Barbell Shrugged - Feed Me Fuel Me  — Making Healthy Taste Good w/ Jason Sani  — 85

Episode Date: May 3, 2018

Jason Sani is a trained and licensed Culinary Nutritionist that has worked in the Athletics and Sports Medicine industry for 10+ years. While still active in competitive sports Jason turned his focus to Nutrition and training geared towards the active population.   With an open-minded, yet focused approach, Jason has committed to being a student of life, worldly wisdom, and motivation. He practices what he preaches and leads an energetic lifestyle by example. In this episode, Jason talks about the positive and negative sides of paleo vs. plant based diets, and how a “gray area” in between might be an optimal choice. He also covers the “Dirty Dozen” of the organic foods industry that should always be avoided because of how well they hold on to residual pesticides. Jason’s advice goes beyond the kitchen, he encourages folks to be mindful and show gratitude as part of their life. Enjoy! - Jeff and Mycal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Show notes: http://www.shruggedcollective.com/fmfm_sani ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Please support our partners! Thrive Market is a proud supporter of us here at Barbell Shrugged.  We very much appreciate all they do with us and we’d love for you to support them in return!  Thrive Market has a special offer for you. You get $60 of FREE Organic Groceries + Free Shipping and a 30 day trial, click the link below: thrivemarket.com/feedme How it works:  Users will get $20 off their first 3 orders of $49 or more + free shipping.  No code is necessary because the discount will be applied at checkout. Many of you will be going to the store this week anyway, so why not give Thrive Market a try! ► Subscribe to Shrugged Collective's Channel Here http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedSubscribe 📲 🎧 Listen to the audio version on the Apple Podcast App or Stitcher for Android Here- http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedApple http://bit.ly/BarbellShruggedStitcher Shrugged Collective is a network of fitness, health and performance shows that help people achieve their physical and mental health goals.  Usually in the gym, but outside as well. In 2012 they posted their first Barbell Shrugged podcast and have been putting out weekly free videos and podcasts ever since. Along the way we've created successful online coaching programs including The Shrugged Strength Challenge, The Muscle Gain Challenge, FLIGHT, Barbell Shredded, and Barbell Bikini. We're also dedicated to helping affiliate gym owners grow their businesses and better serve their members by providing owners tools and resources like the Barbell Business Podcast. Find Shrugged Collective and their flagship show Barbell Shrugged here: SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES ► http://bit.ly/ShruggedCollectiveiTunes WEBSITE ► https://www.ShruggedCollective.com INSTAGRAM ► https://instagram.com/shruggedcollective FACEBOOK ► https://facebook.com/barbellshruggedp... TWITTER ► http://twitter.com/barbellshrugged  

Mike Bledsoe here, CEO of The Shrug Collective. Today, we bring to you a new show, Feed Me, Fuel Me, hosted by Jeff Thornton and Mike Landers. As we're expanding what we offer, traveling to great guests, and introducing you to the best content, we have partnered with amazing companies that we believe in. We talk and hang out with the founders and owners of these businesses. Not all products are created equal, even if it looks like it on the surface.

We've done the research and have been in the industry long enough to see what really works and what will make the biggest difference for you long-term. With that being said, one of my favorite companies, Thrive Market, has a special offer for you. You get $60 of free organic groceries

plus free shipping and a 30-day trial. ThriveMarket.com slash feedme. This is how it works. Users will get $20 off their first three orders of $49 or more plus free shipping. No code is necessary because the discount will be applied at checkout. Many of you will be going to the store this week anyway, so hit up Thrive Market today. Go to ThriveMarket.com slash feedme. Enjoy the show.

This is episode number 85 of the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast with our special guest, author of Making Healthy Taste Good, Jason Sani. Welcome to the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast. My name is Jeff Thornton alongside my co-host Michael Anders. Each week we bring you an inspiring person or message related to our three pillars of success. Manifestation, business, fitness and nutrition. Our intent is to enrich, educate and empower our audience to take action, control, and accountability for their decisions. Thank you for allowing us to join you on your journey. Now let's get started.

Hey, what's good, fam? Welcome to episode 85 of the Feed Me, Fuel Me podcast. Derz and Jeff coming at you with our original co-host, Jason Sani, who is now the author of Making Healthy Taste Good. Book just launched. It's on Amazon and here, there, and everywhere. Number one, congratulations on all your growth. Yeah, bro. Thank you. Since we parted ways on the show, Jeff and I definitely wouldn't have made it this far without you helping us get this thing rolling.

It feels so good to be back. It's a reminder of what happens when I think, whether we call ourselves great minds come together, it's so much more powerful than an idea, I think, to get the whole ball rolling. I take so much pride in getting to be a part of something like this and especially seeing you guys growing to get to

85 episodes, which is incredible. And the quality of guests that you have now, it's like coming back and getting to be a guest. I take a lot of pride in that. No, man. It's good to have you back, dude. But I'm sitting here holding your baby. Yes. Your book.

Kiss the baby. Your brainchild. Yep. This is the manifestation of your greatness, my friend. And this is the manifestation of your greatness my friend and this is this is huge you know having gone through the the book writing process you know I have an idea of what you put into this and how's it been since you launched it's been it's been one of the most exhilarating types of feelings ever I think it's wild the type of stressors that we can create for ourselves when we have a big project.

And it's so much, like I admire people that can go on and be happy and like on all the time and still accomplish, you know, things that have so much more meaning and fulfillment. So it's exhilarating in the sense that I'm not carrying around that weight of this expectation of getting this book out. I had for so long said, it's almost there. And it's like, how do you define almost for me? It was like a word that I used for accountability to like, let people know I'm making progress. Um, but it feels incredible to have it in people's hands. Um, it's, it makes all of that time and effort feel worth it although like i was extremely stubborn and i probably should ask for help and there's so many things i learned throughout the process but no it feels really good that's dope it's what's so cool to see is i remember us all having the conversation two years ago or somewhere around that time yeah when you were starting to

make the book yeah and actually see it and fill it in our hands dude that's a major accomplishment dude congrats on that bro and that's one of the biggest things too is to see an idea that was a concept like come to fruition and be now a physical object that represents like so much you know i for me it's like you know we all talk about that legacy thing i think it's like no matter what happens at least i get to put out a big part of like my thought process yeah and that I truly think is unique and explain so many different pictures of, of this art that is so meaningful to me. Like now it's out, it's here. It's something that even if I'm not around, uh, it represents and tells, you know, it tells its own story. And, you know, two years ago was when I started this process. remember a couple years before i had started a process of uh you know of a book and it's just like and i and i realize now

