Latest / Callum Walker | Figuring It Out / Episode 38: Unleash Your Brain's Potential: How Low Carb Diets Enhance Mental Clarity & Focus

Transcript

Episode 38: Unleash Your Brain's Potential: How Low Carb Diets Enhance Mental Clarity & Focus · Callum Walker | Figuring It Out

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: 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. 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. This morning, I feel slightly groggy.
• 0:35
  I really do feel slightly groggy. Why is that? Well, I've had a little bit of additional carp over the weekend. We had me and my beautiful parlor. We went away, had a fabulous time.
• 0:51
  And when I say we went away, we went down to Eastbourne. We did, a really lovely walk on the South Downs, and it was stunning. I must say it really, really was stunning. And we went out for some food. Really, really, really enjoyed it over those sort of like three days.
• 1:08
  But I had a little bit more carb. Now, is that a problem? No. However, I feel very groggy. Very, very, very groggy.
• 1:17
  And that really brings me to the reason as to why I am low carb. And there's a lesson within this which will really, really help you, especially if you kinda doubt yourself, kinda doubt the advice that you're giving, especially if you're either you know, if you're a coach who's on one of my memberships, if you've worked with me before, or if you're kinda like coming into the realm of, you know, kinda pushing more of a low carb diet towards your clients. So you're really starting to kinda enter the realm of like, you know, really lowering your client's insulin as opposed to their calories, this will really help. Just so you kind of know for a little bit of background, I started learning about low carb diets about, probably about ten years ago now. So they've started to become a little bit more popularized.
• 2:11
  But I first came into contact with them nearly a decade ago and the way that I actually came into contact with them is really, really interesting because I did a master's degree in performance nutrition. And especially when it comes to like the word ketogenic, my only experience with the word ketogenic diet or keto diet or low carb diets was I was solely like taught that it was just a fad. So for me, the only association I had with low carb diets was that they were a fad. And and again, like, you know, I just qualified as a nutritionist. I had a master's degree in performance nutrition.
• 2:45
  And for me, like, I genuinely thought what I had been told, which was the only thing I really had to do, especially if I was working with a with an individual who solely were just trying to get them to lose weight. The only
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: thing I really had to
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: do was just to get them to lower their calories. And we needed to make sure that we had loads of carbs. Because again, I did a sports nutrition degree where it was like carbs are king, carbs are king, carbs are king. So the thought of lowering someone's carbohydrate intake was really like almost like heresy. So I came out of uni solely with an idea of all I had
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: to do which I'm sure
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: you probably kind of been in a similar situation. Was like
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: the only thing I have
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: to do is just focus on lowering their calories and getting them in a deficit. And I remember, my mom, she had a, she had a book on the side of her bed which I saw which was called the art and science of low carb living. And it's by professor Jeff Volek and Steven Finney. And I remember according to mom, I got picked up. Was like, mom, why are you like buying into all of these fans?
• 3:59
  She's like, no, no, no. Your uncle Sonny gave it to me. I was like, oh, that's interesting. Right among my uncle was head of neurology, specifically the epilepsy ward at Birmingham Children's Hospital. He's one of the most respected doctors in the country, if not the world.
• 4:15
  Like, he now, you know, he now is in Dubai, and he's working at a hospital there. And he is literally, like, one of the the most well respected medical professionals, like, there is. So I said to her, I was like, okay. That's really surprising. Really surprising.
• 4:32
  Because if Sunny's recommending it, then I mean, there must be some legwork into it. I remember what I was actually taught to do with my master's degree was it wasn't a taught master's, it was something called an MRes. So it's a master's of research. So you have two main sort of types of master's when it comes to nutrition anyway. You have an MSc, Master of Science, is really around like you just kind of you go on a course and you just get taught stuff.
• 5:01
  Or you have an MRES, which is a Masters of Research. And that's what I did. And a Masters of Research is effectively where you get taught, not necessarily course content, you get taught how to research. So really how to like critically analyze and effectively how to get closer to the actual answer to the question. So what I'm actually trained to do, and I tell you what, it fucking served me.
