Super Market Layouts

Super markets could do good by changing their layout. A space where produce, meat, nuts and other whole foods are showcased over processed foods that come in bags, boxes and plastic, could help influence the food choices people make. It’s something I realized the last time I stepped into our local Sprouts.

We have a Whole Foods directly across the street from us (and I have Prime which entitles us to some discounts). A couple of blocks further is Sprouts. But despite its proximity, my familiarity with the brand, and my Prime membership, I kept finding myself drawn to Sprouts for my grocery shopping. It felt better, but I wasn’t sure why.

The last time we walked into Sprouts I understood why. 80 percent of their store is devoted to showcasing fruit, vegetables, bulk nuts and dried fruit, meat and fish, all in an open and inviting layout. The remaining 20 percent is shelves filled with the typical (healthy versions) of packaged foods.

By contrast, the produce, fruit, meat and fish section in Whole Foods feels claustrophobic. It feels like you’re not meant to spend much time there. Like it’s just a funnel to get you into the aisles where processed food abounds. It feels like an afterthought instead of the main attraction. But it made me think.

What influence could the layout of a grocery store have on the habits of individuals? Whole Foods still far exceeds most grocers in the country, and to be sure is a privilege. But if every store looked like Sprouts, and lured you in with the right foods, what impact would it have?

I know personally, it gets me excited about the food I’m going to eat, and I’m sure it would do that for millions of other people as well.

Carbohydrates

The thing that people mess about carbs is that it’s not about eliminating them, it’s about transitioning to better carbs. If you’re eating a lot of ultra processed foods, simple carbohydrates, or consuming drinks that are high in sugar, then you need to start replacing each one of those with something better. Rolled oats are better than cereal. A piece of fruit is better than a soda. Locally sourced bread is better than store bought bread. The elimination of carbs is not important, consuming quality, complex carbs is.

If you eliminate carbs all together, then you’re going to create an immediate deficit in your diet, creating an unsustainable situation. Your body, which is used to running on carbohydrates for energy, is now left without an energy source. Diets such as keto work by transitioning your body to run off of fat (both stored and consumed). But getting into a state of ketosis is extremely difficult, and just as hard to stay in it. So you end up unhappy, and not feeling good because you’re running on empty.

Make note of all the different carbs you eat, and then come up with a healthier alternative. At least once a day choose the healthier option, until you’re able to replace two, then three, then all meals and drinks. It’s going to take time, but that’s what progress needs, and that is what will make the transition sustainable.

It’s All Energy

The last time I stepped into an office was October 2018. The last time I responded to a work email was January 2019. Since then, I’ve had no formal job, and therefore no reason to worry about whether or not it was working hours. If it was a weekday or weekend. Whether or not business was closed do to a holiday. And despite not having to worry about it, I still feel it’s energy.

The weekends are still calmer. Relief sets in when 5 oclock hits. And long holiday weekends still feel like long holiday weekends.

But they shouldn’t right? Shouldn’t all hours, days and weeks essentially feel the same when there is no pressure of work, having to show up, having to perform?

Well they don’t. Weekdays still feel like workdays. And work hours (9 - 5) still carry the most tension in the day. It’s an interesting phenonmen that I think gives credence to the idea that everything is energy.

Monday - Friday, 9 - 5 it’s the energy of the working people around me that I feel. The energy of people commuting to and from work. And on holidays, weeknights and weekends, it’s their collective release of the work week and embrace of time off that I feel.

I thought after a while that feeling of being tied to societal energy would wane. But it hasn’t. In some ways its as strong as ever.

Leave Your Old Self Behind

Sometimes the hardest part about stepping into your new self, is leaving your old self behind. Your old self is what has got you this far. It’s what’s made you successful. It’s the person people know. It’s the person relationships are based off of. It’s the person you’re comfortable being. But on your way to your new self, your old self just holds you back.

You have to be confident to leave your old self behind.

Doing anything as your new self is going to feel uncomfortable. You’re going to feel unsure. The tried and true ways your used to, are now obsolete. You’re learning your new ways. Learning takes time. Learning is uncomfortable. But it always leads to something greater.

If you want to become the person you’ve always been dreaming of, you need to kiss goodbye to your old habits, old reactions and old insecurities, and embrace everything that is new and feels good.

