Mauro (0s):
You know, with the type of men we work with, they're so focused and locked in with their wealth or with their career and finances, that once they make their held a priority, they can get really good and quick momentum. But when there is something that changes in their schedule, they travel, that's like a really big roadblock for a lot of the guys. And we have to adapt to the environment, come up with an updated plan, changing plan, but also work on the mindset of, hey, you know, you can't just take action when you're at home and your perfect routine, you also have to take action even if it's imperfect action, when you're not at home. When you're not environment. And you know, maybe you only get eight out of 10 points there, but eight out of 10 is better than zero or one out of 10.
Mauro (41s):
And so that shift basically away from the black and white all or nothing thinking and more to a balanced approach is a really big key to long-term consistency.
Brian (52s):
This week I interviewed founder of Six Pack CEO EO Mauro Stara. He's a peak performance expert and trusted advisor to successful CEOs and business owners. We discussed Morrow's Health journey, along with Important blood markers, Misconceptions around getting in shape, role of hormone optimization, Morrow's optimal eating routine, and his one tip to get your body back to what it once was. Really enjoyed my interview with Morrow. I know you will too. Thanks so much for listening and enjoy the show. Alright, Welcome to the Get Lean, Eat Clean podcast. My name is Brian Gryn and I have Mauro Stara on Welcome to the show. Thanks
Mauro (1m 29s):
For having me on.
Brian (1m 30s):
Brian. Thanks for coming on all the way from Portugal.
Mauro (1m 33s):
Absolutely.
Brian (1m 34s):
Could be my first guest from Portugal, so congrats on that. Oh,
Mauro (1m 38s):
That, that's, that's good. You're you're expanding the audience.
Brian (1m 42s):
Yeah, exactly. And we were talking before we got on, we, we catered to similar audiences and used to both being banking. When did you, and you mentioned you started getting into like health and wellness two around 2015.
Mauro (1m 59s):
Yes.
Brian (1m 59s):
And now you're the f you're the founder of Six Pack CEO EOI like that.
Mauro (2m 3s):
Thank you. Yeah. W what about yourself? When did you make the transition from banking? Gosh,
Brian (2m 8s):
I, it was, I've been in health and wellness for close to 20 years, so probably around 2005. Wow.
Mauro (2m 18s):
Before the crash and everything.
Brian (2m 20s):
Yes. Before all that, what made you wanna sort of get into this, this category of business? You
Mauro (2m 25s):
Know, I was, I had like my own personal transformation really skinny, put on some size. Everyone started asking, Hey, what did you do? Can you help? And I developed a passion for that. And then as I was, I was, as I was working in banking and advancing my career and training people in person and working on an online business, it was just so much on my plate. And the one thing that I had to go was my health. So I kind of sacrificed my health in the process of chasing wealth. And I eventually burned myself out, had issues with my heart And you know, when I was at the office with the cardiologist, I knew, hey, I gotta, you know, shift something here and fix it.
Mauro (3m 17s):
And that's where, or as I fixed it, I saw the opportunity, Hey, you know, I, I can lead men that were just like me who put all their focus and attention into their, and resource into their finances and kind of let their health slip. And that's where I got a little bit more niched down and focused and doubled down on that. But even prior to that, to, you know, close, kind of close the loop to your question, I, I knew I didn't want to have a boss and I didn't wanna work a nine to five. Like just didn't seem right to do that for the rest of my life. And it, it was very, very early on that there was that strong feeling of, you could say, breaking out.
Brian (4m 2s):
Yeah. Yeah. And like you mentioned, I think it's a common problem that a lot of like middle-aged men and women run into is sort of not like prioritizing wealth over their health, like you mentioned and before they know it 20 years later and they're dealing with, you know, health issues maybe, you know, like visceral fat around their waist or whatever the issue is. But it's, you know, it's good that you sort of were aware of it early on and got ahead of it. 'cause a lot of times people wait and they wait until they maybe get like a health scare. Yeah.
Mauro (4m 39s):
You know, so many people are reactive rather than proactive. In my case, it was unfortunate also reactive to that degree. I mean, initially it was like more vanity, but then it was definitely reactive to health related issue.
