- Who: D. Edwards
- Living in: Baltimore, MD
- Working on: Brain fog with the energy track
- Found Base through: Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof podcast (listen here)
What does “healthy” mean to you?
Being healthy means being aware of the areas of life that need to be monitored and taking an active approach in optimizing those areas for the long term. In the last ten years, sort of kicked off by a career move, I started to take my health a lot more seriously. I knew I was doing the right things already health-wise, but I wanted to push it to the maximum. Sometimes my coworkers joke around because I’m the only guy out of 12 who brings my lunch. It’s like, “hey, let’s go grab a pizza,” and I’ve got my lunch box, my two gallons of water, chicken, brown rice. It was difficult at first but I’ve settled into it.
It’s usually the boring stuff that works, and I think that’s true across the board. It’s not about having really intense willpower. Commitment and willpower are not the same thing. It’s about settling into it because I want to be in the best possible shape for as long as I can.
Why were you excited to try Base?
Earlier this year, I went to my PCP who said, “no, you’re fine, couldn’t be better!” But I knew something felt off - and I turned out to be right - so I thought, okay, this is something I’ll have to figure out myself. I’m actually looking into more functional medicine now that I can see how connected areas of our health really are.
I like being in control of my health. Knowing Base provides suggestions that are personalized based on your results, I was excited to see how the suggestions affected my scores/numbers in real time.
What symptoms or frustrations were bothering you?
I was starting to experience some brain fog, and like I said, my provider was a little passive about it. I didn’t even get a chance to have labs run. I knew I had to figure this out on my own, and right around then, I heard about Base on a podcast about health and biohacking. I chose to start with Base’s Energy Test. And once everything looks good and I feel good, I’ll probably switch to something else.
What have you learned?
I learned that one has to be their own biggest and best self advocate and to sometimes challenge doctors and to do your own research
My vitamin D was in the dumps. It was pretty bad. My HbA1c was just a few points over normal, so I wasn’t too alarmed about that. But when I reviewed my results, I thought, “I’ve got to work on this vitamin D thing.”
Supplementing with Vitamin D isn’t always one of those things you necessarily feel. I’m not aware of the changes all the time, but if the numbers are going in the direction they should, I’m okay with it. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to test my levels. Even when things are off, you may not feel it. So when they get better, you might not feel it either. But you’d never know.
What are your hacks/specific strategies for physical and mental health?
Some of my hacks include trying to go to bed at the same time as much as possible in a dark room, getting out in nature, working out regularly, drinking lots of water and eating foods that are actually healthy and good for the body. Also reading and trying to learning new things on a regular basis.
I try to not spend excessive amounts of time on my phone. It sounds pretty boring, but people don’t know how to talk to each other anymore. You have to allow yourself to feel ‘bored’ sometimes because that lets you be present and more aware.
What apps would make up your “starter pack”?
My starter pack is minimal. I actually just removed email apps from my phone.
I have a few apps to aid in my workouts and health: Nike Run, LA Fitness, BASE TimerPlus, and Calm. For finances, I use the budgeting and tracker app Mint and Robinhood for investing. For learning, I use ThriftBooks, NBack, and Yousician. I’m trying to stay present whenever I can.
