EFR 776: Cheat Codes For Fat Loss and How Anyone Can Cook Healthy Meals That Actually Taste Amazing with Zach Rocheleau

00:00 - Speaker 1 The following is an operation podcast production. Take us back there, man, when it was just you were showing up, you were putting yourself out there. You were literally in the doors and homes of these people, blowing their minds as to what is possible with transformational nutrition.

00:16 - Speaker 2 Yeah, like I think back on that time, cause there was this hustle man.

00:19 It was just like I was just chomping at the bit for any opportunity to show people that I was legit and what I had was different than what they'd ever had before, and I was going to open up their mind to the possibilities of what food could be and how it can be also equally delicious but also nutritious.

00:36 Just been consistent and I stepped away from a lot of those clabs just because it was a lot. It was a lot and so I needed to do less. So then I could just do more and hone in on my craft and just become the best cook, home chef I possibly could and be as diverse as possible, not just kind of stay in my comfort zone, but like have a full repertoire of culinary skills, different nutritional strategies, my goals, how to build muscle, how to lose fat, how to fit food into your lifestyle. Life is this aspect of you are moving forward towards something, and that means you are growing, you are living, and I constantly want to have things in my life that allow me to feel like I am alive and that I am getting better and I am moving forward and I am challenging myself.

01:27 - Speaker 1 This is your number one source for inspiring content from people who are putting a purpose to their passion and truly living a life ever forward. I am your host, chase Tuning. This is Ever Forward Radio. ["ever Forward Radio"]. What's up everybody? Welcome back to Ever Forward Radio.

01:54 I got a fantastic episode for you today a repeat guest, but he has not been back on in quite some time. In fact, if you go back a few years, you're gonna see Zach Rochelio join me in episode 108 and then even go back further, episode 21. That is how far back Zach and I go, and I'm so excited to bring you an update to what he has going on in the world of flexible dieting. But it's more than that. If you really listen into what Zach talks about when he goes out to eat or when he is preparing these incredible recipes and meals that when you look at, you go there's no way this has that amount of protein. There's no way that this only has that amount of calories. No sugar, zero sugar. What he does with food is nothing short of magic. This quite possibly might be your cheat code for fat loss. Zach's skill set is making low calorie, high protein, amazing tasting, incredibly easy to make, family friendly meals that you just you gotta check it out. His Instagram account just keeps growing and growing. When I say food porn, or just when you look up the word food porn in the definition, it probably has a picture of his Instagram. Now, with over 1.2 million followers, the world has caught on to what he is doing in the kitchen and what they can do by taking control of their nutritional choices and realizing that eating good and staying on track in terms of your dietary guidelines or macronutrients or total calories, it doesn't have to be boring. It doesn't have to be limiting. He is going to crack us wide open into the world of food that tastes good, but also real food. You can find him on Instagram at theflexiblediddinglifestyle, or head to theflexiblediddinglifestylecom to learn more. His recipes, his website, his social all linked for you down in the show notes, as well as his two previous episodes 108, an education in success and 21,. All about the flexible dieting lifestyle. I actually joined Zach in person recently on a trip to Austin, texas, where he lives. If you wanna check out the video that's up on YouTube, always, you can find us at everfordradiocom. I have this link for you. Like I said in the show notes, anything we talk about in the show. You're gonna be able to find linked and resource under episode resources in the show notes.

04:16 One thing you're definitely gonna hear Zach talk a lot about in here that I cannot echo enough, and that is prioritizing protein in your diet. So many of us are probably getting not enough throughout the day to not only just build muscle but to maintain muscle preservation. An easy, easy way that you can add amazing collagen protein to your diet day in, day out. Something that I've been using and loving for years comes from my homies over at Bubbs Naturals. They're collagen peptides. This, quite literally, I think is the best collagen on the planet. It's truly unflavored, unlike a lot of other protein supplements out there, particularly collagen. They say it's unflavored, they say it makes as well, but you know, you know, when you mix it into your water, your smoothie, you got that weird taste. It clumps not. With Bubbs, per serving, you're getting 20 grams of protein, seven essential amino acids all in one single ingredient. This stuff is crucial for maintaining my joint health, reducing muscle recovery, even improving gut health and so much more.

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05:48 So if you know that you love collagen and you wanna just keep it coming month after month after month and get that great hookup and support the show at the same time, either way, first time purchase subscription, throw down code ever forward. You got 20% savings in the bank, which is right where I wanna kind of dive in with you. So take us back like doodly-loo-loo-loo-loo, like trans sequence here. I wanna go back to the good old days of your origin, of content creation. You got started like 2017, where you're kinda doing what you're doing now. It was man. You used to pop up in everyone's kitchen you're making their favorite meals and all the things.

06:27 I was with you that one time in, I think, san Diego, when we were cooking for Tony Blower and yeah, that was wild.

06:35 - Speaker 2 I was thinking about that the other day because I was trying to remember who it was.

06:38 - Speaker 1 It was Tony and his wife. We were at Badger's Coolians' Fingers.

06:41 - Speaker 2 Business Summit 2018.

06:44 - Speaker 1 Yeah, we stayed at your place.

06:46 - Speaker 2 We were staying at my in Los Laguna.

06:47 - Speaker 1 And then you were like yo, tony wants me to come over. He looked. I think it was like some kind of I wanna say I always go to pizza with you because you just make the most amazing pizzas. But he was just. I was like cool, yeah, let's do it. I guess that's what you do. Take us back there, man, when it was just you were showing up, you were putting yourself out there. You were literally in the doors and homes of these people blowing their minds as to what is possible with transformational nutrition.

07:11 - Speaker 2 Yeah, that was a. I was like I think back on that time because there was this hustle man.

07:16 - Speaker 1 It was just like.

07:17 - Speaker 2 I was just chomping at the bit for any opportunity to show people that I was legit and what I had was different than what they'd ever had before, and I was going to open up their mind of the possibilities of what food could be and how it can be also equally delicious but also nutritious. And it was just. It was just such a cool. It was like, when I think about it, it was you walk into the house and you have no idea what the whole day was gonna be like, because you'd walk in and it was just.

07:50 You kinda had to be a chameleon because you knew you were cooking two to three meals that day. But then what are you doing in between? You're not just cooking meals, you're hanging out, you're shooting the shit, you're building a relationship, well, also trying to film a really entertaining YouTube video. Mild detail. Mild detail, it's like yeah, it's like, and when you're kinda shooting it yourself and you're just setting up tripods and You're the team you're the director.

08:14 - Speaker 1 You're the editor. You're the editor. Yeah, it's everything.

08:17 - Speaker 2 And so not only are you picking the menu, and then you're actually letting them pick the menu and you're kinda going with the flow and trying to figure it out. It just was a really cool moment where it's hard not to feel like you have some type of imposter syndrome, like who am I doing this when it was still relatively new at the time, and are they even gonna like it? You're just waiting for that one person to be like, oh, that sucks. You're like, wow, this is gonna this tastes like shit, yeah. And then I'm out in their house and we're filming a video, but every time it was just good vibes and it was what gave me momentum and it gave me a lot of momentum behind my brand. So I ended up building up my YouTube and my Instagram from there and it was great and I remember at that time it was I mean, yeah, I just had some big, big time collabs that were awesome, but-.

09:16 - Speaker 1 I'll just do a memory lane a little bit there. Who are some of the people that you are in their house or in a kitchen with them preparing food for them, that you're just like how the hell did I get here? What is life?

