SSP 023: Kiki Athanas - Optimize The Way You Live Through Upgrading Your Health & Wellness

For those that have followed my journey, they know how important meditation has been for me in transforming the way I go about the things that I do. And it really wasn't until I started meditating for up to an hour was when a big shift started to happen. And I know for a lot of people who meditate, you know, an hour seems like a long time. And I really believe to really get the true benefits out of meditation, you need to sit for an extended period more than your regular 20 minutes that most people do. Now, the biggest challenge for most people, I've realized, is getting past that first phase, which is quietening the mind enough so that you can truly experience the benefits of meditation. For me, those benefits are connecting with just pure oneness, a place of pure love and energy that fuels you, that stays with you throughout your whole day and actually changes everything. You start to change your reality when you start start to tap in and tune into this energy. For me, it took an hour to connect with it. Sometimes it takes two hours. But the biggest challenge for most people was quieting the mind. So that's why I've gone ahead and decided to create a free guide to quietening the mind. And you can get access to this free guide either on the podcast page where you're listening to this episode, or if you just type state-shifters.com There'll be a pop up to come up where you can download that free guide and it will help you get access to these amazing benefits meditation can offer. Hello, beautiful people. Welcome back to the State Shifters podcast. My my name is Jordan Kalish and the Stage Shifters podcast is for people looking to level up their current state of being. And one of the biggest level ups that I did was while I was at my corporate job, I actually discovered a different way of understanding what nutrition and lifestyle or biohacking is. And in this episode, I bring on someone who I've connected with here in Toronto. Her name's Kiki and she is at the forefront of this biohacking movement. And if you haven't heard of biohacking, I discovered it through Dave Asprey, who was the founder of Bulletproof. And when I read his book, it really shifted everything that I thought to be true around diet, nutrition and how to maintain an optimal environment for my body and mind to function efficiently. And it fueled me with so much more energy when I turned to eating more fat, less carbohydrates, when I started to tune into different hacks that I could use to optimize my energy throughout my day. So I could find ways of having more creativity and making time for the things that I wanted to do outside of my corporate job. So Kiki and I have a really amazing discussion about some of the things we're passionate about, and she gives some great information about how you can incorporate some of these biohacking. Biohacking techniques into your day so you can function better, live better, and give more. So enjoy this episode with Kiki. Okay. Kiki Athanas, welcome to State Shifters podcast. How are you, my friend?

Thank you for having me. I'm very well.

It's my pleasure. I've been wanting to get you on this show for a little while now since we connected a few weeks back at a biohacking event here in Toronto. And I guess that kind of segues in perfectly to what we're going to be talking about.

Yes.

In this interview because you're an, I would say a master, expert, high level biohacker. And for anyone that's tuning in who's never heard of the term biohacker before, what is, how would you describe it?

Hmm. I would say, I mean, obviously it's hacking your health, it's hacking your biology, but hack has a, almost a negative vibe to it or like a masculine vibe oftentimes. And I just see biohacking as optimizing the way that you live, the way that, that you eat, the way that you breathe, the way that you interact with people and interact with your environment and just being really conscious of it and taking steps to make sure that it's the best ever.

I love that because, yeah, I started to take notice of biohacking back when I started my corporate job and I really wanted to start to optimize how I felt at work. Because when you're sitting at a desk all day and, you know, if you're not eating the right foods and you're not doing the. The proper amount of, like, physical and mental preparation or maintenance, you're gonna. You get tired at your desk.

Yep.

You know, you can't focus. I was just noticing that, like, my energy levels were off.

Yeah.

Started to tune into the biohacking space. Read Dave Asprey's book, Bulletproof Diet.

Love that.

Started drinking bulletproof coffee. And yeah, it went from there. My whole, like my whole world changed. I honestly say that, yeah, my world literally changed. My diet changed the way I thought changed around nutrition and that kind of. That's a brief summary of how I discovered this. But how did you fall into this biohacking field and kind of give us a background of Your journey?

Yeah, that's a good question. So my journey started in mainly in the nutrition space. So my background is actually similar to yours. It's. I went to Rotman Commerce, so business background. I was always a goody two shoes. And I don't know if that's similar to you, but that's just me. And anyways, I worked at startups and at my previous startup job, I just really wasn't enjoying it. It was a similar thing where I was just always at my desk and I was always researching like recipes and cooking. And it all started when I moved out on my own and you could. I could grocery shop for myself and just make healthier choices. It was, I was in control. And you notice that you can make small changes to your diet, you know, weaving in some, some exercise here and there and oh my God, everything changes. You feel so much better. You look so much better. And, and it's, it's interesting that just small shifts can make such a big difference. And I unfortunately got super obsessed with that and I took it to the next level and there's something known as like orthorexia, where it's just like, you're so obsessed with healthy eating that it's literally a problem.

I, I think I had that as well.

Oh my God. Anyone in health on the spectrum of orthorexia. And like, and I know now that I'm always recovering. Like, I'm a recovering orthorexia because once you're on it, you are always. And so anyway, so I took it to like, the like, the extreme and like lost too much weight and same. And then, and then you become so obsessed with being healthy that you're no longer healthy.

Because I wouldn't eat anything if it wasn't grass fed, if it wasn't like organic.

And then you're also like, planning your schedule around like, oh, no, like I'm gonna be fasting at that time. Like, no, like, oh, no, can' go on a date because, like, he's probably gonna want to take me for Italian. Like, that's not gonna happen. And so, and then I realized, okay, I'm no longer healthy because I am in a very unhealthy state of mind because I'm living in fear of being healthy enough. And then I realized that, okay, actually it's how you do things is way more important than what you do. And so it's how you eat, it's how you exercise, it's how you communicate with other people and how you, you know, weave in. And I just took a more mindful approach to health and wellness. And similar to you, I read Bulletproof, and I really liked a lot of what Dave Asprey shares and still shares today. I think he does it from a very holistic standpoint. I still think a lot of what he. A lot of the information he shares is still a little bit rigid, and it needs to be. It works for people that are unhealthy and that need that slap in the face that it's like, yo, look, processed food. It's killing you. Like, you know, but then there are certain things, especially, I think, for women that are, you know, we're so worried about our appearance and that kind of thing that we can get really stuck on rules and start living a little bit too regimented. So, anyways, that was a really long winded answer.

