My 4 Weekly Diet Rules To Optimize Energy and Productivity

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to Bullpen Sessions. My name is Andy Neary and this is episode 256. Today, I'm going to talk to you about my four weekly diet rules that I live by to optimize energy and productivity. Now, where does today's episode come from? I'm going to share a little strategic secret we use here at Complete Game Consulting, or I use to determine what future podcast are going to be. So every week when I post our content on LinkedIn, I'm testing our content. I put out content to see how it performs. And one of the filters we use is posts that I put out on LinkedIn every day that do really well often become the topics of future podcast episodes. Because if we know it got great feedback on LinkedIn, most likely it's going to get great feedback as a podcast. And the podcast gives me an opportunity to go a little deeper than the post I made on LinkedIn. And so this particular, this specific topic is no different. A few weeks ago, I put a post out on LinkedIn about my weekly diet rules that I live by to make sure I maintain energy and I maximize my productivity. And it got really good feedback. In fact, as of this recording, it had about 8,800 views. Got a lot of comments. People shared their own tips on things they do every single week for their diet. And so I thought, hey, this performed well. People are interested. We're gonna make a podcast episode about this topic. Four diet rules that I live by. Four weekly diet rules I live by that help me make sure I maintain energy and I optimize my productivity. Now, before I dive into what I do, just wanna note, I am not a nutritionist, I am not a doctor, but I am just sharing things that work for me and that have really helped me maintain clarity, creativity, energy. And as somebody who often spends his days sitting behind a laptop coaching people virtually with all that energy coming off the laptop, those could be exhausting days. And I've got to make sure that I'm putting the right things in my body at the right times so that I can maintain that energy throughout the day. And I think one thing that I'm doing, been very proud of is my ability to maintain the energy and leverage the minutes I've been given every day. So I want to share these tips with you because I think they could be very helpful for you. And let's face it.

We live in an industry, the insurance industry, that is very much a lifestyle industry. Right? I know when I got in it 22 years ago, I was Sold the lifestyle that if I get in, I hang around long enough, I can make some really good money. It's a great recurring revenue rich industry and it will provide an opportunity after a while to have an awesome lifestyle. And it does.

But I want to focus on that word lifestyle. What does lifestyle actually mean?

I think historically we've used the word lifestyle to think about the money we make, the type of house you can buy, the type of cars you can drive, the country club you can belong to. When I hear the word lifestyle, it's not just about what money can buy and how much I can make of that money. It's how am I living my life. It's what am I doing in all aspects of my life to try to have success. And that's really what this podcast is about. I think a lot of people think I'm just going to get on these episodes and provide marketing strategies and tactics, which I do once in a while. But to me, the word lifestyle is about what can what are you doing to maximize all areas of your life? And I'll be honest, I'm a work in progress in many of those areas. But when it comes to what I'm doing from a diet perspective, to make sure I'm healthy, to make sure my body's operating the way it should, to make sure I'm maintaining energy and productivity, I think I've got some rules that are pretty locked in that have helped me have a lot of success, especially in recent years. And if you're somebody out there listening who does struggle with that, who may.

Put your diet on the back burner because you are working long hours, maybe you're a parent, you know, having to shuffle kids around from here to there. What I'm going to teach you is not how to overhaul your diet or how to leverage a particular diet. No, no, no, no. I'm just going to share some simple rules I live by every week that I think have served me well. And I think they can do the same for you. So let's just dive right into them.

One of the rules I live by every week when it comes to my diet is I believe in maintaining a boring diet. What does that mean? Monday through Friday.

Outside of dinner, I'm eating the same things every day.

For some, that's boring. But what I have come to learn is boring is good because boring eliminates choice, and choice is what often gets us caught up in making bad decisions. And I learned this lesson of eliminating choice years ago when I read Steve Jobs autobiography and he was asked one Time. Why he wears a black turtleneck every single day. And he said it eliminates choice. I don't have to think about it. I wake up, I go into my closet where he probably had dozens of black turtlenecks and he knows what he's going to pick for clothing that day. He doesn't have to think about it. And I view my daily diet the same way. So when it comes to breakfast, comes to lunch, comes to my afternoon snack, it is the same thing every day, Monday through Friday. And if you're interested in what the heck that is, every morning I eat three eggs and I eat our famous congee, which Amy and I have come to love. Congee is just really nothing more than oatmeal made with jasmine rice. We mix in some cinnamon, some nutmeg, some protein powder, some banana, strawberries, and that's what I eat every single day for breakfast Monday through Friday. It does not change. Unless I'm on the road traveling, it does not change. But even when I'm on the road, I try to keep it as close to that diet or that breakfast as I possibly can. Now one thing I do that creates a green light every day, as Matthew McConaughey would say, is I prepare that breakfast the night before. So there is not, not an evening that I'm home where I am not preparing tomorrow's breakfast before I go to bed. Because to maintain or maximize that productivity the next day, I don't want to have to stop and actually make breakfast. I want to be able to just go in the kitchen, grab the breakfast, heat up the eggs, good to go. Let's, let's rock and roll lunch. You're going to find me eating turkey every day. You're going to find me eating sweet potato and you're going to find me eating an apple with some almond butter. Same thing every single day. And then for a mid afternoon snack, it's a protein bar and probably a beef stick of some kind. A healthy beef stick. Right now we're eating the chomps beef stick that we get from Costco. And the reason I like this diet again, yes, it's boring. I'm eating the same thing every day. It's eliminating choice. But one of my goals with my diet when it comes to what I eat is I try to maximize protein, minimize calories. So for me, just maximizing protein, minimizing calories I think helps me maintain a high level of energy.