It can be hard to say goodbye, but that old self no longer serves you. You’re after the new you. The real you. And there’s no time to second guess it. Out with the old. In with the new.

GLP-1 In The News… Again.

Each week more stories are published about the new weight loss drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Zepbound and others (GLP1 receptor agonists). The momentum to prescribe these drugs is continuing to grow. These four articles give varying perspectives on the impacts of these drugs.

Sharon Osbourne on her Experience using Ozempic

The message here is important. Her experience of becoming addicted to losing weight, highlights what can never be tested in a clinical trial. These drugs work by suppressing appetite and slowing digestion. The mental toll that takes has not been discussed until now.

Weight-Loss Drug Wegovy Slashes Risk of Death in Some People with Heart Disease and Wegovy's heart benefits due to more than weight loss, Novo says

Both of these articles highlight the recent findings that these drugs have health benefits outside of weight loss, specifically related to heart disease.

Do GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Improve Cardiovascular Health Independently of Weight Loss?

While this article from Dr. Peter Attia throws doubt on their claims by asking the question whether the cardiac benefits were because of or separate from the weight loss experienced. As he explains, the research thus far does not indicate that the drug (GLP-1) alone, absent excessive weight loss, has any positive effects on cardiovascular health.

Meal Prep

Meal prep isn’t about getting everything cooked at once. Meal prep is making the best use of your time in the kitchen. If you’re going to be near the stove, you might as well make the most of it by utilizing all the different modalities it has to offer.

Bake chicken breast in the oven.

Boil broccolli.

Saute brussel sprouts.

Cooking in three different ways (boiling, baking, sautéing) also make it easier to compartmentalize what you’re doing, so you don’t forget to give anything attention.

The chicken in the oven is on a 25 - 30 minute timer.

The broccolli, once the water is boiling, only needs 3 - 5 minutes.

The brussel sprouts require the most attention, tossing them every few minutes for 10 - 12 minutes.

Fry up some brussels. Boil some broccoli. Bake some chicken. Make some extra and you’ve got lunch or dinner (breakfast?) for a few days.

Cheers.

Lentil venison breakfast bowl

There’s a good amount of prep work involved with this dish, but once you’ve cooked the venison, lentils and brussels, you’ll have enough for a few meals.

I used Force of Nature Ground Venison which contains 3 percent of grass fed beef. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil and a pinch of salt, let it heat up. Throw in the venison and flat it out in the pan and sprinkle some salt on top. Let it sit for about five minutes before flipping it over (it’s easier if you cut the large patty in half or quarters to flip it). Let it cook for another five minutes to brown the other side. Then chop it up in the pan with a wooden spoon and allow the meat to cook all the way through.

For your lentils, bring 3 cups of water to 1 cup of lentils to boil, then reduce the heat to low to a simmer. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until your lentils are soft but not mushy (I like them both ways).

Cut the stems off your brussels and then cut them in half or quarters if they are bigger. Toss them in a bowl with olive oil and salt. Dump them into a pre-heated skillet. Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into the pan to create some steam, and then cover them. Let them sit for five minutes, then toss them using a flick of the wrist or a wooden spoon, and cover them again, letting them sit for five - six more minutes, or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.

Assemble your bowl: Lentils, ground venison, brussel sprouts. Add a pinch of salt and white wine vinegar to taste. Slice up an avocado and a tomato, and top with a fried egg. Add another pinch of salt and white wine vinegar and some EVO if you wish!

Buon Appetito!

Writing and Exercise

When I left my job five years ago I became dedicated to building a writing practice. I’m not sure I could explain why, but for some reason it felt important, and like something I should be doing. So I started, like most, with a journal. Sometimes I wrote daily, sometimes weekly. Mostly I wrote at night, right before bed. Sometimes I’d wake up ready to write. But any period of consistency was met with equal or longer periods of not writing. It was hard to keep it going.

My longest streak was 50 straight days in 2021. I was participating in a 50 day run challenge. I thought, I could write about how the challenge is going each day. It worked.

But other than that, it’s been a serious of starts and stops. In contrast to my writing practice, my exercise practice hasn’t missed more than a few weeks over the same period of time.

