Does Bryan Johnson’s $2m biohacking routine actually work? We tested it to see | Hard Reset

Summary

In pursuit of reversing aging, Bryan Johnson invests $2 million annually and follows a rigorous Blueprint plan, which includes over a hundred daily supplements, a strict diet, and daily exercise. The plan, based on extensive scientific research, aims to control aging by adhering to a protocol developed with 30 doctors. This video documents a month-long personal experiment adopting Johnson's regimen, exploring its impact on health and aging, and questioning societal norms around wellness and free will in health choices.

Takeaways

• 💊 The man in the script spends $2 million a year on a plan to reverse aging, which includes taking over a hundred supplements daily.
• 🧬 Bryan Johnson has created a comprehensive anti-aging plan called Blueprint, based on extensive research and collaboration with 30 doctors.
• 🔄 The concept of aging is complex and varies across different body parts; Bryan's biological age is not uniform, with his diaphragm being 18 and his left ear 64.
• 📈 Bryan aims to control aging meaningfully through strict adherence to the Blueprint protocol, which includes diet, exercise, and supplements.
• 🍏 The Blueprint diet involves consuming specific meals like 'Green Giant,' 'Super Veggie,' and 'Nutty Pudding,' with a focus on whole foods and supplements.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Exercise is a critical component of the Blueprint, with Bryan engaging in intense workouts daily to maintain optimal health.
• 🚫 The plan eliminates caffeine, alcohol, THC, and processed foods, emphasizing a disciplined lifestyle for health benefits.
• 🧘‍♂️ Bryan's approach to aging involves simplifying life choices to reduce the need for constant decision-making, similar to Steve Jobs' uniform dressing.
• 💉 Bryan has access to high-end technology, including a medical clinic in his house, for his anti-aging efforts, though he encourages others to adapt the principles to their means.
• 📉 After following a simplified version of the Blueprint for 30 days, the experimenters experienced weight loss, improved body composition, and a decrease in biological age.
• 🤔 The script raises philosophical questions about free will and the trade-offs between strict lifestyle choices for health and the spontaneity of daily life.

Q & A

What is Bryan Johnson's annual expenditure on his anti-aging plan?

Bryan Johnson spends $2 million a year on his anti-aging plan.

How many supplements does Bryan Johnson take daily as part of his anti-aging regimen?

Bryan Johnson takes over a hundred supplements every day.

What is the purpose of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint plan?

The Blueprint plan is designed to help reverse aging by providing a systematic approach to diet, exercise, and supplementation based on scientific research.

What is the significance of the number '31' in the context of Bryan Johnson's aging process?

The number '31' signifies the equivalent years by which Bryan Johnson claims to have slowed his aging process through his Blueprint plan.

What is the main challenge the narrator anticipates at the end of the 30-day Blueprint plan?

The narrator anticipates feeling miserable and wanting to indulge in unhealthy foods, such as a 'big bacchanal of carbs and meat', after the 30-day plan.

What is the Henson Shaving product's unique feature in terms of blade design?

The Henson Shaving product features a design that extends the blade out by only 0.0013 inches, which is less than the thickness of a human hair or a piece of paper, for a precise and consistent shave.

What is the significance of the 'clean plate club' mentioned in the script?

The 'clean plate club' is a metaphor used by the narrator to express their commitment to finishing all the food on their plate, which in this context, refers to the strict diet plan they are following.

What is the primary reason Bryan Johnson embarked on his anti-aging research project?

Bryan Johnson embarked on the anti-aging research project to explore the possibility of extending human lifespans and to challenge the conventional understanding of aging.

How does Bryan Johnson measure the impact of his anti-aging protocol on his body?

Bryan Johnson measures the impact of his anti-aging protocol by systematically measuring every organ in his body and analyzing the scientific evidence to implement and repeat the protocol.

What is the narrator's experience with the 'Green Giant' drink as part of the Blueprint diet?

The narrator describes the 'Green Giant' drink as being similar to apple juice with a shot of wheat grass, noting that they do not dislike the taste despite its unusual ingredients.

What is the main dietary restriction of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint plan?

The main dietary restriction of the Blueprint plan is that all meals must be consumed within a six-hour window before noon, followed by an 18-hour fast.

What is the impact of the Blueprint plan on the narrator's body odor?

The narrator noticed a change in their body odor, which they attribute to the iron supplements, resulting in a metallic smell after workouts.

What was the outcome of the narrator's biological age test after completing the Blueprint plan?

After completing the Blueprint plan, the narrator's biological age improved from 36 to 33, indicating a reversal in the aging process.

How did the narrator's VO2 max score change after following the Blueprint plan?

