My Financial Independence Diet
I’ve received numerous reader emails asking about my diet. At first I thought this was a bit weird but one recent inquiry was from a person struggling with weight loss and who’s also trying to get into cycling.
They said my story of losing 75lbs and becoming a marginally talented endurance athlete inspired them. All jokes aside, that makes me feel really good.
Whenever I write about health, I feel I need to explain why I’m doing it on what masquerades as a personal finance blog.
Bottom line, a fit and healthy body makes it more likely to have a fit and healthy brain which creates better outcomes for everything in life, including finances.
It underpins everything.
Anti-Dogma
The endless fire hose of diet and nutrition information is confusing at best and detrimental to our health at worst. And it doesn’t help that we were fed lies for so long from the government and so-called “experts”.
The reality is the science of nutrition is still relatively nascent, and new discoveries are being made all time. It turns out humans are really complex creatures and we simply still don’t understand much of what’s going on.
That said, you should run away from anyone or anything that claims to have it all figured out. You know the ones – “We should all be vegan, it’s the healthiest diet!!”, or “Everyone should be keto!”.
There are world class athletes who are vegan, while a vegan diet makes others horribly sick. Same for keto and carnivore. It also turns out we humans are extremely diverse. Who knew?
So I have no interest in the “macronutrient wars”, and no interest in any dogma. I also have no interest in the tribal environmental arguments that all sides engage in. There are other blogs and echo chambers to read for that crap.
I Suck At Losing Weight
Losing 75 pounds took me a little over 10 years. Yeah, I’m not great at it. If you’re struggling with your weight I empathize with you.
So what do I eat?
I now eat a diet that’s heavier in healthy fats and relatively low in carbohydrates. It’s not keto, but compared to the SAD (the appropriate acronym for the standard American diet) which is super high in carbs, sugar, and processed foods, it could be considered “keto-ish”.
How did I settle on that? I experimented, plain and simple.
From 2008 – 2017 I was very close to a vegetarian and I only ate meat when I went to a restaurant. And as a financially independent person, that’s way less than the average American (pro tip: eating out less is a huge way to help get you to FI, and get healthier).
Being that our bodies process all carbohydrates into glucose, I started to follow the science. I wanted to know if my energy and mood swings could be related to the constant glucose-hose of a more carb heavy diet.
Look, I’m half Italian. The thought of giving up bread and all things doughy frankly made me feel ill.
But when I started to replace much of the grain based carbs with healthy fats, I felt better. Some of my aches and pains went away, especially in my knees, both of which have been operated on.
I did not totally give up carbs! I’m a marginally talented endurance athlete, and to do a 60 mile bike ride at a decent speed requires carbs and glucose.
Yes, I know there are pure keto athletes who can burn fat all day and perform at a high level, but even the best admit that when they really need to do their best (especially for high intensity efforts) they go back to glucose, aka carbs.
And I still eat a ton of vegetables every day which have carbs, especially more starchy ones like peas and carrots.
There’s mounting evidence of the benefits of metabolic flexibility in nutrition science, so I do not plan to religiously stick to my current strategy and will likely have periods of increased carbohydrates. My Italian half approves of that message.
Boring But Healthy
My investing strategy of index funds is boring but effective. Likewise, my diet is boring but healthy.
I have a two egg omelet almost every morning, with a small amount of cheese and a small piece of sausage.
All of it is organic and the sausage is nitrate and preservatives-free. I also put either flaxseed or chia seeds on the omelette for extra omega 3’s.
For lunch or a midday snack I’ll usually have a handful of raw nuts (almonds, macadamias, walnuts) and some 85 or 90% dark chocolate, along with a cup or two of herbal tea.
Another favorite snack is raw carrots and straight up avocado dip. Easy and simple.
Dinner is a massive plate of grilled vegetables with a serving of either salmon, sardines, beef, or buffalo. I rotate those 4, but not in any planned way. Dessert is a piece of fruit or two, usually an apple, kiwi, banana, or tangerine.