Brian (4m 54s):
Yeah. And you know, what, what is the sort of your approach with clients, you know, when it comes to just like specializing in certain, you know, in, in their unique like goals that they're trying to set out. What do you, what do you do mainly when you start working with clients?
Mauro (5m 10s):
So we start 'em off with two pieces of information. We look at, you know, their lifestyle and do an assessment there. Their schedule, their psychology, their preferences, their post type history, like a big intake forum together, a little bit more information on what's going on, you know, in the environment with their schedule work, you know, cost and current and future fitness status. And that's part one. And part two is the blood work. So we look also what's inside in the body and make sure that we customize the plan to that to speed up results and catch any potential health issues early on.
Brian (5m 53s):
What, what type of blood markers do you typically look at?
Mauro (5m 57s):
So we have 97 biomarkers that we look at organ functions. So liver, kidney, you know, heart health, so lipid profile, apo, lipoproteins, like a OB, lipoprotein, a inflammation, homocysteine, all you know, hormones. So testosterone, free testosterone, SHPG, prolactin, IGF one like that full cascade there. Sugar immune system. So white blood cells and then oxygen, red blood cells. And that gives us just a snapshot on what's going on in, you know, someone's life and hey, do they need to eat a little bit more of these foods or a little bit less of these foods?
Mauro (6m 37s):
Is there, you know, a real threat where they have maybe extreme high sugar prediabetic type two diabetic or you know, is there like a genetic marker or lifestyle related risk with their heart health that they may need to speak with a cardiologist or do they have an autoimmune issue, whatever that may be to, you know, kind of go beyond just fat loss.
Brian (7m 2s):
And do you work with by yourself or do you have a team of people that you utilize?
Mauro (7m 7s):
Yeah, I have a team. So it's all in-house. We don't, you know, outsource it. I see a lot of fitness coaches have jumped on the trend of blood work and they just, you know, partner up with a clinic and outsource it and they blast them on different medic medications And you know, even some steroids. But we don't do that. It's all in-house. So there's culture, there's accountability, there's quality control. And I've got a team of six people, so not six that do the blood work, but six in total.
Brian (7m 40s):
Yeah. And what kind of common issues do you run across and how do you sort of get people, you know, to overcome like some of the mental bearers that might come with trying to, you know, change habits and things like that?
Mauro (7m 52s):
Well, you know, with the type of men we work with, they, as we just touched on from my personal background, they, they're so focused and locked in with their wealth or with their career and finances that once they make their held a priority, they can get really good and quick momentum. But when there is something that changes in their schedule or they travel, that's like a really big roadblock for a lot of the guys. And you know, we have to adapt to the environment, come up with an updated plan, a changing plan, but also work on the mindset of, hey, you know, you can't just take action when you're at home and your a perfect routine, you also have to take action even if it's imperfect action when you're not at home, when you're not environment And you know, maybe you only get eight out of 10 points there, but eight out of 10 is better than zero or one out of 10.
Mauro (8m 45s):
And so that shift basically away from the black and white all or nothing thinking and more to a balanced approach is a, a really big key to long-term consistency.
Brian (8m 58s):
Yeah, I, I, I don't travel a lot, but I, I gotta imagine people that do staying on like, you know, staying in their habits and staying on task is probably very difficult because a lot of times they're going out for dinners and things like that and it sort of, obviously putting a, a damper on, on trying to reach their health goals. But you know, like you said, doing something is better than doing nothing.
Mauro (9m 21s):
Exactly. Any amount is better than no amount. Yeah. Once you adopt that mindset, it can be very, very powerful.
Brian (9m 27s):
Yeah. And what would you say like some of the misconceptions are about achieving sort of this peak physical fitness that that's sort of out there? 'cause you know, there's quite a bit of things out there now with social media. What are some of the misconceptions that you run across?
