When I stripped away the excesses from my diet—sweets, booze, and meat—I stumbled upon a transformative power that reshaped my life. It's Thad David here, your host and former Marine recon scout sniper, and I'm thrilled to share with you how the art of subtraction has revolutionized my health and personal well-being. This isn't just my own tale; it's an homage to the veterans and listeners who've dramatically altered their lives by simply taking away rather than piling on. Our 101st episode is a veritable celebration of the victories and revelations that come from letting go, proving that sometimes, less truly is more.
Prepare to be captivated as we traverse the journey of self-awareness, especially in the realm of what we consume, from the food on our plates to the media we absorb. I'll recount the eye-opening experiences of eliminating meat from my diet, unveiling its surprising influence on my body, particularly the disappearance of knee pain and the surge in sleep quality. I'll challenge you to scrutinize your own daily habits, urging you to excise certain elements for a spell to discern their genuine impact on your life. Join me as we discover the control we have over our health and happiness, not by adding more, but by masterfully editing our lives for the better.
Contact Thad - VictoriousVeteranProject@Gmail.com
Thanks for listening!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Where do you feel you want to add more things into
your life so you can gainsomething?
And really ask yourself thequestion have you considered
cutting some stuff out?
Have you considered removingthings out of your life in order
to maybe get a better result?
And as I think about it, Irealize the difficulty of this
concept, because I only havethis in hindsight.
(00:20):
I didn't realize the gains thatI was going to get by
subtracting.
I was just slashing stuff out.
Whatever I could cut out, itwas just going.
In fact, I was cutting out,adding stuff in all over the
place, and once I realized whatthe cutting out was doing, it
really gave me perspective toreally understand how these
things were impacting my life.
(00:42):
And so I realized for you, youmight not know, you might not
understand exactly what to cutout.
I know that I didn't when I wasstarting out.
I just know that once I startedcutting things out, it really
put me in a space where I couldadd it back in and see what it
was actually doing.
And once I actually found thebenefits of subtracting stuff
out, that became a focal pointfor me.
(01:03):
My name is Thad David.
I'm a former Marine recon scoutsniper with two deployments to
Iraq.
As a civilian, I've nowfacilitated hundreds of personal
and professional developmenttrainings across the country,
and it struck me recently thatthe same things that help
civilians will also helpveterans succeed in their new
roles as well.
Join me as we define civiliansuccess principles to inspire
(01:24):
veteran victories.
Again, before you add, throughthe last 18 months I've had
several messages from veteransand people all along the way
that have been turning theirlives around in a positive
direction.
It's blown me away to see thereach that we've been able to
have and just the lives we'vebeen able to help out all along
the way.
So I wanted to take a moment tosay thank you.
(01:45):
Thank you to all of you, keepputting in the great work, and
please let me know how I'm ableto help.
I love to hear what we can doto support you in a better way.
I'm also proud to mention thatwe've been able to put together
our first hundred episodes.
In fact, this one is number 101.
And I've been looking back andreflecting on all of it, at how
much time it's taken to createthis much content, and I wanted
(02:07):
to really reflect on what wasthe biggest lesson that I
learned from all of you from allof this content all along the
way, and anytime in my life thatI've wanted to do something
different, change something.
It usually comes with me askingthe question what do I need to
add into my life to make thishappen?
What do I need to add somethingdifferent?
For instance, if I wanted toget in shape, what workout do I
(02:29):
need to add in?
What pre-workout orpost-workout drink do I need to
add into my diet?
How much earlier do I need towake up so I can add more time
into my day?
As my knee and my back pain gotworse during these intense
training sessions, I startedlooking at what supplements
don't need to add in.
What joint supplements can Iadd into my regimen to maybe
help mitigate the pain that Iwas experiencing?
And if I wanted to improve arelationship with my kids, what
(02:52):
conversations should I add intomy day with them?
What activity can I add in toreally enhance our lives and the
things we're doing together?
Where can I add something?
No matter the thing that I waslooking at, the starting
question for me always, it wasalways the same what do I need
to add into my life in order tomake this happen?