That’s it really. I’ve been on that diet for the past year and it’s doing wonders for me. With the right spices those foods taste amazing. And it’s practically a no sugar diet besides the fruit and the minimal amount in the dark chocolate.
At this point you might feel sorry for me and think I’m a monk. No, I’m human and I allow some cheating here and there. The caveot on cheating is that it’s only allowed after a really hard workout. In other words I have to earn a cheat.
I’ll cheat with pizza, or pizza, and sometimes pizza. Maybe a little frozen yogurt too.
Extra Tips
I listen to tons of health and nutrition podcasts and often actually read some of the scientific papers they reference. I’m not saying I’m an “expert”, whatever that means, but I am saying I’ve learned a few other things that work for me.
So here are some things I’ve implemented in my life that got me to a pretty lean 163lbs on a six-foot 4-inch frame.
- I only use avocado, coconut, or olive oil. A growing body of research shows other oils especially processed seed oils such as canola, safflower, and sunflower are unhealthy. I also cook with ghee.
- I don’t buy everything organic. Check out the “dirty dozen, clean 15” list to help decide what to buy organic. In general if the fruit or veggie is protected by a shell of some sort that you don’t eat (banana, avocado) it’s not as crucial to buy organic. Yes, I know it’s a controversial list, but everything in this realm is controversial.
- I don’t eat fast food. Ever. I haven’t had a bite of McDonalds or Burger King or any of that toxic crap in over a decade. Treat your body like a temple, don’t pollute it with that poison!
- I avoid (almost) all processed foods. The key here is to eat as many things as you can with one ingredient. I make exceptions when going on long rides or runs or big days in the mountains. In those cases the convenience of bars (ProBar, ClifBar) and performance-oriented foods is important, and I need more glucose during those activities anyway.
- Read labels! When I said I eat avocado dip I mean pure avocado dip. Nothing else added. Many brands will have added sugars, oils, or nasty chemicals. Don’t buy them.
- I don’t eat artificial anything. The case against artificial sweeteners is huge – just stay away from that crap!
- I try to do a 16-8 fast every day (meaning 16 hours without eating, and an 8 hour window of eating). Some days I fail and my stomach wins, but I try.
The Future
Those who shout “obey the science!” often annoy me. The fact is that science never ends. Some of Einstein’s discoveries that we thought were rock solid have been proven wrong. We’re constantly learning about everything in the world, and we will continue to do that.
It’s no different with food, diets, exercise and how these things interact and affect the human body. And we better start learning faster because America is quickly headed to a 50% obesity rate, and showing no signs of slowing down.
In the end I believe the continual discoveries of the workings of the microbiome, genetics, and epigenetics will guide the future of food. In other words, science will be able to provide you an optimal diet from your DNA and a microbiome sample.
Some companies are claiming they can do that now but don’t be fooled – the science just isn’t there yet. I’m glad there are many smart folks out there trying, but don’t let them sell you snake oil now.
So that’s it folks. Sorry my diet isn’t Instagram-worthy or flashy. It’s simple, healthy, and works for me. I encourage you to eat whole foods, experiment with them, and find what works for you. Your health is that important.
Thanks for sharing. It sounds healthy & sustainable. I appreciate your comment about losing weight slowly. I committed back on the 1st of January. I started with big changes and then add in 1 little ‘tweak’ every month to make my plan better. I want to eat for life… not going on some unsustainable regimen. But, that said, I’ve only lost 8.5 pounds in 5 months… so frustrating. I was just reminding myself yesterday that I have to think long-term and that, at that pace, I’d have blown past my goal weight in a few years… So your comment is really timely & appreciated. Thanks.
8.5 pounds in 5 months is awesome, that’s something to be proud of! Do me a favor, get a bucket and pour a gallon of water – that’s how much weight you no longer have, it’s not unsubstantial. Just keep doing what you’re doing and keep your eyes on the prize, you CAN do it!