09:27 - Speaker 2 Man. So when I think about it, because back then it was way different than it is now. So, like back then, I remember I flew out to Portland, Oregon and I collabed with Julian Smith who was, like back then he was the quad guy, so he was back when Optimum Nutrition was like the team. Oh the team on.

09:48 - Speaker 1 Yeah, they were huge, so it was like it was the team.

09:51 - Speaker 2 Yeah, it was him, steve Cook, and trying to think of who else was even-. Was Paige Hathaway with them? Paige Nick Cheedle was with them.

09:59 Yeah, yeah, yeah, a few others. But like he at the time had like over a million followers and I had less than 100,000. And I remember he posted a picture with me. It was like 2000,. I think it was 2017. Yeah, this is 2017. When I boy this was a long time ago. And he because if you went to a fitness expo, his line was like so long. And I remember I remember I built a relationship with them and I remember being at expo's and like I would walk by he'd be like yo and everybody's like oh shit, like yeah.

10:35 - Speaker 1 I was like yeah, what's up, what's up?

10:38 - Speaker 2 And so I went out with him and he posted a picture with me on his page and I think at the time I had 96,000 followers and which was 2017.

10:50 Not terrible, not terrible, not bad at all, that's amazing and he posted one picture with me and it was just us out in this parking lot like holding groceries. I gained 7,000 followers in the next like four to five hours. Four to five hours, yes, it put me over 100,000. And I was like, oh, this is what collabs do. Oh man, this is nice. So then I just repeated that across my YouTube channel and my Instagram and all that, and I haven't done a collab like that in years the glory days of the time. But it is something I've been thinking about doing more as my Rolodex has gotten much bigger in regards to NFL, nba players. Your cookbook's gotten a lot bigger too.

11:31 - Speaker 1 Oh, they've gotten a lot bigger as well, yeah, so shit.

11:34 - Speaker 2 Back then I think I had two, maybe one, I think one or two back then. Now I have eight going on 10. So it's like, yeah, it's just been consistent and I stepped away from a lot of those collabs just because it was a lot. It was a lot so I needed to kind of do less so then I could just do more and hone in on my craft and just become the best cook, home chef I possibly could, and be as diverse as possible, not just kind of stay in my comfort zone, but like have a full repertoire of nutrition, culinary skills. Yeah, do you think of yourself as a chef, as a cook? I used to know it, but now I do. Now I do.

12:17 - Speaker 1 Now I feel like what was that shift?

12:19 - Speaker 2 Work Like in regards to just no recipes off limits, no food is off limits, no category, everything, literally testing the boundaries of everything I know and getting outside of my comfort zone, using ingredients I've ever known, never really used before, and making it to where, like this, could I could compete with other people that have culinary backgrounds and things like that Really you think so yeah.

12:47 Okay, so would I be able to compete in regards to if we were in a yeah, in terms of what? Like if we were on a cooking show and they were able to use full calorie, like, fucking like every ingredient known to man, it's like I just don't cook with those ingredients that much. But if they were to have to be put in my world I would dominate Like they wouldn't even know what to do If I had said hey-.

13:08 - Speaker 1 Like 964 meat cauliflower rice. Yeah, I'm like. Yeah, I'm like, yeah, fucking hurry up.

13:13 - Speaker 2 Yeah, come on, try it out, Like see if you can create a recipe within this macronutrient profile. It's like ah, I don't think so.

13:19 - Speaker 1 So now, with your chef hat on right, yeah, has that changed the lens through which you view how you do what you do? It feels like maybe there's a little bit more ownership in, like the title, the skill set. Yeah, has that shifted how you actually go about doing what you do?

13:34 - Speaker 2 Yeah. So I would say it's more of a I think about it all the time. So, like before it was, I saw. So if you look at my name the flexible dieting lifestyle I don't think that really entails what I am anymore and what I do Feel like I've evolved outside of that, because back when I started the flexible dieting lifestyle, it was more of like I wanted to talk about flexible dieting and all the things that happened with it.

14:01 - Speaker 1 That's when that was like the blow up time of if it fits your macros, flexible dieting, maybe even a little bit of intuitive, yeah, any kind of thing.

14:08 - Speaker 2 Yeah.

14:09 - Speaker 1 It was very much more of a collective.

14:11 - Speaker 2 Yes, and that was great at the time because it was like my profile was me talking about different nutritional strategies, my goals, how to build muscle, how to lose fat, how to fit food into your lifestyle, not mainly. Hey, here's how to cook, Right right, here's how to cook macro friendly meals. And now that's the more so is now, yeah, and that's significantly why I've grown. I've grown a ton since January till now. I've doubled my following.

14:46 - Speaker 1 Yeah, I saw that man. I was like I've seen you once or twice this year since then, and I was like. I was looking at his account today, I was like 1.1 million. Bro, when did that happen? Yeah, yeah, that's pretty crazy it was like definitely wasn't like that last time I saw it.

14:59 - Speaker 2 No. So, like November, november two years ago, I had 370,000 followers and I had just for the life of my profile. So I started my Instagram in 2000, late 2015,. And every week, I mean I gained about a thousand followers a week for the life of it. But that gets you to where I was at that point in time and at that trajectory I was just never. I was gonna take me forever to reach a million. And then I told myself November. I was like November 27th 2021. I said I'm taking a break from YouTube and I'm going to master short form and I'm gonna spend more time learning new skills in the kitchen. I'm gonna spend more time on R&D. I'm gonna spend more time becoming the best version of the value add that I give to people, and that is what they want is food, which kind of to interrupt a little bit.

15:58 - Speaker 1 There kind of seems a little counter productive to what you're doing. If I'm, if I wanna go watch somebody, if I wanna learn how to make something, I'm looking for long format content. I want the ingredients, the prep, the cooking. I want you know, I wanna see how you're doing it. Long format kind of makes sense, but you consciously chose to say no to that and then downshift to short format. Why?

16:17 - Speaker 2 I needed it. I needed so. Youtube is a lot of work, long form is a lot of work and long form, you can't. Okay, let's put it this way I wasn't as confident in my abilities as I was showing off on your preparation capabilities or the content creation capabilities.

16:34 Both, like in regards to, I was in such I felt like I was in such a narrow scope of recipes that I felt very comfortable in that. I felt like an expert. So I needed to take a step away because if I ever ventured out of that I didn't feel comfortable talking. I didn't have enough experience. So I wanted to step away from that. So then I could master short form, which I hadn't mastered yet. I wasn't even on TikTok yet and I needed to have more time to spend on R&D and practicing, like literally practicing and not just making recipes I know are gonna work. Trying a bunch of shit that I don't know is gonna work.

17:12 - Speaker 1 So you kind of zoomed out.

17:13 - Speaker 2 I zoomed in.

17:14 - Speaker 1 Not only the content, the platforms, but where is my time and energy and resources going and what makes the most sense.

17:20 - Speaker 2 Yes, yes, because I would see it's funny how this all, like it all manifested. So I'd ask myself the questions, like I see, cooking shows, could I even survive on a cooking show? And it made me very self-conscious because I'm like, how would a chef consider me a chef? And I was sort of asking me all these questions, asked myself all these questions. I'm like, no, it's like okay, well, this is where, like, the imposter syndrome comes into play.

17:43 It's like, well, I haven't done the work. I haven't done the work, I've only stayed in my own little lane where I feel comfortable, instead of bridging out and like literally providing incredible amounts of value by venturing out into every food available and making the most macro-friendly version of it. And that's what I did. So I stepped away from YouTube. I will be back January 1st pumped about that, but I literally stepped away from that, and so that's what spurred the growth was that aspect of taking a step away and taking away any sense of imposter syndrome that I ever could possibly have by actually geeking out at it, like spending as much time as possible, was becoming the best version of myself. And so the crazy thing is is like I was casted on next level chef. Season two and season three? No way, and it's funny, this is funny how that all plays out. I said no because they want you to literally sacrifice your life for three months, plus Anything for TV.