Mauro (9m 43s):
I mean, there's so many, but I would say the big ones, at least for the guys that I work with is they think, especially the ex-athletes, they think, oh, for me to get in a lead shape, I need to spend 5, 6, 7 days a week at the gym work workout, two hours at the day. That is a big one. It's, it's not true. I, we can dive more or deeper into that. The other one is I have to starve myself. I have to eat like super low carb, very low calories to, you know, get a six pack or get shredded. And so many times that's not the case. Right? Right. So, and maybe you have to starve yourself. You wanna go like from 10 to 8% body fat and that just, you know, what, less than a month depending from per person.
Mauro (10m 29s):
And then you're out of that zone if, if that's like the goal of someone, but 99% of the cases it's really not necessary.
Brian (10m 37s):
Yeah. Let's, let's dive a little bit in, into that, you know, as far as over exercising and undereating, right? I think those are pretty much the two things you brought up. What, what, what do you see works best for most people when it comes to that? Because that seems to be like a growing trend. People are on like two sides of the extreme and it sounds like you like prefer more of a balanced approach.
Mauro (10m 58s):
Yeah, And you know, I think those extremes come from two places, you know, before we dive deeper. One, you see someone on Instagram or YouTube and you see them, they're lifting every day And you know, you think, okay, I need to do that as well. Or you used to lift every day in college when the college sports whatsoever, but people forget one at 40, your body's not anymore, like at 20 and your lifestyle has changed. You have more stress kids, career, family, right? There's less sleep and less quality sleep. And too, a lot of these guys on YouTube or Instagram, they're just blasting a lot of steroids.
Mauro (11m 38s):
People don't want to hear that. It's like, ah, no, I think he's natty, they're not. Right. It's so many times. And, and that's fine if they admit it right. But if you say, oh you know, I, I do this and you can do this too, but you leave out a piece of very important information, then it's not so fair. The other one is a, a lot of people, and I'm sure you've seen this as well, still have the traditional thoughts or belief that for them to see results, they, they need to see a trainer face to face at the gym. And you know, I'm not against that. It can be useful if you need to work on form or technique in, in a certain way.
Mauro (12m 19s):
But the, the issue with that is the, the trainer at the gym or a PT gets paid more the more you show up and train. So if I think the best plan for Brian is working out twice a week or three times a week, but I make more money if you show up five days a week at the gym, I cannot be an independent advisor. So that is a really big issue and I believe that that overtraining philosophy comes part of it from, or the, the main one comes from those two things. But if we go, you know, deeper into the how and the details, so the, the one big philosophy that we hold in our company is during the fat loss phase is appetite management.
Mauro (13m 2s):
Because if you're hungry right, you know it, you cannot stick to the deficit and you're gonna overeat. It's that simple. You may have like crazy amount of willpower, but that's like holding your breath on the water. Eventually you have to get up and get air and the longer you've been down, the more you know you're gonna take that air and the more you're gonna fall off track and binge. So the key is making sure that we regulate your appetite, that you're not hungry and if you work out more than four days a week, you're gonna jack up your appetite. Especially if you hit the gym like two hours, you're gonna be so hungry. I was just like, you know, one half weeks ago I was swimming in indoor pool with some friends and we did the race, you know, one verse one and like a little competition among guys.
Mauro (13m 52s):
And that was just five minutes. I was so hungry, like all day long just from that five minute, those five minutes of intensive swimming. And that's why I'm usually against like sprinting, running, you know, swimming during cut because that will just check up your appetite and if you overtrain one, you're not gonna recover in the deficit. But number two, you are, you're just gonna be hungry and you may stick to that deficit with a lot of discipline. Great. But eventually you hit the wall and when you hit the wall, what do you do? Well, you need to increase the deficit. So you can either walk more, maybe do a diet break and then go back to cutting or you, you cut calories, but what is the issue?
Mauro (14m 39s):
Well, so is six days a week at the gym and you cut them calories, it's like, oh, I'm feeling tired, I'm exhausted. Of course. Right? Because now your input and output don't match each other. So what they do is like, oh no, I'm training that much. I need to eat more. And then they never get leaner and they just stay chubby or soft rather than get lean and ripped and it's like, no, you have to dial back that volume and that intensity. And maybe in the frequency, once you're done with the cut, let's see how much your body can handle. But I leave that 99% of people, you know, like pro bodybuilders and so on, excluded, they would probably make 1% anyways. They don't need to be more than four days a week at the gym.