• 5:26
  It has served me hugely as a coach because what I was taught to do was actually really that if I was given two research papers, one said orange juice cures cancer. Cancer. The other one says orange juice gives cancer. What I was taught to do is to determine which one is actually worth paying attention to, which has helped me massively, especially like you'll know this in the nutrition world, like with all of the noise that is around, you know, like, around so much kind of confliction and confusion as to what is right. So that's really, really helped me.
• 6:00
  Now the point is that, Sunny, I read this book and, oh my god, the research the level of research that was in this book, I was like, that is just good science, and it makes so much sense. And, yeah, ever since then, like, I've been a huge proponent of low carb diets. Like, I've gone so deep into them, but specifically, I've applied them to myself. Now what has that got to do with me feeling groggy? I think one thing I've really wrestled with over the years has been that my way of doing things is very different.
• 6:37
  Very, very, very different in the nutrition world. I remember when I first got into the the sports nutrition world, like I was really kind of like a bit of a heretic and almost it was like, oh, can we trust this guy? Because I was like a proponent of low carb and ketogenic diets. No one actually looked at the results that I was getting with my athletes. Like when you looked at the some of the results that we used to get, and I still get now just like incredible.
• 7:04
  And you just can't do that with conventional nutritional advice. So, I think one of the things I've always struggled with has been that, you know, I understand a ketogenic diet and a low carb diet better than many people in the industry. And this isn't blowing smoke up my ass. This is solely like, I look at the insane amount of research and understanding that I've gone into when it comes to ketogenic diets. I'm definitely going to be in the top 0.1% of professionals in terms of the knowledge of a ketogenic diet or a low carb diet.
• 7:38
  You know, I've done a PhD in this thing. And even then, when you're constantly surrounded by the noise of carbs are fine, carbs aren't bad for you, make sure that you don't cut carbs out. It's just about the calories. Sometimes it is very hard to stick with your guns and stick with your strategy. So with myself, in my way of eating, I've experimented multiple times of going, well, actually, maybe maybe carbs aren't that bad for me.
• 8:09
  Maybe they don't have that much of a detrimental impact on me. And do know what happens every single time I go and eat more carbs? I feel like shit. I really do. Like this morning, I feel really groggy.
• 8:22
  My joints hurt. And I just that if you've ever been on a ketogenic diet, you'll know what I'm talking about. That clarity, that spark that, oh my God, everything is so easy. That's not there. When I've got carbs that like naturally the brain fog is so much more heightened.
• 8:44
  Now, why do we get brain fog when we excessively consume carbohydrates? Well, there's multiple reasons and you can call it right. Is it brain fog or is it just that the ketogenic diet takes your brain function to a significantly higher level? Personally, I think it's a combination of the two because what you find is that first of all, when the brain is burning glucose and using glucose carbohydrates as a source of fuel, what you find is that you get the production of these things called reactive oxygen species. Long story short, like how you want to look at them is almost like, imagine we've got a car and it's burning a fuel and we've loads of fumes coming out the back.
• 9:24
  It's almost like a dirty, almost like a dirty burning source of fuel. Whereas when the brain is running on ketones, those that production of those reactive oxygen species and free radicals so much lower. So it's almost like instead of having dirty fumes coming out the back of the car, you just have steam. And, and that is how your brain almost kinda like feels when you were ketogenic. That's how I feel now.
• 9:52
  It's almost like I've got this film of fog across my brain. But then also when you look at the actual like ketones themselves, have a lower level of inflammation associated with utilizing them. Then also, and I spoke about this on a previous podcast episode, you have this compound called BDNF. So brain derived neurotropic factor. And, you know, when you've done some form of exercise or if you've been in a fasted state and your ability to think clearly is really, really there.
• 10:24
  What part of that is, is this increase in production of BDNF. And I spoke about this on the episode where I, I believe it was a quick lesson in the ketogenic diet. Where really what you find is that ketones, the presence of ketones in the brain drives up the brain's ability to use BDNF. But then when the brain is using BDNF, the brain's ability to use ketones drives up, which then means that you can use more BDNF, which means more ketones, blah, blah, blah. So it's a really, really nice cycle.
• 11:01
  So the point that I'm kind of getting at here is I'm not going to give you a lesson on that because I went deep into that on that episode. But I think really the lesson is here is that I know that carbs don't serve me. I know that. Yet the outside world says that they do. Yet whenever I go and use them, I feel like shit.