18:46 - Speaker 1 Yeah, that's it.

18:47 - Speaker 2 Yeah, you can't do anything else. You kind of have to fall off the grid. I was like I don't need you guys. I appreciate it. And so, like they come, they go hard. They're like we really want you and so they've been like really, really pushing.

18:57 - Speaker 1 Yeah, you're bringing a lot to the table, like a unique approach to cooking, but also, like I mean, they're not dumb You're bringing a great following.

19:02 - Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah. So that was like really cool, like I got to, I sent that to my parents and they're like.

19:08 - Speaker 1 you need to go on Like everybody's so proud.

19:10 - Speaker 2 I'm like, nah, like you don't understand I mean, that's not.

19:15 - Speaker 1 That's not a humble brag, that is someone. That's a clarity moment. That's a clarity moment of recognizing opportunity, but recognizing what matters most for the bigger opportunity that you're working towards.

19:26 - Speaker 2 Yeah, it was a cool full circle moment and that's that was just a big thing for me was how do I take away any moment of not feeling like that imposter syndrome? I think that's what we all have, those moments, and I just outworked it. I outworked it and so now it's like I am so unbelievably confident in what I do because I have no fucking reason not to be. I know I put in the hours, I put in the time and no one over the past 10 plus years has put in more work than me. No one I literally think about that Like who day in and day out for the last 10 plus years has been cooking macro friendly recipes more than me. I don't know anybody Like.

20:11 - Speaker 1 I really think about it and it's a crazy thing to think about because that is so specific and so I mean there are a lot of people in the flexible dieting world. If it's your macro's world and nutrition world.

20:22 Yeah, so they might've been around macros and like try hitting their macros and stuff, but not actually Not staying true to this format, this approach, this value, this content, this education, this entertainment. How do you stay so true to that? Hey friends, quick break from a conversation with Zach to bring your attention to some. It's kind of revolutionizing the world of healthy fats Probably have heard for a while now that healthy fats, omega oils, fish oil or all the rage they're good for you. Well, that's very well and true, but you know what the times they are a-changing.

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22:55 - Speaker 2 It's my lane, there's a startup cost and anything else I wanna do. I really enjoy it and it's like the further I get into it, the further. The more details I figure out, the more things that like cause. The deeper I go, the more different I am than anybody cause.

23:11 - Speaker 1 No one can have the perspective that I have If I start Say that again, please that's the deeper you go, the more different you are than anybody else.

23:17 - Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean I just said it for you, but I'd be like go back and say that again man, yeah, so the deeper I go, the more different I am than anybody else. And I said that right. Huh, yeah, okay, I just kinda-.

23:29 - Speaker 1 I just quoted you, quoting you. Yeah, you tripped me out. I'm like fuck man.

23:32 - Speaker 2 Is that even what I said? But it's true, damn. Cause there's a perspective that comes with nuance, and the deeper you go, the more personal it is, the more unique your perspective is, because we're a culmination of all the experience that we have, and if I have had 10,000 plus experiences in my own niche, in my own domain, no one could think like me. I'm truly unique, I am irreplaceable because no one's gonna have that perspective and if I go and do something else, I'm a beginner at something else, and so there's a lot of people that have that perspective and then it's gonna take me another 10 plus years for me to have as unique of a perspective that I do now. So this is my high leverage thing and I really enjoy it.

24:24 And how beneficial is it that you can walk into a kitchen and then, at any moment, you can solve your craving in a healthy way? It's like how many things in life are that impactful? Cause we eat majority of our meals at home. We have to, like healthy people, cook for themselves. It's just a fact. We know that. So it's like what is the value of being able to oh shoot, I have a craving Knowing that you have the ability, the confidence to walk into the kitchen, make something that's gonna tackle that craving, just like that relatively easy and tastes delicious, and keep you on track.

25:03 - Speaker 1 It's like wow, that's incredible. I mean, if everybody had that skill set, I'll go out on a limb and say I don't think we would have the obesity problem, I don't think we would have the type two diabetes problem, I don't think we would have all cause mortality problems that we do. I mean, if we a lot of other different reasons. Of course we trace it back to the craving, the emotion behind this sensation that we have to satisfy and we don't have adequate tools to satisfy it. Many people don't have adequate tools to satisfy it in a way that is gonna satisfy it and not screw you over, not take away your health, yeah, and we talk about food.

25:40 - Speaker 2 Not want it shouldn't be an emotional, like a lot of people talk about it. It's simple. We're emotional creatures. Like you can't take away emotion, then we're just robots Like we're AI Like we. That's what makes us us and that's how we have emotional connection with each other.

25:56 - Speaker 1 That's the core of Breaking Bad, breaking, breaking bread.

26:00 - Speaker 2 Is it not? You're gonna say Breaking Bad on my damn top. That's something different, that's a different craving. But yeah, it's really cool and I think that the better tools we have, the better we're gonna be. And the freedom that you have.

26:17 It's like no, you don't have to eat all your meals at home. No, you don't have to. I mean, you can eat out and enjoy that. But like, the math is in our favor. Let's just say we eat at home, we eat three meals a day and let's just say across a week, that is 21 meals. So let's just say we okay, so 21 times 52, da, da, da, da. But like, let's just say if we save 200 calories on each meal, that's 600 calories a day, and so if you multiply that all the way out, it's well over 200,000 calories you're saving over the course of a year. Just how many pounds? About 62, 60 to 62 pounds A year, A year. So it's like when you look at somebody like that is on the trajectory of, like, gaining weight, it's just a 200 calorie difference at every meal. And when you control the variables, then you can actually make something that fits a lot easier and it doesn't even have to be anything crazy and we're just talking about 200 calories that's in many meals.

27:25 - Speaker 1 that's the difference of a couple more bites or not.

27:28 - Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah. So it's like when we think about, when most people think about nutrition, they think about massive intervention. It's just not the case, Like you don't have to have this massive change for success. You just need to make some small changes and make it sustainable, make it a lifestyle. And if it can't be a lifestyle, just like we talked about it earlier, like if your goal is XYZ but you have to change your life to where you won't even like the life that you're living, why even have that be your goal? So that's when I see a lot of diets where it's like oh, where you set a deadline, where like this is it's like, yeah, you can have goals, but like it can't be a complete 180. When the goal is done, the deadline is end of life.

28:12 - Speaker 1 Yeah, that's the deadline, that's the literal deadline.

28:16 - Speaker 2 Oh yeah, that's some deep.

28:17 - Speaker 1 yeah, I never thought about it that way Registered training chair shunning 2023. Deadline Deadline had a couple of questions popping in my mind. I wanna see where I wanna take this with you. You have a lot of confidence around what you do and there's no doubt you have a lot of self mastery in pursuit of self mastery and mastery over some pretty unique skill sets. Do you feel like you've kind of done it all, seen it all? Man, I've done healthy version of this, healthy version of that, less calorie of this. Like I've blown my mind and blown the appetizer and satiety of myself and so many people Like do you get bored? Like what's left for you to do? Kind of try, man, like what else is there?

29:02 - Speaker 2 You know what's crazy. The more I dive into it, the more I'm like man. There's so much to do. There's so much Well, like different cuisines or what. Everything there's always a way. There's food sciences. It's pretty damn cool, like there's just always small little tweaks you can make. Oh, so you're talking food science now? I mean for the most part. I mean what it is is food science. You're looking at how certain foods react when paired together in order to create an extraordinary result.

