The Purpose Diet
3 Nutritional Principles of Productivity
I counted my calories when I was a bodybuilder.
I was “Paleo” for 6 years straight after doing an educational speech about the diet in college.
I eliminated animal products after watching What The Heath and Game Changers.
I ate only meat (Carnivore diet) for 45 days to see why Joe Rogan loved it so much.
There’s one thing I’ve learned from trying different diets and committing to them for long periods:
What you put into your mouth can help you accomplish your goals.
I counted my calories as a bodybuilder to gain muscle or lose fat.
I ate whole plant foods to improve my health.
If you want to actualize your purpose, your life mission, and serve the greater good, you have to have mental clarity, focus, and energy.
I wake up between 4:30–6:00am without an alarm and feel energized. I go to Starbucks and slam my fingertips atop my laptop, often writing 1,000 words in what feels like minutes.
After losing my job due to Covid, I was publishing an article a day. One of which just went semi-viral, gaining 3,000 views in 1 week.
Here are the 3 principles of the Purpose Diet:
1. Fasting
I stop eating around 3pm. I don’t eat again until 11am.
This is called fasting. Fasting is a length of time where we don’t eat. We all do it unknowingly. We don’t eat while we sleep. Breakfast means to “break a fast.”
Our bodies go through many biological mechanisms to digest the food we eat. The digestion process requires energy hence why we burn calories after we eat (1). When we give our bodies a break from digestion, we conserve that energy for other activities.
I write at Starbucks while fasted. I only drink water and nootropic-infused coffee (more on this later). I experience more clarity and creativity by skipping breakfast and writing on an empty stomach.
You can adjust your fasting period if you can’t work on your purpose because of other obligations. It takes about 3–6 hours for the body to digest food hence why we get hungry about 4 hours after a meal. But it takes about 12 hours for the body to be completely empty — or in a fasted state.
If you’re busy in the morning, eat then and stop in the early afternoon, so your mind is clear at night. For example, make your eating window between 6am-2pm, so you enter a fasted state after work, school, or when the kiddos are asleep.
2. What To Eat
Joe Rogan is the king of the keto diet. He often can’t help but talk about this way of eating when having guests on his podcast. If any guest is having issues mentally or physically, Rogan is quick to recommend the diet.
You don’t need to be “keto” to experience the cognitive benefits Rogan raves about. Instead, you can eat low insulin-producing foods.
When we eat carbs or sugar, our bodies release insulin to reduce or stabilize glucose levels. Stabilizing glucose requires energy; it’s an aspect of the digestive process mentioned earlier.
We get a “high” when we eat sugar. But we also experience a “crash” due to the stabilization process that later requires a “pick me up.” This explains why we feel sluggish after a big meal during our lunch break and after Thanksgiving dinner.
Carbs or sugar are similar to gas, whereas fat is likened to an electric motor. With gas, you need to refuel often. You have fat on your body for cognitive use.
The keto diet limits carbs to 50 grams or below to limit insulin spikes and crashes. Many that adhere to the diet even eliminate many healthy fruits and vegetables because they contain carbs. I’m here to tell you (and I bet you’re excited to hear) that you don’t need to cut fruits and vegetables from your diet or keep your carb intake to 50 or below.
Instead, all you need to do is choose the carbs that don’t raise insulin and trigger the stabilization process that depletes your energy and focus. Eat carbs that are low on the glycemic index.
Google “glycemic index of foods” or “low glycemic index foods” to get a list of appropriate foods. Berries, apples, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread, granola, and other delicious foods won’t raise your insulin.
Lastly, fruits and vegetables have digestive enzymes that require less energy to break down (2). Choose broccoli over the whole wheat bagel more times than not.
3. Nootropics
I was a barista for 8 years. So you’d assume I love coffee. But I don’t. I only drink it for cognitive benefits.
Caffeine is a stimulant that increases the activity of the central nervous system. It increases the production of dopamine which improves focus (3). But you can “stack” your coffee to gain superhuman focus.
Dave Aspey is a “biohacker” and the founder of Bulletproof. Dave, along with many other folks, makes Bulletproof coffee by simply adding quality fats to your morning cup of joe. The fats are fuel for the ketones that aid cognition (4). Quality fats are MCT Oil — medium-chain triglycerides from coconut — and grass-fed butter or ghee.
Not all fats are created equal. Adding cream or milk isn’t as efficient as MCT or butter because cream or milk has protein which triggers mTOR and insulin response.
Drinking this coffee concoction is best in a fasted state because your body is depleted of glucose (sugar), and your brain is using ketones. The oil from the fats fuels the ketones supercharging their abilities.
But wait, there’s more. You can also add adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms and one other neurotransmitter that’ll have you more laser-focused than Cyclops.
Lion’s Mane has been shown to improve mild cognitive impairment in the elderly (5). And it’s been used for centuries amongst the Chinese to improve concentration.
Panax ginseng is the most studied herb in human trials (6). It’s been shown to increase energy and concentration. Ginsing has many anti-fatigue properties, which is why it’s a popular supplement amongst athletes.
L-theanine and Gaba are nootropics — cognitive enhancers. L-theanine boosts Gaba in the brain, which reduces the stress that causes mental and physical fatigue (7).
To get the best bang for your buck with caffeine and L-theanine, you want a caffeine to L-theanine ratio of 1:2. So for every 100mg of caffeine, you need to consume 200mg of L-theanine. Generally, there’s 100mg of caffeine in a cup of coffee. You can adequately dose your L-theanine with capsules or powder. Many companies are combing caffeine and L-theanine in their products — coffee, pre-workouts, and pills. The ratios may differ per person. I tend to require more caffeine. And too much L-theanine makes me sleepy.
Forget Everything I Just Suggested
I was obsessed with pre-workouts when I first started bodybuilding. The increased energy, focus, and belief that a powder will help me get results quicker had me enjoy the guzzling of the pre-workout more than lifting the weights.
If I forgot to pack my pre-workout with me to school to use after class, I’d be pissed. I’d be so upset and depressed I wouldn’t get a good workout. I realized this wasn’t a healthy reaction, so I quit the powders for a while.
Months later, I forgot I ever took pre-workout. I often trained on 4 hours of sleep after working from 4:30am — 1pm at Starbucks while only drinking a little coffee before the gym.
You don’t need to fast, eat healthier, or add fats to your coffee to actualize your purpose and make the world a better place. Your intention and desire to make an impact is more energy-producing than nitro cold brew loaded with L-theanine. Your diet spice on the steak. Or contextually, the pre-workout before the gym; the MCT oil to your cup of joe.
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