Welcome to The Hard Truth Podcast.
This is Jeremy Fouts.
In today’s episode, I have a list of about 11 questions that I’ve continued to get over the last couple of weeks.
And I’m gonna answer these questions.
I figured it would be easier instead of responding to Instagram messages, emails, different things like that.
Just do a whole podcast on these top popular questions.
And I’m gonna answer all 11 of these today.
So I’m excited for you to be on this podcast, and I hope that these questions and answers bring value to you.
Well, again, today, we’re gonna be answering questions that’s came in to me over the last several weeks, and I’m excited to answer these questions.
These questions that I’m addressing today that has come through my Instagram, personal messages, you know, from my email, you know, these are continuous, ongoing questions.
That’s why I chose these.
Obviously, I’m not able to get to all the questions, but these are continuing coming up.
You know, how do I address these different issues?
So tonight, or today, we are going to be talking about, you know, answering these questions, and I’m excited for you to be on here.
The first question, how can you as a parent prioritize self-care and maintain your own well-being while being an involved parent?
That’s a great question.
And, you know, it’s very difficult.
I mean, our schedule here is crazy.
You know, Pearson’s got a ball game tomorrow.
He’s got a ball game Friday.
He’s got a ball game Saturday, Sunday.
Candace and Beckett are actually flying out tomorrow to go to Denver to be there till Sunday to fly back to have one day here in Dallas.
Then Tuesday’s flying to Omaha to play baseball.
I’m back with Pearson.
I mean, our schedule is crazy.
So absolutely it becomes difficult, but self-care.
All of us have been on an airplane, and they tell every one of us, you’ve heard this a million times, the first thing you do is put your oxygen mask on before you can help someone else.
And that is the reason why it may be difficult with busy schedules and everything going on in life, but you have to take care of self first, or you’re not going to be able to help other people.
That’s as simple as it gets.
You have to have daily disciplines that we call non-negotiables that you have to take care of.
And for me, that’s my physical fitness, that’s my nutrition, that’s my journal time, that’s my personal development time.
But for me to be the best parent that I can be, it’s a priority, a non-negotiable on a daily basis.
Now, do some workouts more intense?
Do I have more time on certain days to really pour more into?
Absolutely, but I stay consistent and have the daily disciplines of taking care of self.
Number two is how do you as a parent establish effective communication with your children?
I’ve got a lot of parenting questions on this Q&A, and I think it’s valuable for people to really strive and push themself to be the best parent.
So that question is pretty simple for me to answer, and that is spend time with them away from their cell phones and away from your cell phone and visit with them, spend time with them.
You know, that’s why I love the outdoors.
A lot of you have heard that episode.
I love camping trips without no cell phones.
I love fishing trips.
I love hunting trips.
You know, when we’re at dinner, you know, saying, hey, while we’re eating dinner, while we’re eating breakfast, no phones.
And as a parent, though, you’ve got to get involved with what your kids enjoy.
You know, I mean, I love my son Beckett.
He likes music that I don’t like, but when we go to the games, we listen to Beckett’s music, and we talk about his music.
You know, another really important thing as a parent is getting to know your friends or your kids’ friends’ names.
Who’s your friends?
You know, tell me about Johnny.
You know, what did you do today?
But understand, you have to show that you have interest in their interest.
My oldest son, I can tell you what he likes.
He likes exactly what I like.
My youngest son, he’s definitely his own breed.
He has a total different taste bud for music, for activities.
But you have to prioritize time, and you have to remove the cell phone, remove the video games, and really spend time with them, getting to know them, getting to know their interests, getting to know their friends.
But I promise you, that is the best investment you can ever make, is spending time with your kids.
You know, we’ve been fortunate enough to be blessed to have some, you know, really cool toys, really cool things, but the times that I’ve spent with my boys, they’ll tell you, the hunting trips, the fishing trips, the beach trips, and spending time with them is priceless.
It’s the memories you make, and you’ll never ever forget that.
But make sure you prioritize time with your kids.
Number three is, what are some signs that a young athlete may not be getting adequate nutrition?
Okay, I would say two things.
Number one is performance.
Number two is recovery.
That is probably the biggest things.
If you’ve got a kid that is playing very competitive sports, he’s running out of fuel, then that means he’s not got enough fuel in him.
If he’s cramping up, he’s getting dehydrated.
If he’s not able to push, maybe he’s looking for more protein in the gym or even in between games.
Maybe his blood sugar is low if his attitude is bad.
That’s something that, as with Pearson, I noticed a lot when he was younger.
He was more skinny, and I would have him munching on grapes, healthy sugars in between innings while he was pitching.
And then recovery, if they’re continuously being sore, they’re not sleeping right.
But the nutrition piece, if you are listening as parents, the quicker you learn this yourself and teach your kids, if you’re running out of fuel, that means we got to put more fuel in.
If you’re not recovering, then that means we’re doing something wrong from a sleep standpoint, from a nutrition standpoint.
Understand the importance of proteins and carbs and the good fats, and understand when you need to put those in your diet from a performance standpoint.
If your kids are running out of fuel, there’s a reason.
I’ve always been an athlete.
I never really did have a crave running long distances, but I’ll never forget learning how to run the first half marathon.
Getting to mile nine, you’re out of fuel, and you’re like, man, I’m out of fuel.
