Foggy Brain? Hard to Focus? Struggling to Make a Decision? Try This 1 Thing

0:10 - Hey, Kimberly, what's going on over there?

0:12 - Hey, hey, hey.

0:13 - Alright. Hey, music.

0:15 - What's that song that starts like that? Hey, hey.

0:18 - There is a song. I'm with you. You know, with you. My brain is not firing off just yet. I got to think about it. It's going to come back to me in the next 20 minutes or so. I go, okay. Remember? I remember.

0:28 - Yeah, man, I'm good. I'm firing on all eight cylinders over here. Yeah, everything but my vocal cords. Are they're not kind of firing today? I don't know what's going on?

0:37 - What's going on?

0:38 - I don't know. Yeah, I got this little cough, I don't know, three weeks ago, kind of a little thing, and then it went away. But my vocal cords just feel strained. Do you hear it?

0:50 - I don't hear it maybe as much as you're hearing it. Maybe it's your inner ear that's hearing it.

0:54 - And my inner ear is hearing it as well. So it's like, did I lose my voice? What's happening?

0:59 - No, you didn't lose your voice. I think all the listeners today, they're really going to turn it up right now.

1:04 - Do you all hear it? Maybe me. Maybe it feels a little deeper, a little sexier.

1:09 - I do hear it a little deeper. I'm hearing you talk. A little lower.

1:13 - A little lower. That's the way it's going to be today, people.

1:18 - Oh, boy. You are fired up.

1:20 - I am fired up. Let me tell you. I've had my protein today and I am fired up. I'm just feeling amazing with this new quest I'm on this year.

1:31 - We are past the celery juice. I mean, I'm still thinking about that celery juice. I still remember when Kroger delivered you a double dose. Yes. And you were trying to find room in your fridge for all of the celery. I remember the pictures.

1:44 - Yeah. I didn't even have to throw any of that out. I drank all of that as celery juice.

1:49 - Well, here we are. We're already at the end of February, and you're still rocking this whole kind of I don't know what I want to call it? Diet? A health focus, a new way of life. All right, so what's keeping you on track?

2:03 - I would say this is probably the easiest thing I have ever done when it comes to my health, my fitness, and just a way of life.

2:13 - Whoa, did you say easiest? Because, you know, easiest when I hear easy, I've got that button on my desk that's like the easy button.

2:21 - Yes.

2:22 - So what is so easy about this? I want some of this energy.

2:26 - Well, so the things that are changed for me is my focus on nutrition. Used to, I would cut my calories way back and I would just be starving and hungry and irritable, and it wasn't a good feeling. Nobody likes feeling hungry. Right. And so cutting calories for me just didn't work so well. So now I am doing what they call reverse dieting. Reverse dieting, if you want to look.

2:56 - It up, reverse dieting, yeah.

2:59 - And it's really getting your body enough calories and enough protein to rev your metabolism, because if you think about what I've done in all of these years, since high school, I have tried every diet pill, every shot, every Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, whatever's come along. I'm like, Let me try that. And it's not that I've been wildly overweight. It's just my weight, yoyos, and I just never liked it. So here I am, and I'm two months in with this of this thought process, whatever you want to call it, program. I would say program of eating more protein and eating more calories so that I can build muscle and rev up my metabolism. It's just great. I'm never hungry. I'm always satiated. I feel alive, energetic, motivated, strong, healthy. I'm able to focus. My brain fog is gone. And I will tell you, my performance at work has definitely improved as a result of it.

4:04 - Man, that is so just cool to hear, right? I mean, there's so many things I'm like, wait a minute, stop, stop. I want to talk a little bit more about that. But the thing that I'm just like, whoa, you really don't want to have pizza? I mean, come on, man.

4:19 - Now, it's not that I don't want to have pizza. I would say I am loving the way I feel so much that I know that if I just would eat pizza like I would normally eat pizza, like, all the time, right? I'm just not going to feel this good. And so I want to feel this good more than I want to eat that pizza.

4:38 - There you go.

