How To Maintain Top Tier Health As An Entrepreneur With Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, Author of Forever Strong

As high as an entrepreneur will ever go will be dependent on their health. Hands down, I don't care what level you are, as high as you are going to go is ultimately dependent on the common denominator of your health and wellness. So if you do not get that right, you will do the rookie early entrepreneurial moves, which are, you know, predictably, burn hot and fizzle out.

Welcome back to the show. I'm so excited for you to not only learn from this guest, but just to meet her because she's one of the most incredibly generous humans that I've ever met. And I know a lot of people, you guys. And she really, when I got to meet her, went above and beyond trying to help me out with my new company, help me out with anything that I needed, and she has completely blown my mind since with her generosity. So my guest today is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon. She is board certified in family medicine and completed a combined research and clinical fellowship in geriatrics and nutritional sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

When I say that Gabrielle is a.

Smart cookie, I mean one of the smartest in the industry, helping some of the most influential people that you know, especially in podcasting, which is pretty cool. Which I make her tell you guys who she's all working with in this podcast, so I think it's going to blow your mind. She completed her undergraduate training in nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois. She is a subject matter expert and educator in the practical application of protein types and levels for health performance, aging and disease prevention. She's continued to receive mentorship from Dr. Donald Lehman, who over the course of two decades has helped bring protein metabolism and nutrition from the bench to the bedside. And you can find out more about her at drgabrielline.com, but you are about to get a masterclass in what your needs are, not only as a human, but an entrepreneur and how to really.

Stay young as long as possible and.

Feeling vibrant and healthy and happy. And she really rocked my world. Being able to spend one whole weekend with her, with a group of women at a mastermind that we had decided to put together. And not only did she just all really help us dial in our own health, but like I said, one of the most generous human beings who truly cares about people and has texted me probably almost weekly ever since this mastermind.

Saying, how are you? How can I help you?

I mean, like, who does that? So, you guys, this is just a.

Little taste of what this woman is like.

And not only that, she's just a freaking badass. Like, go follow her page after this, because she's going to rock your world.

So let's get into the show. Gabrielle, I'm so excited to have you on the show. Thank you so much for coming on.

Are you kidding? This is like a hangout session with your friend. It's amazing.

I know you guys. When I have my friends names on my calendar, it's just like a hangout session, and we get to make content. So today is such a gift because we have someone on who I actually got to spend a lot of great, probably more time than I've gotten to spend with a lot of people. We got to do a Ladies Mastermind for, like, three days at the Montage in California in Laguna, which was absolutely magical. And it was the first time I really got to drop in with you. So I had gotten to meet you at a couple different events, one of them being Mimosa Mastermind, which was so fun to get to hear you on stage. So I've gotten to see you, like, in your magic and then also just as, like, a friend and hanging out. And I will tell you, you don't disappoint, sister. And as a friend, you're even better.

Yeah, I mean, I think that it's really important to show up big in all the things that you do. Big on stage, big in friendships, big in relationships. When you show up big, you make the world better.

And something I want all the listeners to hear about you is that, you know, I got to meet you and spend a weekend with you, and I was literally taken aback by your generosity of who you are, how you show up, the information that you share, the willingness to. To have helped all of us women that were there. And me, I was literally blown away. Like, I get to meet a lot of amazing people. And I left the weekend I came home to my husband, I was like, I don't think you understand how loved and cared for I felt after that weekend. So I want everyone on this podcast to know who you are in public doesn't even match how you are as a human being to the people that you meet.

I really appreciate that. I think that if we have the capacity to give and show up, that we have a responsibility to do it. And, you know, it's so funny. I think that I really love having the opportunity to show up for people. It's probably one of my favorite things. To be able to show up for you on a project that you're doing, to just actually be there for you is one of my favorite things. And I would Say, all my girlfriends would say that.

Yes, well, you're in the right business because of your heart as well. So this is really exciting, you know, getting to chat with you. There was, there was so much that I think was just really eye opening because I have been in the health and wellness industry for a long time and I still had not really gotten to hear some of the just cutting edge science that you have dove into. I mean, you have one of the top podcasts out there. So many people follow you. You're the concierge doctor for some of the greatest. Just name some of the people. Just name some of the people who you take care of.

And you guys, these people are very public about it. I have the privilege of taking care of some of the most elite entrepreneurs, for examp. Ed Mylett, which we all know and of course we know. Jen Gottlieb, you name it. Olympian, Carrie Walsh, just.

That is crazy.

The warfighter, you name it. Bedros Coolian, I've been his doctor for a very long time. Yeah, you name it. Individuals that really perform at the peak of what they're doing.

So let's dive in because you have something, as we were also just talking throughout the weekend of all of us ladies together, I know that you have this, this incredible book and it's pretty much like your life's work all in one spot. And tell me about the book. Why did you write it? What is it about?

So it's behind me. It's called Forever Strong and it took two years to write. Two years to write, but 20 years to learn.

Totally.

