Foods I Eat EVERY DAY As a Nutrition Expert

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The number one thing I get asked, ready? What do you eat? Okay, and then the follow-up question is, and what do you do when you cheat? So I'm gonna share my personal food rules that keep me on the straight and narrow and the foods I make sure I eat every single week, some of 'em every single day, and why I think cheating is just the total wrong way to think about things. And honestly, it sets you up to fail and puts you into that crazy weird diet mentality that drives me nuts. I had a good day, I had a bad day. So we're gonna deal with that whole thing too. Hey, I'm JJ Virgin, PhD dropout, sorry mom, turned 4-time New York Times bestselling author. As a certified nutrition specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer and globally recognized leader in health, I'm driven to keep asking the tough questions and use my podcast to simplify the science of health into actionable strategies that help you thrive. Want an ad-free experience? You can now subscribe to my exclusive VIP podcast at SubscribeToJJ.com for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. It's like your daily latte, but better for your health. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the show. And here's the fun part. When you send me your review, I'll reply to you using my on-demand virtual me. That's right. My team and I created a virtual JJ packed with my books, speeches, and wisdom so I can personally connect with you. Here's how you do it. Subscribe and leave an honest review of the podcast. Take a screenshot of your review. Text it to 813-565-2627. That's 813-565-2627. My virtual JJ will reply directly, and trust me, this will make your day. So subscribe now at SubscribeToJJ.com and text me your review. Let's keep thriving together.

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But first, the rules. Now, full disclosure, I tend to be one of those people who likes to break all the rules. But remember, when you have this great structure, the structure actually creates freedom. So here's how I start this. First of all, protein. And protein is really the foundation, and it should be your foundation for every meal. So as you know, starting around age 30, we lose up to 1% of our muscle each year. It's about 3 to 8% of our muscle per decade. And with anabolic resistance, this happens because of age, being sedentary, insulin resistance. You need more protein per meal to trigger muscle building, not less. So don't think you need less protein as you age. You need more. And we know that muscle really drives your resting metabolic rate. It's the number one thing we can do to shift it. So eating protein first is gonna help you maintain muscle, especially if you're trying to lose weight and creating a little caloric deficit, because protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fat do, and it helps you hold onto lean mass as you're dropping weight. So what's interesting, research shows with body composition, if all you did was raise your protein without changing total calories, you actually would lose some fat and protect your lean mass. And of course, Protein is nature's GLP-1, right? It raises satiety hormones including PYY, GLP-1, CCK, and lowers ghrelin. So it's gonna help slow down stomach emptying, help you feel fuller longer, and keep the cravings at bay. It also can help with blood sugar control because it doesn't really impact your glucose and it can help blunt the post-meal spikes so you have better energy and better mood. Plus, of course, it's great for your bone and it's great for your muscle. You need protein for good bone density and you need protein because you're getting those essential amino acids that make your hormones, your enzymes, your neurotransmitters, and your hair, skin, and your nails. So hopefully I've sold you on it by now. How much do you need? 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of target body weight is about where you wanna be. Honestly, if you go a little higher, you're better off being higher then lower. Here are my go-tos. So what I really want you to look at is if you're eating it mainly from plants— we'll talk plants versus animals— then what I want you to focus on is getting a little higher than the, like, go to 1 gram or more per pound of target body weight. Here's why. So you eat protein for your essential amino acids. They're essential because you cannot make these. There are 20 amino acids There are 9 that are essential. You have to get them from your food. Plants— well, animals are very similar to us because we are animals. So the essential amino acid profile of an animal is similar to our essential amino acid profile. So it's a better balance of essential aminos. Plants are created to rebuild plants. We are not a plant. So they tend to be lower or deficient in certain amino acids. Doesn't mean that you can't get what you need from plants. Means that you're going to want to eat a bit more of them to get to where you need to be and combine find them. So here are my go-tos, and here's what I do. I use animal protein as my protein sources, and then I fill in with some plants because my diet is omnivore. My favorite go-to proteins, animal proteins, are grass-fed and finished beef. And what I love to do, one of my easy lunches, is to get 90 to 93% lean ground beef. I do pastured eggs and egg whites. Why do I do it that way? Because I would go over my fat allotment if I was just eating the pastured eggs. I love pastured eggs because of the choline in them. Amazing. The egg yolks. But I bump up the protein with egg whites. Now