Latest / The Life-First Solopreneur / 51. How To Make Health A Priority When You're A Busy Solopreneur With Garrett Serd
Transcript
- Garrett Serd (00:00): Our brains use 120 grams of carbs a day. Our brains are like glucose engines. So when we're not feeding our bodies what they need, especially those good types of carbohydrates, we may not be able to function our best. Joe Rando (00:13): Bigger doesn't always mean better. Welcome to the One-Person Business podcast where people who are flying solo in business come for specific tips and advice to find success as a company of one. Here are your hosts, Joe Rando and Carly Ries. Carly Ries (00:31): Welcome to the One-Person Business podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Carly Ries. Joe Rando (00:35): And I'm Joe Rando Carly Ries (00:36): At Lifestarr, the company who puts on this podcast, we're firm believers that success in business isn't the end all. You need to focus on succeeding in your personal life as well, especially when it comes to your health. Today we have on registered dietician, entrepreneur, fat loss expert, speaker, and my favorite, pancake addict, Garrett Serd. Garrett is the founder and owner of the online women's fat loss company, Tandem Nutrition. Despite Garrett's love for one-on-one nutrition coaching, he now travels the country speaking at events, educating the common consumer and the busy professional like you on how to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve their health in a simple, realistic, and the key here, sustainable way. So with that, Garrett, welcome to the show. Garrett Serd (01:19): Hey, Carly, thank you so much for having me on. Joe, it's a pleasure to be on here as well. Thank you for giving me this opportunity today. Joe Rando (01:26): We're glad you're here. This is great. Carly Ries (01:28): Garrett, I said offline that I selfishly wanted you on the show. I'm so excited to hear your answers to my questions. So if it's okay with you, let's just dive in. Garrett Serd (01:36): Yeah, let's do it. Carly Ries (01:37): So solopreneurs have a lot on their plates because they're doing everything for their business. What are some time-saving hacks solopreneurs can implement to make sure they're prioritizing their health? Garrett Serd (01:47): A couple of big things that I recommend to our clients, I do myself. Number one, I recently bought just a couple light pair of dumbbells for my office because I really believe that people underestimate the health effect and how beneficial it can be just to get in five to 10 minutes of exercise, whether it's through walking or through lifting dumbbells, things that really get the heart rate up and get their bodies moving. I really believe that motion creates emotion and can put someone in a powerful state to accomplish some big things. That's probably one of the biggest things that I recommend. Having time, setting time aside to do some type of activity, even if it's five or 10 minutes, because that alone can have a big impact on our health both and long-term. Secondly, I'm not sure if either of you have read the book Atomic Habits from James Clear, but I'm a big fan of that book. One of the strategies that he talks about is habits stacking. (02:48): As an entrepreneur, one of the challenges that I face and a lot of the women that we work with too, is just getting in enough exercise and also steps as well. So one of the things that we do and talk about here in our company is, for example, going to the gym. And when you're working out one great and easy way to get in more steps and get in more exercise while burning more calories is to be active during your rest times. For example, if you're going to the gym and you're doing a set of tricep press downs. While you're resting, one thing that I do is I pace the water fountain or I pace around the gym, and in one gym session I can get up to 2000 steps, which is almost a mile. So I'm almost doing two things at one time to help me not only get in some muscle work, but also to get in some cardio work as well. (03:42): The last thing that I really feel like is effective is just really setting time aside to make sure that you are doing what you need to do for yourself. Especially when it comes to healthy meals. For example, if you don't have the time to cook healthy meals, ordering from meal prep company. Here in Indianapolis, we're a big fan of Flex Meal Prep. They specialize in healthy and high protein meals that takes all the guesswork and time away from cooking healthy meals. Wherever you're at, investing in a company like that could save you a lot of time while helping you stay on track with healthy eating. Carly Ries (04:20): I'm so happy you brought that up because fitness is only a part of it, and obviously diet is another part. You were talking about some meal delivery prep and all of that that you could do because solopreneurs are so busy that they often rely on takeout. If there is a solopreneur that relies on takeout, what can they do to make it healthier? Garrett Serd (04:37): First thing that I'd recommend is every takeout option does have healthy The cool thing is right now, Carly, as you know, there's a lot of calorie information on the boards of many restaurants. You can kind of see how many calories are in each item. So research. I would start with some personal research too. Educating yourself is never a bad thing, but also getting in a good routine of meal prepping. Carly or Joe, do you meal prep throughout the week? Carly Ries (05:13): Once a quarter I say, okay, this week I'm going to meal prep and I do it, and then the following week it drops off. So I need whatever you're about to say. Joe Rando (05:23): I have an amazing wife who's just a killer healthy