From Binge Eating to Nutritional Freedom; Zach's Nutritional Journey

In today’s episode, we’re talking about my nutritional journey. Miguel kicks things off by asking me what led me to start caring about food and nutrition (5:02). Although I was extremely active - surfing during the day and playing basketball all night, I didn’t know what a vegetable was. Instead of thinking about what I was eating, I ate whatever I wanted until 20 years old. That was until I suffered from a career ending injury and, after speaking with my mentor, realized things needed to be turned around (11:10). So in late 2011, I searched “what is the best diet” in Google and came across the Paleo Diet. While this approach led to weight loss, it also led to me having an all out “cheat day” every 7 to 10 days (15:10). After following the Paleo Diet for over a year, I decided to get my PN certifications and start learning from other, highly respected individuals within the industry (18:28). This was when I came across macros and started tracking my food. However, this approach didn’t better my relationship with food since I was solely trying to fit in all of those “junk” foods. Once I realized that I was overeating almost every single day, that’s when I decided to start remaking those foods to be more macro friendly. Now, years later, I’m at a point where I look at each day as a whole and how nutrition can help me live my best life (22:15). Continue listening to hear me talk about why I chose to continue learning more about nutrition after I recovered from my injury (25:27), as well as whether or not I was controlled by wanting to maximize food volume (30:30). To wrap things up, I dive into my thoughts on body dysmorphia (35:17). When you get to a point where you’re seeing results, it’s so important to be careful to not become too obsessive. Remember this - when you look in the mirror, your natural inclination is going to be to point out what you don’t like about your body and what you want to improve.