And what I discovered was I getfar more gains from subtracting
(03:13):
things out of my life than I dofrom adding into them.
For instance, when I wastraining for that pike-speak
marathon, losing weight becameparamount.
It was a really important thing, and I didn't notice much from
adding stuff into my life untilI started subtracting things out
.
I was adding miles like crazy,but nothing seemed to change,
(03:34):
and then I decided, on a whim,to cut out sweets, booze and
meat for two months, and thechocolate was tough.
For me, that was the dumbestpart to drop, but the moment
that I did those three thingswhether it's I cut them out
weight started shredding off.
It was this process ofsubtraction, though, that made
me realize that, as I started toremove some of these things, my
knee pain started to go away.
(03:54):
You know this knee pain that I,just in my mind, had told
myself I'm just always going todeal with it.
I'm always going to have thisknee pain.
It's not going to go away.
But once I started subtractingsome of these things out of my
diet, the knee pain started togo away, and it was really
amazing to see what happenedwith it, because I didn't know
that was gonna happen.
I wasn't expecting it.
(04:15):
I also noticed that I was amuch better father and husband
because my stress level was muchlower and my sleep improved.
I cut the booze and my sleepskyrocketed.
My tracker my sleep trackerwent through the roof and my
sleep was amazing.
I could actually sleep less andrecover more, simply because I
had subtracted out things likebooze and changed up my diet a
(04:38):
little bit.
And since the race I've beenable to actually add meat and a
few drinks on the weekends backinto my diet and my sleeps
remain solid.
But, most importantly for me, Ihave a handle of things, you
know.
I know what I can cut back onif the knee pain ever starts to
become a problem again while I'mrunning and I feel in control,
which is what I want for you.
And I said I don't wanna quitmeat forever.
That's not it for me.
(04:59):
I love a good cheeseburger, butI don't love a cheeseburger
more than I hate the knee painthat I have when it flares up.
So if I have to pick one,that's an easy choice for me and
for now, I'm happy to know thatI have the space to manage it.
And the same thing happenedwith Zone 2 heart rate training.
I was consistently attempting toget things to get a handle on
(05:19):
it by adding things into it, butI got far more help when I was
cutting things out, which reallybrings it around to you Now
where in your life are youhoping to see a change?
Where do you feel you wanna addmore things into your life so
you can gain something?
And really ask yourself thequestion have you considered
cutting some stuff out?
Have you considered removingthings out of your life in order
(05:43):
to maybe get a better result?
And as I think about it, Irealized the difficulty of this
concept, because I only havethis in hindsight.
I didn't realize the gains thatI was gonna get by subtracting.
I was just slashing stuff outWhatever I could cut out.
It was just going.
In fact, I was cutting out,adding stuff in all over the
(06:03):
place, and once I realized whatthe cutting out was doing, it
really gave me perspective toreally understand how these
things were impacting my life.
And so I realized for you, youmight not know, you might not
understand exactly what to cutout.
I know that I didn't when I wasstarting out.
I just know that once I startedcutting things out, it really
(06:24):
put me into space where I couldadd it back in and see what it
was actually doing, and once Iactually found the benefits of
subtracting stuff out, thatbecame a focal point for me.
I was cutting stuff like crazy,and it might be where you need
to start If you're unsure ofwhat to do first.
Sometimes the best way tocreate the painting of your life
(06:46):
that you want is to start witha blank canvas and really
clearing it all off and slowlystart to add things back.
This might give you theperspective that you need in
your life to live the life thatyou want.
And again, I mentioned I have nodesire to be a vegetarian.
I love cheeseburgers, I lovemeat.
I don't want to be a vegetarian.
However, that two month timeperiod without meat really
(07:08):
helped me understand how it wasimpacting my body, and so when I
choose to eat fried chicken,for instance one thing that I
absolutely love I now choose toeat it from a place that I know
is not gonna wreck my systemwith a sodium bomb and really
cause an inflammation and causemy knees to flare back up,
because I have the clarity toknow exactly what was going on
with it.
So I still get the friedchicken that I crave, that I
(07:30):
want, but I also get it in a waythat I know that I'm not gonna
wake up and have me pain whenI'm trying to run.