• 11:24
  Whenever I trust my own convictions and I don't have any form of carb, I feel great. And everything functions really well. I don't feel bloated. I don't feel lethargic. I think insanely clearly.
• 11:40
  My exercise performance goes up. I get leaner. My muscle mass goes up. I I can yeah. I don't feel groggy and yeah.
• 11:50
  So what's this got to do with you? One of my favorite things that I've read was there comes a point where you have to stop looking externally for your answers and start looking internally. And I'm a big you know, if you followed this podcast for a while or you followed me, you'll know that one of my favorite books that connects with me so deeply is a beautiful book called The Alchemist. And, it's really there's many messages within that book, many messages. But one thing that I really took from it is everything that you ever need is already here, but also the heed the omens.
• 12:29
  So what do I mean by heed the omens? It's almost like what are all of the messages that you're currently being exposed to and what can you learn? Like, what is the universe telling you right now? And the message that keeps coming up and coming up and coming up and coming up for me is that when I have trusted the so called experts, it's actually decreased the quality of my life. And that actually there comes a point where I just need to trust myself.
• 12:57
  Now I'm definitely getting better and better and better and better and better at that. But for you, the point I'm getting at is that, you know, if you are on my membership or, you know, if you've been following me for some time, you'll know that I'm a proponent of, like, kind of mentioned like lower carb ways of doing things, you know, lowering your client's insulin as opposed to lowering their calories. Now the problem is you're going to be met. You are going to be met with resistance and that resistance is going to come from other coaches, nutritionists, maybe even your clients. And this is why it is so important to apply it to yourself because you can speak from that experience.
• 13:39
  Not only can I speak from the experience of, hey, when I've used low carb diets with my clients before, we've got results? But I can also speak from a place of my own knowledge that I've acquired in terms of the information that I've learned. But more importantly, the experience I have when I eat carbs. Bless me. So, you know, you don't have to take everything that I teach as gospel and you don't have to go, oh, Callum said it, so it must be right.
• 14:10
  I almost don't want you to do that. I want you to make up your own mind, and trust yourself. And I want you to use all of the information I provide you as things to go and explore and experiment. If you experiment with them on yourself and you're like, nah, that did not work. If you experiment it on your clients, nah, that did not work.
• 14:33
  Then trust yourself. Have the courage of your convictions. One thing I will say is it will work. Anyway, but like I said, that there comes a point where you have to start looking internally for your answers as opposed to externally. So that's kind of rich considering I'm I'm providing you with an educational podcast.
• 14:56
  But, you know, go with your gut. Like, go with your gut in terms of what you feel is right. Because I've found when I've gone away from that, that's when things have started to go south. So anyway, I'm feeling very groggy, lethargic. Yeah.
• 15:17
  What am I gonna do about it? So process has already started. I got some sunlight this morning. I slept exceptionally well. Slept exceptionally well.
• 15:27
  My level of caffeine is lower than it normally would be. I'm just about to go to the gym. I am staying hydrated. Today is solely a very much a ketogenic day. So post exercise, I'm gonna do a resistance exercise session today, and I forgot my headphones.
• 15:44
  I say forgot my headphones. I forgot them and had the opportunity to go and get them. And I deliberately said, no, I'm not going to do that because I'm going to do more of a mindful resistance exercise session today. So that's gonna be exciting. But after that session, I'm going to whack a whey protein shake down me.
• 16:04
  I'm at David Lloyd, and they do a smoothie which is whey protein, almond milk, peanut butter, and banana. It's called the top banana. However, I am a ketogenic individual, which means that I'm going to order a top banana without the banana. Yes. That is what I'm doing.
• 16:24
  So yeah. So we've got that. And then, I'll probably have an omelet and finish my dinner about six. I reckon, yeah, about 06:00, I'm ready to finish my dinner mainly for the reason of I can get bit more of a longer fast in tomorrow. I've got my client with me all day, which is fantastic.
• 16:44
  When, when guys come onto my elite program, I have, a full day with them. So tomorrow would be more of a fasted state. There So we go. Anyway, I'm gonna go hop in the
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: gym, and I'm gonna leave you
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: with this. If every single one of your clients gave you just one new client, you've doubled your business. But are you giving them a good enough reason to recommend you? If not, get in touch.