But you have to teach your kids the importance of nutrition, and that will be a lesson that not only will help them perform in sports better, but a lesson that they can take all the way through adulthood.
Question number four is, how can parents model healthy eating habits for their children even amidst a busy schedule of sports activities and commitments?
OK, again, this is priorities.
You know, is it difficult?
Absolutely.
I cook a whole lot on Sundays.
We have our whole meals planned out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday when we’re not traveling.
If we’re traveling, when Candice flies up to Denver, the first thing she’s going to do is do an order from a grocery store, even if she’s staying in a hotel.
She’s going to order grapes, blueberries, cottage cheese, yogurt, meat sticks.
We’re going to use our Corvi protein shake, obviously, and she’s going to have hydration product.
She’s going to have everything in that hotel room.
Yes, they’re still going to go to the team dinners.
Yes, they’re still going to be able to pick up a burger every once in a while, but the main course is they’re going to have good nutrition in their diet all the way through.
So it is difficult, you know, but on Monday night, so if we have a baseball game, I don’t say, what do you want to do for dinner?
We say we have chicken in the crock pot.
You know, we’re going to eat chicken.
We’re going to have a salad.
We’re going to have some Brussels sprouts.
We’re going to have a sweet potato.
Tuesday night, if we have another ball game, we already have it planned.
You know, I’ve got some steaks that we got laid out.
It’ll take me five minutes to make those steaks.
Two minutes on each side in the oven for about two minutes.
We’re good.
I mean, but I understand you have to plan ahead, and it is difficult, but it starts to be this easy way of part of your routine.
And you say, no problem.
Let’s plan out our meals.
And guys, not only is that going to save you a lot of money, but the over and over going out at restaurants, the over and over going to Chick-fil-A and just grab this or grab that, that’s not good for you.
That’s going to be really taxing on your health long term.
So it is difficult, but it’s a priority that if you make, you’ll see big returns in your diet, your nutrition, and the way you feel.
Question number five, this person has two questions.
Number one, how do you deal with stress?
I personally deal with stress by my workouts.
I mean, that is something that is my stress reliever.
The other two biggest parts of my stress relievers is the cold plunge and the sauna.
That’s the two other things other than working out.
But you need to find you an outlet.
You know, I mean, if it’s running, get you a five-mile run in every morning.
I’m big on strength training as well.
That’s gonna be a question here in a few minutes.
You’ve got to build muscle because we’re losing muscle every year over the age of 40.
You know, but if you’ve got to find something that you look forward to, that this is my outlet, whether it be some way to burn calories that you look forward to, to getting that stress out of your life.
You know, because a lot of these times, these kids see you stressed.
That’s not that kid’s fault.
You know, my kids, not to say that I’m perfect, I’m 48.
My boy is 17, about to be 15.
They have saw dad stressed, but not very many times.
I leave my work there in the office.
I go out, I try to be a dad.
I don’t walk in, oh, it’s a stressful day.
Oh, that means I didn’t take care of myself.
And that was going back to that first question, but learn how to manage stress through getting that out in something that is your release point.
The second part of this question is, sports teams have changed drastically these days compared to our days.
And I guess this person must be my age.
Do you worry about burnout in athletics with your kids?
Now, this is a great question because I hear a lot of times that, you know, parents, I’ve got several sides of this, right?
Is they’ll say, well, my son, he’s 14 now, and he just don’t like baseball no more.
He just don’t like lacrosse no more.
He just don’t like, you know, he got burned out.
Okay, here’s what I’ve saw a lot of times, is the parents get tired of the commitment on their part.
You know, the parents are over and over, you know, spending their weekends at the ball fields.
They’re spending their weekends, or their weeks running to practices and all these different things.
And I’ll tell you, parents, remember my Raising Athletes Podcast.
Go listen to it.
What we’re trying to do is give our kids an opportunity to understand all the parts about athletics.
Not just win a ring, not just win a trophy, but it’s all about becoming a leader, learning sportsmanship, all these different things.
And so if your son didn’t make a team, your daughter didn’t make a team, then all of a sudden, I don’t know if I’m willing to take them to practice and to do those different things.
And then we taught the Johnny about burnout.
Now that needs to be something that never comes out of your mouth because remember, during this process, we’re grooming this young lady, we’re grooming this young man into being a warrior and to being a champion that’s gonna carry them all the way through life.
The other part of that, I see a lot of Johnny’s, a lot of Little Lucy’s that maybe at 14, 15, they don’t make the team they want, or maybe they get cut or whatever the situation may be.
So then all of a sudden they’re burned out.
You’ve got to help your young athlete say, you know what, we’re not gonna quit on this.
Even Michael Jordan got cut in his freshman year, now he’s the best basketball player to ever play.
We’re gonna show them how to push through these struggles, how to go through these times, and that’s going to carry them on through the rest of their life.
You know, the other part of this is parents, let me tell you, it is okay if you see that, you know what, we’re gonna miss this tournament to do a family vacation.
Now, so if you see that truly your kid is physically tired, you know, and not recovering properly, it is okay to say, hey, it’s okay, let me email the coach, give him way advance warning, but it’s okay to miss something, okay?
So I’m not giving you an excuse to say, oh, I’m gonna miss something, then miss something, then miss something, because Jeremy said, no, I’m not saying that.