having conversations there's so many people that start that process some finish some don't you know der's over here like you know what it's like the the price you have to pay to put everything else on hold to really get it done like it goes so far beyond like a 95 or an hour here and there. Oh, totally. You know, and it's not like you just dropped everything and said, you know what, I'm just going to be an author. You know what I mean? You had a lot of other things going on with your nutrition consulting and personal training and whatnot. So, you know, you, you have to, you know, you, you start these things kind of on the side and they kind of grow way past that. And it's one of those things where

it's okay. If you want to look at it from a nine to five perspective, you know, you have 16 hours on the back end of that to work on your book. Yep. And that's what a lot of people don't realize. You know, when I was writing the manifestation of affirmation, you know, I spent a lot of time on planes, you know, where I had a concentrated six hours of nothing to do and just poured in, poured words down on paper or you know I was up at you know between midnight and 3 a.m. getting ideas down and I'm sure you had a lot of the same you know absolutely you know and that brings me to like the energy management which I talked a little bit about in the book and I talked about it with all my clients but there's time management and there's energy management

and you know it's like okay like I'm working on a little project I'm gonna start a business, so I'm gonna do it when I'm done with work at 5 But sometimes work goes till 6 mm-hmm, and I happen to just over You know just overdo it like talking with people and putting energy out so now It's like I'm drained at the end of the day so that two hours that I was gonna save to work on my little baby or project Isn't all that effective right so you save to work on my little baby or project isn't all that effective. Right. So you have to learn to things. Okay. What can I trade off when I have optimal energy to be more productive or effective? And this goes with anything that's meaningful in life. It's like,

you need to prioritize that. So there'd be times instead of like working with a client or doing another project, when I knew my energy was going to be good, I had to dedicate it to the books or, you know, it's like, and so it, so it's like there's always an opportunity cost or something that you're trading in or a consequence or a cost of something to be able to do that. But I also realized that like one to two really good energetic hours like earlier in the day was so much more effective than sometimes four hours later in the nighttime where I was just kind of staring at a computer. And it was just like, and you know how that is probably just like, you're so determined to get some words or ideas out, but you just, you've used, I'll tell you what, man. And I'd love for you to elaborate on that, that blank tape, those blank tape moments where, you know, you build it into your schedule. It's on your calendar, whatever I'm going to write for four, I'm not doing anything for four hours i'm going to dedicate this four hours to my book that time comes and

whether your energy's right or not you've got nothing yep oh i can't tell you how many times and how do you explain that like i you know at the time like you know when i was you know i had a girlfriend and you know she'd asked me what I wanted to do. And I'm constantly in the mindset of feeling like I need to be productive. And it was like, yeah, if I had to tell you what I did, I wrote two pages in the last four hours and rearranged some words and thought about some ideas. And it's like there were so many days that were like that. But it's like that's part of the process um i mean obviously i think if you have somebody that's helping you that's so many people use like ghost writers and so on and things like that and there's there's a lot of things i learned from this process that i can do but it's funny how

much kind of like stalled or i don't know if you call it dead time there there is but it's part of the process i think and like where can you go to tap in inspiration i became obsessed it's like how do i get on like I think I need to light this incense I need to meditate first I'm gonna take a cold shower so I'm more alert then have a cup of coffee with some mushrooms in it and then I'm gonna arrange my desk so it's like perfect so I'm not distracted right and that process would take a half hour okay now I got an hour and 15 minutes to do what I wanted to do.

Or you have like these lightning strikes of creative genius at the worst moments ever. Like you'll be driving, you know, and you've got like 30 seconds at a red light and you're like, ding. And it's like, ah. You know, I can't, you know, put all this stuff in notes on my phone fast enough. And then you cross the street and you've lost it. And that's fire, man. Because whether, you know, it's the same thing. If you're stuck on an idea, it's like sometimes we need to slow ourselves down or distract ourselves. If we're overthinking about something, we're trying too hard.

Like we're creating this stressor and your brain is not going to be optimized or your creativity's not going to be optimized. So for me, it was like finding those outlets. Sometimes it's getting out and going for a run. It is going for a drive, listening to music. Unplugging was when the information would pour in and I'd get past that little bit of plateau because it's like sometimes like art can't be forced or if you're trying to be creative and explain something. It'd be funny. The book was created because I had worked with so many people hands-on and done workshops and worked with clients.

So a lot of times some of the best ideas would come in when I would be working with somebody and I would be like, wait, this perspective is why this person understands that. And so I'd go back in with the book and try to explain something. Like when I talk about flavor insurance, it's like taking the little things that you crave. That's why you make the choice of what you're going to eat. So it's like, okay, I'd have to take a note of that and say, what are some examples? Well, this person, you know, they like chocolate. So we're going to use a little chocolate chips to get them to eat

more food or volume or whatever the case is. But it's like, you have to take like little notes like that. And some of that comes in the midst of doing something. Sure. That's interesting, dude. How did you come up with all the recipes that you do? Are you just figuring out as you go, failure? I'm just obsessed. I feel so thankful.

It's funny because I'll work with somebody and it's like a show like Chopped. I find inspiration all over the place. But let's say you go out to a restaurant and you see something on the menu. My mind thinks like how can I recreate that? And I give credit for, that's cool that they combine those types of flavors. And that there doesn't need to be rules of what works together with what. So for instance, me trying to be really low carb if I was trying to look good for modeling or a photo shoot or something like that. I would be avoiding sugars and carbohydrates, but I still wanted to eat like pancakes, waffles, and ice cream. So it's like, okay,

how can I make these recipes using like protein powder as a base or coconut flour? Or then I, you know, gotten the whole gluten-free kick. So it was like, okay, making pizza and pasta dishes and things like that without gluten. So for me, it was constantly, and then sometimes it was clients. If I worked with a client that had a food intolerance, it was like, I can't eat this way or I'm picky. Well, here's a new way to look at this food and transform it into something that's more desirable. So I was a very particular kid growing up and like I didn't want to eat vegetables, but my mom like allowed me to make like a sauce. So it's like the sauce necessarily wasn't healthy, but it was the tool that I used to eat more of what I needed to eat. And that plays into like the same thing. wasn't healthy, but it was the tool that I used to eat more of what I needed to eat.

