5 Healthyish Things, including supplement lines and shade

This Reddit thread about game-changing weight loss tips is packed with good advice. As someone who grew up the biggest kid in class, tips like eating snacks in small ramekins rather than straight out of the bag for better portion control make a lot of sense to me! (Though the word “ramekin” does not.) Some other stand-outs from the thread:

• Find a salad you actually like

• Meal prep healthy stuff in the right portions

• Find a hobby (boredom eating is so real)

• Track your calories

I have a few to add. One is to serve your meals on smaller plates or bowls so that a normal portion looks bigger. Lots of studies show a fuller, smaller dish makes people feel more satisfied than the same amount of food on a larger dish.

Another is my #1 tip: Don’t drink your calories. Giving up soda (and yes, there was a time I drank six Dr. Peppers a day—no joke) was fundamentally the biggest game changer for me when I was working on losing weight.

And I mean the real kind. It’s fairly obvious why kids should spend time outdoors. It improves mental health, physical health, cognition, and even eyesight. But what happens when temperatures get so high that being outside is actually dangerous? 

The climate keeps changing and the world keeps getting hotter, and children are among those most at risk of heat stroke. I live in Austin where it’s now basically 110 degrees for five months straight. My wife and I find the heat so unbearable for the kids to play in that we had to figure out a way to spend a few months this summer somewhere else so our kids could comfortably go outside.

So what is the answer? Part of it, at least, is climate resilience, and creating shade is a big piece of that. Whether through artificial shade or planting new trees, creating more shade is a smart part of how we battle the elements to keep prioritizing things that matter, like health and staying active. I think this topic—and shade as a solution—is really fascinating.

Oh, and I’m very grateful that a reader sent in this article! Keep ‘em coming.

I get why people build supplement lines—they’re a high margin item with built-in recurring sales. Most people sign up for subscription plans and buy month after month. It’s a dream business! 

But c’mon, not everyone needs a supplement line. I’m constantly astonished by how many supplement brands exist, yet companies like Reebok continue to launch new ones. 🙄 Before you buy from a new supplement line, I encourage you to think about why they’re launching it and how seriously they’re taking it. Plus, you know, where they’re sourcing it from and what crazy price you’re paying for it.

Also FYI: There are lots of good, trustworthy supplement brands already. (If you’re not sure which are good, I always recommend Labdoor… plus I just discovered recently funded SuppCo from GroupMe & Splice Founder Steve Martocci, whose origin story sounds an awful lot like mine.)

If something health-related is trending on TikTok, it’s usually not helping promote the truth. 😬 There may be some part that’s relatable and convincing, but the rest is fearmongering at best and selling snake oil at worst. Anyway, the latest thing is cortisol face, which claims that an excess of cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) causes a bloated face.

Obviously most people are under a lot of stress—we might even be more stressed than ever. But does that mean everyone can anticipate a bloated face due to unmanageably high cortisol? Put simply: Nope.

Cortisol can lead to a puffy face (sometimes called “moon face”), but this is a side effect of a very rare condition called Cushing’s syndrome, which only affects an estimated .007% of people at most. As this actually-helpful TikTok about cortisol face points out, a puffy face is more likely to be from allergies, fluid retention, or thyroid problems than anything else. So go ahead and ignore this fear-mongering junk, and if your face is swollen, get your doctor’s input, not TikTok’s.

Standing desks are the best. Examine has called them one of the greatest health hacks out there, and I’d have to agree. They’re accessible, manageable, and can make a big difference for many people.

But… like anything, they’re not the answer to everything. This recent study of 80,000 people found the chance of circulatory disease increased by 11% for every extra 30 minutes of standing after the initial two hours. It’s a pretty compelling piece of research.

Buuuuut… does that mean we should throw out our standing desks? Nah. I have one, and I love it. (I even bought a walking treadmill, which I have yet to install but will soon and promise to report back.) Just remember to, er, move every two hours.

Don’t like standing? Don’t feel guilty. The reality is that neither sitting or standing all day is ideal. So switch it up and just try your best to be active throughout the day.

The Healthyish League

Building something in health? I love to help and love to recommend others who help, too. Here are a few of my carefully selected recommendations, all of which I’ve personally worked with (and some of which I have a formal relationship with): Herman-Scheer (branding & creative), Aequitas Partners (exec & board recruiting), Healthyish Content (my SEO & content agency), Perceptual Advisors (comms & public affairs), Right Side Up/Lantern/Matchnode (growth marketing), Verbose (embedded lifecycle marketing), Titan (exec coaching), and Lakehouse (pre-seed venture capital). Email me anytime for intros.