And it's interesting when you try to write a scientific book, but make it very meaningful for the public, you know, maybe non physicians, but people that want to read and comprehend. And, and I think that I did that because my dad, who is in his 70s, said this was just an awesome book. So let me, let me tell you a little bit about the premise of the book. Now it is a health and wellness book, but it is also a mindset book. And the reason it is a combination and a completion of all of those things is because I could give you the best program in the world, the most cutting edge information. But if you do not feel worthy of actually embodying whatever it is that you desire, you'll never get there. Yes, and I've had the privilege of taking care of some of the most successful individuals and there are themes that they do in their life. And I know that you have a lot of people listening who are interested in either building a business, are already Very successful entrepreneurs. I mean, you are at the top of your game. And those behaviors, the way in which people impart those behaviors, there's an archetype. There are very predictable things that will go wrong, but there are also very predictable things that will go right. And really this book kind of encompasses all of those things. As high as an entrepreneur will ever go will be dependent on their health. Hands down. I don't care what level you are. As high as you are going to go is ultimately dependent on the common denominator of your health and wellness. So if you do not get that right, you will do the rookie early entrepreneurial moves which are, you know, predictably, burn hot and fizzle out. Burn hot, fizzle out. And you'll do that for years as you're trying to build your business. But that is not an effective strategy for the long term marathon of building a legacy and really building a successful business.

Oh God, there's so much there. I was a personal trainer for a long time and I owned a studio. And I literally remember thinking I had some people who'd work out every day with me Monday through Friday and their body would not change because their mind would not change. And I would just. It's when I first started getting into personal development mindset. Cause I was like, I cannot get this person results if they don't change this. So I love that. And then also with entrepreneurs, Gabrielle, I remember I got to sit with someone who was like at the tippy top of their game before I went in and launched a book. And it was someone that I really like followed and aspired to be. And this person was like breaking down and soon after that had a breakdown essentially just in their life and all of the other things. And you could not be more right around like your health will be what either makes or breaks you. So with that, because you work with all of these people, where are some of those first places that you have noticed that people go wrong?

It's interesting. There's a couple. We always talk about nutrition. Nutrition is key for any entrepreneur and here's why. You have to be able to manage long hours. When you are starting, you have to manage long hours and you have to manage intense focus. You do not have the luxury of eating something or eating a meal incorrectly and having brain fog and fatigue, working hours and needing more caffeine or sleeping under your desk. Yeah, you're laughing because you've probably done that in your career.

You have probably been like, I've paid for it. I'm like, oh, this isn't going to work.

Foreign.

2026 is the year that you launch your business. It's the year that you've become the boss. You become the leader. That idea that you have that has been eating at you forever that just will not leave you alone is going to come to life. Maybe it's something that someone tells you you should always sell or a store you've already designed in your head. And with Shopify, 2026 is when you.

Finally make it happen.

Shopify gives you everything. Everything you need to sell online and in person. Millions of entrepreneurs have already made this leap from household name to first time business owners. Just getting started you guys. I use Shopify for glossy and I remember when they sent me my little shopping bag celebrating my 10,000 sales and I literally cried because I was so scared to take the leap. And I'm so glad that I did.

And that I use Shopify.

It gives you all the tools to easily build your dream store. You can choose from hundreds of beautiful templates that you can customize to match your brand setup is fast with Shopify's built in AI tools that write product descriptions and headlines and help you edit photos. So marketing is built in too. You can create email and social campaigns that reach customers wherever they scroll. So as you grow, Shopify grows with you. You can handle more orders, expand to new markets and do it all from the Same dashboard in 2026. Stop waiting and start selling with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com happy go to shopify.com happy that shopify.com happy here your first cha ching this new year with Shopify by your side. There are so many challenges to business that I don't want starting to be.

One of them for you. And when you want more.

When you're starting a business, you need Northwest Registered Agent because you get access to thousands of free guides, tools and legal forms to help you launch and protect your business. And it's all in one place. You can build your complete business identity with Northwest today. Northwest Registered Agent has been helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow business for nearly 30 years. They're the largest registered agent and LLC service in the US with over 1500 corporate guides. Real people who know your local laws and can help you and your business every step of the way. You can sign up for free account to begin managing your business hub with lawyer, drafted operating agreements, bylaws, resolutions, membership certificates, bills of sale and more at no cost. Northwest makes life easy for business owners they don't just help you form your business, they give you the free tools you need after you form it, like operating agreements, meeting minutes, and thousands of how to guides that explain the complicated ins and outs of running a business. And let me tell you, this is life changing because I had no idea how much went into this. So don't wait. Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Visit www.northwestregisteredagent.com forward/agency earnfree and start building something amazing. Get more with Northwest registered agent@www.northwestregisteredagent.com earnfree.