The narrator's VO2 max score improved from 34.6 to 36.8, indicating an enhancement in overall fitness levels.

What is Bryan Johnson's view on the future of aging and health?

Bryan Johnson envisions a future where people make the best choices for their health not out of desperation but as a daily practice, potentially shifting societal norms around health and aging.

What philosophical question does the script raise about free will and making choices for health?

The script raises the question of whether it is still considered free will if one makes health choices in advance, similar to Odysseus lashing himself to the mast, or if the impulsive version of oneself should have a say for life to be fully free.

Outlines

00:00

💊 Anti-Aging Experiment: A Month with Bryan Johnson's Blueprint

The script introduces an ambitious anti-aging plan by Bryan Johnson, who spends $2 million annually on reversing the aging process. The narrator, following Johnson's Blueprint, takes over a hundred supplements daily and adheres to a strict diet and exercise regimen. Johnson's approach involves meticulous adherence to a scientific protocol developed with 30 doctors. The goal is to challenge the concept of aging and explore the possibility of controlling it. The narrator embarks on a month-long journey to test Johnson's plan, expecting potential discomfort and a possible desire for indulgent food by the end.

05:03

🔬 Blueprint for Life Extension: Bryan Johnson's Scientific Approach

The script delves into Bryan Johnson's comprehensive research project aimed at reducing his biological age. Johnson has created an open-source project called Blueprint, which includes a radical overhaul of his diet, fitness, and health measurements. The plan is based on scientific evidence and continuous monitoring of every organ in his body. Johnson's diet has resulted in 50 perfect biomarkers and has slowed his aging by 31 years, making his body accumulate aging damage slower than the average 10-year-old. The narrator samples Johnson's strict diet and intense daily workout, highlighting the complexity of human aging and the potential for rejuvenation.

10:05

💰 Wealth and Wellness: Bryan Johnson's High-Tech Anti-Aging Lifestyle

The script discusses the financial aspect of Bryan Johnson's anti-aging project, which includes a personal medical clinic and high-frequency electromagnetic stimulation. Johnson's investment in his health spans beyond his own life, as he aims to provide a blueprint for others to follow. The narrator and Rob, the Editor-in-Chief of Freethink, decide to adopt a simplified version of Johnson's Blueprint for 30 days. They emphasize the importance of quantifiable data over subjective feelings and undergo various tests to measure their biological age and overall health before starting the plan.

15:07

🥗 The Blueprint Diet: A 30-Day Challenge with Strict Regimen

The narrator details the daily routine of following Bryan Johnson's Blueprint, which includes a strict diet with specific meals like the Green Giant, Super Veggie, and Nutty Pudding. The diet allows for one open meal under 500 calories and restricts caffeine, alcohol, and THC. The narrator and Rob experience the challenges of adhering to the diet, including the cost of supplements and the difficulty of finding certain ingredients. They also discuss the monotony of eating the same meals daily and the impact on their social life.

20:10

🚶‍♂️ The Physical Impact of the Blueprint: Weight Loss and Exercise

The script focuses on the physical effects of the Blueprint plan, with the narrator losing weight and experiencing changes in body odor and skin appearance. The daily exercise routine, consisting mainly of walking over 100 miles, is described as challenging but not enjoyable. The narrator also discusses the difficulty of maintaining the regimen while traveling and socializing. Despite the boredom and occasional discomfort, the narrator does not feel miserable and is surprised by the positive changes in their health.

25:12

📉 Health Improvements and the Biological Age Test Results

The narrator concludes the 30-day Blueprint experiment with a discussion of health improvements and test results. They lost 20 pounds, saw a decrease in visceral fat, and improved their VO2 max score. Blood tests revealed lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Most notably, the biological age test indicated a three-year decrease in biological age. The results suggest that the Blueprint plan was effective in reversing some aspects of aging, leading the narrator to consider maintaining elements of the plan for the long term.

🤔 Reflections on the Blueprint and the Philosophy of Health and Aging

In the final paragraph, the narrator reflects on the broader implications of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint. They consider the philosophical aspects of health, free will, and the role of technology in optimizing our lives. The narrator has continued with a regular exercise routine and a less restrictive diet while maintaining weight loss. They ponder the future of health and aging, questioning societal norms and the definition of free will in the context of making health-conscious decisions.

Keywords

💡Anti-Aging

Anti-aging refers to the process of slowing down the natural aging process to maintain youthfulness and extend life. In the video, Bryan Johnson's Blueprint plan is an example of an anti-aging strategy that combines diet, exercise, and supplements to potentially reverse the aging process. The script mentions Johnson's dedication to scientific research on anti-aging, aiming to control the aging of his body.