29:34 - Speaker 1 I was thinking like different menu items.

29:35 - Speaker 2 Yeah, that's what a recipe is the recipe is food science and you're just looking at a bunch of ingredients and how they work well together in order to achieve a supernatural response. And the cool thing is is like if we're looking for like two ends of the spectrum we're looking at it's, usually they're completely separate. So you have delicious and you have macro friendly, so they're usually like fucking on the complete end of the spectrum.

30:00 So it's like when you're trying to build a bridge between the two, you have to you're. I mean food science is necessary because you're trying to have the best of both worlds.

30:11 - Speaker 1 It's like in and out, double, double, animal style, dry as hell. 98 to turkey burger in a lettuce wrap.

30:18 - Speaker 2 Yeah, and so it's like how the hell do you, how do you find that happy medium that achieves both? And so that's the goal of what I do, and so there's always there's just so many food combinations there's, so I feel like I am just getting started which is pretty cool.

30:34 - Speaker 1 What have been some of your favorite food combinations? Have you been mixing cuisines, different mixing ingredients? Maybe that most people would never pair broccoli with pepperoni or something.

30:45 - Speaker 2 You know how do you kind of?

30:46 - Speaker 1 look at the mad science of it all.

30:47 - Speaker 2 I look at yeah, it's cause it's like what is the, what are the, what are they called? Where you have like two different types of food and they're combined together, there's like a lot of different fusion.

30:59 - Speaker 1 So there's a lot of different fusion restaurants where they'll combine certain yeah like.

31:05 - Speaker 2 I love that kind of stuff. So one thing I've been doing a lot of, I've just loved any type of ramen recipe. So taking just a block of ramen Ramen's a love language man. Yeah oh, it is unbelievable what you can do with a block of ramen, compared with whatever flavor combination you want to add to it, because it's actually kind of a neutral type of noodle for the most part, and on its own it doesn't matter a whole lot. On its own it doesn't.

31:34 But you provide other variables to the recipe that give cause. That's mainly the cheat code. So if you want ramen, don't just have a massive bowl of ramen. You want to add different like co-stars to the recipe that give it more volume. So it's like, obviously you want to have a vegetable component. That okay, well, how do you make vegetables taste good? So there's many different ways to go about doing that. But if you want volume and you want it to be lower calorie, you want to have something that's going to keep you full. Well, you're going to have to have a vegetable component to it. Well, okay, now we need to have a protein component. So all right. Well, what protein source do I want to have? How do I want to marinate that protein. How do I want to cook it? So then you're looking at well, it's like what's the sauce? All right, well, how do I have a sauce that's actually macro-friendly?

32:19 - Speaker 1 It's like, well, what's the timing of all the ingredients coming together to where one doesn't dry out, and everything comes together to where it's a beautiful so it really has to be the dissection yeah, it's the dissection of what kind of came to mind was, I think, where I have gone to, where I think a lot of people probably go to as well, is how can I make this dish, this thing that I love, healthy? Yep, I don't know. But all right, vegetable carb protein sauce. Look at all the ingredients.

32:49 - Speaker 2 Yep.

32:50 - Speaker 1 All right, I can add more vegetables, so I can not cook everything in butter with my broccoli. I can create a better version of sauce over here. Boom, you got the thing that you thought was untouchable.

33:00 - Speaker 2 Yep, and it's a give and take. So it's like, oh my gosh. When you think of like, oh, I'm craving ramen, it's like I don't think you're craving just a whole, you just want some ramen.

33:08 - Speaker 1 Yeah.

33:10 - Speaker 2 And so when you have I've been doing a lot of ramen stir-frys, so it's like you cook up your ramen, then you have a bunch of either stir-fry vegetables, then you have a different protein source that you can kind of swap in and out.

33:21 - Speaker 1 But your stir-fry game is strong. I think the first dish I had with you when we were in Laguna years ago, you made this amazing stir-fry. Yeah, I mean it's just tried and true.

33:31 - Speaker 2 It's really. It's quite simple and there's just many different common Like if you learn how to cook vegetables and make them taste good, it's not very difficult, life hack. It's a life hack, man, because now you have a way to provide volume to any meal and you actually really enjoy it. You're adding micronutrients, you're adding fiber, you're adding volume that keeps you full and then, yeah, the taste is still there. It's such an added compliment to the meal. So it's like when you look at a meal that's, oh, I wanna have a burrito bowl, it's like, well, most people just wanna have. They'll just have rice and ground beef.

34:08 I'm like, ah, like you're just missing. That's a stretch for a burrito bowl, I know, but like just a lot of people, definitely. People think, yeah, there's like a bunch of rice and then meat. I'm like, ah, man, you're missing out on a lot of different things where you can keep this a lot lower calorie. But there's many different ways to go about it.

34:24 - Speaker 1 So now you got your Don and you're in your chef era right. You got your chef hat on and really using this to your advantage for how you create food, how you create content, how you create a living for yourself. I'm going to take that perspective and look at the food industry as a whole. Right now, we're recording end of 2023. So, let's say, in 2023, if you were to look at the food industry as a whole from a chef's perspective a healthy chef's perspective what's your take? What's the pulse?

34:54 - Speaker 2 Man. I mean I would say it's not awful, but it's not great. Have we gotten better? We've definitely gotten better. Better, as in. I guess more restaurants are more conscious of people having actual preferences instead of just having let's just make it as tasty as possible. But what I say? Could you go to any restaurant and get something that's delicious and macro-friendly? No, like it's. I'm of the. It would be really damn cool to be able to go to any restaurant and have that be the case.

35:29 - Speaker 1 But Imagine opening up a menu and just plugging in your macro. Yeah, because I'm looking for a meal no more than 500 calories?

35:37 - Speaker 2 Yeah, and it's all on the, it's all on there. You know, literally it's not like you have to go on some nutrition thing on somebody's website to find it. It's like literally on the menu, really easy to find. It's just tough because food, the inflation of food, is crazy right now and to where normal meals that aren't healthy at all are now what healthy meals used to cost. So now what does a healthy meal cost? It's expensive as shit. To where. Now it's even more important to be able to eat, make recipes at home and be able to do it in an easy and efficient way. It's yeah, man, I am. I love eating out, I think it's great. But the amount of times I eat out and I'm just like, ah, like, ah, that was good, that was good. But like, fuck man, like, Is it like that was good?

36:28 - Speaker 1 That was good, I could do better. Or like, yeah, like it missed the mark.

36:33 - Speaker 2 It was good. I could have done better. And then also, If it wasn't for my friends here, it's like I don't think I want to, I just I like to eat out because of the camaraderie and it's like the food is the food is you get something more than just the meal out of it, yeah, and so if I'm just going going out just to eat, it's like cool, but like I'm always in the back of my mind, I'm not like wow, like that was unbelievable, I couldn't have done that myself.

37:00 It's like not to my own horn. But that's not the goal that they have. Like Right, they're. They're goals. Different perspective. Yeah, their goal is to make it as delicious as possible. They're not trying to feed me. I come in there with a different perspective and I eat out for my friends in the camaraderie. I don't eat out just to geek out on all the food and it's so good Having such a a food preparer's mind and having such a health conscious mind. Yeah.

37:31 - Speaker 1 You're not alone, man. A lot of people when they're trying to make these choices in their life. I think dining out food is usually at the core of a lot of that, and eating out is one of the most difficult things for a lot of people to maintain in pursuit of their goals. Yeah, how would you advise somebody right now to to navigate that and actually learn how to win those situations?

