WHOOP Podcast - Best of 2025: WHOOP Podcast Best Moments of the Year

Starting point is 00:00:00 What's up, folks, and welcome to our best of 2025 episode. It's been an amazing year on the WOOP podcast, and it's time to recap some of the best conversations of the year. These are conversations that inspired us, challenged us, and helped us better understand what it means to perform at our very best. This year, we sat down with world-class thinkers, athletes, creators, and each shared lessons on health, mindset, and the science of human potential. You're going to hear from Arthur Brooks. social scientist and happiness researcher, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, physician and lifestyle medicine expert, Ali Raysman, Olympic gold medalist, rich role, endurance athlete and author, Christiana Rinaldo, global football icon, Arena Sabalinka, Grand Slam champion,

Starting point is 00:00:48 Roy McElroy, PGA Tour Champion, Mike White, actor and creator, Lucy Davis, fitness coach and women's strength advocate, Dr. Jessica Shepard, OBGYN and Women's Health Specialist, Steph Williams, fitness entrepreneur and founder of Weglow, Dr. Jeremy London, cardiologist, and Dr. Michelle Davenport Nutrition Scientist. Let's start where the year began with Arthur Brooks, who reminded us that happiness isn't something you find by accident. It's something you build through habits, connection, and purpose. The habits of the happiest people are actually not that complicated.

Starting point is 00:01:23 And so a lot of what I talk about, you know, I talk about the, you know, how do you get more enjoyment, how do you get more satisfaction? What are the things, the mistakes that you make, like, you know, thinking that if I get that, if I get to IPO, if I, you know, then I'm going to love it forever. If I get that house, that car, that marriage, that kid, I'm going to love it forever, not making those mistakes by understanding how, you know, how homeostasis works in the brain, et cetera. I do a lot of that stuff. But the habits of the happiest people are actually kind of simple. The happiest people pay attention to four things every day. And there are lots and lots of ways to do this. The way to do it is not the important thing. Doing it is the important thing.

Starting point is 00:02:01 They pay attention to their faith or life philosophy. In other words, things transcendent to them where the universe is large and they're little. That's what it comes down to. You're getting that through your meditation. I'm getting that through my religion. Some people get that by studying the fugues of Johan Sebastian Bach or, you know, walking in nature without devices in the Brahman Puerta, the creator's time, an hour and 36 minutes before dawn. There you go. Yeah, with 248 sessions. you're good you have a good memory um but you got to do it you got to do something where you're little and the universe is large because that gives you peace and perspective that's what all

Starting point is 00:02:35 happy people do and skipping it is done at its peril second is family family is a mystical bond maybe not mystical i told you about oxytocin the neuropeptide of family ties and kin-based ties and if you don't have that you're going to be in trouble the best way to get that is through your family. The only reason I have schism with your family's abuse. And the third is friendship. And strivers struggle with this one. Strivers really struggle with friendship, not because they don't know a lot of people, but because they have a lot of deal friends and not very many real friends. And when you're super hard worker, I'm a 14 hour a day guy. So are you. So are most of the people listening to us, right? They're on the treadmill, you know, multitasking right now,

Starting point is 00:03:19 you know, listening to us. No judgment. It's, uh, although don't waste, the hour, you need to get into your default mode network in your workhead as well, but don't turn off the WOOP podcast. It's really, really important that you're not utilitarian about your friendships. You know, you need to spend the time and do the work to have people who just love you who are useless to you and you're useless to them. You simply can't get the happiness that comes from true, intimate, love-based friendships if everybody's useful. Aristotle talked about this 2,500 years ago. Wow.

Starting point is 00:03:54 It talks about friendship of transaction. Useful friends. They had a telos, you know, to them. And then the atelic friendships, the friendships of virtue. We just love each other. Usually you have a shared love for a third thing. You know, and that's why the goal of marriage by the fifth year, it's going to be really successful, is called a companionate love, which sounds not hot.

Starting point is 00:04:19 But what it is is best friendship. It also has a lot of passion in it, but you have shared love for the relationship, for the cosmic entity that is your love for the children that you're bringing into the world, for the faith that you share. I mean, it's just, that's when marriage is the best, man, because that's what you really need. That's the apex of both family and friendship is, is marriage, is your romantic partnership. Lifelong, pair bond, man, like wood storks.

