Modern health culture is obsessed with leanness, discipline, and optimization. But many people are getting leaner—and feeling worse or suffering surprising health consequences.

In this episode, I share my personal experience chasing single-digit body fat and how it led to increased stress, glucose instability, and accelerated aging despite "doing everything right." We explore why body composition alone is an incomplete measure of health and why mental composition—the state of the inner body—matters more than most metrics we track.

Key topics include:

• Body composition vs mental composition
• Why Blue Zones don't chase six-packs
• How fear-driven optimization fuels chronic stress
• How influencers often drive fear-based leanness and longevity goals
• The physiology behind looking older when you're leaner
• How to rebuild health in a more sensible way