No, I appreciate that. It's funny. What do you call that term when you.

It's a real thing. Yeah, it's orthorexia.

Because now that you mentioned, I totally had that. It came from the paradigm shift that I had when I read Bulletproof Diet and I realized I've had this whole thing wrong.

Yeah. Like, and you look at everyone like, oh, my God, they don't know.

Yeah.

They don't know the truth. And it's like. And then you see people, like, eating, like, random processed food, and you're just like. And you, like, almost have a panic attack for them because they're like, oh, my God, they're like. They're killing themselves. But eventually you have to let it go and, you know, find that balance.

And I. I believe it starts with the diet. So the diet, I believe, is the entry point when you start to change up your diet and you notice how much of a difference it makes. On. For me, it was mental. My mental clarity.

Yeah.

I wasn't having those energy dips in the morning because I got rid of carbohydrates and sugar that was hidden in everything. And then it goes another level. When you realize that diet plays such an important role, biohacking becomes it. You take it to the next level. How can I tweak little things to feel my best and be more optimal in my day? If someone hasn't read the Bulletproof diet before or still hasn't looked at their diet in depth to see what foods may be impacting them in a positive or negative way. Do you mind giving a brief synopsis of what the bulletproof diet entails?

Sure. Because I'm not all about the bulletproof diet.

That's true. That's True.

It's definitely not the be all end all and it works for some people. So for those of you who don't know the bulletproof diet, it's essentially a keto ish diet. So it's a very high fat, low to moderate protein and low carb. And so you're eating complex carbohydrates, like you know, a little bit of sweet potato, a little bit of. I don't even think quinoa is allowed, but there are some you can eat berries. Woohoo.

This is where I got super strict on it. I was like, I can't even touch anything.

Oh my God. Yeah. And that's unhealthy. And so, and then so it's all about the fats, the monounsaturated fats like I was mentioning before. So the avocado oil, olive oil, avocados and then also saturated fat. So he's all about grass fed butter, coconut oil and then not too much nuts and seeds if at all, and then a lot of vegetables and a little bit of grass fed meat here and there if it's the dark meaty kind. So now people hear that and they're like oh my God, bacon and eggs for breakfast, like perfect, I can eat that. And, and it seems really like okay, I'll just take out sugar, but I can eat all of this really kind of comforting food, fatty food. Unfortunately, if you're not doing it right and you're opting for a lot of animal protein and animal foods that are not organic, then you're getting a lot of toxins in your body. So you need to do it properly, you need to do it organic. And you know, high fat diet does not work for everyone, especially saturated fats and fasting. He's very into intermittent fasting. Generally do the bulletproof diet on like a 16 8, so you're eating in an eight hour window. Again that works really well for if you're looking to lose weight. But if you have any sort of adrenal issues, if you're stressed out, fasting can be really, really dangerous because it's because of the way that it alters your adrenals. It's basically it's when you're fasting, when you're in fasting mode, you're telling your body like oh my God, I'm fasting, I'm dying. Like let's you know. And it's starts to freak out. And so if you're otherwise healthy and otherwise okay, then that's all right. And it's good to kind of put your body into that urgent state because it's going to burn the fat. It's, you know, it's awesome. But if you're, you know, you're suffering with adrenal fatigue, then you're basically telling your body, like, by the way, you're like on the brink of goddamn death. So you need to be very careful with fasting. And snacking is not the end of the world, and carbs are not the end of the world. And I am so sick of people like, you know, seeing a bowl of grapes like they're the death. Fruit is never a bad thing. I think I had to relearn that.

I think I'm still relearning.

Oh, my God. Yeah, I can tell. Even the way that you're shaking your head, you need to read Medical Medium because that is like literally the complete opposite. He's super about fruit and he actually talks about something called fruit fear, and he's like, it's a thing. And people are going crazy and. Yeah, exactly. And fruit has so many healing antioxidants, flavonoids, so many things that science hasn't even caught up with that. To take fruit out of your diet because it's sugar is like, oh, my God. It's taking out such a healing, powerful addition to your diet. And there's a reason why, you know, that it's such a comforting thing to, you know, like, bite into a nice peach, like, enjoy it. And there's so much goodness in that. And so anyways, that's the bulletproof diet. With that said, people often enjoy it and have benefits from it because they're cutting out the crap. There's other things that they're doing. And it's not necessarily because they're following bulletproof. It's because they're cutting out a whole bunch of processed foods, white grains, overly processed grains, that kind of thing. And they're lowering their sugar in a short term, that is going to help you lose weight. And I think a keto diet for someone that drastically does need to lose weight is awesome, but it shouldn't be done on a long term. And just like how Dave Asprey says he cycles, he's not always in ketosis, because that's very dangerous.

Yeah, very well said. It's definitely not one size fits all.

Never.

And the more technology is advanced and the more we're learning about the human body, we're realizing that literally everyone's diet is unique to you.

Exactly.

You should have a very unique diet. Your diet is not going to be the same as anyone else's.

Exactly.

Your body's not the same as anyone else's.

No.

So that's what I kind of learned when I started the bulletproof diet. Like I went full headfirst into everything. I was fasting, doing the intermittent fasting. And yes, I would suggest that if someone has not tried fasting, if they haven't tried like a high fat diet, if they eat a lot of sugar, this stuff like really will change your life.

Totally.

Yeah. I remember just, you know, that first transition because I ate a lot of like carbs. I was lots of breads, lots of cereal. It's just how we ate in Australia. That's how, like that's what I had for breakfast. And then, yeah, come 10:30 I'd be at work and I would like, I would be dizzy. That was so hungry because my blood sugar was crashing.

