Food is fuel. Fuel your body appropriately and it will respond to the demands you place on it.
That's the whole philosophy. I lift in the morning, train jiu jitsu three nights a week, and do cardio the other nights. My body only performs, recovers and feels good if I give it the right fuel. I've tried a lot of diets, and they contradict each other constantly. What's left after all that is pretty simple: whole foods, plenty of protein, lots of plants, carbs timed around training, and no stress about the occasional dessert. As a rule: Anything that comes from the Earth is fair game…anything that comes in a box is not.
I'm not a doctor and this isn't medical advice. It's just what I do. If you have a health condition or take medication, check with your doctor before big diet changes, fasting, or new supplements.
Start here: the five things that matter most
The BEST advice I can give is don't change everything at once. This is a lifestyle, not a 30-day challenge. Pick one thing, nail it, then add the next.
- Drink water instead of everything else. Water over soda, juice and sports drinks. If you do ONE thing, do this one.
- Eat mostly whole foods. If it grew, swam, walked or flew, it's probably good fuel. If it came out of a factory with a long ingredient list, it probably isn't.
- Get enough protein, spread over the day.
- Eat lots of plants and fiber, including whole fruit.
- Live life. Get the chocolate cake if you want it, just not at every meal. Stressing about food isn't healthy either.
When I'm hungry, I ask myself: What will fuel my body? Not: What will fill me up?
Protein first
Protein is the fuel I care most about getting right. It's what lets me recover from a morning lift and still roll hard that night.
- Daily target: about 1.6–2.2 g per kg of body weight (roughly 0.7–1 g per lb).
- Per meal: 20–30 g of quality protein.
- Start early: about 30 g in the first part of the day. Eggs are perfect for this.
- Protein goes first on my plate. It keeps me full and my energy steady.
My staples: steak, eggs, chicken, salmon and kefir.
Plants, fruit and fiber
I'm not plant-only, but I want plants at every meal.
- Fiber: I aim for at least 38 g a day.
- Whole fruit is good. I used to worry about fruit sugar. Now I eat it without guilt. Whole fruit, yes. Juice, not so much.
- Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts) and broccoli microgreens show up almost every day.
- Leafy greens. A big salad with a steak is one of my favorite meals.
- Fermented foods like kefir, sauerkraut and plain yogurt, a few servings a day.
- Veggies with fat. Olive oil on my greens helps me absorb what's in them.
Carbs: fuel for training
I used to think you had to pick high carb or high fat, not both. Now I think about carbs in terms of when.
- Moderate carbs, not strict keto.
- Carbs at dinner after jiu jitsu. About 40 g of rice, potatoes or fruit with my protein after training. I sleep better, and very low-carb dinners can mess with hormones like SHBG and free testosterone.
- Cut refined carbs and added sugar, not whole foods.
Fats and fish
- Extra-virgin olive oil, avocado, butter, eggs, nuts and seeds. Nuts are good, just not the foundation.
- Salmon (or sardines) 2–4 times a week, on purpose, for omega-3s.
- No margarine, and I keep fried food rare.
Red meat: my middle ground
I love steak. My middle ground: red meat a few times a week, plenty of salmon, eggs and chicken, and some beans and whole grains around training. It keeps things balanced and fuels my training well.
Processed meats (bacon, sausage, deli meat) I keep rare. They're loaded with sodium.
What I eat
Most days
- Protein: eggs, chicken, wild salmon, grass-fed beef, kefir
- Fruit: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, green apples, lemon, lime
- Veggies: broccoli and micro broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, bell peppers, cucumbers, celery, spinach, kale, other leafy greens
- Fats: avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, flaxseed, beef tallow, a Brazil nut (just one!)
- Flavor: garlic, ginger, lemon, herbs and spices
- Carbs (around training): sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, fruit
Sometimes
- Trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies
- Turkey
- Beans, lentils, whole grains
- Dark chocolate and cacao
Rarely
- Added sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, soda and juice
- Artificial sweeteners
- White flour and ultra-processed food
- Processed meats
- Margarine, fried food, fast food
- Alcohol and nicotine
My nutrient-dense, vitamin-rich smoothie
This is basically my multi-vitamin every day.
What goes in
- Green Valley organic lactose-free kefir + water
- Forward Greens micro broccoli
- Wyman's mixed berries
- 1 Brazil nut
- Cacao powder
- Naked Collagen
- Amla powder
- Beet root powder
- Stamets 7 (Host Defense mushroom blend)
- Optional: MCT oil
- Optional: Kelp or Sea Moss
Throw it all in the blender and go.
Lessons I learned the hard way
- Don't stack kelp and sea moss. Both are loaded with iodine, and daily scoops of both can push you way past safe limits without you noticing. Too much iodine can mess with your thyroid. If you use one, use a small measured amount, not both every day.
- One Brazil nut, maybe two. They're incredibly high in selenium. A handful every day is too much.
- Collagen isn't a complete protein. It's great for joints and skin, but it doesn't count as my protein for the meal.
Drinks and caffeine
- Water first. I start every day with hydrogen water with sea salt and lemon.
- Caffeine: timing is everything. I wait 90–120 minutes after waking. On BJJ days, no caffeine after about noon, because late caffeine wrecks my sleep and sleep is when the fuel turns into recovery. Black coffee and green tea are fine. I skip energy drinks and heavy pre-workouts.
- Alcohol: rare.
Fasting
My everyday version is simple: I eat during the day and stop 2–3 hours before bed.
Every 3–4 months, I do a 72-hour fast. The body is incredibly resilient, and I believe a longer fast gives it a real reset. Autophagy is the big one for me: your body cleans out and recycles old, damaged cells. I come out of it feeling clear and sharp.
How I keep it sensible:
- Electrolytes. Sodium, potassium and magnesium throughout. Water alone isn't enough over three days.
- Ease back in. I break the fast with something small and easy (like eggs or bone broth), then build up to normal meals with plenty of protein to rebuild.
- Listen to your body. If you feel dizzy, faint or really off, end the fast. And if you take medication (especially for blood sugar or blood pressure) or have a health condition, talk to your doctor before trying a fast this long.
Supplements I take
Food first, then fill the gaps.
- Creatine monohydrate, 3–5 g a day. Cheap, simple, and it helps with strength.
- Omega-3s on days I don't eat fish.
- Vitamin D, but I test first. I'd rather dose to what my bloodwork says than guess.
- Magnesium in the evening. Glycinate or threonate, not magnesium oxide.
What I skip: mega-dose antioxidant pills, "cleanses," and anything with big cure claims.
Know your numbers
The best diet is the one your bloodwork agrees with. I check ApoB, Lp(a), hs-CRP, HbA1c, fasting insulin, vitamin D, cystatin C, and testosterone/SHBG, and adjust from there.
Fuel well, then live life
Food is fuel. Fuel your body appropriately and it will respond to the demands you place on it. Eat well most of the time, enjoy the cake on birthdays, and don't let food become another thing to stress about. Consistency beats perfection.