Exercise comes naturally to me is what I tell myself, but that’s wrong. If it feels natural, that’s because I’ve been doing it for 24 straight years. More than half my life.

So the question is, like my writing practice, what did my exercise practice look like 19 years ago, when I was only 5 years in. I’m sure there was room for improvement (and still is).

If I take my experience writing from the last few years, and compare it to trying to start an exercise routine at 36, I can see where people struggle.

Unlike writing, in addition to being mentally taxing, exercise is physically challenging. If you’re new, there’s a lot to learn. You have to leave your house to do it. You’re going to be sore. There’s other less challenging, more fun things you could be doing. Building that habit is hard.

For people that have built exercise into a habit, we’ve forgotten about all these pain points. Well writing has made me sensitive to them again.

But I also feel reassured. Because after five years my writing practice is keeping up (at least in consistency, if not quality) with my exercise practice. Do anything enough and you’re bound to improve.

Morgan Housel on Writing

Tim Ferriss with Morgan Housel

He said something that stuck with me.

He doesn’t write multiple drafts. He writes one. The reason is because he doesn’t end a sentence until he’s completely satisfied with it. Said another way, he revises as he’s writing.

I thought this was very interesting, because I’ve always heard the opposite. The key was to let your thoughts run onto the paper and then come back for the clean up. But I liked his approach. It made sense to me, and it reminded me of a similar piece of advice I heard on a podcast years ago.

The guest was talking about a friend’s meditation practice. He noted that his friend meditated by thinking in complete sentences. Which sounds intuitive. But if you think about it, how often are you bouncing from one thought to another without completing the one you are on? At the time I heard this, the answer for me was most of the time.

That changed everything for me.

I credit this change of mindset with helping me make a lot of progress across many aspects in my life where I previously struggle. Writing. Reading. Oral communication. Thinking in general.

Creative endeavors can seem like flows of consciousness. I always thought they were. But that’s not always the case. They can also be well thought out and meticulous in their design. I know the latter works better for me.

Stick to What’s Easy and Effective

I like to find things (hacks?) that have a high efficacy and are easy to fit into my day. Here are a couple:

1. Crossing your legs when seated is beneficial to hip health. And a good indicator of healthy longevity is being able to stand up from a crossed leg position without using your hands. So I try this whenever I’m seated on the floor. It gives me a few bonus reps everyday.

2. Down regulating after a workout. Set a five minute timer on your phone. Lie down. Close your eyes and cover them. Breath in through your nose and out your mouth until your timer goes off. This simple moves help to let your workout soak in by calming your nervous system before walking out of the gym.

Sharon Osbourne on Ozempic

In a lot of ways this article highlights what can never be tested in a clinical trial. The mental impact of these drugs. As she points out, it became addicting to lose weight, and I fear that will be the case for many people, especially children.

Children are so impressionable. What they experience in their youth sticks with them. If the message they’re getting is to be skinny by not eating, then that sets them up for a lifetime of battling food disorders. It’s not hard for it to happen. I know because it happened to me.

When I was getting into triathlon racing I had an image of what someone who wins races looks like. Long and lean (skinny), with minimal muscle. I by contrast was 5’7” and 165 lbs of mostly muscle (my girlfriend calls me “dense”). I knew if I wanted to compete I had to be lighter (skinny). And so I focused on shedding the weight.

I mostly did it through exercise bulimia (attempting to burn more calories through exercise than I consumed). I didn’t see anything wrong with it. I was working out really hard to achieve a goal (to be competitive). It seemed positive. Until it didn’t.

Over time I became tormented with every food decision. What to eat. How much to eat. When to eat. I’d have to convince myself that what I just ate was okay, or that I could always make it up later with more exercise. There wasn’t a meal or snack that didn’t get questioned in my mind.

I eventually got down to 140 lbs. The weight I thought I needed to be at.

By the time I got down to that weight I was in the deepest of my weight loss addiction throws, and I was realizing that it was no longer (never was) healthy. The only way to end it was give up racing. So around this time that’s what I decided to do, and I stopped racing and training so intensely. It had been over 2 years of torture, and unraveling my self-imposed conditioning was not easy.

It’s been over 2 years since I stopped racing, and I’m only now getting back to having a healthy relationship with my food. From the outside in no one would’ve ever thought I had a problem. I hid it well.

