September 2025
What I Eat (and Don’t Stress About) When I Travel
I recently took a trip to Scottsdale, AZ, with eight friends I’ve known for decades. The trip had it all: baseball (despite a Phils loss), river tubing, golf, and classic southwest scenery and weather.
I don’t get on a plane often, but one question I get a lot is, “What do you eat when you travel?” We had some solid meals, but in between, it was mostly comfort food like pizza, wings, and breakfast sandwiches. That is, the standard for a guy’s trip.
Knowing that, I approached it the same way I always do: by focusing on the “bookends” (what I do before and after) and by adjusting my mindset during the trip.
Before the trip: I stocked up on the things I knew I’d be missing like probiotics, fish, vegetables, and colorful foods, to front-load nutrients. I also added extra workouts, almost like a loading phase, so I use the lack of exercise to both recover and mitigate any further stress to my body.
During the trip: I made small adjustments where possible: limiting snacks, cutting back on processed carbs, drinking plenty of water with electrolytes, taking my standard supplements, and getting in long fasted walks/run. I also shed any guilt and focus on enjoying what is in front of me.
After the trip: I shifted into recovery mode: nutrient-dense foods, extra protein, a 24-hour fast, sauna, extra sleep, and heavy workouts to reset.
Mindset: I never expect a trip like this to resemble a meditation retreat. Trips like this aren’t about discipline; they’re about enjoying the time away with good friends. These weekends are rare, and I’m not going to let minor health detours overshadow them. I know I’ll eat differently and sleep less, but that’s part of the deal. My baseline is strong, and my body is built to handle a few days outside the norm.
Travel will always knock you off balance. The trick is preparing on the front end, recovering afterward, and giving yourself the freedom to live fully in the middle.
—Brian
🎙️ The Growth Kit (Podcast)
🥇 Best of the Month
“We are simultaneously gods and worms.”
—Abraham Maslow
🎧 Podcast: The Most Important Financial Skills: Getting the Goalpost to Stop Moving by Morgan Housel
📖 Book: The Orchid and the Dandelion: Why Sensitive Children Face Challenges and How All Can Thrive by Thomas Boyce MD
🎁 Product: Harkla Sensory Compression Sheet. This is literally a cool, stretchy blanket that wraps around the bed. Slide between it and the bed and you’re in for a full night of compression. The newest addition to my sensory seeker’s room.
❓ Question of the Month
Q: How often should I detox, or should I at all?
A: The idea of “detoxing” has become popular, but your liver, kidneys, skin, and lungs already do a remarkable job removing toxins every day. There’s no evidence that juice cleanses, restrictive fasts, or “detox teas” improve how your body naturally detoxifies. In fact, extreme cleanses can lead to nutrient deficiencies, dehydration, or blood sugar swings.
What does work? Supporting your body’s built-in detox systems:
Sweating: Regular exercise, sauna, or even hot baths encourage sweat, which helps release certain waste products through the skin.
Fiber: Insoluble fiber (from veggies, nuts, seeds) keeps things moving in the gut, while soluble fiber (from oats, beans, flax, chia) binds to bile acids and supports toxin elimination.
Bowel Regularity: Making sure you “get things out” daily helps prevent waste from sitting too long in the digestive tract.
Breathing Practices: Deep breathing improves oxygen exchange and helps expel carbon dioxide efficiently.
Adequate Sleep: Nightly restoration is when your brain clears metabolic waste via the glymphatic system.
⏱️ Brutal by Design
Each month I share one brutally hard workout, something that challenges strength, grit, and capacity. These won’t be efficient or beginner-friendly. They’re designed to hurt.
Glute Lockdown
Purpose: Strengthen hips, glutes, and trunk with targeted volume
Equipment: Dumbbell or mini-band
Workout:
Fire Hydrants: 3x10
Split Squat with Forward Lean: 3x10/leg
Superman Reaches: 3x20
Single Leg Dead Lift with dumbbells: 3x10/leg
Optional Misery: Do this 7 Way Hips video.
💡 Things I’ve Learned
🧠 Mind
The Brain Health 17
A massive review (59 meta-analyses, nearly 400k people) identified 17 lifestyle factors that shape stroke, dementia, and late-life depression risk. Biggest dangers: high blood pressure (β 130), poor kidney function (101), high glucose (94), smoking (91), and bad sleep (76). Biggest protectors: cognitive activity (−91), exercise (−56), and purpose in life (−50).
