Welcome back to 80/20 Health Habits. In each installment of this 7-part series, I’m sharing one simple, science-backed health habit that can make an outsized difference in your energy, performance, and overall well-being.
Here’s what we’ve covered so far:
Here’s what we’re looking at today…
Health Habit #5
Eat real food
Over the years, I’ve tried many different approaches to eating, purely as little tests to see how my body would respond: pescatarian (seafood only), vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, no-carb (keto), paleo, gluten-free, carnivore (meat only), and more…
Here’s what I’ve learned: there’s no such thing as a “one size fits all” approach to nutrition. It’s largely dependent on your body composition, age, background, health status, and so much more.
Having said that, today I’ll share what my current approach to eating looks like, because I know some of you want to know.
Then, I’ll give you a broader 80/20 health action that you can apply to your own life.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and nothing I share in this post should be taken as medical advice.
I used to count every single micro and macro-nutrient I put in my body… It got to a point where I could look at a piece of chicken and tell you exactly how many grams of protein it contained.
Eventually, I let go of the obsessive approach and embraced something I still do to this day:
Intermittent fasting.
In short, I only eat one meal a day.
My breakfast is a liter of water, vitamins, a freshly-pressed green juice, and two shots of espresso.
Throughout the day, I drink water.
At around 6-7 pm, I have dinner.
Examples of meals I personally enjoy for dinner are:
1-2 big steaks (grass-fed, halal beef) with mashed potatoes and broccolini
6-8 organize chicken tacos with a giant spinach & arugula salad
Uzbek rice with carrots and halal beef (or lamb)
Salmon with quinoa and avocados
About an hour or two before bed, I have a snack, which is usually one of the following:
Celery sticks with raw almond butter
Organic dry-roasted cashews
A half-jar of sun butter
An acai bowl
I totally realize that fasting all day and eating before bed sounds upside down. And for some people, it is. But for me? It works better than any other approach I’ve tried.
Having said that, here’s the one big thing I hope you noticed about the meals I just shared with you:
They all contain real, natural, whole-foods that come from nature.
Not processed junk with a bunch of ingredients that sound like they were made in a lab.
I eat whole foods, prioritize protein, and have little to no processed sugar.
And I recommend you do the same.
It’ll boost your health, productivity, and energy.
It’ll also help you perform at your peak—at home, at work, and everywhere in between.
Actionable insights
Forget restrictive diets or counting every single macro. The simplest, most effective nutritional guardrail is focusing on real, minimally processed foods (things that look like they did when they came out of the ground or off an animal).
Your 80/20 action for Day #5 is to eat less junk and more natural whole foods:
Center your meals around a lean protein source and colorful vegetables.
Eat complex carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, and brown rice.
Use clean cooking oils, like cold-pressed olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
Avoid junk-food, hydrogenated oils, and processed sugars.
The food you eat can kill you, or it can heal you.
The decision is always yours.
Up next…
Five down, two more to go. Click or tap below to dive into the next installment of the 80/20 Health Habits series here at Club 12:
