LEVELS – A Whole New Level

In September of 2021, Dr. Robert Lustig participated in a Book Club with the Levels Community, where he discussed his latest book – Metabolical. For the session, Dr. Casey Means, Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer of Levels hosted an interview with Dr. Lustig, which was then followed by a Q&A with the Levels Community. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl Dr. Lustig is an Advisor to Levels, author of six books, including Fat Chance, Hacking of the American Mind, and Metabolical. Additionally, he’s Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. You can find more information about Dr. Lustig’s work at robertlustig.com. Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (00:06) - We teach Clue not systems biology in medical school (08:24) - Challenging the status quo with science to make progress (11:53) - Public health crisis are leaving the medical profession damaged (14:11) - For science to advance new ideas must be allowed to grow (21:14) - Working upstream vs downstream to solve problems (26:01) - The system that promotes processed foods has to change (30:34) - Processed fuel or poison? Transcripts & Show Notes

11 Okt 202133min

Mental models allow us to take shortcuts when makings decisions. The heuristics that create the foundation of mental models can be stacked on top of each other to form new mental models, when solving problems. Some mental models are quick and easy – others are more complex. For Sam Corcos, co-founder and CEO of Levels, it's no surprise that he has many mental models – for pretty much every situation in life and business. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (00:06) - Helping people to build defensibility vs a moat (03:54) - Mental models for prioritization (06:48) - Seeing the forest for the trees (10:22) - The innovators dilemma for successful companies (16:04) - How much data is too much data (22:31) - Build your startup like the Mongols built their empire (25:10) - Killing ideas might be hard but essential (41:38) - Speed wins in startups (43:18) - Focusing on input metrics helps provide leading indicators (45:59) - The difference between one and two way doors (53:21) - Designing for loud failures (01:03:13) - Focusing on your core competencies Transcripts & Show Notes

7 Okt 20211h 6min

When most companies start, they are single-threaded companies. More specifically, companies start with one product or revenue stream and evolve. Amazon is a great example of a company that has built an ecosystem. The company started as an e-commerce site for selling books, and now has a number of inter-related businesses that make up the entire Amazon ecosystem. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl⁠ Netflix is an example of a company that started as a single-threaded company and has, for the most part, remained that way since its inception. As we build Levels, we often think about the way that our company will evolve – will it be an ecosystem for health, or will we remain focused on monitoring glucose? In this episode, David Rosenthal, (VC and Host of Acquired Podcast), dives deep into what it takes to build an ecosystem around a company. Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. LINKS Listen to the Acquired Podcast Join the Acquired Slack Community David Rosenthal on Twitter Ben Gilbert on Twitter (07:31) - Why you can't model the stock market (12:35) - Why you don't want to be 23andMe (13:29) - The importance of optionality in marketplaces (15:34) - The evolution of eBay as an ecosystem (25:47) - The dangers of platform risk (36:39) - Can you start out building a platform (46:54) - To go enterprise or focus on community (01:05:08) - Letting emergent behavior drive platform direction Transcripts & Show Notes

4 Okt 20211h 14min

Communication and communication platforms – specifically in a work setting – can lead to increased productivity, or can unfold as a distraction mechanism for urgency. Unfortunately, for most companies, the latter is often true. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl In a world of constant connection and notifications, the expectation around professional communication is often positioned as "the faster, the better". However, is it the platforms or the way in which teams use specific platforms which encourages and enables this behaviour to take place? The entire Levels team values deep work and asynchronous communication, and we're constantly trying to get better at it as we scale our team. Sam Corcos, co-founder and CEO of Levels, and Miz (Michael Mizrahi), Head of Operations, spent time thinking about platforms that would encourage a healthy communication cadence, and productive communication etiquette for our team. Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (03:29) - Modern communication tools are designed to be addictive (04:06) - Traditional communication tools often lead to burnout (10:31) - Avoiding a culture of shoulder taps (10:50) - Not all text based communication is equally asynchronous (12:28) - Using tools to wean the body off notification dopamine (13:30) - Communication systems should be needs based (15:18) - Setting clear expectations for response times (23:33) - Why we banned Slack (28:01) - Switching tools in search of a better way (44:40) - How the future workforce will communicate Transcripts & Show Notes

