Have you ever grown tired of listening to advice from someone on social media and other channels who is clearly disconnected from the time when they were on the path up, working to get where they are now?

This week I was reflecting on the genesis of the Superset, and remembered a key foundational reason for starting it.

I was tired of being inundated with information from the bodybuilders who talked about diet and training in such an easy manner, while they had a full-time meal plan service and professional trainer.

And the runner who is a full-time content creator outlining their weekly plans to run 70 miles and work out multiple times a week.

Or the CEO who talked about their 3-hour wellness routine, clearly forgetting what a normal person’s schedule was like with a true 9-5 they are grinding through.

The Superset is a place to combat that. It’s built to provide practical life advice for you - the mom, the dad, the person climbing the 3rd and 4th rungs of their corporate ladder. The person wanting to run a marathon that has 2 kids and a 30-minute commute to work.

It’s great to listen to the advice of someone who has been there done that - a lot of the content in this letter is collected from these figures - but the core concept of this space is to provide actionable insights that you, a normal person, can reasonably implement into their lives. Let’s Have a day now

Brain - Do You Have “Anti-Goals?”

We all have set goals in our lives - it’s the common root of aspiration between our kind. We set goals for the new year, we set goals for our career, we set goals for our finances - we are a goal-oriented species. But at what point during these goal-setting stages do we (if ever) sit back and consider the inverse of the intention of that goal? Meaning - we set these goals with an idea in mind of what we want to accomplish, what we want to achieve - but are we missing the boat if we don’t consider what we aren’t willing to give up to achieve it?

Sahil Bloom, a great follow on socials (Instagram linked here), released his new book this past week “5 Types of Wealth”, and did the accompanying podcast tour to promote the book. A couple of my favorites of his appearances:

• Modern Wisdom - The Harsh Truth About Money and Happiness

• Rich Roll - The 5 Types of Wealth with Sahil Bloom

In all of his appearances I listened to, he referenced this idea from his book - “Anti-Goals.”

The concept is fairly simple and straightforward, but if you’re like me, it’s something that I had never dedicated the brain power to sitting down with my thoughts and putting pen to paper.

The idea of an “anti-goal” is simple - you have a “goal" - something you want to achieve - and you have an “anti-goal” or set of them - which are clearly defined boundaries on what you are NOT willing to sacrifice to achieve said goals.

The easiest case example is that of professional aspirations:

Say you’ve set a goal to reach a certain position at your company. The goal = reach “x” position. The anti-goal considerations - Are you willing to travel 120 days a year? Are you willing to sacrifice the time away from your family? What health (time in gym / diet) consolations will you have to make? Are you willing to give up time in the evenings spent with friends and family to work those longer hours? Does it come with occasional weekend work? Etc.

It’s not hard to reach the conclusions ourselves when we think about them, but the problem is, we probably haven’t actually spent the time to clearly define them.

Sahil talks about making a commitment to coach his son’s baseball team. His son isn’t old enough to play, but he says having this anti-goal allows him to operate and say yes & no to things based on the potential impact they could have on him being able to deliver on this promise to his son and himself.

These anti-goals don’t have to be large macro conversations either. They can be as simple as one-off events with friends - what are things you are unwilling to part with, that by saying yes to an invitation to do something, would contradict what you had deemed as an anti-goal?

It’s a fascinating, simple idea that I for one will be spending more time in thought with.

Body - 10 High Protein, Low-Calorie Food Options

For years I resisted the age-old sentiment that “losing weight is 10% gym, 90% kitchen.” It just never computed in my head. Surely I can outwork the calories I am consuming with the energy I am expending in the gym!

In 2020 when my scale finally tipped 245 pounds, I realized that I was the one with my head in the sand. The truth was, I loved the gym, but I also loved food (and therefore hated to diet). It was much more feasible mentally for me to imagine doing another 45 minutes of stairs than it was passing up Chic-Fil-A in-between my sales calls.

In 2020 I began my weight-loss journey and hired a coach. That led to my first body-building prep, and through that experience, I was humbled by the knowledge that very literally - no matter what I did in the gym - if I didn’t provide equal effort in tightening up my diet, I would never see results.

Now, in 2025, when I get to a block where I am trying to put on muscle or burn fat, I focus on a few, simple principles that I know from experience work:

• Protein Intake: Dieting or gaining, it doesn’t matter. Protein is the foundation of it all. My standard 365 days a year is minimum 1G of Protein per pound of body weight, stretching that as high as 1.5G per pound based on the season. It sounds counterintuitive to lose weight, but a high protein intake keeps you fuller on less calorie-dense foods, period.