37:53 - Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, the more you do it, the better you're going to be. It's just going to come down to awareness, nutritional awareness of understanding what's in certain foods. So what's a protein source? What's a?

38:05 - Speaker 1 fat source. What's your homework?

38:06 - Speaker 2 Yeah Well, you don't even have to like look up the restaurant prior, it's just under like the more. If you track your macros for a few months, you'll have this background of knowledge. Then you know, when you're eating out, well, what's their goal. They're going to make it food as delicious as possible. How do they do that? They're going to cook everything in a lot of butter and oil. So that's the main difference. In a lot of recipes when you eat out, it's just they're cooking things in a ungodly amount. Count on a lot of oil, yes, a lot. So when you're eating macronutrient, dietary fat, it's just not very voluminous Like it is. It adds up very, very quickly Nine calories per gram, just literally. A gram of oil is nine calories. So it's like when you see put into, they're probably using a hundred 200 calories.

38:51 - Speaker 1 Oh, they're eyeballing that. Yeah, they're just like eyeballing that, yeah.

38:54 - Speaker 2 And it's not even anything to them. They don't give a shit, nor should they. So when you're eating out, you just got to understand okay, do you want to give a shit when you're eating out? If you do that, if you're eating out a lot, you have to and you have goals. If you're only eating out a couple of times a month or once a week, I don't care, like just don't, don't be an idiot, but like you don't need to be. Hey, could you do this? Do you do? Like don't, you don't need to worry too much that. But if you're eating out three, four times a week, it's like well, different games. Yeah, we're talking about a much higher percentage of your meals and which with this much higher calorie percentage. So it's like then you got to make a much better decision so you can order things without oil, have them steam certain things like steam broccoli from restaurants is fucking not good.

39:46 - Speaker 1 But really isn't. It's so gross I like that taste. Oh good broccoli in my mouth. As soon as you said that it's not good, man, it's not.

39:55 - Speaker 2 It is like literally like microwaving a bag of broccoli and then has no seasoning on it. It's pretty disgusting, but you just have to make some sacrifices and you're going to look at ways to provide more value to the meals, more volume to the meal. So maybe you do order a salad and be aware of the sneaky. As for dressing on the side, always dressing on the side if you're going to be eating out a lot, and then you can moderate how much you're going to put always sauce off your sandwich. Just know, when they cook you a burger it's 80, 20 ground beef. So it's not going to be that lean stuff, it's going to be that ground chuck, the big old tube. Not, it's not gross, but like it's going to be the fattier.

40:30 So literally going to be like 20 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, which is, as we just talked about, 20 grams of fat, nine calories per gram, 20 grams of protein, for calories per gram, over double the amount of calories of fat, then protein. That's not what we want. So if you're going to be eating out more often, always look for the chicken sandwich, eat the bun. I don't give a shit, I don't be the one that's just eating chicken breast. But yeah, I mean, and if you're going to get fries, just know that they're going to be much higher fat than what you'd be able to make at home. Just because they're deep fried, enjoy them if you want, and just become more educated on.

41:10 Doesn't have to be perfect, but it just depends on your goals and it never will be. It never will be. It's just to have. I guess it's, it's weighing the pros and cons. So is this a core memory or is it not? So if you're like, damn, I'm with my boys, like we're gonna, we're grubbing, and like we're having a good time, I'm eating, whatever the fuck I want to eat.

41:30 - Speaker 1 There is a lot of science that proves how you show up emotionally and mentally to a meal will actually contribute to holding on like, storing more fat. Holding on to more fat than like if you have the same meal and like a heightened stress state response the higher cortisol versus like what you're talking about, just an insane serotonin oxytocin like to feel good. I have no remorse or regret about that meal Interesting the body will let go a lot of that more. That's dope, yeah.

41:55 - Speaker 2 Man Well, I tend to have those types of meals when I'm in that state of mind, because I associate it as is this a core memory. Yes, okay, no regrets. But if it's not a core memory and I'm never going to remember this meal ever again, yeah, and it's the trade off.

42:11 - Speaker 1 There's no FOMO.

42:12 - Speaker 2 Like, if I'm like, oh, I'm just going to eat a chicken sandwich and like, keep it simple, and I'm not the weirdo who's not eating and I just I make a smart decision and I just know that sauces and dressings are where they get you. If you get a salad, just know if they throw a bunch of nuts on top, that's where they're going to get you. Like, you're just looking for the ways of like, what's the low volume, high calorie things that can be added in here that can throw me off? But don't overthink it, don't overcompic. Like, food is meant to be food, aka it's meant to be enjoyed. Don't let it take away from your life. Like, let it add to it. And when food is taking away from your quality of life, then you need to reevaluate.

42:51 - Speaker 1 Speaking of life, man, you see we've been talking about your journey over the years and you've created a great life for yourself in a very deep and a very driven life. Is your life now what you thought it would be, or have you kind of just woken up and like, oh shit, I haven't had down for so long? Am I living my dream?

43:10 - Speaker 2 I mean. I mean you go about it If you look at life as, like this full, dynamic thing where you look at all facets of life like, did I think I'd have a wife and kids by now? Hell yeah, but did I think my life would be what it is now? And the opportunities that I have, and the fact that I lived in a household where money was the driver of everything we did. We never bought anything that was not on sale. We, I just always knew the value of a dollar from my parents, not because they, like, shamed me about it, but because it was just that was your life. That's what we had to do. And knowing that now, like I don't really ever look at my bank account and I just kind of I don't, I live a life to where I don't buy nice things but I don't worry about money I don't have a rich life.

44:06 That's the only reason why I make money is because I don't want to have to worry about money. Yeah, I just want to live man. So if I want to buy something, I buy something, if I don't, I don't. I'm just not dumb with my money. Grateful for my background in behavioral economics, like I know that I understand the psychological aspect that's happening to me in regards to being a consumer and consumerism. Like I know how to avoid. I've become aware.

44:32 - Speaker 1 Yes.

44:33 - Speaker 2 It's wild whenever you can kind of understand the game being played as a consumer and all the things pulling for your, your money.

44:41 - Speaker 1 One of the biggest revelations of adulting is that you realize literally everything is marketing. Yes, you walk outside your door, open your phone.

44:48 - Speaker 2 everything is everything, everything and if you can kind of flex that muscle and have the awareness like you can't take that in the way and you just kind of make better decisions because of it. So am I proud of where I'm at? Oh yeah, like, is it really cool? Yes, it's awesome.

45:07 - Speaker 1 Delicious.

45:08 - Speaker 2 It's the yeah, and delicious, and do I feel like I'm making an impact and I feel, do I feel like I'm somebody of value that I've always wanted to. I never want to be the person in the room that doesn't contribute. I never want to be the taker and I've always. It's sometimes it's a detriment because I'll sacrifice my own well-being to make somebody else feel comfortable and yeah. And it's it's tough, but would I rather be that than somebody who is just a fucking little asshole that just takes, takes, takes.

45:34 - Speaker 1 Yeah, how do you want to be remembered? Yeah, those two people you're going to be remembered, but for totally different reasons, totally different reasons.

45:41 - Speaker 2 Yeah, and so I never want to be that person. So, um, I think up until this point in my life, I've given more than I've taken. I'm proud of where I'm at. I've proven a lot of people wrong. I've proven myself right, but I didn't think I was going to be I don't know. It's like a. I had doubt. I, I proved myself. I beat myself doubt in regards to just moments throughout journey.