cook. So any problems I have with diet are all on me. Garrett Serd (05:32): Perfect. Well I understand. That'd be my first recommendation outside of doing some research on menus is just getting in a solid routine of designating time throughout the weekend or the week to spend time shopping for the food that you know you enjoy and that can help you hit your health and calorie goals. Also spending time cooking food in bulk so you have food ready for the week. For example, I may buy a pork loin roast, put it in my crockpot and have roast for three to four days ready for the week. I'm kind of weird. I love vegetables. So I'll buy frozen vegetables and when it's about time for me to put them in my lunches, I'll take their frozen vegetables, put them in my fridge, let them thaw out a little bit, and then I'll just stick them in my container when I go to work or when I'm out of the office and I'll heat 'em up in a microwave. So I actually don't cook vegetables once they're frozen because they're flash frozen already. They're most likely blanched and cooked at a high temperature before being frozen. That's what makes meal prep for me super easy. And like I mentioned too, if there's a healthy meal prep delivery service in your area, that can also save you a ton of time and just make hitting your goals a lot easier as well. Carly Ries (06:44): That is so smart. I feel like for solopreneurs, time saving is the key words, because they are so busy all the time. And with that, you are talking about feeding two birds with one hand when you were talking about how to any of your steps in and everything. So for solopreneurs, like you just said, time management is key, especially for people with wanting to focus on health. Any tips for setting the right mindset to take control of your time? Garrett Serd (07:06): Yeah. Once I left my full-time job, I wanted to think one of the first books I ever read that changed my life, it is called The Miracle Mourning by Hal Elrod. The first thing I started doing was taking control of my morning, and I really focused on my mindset. Reading for myself, doing affirmations and declaration, taking time to journal and do some visionary things. And one of the best things that I can recommend as a dietician and as someone who really focused on personal development is take control of your mornings. A lot of people wake up very reactive, looking at their phones and emails and wanting to answer everything when the world needs everything from you. But it's so important to take time for yourself and do the things that are most important to you first. That could be, for example, one thing I do is I put my headphones on in the morning, I listen to an educational podcast while I just mindlessly clean something because I feel productive and I'm not distracted. Cleaning helps me reduce stress and clears my mind, which helps me have a positive mindset throughout my workday. Carly Ries (08:11): Gary, I feel like I should fly to Indianapolis and hug you right now because as Joe knows, I have a borderline obsession with the Miracle Morning right now that started like a month ago. I read the book, became obsessed with it. I started getting up at five, doing everything that the book recommends and I love it. I'm so happy I'm not the only one, and I know I'm not the only one, but it's become a thing. With that, a lot of hesitation people have about getting up so early is losing sleep. Why is sleep so necessary for a healthy lifestyle, especially for solopreneurs? Garrett Serd (08:46): Absolutely. Sleep is key for productivity and for maintaining a positive mindset, reducing anxiety. And on the health side of things too, there have been a lot of studies done on sleep and its effect on fat loss and gaining muscle mass. In fact, a study in 2010 showed that participants who got 5.5 hours of sleep or less each night compared to 8.5 hours of sleep, they increased muscle loss by 60% and they decreased fat loss by 50%. So not only do you lose more muscle, but you gain more body fat. What's really interesting too is that when we're sleep deprived, especially for long periods of time, that can alter our hunger and satiety hormones. Not only do we feel hungrier, but we don't get that satisfaction after eating a meal. Lastly, our body tends to crave and be triggered towards more carbohydrate laden foods due to changes in glucose metabolism. So it's very, very important to get in enough sleep every night. As you'd probably recommend as well, Carly and Joe, at least seven to nine hours sleep a night would help prevent these negative effects from happening. Carly Ries (10:01): Great, great advice. I have to ask you, we've touched on mindset, sleep, fitness, nutrition. I feel like we could talk about this forever. If you had to narrow down your top three self-care tips for solopreneurs, what would they be? Garrett Serd (10:15): It seems like mine change based upon my season of life. But right now, I would say number one, sleep is just so important, not only for health and for productivity, but also for longevity. So I would say make sure that someone is focused on having a good evening and morning routine to get enough sleep and take care of them, but also make sure they're consuming enough food as well. Not only enough food period, but enough nutrient dense food. There's a lot of research that states that there's a great correlation between the link between highly processed food and weight gain. It's really important as entrepreneurs and solopreneurs that we feed our body the fuel it needs to think our best. One really cool thing is that our brains use 120 grams of carbs a day. Our brains are like glucose engines. (11:06): So when we're not feeding our bodies what they need, especially those good