And that plays into like, it's same thing. It's just, it's kind of cheating the system to keep it fresh all the time. So like, that's where I have a lot of fun with it. Like for me, my biggest stress relief, my meditation a lot of times is in the kitchen when I take some ingredients that I happen to have in the fridge and do kind of improvisational type of meal. And I use a little bit of seasoning here, a little bit of a sauce here. And to me, I get lost in that moment. I'm not thinking about anything else. So for me, it was just like freestyling a lot and having fun and looking, you know,

where there was, you know, inspiration. I took a lot of pride in like, if somebody said they didn't like something or like something, like making a new version for them. But like, how are some staples, what are some staples that you have in the cabinet? sometimes you when you walk into a grocery store you have this big list when you before you go then you get there and you're like okay salt pepper lemon pepper i'm done and just like you just bounce yeah and you leave and you're just like there's so much

more i could have gotten but i don't know what to get you're such a bodybuilder bro you know salt pepper and lemon pepper you know that is like that's like the best quintessential you know what like what are staples to spicing up that because i always find myself like lost in the mist every time i just walk in the grocery store like what new should i what's something new i should try but i just always go back to the same things so we gotta and this is fun so let's say let's just say something really cliche like um you eat chicken and and broccoli and a sweet potato for instance that can be made into like 10 different combinations of things by having a couple different flavors in hand so i talk about flavor insurance and what i mean by that are let's

just say like you know five to ten go-to tools that you use to make these foods more enjoyable for instance you don't need five spices to to make a recipe when I can use a Mexican seasoning blend. It has like paprika and garlic and onion and chili powder, for instance. Or if I want like an Asian fusion type of meal, I don't need to have like five different seasonings. I'll use coconut aminos because that's going to be kind of like a little Thai fusion style type of thing. So for me, it's having a couple of sauces that I go to or I'll take a hot sauce and I upgrade it by taking a funnel and adding in apple cider vinegar or some turmeric or pumpkin pie spice. But I like to have like go-to seasoning blends, nutritional yeast, which has like a savory cheesy type of taste but that in combination with like uh uh the coconut aminos or an acid like lemon or apple cider vinegar or onion brings out a very savory taste and um you know obviously like a good like pink sea salt but for me it's like it's transforming you know making

a sauce out of like i can throw carrots and blend them up with with almonds and like a soy sauce type of thing and make my own like type of peanut sauce. You know, definitely lemon and lime, citrus sauce can revamp a lot of flavors. I cook with tea a lot to be able to cut back on the caloric load from oil. So if I'm steam frying food, rather than throwing a bunch of oil down, which gets absorbed into what I'm eating, I'm going to start out with like a turmeric or ginger tea or a rooibos tea as a base to be able to help create steam to break the foods down and then at the end i'll add in seasonings and flavors or so on so it's like um having a couple liquid flavor type of bases um and playing around with it but like i

love coconut aminos for that instant savory type of kick and making a lot of sauces so in the book i have like just like you would make a smoothie I have little sauces that you can make like instant type of sauces that you can just throw on something. And to me it's worth it. You got to say, okay, well it's going to take five minutes and you got to clean up a little mini blender. But to me it's worth it to love a food. Right. And I get a lot of people say, no, it's all right. I, I like food. I can eat vegetables. Well, yeah, you're tolerating them. I want, if you can love vegetables, you're unlocking a key to like so much more health, whether you're eating low carb or you're just trying to prevent disease or so on that's dope because i've i've actually made one of your recipes it was the was

it the cocoa nibs or is it what's it the little uh energy bite type of things yeah thin mint type of thin mints those are incredible man yeah and like i just dropped into a sprouts and got all the the ingredients and stuff yeah and i can't tell man, you could eat a whole tray of those things and you're almost full, but you don't feel like, you don't feel as heavy when you eat like a Girl Scout type of mint, like the thin mint type of stuff. That stuff was incredible. And so that was a big inspiration behind a lot of recipes is, is eating food that makes you feel good.

Like truly, like not just instant gratification, but like we all know we go out to eat our favorite restaurant and the next day we feel like we kind of have a food baby. Like I think that drains our energy. And so it's like we need to be able to eat recipes that make us feel good. And so like everything in the book doesn't take a lot of time. You can make it in less than 20 minutes. And you like feel good after eating it. I think that's one of the biggest keys is like we need to feel good if we're

going to be inspired to keep doing the process. So it's like, I'll tell you, man, here's what I like about the book, um, is above and beyond the recipes. I mean,

you can find recipes anywhere, right? But you go above and beyond and you touch on, uh, condiments and sauces. Cause I'll tell you, man, when I go out to eat,

you know, even when I try to do it well, you know, I go with the, the lean filet and the baked potato without all the extra, you know, the sauce they put on that shit or the, the butter that they cook the steak with tears my stomach apart. You know what I mean? Like when my wife does filet on the grill, she doesn't use any of that stuff. So it's like, it's all good, whatever. But that heavy sauce I've learned when I go out to eat is what really tears me up. Yep.

Right? So the fact that you've gone above and beyond and you actually have how to recreate that same taste and flavor profile where that wouldn't happen. Yep. Like that's so bonus, bonus right because now it's not just you know a hot piece of meat yeah you know what i mean which which i still which i still

enjoy like i know i get called a hot piece of meat you know what i'm saying right but now you know you you increased the the flavor profile of the stuff that you know especially from coming from bodybuilding where it's just like steam it and eat it yeah you know what i mean now you you've you've given people the opportunity to make go above and beyond just the the nuts and bolts of nutrition and and making it taste better Did that just kill you, though? That killed me. That hot piece of meat killed me real fast. But you know what I'm saying? Yeah, that's the real talk, though. When I body built, you know, once I got an understanding of the basic principles of nutrition, you know, like that's how I did it.

You know what I mean? I've never weighed an ounce of food, um, or, or any of that stuff. It was just, you know, uh, lean, lean white chicken, white fish, uh, salmon once a week, red meat once a week. And then, you know, as colorful as I could make it with, uh, you know, vegetables and brown rice, the whole, the whole nine. Right. But it was like super basic. Like I would never cook that for my girlfriend. If I was, you know what I mean? If I was never cook that for my girlfriend if I was, you know what I mean? Yeah.

If I was trying to show off my culinary skills, I would fail epically. You know what I'm saying? So, but like to take those fundamental principles that, you know, will not only help you, uh,

feel better, increase performance, increase your aesthetic, but it tastes good. That's baller. Bro, you knocked it out of the park. Well, and that's so major. Like I want food that can be a conversation piece at the same time. Like, especially like, let's say you're single guy or girl, like you can, that can be part of

your date or what you're doing for fun is recreating a dish that you see somewhere and let it be a conversation piece. And I get it. I went through the whole clean eating type of thing and it's like at the same time it's like you can't have a conversation about just getting in your macros eating chicken breasts and some veggies especially if they're bland because it's going to be like right all right that's that's it you've got your food in or whatever but it's like this can be a conversation if you make your you know like a homemade sauce that amplifies the flavor and yeah you got your macros and then the sauce is an opportunity to get more of your micronutrients. And imagine like your favorite sauce, like literally right now, whether, you know, think

about this, whether it's ranch or a cheese sauce or like a pasta sauce or like hummus river, imagine this, whatever your favorite sauce is that you could just sriracha or whatever you could put all over food. What if I told you, you could have a sauce like that like that the more you ate of it the healthier you would be and like in there i truly have sauces like that you know for instance i do you know like a thai fusion sauce where like i put in some baby carrots you're going to get some fiber and like beta carotene and that's that ends up being kind of the water base of the sauce because vegetables are made from water and then i'll throw in some cashews to thicken it up and that fat up being kind of the water base of the sauce because vegetables are made from water.

