Fasting Space

talking today about weight loss as a human experience.

I think it's such an interesting time these days
thinking about the rapid advancement of technology.

It seems like everywhere I go
people are talking about AI this and AI that.

And just for fun, over the weekend
I was doing some internet searching

and I typed in AI and weight loss

and just getting the overview of the landscape
of what people are thinking about.

And of course, unless you're very conscientious, disable it.

You're going to interface with an AI idea in a search box
these days,

and it's going to give you the summary of everything

that's going on from its perspective.

And it was listing all of the AI tools that people

are using from all of the large language models and ways
that people are interfacing

with ChatGPT and Gemini and Claude and all of these

agents to serve as personal coaches
and trainers and dieticians

and all of this, and then all of the apps and the support.

And so.

When I think of human weight loss in this era,

I'm really not thinking like that so much.

Like I think there's a place potentially for all of that.

It's not the type of thing that really has me excited.

I'm happy to hear any experiences that you have.

Are you having benefit from using some sort of AI driven tool?

Love to hear your personal experience in the comments.

Feel free to share.

The reflection that I want to do
specifically today is on that first word.

Like human.

You know, I think about all the excitement we have about AI

and culture and society like to me, like,

what is the human purpose behind it
and where does it leave us actually, because.

Someone said, as I was reading,
they said, knowledge is free now,

like AI is liberating knowledge.

I think that that could be true in some way.

Do AI tools help us to?

Encounter the knowledge that we want faster?

But if knowledge is free is discernment.

This is what I was really wanting to think about.

If knowledge is free, another avenue,

another thought,
like human beings used to be the things that new things.

And now we have systems that know things.

Now we have electronic agents that know things.

And so like let's do some thinking,
like what does this mean for us in our experience

here is we're trying to learn things,

learn how to lose weight like learn pieces of information.

Is that what we're trying to do?

Have a dialog I'm trying to bring you information.

Say we learn.

I think the discernment.

I don't see that we're having an advantage with
this is the thing

a computerized process can serve up a lot of information,

but is it
helping us really find the direction that we want to go?

Let me know your experience.

I'm very open to every positive thing
that can come from the advancement of technology.

I've. I was reading through all the apps.

I mean, I would start my own app
if I thought it was really helpful, like if I was dialed in.

So I'm not opposed to it.

Someday after I've, you know, I've started the Doctor Z's

simple fasting process on an app.

You know, people won't come back.

They'll say, I'm just thinking about it, but in an application

or an AI agent can't do a process for you.

And this is what I really want to think about, because to me,

really, the process that we have in this space.

We already have lots of information.

I feel we have just about.

The amount of information

we need really to make powerful progress.

The situation is not so much to me in the knowing

as the doing, the knowing as the experiencing.

And this is something that I think
we should really spend a lot of time just sitting with,

thinking, are we waiting for an AI to solve a problem for us,
or are we taking knowledge

that we have using our own human mind

into our human experience?

And what does that mean? And what does that look like?

In my experience over the years, helping people

walk on a weight loss process, I,

I like to call it a journey
because a deep weight loss experience,

which I would say is like a healing
or transformative experience.

It's definitely a process of experiencing

health and wellness, flourishing in the body.

That is a process that takes time.

That's like going somewhere different.

It's not like just pack a little day bag.

It's like, no, we need we're at least going on a hike.

We should pack a pack,
which would be the type of thing that is giving us

the supplies and the support to lead us on the journey.

And this is especially the type of thing
that I want this session

to be a human connection on the journey.

Is that the type of thing, you know, when I think,
what could the value of this session be?

If information is free, which I'll be very happy

about when every piece of good information
to be available to everybody, that's part of the thing.

Create content, put it online,
perhaps AI systems helping with all that.

I'm very happy about that.

Isn't it journey better when we can do it together?

That's what I think. And.

To the extent that an AI system can help that,

then I say that can bring people together

so that we can have an acute experience together
that I really like.

Weight loss is a human task.

This is ultimately it is right.

It is a human being having a human experience in the body.

We want to help that process along as much as possible.

I say, in the midst of all the technology,
in the midst of the hype,

let's not lose our grounding.

I want to share a quote with you to center
our thinking on that.

The development of willpower I will, I won't,

and I want may define what it means to be human.

This is from Kelly McGonigal.

I was reading through this yesterday

as I was thinking about this session,
and this really got me thinking.

I talk a lot about willpower especially.

I was getting into willpower.

We'll talk a lot more about it in some of the books,

and thinking that we have been doing.

Especially Atomic Habits, really dials in on willpower

as far as helping us to realize the limited nature of it.

Thinking fast and slow went there to that.

We have limited mental capital

that if we try to make every change by relying on willpower,

that we can find that much more difficult

than changing our environment, for example.

But here we're seeing willpower from a different vantage point.

Here we're seeing it, at least in one small quote.

As something profoundly human.

And this was really causing me to pause

and think willpower is not insignificant, okay.

If we want to develop processes, to

try to use it as little as possible,
to have as little dependance on it as possible,

I've generally found that to be a very positive

thought, but let's not throw it out.