Yeah. And you're filling up on empty calories.

Exactly, exactly. So I'm snacking all the time on like muesli bars, all these like sugar based stuff. But yeah, I didn't know any better.

Yeah.

And then when I flipped this switch to, well, wait a second, I don't actually need to have breakfast.

Yeah.

This is just this idea in my head that like, you should have breakfast in the morning.

Yeah.

Skipping breakfast and having the coffee, which was a high fat, high fat type type drink.

Yeah.

In the morning allowed me to not get hungry till 11 2pm in the afternoon. It like literally blew my mind because I was like, I'm now not having to think about food.

Yeah.

I'm so much more productive, so much more creative.

Fasting will really do that. That's what I like about it. The less you eat, the less you want to eat. It's so weird. But I actually, I hosted a fasting retreat like a couple years ago and it was with Megan Ramos from the Intensive Dietary Management Clinic. And they use fasting protocol for people with diabetes that are like very obese. And I remember her explaining that your, your hormone that. I think it's ghrelin. Ghrelin, basically it goes down the more you fast. So it's almost like you become hungry. There's that hunger that's like a craving hungry. That's like that annoying. Like, oh, you know, it's been a couple hours. I'm feeling peckish. And that's almost the worst thing to get over. And once you get over that hump, all of the other humps get smaller and smaller and smaller. And literally if you fast for days, it goes away. And you just like, you forget that food is a thing. It's crazy. But people that never fast or never even intermittent fast, they're like, what the hell? Like, because they can't go like, you know, my mom can't go like, you know, more than eight hours. Like, it's just, you know, she think it's crazy. But yeah, once you get over that hump, it's great. And so, yeah, for sure. As you mentioned, like, if you're looking to start something, looking to, you know, amp up your diet and try something new, fasting might be your go to. Trying a keto diet is great. Just be mindful that it might not be right for you and so listen to your body while you're going through it and be kind with yourself if it doesn't work out and, you know, you try something else.

Yeah, totally agree. If someone's going to make that switch from if their diet's well off and they're having lots of sugar and lots of crappy foods like I was having. I remember reading that you should allow like one to two weeks if you're gonna fully transition to like a high fat diet or clean up your diet fully. Allow like one to two weeks for all these toxins to just cleanse and come out.

Yes. Keto flu.

Yes, yes, that is, It's a thing.

It totally. And I didn't have it because I was eating pretty clean anyways. But, but it goes for, even if you're doing like a juice cleanse or anything, that you're drastically changing your diet or even your lifestyle, sometimes it can get worse before it gets better. So you do have to be mindful of that with the keto diet, especially if you're gonna do it. I would say, although I don't usually advocate for this, like kind of be strict with it because if you eff it up and then, you know, eat a cupcake, then you're really effing it up. Do you know what I mean? Because now it's like you've just loaded up on fat and then if you add sug sugar to the mix, it's totally a shit show. So if you're gonna choose to do it, you know, follow the protocol and know that it's, it might feel worse before it feels better.

Good tip. If someone's thinking about trying fasting, they've obviously heard a lot about it, haven't started it yet. They know it's beneficial. Any tips or advice for someone who wants to keep fasting a go?

So I would say start with, for Some people just eating in a 12 hour period is a stretch and, and, and that could be something to work towards. So for me I generally stick with intermittent fasting. So I'm eating usually between like 10 and 6, 10am and 6pm But I would just pick a 12 hour time slot in the day which is like basically your whole day and try to eat within that and then eventually lower, lower that feeding period to the ideal 8. I have interviewed dietitians around intermittent fasting and a lot of them have said that you know what, it is actually something that's totally fine to do on the long term. It's sustainable, you don't need to do it with the keto diet. Fasting doesn't auto. Intermittent fasting doesn't automatically mean you need to have a high fat diet. You can be incorporating carbs. But yeah, I think eating, keeping your food intake into a 12 hour period is generally good for everyone. It gives your body a break and digesting food is taxing on the body. And so if you're always in that digestive mode and you're always giving your body work to do, it's draining energy, right? Exactly. And so it's nice to give it that rest and it has a lot of anti inflammatory benefits to have that pause.

Yeah. I've been fasting for like almost two years now. Intermittent fasting was what same, same deal except I would skip breakfast and not have my first meal until like 2 3pm usually. And I incorporated exercise into that as well. So when I was at my job, my corporate job, I had this like regimented routine. Like it was, it was so good. So good, but so bad at the same time.

You're one of those super annoying people.

Yeah, yeah. I was like, you know, have my bulletproo of coffee, go to the gym at 12:31. Yeah. Smash my workout.

Yeah.

Come back and then I'd have my first meal at like two.

Yeah.

I'd break my fast. And I remember like I had so much clarity in the afternoon.

Yeah.

When everyone's falling asleep at their desk. My mind is on, I'm feeling amazing. And I've been doing that for a long time. That's why I'm also curious. Like, so they say it's okay to do fasting in a longer period. Say because I've kept doing that. I've sort of stuck to that routine of not having breakfast, have my first meal around two, then have dinner at like seven.

Totally. If that's working for you, that's something that you can do on the Long term, I would suggest definitely taking breaks though. Like even if you could do like one day a week where you don't intermittent fast, that will actually be beneficial for your body because just like working out, which I'm sure you probably know more than I do, change is really good, right? Doing. If you did the same workout every time, your body would just get used to it and it wouldn't be able workout anymore. And so it's the same thing with diet. Switching things up is really beneficial and you'll, you'll get more gains. So even if it's just once a week that you don't intermittent fast like as drastically, that would actually be helpful. And it's helpful for like it's conducive to real life.

Totally.

Yeah.

And you got. Yeah, you still gotta live your life. You can't get too strict on this stuff like we were saying earlier, you know. So yeah, on the weekends I'm gonna go, I love breakfast. So I'll go out and have my breakfast and I'm not gonna be too strict.

Exactly.