Excellent article. I adopted an extremely similar diet in this last year or so. Not entirely keto, but very close and with very little carbs. Same deal – 2 eggs for breakfast, tuna or veggies for lunch and meat/protein and salads for dinner. At 6 months I was as lean as I’ve ever been and feel great! It helps that I am essentially “food ambivalent” and cool with eating similar things each day. I also exercise at least an hour a day and keep my total net calories around 1100. It works great and I feel awesome.
I also cheat with pizza now and again. Oh, and chocolate too!
again, great minds think alike 🙂 Very cool that we’ve both found the same solution. And I’m also food ambivalent, as long as it tastes good I don’t mind repetition. That’s less thinking and planning that I have to do.
Thanks for sharing Dave. Two things stand out for me. Its simple, and its reasonable. I really like that approach. Quick question for you, what are your thoughts on setting an overall activity level for yourself? Some weeks I can push hard and wake up everyday with more energy, while other times I feel like exercise is just wearing me down. Have you experienced this? Thanks!
I don’t set a “hard” activity level but I do set a general one. First and foremost my rule is do something exercise-wise every single day. Since the pandemic my routine has been 4 cycling days, 2 running days, and a day of weights every week. To spice it up I’ll sometimes substitute rock climbing, paddling, or another fun activity for one of those. As for the “blah” days – hell yes I have them! I’m not a robot, so I hear you man. In those cases I simply listen to my body because it’s trying to tell me something. If it was an obvious reason like a bad night of sleep then I know I can probably still do a workout and push through it. But if it’s not obvious why I feel blah it could be from over training and my body just needing an easy day or two to recover. So I do an easy day or two, but I still do something. I’ll putz around on my hybrid bike just slowly cruising or take a long walk. Those things count, but when you’re in good shape they’re more rest than they are exercise. Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by!
This is a FYI – i hurt my back in 1988 and 186 pounds of muscle turned into 236 pounds of fat. Had to do something…Slimfast! (remember Tommy LaSorda?). So i went on a Slimfast dominated 1200 calorie a day diet, very little exercise. 3 Slimfasts a day (330 calories) then a light dinner. Got down to 186 pounds after losing a pound a week for a year. Few years later began exercising, went off the Slimfast and went on a diet similar to the article’s (more fruit in mine) and am now a stable 169 pounds. Had a 24/7 headache for the first 2 weeks on the Slimfast diet, after that felt great. Thank you Tommy…
Wow, great results! From all I read and listen to most doctors and nutritionists do not recommend programs like Slimfast etc but that doesn’t mean they don’t or can’t work, as is obvious by your story. I think the main problem with them is that they just take far more discipline than most people have. Kudos to you for succeeding on that and even more kudos to transitioning to a “real food” equivalent lifestyle to keep your weight down. In the end, whether it be Slimfast, vegan, keto, carnivore – the solution that gets anyone from obese to a healthy weight is the right one for that person.
I like the cheating with pizza part 😉
I did pretty well with just counting my calories for a while but fell off the bandwagon after a couple years. It’s on my to do list to start eating better again. How do you normally prepare the Buffalo? Is it ground (burgers) or steaks? How does it compare to beef? I’ve never had it before.
The buffalo I buy is 100% pure buffalo meat, nothing added, most stores nowadays will have it. Buffalo has a higher protein and iron content than regular beef. Also when compared to the “bad beef” that most Americans eat (the corn & grain-fed beef with hormones and steroids) it’s way way better. Buffalo (like cows) aren’t supposed to eat mostly corn, but unlike cows there’s no massive industry of feeding buffalo corn for breeding (yet – some buffalo ranchers feed them corn the last month or two of their lives, it’s controversial and I try to avoid those). Buffalo still require huge tracts of land to harvest and graze naturally. So with regular beef you should pay attention to getting grass-fed (their natural state), but with buffalo meat that’s more of the defacto. Either way, always read the label. As for cooking I simply cook in a pan with avocado oil, plain and simple. Put it in a pile of grilled veggies with some garlic, pepper, ginger, and oregano and it’s delicious!