So getting nutrition correct. And there's so much information out there and there's multiple ways that we can go down this nutrition strategy, but really the ultimate goal is you need to be physically strong, to be mentally sharp, to be able to be physically strong, mentally sharp, manage your blood sugar and manage your energy, manage your hormones and manage your sleep. Okay, sounds complicated. But when we put in foundational principles, then we can do that. And this is where this book Forever Strong comes in. I think that intellectual integrity is really important. And again, you and I were kind of talking offline where we're, you know, I'm helping you work on a project. And one of the things that I think that you also agree with is having scientific integrity. No matter what you're putting out there, it has to be done well done, correctly and transparent. So in the nutrition space, as you know, because that's where you started your career, there's tons of information. And now in the massive chaos making machine of the Internet, anyone and everybody can be an expert. When you're young, you could do whatever you want. You can eat the way that you did in your 20s, whether it's a Twinkie diet or whatever it is, and you are pretty much unscathed. But as you get more mature, you have to be very diligent about the nutrition that you are consuming. So a foundation of the book is eliminating all the confusion. Because when we have distraction, we use distraction as an excuse. I don't know what to do. I'm going to do all these other things. It's either an excuse, it's a way to leverage distraction as an excuse to doing the right thing. Or number two, just doing the thing that you think is right but not getting you further. And maybe you're still struggling with energy or you're still struggling being overweight, or you just don't have the body composition that you want and then you don't have the confidence or the brain function and the brain power. So fundamental is how to build a nutrition plan for yourself. Everybody needs to do it, and 100% of people eat. And that's why I chose that. I mean, this book is really about how do we shift the paradigm of thinking? Medicine right now, our health and wellness is very reactive. It's all about obesity. And that's not really the underpinnings. We don't have these issues with obesity. We have issues with skeletal muscle. We have issues with skeletal muscle first. And this could be. If someone is worried about fertility, this could be pcos. So skeletal muscle. While we think about looking good in a bathing suit, which, by the way, you do, right? There's all these other things that go alongside and in part with skeletal muscle, metabolic regulation. People care about diabetes, insulin resistance. I don't care who you are, you care about that. And that all affects the cognition of an entrepreneur.

Okay, so for someone right now who is maybe shifting from, you know, there's a majority, all women who listen to this podcast and shifting from, like a weight loss mentality because it takes a long time, right? It takes a long time to see the results that you want. How do we shift that mindset from, like, how you look to really understanding, like, this is how I want to feel. This is a lifestyle. What have you seen work around that?

Number one, you have to appreciate the fact that you have to take the actions to become the person that you want to be. There's in the moment, excitement. So when we were all at our mastermind, which was so fun, we all chose to train. We could have not. Some of us were coming long flights, early mornings, just all of the things. But we all know that we want to be fit, and we all know that we want to show up, and we all know how we want to show up. And that's really important if you are struggling or if this conversation of having to lose, it's really about what do you have to gain? So when you think about skeletal muscle and health of skeletal muscle, and how does that interface with being the best version of yourself? Muscle is not a monetary currency. Muscle is the only currency that is acquired through hard work in the way that it can't be bought, sold, bargained for. You can't do any of that with muscle. You actually have to earn your skeletal muscle. What happens when you go through periods of earnings, you go through periods of resistance to overcome metabolic adaptation, to become strong. This serves you in all domains of entrepreneurship, in all domains of business. And how does this relate to weight and obesity and where we've gotten things wrong. Obesity is all about what we have to lose, not what we have to gain. And when you talk about even the wording and semantics of weight loss, it's not focused on fat loss, which is ultimately what everybody wants. And over periods of weight loss, you also lose lean tissue and ultimately you go through periods of yo yo dieting. We've all seen older individuals who have lost a ton of skeletal muscle. Not only have they lost skeletal muscle, they've lost strength, but they've also lost metabolic flexibility. And maybe your listeners at home are thinking, well, I just care about business. This just ties back to the reality is as healthy and as fit and as strong as you are is as high as your business is going to go. You cannot outwork your body. You simply cannot. You have to leverage it as a weapon and as a tool to leave the legacy that you want.

I cannot amend to that enough. Like I was literally holding my breath just now, like wanting to jump out of my chair because, you know, there have been different points in my business where my health has gone up and down, especially the last couple years, because it's gotten more stressful or it's gotten better busier and maybe I've let some things go or maybe I started skipping the gym. And I will tell you that when I did that, my energy went down, my drive went down, my creativity, my ability to think outside the box, my ability to problem solve like I had. And so I simultaneously hand in hand when I have a big business undertaking. Now I'm like, you got to get back in the gym because that is my training ground for everything, for life.

Like that is how wise is that? And you are again, you are not a rookie businesswoman. And this is if people come away with nothing. Here is my hope for this podcast. Number one is they come away with a new understanding that muscle is the key to longevity and health and really is the key to their entrepreneurship. That muscle is just as an important part of their currency as money. Number two, I want them to know exactly what they're going to do to leverage that. They're going to know exactly what to eat and they're going to know that they have to train. While Pilates and yoga is great and so is walking. I want them to do resistance training, which we did together, or some kind of high intensity interval training. It's a non negotiable. So those are really the three things that I want for the entrepreneur to number one. And we could talk about all the other strategies. But I want them to know that they have to earn their metabolic currency. They're going to know exactly how to do it. A very clear, fundamental ways in which they can build around their nutrition plan. We can talk about strategies specifically for the entrepreneur. How I suggest that the entrepreneur eats. I think that that's very unique to your demographic because right now it's fascinating. Our relationship with food is the longest relationship that we have.