46:05 - Speaker 1 I mean, we've all had those moments where it happens, when you do the things that build confidence.

46:09 - Speaker 2 Yes, Because you don't know what's going to happen. That's why you do it. Yeah, the cards were stacked in your favor, which I like to stack the cards in my favor now, like I have all this, we all can buy.

46:18 - Speaker 1 Yeah, like you did. It takes all these tools and resources and awareness we're talking about, like educate yourself on how to stack the conditions in your favor. Yeah, like that's how you win in life, yeah, yeah.

46:27 - Speaker 2 So, and then also just understanding those moments where you like have, were you trying like self sabotage for some reason, and like I did that for a while because I didn't feel like I was worthy and so I would make decisions that would kind of set me back a little bit. I'm like what are you doing? Like what are you doing? And so it was just all based upon like, dude, do you really deserve this? And so then it was more of like okay, dude, how do I beat this feeling? It's like why need to outwork it and I need to get myself zeroed out. And so now it's like I'm the most confident I've ever been in regards to what I do, because I did outwork it and it's been really cool and I feel it is a cheat code.

47:06 It's like anytime you feel like a moment of insecurity, it's like well, you got to, you got to lean into it and you have to figure out. Well, like, how does this? Not because a life of insecurity is brutal. Man, it's brutal, I would. It's not, it's not life, no, it's not at all. And we know those people that are confident that their energy is contagious and man, that's somebody I want to be around. It's like when somebody's super insecure, it's tough.

47:32 - Speaker 1 It's tough because you're they're always seeking and needing validation from external people and it's like what's the right thing to do, what's the right thing to say?

47:40 - Speaker 2 Yeah, and you're not getting that pure form of them. Yeah.

47:45 - Speaker 1 What's the last thing you did for your mental health? Hmm, Because you're feeding yourself. Well, you're feeding a lot of people. Well, you know there are other components here to to a rich life.

47:57 - Speaker 2 Yeah, I, I think the biggest thing I've done is it's not like these big monumental things, it's more of like an awareness on a daily basis of like hey, yeah, like I take like micro wins, like I'm not somebody that's going to pull an all nighter, I'm not somebody who is going to outwork you on one single day. I, just I have an awareness of dude, you're good for the day, you're good, you've accomplished what you needed to accomplish. This was a high leverage thing that you got done and I guess you probably have set and know your standards, yeah.

48:31 I know what needs to get done and what doesn't, and once it's done and everything else is a bonus on top of it. So what I do for my own mental health is just having an awareness of that and knowing that, like me, working is my choice. No one's done this to me. I I'm not a victim to my own circumstance. It's like I choose to do this and I really enjoy it. I don't need to do X, Y, Z to make myself feel better. I don't need to have somebody else tell me what I have to do in order to live a happy life. It's like I know what I enjoy. I know the people I like to be around.

49:04 - Speaker 1 You know that now. Yeah, you know that now. You've had to figure that out along the way?

49:09 - Speaker 2 Yeah, so yes, I would. But I would say, did I always? Yeah, did I always have that? No, do I feel like I've always been relatively self aware of who I am and how I make people feel? Yes, have I overworked a lot along the way? For sure, you just don't know what balance looks like until you test those boundaries Like what do you know what balance is until you've kind of worked both ends of the spectrum.

49:38 - Speaker 1 You don't know balance until you tip the scales.

49:40 - Speaker 2 Yeah, so that's um. So I would say like the biggest thing I've done is just making sure on a daily basis, because I know this is the long game. I know when there's moments where I felt burnt out and this isn't fun, it feels like a burden, it's whenever I'm trying to do too much in one single day, but I just know my best work is just showing up every single day and just getting a win. It's like a little win, something that creates a new perspective, and maybe it's like shit. On a Saturday morning I read for an hour and then like maybe I worked for a little bit, but I'm not supposed to work that day. But I enjoy reading and I enjoy like learning something new, and then maybe throughout that day I read something that creates a different perspective that I would have went about my whole day, that I would not have read, and then maybe I have an idea that completely changed my life.

50:32 - Speaker 1 I've had that happen many times, so you allow yourself to be really in the moment.

50:36 - Speaker 2 I, yes, I value time. I value time more than anything I I want to cause. I know how cool it is for somebody else to spend their time with me and I know like you, recognize that they're giving up their time.

50:53 Yes, To be with you a thousand percent. And as you become more successful, more people want your time and I, just I have a close circle. I've very, I have like a really close circle and I don't. I venture out of it Sometimes, but I like to protect that a lot and I protect my time and how do you justify venturing out of your circle?

51:19 - Speaker 1 What, what, what's, what are the checks and balances there to go outside of your circle?

51:24 - Speaker 2 Hmm, I don't want to sound selfish, but it has to be mutually beneficial, like I mean, yeah, if I'm going to spend my time away from something that I like to do, I'm not going to just sacrifice it for somebody else's wellbeing. It's like I have to enjoy being around you or you're helping me with something it's more of like. To be honest, I don't go around people. I don't care how much money you're going to make me or how much. If you don't make me feel good and I don't, I don't care what you are, so you kind of base a lot of your decisions.

51:56 Do I like you or do I know?

51:57 - Speaker 1 around happiness.

51:58 - Speaker 2 Yes, cause I know I don't need to make, I don't need your, I don't need anything from you. So, yeah, and I think that like okay, if we're going to talk about like the aspect of what's changed my happiness the most is I have zero expectations of anybody else. I have zero, none. I know everybody for them.

52:18 - Speaker 1 I mean, if people can hear that and latch on to that and it's very much easier said than done, yeah, and it kind of sounds even like I might see how people might think this is negative. But if you just really go, I don't have any expectation of anybody. I mean, if you're going to lower your expectations for everyone or majority of people, certain people, I think you're super tight, closed circle. You should I personally think you should have expectations for people. Yeah, because if you don't, then like you're probably going to lower your guard and you're going to stop pouring into them. Yeah, and then what kind of relationship is that?

52:50 - Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean I okay. So when I say zero expectations, obviously there's baseline, of course, Of like be my friend, like, don't be. Like like come on now, but what is the standards? Yeah, and if, but anything on top of that. Like I'm not going to expect one of my best friends to help me move, like if we're just talking about purely like I'll hire somebody to help. I'm not going to have like my friend is my friend, like my friend is not a moving truck, yes, and so like I guess, when it's yes, we have this thing where it's like friends are friends and we can confide in them in tough times, 1000%.

53:30 But like when a friend becomes like this thing that you just punch on all the time and you just unload. It's just like a relationship as well, where you just unload everything on of them. It's like that person has problems too and they have all the. They're trying to navigate this life and make the most of it and of course, they want to help and they probably get happiness out of it. I guess for me it's like it comes down to like I and maybe it is deep rooted in me I don't want to be a burden. I always want to be able to contribute. So I want to surround myself with people who are always trying to add value and not just extract more value than that from the same place.

54:08 Yeah.

54:09 - Speaker 1 Imagine this. Imagine building a circle around people that, at their core, want to be your friend, don't want to be a burden and want to add value. Yeah, it's like we're all going to rise up. It's a really cool.

54:21 - Speaker 2 It's a really cool place to be and, and it's very obvious, when you're in that situation, when there is somebody who just wants to take, take, take cause, it just stands out like a sore thumb. You almost don't even need to say anything. Sometimes, no, it's everybody's like uh, consensus, Like uh, yeah, we're not buying that person. Yeah, he's got to go, he's got to go. So I think that is um yeah.

54:41 I mean, is it deep rooted that like that? I want to not be a burden, like if there's just something that like and I have to dive into that a little bit more where it's like, I don't. I hate that feeling of feeling like I'm a burden.

