Optimize Your Food: Eat Better on Any Budget | Ft Ashley Negron

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Welcome to the Optimizing Beyond podcast. I'm
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Josh Negron, and this show is all about sharing
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lessons, ideas, and strategies that sharpen your
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thinking, strengthen your habits, and push you
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to grow beyond comfort zones. Let's dive in.
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Welcome back to the show. I've got Ashley, my
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co -host, back, and today we want to talk about
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optimizing your food. Food is such a big part
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of all of our lives. Most of us eat at least
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three times a day, and it's something you can't
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avoid. So how do you do it right? It affects
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all of our wallets, and as we say, daily anything
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changes everything. Food is something that you
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do take on every single day, multiple times a
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day, and so arguably for longevity and its impact
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on your body, there is a huge implication there
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as far as what you can do to optimize your food.
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We are super passionate about that. And in our
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almost 20 years together, we've worked really
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hard and incrementally on this process of optimizing
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our eating. And so we wanted to share some of
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those things with you. And I think the first
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overarching idea across all of these things was
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looking at food in that way, that because we
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take in food every single day, that impact on
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your body compounded over years and decades has
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a huge impact. and how it can affect your health
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long -term. You know, one bad meal is not gonna
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affect you at age 50, but a lot of bad food decisions
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are. So what does that look like before you end
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up having a really hard conversation with your
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doctor at age 40 or 50 maybe? Those are the kind
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of things that we're passionate about. And then
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realizing that food is fuel, and that fuel is
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something that if you take in a higher quality
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fuel, then your body can... be optimized to run
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better. And as always, all the things that we
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always talk about is those changes didn't happen
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overnight. We didn't do those all in one year.
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We spaced those out. We looked at what we could
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do early on and then kept layering those changes
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to where now I feel like we've got a pretty great
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system. So kicking us off, Ashley, when did this
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mindset change for you in looking at food in
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that way? i would say obviously early on in our
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marriage we were young and we didn't have a lot
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of money and so we ate as cheaply as possible
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we ate a lot of processed stuff because obviously
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that was what was affordable for us in a very
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limited budget now What I soon also discovered
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was I was just making easy, basic things, but
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there was a lot that I could actually do with
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the budget that we did have and start to guide
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us more towards being healthier. You know, some
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of that came from me actually gaining quite a
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bit of weight after we got married and then realizing
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like, oh, this has to do with the way that you're
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cooking, what you're cooking, also lack of movement.
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That's a whole different conversation, but you
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can do one without the other, but you can't do
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both. You can't eat bad and you can't not move.
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because the results are going to be compounding.
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Early on having to realize, for me, there was
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this moment of the chiropractor telling me, hey,
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you have to start taking better care of your
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body or you're going to be crippled at 50 if
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you don't figure this out. And that was a very
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big wake up call for me because I was in my early
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20s and was having enough issues that they were
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always already starting to compound because I
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wasn't taking care of myself. I wasn't moving
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and I wasn't eating well. And so that was probably
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the first thing for me that kind of kicked this
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into high gear. Also realizing that around that
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same time that I might have some level of a gluten
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intolerance and the amount of bread, pasta, you
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know, processed things that we were consuming
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and the amount of like, it's not a big deal.
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I haven't had any today. And then realizing like,
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well, but I've eaten it the last three days or,
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oh, I'm going to make this quick compromise and
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never really like fully going. I'm not going
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to eat gluten. And I can tell you, as someone
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who has been gluten -free now for the last 15
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years, there is so much more available than there
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was when I very first started on this journey.
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The bread was awful. The pasta was horrible.
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Everything was gritty and grainy and gross. And
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nobody had figured out what to do, how to make
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it better, how to make it... you know, edible,
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honestly. And so for us, it was like, well, I
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don't need all the processed things. It really
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just came down to like, I'm going to consume
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meat and vegetables and rice. And so that really
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was that start of that shift for us. And then
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I want to say like 10 years ago, you actually
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started tracking your food every single day.
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And that just took us to another deeper level.
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When you're like, hey, I need this meal to be
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a little more balanced. Or hey, I need you to
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not use as much fat. Or whatever the day was
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like, hey, I need you to adjust and make dinner
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maybe a little bit differently. Or, you know,
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hey, I can only consume so much of, you know,
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maybe it's a carb today. And so we needed to
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do something completely different. Right. And
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so we've just taken time over the years to really
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dial those things in. But those are the two things
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that stick out in my mind specifically as kind
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of these turning points when it comes to food
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for us. Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned,
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I mean, you do all the cooking, you do all the
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shopping and all the planning. So that's. That's
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a huge piece there. I know when we were talking
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off camera that one of the biggest changes for
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planning and also budgetary constraints too for
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you was when Walmart and Sam's Club finally transitioned
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to pickup and you were able to leverage not having
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to go into the store now. You save the time there
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too, but then you're also not buying all the
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stuff like that you don't need that wasn't on
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your list because you saw it and it was on an
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end cap and whatever. So walk us through how
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that changed your buying and your planning and
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your budgeting really. Yeah, genuinely for me,
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like Walmart and Sam's pickup and delivery has
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been a huge. TimeSaver, first of all, and then,
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like you said, budgetarily been really, really
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helpful. One of the things that I enjoy about
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both of those apps and those websites is that
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there's a frequently purchased section. So if
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I'm like... Oh my gosh, I know there's something
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in the back of my mind that I'm supposed to be
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adding to my list. I can just look through that
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and go, ooh, that's what it was. Or when I'm
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in the kitchen cooking and I run out of something,
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I immediately can pull up my app. I can go ahead
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and add whatever that item is in there and it's
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already in my cart for the next time. The other
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upside as well is that my total that I'm spending
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on groceries is automatically calculating and
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I can see how much in the cart it is that I'm
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spending. And so I know in our budget, I have
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X, Y, Z amount of money every single. week to
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spend on food, on whatever drinks that it is
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that we want, whatever that that looks like.