Oh, yeah, yeah, you're right.

It's literally the longest long standing relationship with food. And what is so amazing and interesting is that everybody does it differently and no one thinks about that. Yeah, it is totally done differently by everybody. And it's a long standing relationship that everybody has. The goal is how do we get that relationship right so that we leverage it. So now this moves into what are some of the most important things the entrepreneur could do and how to do it. Number one, there's a lot of talk about fasting. And I used to recommend that people push their first meal to 11 or noon. I no longer do that for my entrepreneurs. I want them up and I want them outside of their house. I want them in daylight when they wake up. I want them to eat one to two hours after they wake up. And I want them to do that every day. They have to have consistent rhythm. And by the way, this helps with energy management, it helps with body weight, it helps with fertility. I just interviewed Sachin Panda, who is a world leading expert in circadian biology. So this is getting the biology correct with the appropriate macronutrients. And that would be starting your day with 30 to 50 grams of dietary protein. High quality dietary protein. It could be a whey shake. People could mix whey and collagen together. People, if they eat dairy, they could have some Greek yogurt. Super easy to do. Get that first meal right, it's gonna balance your blood sugar. You could have a lower carbohydrate meal. You're not gonna have these ebbs and flows of energy wanting to sleep after 90 minutes of eating. And that's really important because your muscle is primed. Again, we have to think about how are we going to protect our metabolism as we go through this marathon and as we build this legacy.

Okay, so breakfast, some other ideas. Just because right now people are just like, okay, tell me exactly what to do. So we want to make sure that we're on somewhat as close as we can to the same rhythm. Like you're going to wake up at this time, you're going to try to get out, you're going to go out in sunlight and then you're going to eat after you kind of do the movement. Can they also do like, what's a great idea for like a plant based meal or someone who's more like vegan or vegetarian? Shake something plant based. Okay.

Because otherwise the calorie count is too high.

Okay.

Right. They are a plant based individual and they are going to try to get their protein, their protein needs met through say quinoa or a different kind of. Or tofu. Some kind of tofu. I think that it's challenging but if you do a shake then you know that you're getting the correct amino acids, you know that you're getting the correct amount of protein. I think it's a great strategy if you are vegan or vegetarian, period. And also it creates consistency. The body likes consistency and the brain can be creative.

Too many people finish their workday feeling frustrated, drained and unfulfilled.

I know that.

I have experienced that myself. And the good news is it doesn't have to be this way and you don't need a new job to fix it. Patrick Lencioni, author of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team and more than a dozen other bestsellers, created the working genius assessment to help you pinpoint the kind of work that gives you energy, the kind that lights you up, and it also shares the kind that drains it. So over a million people, including me, have taken it and completely changed how I lead and show up every day. If you're a CEO, an entrepreneur or someone who just wants to level up in business and in life, working genius is going to give you the clarity and confidence to operate in your strengths and find greater joy in what you do. Because confidence isn't pretending to be good at everything. It's knowing where you're truly gifted. Take the working genius assessment today and get 20 off with code earn@workinggenius.com that's working genius.com you'll be glad you did it.

Okay, so 20 to 30 grams of some and and for anyone like across the board like 20 to 30 grams.

You want a protein at least 30.

Okay.

You are below 30. You don't stimulate skeletal muscle in the same way. Okay, you are doing a 20 gram shake. It's not enough unless it's whey protein. So a great way to think about that is to really hit between 30 grams to 50 grams of protein could easily be do scoop and a half, two scoops. But you know it might be too much volume. So a scoop and a half Works. They could have some berries, something and be on their way.

Okay. Some people are probably like, oh my God, that seems like so much to me. That's kind of what I've been doing my whole life. I love it. I'm like, great, tell me I can eat more. Okay, so what's next? Like, okay, I'm getting into my work day now and this is where it turns to shit for a lot of people.

Ready, everyone? So know your weaknesses. Know your weaknesses. Okay. Know that hunger is not an emergency. It's not urgent or emergent. It's just not. Define your structured meal times. You're going to have your shake in the morning and then you're going to have a smaller meal. Maybe your smaller meal is 30 grams of protein and that could be midday. You're going to stop eating four hours, three to four hours before bed. I do suggest eating in an eight to nine hour window. So it's a time restricted window and that last meal should again be around 40 to 50 grams of protein. You're going to be going into an overnight fast. There's nothing more to do. So know that you are going to do this and you are going to sleep better, you're going to have better blood sugar regulation and you're going to have better cognitive function. Because when you are consuming appropriate amounts of protein, you're also going to be able to make appropriate neurotransmitters. You're giving your gut bowel rest. You're not constantly feeding some people. There's a lot of women that I treat, they all have like gas and bloating or constipation. Give your belly a break. Because when you are having these symptoms, they also can create histamine. Histamine makes you tired. The people that eat and then are tired and can't think, brain fog is a huge complaint. You guys don't have the luxury of having these experiences. So getting this right is really important.

