Helping Millennial Professionals Maximize Their Performance

Hi All,

In today’s video, I am going to discuss, “24 HR FASTING BENEFITS“.

These benefits are:

1. 24hr Fasting versus Intermittent Fasting

2. Fasting for 24hrs-72hrs Increases your Human Growth Hormone substantially (HGH), within the first 12 hours of your fast you begin to utilize your glucose stores and then the next 12 hours after that, you start to burn body fat

3. Studies have shown that those that fasted for a timeframe of 24-72 hrs for a 12-24 week period lost up to 9% bodyweight overall
(see link below: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits#section1)

4. Decreasing Insulin Resistance aids in weight loss and helps your body transport glucose from your bloodstream to your cells more efficiently which helps optimize your metabolism as well.

If you found value in this video, give it a thumbs up, like, and subscribe, and look forward to seeing you all next time.

Cheers,

Alex

Blog: https://alexandermuir.com/blog/

Previous Article– Should you Adopt An Entirely Plant-Based Diet?-https://alexandermuir.com/should-you-adopt-an-entirely-plant-based-diet/

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You may have heard of people advocating for plant-based, vegan, or vegetarian diets recently. Are these diets just a fad, or is there some substance behind their science? Do people really perceive more energy overall? Or are there just temporary spikes and drops in energy? I have done some research on academic articles pertaining to veganism/vegetarianism, and going entirely plant-based is not something I would recommend doing for a prolonged period of time.

CANADA’S TRANSITION TO A PLANT-BASED FOOD GUIDE

I have found recent information regarding the transition to plant-based diets. At the end of January 2019, Canada’s health food guide altered their guide from suggesting a diet rich in meat, dairy products, whole grains, and vegetables, to a plant-based diet comprised of predominantly vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and supplemented microdoses of meat, poultry, and seafood. Although I am always open to trying different nutrition strategies that will improve my health, I was very skeptical of a “plant-based diet” plan.

Every time I would hear the word plant-based, I would immediately think: weak, frail, thin, energyless, no muscle when people would talk about plant-based diets in conversation or online. Another misconception with a plant-based diet I have had for years is that most people that go plant-based, whether partially or entirely, end up eating just veggies.

MISCONCEPTIONS OF A PLANT-BASED DIET

This is not true according to the USA National Kidney Foundation, “most experts agree that having some meat, fish, poultry, or dairy in small amounts is healthy” (National Kidney Foundation, 2019). I don’t agree with going completely plant-based, here’s why.

Although I tested a plant-based diet for approximately 30 days a few months ago and I did develop more energy, eating too many legumes gave me horrendous gas. My gut is still too adjusted to eating meat, dairy, and poultry for all these years. Despite using a probiotic during this time as well, it only helped a little.

Is it necessary to go entirely vegan or entirely vegetarian? Nope. As stated by Katherine D. McManus, “Vegetarian diets come in lots of shapes and sizes, and you should choose the version that works best for you” (McManus, K. D., 2018). Although I did not stick to my vegan chili diet for long, I did enjoy the convenience of getting in all my nutrients in 1 meal. 

Over the course of my 30-day experiment, I made tons of vegan chilis and ate more vegetables than I could count. This to me was the plus side of incorporating more plant-based foods into my diet, increasing my overall veggie intake. 

I would consider the flexitarian diet to be the most sustainable long term if someone wishes to really sink their teeth into more eggplants. A flexitarian diet is doable because it still allows you to consume eggs, meat, dairy, poultry, and seafood. The rigidity of going vegan or vegetarian was too much for me to muster.

GASTROINTESTINAL DISCOMFORT WITH PLANT-BASED DIET

I mean, we can’t overhaul our diets overnight, so this begs the question, why do legumes cause such gastrointestinal discomfort? Too much excess fiber, and particularly eating beans, “while it won’t completely go away, gas and bloating should subside after a couple of weeks” (Your Super Foods Inc, 2019). A couple of weeks? Are you tooting me? I had tremendous gas well over a few weeks.

If you’re deciding to transition to a plant-based diet, you’re warned… gas and bloating will become a regular part of your routine.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON GOING PLANT BASED

For those interested in going plant-based, the transition will take time. A plant-based diet plan is something that is still so new and has been rarely talked about in the past because savvy meat marketing has been ingrained in most of us since birth. 

Plant-based diets are becoming more mainstream in our society today because of the public’s access to infinite information. Consumers are becoming more aware of the foods they choose to eat and are much more educated on what they should be eating. With this new-found knowledge, people are more open to trying plant-based diets. 