I have to say a caveat. I wrote the book The Virgin Diet because I found that people with leaky gut tend to react to dairy and eggs. Those tend to be two of the foods they react to more. Sometimes it is a you are what you eat ate. So they are eating eggs that were from factory chickens, so low quality. And when they switched to pastured, they were fine. But I'm just gonna say, if you're not sure, do the Virgin Diet. Figure out which foods work for you and which foods don't, and if you need to do things to heal your leaky gut. All right, other thing I love is wild-caught seafood. We get it from Vital Choice. Some of my favorites are salmon, halibut, Chilean sea bass, char, scallops. We tend to eat a lot of salmon and Chilean sea bass. And then we do pastured poultry and pastured pork. And I now can do grass-fed and fermented dairy. If you can find A2 dairy, oh my gosh, way better, and fermented as Greek-style yogurt, Amazing. Other great ones, I do feta and goat cheese, so I will incorporate those in as well. So some people who cannot tolerate dairy can tolerate goat or sheep. It's a little bit different, so see how you do. I also use my Reignite Wellness All-in-One Protein Shakes for years now. If you can do whey, whey is amazing, but for years I couldn't tolerate dairy at all, and so I made a bone broth protein shake. Bone broth's amazing because it's rich in collagen. However, that is not a high-quality protein source. It is the most abundant source of of protein in our body, but it is really not the balance of essential aminos you want. So what you want to do with that is I took my bone broth protein shake and I added in the low essential amino acids to make it mimic, resemble, the amino acid profile of whey, which is considered the gold standard. So now you can use it and know that you're getting everything you need, plus it tastes great. So those are my bone broth shakes. They're enriched. I also enrich the plant-based ones. So what I like to do is I incorporate plants that are high in phytochemicals, polyphenols, high in fiber. And if they've got some protein in there, that's great too, but I count it more as like a bonus. The issues with plants, besides the fact that they are built for plants, they also can have problems with digestibility. And remember, the fiber is gonna— is going to slow down that protein absorption, or maybe even block some of it. If you are a plant-based eater, get a range. Try my plant-based shakes because I've also boosted the aminos in there to resemble whey. And go for that higher 1 gram per pound of target body weight. Here's the reality: building muscle is not about looks. It's really your metabolic Spanx. It— you want to eat your protein to help give your body what it needs to be able to build muscle, right? To build that metabolic Spanx. Let me share a review. In Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care found that muscle mass decreases about 3 to 8% per decade starting at around age 30, which I've shared. And then of course that decline is higher after 60. I've heard doubles. It referenced 87 different studies across clinical trials, epidemiology, and mechanistic research. And what they found is that, again, this decline is pretty predictable and faster after 60. However, why is it happening? I have my own theories. There are those age-related hormonal shifts that happen around 30, but I think a lot of it is because we're not eating enough protein, we're not moving enough, right? And so this starts to compile. I will tell you that I did a DEXA scan at 39 and 59, they were exactly the same. And I am just as strong, if not stronger, now. So here's what's important: muscle is adaptable at any age. Resistance training can work at any age. You just make sure that you have the protein that you need alongside it, because you gotta protect your muscle. It's the single, single biggest driver of your metabolism and your strength as you age. And that is why I've focused my product line on creating products that help you work out harder, recover better, and build muscle. And case in point, those All-in-One Shakes now I have the Amino Acid Profile to mimic whey protein, and I also have an Amino Acid Power powder. And here's the thing, a little bit on essential aminos. These can be a great hack. Let's say that you had a skimpy breakfast, add some essential aminos to get you where you need to be. Or maybe you're skipping dinner, have a hit of essential amino acids so you're not catabolic as you get into bed, right? So this can be an easy way to solve for not getting quite enough protein in. I actually think, especially if people are on GLP-1s, not getting enough food in, this can be a great support. But ideally, you're tracking what you're eating and you're making sure you're getting that 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of target body weight. Your breakfast and dinner have at least 30 to 40 grams of protein. I'd rather see you push it to 40. You're getting at least 100 grams of protein overall. Now, on the plant-based protein side, again, I tend to think of these things more in the fiber polyphenol side of things. So I tend to put them into the carb category. Bonus points if they have a more— a higher amount of protein like lentils do. So let's talk carbs, because yes, I eat carbs. And you know, when you really pick the right carbs, they're loaded with polyphenols and fiber, which means they are going to really help you get a solid gut microbiome, because that is how you fuel and feed your gut microbiome. And you also need carbs because You store carbohydrates in your muscles as glycogen. Water and carbohydrates go