30 Sep 202148min

For parents, feeding kids a balanced diet can feel like an uphill battle. People are surrounded by fast, convenient and highly processed food items, which can make the idea of 'meal time' easier to get through. But, these short-term choices can have long term health implications – especially for children. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl When kids are provided with the right foundation for the way to think about food and the choices in front of them, it can be easier to start them down the right path at an early age. Kelly LeVeque – nutritionist, author, podcaster, and an investor in Levels – takes the time to set a healthy foundation for her children. And, by 'controlling the controllable' – what she chooses to expose them to – getting her kids to eat a balanced diet is part of their routine. For more info about Kelly, her content and her courses, check out: https://kellyleveque.com/ Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (06:51) - Start by controlling what you can (11:17) - Set boundaries for your children's diet (13:15) - Don't hold back from adult conversations (14:30) - Practice delayed gratification (19:49) - Aim for a well-rounded food day (25:48) - You can still be a fun mom without sugar (34:03) - Rethink sandwiches as a staple (39:31) - Don't fall for marketing tactics (47:02) - Teach kids what healthy looks and feel like Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/G-mt2OqjDVE

27 Sep 202150min

Dr. Sara Gottfried – a pioneer in health, research, and education – has seen more than 25,000 patients over the past two decades. She's a physician scientist, who graduated from Harvard Medical School and MIT, and completed her Residency at the University of California, San Francisco. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: ⁠https://levels.link/wnl Dr. Gottfried is the Director of Precision Medicine at The Marcus Institute of Integrative Health, at Thomas Jefferson University, where she specializes in identifying the underlying causes of her patient's conditions to achieve lasting health transformation, not just symptom management. Dr. Gottfried has published five books, including multiple New York Times bestsellers, such as The Hormone Cure, The Hormone Reset Diet, and Younger. Her latest book has just been published, Women Food and Hormones. In this episode, Dr. Casey Means, Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Levels, and Dr. Gottfried covered a number of topics from her new book. LINKS New insights from continuous glucose monitoring into the route to diabetes Proposed guidelines to evaluate scientific validity and evidence for genotype-based dietary advice Michael Snyder Marcus Institute of Integrative Health Sara Gottfried Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (04:11) - The vital role of metabolism (08:15) - Metabolic data should be democratized (11:12) - Women and the keto diet (12:50) - Women are considered "too complicated" (18:38) - Every person needs a unique diet (22:40) - Diet shouldn't be like politics (26:53) - The ideal fasting length (33:22) - The role of testosterone (40:02) - Physicians should not be gatekeepers to health (01:02:40) - The relationship between genes and our environment Transcripts & Show Notes Watch the Video – https://youtu.be/QZUpJCNOpfY

23 Sep 20211h 23min

Mike Barwis has spent more than 30 years training professional athletes to be their best. But, it's not just physical performance that Mike focuses on during training sessions. Rather, he believes that mindset is where it all starts, and many of Mike's lessons about performance can be extrapolated from sports to startups. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (00:58) - Mindset lets you do extraordinary things (04:47) - Your mindset shapes your reality (06:06) - You can’t do common things and expect uncommon results (07:07) - Being relentless increases your opportunity (09:00) - Get comfortable being uncomfortable (13:51) - There are no loses unless you lose with ego (21:59) - Deserve is a very dangerous word. (22:51) - You can only control 2 things in life (30:25) - A great mindset in elite sports is a great mindset for life (32:03) - Losing is learning (40:04) - Greatness is going beyond yourself to lift up others (44:40) - Understanding how to serve makes the greatest leaders (47:35) - Simplify problems to their source (49:09) - A simple exercise for focus (53:45) - Focus on how you are different vs the competition Transcripts & Show Notes

20 Sep 202157min

When Mike DiDonato was 19 years old, his father passed away suddenly. This experience changed the way that Mike looked at the world. When faced with adversity, Mike focused on mindset to take his wellbeing into his hands. Sign Up to Get Your Free Ultimate Guide to Glucose: https://levels.link/wnl Levels helps you see how food affects your health, empowering you with the tools needed to achieve health goals and improve healthspan. Levels Members gain access to the Levels app and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), providing real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Look for new shows every month on A Whole New Level, where we have in-depth conversations with thought leaders about metabolic health. (02:09) - Mindset shapes world outlook (04:17) - Aligning work with values (07:07) - Tackling adversity with mindset (08:00) - Turning discipline into freedom (11:55) - 4x4x4 (15:07) - Workout changes with Levels (17:31) - Levels impact on holistic performance (23:34) - Training the ability to weather adversity (28:36) - Things you don’t like can make you stronger (36:19) - Empowering education with data (38:00) - It’s not just what you eat but in what context

13 Sep 202140min