Wibe Wagemans of Pardigm: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Establish which cortisol diurnal curve you have so that you know what to fix, especially if you’re trying to get pregnant, solve mental health issues, or cope with menopausal symptoms. Cortisol inhibits both estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. And, it affects every other biological process in your body

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Wibe Wagemans.

Wibe is the Founder & CEO of Pardigm.com, serial entrepreneur, and pioneer in mobile and AI technology. He was the first in the world to build an AI bot and an online video game on mobile in 2003. His most recent company, Huuuge Inc., made its IPO in 2021 for $1.2 billion.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

In the former century, I used to be an amateur road racer in Europe. Shaving the legs, 8,000 calories, RHR low 40s, and BMI<20. Those were the days. It took a while to write my first health & wellness book: Cortisol: The Master Hormone.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

My first day working at Canon HQ in Tokyo, they put all the new employees in the same dorm. In the morning, I went down to the washroom in the basement and found myself sitting next to a dozen colleagues shaving and washing on a tiny stool in front of yards of fogged-up mirrors. My colleagues didn’t think it was funny, but it felt like a moving sushi belt or a 組み立てライン ‎(kumitate-rain) in a factory.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

At the Canon office in Tokyo, I was asking a young lady — who was a few years my senior and graduated from Waseda — why she was serving green tea to the honbuchou. BIG MISTAKE! Never question seniority and honor code in Japan. Even though she more than likely agreed with me.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

After reading thousands of scientific papers, I know I’ll never be an authority, since there is always a lot more to learn. However, by connecting the dots between various medical disciplines, I feel I have a lot to contribute, especially because most scientists focus their work on a narrow discipline. They stick to their own silo and don’t look at the big picture.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My parents have always been hands off but very supportive. They helped me stay grounded, although they’ll probably tell you that even talking about it means I’m still not down to earth enough.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

1. Understand that most of us are addicted to both carbs and have elevated cortisol levels. This drives a dangerous enzyme called 11-beta HSD2 to store cortisol in our adipose visceral tissue. The result is a vicious cycle of insulin and cortisol which is hard to break out of.
2. The taboo of talking about being overweight and prediabetes.
3. Lack of peer support, which means you need a personal coach, which most people cannot afford.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

1. Measure your cortisol levels. This will be at least as eye-opening as Continuous Glucose Monitoring, because it’s not predictable.
2. Establish which cortisol diurnal curve you have so that you know what to fix, especially if you’re trying to get pregnant, solve mental health issues, or cope with menopausal symptoms. Cortisol inhibits both estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. And, it affects every other biological process in your body.
3. Control your cortisol pattern by exposing yourself to (indirect) sunlight when you wake up in the morning. It acts on recently-discovered photoreceptors in your retina.
4. Skip breakfast.
5. Skip Melatonin supplements and fix your cortisol first, because high cortisol inhibits melatonin production.

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

There’s not much scientific research showing that exercise leads to weight loss and keeps it off. One reason is that you usually only burn a few hundred calories and you easily make up for that with energy bars and Gatorade, not to mention the cravings after you’re done.

There are plenty of benefits though:

1. Weight loss, only if you work out a few hours every day, which is not very practical for most.
2. Immune system improvement. Exercise acts as a pre-oxidant. Cortisol and inflammation increase right away but come down significantly afterward.
3. Happy hormone levels increase, including endorphins and dopamine, making you feel good while maintaining memory, focus, and concentration.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

Based on your cortisol curve, which I discuss in detail in Cortisol: The Master Hormone) you want to focus on

1. Time of day, as some people would really benefit from exercise right after waking up, while others do in the late afternoon.
2. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) a couple of times a week if your cortisol is not elevated — could be as simple as running the stairs in your hotel a few times.
3. For elite athletes, it’s important not to overtrain. I’ve measured elevated cortisol levels in Olympians and they changed their training. The effects are pretty immediate, both physically and mentally, with a national title to show for it.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Jason Fung’s The Obesity Code (2015)

I started experimenting with 120-hour water fasts to reset my body when he was one of the few in the world who provided guidance. After 72 hours, I was sick of it and ready to give up, but then I woke up on day 4 feeling like Superman. I’ve been doing it every quarter since.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

The “Control Your Cortisol” movement. Every. Single. Biological. Process. In. Your. Body. Is. Affected.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

William Blake ‘The road of excess leads to wisdom”

I interpret it as the more information the better and to safely test the limits of your body and mind once in a while to understand and appreciate its plasticity in everyday life.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

Paul Krugman He’s not always right but he sticks his neck out and has an unearthly ability to combine both math modeling and language.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

Pardigm.com or follow me on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/wibewa/

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!