Category / health

by Nathan Coumbe

AI, politics, and your health

Several people have sent messages to me over the last year asking why I talk about politics or artificial intelligence if I’m “just trying to be a health coach…” The implication (or outright criticism) is, “You should focus on exercise and nutrition because that’s what health is, not AI or politics.”

As someone trained in the Deep Health model of coaching (thanks, Precision Nutrition!), I respectfully disagree.

Human health is multidimensional. It’s not weight loss, V02 max, bench press numbers, meal plans, or whatever “maxxing” fad happens to be circling the web right now (in fact, it’s almost never those things). It’s a holistic combination of numerous facets of your life that all influence each other.

Your health is a system, and like any system, a change in one part affects the whole.

The Deep Health model has six dimensions:

  1. Mental: How focused are you? How well can you learn? Are you so overwhelmed you can’t get anything done?
  2. Emotional: Are you in control of your emotions? Can you express them well?
  3. Existential: Do you have a sense of purpose or meaning in your life? Do you feel fulfilled most days?
  4. Environmental: Is your environment safe and secure? Is it clean and sanitary? Do you have what you need to survive and thrive?
  5. Relational: Do you have rich, rewarding relationships in your life you can rely on? Or are you lonely? Being abused?
  6. Physical: How well do you eat and move? How do you feel day-to-day? Are you chronically ill (as I am)?

Notice I saved physical for last—not because it’s less important, but because I want to emphasize how important the other aspects are. All these dimensions are interconnected, which means that they can all influence your physical health.

Which brings me back to why I talk about AI and politics.

If you worked for the federal government in the United States and were unceremoniously fired by DOGE in 2025, this affects your health. Lack of income, loss of meaning (a lot of which comes from our work), the uncertainty of how you’ll pay your bills or feed your kids—just like that, you’ve had your mental, emotional, existential, and environmental health negatively affected.

If you had your health benefits slashed by cuts to Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act, your physical, environmental, and emotional health have been negatively affected.

If you’re constantly being bombarded by the bullshit scare-marketing coming from the AI CEO tech bros telling you they’re going to kill off the human race, but they can’t do anything to stop it…

Or if your boss drank the AI Kool-Aid and is hounding you to ship more work, faster, with less care or craft, you’ll be incredibly stressed mentally, emotionally, and probably environmentally (because you’re constantly worrying about your job).

I could give you several dozen more examples, but you get my point.1 Each of these “non-health” issues affects your well-being, and they can all affect your physical health.

You might not be able to eat well, or get to a gym, or go for a walk, or do anything “healthy” after being mentally and emotionally (or God-forbid, physically) assaulted all day.

If you believe health is only about how much you lift in the gym or how much protein you get each day, then yeah, I’m out of line.

But that’s not what health is, and that’s not how I coach. You are a multi-dimensional, incredibly complex creature whose physical health is affected by so many things outside of nutrition and exercise. A good coach (which I like to believe I am) recognizes that and works with you to manage all aspects of your health, not just the physical.

So I’ll keep writing about AI and politics—and all sorts of other things too—as long as they keep affecting your health.

  1. And that doesn’t even include our Health Department cutting programs to keep us physically healthy, a decision that has led to viral outbreaks, explosive diarrhea, and death. There’s politics affecting your health again! ↩︎

by Nathan Coumbe

“People like us do healthy things like this”

According to Seth Godin, the definition of culture is, “People like us do things like this.”

Any sort of “culture” you want to be part of has things people like them do, so all you have to do to join that culture is do those things too.

Want to be a writer? What do writers do regularly that makes them successful? Copy those behaviors, and you’ll be a writer, too.

Have you always wanted to be a politically engaged, active, contributing citizen? What do those sorts of people do daily, and can you build a relationship with them?

I was thinking about this in the context of health this morning, and I thought it could be a really helpful way to develop healthier (and sustainable) practices in your life.

What do the healthy people you know do on a regular basis? Answering that question is a really good way to become people like us in this context (i.e., people who are healthy).

Some of those things are pretty basic:

  • They move often and a lot, in ways they enjoy
  • They eat more whole foods in moderate amounts
  • They sleep well
  • They have ways to manage their stress

The hard part, of course, is actually developing these practices. But one key to becoming a “person like this” is to get involved with those types of people. They will naturally rub off on you.

Culture and community might be a game-changer.

by Nathan Coumbe

Digital dementia

Psychologists also call it digital brain rot.

It describes the forgetfulness, the inability to focus on anything meaningful, the brain fog, and the mental fatigue caused by our chronic overuse of smartphones, digital devices, online games, and social media.

It’s even been shown to reduce the gray matter in our brains associated with emotional regulation, decision-making, and creativity.

The good news is that it only takes a few days to bounce back, but it can be a tough few days.

Try a digital declutter or the phone-foyer method. Find something that works for you, but for your sake and that of future generations, do something.

Everyone worried TV would rot our brains, but smartphones actually are. We know these devices are purpose-built for addiction and harm.

Now is the time to break the cycle.

H/t to Brad Stulberg.

by Nathan Coumbe

Health insurance doesn’t cover gym memberships

Why not?

Most are outrageously expensive (the one I used to attend just raised its prices to $120 per month).

