Latest / Callum Walker | Figuring It Out / Episode 51 - Unlocking Peak Mental Performance With The Ketogenic Diet: How To Boost Mental Clarity And Take More Action

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Episode 51 - Unlocking Peak Mental Performance With The Ketogenic Diet: How To Boost Mental Clarity And Take More Action · Callum Walker | Figuring It Out

• 0:03
  Callum Walker: If fear is the only thing stopping us from achieving our dreams and we only fear what we don't understand, then the antidote to fear is knowledge.
• 0:11
  Callum Walker: All we have to do is find out who has the knowledge that we need to conquer our fears and achieve our entrepreneurial dreams. My name is Callum Walker, and welcome to the podcast that will help you figure it out and conquer this lonely entrepreneurial journey. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the podcast. Today, I've got a really, really interesting episode to fire to you. I've spoken quite in-depth previously around the ketogenic diet and how it can be really, really beneficial for you as a coach to potentially use with your clients.
• 0:48
  I also did a great episode on a great episode. God. That sounds like such a dick. I've done a great episode. It was good.
• 0:57
  It was good in terms of, like, information wise. I did a great episode on using a ketone supplement to enhance our own cognitive performance, and I wanna kinda, like, continue on that sort of track for how you can potentially use low carb diets or ketogenic diets, or just in general controlling your level of insulin to improve your mental function. So improving your cognitive function. What do I mean by your cognitive function or your cognitive performance? Let's look at it as almost kind of like your mental performance.
• 1:35
  So whether that's creativity, your ability to focus, your ability to get stuff done, the ketogenic diet or being in a low carb state can be super, super useful if you're really looking to be able to optimize that. Now why would we want to potentially optimize our our own mental performance? But why would we want to do that? Well, at the end of the day, just remember, you're growing a business right now, and the key thing that determines everything that is going to drive whether your business moves forward or not comes down to your decisions, to the decisions that you make, because your decisions drive your actions. So if I decide I'm going to make a piece of content, I then act and make a piece of content, which then results in me putting out a piece of content, someone then seeing it, then that person then sees my piece of content, engages in my stuff, then wants to become a customer.
• 2:29
  So that started with the decision to go and create some form of content. Yeah? So if we kinda look at what drives your decision, well, what drives your decision is what is going on between your ears. And the thing that I've kind of found in terms of mental performance and your cognitive performance, it really is just as simple as making better decisions. Whether you make better decisions or you make decisions faster, that that's what I believe optimal mental performance really is, making better decisions faster, which then means that you take better action quicker, which results in you taking more actions more frequently, and then you move further along on the path of your entrepreneurial journey.
• 3:18
  So it's pretty simple when you kinda break it down. My sole goal as an entrepreneur is to make better decisions faster so I can make better decisions more frequently, which results in me taking better action more frequently, getting more stuff done, moving further along the line. Pretty cool that, and really simple. So when it's kind of broken down that simply, then like, okay. That's all I need to do.
• 3:42
  I need to learn how to make better decisions. So, again, you then go into, well, what stops me from making good decisions? So how does the ketogenic diet kinda tie in with that? Well, I'll kinda get into that. But, sorry, I'm just making a I'm just making a smoothie at the moment.
• 3:57
  So there is a little bit of additional noise. What's in the smoothie? I hear you ask. So in the smoothie today so what time is it now? It's 12:00.
• 4:06
  This is my first meal. In the smoothie, we have got some Jersey milk. So that is milk from Jersey cows. Why have we gone with Jersey milk? Tastes incredible.
• 4:18
  It tastes so good. It's literally like drinking liquid. It's like drinking cream. It is so cool. It's got a higher fat content.
• 4:25
  So, naturally, again, like, it tastes better. It's got a higher energy content. And, yeah, I want that good fat, to be inside of me. Then we've got some chocolate whey protein powder, bit of avocado, some ice, and some peanut butter. Really, really simple, really easy.
• 4:44
  I'll put a little bit of salt in there. It just makes it a little bit sharper, and then a little bit more tasty. So, yeah, so I'm just gonna kind of blitz this up. So bear with me. Cool.