I went through this in my 30s. I came into it with 15+ years of healthy, balanced exercise and diet routines and experience. And it still got me. What chance will a child have who grows up thinking not eating to be skinny is healthy? The answer, is not much.

The Children

We really need to focus on the children. We can’t be sentencing them to a life of surgery and medicine. We just cant. It sickens me every time I see it suggested. And recently that’s been a lot.

Children hold hope for the future. They can be taught how to be healthy and strong. Their body’s are malleable and adept at adapting. There’s time for all of them to turn the tables for themselves and secure a more certain future.

If there’s one thing we should be able to get right and agree on, it’s that every child should have access to the food he or she needs to grow up healthy and active. That every child should have access to exercise resources that will help embed healthy routines into their lives from a young age.

That’s not impossible to accomplish. I don’t think it’s asking a lot. It can be easily done if resources were redirected and stricter regulations (i.e. on school lunches) were put in place.

I’d love to see a future where the newest generation sees this come to fruition.

Use Every Opportunity

I’ve been working on my writing practice for 5 years now (you can tell right?). My writing abilities have a long way to go, but they have also come a long way. One thing I credit is always taking the opportunity to write when asked.

This is mostly the case when it comes to submitting reviews, leaving comments, or, in the rare occasion, being asked to write a story.

This happened to me recently.

The National Parks Programs sent out an email asking me (everyone) to tell them about why they love the National Parks and why they’re so special to them.

In a past life, one that consisted of 70 hour work weeks, I would’ve deleted their email without a thought. But this time, I took it as an opportunity to work on my writing and share.

“Acadia was the first park in the United States I had ever been to. A year earlier I traveled to Patagonia for a 7 day backpacking trip. It was the first time I had ever tent camped, backpacked or spent any significant time outdoors. I was 30. That trip inspired me to want to see all the beauty that our parks here in the U.S. had to offer. The following summer I took off on a 3-month road trip from New York to California. My plan was to stop at as many national parks as possible. And I did. Acadia. Both Badlands. Joshua Tree. Rocky Mountain. Grand Canyon. Arches. Canyonlands. Zion Bryce. To name more than a few. Since that trip I’ve probably been to a dozen more. The thing that I love about our parks is how accessible and well planned out they are. There is something for everyone to do and there is something to enjoy, whether you’re just passing through for the day, or your hanging out for a weekend. There is so much beauty in our parks and I wish everyone in this country would get the chance to experience them. Sincerely. James.”

They published my story! Yay! My first publications lol…

Whatever craft you’re trying to hone, look around at the opportunities in front of you to practice. Reviews and commenting were never on my radar, but now I see them as a chance to improve.

Eventually you get used to it

For good and for bad your body adapts

Every summer when vegetables are at their peak and all my favorite produce (tomatoes, onions, spinach) is in abundance, I wonder how I’m ever going to go back to the supermarket for my groceries.

I can’t stand the lack of taste and character that I’ve grown to associate with apples flown in from Chile, or tomatoes grown in a greenhouse.

At the end of every summer I wonder what I’ll eat all winter.

But slowly necessity (nutrition) outweighs wants (local produce) and I find myself walking along the wall of produce picking out what to make.

The lack of taste and texture eventually fades, and by summer I’m surprised all over again at the difference between local and imported food.

Happy or Stuck

You either have to be happy or have your back against the wall to be productive. Or both. But if neither of those two things are true. If you’re unhappy and comfortable, then you’re not going to get much accomplished. You need an incentive.

Happiness and joy is a good one. So is needing to survive. That’s why you need at least one.

I’ve fallen into that trap. Having enough, not needing more, but also just feeling mildly content enough to where doing more work felt counter productive. There was an inverse relationship (or so it appeared) between work and return on that work.

Now I’m trying to stir up both. I’m trying to stay happy, while also forcing my back to the wall.

Being Happy

I’ve been happy now for the longest period of my life. And I’m not used to it. I hope that changes over time.

In prior periods of happiness, I just waited for them to end. Because inevitably they did. But this time it’s been different.

I’m not sure if my sustained happiness is because of a change in mindset. Rooting for it to continue instead of waiting for it to end. Or because I’ve begun to find things in my life I’ve been searching for. A partner. A home. A creative outlet.