And that's the power over yourlife that I want for you,
because now that I have it allback, I feel like I have control
.
I can live the life that I want.
I can eat what I want, I candrink whenever I want to,
casually on the weekends, and Ican do so pain free.
(07:50):
I feel in control.
So by no means am I suggestingthat you cut out meat, booze or
sweets, but I do recommend youtake an assessment on the things
that you bring into your lifedaily, and I would challenge you
to consider dropping somehabits just to see how they're
impacting you.
It's really.
Are you asking yourself aquestion Are you getting value
out of this item that you'vebrought into your life, or is it
(08:14):
actually creating a negativeimpact that you're unaware of?
For instance, for me with thesweets, which was surprising for
me because I really I thoughtthat I used to.
I love that shirt that I workout so that I can eat tacos, and
it felt like I worked out somuch so that if I took some time
to eat some cookies.
I'd be like, hey, that's okay,I worked out a ton, I burned
(08:36):
1200 calories on my run, like Ican eat some cookies.
And the moment that I took thoseout of my life I was I mean, I
really felt like an addiction tothese sweets.
It was crazy to think about andit was nice to be able to just
take an assessment.
But what I thought was aneutral space in my life that I
definitely didn't associate itas a very big negative, I didn't
(08:58):
realize just how big of anegative it was actually having
as it relates to my knee painand the things that I was
dealing with.
And for you, there's only oneway to find out.
There's only one way to findout and understand, and that's
to start with a clean slate.
So this could be anything dietrelated Mentally, what are you
bringing into your mental diet?
Are you constantly on socialmedia?
(09:19):
Are you constantly watchingnegative news type things?
Because, again, I'm notsuggesting that you remove one
thing or another.
I'm just offering that it mightbe beneficial to take an
assessment and just see how it'simpacting you today, today,
because once you have anunderstanding of what it's doing
, you can then make a betterchoice.
I was happy last night speakingof sweets is I grabbed a couple
(09:43):
of s'mores, girls' healthcookies and I ate two and it was
good.
It was great.
I could eat the whole box likeI normally would have.
And I also woke up this morningand I was able to run pain free
.
And again, this is the powerthat I want to give you in your
life.
So I challenge you considerwhere do you want to improve
something in your life and thenconsider starting with a blank
(10:04):
slate.
Consider removing a bunch ofstuff, not for not permanently,
but just so that when you startadding it back in one at a time,
you can see what it's doing andhow it's impacting your life,
your body, your mind on a dailybasis.
There's only one way to findout Until next time.
Where do you feel you want to add more things into
your life so you can gainsomething?
And really ask yourself thequestion have you considered
cutting some stuff out?
Have you considered removingthings out of your life in order
to maybe get a better result?
And as I think about it, Irealize the difficulty of this
concept, because I only havethis in hindsight.
(00:20):
I didn't realize the gains thatI was going to get by
subtracting.
I was just slashing stuff out.
Whatever I could cut out, itwas just going.
In fact, I was cutting out,adding stuff in all over the
place, and once I realized whatthe cutting out was doing, it
really gave me perspective toreally understand how these
things were impacting my life.
(00:42):
And so I realized for you, youmight not know, you might not
understand exactly what to cutout.
I know that I didn't when I wasstarting out.
I just know that once I startedcutting things out, it really
put me in a space where I couldadd it back in and see what it
was actually doing.
And once I actually found thebenefits of subtracting stuff
out, that became a focal pointfor me.
(01:03):
My name is Thad David.
I'm a former Marine recon scoutsniper with two deployments to
Iraq.
As a civilian, I've nowfacilitated hundreds of personal
and professional developmenttrainings across the country,
and it struck me recently thatthe same things that help
civilians will also helpveterans succeed in their new
roles as well.
Join me as we define civiliansuccess principles to inspire
(01:24):
veteran victories.
Again, before you add, throughthe last 18 months I've had
several messages from veteransand people all along the way
that have been turning theirlives around in a positive
direction.