• 5:23
  There we are. So so, yes, that's all blitzed up, and it smells so nice. And, you know what, it's so easy and so quick. So, again, kinda like in terms of yourself, like, you know, you're gonna be really kind of busy throughout the day. Just whipping something up like this can be really, really good from a nutritional point of view, just as kinda like a quick, easy, and nutritionally dense meal.
• 5:46
  You know, again, if I actually kinda break this down, I've got, some high quality vitamins and minerals in the in the milk. I've got a good amount of fat in there. I've got a good amount of fat in the peanut butter, high quality source of protein in the way, some great fats and nutrients in the avocado, and some fantastic nutrients in the spinach. I also, you know, and, it literally took me, like, two minutes to put together. So yeah.
• 6:09
  So, again, like, just don't forget that things can be done quickly and they can be done simply, and it needs to kinda fit in with our lifestyle. And I'm sure you are in complete agreement that the lifestyle of running a business is very unique. So, therefore, we need to kinda do unique things. So that's my breakfast today. But, anyway, the point I'm kinda coming at is that where does kinda low carb, where does ketogenic diet kinda fit in in terms of being able to make better decisions?
• 6:36
  Well, I really kinda like one big benefit that you find of a ketogenic diet is that the brain flicks over from running exclusively on glucose to start running on fat, I. E. In the form of ketone bodies. So without going too crazy into the details of what a ketone body really kinda is, kinda look at it as the brain and the body are two separate things like they are. Imagine they're separate.
• 7:06
  You have the body, and then you have the brain. Now kind of look at it in terms of like Berlin in the seventies. Look at it as Berlin in the seventies. You have East Berlin and then you have West Berlin. So between East And West Berlin, there is a wall.
• 7:27
  So we kind of look at it with the body. You have the body, which is anything below the neck, and then you have the brain, which is anything above the neck. The two are different, and they are separated by a wall themselves called the blood brain barrier. So what is the point of the blood brain barrier? Well, it's to make sure that there are things in the body that should not come near the brain.
• 7:51
  So that barrier stops things that are in the body coming into the brain that shouldn't be there. So again, it's almost like we've got kind of customs patrol. Now what happens is when you go low carb, when you get into a ketogenic state specifically, the brain no longer has glucose available to it. It doesn't have a high amount of sugar available to it to be able to use because we're not eating it anymore. And also we probably depleted our glycogen reserves so low that the brain's requirement for fuel isn't there I'm sorry, is really really high, and the amount of fuel that it's been using previously and the type of fuel in the form of glucose just isn't present anymore.
• 8:32
  So what happens is that sorry. I'm right in the kitchen here. I'm getting the dishwasher on as well. Yeah. So what happens is that when we've got a low amount of glucose available to us, the brain then has to go and find a different source of fuel.
• 8:47
  So we flick over and we start to use fat. But the problem that we face is that the brain cannot use fat directly, I e, fat cannot get across the barrier. It can't travel from west to East Berlin. It walks up to the brain, and it's like, hey. I hear that you need some help and support here, lads.
• 9:09
  But the lads at the, the patrol at the wall, they're then like, sorry, mate. You cannot come through. But the thing is that the brain needs that fuel. Fat needs to figure out a way to get over the wall and to get into the brain to provide it with fuel. So it has to put on a disguise.
• 9:30
  It needs a new passport. It needs to put a mustache on mustache or mustache? It needs to put mustache. Yeah. Anyway, it needs to grow a beard.
• 9:40
  We'll go with that one. He needs to grow a beard. He needs to put a hat on, some sunglasses, and have a brand new passport. Same bloke looks differently. Fat then walks up with his brand new disguise.
• 9:52
  K? I the body alters its fat and turns it into this thing called a ketone body. Just changes the structure of it slightly. So the fat then walks up to the wall, disguised as this thing called a ketone body now, And the bloke goes, yeah. You can come through.
• 10:12
  You're allowed to come in. So then what happens is that and there's this meme going on at the moment on Instagram where Ryan Gosling is like, you need carbs. You need carbs. Your brain runs on glucose. And it's like, yeah, the brain does run on glucose, but when you don't have glucose available to it, the brain can then start to use ketones.