• Volume: When dieting, it’s imperative that as you cut your calories, you find ways to trick your stomach into feeling fuller than the calories in your MyFitnessPal dictate. The easiest way to do this is to add low-calorie foods to each meal (Lettuce, Egg Whites, Low Cal Wraps, etc)

• Timing: Controlling your hunger is the name of the game. In my experience, the easiest way to do this is to push out my breakfast later into the day, consolidating the window I am packing my calories in, or to simply eat smaller meals, but more often throughout the day

If you are beginning a diet push, look to these 10 food options to accomplish all 3 of these - high protein, high volume, easy to disperse in meals for specific timing:

1. 0% Fat Greek Yogurt

   1. Protein: ~20g per 1 cup (150g)

   2. Calories: ~90

      1. Super high in protein with minimal fat and carbs, plus it contains probiotics for gut health.

2. Fat-Free Cottage Cheese

   1. Protein: ~15g per ½ cup (113g)

   2. Calories: ~80

      1. Slow-digesting casein protein, making it great for muscle retention.

3. Liquid Egg Whites

   1. Protein: ~13g per ½ cup

   2. Calories: ~65

      1. Pure protein, easy to add to meals, and incredibly versatile.

4. Whey or Casein Protein Powder

   1. Protein: ~25g per scoop (30g)

   2. Calories: ~100-120

      1. Super convenient, quick-digesting, and highly effective for hitting protein goals.

5. Shrimp

   1. Protein: ~20g per 3 oz (85g)

   2. Calories: ~90

      1. Virtually zero fat or carbs—pure lean protein.

6. White Fish (Cod, Tilapia, Haddock)

   1. Protein: ~20g per 3 oz

   2. Calories: ~80-100

      1. One of the leanest protein sources available.

7. Chicken Breast

   1. Protein: ~26g per 3 oz

   2. Calories: ~120

      1. Classic lean protein choice—filling and versatile.

8. Turkey Breast (99% Lean Ground or Sliced Deli) 

   1. Protein: ~25g per 3 oz

   2. Calories: ~120

      1. Leaner than traditional beef, but just as protein-packed.

9. Tuna (Canned in Water)

   1. Protein: ~20g per 3 oz

   2. Calories: ~90

      1. High in protein, low in calories, and easy to store and prepare.

10. Edamame (Soybeans)

    1. Protein: ~17g per 1 cup

    2. Calories: ~190

       1. One of the best plant-based high-protein, low-calorie options.

Book - A Lesson of Reading More and Running More

Over the past 75 days, I have been completely overtaken by “The Stormlight Archive” series by Brandon Sanderson (dork-Cruz checking into the game). I had known about these books for a while and had heard the great reviews from those who I knew had read them, but I had simply not been able to wrap my mind around the idea of taking on a series of books (five currently) that all spanned 1000 - 1300 pages a piece.

It’s funny how life presents these similar challenges in different realms for us. You have a limiting belief about what you are able to accomplish because of some preconceived notions you’ve developed over time.

Pre-Brandon Sanderson, I think the longest book I had ever read was in the 550 page range, and I remember that being a slog at the time.

But now, 75 days and 3.5 books into this behemoth of a series, I have a new-found appreciation for reading and story-telling, but also a new-found belief that I can, and will, read much more than I have in the past.

This experience is IDENTICAL to my experience beginning running. I believed I wasn’t a runner. I couldn’t run 3 miles, let alone conceive the idea that I could run a marathon. Then I started running, and a couple miles became easier, and then I quick-started the process, signed up for a marathon, and ultimately - just like all other pursuits in life - the belief in my ability to accomplish the running feat increased on a parallel line to the action I was taking to get there.

Once you’ve run a marathon, running 6, 8, 10 miles feels like nothing. But when you’ve only run 3, that feels like an eternity.

I have found a similar foundation in reading - if you’re only reading a few pages a day, of course a book of this size is daunting. But when you commit to finishing it, you start to find more time to read. You become more process-oriented in how you approach finishing it. And in the process, you simply get better at reading and burning through pages.

Challenge yourself this week to finish a book that is longer than any you’ve ever read before. Make it something you will enjoy reading, and get to work. Finish it, and reap the rewards as you begin reading other, shorter books with a new-found belief in yourself that you can and will do more.