Tech exec Bryan Johnson went from having a 'destroyed' body to spending $2 million a year on reversi
Redeem now - Bryan Johnson is a tech exec who spends $2 million a year on trying to reduce his "biological age."
- He put on 50 pounds over the course of a decade and felt "relentless shame, guilt, and malaise."
- Now, he goes to bed at 8:30 p.m. and takes 111 supplements a day.
The multimillionaire tech executive Bryan Johnson may be known for his strict commitment to antiaging and longevity, but he wasn't always focused on his health.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.The biohacker and entrepreneur, 45, says he used to overeat carbs late at night but now avoids refined sugars. He says his $2 million-a-year antiaging program, known as Project Blueprint, has reversed his "biological age," giving him the heart of a 37-year-old and the lung capacity of an 18-year-old.
The concept of biological age is up for debate — some scientists and health advocates say it can differ from your chronological age.
The National Institute on Aging wrote in 2021: "biological age means the true age that our cells, tissues, and organ systems appear to be, based on biochemistry."
Here is how Johnson's lifestyle has changed over the years.
Working in tech 'destroyed' his body
On an episode of Steven Bartlett's "The Diary of a CEO" podcast published last week, Johnson said he grew up eating bread, sugary cereals, and processed foods and was often exposed to the sun.
On being an adult working in tech, Johnson said: "I kind of destroyed myself, body and mind, for 20 years." He said it pained him to think about his former lifestyle and the fact he had severe depression.
In a 2020 post on Medium, Johnson wrote that he used to live very differently from the way he does now, gaining 50 pounds over 10 years and being full of "relentless shame, guilt, and malaise."
He regularly overate carbs and sugar in the evenings, he said, adding that his habits led to poor sleep, irritability, and fatigue the next day.
It was after selling his company Braintree for $800 million and getting a divorce when Johnson started to change his lifestyle in 2019, losing 60 pounds in a year, he said.
Johnson wakes up at 5 a.m., eats all his food by 11 a.m., and goes to sleep at 8:30 p.m.
Johnson wakes up at 5 a.m. but doesn't drink any caffeine, he says.
Speaking with Bartlett, Johnson said he took 111 pills a day — including zinc, turmeric, and lithium — because he was led to that conclusion by "the data."
He used to drink 3 ounces of wine with breakfast so he could enjoy it without it affecting his sleep, but he eventually decided it wasn't worth the calories, he said.
Johnson also previously shared that he worked out for 45 to 60 minutes, seven days a week, performing 30 exercises each time. He also played basketball and tennis and did trail running, all while eating in a calorie deficit, he said.
Not only did Johnson tell Bartlett he ate 2,250 calories a day, but he also said he intermittently fasted, eating all his food between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. He said he aimed to eat 70 pounds of vegetables a month, didn't salt any of his meals, and had no added sugar.
According to an overview of his diet made available on Blueprint, Johnson's daily meals included a "Green Giant" smoothie containing supplements such as spermidine, creatine, and collagen peptides, a "super veggie" salad, a "nutty pudding," and a third meal (i.e., dinner) of about 500 calories, such as orange fennel salad.
He said he didn't, however, drink any fluids after 4 p.m. so his sleep wasn't disturbed by needing the bathroom, and he used a machine to strengthen his pelvic floor and thus his bladder.
Johnson has also received blood-plasma donations from younger people, including his teenage son, but has since stopped because he didn't see any benefit.
He meditates for an hour a day too, he says.
As for his appearance, Johnson applies a "custom hair formulation" designed to "prevent hair loss and encourage hair growth," alongside wearing a red-light-therapy cap for six minutes every morning and getting regular platelet-rich-fibrin treatments, which are blood injections to the scalp, he says in Bartlett's podcast.
Johnson has been open about his skincare regimen too, telling Bloomberg that he applied seven different creams every day and received weekly acid peels. He has also tried to stay out of the sun and has received fat injections into his face, The Times reported.
He says he goes to bed at 8:30 p.m.
Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notificationsWatch: How to get as fit as Kim Kardashian, according to her personal trainer
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyjvtiapWain527tLvNZpmenp%2Bnsm6tzZ1kmp6kmr9urc2toGaZl567qHnLqKWgnaaewbp50q6nqaSVorKvwNJmaWlqY2KF