So that first week to two weeks, I always found, even when I was first training people or trying to get them on track or even for myself, like breaking that first one to two weeks of the habit of like the bad food that's in your body. Any suggestions around that? Especially I know, like that window of eating. I mean, for me, I grew up eating all night long with my family. I was an overweight kid. I remember how hard that was. Like, if you just told me to eat within a window, I'd be like, oh, hell no. Like, how does one even do that? So why is that window important? Give me more motivation around that window of like what that can really help with and how do I get into that first week or two of like breaking that cycle?

Well, the first thing is to know you can do hard things. And then that's true. And this is just translating skills over to something else. This is skill translation.

Wow, okay. I understand this so well because what I did is I took my fitness skill and translated it to entrepreneurship. I've never done the reverse like you guys. If you're really good in entrepreneurship, which so many of you are, you're already great at something that could transition into this.

You have what it takes to do it. It's just understanding that, you know, sometimes there needs to be some kind of release lever and people utilize food or utilize lack of exercise, they maybe don't like to do it. And so there's all these excuses and all these narratives about doing it, not doing it, but everybody has the skill. And especially entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs that are hard charging and in charge of a lot of things. It's not a huge group of women. You guys are a special group of women that have done amazing things that can take those translatable skills and be worthy to impart them. You are good at doing hard things. So number one, understand that hunger is not an emergency. Number two, know that you are built for this, that the other things in life don't control you. This should not control you either. And then you're going to leverage it by adding dietary protein in. Because we know that dietary protein can kill cravings, we know that it can balance blood sugar. It is satiating. So you're already a step ahead. So you're using human biology to be able to stay on track. You're leveraging these amino acids, which is what makes up protein, to be able to stay on track. And then what you're going to do is you are going to think about what is the cost of not doing the thing, what is the cost? So who are you now is your future self and are the actions that you're taking moving you towards that? Because what ultimately happens is. And unfortunately the reality is negative experiences actually are the things that really make us think. I'm going to give an example. So if someone were to think, wow, every night I have five glasses of wine and a cheese platter and something else, and then you never reach your body composition goals. You never quite feel rested, but you really like this wine, what is that going to do to number one, your self esteem and number two, your body over the next three years? So if you keep telling yourself you're going to change and this is going to be the last time and you never do this, over time, you're undermining your self confidence, you're cheating yourself. And when you are out of alignment with what is true for you and what is important to you, you cannot escape that. So then you start with lower self esteem and maybe an underlying kind of depression or feeling down because you're doing things that you know you shouldn't be doing and you know that you're holding yourself back in some way. And for a group of individuals that excelling and creating things is so important. This is the thing that you have to take off the table.

I don't think people realize how much of this, like you could probably sit there and say, I think 100% is, you know, your health and how you're feeling and what you're eating. And I think it's right up there with that because I don't think people realize who are maybe struggling right now just in entrepreneurship, how much of it actually is your health. And the more that you're talking, I'm like, man, it is. It's so direct that I can have weeks where I can pinpoint if I was down, if I didn't have a good week, creatively, didn't hit things, it's because I wasn't fulfilling something health wise that that robbed my energy, that robbed my self esteem. It's like a such a cycle of self betrayal when you don't show up for yourself. And that sabotages everything that you do in life, in business and your relationships.

I mean, that's absolutely right. And when you sabotage yourself, you don't feel good about it. Especially when things can be done that are so easy to make it better. Yeah, 100% of people have to eat. We all have to eat. So you have to nail that part. And then the other thing is exercise. You do have to do physically hard things. You do have to do resistance training. You do have to exercise. You can do some endurance. But as women age, we have to maintain that skeletal muscle. It interfaces with the immune system. If you want a better, more robust immune system. Contracting skeletal muscle releases myokines, which are peptides that travel throughout the body that affect brain. You have neuronal biogenesis. The brain becomes more alert. It has capacity to have more memory retention and spatial awareness. All the things that an entrepreneur needs can be leveraged through skeletal muscle. And that's fascinating. Again, we started this with the issues with obesity. And everyone is talking about obesity yes, it's true. But skeletal muscle is the thing that's really going to help dominate. If you take care of that currency, you take care of your brain function, you take care of your capacity to withstand the storms. Because I'm telling you, storms come. Skeletal muscle is your body armor and then anchoring the behaviors that are really consistent so they're on autopilot. How do you leverage your nutritional ways and exercise where they become non negotiable? Autopilot is really critical because when you do that, you allow for more creative space, more productivity and more efficiency.

Okay, let's talk about that for a minute and maybe you could just share kind of how you did it, how you've done it with other clients who maybe have struggled in the past. I was just on a walk with Chris the other day and I go and we do, we do our gratitudes every day. And one of my gratitudes was I am so grateful that my exercise is now just on autopilot. I don't think about it, I don't argue with myself, I don't negotiate. I used to in the past and I don't at all anymore. So I want to know like, how can people listening right now who are still in that phase, what are some things that we can do to kind of help us?

Do not wait till you are ready. It's interesting that you say that because you probably executed. Even if you negotiated, no matter what, you still did it, right? And that's the same with this. Know that you are going to negotiate. That inner voice. You are going to negotiate. But here's what I say. Do not negotiate with terrorists. So true. There's no negotiation. And you can be, you can rest assured that you are going to try to talk yourself out of it. I'm already trying to talk myself out of my 6pm workout.