Thanks for sharing and congrats on successfully maintaining the weight loss for so long. Besides finance, health is my other nerdy obsession, so I’m excited to read about both topics in one place today. 🙂
Healthy living is one of my main “whys” for FI. A stressful job, unhealthy lifestyle, and passing the “obese” criteria finally pushed me to semi/early retirement. I tried losing weight for almost 5 years with no luck, until last year when I FINALLY lost 35 Lbs. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the weight loss finally came once I left my job (no more stress eating) and adopted a diet similar to yours. It’s try that you can’t out run a bad diet. I’ve still got further to go, but already feel so much better physically and mentally. Health is wealth, and whole food is medicine.
Wow, 35lbs, HUGE congrats to you!! The phrase “whole food is medicine” should be put on massive billboards on all the highways across America. As I mentioned in the post, I try to eat foods with one ingredient always. In general you can’t go wrong that way unless of course you overeat which is a danger with any food. And it’s no surprise to me that leaving your job was the trigger that took you to the weight loss. The stress of a job, in addition to all the other stresses of life, is immense. Since eating is pleasurable and necessary to stay alive, it’s a natural way to ease the pain. Thanks for the great comment!
I eat primarily vegetarian and sneak in tuna and sushi occasionally to balance out my nutritional needs & satisfy cravings. We don’t drink milk but do enjoy old aged cheddars in moderation as well as eggs. Outside of that I eat loads of greens and have a great garden rocking again. That all being said, I tend to be as active for you for one of the best bonus reasons….I eat everything in sight as I can’t keep up to my calorie burn rate, best part of staying active.
I didn’t get into the total calorie thing because of what you said – I realize that I’m way way more active than most people. I too often have a hard time keeping up with my calorie burn, and I find that one really hard bike ride will keep my metabolism cooking for 2 days. But my metabolism is NOT naturally high – if I stop being active I would likely gain weight fast, even on a meager diet. Thanks for stopping by dude!
Have you ever read a book called How Not To Diet by Michael Greger? It’s very dense and scientifiky (and this is coming from a science major – and yes I made that word up) but he looks at and comments on a whole range of nutrition/diet studies. I think you’d find it very interesting.
I have heard of the book and I heard him on a podcast but can’t remember which one, Impact Theory I think. There’s just soooo many books out there. But thanks for the recco an I’ll put it on my list. I like scientifiky things 🙂
One more for this book.
Thanks for sharing Dave! I was eating nearly identical but my extra pounds were going nowhere! I signed up for the Zoom app a couple of months after much skepticism on my part! But it’s actually taught me a lot about what reasonable portion sizes are. I think even though I was eating really healthy, I was simply eating way WAY too much- like more than double the calories I probably should. It’s been pretty eye-opening. I’m still eating the same foods now but in much more sane quantities and slowing losing my few extra pounds. I grew up with 6 brothers so the mealtime goal was to pile as much food as you possibly could on your plate and then eat it all as fast as you could. That was great as a kid but didn’t translate well to an aging body:)
I didn’t get into calorie counts as mentioned to another commenter because I workout a lot. But I hear you on the “just plow in as much as you can” ethos. My best friend is a former Marine and all through bootcamp etc they were given like 2 minutes to eat before the drill sergeant yanked them out to march. To this day he still plows his food down so fast it’s kind of disgusting. Portion sizes matter for sure. Make sure you drink lots of water while you’re eating, it’ll make you feel full faster. Thanks for the comment and good luck on continuing the weight loss!
Avocado, coconut, or olive oil. I’ll try this one.
My biggest problem is snacking. Now, I try to avoid buying junk food, but it occasionally sneak into my cart.
Mrs. RB40 is also baking a lot less often this year so that helps a lot.
As I get older, I’ll probably have to eat much healthier.
Avocado is the best to cook with because it has a much higher smoke point than olive. And coconut oil has a high saturated fat content so while healthy you have to go easy on it, especially as compared to the others.
I retired last September and getting to a healthy weight was my first priority. I’ve lost about 50 lbs cutting out sugar and processed carbs and using intermittent fasting as well. Feels so great to know I’ve done this for myself and that I will be able to maintain it. Now that I’m so much lighter, I’ve started running again. We really were given bad information for our whole lives regarding what a healthy diet is. The odd cheat meal is always something to look forward to.