Mauro (15m 19s):
Even three days a week is enough for a lot of people.
Brian (15m 22s):
Yeah. So sort of balancing the, the the physical output with making sure that you're getting adequate, adequate calories but not overdoing the workouts to the point where you feel like you're like have to over consume. Yeah.
Mauro (15m 38s):
And it's also like the justification where it's like, oh, I'm training so hard and I'm sweating and I'm hungry. That's a sign I can eat a lot. But it's no you, you didn't burn that many calories that you can eat an extra thousand for those workout days. It's not gonna work.
Brian (15m 54s):
Yeah. How do you sort of balance, you know, you, you have people come from all different camps. There's some people who are big in calories and the who are calories in, calories out or you know, like more of a whole foods approach or you know, like you mentioned earlier, even like a low carb approach. Like where, where do you sort of land in that
Mauro (16m 14s):
We customize it to each client based on their lab results but also in the preferences. Like, you know, if the labs show indication like hey they will benefit a little bit more higher carb. They feel so good with moderate carbs or lower carbs, not gonna fight them against it. Especially if they see results, right? Because ultimately adherence is the name of the game. But I don't have any preference or anything against, I just see it as tools. I believe anyone that buys into something they, for them it's just like, like a religion, like a cult. It's like, oh you know, now it's carnivore and only carnivore works and if eat carbs like you're gonna die and then it was keto and vegan.
Mauro (16m 59s):
It's like these are all tools, right? Maybe we're gonna use carnivore diet to, as an elimination diet because someone has massive autoimmune issues and gut health issues. Or maybe someone is like type two diabetic and they will benefit from a very low carb potentially care diet for like a few months. Or someone has been massively under eating, then they will benefit from a diet that's a little bit more high in carbs, has a little bit more starches and fruits. And so it really depends from person to person. And I believe there needs to be a match between, you know, your labs but also your preferences optimally as if they both meet right where they should be. It's like, oh I love eating this way and my lab showed up.
Mauro (17m 40s):
But usually it's not always the case. It's like, So we, we gotta meet a little bit in the middle. You, you can't really continue, you know, blasting 400 grams of carbs a day and you're type two diabetic that that will just cause some issues.
Brian (17m 53s):
Yeah, no I love how you sort of take it by individual. By individual. 'cause a lot of times, you know, people you hear carnivore and then they just think that's like the best thing, But it might not be the best thing for them. And what about like the role of like hormone optimization when it comes to, you know, achieving optimal health? Especially obviously as we're age, this is something that's sort of a big deal.
Mauro (18m 15s):
So we take a natural approach first philosophy, meaning we look at the labs and we prescribe natural solutions. So diet, lifestyle and the boring stuff, sunlight exposure, sleep supplements, fixing nutrient deficiencies. If your testosterone's low and we see magnesium is low, vitamin D is low, sink is low, you're getting four hours of sleep, well of course it's low. Like why would your body, you know, prioritize that if you don't have the raw materials and you're just overstressing your body. So fix that. And if all of that didn't move the needle, then we always, and they have the symptoms of low T because just the number, like I don't believe anyone should treat a number but rather the person, the patient.
Mauro (19m 2s):
Yeah. But let's say testosterone stays low, even though they do all of that, which very rare is the case, but let's say it does stay low, then we recommend that they speak either with their PCP, so primary care physician or they go to a men's health clinic or anti-Asian clinic, TRT clinic or whatever they need and get a consultation there to optimize that. And we, we don't prescribe it because I, I believe that when you don't have a horse in the race, you are, you can give independent advice. If I'm selling TRT, well it's like, hmm, your, the size is low, how about we take this?
Mauro (19m 42s):
Well no, I'm more interested to fix the root cause rather than treating the symptom. Why is it low? Right? And yes, if you've done everything and you've put in the work, I'm totally not against it. Right? Because it is a thing that's gonna impact your quality of life in a positive or negative way. Or you know, if someone has a very slow thyroid and you look at again what is going on there and why is it so slow and downregulated and you address it and all the lifestyle factors, supplements, you know, nutrient deficiencies did not help, then it will make sense to look at the thyroid medication there as well. Right?
