite studies​, researchers put 25 men aged 35 and 50, and 24 college-aged men from 18 to 22, through the same 8-week strength training program.

Using a DEXA scan, they found that both groups got stronger and gained about the same amount of muscle. They also found that the older group lost more body fat than the college guys on the same program.

In our coaching program, we regularly work with men and women over 40, and they find they can become as lean, strong, and gain as much muscle as they did when they were in college.

Yes, age still matters, but what matters more is knowing how to work out and eat the right way.

❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week

Something I do every day is open my journal and write in it by hand. If you've been a fan of this newsletter for a while, you know that I am a collector of pens.

There's a feeling I get when I put the right pen to the page, and this one is my favorite so far.

It's called the ​Atomic Habits Squire pen​, and it's a collaboration between Baronfig and James Clear.

I got this pen when I was in the author mastermind in NYC and haven't been able to stop writing with it. Everything from the ink to the weight of the pen makes the feel of writing more enjoyable.

It does come with a hefty price tag of $75, but if you're someone who absolutely loves a good pen, I highly recommend it.

You can check it out ​over here​.

Client Of The Week - Sam (Name Withheld), CEO

Sam is an entrepreneur who struggled with his eating and finding the time to get to the gym.

He wanted to be healthier for his 2 children and knew that being in his 40s was the time to make it happen.

In 9 months, he's dropped 44.4 lbs while getting into the best shape he's ever been in.

Here's how we did it:

• Cut his workout time in half. Get him in and out of the gym in just 30 minutes with our super circuits
• Put his meals on a schedule and have them come automatically to him through a meal service
• Change his mindset from "losing weight" to developing habits that will last him a lifetime

We're proud of the work we've done with Sam and grateful he was able to say, "Working with you guys is the best decision I've made this year."

Are you an entrepreneur who wants to drop the fat, gain muscle, and boost energy? Click this link to apply for our coaching program.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

On the road to success, you want to create something I call a positive constraint. It's a rule you keep to uphold your values when you're chasing after big goals.

Examples of this would be coming home for dinner when building a business. Eating your favorite foods while losing weight.

Positive constraints are used to make sure we don't trade the things we need for the things we want.

As promised, get healthier in under 4 minutes.

- Dan

When you're ready, here are 2 ways I can help:

1. The Lean Body 90 System: When you’re ready to get in great shape, Lean Body 90 is the obvious choice. You can get in great shape and reach your fitness goals in just 90 minutes a week. Lose weight and build muscle even without hours in the gym or highly restrictive diets. Join 1000+ students here.

2. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape? Apply for private one-on-one coaching here.

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.