Anna Howe 0:04

Welcome to Vitality by Design, the podcast where we explore what it really means to live longer and better.

Carey Howe 0:13

We're your hosts, Anna and Carrie, coming to you from Costa Rica, home to one of the world's blue zones, where longevity isn't a trend, it's a way of life.

Anna Howe 0:24

Each week we dive into the science, strategies, and mindset behind optimal health and intentional living, blending modern longevity research with the rhythms, values, and wisdom of life well lived. Because longevity isn't just about adding years to your life, it's about adding life to your years. Let's dive in.

Carey Howe 0:51

Welcome to another episode of Vitality by Design, coming to you from the beautiful Costa Rica. Today we're going to talk about a couple of different things what really changed our lives and the simple habits for a longer, healthier life.

Anna Howe 1:07

Hi. Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of diving into one specific topic, we thought that we'd share the habits that have had the biggest impact on our own lives, answer some of the questions people ask us most often, and talk about why we believe living in Costa Rica has influenced our approach to health.

Carey Howe 1:26

Great. We're firm believers that longevity doesn't come from one supplement, that one peptide, that one workout, just a single action. It's um the accumulation of a lot of small things that you do consistently that create that extraordinary result over time.

Anna Howe 1:44

So if you had to choose just three habits that have made the biggest difference, uh what would you say that those are? What would they be?

Carey Howe 1:53

Um number one, it would be prioritizing sleep and and how I sleep, you know, in the blackout shades, how we approach sleep 20 minutes before sleep, not having TVs in the room. That that would be number one. Definitely. Then the other thing was that now I prioritize lifting weights over um cardio cardio. I used to love to run all the time. I I prefer to lift now. And number three would be eating whole foods, whole foods. We like growing our own food. I prefer to eat what we grow, but sometimes things are out of season. You gotta you know buy food out there and and whatnot. And so I'd say eating whole foods is definitely one of them. And then uh number four, staying active throughout the day. Keep the body moving. The body's meant to move.

Anna Howe 2:41

Oh, you have four top things. That's good. All right. Uh anything else? You want to do five top things?

Carey Howe 2:49

No, why don't you tell me like what your top three would be?

Anna Howe 2:53

Okay, great. Um, my starting with number one would be walking every single day. Every day, seven days a week, rain or shine, um good sleep, bad sleep. When I feel like it, don't feel like it, because getting the body moving is so important. Breathing in the fresh air is so important. Being out with you and my dogs in the morning, it gives us a chance to talk about the day and what we're plan, what the plan is, the agenda, and um, and and just getting the body moving. There's no walk that I've ever regretted. And sometimes it's tough because you want to stay in bed a little longer. And but I've really that's really, really changed my life, like a thousand percent.

Carey Howe 3:38

Even the days it's windy, it's cold, it's oh yeah.

Anna Howe 3:41

Well, it's rainy here. But even the days that I really don't want to and I don't have time, I at least go for a minute, you know, and and that really has changed everything. And it becomes a habit. As soon as you start doing it every day, then you feel weird if you miss it. So that's that. Um, second for me is definitely strength training. I have always been very active in my life, but I used to do, well, when I was younger, I used to do a lot more, maybe like hit. I thought cardio was super important, but really, and I did lift weights, but now I prioritize lifting weights. That is the sign of longevity. It's um, and it's nice and it's addictive. As soon as you see results and you see those muscles like popping through and and just having that strength and just the overall for me, um, the feeling of strength, but also my physique. You know, I am a little bit vain, let's be honest. And who doesn't want to look good, right?

Carey Howe 4:43

Everybody likes to look a little bit cut and ripped, right?

Anna Howe 4:46

Yeah, absolutely. Um, and my third, which is actual, actually, you know, that should have been my top, I think. I it's not in any order of importance, but my number one should have been sobriety. Sobriety for me has absolutely changed everything. And I'm going on almost two years now. But the two of us, we both stopped drinking at the same time, actually. And I'm thankful for that because you know, that way we we just have the same life, we're on the same page.

Carey Howe 5:16

And maybe we were just drinking to tolerate each other's drinking. And I'm well, there we go.