Starting point is 00:04:46 You're in it together forever. And if you can, not everybody can, but that's the goal at least. And last but not least is work. And all that matters with work is earning your success. That's why merit-based systems, the only systems that matter. You know, tenure-based systems, loyalty-based systems suck. They demoralize people. They drive out the best people because merit is everything, earning your success,

Starting point is 00:05:09 creating value with your life, and being fairly evaluated on the basis of the value that you're creating is life-affirming and then serving others. Where people need you. And it's great as a CEO of this company because you hear. you get all these strokes, a lot of people like, I lost all this weight, I got healthy. The testimonials are great. Totally. But everybody in the company, everybody, everybody, everybody needs to actually hear the testimonials. Bring in clients whose lives have been changed to thank the people who are not on the front lines. Totally. That's the key thing. So service to others and earning your success, that's what matters with work. But the bottom line to remember is faith, family,

Starting point is 00:05:43 friends, and work. Big thank you to the great Arthur Brooks for sharing his insight on happiness. That's episode 304, if you want to learn more. Next up, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee shared how small, intentional habits can completely reframe how we think, feel, and show up every day. I always try and reframe everything in life to make it a positive. This is not toxic positivity, right? This is understanding that I, with all my heart, believe that every single event in life, pretty, much is neutral. It's the perspective we take on that event that determines its outcome on us. Our actions are not neutral, but reality is. Exactly. And so, you know, this plays up for me in so

Starting point is 00:06:33 many different ways. Like, so if I, because that happens to me where I don't have, or I forgot my charger and I'm away. And so I don't have it. So I ask myself the question, okay, great, what opportunity does this now present me with that I would not have had the opportunity? opportunity to do had I had my battery charger. Oh, okay, wrong. Well, you've got three days now to prove to yourself that you can survive that you're not overly reliant on this device. I think it's a really helpful way to look at every situation in life. What is the opportunity here? There's always an upside. Yeah. But can you find the upside? Rangan is truly one of the great minds in the health and wellness space. You can hear more of Rangan's expertise on episode 319.

Starting point is 00:07:19 Now let's turn to Olympic legend Ali Raisman to remind us that recovery is more than physical. It's emotional too. She opened up about validation, rest, and learning to accept tiredness as part of the process. I also have learned from my own experience the power of feeling validated. And I don't think there's enough conversation around being in pain can be exhausting. Having anxiety and depression is exhausting. having stress and something that is on our mind can take so much out of us. I guess I don't think enough people get validated for not needing to have an excuse to be tired.

Starting point is 00:07:59 I hear so many people say, well, I'm feeling tired, but I don't know why. And I used to say that all the time too. And the truth is that you don't need an excuse to be tired. It's okay to be tired. We're also so busy and I really try to balance my time with my phone, but I mean, it's so unhealthy. I think how much I'm on my phone, even when I try not to be. Even if it's in the other room, I'll get up or think, oh, I should check it. And then I realize, wait, I don't need to check it.

Starting point is 00:08:27 Also probably disrupts, you would know this more than me, our sleep and everything. But I wish there was more conversation around whether it's an injury or anxiety. It is so draining and so exhausting or I get migraines a lot. So that can be really exhausting as well or even the anxiety also around, okay, well, if I get a headache, what's going to happen. How is this going to affect my day? It's interesting. It's also really sad, but the more I talk about this stuff, the more people I find can relate to it. I think most people are either struggling with something or they know someone who is or has. Most people, I'm sure, are dealing with something that's on their mind or something that maybe it's a body part that

Starting point is 00:09:11 hurts or a health issue. Everyone I've learned is battling something or has battled something or know someone who is and I think it can be very scary and hard to talk about but I think people would be surprised how many people could relate to them if they shared what they were going through and I think people would be surprised

Starting point is 00:09:32 how understanding hopefully people will be about it as well. I really appreciate how vulnerable and open alley was in this conversation. She's truly a remarkable person. We're thrilled to be able to have her on the Woop team for my complete conversation. with Allie, go check out episode 3.49. Up next is a man with another inspiring story from

Starting point is 00:09:54 the mat to the microphone. That's right. Rich Roll talked about the power of stillness. His perspective on meditation and presence showed us that sometimes the best performance starts with slowing down. I was begrudgingly sort of dragged into meditation. I was a very reluctant meditator for a long time. My introduction to it is in the 12 steps. I was a Like meditation is one of the steps sought through prayer and meditation to have a conscious contact with a higher power. Meditation, you know, in the kind of quote-unquote rooms is very much, you know, treated as an afterthought. Like 60 seconds of quiet meditation, very different from a conscious and deliberate meditation practice. That evolved into what I would consider to be active meditation through endurance training.