And then I'll throw in some cashews to thicken it up and that fat emulsifies and brings it together. And then I could throw in something like roasted red peppers or garlic or bring in some citrus. Same thing, I have a barbecue sauce that you can sneak vegetables in and it's super satisfying, but it gives you an opportunity to sneak in veggies and micronutrients, which those micronutrients also have different enzymes, which are going to help you break down and absorb that meal that much better.

And so it's like, that makes it fun that you can make this sauce, which can be almost the main entree. Like use that, let sauce be your hero. I have that written in the book and I have a ranch in there. I have a ranch that you can eat a bunch of because instead of using like buttermilk and these ingredients they don't have any benefit you can either use hemp hearts or do one with cashew and the rest of the ingredients are similar using garlic you're using dill you're using a citrus but it gives you an opportunity to sneak in some extra things that have benefits and then it's like

makes food prep really easy make a bunch of food and then have a couple different sauces that you can throw on things and Your meals are so much more satisfying and that's what I'm big about is like don't eat bland food like and that's why I always Ask people like do you love what you're eating? And I don't say do you like what you're gonna say? Do you love it? Because if you don't love it, it's one of life's greatest pleasures and joys like you're gonna get bored with it You're it's more likely that you're gonna give in because you're gonna have satisfaction, right? And you know that that's an awesome in because you're gonna have satisfaction right and you know that

That's an awesome point because you know when you talk about Competition prep from a bodybuilding standpoint It's I always describe it as something that's unsustainable Whether you do multiple shows a year or you just do one a year, you know what I mean in the context of your life It's a very short window But if I had something like this back when I was competing, that would make life, that would have made life, that would have made the process so much more enjoyable. Versus, because my routine used to be, I'd get up at four o'clock in the morning. My first client would be at five.

I'd wake up at four o'clock in the morning, have some chicken thawed out, throw it in the pan. I'd boil some spinach in bulk and I take all six things to Tupperware with me. And that's how I would eat all day long. I'd take, I'd take the, uh, make a big batch of one thing and I would chop it up into six pieces. And that's how I'd have every two hours all for, and put them over for 14 weeks and i think people that that that's something that 99 of people even in the bodybuilding community wouldn't do yeah yep you know you know and it's like and here's an example like if you want to do something that is low carb or low sugar like there's tons of options for that like go-to flavors like you can always put citrus like

lemon or lime so i get a bottle of organic like lemon or lime juice. And like that can be a way to like revive some leftovers or just splash it on. There's not going to be any extra calories in there. Use a vinegar-based type of dressing or make a little fat go a long way. Like blending up some avocado or olive oil or mashing it up is going to create more volume for something like that, that you can use that as a tool to eat more vegetables. And that's the thing. We all know we need to eat more vegetables or more nutritious foods, but the how, and

like, so what I do is I'm bridging like good intentions with, with like the action of actually doing it by taking some flavors that you can do to be able to make that stuff more desirable. For instance, like, you know, the whole cauliflower rice the whole cauliflower rice, it's an example of you could eat a plate full of that and you've only eaten like 100 calories. Yet that's going to keep you full, satisfied, provide you with a bunch of nutrients. We can use that same method to try to eat a sweet potato that's sweet potato rice or parsnip rice or broccoli rice or carrot rice. It takes a couple minutes, but it's going to transform and mix it up. And treat it just like stir-fried rice type of thing. That's dope.

And make it in a couple minutes with a simple tool. And then it's like you're eating something different all the time. And again, it's like, you know, it makes it fun. That's dope, man. I like this. It needs to be fun. Like going on, what you're talking about, Dara, is like even like you were talking about meal prep a little bit earlier. And I think that's why I'm not against meal prep companies, but I think I have a hard time transitioning into buying food from meal prep companies. Because it makes me feel sick like when I had to look at my boiled chicken and broccoli and rice or whatever sitting in those black trays.

Oh, sure. And it's so just like the appeal factor is the bigger turnoff for me than actually what's in the food. You know, because it looks the same as what I was eating when i was doing bodybuilding right so it takes me back to that that past but with what you're talking about like you said if i would have had that that would have transformed you know how i would have done things or even how i'm doing things now so i could look at like meal prep throughout the week and say hell yeah let me make a sauce let me do follow what sonny has in here in the recipe book and then make my meals look more appetizing and not just so plain and simple.

So the thing I take a lot of pride in really quick is you give me any, let's say you are a macronutrients or a food you need to eat, and what I take pride in is being able to make that more palatable and desirable for you. So it's like people are like, I don't like sweet potatoes because they're so boring and they're baked. Well, it's like chop it up, put it in a toaster

oven and have sweet potato toast. Turn it into sweet potato rice. Right. You can do a microwaved version and then chop it up and stir fry it with some sauce. You know, if you want a quick version, you can you can bake it, you can boil it, you can slice it, you can spiralize it and eat it into fries. Right. You can steam it and then throw it into a pancake or a waffle so that's 10 different ways to eat a sweet potato you know what i mean yeah right and so like when i get people that say i don't like these foods i'm like well i didn't used to either i think it's just being open-minded that new needs to be the new normal that like a food that you don't think you like could be your favorite food if you just try if you're

open-minded to the things the delivery system and if you're eating your favorite presentation is everything yeah and if you're eating your favorite thing every day you're going to be a happier person yeah for sure yeah yeah well you know the what i love about you bro is you've mastered the the chemistry of food and then made it palatable for idiots like me you know know, this is, this is like, I understand eating healthy. Like I get that part, but the, the process of making it enjoyable. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like I wouldn't describe the nutrition part of my contest prep when I was bodybuilding as enjoyable. It was a means to an end. Like the goal was bigger than the tasks. I was able to do it, but on the day to day when I'm not, you know, preparing for a show, it's like, this is,

I don't enjoy this, you know, but based, you know, based on everything I've seen in this book, man, you make the process enjoyable. And like, for me, that speaks, I resonate with that so much because I spend so much time helping people enjoy, fall in love with the process of training. You've now, you now have a medium that allows people to fall in love with the process of nutrition. And let me give an example there. Like, you know, cause that just made me think like if you were prepping for something and I, I can speak for myself or clients. I just had a client that, you know, I've been working with him for like eight months. He's lost 40 pounds and I have him, he eats waffles and we make like a healthy version of like a chicken nuggets and he does ice cream on a regular

basis. But it's just using better versions of all those. For instance, a waffle, and I use these all the time just out of convenience and laziness. A waffle is the same thing as me eating a half cup of oatmeal frying up two eggs next to it and then having like a protein shake but the difference is i put the oatmeal with eggs and a little bit of protein powder and i blend it up and that's what gives me like a pancake or a waffle you know what i'm saying so like i'm just trying to get you to take those ingredients and have some more fun with them right and i get it if you don don't like waffles, you can have it the way that you're having it before. But for me, I look forward and it doesn't always have to be. Sometimes it's chocolate. Sometimes it's blueberries.