in your muscles, stored as glycogen, and that's the energy for your workouts. So super important. But let's talk about fiber because I think it's one of the things that you should track, just like protein, and because the average American is getting like 25 to 30% of what they need each day. And it is a game changer for satiety, for blood sugar balance, and for a healthier gut. So I'm going to give you a little primer on fiber, and let's talk satiety first and soluble fibers because visc— Viscous soluble fibers can slow stomach emptying and raise satiety signals like GLP-1 and PYY. Plus, viscous fibers can also help blunt post-meal glucose and insulin spikes. So they kind of do a slower blood sugar release. So what's viscous soluble fiber? It's the kind of soluble fiber that gels up in water and gets thick in your gut, and that slows digestion blunts those blood sugar spikes, traps bile, which helps lower LDL and boosts fullness, which is a huge win for both metabolic health and gut health. Examples of this are psyllium husk, oats and barley, glucomannan, those shirataki noodles, those miracle noodles, pectin from apples and citrus, partially hydrolyzed guar gum, and xanthan and locust bean gums. You'll see these gums in some of the fiber supplements, but obviously apples and shirataki noodles, which I'm making tonight, can be an easy way— thing to into your diet. Now, there are some soluble fibers that are soluble but not viscous. These are things like inulin or chicory root, and these can feed your gut microbiome, but they don't gel, so they're not gonna have that impact on your LDL and your blood sugar. And inulin can be pretty darn bloating. FOS is another— from chicory is another example of that. However, these are also prebiotic fibers, and they can— they're so good for your gut health, and they're good for also boosting butyric acid, which can help you burn fat. So think of FOS from chicory, from onions, from garlic, from asparagus, from slightly green bananas. And slightly green bananas also are a great source of resistant starch. Resistant starch is called that because it resists digestion and it ferments in your large colon where it can help produce that butyrate. And again, butyrate helps you burn fat amongst other great things. So butyrate helps you burn fat, butyrate helps with satiety, and, and butyrate helps with insulin sensitivity. So how do you get resistant starch? Slightly green bananas, cooked potatoes or rice, let them cool, overnight oats are all great examples of that. All right, so I mentioned earlier that you eat carbs, they help refill your muscle glycogen so you have energy ready to go for your next workout. When you focus on eating as close to nature as possible, you're getting like non-starchy vegetables, fruit, legumes, roots and tubers, you're gonna get polyphenols and fiber along with the carbs. And that's what we really want. We are not just trying to get sugar, right? We're trying to get the polyphenols, the fiber, etc. Now, here's the reality. We're getting about 5 to 14 grams of fiber in a day, and minimal for women should be about 30 grams, and for men about 40 grams. Remember I said this is one of those things I'd love you to track? Think about getting at least 10 grams per meal. And if you've been a wimpy fiber eater, Bring it up over a week. Don't, don't be like an overachiever and try to do it all at once. The other thing that I'll use is I have an extra fiber product that I created that is rich in something called Solnol, which is a specific resistant starch product. So it also is a blend of fibers, but this is what I've been using also to just help get my numbers up. I now am at a point where I'm really trying to get 50 grams or more of fiber each day, and at least again, 10 is kind of a minimum for each meal, but I'm trying to boost it up higher. When you're doing fiber, The thing that comes along with it is water because that way, again, remember these things can gel up, but you want to keep things moving through, if you get my drift. So you'll hear me talking about eating by the plate. And I always say, eat your protein first and then go for your non-starchy vegetables second, then some healthy fats. And then you'll decide which slow low carbs and how much you need. It's like your carbs and fat. You keep protein the same and you decide how much carbs, how much fat. But here are my daily go-tos. For non-starchy vegetables, I love me some broccolini. I add a little mustard seed because it really helps pull out the sulforaphane, shiitake mushrooms and maitake mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, arugula, cauliflower. I've been doing for the— on the starchy side, Japanese purple potatoes, delicata squash, kind of addicted to that, lentils and wild rice. And then they do a lot with berries. So there was a systematic review and meta-analysis in The Lancet that found that higher dietary fiber intake is linked with lower risk of Major Chronic Diseases and Clinical Trials Show Improvements in Key Cardiometabolic Risk Factors. And they looked at 185 prospective studies and 58 randomized clinical trials. So lots of stuff to find out that the highest versus lower fiber intakes were associated with about a 15 to 30% lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and lower incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. And the greatest benefits seem to be around 25 to 29 grams per day, but more was better. So the other cool things: higher fiber diets lowered body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, and better blood sugar control. So what should we do with this? Non-starchy vegetables. Eat as