4:39 - And it's not that I can't eat pizza. That's the beauty of it all. It's because there is a certain number of calories and a certain amount of protein that I need to eat every day. The formula is 1 gram of protein per ideal body weight. Per pound of ideal body weight.

4:54 - Okay. That is a lot of protein.

4:56 - That is a lot of protein, especially for women. If you look, as a woman, just track your meals for a day and look and see how much protein you're getting. If you don't already understand this and you're not focused on this, I think the measure is somewhere, like, around 50 grams. Most women are 50 grams in a.

5:15 - Day, and I don't think any of us are 50 pounds.

5:18 - No. I mean, there may be some that are 115 or 120, but you think about that, and you are really low on protein.

5:27 - What's the impact of that? Because I'm curious about this. You and I have been talking offline a lot about this, and you've been trying to help me to understand this. So if I'm only getting 50 grams in a day, what's the impact?

5:40 - You are not able to with 50 grams. I mean, you can eat, right? And you can sustain. Your body gets used to that, but you're unable to build and maintain muscle mass. Right? So sometimes when you're eating your 50 grams and you lose a little weight, you're not going to be losing fat, you're probably going to be losing some muscle with that. And as you get older, as you get older, you need all the muscle you can get to be strong into your you'll be able to carry bags of groceries, Upsteps and things like that.

6:13 - And it's an interesting comment, and I will tell you something I read or heard somewhere along the way was as we age, I have an aging parent. And one of the things I always think about her is balance and falling. And that's something that is really it's nerve wracking a little bit for me. She's already fallen and that was a big deal for us. And so I do, I think about her ability to just manage the normal everyday steps, curbs all of that that she's doing, and just how important building muscle is to keeping the balance. And I think as we age, there's probably some loss that's going on there and we forget that, you know what, I probably need to keep doing some lunges or some squats just to keep the muscles healthy, growing strong, all of those things as I age. But it also takes the diet, it takes the number of protein grams I'm having every day. Is that essentially what you're saying here?

7:08 - Yeah, people that are tracking their macros, like this much protein, this much carbs, this much fat. But I would say just keep it simple. Just get your protein. I don't even care what the fat and the carbs are, but just get your protein. Yes. So that you can keep your muscle, so you can build muscle, so that you can somewhere in your still be strong enough to do what you need to do, what you want to do. And I agree with that. It also goes along with some activity, either strength training, just something so that you can get your muscles firing. So that let's just say as you stumble and fall, when you get older, you've got to have that quickness in your feet to be able to catch yourself. And if you're not working on those things now, that's when you're going to have a problem later.

7:59 - All right, so I got the diet thing down. I'm hearing you loud and clear on the protein. I have personally been trying to track my protein and get an idea of exactly what am I doing every day. And it was sad. It was very sad. And the way I started doing this is I got that app that you recommended, the Lose It app.

8:16 - Lose it. Yep.

8:17 - That was an excellent recommendation. I really appreciate that because that really has helped me figure out, okay, what am I eating and what is the value of the things that I'm eating right? Am I getting any protein in whatever I'm eating at that point?

8:32 - Was it shocking?

8:34 - Shocking is an understatement. It was embarrassing. I really started to realize almost in the first week just how much I eat that is. There's really just no nutritional value. Yeah, it's more of like, I just want to have a cookie and there's really nothing valuable in that cookie and.

8:53 - Know why to eat the cookie. There's no why behind you eat the cookie. That other than I just want it.

8:57 - I just want it. I just want it. And I'm feeling good the rest of the day. And I'm really not feeling good the rest of the day. That was the other connection for me when I started to track, I started to see the connection back to how I'm feeling overall and also how I'm sleeping. My sleep is starting to change a little bit more, and that's really been so good for me. I was having some oh, man. Just terrible time sleeping over the last year.

9:21 - Yeah, I think we even talked about that on a couple of episodes ago. You were having trouble sleeping.

9:24 - Brutal, man. I mean, it is brutal when you wake up at 03:00 in the morning and there is just no way you're going back to bed and I can be awake hanging out on my phone. I am one of those, and it's not good. But I'm just like, come on, go back to bed. Go back to bed. And finally I give up. So I start. Whatever. I start reading, working, linking, whatever it is, and now I'm not doing it. I'm sleeping through the night.

