JULIE GIBSON CLARK
Health for Life
Welcome and thank you for stopping by! I've tried to summarize answers to all the questions I've received in the form of a few pages and links below. If there's something that I've missed please feel free to message me here or on Instagram.
Health at its core is based on a few simple tenants that aren't always easy (or fun) to do, but pay off in the long game. I'm sure you've noticed there's a LOT of information out there: fasting, weight lifting, sleep, plasma, stem cells, exosomes, hundreds of supplements to learn about, HBOT, and the list goes on. It can be dizzying at times! And I don't know about you, but the confusion can stop me in my tracks.
It's taken me several years to create a simple, effective system of practices to support my life's health span. I'm sharing it with you in hopes you'll start on one of them and then slowly build to incorporating others - until they're all habits as familiar and necessary to you as brushing your teeth.
Just remember, we’re playing the long game here - like decades long. It’s more of “what can you do now that moves you in the direction of health?” Not getting it perfect. Perfection adds stress (and not the hormetic kind) and we’re trying to minimize that. We’re all human and life happens. Just get right back up and continue.
Good health is a fundamental human right, and you deserve to feel your best all the days of your life. No matter where you are in your health journey - just start.
5AM Wake
This is my favorite time of day. The house and the world are so quiet. It's just so peaceful. Give it a try. Commit to a few weeks. You will be tired the first few days, but it gets easier with everyday. (And a note to all the solo parents out there: this is the key to staying connected to yourself, remembering who you are and being the best parent you can be when the kiddos wake up.)
So we’re clear, when I started to wake early, I made sure to be consistent every day for the first 2 weeks. But I no longer set my alarm on Saturday or Sunday - I’m not crazy! 😉 I tend to sleep a bit longer - especially in winter. I’m sure this may be less than ideal, but again - we’re all human here. And I think we would all agree those extra moments of sleep on the weekends are delicious.
Make the Bed
Anyone else out there a fan of making your bed? I know I'm not the only one. Admiral McRaven wrote a whole book and gave a speech on it. 😀 I use the time to stretch and gently move as I'm making it - slowly waking as I go. And it's heavenly at night to get into a nicely made bed.
Green Tea
I love green tea and have been drinking it for many years. Tragically coffee is hard on my joints and the caffeine is too much for me. So I've stuck to tea most my life. If you're drinking a lot like I do, be mindful of heavy metals in tea. See my resource for finding good brands here.
Read/Pray/Meditate
Every morning I read a few sections of the Bible and take some time to journal, read other spiritual authors or just meditate with my tea in hand.
7AM Workout
I'm truly just here for the sauna! From the moment I wake up to the moment I park my car, I’m usually thinking - ugh am I really going to do this? But I just tell myself - go for the sauna. That’s all you have to do today. Then when I walk in, I figure I might as well just do a few reps of something, then I add a little more and a bit more. And before I know, it’s all done and I’m stretching.
Morning light: I try get morning sunlight sitting outside while drinking tea and reading. But if the sun wasn’t out earlier, I open my windows on the 15min drive to the gym and hope that works for morning sunlight 🤷♀️ IDK if this is genius or laziness at its finest.
My routine will change with the seasons but in general, here’s my typical week (use the arrows to switch the days):
9AM
Mean Green Drink
Here's my concoction's recipe:
1 tsp moringa
1.5 tsp fermented dried greens
0.5 tsp chlorella
1 tsp maca
1 lemon, juiced
sweetener to taste
20g of collagen protein
Ice and water to fill a 32oz / 1 liter glass
(If I have some made, I also mix in about 8 oz / 250 ml of beet kvass)
10AM Greens Latte
01
This is not my recipe
The credit for this recipe goes to the brilliant creators of Better Broths & Healing Tonics, Dr. Kara Fitzgerald and Jill Sheppard Davenport. I'm using the recipe on page 81, Warm "Latte" Blend. I think tastes like a cup of Christmas.
03
Greens - 4 oz / 110 mg
I use a mix of baby greens - organic kale, chard and spinach. Make sure to cook them in your broth first. This will reduce the goitergens (substances that disrupt the production of thyroid hormones).
02
Bone Broth - 8 oz / 250 ml
We start by making a bone broth outlined on page 48 of her book. You can make others but their recipe is made with apples, orange peel and spices to make this more palatable for 'sweet' drinks.
04
Other Ingredients
Also included is apple, flax seed, pecans, spices and protein powder.
Just note in the summer this becomes a cold smoothie with frozen berries instead of apple and spices.
11AM Veggie Bowl
To meet my goal of 1lb / 0.5kg of veggies daily, I mix up a colorful bowl to nosh on the rest of the day. This is a mixed bag of anything that looks good at the market when I'm there. Sometimes I blanche them, as in the case of broccoli, and sometimes I just sauté them up, but usually they're raw. This is usually 8-10 ounces / 220-300mg because I know I'll have some in my drink earlier and more at dinner. It sounds like a lot, but take it slow adding a bit more every week. You'll be at 1lb in no time. I also add some protein to this - usually chicken, eggs, steak, cheese, whatever is left over or easy to grab.
1PM Meditation
In and around 1pm I stop what’s going on and meditate for 20 minutes. I learned Transcendental Mediation (TM) in 2019 and haven’t stopped since. And I realize the name makes the whole thing sound a bit mystical, but I assure you in the 5 years I’ve been practicing, while it’s been extremely calming, I’ve never experienced any mysticism. In fact, I think it’s because the approach is so practical, I’ve stuck with it. (It’s worth going to a TM center and learning directly from them. Learning their practical approach in the classes is what helps me keep monkey mind in check).
Although TM recommends 2 times per day, which I will implement if I get really stressed, most days I’m happy with just one 20 minute session. One the most surprising benefits was its impact on sleep. I’m still amazed at how sleep starts getting “edgy” when I miss too many days in a row. Which by the way - I do miss here and there, especially on weekends. I’m not perfect at ANYTHING, but I do shoot or consistency.
I’m sure the best meditation form is like exercise: the one you’ll stick with. I’d encourage you to try different types. With YouTube and all the meditation apps now, I’m sure you can find something that calms you down and draws you back again and again. (If you’re curious about TM, just go to ww.tm.org to find an instructor near you.)
5PM Dinner
Some days I’m trying a (hopefully) delicious new recipe and other days I’m just trying to get a meal in before it gets too late. I like to time this so I have at least 3 hours before bed, ideally more, but of all I do in my longevity routine, this is the hardest.
I LOVE to cook and time just evaporates when I’m in the kitchen. So some meals are done in less than 15 minutes and others, well let’s say sometimes we don’t eat till 8pm. It’s rare, but does happen. I hate going to bed full so I usually will walk a bit more that evening and/or delay bedtime.
My main goal is to enjoy time with my son. But as a teenager that’s hard to consistently happen 😔 so things are always in flux. I just make sure to get the remaining veggies/greens and any protein I might need to still cover. The rest is about relaxing and connecting to the people I’m blessed to have at my table, to food, to life.
7:30PM Evening Walk
New to my daily practice is an evening walk. I've been using the time to clear my mind and relax before bed. I usually put on some calming music and walk about 6-9k steps.
9PM Lights out