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And so I know in my mind, like, okay, here's
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where I'm at budgetary wise. I do work really
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hard to limit the number of orders that I do
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a week in order to not... do the whole little,
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oh, I'm just running in for this thing and then
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whatever. Because in order to do like delivery
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or pickup or whatever, it's $30 to $35 minimum.
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So if I only needed one or two things, then I'm
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not really saving myself any money than if I
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ran into the store. And so that for me has been
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the biggest thing. Also gotten myself to where
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I plan our meals for the whole week. And we do
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pickup or delivery and I try to do it on Sundays
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now where it all comes, either it comes to the
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house or we stop and pick it up on the way. home
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from church and that way I have everything that
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I need for the week I've loaded it I've thought
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about my meals for me I keep a note on my phone
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that's in like a list and I load that on there
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and then I show what I'm gonna make for the week
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and I load those to the top and then that way
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it's a running list that you and I keep so I
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know like oh my gosh this is Josh's favorite
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things that he wants to eat and when I'm like
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I don't know what to make this week I can just
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look through this list of things that are kind
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of staples for us and go oh that sounds good
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or that sounds good or that sounds good and so
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that That's kind of been my hack personally for
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those two things. So for those that don't know,
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and I've never used it before, it sounds like
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you can keep the cart going and it doesn't ever
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reset, right? So if you're putting stuff in your
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cart Monday, Tuesday, it keeps carrying over.
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Is that what you're saying? Yeah, it will. So
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it'll just hold those items in your cart until
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you're ready to check out until you're ready
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for your, whatever your big order is, or until
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you hit, you know, if you're like, I'm not going
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to hit the minimum, but I'm like, I know I need
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this. I don't remember what it was last week.
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I needed something and I was not anywhere close
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to the minimum, but I'm like, I'm putting this
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here. I'm holding it that way when it's ready.
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I know that I can go ahead and get that order
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going. And for us, like it's been a huge, I mean,
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genuine, huge budgetary saver. And specifically
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for me, like it's kept me. from those impulse
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buys, which typically are the less healthier
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things, right? Like I have to actually go search
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for and find and pick the less healthy option,
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which is a little bit harder to do. Like I have
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to actually like search for that rather than
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just walking past and going, ooh, that looks
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good. Let me put that in my cart, right? And
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so, you know, even if I do delivery and I'm paying
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the tip for the driver, it's still less than
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what I would spend if I went into the store and
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had to do it myself. So it's just been, and time
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for me, I don't, I don't like to do it. I don't,
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I don't want to go into those, to those stores.
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I want, let somebody else, I'll pay you. I don't
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mind to do that at all. And so for me, that's
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optimizing. Yeah. And not everybody has to do
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pickup. So you can get the same benefit from
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pickup. If you're like, I don't want to, I don't
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want to pay somebody to deliver my, that's fine.
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Just do pickup and it's the same difference.
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You just don't go in. You're buying just the
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stuff on your list. It's huge. OK, big objection,
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though, and I've heard this over and over and
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you were in this boat until you figured it out.
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Ashley, I don't want somebody else picking my
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produce because they're going to make Walmart
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decisions. They're going to pick the oldest bananas,
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blah, blah, blah. So. How do you handle that,
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Ashley? You know, maybe I'm just a lucky human.
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I don't think that I probably am, but I genuinely
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have not had, very rarely do I have something
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that is not up to a quality. Now, also being
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honest, I buy most of our produce like that from
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Sam's. So it comes in, you know, a larger quantity
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and it comes bagged and it seems to be fresher
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than a lot of the other because they only carry
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a certain amount of vegetables. It seems to be
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fresher and they move at a different pace than
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what maybe like Walmart does. You know, I haven't
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super experimented with Instacart and with Aldi
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or using Uber One for Aldi or those kinds of
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things. I know there's lots of other options
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available. Just for me, Walmart and Sam's has
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been fine. You know, and every once in a while,
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there's something that's really genuinely not.
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great. And I'll go into the app and I will request
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a refund or I will get on and chat with someone
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and say, Hey, like I was supposed to get this
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and I didn't, or I got this and it's gross, whatever.
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Um, and you know, most of the time, like it's
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returned, they're able to return it for me and
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I can throw it away and move on. And honestly,
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the last two summers, there was a couple of times
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that I went and I was like, you know what? A
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watermelon is pretty specific. I don't want somebody
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else picking my watermelon. Like I grew up as
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a garden girl. Like I can pick my watermelon
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better. Yeah. It turns out I can't. The last
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two years, every watermelon that I've gotten
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from Walmart delivery has been better than any
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Walmart or any watermelon that I went in and
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picked on my own. So I don't know. I have had
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really, really, really good luck with it. And
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I don't mind the things that they've picked out
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for me. Yeah. Yeah. And so the next, one of the
