As you know, I’ve been experimenting with fasting protocols for ages now. In November 2019, I switched to practicing the Warrior Diet, quite by accident, at first but had stuck to it since. And I love the methodology for its sheer simplicity — you get to overeat just once a day (preferably dinner) while under-eating the whole time. You can read all about it in my previous post before buying the book, which I strongly suggest you buy should this seem like something you want to practice.
Besides health reasons, having a solid grip on what you eat is a great way to enhance your overall productivity. Personally, working on an empty stomach or with absolutely minimal food is liberating! I feel less sluggish, more energetic, and experience heightened focus. Not only that, but I’m also on fire during my evening Jiu-Jitsu sparring sessions. My peers have a hard time believing that I roll in a fasted state. (Of course, I change a few things here and there when preparing for a competition or have two intense training sessions in a single day. But that’s a whole different blog post for some other day.)
Back to the topic, I propose everyone should seriously evaluate what they eat during their peak-productivity hours — 9 am till lunchtime and then from 3 till 5:30 pm. Time lost during these invaluable hours never comes back. And it’s a shame to lose all of that to poor food selection habits.
Of course, I’m not asking you to follow the warrior diet or skip breakfast or lunch. All I’m asking is to be mindful of what you eat. Remember, food is fuel, and your body is a performance machine. Are you putting the best fuel to maximize the output? If the answer is anything less than an emphatic no, you should reevaluate your choices.
A simple suggestion for most people would be a low-to-moderate carb meal for breakfast if they train/workout regularly. It’s okay for non-exercisers or those who train in the evening to skip the “most important meal of the day.” Nobody’s going to die even if you feel like you just might. (It takes pig-headed discipline and focus on building this habit.) For lunch, a low-carb and high-protein meal such as a salad or a roasted chicken breast with gravy is perfect for not only powering through that afternoon slump but staying energetic all through the evening.
The key is to eat less and while at it, eat food that serves as a clean fuel to give you boundless energy. Or just enough to power through the most productive hours of the day. Imagine all the great things you can achieve during those hours versus the actual work you can get done right now due to poor eating habits.
Try it. You can thank me later.