9:49 - Which is also important for your muscle synthesis. I mean, that's good. So if you didn't hear it so.

9:56 - Important, try out that lose it app. It is worth the $40. It's $40 for a year. Not bad. It is every bit worth of the $40 just to even see what am I eating and what is the contribution back to my body.

10:09 - Yeah. My fitness pal, I think, does that lose it. And I think you can get the free one. Right? You don't have to pay. You can get the free one. But I like all the information and the data that comes with the yeah.

10:18 - You like a little bit.

10:19 - Yeah, and I think I got it half off. I think you do, yeah. It was like a special at the beginning of the year. Of the year. But anyway, what's incredible is if a year ago, you would have said to me, yes, I want you to track what you eat. And say I thought, oh, brother. Are you kidding me right now? My husband tracks all his food, all of that. It's important to know. But here I am, a year later, I am tracking this food, and it has changed my relationship with food. Now, I may eat a cookie, but there's a reason behind why I eat that Cookie, it's because I'm either low on carbs or I'm low on calories, and I got to get my calories in before nightfall. And if I'm low and I've eaten all my protein and I've eaten everything I'm supposed to eat, well, guess what? Hey, Cookie, you and I are getting ready to get it on over here. But there's a purpose behind what I eat, when I eat, and why I eat it. And it has completely changed my relationship with food. The way I look at food, the. Way I think about food, it doesn't have the power over me. But I would say sometimes that cookie would be sitting there like, Kimberly, come to me. Yeah, it's not like that. It's like, I'm going to eat you because I need you to build some muscle over here. Yeah.

11:37 - So you're constantly thinking about muscle at this point now.

11:39 - Yeah.

11:40 - All right. So I'm going to go back to that easy button. I heard this is easy, easiest thing I've ever done. And I also heard that you've done a lot of other things over your life. So boil it down to me. What's the one or two easiest things that you love about the way you're thinking about your diet, your body, your health, whatever? I'm a listener. I'm out there and I'm like, give me one nugget, Kimberly, that I can start thinking about today and maybe implement today.

12:08 - Listen, I'm going to break it down this way if you're interested in getting in shape. And when I talk about this is what my goals are, is to be lean, right? So lean and muscular. Not bodybuilder, but lean and muscular. Lose body fat. And I don't want to have to spend countless hours in the gym cardio. I hate cardio. And I don't want to have to be hungry. If that is the formula that you want, this is it. This is it.

12:39 - And where am I going to start? What am I going to do?

12:41 - All about the protein. You're going to figure out what your ideal body weight and you're going to eat. If you did nothing else but just eat that protein, I would say that is a place to start.

12:50 - All right, then.

12:51 - If you really, really want to build muscle faster, get to the gym, get some weights at your house, get some type of strength training going. 15 minutes, whatever you can do consistently. 15 minutes, three times a week. 20 minutes, three times a week. 30 minutes, three times a week, whatever you can do consistently. And watch your body change. Now, listen, people, this is not the fast pill.

13:17 - Right there.

13:18 - This is not the bullet train. Wonderful physique. This is a slow process, but it.

13:25 - Is a it's a lifetime.

13:27 - It's a lifetime. But again, I'm going to tell you, it's the easiest thing I've ever done.

13:33 - You are with it. You are on it. You are like, let's do this thing.

13:38 - Yes.

13:39 - So no more celery juice. We're trying our protein and we're eating good, healthy, lean proteins.

13:44 - Yes, healthy, lean protein. So I'm talking egg whites, chicken, fish, beef, the stuff like that. And when I need to supplement, when I can't get my whole 150 calories in, well, then I'm going to have to have a protein shake, a yummy one. And I highly recommend Oregon.

14:00 - Oh, gosh. We are just pumping the products today.

14:03 - Or gain, because it's plant based. It doesn't blow my stomach, I tell you, or gain. It's really, really good. Listen, you know what's funny, Pepper, is this is a leadership podcast. Here we are talking about what's the connection?