Anna Howe 5:20

So it could have been that. I don't know. But all I can tell you is that um, and I receive a lot. I we actually have to have a full episode on sobriety and not drinking because there's so much to talk about. But in just really quick, the only thing I'm gonna say about it at this moment is it has given me so much life and joy and peace and natural dopamine. It's some it's a great feeling every day that I wish I could put it in a bottle and just give it to people, just so that you know how great that feels. Like I'm on fire every day. I'm happy every day, every day. And it it's just amazing. So those are my top three.

Carey Howe 6:05

Well, that's good. Yeah. So and I and I think probably eliminating the alcohol changed your energy, your sleep, your mental clarity, and overall quality of life, like it did for mine. So, like, yeah, of course. 100%. I've never heard anybody say, Yeah, my life just went to shit after I start stopped drinking. You know, it just doesn't happen, right?

Anna Howe 6:28

Well, you know, and at first it is a little bit um strange to get accustomed to that because we are very social people. We have a lot of friends that hasn't changed. We still have parties here at the house, we still go out and socialize. The only difference is we're having like a soda with lime and salt around the rim, and there's no tequila in it, or there's no, and it that's the only thing that was kind of different at first is is that change. Yeah. And uh, but but it wasn't bad. It was just something that we had to get used to. But the feeling of health and wellness and and just that overall mind clarity, that's huge too, with uh sobriety. Um, it's all great. But like I said, that's a whole other topic. It's really interesting.

Carey Howe 7:12

Well, speaking about what we used to get wrong, and you know, is what else do you think? Like we probably got wrong at first, or or or what was some of the examples you think that other than the alcohol, or maybe more about the alcohol, but what do you think we did wrong?

Anna Howe 7:28

I have a good one. I that just popped into my head, a really good one. And I did this all my life. That eating less was the answer to uh weight loss or or health or not necessarily health, but just uh, you know, being thinner and and always staying in shape was eating less, eating uh consuming less calories. And it's quite the opposite. Of course, if you it depends where you're starting from. So if you have to go into a calorie deficit in order to reach those weight loss goals, great. And but then at some point you have to go into maintenance and you have to feed your body, you have to feed your muscles with whole foods and really consume a lot of calories. If you want uh nice muscles, if you want a nice butt, if you want all of that, it's not gonna happen with uh 1200 calories. Like it's just not so right.

Carey Howe 8:21

But it's also learning about those calories and you know, because you want to take in a lot of bulk so you feel full, but the want the calories to be the right calories, right? You want a lot of protein and it's pretty easy to really like eat a lot of food and get your protein intake and still stay within your caloric intake, right? You know, as long as you're not in a deficit. But yeah, I I find that, you know, once I got everything right, that yeah, eating as much as I should was more of a problem. You know, it wasn't like, hey, I should eat less, you know, or anything like that. I'm struggling to put the protein in sometimes, right?

Anna Howe 8:56

Yeah. No, it is hard. And that is something that you should measure. I'm not a big fan of like counting your macros because then I feel like I'm put in a little box. But uh calories in and calories out, yes, that is important. And I do watch that, and and it is hard to I definitely look at protein um goals 100, but other than that, no, I don't really follow macros. I just try to prioritize protein and uh and can the consumption of enough calories to reach the my personal goals, which is like a recomposition of my body. Um so what are what about you?

Carey Howe 9:32

What are some more things we got wrong? Yeah. Um I think the thing I got wrong was the the biggest thing that as I grew older, I thought that feeling fatigued and feeling tired and not being able to to run as far, you know, I used to run a lot, uh swim as far or or um you know, do those kind of things was just part of getting older. I it's I was totally wrong about that because I feel that now I'm capable of more than I might have been capable with in my mid-30s, right? Which is like when you think you're invincible in life.

Anna Howe 10:08

But um but you're also treating your body better now.

Carey Howe 10:11

Yeah, I think once you get the things right that that are right, like like remember what we talked about getting good sleep, eating nutritious foods that give you energy, staying active, um, exercising in the right way. Um those you know, and and having a real um emotional intelligence too, right? Like not you know, keeping your mind stable with with good prayer and meditation and and things like that.