But if you see that your family needs a vacation and needs a break, and one of your kids is gonna have to miss a tournament, give your coach plenty of time ahead of time for they can make arrangements, and it’s okay to still have balance in family.
I mean, come right back to it, though, and get at it, give it the best.
But it’s okay to miss something.
And that’s something that’s been hard for me because we’re committed to so many different teams and different things.
And you know what?
Sometimes we have to miss a tournament.
You know, when we have an injury or maybe not recovered the way we need to recover, or we need a family vacation, that is perfectly okay.
But don’t fall in to the excuse of, you know what, times are getting tough.
My kid’s not developing properly.
So therefore, instead of working on workouts, working on nutrition, we’re just gonna say that we got burned out.
Question number six, how do you approach social media with your kids?
Do you monitor their accounts?
You know, I don’t feel like any teenager can be given anything and just trust that they’re not gonna make a mistake.
You know, the biggest thing with social media, it’s a tool, I’m not gonna say it’s not, but it’s also a weapon.
It can be a way that if your kid is over and over consuming the information that’s not going to develop their brain, then I promise you it’s not gonna be good for them.
You know, so it’s very important to really understand where they’re spending their time on social media.
You know, grab their phone on TikTok or on Instagram, scroll through that, and the algorithm knows what they like seeing the most, and then have a communication, have talked to them about it.
You know, if I’ve got a boy and he’s 14 and all I see is girls in bikinis, I’m talking to him.
I’m like, look, man, I don’t see a lot of personal development on your Instagram feed.
Here’s what I mainly see.
Let’s talk about this.
You know, there’s nothing wrong with the boy seeing a girl in a bikini, but if over and over, that’s all we’re doing, and we’re not putting good things in our mind, you’ve heard me on my podcast over and over talk about, it’s easy for people to understand if you eat McDonald’s 30 days a week, 30 times a week, or 30 times in a month, you’re gonna look like McDonald’s, okay?
But it’s the same way with our mind.
If we’re not putting good, positive things in our mind, not giving our mind good food, then we’re not going to be able to become the person we want to become.
So yes, have that conversation with them.
Number one, about posting things or commenting on things that is on social media, that is gonna be with them forever.
So teach them that unfortunately, not the way I grew up, but because I would have just said that I didn’t do it, and he would have probably believed me.
Nowadays, we can pull up anything and be able to look and have proof.
Someone can screenshot, but talk to them.
Guys, this is the problem.
You know, Pearson, Beckett, when you make that one comment that maybe is something negative to hurt someone’s feelings, or when you do this or that, there’s gonna be repercussions.
You’re going to, that’s going to be with you forever.
So yes, 100%, you need to spend time talking to your kids about social media and let them understand that what you choose to watch over and over is going to be a reflection of your actions.
Number seven is do I need to work out every day?
I get this question often.
People say, do I need to work out every day?
Well, I work out six days a week, okay?
Now, one thing I’ll tell you is if you don’t move and you don’t stay active, you’re not going to be the type of person you need to be.
So don’t look at working out as like something that you have to do.
Like, I don’t want to work out, but they said I have to work out.
Look at it as a joy, as this is a way for me to become better.
That’s why I love trying to find something every 90 days to train for.
You know, I’m going to train for a half marathon.
I’m going to look stupid if I do not put the time and do it properly.
I’m going to train for a bodybuilding competition.
I’m going to train for a jujitsu competition.
I’m going to train for whatever it is, a triathlon, but find you something and train.
You know, I actually had an accident this past fall, not from working out.
I won’t get into the details of it, but I had an accident this fall, and I was not able to work out for about 30 days.
I was laid up on the couch, and I watched Arnold Schwarzenegger, I watched all these different workout guys, and I’ll never forget thinking, man, I would do anything to work out.
That was taken from me.
You’ve got to understand that is a joy for you to be able to work out.
There’s someone in a wheelchair that would love to be able to go to the gym and move some weights around or go on a two-mile run.
So don’t look at it as a punishment.
You know, do I have to work out today?
Look at it as I’m living, I’m not dead.
I have an opportunity today to go out and be the best that I can be.
If I get up and go work out in the mornings and I come home and cook breakfast for my kids, there’s something that that does for me that says, you know what?
I did something that the other 98% of the people can’t do.
Have that mindset that this is not a punishment.
This is actually a reward that I am physically able to go out and give it my best today.
Next question is, how do you value cardio versus strength training?
Okay, cardio is very important.
As we get older, one of the things we definitely need to pay attention to is our VO2 max.
It is very, very important, but also strength training.
Once you get over 40, you’re gonna lose a percentage of muscle every year.
And when you watch older people, that fall and break a hip, and then they hardly recover, or they fall off some steps or whatever, it’s because they have lost that muscle tissue.
And I am a big advocate for strength training.
If you say, Jeremy, I want to lose 20 pounds, what would you recommend?
Get me on a good four to five day a week strength training with about 20 minutes of cardio, maybe 10,000 to 13,000 steps a day, and stick with it.
But building muscle is something that’s going to increase your ability to do everything better.
It’s going to help you burn more calories as you’re resting.
It’s going to, your BMR, I mean, everything that you want to accomplish from a longevity standpoint is in strength training, and cardio is very valuable as well.
So I wouldn’t put cardio over strength training.
I wouldn’t put strength training over cardio.
They’re both very, very important, but I’m a big advocate on strength training, but also getting your cardio in.