💡Blueprint

The term 'Blueprint' in the video represents a comprehensive plan created by Bryan Johnson for anti-aging, which includes a systematic approach to diet, exercise, and supplementation based on scientific literature. It is a protocol that Johnson adheres to strictly, aiming to achieve a proof of concept for meaningful control over aging.

💡Supplements

Supplements in this context are nutritional additives meant to enhance health and potentially reverse aging. The video highlights that Johnson takes over a hundred supplements daily as part of his anti-aging regimen. The script also discusses the challenges and costs associated with following a similar supplement routine.

💡Biological Age

Biological age is an indicator of how old an individual's body is in terms of its physiological functions, rather than their chronological age. The video discusses how different parts of Johnson's body are at various biological ages. The experiment conducted in the video also includes measuring biological age before and after the Blueprint plan to assess its effectiveness.

💡Diet

Diet, in the context of the video, refers to the specific eating plan that is part of Bryan Johnson's Blueprint for anti-aging. It includes whole foods and specific recipes like the 'Green Giant,' 'Super Veggie,' and 'Nutty Pudding.' The video also discusses the challenges of adhering to this strict diet and its impact on weight loss and overall health.

💡Exercise

Exercise is a key component of the Blueprint plan, emphasizing the importance of physical activity in maintaining health and potentially reversing aging. The video describes an intense workout routine that Johnson follows every morning, and the experiment participants also incorporate daily exercise into their lives.

💡Fasting

Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food for a certain period, which is part of Johnson's lifestyle as described in the video. After eating all meals within a six-hour window, Johnson fasts for the remaining 18 hours of the day. The video participant also experiences this fasting regimen as part of the Blueprint plan.

💡Wellness

Wellness in the video is portrayed as a holistic approach to health and well-being, which includes not just physical health but also mental and emotional states. The Blueprint plan is seen as a means to achieve optimal wellness by simplifying lifestyle choices and focusing on healthful habits.

💡Free Will

Free will is discussed in the video in the context of making conscious choices for one's health and lifestyle. Johnson's approach to aging involves giving up certain freedoms, like spontaneous eating or drinking, in favor of a regimented plan for health optimization. The video raises questions about the balance between free will and the benefits of strict health regimens.

💡Revolutionary

The term 'revolutionary' is used in the video to describe the potential impact of the anti-aging research and lifestyle changes on human life. Johnson believes that the insights gained from studying aging could lead to dramatic extensions of human lifespans, which he refers to as a revolutionary change.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship in this context refers to the promotional content for Henson Shaving included in the video. It is an example of how products or services are integrated into video content to support the production. The video script includes a detailed description of Henson Shaving's approach to rethinking the common razor, which aligns with the theme of the video about rethinking health and aging.

Highlights

A man is investing $2 million annually in an anti-aging regimen involving over a hundred daily supplements.

Bryan Johnson's Blueprint is a comprehensive anti-aging plan based on extensive scientific research.

Blueprint includes a strict protocol for diet, exercise, and supplements, with the goal of reversing the aging process.

Johnson claims to have significantly slowed his biological aging by adhering to the Blueprint protocol.

The narrator embarks on a month-long experiment to follow Johnson's Blueprint and assess its effects.

Henson Shaving is featured as an example of rethinking everyday products, similar to Blueprint's approach to aging.

Bryan's daily routine includes an 'Green Giant' drink with various supplements and an intense workout.

The Blueprint diet consists of whole foods and specific meals like 'Super Veggie' and 'Nutty Pudding', with a focus on healthy fats and no processed foods.

Bryan eats all his meals within a six-hour window, fasting for the remaining 18 hours of the day.

The narrator experiences significant weight loss and improved body composition following the Blueprint plan.

Supplements and diet changes led to noticeable physical changes, such as better skin and body odor alterations.

The Blueprint plan's repetitive nature and restrictions were challenging but resulted in measurable health improvements.

After a month, the narrator's biological age decreased, and there were improvements in fitness levels and blood test results.

The experiment suggests that with discipline and adherence to a strict health regimen, it's possible to reverse some aspects of aging.

Bryan Johnson's Blueprint is presented as a potential model for rethinking health and aging, emphasizing the importance of daily choices and lifestyle.

The narrator contemplates the philosophical implications of the Blueprint, questioning the nature of free will and the role of technology in optimizing health.

The documentary ends with reflections on the potential societal shift towards healthier, more deliberate living, as inspired by the Blueprint approach.

Transcripts

- This man is spending $2 million a year

to reverse aging.

I tried his plan for one month,

and the results will blow your mind.

Now, how many supplements do you take every day?

- Over a hundred.

