Recommended Tools for the Habit Dashboard

None of these are required: the dashboard works with ticks, an energy rating and your sleep hours. These are the tools that make the optional parts easier: measuring your waist, the experiments chapter, resistance work at home, and the supplements the dashboard discusses.

Measuring

• Body tape measure

  For the waist and waist-to-height ratio on the markers page. A self-retracting tape reads the same way every time.

  See options on Amazon
• Blood glucose meter kit

  Optional, for the experiments chapter: read before a meal and at the peak to see the rise. Buy test strips from the same brand.

  A home meter is for comparing meals, not for deciding about diabetes; a high reading needs a lab test.

  See options on Amazon
• Validated upper-arm blood pressure monitor

  For the blood pressure line on the markers page. Check the model on validatebp.org before you buy.

  See options on Amazon
• Kitchen scale

  Helps you see what 25 to 30 g of protein looks like for the first week.

  See options on Amazon
• Step counter

  For the steps-or-weights habit; a simple pedometer is enough.

  See options on Amazon

Moving at home

• Resistance bands with a door anchor

  For the band row and the 20-minute resistance starter twice a week.

  See options on Amazon
• Adjustable dumbbells or a pair of light dumbbells

  To make chair squats and hip hinges harder as you progress.

  See options on Amazon
• A visual timer for sitting breaks

  Breaking up sitting every 45 minutes is one of the nine habits; a timer on the desk makes it automatic.

  See options on Amazon

Sleep and rhythm

• Blackout curtains or a sleep mask

  A dark room helps the fixed wake time and 7+ hours habit.

  See options on Amazon
• Sunrise alarm clock

  Helps a fixed wake time feel easier on dark mornings.

  See options on Amazon

Supplements discussed in the dashboard

Food comes first. If you and your clinician decide a supplement makes sense, these are the points to look for. Check with your pharmacist first, especially if you take glucose-lowering medicine or have kidney disease.

• Psyllium husk

  Taken before the largest meal with a full glass of water, it lowers the post-meal glucose rise and LDL cholesterol.

  Take medicines 2 hours apart from it.

  See options on Amazon
• Magnesium glycinate or citrate

  May help insulin sensitivity if your intake is low; 200 to 400 mg a day with food.

  Not with kidney disease unless your doctor agrees.

  See options on Amazon
• Vitamin D3

  Only if a blood test shows you are low.

  Do not take more than 4,000 IU a day without medical supervision.

  See options on Amazon

Prices and availability change on Amazon. This page is educational and is not medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting a supplement.