Most people can’t afford to purchase home gym equipment and do not have the space to store it.

Yet, having a place to go to manage one’s health might be the single best investment these companies could make in their customers.

It would save them, and their customers, a fortune in health care costs (i.e., improve their bottom lines… What they really care about).

This would be a no-brainer if it were actually “health” insurance. But that’s not what they sell—they sell medical care insurance.

It’s a case of reactive thinking (treating the illness) versus proactive thinking (preventing the illness from occurring).

by Nathan Coumbe

It’s not about discipline

Having all the discipline in the world won’t help you eat better if the candy is the first thing you see on the counter.

Being disciplined with your time is useless if your phone is set up to make social media easy to access.

Discipline, like motivation, is fleeting and finite. Better to rely on systems and environments that support you instead.

Take social media off your phone. Make it hard to access on your computer by not saving your password and manually typing it in each time.

Keep candy hidden in the back of the cupboard (or if you’re like me, out of the house completely). And keep fresh fruits and easy protein at the front of the fridge.

It’s much easier to build things that support what you want to do rather than trying to muscle your way through.

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by Nathan Coumbe

“I can’t eat fries, right?”

Do French fries and pizza have a place in a “healthy” diet?

Well, I’m sad to say…

They absolutely DO!

I’m sad to say it because I’ll get a ton of hate from people who disagree. Or tell me that’s irresponsible advice. 

But what’s truly irresponsible is causing people to deprive themselves and triggering disordered eating patterns. 

If you tell yourself you can’t eat something, that’s a surefire guarantee that you absolutely will eat it at some point in the near future. Often in extreme, and gastric-distressing, amounts. 

You should absolutely eat French fries. And pepperoni pizza. And chocolate ice cream.

AND…

You should also eat lots of:

  • lean protein
  • colorful fruits and veggies
  • Healthy fats
  • Slower-digesting, higher-fiber carbs

One of my favorite meals is a grilled chicken caesar salad… with a side of hot, delicious, salty, crispy fries (dipped in ketchup, of course). And I can be strong, healthy, and happy doing so. 

So there you go. You now have complete, unconditional permission to eat whatever you want. 

Now, there are ways to do it so that you still hit your physical health goals. But that’s a discussion for another day. 

As my coach, Scott Quick, likes to remind me: 

“For the love of God, order the fries!”

by Nathan Coumbe

The first thing to do when you get laid off…

I lost my job yesterday – nothing to do with me. Something happened with the company, and I was one of the casualties.

There’s nothing I can do about it but to accept the reality of the situation and figure out how I’ll respond, rather than react, to this setback.

And the first thing I did?

I went for a walk.

Even though I really didn’t want to. I did it anyway – and I felt better for it.

When something like this happens, the best thing you can do is to get in some movement. Any form of exercise will do:

  • A long walk
  • A few laps at the pool
  • A great strength session

Get the heart pumping, the blood flowing to your brain, and the endorphins storming throughout your body.

There’s another thing you need to do, too—take your daily dose of motivational vitamins.

I love to listen to Seth Godin and Zig Ziglar on a daily basis – the same messages over and over again until I can repeat them verbatim. Why?

Because when I start repeating what they say—when I can finish their sentences—it means I’ve changed the way I talk to myself. Their messages of hope and success become my thoughts on the same topics.

So, if you’re about to lose (or already have lost) your job, take these two steps immediately.

  1. Get in some exercise (and do something physical EVERY SINGLE DAY)
  2. Take your daily motivational vitamin

By the way, here are two great recommendations from Seth & Zig to get you started:

P.S. Check out my cute little video talking about this very topic.

by Nathan Coumbe

Great News on a Monday!

Random personal post this afternoon:

This morning I got a clean bill of health from my pulmonologist! Clear chest x-rays and no other issues (other than a cough and general weakness) after my horrible battle with COVID-19 in December. 

I’ve been diligently pushing myself a little harder each day and hit my personal post-COVID hospitalization best of walking 2 miles last Friday. I even managed a light strength workout this morning. 

After my appointment, I got ANOTHER piece of great news telling me I’d been selected to interview at one of my DREAM COMPANIES this week…hopefully more news on this to come

Hard work, networking, and practice pay off in all areas of our lives. 

by Nathan Coumbe

When Simple Things Are Stupid Hard

My upper back is tired. And the most strenuous thing I’ve done today is carry a few clothes to the washing machine.

Just walking around my home, trying to expand my lungs…it’s enough to leave me winded, short of breath in my dining room chair.

The simple act of chewing feels like I’m lifting a barbell with my neck. I imagine it’s the same strain I felt as an infant learning to lift my head.

Recovering from a major illness makes every little thing you take for granted feel like a Herculean effort.

Starting over with anything feels the same way. Getting laid off. Beginning a new career field. Learning a new physical skill. Getting back some modicum of physical strength and breathing normalcy…

It makes you feel inept…weak…almost helpless. “This shouldn’t be this hard,” you think. But it is.

“Should” doesn’t have any say in reality. All you can do is keep pushing, a little bit each day.

Relearn how to roll over, to crawl, to stand up, to walk…and eventually start running again.

(I was released from the hospital yesterday in case you missed my post.)

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