Starting point is 00:10:44 something that I convinced myself for many years was a sufficient and adequate, like, sort of replacement for a deliberate practice of meditation. I just thought, well, I don't need to meditate because, like, I'm with myself and I'm out on the bike or, you know, on the trails, and that's my meditation. And it took me a long time to realize that there is a very real qualitative difference between that. I mean, I think that form of active meditation has its benefits, but it's not. not the same as TM, which is what you do, or any kind of more traditional meditation practice. And for years, I had kind of bouts with it. I would do it for a little while. I would abandon it. But I'm really invested in it now. And it's had a dramatic impact on my life in a very meaningful way. On a base level, if you are engaged in your meditation practice, you are developing the capacity to be an objective

Starting point is 00:11:44 observer of your thoughts and to not self-identify with them. And what this allows you to do is to greet the world with a greater degree of calm and equanimity, such that when you're in a high stress situation or somebody says something to you that triggers you that you typically just react to without thinking, you have an extra moment to pause. You have an extra moment to pause and to assess and to reflect and to make a decision about how you want to respond. And that is always going to drive better decisions and better outcomes. So that alone is like, you know, that's a break. That's like, okay, there's a reason for everybody to do it right there. Because we all say things we wish we hadn't or made a decision spontaneously in the

Starting point is 00:12:36 moment because we're impulsed that led us astray, that we regret and wish we could get a do-over. So meditation is almost like giving you a do-over for everything. It allows you to kind of review the landscape, assess, and make a decision from a place of a greater consciousness. Also, I think it gives you the space to connect with yourself, to develop a relationship with yourself. Big thanks to Rich for sharing his story. That is episode 343 for our full conversation. Now let's hear from one of the greatest to ever do it, the goat, CR7, Mr. Cristiano Rinaldo, on how balance fuels greatness. Even at the highest level of competition, his secret lies in discipline, recovery, and joy in the routine.

Starting point is 00:13:27 You will not find someone more disciplined than Christiana Rinaldo. Commit to January jumpstart, a four-week challenge that helps you build routines that last beyond January. start with a pre-built path design your own or let whoop personalize one that fits your goals challenge kicks off on january 5th sign up now in the whoop app obviously exercise is a big part of your life you spend close to 10 hours a week training and and then an additional and that's in heart rates zones one to three and then in four to five you're spending another hour so all of this from whoop age standpoint is bringing your age down how do you balance um sort of cardio training or sprint training with endurance training part of that it's my my routine relate with football of course but a part of that i have hobbies as i mentioned before you have to manage and to find the balance to don't overstress your body too because too much sport is not good too so you have to find the balance for that and i think i have because one of the things that the people don't take too much attention

Starting point is 00:14:52 it's your mental cognition it's very important in my opinion and if you do it your job and at the same time you enjoy to do it other sports with your friends socialize is a thing I think it's a good part to make your balance right so I try to find with my experience to don't push too much my body when they need to recover but to find the balance which is sometimes is difficult I take care of my body since I start to play football now you can tell me that you treat the same way that you treat 20 years ago no but I was there like take care a little bit of my body, but by the time, by the age, I increase a little bit more because we all of us get old. But I start every year, do it something more, something more,

Starting point is 00:15:45 something more. It's always inspiring talking to Cristiano. He truly has the embodiment of performance and longevity. You can listen to that full conversation with Cristiano in episode 324. All right, we're moving from the pitch to the court ahead of this year's U.S. Open in, I sat down with tennis world number one, Arena Sabalenko. Arena brought her signature energy, talking about what it means to perform with joy. Her reminder to have fun while pushing for excellence was one of this year's most refreshing moments on the pod. One thing that, you know, I've listened to you talk a little bit about is sort of a shift

Starting point is 00:16:24 in your mindset over the last 10 years and the way you've approached the game. I think, yeah, when you just start, when you just start. you're kind of like learning about the game about how things are working you're learning yourself you know like how you react to things and and yeah and with years you're just trying to get better in everything and you improve in every asset of the game you know like your mental part of the game and the way you see stuff so like with years you're just improving and getting better and you see stuff different with years, you know. So I think it's a long process, you know, of understanding things. One observation I have is it feels like you're, you're playing loose. It feels like you're

