How I Used AI to Create a Plan to Optimize My Health and Check for Metabolic Disease

As a 37-year-old father of eight and the owner of a small commercial roofing business, I’m used to juggling a lot. Between running a company, taking care of my family, and staying committed to my personal fitness goals, life’s pace has always been intense. I’ve been on a health journey for some time now, having lost about 45 pounds and pushed my body to new limits. However, even with all my progress, I’ve noticed certain things about my health that seemed off—things like stubborn belly fat, lower libido, and questions about whether my metabolic health was at risk.

I didn’t want to guess at the answers or dive into a pile of contradictory advice online, so I decided to turn to an unlikely source for help: AI. Specifically, I used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to create a personalized action plan to optimize my health and check for any signs of metabolic disease. Here’s how the process unfolded, step by step.

Step 1: Identifying the Problem

I’ve always been proactive about my health. I wake up early, hit the gym hard, and eat pretty clean. But recently, I noticed some red flags. Despite my disciplined routine, I was struggling to get rid of belly fat, and my interest in sex had dropped since I had a vasectomy a few months ago. I also had some family history of dementia, which added to my concerns. I wanted to ensure my metabolic health was on point and make sure I wasn’t missing anything.

Step 2: Consulting AI for Guidance

When I reached out to ChatGPT, I wasn’t expecting a magical solution. Instead, I wanted it to help me ask the right questions about my health and build a plan of attack based on my current routine. AI doesn’t replace the doctor, but it can certainly help you think through things in a structured way.

First, ChatGPT asked me a series of focused questions that got me thinking more deeply about the areas I needed to improve. Here are some of the areas it drilled into:

• Day-to-day stress management: Although I usually feel in control, balancing work, family, and personal goals can occasionally leave me feeling stretched thin. AI helped me reflect on how stress might be subtly affecting my hormones, especially testosterone.

• Workout routine: I’ve been lifting heavy with a 5/3/1 program, but I hadn’t done cardio in about six weeks. That wasn’t doing my metabolism any favors, and ChatGPT flagged this as an area to improve.

• Diet and processed foods: While I eat mostly grass-fed meats, veggies, and smoothies, I realized that about 30-40% of my diet still comes from processed foods. AI suggested cutting down on these and adding more nutrient-dense whole foods.

• Environmental factors: I learned that using plastic containers for food storage and occasional chemical exposure at work could be contributing to hormonal imbalances. ChatGPT recommended swapping plastic for glass or metal storage and testing my water for heavy metals.

Step 3: Building a Custom Action Plan

Once we identified the problem areas, ChatGPT helped me put together a simple but powerful action plan to optimize my health and tackle any metabolic issues head-on. Here’s what the plan looked like:

1. Dialing in Nutrition

• Increase protein intake to maintain muscle and improve insulin sensitivity.

• Reduce processed food consumption to 10-15% of my diet.

• Cycle carbs around workouts for better performance and recovery.

• Boost omega-3 intake to combat inflammation and improve fat metabolism.

2. Reintroducing Cardio

• Add 2-3 cardio sessions per week (either steady-state or HIIT) to improve insulin sensitivity and heart health.

3. Eliminating Environmental Toxins

• Replace plastic food containers with glass or stainless steel.

• Get my home water tested for heavy metals and upgrade my filtration system if needed.

4. Supporting Hormonal Health

• Start supplementing with Vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc to support testosterone production.

• Continue cold showers to boost recovery and regulate hormones.

5. Tracking Key Biomarkers

• Schedule regular blood work to monitor fasting blood sugar, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference—key indicators of metabolic health.

6. Stress Management and Recovery

• Add a simple daily meditation or breathing routine to keep cortisol levels in check.

• Make sure I’m fully recovering from workouts by incorporating rest days and getting 7-9 hours of sleep.

Step 4: Putting the Plan into Action

With the AI-generated plan in hand, I felt a lot more confident in how I would approach optimizing my health. The plan was simple, actionable, and customized to my lifestyle. I didn’t have to completely overhaul my life—I just needed to make targeted tweaks and hold myself accountable.

Some of the changes were easy, like cutting back on plastics and being more mindful of my carb intake. Others, like getting back into cardio, took a bit more motivation, but I knew it was key to improving my metabolism.

Step 5: What I Learned from the Process

This experience taught me a few things.

First, I realized that despite being disciplined, there are always areas where we can improve. The belly fat that wouldn’t budge was a signal that something deeper was going on with my metabolism. Second, I learned that using AI as a tool to break down complex health issues into simple steps was incredibly useful. ChatGPT didn’t just throw a bunch of generic advice at me—it tailored its recommendations based on my responses, which made it feel more personal.

Final Thoughts

I’m now implementing the changes laid out in the plan, and I’m already starting to see results. My energy is staying high, I’m getting back into cardio, and I’m cutting down on processed foods. Time will tell how much of an impact these adjustments will have on my testosterone levels and metabolic health, but I feel more in control of my body than ever.

Using AI to optimize my health was a game-changer—it provided clarity, helped me structure my goals, and took the guesswork out of my next steps. If you’re in a similar place, feeling like you’ve hit a wall with your progress, consider leveraging tools like ChatGPT to break through. You’ll be surprised by how much it can help you dig deeper and take control of your health journey.