Number nine, work-life balance with cell phones.
And this is a question that a guy just sent me, and I feel like it was good to read the whole question the way he wrote it, because I know all of you can probably understand this better.
I feel like I’m always working, even on vacations, because of cell phones.
When we went on vacation with our parents, they were able to get away and enjoy time with us, but cell phones and social media are like the death of our society, in my opinion.
I couldn’t agree with this guy more.
So Jeremy, how would you answer that question?
One of my mentors that I learned probably more about personal development than anyone was a guy named Jim Roan.
And Jim Roan talked about this.
He said, when you’re at the beach, be at the beach.
When you’re at work, be at work.
When I was making my millions in my 30s, this is something that I even struggled with.
And I’ll tell you, it was so easy to grab that phone.
What I learned to do at night is right beside my bed, I put my phone on airplane mode.
When I went on a date night with my wife, I would leave it in the truck.
And you have to understand that missing that one call, and it took me a while to learn this, it’s not gonna be the death of your business.
As a matter of fact, most of the time, if they can’t get ahold of you every five seconds, they’re gonna see your leadership is up here.
And you know what?
I know Jeremy didn’t answer my phone because he didn’t want to.
I know Jeremy has got something else he’s working on right now.
So prioritizing, so if I’m on vacation for seven days and I do need to work, then the best thing to do is leave your phone in the condo, leave your phone in the hotel room, go spend time with the beach, at the beach with your family.
But if you have to work, say I’m gonna work from one to two today, I’m gonna leave my phone up at the room, I’m gonna go up to the room, I’m gonna do that one hour work, and then I’m gonna be done.
You know, that’s something that’s always worked for me.
But yes, social media, don’t let yourself continue find of just scrolling through, scrolling through, scrolling through, wasting time.
Time is our most precious valuable thing that we have.
Don’t let social media just suck you dry.
And do not let the fact of you thinking, if I don’t be by my phone 24 seven, I’m not going to be able to be successful.
That’s not the way it works.
Number 10, and I’ve got this a lot from several different people.
Are you pushing your kids to go to college?
I’ve told my boys since they was young, if you choose that you don’t want to go to college, that is perfectly fine with me.
That’s what I’ve said from the word go.
I mean, if they wanted to be an entrepreneurial, wealthy individual, college is probably not for them.
If they want to be a doctor or an attorney, then college is necessary.
You know, my boys have chose the fact that they want to play college sports.
So, yes, I’m pushing it because that’s what they want to do.
That’s their interest.
That’s what they love to do.
If for some reason we had an injury, like for my oldest son, you know what?
He’s always wanted to fly jets.
He’ll be in the military.
You know, he wants to choose military over college.
And for some reason, he’s not able to play college sports.
You know, I don’t know about Beckett yet.
He might be a rapper.
I don’t know what he wants to be.
But he loves lacrosse, and he wants to play college lacrosse.
You know, so that’s something that we are helping him and making sure we’re picking, you know, the right things in order to prepare him in order to be put in that position.
But if you have a kid and they’re not involved in sports at a high level, they don’t want to go to college, my suggestion is find them a good trade.
You know, you can go to a trade school and be a plumber and learn business, be an electrician, and make millions of dollars.
You know, so college is not for every kid.
You know, I’m not going to push a family, in my own opinion, to make your kid go to college even if he or she does not want to go to college.
In my opinion, college is not for every kid.
Last question, number 11.
I’m not an athlete, but my kids are wanting to move from rec.
sports to select sports.
How can I help them, and what differences should I expect as a parent?
Okay, this is a big jump.
From rec.
sports to select sports, it’s a big jump.
Now, I personally think that in order to go to that next level, to measure your kids’ competition levels, physical levels, all those different things, there does come a time that if they love sports, they need to make that change.
It is a big difference.
It’s a bigger commitment.
Time-wise, it’s a bigger commitment.
Finance-wise, how can I help them?
I can be 100% supportive and realize that the coach is going to work with them and select sports, but it’s my job as a parent to work with them after that practice.
It’s my job to make sure we get private lessons also.
We continue to work on our training, our nutrition, all those things.
You know, so as a parent, you know, again, finding their interests and supporting those interests.
You know, and if it’s select sports and that’s what they want to go to, you need to sit down with them and say, this is a big financial responsibility that I’m committing to as a parent.
But if this is your interest, I will support you.
I will back you.
I will love you.
I’m going to spend the time.
But what I want from you, and this is what I tell my boys, whether you’re sitting on the bench or you’re hitting two home runs, we’re not going to complain.
We’re going to work as hard as we can work to be the best that we can be.
So when you don’t want to go to a practice because you’re tired, I don’t want to hear it.
When you don’t want to go do the extra work outside of practice, I don’t want to hear it.
If I’m, as a parent, going to commit all this finances, commit my time, then I want you to give it 100% on the field, off the field, and I will help you and support you as a parent.
Guys, I hope that you found value in today’s Q&A.
And continue.
You can Instagram me, message.
Any questions in the future, I may do this again.
Also, email me.
Go to the website.
You can email there for jeremyfouts.com.
But thank you guys for joining The Hard Truth Podcast.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the page, whether you’re listening on Spotify or Apple.
Leave us a review that will help with algorithms.
Thank you guys for joining The Hard Truth Podcast.
