Blurb:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD • A groundbreaking manifesto on living better and longer that challenges the conventional medical thinking on aging and reveals a new approach to preventing chronic disease and extending long-term health, from a visionary physician and leading longevity expert
 
“One of the most important books you’ll ever read.”—Steven D. Levitt, New York Times bestselling author of Freakonomics

AN ECONOMIST AND BLOOMBERG BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Wouldn’t you like to live longer? And better? In this operating manual for longevity, Dr. Peter Attia draws on the latest science to deliver innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health.
 
For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of aging that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late to help, prolonging lifespan at the expense of healthspan, or quality of life. Dr. Attia believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalized, proactive strategy for longevity, one where we take action now, rather than waiting.
 
This is not “biohacking,” it’s science: a well-founded strategic and tactical approach to extending lifespan while also improving our physical, cognitive, and emotional health. Dr. Attia’s aim is less to tell you what to do and more to help you learn how to think about long-term health, in order to create the best plan for you as an individual. In Outlive, readers will discover:
 
• Why the cholesterol test at your annual physical doesn’t tell you enough about your actual risk of dying from a heart attack.
• That you may already suffer from an extremely common yet underdiagnosed liver condition that could be a precursor to the chronic diseases of aging.
• Why exercise is the most potent pro-longevity “drug”—and how to begin training for the “Centenarian Decathlon.”
• Why you should forget about diets, and focus instead on nutritional biochemistry, using technology and data to personalize your eating pattern.
• Why striving for physical health and longevity, but ignoring emotional health, could be the ultimate curse of all.
 
Aging and longevity are far more malleable than we think; our fate is not set in stone. With the right roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before.

Review

Outlive has received a ton of accolades and is very popular. This will sound weird when I say it, but I can see why while also feeling like it was largely not a great use of my time. In Outlive, Attia goes over some grand concepts. For someone looking to get started and doesn’t know where to begin, this book is perfect for them. But that is also not where I’m at in my health, fitness and longevity journey. Much of this book was stuff I’m already aware of.

That doesn’t mean no one should read the book. Just, not me. I’m the guy who already does advanced blood work multiple times a year. I’m the guy who already has done DEXA scans and VO2 max tests. I’m the guy who nerds out on sleep hygiene, including a C-PAP already.

The 25-year-old version of me probably could have used the book to frame some concepts a little quicker. 45-year-old me was already picking up what Peter is putting down here.

Stuff I will take away:

• The idea of the centenarian’s decathlon, or at least a version of it I will likely come up with for myself.
• Some of the tweaks he recommended for VO2 max training. One of my goals for the year is to finally get my VO2 max over my bodyfat percentage. That should be a bare minimum for everyone.
• I largely ignore the mental health side of stuff in regards to personal reflection. I’m sure that will bite my ass someday. One line in this book did floor me one night though. Attia had the thought that “I have to be great so I don’t feel worthless.” I feel that one. I still ponder how to leave a legacy and the pressure that entails.
• The overall concept of Medicine 3.0. I had a discussion years back about the need for something between a personal trainer or life coach and a primary care doctor. We have long been way better at acute care than chronic care. He goes into detail here about traditional medicine (2.0) fixing the symptoms and instead of the cause. There have been companies filling this niche lately. The company I work with (Marek) does extensive blood work and sets you up with a care coordinator for regular check-ins as well as telehealth providers. It’s a nice start toward filling the gap between coach and doc.

As for recommending this book, I would say it highly depends on what you already know. The further left on that line, the more I would recommend it.