Trust Me, I'm a Doctor (But Not That Kind)

When I was 18, I decided not to pursue medicine as a career, choosing instead chemical engineering. That was quite a sudden decision, and it probably surprised my parents a lot.

Since a very young age, I’d been sure I was going to become a doctor. But in my final year of high school, I realised that I was more interested in mathematics and science – particularly physics and chemistry. If I’m honest, perhaps my decision had a little bit to do with the fact that Dolph Lundgren, one of my childhood heroes, has a Masters degree in chemical engineering! (And did you know that Cindy Crawford studied it too before becoming a model?) I decided to go one better than Dolph, eventually getting a PhD in the subject. So yes, you can call me Dr. Nick if you like!

Whatever the reason, I’m pretty glad I made the choice I did. I don’t think I’d have been able to create The Apollo Program without the scientific skills and knowledge I’ve gained in my career. Without them, I’d have been totally lost when it came to all the research and experimentation that went into the creation of the program. In fact, the whole thing was one big science project!

I’ve got no doubt in my mind that my background will be far more useful on the program than that of a typical medical doctor. I’ve had a look at some medical school curricula, but I’ve never found the course “Beautiful Bodies 101” listed in any of them.

This might sound like a criticism of medical doctors, but it’s really not. I have a lot of respect for medical doctors. They’re excellent at what they do, which is making sick people healthy. If I or one of my family were ill, the first person I’d turn to would be our doctor. But it’s not their job to make healthy people look like Greek gods, and it wouldn’t be fair to expect that of them. That’s where I come in.

Chemical engineering – sometimes known as applied chemistry – is a much better fit with that particular ambition. It’s the science of taking chemical reactions which occur in a laboratory, or under a microscope, and applying them on a larger, more practical scale. And if you think about, that’s precisely what anyone trying to change his body needs to do. I’ll give you some examples…

One of the main tools of chemical engineering is called the energy balance. It’s like a balance sheet in accounting, except the consequences of getting it wrong are a little more dramatic. If more energy goes into a system, like a chemical reactor, than goes out of the system, eventually there’ll be an explosion. The same thing is true of your body. If you eat more calories than your body can process, you will explode too. Or at least your waistline will. My program will show you to understand and manage your body's energy balance, including your metabolism. You’ll learn how to easily create meals that are perfectly sized and will give you results fast.

I’ll even teach you how to do a bit of chemical engineering yourself, so that you can quickly figure out if a particular food is good for you or not. You’ll be able to see if that food labelled as a “Healthy Option” really is, or if it’s just a scam. (Hint: it’s often the latter, in case you were wondering.)

The energy balance is only one part of the picture. There’s a lot more to it than that. I’m sure you know people who always seem to eat very little, but who never develop an impressive body. They may not be fat per se, but they don’t have athletic or attractive bodies either. It’s not just about quantity, and it’s not simply about “eating healthy,” or “eating natural” either. The world is full of people who are constantly eating fresh fruits and salads and sprouts and seeds, but who never actually look impressive either! That way of eating may be good enough for someone whose ambition is to “have healthy arteries” or to “avoid diabetes,” but it’s not going to get you the Apollo physique you’re after.

The secret that these people lack is knowledge of body chemistry. There’s an enormous amount of chemistry going on behind the scenes in your body, particularly in your blood and your tissues. The processes of burning fat and building muscles all involve hundreds of chemical reactions within your cells. You can exert a huge amount of control over these reactions by following the nutritional plan I’ve developed for you. There are two other secrets I’ll share with you, and these are: a) eating the correct combination of foods in each meal and b) eating them in the correct order. Without this knowledge, you’ll at best get limited results. At worst, you could even encourage your body to break down muscle tissue and to store more fat where you don’t want it.

And there’s a whole system of hormones to contend with. These are all chemicals too. We tend to think of hormones as “a women’s issue,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Did you know that if your body releases insulin at the wrong time you’ll get fat, but if you do it at the right time then you’ll add muscle? And were you aware that if your body’s testosterone production declines, you won’t be able to build muscles or burn fat properly? Or that if you have an excess of estrogen, your body tends to store fat quickly, even developing feminine characteristics. Now, I’m all in favour of getting in touch with your feminine side, but man-breasts are not something you want.

Fortunately, there are ways to influence all these hormones too. Don’t panic: these are all simple, natural methods, and don’t involve any steroids or other artificial chemicals. Yes, I love chemistry, but that doesn’t mean I want to become a walking chemical experiment. The methods I’m talking about are all based around food, exercise and relaxation. It’s remarkable to think of it, but you can influence your body’s production of hormones just by doing the right kinds of weights exercises. And I’ll show you special ways of breathing and stretching that have a powerful effect too. I’ve been able to integrate all this and more into the program. I’ve done all the hard work and research so that you don’t have to. You can just follow the program, confident that your hormonal processes are being optimised to create the athletic body that you want.

I’ll be able to help you with the topic of supplements too. There are plenty of supplements on the market, some good and a lot that are useless rip-offs. But without a knowledge of science and chemistry, it’s pretty hard to know which is which. So if you do want to incorporate supplements into your program, I’ll give you advice on which ones actually work. You’ll save your money, and avoid damaging your body with potentially harmful chemicals.

Before I end off, let me say once again that I really don’t want anyone coming to me hoping that I’ll solve their health problems. If you’re starting the program, I expect that you’re basically healthy and that you’ve got your doctor’s approval to start a rigorous exercise program. If you’re in any doubt, you must consult your physician. I’m not qualified to give you any medical advice, and I’m really not that interested in it anyway.

What I am interested in is making you look extraordinary. I’m interested in giving you a body that will make you stand out no matter what your age. I’m interested in giving you back a youthful appearance. And I’m interested in helping you take back control and change your life. If these are what you’re interested in too, then I have just the prescription for you.