Why You’re Aging Faster Than You Think | Dr Gabrielle Lyon

Michael Gervais (0:00)

In a few short days, the brightest lights in American football will be on. Most people will see what happens on the field, but the real game, that happens in the mind. I'm Dr. Michael Gervais, and I'm teaming up again with Fox Sports Analyst and NFL Pro Bowler, Greg Olson, for a special five episode series called Game Inside the Games. We're recording from Radio Road during Championship Week, and these are shorter daily episodes that are dropping Wednesday, February 4th through Sunday, February 8th. Each episode pulls back the curtain on how elite performers prepare, how they think, and the psychological skills that they rely on to perform at their best when the world is watching. And whether you're leading a team, building your craft, or competing or parenting, or simply trying to live with more intention, these are tools you can use right away. Game Inside the Games is presented by Microsoft Co-Pilot, your AI assistant for work, and CDW. Make amazing happen. Subscribe to Finding Mastery wherever you get your podcasts, and join us February 4th through the 8th for Game Inside the Games.

Gabrielle Lyon (1:01)

If you are weak, you are more likely to die.

Michael Gervais (1:04)

What if the real risk to our health isn't aging, but becoming metabolically weak?

Gabrielle Lyon (1:09)

There is nothing more important than skeletal muscle or overall survivability. That's it.

Michael Gervais (1:16)

Welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery Podcast, where we dive into the minds of the world's greatest thinkers and doers. I am your host, Dr. Michael Gervais, by trade and trading a high-performance psychologist. The idea behind these conversations is simple. It's to sit with the extraordinaries, to learn, to really learn how they work from the inside out. Today's conversation is with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, physician, researcher, and one of the leading voices challenging how we think about health, longevity, and aging.

Gabrielle Lyon (1:44)

If you are strong in midlife, you have a two and a half times greater chance of living to 100 If you are engaging in some type of resistance training, you are decreasing your overall morbidity and mortality by 25%.

Michael Gervais (1:57)

Dr. Gabrielle makes a clear and often uncomfortable case. Health is not something you manage later with prescriptions. Her position is it's something you build early, you maintain deliberately, and for her, muscle sits right at the center of the equation.

Gabrielle Lyon (2:12)

The consequences of unhealthy muscle are Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. These are not diseases externally.

Michael Gervais (2:22)

In this conversation, we talk about what it actually takes to build and protect muscle through training and nutrition. And we have an honest discussion about the rise of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.

Gabrielle Lyon (2:33)

GLP-1 tell the brain that you are full. They are incredible to the use in weight loss. No. Is it a free pass? No. If we utilize them as a silver bullet, we are going to trade one epidemic for another.

Michael Gervais (2:49)

So as you listen, consider, are your daily choices helping you build capacity for the life that you want to live? Or are they quietly trading strength today for fragility tomorrow? With that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.

Gabrielle, it is great to have you back. And for the first time live, it's been three years since our last conversation. And it's amazing how fast time flies. Thank you for coming back.

Gabrielle Lyon (3:22)

I'm so excited to be here and live and in person in this incredible studio with an incredible team. This is epic.

Michael Gervais (3:28)

It's fun, isn't it? Yeah, thank you. Congrats on the new book. I want to get into that. Before we start there, can you level set in the most simple of language, what you do and how you spend your time?

Gabrielle Lyon (3:41)

That's setting the stage for a lot of different things. First of all, I'm a mom of two very little children. If I were to say, how do I set the stage for what I do, I think that in one quick sentence, it would be the best example I can in both mind, body, and spirit. Yeah, for everything that I do.

Michael Gervais (4:05)

For everything. You put your kids first in that respect, but you're wanting to be the best version, if you will, of you, the best example of you for just them or for others.

Gabrielle Lyon (4:16)

For everybody.

Michael Gervais (4:17)

Yeah.

Gabrielle Lyon (4:18)

Because a lot of people, and I would say a lot of doctors think and exist in a silo. For example, let's say someone has cardiovascular disease, and we treat the cardiovascular disease, or we treat the diabetes. But at the end of the day, what we really are hoping to build, and I think a different level of thinking about medicine, is stronger, more resilient humans. And the only way to experience that is if we are practicing that or a bigger, greater cause. And that starts with me, right?