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other things that we've done is kind of like
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an ingredient. change and ingredient audit where
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I'll pick certain things that like, hey, can
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we transition away from these and to these? And
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so you already mentioned gluten, it was something
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you were kind of half in half out, and then realize
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you didn't like the way it made you feel. So
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you went gluten free 100%. And that was a good,
00:11:59.690 --> 00:12:02.769
good change for you. I found out through a genetic
00:12:02.769 --> 00:12:05.669
test that I have a mutation where I don't handle
00:12:05.669 --> 00:12:08.970
enriched things well, like enriched flour. And
00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:12.750
so for us, that was an easy change, too, to get
00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:14.970
things that aren't enriched. Sourdough is really
00:12:14.970 --> 00:12:16.970
good for that, too. And that helps with the gluten
00:12:16.970 --> 00:12:20.230
free situation for you. And then, you know, some
00:12:20.230 --> 00:12:22.669
things are kind of like potentially bro science,
00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:25.029
right? So like there is a bunch of people who
00:12:25.029 --> 00:12:27.169
say seed oils are bad for you. And then there's
00:12:27.169 --> 00:12:29.590
other people who are like, that's stupid. There's
00:12:29.590 --> 00:12:32.149
no research to suggest that. And so for me, it's
00:12:32.149 --> 00:12:35.570
like if there's any doubt. Why do I want to mess
00:12:35.570 --> 00:12:38.370
with it? And so we just made the decision, you
00:12:38.370 --> 00:12:41.669
know, olive, avocado, Wagyu, butter, that's what
00:12:41.669 --> 00:12:44.929
we use. And so I just don't see any other point
00:12:44.929 --> 00:12:46.889
in messing around with anything else. And then
00:12:46.889 --> 00:12:49.029
I'm pretty critical of reading labels and saying,
00:12:49.129 --> 00:12:51.690
hey, let's let's get rid of this. I don't I don't
00:12:51.690 --> 00:12:54.269
like the kind of oil they use in here. And so
00:12:54.269 --> 00:12:58.120
again. It could just be bro science and it won't
00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.740
make any change. However, if there is any possibility,
00:13:01.059 --> 00:13:04.120
then again, daily anything. So it's just how
00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.259
we do things. And then artificial sweeteners
00:13:06.259 --> 00:13:09.000
too. We've recently cut those out. That's in
00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.460
so many energy drinks and all sorts of sugar
00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:14.259
-free products. You have to be really, really
00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:17.480
specific. I'm okay with stevia and monk fruit
00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:21.899
and erythritol, but all the other ones. I just
00:13:21.899 --> 00:13:23.700
don't see a point because if they're like, well,
00:13:23.799 --> 00:13:26.320
they're mostly safe. It's like, well, again,
00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.240
daily, anything. We used to have Elanis every
00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.240
day. Now we make our own coffee, right? So it's
00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.500
these things where it's like constantly making
00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:36.720
those changes. And the artificial sweeteners,
00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:39.240
honestly, was one of the most recent and the
00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.620
most difficult to fully, fully cut out. And so
00:13:43.620 --> 00:13:47.460
always reiterating. And so we used to be sugar
00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:51.240
-free on everything. and using those that I mentioned
00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.740
earlier, but in reintroducing maple syrup and
00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:58.700
honey back into our diets because those simple
00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:01.399
carbs do have their place. And then, you know,
00:14:01.399 --> 00:14:04.220
just making those shifts over time throughout
00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:06.460
the last 10 years have been really, really huge.
00:14:07.230 --> 00:14:09.950
So, Ashley, we talked a little bit budget and
00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:12.929
how pickup and delivery helped with that. Now,
00:14:12.929 --> 00:14:14.769
I want to ask a little bit more specifically
00:14:14.769 --> 00:14:17.330
with these minor shifts that we've done over
00:14:17.330 --> 00:14:20.690
the years, how do you manage those budgetarily?
00:14:20.850 --> 00:14:23.389
Because setting the stage here, I remember the
00:14:23.389 --> 00:14:26.529
decision specifically to switch to organic chicken
00:14:26.529 --> 00:14:29.750
was eye watering from a pricing perspective.
00:14:29.909 --> 00:14:31.730
Like it was like you can get this much pound
00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:34.830
of chicken, you know, and it's endless. You know,
00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:37.440
you got the flat that's like. size of a tennis
00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.639
racket. But then if you decide you want to do
00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:42.659
organic chicken, it's this tiny little, it's
00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:47.539
a black bag and it costs $400. So walk us through
00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.320
like how you made, and it's a good thing you
00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:53.879
make these individually over time because you
00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:57.059
can't switch. from non -organic to organic in
00:14:57.059 --> 00:14:58.759
one month, that would be crazy. Like you just
00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:01.519
double your budget. So how did you make those,
00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.860
those changes over time and how did that work?
00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:06.340
Yeah. I, you know, I think it's just that you
00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:07.960
have to, you have to pick the thing that's most
00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:10.679
important to you. Is it going to be that I'm
00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:12.940
going to try to focus on meat and maybe it's
00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:15.259
that I find a local butcher shop or I find a
00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:17.639
local farmer or somebody at the farmer's market
00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:19.919
that I can, that I can buy it from. That's right.
00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.480
Cause we got a half a cow from a local, local
00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:25.259
butcher. Yeah. Yeah, that's the first one. Also,
00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:30.240
Aldi has great prices on organic meats, on chicken,
00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:32.139
on beef, on those kinds of things, especially
00:15:32.139 --> 00:15:34.419
if you can get it on sale and then cap out the
00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:36.419
max amount per customer and kind of buy ahead
00:15:36.419 --> 00:15:39.059
and stick it in the freezer, you know. And Sam's
00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:41.200
and Walmart offer their own version as well.
00:15:41.299 --> 00:15:44.059
And so you just have to kind of figure out what
00:15:44.059 --> 00:15:46.940
it is that you're, you know, what is the biggest
00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.840
priority for you? Is it meat? Is it dairy? Is
00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:51.980
it eggs? What is it? And what do you consume
00:15:51.980 --> 00:15:55.129
the most of, right? And then figuring out and
00:15:55.129 --> 00:15:59.789
going, okay, so I'm going to transition to, you
00:15:59.789 --> 00:16:02.649
know, what's a meal that we eat a lot of chicken
00:16:02.649 --> 00:16:06.830
in? And I'm going to do that one, maybe organic.
00:16:06.950 --> 00:16:09.330
And then the next one that doesn't do as much.
00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:12.279
Or, well, maybe go farther. I'm going to not
00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:14.919
do that one organic. And I'm going to just slowly
00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:18.980
transition myself to the healthier option. Yeah,
00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:20.980
like you said, you can't just dive in the deep
00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:23.299
end budgetarily and all of a sudden go to this.
00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:26.600
You'll find yourself, you know, food broke. And
00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:29.500
that's not a good plan. So it just has to be
00:16:29.500 --> 00:16:32.320
this constant little bitty tweaks and little
00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:35.830
things, right? It's like... can I get this vegetable
00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:40.070
in organic versus not? Can I get... And determining,
00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:43.190
is that important to you? Because for some people,
00:16:43.289 --> 00:16:46.570
genuinely don't care. You have to decide if that's
00:16:46.570 --> 00:16:48.330
something that you think is a risk to your health
00:16:48.330 --> 00:16:50.850
and something that you think is worth the extra
00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:53.090
money and the extra difference, right? You know,
00:16:53.129 --> 00:16:56.389
obviously, if I have an option and the price
00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.690
difference is minuscule, especially in like fruits
00:16:58.690 --> 00:17:01.350
and vegetables, specifically fruit. Fruit is
00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:03.830
probably the one place that I don't compromise
00:17:03.830 --> 00:17:09.079
on organic, especially berries and... Yeah. Those
00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:12.839
porous things, the porous things also like rinsing
00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.819
your vegetables and your fruit is a huge deal.