But she won't. You guys, you should see this woman in the gym. She's a beast. I love it.

I already know. I'm trying to talk about, oh, I'm too tired. I can't believe I didn't get up this morning. The whole thing. Negotiate all I want. So here's a choice. Either I'm going to negotiate, still do it, or just might as well do it. And there's no discussion. But it's going to happen. Do not wait until you feel ready. Know that. And guess what? Tomorrow you're probably going to want to negotiate. Yep, 100% chances that you will want to do that.

You know what helped me so much is I'm like, okay, Same thing. I had the same realization on my own of, like, I'm going to negotiate. And I found that the negotiation throughout the whole day or whatever the morning was far more painful than actually just going to the gym and not having to, like, especially on negotiation days, I'd be like, look, I'm not going to negotiate anymore. I'm going. And I can just make it through this workout with lightweight or as slow as I want, but I'm going to be there. So I think the realization for me of, like, the negotiation was a lot more painful than actually doing it and then getting my life back. I got my life back when I decided I was just going to do it no matter what.

Yeah. And I think it's really important because it's interesting when you think about the health of an entrepreneur. The health of an entrepreneur goes like this. It's like very jagged. It's super high. I'm amazing. This is amazing. And then it's like the meme where the dogs are sitting and there's just surrounded by fire. I'm okay. Everything's good. I got it. There's this unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship, and it's very. Has extreme variability from day to day. The teams that you run, depending on the interfaces and the things that happen. The one thing that doesn't have to have variability is your eating and your training, because you can come to expect. And again over a period of time, as you become a more seasoned entrepreneur, I would say that there's less variability because you have teams in place. But the reality is things change at a rapid pace. You still have to manage people. It's still stuff. And you have to be as resilient as possible. And the resiliency doesn't come from mental resiliency. It does in part because you have to manage your thoughts and you have to talk to yourself, am I being a wuss here? How can I minimize the narrative? All of that stuff, but at the end of the day, it's all talk. So resiliency comes from hard execution of physical things. And I also believe that you should always do things that put you in uncomfortable situations. Whether it's an ice bath or it's a new thing or a new skill, you have to be evolving with this. One of the things with entrepreneurs is they have to understand that they are built for new stimulus. And there are very certain things that we see with the archetype of an entrepreneur is they are very into novelty. So, yes, you have to train and eat. But if you know that you are an entrepreneur, that needs novelty. Then you need to throw that into your training that you don't miss. You do a new skill, whether it's kettlebells or you do a new class. You lace in the things that you know that you need.

That is so me.

Right? So, right. So you are still very disciplined and driven, but you are a creator and you need novelty.

I'm always like, what other dance class could I take? What other class could I take? What other.

But if you didn't, you know that in six months you would stop doing your exercise program.

Yeah.

And probably have done that in the past. Probably. Probably is more like four months. And people say that about nutrition. And people will say, well, I'm super bored. Well, know that you are that way. Hire someone to come and cook, Get a new delivery service. Anticipate your weaknesses or anticipate your sites of vulnerability. And you those places of vulnerability before it happens. You do it in business.

Okay, so I'm dying to know, like for some of these, I know you get to work with and we don't have to talk about people you named whatsoever. But I want to know what are some of the things that they like, these super busy, crazy elite entrepreneurs, what are they dealing with? Like, what's the most common theme that you see?

The ones at the top are incredibly consistent. They do not mess around. I could call them and I could say, hey, what did you have for lunch yesterday? And they would tell me, and I would say, what did you have for lunch the day before and the week before? They would tell me, wow.

They would know.

They do not vary. They have their set routine. They know exactly what that is. And they eliminate variability. Yep.

They're not going to do the arguing back and forth. They don't have to think about it. It's like the black T shirt effect. Right.

They don't guess what they're going to have for that meal. It's all laid out. Supplementation wise. It's all laid out, all of them. Everything is ordered and prepared for well in advance. They don't walk into the grocery to wonder what they're going to get. Wow, they're very disciplined. It is one thing that is off the table.

This just says everything to me. So start investing in getting this part of your life optimized. And what would be the first thing that you would say if someone's like, holy shit, I just had an epiphany like, wow. I make myself think of this every. They're having to go through and think of each individual meal and I've heard all the things like maybe you shouldn't eat the same thing over and over again. Like, where would we get started? And is it fine to eat the same thing over and over again but switch it up from every three months or what? What does that look like?