Mauro (20m 23s):
Same goes for other biomarkers, but very rare is it that I tell someone, Hey, you know, you gotta get on this or you gotta take that. It's usually just, nobody wants to hear that. But it's poor lifestyle nutrient deficiencies which can contribute again to pure poor lifestyle and maybe some supplements that will help in, in certain cases.
Brian (20m 49s):
Yeah, it's like everyone wants the quick fix, right? But sometimes you gotta gotta sort of take, take the slow, maybe the slow, like more sustainable route. I mean you're seeing that with like ozempic, right? Is that something that you run across? Do a lot of men get on that that, you know, we
Mauro (21m 5s):
Have some guys who were on it, joined a program and eventually got off it and I don't shame anyone because you're like 150, a hundred plus pounds overweight. Yeah. And you struggle with that your whole life And now you have something that kind of goes into the rule that I share with you, appetite management that allows you to eat less and that's the only way that you see results. It's better than nothing because if that's gonna, I know that sounds controversial on a fitness podcast and people in the industry like, oh no, ozempic is bad. Yeah, I'm really not for it. But if someone really has tried everything and they can't stick to something well and they're like say type two diabetic, do you wanna let them die earlier or do you want to have them live longer and through the medicine?
Mauro (21m 58s):
So yeah, they're cheating so to say, but if I would've exhausted all options and the needle wouldn't move, I would do it as well. Right? It's like, you know, if I know I'm gonna die potentially 10, 15 years earlier, which studies show with type two diabetes then and, and, and I can treat it with that drug, I would do it right. Yeah, of course there's an honor and the pride of doing it naturally And you know, working hard so to say. But if you've done all of that then you've really hired trainers, hire coaches, done programs, and nothing sticks for whatever reason. Right? Then I think it's better than just staying the way you are.
Mauro (22m 40s):
Right. So I would put it above doing nothing, but
Brian (22m 44s):
Yeah,
Mauro (22m 45s):
It's very rare that I see someone needs to be on it because once you structure diet properly matching as we talk about the training volume and everything is in place, very rare that someone would really need it. Now if they're like 500 pounds, okay then it may be a different story, but for most people it's really not needed.
Brian (23m 4s):
Yeah, I mean if you can bring lifestyle changes along with it, I think that is would be obviously more effective. I think when people may be running into a problem is if they just get on it and that's all they rely on, you know. What kind of success stories have you had? Anything that stands out that you, you, you would like to share with the audience?
Mauro (23m 23s):
So there's like two that always come to my mind, but one of them was a father or is a father, you know, in the forties, very successful business owner has a team, you know, makes MultiSENSE figures beautiful wife, two kids, they go to like a park adventure park, can't remember what exactly it was. And they stand in line almost an hour. Finally it's their turn and they tell 'em like, dude, stop, like there's a weight limit. You gotta be under 200, 200 or under 200 pounds. And after all this time, kids standing in line, like it was quite embarrassing and no amount of money could have bought him access.
Mauro (24m 5s):
He could have bought the entire park, but that machine would've still not handled his weight. So it was quite embarrassing for him, for the kids, you know, what a waste of time. So when he reached out he told me like, Hey, in a year or less, I want to go back there. And that's exactly what it did. Went back there, sent me pictures, he's like, look, you know, I made it, I was there and it was so beautiful because that story really shows, you know, a lot of times in business people think that it's all about freedom. And when we think about freedom, it's, we think about financial freedom, but I believe there's also physical freedom. Are you physically free to do whatever you want?
Mauro (24m 45s):
If you go on a boat, can you jump into the water without being scared? You know, say, oh, when you're at the park, can you do those things? So I'm not saying you need to do extreme things like jumping from a plane, but can you do basic activities that you should be doing for your age with the people you love the most? Yeah. Your kids in many cases. And if the answer is no, then are, are you truly free?