14:17 - I mean, there's a very strong connection here. I already heard it, you already said it. So if people who are listening today didn't hear the connection, I'd be like, how did you miss the connection? Because there's a very clear connection to how you're feeling and how you show up every day. And you said it. You started it off with this whole episode, and it was, I am firing off on all eight cylinders. So give us the very clear connection back to leadership.

14:43 - It's pretty simple. One is when leadership becomes about other people and not just about you. Right. It's about a little bit of balance of both. You've got to be focused on yourself, but when you are not at your best, you're not going to be able to give what you need to give to your team, to the other people around you, to your peers, to your job, your roles, your responsibilities, all those things that you're supposed to be focused on. It's just going to be so hard. And I realize that what I'm giving now, my 100% now and my 100% a year ago are totally different. Totally different. And so I think getting your body where you're feeling good will also help you be able to be your best in your leadership, in your friendships and your relationships at home and at work everywhere.

15:35 - Yeah, I can see that completely. Right. And I feel it personally. I may not be in the same track that you're on. I'm trying to catch up. I'm kind of like, at the very end of your train. I'm hanging on to the caboose. I'm like, don't leave me, Kimberly.

15:48 - We're going to the gym right after this, just so you know.

15:50 - We are going to go because we need to. I need to. But the thing for me specifically has been again, I cannot say it enough, is you got to rest. But it's got to be good, quality rest.

16:05 - Yes.

16:05 - Here's another product. We're just pumping the products today. But for me, it's my watch. I love my watch. I don't have the Apple Watch. I have a Garmin watch, and I love how it tracks my sleep. It gives me some metrics on my sleep. It tells me how good of a rest I'm getting so we can sleep all night long. And that's what I was doing. I would get a good nine, even 10 hours of sleep on the weekend and I would wake up and I would still feel like I'm not there, I'm not focused. Why do I feel so lousy? I just woke up. I need my coffee. Well, yes, I can sleep, but it doesn't mean it's good sleep quality.

16:42 - Sleep quality, like deep rest.

16:45 - That's right. And now I'm very much focused on what is my night look like, how many hours am I getting and what kind of rest am I getting? Is my body really resting in the night? And that's where I'm focused. And I will tell you, I can tell a big difference. I can tell a huge difference when I'm walking into work and I've had a good night's rest, sleep deep, all of those things. And I'm able to focus and I'm able to do what my team needs. I'm able to bring my best and do my best versus when I'm really struggling just to kind of make it happen. You know, I'm trying to struggle to get out of bed, struggle to get dressed, struggling to get to the office with my cup of coffee in hand. Yeah, it's the whole like, start your.

17:31 - Engine and you're like, there is no gas. Sorry. The cylinders are not going to be firing at all today. Are they just half firing? Yeah.

17:40 - And it took me some time to really understand, gosh, you can rest and you can close your eyes and you can lay down and do all of that, but it doesn't mean that it's good. And I don't think I really understood that until this last probably two years, that there is a level of quality that's happening now. We're not going to go off and sell a mattress, although I know you have some sort of recommendation another time.

18:00 - But I want to say what's really cool is when you start really focusing on your health and your nutrition, then you start digging into, like, what else? What else is out there that's keeping me from being my best? And so having a watch, your garmin watch, my Apple Watch, having something that will help you track your sleep, having something like the Lose It app that helps you track your macros. I'm telling you, that type of data is crucial to crucial to success is all I could say.

18:30 - It's funny, I'm sitting here listening to you and kind of thinking about this as leaders or as employees, as people who work on teams, everybody who's listening. We use Outlook like it's going out of style. Right? I mean, that is a tool that we spent a lot of time in.

18:45 - Just think what life would be like if you didn't have Outlook.

18:48 - Well, and it's not just that, but just think if you used a tool about your health as much as you did as Outlook. Yeah. So if you're spending 2 hours on Outlook a day. 3 hours on Outlook a day. If you had the same amount of time on an app that was about your health, what would that look like?