Anna Howe 10:40

And keeping it calm, and that calms the mind.

Carey Howe 10:44

So I think after I got that right, that I felt more energy. I I feel I can do more. I have more energy now than I did definitely when I was 35. That's crazy to say, right?

Anna Howe 10:56

Yeah. Well, also a lot of things have changed. So if you throw all of those things as far as like we talked about sobriety and everything, that and the fact that we live in Costa Rica, which it's a big change. It's a big change from the hustle and the bustle that we used to live in California. Um, here people are a little slower, the air is cleaner. I hate to, you know.

Carey Howe 11:17

Yeah, and but you know, let's be real, I'm not gonna deny it's hey, it's peptides too, right? If I wasn't taking the NAD I took now or the BBC, I wouldn't I'd have shoulder problems that I had and all these things that peptides have really cured. So I think the peptides are part of it too, and that's just knowledge of designing your vitality, right? So you got you know, you're gonna have to educate yourself about peptides before you put a single one in your body, right? So once you learn all of that, and I think that has been a huge, huge part of why I don't feel like I'm getting older in the same sense that I felt like I was getting older maybe 10 years ago.

Anna Howe 11:54

Yeah, before we had all of these things like readily available to us to be able to help.

Carey Howe 11:58

And the knowledge, right? You know, nowadays I have probably I talk to Claude and Chat GPT more than I talk to any other human. You know, true. My conversations are kind of like it's kind of self-serving, but yeah, you can get all the info you want. You know what I mean? Like just at the at your fingertips and explain well and da da da.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

We live in the world of uh what else?

Carey Howe 12:20

Anything else we got wrong? What do you think? That sort of relates to what you're thinking about today.

Anna Howe 12:26

Um, um, yes, one that sticks out to me is that talking about exercise, I used to think that working out harder and every day was the way to do things, and that's the only way I was gonna see results. But I've learned now in uh my second half of life in my 50s, I love talking about my second half of life and all the things I learned. But I've learned that my our bodies need to rest. We need recovery. So it's okay for me to work out hard three days a week lifting weights and maybe two days uh stretching, mobility, um, yoga. I love yoga, and of course, walking every day. Walking to me is second nature. Walking is like breathing, but I used to think that I had to lift heavy weights at least six times a week. And there was a time recently, like two years ago, when I started really in my journey of trying to lose my menopausal weight on my own, and I did, but I was working out, overly working my body, and um and I'm seeing more results now that I cut back. So that's really interesting.

Carey Howe 13:33

But I mean, aside from diet, which is huge, like would you say that managing sleep, recovery, and exercise are probably the three balancing things you should do.

Anna Howe 13:47

Yes.

Carey Howe 13:48

So maybe work out harder but less times a w a week with more weights, but less often.

Anna Howe 13:56

And um progressive overload always.

Carey Howe 13:58

You do the same routine and just progress and the recovery days, you know, and the recovery peptides, right? We can go into that. Yeah, I think um you know it all adds up, right?

Anna Howe 14:09

Yeah, I just started um injecting actually last night BPC 157 because I pulled something in my leg from my workout and from the week before, and then this one. So that is gonna help me. I realize that I was missing that in my protocol, and that's gonna help me because I do work out um and hit lift heavy weights and everything else. I need that for my recovery. So that's a little bit more.

Carey Howe 14:30

All right. So talking about um, you know, what you did in the workout and whatnot, let's just talk about you know, what do you think um people would, you know, they're saying they're hearing us talk about peptides, this, that, and the other. What is your morning routine? And you know, I know what it is, but you know, just to walk listeners through a typical morning for us and why it's so important. And, you know, even in the you know, call centers that I've had, I've trained this is the most important part to your day is to have some kind of routine, right? In the morning.

Anna Howe 15:01

Okay.

Carey Howe 15:01

How does it start? I mean, obviously it starts with good sleep, get a lot of rest. Yes, then where do we go?