Starting point is 00:17:11 yourself. You know, you don't seem to have the same tension or anxiety that sometimes a fan can witness of other professional athletes. You sort of have a free way about you. And in a lot of ways, it looks like you're having fun. I think it's important to have fun because, as you said so many players got exhausted pretty early because they were too much, too hard on themselves, too much into the professional side of the game and just kind of like, just wasted their energy on the wrong stuff. What I learned with years that it's really important to balance you know, your professional life with your personal life, and it's important to have fun and enjoy the journey, like enjoy ups and also enjoy downs. As long as you can, you know, like, feel

Starting point is 00:18:06 something, like it means that you're living and you have to enjoy it. So, and I always, I'm a fun person, you know, like I'm not the one who's going to be too long in depression or something or too long into this disappointment. of the game. I'm just trying to have fun and trying to stay in the moment and I'm not really trying to put a lot of expectation of myself. And also I have a fun team around me so we're always having so much fun and it also helps to be really focused and kind of like aggressive on the court the way I am. Congrats to Arena on yet another dominant season and a successful US Open title defense. You'll find our full conversation in episode 338. Staying on the theme of major

Starting point is 00:18:53 Winners. I had the honor of speaking with Rory McElroy the week before his incredible victory at the Masters. Rory shared how pressure isn't something to fear. It's a privilege. His ability to reframe stress as an opportunity offered a powerful lesson for anyone chasing their best self. You mentioned during a press conference that you view pressure as a privilege. What does that mean to you? I don't see the point in putting all this time and effort into what I do and into my career and trying to master my craft if I don't get to prove to myself that I can do it under the most intense pressure and in the biggest moments in our games. Like, why do I spend hours a day doing this if I can't get to the arena of where I want to get to and not see what

Starting point is 00:19:44 I'm made of? I think that's the thing. So, you know, there's no pressure. when you just finish 30th every week, you know, you coast along and I, that's, I don't want to do that. That's not, it's not the reason that I play the game. It's not the reason that, um, I dedicate so much time to it. So I think that's what I mean when pressure is a privilege. It's a, you know, it's, it's awesome to be in those environments and, you know, being in those environments more often, it really sort of lets you know where your game is and what you need to work on. And, um, I've been in those environments a lot over the last few years. Sometimes I've, I've, I've succeeded. and sometimes I failed, but the failures are also good because you go back to the drawing

Starting point is 00:20:22 board and you understand why didn't it work out for you, what do you need to do differently next time? And, you know, that's a whole evolving process. Like, I'm never going to figure this game out. Like, you know, it's, I will try my best to get as close as possible, but there's always things that you can, you can keep learning. What an unforgettable performance Rory put on at Augusta to secure the Career Grand Slam. Tune in my complete interview with Rory on episode 318, where, among other things, he actually talks about how big it would be to win the Career Grand Slam.

Starting point is 00:20:57 We know that performance stretches far beyond sport, and our next guest comes from the world of filmmaking. From the set to the gym, actor and creator Mike White, talked about managing intensity in a high-pressure environment while filming your favorite show, White Lotus, His approach to staying grounded and healthy during creative chaos struck a chord. The conditions were intense. The conditions have just always been intense.

Starting point is 00:21:21 Like, the hardest one was this season, actually, just because of the heat and the elements. And basically what happened on the second season was I got so run down afterwards. I started working with Ho-Ho's here, who's like my trainer. And basically, and that's how, like, and I started like being like, like I need to I need to like prepare for this physically like this is like I'm going to the Olympics or something because I was so I thought I was after the second season I was like I don't think I'll ever not be tired again I like I got the whole like some kind of physical whole for myself and I don't I it was really it was scary a little bit so like I was like I got to get in

Starting point is 00:22:04 better shape my buddy turn me on to the whoop and I I got into the whoop because I was like you know learning about, you know, whatever, sleep, how, but, you know, just all of the stuff that, like, the who can, you know, give you information about what you're doing right or wrong or where you're at. And I'm kind of enthusiast. So, like, when I'm into it, like, I start, you know, like, I got, you know, I had a full, full year of free whooping because I got so many people on the whoop. And so I had, so, like, and Ho-ho was there. And then I got, like, 10 of this, at least, like, maybe 10 or more of the crew, they were all whooping, were all in the same whoop group. And so like every morning, it would be like, it was like, you know, oh, you didn't get

Starting point is 00:22:46 good sleep. I think it was helpful because people got competitive. And so like everybody was working toward getting healthy or being as healthy as it could in these conditions. But it also was like a very communal kind of thing. Like, you know, you could always find something to talk about everybody. Because, you know, you saw, you wake up and see everybody's numbers and be like, oh, yeah. Bobby slept like shit last night. Like his HRV. He's fucking cratering. Like, I'm going to give him shit, you know, or whatever. Loved Mike's commitment to fitness and recovery on set.

