A 45-year-old professor transformed his physical condition in 8 months: His "anti-aging experiment" made me re-examine my 4 lifestyle habits.

Preface：

Dean Ho, a 45-year-old professor from Singapore, underwent 8 months of practice and saw significant changes in his physical indicators.

His resting heart rate dropped from 65 to 46,
The speed at which his body switched metabolic patterns significantly increased,
His sleep time and deep sleep also improved.

According to the estimation of relevant biological age indicators, his physical condition was even nearly 15 years younger than his actual age.

I once wrote about the story of Singapore's anti-aging expert Chen Chuanduo, who is 59 years old and still maintains a very youthful physical condition.

Each time I see these experts' anti-aging methods, I compare them and not because we need to become younger by a certain number of years, but to see if there are any problems with my lifestyle and if it needs improvement.

To a large extent, everyone's physical condition is closely related to a few basic factors - diet, exercise, and sleep.

As people age, many people around them experience various conditions in their bodies. Long-term alcohol abuse, excessive diet, lack of exercise, and insufficient sleep are things that may not be felt in one's youth, but over time, the body will naturally give feedback.

So, I prefer to understand these anti-aging cases as a kind of "lifestyle comparison".

This time, I saw the self-experiment of Singaporean professor Dean Ho (Ho Ding).

How does Dean Ho live?

1. Time-limited eating

Dean Ho mainly eats between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. every day, and remains on a long-term fasting period for the rest of the time.

During holidays or special circumstances, he may adjust the eating time to be more relaxed.

His lifestyle also includes some longer fasting arrangements.

I remember a friend I knew before.

Her eating pattern was basically the same, and I actually didn't understand at that time:
Can you really stick to not eating for such a long time?

Especially for me, a "late sleeper", my working state often concentrates in the afternoon and evening.

If I finish eating very early in the afternoon and don't eat during work in the evening, it would be a challenge for me.

But at least it made me start thinking:
Is it often that we don't need to eat so much, but we have become accustomed to constantly eating?

2. Diet structure is more important than just "eating less"

Dean Ho's diet style is generally close to the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean Diet: The Secret to a Long and Healthy Life by Eating More

Vegetables are mainly green leafy vegetables, and fruits are more likely to choose berries, such as blueberries and raspberries; the source of fat is mainly olive oil and nuts, and protein comes more from fish, shrimp, and soy products.

I am more likely to accept this point.

Japanese-style diet also has many similar characteristics: vegetables, fish, soy products, moderate amount of staple food, and relatively light cooking methods.

Want to stay healthy and youthful? Your dining table needs these 5 "Japanese-style" modifications

This makes me increasingly think:

Healthy eating doesn't necessarily mean "starving yourself", but seriously treating the combination of your daily food intake.

3. Daily exercise, and long-term persistence

Dean Ho arranges exercise every morning for about 90 minutes.

Sometimes it's strength training, sometimes it's aerobic exercise.
Aerobic exercise is not just occasional, but is continuously scheduled in his life each week.

This made me think of myself.
Running, yoga, I have done quite well.

If I don't exercise one day or a few days, I feel something is missing.

But for strength training, I really haven't done enough.

Previously, I focused more on aerobic exercise like running, and now I increasingly realize that as we age, strength, muscles, and the activity ability of the body are also worthy of attention.

4. Fixed sleep time

Dean Ho's sleep is also very regular.

He goes to bed around 9:30 p.m. and get up at 5:30 a.m. He doesn't take a nap and try to minimize screen time before bed, while maintaining an appropriate bedroom temperature.

Seeing this, I feel a bit ashamed.

Sleep might be the aspect that I need to improve the most at present.

Because my work focus is often on the afternoon and evening.

Sometimes when I get into the work groove, time passes quickly.

Sometimes I can't help checking my phone for a while, and eventually often end up staying up until 12 or even 1 a.m.

Sleep is very important and deserves serious attention.

 

What this experiment truly showed me was not "anti-aging".

After Dean Ho adjusted his lifestyle, some indicators did show significant changes.

For example:

The resting heart rate dropped from 65 to 46.

This usually indicates that the efficiency of the heart and the adaptability of the heart and lungs have changed in his current physical condition.

His sleep time has also increased from approximately 5 hours previously to nearly 8 hours, with an improvement in deep sleep and nighttime sleep quality.

At the same time, his metabolic adaptability and gut microbiota have also undergone some changes.