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.119
And trying to get a lot of those, you know, if
00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:19.960
you don't do that, like the pesticides and things
00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:22.259
like that off of those before you consume them.
00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:24.500
And so there's ways in which that you can, you
00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.680
can do that. And then it's, yeah, it's just a
00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:29.960
little incremental tweak. And then you, the next
00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:31.519
time you're like, okay, well now I'm used to
00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.140
this part of the budget. I'm going to look for
00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:34.980
the next little thing that I can do. And the
00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:36.660
next little thing that I can switch and what
00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.759
healthier swap can I make? you know, this time
00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.180
around. And you just have to look for those little
00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:44.220
tweaks that work for you and for your family
00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:46.589
and for your own specific situation. Yeah, because
00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:48.690
it depends on what you what you guys like to
00:17:48.690 --> 00:17:51.309
eat. And it also depends on, you know, are you
00:17:51.309 --> 00:17:54.309
in a food desert or are you in an area that like,
00:17:54.369 --> 00:17:57.069
I mean, there are like I remember going to a
00:17:57.069 --> 00:17:59.529
farmer's market in Dallas. This thing was like
00:17:59.529 --> 00:18:03.390
miles long and you could get anything you wanted.
00:18:03.470 --> 00:18:06.410
And it was amazing. And so you just kind of have
00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:08.109
to determine what are what are those choices?
00:18:08.150 --> 00:18:10.069
Like I said earlier, getting that half a cow
00:18:10.069 --> 00:18:13.170
from a butcher early on when we were going organic,
00:18:13.289 --> 00:18:15.769
that was like really cost effective. and really
00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:17.890
helped us do that because non -organic meats
00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:20.430
have like all these things that could be in there,
00:18:20.529 --> 00:18:23.390
all these extra things and that you don't want,
00:18:23.450 --> 00:18:25.789
that you don't need. And so again, it depends
00:18:25.789 --> 00:18:27.869
on what you're eating, what your diet consists
00:18:27.869 --> 00:18:30.700
of and where you live really. Absolutely. And
00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:32.380
the other thing I think that is important to
00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:34.680
do also is depending on, you know, who you are,
00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:36.400
what kind of time that you have, what your life
00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.279
situation is like, but maybe it's waiting for
00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:40.619
it to go on sale. You know, I get the Aldi ad
00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:42.579
emailed to me every single week and I take a
00:18:42.579 --> 00:18:44.220
look at it and go, Oh, is that anything I can
00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:46.259
use this week? Maybe I need to go run in and
00:18:46.259 --> 00:18:48.680
grab some things from the store or waiting for,
00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:51.460
you know, if we, we have a whole foods about
00:18:51.460 --> 00:18:53.440
an hour away. And so now it's like, I'm going
00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.220
to watch to see what's on sale today. Is there
00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:57.200
something that I can go ahead and buy this in
00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:00.230
bulk this time? And then I, set on, you know,
00:19:00.230 --> 00:19:03.289
whatever for the next. a month until I can go
00:19:03.289 --> 00:19:04.829
again or whatever that that might look like.
00:19:04.930 --> 00:19:07.069
So there's hacks. There's ways that you can do
00:19:07.069 --> 00:19:08.950
those kinds of things. There's coupons that you
00:19:08.950 --> 00:19:11.349
can do. There's all kinds of stuff that is available.
00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:14.509
You just have to watch. Watch that. I also know
00:19:14.509 --> 00:19:17.190
I have heard people say that really quick back
00:19:17.190 --> 00:19:19.450
to the Walmart and Zames thing that it does cost
00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:22.170
more potentially in the app if you're doing the
00:19:22.170 --> 00:19:24.769
pickup and delivery. I don't know that for certain
00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:26.910
because I haven't been in the store in a long
00:19:26.910 --> 00:19:29.450
time. So that is something to keep in mind that
00:19:29.450 --> 00:19:31.410
that is something that is potential that there
00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:33.019
maybe it's a little bit of a cost difference.
00:19:33.059 --> 00:19:36.960
So you're paying for that person's time. for
00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.220
Walmart to pay them to go pick out your groceries.
00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:41.500
So just things to keep in mind when you're trying
00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:44.539
to do budgetary hacks. Yeah. And on that note,
00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:47.339
I think that's probably why the produce selection
00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:50.299
is typically okay. Because I've sometimes watched
00:19:50.299 --> 00:19:52.299
those people as they're doing it. And I think,
00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:54.339
I don't know if they pick people that are really
00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:56.799
intentional, but I see them pick something up
00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.759
and then put it back and pick something else
00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:01.619
up. So I feel like a good number of them are
00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:04.440
choosing produce that they would want to eat.
00:20:04.500 --> 00:20:05.619
And they're like, well, I'm not going to pick
00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:07.460
that one. and that one's nasty. So I do really
00:20:07.460 --> 00:20:09.539
appreciate that just as an aside, watching them
00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:12.640
do that. And so obviously, I wanted to speak
00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:15.799
a little bit into my role in this, because obviously,
00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.339
you're the one that plans, buys, then cooks.
00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:21.539
I mean, I just eat, you know, that's all I do.
00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:24.859
But my responsibility is looking for those diet
00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:27.500
optimizations, right? If there's something that
00:20:27.500 --> 00:20:29.980
we're wanting, like maybe a different way of
00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:32.809
eating that we're wanting to try. I'm always
00:20:32.809 --> 00:20:36.509
researching and looking to learn what is an optimization
00:20:36.509 --> 00:20:40.210
opportunity in our food, because I do think diet
00:20:40.210 --> 00:20:42.630
and nutrition are so important. We are athletes,
00:20:42.789 --> 00:20:45.490
we work out very hard, and so refueling our bodies
00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:47.690
so we prevent injury is really important. What
00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:50.269
does that look like? And that has led to a lot
00:20:50.269 --> 00:20:51.990
of the changes that we've made over the years.