54:55 - Speaker 1 That's the self-awareness point you were talking about earlier.

54:57 - Speaker 2 Yeah, it's like is it a bad thing or is it actually like a good thing? Um, I don't know and I need to do some deeper dive into, okay, what is actually contributing to this like feeling of never wanting to be cause. I know I'm not. I know why I provide value. I know I just want to be helpful and I want to contribute. But the aspect of where did that come from? In regards to when I was younger, what, what triggered that thing to where? Now it's like something I think about a lot and I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse or it's just somewhere in the middle, which is a lot of things. I think they only curse.

55:34 - Speaker 1 There would be to ignore. Yeah, I think the only bad thing that could come from that would be to not explore.

55:40 - Speaker 2 Yeah.

55:41 - Speaker 1 I mean blanket statement here to all of our emotions, where we're analyzing winner head in a good way, we're developing or personifying that level of self-awareness. Yeah, you're gonna face these things that seem like, oh, is this how I want to show up in the world? Where does it come from, you know? And yeah, the worst thing we could do would be to ignore it. I mean, imagine a life you can build yourself when you actually fully understand why and how you operate.

56:06 Yeah, why and how you show up in the world for yourself and for these people because at the end of the day I mean, if you can nail that down when we're talking about here building communities, like at the end of the day, end of our life, relationships, I think, are the only thing that really matter the most. Yeah.

56:22 - Speaker 2 I mean, it's it's true and it's all relative.

56:24 We all know our own happiness and we're all our own experiments, where we're trying to Kind of figure it out, and we live in a world where everybody wants to tell us how we're supposed to be happy and how we're supposed to operate Our lives, but we're the only ones who are literally right there in the thick of it, that are in our own head, hearing all the thoughts that are going on, and we're the ones that can make that decision. And I guess, for me, I just don't, I Don't, I don't, I don't hear the noise as much as I used to. That's amazing. Yeah, you should do this or you should do that. It's like, yeah, I'll fit out, figured out, yeah, but that's where my mind goes in regards to that.

57:01 - Speaker 1 I kind of get towards the end. I want to ask you Alive who is someone alive right now that you would absolutely dream, love to cook for, and what would be the dish?

57:11 - Speaker 2 man. That's a that's an interesting question. I feel like somebody asked me this I don't. I've never been one to, and this is where it's like. I don't think I idolize this person or not.

57:25 - Speaker 1 But who would be a challenge? Maybe it is somebody really look up to or just like you know what. I Bet they got just like a weird palette.

57:32 - Speaker 2 Who is something Well, I guess it would be really cool. It would be really cool to cook for Gordon Ramsay and him be like oh fuck, this is dope, this is really cool.

57:39 Like that would be really cool because it would be like oh, this guy knows both ends of the spectrum and can appreciate what I do and that's all my that's. One of my goals is to be able to shoot something with him and him just get his opinion on things and Be like, oh, wow, like I get it, yeah, I get it, like this is valuable and I get why this is something that everybody kind of needs to have a prerequisite ability to be able to do, because that's powerful and he's somebody who is the ultimate version of if you can get him to give you the Damn. This is like that, that, that the seal of approval.

58:18 Yeah, it's like bam, like wow, that's really cool. So I guess that's where let's put it out there. Yeah, it'd be cool to see if that could come to reality. I, I Think it's gonna happen. I'm, I'm died. Everything else is kind of falling into place, so I'm like all right, well, I think it's, I think it's gonna happen. So I'm um, um, um, yeah, what?

58:41 - Speaker 1 would be the dish oh.

58:42 - Speaker 2 That's tough. Um, I have to research him a little bit more, to, kind of, because every everything I see him make, I Don't really see him eating much American style food, uh-huh, and so I'd be curious to see what his favorite American style dish is. And I got to research a little bit more but like literally, when you just asked me that question, it was like I just like randomly thought about it recently and I was like, oh, that'd be actually Validation. I was like, well, what would be really cool to have on the website? Well, I'd be like Like Gordon Ramsay testimonial. I was like that would be like the goat of all good Opportunities. I'm like, oh, well, that'd be really cool.

59:24 So it's like that's where it's like he, he hosts the show, next level shaft. So I'm like, ah, do I actually like at some point? It's just there's so much going on in regards to I've just taken a much bigger role in my supplement company as well. So like that's where I just have very little time and there's a, a capitalization that we're going for in regards to what we're trying to accomplish with that brand and also my personal brand, because they all kind of seem to go together, so same question, but someone that's no longer living.

59:57 - Speaker 1 Who are they and what's the dish?

59:59 - Speaker 2 That's no longer living.

01:00:02 - Speaker 1 Fictional or nonfiction.

01:00:05 - Speaker 2 I mean, I'm not gonna, I don't want to, but no one's gonna know this person. If somebody's been following me for a while, they will. It's like I wish I could. I wish I could cook for my mama again. I was gonna say your grandma.

01:00:18 - Speaker 1 Yeah, I mean, I thought about this on the first.

01:00:20 - Speaker 2 Yeah, anybody that knows me would, um, she's just a special person and she um, it's tough to see her have dementia and like, like, that six months was wild, like. I remember the conversation I had with her where I was like, damn, she's gone and she was alive six months after that. But she was never that person. She was always so witty, she lived till she was 96 years old. She always told me to, like, my parents had these expectations of me and she always told me it's like, just do what you want. And I always listen to her.

01:00:54 There it is, yeah, and so she, yeah, she guided me and there's just I would love to be able to Do. It's just, I never knew when that last conversation was gonna happen until it did and I was like, oh, she's never gonna be the same and it was just really hard. It was kind of like my mama died overnight without me even knowing, because the dementia was just just literally within a week. She didn't even remember who I was anymore and I was literally Her baby. She raised me, she lived with us while my parents were working and she, she pretty much raised me and If I could, well, it'd be the dish you would want to take her down memory lane.

01:01:38 Oh man, she would make the best. She's the one who introduced me to crepes um, and so she would make the best crepes, and they were buttery brown sugar filled. We're not, we're not tracking macros on this one, oh no, we're not, um, but yeah she, um, um, those. I just remember and tell them I'd stay with her. I would just wake up and I would smell those and I was like, oh, those are so good and I was just so pumped to have those, um, and so we would. We probably have that and we'd probably go get some ice cream that night too. But yeah, she yolo baby yeah she's the best.

01:02:16 Yeah, I just miss having our conversations because we talk for hours and hours and hours, and she's had a big impact on me. In regards to you don't need permission to do anything. Um, you, you are the one who makes that decision and don't worry about anybody's expectation other than yourselves of yourself, and you are the one that makes that final decision. Just prove them. Prove them wrong. Just prove them wrong and the ball's in your court. And the only way they are right is if you stop and you allow them to be right and you let them fail. If you stop, yes, and if you stop, because that's the only way you fail.

01:02:52 And I was literally talking to because, with flex, my supplement company, were bringing on. Our goal is to sponsor every food creator in the space, and so we want to be. That's a gnarly goal, yeah, so we want to be the protein powder for food creators, because the only reason why I created flex is to create the best protein powder for recipes. It's a massive need in the industry Because, for example, if you talk to any food creator that has a really good recipe and they use a high quality protein powder that is meant for recipes, they could have a perfect recipe and somebody goes, wow, this didn't turn out very good. And then I'm like well, nor they're like did you Use all the same ingredients? They're like, yeah. And then what's the one question? You ask them what? What protein powder to use? Really comes down to that 100 000. And they're like Use xyz. And you're like, man well, it's like well, here's why there's, here's why this didn't work. It's a rock your world.