- Holy cats.

So that's a lot of pills.

- It's a lot of pills.

- So is youth something we can recapture?

That's the plan according to Bryan Johnson.

He's taken every research study

and scientific paper he can find on anti-aging

and used it to create Blueprint, a plan for how to eat,

exercise, and take supplements

that will help you actually age backwards.

- We took on the entirety

of all the scientific literature,

systematically putting a protocol together with 30 doctors.

My responsibility was maintaining perfect adherence

to that protocol, zero infractions,

and that's what I think we've done, is just a proof

of concept that we can meaningfully control our aging.

- Why do this?

Because as we learn more about how our bodies age,

our idea of aging gets more and more complicated.

- 45 years ago, I left my mother's womb.

My diaphragm is 18, my left ear is 64, my heart is 37.

Biologically, I am hundreds of different ages.

I think we could be on the cusp of something

more revolutionary than we can even comprehend.

- So for the next month, I am going

to be trying Bryan Johnson's Blueprint plan.

I'm gonna be eating the way he eats,

taking all the same supplements,

which is a lot of supplements,

and I'm gonna be exercising every day

to see if I can actually reverse the clock on aging.

Stick around to find out if we can reverse our aging.

I was worried at the end of 30 days,

I would like not want to do this ever again.

I'd be miserable and just like,

"Take me to the nearest pizzeria,"

have some big bacchanal of carbs and meat.

God, that does sound good though.

Will I live forever or die trying?

This is "Hard Reset,"

a series about rebuilding our world on scratch.

Hard Reset is all about rethinking things

from the ground up,

and it's hard to think of a better example of that

than this product from our sponsor for this video,

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Henson is an aerospace manufacturer

that has made parts for the ISS, Mars Rovers,

satellites orbiting the Earth.

We love the approach they took

to rethink something really universal, shaving.

When the machinist at Henson looked at existing razors,

they realized that most razorblades are not supported

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so they designed the Henson around this idea.

They also found

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on the quality and consistency of a shave.

The result is that their design only extends

the blade out 0.0013 inches.

That's less than the thickness of a human hair

or a piece of paper.

No gimmicks or multiple blades or aloe strips.

It's just a single quality blade gripped really precisely

so that you're in control of your shave.

This is an incredibly well-made, well-designed safety razor.

It's the kind of product

that'll last you the rest of your life.

It uses standard blades, which are really affordable

and totally recyclable,

so there's no waste like disposable cartridges.

I mean, the whole thing is solid metal,

so it's completely recyclable if you were so inclined.

If you wanna elevate your shaving experience,

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If you buy a razor and a pack of a hundred blades like this,

just enter in the code 'reset,'

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A hundred blades like this will last you a few years,

so this is a great way to hard reset your shaving regimen.

Okay, the sponsored section is now over.

Let's get back to reversing aging.

This is Bryan.

He wants to be young again,

and he is like really, really serious about it.

Nice to meet you.

I'm Nick.

Thanks for taking the time to show us around today.

I really appreciate it. - Welcome, glad you're here.

Come on in. - Thanks.

Bryan has undertaken a massive research project

to see if he can get back to being 18.

That sounds crazier than it really is.

- We wanted to pose the question,

"Is the Fountain of Youth here right now?"

It's just hiding in tens of thousands

of scientific publications."

And so what you see here is basically the result

of two years' effort.

You like to think it's about health and wellness,

but really is about something much bigger,

and that's what I really want to try to communicate

with Blueprint is after two years of doing this,

it's here, meaningfully here.

What's coming could dramatically extend our lifespans.

I don't think that we can fully comprehend the potential

that's coming our way,

and I think the job all of us have is stay alive.

- Blueprint is Bryan's open-source project

to create a system for self-care

that essentially runs itself for the rest of your life.

It's a complete overhaul of his diet,

his fitness activities,

and how he measures the impacts on his body.

- What we do systematically is we measure every organ

in my body.

We look at all the scientific evidence,

we implement the protocol, and then we do it again.

Evidence, data, protocol, repeat,

and so this diet in me has produced 50 perfect biomarkers.

It slowed my speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years.

My body now accumulates aging damage slower

than the average 10-year-old.

- For Bryan, or anyone else

who thinks about it for more than a few seconds,

the idea that a single number defines our age is absurd.

Our bodies are super complex

and the different components

of this massively complex system don't all age

in perfect synchronization.

Your skin might age much differently than your organs,

or your muscles, or your bones.

Your brain might be aging faster than your immune system

or slower than your heart.

And now to a certain extent, we can measure

how these different systems are breaking down over time.

For each of these aspects of his age,

Bryan has taken on the latest techniques to measure

and restore his optimal health.