Anna Howe 15:06

So I generally get in bed. I'm gonna sound like such a grandma right now, but I get in bed at 8 p.m., sometimes 7.45 or 7.30. But and since um I'm not allowed to have a TV in the room, I sometimes just uh put my computer on and I watch murder. And uh just to relax. Yeah, and so it's soothing. And and then, you know, I I generally fall asleep at about nine, nine thirty, let's call it, and then we wake up anywhere between usually right at 6 a.m., but sometimes 5 30 in the before six, we wake up, uh, I go down, I have, you know, we make our coffee, and then we kind of have our family coffee time with the dogs and and just get start thinking about going on our walk. And then we get up, get dressed, go with the dogs down the mountain. And um that's a really nice walk. Sometimes, if we have time, we go on a longer walk. So the shorter mountain walk is about three, 3,200 steps. This is how I can judge. I I don't know how far it is, but and then the long, long walk, we're almost at 9,500 steps already in the morning, which is great. We haven't done that.

Carey Howe 16:17

It's very steep, you know. So it's not like some flat surface, very difficult.

Anna Howe 16:22

Yeah, there is no flat surface in Costa Rica, just so everyone knows. It's very tough. So anyway, everything you do is like uh 5.0. So anyway, we go and then come back.

Carey Howe 16:32

I feel like I mean, even on the walk, we we stop for you know five minutes at the lookout point and get you know five to ten minutes sun in your face, you know. Um get the the sunshine in, right?

Anna Howe 16:45

Yeah, and we have pine trees up here, so it's that smell of the pine, like you feel, I mean, you're in the mountains, which is very weird, right? In Costa Rica. We live in the central valley. Well, we live, we have a home in the beach, and then we are here most of the time in the mountains. So it's a very good balance of like uh both places. But anyway, so um, yeah, so after that we just I come back, I feed the dogs, um eat something. And I was going, I was working out right away. But now, since we're so busy with the, you know, uh peptide business, I have consultations I have to do in the morning with clients. I do protocols for people, I help women in their midlife and I help with um, you know, their longevity goals. And so I sit down and I do that, and then I try to get a workout in before uh I have to get dressed and go and maybe go and visit some clinics or whatever you know it is I do or my errands for the home. And sometimes we have our trainer that comes, what, three times a week, twice a week, and that's pretty much it. That's my morning routine.

Carey Howe 17:51

Yeah, and you know, I go to the sauna, you add the ice bath. Well, um, walking barefoot in the yard a little bit. We go down to see our plants and what we've grown and where things are at for this particular season. And a bit of growing. And you know, I lay out for 10, 20 minutes, even if it's just totally in the sun, you know. Um and prepare for the day, right? And you can you can bounce that all into a one-hour version or you can take a two and a half hour version, you know, and but you should have some kind of part of your routine every single day.

Anna Howe 18:26

Yeah, because if we're gonna put a time on it, let's say that already, if I do the sauna, the workout, the thing, the getting ready with the clients and all that, that's already puts me at 10:30, 11 a.m.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Yeah.

Anna Howe 18:37

And that's when you're walking out the door is 11 a.m. So that's uh it's a long morning routine, and I get it. Not a lot of people have that luxury of time. So that's why I think we've talked in other uh episodes, and and I talk to some of my clients and I tell them, hey, get out for 10 minutes. 10 minutes, walk your dog, get some sun on your face, do a little stretch, like even a yoga stretch before you take a shower and get ready and get ready for your day. That's so important. It's what a total of 30 minutes of your time just for you. That wake up earlier if you if you don't have the time. Make the time. So that's all.

Carey Howe 19:12

That's our typical morning routine that you just went through, pretty much, right? And so as far as our diet, what do you what do you think? I mean, we don't follow a strict diet because you know, let's be real. We once a week we go to Pops, which is the ice cream pleasure. Like that's our cheating.

Anna Howe 19:28

Hey, that's our guilty pleasure, please. We don't consume calories and calories of empty calories of alcohol. So I think we can do a little pops like once a week. So, and so people know from the U.S., Pops is basically a franchise just like Baskin Robbins, and we love it. We go there every Sunday, sometimes on Saturdays, and the girls at work there already know our order. That's how often we go.

Carey Howe 19:49

So Sunday afternoon, here they come.