Number one, think about what is a plan that you can stick to and understand and build it out. Really take the same amount of time. For example, if you do a half day with your business and you think about all the things you know, there's that saying, work not in your business, but on your business. Do the same thing with your body. You have to schedule time of, okay, what is my body fat? What is my muscle mass? What are my baseline blood work? What am I working with? What is happening under the hood and what am I doing? Write down, where are the places where I fall short? Oh, shoot. Every Friday, I'm scrambling because I know that I run out of all the meals and all the food that I have. Well, I'm just going to go out to dinner on Friday. Know everything that you are doing because nothing is going to be more important than your health. Okay, outline. You're going to spend a couple hours going through everything, all your habits, everything that you're doing, and then you're going to say, okay, what is the structure and in place? What are the things that I can do? First thing that you're going to do is you're going to build your nutrition plan. A habit. They can do it from my book, which is over my shoulder. Anybody can do it. Have your frigging assistant do it. Somebody needs to do it. Yep, build it out. And I also have recipes, I also have grocery store list. I have everything to make your life easier. Plan that out. Know what it's going to look like for the week, and eventually you're going to know what it's going to look like for the month. So you're going to get your nutrition. You're going to, at the very least, get your macros together. You can plan that out. You can track your money, you track your speed, you track your blood pressure, you track your cycles, track your freaking food. It's not that hard to track exercise because then it goes on autopilot, right? So you have to eliminate the cognitive burden of doing this stuff. Once you track, you know where your weaknesses are, you set up your day. You know you're going to have two meals. The morning meal, the later evening, early evening meal, the small snack. You know exactly what you're going to be doing. This is what your Plan is for the week. Then you're going to figure out when are you training exercise is an even more potent stimulus for muscle and health. But the reality is is 24% of adults are doing that meeting all the criteria. But everybody's eating. Nail that. And also nail your circadian rhythm, nail your timing. Knowing that even if it's not perfect, you're still going to be doing it at the same time. You know exactly what you're doing and you're going to layer in your exercise. It's never too late to start. Something is better than nothing. But you're going to start. You're not going to wait until you are ready. You are going to start. Here's where I would start. Three days, a week of resistance training. Throw in one day of some type of endurance style training and one day of a short, high intensity interval training. I've just laid out five out of seven days of training. Then you're going to go for some walks. After you eat, you're going to support glucose disposal and guess what, you are going to go to bed on time, the same time every day. You will find that your depression alleviates mood depression. All of these things get better.

Mm, yeah, that's. I mean just being regular with, with waking up and bedtime for me is huge. Like I'm a, I'm a completely different person. So funny when people, people probably compliment you on the person that you are all the time. People say things like that to me all the time. Like, oh, you're so consistent, you do this or that, or you're this type of person or you're nice, you're friendly. I'm like, I am a psychopath if I'm not eating right or if I'm not sleeping. Like when I'm on vacation with different people, I'm like, look guys, I love you and if you still want to love me, you'll let me go to bed at a decent hour. Because I think there are people out there who think that. It's their personality and it's not. They're not bitchy, they're not like short tempered. They're probably just not sleeping or eating right. Like it's really amazing what happens to yourself, your relationships and your business when you do all of this. I love it. Okay, so what exactly? Because I see it all over, but with what you're doing, muscle centric medicine, what exactly does that mean?

So it's the concept that muscle is the largest organ in the body, which it is. It's actually an organ system. And it's the organ of longevity. It is truly the pinnacle of health and wellness. When you focus on muscle centric medicine and you do all the things to lower its inflammation, to keep it healthy, to make sure that there is enough flux, to make sure that you are feeding it right and you are training it right, then everything else falls into place. So muscle centric medicine, we hear all about obesity medicine, we hear all about lifestyle medicine, we hear all about all these other things. And I would say that skeletal muscle is, again, the pinnacle of health and wellness. And that's what muscle centric medicine is. And everything is directed at the health of skeletal muscle, all the actions.

So if we just focus on that, we don't even have to worry about all of the other things. We can just focus here. That feels so much easier.

I mean, really, all of it, all of the things. When you focus on skeletal muscle health, think about certain autoimmune conditions, think about diseases of aging, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, all of these diseases, pcos, these things. If you focus on the health of skeletal muscle, I believe, as opposed to it all being all over the place, it's a centralized process with a massive impact and outcome.

How does protein help us curb our cravings?

There's this protein leverage hypothesis, which is really interesting. And it's this idea that the lower the protein is, say if it's 12% of the diet or even lower, that we will strive to eat those amino acids. And if we are eating highly processed, highly palatable whole foods, we will eat more to just try to meet those basic amino acid needs.

Interesting.

So, for example, essentially, if your protein is not balanced, you will have this drive, this physiological drive to feed.

Wow. You'll just keep eating because you're not getting what you need.

Not getting what you need. Dietary protein has an impact on gut hormones that signals satiation, meaning that you're full. It also impacts neurotransmitters, all these amino acids. There's 20 different amino acids, nine of which are essential, but they all have dual roles in the body. Overarching theme is for protein turnover. The body is always replacing hair, skin and nails. You're always needing some kind of dietary protein to offset that protein turnover. But protein does a whole bunch of other things because of the individual amino acids.

Okay, let's talk about aging. Well, because when I first saw you walk on stage, I was like, I'll have what she's having. And then some. So tell me all the things, because you guys. And I think it's. If you're not watching this or seeing this, and you're listening right now. You are a true walking, breathing testament, not just how you look, but your whole energy, your whole being, your whole aura. And that is truly from the inside out. So tell me a little bit about aging. Well, with this whole process and idea.