It's blown me away to see thereach that we've been able to
have and just the lives we'vebeen able to help out all along
the way.
So I wanted to take a moment tosay thank you.
(01:45):
Thank you to all of you, keepputting in the great work, and
please let me know how I'm ableto help.
I love to hear what we can doto support you in a better way.
I'm also proud to mention thatwe've been able to put together
our first hundred episodes.
In fact, this one is number 101.
And I've been looking back andreflecting on all of it, at how
much time it's taken to createthis much content, and I wanted
(02:07):
to really reflect on what wasthe biggest lesson that I
learned from all of you from allof this content all along the
way, and anytime in my life thatI've wanted to do something
different, change something.
It usually comes with me askingthe question what do I need to
add into my life to make thishappen?
What do I need to add somethingdifferent?
For instance, if I wanted toget in shape, what workout do I
(02:29):
need to add in?
What pre-workout orpost-workout drink do I need to
add into my diet?
How much earlier do I need towake up so I can add more time
into my day?
As my knee and my back pain gotworse during these intense
training sessions, I startedlooking at what supplements
don't need to add in.
What joint supplements can Iadd into my regimen to maybe
help mitigate the pain that Iwas experiencing?
And if I wanted to improve arelationship with my kids, what
(02:52):
conversations should I add intomy day with them?
What activity can I add in toreally enhance our lives and the
things we're doing together?
Where can I add something?
No matter the thing that I waslooking at, the starting
question for me always, it wasalways the same what do I need
to add into my life in order tomake this happen?
And what I discovered was I getfar more gains from subtracting
(03:13):
things out of my life than I dofrom adding into them.
For instance, when I wastraining for that pike-speak
marathon, losing weight becameparamount.
It was a really important thing, and I didn't notice much from
adding stuff into my life untilI started subtracting things out
.
I was adding miles like crazy,but nothing seemed to change,
(03:34):
and then I decided, on a whim,to cut out sweets, booze and
meat for two months, and thechocolate was tough.
For me, that was the dumbestpart to drop, but the moment
that I did those three thingswhether it's I cut them out
weight started shredding off.
It was this process ofsubtraction, though, that made
me realize that, as I started toremove some of these things, my
knee pain started to go away.
(03:54):
You know this knee pain that I,just in my mind, had told
myself I'm just always going todeal with it.
I'm always going to have thisknee pain.
It's not going to go away.
But once I started subtractingsome of these things out of my
diet, the knee pain started togo away, and it was really
amazing to see what happenedwith it, because I didn't know
that was gonna happen.
I wasn't expecting it.
(04:15):
I also noticed that I was amuch better father and husband
because my stress level was muchlower and my sleep improved.
I cut the booze and my sleepskyrocketed.
My tracker my sleep trackerwent through the roof and my
sleep was amazing.
I could actually sleep less andrecover more, simply because I
had subtracted out things likebooze and changed up my diet a
(04:38):
little bit.
And since the race I've beenable to actually add meat and a
few drinks on the weekends backinto my diet and my sleeps
remain solid.
But, most importantly for me, Ihave a handle of things, you
know.
I know what I can cut back onif the knee pain ever starts to
become a problem again while I'mrunning and I feel in control,
which is what I want for you.
And I said I don't wanna quitmeat forever.
That's not it for me.
(04:59):
I love a good cheeseburger, butI don't love a cheeseburger
more than I hate the knee painthat I have when it flares up.
So if I have to pick one,that's an easy choice for me and
for now, I'm happy to know thatI have the space to manage it.
And the same thing happenedwith Zone 2 heart rate training.
I was consistently attempting toget things to get a handle on
(05:19):
it by adding things into it, butI got far more help when I was
cutting things out, which reallybrings it around to you Now
where in your life are youhoping to see a change?
Where do you feel you wanna addmore things into your life so
you can gain something?
And really ask yourself thequestion have you considered
cutting some stuff out?
Have you considered removingthings out of your life in order
(05:43):
to maybe get a better result?
And as I think about it, Irealized the difficulty of this
concept, because I only havethis in hindsight.
I didn't realize the gains thatI was gonna get by subtracting.