00:20:52.130 --> 00:20:55.430
And then the fact that I track my food and have
00:20:55.430 --> 00:20:57.809
for eight to 10 years, somewhere around there,
00:20:57.910 --> 00:21:00.670
really helps me be in tune with what we're eating,
00:21:00.769 --> 00:21:03.210
what we're doing. We've tried like, not keto,
00:21:03.309 --> 00:21:05.849
but a lower carb diet, you know, that's heavy
00:21:05.849 --> 00:21:09.750
in some fats and meats. And we've tried a lot
00:21:09.750 --> 00:21:12.690
of different arrangements of diets. So just to
00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:16.650
see how we feel, how it works, and even in our
00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:20.089
supplementation too. So like, for example, you
00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:24.049
and I used to take about two protein supplements
00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:28.130
a day in powder form or a drink form. And now
00:21:28.130 --> 00:21:32.630
you do one a day max. And then I typically don't
00:21:32.630 --> 00:21:35.910
have one at all because my diet now, I get enough
00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:39.869
protein from the diet itself. Why supplement?
00:21:40.009 --> 00:21:41.890
That's the whole point of supplements. Like if
00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:43.390
you can get it from your diet, that's actually
00:21:43.390 --> 00:21:45.609
better. And so just optimizing those things.
00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.480
It definitely looks different for different people,
00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:51.559
obviously. And so I think what I want people
00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:54.089
to think about is... You can have your different
00:21:54.089 --> 00:21:57.049
roles and figure out how to maximize those together.
00:21:57.150 --> 00:22:00.230
But our goal is aligned together, even though
00:22:00.230 --> 00:22:02.329
our responsibilities are different. And so what
00:22:02.329 --> 00:22:04.750
does that look like for you? The listener who's
00:22:04.750 --> 00:22:06.970
thinking about, well, how do I do this? And I
00:22:06.970 --> 00:22:09.970
don't want to be a one man show. You know, and
00:22:09.970 --> 00:22:12.170
if you and your partner, how are you on the same
00:22:12.170 --> 00:22:14.150
page, even if your responsibilities and your
00:22:14.150 --> 00:22:16.269
roles are different? I think that's getting aligned
00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:18.509
in that way. Like, hey, we want to eat better.
00:22:18.630 --> 00:22:20.470
What are some ways that we can do that? Finding
00:22:20.470 --> 00:22:23.109
those low hanging fruit, the fruit. first one
00:22:23.109 --> 00:22:25.230
or two things that you can do and then get those
00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:27.490
nailed in before you try anything else. And then
00:22:27.490 --> 00:22:29.230
sometimes we've tried something and we're like,
00:22:29.369 --> 00:22:33.730
yeah, no. But we went plant -based for 12 -ish
00:22:33.730 --> 00:22:35.930
months. It was when that documentary came out
00:22:35.930 --> 00:22:37.630
and everyone was like, hey, if you go plant -based,
00:22:37.650 --> 00:22:39.170
you'll feel like a million dollars and be able
00:22:39.170 --> 00:22:41.210
to run seven marathons and like, it'll be amazing.
00:22:41.750 --> 00:22:46.210
And I stuck to it religiously and didn't break
00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:49.200
it. And we had a lot of tofu. And what was that
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.359
other one? Tempeh? Yes. To try to get enough
00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:55.380
protein. Man, that was intense. And I did not
00:22:55.380 --> 00:22:58.700
feel like a million dollars. And so good on Lewis
00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:01.240
Hamilton and all those dudes who are athletes
00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:04.460
and are plant -based. Awesome. I did not feel
00:23:04.460 --> 00:23:07.420
that way. So I went back to the meats and I also
00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:09.940
didn't feel like smashing buttercups. So, you
00:23:09.940 --> 00:23:11.799
know, whatever. And we've tried other things,
00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:15.440
different like high fat diets. And again, didn't,
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:18.640
didn't. Didn't really feel amazing in that regard
00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:20.619
either. So I'm like, you know, a well -balanced
00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:23.319
diet with a good amount of carbs for me is a
00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:25.519
good mix right now. Because they'll say like,
00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.880
there's no essential carbohydrate, but there
00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:31.019
is essential protein and fats. Perfect. Yes.
00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:33.839
However, it doesn't change that. I don't feel
00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:36.740
great going in that way. So, you know, maybe
00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:39.960
later. And one thing I would add to like, to
00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:43.339
my role, I don't do all the cooking and the shopping
00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:46.029
and the meal planning. Because I'm the wife.
00:23:46.190 --> 00:23:49.269
I do it because I enjoy it. And it's a love language
00:23:49.269 --> 00:23:51.750
for me. So whatever that that looks like, you
00:23:51.750 --> 00:23:54.789
know, we have lots and lots of friends that it
00:23:54.789 --> 00:23:57.369
is, you know, it's the man that does the cooking
00:23:57.369 --> 00:23:59.250
and the planning and the prepping because that's
00:23:59.250 --> 00:24:00.710
something that he enjoys doing and that he's
00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:03.430
good at it. So it's more about the fact of who
00:24:03.430 --> 00:24:05.970
enjoys it and who's willing to take on that part
00:24:05.970 --> 00:24:08.250
of that role or how do you even split that? Because
00:24:08.250 --> 00:24:10.210
one of you doesn't have to do everything, right?