It starts with an intense workout every morning.

Also enough supplements to stock a GNC,

and a strict diet that I got to sample.

- So I'll wake up in the morning

and I'll drink this 'Green Giant,'

and it has amino acids, spermidine in the form

of chlorella powder, collagen peptides, cinnamon, creatine,

take 60 pills.

I'll work out for an hour.

A pro move would be for you to drink the whole thing,

however, that comes with some risks

that you may find yourself in the restroom.

- Like immediately?

- There's like some variance, sometimes, not a bad thing,

but just so you know,

like if you wanna have a full like

choose your own adventure. It may be fine,

you may find some time in the bathroom.

- You should know, like now I'm terrified,

but I mean I'll eat anything at least once, so-

it's really good.

Yeah, kinda just like apple juice

with a little bit of, like a shot

of wheat grass at a cafe or something,

but yeah, I don't hate this at all.

This is quite good.

- Yeah, it's very good. - If I'm being honest.

. All right, so this one you wanna drizzle the olive oil.

- and then-

- I am a founding member of the clean plate club,

I just wanna say

- I have to say I'm impressed.

That's courageous.

That's pro right out of the gate.

- I'm about to go stand in a field this afternoon

for another shoot, so I hope there's a bathroom there.

Laura's having a panic attack.

This is a lot of fun.

- This will be exciting to see.

All right, next is what I call 'Super Veggie,'

and it's broccoli, cauliflower, shiitake

or maitake mushrooms, black lentils, hemp seeds,

garlic, and ginger.

Take your olive oil, and go ahead and drizzle it,

and then this is an exciting thing is

I add the 100% dark chocolate,

and I pair it with the vegetables.

- Yep, I've got it actually, yeah.

- Pair it with the vegetables, okay.

- So chocolate with vegetables is not something

that many people do;

however it's bitter

because it's 100% dark, right,

and so the bitterness paired with this

and the olive oil I find to be delicious,

so why don't you try that?

- I'll try that.

- That's really interesting.

I never would've thought to pair the chocolate with it,

and it does add a lot.

Tell me about this dish.

- So an hour later,

this will 'be Nutty Pudding.'

- And you said macadamia nuts,

what were the others?

- Walnuts.

- Walnuts?

Flax seed, some pea protein, berries

and two ounces of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.

- Oh, that's really good.

Now you eat basically all of your meals

before 8:00 AM, is that correct?

- I eat them before 11:00 AM or so.

It's in a six-hour window,

so by noon every day I'm finished eating.

- Wow. - So then I fast for 18 hours.

- How does that feel?

- I love it.

This is the thing.

I love this protocol more than any other version

of a previous life I've lived.

- One other important aspect to this,

beyond just how it affects our aging,

is that Bryan is trying

to simplify the choices in his life,

so he doesn't need to invest energy in them anymore,

kinda like how Steve Jobs only wore black turtlenecks

and jeans.

If you can codify these healthy choices

and make it a thought-free set of habits,

that could set you up for a better life.

- When I wake up in the morning, I walk through a process

of going left to right.

I'll start here, I'll grab this guy here, then this guy,

then this guy, and then so on,

so I basically never have to remember anything.

I just walk through a process and muscle memory takes over.

Before I was committing these acts

of self-destructive behavior of violence:

eating too much food, not sleeping properly,

skipping exercise, that was causing decay and aging.

I had to say, "All right, organs, you are now in charge.

Now what do you need to be your best selves?"

But importantly, what I did say is: "My mind,

it no longer has authority to make any decisions."

I had to destroy my mind before my mind could destroy me.

- If you think this sounds

like comic book stuff, you're not wrong,

because it does require a superpower.

Like Batman, Bryan's superpower is that he is rich.

He spends roughly $2 million a year on this project,

and even has his own fully equipped medical clinic

in his house.

- So this is a high-frequency electromagnetic stimulation;

it makes muscles contract.

So if you wanna sit here,

and if you have a cell phone,

you'll wanna take it out of your pocket.

We'll count down: three, two, one.

- Oh, okay, that's not bad.

Okay, yeah, I'd have to, I'm getting flashbacks

from like Burning Man getting a cattle prod.

But this is not nearly as bad as,

I was worried for a minute there.

Oh, yep, there it is.

- You have pants on,

normally it's done in different underwear.

- Yeah, that's for the subscribers only.

- Of course, not everyone can afford

their own medical clinic, and Bryan isn't saying you should.

He's trying the most extreme version of this

so that others can take that information

and build something that fits into their life.

- I took it all the way to the outer edges, the frontier,

and somebody of course can piece together

what they can in their life, which is great.