I was just slashing stuff outWhatever I could cut out.
It was just going.
In fact, I was cutting out,adding stuff in all over the
(06:03):
place, and once I realized whatthe cutting out was doing, it
really gave me perspective toreally understand how these
things were impacting my life.
And so I realized for you, youmight not know, you might not
understand exactly what to cutout.
I know that I didn't when I wasstarting out.
I just know that once I startedcutting things out, it really
(06:24):
put me into space where I couldadd it back in and see what it
was actually doing, and once Iactually found the benefits of
subtracting stuff out, thatbecame a focal point for me.
I was cutting stuff like crazy,and it might be where you need
to start If you're unsure ofwhat to do first.
Sometimes the best way tocreate the painting of your life
(06:46):
that you want is to start witha blank canvas and really
clearing it all off and slowlystart to add things back.
This might give you theperspective that you need in
your life to live the life thatyou want.
And again, I mentioned I have nodesire to be a vegetarian.
I love cheeseburgers, I lovemeat.
I don't want to be a vegetarian.
However, that two month timeperiod without meat really
(07:08):
helped me understand how it wasimpacting my body, and so when I
choose to eat fried chicken,for instance one thing that I
absolutely love I now choose toeat it from a place that I know
is not gonna wreck my systemwith a sodium bomb and really
cause an inflammation and causemy knees to flare back up,
because I have the clarity toknow exactly what was going on
with it.
So I still get the friedchicken that I crave, that I
(07:30):
want, but I also get it in a waythat I know that I'm not gonna
wake up and have me pain whenI'm trying to run.
And that's the power over yourlife that I want for you,
because now that I have it allback, I feel like I have control
.
I can live the life that I want.
I can eat what I want, I candrink whenever I want to,
casually on the weekends, and Ican do so pain free.
(07:50):
I feel in control.
So by no means am I suggestingthat you cut out meat, booze or
sweets, but I do recommend youtake an assessment on the things
that you bring into your lifedaily, and I would challenge you
to consider dropping somehabits just to see how they're
impacting you.
It's really.
Are you asking yourself aquestion Are you getting value
out of this item that you'vebrought into your life, or is it
(08:14):
actually creating a negativeimpact that you're unaware of?
For instance, for me with thesweets, which was surprising for
me because I really I thoughtthat I used to.
I love that shirt that I workout so that I can eat tacos, and
it felt like I worked out somuch so that if I took some time
to eat some cookies.
I'd be like, hey, that's okay,I worked out a ton, I burned
(08:36):
1200 calories on my run, like Ican eat some cookies.
And the moment that I took thoseout of my life I was I mean, I
really felt like an addiction tothese sweets.
It was crazy to think about andit was nice to be able to just
take an assessment.
But what I thought was aneutral space in my life that I
definitely didn't associate itas a very big negative, I didn't
(08:58):
realize just how big of anegative it was actually having
as it relates to my knee painand the things that I was
dealing with.
And for you, there's only oneway to find out.
There's only one way to findout and understand, and that's
to start with a clean slate.
So this could be anything dietrelated Mentally, what are you
bringing into your mental diet?
Are you constantly on socialmedia?
(09:19):
Are you constantly watchingnegative news type things?
Because, again, I'm notsuggesting that you remove one
thing or another.
I'm just offering that it mightbe beneficial to take an
assessment and just see how it'simpacting you today, today,
because once you have anunderstanding of what it's doing
, you can then make a betterchoice.
I was happy last night speakingof sweets is I grabbed a couple
(09:43):
of s'mores, girls' healthcookies and I ate two and it was
good.
It was great.
I could eat the whole box likeI normally would have.
And I also woke up this morningand I was able to run pain free
.
And again, this is the powerthat I want to give you in your
life.
So I challenge you considerwhere do you want to improve
something in your life and thenconsider starting with a blank
(10:04):
slate.
Consider removing a bunch ofstuff, not for not permanently,
but just so that when you startadding it back in one at a time,
you can see what it's doing andhow it's impacting your life,
your body, your mind on a dailybasis.
There's only one way to findout Until next time.
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