Brian (25m 12s):
Yeah. Oh it's a good story there. What, what was I gonna say? What would you say as far as I'm a big routine guy, what are some of your routines that you like to implement for your own self when it comes to day-to-day eating and fitness and sleep and all the, all the things.
Mauro (25m 28s):
One of my coaches on the team, he's been with me for a little bit more than a year now. He always has that mantra or motto or or theme, eat like a dog and as like boring or basic that that, that sounds, but all the fit people I know they tend to eat the same things not every day but every week. So, and it's not chicken, rice, broccoli, but every person I know that's very, very fit and a stayed fit for years and even decades. They have four to five meals that they rotate in a week and they just stick to them relentlessly. So for me, I know exactly what I'm gonna get in a week.
Mauro (26m 10s):
It's usually wild caught salmon, you know, lean ground beef. If I'm bulking heavy then you know a little bit more fatty ground beef ribeye, usually chicken breast or chicken thighs, those are the main ones. And then rice and potatoes, so usually five days a week for sure rice. And then the other two days, like white potatoes, sweet potatoes and a lot of fruits and veggies, unsweet fruits like cucumber avocados there, there's just a basic stack that I follow and do I deviate, do I eat some lamb or some shrimps or serve foods once in a while when I go to restaurant or just at home to rotate for sure.
Mauro (26m 54s):
But that is like the biggest hack. Just pick some foods that you like and are alignment with your, and just rotate those. It's so much easier to do grocery lists, to do bulk orders and to stick to the plan. And also when you eat all the same thing, like you know, we talked or you asked before about tracking calories. I'm a big fan of that because once you have the data, you know what's going in. But eventually as you get to your idal shape, you, you can start backing off from the tracking. Like I don't track right now, but, and I can navigate from cut to bulk very easily where I have my bulking food and then during the cut it's just, okay, I'm gonna do Hal to portion of rice and only one instead of two bananas and only one scoop instead of two scoops of yogurt.
Mauro (27m 43s):
So you can eat the same things, you just cut down on the portions that will create your deficit. And it's like so easy. And then when I'm bulking again it's like, okay, or go to maintenance, let's make those adjustments and go from there. So I would say that is like the biggest one. Then the gym, you know, put in your schedule and block it off like a very, very important meeting. Those are big. I used to have like a really big morning routine, but I've just found that was too stressful And now it's like some basic, you know, a little bit of stretching, breathing, and then I got to work and evening I used to have a bigger routine as well. But you know, less is more in many cases.
Mauro (28m 24s):
That's pretty much it. Yeah,
Brian (28m 26s):
I like the point around eating. You wanna say eating boring or like a lot of the same things. I mean that's what I find with myself. It's like the same things over and over again. But it, you know, it's, when it's predictable, it's easy, it's sustainable. And getting foods, like on a monthly basis we have like a bunch of frozen proteins that we, that my wife and I'll just pull out the night before So we know exactly what we're eating the next day. And also, like you mentioned, rice is a carbohydrate. I think it's a good one and I think it's simple and easy to make and like potatoes are good as well. So what would you say if, if you were gonna have like a cheat food? Do you have like a cheat food? Oh yeah,
Mauro (29m 6s):
Yeah. I love sugary. Sweet. Yeah. You know, I'm a big fan of having fresh sweets,
Brian (29m 13s):
Right? Like homemade.
Mauro (29m 14s):
'cause if you go to a supermarket, you buy something that's on the shelf and last two years, like there's so much, so many concerns and crap in there that it's almost not worth the trade unless I really like it or it's like a piece of chocolate. But usually I just like something fresh where I know, hey, they baked it just yesterday or this morning it's fresh and it'll expire in like one, two days. That will usually tastes better than like the, the stuff that's like packed and in the shelf for another two years. And that's what I usually have. So it's usually something with chocolate. I'm a big fan of chocolate. It's bread, you know, something with bread and chocolate.
Mauro (29m 56s):
And I'm a big fan of having variety and different tastes when it comes to that. So if I had a dessert like a few times, I don't get too excited about it. Say, yeah, I can skip that, but if there's something new it's like, oh, I haven't seen this one in that bakery, I'm gonna try it. So that excitement for new, that dopamine hit, that's for sure a little krypton idea for me.
