Two years ago, when Peter Fioretti (US 052) was turning 60, he decided to see his concierge doctor and do extensive testing for cancer and heart disease, the two leading causes of death. He already paid attention to his diet and worked out regularly, so being a bit more proactive seemed like an excellent way to mark a milestone birthday.

The bad news came in a “good news” call.

“My concierge doctor called when he got the test results. He said, ‘Good news! I’m very happy with your results; everything looks perfect.’ And had he stopped there, I would have been fine,” Peter remembers. “But then, my doctor added, ‘…perfect for 50% of men your age.’” Peter wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “I said, ‘That’s not good news; that’s terrible!’ If you went back and compared me to men 20 years younger, and I was in the top 10% of health for those men, that would be good news. That’s what I want.” His doctor demurred, saying Peter was being unrealistic. That’s when he decided to take a different approach.

He began by seeking out one of the best heart specialists in the country and getting a Cleerly test, an AI-enabled evaluation that identifies, characterizes, and quantifies plaque buildup to determine the risk of a heart attack. “Some of the results indicated dangerous issues,” Peter says. “I’m in shape, healthy, and fit, so I don’t look like I would have any heart issues. But I did, and it was serious.” Although he was 60, his “arterial age” was 68, and he had some excessive blockages. His doctor put Peter on statins, but the side effects didn’t leave him feeling great. Moreover, Peter did more research and interviewed leading health practitioners which led him to ask the doctor to immediately get him off statins and get him on a different protocol. This included switching him to a newer drug, Repatha, and trying some lifestyle interventions, including diet. The doctor sheepishly admitted that Peter’s proposed approach was superior to his own. For Peter, the takeaway was eye-opening: “Even the best doctors don’t get it right all the time.”

To revamp his diet, Peter met with several health gurus and nutritionists. They all had different approaches (vegan, Mediterranean, keto, etc.). Still, he heard some of the same recommendations from all of them: “You've got to reduce or eliminate all sugar, bad carbs, and processed food; and for certain periods of time, do intermittent fasting. Do moderate exercise daily and get seven-eight hours of quality sleep.” Peter recalls, “So, that’s what I did.” Just six months later, Peter repeated his Cleerly test. In those few months, his arterial blockage went from a zone of “dangerous” to “low-moderate.” Additionally, his arterial age went from 68 to 48 years (a reduction of 20 years).

The astounding improvements fueled Peter’s growing interest in healthspan and longevity, and he’s now a walking (and biking) compendium of knowledge on these topics. We asked him to break down his program into essential components that we all can follow. Here’s what he recommends:

First, Peter says, we need to define what we’re talking about when we say longevity and healthspan. For him, it means both quality and quantity of years. “After doing my research, I am convinced that there's no reason why I can't live a quality, healthy life until I'm 120,” he says. Next, he explains that this area of interest has a natural fissure. “There's the natural camp, and there’s the biohackers camp,” Peter says. “I do believe in both, but I start with natural.”

Peter says he admires the work of R360 Science Advisor Dr. David Sinclair. “He’s doing some incredible work around slowing aging and even reversing it with NMN, Metformin, and other compounds.” Although he takes some of these himself, Peter recommends starting with the fundamentals: healthier habits in diet, activity, sleep, and mindset.

The Diet

Peter eliminated sugar and processed food from his diet, which meant giving up the supposedly healthy protein bars, gluten-free products, and low-fat “health foods” he used to eat. He had already significantly reduced his sodium intake. Additionally, he does intermittent fasting six days a week, confining his meals to a late lunch and dinner within an eight-hour window. “Sundays are my days off,” he says. “I like to have a nice, big breakfast and, since I’m Italian, I’ll have pasta or pizza, meatballs, and whatever else I want. Since I fast, my stomach isn’t oversized, so there’s only so much I can eat anyway. Then, I’ll do a 24-hour fast from Sunday dinner until Monday dinner.” And for Monday dinner, he and his wife observe “Meatless Mondays.” To help monitor which specific foods cause glucose spikes, which ultimately cause long-term health issues, he wears a constant glucose monitor (“CGM”). Peter says that many athletes and health enthusiasts wear a CGM to monitor glucose spikes that affect their overall health and athletic performance.