00:24:10.309 --> 00:24:12.990
Nor should you. And so it just, you want to be
00:24:12.990 --> 00:24:15.740
cautious in that. don't put something on the
00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:17.859
other person that could cause some potential
00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:20.380
resentment or, you know, you need to be communicating
00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:23.599
about what it is and how to work together to
00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.440
accomplish this goal together. Because the reality
00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:28.420
is, is like your spouse could be the person who
00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:30.660
helps you succeed when it comes to food, or they
00:24:30.660 --> 00:24:33.279
can be the one to get you off the rails the fastest
00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.559
of anyone. And so just, just a thought to be,
00:24:36.579 --> 00:24:39.299
to be careful of. So that brings a, that brings
00:24:39.299 --> 00:24:41.759
up a good point, Ashley. What do you say to a
00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:45.519
couple who's like, We both hate cooking. And
00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:48.339
if that's the case, then the propensity to eat
00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:51.339
out is higher, which typically has more salts,
00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:54.299
more fats, and typically makes it more difficult
00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:57.079
to stay fit. And it hits the wallet harder. So,
00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:59.259
I mean, we're just hitting on a lot of things
00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:01.880
here. What do you suggest to a couple that...
00:25:02.300 --> 00:25:04.940
Neither of them wants to cook. Honestly, there's
00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:07.480
so many companies available that will drop ship
00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:10.279
already made meals to your house that are healthy,
00:25:10.420 --> 00:25:12.599
that are that are going to be a balanced meal
00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:15.519
that are created by a chef. So they've got good
00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:17.660
flavor to them. We have a friend at work that
00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:19.819
uses one of those companies and it has like a
00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:22.319
certain like an oven that sits on their countertop
00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:24.160
and they throw their meals in there and then
00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.740
that's what they get. And they get to pick those
00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:28.000
every single week. I could not tell you the name
00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:30.259
of that company for the life of me. But there's
00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:32.519
a million available. We've tried several different
00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:35.720
ones of them. You know, and maybe you live in
00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:38.299
a town that even has like a meal prep company
00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:41.940
or maybe your gym has a meal prep option. We
00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:44.500
had one here in town for a while and it was amazing.
00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:50.579
It was so great. And it just, yeah, it just depends
00:25:50.579 --> 00:25:52.900
on your life situation. But look for options
00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:56.579
that are available to you other than that quick
00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:59.319
fast food kind of thing or that heavy eating
00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:01.660
out all the time. You know, for us, it became
00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:07.119
like we now eat out maybe once a week. Once a
00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:10.119
week, typically, maybe twice a week. There's
00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:11.859
one other night, you know, we eat out after church
00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:14.380
on Sundays and then maybe one other time. Maybe,
00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:18.750
not always. And for us, it became because we
00:26:18.750 --> 00:26:21.819
were switching away from seed oils. Honestly,
00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:24.000
that became one of the biggest things for us
00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:26.059
was just the way that eating out could potentially
00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:28.799
make us feel and the results that might happen
00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:31.059
in the gym after that. And so not to say that
00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:33.000
we don't. Now listen, when we go on vacation,
00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:35.619
all bets are off. When we are on vacation, we
00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:38.640
are foodies. I love to find good food. Food is
00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:40.839
a love language for me. I love to cook it. I
00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:42.500
love to feed other people and I love to enjoy
00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:45.279
really good food. But those are the moments that
00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:48.380
food is not about fuel. It is more about the
00:26:48.380 --> 00:26:51.339
experience around the food and the way in which
00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:54.180
it's meant to be enjoyed and trying new experiences,
00:26:54.339 --> 00:26:56.619
meeting new people, going to new restaurants,
00:26:56.819 --> 00:26:59.019
all of the things that come with that when you
00:26:59.019 --> 00:27:01.279
travel. And so there has to just be a bounce.
00:27:01.319 --> 00:27:03.759
We don't deny ourselves completely, but we also
00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:06.039
don't go so far the other way to which that all
00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:08.799
of our food that we're consuming is fast or from
00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:11.380
a restaurant. Absolutely. And I have a dear friend
00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:14.579
who kind of tried a different strategy that was
00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:17.339
really awesome. He enjoyed it. he was like i
00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:20.140
wanted to learn how to cook he didn't hate doing
00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:23.289
it He, but he didn't know how. So it's this little
00:27:23.289 --> 00:27:25.869
difference here. So if you're like, well, I wouldn't
00:27:25.869 --> 00:27:28.190
mind it, but I legit don't know what I'm doing
00:27:28.190 --> 00:27:30.009
and how would I learn? Like you learned with
00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:33.250
4 -H, that was super helpful. And so you went
00:27:33.250 --> 00:27:34.869
into 4 -H because you were interested in it.
00:27:34.890 --> 00:27:37.210
But as an adult, how does somebody do that? And
00:27:37.210 --> 00:27:39.910
so he's like, well, I will subscribe to like
00:27:39.910 --> 00:27:42.750
a service like HelloFresh. And he was like, and
00:27:42.750 --> 00:27:45.329
because they send me, I still have to be the
00:27:45.329 --> 00:27:48.410
one to cook it. He's like, that taught me. like
00:27:48.410 --> 00:27:51.069
flavor profiles and what to add together and
00:27:51.069 --> 00:27:52.910
what things compliment each other. And he's like,
00:27:52.930 --> 00:27:55.750
so every single time I got a different meal that
00:27:55.750 --> 00:27:58.569
I cooked, I learned something new. And he's like,
00:27:58.589 --> 00:28:01.009
and then I started like weaning myself off. And
00:28:01.009 --> 00:28:02.910
he's like, and instead of making five meals that
00:28:02.910 --> 00:28:05.210
week, hello, fresh meals, he's like, I would
00:28:05.210 --> 00:28:07.730
only make two because I would know how to do
00:28:07.730 --> 00:28:10.000
the other ones from scratch. And so. And now
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.440
he doesn't do it at all. And I think that's really
00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:13.960
cool because for him, it wasn't like, oh, I'm
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:15.859
doing this for convenience because I don't want
00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:18.559
to have to buy everything myself. No, for him,
00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:20.740
it was like, this is actually going to teach
00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:23.900
me how to cook. And it was awesome. So that's
00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:26.059
a suggestion, too, if you're like, hey, I'm actually
00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:28.799
open to it. But I legit, besides cooking oatmeal
00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:31.099
and eggs, I don't know what else to do. Right.