Again, I'm not feeling tired in the afternoon because I'm eating too much, but I'm feeling strong Because I'm getting enough protein in my body to maintain that energy. So.

Rule number one I live by every week is maintain a boring diet. And I look at myself like an athlete. I still do. And I feel like if I focus on what I'm doing every week and eliminating some things from my daily routine and adding good things to my daily routine, I'm going to give myself an advantage over my competition. Did you know the ideas shared on this show are things we actually specialize in helping you implement? If you're an insurance professional and you want to turn your credibility into consistent client acquisition, visit completegameconsulting.com and schedule a free strategy call. Again, that's completegameconsulting.com to request your free strategy call. All right, let's jump back into today's podcast episode. Because if I put myself in a peak state of productivity every day, eventually I am going to get far ahead from everybody else. Because my ability to maintain, be, be consistent, show up every day as my best. Every day is what's going to set me apart. And what I put in my mouth from a diet perspective is one of the most important things. Which leads to rule number two, which I just shared. Maximizing protein, minimizing calories. It's another rule I live by every single week. So what I look to do when it comes to what I put in my mouth is find foods that are high protein, minimal minimum with minimal calories.

So when it things like a protein bar or, or a beef stick or turkey or eggs, those are items that come with high protein, low calories. To give you an example, eggs I believe have 60 calories per egg. They come with 6 grams of protein. So if you eat 6 eggs, you're only or 3 eggs, you're getting 180 grams, but you're also getting 18 grams of protein. When I eat my mid afternoon snack, a chomps beef stick has 90 calories, but 9 or 10 grams of protein. Protein bar has 2, 200 calories but another 14 grams of protein. So just with a protein bar at a chop, I'm getting almost 25 grams of protein. With my kanji, there are more calories there, but very, very protein heavy. Given that I put protein powder in there and then lunch, of course, turkey, high protein, minimal calories. Almond butter, same thing. You know, if I don't eat overeat the almond butter, it's minimal calories, high protein. So we do the same thing. Amy and I do the same thing for dinner is try to focus on high protein, get a good Protein in like a chicken or steak or beef with vegetables. And it's just trying to make sure that I'm getting a gram of protein per pound of body weight with as little calories as I can. Again, I'm not a nutritionist. You need to do what you need to do. But I'm just sharing with you what has worked for me to maintain energy, clarity and productivity. Because one thing I want to really hone in on here is clarity.

Two years ago, when I was diagnosed or when I had to battle my leg infection and I was in the hospital for six days.

That was an epiphany moment for me because I realized even though I was fairly healthy, Amy and I have always eaten healthy, I exercise. What I failed to do in the moment there that caused the leg infection was take care of my skin health. It was an example where I was not hitting on all cylinders health wise because I had allowed my feet to get to a state where they were not in good health with all the running I do. And that's what most likely led to my leg infection. And I realized I have to become a student of the game. I have to just absolutely lock in on what I'm doing, why I'm doing it and what I'm putting into my body so that I can maximize my health. And it was there I really started to become a student of the game. And it's where I really started applying these rules that I'm sharing with you today. And looking back, one of the biggest benefits in going through this journey is the clarity it has given me. You know, after my leg infection, I had to go on a 9, 10 month journey that I still am on, technically, where I had to repopulate my stomach with good probiotics, good bacteria, because with all the heavy antibiotics I was on because of the leg infection, my stomach was left in disarray. So I went on a journey where I had to be gluten free, I had to be alcohol free, I had to be dairy free, even as close to sugar free as I possibly can to repopulate my stomach, that today I'm still very focused on maintaining a gluten free, dairy free status. And I can tell you for you, if you're listening in, I have never felt more clear in the head now that I am gluten free and dairy free than I ever have. I've never felt this kind of clarity. And so if you're out there looking to make some changes again, I'm not here to tell you what kind of diet to have as far as what you're eating or a specific diet to pick. But I will tell you.

I will never go back to gluten or dairy because of the lack, the brain fog, the stomach irritation. I had just eating those types of foods. Now that I am gluten free, dairy free.

The clarity.