Activity

“I always thought you really had to work out hard and long to stay fit,” Peter says, “But they’re finding that, if you’re like most people and you aren’t competing, it’s actually healthier just to exercise moderately every day. It doesn’t have to be arduous long cardio or strength training—just something for 30-60 minutes per day. It could be power walking for 30 minutes outside, or you could add some social benefits by playing a game of tennis, pickleball, or bocci. Then, a couple of times a week, you could do just 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise, called “HIIT.” For these high-intensity workouts, get your heart rate up for just a minute, and then follow with a minute of rest. Repeat that eight-ten times, and that’s all you need.” A couple of times a week, you should do strength training, limited to 45-60 minutes per session. This keeps your muscles from losing strength and wasting away.

Sleep

“When I was on Necker Island, I went bike-riding with Richard Branson, and we were talking about longevity,” Peter recalls. “When we were debating healthspan protocols and secrets, he was emphatic with this advice: ‘One thing, Peter, that you have all wrong is you don't sleep enough.’ And I said I sleep just fine, with five to six hours a night. But he followed up and gave me all this convincing research that you really need seven to eight hours of sleep a night, not five or six. Some people even need more.”

Healthy sleep doesn't mean a certain number of hours, as sleep quality counts too. In addition to some of the tips you’ve probably heard before (no screen time before bed, take a warm shower, keep your bedroom cool and completely dark), Peter suggests journaling. “It helps clear your mind. Before bedtime, I write down three things that I'm grateful for in my Grateful Journal. Then I also jot down some things that are on my mind. I'm still wondering about this, or I didn't get to that today. Jotting it down allows me to put it aside, knowing I'll handle it tomorrow or the next day.”

Mindset

Stress impacts physical and mental health, so a positive mindset is essential for wellness. “Every morning, as soon as I wake up and before I look at texts or my calendar, I enjoy my ‘Power Hour,’” Peter says. “During this time, I spend 15 minutes each on four things: meditation and prayer; breathing, stretching, and getting my heart rate up; journaling to set my intentions for the day; and learning something interesting.”

“So, I start my morning with meditation and prayer to relax my mind and connect spiritually,” Peter says. “If I feel like I'm getting stressed during the day, I use a protocol from Tony Robbins. It’s a three-minute breathing exercise and sort of a mantra that quickly gets me from a stressful mindset to a stressless and focused mindset.”

The breathing technique, which Peter suggests you personalize for your use, is called four-seven-eight: Inhale for four counts, hold for seven, exhale for eight. “I do that in combination with a yoga move that I repeat eight times. When I breathe in, I reach up to the sky; I exhale while bending over and touching the floor, just letting it go.”

Peter concludes his breathing exercises by pumping his fist and shouting, “Yes, yes, yes!” as if he’s just golfed a hole in one or hit a grand slam. “This mantra just gets your whole physical energy going, which puts you in a completely different mindset that helps reduce or eliminate the stress.”

Other aspects of a positive mindset are spirituality and being part of a community. “Mediation and connection to spirituality have increased longevity and quality of life. It doesn’t matter what your religion is,” Peter says, “Whether it’s going to mass on Sunday, getting together to pray, or just having a day off to reflect and rest is healthful.”

Implementing Change

In the face of these suggestions for lifestyle change, many of us will have an all-or-nothing response: Either we decide to change everything at once, or we’re too overwhelmed to attempt any of it. A more sustainable strategy is to aim for a few improvements—perhaps first trying out the ones that take little-to-no effort (e.g., no screen time before bed, eating less processed food) and then working up to others.

It takes time, attention, and yes, effort, to change one’s diet, activity, sleep, and mindset. Does it pay off? Well, while most of us welcomed the New Year by watching the ball drop, Peter and his wife Heidi were trekking in Antarctica. Upon his arrival at the South Pole, he set a world record by going “around the world” doing continuous push-ups in all 24 time zones in just three minutes. So, the answer to that question? Yes, yes, yes!

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Additional Resources

For help getting to sleep and sleeping soundly, Peter recommends Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by neuroscientist Matthew Walker, the Director of UC Berkeley's Sleep and Neuroimaging Lab.

To get a jumpstart on making simple, natural, and sustainable changes to improve your health, Peter recommends The Primal Blueprint and Two Meals a Day by Mark Sisson, a nutrition and fitness expert, and former world-class athlete.

For a well-researched book on “blue zones,” extraordinarily long-lived communities and their diet, lifestyle, outlook, and other practices, Peter recommends The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner.

Famed motivational expert Tony Robbins discusses longevity with Peter Fioretti’s friend, Peter Diamandis, founder of the XPRIZE, in this podcast called “Do You Want to Live to See 120?”

To learn more about the science of the aging process and evidence-based protocols to slow or even reverse it, consider Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To by R360 Science Advisor Dr. David Sinclair.

Note: Neither Peter nor Catherine receives any form of compensation, discount, or incentive for these recommendations.