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Protocol

You do not have to do all of it.

I follow Bryan Johnson, Blueprint, and Immortals. Bryan’s published protocol is the source, and I am still learning from it. The version I live is the pieces that fit my days, and even that is moving the needle. You do not have to do the entire stack.

In about six months of following more of the protocol (from April 2026):

  • Resting heart rate

    65 bpm58 bpm−11%

  • Heart rate variability

    about 32 ms40 ms+25%

  • Lean mass (Withings)

    77%86.7%+12.6%

  • Fat percentage (Withings)

    23%11.7%−49.1%

  • Weight

    175 lb160 lb−8.6%

Here is what I actually follow, the Base Protocol, and the charts, below.

Health Goals

Twenty outcomes I am tracking.

Clinical foundations on one side, personal priority on the other. Statuses update. The numbers stay here.

My health goals

Fat loss

How I actually lost the fat.

Zone 2 at 120 bpm, protein + lift, a small weekly deficit. Teaching charts, a table so you can pick your number, and the Withings receipt.

Fat loss protocol

  1. 01 · The source

    Bryan’s full Blueprint / Don’t Die protocol.

    Start here. Bryan does so much. The published protocol is deep, rigorous, and always moving, and there is no way to match all of it. People should read and follow information at the source!

    Please sign up for the daily newsletter of helpful information and tips at Immortals.

    Bryan’s Protocol

    Bryan’s full published protocol — the source of truth. Start here.

  2. 02 · The subset

    My realistic N=1.

    My protocol is personalized off of Bryan’s. I follow the pieces that are relevant and that fit a CTO schedule. That is the honest version: a faithful subset, fitted to my life.

    I left Wonder as CTO (March 2024 – February 2026) and joined Immortals as CTO (March 2026 – present) in large part so health could be first-class. I have followed Bryan and used Blueprint and Immortals supplements from the beginning. I found them extremely good. I was a customer before I was an employee. Joining Immortals is the next step of that commitment.

    1. Lower RHR

      Protocol: eat your final meal or snack four hours before bed; be mindful of stimulants like caffeine.

      Yes and yes. I still go to sleep around 2am. I eat before 10pm each night, mostly before 8pm. I do not drink caffeine after 2pm typically.

    2. Sleep

      Still the hardest. I still do work or personal tasks, including learning, until 2am every night, and I need to wake up by 6:30am on weekdays during school time. I have increased my sleep duration on average from 2025 to 2026.

    3. Nutrition

      The biggest win over the last six months. I really focused on the macros so they sit at the right ratio, and I stay at a small caloric deficit.

    4. Exercise

      The second biggest win. I adjusted my work hours more West Coast, so I can get in daily exercise in the mornings. Six hours a week is the target, and I have been able to hit it unless I am traveling. Three strength-training days and at least two cardio days a week.

    5. Family, friendship, and community

      I definitely spend much more time on the weekends with family, and I spend a bit more time reaching out to friends who are remote.

    6. Things to avoid

      Less or no fast food or junk food. No smoking. No vaping. No excessive alcohol.

    7. Skin

      I follow a skin protocol now: Blueprint Cleanser, Blueprint Serum, and Blueprint Moisturizer. I tried a skin protocol before and failed because the cleanser and moisturizers felt too oily or sticky. Blueprint is the first one that feels good, and you can see the results after just one week.

    MITNerd Base Protocol.

    Five pillars I actually run: lift, walk, protein+food, sleep, stress off-ramp. Each one opens the health goals it serves.

    1. Lift

      Strength, three days a week.

      Three strength-training days are part of the six-hour weekly target. I hit it unless I am traveling. This is how I hold muscle while I cut, and how I will build when I am leaner.

    2. Walk

      Cardio, at least two days a week.

      At least two cardio days a week, inside the same six-hour target. Morning sessions, after I shifted hours more West Coast so the work can happen before the day takes over.

    3. Protein + food

      Macros in ratio, a small deficit.

      The biggest win over the last six months. I keep protein and the rest of the macros in ratio, and I stay at a small caloric deficit. Less junk. That is the nutrition pillar.

    4. Sleep

      Sleep more.

      Still the hardest. I still work or learn until about 2am, and I need to wake by 6:30am on school-week mornings. Duration is up from 2025 to 2026, and I am keeping at it.

    5. Stress off-ramp

      People, and the things I skip.

      More weekend time with family, and a bit more reaching out to friends who are remote. Less or no fast food. No smoking. No vaping. No excessive alcohol. That is how I step the stress down.

    Measurement lives in Results. The outcomes I am holding are on Health Goals.

  3. 03 · Results

    Even the subset is moving the needle.

    All the trends are going in the right direction.

    I joined Immortals in February 2026, but I did not really start following more of the protocol until April. That is where you can see the slope accelerate. Before April I was taking some of the supplements and treated the protocol as secondary to my work. I am so happy that health is part of my work now.

    1. James Chen’s Apple Health body composition charts: stacked Weight, Muscle, and Fat from September 2025 through September 2026.
      Overall body composition change. April 2025 to August 2026, weight from a 175 lb average down to 160 lb now. On Withings, April to the end of August: lean mass 77% to 86.7%, fat 23% to 11.7%.
    2. Apple Health year view of James Chen’s resting heart rate, trending down after April 2026.
      Resting heart rate from Apple Health. April 2026, 65 bpm down to 58 bpm.
    3. Whoop six-month view of James Chen’s resting heart rate, showing the same downward trend on a different wearable.
      The same resting-heart-rate trend on Whoop, more zoomed in. The numbers sit a bit lower because it is a different wearable.
    4. Apple Health year view of James Chen’s heart rate variability, rising from about 32 ms toward 40 ms.
      Heart rate variability from about 32 ms to 40 ms now.

    How I ran the fat loss — Zone 2 at 120, protein + lift, a small weekly deficit — is on Fat loss protocol.

    I track almost every day, in sleep and in workouts, on Apple Watch Ultra, Whoop MG, Oura, Google Fitbit Air, and Hume Band 2.0. None of the numbers match directly across devices, but the trends are similar on all of them.