close to nature as possible. Legumes, nuts, and seeds. And fruit. These all work together. What you really want to do is go as close to nature as possible, minimally processed, because when you do the processed foods, they process out the fiber. So super duper important there. And if you want to eat grains, go for the gluten-free options— things like quinoa, certified gluten-free oats, wild rice. Those are some of my favorites, or actually my favorite is wild rice. I don't do a lot of grains, I'll be honest. I kind of stick wild rice. They occasionally get wild with a little quinoa. All right, ready to bust one of the biggest myths in nutrition? Fat does not make you fat. I don't know why this has still been out there that we should avoid fats. And the right fats are actually essential. We have essential fatty acids that we must eat. But for decades, we were told to eat low fat and fat free. Remember that whole thing? The other one that makes me crazy is this whole idea of just, you know, everything in moderation. Really? Moderation is a myth, you know, because what you moderate becomes what you repeat. And when it comes to fat, choosing the wrong kinds can literally get you inflamed, wreck your hormones, your metabolism, your skin. So you want to fuel your body daily with foundational fats. And where I like to start is whole fats first. So if you're eating animal protein, you're going to get some fats from the food. Now, you are what you eat, ate. So make sure that you're eating clean food, wild-caught fish, grass-fed, grass-finished beef, pastured eggs, right? So clean, that's where I start, is counting that in. If you're tracking, you'll see how much fat you got. And then what am I getting from things like nuts and seeds and avocados? That— then next step is what am I cooking with? And I pretty much stick with extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, or coconut oil. That's it. I keep it super simple. I, of course, avoid the Hateful Eight. Now sometimes when you're out, there's really nothing you I can do. But at home, I don't use seed oils. A couple issues with seed oils. Number one is the balance. So we want to have about a 4:1, 6:3 ratio in our diet of omega-6s to omega-3s. The average American now is like a 20:1, which puts you into more of a pro-inflammatory state. The other thing is a lot of these seed oils, when you eat a damaged fat, it damages you. And a lot of them, the way that they have been processed, actually creates toxic byproducts or oxidizes them, which is problematic for us. So I just really focused on limiting my added fats, getting it more from food, whole foods, and then what I am using for cooking, using very clean sources. And with olive oil, I'm really looking for that green, pungent, polyphenol-rich olive oil. Just remember, as your, your carbs go up, your fat goes down. As your fat comes up, your carbs come down. I generally start with about 100 grams of carbs. I do the rest, I earn the rest with exercise, and somewhere around 60 grams of fat. And then you just play around and see what works best for you. But here's the reality. I talked about 6s and 3s. Omega-3s are fuel for your brain, for your muscles, and for your metabolism. They are essential fats. Your body cannot make them, right, from scratch. You gotta get them in and you gotta get 'em either from food or from supplements. Now, omega-3s are EPA, DHA, and ALA. EPA and DHA you're gonna get from fatty fish and algae, and ALA comes from things like flax and chia and walnuts. Now your body can convert some ALA into EPA and DHA, but it's a very challenging process to elongate these fatty acids. So you can't get what you need in terms of EPA and DHA from ALA alone. And you really wanna make sure you're getting those EPA and DHA. I always think of EPA for the heart and DHA for the brain. So I'm gonna go through some of the other benefits of them. There was a 2023 study in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition that found that higher dietary intake of omega-3s in older women was associated with a lower prevalence of low lean mass and higher muscle mass in women with higher EPA and DHA intake. So they did a cross-sectional study of nearly 4,000 Korean adults aged 65+. They did a 24-hour diet recall— don't love it, but at least was only 24 hours— for omega-3s, supplements, and fish intake. And then they muscle— measured muscle by DEXA. So we're looking at fat-free mass. And what they found was women with higher EPA and DHA and fish intake had lower odds of low lean mass and they had higher muscle mass. And by the way, ALA was not associated here. So here was another one. This was a randomized controlled trial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that fish oil supplementation combined with strength training produced significantly greater improvements in strength and function in elderly women compared to just training alone. And this was 45 women who were 64. This is— that is not old. I don't know where they're getting older women there. And it was 2 grams of fish oil a day paired with strength training They did it for 90 days. They started the fish oil 60 days before training, and then another one just did training, and then another one started at just the same time as they started training. And what they found was the people that did the fish oil get— went up like 20— 16 to 20%, depending on when they started it, compared to only 10% for the placebo group who exercised. So super cool. And by the way, the group that started earlier fish oil had the greatest overall strength and mobility gain. So So, I mean, fish oil is anabolic. It's good for your