types of carbohydrates, we may not be able to function our best. Lastly, just because of its effect on health, a very general recommendation, not only on health, but also body composition is just being active every day, even if it's for five or 10 minutes. I think people overlook the importance of being active even for, again, that small time. As I had mentioned before, that can have a big impact on health long-term by focusing on being active in some way, even walking each and every day, even if it's five or 10 minutes. Joe Rando (11:43): Garrett, I have to ask a question because one of the things that we've been hearing for some years now is, oh, people are sitting when they work all day and it's terrible for their health, and it's a path to the grave. Desk jobs are a killer. I read an article, I think it was Scientific American recently, where they were studying hunter gatherers, these primitive tribes. And they were sitting a lot. They had exercise, they did stuff, they went out and moved and hunted or whatever they do but there was a lot of sitting. Not really different from a typical Western office worker in terms of the amount of time they sat. I think it just feels sometimes hopeless to people when they're in a situation where their job requires they sit in front of a computer all day. Do you have any thoughts on that? Garrett Serd (12:31): I can't speak directly to that article specifically, but as a society today, we are finding ourselves sitting a lot more than before. With our clients and what we preach is just find really creative ways to be more active. We don't really even focus on cardio per se, but just being active through steps. In fact, for our clients, we give them step goals, and that brings awareness to finding ways they can be active, especially with their families. I had a client who we gave a step goal. In the past she would sit down at any opportunity, but she went to the doctor's office as planned and typically in the past, she would just sit down and wait for the doctor. But because she had a step goal, she was tracking her steps. She's like, "Gary, I wanted to hit my goal so bad that I was pacing around the doctor's office." So just being more aware of our setting. For example, I love reading, so I'll read on my treadmill or I would text while walking around or pacing. So just finding creative ways to be active can really help us get in some steps in a world that really kind of forces us to be in a sedentary position for most of the time. Joe Rando (13:36): I can highly recommend a dog, especially a bigger dog that can walk a long way. Garrett Serd (13:40): Yes, great recommendation too. Carly Ries (13:43): I actually started parking when I go to Target or somewhere, I've started parking in the last parking space or the furthest parking space away from the door. (13:52): At first people were like, what are you doing? There's a spot right in front of the door. I'm like, yeah, but this will give me a few extra steps. Joe Rando (13:58): I always say I'm saving those for the old people, and then people laugh at me. Carly Ries (14:14): Garrett, your life is basically dedicated to helping people achieve success with their health and reach their goals. So I have to ask you, what is your favorite quote about success? Garrett Serd (14:26): This may be a different quote. I'm really big in my faith and Jesus and Francis Chan as well. He's an author, as you probably know, and a pastor, but he has a quote that I really, really liked. It says, "Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don't really matter. " That really hits home for me because every day we spend our lives doing things and we can really occupy our time with things that maybe not have a big impact on other people's lives. That's what drives me, in our business, impacting others' lives through the gifts that I believe that God has given us. That's probably my favorite success quote at this time anyway, when it comes to entrepreneurship and impacting people's lives. Carly Ries (15:11): I love that. If you succeed in something that doesn't matter, who should care. Well, Garrett, this has been so amazing. If people want to learn more about you, Tandem Nutrition, where can they find you? Garrett Serd (15:23): I'm on Instagram at Tandem Nutrition. You can also check us out on our website at www.tandemnutrition.com. We also have a podcast called The Tandem Talk Show. We try to shoot off two or three episodes a week as well. Those are our main places to find us. Carly Ries (15:46): Great. I cannot thank you enough for coming on the show. Joe Rando (15:53): Absolutely. just want to say, I know you work with women, but everything that you have said, every last thing applies to men just as well. Garrett Serd (16:00): Absolutely. Yes. I thank you for mentioning that, Joe. Everything I mentioned here today and we do work with a few men as well, but our primary focus is women, but absolutely exercise and sleep, definitely important for men as well. Carly Ries (16:14): Thanks for pointing that out. That actually wraps up another episode of the One-Person Business Podcast. Be sure to visit Lifestarr.com/podcast to subscribe and listen to more episodes, or you can find us anywhere you listen to your shows. We'll see you next time. Closing (16:32): You may be going solo in business, but that doesn't mean you're alone. In fact, millions of people are in your shoes running a one person business and figuring it out as they go. So why not connect with them and learn from each other's successes and failures? At LifeStarr, we're creating a one person business community where you can go to meet and get advice from other solopreneurs. Be sure to join in on the conversations at community.lifestarr.com.