Whoah – 50 pounds, amazing! Huge congrats! And you’ll take to running so much easier. The horribly incorrect myth that running is bad for your knees is simply because most Americans are overweight or obese, and yes, running too much in those states is risky for all joints especially knees. But humans were meant to run and we literally survived and evolved by running after game, we just weren’t overweight when we developed those joints. Congrats again and good luck with your running!
Thanks for sharing Dave. It is daunting how the science seems to change constantly around what a healthy diet really is. The only constants I see are that eating less overall and eating more raw foods and less heavily processed or high fat and sugar stuff seems to make one thinner. Maybe it’s not a secret but it is true through the ages. Your tie in to FI is a good one because in the end it all seems to be following simple processes that can be hard to adhere to but you will adapt and you will get the results by staying the course 🙂
“Whole foods, not too much.” And the more you exercise the more you need to replace those calories, but just be careful with that. That simple advice would likely end the obesity epidemic and get most folks back to a normal weight. But our modern toxic food environments and sedentary jobs make it really hard to do, and I have empathy for those in the struggle. I still struggle to stay on the bus too, it’s hard
The more I read about dieting online the more confused I become. And then when I do decide on trying something I try to go hardcore with it and then burn myself out and ultimately end up feeling disappointed that I didn’t stick with it. I have found that controlling when I eat (intermittent fasting) has helped a bit and it’s something that’s doable for me. Although there are times when I stray from it ;-). Now if I could only get myself to the gym more!
I hear ya, but don’t let the disappointment creep in. I know, easy for me to say, I’ve done it too. If you fail move on and try again, the answers are there. I always repeat the mantra “I’m going to keep trying, because my body is worth it”. Good luck dude!
I wanted to lose 10 pounds a couple of months ago and decided to try Nutri System. Well, if you like pasta, this is the place to be. I starved on this diet, not to mention it is pricey (in my opinion.) Their portions are so small and I am a picky eater, so I didn’t hardly like anything they had. I decided, like you, to try a low carb diet. I eat a lot of roast/steaks, no nitrate bacon etc along with some veggies and snack on lots of pistachios, walnuts and almonds. I didn’t lose any weight for 2 months on Nutri System but on my low carb diet I’ve lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks. My cheating is on Raising Cane’s Chicken fingers and soda. I was surprised that the chicken fingers only have 6 carbs with 1gm of fiber…if I could completely leave Pepsi and Coke alone, I would lose more weight. I am trying lemon water and iced tea. Congrats on your healthy endeavor.
Congrats on the weight loss, 10lbs in 5 weeks is awesome! More and more people are finding success on low or lower carb diets. I think that’s because the standard American diet is so darn high in carbs, especially processed and chemically-infused ones. As for sweeteners, if you still haven’t developed a taste for unsweetened tea, try sweetening it with allulose or monk fruit. Both are 100% natural sweeteners and according to most recent studies they’re way healthier than sugar and definitely healthier than the man-made chemical stuff like aspartame etc. Good luck on your journey.
Good article. Diet plays a huge role in mood too. I always find that eating right gives me better energy. My problem is just finding the time to cook up healthy food. Meal prep is super important in my household to kn the healthy course.
Totally, great point Noel. When I’m eating right and getting great sleep life just seems easier and my mood along with it. And meal prep is a great way to eat healthy while condensing the needed time to do it.
There you go inspiring me to reconsider my current eating habits and cut out the garbage can of pop a day and get some whole food snacks instead of saltine crackers and potato chips.
try some raw nuts (no oils added) and a piece of dark chocolate for a snack. To me it’s like a healthy persons Reece’s pieces 🙂
Nice! I’ll admit I was a little curious about your diet after reading bits and pieces over the years with your weight loss and activity levels. Cool to see.
I’m also *boringly* consistent, if with a bit different set of foods. Breakfast is eggs, veg, legumes. Lunch is greek yogurt (plain—Fage) with mixed nuts, fresh berries, and some reasonably healthy simple granola (the significantly seeds kind). Dinner varies but it’s usually more veggies and legumes, plus fish or a meat substitute.