And it' one thing to note is when is a good time to have carbs? Because a lot of people, it's a big deal trying to give up. For me, bread was the hardest thing to give up. I love bread. I've incorporated back into my diet now I have gluten free bread. Cut the gluten. But can people still eat carbs and if so, when's a good time to eat it?

Oh my goodness, absolutely. Carbs are amazing. We need to understand that's the only the thing that I do go against Dave Asprey. Gotta love him. But our brains do do function off sugar and carbs. And if we starve ourselves from of carbs, then we're starving ourselves and we're starving our brains. Now what people, first of all, when people say that they're on the keto diet, most of the time they're not on a keto diet. They think they're on a keto diet. They're on basically a paleo diet. And so I don't freak out when, when hope, when everyone probably you, you are too everyone if you're on the keto diet, you are in a, you're following a therapeutic diet that you should be overseeing with a medical practitioner. It is not something you would want to do for more than a month. Like they, they use it for seizure. People that have seizures. It's a therapeutic diet protocol. But honestly, if you have like a spoonful of pumpkin seeds, like bam. You're no longer on keto. You know what I mean?

So do you mind giving people just, if someone's never heard the term keto diet before, a quick summary of what that is?

So basically I think the percentage is that you can't have more than 5 to 10% of your dietary intake as carbs. And you need to understand that Cabbage has carbs, Brussels sprouts has carbs, 100% dark chocolate, you're done carbs for the day. So it's not just a matter of, oh, yeah, no, I just do sweet potato and I only do berries. Okay. But if you're doing more than six berries, you're no longer on keto. So. And then again, it's protein eventually turns into carbs, so it's very low protein and you basically have to eat a lot of fat. So I mean, really, if you're eating a lot of vegetables, you're already throwing off the carb intake and you're basically eating a paleo whole foods diet, which is, which is generally good. With that said, having a high carb diet is not the end of the world. A lot of blue zones, so areas that have people that live for long periods of time and that are really healthy, a lot of those areas are citizens that eat a lot of grains and a lot of carbs and they have a carb heavy diet. So again, it's not one size fits all. You can thrive on a really high carb, low fat diet and it might actually even be better for you. I know that it's not trendy right now, but there is a movement. It's just under the radar. Again, check out Medical Medium because he's got a lot of great resources and just making sure that you're, you're having good complex carbs or carbs from sugar. And now I can't remember what your original question was.

Yeah, it's good times to eat carbs, like clean, clean carbs at night. Bit of rice is okay before bed.

Totally. So carbs before bed in particular is really great to. Giving your brain a little bit of sugar will help to stabilize it and then so you won't wake up in the middle of the night craving sugar. So even Dave Asprey will suggest having like a teaspoon or a tablespoon of raw honey right before bed.

Been doing it. I love doing that.

Oh my God.

It's a good little hack, that one.

Same. I love raw honey. Raw honey is. Oh my goodness. So raw honey is a wild food, which means it's also an adaptogen. Wild Honey is so underrated. And make sure that you do opt for the raw. And if you're using raw honey, don't put it in super hot water because that will kill all the enzymes. I used to do that. And don't bake with.

Really?

Okay. Yes. So really raw honey needs to stay raw. So you can put it in, like, lukewarm water and stir it in.

I'm putting it in my teas this whole time.

No. So you might as well have been buying the really crap. Yeah. So it's like, if you're gonna buy the expensive raw honey, make sure it stays raw. So don't cook with it and don't put it in super hot things. So, yeah, a little bit of carbs before bed. Cherries, really carby. And also have melatonin. Same with kiwi. So they're a really great bedtime snack. And then car. After a workout. It's really important to replenish after a workout with carbohydrates and protein, ideally. Although most of us eat, like, way too much protein than we need and it's hard on the liver, but yeah. And if you're a young adult and if you exercise, you can eat carbs and not feel bad. Like, you know, if you're. If you're very stationary and you don't exercise and you're a little bit older, then, yeah, maybe hold up on the carbs. Carbs, because it could cause some weight gain. But if you're young and healthy and active, like, eat some dates. It's good stuff, and it's doing your body good and you need it.

This is such valuable information. Like, if I could have tuned into something like this back before I discussed. Because this is the stuff. It's. It's integrating something that. That fits your lifestyle. It's being your own experimenter, totally eating foods and being aware of how your body reacts. And that, for me, was one of the most powerful things that I did because I was in a corporate job, because I was eating the same time every day, doing it like I was in the same position. It was very easy to observe when I added things to my diet. How did it affect how I feel? Yeah, If I added something and I noticed, oh, I got a bit of brain fog, or I have some inflammation in the body, clearly my body doesn't respond well with that food. And sometimes it's foods that. That might be good for some people, but aren't good for me.

Exactly. You need to understand that when you read the, like, you know, bulletproof or whatever, you're getting the insights as to what works for Dave Asprey. And at the end of the day, that's not. You are not Dave Asprey. You have different genes, you're in different circumstances. So, yeah, it's great to take those tips and to take those learnings and, you know, try to incorporate them into your life, be mindful of what they do to you, but then be okay with if some of those things don't work for you. And as well, things change, like through the seasons and through different times in your life. So I've been on the keto diet before or keto ish diet, and it has really served me. But then again, change is really good. So then going towards more of a medical medium protocol where I'm actually, you know, almost a fruitarian. At some point in the. In the summer I was. And that really served me for a while and I felt, you know, cleansed and lighter and I felt like I had so much more energy and it was great. And now I'm back to kind of eating just normal. And I don't see it as like, oh, you know, that was just a trend, or that was. That served me in that moment and that helped me get to where I am right now. And so I think that we all like to cling on to the latest, greatest fad, but know that you can change your diet, you know, through the seasons, through the months, and that's okay. And that's what's really good for you. So listen and tune in to what you need right now.

Yeah, good advice. And one of the great things is I've had these conversations with a lot of my male friends, but it's great to have this conversation with a female because I know males and females are slightly different in hormonal things and diets will be slightly different. Should be different for females.

