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Apple

Here are a few things that I would say are time-wasters for twentysomethings:

Drugs and alcohol.

I can’t see any positive outcome with drugs and alcohol. You are not contributing to the world or improving yourself if you are busy consuming drugs and alcohol. These can be addictive substances that will ruin your life well beyond your twenties. If you feel the absolute need to try them, do so and move on quickly, knowing the consequences.

Bad friends.

If you have friends who are bad people, get them out of your life now. They will drag you down and keep you from growing. There is a saying that suggests you are who you surround yourself with. Take note.

Bad family.

Even family can get in your way. If you don’t need them, minimize the time spent with them. There are plenty of potential mentors out there who can be a better family to you.

Bad relationships.

If you have a boyfriend or girlfriend who shouts at you or abuses you, leave them right now. Even if you have to couchsurf or stay with a friend or family member, that is a much better option. Don’t wait for change to occur, because that person might never change.

Higher education.

If you decide to attend college or university, don’t sign up until after you have attended some lectures as a sit-in. Figure out what it is you want to learn before spending thousands of dollars figuring out what you want to learn. There are no refunds for school once you’re in (which blows my mind). If you need to take a year off to travel or figure things out, do it. You could potentially waste four or more years of your life because you didn’t do your homework (lol). Don’t be the student without an education aim.

Netflix.

That autoplay feature on Netflix will ruin you. Enough said.

Unhappiness.

If you are unhappy, this will suck your life away. Figure out what is causing this and handle it. If you need a therapist, go to one.

Isolation.

If you are isolating yourself in your twenties, either locked in your room or hiding behind social media for days on end, you are likely missing out on wonderful experiences. Do something that doesn’t involve days of you sitting on the couch, dwelling on your thoughts. Further to isolation, twentysomethings seem to have a lack of hobbies these days. Figure out some hobbies you can try and try them.

Things you hate.

If you dread Mondays, you are doing something you hate. Create a plan to stop doing it. If you wake up miserable, you are about to do something you hate. Stop doing it. If you did something and you feel miserable afterwards, you did something that you hated. Stop doing it.

Apple

With all the talk about being a vegan versus being a carnivore these days, I thought it would be fun to put together a cookbook that caters to both lifestyles.

For those who are new to these two diets, vegan is an entirely plant-based food plan and carnivore is entirely meat-based.

Maybe on Monday you’re craving a steak. Or Tuesday you’re craving spinach. Why can’t you have it all? Anecdotal, short-term studies point to healthy living for both vegans and carnivores. What better than to combine two lifestyles into one?

Let’s check out my signature recipes. First off, for the vegans…

Handful of spinach.

All you need is a handful of spinach, either bagged or fresh on the produce shelf. Put the spinach in your mouth and call it a day.

Spoon of coconut oil.

Grab a spoon and scoop some coconut oil on it. Store your coconut oil at room temperature to make it just the right edible texture.

Salty avocado bowl.

Peel your avocado (ideally when it’s soft enough to eat) and break apart the chewy light green stuff into a bowl. Add some spinach, raisins, walnuts and olive oil to dress it up. Finish your creation off by sprinkling some salt on there.

Really green smoothie.

Frozen fruit, spinach, avocado, broccoli, celery, pea protein powder, coconut oil, water, coconut milk. Blend until smooth.

Crunchy kale chips.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie tray. break off the leaves of a few kale branches and spread them out on the sheet. Add olive oil and salt on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until kale chips are crunchy. I usually go with 380 degrees Fahrenheit for the oven temperature.

Sauerkraut à la mode.

A forkful of sauerkraut. This is a wonderful probiotic for gut health.

For the carnivores…

Ribeye.

Grab a thawed or fresh ribeye steak and slap it on the frying pan at medium heat. Salt one side. 7 minutes later, flip and salt the other side. Cook for 7 more minutes, then you’re ready to munch away.

Top sirloin.

Same steps as ribeye.

Meat fat snack.

Head to your local butcher and ask for the leftover fat from their meats. Fry away at medium heat until nice and crispy.

Salty chicken.

Same steps as ribeye.

Tuna à la mode.

Scoop out some canned tuna (albacore or light varieties will do) into a bowl and add salt.

Salty salmon.

Same steps as ribeye, but maybe just 6 minutes on each side.

Final thoughts.

I have no background in nutrition or health science. I do triathlons for fun. My endurance has improved by focusing on more whole foods in my diet. I have tested both carnivore and vegan diets. I have done intermittent fasting. I feel great by doing all of the above.

I just know one thing from my experiments: refined sugars and refined carbs are unhealthy for long-term living.

Our bodies simply can’t handle the digestion of sugary cakes, donuts, cookies, pies and ice cream (unless you’re an extreme endurance athlete and these foods just go right through you).

The challenge is in eliminating those bad foods. Governments should be implementing sugar restrictions at grocery stores, but maybe that’s asking for too much. The fact is, we need sugar to employ millions of people who work at sugar corporations and hospitals that treat sugar patients. Mmmm sugar patients. Banning sugar would be a bigger catastrophe to the job economy than automation and AI.

Most would agree that a diet filled with fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and water would be acceptable as a whole food lifestyle. I would also add Himalayan pink salt and Celtic salt to that list (our bodies naturally contain salt). I left out grains because there are questions around the processing of this food today. White rice is linked to diabetes. It’s also a processed grain, stripped of some nutrients that are present in the brown variety. We are still figuring out whether refined rice should be in our diets today.

Hopefully these recipes give you a simple idea of what ideal whole food diets can be. Over time, you will notice less of an appetite from eating these foods. Your stomach will shrink and heal. Your mind will be sharper. Your productivity and endurance will improve.

These are the benefits that real food brings us.

Consider these habits to be like Elon Musk:

6 to 6.5 hours of sleep per day, on average.

80 to 100 hours of work per week.

A clear vision that you strongly believe in.

A clear vision that delivers high value to others.

Excellent work ethic during every waking hour.

A desire to solve problems based on level of usefulness. Let’s look at what this means. The total improved usefulness of something is equal to the usefulness for the average person, minus the next best similar item, multiplied by the amount of people who would find it useful. For the mathematicians reading this…

X = total usefulness
U = Usefulness to one person
C = Comparable item in usefulness and cost
P = Number of people this item would be used by/affect
X = (U – C) * P

A push towards optimal, open working environments, to foster collaboration.

Do you think you can approach the world this way, just like Elon Musk? Give it a try!