We’ve been pescatarian since late 2019, more or less. I’m less sure about that switch. We didn’t eat much meat before, but I’m not yet convinced tofu, some other soy/pea protein meat, or a wheat gluten based meat substitute (which is rare since Jenni is celiac so I’d have to eat it alone) is healthier than chicken or lean red meat. We’ll see, more experimentation to come and we’ll see how longterm blood tests compare.
So far as “85%-90% dark chocolate”—let me tell you… I consume too much, as a snack, basically every day. And have for probably close to a decade. #1 is easily Endangered Species’ 88%. Delicious. Nutritious. Commonly available.
Also I love how you threw in “I try to do a 16-8 fast every day” as an afterthought. I’d like to hear more about that. Think the fasting itself makes much difference? I try to stick to not eating after maybe 8pm, so it’s probably a 12-12 fast for me 😉
Cheers!
Yes I do think the fasting makes a difference. There’s a growing body of research detailing the benefits of fasting (all types), but since I’m too much of a wuss to do a real 24 hour water fast or longer, the daily intermittent is the most accessible and easiest. I don’t use Bulletproof coffee, but if you google that you’ll see their method which is a black coffee with ghee in it as a holdover. We evolved as humans with routine periods of no food, then sudden bursts of food since there was no Trader Joe’s 20,000 years ago, so it makes sense. The body is meant to have periods of hunger which activates all sorts of beneficial mechanisms, hormones, and processes.
As for those meat substitutes, I avoid them. The jury on soy-base stuff is also still out and it’s one of the more hotly debated and contentious topics in nutrition as you probably know. Many studies show a link between soy consumption and reduced testosterone in men, but that’s a holy war. I figure to be safe I generally stay away from it, but I hope they can figure out the truth. Thanks for the great comment Chris!
Another shout-out for How Not to Die. Unlike nearly all of the other food books I’ve read, Greger’s good about not confusing correlation with causation and explaining the limitations of various studies. Spoiler alert: you’ll just reinforce how you’re already eating. Although the book advocates for eliminating meat and dairy as well, it also tended not to distinguish between the factory-farm produced stuff and the higher-quality stuff, so he didn’t persuade me on that front. Regardless, the one thing that even all the fad diets tend to have in common is eating lots and lots of plants!
And nice job on the weight loss. It’s got to take a lot of discipline to keep at it for so long with progress that feels so slow. But funny, it’s kind of the same feeling with pursuing FI. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Well done.
Oh man you summed it up well and made a comparison in your comment that I really didn’t make in the post. My 10 year journey of weight loss was at least way shorter than my journey to FI. But I made both of them, and the grass is way greener over here 🙂
I agree on the the fact that one must separate the “garbage” meats (factory farm etc) from the natural ones that are raised properly and naturally in regenerative farms. I still eat way more veggies than meats though
Thanks for the great comment and details on the book!
This is a great summary! I work with nutrition regularly in my field, and I find that the more I learn the more I realize how I just need to teach people the heuristics around eating (and give them the freedom/ability to choose the food that makes them feel best). I’ve always loved this quote from Tony Riddle on the vegan/paleo debate:
“If you are eating meat, then don’t eat meat that comes from a domesticated, depressed, antibiotic and pesticide sprayed, inflammatory mono cropped fed animal and if you are not eating meat, then don’t become a domesticated, depressed animal fed on antibiotics and pesticide sprayed inflammatory mono crops.”
Ha, that’s a great quote! The factory farmed meat industry is horrible, it’s criminal what those animals go through. I now go out of my way to buy meat from humanely raised animals.
If I were still going into work I have a colleague who usually gives me a lot of venison that he hunts himself. I know where that meat comes from (a wild animal) and I know he killed it quickly and as humanely as possible because he’s a former Army sniper 🙂 Thanks for the great comment!