I wanted to give an example

if someone really wanted to go all in,

what could they imagine they could achieve?

And if you look at my data on what we've done,

I mean, it's meaningfully changed my speed of aging

and my biological processes.

- So to see how easy it Is

for people to do this,

at Hard Reset, we decided to take Bryan's example

and do our own version

of the Blueprint plan based on the starter guide

on his site for 30 days.

The only question is: Will I survive it?

We wanted to see what it was like to use Bryan's plan.

So Rob, Freethink's, Editor-in-Chief,

and I both adopted a simplified version

of the Blueprint plan for 30 days.

- All right, today's your first day, right?

- Yes, technically.

So, one of the things I thought was important

when we did this was

that we don't just do qualitative measurements.

Like I don't think it's super helpful to be like,

"I feel better" or "I feel slimmer in my pants."

I feel like there needs

to be some quantifiable data to this.

So at the beginning and end, I took several measurements

to see what happened to my body.

To begin with,

I took a biological age test.

Now, I know how old I am.

I'm currently 43 years old.

The question that this answers though is:

How do your cells behave?

How old is your body behaving

based on all the different genetic or lifestyle choices

that have influenced that?

So you take a small saliva sample, you send it in,

and they analyze that to look for epigenetic markers

that might show what your biological age is like.

Well, if we assume this test is accurate, my real age is

actually several numbers, but they combine

to show a biological age of roughly 36,

which is far better than I expected frankly.

It's not all good news though.

My brain and my liver are actually aging a little faster

than the rest of my body.

I also took a DEXA scan

and a VO2 max test to get a sense of my body's composition

and overall fitness levels.

- VAT stands for visceral adipose tissue.

In my opinion, this is the most important metric outta

this whole process.

There's a lot of data

and statistics out there that correlate high levels

of visceral tissue with an increased likelihood of diabetes,

heart disease, that sort of stuff.

So you've gotta score a 205.

The high risk range is above 160.

Anything you can do, especially as you get past the age

of 50, to get that number closer to 100,

I would definitely recommend.

- Like, obviously I'm not gonna drop this 205 to zero,

but what is the sort of things you would hope to see

after a month of fairly intense lifestyle change?

- If weight loss is your goal

and you really dial in the nutrition,

I think somewhere, anywhere between two

to eight pounds a month.

I know it's a wide range, but that's what I would say.

- Okay, that's fair.

This waist brand strap mark is disturbing.

It's a lot to take in.

AlL right, we're ready to go.

- You excited?

- No.

- All right, let's go ahead

and have you step on the treadmill here.

You're doing awesome.

Excellent.

- I got a VO2 score of 34.6.

I'm on the lower end of average, which is probably fine

for someone who barely does any exercise,

but there's lots of room for improvement.

We also tracked weight and sleep.

Then it was time to start the plan.

Okay, so today is day one

of the Bryan Johnson Blueprint plan for me.

- So this is day two

of doing Bryan Johnson's Blueprint.

- We started with the supplements.

Bryan takes a lot of supplements,

so many so, so many.

We use the recommended list

from his Blueprint Starter Guide,

but omitted anything that required a prescription.

Buying a month's worth

of these supplements cost over $1,000 by itself.

- It's closer to what you would see an elite athlete try

to do in terms of optimizing their body,

but also just like what it would be like for people

who aren't eccentric billionaires to do this stuff

with the attitude that he has,

'cause I walked into the grocery store to try to find

just the ground macadamia nuts.

- I couldn't find ground macadamia nuts.

I'm gonna have to grind it myself.

One of the items

that struck me today was fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice.

- Bro, I was looking all over for that!

- It's not that attainable for everybody,

unless you have a staff who can squeeze pomegranates

for you every morning, right?

For the diet portion, we followed Bryan's recipes

for his daily meals, the Green Giant, the Super Veggie,

and the Nutty Pudding.

We were also allowed a third meal each day that we left open

to interpretation as long as it was 500 calories or less.

Bryan is vegan, but Rob and I are not,

so we allowed ourselves to have meat three times a week

as long as it was one serving or less,

and accompanied by vegetables and no processed foods.

We also didn't allow ourselves caffeine, alcohol, or THC.

Then there was exercise.

This is exercise.

It's just like normal things you might do,

except it's not fun, and I don't enjoy it.

We did an hour of exercise every day with roughly 10 minutes

of each workout dedicated to high-intensity training.

Rob did weight training.

I mainly walked.

I walked a lot.

In fact, I walked over 100 miles over the course

of the experiment.

So what's it like to live on the Blueprint plan?

Well, once you get used to taking massive amounts

of supplements, that's not really something

that impacts your day-to-day life.