Anna Howe 19:51

Um, but I would have to say, like, I'm, and so are you, because you eat what we make here, but we're pretty boring. So we do a lot of foods on repeat, and that's really helped us in our recomposition journey. One of the things I really, really love that I make in the morning is the chia seed pudding. And anyone who has stayed with me to visit us in my home here, in our home here in Costa Rica, I have taught them how to make it and they're hooked. Like all my girlfriends are hooked on it. You eat it with berries. It's basically Greek yogurt with coconut milk, with chia seeds, uh cinnamon, and a little bit of honey. You put it in the fridge and then you eat it with uh blueberries in the morning. It's so good. It's delicious, it's high in fiber, like all the good things. And then we um you love that salad that Maria makes for you. So it's that chicken salad with the quinoa, and that's for lunch. And then we it's just wholesome.

Carey Howe 20:45

It's got you know, the veggies are all, you know, all the things, the onions, the the that we grow here. That we grow here on our land. So yeah. I just like eating what we grow a lot more. I feel like it the food is more blessed and stuff, you know. Oh, it is like a you know, psychological thing too, right?

Anna Howe 21:01

Yeah, we eat a lot of like sweet potatoes and things like that, and we go to the grass-fed place and we buy the chicken there and all of that. We just got back today from the farmer's market. So if we don't have it in our greenhouse right now because it's not its season, we go to the farmers and it's all fresh, organic, gorgeous fruit, gorgeous vegetables. And so we just eat a lot of that.

Carey Howe 21:23

And but but I think it's also important to understand that you're not looking for absolute perfection, right? Like, because every once in a while you're gonna want to sort of uh have a little indulgence in something, you know. Pops. For you, I know it's pops. You know, but um we we want to like also say that hey, you know, longevity isn't about punishing yourself, it's it's about treating yourself right most of the time, and every once in a while you can you know indulge.

Anna Howe 21:51

You know, it's really interesting you use that word punishment because a lot of people that say are not on this sort of bandwagon, they see it as punishment, they see non Consuming alcohol punishment. They see not eating the pizza and those things as punishment, but really it's not because once you get used to like eating that way, I really enjoy the foods. Like I crave the chia seed pudding. I crave the sweet potato, uh, lean beef, a chicken. I crave those foods. I don't, I stopped craving. Now it's been like over a year, I stopped craving those things that aren't good for me. I don't crave it at all.

Carey Howe 22:28

After a while, your body knows, like, ooh, this gives me energy. When I eat this lunch, I know I'm energized in the afternoon or or whatever it is. And no, I just think that you learn those things, right? That the food is and another thing is that um not overindulging and and not you know just eating, you know, indulging whatever you want, you use restraint, and that's powerful. You know, when you have control and restraint, discipline. And discipline, it it's a powerful thing, right? You know, I alongside if you jump in the ice water in the morning, yeah. I guarantee you everything else you do all day is gonna be much easier than that. You know, and so it's kind of that thinking, you know, the good things you get from it, from that discipline, right?

Anna Howe 23:11

Yeah, I think that in my opinion, there's nothing more attractive than discipline in a person. I I think that just shows a lot of of you know, loving yourself and treating yourself well. So I think that's kind of what you see.

Carey Howe 23:25

That's the unspoken word. When you see someone physically fit, you know, and walk, you know, out in the shops or walking down the road, you know that that guy is disciplined, or that girl, yeah. Whatever, right? They're they're disciplined, right? 100%. That's attractive.

Anna Howe 23:39

And oh, totally.

Carey Howe 23:40

It makes other people want to do that, right?

Anna Howe 23:42

Yes.

Carey Howe 23:43

So, um, anyways, enough about overindulging in pops, but that's uh it's our what is let's talk about supplements, right? Okay, what is like uh your supplement routine, and what do you think most almost everybody could benefit? Like if you got to break it down to the top three, what do you think it would be? Because I know what mine would be. Okay. I'm just kind of asking.

Anna Howe 24:06

Well, let me see. I actually have a long list of all my uh vitamins and everything I take. So, but uh just right off the top of my head, I would definitely say magnesium glycinate 1000, or um, yes, definitely uh magnesium at night. Uh omega.

Carey Howe 24:24

What type of magnesium? You know, that's all you could put. That's what I just said.