Starting point is 00:23:20 You can hear how Mike had most of the White Lotus cast and crew wearing whoop during our chat on episode 317. Someone who has created a dedicated community through fitness is hybrid athlete Lucy Davis. Lucy brought a strong voice for women in fitness, discussing how to build confidence, strength, and a supportive space in and out of the gym. Lucy, you are super passionate about women's health. You know, when you think about your own, you know, kind of body awareness and body image issues that you might have had in the past, like you mentioned you had an eating disorder and just talk about how your life has kind of set you up to have the platform that you have today. Okay. The way to describe myself as a person is what you see is what you get. I'm very authentically me. And I think I'm, always have been. So I started posting on socials because I had the eating disorder. I didn't

Starting point is 00:24:14 share, but it was almost recovery for myself. Like I'd prop up my phone and I'd look at I putting weight back on and I was bulimic for about six years after I quit swimming. Very common with female athletes, you come out of something so intense where you're weighed and you're penalised and you're judged and my body fats were done. It really happens to a lot of athletes. And I kind of started posting on socials because I didn't have anyone's look up to. I didn't expect this to happen, but I think I'm very passionate about, I want women to know that they're capable of more and it looks different for everyone. It could be starting running or it could be running 100 miles or getting into high rock or the gym. I don't care what it is. I just want to support them in a way that you can

Starting point is 00:25:00 be strong and still feminine. Like I have all, like, there's been loads of people like, oh, you're very freakish. You look this. I'm like, yeah, I'm okay. about it and I want to support other girls to feel the way that I do because training and performance and getting over and eating disorder and having a better relationship with food change my life so if I can change other people and hopefully be that role model now it's something I think about every day I'm like hey what can I do today to like help women you know give the correct information educate them but do it in a way that's like positive and smiley and be vulnerable and honestly it's like innately just

Starting point is 00:25:38 who I am. And like I just found, I found that calling. You can watch more of Lucy's journey and learn more about her incredible community in episode 334. We're going to continue our focus on women's health with our next guest, OBGYN, Dr. Jessica Shepard. Dr. Shepard explained why strength training is essential for women's long-term health. Her advice helped reframe lifting as a critical tool for vitality, not just performance. 22% of American women lift weights. It should be higher. I know.

Starting point is 00:26:14 Talk about why does one have to resistance train if you're a woman? Why is that important? And then talk some specifics about what women should be striving towards. So the body, I always say it's this phenomenal machine that we are in charge of. And that machine runs on really delicate kind of systems. And one of those systems is going to be like your musculoskeletal, which includes like your muscles and your joints and your bones. If we were to look ahead at your 80-year-old, 90-year-old self, what do we usually see? We see women who are frail, have increased risk of falls, breaking a hip, et cetera, and then they have decreased quality of life.

Starting point is 00:26:48 So women typically live longer, but they live more years in poorer health, and that has a lot to do with the estrogen decline. And so when we think of why it's so important to utilize resistance training as a form to help the body, this machine, is because they talk to each other. So the muscle is really good for strength and power, and your bone is for stability. And bone, I think people ignore because it's hard, but it's a living organ. And so we have to use resistance training as a way to tell the cells in the bone to being like, I need more bone. And that comes with the actual impact that you do with resistance training that actually triggers the bone to tell it, right, the machine, we need more.

Starting point is 00:27:28 We need more strength. We need more of those cells that are building the bone. Same thing that goes with the muscle. And so if we're not stimulating this kind of complex of the bone and the muscle, then that's when it starts to decline for multiple reasons. I think, you know, with aging alone, you start to see that decline. But with estrogen, now it's kind of compounded. And so when women start to go through their 40s and their 50s,

Starting point is 00:27:49 estrogen is declining. It's also impacting the strength of the bone and the ability to be strong, but also the muscle as well and losing that muscle mass. What's up, folks, if you are enjoying this podcast, or if you care about health, performance, fitness, you may really enjoy getting a whoop. That's right. You can check out whoop at whoop.com.