Brian (30m 20s):
And then when you talk about bulking and cutting, is this something you do every few months or every, you know, six months or how, how do you sort of navigate bulking and cutting for you?
Mauro (30m 30s):
So I aim to, you know, end always the cut around 10% body fat give or take. That sets like a really solid lean foundation. And then I bulk up to 15% and that's a threshold. So I always have like a threshold and then I go down. Obviously I've overdone bulks where I end up like at 19% and I feel great, like very strong and bigger. But you know, it doesn't look that great, especially if you have yeah,
Brian (30m 57s):
That's a big a
Mauro (30m 58s):
Lot of food. You, you, you get like bloated,
Brian (30m 60s):
It's a big variance. So yeah.
Mauro (31m 1s):
But, but right now I've enjoyed this year being closer to maintenance. Like I've done a little bit of cutting maintenance, cutting and I actually enjoy it because the bulking can be quite stressful for me because I have to go like really heavy on calories since my metabolism is very adaptive. So, and I'm just not a fan of eating that much. How many, how, if you look at the latest studies that came out, you don't need like a huge surplus. You can be a maintenance or like 150, like I think it was five to 15% surplus. So like a really small surplus in many cases. And that is enough to stimulate growth with very little fat gain.
Mauro (31m 46s):
So
Brian (31m 47s):
What's what's, how many bulking, what's the calorie amount typically around for you? For balking?
Mauro (31m 52s):
Well, it, it depends how deep I'm into a bulk, but like, I did one for, it was in 2023, it was very long, I think it was over a year and I got up to like a peak, not always, but like 34, 3700 calories and I'm like a hundred sixty five, a hundred seventy pounds. So that's, that was quite a lot of food because if you think about, it's like almost four meals at a thousand calories or like three meals at a thousand. And then another one. And what I found there is I had to eat more processed food to get to those calories. It was impossible to eat 3,500 calories with veggies and fruits and rice, like impossible.
Mauro (32m 36s):
So I, I would, I would've, I always went for like very fatty foods, so steak, fatty steak and chicken thighs and like just a lot of fat there. And I would try the rice lot of honey, but that would get me like to 26, 2800 and it's like, man, I got like more to go and then it's like, okay, I'm gonna grab like some pizza and so on. And it was just looking back, not really worth doing that. I'd rather be a little bit smaller and have like a cleaner diet than having to fail the, the bulk with a lot of junk food.
Brian (33m 18s):
Yeah. Yeah. Getting up to that amount. What's your, so what's your typical weight then right now? In maintenance?
Mauro (33m 23s):
Yeah. 1, 1 68 right now.
Brian (33m 25s):
1 68. Okay. What's one thing you've changed your mind on in, in over the last let's say eight to 10 years? That's
Mauro (33m 33s):
Really good one, I used to be very against low carb diets or like something like keto, it's like, ah, that's just a fat and so on. But I found like there's a big group of people, especially those who are like very obese, very overweight, that have a massive issue with self control around eating and they just do way better, like way, way better on a low carb diet, not necessarily keto. It's very rare that I use that, but it's a powerful tool as well for some people. But yeah, it used to be so against like no, you know, you can have like a lot of carbs and you don't need, you know, to go so low.
Mauro (34m 13s):
But with the spike in sugar and insulin, those people are just on a rollercoaster all day long where they want a snack and they put themselves a spot to overeat where with the low carb diet, their sugar is much more stable and usually they find it more filling. And so even though many studies show like the outcome is pretty similar, I've not found that to be true in adherence and compliance long term. And it's like, there's been like a huge increase in success once I've made that change. Because as I said, I'm not married to any system, you know, there's new data coming out, we'll just adjust it or take the data into account. So I'm not married like, oh, I'm not a keto coach or a carnivore coach.
Mauro (34m 55s):
It's like I'm a coach and these are just tools. But that was a big one that that changed my mind on, I was so against like, yeah, low carb diets were today they're very favorite by many clients who are obese or very overweight.