Yeah.

Do you mind expanding on that a little bit? Like, what does your diet consist of now?

Yes. So right now I'm intermittent fasting. I. I don't like to say I don't have a label for how I eat because that was one of the things that I realized wasn't healthy. To say that I'm vegan or that I'm paleo or whatever. It's. To put yourself under restrictions is just, I don't know, not necessary. So I will say that I eat everything, although I do stay away from gluten and I stay away from dairy. And if I ever do eat meat or any sort of animal protein, it has to be organic. So other Than that I eat everything and I'm totally easy. But yeah, I would say that my diet is like the 80, 20 rule. Like, I follow a whole foods, healthy diet, you know, 80% of the time. And then in that 20%, that I'm not necessarily eating the best ever food. I am doing so with so much love and so much happiness, and I'm seeing it as much like soul food. And, you know, I'm feeding myself with the fact that, you know, I'm. I'm at my friend's birthday and we're having this cake, and, you know, it would. It would be more damaging to myself to avoid that food and put that restriction on myself, because then that might lead to binging. I think getting back to your question around male versus female, and not to say that men are insensitive always or that it can't be more prone to eating disorders, but I know for myself and a lot of female friends, the more that we restrict, the more that that eventually leads to binging. And that's what ended up happening with me for the keto diet, because I followed it so specifically, and I took it such to heart that I was starving myself of carbs. And once I got a taste of a carb, I just. I wouldn't stop and I would just, like, go crazy. Or I would just binge on, like, you know, cocoa butter. Cause I was like, okay, well, like, I can have this, so I'm just gonna have all of it. And so I think. And I think, think men generally aren't as. They can kind of implement these rules into their life. And from. I don't know, from my understanding with the men that I know, it doesn't seem to affect them as emotionally. They just kind of do it and they don't overthink it. Whereas, like, I don't know, women, we have more of that, like, craving type thing. So. Yeah, that's. That's. And I don't know that that's just my opinion, so don't quote me on that.

Yeah, the binging. I'm a. I put my hand up. I have a tendency to binge as well.

Yeah.

When you define the difference between a binge and a cheat day, Because I feel like a cheat day is important. I have a day where I eat what I want. Totally refuels my discipline.

Absolutely. And you should not call that a binge. That's a really good question, because I don't want people to misunderstand. So having an extra slice of cake or making yourself a nice big meal and Then going for seconds and filling until you actually feel a little bit sick. I wouldn't call that a binge. That would just be.

Oh, thank God.

No, that's not a binge. A binge is literally eating until you feel sick. Like, eating. It's almost like an obsessive compulsive thing.

Emotional eating, essentially.

Exactly. You're not listening to your body at all because you've just, you've blanked it.

Out and you know, you're trying to, you, you're, you're trying to escape from, from some sort of emotional.

Exactly.

Mental chatter.

Yeah, exactly.

Gotcha. Yeah. I'm just going to be mindful of time.

Yes.

Well, I've got so many more questions I want to ask and time's ticking. While we're still on the diet topic, I'll touch quickly on vegan diets and vegetarian diets because my girlfriend's a vegan. There are a lot of vegans in Toronto.

Yep, there are.

There's a lot of vegans growing around the world.

Yeah.

What is your opinion on vegan? Like, is it healthy or not?

Okay, it can definitely be done healthy, but it's very, very difficult and it needs to be done. Like, mind, like, you need to be a health expert if you're being a vegan and to be healthy, because it's not for everyone. It's definitely not for everyone.

Yeah.

So you need supplementation if you're, if you're a vegan and you're not taking supplements, you're unhealthy, you're not getting enough B vitamins, you're not getting like, for instance, vitamin A. Yes, there's vitamin A and like sweet potato and vegetables. But the bioavailable, I think it's A one you need to be getting from like, you know, know, eggs or lamb or, or liver. Right.

I'm also Greek, so I'm Islam.

So, yeah, you just have to be very, very conscious of it. It's very difficult and it's expensive if you're vegan and doing it properly because you do need to supplement. You just need to be super conscious of everything that you're eating. There's so many vegans that just load up on carbs or, you know, they're loading up on legumes and they can only do it for so long until that they struggle with gut issues. And oftentimes I even know some vegans that are like, secretly not vegan anymore, but they are in that vegan world and they're all vegan friends, but they're starting to suffer with leaky gut and ibs, and they're implementing bone broth and collagen and these sorts of things that are making them feel so much better. But they don't want to then kind of admit that to the world because now they're in this vegan culture. And that's why I also just don't like, like using labels when it comes to how I eat, because I don't want people to pigeonhole me into something. And then what if I change my mind? Like, what if tomorrow I want to eat yogurt from a buffalo? Like, then I have that ability, you know? And so, yeah, I think vegetarian is easier because you can have the animal products that have stuff like vitamin K2 and, and that thing. So. And I'm not bashing vegetarians or vegans because I think there are, like, some healthy people that, that do it and that can do it. You just have to be. It's a lot more difficult.

Yeah, no, well said. Yeah. I think just limiting meat consumption in moderation, I found that's been the biggest thing for me.

Yeah.

Having a girlfriend that's vegan. I've incorporated a lot of vegan food now and I've noticed that I actually feel really good.

Yeah.

Cutting back on the meat. So totally.

I think a lot of us, the people that do eat meat, usually eat way too much. It doesn't need to be in every meal, it doesn't need to be every day. So. But, you know, once a month or a couple times a month to get that in can be very, very healing.

Well, yeah, agreed.

Yeah.

Going back to the biohacking front, you know, taking this another level deeper. Diet for me is the foundational. Clean up your diet and start to get. Get that right and you're gonna notice big differences. But once you've done that, I feel like you can take it another level deeper and start to implement little hacks.

Yes.

