I think the word “diet” sometimes gets used in the wrong way.
For too long people have said things like:
I’m on a diet.
To me, I think this saying got twisted around to the point where it has a temporary meaning.
When you or someone you know says they’re on a diet we often think that they’re just doing something for the short-term. They’re going to get back to a point where they want to be as far as weight and health and then they’ll go back to their traditional way of eating.
Your Diet Is What You Eat Every Day
A little while ago I wrote that You Are What You Do Every Day.
I’m a big believer in that phrase and it also is true for what you eat.
Your diet is what you eat every day. It’s not something you change temporarily to lose a few pounds only to revert back to what got you into the unwanted zone in the first place.
It’s obvious when we think about it, but it’s easy to get into bad habits with food especially with certain foods being so addictive.
Changing Your Diet For Competitive Advantage
Four years ago I changed my diet. You can read the story if you’re interested, but basically I gave up sugar and carbs and replaced them with vegetables and protein.
From the moment I changed the diet I started dropping weight. I was never a big guy, but was overweight. After a couple months I leveled out and I’ve pretty much been the same weight ever since.
Beyond the weight though is the fact that I feel more energy than every before.
Life today requires a lot of energy. Everybody has different situations, but it seems that entrepreneurs have to use a lot of energy to run a business especially with mental energy.
In order to do that and to function at your best you need to be in good mental and physical condition. And your diet will have an impact on that.
Here is one recent study about how eating more fermented foods can improve social anxiety.
There are a number of examples like that on how food affects your brain. And for an entrepreneur, the brain is the number one asset.
If you’re looking for an advantage over the competition you’ll likely go straight to thinking about business models and services and products and efficiencies and new technology and all those things.
But all of that requires brain power.
And to get your brain working in the best possible state it requires a strong diet.
It’s About What You CAN Eat
I still get some flack from friends and family about what I eat.
Actually, they focus more on what I don’t eat.
For example, we might be watching a football game and instead of dipping chips into dip I’ll dip vegetables into dip. My favorite are cucumbers.
Or I might take the toppings off a small square of pizza and eat those while tossing out the crust.
But it’s not about what you can’t eat with your diet. If you focus on that you’re not going to succeed with a change for the long-term. You have to enjoy what you can eat.
And that’s what I try to do.
To me, I love vegetables. I love trying new vegetables. I love exploring different recipes that include vegetables.
And the same goes for various meats. I love bacon and especially bacon that local butchers are making and experimenting with. I have to be careful about how they use sugar, but for the most part they do some really cool and delicious things.
My favorite is when someone razzes me about something I eat and I know they eat cereal with something like “bran” in the title every morning while I enjoy a delicious veggie omelet or a mixture of ham, swiss cheese and scrambled eggs.
Final Thought
More studies seem to come out every week about the benefits of a good diet for our overall health. I’m talking about physical and mental.
If you’re looking to get a leg up on the competition then getting your brain healthy is certainly important. You’ll have more energy and you’ll be thinking clearer. Who knows what opportunities a fresh mind will open up for you and your business.