01:03:46 Yeah, yeah, and so yeah and so that's a big thing, because if you want to solve cravings, especially on the sweet side of things, and have a macronutrient profile that's flipped on his head to where it's mostly protein, you're only as good as your tools. And so that's where I was literally talking to a kid, um same to alan. He is 22 years old and he recently just graduated school and he's crushing on tiktok and youtube I mean on instagram and I was like man. He was like man, like I want to do this, I want to do this, I want to do this. I'm like All you need to focus on is just Keep showing up. You're 22 and you've already built this. The only way you fail Is if you stop and it's not no longer fun.

01:04:33 - Speaker 1 So just keep it fun, use the wrong protein powder, of course. Oh, that, of course, that of course.

01:04:38 - Speaker 2 Yeah, that of course, um, but that's where, um, but he already knew that. That's why we were on the call. But yeah, I just wanted to To give him advice in regards to that, because that's the only, literally only way he loses. I just remember my memory telling me that when I was 1920-21 and she just kept, even though I made some dumb mistakes and all that kind of stuff like Academically ineligible, lost, my basketball scholarship got it back like went through some gnarly injuries.

01:05:07 Gnarly injury career ending injury right after I get back from being academically ineligible. It's like Dude. And the whole time when my parents are like, what are you doing? She's just like Zach, I know you're, I know you're a good boy, like I know you're talented, like you're one of the most talented people I've ever known. It's just you got to get your shit together. You got to focus and and and prove them wrong and keep going, and keep going.

01:05:32 - Speaker 1 That's the whole reason we're here talking man. That's the same philosophy that my dad passed down to me and, um, it's through the through line that I look for and everybody that I bring on the show. And I don't think I had this question when you were first on, but I wrap up every interview now Asking your own interpretation of that. Ever for Zach, what does that mean to you? How do you live a life?

01:05:52 - Speaker 2 ever forward? That's a good question. Um, I would say I mean it comes back to what we talked about earlier, just not stopping, but that's. It's more than that. Life is this aspect of you are Moving forward towards something, and that means you are growing, you are living, and I constantly want to have things in my life that allow me to feel like I am alive and that I am getting better and I am moving forward and I'm challenging myself, and I constantly talk to my parents about this. What, what makes you excited, like? What are you excited about? What are you working on right now? Because my parents are getting up there in age and they're retired and I'd seen that.

01:06:37 I see the trajectory of when you stop having purpose and you stop having things on a daily basis that are unique and challenging, you're not moving ever forward. You're not moving. You're not moving. You are Slowly in decline towards the end. And the people that I see that live long and fruitful lives that are Are awesome until the end, it's the ones that are constantly moving forward and they have things that are challenging them on a daily basis and they're they're mentally and physically and Emotionally and they move forward towards it and they welcome it. It's not like this thing, that's like a detriment. That's like, oh my god, that's not. That's like cool, an opportunity for me to get better. It's like if I ever have an injury, I'm like, oh shit, let's go. I have another opportunity To fix a weak link and I have an opportunity to get even better because of it.

01:07:31 I become more athletic and more strong, etc. So how can you become a student of life and and have a confidence in yourself to know that you'll be able to use all this information the best way possible? It's like, man, if everybody were to read books, just that's, if everybody's just read. Oh my god, like there's just so much valuable information and perspective shifts that happen where, man, if you just read a little bit every single day, I think that's just a massive impactful thing. But yeah, I just think everything that you're doing is based on how do I become a better version of myself every single day? It could be the tiniest little thing, but it usually is right.

01:08:08 - Speaker 1 Yeah, it's a little shit.

01:08:09 - Speaker 2 Yeah, and it just did just snowball. It's just a domino effect, and I Think that that's where, if I were to say what does ever forward mean to me? It is just that constant motivation to move forward and look for tiny ways to get better on a daily basis, because that's where and welcome it.

01:08:27 - Speaker 1 Yes, I love that about it. Yeah, that's, that's the difference, that's the mindset shift to kind of just go from yeah, positivity, yeah, keep going, yeah, move forward. But you know what happens when the good, bad and the ugly come on that path. You got to welcome it. That's yeah, cuz when you differentiate you look at every.

01:08:46 - Speaker 2 I was thinking about this recently. When I think of every good thing, every pivotal moment in my life, it was always some annoying ass shit that happened. I'm like, why now? Why now? And sure enough it was for me to slow down, or me to look around and be like, oh Whoa, like pay attention. Yes, pay attention. If that's like where any bash it happens. It is like pay attention, open your eyes, get out of your routine. Hey, there's a big moment here that's gonna propel you forward if you want to see it. But if you see it as this thing that is a burden or something that's not meant to be for you, then you're not gonna see it. You're gonna miss an opportunity. And that's the difference between people who Live an ever-forward life and those that are victims. And I think it's mindset shift that everybody has the opportunity to have. Obviously, some people have been through hell and back, and there's just some people that have used that as a crazy motivation oh yeah to achieve Unbelievable things.

01:09:51 - Speaker 1 And now that you have empathy from all kinds of other people think they have. Yeah.

01:09:55 - Speaker 2 And they, they just haven't. And they, they think that everybody deserves to give them everything and they deserve to be Just handed on silver plate. It's like.

01:10:04 - Speaker 1 This is not how not up in here yeah, it's not on this show, baby. Yeah, it's been to finally so good to have you back. Yeah, man, and thank you again. Years ago, I mean, you were one of the early people that, just like, saw podcasting and saw ever forward radio In a positive light. Yeah, and I loved having you on then, loved having you back now and congrats on all of the self mastery that you keep putting yourself on the Path towards and all the hard work and all the the rewards that you're getting now with, like, being so Inundated in what you love to do.

01:10:37 I appreciate it being rewarded in some big, big ways.

01:10:40 - Speaker 2 Thank you, man. Well, I I believe in humans and like back then. Obviously it's like you know, when you hang out with somebody like well, this is a good dude, this is a good dude, you're like all right. Well, I Believe that something good is gonna come from this and, like we talked about, it's like it's a reciprocate, it's like reciprocal. It's like if I it's good vibes and if I think you're a good human and I think you have good intentions, like course, let's do the pod. Let's nothing but good.

01:11:06 Yeah, and like all the cool interactions we've had since it's like it's played out, it's worked out Well.

01:11:11 - Speaker 1 we've had some good life in between.

01:11:13 - Speaker 2 Yeah, on and off the air. That's pretty. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

01:11:16 - Speaker 1 It's been beautiful, man. Well, I'm gonna have, of course, everything linked in the show notes when everybody, where can they go to connect with you, learn more.

01:11:21 - Speaker 2 I mean, I think the the one spot is this Instagram, the flexible dieting lifestyle. Just check me out there. Everything kind of flows through there food horn, yeah, and so I would say you'll find there. Also, if you're somebody who enjoys pro using protein powder in order to create food, my supplement brand flex brands is, I mean, we're tri only own recipes yeah that's where we're. We're doing it different, and it's an industry that needs some more innovation, so we're pumped about it.

01:11:49 - Speaker 1 I'm gonna title this food that doesn't suck. It's so true, Matt he's seriously so good at what he does. I've witnessed it, I've tasted it firsthand.

01:11:58 - Speaker 2 It's been a minute, though it's been a minute. Yeah, we'll make it happen. We'll make it brother.

01:12:03 - Speaker 1 I, man, appreciate you For more information on everything you just heard. Make sure to check this episode, show notes or head to everforwardradio.com