Little food hacks, little, like, sleep hacks, any type of hack. I define a bio hack as something that is a little change that results in a big difference. For example, for me, meditation, I would define as a hack because when I started meditating, I realized how much of a difference this was having in my life. 20 minutes in the morning, and the difference was massive. Another example was like bulletproof coffee.

Yeah.

Big hack. Like, it just changed. Changed the game for me.

Yeah.

What are some, like, little hacks that you use or you could recommend for people who want to just start to notice some, some differences in the way they think and Feel during the day, whether it's diet related or anything, what are your go to?

Okay. Oh, good question. I'll stay away from diet just because I feel like we've talked about that a lot. But I would say getting in sunlight every day is so important. Taking breaks throughout the day. So I think a lot of us, even if I. I mean, I work from home most of the time, but I will set an alarm if I know that I'm going to dig into work for an hour and a half to make sure that I get up. There's something. I can't remember the name of it now, but similar to how we have circadian rhythms, we have this thing, it's like our Ladian rhythms or something like that. And basically it happens every 90 minutes. And every 90 minutes max, we need to get up and take a break, like, mental capacity wise. So whether that's getting up and getting some water, going to the bathroom, you know, a lot of us, we feel the need to eat or like have a snack, but it could just be, you know, grabbing a tea or just walking over and saying hi to your neighbor, you know, at your desk. So for me, really taking breaks without the guilt trip of like, because you can feel it. You can feel your eye. There's like a soreness under your eyes or just that feeling of like, I just want to take a nap. And there's a reason that you, you know, you just scroll on Facebook or something like that. You need that kind of mental offset. So for me, the hardest part was actually just getting over being so judgmental towards myself of like, like, of like, oh, my God. No, I shouldn't need a break. Like, I've only been working like an hour. Yeah, no, that's okay. Some people's rhythm are like 45 minutes. They need a break. So breaks sunlight and I mean, meditation. That's like a big one. I use the Calm app and I make sure that I get 10 minutes every day to meditate. And then. Oh, I guess I'll say essential oils. I love essential oils.

I'm a big essential oil you sell.

Right. And they just. Which companies use Duterra?

Me too.

Oh, right.

Got one in my pocket right now.

Oh, my God. Yeah, I have a blend. Oh, yeah, I have a blend in my. In my thing.

Got my cheer. There we go.

Oh, amazing. Which. Which one's that?

This is. This is an uplifting blend. It's a lot of. A bit more citrusy.

Oh, awesome. Yes. But yeah. So is it essential oil?

Massive. Yeah.

Pardon?

Massive. Massive hack. Them.

Yes.

I put the morning. I've got my lemon with my water. I've got the peppermint lavender before bed.

I do. I've been doing on guard in the morning.

On guard, which is a.

It's a good one. Yeah. And actually I got into essential oil oils that, that, that reminds me of another hack, cbd. And I got into essential oils through cbd, so.

Really?

Yeah, because you can actually. So essential oils have what's known as terpenes.

Are you familiar from the CBD stuff? Yeah, the name rings a bell.

So they're basically the aroma emitting phenols that all plants and flowers and even some insects omit. And the way. And so obviously cannabis has terpenes and that's why it smells like weed. But a way that you can bring terpenes and the healing benefits of terpenes into your life with or without cannabis is actually through essential oils. Because essential oils have terpenes. And a lot of the most common terpenes that's in cannabis are actually very common in essential oils. So, you know, if you're looking for a strain of cannabis to really soothe you, you'd want to go for something that has high levels of Lylenool in it. It, AKA lavender. So you can use it with lavender or just use lavender and it'll do the same thing.

Or you get hot.

Yeah, exactly. Which I'm not. Totally not about. Or like pinene is one of the more energizing, uplifting. So yeah, the more I got into like researching cb, the more I was like, oh my God, essential oils. I need to, I need to stack this stuff.

Yeah. So it's new. It's a new. For you. The.

Yeah, yes. Only like this past couple months I've been getting into essential oil. I knew I would eventually because, you know, I eventually get into all those things and people would say like, oh my God, essential oils. You always meet those people, they're like, change my life. Essential oils. And I always know, I was like, I'm gonna be there eventually.

But I'm not there yet. You know, you have the diffuser at home yet.

Of course.

It'S the aroma. Creating a nice aroma in any environment, especially a working environment.

Yeah.

You know, if you can create a nice, nice aroma. I remember reading or hearing somewhere that lemon and it was another oil. Is the best oils to work at, the best scents to work around because.

It evokes the most like, kind of productivity.

Yes. Yeah.

Sort of thing.

That's right. So lemon around your desk is a good thing. As essential oil. I guess I'll give my little biohacking tips while we're at it. Because I tried a lot of different stuff. Like I was. I'll put my hand up. I spent a lot of money on Dave's products, the bulletproof products.

Did you get the glasses?

No, I didn't go that far. Didn't get the blue light blocking glasses. But I was listening to his podcast a lot while I was working my other job, and he sold a lot of his products on there and he would describe what they would do and how they would make you feel. I was like, gotta get that stuff.

Yeah.

I got the unfair advantage. I tried that.

Oh, yeah. And how did that.

It was good. I would use it before soccer games and it was the coq. Is that what's in it?

Yeah, I think. I think so. And also, isn't there curcumin in it as well?

I think so. It basically gives just cellular energy. So boost the mitochondria and they just supercharges them without like the need for caffeine or anything. And, yeah, I noticed a big difference using that. But for me, it was more back to just the simple little things that didn't require much money at all. And most importantly was. Was my sleep. I remember going nuts on sleep hacking and trying to really get my sleep, like, optimal because I was. I was insane. Telling I was insane. I was doing a little too much. I was burning the candle at both ends, but I was hacking my sleep so I could get up, you know, with only requiring six hours of sleep or five and a half hours so I could get up and do the stuff that I wanted to do before going to my corporate job.

Yeah.

And I remember incorporating things like the raw honey before bed with some MCT oil in some warm water and that, and apple cider vinegar before bed. I found that had a massive impact on my sleep, Just the quality of my sleep, which was key. And also supplementing things like magnesium, which I know is.