19:06 - Incredible. And it doesn't take two or 3 hours. It literally takes seconds. Seconds. They make it so easy. But I agree that's how going through life without having some type of data is like, literally like going through life, work, life without Outlook. It's just like you're just winging it.

19:25 - Yeah, you're flying blind.

19:26 - Yeah.

19:26 - You're like, I don't know who emailed me today. I don't know what they need. Yeah, I'm supposed to be somewhere today. Yeah.

19:33 - You're always behind the ball.

19:34 - Find some tools. Find things that work for you, that help you focus inward and keep you determined, keep you consistent, keep you thinking about what you're doing on the inside and what is actually coming out on the outside and what people are seeing.

19:51 - Yeah. Keeps you positive, keeps you motivated, keeps you healthy.

19:54 - Look, before we wrap this one up, this one was a fun one. We didn't even really talk about work all that much or talk about leading others. We really talked about ourselves in thinking about what we're bringing every day. But before we close out, Kim, I want to talk about that new website.

20:08 - Have you seen that? Has anybody seen our new website? I love it. I think it's so cool.

20:14 - Come on. We rolled out a brand new logo and cover art.

20:20 - Let me just tell you, you got to see it. If you have not seen it, go to the website. You got to see it, because what was so cool about that, the artwork and all of that is we worked with someone, right? And we had no idea where we would end up. And it was just a wonderful process for them to lead us through. What do you want it to be? What do you want it to say? And we ended up in a way different place than I thought we would have.

20:43 - Oh, my goodness. And the designer, I mean, they're trying to bring our two ideas together and marry them, and they would ask those questions, right? They're like, okay, answer this question, and you and I would answer those independently. And then the designer would be like, I have no idea.

20:58 - Can you all get on the same page?

20:59 - How are we going to bring this together and get on one page? But we did. We got a new logo. We have new cover art. And I got to say, I'm so excited about the COVID art. It's just different. I got some feedback the other day. Somebody said, I had to really look at that. It drew my attention, and I'm like, yeah, that's what we were going for. So the other thing that I love is the actual application itself or the design of the website.

21:26 - Yes.

21:26 - We also had a designer do that--somebody else, and there's all these bells and whistles in there.

21:32 - I'm telling you, I didn't even know. And they would start to point out these bells and whistles, and I was like, I would have never thought it out. That that is cool. Some super cool things that are in this website that we did not have in our last website.

21:44 - And one specific thing that I would draw everybody's attention to is the fact that they can play an episode while they're browsing the site and listen. You and I might be like, okay, but from a web development perspective, that's a pretty big deal. We haven't necessarily seen other podcast sites that can do that. So go check it out. Give us some feedback. We'd love to know what you think. And the other thing we're working on, girl, the other thing we're working on that we got to mention is this whole piece of transcripts.

22:19 - Are you not going to mention the transcripts? Because that stuff is like, yes, and.

22:25 - It helps our listeners to go exactly wherever they want to within an episode and listen to very specific things. So, for example, on this, when we talked about health and fitness, the impact of that on our leadership, now you can go in there and you can figure out where you want to start out with the episode. You don't have to listen to the whole entire thing anymore, and we're perfectly fine with that. Listen to whatever speaks to you and what you need for the week. So thank you so much for joining us. We hope you have enjoyed a little bit of a different conversation today. We spent some time talking about protein and sleep and strength training. This is not a health podcast, but today it is about you. And it is about you getting focused on what really matters, and it's about your health, what you're bringing every day.

23:11 - Listen, normally, I'm going to sit here and say, hey, share this with your leadership friends and don't forget to subscribe. But you all know that y'all been around here, so I have a new ask. If you like this podcast, wherever you listen to it, apple, Spotify, whatever. We need those five stars. That really helps put us at the top of the list for leadership podcasts so that other people that you don't know can get it. So if you love this podcast, don't forget to give us five stars. Don't forget to subscribe. If you haven't already subscribed, don't forget to come back again for an extra shot of leadership.

23:46 - I remember the song now. Hey, hey, hey, hey. It's yeah. Oh, man. She's a very sneaky girl or something like that.