Longevity • Fundamentals • Health

Get the Basics Right First: Health in Your Mid-30s

Sleep, nutrition, and exercise deliver 80% of results. Supplements are fine-tuning.

Why Your Mid-30s is the Inflection Point

Your 30s are when the bill comes due. The metabolic flexibility of your 20s fades. Recovery takes longer. Fat accumulates more easily—especially around the belly. Muscle mass starts declining (sarcopenia begins around 30).

But here's the good news: interventions in your mid-30s have decades to compound. Fix your habits now, and you're setting up your 50s, 60s, and beyond. Ignore them, and you're accelerating decline.

The priority order matters. Get these right first:

1. Sleep: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

Sleep is when your body repairs, your brain consolidates memories, and your hormones reset. Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cognitive decline, and shortened lifespan.

If you're sleeping 5-6 hours and wondering why you're tired, gaining weight, and can't focus—this is your answer. No supplement will fix bad sleep.

2. Nutrition: Low Carb, High Protein, Good Fats

Nutrition advice is confusing because everyone has an agenda. Here's what the evidence consistently supports:

Reduce Carbohydrates (Especially Refined)

This is the single highest-impact dietary change for most people. Refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, sugar) spike blood glucose, promote fat storage, and drive inflammation.

• Cut sugar and sugary drinks completely
• Minimise bread, pasta, rice, potatoes
• Get carbs from vegetables instead
• If you eat carbs, earn them with exercise

Prioritise Protein

Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, which declines with age. Most people under-eat protein.

• Target: 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight
• Include protein in every meal
• Eggs are excellent—don't fear the cholesterol (outdated science)
• Meat, fish, dairy, legumes

Embrace Good Fats

Fat doesn't make you fat—excess carbohydrates do. Good fats support brain health, hormone production, and satiety.

• Eggs — One of nature's most complete foods
• Olive oil — Mediterranean diet staple
• Fatty fish — Salmon, mackerel (omega-3s)
• Avocados, nuts — Healthy monounsaturated fats
• Avoid seed oils (sunflower, vegetable) when possible

3. Exercise: Strength Training is King

Cardio has its place, but strength training is the highest-ROI exercise for longevity, especially as you age.

Why Strength Training?

• Preserves muscle mass — You lose 3-8% per decade after 30 without resistance training
• Increases metabolic rate — Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat
• Improves insulin sensitivity — Muscles are glucose sinks
• Strengthens bones — Prevents osteoporosis
• Functional capacity — Stay capable into old age

Minimum Effective Dose

• 2-3 sessions per week — Consistency beats intensity
• Compound movements — Squats, deadlifts, presses, rows
• Progressive overload — Gradually increase weight over time
• Don't skip legs — Largest muscle groups, biggest metabolic impact

Add walking (10,000 steps) and occasional cardio, but don't neglect the weights. A 70-year-old who has strength trained for decades will have dramatically better quality of life than one who only did cardio.

Know Your Body's Key Systems

Beyond the Big 3, develop a basic understanding of your body's critical systems. You don't need a medical degree—just awareness of what matters:

• Brain health — Sleep, exercise, omega-3s, cognitive stimulation. Alzheimer's prevention starts decades early.
• Heart health — Cardio fitness, healthy weight, manage stress. Heart disease is still the #1 killer.
• Blood pressure — Silent killer. Get it checked. Reduce sodium, increase potassium, maintain healthy weight.
• Liver health — Minimise alcohol, avoid excess fructose, maintain healthy weight. Fatty liver is epidemic.
• Metabolic health — Blood glucose, insulin sensitivity. Most chronic diseases trace back to metabolic dysfunction.

Get regular blood tests. Know your numbers. Catch problems early when they're reversible.

Fine-Tuning: Supplements (After the Basics)

Only after sleep, nutrition, and exercise are dialled in should you think about supplements. They're the final 5% of optimisation—not a shortcut.

Based on personal experience and scientific evidence, here's what I take:

The Priority Stack

If you're starting from scratch, here's the order of operations:

1. Fix your sleep — 7-8 hours, consistent schedule
2. Cut refined carbs — Especially sugar and processed foods
3. Increase protein — Every meal, target 1.6-2.2g/kg
4. Start strength training — 2-3x per week, compound movements
5. Reduce body fat — Especially visceral/belly fat
6. Learn your numbers — Regular blood tests, know your baseline
7. Add supplements — Only after 1-6 are solid

Each step builds on the previous. Don't skip to step 7 while ignoring steps 1-3.

The Bottom Line

Health optimisation is simple but not easy. The fundamentals—sleep, low-carb nutrition, strength training—deliver the vast majority of results. They're also free or cheap.

Supplements, biohacks, and advanced interventions are fine-tuning. They matter, but only after the basics are locked in.

Your mid-30s is the inflection point. The habits you build now compound for decades. Get the basics right first.