There are a few things that I do every day - just like I make sure to brush my teeth, take a shower, kiss Taylor goodbye, and take my supplements in the morning. I feel routine is definitely important and I'm always working to improve my routine so I can make sure my energy level and mood is consistent.

This was brought to my attention mainly by Shawn Stevenson. He shares a lot of great health tips and one episode worth listening to on The Model Health Show is the Hydration and Water Masterclass. I always aim for around a gallon of water each day (about 130oz), and one reason why I drink about 30oz before I head to work is to get a jump start on that. A couple other reasons are because it is very refreshing and I think it is good to flush your system a bit first thing in the morning.

Mainly from Dr. Gundry's books, Diet Evolution and The Plant Paradox, I realized how important vegetables are as a daily staple in order to keep a healthy gut. Every day, I try to make sure to have at least 1 cup of vegetables with my lunch and 1 cup with dinner. Usually my dinner includes leafy greens like lettuce and spinach while my lunch includes veggies like onions, peppers, corn, carrots, etc. Multiple health experts have explained that vegetables are MUCH more important than fruit even though we usually stick them together as "fruits and vegetables." Most fruit is overloaded with sugar and lacks much nutrition, so you should not have more than 1 serving a day (this is advice from Dr. Gundry, Dr. Cate Shanahan, Ben Greenfield, and Shawn Stevenson).

Mike Matthews and his book Bigger Leaner Stronger really pushed the point that, while nutrition is important, it is important to know your calorie intake and make sure it is aligned with your goals. If you are trying to cut weight, you need to make sure you are not overeating and if you are trying to gain muscle, you need to make sure you are eating enough calories to do so. From playing around with my diet just over these past 10 months, I've learned how to be comfortable whether I want to do either - when I want to gain muscle, like right now, I aim for at least 3,500 calories per day and when I need to cut some of the fat off, I will go back down to around 1,800 calories per day. By just counting calories and macros for a month, I learned where my macros should be and how to easily keep track of both calories and macros.

Take these habits as you will - I'm sure there are ways I could improve them. For instance, I could write a reflection after each daily reading or possibly increase my number of vegetable servings. There really is no excuse not to include these daily habits or your own version of them into your routine - they don't take much time and if you try it, I'm sure you will find it's time well invested.

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Discussion Question:
What are your daily habits that you swear by?

Last March, after hearing multiple podcasts and finding numerous experts that I enjoyed listening to, I decided to do deep research into these experts to learn what they have to say and where their research comes from. Whether they are dietitians, personal trainers/muscle building coaches, or physical therapists, my goal is to get research from all sides and find which experts I trust and appreciate the most. For at least a month each, I focus hard on one expert: only listening to podcasts including that expert, reading their books that interest me most, and reading their blog posts/articles.

​Here are the 5 experts I have researched so far...

Shawn is a dietitian who has given me a great foundation from hormones to heart health to exercise to relationships to success. His book, Sleep Smarter is a great book highlighting how sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise when it comes to overall health. He also has a podcast, The Model Health Show, where he interviews other experts as well as shares masterclasses where he gives tips like what benefits come from walking in the morning and drinking plenty of water.

Dr. Gundry is a physician/dietitian who focuses on helping those with immuno-deficiencies. He believes a plant-based diet is the best for anyone and gives warning to what lectins and large amounts of animal protein can do to your body. Other experts speak negatively about Gundry but he has a lot of knowledge shared in his books, The Plant Paradox and Dr. Gundry's Diet Evolution.

Ben has an insane resume from bodybuilder to personal trainer to CEO and consultant to fellow CEOs/athlete. Over the past 5-10 years, his books and work stems from his experience between triathlons, bio-hacking, and research in longevity. His book, Beyond Training is a guide on how to be a top-performing athlete while making time for other things in your life as well by using things like High Intensity Interval Training and technology. He also has a health and fitness podcast similar to Shawn's, Ben Greenfield Fitness.

Mike is a muscle-building coach and CEO of his supplement company, Legion Athletics. Most of his fans come from his flagship books, Bigger Leaner Stronger (his fitness book for men) and Thinner Leaner Stronger (for women) where he gives his advice on diet and exercise and gives a plan on how to build muscle while staying lean. He also has a podcast, Muscle For Life.

Dr. Cate is a dietitian who led the Pro-Nutrition program for the LA Lakers and who also has been featured on The Model Health Show, Ben Greenfield Fitness, Muscle For Life, and several other podcasts - mainly to discuss her popular diet book, Deep Nutrition. This book delves deep into the science of nutrition, telling us why we must avoid vegetable oils and sugar at all costs while enjoying all fresh foods, from veggies to broths to organ meats.

All posts (other than personal journal posts) on this blog come from information I've learned from these experts. Here are a couple experts I plan to research in the near future...

• Rhonda Patrick (physician, owner of Found My Fitness, featured on Joe Rogan's podcast)
• Kelly Starrett (physical therapist, owner of Mobility WOD/The Ready State)

Do you know of any experts that you trust and that I should be including in my research?

I spend a good amount of time researching health/fitness experts. I usually immerse myself in information on one expert I am interested and spend time reading their books, listening to their podcasts, reading their articles, and watching their conferences on YouTube and get a good picture of their background before moving to the next expert I want to research.

Thinking back to experts I have done deep research on in the past, here are things that resonated the most when I think of their work...

These tips give a decent look at the information these experts have to share. Almost all of my other posts are related to the experts above so you can find more information on other posts or go to my Recommended Books page to find books from them.

Here are some examples of related posts:

• ​Comparing Diets (Ben Greenfield, Dr. Gundry)
• ​Nutrition Tips (Mike Matthews, Dr. Gundry)
• Favorite Podcasts (Shawn Stevenson, Ben Greenfield, Mike Matthews)

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This has been shared a couple times on Facebook recently and a couple weeks ago I decided to try it. It is gluten-free, low-carb, and the only not-so-good thing about it is how much cheese is in it. Most gluten-free pizzas are loaded with corn starch and sugars so in reality they may not be any healthier (or possibly worse for you) than regular pizza. Anyways, I find this pizza delicious and easy to make.

Here is my rendition of the recipe:

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella/cheddar cheese mix
2 tbsp cream cheese
3/4 cup almond flour
​1 egg
​1/4 cup pizza sauce
+Toppings (Jalapeños, bacon, BBQ sauce, and extra cheese in the picture above)

Like I said, this is very easy to make and delicious. I split it up into 2 meals since there is so much cheese (even with that I would not want to make this more than once a week because of all the cheese). If you end up trying it, comment on here how you liked it or what could be done better!

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