The idea about aging, well, it's interesting. Aging is a privilege. And with age certainly comes wisdom and discernment on how we think and what we focus on. And for me, health and wellness has always been really key. And of course, this mindset component. For me, nutrition is a no brainer. I'm eating exactly the way that I am telling your listeners to eat. Typically two larger meals a day, one smaller meal, and I'm tight on it. I stay hydrated, I take really good care of my skin. I think about training. I always do something harder, uncomfortable. I've been really into ice baths lately. So doing something that is hard or uncomfortable is always on the table for me. And I think that you can't not do that. So there has to be hard physical things within work where we're growing, hard things in relationships where we're growing, but also some kind of thing that we are striving for in health and wellness. Again, all of these things are translatable. I really think that physical health begets mental health. And it's just this cycle.

Let's talk about confidence too, for a minute. I just want to go off that because I feel like there's so much around how you're eating and how you're showing up and how you're consistent with how it plays into just confidence as a person, as a human being, as an entrepreneur, can you just speak a little bit about how you feel about physical activity, doing hard things? Like, what does that do for you?

Personally, I strongly believe that confidence is earned. And I was thinking a lot about this. Again, you and I are friends. And I realized going to this book launch, why did I feel so nervous or uncomfortable about this? Because you know me, you've been around me. I'm not a anxious, kind of nervous person. And I realized that it's because I haven't done it before. Confidence is something that is earned. And the only way you earn it is from getting in the arena. And the same thing with health and wellness. You have to earn the confidence. And being physically strong allows you to earn physical prowess and allows you to earn physical confidence that you know that you can pick heavy things up and move them around, you know that you can sprint if you need to, you know that you are in control of this physical domain. And that is extremely important for any entrepreneur and it's extremely important for women in general. They're designed to be strong and we should pull that lever. And that's confidence.

I love that. I think there's so many people listening to this and just how you speak, how these different women out in the world that they want to aspire to be, how they show up, how they are in their business. There's so much of what you just shared kind of revealed everything that goes into it that's so important, you guys. I hope that you get that from this conversation and then from this book. So for the book, who's the perfect person for it and what are the main things that they are going to walk away after reading this with?

This book is for anybody who has a body.

Yes, anybody.

If you are not an alien and you have a body, this book is for you.

Although aliens might have muscle, they may need this.

It's true. I don't know what kind of language they read, but yes, anybody that has a body needs this. Anyone that has aging parents, anyone that has any kind of challenge with body weight, energy, fatigue, anyone that has tried everything, anyone that is perimenopausal, post menopausal, pregnant, post pregnancy, this is for you. You will come away after reading this book. You will absolutely be a better version of yourself. I can promise you. You will think about things completely different. You've never read a book like this before. This book will protect you and it will protect the people that you love. And it is of high scientific integrity. It is. There's tons of references. This book is easy to read and easy to execute. And I truly believe that it can change the way we think about medicine and health in general.

Okay, any last words of wisdom that you want to share with people before we go?

It's never too late. It's never too late to start. It's never too late. And I've included. If individuals order the book, they can go to my website. I have a ton of free things that I'm giving away with a pre order. I have a whole hundred videos of workouts, believe it or not. I have ebooks. I have a community. I have an in person live event which by the way, Lori, I'm hoping you're coming to. I've got to tell the girls. It's January 13th. I think it's in that time. So we. I have to drop that in in our group chat because I want all the girls to be there. The first book and so there'll be a live event during that time, but all these things. And they can find it on my website, Dr.gabrielle lyon.com. they can also find the book Forever Strong on Amazon, all the places where books can be found, and of course, amazing health and wellness podcast.

You guys, go subscribe to her podcast. Okay. Shout out the name, Go subscribe, rate, review, do all the things.

The Dr. Gabrielle Lyon Show. I really wanted to call it something else, but the suggestion that I got was to make it easy to find.

Yeah, exactly. I think it's great. I love it. You guys go check it out. She's such a wealth of knowledge. And Gabrielle, I want. I'm going to do a book buy. I want to do a giveaway to all these listeners because we want them to share this. So I personally am going to give away 20 books. I do this on the podcast sometimes. So, you guys, what you have to do for this is if you're listening to this episode, all that you have to do is take a screenshot, upload it to your stories on Instagram, Tag myself, tag Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, and let us know what your takeaways were. That's all that you have to do. Then I'm going to DM you and let you know if you won and send you a book. So it's getting the word out about the book, it's getting the word out about the podcast. So again, all you have to do is do a screenshot of this or a screenshot of our book, but let us know the biggest takeaway that you got from this podcast. Tag her and tag myself, and we will let you know if you won. So, you guys, I'm so grateful for you. We're going to give away 20 books. And Gabrielle, I'm so grateful for you. Thank you so much for coming on today.

Thank you so much. I can't wait to have you on my show to talk about entrepreneur.

Oh, I literally can't wait. So you guys make sure that you enter because that's the biggest thing that we can do for our guests is to obviously share what they're doing. She just poured two years of her life and pretty much. Wait, no, your whole life into this book. So it is a work of love getting a book out into the world. So we would love to have your help and until next time, earn your happy. Bye, everyone.

Sam.