00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:34.279
And so that's a super, super good way. Yeah.
00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:37.079
I will also say the other thing that I have done
00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:42.130
is I. I watch a lot of cooking shows and I watch
00:28:42.130 --> 00:28:44.970
a lot of cooking reels or I'll watch YouTube
00:28:44.970 --> 00:28:46.950
videos or I'll just have them on in the background
00:28:46.950 --> 00:28:49.049
and I'm listening to things, but I'm gleaning
00:28:49.049 --> 00:28:51.589
like, oh, I can put these flavor profiles together
00:28:51.589 --> 00:28:55.869
and oh, I can do this, right? I, we laugh and
00:28:55.869 --> 00:28:57.970
have this joke in our house that I rarely follow
00:28:57.970 --> 00:28:59.930
a recipe, right? Like I'm the human that goes,
00:29:00.029 --> 00:29:02.769
I'm going to combine these four different recipes
00:29:02.769 --> 00:29:04.829
because I know that this one on its own isn't
00:29:04.829 --> 00:29:06.349
going to work because of this and then this one's
00:29:06.349 --> 00:29:08.069
this way and this one's this way. What did you
00:29:08.069 --> 00:29:10.359
actually put in it? That's a really great question.
00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:13.339
Can I replicate that? Not on your life because
00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:15.519
I mixed a whole bunch of things. So it's this
00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.059
running joke in our house, which makes your food
00:29:18.059 --> 00:29:21.779
tracking super great and fun. And there's a reason
00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:26.039
that he has a couple hundred recipes in his food
00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:28.400
app is because I am continually tweaking and
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:30.700
changing and adding and doing because it's an
00:29:30.700 --> 00:29:34.680
adventure for me. And food is this learning.
00:29:35.420 --> 00:29:37.339
Cooking food is my happy place. And so that's
00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:39.160
one of those things that like, I just keep curating
00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:41.640
and tweaking and it only comes with time. Like
00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:45.099
the cook that I am now at 17 years of marriage
00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:48.539
is so different than the cook that I was, you
00:29:48.539 --> 00:29:50.519
know, in my early twenties. And so, and that
00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.859
just came from time and repetition. And like
00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:55.339
we talk about with anything else, daily, anything
00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:57.940
changes everything. Like the fact that I had
00:29:57.940 --> 00:29:59.960
to cook, that you cook, you have to cook. That's
00:29:59.960 --> 00:30:02.539
part of just being an adult, right? But I get
00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:04.980
to cook every single day. It means I'm constantly
00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:06.859
tweaking and looking for all of these little
00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:09.599
ways that I can optimize my cooking. You also
00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:12.039
started, you know, there was a season of time
00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:15.319
after I dislocated my elbow that you had to actually
00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:17.279
do the cooking and I had to teach, like walk
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.059
you through step -by -step how I did that. And
00:30:19.059 --> 00:30:21.539
then it became that we prepped together in the
00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:23.259
kitchen in the evening and we would either like
00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:25.579
watch a show or we would chat or we would listen
00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:28.500
to a book or it was this time together in the
00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:30.400
kitchen and learning to see that as that sweet
00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:33.500
season that it was. And so just look for... ways
00:30:33.500 --> 00:30:36.539
to optimize that for us. I don't take my Sunday
00:30:36.539 --> 00:30:39.279
afternoon and meal prep for the whole week. I've
00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:43.779
done that a few times and it's actually more
00:30:43.779 --> 00:30:45.299
exhausting than it is time -saving, I think,
00:30:45.319 --> 00:30:48.740
really. And it robs your enjoyment of cooking
00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:52.319
that you enjoy. Correct. So for us, it works
00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:55.099
well to like, I'm going to double a recipe or
00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:57.180
I'm going to triple a recipe. And then whatever
00:30:57.180 --> 00:30:59.160
we had for dinner, that's what leftovers are
00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.599
for lunch the next day, right? And so I'm always
00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:04.339
a little bit ahead. Or is there something that
00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:07.059
I can go ahead and while this is cooking for
00:31:07.059 --> 00:31:09.299
tonight, what can I prep for tomorrow night?
00:31:09.359 --> 00:31:12.019
What can I go ahead and pre -chop? What can I
00:31:12.019 --> 00:31:13.940
get ready to go ahead of time while that's being
00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:16.680
done, right? There's little tweaks that you can
00:31:16.680 --> 00:31:18.099
make and little things that you can do to help
00:31:18.099 --> 00:31:21.299
set yourself up so that food prepping is not
00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:23.440
so overwhelming. You know, the other thing is
00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:25.460
it depends on if you're the kind of person that
00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:27.460
can eat the same thing every single day because
00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:31.559
food is fuel. You. Or if you're me and you get
00:31:31.559 --> 00:31:34.859
bored and it has to be what is what is craving,
00:31:35.079 --> 00:31:37.460
what sounds good, what am I going to engage in,
00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:40.240
what time of the year is. We have this debate
00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:42.859
in our house about soups and stews and what time
00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:45.680
of year you can eat them. Anyway, so that might
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.259
be a fun. Year round. It might be a fun poll
00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:51.700
in the comments. Are you? Can you have chili
00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:57.150
when it's hot? Yes. No. The answer is no. Anyway,
00:31:57.250 --> 00:31:59.410
all of those kinds of things. So just look for
00:31:59.410 --> 00:32:02.289
little ways to optimize. Maybe it's that you
00:32:02.289 --> 00:32:04.470
make an extra batch of something one night and
00:32:04.470 --> 00:32:06.529
you put it in the freezer. And then if you know
00:32:06.529 --> 00:32:08.650
it's going to be a crazy week, you can just pull
00:32:08.650 --> 00:32:10.289
that out and let it defrost and you're ready
00:32:10.289 --> 00:32:12.049
to go, right? You don't have to think. You don't
00:32:12.049 --> 00:32:14.529
have to do. Also, an Instant Pot is an incredible
00:32:14.529 --> 00:32:17.490
way to help with meal prepping. Making a big
00:32:17.490 --> 00:32:19.509
batch of chicken and then, like, I'm going to
00:32:19.509 --> 00:32:20.990
throw that in the Instant Pot. It doesn't take
00:32:20.990 --> 00:32:22.890
any effort on my part. And then I have chicken
00:32:22.890 --> 00:32:24.950
for the whole week or whatever that that looks
00:32:24.950 --> 00:32:28.640
like, right? gonna fry up a bunch of ground beef
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:30.539
and then I have it and all I have to do is flavor
00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:32.519
it and we're ready to rock and roll, right? What
00:32:32.519 --> 00:32:33.900
are the little things that are gonna work for
00:32:33.900 --> 00:32:36.359
you and your life to optimize it and what little
00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:39.519
things can you change to just make these few
00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:42.079
little healthier choices? Also, I would highly
00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:45.559
recommend starting to track the amount of fat
00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:48.380
that you use when you cook. When I started to
00:32:48.380 --> 00:32:50.380
realize how many calories were in a tablespoon
00:32:50.380 --> 00:32:53.400
of oil or a tablespoon of butter or a tablespoon
00:32:53.400 --> 00:32:56.740
of tallow, I went, I can't just dump and go.