Yes.Welcome to The Hard Truth Podcast.
This is Jeremy Fouts.
In today’s episode, I have a list of about 11 questions that I’ve continued to get over the last couple of weeks.
And I’m gonna answer these questions.
I figured it would be easier instead of responding to Instagram messages, emails, different things like that.
Just do a whole podcast on these top popular questions.
And I’m gonna answer all 11 of these today.
So I’m excited for you to be on this podcast, and I hope that these questions and answers bring value to you.
Well, again, today, we’re gonna be answering questions that’s came in to me over the last several weeks, and I’m excited to answer these questions.
These questions that I’m addressing today that has come through my Instagram, personal messages, you know, from my email, you know, these are continuous, ongoing questions.
That’s why I chose these.
Obviously, I’m not able to get to all the questions, but these are continuing coming up.
You know, how do I address these different issues?
So tonight, or today, we are going to be talking about, you know, answering these questions, and I’m excited for you to be on here.
The first question, how can you as a parent prioritize self-care and maintain your own well-being while being an involved parent?
That’s a great question.
And, you know, it’s very difficult.
I mean, our schedule here is crazy.
You know, Pearson’s got a ball game tomorrow.
He’s got a ball game Friday.
He’s got a ball game Saturday, Sunday.
Candace and Beckett are actually flying out tomorrow to go to Denver to be there till Sunday to fly back to have one day here in Dallas.
Then Tuesday’s flying to Omaha to play baseball.
I’m back with Pearson.
I mean, our schedule is crazy.
So absolutely it becomes difficult, but self-care.
All of us have been on an airplane, and they tell every one of us, you’ve heard this a million times, the first thing you do is put your oxygen mask on before you can help someone else.
And that is the reason why it may be difficult with busy schedules and everything going on in life, but you have to take care of self first, or you’re not going to be able to help other people.
That’s as simple as it gets.
You have to have daily disciplines that we call non-negotiables that you have to take care of.
And for me, that’s my physical fitness, that’s my nutrition, that’s my journal time, that’s my personal development time.
But for me to be the best parent that I can be, it’s a priority, a non-negotiable on a daily basis.
Now, do some workouts more intense?
Do I have more time on certain days to really pour more into?
Absolutely, but I stay consistent and have the daily disciplines of taking care of self.
Number two is how do you as a parent establish effective communication with your children?
I’ve got a lot of parenting questions on this Q&A, and I think it’s valuable for people to really strive and push themself to be the best parent.
So that question is pretty simple for me to answer, and that is spend time with them away from their cell phones and away from your cell phone and visit with them, spend time with them.
You know, that’s why I love the outdoors.
A lot of you have heard that episode.
I love camping trips without no cell phones.
I love fishing trips.
I love hunting trips.
You know, when we’re at dinner, you know, saying, hey, while we’re eating dinner, while we’re eating breakfast, no phones.
And as a parent, though, you’ve got to get involved with what your kids enjoy.
You know, I mean, I love my son Beckett.
He likes music that I don’t like, but when we go to the games, we listen to Beckett’s music, and we talk about his music.
You know, another really important thing as a parent is getting to know your friends or your kids’ friends’ names.
Who’s your friends?
You know, tell me about Johnny.
You know, what did you do today?
But understand, you have to show that you have interest in their interest.
My oldest son, I can tell you what he likes.
He likes exactly what I like.
My youngest son, he’s definitely his own breed.
He has a total different taste bud for music, for activities.
But you have to prioritize time, and you have to remove the cell phone, remove the video games, and really spend time with them, getting to know them, getting to know their interests, getting to know their friends.
But I promise you, that is the best investment you can ever make, is spending time with your kids.
You know, we’ve been fortunate enough to be blessed to have some, you know, really cool toys, really cool things, but the times that I’ve spent with my boys, they’ll tell you, the hunting trips, the fishing trips, the beach trips, and spending time with them is priceless.
It’s the memories you make, and you’ll never ever forget that.
But make sure you prioritize time with your kids.
Number three is, what are some signs that a young athlete may not be getting adequate nutrition?
Okay, I would say two things.
Number one is performance.
Number two is recovery.
That is probably the biggest things.
If you’ve got a kid that is playing very competitive sports, he’s running out of fuel, then that means he’s not got enough fuel in him.
If he’s cramping up, he’s getting dehydrated.
If he’s not able to push, maybe he’s looking for more protein in the gym or even in between games.
Maybe his blood sugar is low if his attitude is bad.
That’s something that, as with Pearson, I noticed a lot when he was younger.
He was more skinny, and I would have him munching on grapes, healthy sugars in between innings while he was pitching.
And then recovery, if they’re continuously being sore, they’re not sleeping right.
But the nutrition piece, if you are listening as parents, the quicker you learn this yourself and teach your kids, if you’re running out of fuel, that means we got to put more fuel in.
If you’re not recovering, then that means we’re doing something wrong from a sleep standpoint, from a nutrition standpoint.
Understand the importance of proteins and carbs and the good fats, and understand when you need to put those in your diet from a performance standpoint.
If your kids are running out of fuel, there’s a reason.
I’ve always been an athlete.
I never really did have a crave running long distances, but I’ll never forget learning how to run the first half marathon.
Getting to mile nine, you’re out of fuel, and you’re like, man, I’m out of fuel.