Is something that I've never experienced before and it's what has led to the level of productivity I believe I am able to create every single week.

So if you're out there right now dealing with a little brain fog, you wake up feeling like you're not clear on certain days, give it a try, go gluten free for a little bit, see what happens. It's my offer to you. And I know this brain fog really became a mainstream thing with COVID because a lot of people dealt with the brain fog when they tested positive for Covid. But man, I'll tell you, I think a lot of us have dealt with brain fog for years, well before COVID because of what we're eating. So two of my rules, outside of dinner, I eat the same stuff every single day Monday through Friday. And I try to maximize protein and minimize calories. Rule number three, no alcohol Monday through Thursday. Now, please don't take this as me making a judgment on those who drink. I've been accused of that before, but that's not what I'm referring to. For me, it's going back to that athlete mindset. If I don't drink Monday through Thursday, most cases it's actually Sunday through Thursday.

I'm going to be sharp every day. I'm going to wake up clear. I'm going to wake up energetic, focused. And I can tell you, by applying this rule into my business, I've never been, I've never felt better. My business has never grown faster. And.

This is one of the strategies, the overlooked strategies that have helped me put complete game consulting in the position it's in today.

And this too goes back to my journey. Repairing my stomach after my leg infection is shortly after the leg and the infection when I had to start repopulating my stomach with the ripe bacteria, one of the things I was forced to do was go alcohol free for a while. And what's interesting is it's back in my life today. But I've definitely realized by going alcohol free that I don't actually miss it, I don't need it. And so on a given week, I'll have a beer or two. But it's not like I need to rely on alcohol. I get done with a Rough day on a Wednesday. It's all I would love to have right now is a cocktail. No. I view myself as that business athlete that if I abstain from alcohol Sunday through Thursday, I'm going to put myself in the best position to win every single week.

Now, are there moments I break the rules? Yeah, of course. I just hosted a two day mastermind with some industry peers. We were sitting around the fire on a Sunday and a Monday and I had a cocktail. But by and large, week in, a week out, no alcohol Monday through Thursday. Typically Sunday through Thursday. And rule number four, very simple rule that has changed my body physique more than anything else. No food after 7pm Very simple rule. And this really became a part of my life a few years ago when I was struggling with getting rid of some of the belly fat I had. You might laugh at hearing this story. I've been somebody who has exercised for years. In fact, I never stopped exercising after college baseball and pro baseball. But I've somebody that has struggled with body physique even though I have been a consistent exerciser for years.

And I remember about four or five years ago I said, you know what, I'm just gonna give fasting a shot and I'm gonna see what it does for me. And it wasn't the typical regimented intermittent fasting that you see people do today. Definitely wasn't the two, three day fast some people dive into. But I just instilled a simple rule into my life. In fact, two simple rules that completely changed my body physique. One was no food after 7pm but the other one was, I'm going to make sure I go at least 14 to 15 hours between dinner and breakfast.

So if I eat dinner at 6pm, not going to be eating breakfast until 8 or 9am and when I implemented those two rules in a matter of weeks, I saw the belly fat go away and my physique completely changed.

Not to mention the energy I had completely changed. You know, not only do we try not to eat after 7pm, I try not to eat breakfast until at least 8, 9am in the morning. And I will tell you, as somebody who used to get up and half toast with almond butter and blueberries 30 minutes after getting up in the morning, I have never felt better and more energetic than waiting at least three to four hours after getting up to have breakfast. In fact, waiting 14 to 15 hours since dinner to have breakfast. And it changed my energy and it changed my physique. And so I share these tips with you today because I sit Here in a position in 2023, I'm recording this on September 29th where I feel like from a clarity and energy and a productivity standpoint, I have never felt more dialed in. And I know there's a lot of you listening in that are struggling right now. Whether it be with clarity, drive, motivation, health.

That just one or two of these tips could change everything. And if I can help you do that, I want to play my part. And so when it comes to my weekly diet rules that I live by.

It'S all about.

Number one.

Making sure what I eat is consistent every single day. Two, I try to maximize the protein. I live by the rule of one gram of protein per pound of body weight and I try to minimize calories.

I am alcohol free Monday through Thursday, mostly Sunday through Thursday, and no food after 7pm And I try to go 14 to 15 hours between dinner and breakfast. Just these simple tips. And I say simple loosely. I know it's much easier said than done, but if you just incorporate 1, 2, all 4 of these into your life, be hard pressed to believe you wouldn't be happy with the results you're getting. So as Q4 ascends or descends upon all of us, I know you're going to need to have energy, you're going to need to have clarity, and you're going to need to be productive as hell. And time management is a big topic, but it's more than just time management. It's about what you're putting in your body to support your productivity and your energy. So I hope today's episode helped. If you know of anybody else who you think could use it, please share and just lock in some rules in your life, your weeks to help you maintain as much energy and productivity than you can. And I promise you and your business will never be the same again. Be well.