Starting point is 00:28:11 It measures everything around sleep, recovery, strain, and you can now sign up for free for 30 days. So you'll literally get the high performance wearable in the mail for free. You get to try it for 30 days, see whether you want to be a member. And that is just at whoop.com. Back to the guests. Dr. Shepard's message is one that really resonated with our listeners. I have to say more and more women are turning to weightlifting to improve their health.

Starting point is 00:28:38 You can catch that full conversation with Dr. Kristen Holmes and Dr. Shepard on episode 328. Our next guest is a woman with a strong message and story that has inspired many in her community. Steph Williams opened up about living with endometriosis and how she uses movement and lifestyle changes to manage her symptoms. Her story was a powerful reminder that knowledge and self-awareness are forms of strength. Yeah, so I think it can be quite like a daunting, scary thing. When I was first diagnosed, it wasn't as widely spoken about as it is now, and I hadn't even heard of it. And so for me, I also had fibroids. So I actually had two operations.

Starting point is 00:29:18 One was endometriosis, and then one was for fibroids like a few years later. But yeah, the symptoms are not period pains. You know, it's quite interesting. It's like, oh, it's just your period. And that's something, that's a narrative that plays out a lot. And it's like, trust me, you know, and I think as a woman, it's like, you know when something is, if it's something so painful, like, it just shouldn't be that painful. Right.

Starting point is 00:29:39 And it's really heavy bleeding. Yeah. But it wasn't even for me, it wasn't even like necessarily just like on my period. It was just like all the time. Just kind of like pain. Like I would walk down the street and I would just like curl up and pain. I wouldn't be able to, you know, I felt incredibly weak. My tiredness was, I was.

Starting point is 00:29:56 And I'm quite like an energize, you know, I'd say I'm quite like a happy person. And it was making, I felt just sad all the time, like so tired. And then you're kind of like in your head, like, why am I feeling like this? And then my skin was really bad. I was gaining weight. It would have been about 14 years ago, 2010, probably when I first started getting kind of like, but even when I look back. So you're around 20s. Yeah, early 20s.

Starting point is 00:30:28 So it's coincided when you start playing hockey and like, yes. And then when I also started, I don't know, it's difficult to say. And I don't want to say something that's going to be like, oh, that's not the case. But like for me, I think like, you know, starting to lift heavier than like what I really probably need to or should have. And I started having like protein shakes, which I'd never had before. My mom's like super healthy. So as my dad, like I've always had a really balanced diet and, you know, been able to eat really well and stuff like that. And all of a sudden, you know, you're having, like, brands are sending you stuff.

Starting point is 00:30:58 And you're like, oh, you should have this amount of protein and learn stuff. And I think that probably didn't help because endometeus just feeds off of sugar. And the amount of, like, extra crap that's put into the stuff. Yeah. You just, like, if you just look at the back. Yeah. And you're like, what even is that? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:13 So it is interesting that it did coincide with that period as well. But, yeah, so it's like, cruciate. So whatever was latent basically got. Yeah. 100%. Yeah. 100%. But, yeah, like, pain during sex.

Starting point is 00:31:25 to the point where like I'd pass out. I'd vomited. Yeah. So it's, you know, not great. Like, I'd go out and I would, every time, I'd go out for like a 30 minute walk and without fail. I mean, Matt Bush is, like, peed in because, like, my bladder and everything, I just couldn't, and it was because of the fibroids as well. Yeah, putting pressure on your water. Putting pressure. And I just thought that was, like, normal, you know, and it's just like, and also, you know, all these symptoms as well that feel there's a little bit of shame around it, and it can feel like a little bit embarrassing to talk about. And that's something that I really like don't want women to feel like there's nothing embarrassing about having it's an illness it's

Starting point is 00:32:00 not like what you would never be and it's just symptoms and it's symptoms that can be relieved I think the more you talk about it as well I think the better like chance you give yourself as well and you're a phenomenal advocate you know it'd be yeah yeah it's hard so it makes me feel like because it's such a hard time to sometimes when you talk about it it kind of pulls back on yeah but now I actually um yeah I don't have endometriosis anymore, which they say, like, oh, you can't, it can't be cured. And that's kind of what you're told when you first get diagnosed. There's no cure. And so what can you do?