Sometimes it's like a peanut butter flavor, a carrot cake type of thing. But it's fun for me and I think that that's what I want. You can have fun and still be – you can prep up. I can lose body fat and gain muscle and still eat what I love. Yeah. That's dope. That's, and dude, we talked about a little bit offline because what makes it really stick home for me is that you're actually a practitioner and you use what you're saying and you've actually done it. Tell us about the time you were gone from your home for two months and you actually applied everything you're telling us right now from your book and used it when you were in California? Yeah. So one of the biggest challenges, uh, I had the opportunity to, to be

on a reality type of show. Uh, it was on Facebook watch and it was kind of like a dating type of thing where I was gone for two months. And it was funny. One of the first challenges for me was like, I wouldn't say I'm uptight, but I was like, I'm going to be put in a challenge to like, kind of being out of my controlled scenario when it comes to food Mm-hmm, and I had to just realize that I had to make the best of what I could and be resourceful And so that's what I teach a little bit in the book is about just being Resourceful with what you have and I knew that I could control the first meal what I was eating in the last but in the middle Of the day was like dates and eating out like yeah Corn dogs and hot dogs and pasta and pizza nothing wrong with that all kinds of

food trucks and things like that like it's great it's nostalgic it takes me back like i grew up on hot pockets mayonnaise sandwiches macaroni and cheese with hot dogs so it's like yeah but this was this was my type of soul food but i it would make you feel some type of way so right one thing i could take from is like when you're eating out, you're not forced to finish everything and overindulge everything. But like give yourself the pleasures in life. But I learned that prepping things, I would just make snacks and things like that available on a regular basis. So, I mean, I got myself out of my comfort zone, you know. In the morning, I would have a meal that I know that I could go to and kind of recreate.

So like I cycled probably three different like first meals of the day and I would have those, you know, process. A lot of times it would be like a shake and I might crack an egg in it and then pour it over a bowl of oatmeal and stir it up with some blueberries. So it was like flavored oatmeal with blueberries and texture. And I would eat that after I did something active in the morning. And I knew at nighttime I could have stuff prepped up. And if I had like a sauce or a seasoning, that would be kind of my cleanup meal to like pick up the leftover like calories or whatever macros that I wanted to hit, you know, throughout the day. But again, I had fun with that. I had a waffle maker and I had a blender.

Those were two little tools that like cleaned up really easy that I was able to prep stuff up and be creative with it. And it made it fun. I don't know, food, although it can be abused, can be a little bit of a stress relief release at the same time. It's always there for you. How much time do you spend in the kitchen, like in your normal day-to-day? I know it's like part of your life, but. So it's something that I feel like I get to do

rather than the obligation mindset where some people look at it. But I mean, I still, I'd say I'm making something or cooking in the kitchen I'd average it out around a you know an hour or a little bit less and some days I always have something in the fridge so I tell people and here's something that will help you guys is your fridge should look like a mini salad bar not a big salad bar but like if you went to a salad bar that had mix and match items what are like four ingredients that you would want to have? Like some chopped up arugula or leafy greens, maybe some, you know, roasted veggies and a protein and like a flavor or a sauce or avocado or something. Like, so I know I always have that. So on days where I'm busy, like I legitimately, there's days where I might work

with a client at 7am and my last client at like 7.30pm and I'll have little bits and pieces in the middle of the day. But like when I come home home i just need to be able to throw something together the difference is i can get home with a long day and food can energize me because i'm looking forward to the process i'm tasting it as i'm going and like literally like it might be eight o'clock nine o'clock when i'm getting home to make a meal and i'm all right with putting in 20 30 minutes of making a meal that i'm going to look forward to because i know how it's going to make me feel. It's an investment that I'm making and I'm enjoying it too. So I'm not, it's a win-win situation that I, it's like giving myself a dessert that I'm going to feel good the next day. When did you make the conversion to looking at food and nutrition as an investment, looking at that process as an investment. Cause you know, uh, if you guys are,

are, are late to the show and you haven't listened to Jason on our earliest episodes, uh, you know, you spent a little time, uh, you know, out in college, um, walked on at Oregon, uh, trying to make that happen. Um, and I, you know, we've all played college ball and we definitely didn't look at nutrition then the way that we look at it now. Like at what point did you get to this headspace about food? You know, it started, I would say I was introduced, it started a little bit in high school being undersized. And I got to met with a family doctor that basically said that, you know, food isn't necessarily stunning your growth. Don't look at it that way. Just look at like, there's things that you need to eat as like puzzle pieces

to put together. And he had brought up amino acids. So I think I've mentioned early on as a kid, like what are amino acids? You know what I mean? I found out they were in protein. I didn't have a lot of options, but I was like, I'm still going to eat the food that I love, but I'm going to like make it a priority. I realized when I was eating enough of the right foods, my body started to grow and I started to feel better. And I got to see myself actually like grow and develop. But then it took like probably, probably in like my mid twenties when I was going out and still like drinking a little bit and partying, I had been doing like some of the corporate stuff. I realized that like sometimes I would eat meals and I'd wake up and I'd feel like bloated or I would, my energy would be low and I didn't sleep as good as I wanted. And I started to associate that with like

eating out places and I didn't know what was in that type of food. And then I could kind of say, well, I don't know if I, if I go to some like late night, like burrito stand, you know, it's no, I'm starting to like figure out like when i eat these foods this is how i feel and i started really like just creating a story like if i ate more dairy or cheese or processed foods my brain literally worked like slower and so i went on a challenge to try to eliminate dairy and processed foods and it gave me this clarity and i had to do it for a little period of time it was a, but it was the difference of like there, you know, so I mean this process happened probably like 10 years ago, eight, no, maybe like more like eight, nine years

ago or so where I realized that how good I could feel exposed to me, like, okay, when I was eating these foods. And so it was like that potential of that. So I hope that makes sense. It's like, sometimes you don't know how good you can feel until you've done it for a little while and then then i would reintroduce crappy foods like if i was out of town or something like that and i'd get that same type of feel that bloated feel my brain would work a little bit slower sure and so on and i realized that was control i have and like i can say with confidence i feel now i'm 32 and i truly feel better now than when i was 22 because i know I can associate with what makes me feel what and so on.

And like training wise, like all the work that you put in the gym, like inflammation wise, all those different types of things. I don't care what people say. Like when I was eating more fast food, I just feel more aches and pains in my body when I was eating like convenient stuff compared to like putting quality in. There's no doubt about that. Oh, for sure. That's the truth because we've all had significant injuries. You tore your pec.