I love that there are so many resources to improve our health and wealth in our lives, but people also need to be aware diets are temporary and don’t generally last long term. I enjoyed testing a plant-based diet but I will not stick with it for the long haul. People’s existing gut bacteria can be a major pitfall in sustaining plant-based eating, “Many healthy plant-based foods such as avocado, cauliflower, beans, garlic and onions are also high in FODMAP content” (Desmond, Dr. A., 2019). 

FODMAPS are short carbohydrates found in healthy foods, too many can cause “excess fermentation, digestive gas and bloating” (Desmond, Dr. A, 2019). Those foods are just to name a few that can create smelly gas and bloating but you get the picture, try plant-based but don’t do it forever, your gut will thank you.

List of References

Desmond, Dr. A., (March 6, 2019). The Gut? Health Pitfalls to Avoid On A Vegan Diet. Retrieved Dec 16, 2019 from https://www.plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/pitfalls-avoid-vegan-diet

McManus, K. D., (Sept 26, 2018). Harvard Health.What is a Plant Based Diet and Why should you try it?. Retrieved Dec 16, 2019 from https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-a-plant-based-diet-and-why-should-you-try-it-2018092614760

National Kidney Foundation. (2019). Myths and Misconceptions about Plant-Based Diets. Retrieved Dec 11, 2019 from https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/myths-and-misconceptions-about-plant-based-diets 

Your Super Foods Inc. (2019). 5 Ways to Reduce Gas & Bloating On A Plant Based Diet. Retrieved Dec 11, 2019 from https://yoursuper.com/pages/gas-bloating-plant-based-diet

Limitless. How can everyone feel this way? What does it take to perform at a higher level?

Mental performance is something that has fascinated me for quite some time. Finding effective ways to keep ourselves in a peak state can be extremely beneficial for our careers, businesses, and relationships.

How do we all stay at the top of our game on a regular basis to accomplish one’s goals? Through consistent dedicated practice to our cognitive capabilities, “cognitive stimulation can be understood as the set of techniques and strategies focused on efficacy and boosting cognitive capabilities through activities that produce changes in the brain” (BitBrain, 2019).

Focusing on keeping our brains and bodies healthy has been discussed but not necessarily taught to many of us. Sure, people may have heard the occasional line like: “go eat more broccoli, go for a run, read a book, meditate for a bit” but what does this all mean to you?

It means that the habits of those that perform at an elite level are not much different than we think, but they do have a slightly different routine to allow for such world class performance, “along with a healthy balanced diet, regular practice of physical exercise, and good resting” (BitBrain, 2019). These are some of the main components of a world class routine.

The only way we will know how to perform at an elite level is to test various strategies until we find our sweet spot of: maintaining consistency and longevity of our results.

For myself, I have been developing my own peak mental performance routine over the last few years with minor tweaks but this is my current routine I am using right now:

• Get 7-8 hrs of sleep or more a night

• Stretch or Yoga daily for 3-5 minutes

• Listen to 10 minutes of Audibook everyday

• Listen to 10 min of Business Podcast everyday

• Exercise everyday for 20-30 minutes

• Meditate for 5-10 minutes everday

• Write down my goals daily to stay on track

You don’t have to have a routine exactly like this but this will give you an idea of a blueprint to follow if your feeling lost or don’t know where to start.

I have always been the most successful when I stack my daily routine from one exercise to the next, just like when I lift weights.

According to Caroline Stokes, founder of Forward, “peak performers share five traits: getting into the flow, self-awareness, the ability to relax under pressure, coachability, and control over emotions”(Stokes, C., 2019).

Getting into a flow state more frequently and for longer durations can help boost your performance. Today, more than ever there is constant distractions battling for our attention. This is why we need to train our focus muscle to help concentrate on the right tasks to get the right work done.

Peak performers exercise their ability to focus for longer periods of time regularly. For myself, this is done through regular exercise, sleep, a well balanced diet, and meditation. 

Focus stands for a “quirky yet effective acronym: follow one course until successful” (Rockley, K., 2019).

Do one thing at a time and watch your productivity shoot through the roof! As much as the world wants us all to sprint, I have learned it is better to slow down and re-focus.

Our focus muscle needs to be taught what should demand our attention and what should not, it will be up to us to decide what we wish to focus on more to achieve our version of greatness.

List of References

BitBrain. (Aug 19, 2019). What is high cognitive performance or “peak brain performance”?. Retrieved Dec 3, 2019 from https://www.bitbrain.com/blog/peak-brain-performance

Rockley, K. (Dec 4, 2019). 10 x Successful Habits of Peak Performers, The 5% Institute. Retrieved Dec 4, 2019 from https://www.5percentinstitute.com/10-x-successful-habits-of-peak-performers/

Stokes, C. 12 Actions to Achieve Peak Performance. Retrieved December 1, 2019 from https://www.theforward.co/12-actions-achieve-peak-performance/