One weird side note, I noticed

that the supplements had a substantial impact

on my body odor.

I think it was the iron supplements,

because I noticed I had a metallic smell

after working out.

Also, more than once I had coworkers tell me

that my skin was glowing,

which was super, super weird.

The diet was mainly boring.

There's nothing unpleasant about the food

with the possible exception of the spermidine

in the Green Giant, which does take some getting used to.

It's just boring eating the same thing every day.

With a little preparation,

it's not too hard to pack all the ingredients you need

to do Blueprint while you travel,

but you will need to get used to the idea

of watching your family eat food at restaurants

that you can't, just like at work

when all your colleagues can eat things you can't.

The thing that I think makes it mostly boring is

that it's the same thing over

and over again every day, which is probably kind

of the point that Bryan's trying to take all the choice

out of this situation.

You're just always sort of forced to make the right choice.

My only concern is, is a month long enough

to have a measurable impact on my health

or my biological age?

Probably not, but I have to say, having done it now,

it's not unpleasant.

It's just boring.

- It's Thursday, June 22nd.

This is my fourth day.

I measured myself before doing this weight-wise,

and I was about 232.

I stepped on the scale this morning and I am 222.

I've only rarely been able to get to two meals,

but the food man, food, the food is rough.

I need some flavor, like just basic flavors.

- Also, it's a lot of food.

You are not hungry on this diet.

Honestly. I was often so full that I didn't even want

to eat a third meal.

To break up the monotony,

I would change up the recipes a little bit

without deviating from the diet.

Well, I'm 11 days in

to the Blueprint Diet by Bryan Johnson.

So far, I have lost a fair amount of weight,

something like 8 to 10 pounds

depending on when I weigh myself.

Definitely lost a lot of fat on my face,

not sure I've lost it in my belly.

Finding an hour of time every day

for working out was a challenge,

but I found that if I listened to a good audio book,

it passed the time a lot more quickly.

Frankly, I was hoping that

after doing this for a month every day,

I'd finally have the experience of having some sort

of endorphin rush associated with exercise,

but I never did.

I am apparently just not wired that way.

So the last six days have not been fun.

I realized this morning that I had not been putting one

of my regular prescription medications in

to my nightly supplement regime for the last six days,

so that probably contributed a great deal

to my overall feeling of malaise, brain fog, fatigue,

and just general confusion and vertigo.

Definitely hoping that that improves things

because I was very much on the verge of quitting last night.

- Yeah, feeling good, feeling strong.

I'm gonna take these pills, take the Green Giant.

- When I started this experiment, my main concern was

that it would work, but that it would make me miserable.

I mean, what's the point in living forever

if you just wanna die right now.

Okay, so today is day 24

of the Bryan Johnson Blueprint plan.

I have to say, I don't think I'm gonna continue this

afterwards as is.

I'll probably do something similar,

but I probably won't do the exact same diet,

and I'll probably try and keep up

as much of the exercise as I can,

'cause I feel like it has been good for me overall,

but we'll see what the next six days bring.

But at the end of 30 days, I didn't have the urge

to jump into a deep dish pizza and never look back.

Oddly enough, I felt like I only wanted

to change a few things about the Blueprint plan

to make it accommodate my lifestyle a little better.

Okay, so this is my last day

of the Bryan Johnson Blueprint plan.

I have been doing this for 29,

this will be 30 days, and this is my last

green Super Veggie lunch.

Had my last Green Giant,

and I gotta say, I do feel better.

I do feel like I just feel better, overall.

I don't feel perfect.

I don't feel necessarily younger,

but I do feel like I have more energy.

I've lost a lot of weight.

I feel like my energy throughout the day is a lot more even.

I just generally feel better.

- So yeah, I think that's the biggest hack

or adjustment to this is that you do have control

over your body and how it feels and whatnot

to some extent, to the extent

that we have free will in the first place,

but you can take agency over that stuff

and you might as well while you're young,

'cause by the time you're old, it's too late.

- So the Blueprint plan wasn't hell, it was just boring.

The real question was: Did it work?

To find out, I took a few more measurements,

another DEXA scan, another VO2 max,

a blood test,

and another biological aging test.

Let's look at the data.

I definitely saw a steady decline in my weight.

I lost about 20 pounds over the course of the 30 days,

which was more than I expected,

but maybe less than I'd hoped.

Still, it was a clear win.

My sleep data wasn't as clear.

I don't think I saw huge improvement in my sleep quality

or quantity, which is a shame

because it's one of the most important things

for your overall health.

The DEXA scan was another clear win.

Looking at my body composition,

you could see I hadn't just lost weight,

but I'd lost fat where it mattered most.