I blew out my knee. Dirk blew out his knee. Eating, like you said, those foods that make you inflamed, get you inflammation because my knee swells up very bad when I eat out. We said when you're eating the good stuff, the inflammation's not there in the morning anymore. It feels a lot better. That's crazy how that works out. What do you think about

when people say a whole foods or a sprouts, it's too expensive to buy that type of food compared to like buying the you know government cheese or whatever it's like like least expensive food how do you get people to shift that mindset in a way because that's the fight that's the pushback always there's two things i think number one you your health needs to be a bigger priority in the sense of like look at it as like self-insurance or health insurance or whatever the case is. So I think number one, like you need to lead with that saying what you put in your body is going to prevent like long-term health bills or so on. But then number two, reality, like it doesn't need to be that much more expensive.

I mean you can buy eggs. You can buy leafy greens. Go to like the farmer's market and buy vegetables in bulk and vegetables are easy foods like fill up and keep you satisfied you don't need to buy all these fancy types of things like you can buy sauces and seasoning blends and cauliflower pizza crust as training wheels to get you going there but you don't need all that fancy stuff so i think part of it is like go compare apples to apples and like you can realize like with food prep get yourself a slow cooker for like 12 and prep up you know like taco chicken or beef

or whatever the case is and like you can realize you can make a lot of that stuff in bulk and pair it up with different things so like i get it if you were you don't need to shop at whole foods either it's super expensive you know like so i think it's also breaking down, like, shop with a budget. Somewhere like Trader Joe's is cheaper than Safeway a lot of times. And it's chopped up veggies that make it super convenient. Sprouts has a lot of deals too. Seasonal foods

are cheaper. So when you go to a produce section and you see where there's a lot of stuff showcased and when we eat those seasonal foods, our body's going to thrive a little bit more because they're thriving in that environment that we're in. That that's dope you don't even think about it like that when you walk into those stores yes now to justify and rationalize if you want to like when you do spend a little bit more money on quality like when you eat something that's like grass-fed or organic or whatever if it's necessary like realize that that that's that's an investment that you're making. Like grass-fed beef means that the animals were eating, you know, grass that had nutrients in it.

And so they were able to develop, you know, CLA and these like healthy fats and nutrients that your body actually needs compared to if it's eating grain. It's not developing a lot of the proper nutrition and nutrients that your body needs and so you kind of are what you eat eats um you know so it's make make a little go a long way do what you can um and uh but it has to be a priority at the same time too and it pays off in dividends right so what's the what's the buzzword that actually has significance right you've got grass-fed non-gmo organic rain-free right so what i feel like those that's on everything now and it's become extremely watered down so you we got to take if we're eating same things it's worth doing a little bit of research and so i mean responsibly sourced is where I like to start,

but then start saying like local, like local is a win-win situation. You're going to support your local restaurants, your local farmers, and you can like literally look at the farm or figure out like how they actually, like if they have standards or so on organic stuff, because it's like these days,

like so many things can slip by organic. And then people think, you know, so many people show me their organic cookies and their organic, it's like, yeah, but it's so cookies, man. And it's like these days like so many things can slip by organic and then people think you know so many people show me their organic cookies and their organic business like yeah but it's cookies man and it's like right um grass-fed you got to make sure it's 100 grass-fed too because like literally they can go in and throw a little bit of grass in at the very end and say like okay those are grass-fed so like and stores are doing this on a regular basis so if it doesn't say 100 grass-fed that's one thing.

But not everything has to be like do what you can, but it's not like a deal-breaker if you can't always eat that way. Or look at the Dirty Dozen. It's always posted online. And, like, you know, for instance, apples or, like, blueberries or strawberries are things that are exposed to a lot of, you know, pesticides. Those are going to be Dirty Dozen, meaning you need those organic. Otherwise, they're going to absorb in the skin a lot of pesticides, those are going to be dirty dust, meaning you need those organic, otherwise they're going to absorb in the skin a lot of that crap.

And those byproducts, those pesticides can mess with your brain and it can mess with your hormones and some of that craziness. That's really interesting. That's nuts. You've got to educate yourself. I think what I tell people is you've got to get interested in it. Most people take more pride in fixing up their cars and their stereo entertainment equipment than they do in like the

food and how it makes them feel but like it's a like journal how you're eating and how you feel for a little while and like just figure it out yeah that's so where do you where does the rubber meet the road for you in terms of the the one size-fits-all diet prescription. I hate the word diet. My go-to word is nutrition. But diet prescription. You've got paleo. You've got keto.

You've got all these fads. And what I found in my career in fitness is that people don't want to go through the process of experimentation over a prolonged period of time to really figure out of those things, to understand the fundamental principles of nutrition, period. But what of those options actually works for them? You know, people get so dogmatic about diets. Right. works for them. You know, people get so dogmatic about diets. So if they join one of those parties, they like the rest of them are all evil. And it's like, no, I can't eat gluten.

Gluten is going to like tear me apart and this and that. And it's like, so I think like number one, I always say like eat based on your demand. So it's like if you live a very active lifestyle, your body probably is going to be able to utilize carbohydrates a little bit different. If I found out that I was, you know was diagnosed with cancer or disease, I probably would do something like ketogenic to be able to lessen the odds of my body, like creating the environment that something bad could feed on. Paleoethic is great in the sense that so many people get crazy about it, but in the sense that you're at least eliminating a lot of processed foods, but Hey, it's 2018. Some

processed foods like are not that bad if they have the right types of things in it. So without confusing people, the best diet is the one that you can stick to obviously. So adherence is the most important thing, but like play around with something like I think use maybe paleo as a, as an idea to get yourself eating more vegetables and pulling you away from things. But don't be afraid of gluten or like oatmeal or rice if you're active and you do just fine with it. Like if you like that food, it's palatable, like use those things. Um, but I think the things we can all agree on, like if we were sitting in a room with a bunch of doctors and dieticians, they'd say that like,

obviously I think we should eat less processed foods and sugars like avoiding you know liquid calories and sugars in that sense like that's the big aha moment we probably need to eat more nutrient-dense vegetables local vegetables are a good thing and then from there it's like you know eat a protein probably appropriate to whatever your lifestyle is. You don't have to obsess over it. But like building meals around that does tend to help keep people more satiated and so on. So, I mean, I hope that helps. But like people can have great success on paleo. I was vegan and plant-based for a little while. I did okay with that.