00:32:57.019 --> 00:32:59.779
So that is probably where a large chunk of our
00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:02.970
fat and calories come from. don't even know it.
00:33:03.049 --> 00:33:05.230
And so that's one of my biggest hacks is to go
00:33:05.230 --> 00:33:07.509
ahead and measure the amount of fat that you're
00:33:07.509 --> 00:33:10.710
using in a recipe. And you'll kind of be surprised
00:33:10.710 --> 00:33:13.049
and realize you don't actually need as much as
00:33:13.049 --> 00:33:14.829
you think that you do. And that's the thing.
00:33:14.890 --> 00:33:18.009
That's the bottom line here that even us, we're
00:33:18.009 --> 00:33:20.829
still adjusting. We're still optimizing. We're
00:33:20.829 --> 00:33:22.970
still looking for opportunities. You've gotten
00:33:22.970 --> 00:33:25.650
really good at tweaking recipes. Like you joked
00:33:25.650 --> 00:33:28.750
about, I have like probably 400 desserts in my
00:33:28.750 --> 00:33:31.430
app that have been saved. And that's the, that's
00:33:31.470 --> 00:33:33.930
That's the part that we're constantly still messing
00:33:33.930 --> 00:33:37.049
with and tweaking and adjusting. You know, just
00:33:37.049 --> 00:33:40.130
last year, we made several changes to how we
00:33:40.130 --> 00:33:42.509
were eating and kind of the macro composition,
00:33:42.650 --> 00:33:44.769
just playing with things as we were learning
00:33:44.769 --> 00:33:47.509
and we wanted to try it. And so regardless of
00:33:47.509 --> 00:33:49.390
where you are, whether you're a beginner with
00:33:49.390 --> 00:33:52.369
this or you're a serial optimizer looking for
00:33:52.369 --> 00:33:54.650
more ways to optimize your food, a big thing
00:33:54.650 --> 00:33:57.220
is just. just picking the first thing to swap
00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:59.160
out. What's the one thing that you're going to,
00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:01.079
you're going to stop doing? You know, are you
00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:04.599
doing, is it something as simple as like, I should
00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:07.579
probably stop drinking full like soda, you know?
00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:11.000
Or is it getting rid of those artificial sweeteners?
00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:14.539
That may be tough. Like, you know, and so is
00:34:14.539 --> 00:34:17.219
it, is it changing your oil up? Is it? you know,
00:34:17.219 --> 00:34:19.860
so just think about those things. What is the
00:34:19.860 --> 00:34:21.940
lowest hanging fruit? What is the most research
00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:24.480
behind it? Like, I don't know if like maybe seed
00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:26.500
oils and artificial sweeteners should be your
00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:29.940
first pick if you're drinking soda. And so, you
00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:32.139
know, prioritize your stuff. You know, are you
00:34:32.139 --> 00:34:33.880
eating out a bunch of times? Like, you know,
00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:37.420
can you scale one back and add another home -cooked
00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:39.780
meal, right? So these are just small tweaks that
00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:41.800
you can do. And then, you know, if you're a little
00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:43.820
bit more seasoned, you know, audit your system.
00:34:43.900 --> 00:34:45.860
Like who does what? Is there anything that you
00:34:45.860 --> 00:34:48.320
can tweak that you can make better? And then
00:34:48.320 --> 00:34:50.400
evaluate what's working. Again, you want to continue
00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:52.820
to just make those small adjustments because
00:34:52.820 --> 00:34:56.059
daily anything changes everything. And food is
00:34:56.059 --> 00:34:59.039
so big, such a huge part. I mean, most people
00:34:59.039 --> 00:35:02.599
are eating 2 ,000. 3 ,000 calories every day.
00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:05.619
And the quality of those calories matter. And
00:35:05.619 --> 00:35:09.280
even people who look amazing at the gym don't
00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:11.559
always consume the greatest quality. And sometimes
00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:13.559
that does catch up to you. Someone who looks
00:35:13.559 --> 00:35:15.519
great can still have heart problems and still
00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:17.900
have arteries that aren't in great shape because
00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:20.440
the quality wasn't there, right? So, and who
00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:22.920
knows what some of this artificial and process
00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:26.349
stuff can affect even if you... do work out.
00:35:26.349 --> 00:35:28.550
If you're eating low quality stuff when you're
00:35:28.550 --> 00:35:30.449
in your 50s and 60s, maybe you could start paying
00:35:30.449 --> 00:35:32.849
for that. And we don't want to do that. So that's
00:35:32.849 --> 00:35:36.170
why we do this. Food is so, so important. Thanks
00:35:36.170 --> 00:35:38.150
for listening to the Optimizing Beyond podcast.
00:35:38.389 --> 00:35:40.489
Remember, growth happens when you take action.
00:35:40.610 --> 00:35:43.110
So subscribe, share this with a friend, and most
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importantly, put what you learned into practice.
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Because as we know, daily anything changes everything.