Anna Howe 24:27

So and um and then an omega omega-3, definitely. Yeah, and then the last one, I would say the D3K2, that one. I mean, there's a lot. I have, I mean, for my hormones, I have like ashwagandha and things like that. So um just to name off a few of my list that I take all the time. That's well, I I can't because I just can't, I can't play favorites with my vitamins. But uh zinc is very important because of all the peptides, you know, I consume. But um, I take omega-3, a B1, B6, B12, um, Ashwagonda, Shattavari, Turmeric, uh, CoQ10, boron. Um that, you know, those are like my my top.

Carey Howe 25:10

And so CoQ10, definitely for me. I think the one you miss on there is creatine. That's a definite magnesium. So my top three would be some kind of fish oil, C O Q2. And uh if you get enough sunlight, I wouldn't say the K2 and the the D, but the um No, that's not just about sunlight, though. That's I forgot but you get those vitamins from up. So but if I was to pick my top three, it would definitely be creatine, number one, number two, magnesium because of the sleep, and then some kind of fish oil, you know, COQ10 or omega. Even cod liver oil. There's some old, you know, wives' tails but behind liver oil being very, very good too, right?

Anna Howe 25:50

So yeah, that's in our stack.

Carey Howe 25:52

But you know, definitely some kind of oils if you're not getting it from your diet. So a lot we get a lot of oils from our diet and whatnot.

Anna Howe 25:58

So we're oh, you know, I just saw this because I see this in my little notes here where I have all my vitamins. Another thing which I haven't done lately, and I did it straight for like two years straight every single day, is the protein smoothie. It's not just a protein smoothie, and this is basically more geared towards like a woman because it helps a lot with uh balancing hormones. But in my protein smoothie, I would put in first ice, then berries, then coconut milk, and then a dollop of like almond butter, and then I would add maca, not matcha, maca, which is very good. It's a root and it helps balance hormones. I would put creatine, the protein, then collagen, turkey tail, which helps uh fight cancer, inolin, which is like a probiotic, which is so good, and then my greens. I have a pat, you know, greens.

Carey Howe 26:50

And which we want to get into a whole podcast about the greens and the algae and the the the spirulina and all that stuff.

Anna Howe 26:57

So it's so good for you. And this and my protein is uh I like a pea isolate protein, a vegan protein, just because it doesn't have an after aftertaste, not because I have to have like a vegan thing, I don't, but it's so good and it's chocolate. So for me, it's like I've made it for you before. It's like having a chocolate shake and it fills you up. So if you're definitely if you're in a deficit in the at the current moment, that is a perfect breakfast. A perfect breakfast.

Carey Howe 27:26

I'm I'm not really into the protein shakes and whatnot. You know that. I like to get all my my protein from natural foods that give you protein, right? So but yeah, that's another discussion too. Yeah. Now here's a fun one. Um what would you say is the one thing that you've wasted your money on, like throughout in like what have you wasted money on in wellness or longevity that you think was a waste of time?

Anna Howe 27:52

Um as far as something I'm gonna ingest.

Carey Howe 27:56

Whatever it may be.

Anna Howe 27:58

Um well, if we're talking like supplements or something like that.

Carey Howe 28:02

Maybe it could be something that doesn't cost money. Um maybe you just wasted your time at doing this one practice or something.

Anna Howe 28:11

Well, the only thing that really sticks out to me, only because I heard different things about it, and it's still good for you, I guess. But there was this craze about this weighted vest for women in particular. It was um because it would help with osteoporosis. So living in Costa Rica, it's not very easy. It's not hard easy for me to just uh ship something, you know, and getting it. So I actually went to California and I put it in my suitcase and it weighed like 15 pounds. And I still brought it and I was so stoked on this weight, this you know, weighted vest. Then all these studies came out saying that it's actually doesn't help with osteoporosis at all. The only thing that it's helpful uh is it okay, so it's a little harder. It makes your workout, your walk just tougher, which in turn I guess is good for muscle or or resistance training or something, but it didn't, it's not helping with osteoporosis. And so I ditched the vest, and that was a waste of money and a waste of my suitcase space. Uh, and I think I had to pay extra even for that suitcase at the airport.

