Jay Azeltine – @Jay_Azeltine
Do you wanna improve the way you feel both physically and mentally?
Well, a lot of it begins with the fuel that you put into your body on a daily basis. The amount of disconnect most people have in regards to the relationship between how they feel and what they put into their body astonishes me.
On a regular basis I hear people complaining about feeling miserable all of the time. Tired, groggy and just overall worn down. They just can’t seem to figure out why they feel this way all the time. When, in reality, it is pretty obvious to me.
They’re putting low grade fuel into their high performance vehicle. Expecting it to run the same as it would with high performance fuel.
Unfortunately it just does not work that way.
We must level up our food intake if we wanna level up the way that we feel. The odds are stacked against us though unfortunately. We’re constantly exposed to garbage food.
Everywhere we go, driving down the road you constantly see billboards for junk food and fast food restaurants at every corner. Even when we’re in the comfort of our own homes every other TV commercial is advertising some sort of garbage. Now, in the age of social media, we’re exposed to these ads pretty much 24/7 on our phones. It’s never ending.
This is partially our own fault though. The more junk food we purchase, the larger these corporations become and the more money they have to be in front of us at all times. Constantly working on our subconscious minds.
Strengthening our self-discipline is more important than ever. On top of discipline, there are a number of components that go into successful lifestyle change though. Through working with over 100 people through my online coaching programs, I’ve learned a number of hacks to help people commit to a new lifestyle for the long haul.
Creating a lot of built in accountability into your plan is a massive key. There are a number of ways to do this, including meal logs and accountability partners. Another big key is to spend some time developing a very clear and concise vision for what you want to achieve both in the short term and long term. With regards to health, appearance, etc., etc.
I will discuss all of this much more in depth in a future article.
There are a number of reasons why people neglect to get their nutrition dialed in, but one of the largest reasons in my opinion is that people just don’t realize how quickly they can begin to feel better physically/mentally and begin to reverse negative health factors.
Of course it’s going to vary from a case to case basis, but I guarantee that positive things are going to start happening much quicker than you expect. You will likely begin to notice a difference in your energy levels and mental clarity within a few days to a week.
When I first moved to Indy my nutrition was kinda all over the place. My daily schedule was totally different and the first week or two I was not prepared for this meal wise. I allowed myself to eat a lot more junk food and fast food than I usually would.
Man oh man did I feel it. My energy levels were noticeably down, mental clarity was a bit more foggy and my stomach was a complete wreck. This affected my ability to perform inside and outside of the gym. I just didn’t feel optimal.
This was very eye opening for me because over the past few years I had been extremely anal about my nutrition. Often going weeks or months without a “cheat meal.”
I forgot what it felt like to put low grade fuel into my body. It did not feel good, I can tell you that.
One day in specific I remember eating Mcdonalds for lunch. I ate two McChickens and one Cheeseburger. I shit you not, within an hour I felt like an alien was trying to break out of my stomach. I was so miserable the rest of the day. I could hardly get through my training session that evening.
Over the past month I’ve gotten very dialed in with my nutrition again and am feeling much more optimal. My energy levels throughout the day are very sustained, mental clarity is drastically improved and my training sessions have leveled up a ton.
Leveling up your diet will likely bleed into all areas of your life. As you begin to feel better you’re much more likely to begin doing things that you have been putting off for a while. Maybe you’ve been putting on personal development reading. When you begin to feel more optimal mentally and physically you will likely begin taking care of business in many areas of life that you had been putting off. This is always the case for me.
Here’s a quick overview of what my nutrition is looking like right now.
I often will start my day with a veggie smoothie and some coconut oil. The smoothie usually consists of beets, kale and spinach. You can really throw anything in there that you want though. There are a lot of “superfood smoothie” recipes available online.
I’ll tell ya what though, I usually notice a MASSIVE difference between the days I consume one of these smoothies in the morning and the days that I don’t. Within a few hours of drinking it I receive a massive energy rush out of nowhere. This is key for me because I do not drink caffeine.
I’m very stimulant sensitive, so caffeine affects my body in a strange way. It either gives me energy for a very short period and then makes me crash HARD, or I don’t get any extra energy at all and immediately begin to get more tired. It affects my mood a lot as well. Quite often getting me in a very isolated and depressed mindset.
I limit my caffeine intake to once every week or few weeks and this has helped my overall energy levels a ton. Much more sustainable energy throughout the day.
My next meal is usually an hour or so after the veggies. This meal consists of a good bit of protein (eggs, steak, chicken, etc.), some clean carbs (usually rice or sweet potato) and a lot of fats in the form of raw nuts and butter.
A few hours later, around 12 or 1pm, I will basically repeat the same meal. Protein, clean carbs and fats.
We train around 4:30pm here so I will often try to sneak in a light protein shake with some peanut butter about 2 or 3pm for extra calories. Prior to training I will do a scoop of Karbolyn if I have any available. The Karbolyn is great because it contains both fast acting and slower digesting carbs sourced from potato, rice and corn. It has 50g carbs per serving.
Post workout, which is about 6:30pm, I will do another scoop of Karbolyn to spike my insulin and blood sugar levels in order to help my body recover.
My final meal of the day ends up being around 8-9pm most evenings. I try to get in another big veggie smoothie along with some protein (often eggs and/or chicken) and large amount of clean carbs.
This plan has been working very well for me, but everyone’s bodies are very different and therefore everyone is gonna need a customized plan for their body in specific. If you’re in need of some online nutrition coaching shoot me an email (JayAzeltineFitness@gmail.com) and I’ll help ya out. I offer 4 week coaching programs.
My goal is to keep an 80/20 or 90/10 clean to junk food balance. I preach this to my online clients all the time. It’s important to eat mainly clean food in order to maintain daily energy and mental clarity (plus all of the overall positive health implications), but I also think it’s important to allow yourself to get a little crazy occasionally and eat whatever you want.
At the end of the day, we’re humans and want to enjoy life. This includes devouring some junk food from time to time. It’s all about balance.
There are a plethora of reasons to eating healthy, but one of the best reasons to consider if you’re looking for motivation to get started right away would be the increase in energy, mental clarity and overall well being.
Eat better to feel better. You will then perform better in all areas of life.
Until next time, Much love.
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