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The High Performance Journal

4 Minute Fridays: 3 Minute Trick To Speed Recovery, Best Oils To Cook Your Foods With & The Best Time To Stop Eating

4 minute fridays Mar 17, 2023

4 Minute Fridays

By Dan Go


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The other day I took a hike around my neighbourhood.

I've been working hard to finish my upcoming and this means I need to get trips outside for a breath of fresh air.

Now, this hike was not like any other. It was on a small mountain so it was a steep uphill climb. The path was a bit murky due to the fact that it's seldom used lately.

I was hesitant to walk it because there was no one around, I have a phobia of heights and there were reports of bears and coyotes around the area.

So I kept my phone on me just in case something crazy happened.

Once I got to the top I had no regrets. It was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen in a while. The walk went into a forest within the mountains, which helped my mind and body reset so I could get back to finishing up the course.

Here's a pic I took near the top:

Don't mind the fact that I'm not smiling as I'm trying to make sure I don't fall off the darn mountain 😂

Here is your 4-Minute Friday:

How to Become a Better Human

1. When to stop eating

Eating a meal too close to bedtime can lead to low-quality sleep. Low-quality sleep is the leading domino to low energy, fat gain, and increased appetite.

According to your circadian rhythms, your body follows what is called a "diurnal rhythm". This means that the body is awake during the day and as the sun goes down it prepares for sleep. Digestion takes a ton of energy so making your body digest right before it's time to sleep can wreck your natural rhythms.

So what should you do?

Stop eating at least 3 to 5 hours before going to bed. Be okay with going to bed a bit hungry.

This one little shift in how you eat can improve the quality of sleep as well as your body's ability to digest.

2. How to speed recovery

One of the best ways to get results from the gym is to increase recovery but most don't even know how.

What you may not know is that the best way to improve your results in the gym is to do a proper cooldown.

Do it right and you'll increase your bodies parasympathetic response, which helps you recover faster.

The great thing about it is it only takes 3-5 minutes to get it done.

The best cooldown I've been using is 4-7-8 box breathing:

  1. Lay flat on your back with feet slightly elevated above your heart.
  2. Close your mouth and quietly inhale through your nose to a mental count of four.
  3. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
  4. Exhale through your mouth, making a whoosh sound for a count of eight.
  5. Repeat the process three more times for a total of four breath cycles.

After you're done you'll slow down your breathing and set your body up for the best environment for recovery.

3. The best oils to cook your food

It's better to cook with traditional animal-based fats over oils.

The difference between oils and fats is that fats contain more saturated fat whereas oils may include unsaturated fats as well. The higher proportion of saturated fat makes them more stable at room temperature and means they are more stable when heat is applied to them.

Oils are liquid at room temperature due to the higher proportion of polyunsaturated chemicals. Polyunsaturated fats have extra double bonds, which also make them more unstable to heat. That’s why they spit at you when cooking.

The issue with most oils you pick up off a supermarket shelf is that they are often hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.

These make them highly unstable and include:

  • Industrially processed liquid oils such as soy, corn, safflower, cottonseed, sunflower, and canola oil

So best fats for cooking are:

  • Butter or Ghee (butter can burn)
  • Tallow and suet from beef and lamb
  • Lard from pigs • Chicken, goose, and duck fat
  • Coconut, palm oils (these stay solid below a certain temp)

 

Client of the week - Soren, Entrepreneur

Soren is an entrepreneur who wanted to drop the belly and become a fit dad to his 4 children.

In 6 months he lost 54 pounds, increased his energy levels, and has become such a great example to his kids that they're now joining him in his workouts.

We focused on eating whole single ingredient nutrient-dense meals on a schedule, eating at least .8 to 1g of protein per lbs of body weight, strength training to build muscle and massive accountability.

Now he's back to his old high school weight and feeling more confident in his body than ever before.

Are you an entrepreneur who wants results like this? 

One Quote to Finish Your Week Strong


“If we work upon marble, it will perish. If we work upon brass, time will efface it. But if we work upon immortal minds, and instill into them just principles, we are then engraving upon tablets which no time will efface but will brighten and brighten to all eternity.”
 
— Daniel Webster

I talk a lot about working out the body but the most important part that needs to be strengthened is the 6 inches of space between your ears.

Along with changing the body make sure you're changing the mind.

- Dan

 

PLUS whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:

  1. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape by the summer?
  2. Join the waitlist to get first access (and a sweet discount) to my Lean Body 90 course coming out in early spring by  

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