Brian (35m 11s):
Yeah, good point. Yeah, I mean you've, and you've seen people go the other way. I've had coaches or individuals come on where they were so gung-ho, you know, low carb fasting and they just like overdid it and realize that carbs are sort of demonized, but they really shouldn't be the ones that get the blame a lot of times. Right? So you see people go both ways, but yeah, like you said, it's just a tool that can be utilized and depending on the individual and their habits and things like that.
Mauro (35m 40s):
Yeah, ab absolutely. And at the end of the day, as a coach, you're not in there to prove yourself or your ego. It's whatever works for the client. Like, you may not a hundred percent agree with it, but it's like, dude, if that's works and they crush it and they stick to it, like don't be, you know, driven by your ego and do what you wanna do, right? But do what you wanna do to boost your ego, but do what is best for the client. So I always ask myself that question and I, I have it for all our team members, like what is, you know, the, the needle mover here and is that in the best interest of the client?
Mauro (36m 21s):
Then if it is, then you know, why wouldn't you do it? Why do you want to do something else where you're like, oh, I've always sounded like that. So what for DA guy, he may need a little bit of a different approach.
Brian (36m 33s):
Right? Yeah. Well this is great. Do most of your clients come from Portugal or they come from all over?
Mauro (36m 39s):
No, most of our clients are from the US so like 95%.
Brian (36m 43s):
Okay, got it. And I noticed you have some free downloads and things like that. One of 'em is regarding micronutrients, right? That can help boost testosterone levels. Very cool. So we'll put, we'll put a link in the show notes for that. One final question, I asked all my guests, most of my guests that come on, if you were gonna give one tip to someone who's looking to get their body back to what it once was, you know, 10, 15 years ago, what one tip would you give them? It would
Mauro (37m 10s):
Always depend where someone's starting point is. Because for someone I may give advice that for someone it's way too advanced, but for someone else it's too basic. So what I've found will cover everyone is get your blood work done first. The reason why is I've, I've seen so many guys who thought, oh, I'm just fat, but I'm healthy. No, not for women, right? Really not for women, but for men, they're like, ah, I'm just a little bit fat. I'm, I'm healthy. And their compliance, their commitment is like in the middle. And once they saw their blood work, like, wow, like, I never thought it would be that bad. And that just was the wake up call they needed.
Mauro (37m 52s):
And so the, the more you raise your commitment, even if you don't have the perfect plan, the more resourceful you become to make it work. Whether it's through coaching, through, you know, a course, a program, a plan, right? Yourself whatsoever. And the one thing that raises that commitment over and over again is, is looking at the wrong numbers. Because you can deny, it's like, oh, you know, I feel good And you know, I don't have anything. But when you get blood work done, especially the right type of blood work, and you see the numbers, you, you can't argue against those. It's like if your liver is fat, your liver is fat, like you can't, yeah. But no, like your liver is fat.
Mauro (38m 32s):
That's it. Point.
Brian (38m 33s):
Good point. Yeah. Measure, measure and then make adjustments from there, right? Yes. Love it. Where's the best place for people to find you, Morrow?
Mauro (38m 43s):
Yeah, you can go on Instagram. Just type in my name and you're gonna find me there.
Brian (38m 48s):
Okay. Yeah, we'll put Links in the show notes. Six pack ceo.com as well, right?
Mauro (38m 53s):
Yes,
Brian (38m 54s):
Yes.
Mauro (38m 54s):
Six with letter
Brian (38m 56s):
Six with the le the letter six, correct? Yeah. All right. Well thanks for dropping all the knowledge with us today and appreciate you coming on the podcast.
Mauro (39m 5s):
Thank you very much for having me on, Brian.
Brian (39m 7s):
Yeah, have a great day. You too. Thanks for listening to the Get Lean Eat Clean Podcast. I understand there are millions of other podcasts out there and you've chosen to listen to mine and I appreciate that. Check out the show notes at Brian Gryn dot com for everything that was mentioned in this episode. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend or family member that's looking to get their body back to what it once was. Thanks again and have a great day.
