I was out walking the dog this morning when I ran into a neighbor. We caught up for a few minutes — the way you do when the world feels heavy and it's nice to just talk to another human being. Because the world does feel heavy right now. Prices at the grocery store that make you stop and stare. A political climate that feels impossible to escape. Uncertainty everywhere you look. And somewhere in the middle of that walk, I found myself thinking: the one thing I can control is my standards. This week's word is STANDARDS. There's a quote I come back to often. It's from Jim Rohn, and Tony Robbins talks about it constantly: “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That line lands differently depending on where you are in life. Some weeks it's inspiring. Some weeks it's a gut punch. This week — it was both. I had a conversation with my life coach about standards. Specifically about the places where I have let mine slip. I am great at putting clients first. I show up fully for the people who count on me. But my own administrative life — the things that only I can do, the tasks that pile up and become urgent — I have been letting those slide. And the conversation helped me see: the cost is not just the undone tasks. The cost is the low-grade anxiety that comes from living below your own standards. The unease in the gut. The unsettled feeling that something is not quite right, even on a good day. That is the price of dropped standards. And it compounds. Here is what I believe about standards — and what I want to pass on: Having high standards does not mean having it all together. It means having something to reach for. I have made plenty of mistakes. I have had plenty of seasons where things fell apart. But the standard was still there — something to find my way back to. I collect people who have high standards. My chiropractor. My massage therapist. My physical therapist. My financial advisor. My life coach. My editor. I have built a team of people who are excellent at what they do, who I can call on when I need them. Because here is the truth: no one does this alone. And the people who try to do everything alone usually end up doing most things poorly.

If you missed today's workshop at Life Time Folsom, or you were there and want to hear it again, here is the full replay: 👉 https://youtu.be/MK7H8R0n8nI The big question we tackled: how many carbs can YOU actually handle? A lot of people get a continuous glucose monitor, put it on their arm, and have no idea what to do with it. In this workshop I show you how to turn the numbers into decisions. Here is what we covered: ✅ Where sugar fits in my 8 Daily Primal Needs (Need #4: Nutrition) ✅ What the new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines say about added sugar ✅ What your glucose numbers should look like, and when to check ✅ Good vs. bad glucose response (with graphs) ✅ How to flatten and lower a spike: a short walk, food order, vinegar, healthy fat, and more ✅ Why I recommend about 3 months with a CGM to learn your own body Quick reminders: • The after-meal rise targets I use (30 or less, ideally 20 or less) are practical coaching targets. Under 140 two hours after eating is the common benchmark. • Stelo is for adults 18+ who do not use insulin. If you take glucose-lowering medication or have had problem lows, check with your doctor first. 🎁 Want a FREE Dynamic Nutrition Coaching session? Send me a DM and we will schedule it. Let me know in the comments: what is the first food you want to test with a glucose monitor? - Coach Brien

Quick question: how many carbs can you actually handle? More and more people are wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). But here is what I see over and over with my clients (and what I saw in myself): they get this amazing technology, put it on their arm, and have no idea what to do with it. The app is a medical device display, not a teaching tool. Most doctors just hand you the sensor and say "observe." This Thursday, we fix that. Here is what we will cover: ✅ Where sugar & carbs fit in my 8 Daily Primal Needs (Need #4: Nutrition) ✅ The new 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines and what they mean for your plate ✅ How to read a food label for added sugar ✅ What your glucose numbers should look like, and when to look ✅ Good vs. bad glucose response (with graphs) ✅ How to bring a spike down fast: a walk, some healthy fat, and more ✅ A 15-day plan for your sensor My take, from two years of wearing a CGM myself: about 3 months is enough to become the expert on your own body's response to sugar. That is the real goal. Not a lifetime of wearing a sensor, but learning what works for YOU. Stelo (the over-the-counter CGM) runs about $100 a month if you pay cash, and insurance does not typically cover it. I believe everyone deserves the chance to try one for 2 to 3 months, so I will be giving away free Stelo monitors at the workshop. ⚠️ You must attend in person at Life Time to get one, and the number of monitors is limited. Zoom attendees will not receive a monitor. Lifetime Members: Pick your time: 1:00 PM or 4:00 PM (same talk both times) • Where: the Education Room upstairs • Open to everyone: members and non-members • Can't make it in person? The 4:00 PM session also has a Zoom option (the 1:00 PM does not) HOW TO RSVP • Life Time members: RSVP in the Life Time app under Classes or Events on Thursday. • Not a member? Send me a DM and I will get you a guest pass. • Zoom for the 4:00 PM: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5212548446?pwd=OHk3TFZKa1JydE1abm80QVA1K0hZdz09

I am outside again right now. Sitting in the fall sun. Leaves turning red and yellow. Air crisp. Sun on my head. And I am realizing — I have not done this nearly enough this week. Too much grinding indoors. Too much reactive mode. Missing the vitamin D. Missing the stillness. This is exactly the kind of moment where something becomes clear. This week's word is COMPLETION. I have been carrying incompletion for a long time. I am a hustler, but not always an enjoyer. A grinder, but not always a relaxer. I love learning and serving — but not necessarily being. Silence, stillness, quiet — those have always been a challenge for me. I tend to be busy, but not always productive. I am never bored, but not always happy. And somewhere in that pattern, a lot of things have been started and not finished. The biggest one: my book. I have been working on my coaching framework — the 7 Daily Primal Needs — for over ten years. I have hired two different people to help me complete it. I still have not finished it. And I have carried guilt about that for years. But sitting outside today, something shifted. I did not finish it ten years ago because I was not ready. I have learned more since then. I have more stories. More client outcomes. More clarity. The book I would write today is better than the one I would have written then. The incompletion was part of the process. And now — with my 54th birthday on November 19th — I feel an urgency I have never felt before. It is time. Here is what I have come to understand about completion: It is not just about finishing a project. Incompletion lives in the body. It sits in the gut. It hums as low-grade anxiety. It shows up as the feeling that something is not quite right, even when life looks fine on the outside. We are walking around with open loops — unfinished conversations, relationships that need a word or a moment, projects we keep postponing, parts of ourselves we have not yet expressed. And those open loops cost us. They take energy. They take focus. They take peace.

Thank you to everyone who joined me for Thrive Thursday today, in person at Life Time Folsom and on Zoom. If you missed it, the replay is here: https://youtu.be/iZik55NLjKo We covered a lot, and here’s what you’ll learn: - How much water you really need in a day, and what the National Academies numbers actually mean - Why we add about 16 oz per hour of exercise, and what the science says about it - Water vs. minerals: when plain water is enough, and when electrolytes help - Can you drink too much water? - How to check your hydration: urine color, urine specific gravity, and the InBody ECW ratio - The history of sports drinks, from the University of Florida in 1966 to Gatorade today - What’s actually in the bottle: Gatorade, Gatorade Zero, and vitaminwater next to LTH Hydrate - Do carbs help you hydrate, and is more sodium better? Hydrate is the November Product of the Month. If you’d like to try it, order through my link and you’ll earn 20% back in LT Shop points: https://shop.lifetime.life/trainer/link/referral/trainerId/292943/ It’s a good fit if you sweat a lot, train for longer than an hour, work out in the heat, or just drink more when your water has flavor. If you mostly sit and eat a lot of processed food, you may not need extra sodium, so check with your doctor if you’re unsure. Your turn: Take a look at your urine color this week and tell me where you land on the 1 to 8 chart. Aim for the pale end (1 to 3). If you’re at a 5 or darker, that’s your cue to drink more. See you next Thursday at 4PM Pacific! Coach Brien General hydration information. Individual results vary. Not medical advice.