Starting point is 00:32:33 Not nothing. You can have operations to maybe get it removed, but like, da, da, da, da, that's nothing you can do. So I did loads of personal research into, you know, loads of different articles. But there is, again, a lot of noise. And there was, I found, like, some, like, quite negative things around it. And I just was like, okay, go back to basics. and like going back to like a whole food diet and again I just kind of that's when I really kind of honed in on like my hybrid training and doing kind of you know Pilates and adding that

Starting point is 00:33:02 and that's actually why I became a Pilates instructor as well because I was just like fascinated by it and I just like really thought and it just worked for your body yeah and it did and I think and it does and that mixed with you know like on the days where you don't feel as good you have the option to do something where you can still move your body because it makes you it does make you feel good. Yeah. So I always jump around loads because I feel like it's been now it's been like when I had the operation. So I got diagnosed and then I probably had the operation about two years later to get the endo removed. Yeah. Through that and then nutrition, looking at things a lot more like holistically, I think has helped me like mentally, physically so, so, so much.

Starting point is 00:33:41 And I think whether you have a condition or not, like just doing that is you're just going to give yourself a better chance of feeling good. A big congratulations to Steph. on her pregnancy, and we can't thank her enough for sharing her story on the podcast at his episode 354 with Kristen Holmes. Now we turn to esteemed cardiologist Dr. Jeremy London. Dr. London focused on cardiovascular health, sharing simple, science-backed lifestyle changes that can dramatically improve how we age, perform, and recover. When you think about protecting your own heart, what's an overview of the behaviors that are kind of your non-negotiables or what you're focused on. So for me, it has been nutrition and fitness. And that's been a real part of my life for a long

Starting point is 00:34:30 time. And those things come pretty easy to me because I can control them. I can push myself to work out. I can control what I put in my mouth. And really what I have struggled with, falling asleep and staying asleep. I can fall asleep. I can't stay asleep. And a lot of that's from 25 years of being on call and my, you know, my sympathetic nervous system is like on DefCon 5 all the time. And what I found was I just, I was one of those all I'll sleep when I'm dead kind of guys. I'm that just, that's how my mindset has gotten me to where I am. And that was really foolish because, you know, I've got a step in my right corner that I had three years ago and I don't really have any risk factors. But when we look back at it,

Starting point is 00:35:16 this has been my risk factor probably all along. The reason that, again, I was scared and fearful because I couldn't control it. The harder I worked to control my sleep, the worse it got. And so the anxiety around it. Absolutely. And so I've really had to change my relationship with sleep and really change my mindset kind of bottom top. And it has been a real struggle for me, just because my body is so gened up from all these years. But again, I think that when we look at, you know, how do you approach your day-to-day, like control the things you can control. Like, I want to at least get those things in my corner and make sure that I've got those

Starting point is 00:36:02 maximized. And I've definitely been through lots of different nutritional waves in my life. Dietary strategies. Exactly. Yes. I mean, even back in the 90s when it was all no fat, you know, you're eating pasta and no fat yoga for, we all went through it. But, you know, I think really once I got exposed to functional medicine in probably about 10 years into practice, I had a huge pivot in my mindset, both for me personally and for the way that I took care of patients. Was that due to the exposure to your blood biomarkers and really be able to see what actually is happening? This was well before the biomarkers were even in vogue. What happened was it was that it was that taking care of the end game for 10 years.

Starting point is 00:36:54 I really felt like I was fighting an exercise in futility, essentially, on a day-to-day basis. You know, fix me, doc, and we accept all this risk. You send them out, and they go back to doing the exact same things that they were doing before. and it just felt like Sisyphus pushing the rock, you know, up the, up the mountain. And I realized we're doing something, we're doing something wrong. And that's where my mindset really shifted. Again, I kind of tried it on myself and my wife got very engaged as well. And we're like, this is awesome, you know, like clean up your diet and things get so much better.