brain. It's good for your bones. It's good for your muscles. So let's bring it on. So again, wanna get those omega-3s in. You wanna get monounsaturated fats from things like extra virgin olive oil and avocado, and then balance those omega-6s. I don't worry about adding omega-6s because we're getting 'em. You're gonna get them from things like nuts and seeds. Don't get them from those oils. Go for the good oils here. Again. So I don't worry about adding in omega-6s. Most of us have too much of it. If you're not sure where you're at, one of the easy things you can do is get an omega-3 index. It'll tell you that test. It's a blood spot, super inexpensive. But again, remember, we're, we're going to try to stay away from soybeans, safflower, sunflower, and canola, corn, and cottonseed, and grapeseed and rice bran. Only thing in there that's okay is actually sunflower lecithin. Which is not an oil, is a really good source of choline. Now remember, your sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, are all made from cholesterol, and your body makes cholesterol on its own, but it also gets some from food. So when you eat the right fats, it helps maintain healthy cholesterol balance and helps your body produce hormones. If you don't have the right fats, your body can't properly make and balance your hormones, and that's going to impact how strong you are, how well you sleep, if you can burn fat. Super important. Avocados. There was a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that eating 1 avocado a day for 6 months improved red blood cell fatty acid profiles and reduced links between certain fatty acids and health risk in adults with abdominal obesity and created a steadier metabolic environment to help the body make and regulate hormones. And this was 1,000 adults that were either overweight or obese and had a bigger waist circumference. And literally they had one group that just ate the way they ate, and the other group ate an avocado every day. I know which group I would have liked to have been in. And again, the avocado group had better blood cell fatty acid profiles, and of course those profiles showed more monounsaturated fats. Not surprising. And in the control group, they had a rise in fatty acids linked with worse visceral fat, with poor glucose and insulin and inflammation markers. So what's the takeaway? While the daily avocado consumption didn't make you lose fat, it improved your fat, fatty acid balance in your body and improved metabolic health, which is going to be good for hormone balance. Now, I love Dr. Ben Bikman's work, and he says stop fearing fat because fat's going to help you feel full, feel satisfied. It's going to help slow down digestion. It can blunt blood sugar spikes, less cravings, better energy, and less fat storage. And in case you were thinking, no, Well, if you're slowing down your digestion, you're not slowing down your metabolism. It just means that it's taking longer for your body to break down foods, which means you could get better nutrient absorption, which is a good thing. So there was a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that found that a high monounsaturated fat diet improved insulin sensitivity compared to a low-fat diet, even when the calories were equal. And this was 162 adults with abdominal obesity or dyslipidemia. And they— it was a randomized controlled trial for 6 months, and they looked at 3 diets: a high monounsaturated diet where fat was about 40% of calories, a low-fat diet, fat was about 28% calories, and a control diet, they ate the same. And what they found was in the high MUFA diet, insulin resistance was improved versus the other 2. Glucose tolerance was improved, and that was without any changes in calorie intake or body weight. So what's the takeaway here? A MUFA-rich diet, which is extra virgin olive oil, avocados, and nuts, can improve your insulin sensitivity and your blood sugar as compared with a low-fat diet, even when all the calories are the same. So what does that mean for us? Don't fear fat. Eat the right fats. It's going to help you have better metabolic health. It will help keep cravings in check. It'll help keep your blood sugar steady. And it's great for your skin too. I mean, your skin's a barrier that's made up of lipids, fats, right? And omega-3s and monounsaturated fats can improve your skin hydration, your elasticity, and even your barrier protection. There was a study in the British Journal of Nutrition that found that flaxseed oil supplementation for 12 weeks improved skin hydration, smoothness, and barrier function in women with sensitive skin. So these were 45 women who had sensitive or dry skin. It was a double-blind randomized 12-week trial that compared either flaxseed oil or safflower oil. And what they found was with the flaxseed oil, they had better skin hydration, roughness and scaling decreased, their smoothness improved, and their transepidermal water loss decreased. So you want the flax, not the safflower, because safflower is basically omega-6s, right? The more inflammatory ones. So there you go. So I personally would rather have you do freshly ground flaxseed meal, just FYI. Then we get the lignans, the fiber, etc. But let's look at, you know, freshly ground flaxseed meal and then extra virgin olive oil with all those fabulous polyphenols, the avocados with fiber and plant sterols, and you've got an amazing beauty routine for your skin from the inside out. So here's my whole foods staple. So again, eat your fats from foods first. That's things like wild fish, grass-fed beef, which is rich in CLA and omega-3s, grass-fed ghee. Have that avocado. I don't eat