- Your visceral fat area is at about 165 right now.

Your last scan was coming in at about 210,

so you've been able to drop that by yeah, 40, 50 points,

so I'd say you can't really do much better than that.

- The VO2 max test was a miserable slog still,

but I saw a clear improvement in my overall score,

going from a 34.6 to a 36.8.

My blood test results were also great.

My cholesterol and triglycerides were dramatically lower

than my previous blood test.

My triglycerides went from over 300

to just over 70, which is incredible,

and my LDL, which is the bad cholesterol, has gone way down.

It went down from 126 to 92.

So overall, I had lost weight, and was in better shape,

but had I really slowed or reversed my aging?

For that, we looked at the results

of the biological age test,

and yes, it appears that Blueprint did work,

in fact, much more effectively than I had expected.

My biological age went from 36 to 33,

and I saw improvements in almost every category.

Although we couldn't afford another DEXA scan

or VO2 max test for Rob,

he saw dramatic improvements as well.

He dropped 25 pounds in weight,

lost six inches off his waist,

and he saw 40% to 70% improvement

in his weightlifting performance.

Now, we fully admit that there's a lot of debate

around the accuracy of biological aging tests,

but if you accept them as a reasonable measure

of our body's overall age, then yes, we reversed aging

by adopting Bryan's Blueprint plan.

So having seen these numbers,

having seen this dramatic improvement in my health,

it makes me reticent to go back

to living my life the way I was before.

It makes me feel like I probably need to at least keep most

of the things from the Blueprint plan.

I'm definitely gonna make a few changes,

but I'm probably gonna make them very slowly

and be very careful to watch how they impact my body

and how my body performs.

- Bryan Johnson's Blueprint, there's a cadre of people

that when they interface with this

and they see it, they see the food that he eats

and they think of it's a miserable way to live.

I think when you just like look at it

from a macro level, it's not crazy.

It's actually just like pretty simple, sound advice.

Eat whole foods, take supplements, and exercise.

- It's been several months

since we filmed this experiment

and I've kept my regular, miserable exercise schedule.

My diet isn't anything crazy

and I'm taking fewer supplements.

I've kept the weight off,

and I'm actually still losing a little bit of weight.

My wife says I'm still 43 though.

- And the hard reset on aging,

I guess it's like sort of TBD, right?

You have to see what the results are and all that.

I didn't feel like I am like getting younger

in any real sense, but Bryan's been doing this for two years

and we've been doing it for a few weeks, right?

- I think for me it's more of a hard reset

on the idea of wellness.

Should you think of your health only when it's a problem?

Maybe you should start thinking about it every day,

and what you can do to improve it every day as opposed

to just thinking about it when it's become an issue already.

So what will it mean as we learn more about how

to optimize our diet and our lifestyles to extend our lives?

So, picture a scenario where we had a good sense

of what foods and activities

would extend our healthy lifespans.

You don't need to close your eyes to imagine that.

Just look around you, because we already live in that world.

Doctors have been telling people to eat better

and exercise regularly for decades,

and for just as long we've been ignoring them-

you can call that human nature.

- This is a hard reset on how we understand being human.

It's a genuine attempt at trying to say,

"Given the circumstance,

what is the most practical thing we could contemplate

in doing that would increase our chance of shared survival?"

- So the future scenario here

isn't a leap forward in technology, but in philosophy.

For Bryan, this all comes down to free will.

- In the same way that an algorithm can get me

to my destination more efficiently with a digital map,

the technology's to a point now

where it does all these primary functions for me,

which goes to your question of:

what is my role of decision-making?

And I've chosen to opt in and say,

"I say yes to an algorithm

that can give me near-perfect health,

dramatically slow my speed of aging,

and keep me going into the future

because I wanna play new games."

- What does the world look like

when we make the best choices for ourselves?

What does it mean for our health

and our happiness when we're not making choices out

of desperation, or on impulse?

- I no longer pantry graze.

I don't order from a menu.

I don't do a spontaneous pizza party.

I don't do drinks with friends late night.

I don't miss it.

I don't want it.

They make me feel awful.

I think they're bad, and hopefully soon society will shift

and we'll see that it does not make any sense for us

to be doing things that increase the risk

of death and disease.

- A lot of this comes down

to how you define free will.

Is it still free will if you make your choices in advance,

like Odysseus lashing himself to the mast of his ship

so he won't succumb to the song of the sirens?

Or does the impulsive version of you need

to have some say in how you live your life

for it to be fully free?

As always, it's a trade-off, and what you lose

and what you gain are pretty clear.

The only real question is

what choices will you allow yourself to make?