Fueling Peak Performance Through Food

For most of my life, I never thought about nutrition. I was the kind of person who lived off cheeseburgers, assumed Subway was healthy because of commercials, and believed that as long as I was eating food, I was doing fine.

That changed dramatically in 2017 when I started waking up every morning with severe nausea. I could barely function, even as I was building a new startup. My body felt like it was falling apart—persistent sinus infections, swollen lymph nodes, and digestive issues that left me exhausted.

I saw multiple doctors and specialists, tried antibiotics, and even got a biopsy. Nothing helped. Eventually, someone at my gym told me it might be nutrition. I laughed—after all, I'd watched a lot of Grey’s Anatomy, and no one ever solved their medical issues with a diet change. But I was desperate, so I gave it a shot.

Working with a nutritionist, I started an elimination diet. In just a few weeks without dairy, eggs, and soy, my body began to feel drastically better. A few reintroduction experiments told me all I needed to know: my body couldn’t handle those foods. And yet, the biggest realization came from a mistake.

One night, I accidentally ate someone else's food delivery that was soaked in soy sauce. I got violently sick—and that was the final clue. Cutting soy, eggs, and dairy transformed my health. I haven’t had a sinus infection or cold since.

Years later, I started wondering if soy was still sneaking into my diet—through animals. After learning that even “grass-fed” meat only needs to be 51% grass-fed to earn that label, I decided to run another experiment. I cut out all animal products for three weeks.

Then I tried reintroducing fish. One meal of sushi made me sick for three days.

That was it. I’ve been plant-based ever since.

This wasn’t an overnight transformation—it came from years of paying close attention to how my body responded to food. I now eat in a way that aligns with my performance goals and longevity. I aim to consume energy as directly as possible from the sun, through photosynthesis, rather than secondhand through an animal.

Nutrition is personal. I’m not here to tell you what diet to follow. But if you’re not feeling your best, start by asking what you’re putting into your body—and be open to the idea that your fuel might be the problem, not just your symptoms.