• 10:32
  So, yeah, which is kind of frustrating and pretty stupid. But, anyway, what happens is that the brain can then start to utilize ketone bodies, which it has in abundance because the brain can basically start running on our fat reserves, so your body fat, as opposed to having to be reliant on glucose. And what you find with that is to keep it really simple, we look at kind of glucose and the way in which the body uses glucose is kind of like imagine I have a fire, it's like me throwing newspaper on the fire. It burns hot, it burns quick, but then it runs out so I need to throw more on, and also I have a small supply of newspaper. So I.
• 11:11
  E. The body has a very small supply of glucose available to it in the form of glycogen. You only have roughly about three to 400 grams of glycogen in the muscles, about a 100 grams of glycogen in the liver. So it's about 2,000 calories roughly. Yeah?
• 11:26
  So that's really not a lot of fuel available to it as glycogen. So it's a very, very small supply. Whereas in terms of fat, we've got enough fat, to last us for fifty to sixty days. I. E, you have an excess as opposed to 2,000 calories worth of fuel in the form of glucose, we have at least a 100,000 calories worth of fuel in the form of fat.
• 11:49
  So effectively, when you get into the ketogenic state, when you get into the low carb state, it's kinda like instead of going like, I'm gonna go and throw newspaper on the fire, it's like planting a log on there, and then it just starts to burn consistently. I don't have to keep topping up the fire, which is really beneficial for us as entrepreneurs. Why? Because what happens is you have a consistent fuel flow to the brain. There is consistent fuel flowing into the brain so it can continuously operate.
• 12:20
  So it's 12:00 now. I wake up at seven. I haven't eaten yet. Now that's been really beneficial because if I eat, normally when I eat, it then makes me a little bit sluggish and tired, which decreases my mental performance. I'm tired, which then means that the quality of decision that I make is decreased.
• 12:35
  When I'm tired, the speed in which I make decisions decreases, which then means I take less action less quickly, which means I then don't move along the path just as fast. And then the other thing is that by going and, making a meal, that takes time. That takes time out of my day. So yeah. So I haven't had to make a meal, which has saved me time.
• 12:57
  It's also saved me energy. The other thing is I haven't been hungry. Because you look at what hunger is, hunger is kinda like the brain basically saying, hey. I need fuel. Hey.
• 13:08
  I need fuel. Hey. I need fuel. So previously, when you have a carb adapted brain that's running on glucose, it's constantly saying, hey. We need more paper on this fire.
• 13:16
  Hey. We need more paper on this fire. Whereas when you've got a log on there, it's like, I'm chilling. I'm chilling. I'm cool.
• 13:22
  We don't need fuel. Everything is perfectly fine. So what happens is we've got that consistent fuel flow to the brain, which means the brain doesn't say I'm hungry, which means that when I was working this morning, I've got some really good stuff done, which I'm really happy with. I've made some good connections on Instagram. I've started putting together my client, Herf, which I'm really happy with, which, you know, again, I'm really happy with that, but I've done it not hungry.
• 13:49
  I haven't been hungry, which means that instead of thinking about how hungry I am and how I need food, I can just solely focus on the task at hand, which means I've been able to make better decisions quicker, which has resulted in me taking more action quicker, and now I'm further along on the path. So, yeah, like, for you, you know, if you really kinda do want to harness the power of low carb and ketogenic diets to improve your mental capacity, your mental performance, to be able to make better decisions faster, to take higher quality action more regularly and more frequently to move you further down the path, definitely definitely consider just try out trying out a low carb diet or trying out a ketogenic diet. Try it out. See what happens. What's the worst that happens?
• 14:39
  Like, you don't like it, it don't work for you. Alright then. But at least you know. One other thing that you can do is you can potentially use ketone supplements. Again, I only would go with a ketone ester, and I've done an episode on this.
• 14:54
  I believe it was the unexpected benefit of a quick lesson on the ketogenic diet, something like that. I think it's like episode 20 something. Have a look at that. Give that a listen. It's only short.
• 15:04
  But it really kinda goes deeper into specifically how ketones themselves and a ketone supplement can really enhance your brain's cognitive function further than just appetite. But, anyway, I'm gonna go have my breakfast now. And just do me one favor. Never forget if every single one of your clients gave you just one new client, you've doubled your business.