Let's see the other side of it and recognize that in a world

that is increasingly outsourcing every bit of thought

and knowledge into systems,
we're having broader conversations in society.

Like in the future,
computer is going to take everybody's jobs,

and it's going to be able to think about it than everyone
across every domains, people having conversations.

Well, what does a person do in a scenario like that?

And we can easily drill down into
what does it mean to be a person?

What are the core things?

And especially what does it mean to be a person
who is healthy, pursuing health and wholeness?

And here we find a quote like this,
that the will is maybe at the heart of it.

And what does it mean to have a will?

Isn't that getting into the real root
of our conscious experience as a being,

and isn't a weight loss space,

as we've been saying here, a way of being in the world?

We're trying to develop a way of being in the world
that is flowing through the obstacles that we have,

that is creating flow across domains,
including the flow of energy that is heading out of the body.

We're ultimately trying to create.

The energy balance in the favorable direction we want.

Yes, less coming in than flowing

out fasting space can definitely help with that.

To me,
a fasting space is getting us really grounded in the body.

Nothing else coming in, no distractions.

Energy flow has stopped.

We're relying on the human system.

Within that human system is the will.

The will to choose the the will to take a difficult path.

It's always say, I'd never say fasting is easy.

Our goal is to make it easier, to make it as easy as possible.

Maybe it is for the right person the easiest path.

Ultimately,
because it is a path that can help us find contentment.

Contentment, significantly lacking.

And this is something that I also get into this space
with an AI

just racing for bigger and better

and more and more powerful everything.

From a certain point of view, is the opposite direction

of a grounded, simple content space.

What is the type of spaces really, that will help us the most?

I have leveraged a lot of technology for people,
especially a CGM.

You can put a continuous glucose monitor on
and not just for diabetes,

but just for weight loss to be able to see into the body,
see how our meals are interacting

with our physiology,
and to see where is energy flowing in the body.

I think it's a profoundly fascinating and valuable tool.

And so there's a place for that,
and there's also a place to disconnect to.

And when we are looking for a place
that is truly grounded and rooted,

even the things that get me more excited in a weight loss space

than being connected to gadgets and tech and information

coming in all the time is being grounded to actual places

to get out into the actual world
with my own human feet on the ground

and maybe get a little dirty,
you know, and really be connected into the earth, you know?

It's almost, you know, from a certain point of view,
it's almost, say, offensive.

Oh, I got a little dirt on my feet, and now we're dirty.

Like, we got to get rid of it.

And I mean, I, I would take a shower like anybody else, but,

you know, just to really think about the presence
of being a human being here

on this planet, in this moment
when people are having all kinds of crazy ideas.

Maybe you don't read about it,
and I probably shouldn't, but people say,

oh, people going to, you know, already
people can't put their phones down.

And I know I will try to do it as much as I can.

I made the video digital fasting.

I think, going to be an increasingly important thing to do

if we want to retain the human element.

You say pretty soon
people are going to want to merge those phones inside,

we're going to have transhumanism,
we're going to be cyborgs walking around.

I'm going to pass.

Personally, I would like to take every advantage of technology
I can to help people.

But but definitely there is a line
and I think there is a line to

about how far you can push a technology in a direction

without losing the grounding,
really, of what it means to be a person.

And so when I am sitting here in this space right now,

my call would be yes, use any tool and share any experience
you have with me.

To the extent that it's helping,
I want to learn and have thoughtful conversations

about everything that is happening with people
so that we can plot the best way forward.

But for me, I have more value from,

you know, here, I'm using so many digital tools right now
so that we can communicate, okay.

But then also shut it off
and I'm going to get out in the country to once

I get on my work done and, you know, get my feet on the ground.

And then I'm going to do,
yes, more deep thinking about this quote.

That we shouldn't
write it off, that we dial in on these other sessions.

Check out my Atomic Habits playlist.

We're going to keep going through that, try
to design our environment in every way

so that we use as little willpower as possible.

But like, let's also like recognize that a human being

has a strength and ability,
and let's actually build that to so that we can.

Take the gap.

There's going to be a gap between our environment
and where we want to go.

And if some AI comes up with a perfect thing and says, oh,
why don't you just do this?

And that clicks with you, we still need

the human will to actually do it and to bring it into our life.

And maybe the practice of being human is the practice

of doing difficult things, and the practice of striving
after something worthwhile.

And I did the session the other day
that our health is worthwhile.

It is a worthy cause. And.

I say, let's go for it.

It's going to be an interesting ride, I think.

Having a human experience as we move toward weight loss

and health,
burning up blood sugar, moving blood sugar problems away.

You know, so much of society,
we're on a track toward type two diabetes.

The data by age 65, approaching 80% of people

with abnormal blood sugar in the US, where I am.

See, we're trying to get off that train a little bit.

To me, we got to be really grounded and present to do that.

So I had an interesting comment the other day on the channel
and just wanted to share this with you.

Person left this comment on my video just said, are you an AI?

It's like people can't even tell.

I don't know, it's funny to me.

I just laugh about it because, you know,
I just come down here in my basement

and talking to a microphone and look at the camera,
and I share my thoughts.