The keto thing works for a lot of people but you know um a huge study just came out and took like it was a year-long study and took people eating uh moderate to higher carb and and high fat same amount of calories same amount of protein and like the differences were so minimal as far as like disease and so on so like in like your your actual like like how your body responded to it from a health perspective because it's like but if if carbs make you crave more carbs or responded to it from a health perspective because it's like but if if carbs make you crave more carbs or you're sensitive from a blood sugar perspective or so on you have to take that into account some people do great on fat and so on so it's like what what are you gonna want to continue to eat so it doesn't feel like a diet sure yeah that's plain

and simple that's super interesting coming from uh a, I'm interested. Coming from, you know, you did vegan, plant-based, and now you consume protein or like meats. How's that transition? Do you feel, how's your body feel? I don't even know how to question it, but how does your body feel based on vegan and eating meats? What's up, bruh? You know, so. Do you have a strong opinion on that? Yeah, I do actually. So it's funny, like for one,

the, the plant-based audience and not speaking for everyone can be some of the most like, not only say hypocritical, but judgmental, like dogmatic people they are. And unless that's your values, but it's funny cause I went really into that world and like felt great. But then it's like when I started adding in other animal products because like I know and trust me I defended it so on but I had an injury when I tore my pick and it wasn't rehabbing properly and I went over and over to where I was getting my rehab as a mentor of mine was like you know the minerals and amino acids that are in plants are not the same as what are in animal foods I argued and argued it's

like no way I read the China study and I did this and that. And he's like, you're not going to recover optimally unless you add these things in. So then I was like, all right, well, next best thing, I'll get responsibly sourced, like grass-fed, add in some beef and some better quality eggs, this and that. And sure enough, I started to heal better. My hormones felt a lot better and so on. So I agree that people are over-consuming a lot of animal products products but i think it's just be picky and eat based on your lifestyle like if you're not super active and that kind of hunter mentality like you probably don't need to build

every meal around an animal type of product but you have to go with what feels like if your values tell you one thing you don't want to eat it because of like animal care and so on like that's that's that's up to you, but I personally feel better. And I still do maybe meatless Monday in most weeks where I just give a day. It's kind of like a cleanse that forces me to be more resourceful. On that day, I kind of give myself a break from protein and eat more plant-based foods, and I feel good. And that is like a good break.

And I can go days without eating a lot of animal types of products, but I feel better my sleep my hormones my energy is better when i had some animal products and i've seen a lot of people go both sides i know i could literally i could name 20 different people that were like so pro plant-based vegan and then now they implement a little bit of animal sources because of like their gut microbiome or their hormones their joints their tendons it can be done both ways so it's kind of preference. But you can get in arguments and people say you don't need animal products.

You don't, but I don't know if the average person is going to thrive at optimal level without all the care that goes into that. The thing that blows my mind about all of it, for every study that is pro-vegan plant-based, there's another one that refutes it and statistically proves it ineffective. But that same phenomenon occurs with everything. You can find a study that is for or against whatever soapbox you want to stand on. So it really just depends on your ability to go through that prolonged experimentation process

to really understand how your body is going to react. And I have to add to this because this is powerful. I'm sorry. I don't mean to cut you off, but that is so big too. If you're not confident and committed, it's like being in a relationship. If you're not committed, you're constantly thinking about these other things. Your mind's all over the place. You need to trust the process to eliminate the stressors.

One of the biggest stressors with eating disorders is people overanalyzing and thinking like, oh, I ate that and now I need to go work out or that was bad. This is going to have that effect. That is causing stressors, like especially your sympathetic nervous system, which is related to cortisol or so on, where you can't digest and rest, the parasympathetic nervous system, as much. So, for instance, if I have shame when I eat something like, oh, I shouldn't have ate that, that's going to have a negative effect on how I digest that.

So I talk a lot about mindful nutrition. That's my favorite way of eating. Be mindful. Be conscious of where your food came from and the effect that it has on you. But you need to try it out and try it out for a period of time to see how it feels. Right now, I feel the best I've ever felt eating. I have a good groove of what I'm eating

and I wouldn't put myself in the category. I'm not eating 100% paleo. I'm not eating keto. I've tried those things and I have a balance of what works for Jason. With my lifestyle right now, in two months, it might be a little bit different based on what I'm doing.

Sure. Yeah, I love that. And the whole thing, like Durs and Jason, in two months, it might be a little bit different based on what I'm doing. Sure. Yeah, I love that. And the whole thing, like Ders and Jason, you both said, is experimentation. Trying it for a prolonged period and seeing if it works for you. Yeah. And not just going on the fad diet. Because, like, you see, the reason why I brought up the vegan is because you see a lot of big names, like the Waka Flockas. And people who don't necessarily study the nutrition, and they're just going out there spouting vegan is life or this diet is life.

And people start getting a bad concept of like what they need to have in their nutrition plan because they're following what Waka Flocka says. Like what the hell does he know about nutrition? I don't know if he knows. And you can look into the science. Some people will argue and say, well, you know, our bodies and digestive systems and teeth were designed to break down and digest meat and so on. And you'll get some people who will argument, well, why are these giant dinosaurs and gorillas do just fine on plant-based foods? And it's like, again, you can cherry pick both sides. But like –

I'm sorry, man. All those arguments are just so dumb to me. And that's another thing with life. Like support like what works for people instead of being dogmatic and pulling people down. And that's what I try to do with my information, whether it's on social media or whatever. It's like share things that have value, that can uplift people, rather than like I see people. And sometimes it's like doctors that are saying, oh, fat is bad. It's like, what do you mean fat is bad?

Like fat is essential for our brains, hormones and this and that but it's like you you you have to like be open-minded and like work into some of the positivity of of having fun with this whole process and i think that you know social media is so horrible because it just gives people the opportunity to make blanket statements with no context right like you said fat is bad you know yeah a whole lot of fat is bad. However, if you want your body to process testosterone correctly, you need a little bit. You know what I'm saying? So you can't say that and just leave it on the table.

So I've got to add to this. Especially if you're considered a quote-unquote influencer. Yeah, and so one of the best diets that we have – so it's about social media. One great thing about it is that it gives us a lot of tools and access. I wouldn't have been able to read so many audio books and listen to so many interviews and so on without it. But we have to take into consideration our visual diet. One of my mentors, I met him, and he brought this up. And everything starts in your head too, like the amount of stress that you put behind it.

So, for instance, if I'm watching or listening to negative stuff that's tearing everybody down, like that plays into my mindset of what I expect to see around. And if I'm looking at positive stuff that's creative, like I'm watching National Geographic and exploring things, like that is a whole like optimistic new discovery type of side so it's like are you are you looking at variety of sources where they're coming from and why it makes sense to you and when you see somebody say like this is what i'm eating is their lifestyle like yours does that make sense can you borrow some different things so your visual diet like look at what some other people are doing and like compare little bits and pieces because i can tell you one thing i work with i've worked with well over a thousand people and a lot of these people that look good come to me because they have digestive issues and they, every time they eat food, they get bloated and you don't

know what goes on behind the scenes. So it's like, they might look good, but like what's going on behind the scenes and you got to make sure that what's going on behind your scenes is like peaceful and in a happy place. Sure. That's huge. Yeah. People just, uh, you know, staying with nutrition, you know, it's, you can take a proactive approach or you can take a reactive approach, you know, and what I noticed with a lot of people who have an emotional attachment to food, it's nine times out of 10, I would say reactionary, you know, it's their, it's their go-to because they haven't equipped themselves with the ability to articulate or created the right relationships where they they're able to, they have a support system to work through these issues.