Carey Howe 29:19

Well, let's let's flip it on our on its head. What do you think are the best healthy habits that cost us absolutely nothing? Just not every single one. Like if you want to give us a top five and six. Healthy habits that costs absolutely nothing. Like you don't have to spend money.

Anna Howe 29:37

Laughter. Laughter is huge. If you can have one of those, you know, when your stomach hurts or when you cry like with your girlfriends, like a belly-aching laugh.

Carey Howe 29:48

You know, that is so good for your girlfriends and yeah, sorry.

Anna Howe 29:51

I mean, you know, with your friends. Well, you have like all your Montana friends, you know, that you guys get together and you guys are a bunch of laughs.

Carey Howe 29:57

I've I've heard you guys soche laughs, yes.

Anna Howe 30:00

Yeah, so those are belly ache laughs. Those, why? Because it it's uh shots of dopamine, it regulates your nervous system. I mean, if we're talking health, if we're gonna pick it apart, right? Um, just besides the fact that it's just fun and and it's great, but those belly aching laughs with the people you love is like the best. And then um, oh, did you ask me for one or more?

Carey Howe 30:24

Whoa that one um laughter, right? And then you kind of hinted on something inside that laughter that it's usually with friendship.

Anna Howe 30:32

Oh, friendship, yes, friendship.

Carey Howe 30:34

And so then, but my top would be, you know, sleep always. I keep coming back to sleep. Like it is the most important thing for free, and sunlight and walking.

Anna Howe 30:44

Yeah, absolutely. Those are all free and and good for you and and makes you feel good.

Carey Howe 30:49

So um friendship and laughter definitely is oh that's number one. Yeah, you know, that's a good part. And you know, living in the blue zone, they say, you know, the one of the the key factors is community, right? Yes, and so getting out and and and meeting people and having laughter and friendship and whatnot is so important to living a long, healthy, vital life. It is. Right?

Anna Howe 31:11

I mean, there's been studies that show that someone they compare people, someone who was solitary and just at home by themselves, and they did all the same things, and then there was someone who had a lot of community and and and all of that, and they actually were the happier, longer living person. So that's important.

Carey Howe 31:29

And so then what um what do you think about things here living in Costa Rica that has taught us about longevity, like um that we wouldn't have had maybe somewhere else or something?

Anna Howe 31:43

Um for me, what it has taught me is slowing down and having a lot of patience. There's a reason why the national animal is a sloth here. There really is. And guess what? We came from a high-paced, even though we always lived at the beach, you know, and everything else, that which the attitude and the the is uh the community is a little slower than other places, let's say like downtown Los Angeles or New York City, but still there was like a rush. So living here has taught me to stop, have patience, um, say hello and and ask someone how they're doing and really care and ask because they'll tell you. If you ask, hey, hi, how are you? And how's your family? Which by the way, it's considered extremely rude here in this country. If you do not stop, like even the guard at the gate or something at the where we live and ask how they're doing in their family and and really are concerned, they consider you rude. So it's taught us to really care and spend more time just slowing down and and you know, having relationships and and just slowing down, basically, patience too.

Carey Howe 32:50

Yeah, I think it's taught us that you know, to naturally spend more time outdoors, put the higher value on relationships, even small relationships with the the people around us that work around us and whatnot. Um, and yeah, nature, you know, being around nature, it's gonna slow you down, you know, because that's the time it works, right?

Anna Howe 33:13

Um well, there's something really interesting. So I mentioned that we we have two homes, one that's at the beach, which is a many hours away from here, and then we live in the Central Valley in the mountains. So there it's it's a different way of life. So at the beach, it's definitely a lot, lot, lot slower. Like the traffic are cows and things like that, you know. And you're there hanging around, you can take a nap. Like naps are very normal and natural there. Well, now let's say living in our everyday life here in the Central Valley, the even though it's a city and people are working and it's a completely different from the beach, there's still that sort of feeling of calmness, even in the crazy traffic with the motorcycles and everything, there's still a feeling of calm, and that's just the culture. And that is very I love I love it.