them every day, but I do have a couple times a week. Get some extra virgin olive oil and get the real stuff. Do not go get the stuff on the supermarket shelf. I get mine from Fresh Pressed Olive Oil Club. Take some omega-3s. I take my Omega Plus from Reignite Wellness every day. Do some chia seeds or some freshly ground flaxseed. Again, that's how I prefer to do that one, not as an oil. Maybe throw in a handful of walnuts. Walnuts are my favorite of the nuts because they're richer in omega-3s. And if you need a little boost, try a little coconut oil, or I've been doing Kinetics ketone drinks. That's been phenomenal for my brain. Big important thing: all fats are not created equal. The fats I'm talking about are they're not fried, they're not processed, right? I'm talking whole nutrient-dense fats that are going to make your body function better. And one more thing we got to talk about is hydration, which isn't just about getting enough water in, it's about what's in there too, like electrolytes and mineral balance. Because water alone is not going to keep your cells functioning at their best. Without the right minerals, your body's going to struggle with energy and focus and recovery, even if you're getting plenty of fluids. I don't know if you remember, I think Brooke Shields, like, passing out because she'd been drinking loads of water but not with any electrolytes. And especially if you're drinking all this filtered water, that might be filtering out the minerals in your water as well. You can run into trouble. So yes, we're drinking lots of fluid and, uh, you know, some good clean water. Make sure it's clean. I do electrolytes usually twice a day, more if I'm doing sauna and hot yoga and things like that. So things that include sodium, potassium, chloride, and magnesium so my nerves can fire wear well, my muscles can contract. Because again, if you're sweating, you're depleting. So I'll use my Electro Replenish from Reignite Wellness. I use Peak Green Tea. I love to drink that. I also love my Purity Coffee. What I've focused on in mine— I've been reworking all of my products, and with Electro Replenish, it's sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, which are the things that we lose when we're sweating. And I, you know, I'm a big sauna advocate as well as an exercise advocate, plus some vitamin C to protect against oxidative stress and support your immune health, and then some cognitive and physical fatigue reduction with B6 and B12. So that's what I put in my Reignite Wellness Electro Replenish. Plus it tastes great. Super duper important. Now, a couple other micronutrients I want you to think about that you can get from supplements that likely you should are magnesium. It's— most people tend to be deficient in it, and it's like everything seems to depend on magnesium. Energy production, muscle function, sleep quality, blood sugar control, and taurine, which is being studied now for longevity because it helps with resilience, cardiovascular function, nervous system health, and it works with electrolytes to help improve cellular hydration and recovery. All right, so here is the bottom line. Here's what I do every day. I eat protein first, then next up are my non-starchy vegetables. Next up is like fiber hits. I am careful on my slow low carbs. A lot of that I get from berries. And then I count the fats and my protein, and then I add healthy fats in there to make sure I'm getting what I need for my hormones and my brain. And then of course, I'm hydrating well and adding in those electrolytes. I'm not perfect, but it's definitely not about eating less. It's about eating right, choosing the foods that help you burn fat, build muscle, and have great steady sustained energy. And here's the reality, every bite matters. So eat as if it does, because aging's a privilege. And aging powerfully is a choice, and the foods you put on your plate every day, they're either moving you towards the life you want or pulling you away from it. Now, if this video gave you some ideas for your own daily meals, make sure you hit that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you don't miss what's coming next. I've got plenty more strategies, tools, and recipes to help you look and feel your best at every stage of life. Be sure to join me next time for more tools, tips, and techniques you can use to look and feel your best and be built to last. Would you prefer an ad-free experience? Join my VIP podcast at subscribetojj.com for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year to unlock uninterrupted ad-free access to all the episodes and insights you love. Also, I'd I would love to connect with you and hear your thoughts on the podcast. Here's how. First, subscribe to the podcast and leave an honest review. Second, take a screenshot of your review. And third, text it to 813-565-2627. That's 813-565-2627. When you do, I'll reply using my brand new Virtual JJ. It's my on-demand virtual self built from my books, talks, and years of experience so I can interact with you directly. You'll make my day and I can't wait to hear from you. Thanks for tuning in and I'll catch you on the next episode. Hey, JJ here. And just a reminder that the Well Beyond 40 Podcast offers health, wellness, fitness, and nutritional information— that's designed for educational and entertainment purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Make sure that you do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have heard on the show or read in our show notes. The use of any information provided on the show is solely at your own risk.

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