But you have to teach your kids the importance of nutrition, and that will be a lesson that not only will help them perform in sports better, but a lesson that they can take all the way through adulthood.
Question number four is, how can parents model healthy eating habits for their children even amidst a busy schedule of sports activities and commitments?
OK, again, this is priorities.
You know, is it difficult?
Absolutely.
I cook a whole lot on Sundays.
We have our whole meals planned out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday when we’re not traveling.
If we’re traveling, when Candice flies up to Denver, the first thing she’s going to do is do an order from a grocery store, even if she’s staying in a hotel.
She’s going to order grapes, blueberries, cottage cheese, yogurt, meat sticks.
We’re going to use our Corvi protein shake, obviously, and she’s going to have hydration product.
She’s going to have everything in that hotel room.
Yes, they’re still going to go to the team dinners.
Yes, they’re still going to be able to pick up a burger every once in a while, but the main course is they’re going to have good nutrition in their diet all the way through.
So it is difficult, you know, but on Monday night, so if we have a baseball game, I don’t say, what do you want to do for dinner?
We say we have chicken in the crock pot.
You know, we’re going to eat chicken.
We’re going to have a salad.
We’re going to have some Brussels sprouts.
We’re going to have a sweet potato.
Tuesday night, if we have another ball game, we already have it planned.
You know, I’ve got some steaks that we got laid out.
It’ll take me five minutes to make those steaks.
Two minutes on each side in the oven for about two minutes.
We’re good.
I mean, but I understand you have to plan ahead, and it is difficult, but it starts to be this easy way of part of your routine.
And you say, no problem.
Let’s plan out our meals.
And guys, not only is that going to save you a lot of money, but the over and over going out at restaurants, the over and over going to Chick-fil-A and just grab this or grab that, that’s not good for you.
That’s going to be really taxing on your health long term.
So it is difficult, but it’s a priority that if you make, you’ll see big returns in your diet, your nutrition, and the way you feel.
Question number five, this person has two questions.
Number one, how do you deal with stress?
I personally deal with stress by my workouts.
I mean, that is something that is my stress reliever.
The other two biggest parts of my stress relievers is the cold plunge and the sauna.
That’s the two other things other than working out.
But you need to find you an outlet.
You know, I mean, if it’s running, get you a five-mile run in every morning.
I’m big on strength training as well.
That’s gonna be a question here in a few minutes.
You’ve got to build muscle because we’re losing muscle every year over the age of 40.
You know, but if you’ve got to find something that you look forward to, that this is my outlet, whether it be some way to burn calories that you look forward to, to getting that stress out of your life.
You know, because a lot of these times, these kids see you stressed.
That’s not that kid’s fault.
You know, my kids, not to say that I’m perfect, I’m 48.
My boy is 17, about to be 15.
They have saw dad stressed, but not very many times.
I leave my work there in the office.
I go out, I try to be a dad.
I don’t walk in, oh, it’s a stressful day.
Oh, that means I didn’t take care of myself.
And that was going back to that first question, but learn how to manage stress through getting that out in something that is your release point.
The second part of this question is, sports teams have changed drastically these days compared to our days.
And I guess this person must be my age.
Do you worry about burnout in athletics with your kids?
Now, this is a great question because I hear a lot of times that, you know, parents, I’ve got several sides of this, right?
Is they’ll say, well, my son, he’s 14 now, and he just don’t like baseball no more.
He just don’t like lacrosse no more.
He just don’t like, you know, he got burned out.
Okay, here’s what I’ve saw a lot of times, is the parents get tired of the commitment on their part.
You know, the parents are over and over, you know, spending their weekends at the ball fields.
They’re spending their weekends, or their weeks running to practices and all these different things.
And I’ll tell you, parents, remember my Raising Athletes Podcast.
Go listen to it.
What we’re trying to do is give our kids an opportunity to understand all the parts about athletics.
Not just win a ring, not just win a trophy, but it’s all about becoming a leader, learning sportsmanship, all these different things.
And so if your son didn’t make a team, your daughter didn’t make a team, then all of a sudden, I don’t know if I’m willing to take them to practice and to do those different things.
And then we taught the Johnny about burnout.
Now that needs to be something that never comes out of your mouth because remember, during this process, we’re grooming this young lady, we’re grooming this young man into being a warrior and to being a champion that’s gonna carry them all the way through life.
The other part of that, I see a lot of Johnny’s, a lot of Little Lucy’s that maybe at 14, 15, they don’t make the team they want, or maybe they get cut or whatever the situation may be.
So then all of a sudden they’re burned out.
You’ve got to help your young athlete say, you know what, we’re not gonna quit on this.
Even Michael Jordan got cut in his freshman year, now he’s the best basketball player to ever play.
We’re gonna show them how to push through these struggles, how to go through these times, and that’s going to carry them on through the rest of their life.
You know, the other part of this is parents, let me tell you, it is okay if you see that, you know what, we’re gonna miss this tournament to do a family vacation.
Now, so if you see that truly your kid is physically tired, you know, and not recovering properly, it is okay to say, hey, it’s okay, let me email the coach, give him way advance warning, but it’s okay to miss something, okay?
So I’m not giving you an excuse to say, oh, I’m gonna miss something, then miss something, then miss something, because Jeremy said, no, I’m not saying that.