Based on these indicators, the assessment of biological age shows that his physical condition is much younger than his actual age.

But I think what is truly worthy of attention for ordinary people is not:
"How can I become 30 years old at 45?"

Rather:
"What is our lifestyle leading our bodies towards?"

Because each of us is conducting a long-term experiment.
It's just that most people haven't kept records.

What we eat every day, when we eat, whether we exercise, when we sleep, all accumulate gradually on the body.

 

The comparison is not copying homework, but discovering one's own problems.

I increasingly like this way of thinking.

Seeing someone else's lifestyle, not immediately copying it, but using it to reflect on oneself.

• Dean Ho has a long-term eating schedule, and I may not be suitable for it;
  
• His diet structure is worth my reference;
  
• His exercise habit makes me realize that my strength training is insufficient;
• His sleep routine makes me realize that my sleep still needs improvement.
  

So, rather than learning a professor's "anti-aging method", it is more like using his experiment to conduct a check on one's own life.

For ordinary people, I think there are a few simple directions that are already very valuable.

Suggestion 1: Try to move dinner earlier

Rather than obsessing over a specific fixed time point, focus instead on a principle that is easier to implement:

Don't let the last meal be too close to bedtime.

If possible, gradually move dinner time earlier.

If it's difficult in reality, you can try:
Finish the last meal 3-4 hours before bedtime.

For example, if you go to bed at 10 p.m., try to finish dinner around 6-7 p.m.
Don't do it all at once.

Long-term consistency is more important than strictly following it for a few days occasionally.

Suggestion 2: Focus on the "211" meal plate structure for each meal

I prefer to use a simple method to understand the diet.

A meal can be roughly divided into:
2 portions of vegetables + 1 portion of high-quality protein + 1 portion of staple food.

Vegetables can mainly be green leafy vegetables;
Protein can choose fish, shrimp, eggs, soy products, lean meat, etc.;
Staple food should choose relatively complete food sources such as whole grains.

The key is not to completely give up carbohydrates, but:
Don't let refined staple foods become the absolute main character of a meal.

In fact, healthy eating is not that complicated.
Adjusting the food structure well is already a big progress.

Suggestion 3: Move every day, which is easier to persist than intense training occasionally

Exercise doesn't have to be going to the gym, nor does it have to complete a complex training plan.

Jogging, brisk walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, or even just walking a little more each day can all become part of life.

For ordinary people, I increasingly believe:
Long-term persistence is more important than occasional hard work.

Doing several hours of exercise on the weekend and then not moving for the rest of the week is not necessarily the best lifestyle.

If you can spare 30 minutes each day to keep your body active, it is easier to form a habit.

The purpose of exercise is not necessarily to become something.
Sometimes, it is just for:
Keeping the body running.

Suggestion 4: Set a fixed sleep schedule

This might be the most easily overlooked point.

We don't necessarily have to go to bed at 9:30 p.m., nor do we have to wake up at 5:30 a.m.

But we can try to do the following:
Set a fixed bedtime and a fixed wake-up time.

Occasionally, if it's due to work, travel, or special circumstances, it's okay to deviate.
The important thing is to maintain a relatively stable schedule most of the time.

For me, this is precisely the aspect that needs improvement the most at present.

Knowing that sleep is important is one thing; truly being willing to stop working and put down the phone for the sake of sleep is another thing.

 

What we truly need is not "aging against the trend".

What we pursue is not making ourselves younger by a certain number of years.

The body cannot really return to its youthful state simply because of a certain diet or a certain exercise method.

What we can truly do is to try to delay the decline of our physical condition as much as possible, so that while we age, we still maintain relatively good physical ability, energy and quality of life.

Because health itself is a long-term asset.

How we live every day is actually adding value to this asset or consuming it every day.

So, summarizing Dean Ho's experiment, these are actually four small things:

• Have dinner as early as possible, finish the last meal 3-4 hours before bedtime
• Pay attention to the reasonable combination of vegetables, proteins and staple foods in each meal
• Exercise for about 30 minutes every day to keep the body in motion
• Try to fix the time for going to bed and getting up
  

Everyone has their own body, work rhythm and living environment.

The truly effective health approach is not necessarily the strictest one from others, but the one you can stick to for a long time.

“Rome wasn't built in a day”, and neither is a health asset.

True anti-aging is not desperately chasing youth, but starting today and turning each good habit into a part of your life, so that time is on your side.