So where can I go on my own and forget about my problems, sit down at the table and just stuff your face, right. Versus, you know, using food as a tool for, you know, mental and physical clarity. And then when that adversity is in your face, a lot of the people that live that same kind of lifestyle are able, you know, when you, when your circle changes, you change. And a lot of that can be found, you know, just in the lifestyle that you lead, you create your tribe, right? And if it means enough to you, the, the right people will get on your bus and the wrong people will get off. But I think that starts with a commitment to self first, where, and you see it

all the time in the CrossFit community when people join our tribe at PHX, you know, there's that, that uncomfortable 90 day window where their social circle is changing, where it's like, holy shit, these people are like dedicated. They're here every day, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And this lifestyle is still brand new to me. And I'm still hanging out with more people who aren't in this lifestyle than actually participate in it. And then over the course of that 90 days, you know, you start to see them more and more. And then all of a sudden their Facebook posts have more of our members than their old friends. And that same phenomenon, if you take your nutrition that seriously will happen as well yep you got to i mean i'm biased but like i mean food is something that it amplifies of every other

area of your life i mean i think about that with music too but like whether it's bringing people together at that social or family type of setting or you know it it allows you to get more out of whatever you're doing um and it's cool that at the same time it can be fun right yeah and not just fun it can they can have pleasure you know yeah that's what i love man like with your approach and everything that you're doing you practice what you preach you're not just like sitting here trying to sell copies from the moment we've met and i've known you you've done all of the research you've done you know the recipes and you've made it a lifestyle you're not just saying here's some recipes chop it up make a book right you actually live the life and so you know my hat's off to you dude and i'm excited to see you

to continue to do amazing things brother i appreciate you. I'm excited to ask you these questions because we've never had the opportunity to. Before we let you go, what's one thing you do each and every day to feed yourself, mentally, physically, or spiritually? Answer it on any level. And the follow-on to that is what's something you do each and every day to fuel yourself and create that sustainable momentum? Ooh, I should have known this was coming. Gosh, to feed myself, I would say, I think that sense of like quiet time of gratitude, the mindset, I think the number one ingredient that you,

that I put into everything is, is, is how, how I internalize things and gratitude in your thought process, as far as like how you choose to perceive things. For instance, like by simply shifting your mindset into like an attitude of, of, of gratitude, it's hard to be upset or angry or so on. And I think that it's, it's very cliche, but I think taking quiet time in the morning to feed myself with gratitude is, um, is one of the best things like, and I think simplifying it's, it's, it's helped me just take more pride in the things that I have to, to feel like I'm thankful that I had the ability to have the time to write this, this book and try these things. I look up in my cupboard and have these ingredients that I had the ability to have the time to write this book and try these things out.

I look up in my cupboard and have these ingredients that I was able to experiment with and have fun where I know people that don't have that ability to do that. And it's like, yeah, during this period of time, I wasn't making as much money as I was doing like a corporate job and being able to travel around or so on. But it's like I'm grateful that I had these different types of opportunities to meet these people and so on and everything that's come along with it. To fuel me, this is big. Like going through energy ups and downs, there's times where I felt down and out.

Like the closest thing that I could possibly imagine to depression is like feeling like I hadn't made progress in times for a while. So I was really obsessed with always looking at things that would fuel me. And with me, it's like finding a sense that you can plug into. I feel myself with motivation and inspiration from around. So I tell people like, you know, you're going to be down and out on a lot of days, but like whether it's podcasts or audio books, or I have go-to notes from something that I wrote or like notepads, like things that I can reread help fuel and feed me when I'm down and out. And I always ask myself, like if they did it, I can do it. I can put myself through these different types of things. And so I love, like I feel myself and it gives me a little bit of a dopamine rush and I try to make sure it's not like it can easily turn into procrastination if I'm just searching for it

all the time. But having some go-to sources, whether it's some YouTube channels or a podcast like Feed Me, Fuel Me that you can just plug into and catch up and re-listen to these different things to motivate you and fuel you and for me that can spark me so i think my visual that what i put in my ears listening to and it goes through with music too like you have you realize energy and enthusiasm is required to do anything that's like meaningful if you're going to get people to buy into it. We're responsible, I think, for plugging into that. Having those motivational sources, so create a little notepad thing and just have some go-to sources. I love that, man.

Before you leave, man, where can everybody follow you, support you, buy the book? Any place where they can get in contact with Jason Sani? Everything's through my name, So at Jason Sani. Last name's S-A-N-I. So that's one word. That has a link on my Instagram area to buy the book. I have a YouTube channel where I do a lot of little one-minute point-of-view recipes to show you how easy it is.

On Amazon, the book is available. But everything's through the basic social things. And there I am that's awesome making healthy taste good is the name of the book yep

making healthy taste good by Jason Sonney appreciate you thank you guys for having me are you going to autograph this copy

yeah you know I'm going to sign that copy customize it that's been a fun process that's awesome proud of

all your progress and everything that you've accomplished and you're about to accomplish you know I feel and you're about to accomplish. I feel like you're at the crux of that exponential growth, man. So our hat's off to you and everything you've accomplished since getting us started with Feed Me, Fuel Me.

Same to you guys, man. We're happy that you're in such a good place. Yeah, real talk. That's awesome. Appreciate you guys. We're happy that you're in such a good place. Yeah. Real talk. That's awesome. Appreciate you guys. You guys, you know, everybody out there and feed me, fuel me land. Make sure you get out there and invest in yourself by investing in Jason's book, making healthy tastes good.

And until next week, guys, feed me, fuel me. And that'll do it for this episode with our special guest, Jason Sani. If you want to see everything that Jason has going on and to purchase his book, Making Healthy Tastes Good, please go to the full show notes on FeedMeFuelMe.com. Also, be sure to connect with us on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at FeedMeFuelMe. We would love to hear from each and every one of you. If you found this

episode inspiring in any way, please leave a rating and a comment in iTunes. We would love to hear your feedback so we can continue on this journey together. Be sure to share it with your friends and family on social media, including Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social platforms that you use. We really appreciate you spending your time with us today and allowing us to join you on your journey. We would love to hear your feedback on this episode, as well as guests and topics for future episodes. To end this episode, we would love to leave you with a quote by T. Colin Campbell.

Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence. All parts are interconnected. Thank you again for joining us, and we will catch you on the next episode. Way to make it to the end of the show. As always, go to Shrug Collect over at iTunes, give us a five-star review, positive comment, and hit thrivemarket.com slash feedme

to get that great deal on awesome groceries. See you next time.