But if you see that your family needs a vacation and needs a break, and one of your kids is gonna have to miss a tournament, give your coach plenty of time ahead of time for they can make arrangements, and it’s okay to still have balance in family.
I mean, come right back to it, though, and get at it, give it the best.
But it’s okay to miss something.
And that’s something that’s been hard for me because we’re committed to so many different teams and different things.
And you know what?
Sometimes we have to miss a tournament.
You know, when we have an injury or maybe not recovered the way we need to recover, or we need a family vacation, that is perfectly okay.
But don’t fall in to the excuse of, you know what, times are getting tough.
My kid’s not developing properly.
So therefore, instead of working on workouts, working on nutrition, we’re just gonna say that we got burned out.
Question number six, how do you approach social media with your kids?
Do you monitor their accounts?
You know, I don’t feel like any teenager can be given anything and just trust that they’re not gonna make a mistake.
You know, the biggest thing with social media, it’s a tool, I’m not gonna say it’s not, but it’s also a weapon.
It can be a way that if your kid is over and over consuming the information that’s not going to develop their brain, then I promise you it’s not gonna be good for them.
You know, so it’s very important to really understand where they’re spending their time on social media.
You know, grab their phone on TikTok or on Instagram, scroll through that, and the algorithm knows what they like seeing the most, and then have a communication, have talked to them about it.
You know, if I’ve got a boy and he’s 14 and all I see is girls in bikinis, I’m talking to him.
I’m like, look, man, I don’t see a lot of personal development on your Instagram feed.
Here’s what I mainly see.
Let’s talk about this.
You know, there’s nothing wrong with the boy seeing a girl in a bikini, but if over and over, that’s all we’re doing, and we’re not putting good things in our mind, you’ve heard me on my podcast over and over talk about, it’s easy for people to understand if you eat McDonald’s 30 days a week, 30 times a week, or 30 times in a month, you’re gonna look like McDonald’s, okay?
But it’s the same way with our mind.
If we’re not putting good, positive things in our mind, not giving our mind good food, then we’re not going to be able to become the person we want to become.
So yes, have that conversation with them.
Number one, about posting things or commenting on things that is on social media, that is gonna be with them forever.
So teach them that unfortunately, not the way I grew up, but because I would have just said that I didn’t do it, and he would have probably believed me.
Nowadays, we can pull up anything and be able to look and have proof.
Someone can screenshot, but talk to them.
Guys, this is the problem.
You know, Pearson, Beckett, when you make that one comment that maybe is something negative to hurt someone’s feelings, or when you do this or that, there’s gonna be repercussions.
You’re going to, that’s going to be with you forever.
So yes, 100%, you need to spend time talking to your kids about social media and let them understand that what you choose to watch over and over is going to be a reflection of your actions.
Number seven is do I need to work out every day?
I get this question often.
People say, do I need to work out every day?
Well, I work out six days a week, okay?
Now, one thing I’ll tell you is if you don’t move and you don’t stay active, you’re not going to be the type of person you need to be.
So don’t look at working out as like something that you have to do.
Like, I don’t want to work out, but they said I have to work out.
Look at it as a joy, as this is a way for me to become better.
That’s why I love trying to find something every 90 days to train for.
You know, I’m going to train for a half marathon.
I’m going to look stupid if I do not put the time and do it properly.
I’m going to train for a bodybuilding competition.
I’m going to train for a jujitsu competition.
I’m going to train for whatever it is, a triathlon, but find you something and train.
You know, I actually had an accident this past fall, not from working out.
I won’t get into the details of it, but I had an accident this fall, and I was not able to work out for about 30 days.
I was laid up on the couch, and I watched Arnold Schwarzenegger, I watched all these different workout guys, and I’ll never forget thinking, man, I would do anything to work out.
That was taken from me.
You’ve got to understand that is a joy for you to be able to work out.
There’s someone in a wheelchair that would love to be able to go to the gym and move some weights around or go on a two-mile run.
So don’t look at it as a punishment.
You know, do I have to work out today?
Look at it as I’m living, I’m not dead.
I have an opportunity today to go out and be the best that I can be.
If I get up and go work out in the mornings and I come home and cook breakfast for my kids, there’s something that that does for me that says, you know what?
I did something that the other 98% of the people can’t do.
Have that mindset that this is not a punishment.
This is actually a reward that I am physically able to go out and give it my best today.
Next question is, how do you value cardio versus strength training?
Okay, cardio is very important.
As we get older, one of the things we definitely need to pay attention to is our VO2 max.
It is very, very important, but also strength training.
Once you get over 40, you’re gonna lose a percentage of muscle every year.
And when you watch older people, that fall and break a hip, and then they hardly recover, or they fall off some steps or whatever, it’s because they have lost that muscle tissue.
And I am a big advocate for strength training.
If you say, Jeremy, I want to lose 20 pounds, what would you recommend?
Get me on a good four to five day a week strength training with about 20 minutes of cardio, maybe 10,000 to 13,000 steps a day, and stick with it.
But building muscle is something that’s going to increase your ability to do everything better.
It’s going to help you burn more calories as you’re resting.
It’s going to, your BMR, I mean, everything that you want to accomplish from a longevity standpoint is in strength training, and cardio is very valuable as well.
So I wouldn’t put cardio over strength training.
I wouldn’t put strength training over cardio.
They’re both very, very important, but I’m a big advocate on strength training, but also getting your cardio in.