Magnesium is my favorite.

Yeah.

If there's one supplement everyone needs to get on, it's magnesium. And most people don't take enough because when you buy the magnesium pills, they'll say, like, you know, oh, take one to three. You need to be taking like, six of those.

Why use the spray now? Because it absorbs a lot better.

Yes.

We're geeking out in this stuff.

I put frankincense and copaiba in the spray because those are two good essential oils for pain relief. So after a workout, I'll spray myself with that. And so it's anti inflammatory, it's really good for pain relief. And then you're getting the magnesium and it's such a bioavailable form.

Good call. Yeah, good call. Yeah. Magnesium before bed is a big one. It really will help quality of sleep. Sleep, yeah. And trying to think, what else would I say would be my main biohack? Yeah. Fasting. Fasting was massive. Yeah. If just just incorporating a fast, starting off with like one or two times a week, skipping your breakfast and seeing how giving your body a chance to just clean up in house, totally cleanse and allow any remnants from the previous meals.

Yeah.

I think a Monday is a good time to fast because if you've binged out a little bit on the weekend, then you can allow the body to reset.

Exactly. Starting a new week, you can incorporate fasting in a way that helps you have less guilt around food. Like I noticed that, you know, if you know that you are gonna go out and kind of eat a lot or maybe it's Thanksgiving or something like that, you can just enjoy that event for what it is and eat what you want. Knowing that like, you know what, tomorrow I'll fast. Like it's, you know, not to say that you have to compensate every time you indulge, but it can be a nice way to again. Yeah. Like kind of let the body do its work and know that, you know, there's enough food in there that it has enough to work with.

That's right. That's one thing I have to reassure myself. I do. I can last like months. The human body can last months without food. I can last a day.

Exactly.

Yeah. So it's a reminder for people. I'm just keeping mindful of time. But biohacking is something. It really has changed my life and I'm sure it has changed yours.

And it's.

It's a journey that once you begin it's. You become very. You can become addicted to it, but at the same time it's integrating it around your life. And for me it was finding out why. Why I wanted to do this stuff and why I discovered biohacking in the first place was because I tuned into like a passion that I had for health and wellness and I wanted to like just improve how I felt overall. So I had more energy to give exactly in the avenues of my life that, that I wanted to share my creative outlets. I wanted to have energy to play sport, to be able to work and do the things I needed to do. All requires energy. So biohacking for me, is building your storage of energy. It's using whatever tools you have to ensure that whatever creative output you're doing, whether. Whatever work that is, whatever your creative outputs are, which I hope people are starting to tune into, because that was foundational for me. When I started working in the corporate job, I didn't have a creative output. Creative outlet.

Yeah.

I was working in tax. There's no creative side to that.

Yeah.

So I found my outlet, which was blogging at the time. And then biohacking enabled me to fuel this. This fueled me to be able to get up early in the morning and write blogs, and fuel gave me the energy to get through the day. What's your integration with buy it like, biohacking? Like what? What's your creative outlet? Why is this purposeful for you?

Yeah, well, that's a. I love what you said about. It's just about being your best self so that you can be your best self. And I think that that was while my journey in health and wellness started with probably almost more aesthetic reasons of like, oh, I want to look prettier. But then you realize, oh, wow, like, if I do these things, I can give more. I can do more of what I want and give more to the world. And so for me, one of my creative outlets was blogging as well, and just being on this journey of health and wellness. And I guess people just started to clock on that I was on this journey and they would ask me for tips. And then being able to share it with people was so rewarding because you realize that people are so many people feel like they've missed the boat or that there's guilt around that they're not doing enough and that they know that they're unhealthy, but they don't quite know what to do about it. They feel like, oh, well, no, I don't have the time, or I don't know what to do. And so being able to. Because I'm obsessed with that information, like, live it, learn it, and then distill it to them in a really easy way is just so rewarding. And I still have to remind myself that I still need to live it and I still need to take breaks. And I can't just always be on and always be learning all these things and always blogging about and always sharing because it sometimes to slow down is to speed up. And so I also love what you said in terms of the biohacks, that a lot of the best ones are free, you know, sunlight, community, making sure that you get Enough sleep. Like all of those ones are really the life changing biohacks. I think that for myself I jumped on board all of the more expensive kind of tools and aesthetics and the oura ring that tracks your sleep. And I thought, and I think a lot of us think that biohack is like, oh my God. But I can, I can't afford brain octane oil and I can't do all that. But it's like, yes, those help and those are awesome. But if you really want to change the way that you live, then meditating for 10 minutes a day, gratitude, practice in the morning or at night journaling, all of those things make such a difference that you don't even need to change your diet. You don't need to take any other supplements. All of those things will money back guarantee and there's no money to put to.

So true. It's the holistic approach as well. It's the mind, body, spirit, soul, consciousness. Like it's integrating all three. And the biohacking and diet and exercise for me was, is mind and body is getting the vessel and getting the body and mind working in sync so that you can find the meaning and purpose in your life.

Exactly.

That's what it's all about for me. It's all we're all chasing. We just want to feel good.

Exactly. And remind yourself that you're doing it because you want to feel good. So if you're ever doing some, you know, these biohacks and you realize that you're not feeling your best ever, then remind yourself that it's like the whole reason I'm doing this is to feel good. So if you're, you know, if you're fasting and it's not been the 16 hours yet and you're absolutely starving and it's 15 hours, then you know, eat and be okay with that. Because it's like, you know what, I did what I could and at the end of the day I want to feel good. Obviously there's a line, but I think a lot of us need that kindness reminder more than we need the.

Yeah. And the forgiveness. So forgive ourselves. If like, you know, you have, you have bad food and you don't feel good, like that's fine. It is what it is. It's, it's a lot of. It comes down to how we choose to, especially with food, how we choose to perceive what we're having.

Like absolutely.