Starting point is 00:37:33 And it was, it was really transformative. Really appreciate Dr. Jeremy London for sharing stories from his practice and some of the vital ways to prevent heart disease. You can hear more from Dr. London on episodes 307 and 308. And finally, Dr. Michelle Davenport wrapped the air with practical nutrition hacks for busy people. Her approach to fueling smarter, not harder, is something we can all take into the new year. I think we really have gotten kind of disconnected from the basics. And, you know, I think it's so wonderful. There's so much information out there and a lot of really wonderful, great information, you know, but I think, you know, just modern life kind of makes it hard. You know,

Starting point is 00:38:15 you mentioned conveniences. It's like microwave. Maybe let's just start there. Funny enough, I'm not against the microwave. Oh, that's great to hear because I use it every single day, multiple times a day. And I was just waiting to hear that the microwave is killing me. No, I'm a mom. I'm like, I'm not going to be heating stuff up on this. I mean, I heat my coffee up like literally 10 times in the span of like 40 minutes. Yeah, I do too. I don't drink coffee, but I heat up other stuff in there a lot. And it's actually, you know, we look at different cooking methods. Microwave is pretty great. I mean, it's not as good as using stove top and steaming, but it's like, you know, semi up there in terms of nutrient retention.

Starting point is 00:38:52 And, you know, you don't have to be so hard on yourself. There are ways to do this conveniently and sustainably. And still, you know, for the most part, do pretty well with your diet, I think. Some other conveniences, like flash frozen produce. So, oh, tell me more. So I was a researcher, you know, nutrition scientists and trained as a dietitian and everything. I love flash frozen produce. They've done fresh, like freshness tests on flash frozen produce. And there's a lot of vitamin C retention. And vitamin C is supposed to be a good proxy for how fresh vegetables stay after they're harvested.

Starting point is 00:39:30 And it's pretty good in flash frozen produce. There's not much to it. They're just freezing it immediately after harvest. How do we know? Is there a label on it that says flash frozen? Like how do we know? know if it was pretty much all the the vegetables that you get in the freezer aisle are flashed are going to be flash frozen they just do it like right after harvest and they do it industrially and so it's like super cold and just locks everything up i think it's a great way to get your veggies usually they're chopped up already and i always tell people to get your you know get high quality protein and i'll let people interpret it that however they want to stay out of that conversation yeah you don't want to do hand hand in that area yeah veggies in that sense and

Starting point is 00:40:10 that sense are convenient and they're easy to cook with and they're all packaged and ready to go and you don't have to feel bad about that kind of stuff, you know. I don't think like, in a lot of my videos I'm making stuff from scratch because aesthetically it's more pleasing to people to see. Your videos are just so satisfying. I'll just say, I just, yeah, there are some days where I'm like, whatever, like, let's just open up this bag of like frozen veggies and do that. You know, it's totally fine. Another thing I could mention about long is they have looked at markers of longevity with AGE Vsearch. And it's an inverse relationship.

Starting point is 00:40:47 So the lower the AGEs in diet, the higher you're going to have of things like CERT 1, PPAR gamma, which are important for longevity, as you probably know. And like in mouse studies, PPR gamma is kind of associated with lifespan. Also, there's more movement now, you know, in terms of like trying to figure out the exact mass. mechanisms between AGE's and longevity. There was one recipe on there, which I'm like just dying to try. It was like a sweet potato recipe. But you mentioned reducing resistant starch. Yeah, I'd love for you to just talk through what that process is and what are the benefits.

Starting point is 00:41:29 If you're making rice or potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sometimes even people will freeze their bread, Like, you can cool down the starch in the fridge. Sometimes people will even freeze portions of rice, which will make it more convenient so you can just take it out and microwave it. And the resistant starch actually, our bodies have a hard time breaking it down. And so you're going to have less of a glucose spike or insulin response from the resistant starch. I don't think it's like a panacea. Like you can't just go and just eat rice all day long because, you know, it's like resistant. I got to preface it because you never know what people are going to hear. Yeah. But it's a small but meaningful percentage decrease. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:42:14 It can help. Yeah. So like if you're a busy person and you don't have a lot of time to be making, you know, your rice or your own bread or whatever, you can do it in bulk and then put it in the fridge. I have personally a big freezer in my garage and I put a lot of stuff in there, broths and things. And it makes it more convenient for me to just take it out and defrost it. If you're interested in trying out,

Starting point is 00:42:36 water-based cooking in 2026 be sure to tune in to episode 325 for all of dr davenport's insights on clean eating this wraps up this year's best of episode thank you all for listening and watching throughout the year i hope you had a great holiday season and a happy new year there are plenty more exciting things to come in 26 let's stay healthy and stay in the green

WHOOP Podcast - Best of 2025: WHOOP Podcast Best Moments of the Year

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