Number nine, work-life balance with cell phones.
And this is a question that a guy just sent me, and I feel like it was good to read the whole question the way he wrote it, because I know all of you can probably understand this better.
I feel like I’m always working, even on vacations, because of cell phones.
When we went on vacation with our parents, they were able to get away and enjoy time with us, but cell phones and social media are like the death of our society, in my opinion.
I couldn’t agree with this guy more.
So Jeremy, how would you answer that question?
One of my mentors that I learned probably more about personal development than anyone was a guy named Jim Roan.
And Jim Roan talked about this.
He said, when you’re at the beach, be at the beach.
When you’re at work, be at work.
When I was making my millions in my 30s, this is something that I even struggled with.
And I’ll tell you, it was so easy to grab that phone.
What I learned to do at night is right beside my bed, I put my phone on airplane mode.
When I went on a date night with my wife, I would leave it in the truck.
And you have to understand that missing that one call, and it took me a while to learn this, it’s not gonna be the death of your business.
As a matter of fact, most of the time, if they can’t get ahold of you every five seconds, they’re gonna see your leadership is up here.
And you know what?
I know Jeremy didn’t answer my phone because he didn’t want to.
I know Jeremy has got something else he’s working on right now.
So prioritizing, so if I’m on vacation for seven days and I do need to work, then the best thing to do is leave your phone in the condo, leave your phone in the hotel room, go spend time with the beach, at the beach with your family.
But if you have to work, say I’m gonna work from one to two today, I’m gonna leave my phone up at the room, I’m gonna go up to the room, I’m gonna do that one hour work, and then I’m gonna be done.
You know, that’s something that’s always worked for me.
But yes, social media, don’t let yourself continue find of just scrolling through, scrolling through, scrolling through, wasting time.
Time is our most precious valuable thing that we have.
Don’t let social media just suck you dry.
And do not let the fact of you thinking, if I don’t be by my phone 24 seven, I’m not going to be able to be successful.
That’s not the way it works.
Number 10, and I’ve got this a lot from several different people.
Are you pushing your kids to go to college?
I’ve told my boys since they was young, if you choose that you don’t want to go to college, that is perfectly fine with me.
That’s what I’ve said from the word go.
I mean, if they wanted to be an entrepreneurial, wealthy individual, college is probably not for them.
If they want to be a doctor or an attorney, then college is necessary.
You know, my boys have chose the fact that they want to play college sports.
So, yes, I’m pushing it because that’s what they want to do.
That’s their interest.
That’s what they love to do.
If for some reason we had an injury, like for my oldest son, you know what?
He’s always wanted to fly jets.
He’ll be in the military.
You know, he wants to choose military over college.
And for some reason, he’s not able to play college sports.
You know, I don’t know about Beckett yet.
He might be a rapper.
I don’t know what he wants to be.
But he loves lacrosse, and he wants to play college lacrosse.
You know, so that’s something that we are helping him and making sure we’re picking, you know, the right things in order to prepare him in order to be put in that position.
But if you have a kid and they’re not involved in sports at a high level, they don’t want to go to college, my suggestion is find them a good trade.
You know, you can go to a trade school and be a plumber and learn business, be an electrician, and make millions of dollars.
You know, so college is not for every kid.
You know, I’m not going to push a family, in my own opinion, to make your kid go to college even if he or she does not want to go to college.
In my opinion, college is not for every kid.
Last question, number 11.
I’m not an athlete, but my kids are wanting to move from rec.
sports to select sports.
How can I help them, and what differences should I expect as a parent?
Okay, this is a big jump.
From rec.
sports to select sports, it’s a big jump.
Now, I personally think that in order to go to that next level, to measure your kids’ competition levels, physical levels, all those different things, there does come a time that if they love sports, they need to make that change.
It is a big difference.
It’s a bigger commitment.
Time-wise, it’s a bigger commitment.
Finance-wise, how can I help them?
I can be 100% supportive and realize that the coach is going to work with them and select sports, but it’s my job as a parent to work with them after that practice.
It’s my job to make sure we get private lessons also.
We continue to work on our training, our nutrition, all those things.
You know, so as a parent, you know, again, finding their interests and supporting those interests.
You know, and if it’s select sports and that’s what they want to go to, you need to sit down with them and say, this is a big financial responsibility that I’m committing to as a parent.
But if this is your interest, I will support you.
I will back you.
I will love you.
I’m going to spend the time.
But what I want from you, and this is what I tell my boys, whether you’re sitting on the bench or you’re hitting two home runs, we’re not going to complain.
We’re going to work as hard as we can work to be the best that we can be.
So when you don’t want to go to a practice because you’re tired, I don’t want to hear it.
When you don’t want to go do the extra work outside of practice, I don’t want to hear it.
If I’m, as a parent, going to commit all this finances, commit my time, then I want you to give it 100% on the field, off the field, and I will help you and support you as a parent.
Guys, I hope that you found value in today’s Q&A.
And continue.
You can Instagram me, message.
Any questions in the future, I may do this again.
Also, email me.
Go to the website.
You can email there for jeremyfouts.com.
But thank you guys for joining The Hard Truth Podcast.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the page, whether you’re listening on Spotify or Apple.
Leave us a review that will help with algorithms.
Thank you guys for joining The Hard Truth Podcast.
Yes.