And, you know, it's my own life.

I'm as far from an AI as I feel like I could be.

But, you know, maybe it doesn't come across that way.

I try to take every piece of feedback that I can get seriously.

I'm like, oh, do I need to?

Like, I need to loosen up or something, you know?

But it made me laugh.

We had a new a future is anything online.

It's like hard to even know if it is real to me.

I have four things that are grounding health practices.

I say things that are real and tangible,
and that's eating the healthiest food from the earth

that we can get our hands on,
and keeping every processed thing out.

This is a real practice that has been bringing health to people

as long as there have been people,
and it's something that we absolutely need to stick with.

See, you tell that is a real process.

And then the other side of that fasting process, real,
you know, and I say make it real.

I did the session the other day, make fasting a part of you.

And this is the process that.

See, these are very simple, grounded things.

You don't really need an AI to come up with a weight loss plan

when the knowledge that we already have
so simple and grounded, right.

So we can open up fasting space.

This is when in the realm of the human experience,
this is something that

large swaths of the population do for many reasons,

throughout millennia of human experience,
open up some space without food.

Connect into the body.

This is a space where energy can flow out.

Weight loss can happen.

Cleansing and rejuvenation can happen in the body.

It's like very grounded.

And eat some food that came from the earth in a natural way.

A thousand different diets
can give you variations on that, ranging from very neat

and protein focused diets to completely plant
based perspectives and everything in between.

And I like to help people
find their place on a spectrum like that.

What are the natural, healthy foods that you like to eat
that helps your body to feel its best?

The wide range of people who flourish.

So amazing.

The human system can flourish on
so many different types of dietary processes.

If it helps someone to have an AI tell them,
oh, like this diet is going to help you or something.

Okay, I don't know.

You know, just keep the synthetic out,
put the natural in, put it in a space that is open.

Maybe that's only 12 hours and that works for you.

It's like, I'm fine,
but we have a lot of power on tap in a fasting space.

There's relying on the human system, nothing else required.

That's the beauty of a fasting space.

Then we open up our beautiful movement practices.

If an AI can design a workout routine for you
and it works for you, say, that's great.

But to me, just moving in the human fashion,

you know, taking a walk, such an incredible thing to do,
just moving our body.

You can do
bodyweight squats is just basically sitting in a chair

and standing up and do some push ups on the ground.

These are the core motions of everything
that we do, our variations

of these movements,
and we can move throughout our life and bring in movement.

And things don't have to be any more complicated than that.

And then we center these whole processes in a mindfulness
space,

helping us foster between body and mind

contentment, space for reflection and openness.

And these are the beautiful practices
that are grounding that we can share together here.

Say, I'm a real person here, I'm not an AI agent.

And so I don't know everything,
although I haven't found that to be the case, but.

We did the session the other day
about showing up as our authentic self.

And to me, that's what I intend to continue doing.

I laugh about the comment, you know, about the AI comment

because like, I'm just trying to show up as my authentic self.

That's my invitation to you
come here into this space, show up as an authentic self

as we can, share struggles,

share victories and things that are going well.

That is the process.

That's a human process.

This is what people have been doing for all of time.

This is a process
telling stories, sharing experiences, moving forward together.

So however things head in a space,

I think that is also the grounding process.

Show up and connect both using the digital tool
and in real life.

In real life. Okay.

Building out the willpower.

To me that is going to be the edge that we have the edge

to focus on the human will, the human spirit.

This is the thing that really gets me excited to
then take these things.

If we have four grounding practices

and pretty much every type of natural

weight loss advice
that isn't pharmaceuticals and surgery is going to ultimately

come back and be grounded in one of these four practices.

And so this is how I intend to keep moving forward.

And then a lot of the things on the playlists

on the channel, the other session we do think mountain is
you think of that.

I have a number of other books coming.

These are the psychology,
the mental practices of how we strengthen the willpower

and then practice it,
because this is the whole part of being a person.

We can't. It's not like the matrix.

We don't just get the download and all of a sudden

we know kung fu
and we know all of these things and we can just do it.

We have to practice it.

And so I really liked the idea of daily practices.

What are the routines that help us to make these things
a part of our experience,

define our human experience on our own terms.

I did that one the other day.

Lose weight on your own terms.

Define health on your own terms.

That's really helping us get into this deep space.

Let me know your thoughts on this.

Happy to hear any experience you have.

Are digital tools helping you?

Specifically interacting with AI agents?

Is a digital experience like this a stream

thinking about these things, is that helpful to you?

What do you think of the willpower thoughts

in this context, in this space

and time of AI and artificial thinking?

And how does that feel to you?

To me, this is the thing that is the most interesting
when we think about

our human will and

and the connection with our human thought and our human desire.

And we have a desire for health, and we want to move

that forward in the most powerful way.

That's what I want this session to be fasting space,

powerful human thought that is driving us forward and.

Grounding us in an effective, highly effective,

sustainable, thoughtful, long term space

and love to share that space with you.

Hope you have a beautiful day
and I will look forward to connecting with you again soon.

Have a good one!