I’m the same way. My investing and diet are also boring. I basically live on avocados, almonds and cheese. Get all this stuff from Costco so it’s cheap too! Keep up the good work/1
Nice diet, I love that stuff! Thanks for the kudos!
zero to very little sugar will do a body good. one of my college x country coaches gave us a reading list that included an older book called sugar blues that spelled some of that out.
one of these days i’ll step sway from the vino and get back fit.
Yeah most modern studies are showing sugar to be the boogie man that fat supposedly was. I hope they’re more correct this time
I love dark chocolate but it keeps me awake at night. It’s impossible to eat just one tiny square!
I hear ya, I don’t eat it after noon because of the caffeine. I didn’t mention in the post that I absolutely have no caffeine after 12 noon and I shoot for 11:00 am, it stays in our systems longer than we think and sleep is so vital to health. Good luck!
I like the picture of the Salmon.
I don’t think diet is all that complicated if your goal is to just lose weight. All you need to do is eat less calories than the calories that you burn. No need to exercise if you just want to lose weight. You can just eat less.
Most people will lose weight eating less calories than they burn, but eating trash food and junk calories does horrible things to the body, even if weight loss results. Exercise is a way to accelerate calorie burn and is what we’re meant to do as humans. We evolved moving. And it has so many other benefits including mental health that ignoring it is at great peril, as we see with the obesity pandemic and the state of health in America.
And you don’t need to eat less, if you eat healthy food lyke I do, you will probably feel full after every meal. Really full, and I eat 4/5 meals a day.
Good job on your progress and thanks for sharing. I liked your quote ” a fit and healthy body makes it more likely to have a fit and healthy brain which creates better outcomes for everything in life, including finances. ” When you feel better overall, it seems many other things fall into place much easier in life. I havent got the diet things figured out yet, but I started eating less or “half” of what I might have stuffed myself with before and Im much more conscious of what Im eating. I’ve also cut back on the amount of snacks and sweets Ill eat. Fortunately Im naturally on the thin side over all but want to get myself in better shape and have started doing some small workouts every day and am going to build on that. Just doing some of these small things, I already feel a lot better.
Sounds like you’re making the right moves, it’s hard. But the fact that you already feel the results proves what we all know – it works. Keep at it and good luck on your journey!
Thanks for this post, Dave!
Questions:
(1) How do you get calcium (apart from that small piece of cheese)?
(2) Can you tell us what brand of sausage you buy?
(3) Thoughts on xylitol? (I use a lot of xylitol mints and gums due to saliva gland damage from an autoimmune disease.)
(4) Thoughts on gluten? (Many in the autoimmune community believe gluten is fundamental in triggering autoimmune diseases.)
1 – For calcium I eat LOTS of dark green veggies like spinach, kale, broccoli and they have good amounts. Also chia seeds, sardines, and almonds have calcium. I didn’t mention that I also add dried fruits for dessert such as prunes and figs and they have good amounts too. And when I cheat with pizza of course 🙂
2 – The sausage I’ve been buying lately is the “Never Any” brand from Aldi. It’s chicken sausage with no nitrates, antibiotics, hormones, and the chickens are raised on a vegetarian diet.
3 – I’ve never used xylitol but have heard about it on a few health podcasts, so not much to say except it is natural and like erythritol it seems to be growing in popularity as a natural sweetener.
4 – And gluten… ‘ole controversial gluten. More and more studies seem to be showing that gluten leads to inflammation in most people, to various degrees of course. Celiacs of course can’t tolerate any, but the more and more evidence seems to show that many or most of us “think” we’re fine with it but are actually not operating at 100%. In other words the intolerance grey-scale for gluten could be very large, and some researchers suggest most people are somewhere on it. All I know is that when I went lower carb (thus gluten as well), and higher healthy fats my veins popped more, my muscle definition was better (even though I wasn’t necessarily stronger), and my little joint aches and pains mostly went away. I think I may be ‘slightly’ insensitive to it. But damn I love it..
Wow, lightning-fast response! Thanks, Dave.
(My sister directed me to yr website.)
Thank your sister for me and thanks for reading!