Do this: Track BP, walk daily, read nightly, and protect sleep.
Meditation Flips Deep Brain Waves
For the first time, researchers directly recorded how meditation reshapes the deep brain. During loving-kindness practice, participants showed boosted gamma activity in 75–86% of participants and shortened beta bursts in both the amygdala and hippocampus. These shifts are linked to better mood regulation and inward focus, right in the circuits tied to memory and emotion.
Do this: Keep it simple and start with one short loving-kindness session each day; consistency matters more than length.
Memento Mori
Remembering we will die sharpens what matters. It strips away the trivial, fosters gratitude, and gives us the courage to make clear choices and live with purpose today. Here is a nice visual of my own impermanence. Type your birthday in here for yours.
💪 Body
How Boston Runners Got Faster
This large-scale Boston Marathon study (917 runners) showed that higher weekly mileage (~40-42) and more quality sessions predicted faster race times in both the 12–4 and 4–0 month blocks. In the final 4 months, adding cross-training (up to one extra day a week) was tied to a ~6-minute faster finish. Surprisingly, athletes who reduced their weekly run frequency compared to earlier months also ran faster, trimming ~3 minutes off their time. In short, the Boston formula is big base + sharp sessions + fewer days, not more.
Do this: If your goal is a longer race, use these takeaways: build mileage and 1–2 hard workouts early, then 4 months out, trim a run day, add cross-training, and focus on race-specific quality.
Semaglutide’s Strength Trade-Off
Semaglutide accelerates weight loss, but this trial showed lean mass makes up ~40% of that loss. Women and older adults were most vulnerable, especially if protein intake was low, leading to weaker gains in blood sugar control. My take: weight on the scale isn’t the full story—muscle is the hidden currency of health.
Do this: Focus on preserving muscle through diet (protein ~0.8 g/lb) and strength work if you’re using GLP-1s.
Fitness First, Weight Second
A meta-analysis of 398k+ people found that fitness drove outcomes more than BMI. Overweight-fit and obese-fit showed no significant increase in all-cause or CVD mortality versus normal-weight-fit, while every unfit group had ~2–3× higher risk. Sex, age, and follow-up duration didn’t change the all-cause story much. Translation: improving cardiorespiratory fitness is a high-leverage, weight-independent way to cut risk.
Do this: Walk daily, add hard intervals, lift twice a week, sleep, and eat for energy, not convenience. Prioritize fitness over the number on the scale.
🎯 Dad
Digital Junk Food
Kids now average 6–8 hours/day of screen time, with teens logging over 2,700 hours/year (more time than in school). Excess use is linked to 40% higher sleep problems, shorter attention spans, and a 30% increase in depression risk. The authors of this analysis argue we should treat digital exposure like nutrition: regulate, balance, and protect developing brains with global standards.
Do this: Track your child’s screen “servings,” prioritize active use (create > consume), cut screens before bed, and build tech-free rituals around meals and family time.
Childhood Obesity, Adult Diseases
An analysis of 25,847 kids (2008–2023) shows extreme obesity (a BMI ≥160% of 95th percentile) has tripled! This group carries disproportionate disease risk—fatty liver, insulin resistance, diabetes—all showing up before adulthood. Public health experts call this a generational crisis.
Do this: We don't need more awareness. We need coordinated interventions: policy, school nutrition changes, and community programs. At home, shift the focus from weight to metabolic health: balanced meals, strength + cardio activity, and early lab screenings for at-risk kids.
Kids’ Cereals Are Getting Unhealthier
New research analyzed 1,200 children’s ready-to-eat cereals launched between 2010 and 2023. The findings are stark: fat (+34%), sodium (+32%), sugar (+11%), while protein (-14%) and fiber (-23%) have dropped. One serving can provide nearly half of a child’s daily sugar limit.
Worst Offenders: Brightly colored cereals with marshmallows or chocolate bits. These tend to have the highest sugar and lowest protein/fiber.
Do This: If you do give your kids cereal in the morning, swap sugary cereals for high-fiber, protein-rich alternatives (my favorites are here). Even better, make protein-rich whole foods like eggs, Greek yogurt, or nut butters.
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