We create energy through gratitude and emotional states. You can infuse that into your lifestyle through the foods you have, the things you do if you're in a state of gratitude and appreciation and thankfulness for like, at least we have food. Some people don't even have food. Some people don't have clean water.

And it's not even just woo woo stuff, it's real science. If you take, you know, three to five big deep breaths before a meal, which is something that I always do, I make sure when I sit down I generally have, I'll like, sometimes I'll break my fast at like noon after a workout too, and I'll do a smoothie bowl. But it's not just fruit. I'll do it with frozen zucchini, frozen cauliflower, I'll cook up some sweet potato and then freeze that. And anyways it all ends up being super delicious. And then I'll top it with some berries and some nut butter and all that jazz anyways. But I always look at it and, and then I just take like five nice deep breaths. And that literally puts your body into rest and digest mode, which is what you need to be in in order to assimilate all of the nutrients from that food. It's science. So if you're in fight or flight, then you're not digesting that food. And what I recently learned, actually I interviewed this awesome guy, Brian Hardy, who's also a biohacker, and he was talking about the mind, body, gut connection. And in order for a happy mind and body, it really does depend on a happy gut because a lot of our neurotransmitters like gaba, serotonin, dopamine, are all manufactured in the gut, in the digestive process. So. So if you're not digesting and assimilating nutrition, whether it's because of poor diet or whether it's because of stress or infection, then you're literally not creating serotonin, gaba, dopamine, and hence your brain is starving for those nutrients and it's impossible to feel happy. And they've actually done studies that a lot of the time the root cause of depression is actually a gut problem. So it could be a matter of, you know what, don't even change your diet. But you know, practice some mindful eating strategies like deep breaths before eating. Oftentimes plating your food rather than eating out of a bag where you can't see the end is a good thing. And chewing more, try chewing 20 times.

Chewing slower.

Exactly.

Slower bites.

Exactly. You won't need as much.

Yeah, man, I'm a culprit for that. I always just like to shovel stuff in. Appreciate each especially if it's something you enjoy eating, slow down and really enjoy the moment.

It can be really frustrating the first, first couple times, but the rewards are amazing.

Yeah, I'm practicing that right now. So, Kiki, before I finish up and ask the last question, you know, I really want people to know where they can find you online because you have amazing content, you have such a great blog and your, your social media pages are just like popping with great stuff. Where can people find your stuff online?

Oh, thank you. So right now my handles and everything is all me by Kiki. So Instagram me by Kiki, S O M E by And a lot of times people ask me how to pronounce, how to spell Kiki. I'm like, obviously it's K I, K I. And then my blog, mebykiki.com cool.

Love it. So for people who are listening, you know, a lot of people live like some people. I for one was stuck in that position where I wasn't really sure what my passions were. I was working a job that I wasn't fulfilled at and I was really frustrated and confused and I felt stuck in my position. If someone is listening or watching this and they're still figuring out what their passion is, they don't really have a purpose yet. Clearly you're starting to really dig into a purpose here. You found a passion that's. I can see it lights you up, same as me. I'm super excited about this stuff. But what if someone hasn't quite found that yet? What sort of things can they start to do? Little things in their day that can really start to help them tune into their own voice and what it is they're here to do.

That's an awesome question. So I would say first of all, visualize what it will feel like and what it will look like and what you're going to do when you, when you do find your purpose. It's okay to not know your purpose. Even myself, I still struggle with specifically, like, what is my five year goal? What. What does my ten year timeline specifically look like? And instead of worrying and fixating on, oh, I need to get the answer to that question. Think about how you'll feel when you have the answer and be okay with that process. And in the meantime, just do things that you enjoy. And maybe that's just hanging out with friends or doing art or cooking and kind of lean into the things that make you feel good and make a conscious effort to daily. Whether it's a meditation or whether it's just literally lying down on your bed and thinking about, okay, like, how am I going to feel when I know what I want to do? Or how am I going to feel when I. When I do have that dream job, whatever that dream job is, and how might I look? Where might I be? What might I smell, what might I eat while I'm doing those things and just kind of get creative and get playful rather than, you know, try to map out. I think that a lot of us like, you know, vision boards and that kind of thing, but they can be a little bit daunting when you don't know your path. And so don't. So don't worry yourself with all of the details and instead just lean into the playfulness of asking yourself those questions.

Great answer. Follow the curiosity simply just by asking the question, like, what do I want? Or what am I passionate about?

Exactly.

That's it.

Enjoy that process. Exactly. Like, you're already a step ahead. Like, I meet so many people that they do say that they're like, oh, yeah, I'm not quite sure, but I know. And it's like, wow, you're already like, like, so ahead of the game because there are so many people that are just in there, you know, nine to five jobs, whatever, that they don't even know that they're unhappy. You've acknowledged that you are and that you want to make a change. Like, congratulations about taking that awesome first step. Like, you're well on your way.

Well said, my friend. Thank you for joining me. This has been such a enjoyable conversation.

Thank you so much.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Really appreciate you being on the podcast.

Thank you.

Until next time, guys. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the podcast. It really means a lot to me knowing that you're choosing this type of content. And, you know, if there's one thing I can leave you with as you take off for the rest of your day is two calls of actions for you. One of the calls of action that I've been trying to do recently every single day is do one act of kindness. I mean, if you can do more than one act, that's perfect. But start with one. Try and just do something kind for someone else. You know, pay for someone's coffee ahead of you or just open the door for someone, hold the door open for someone when they're walking by. These little acts of kindness can really go a long way and it actually improves the way you feel and also improves the way someone else feels. And that kind of stems on throughout the day. So try and do that. Find something kind to do for someone else. Here's one opportunity for you to do some act of kindness is go ahead and leave some feedback on the podcast on itunes, leave a rating or review you, or if you're feeling extra special, share this with someone else to try and help someone else out on their journey. And that will mean a lot for me. It'll mean a lot for other people, and it's going to mean a lot for you. Because the more acts of kindness we do, we spread the love. So thank you so much for joining me and I'll see you in the next episode.