Carey Howe 34:05

Well, would you say that the insane traffic we have here in Costa Rica also teaches you to be patient?

Anna Howe 34:11

You know, like Yeah, it does. I mean, a hundred. I used to freak out and I said I was never gonna drive here, I was gonna hire a driver, and now I'm in it and I've been driving since you know for six years.

Carey Howe 34:22

Seven years almost. So I I think that these lessons could apply anywhere in the world, you know, not just Costa Rica. You gotta find the beauty and everything, you know, and kind of slow down, find a way to slow down and and you know, smell the roses, right? Yeah, it's easier to pass you by.

Anna Howe 34:38

Yeah, it is, but it's easier to do in a country whose culture is already that. So we're coming into to this.

Carey Howe 34:44

Yeah.

Anna Howe 34:44

So but yeah, um, it's really great.

Carey Howe 34:48

Um, so go ahead. Let's hear it.

Anna Howe 34:50

Um just to I think we've covered, you know, lots of little things. And and and again, we're just getting sort of our groove now with our we're new to podcasting, and so this is really fun. It's something that we do together, and it it uh lets us have spent some time together to do this. And so I think that they'll improve little by little. We're gonna have a lot of guests on here and everything else. But um, and I just have one final question before we close out this afternoon.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

A question for me.

Anna Howe 35:19

Um, no, I mean just a question for yeah, I can have a question for you. Let's see. Um well and let's end it with how do you how has your life changed with our move here to Costa Rica as far as everything? We already talked about well, go ahead, answer. I won't.

Carey Howe 35:36

Well, I I think that part is kind of what we just talked about, you know, slowing the nature slows you down. Um how to find fresh food and the understanding of fresh food is has been huge here, right? Um learning how to spend time outdoors and value the people and places and relationships that you have around in the community, no matter how big or small. Um just learning how to de-stress, you know, on a daily basis with our morning routine and not live a life that's rushed, but live a life that's valuable, you know, each moment. That's really nice. I guess that's about it.

Anna Howe 36:18

So if someone listening today wanted to improve their health starting tomorrow, but could only do one thing, what would you tell them?

Carey Howe 36:28

Um Well, the one thing I would say is that you don't have to change everything overnight. Start with one habit. Stay consistent and let those small choices compound over time, right? So just one thing, right? Um, whether that's sleep, walking, um learning to slow down, um meditating or praying more or doing some breath work, just pick one and just go with one, and it usually starts to compound, you know, and and it gets to 10 or 12 things.

Anna Howe 37:00

Yeah, yeah.

Carey Howe 37:01

How about you? What do you think?

Anna Howe 37:03

No, the thing I would say that if someone, I mean, just answering the question directly, if I could just if they could only do one thing, I would tell them walk every day, walk. Even if it's five minutes, even if it's down the street, walk. That's it. Um, that would be the one thing. And um so longevity isn't about trying to live forever, it's about making the years that you have healthier, stronger, and more meaningful. That's what longevity is about.

Carey Howe 37:36

So yeah, I think that's great.

Anna Howe 37:38

Um and like like you said, that they don't no one has to change everything overnight. Yeah, they just have to start with one habit.

Carey Howe 37:46

One habit, one at a time. Um and thank you for joining us uh today. If you know somebody who would might you know be interested in these topics, um feel free free to share. We'd be stoked about that. Um, and I had mentioned a little bit about we're gonna be bringing on more guests that we have lined up. It's about scheduling them and whatnot. We and um we're we're doing that right now. We've got some exciting stuff coming, really cool topics, really cool things in longevity and new things that are happening in the space every day, you know, with the help of AI and all these. It's just an exciting time to live, and we're excited to talk about it. And how fast it happens too. Yeah.

Anna Howe 38:28

And so um yeah, so um, yeah, that's it. So until next time, uh thank you for listening and stay healthy, stay curious, and keep designing your vitality. Thanks for spending time with us today. If this episode sparked something for you, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's next. Share the show with someone who cares about living well and building a longer, more vibrant life.

Carey Howe 38:58

Follow us on social media for more conversations, insights, and tools to support your health and vitality.

Anna Howe 39:06

Until next time, live with intention, stay curious, and design your vitality.