Either way, I’m wishing it to continue and hope it will. Know it will.

Everything That’s Irresistible

Every thing that’s ever been irresistible about life is now at it’s most abundant, accessible and affordable it’s ever been.

Media

Social media is the most addictive media we’ve ever faced. You can’t turn it off. You carry it around with you all day. You can’t leave it home like you did the radio, or turn it off like you can a TV. It’s with you everywhere.

It provides a feeling of community while being disconnected. Of being liked while hating yourself. Of providing information that is usually promoted. It’s so toxic.

Food

Ultra processed food has got to be the most advanced form of food we’ve ever known. It is designed to be extremely palatable and hit a dopamine bliss point in your brain. Keeping you coming back for more and more.

That fact that it is so deconstructed and repackaged means it is both easily digestible and calorically dense, which combines to enable over eating.

Drugs

Opioids are the main focus, but all drugs today are at their most potent. “They don’t make weed like they used to” is something I hear often. But opioids?

It started with lies about Oxycontin that got thousands of people addicted. Then it turned to fentanyl. A drug that is 100x morphine. Anyone whos ever been under morphine knows how strong fentanyl must be.

Everything is at it’s height keeping everyone distracted, lethargic and broken.

It shouldn’t be hard to see why our country remains inequitable and divided.

Bad Decisions

The only bad decision is the one you can’t handle.

If you’re looking to move and deciding between whether to buy or rent, the only thing that matters is whether or not you can deal with the consequences of either.

Buying a house will require laying out a lot of upfront cash. Maybe you don’t care because you’re looking to diversify your investments anyway. But if giving up a large swath of cash is going to cause financial strain or even just the feeling of it, then maybe buying isn’t a good idea even if it’s the smart investment choice.

Renting requires paying off someone else’s debt and being okay with it. But it does offer more flexibility financially and down the like if you’re looking to move.

Anything can be rationalized. In the end the smart decision is the one you can live with.

Waste

Everyone talks about the effects of too much waste, then they go and waste. Take out containers. Take out drinks. Ziplock bags. Aluminum foil. Paper towels. Whatever it is. Watch someone for a while and you’ll find how much they waste.

I hate being wasteful. It comes off as being frugal, or cheap. But I’m not the latter. I just don’t like to waste. Whether that’s floss or money, I just don’t see the point.

So when I see people waste around me it twists my insides because I can picture that plastic cup or styrofoam container sitting in a pile of garbage rotting, just poisoning our land and water. And it kills me.

So I try not to be wasteful. I try to be very conscious of it. And frugal. But I know it’s such an up hill battle in the quick, easy, efficient world we live in where nothing is meant to last. Sadly, including the planet.

Locked Away

My mind works best when my body is moving. But for some reason, whenever I want to be productive, I sit down at a desk in an office. And it’s not long before burn out ensues and I need to move. It’s like an agitated calling I can’t put off anymore and so I do something physical.

My minds opens up and things become clear again. My thoughts return and ideas become possible again. And an amount of progress is made.

When I return to the office filled with inspiration, it’s enough to make me sit still. And no progress is made.

Trump

I hate Trump for all the reasons that anyone who hates Trump hates Trump. But I also admire him.

I admire him for his willingness to break away from the conventional. To a lot of people they see this and think “he’s a criminal.” Maybe. I don’t know.

But what I do know is that he figured out how to come into the Republican Party as a complete outsider who many people despised and never wanted to see him win, and he won.

Now, during the Republican primaries he’s refusing to debate. It’s pissing a lot of people off who want to see him on the stage. And it’s pissing off the other candidates who want the opportunity to debate him (or at least they say they do). But the reality is, as annoying as it might be, as pompous as it might seem, and as unconventional as it is, it is the reason I also appreciate it.

He’s figured out that Republican debates (any debates) are meaningless and ineffective. He’s realized that he can make better use of his time by holding a rally, and taking 3 hours to deliver his message to people who want to hear it, instead of sharing 3 hours arguing to make a point.

Winning sometimes requires breaking the mold and being unconventional. And while some of his methods might appear “unethical” or “immoral” (the courts will decide) the take away is that, to win, and disrupt an industry (two party politics), you need to be willing to take risks and piss a few people off.