Why “Twelve Paths”?

As I state on the “My Path” section of the homepage, they person who really sparked my interest in paying attention to health and wellness is Jocko Willink. He doesn’t talk about these topics often but every now and then mentions certain experts or what he does for his diet. Bing someone who (EVERY DAY) wakes up at 4-430, does insane workouts involving gymnastic rings, kettlebells, barbells, etc., trains jiu jitsu, and still has time and energy to work on his multiple business endeavors it’s impossible not to wonder how he does this.

Oh, and he does all this while in the midst of 24-48hr fasts, traveling all over to speak, and writing powerful books. So, I decided I need to start following his path. From there, numerous dietitians, physical trainers, and other experts started to intrigue me by talking about the benefits of fasting and the high fat, low carb diet. Over this year, I am focusing on 1 expert each month to get an idea of what experts (and the science) are saying about health and wellness. What’s fascinating is none of them learned in college what they are teaching today because they are taught how to manage and treat diseases rather than preventing them in the first place. So, a big reason for this blog is to share what I’m learning as well as what I am doing to be the best me I can. What we are taught in schools and what the USDA and AHA has been telling is is completely wrong for those trying to prevent diseases and/or actually lose weight.

My goal is to find out what methods are truly safe, effective, and sustainable. Calorie restricting for months at a time works in the short-term but is not healthy or sustainable long-term. I'm currently halfway through my third month of research (my 3rd expert being Ben Greenfield) where all month he is the only podcast I listen to and learn as much as I can through his books, articles, etc.

Anyone who truly is ready to do something about their health/fitness can benefit A TON from popular experts like the few I will share right here. These are some of the experts that I think deserve the most respect for all their work:


​Shawn Stevenson
A health and nutrition expert who has roughly 20 years of experience working with clients and truly finding out the best ways to look good, feel good, and live a long life that way. Along with owning his practice, he is a world renown speaker and has one of the most popular diet podcasts - The Model Health Show where he researches other health experts, interviews them, and truly delves into what they teach and the science behind it. He also had a bestselling book, Sleep Smarter, which is a fantastic book talking about how sleep is just as important as diet and exercise and the science behind that - a ton of great knowledge on how your circadian rhythm plays an enormous role on hormone function which affects everything else down the line. He also gives great hacks on habits/tools to use to get better sleep.

I recommend Shawn Stevenson's book and podcast to anyone who is looking to live healthier in general - especially if you are interested in losing weight.

Ben Greenfield
A physical trainer who teaches his fellow triathletes how to train while being healthy, whether it is through their exercise, nutrition, or recovery. He really goes deep into the science behind the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training, Cold Thermogenesis, fasting, and things of that nature. Ben has a ton of knowledge from his clients, his research, and most of all - the self-experimenting. He will tell you how micro-dosing LSD does things like enhance creativity in the brain and how putting certain lasers on your balls for certain periods of time will give you healthier testes. What makes him so interesting is his willingness to try all these things and research the science behind it.

Ben has a podcast very similar to Shawn's, Ben Greenfield Fitness and also has his website, bengreenfieldfitness.com. Ben interviews experts from all different areas on health and fitness and then shows his own knowledge of these topics through articles he shares on his website. He also has multiple books. The book I am currently reading is Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health, and Life and is a book JAMPACKED of information on how to train for triathlons while also increasing your longevity. Most runners/swimmers don't pay enough attention to how they can train for these things without doing enormous damage to their bodies. Anyone who wants to work out regularly and do it the right way should really read this book if they want to geek out. Ben has really done incredible work to share all of his research on what works and what doesn't. 

I recommend Ben Greenfield's website, book, and podcast to anyone interested in competing in anything like a marathon or triathlon, or anybody who does weight training regularly (which both Ben and Shawn would advice for anyone who wants to live long and healthy).

Peter Attia
Peter is a physician whose training came from John Hopkins University and Stamford University. He started self-experimenting with longevity practices like fasting, exercising, and fat-burning diets and now he is one of the top (if not the top) experts on those three topics and has his own practice, Attia Medical PC. 

If you listen to his podcasts with Joe Rogan, Ben Greenfield, and Jocko Willink, he shares the experiments he does and what he's learned. He also has his own podcast, The Peter Attia Drive, and his website, peterattiamd.com, where he shares his own articles, sign up for his newsletter, and more. I'm sure there is a lot more I should say about Peter, but I have not done nearly as much research on him yet that I have done on Ben and Shawn.

I recommend Peter Attia for anyone with an interest specifically in longevity or want to learn how to do the fat-burning diet the right way.


My biggest hope for this blog is to connect others to people like this that have already done a ton of research and can be guides to live healthier, longer.​