Featured Optimizer: Ryan Schroeder

It's time for the another Featured Optimizer post!

Every month we like to highlight the success stories of Optimizers just like you who are motivated and driven to take their mental and physical performance into their own hands. 

If you want to get featured on an upcoming Featured Optimizer post, make sure to post amazing photos and share your own success stories showing the world how you like to #LiveOptimal -- and make sure to tag Natural Stacks on social media. 

But for now, let's catch up with this week's Optimizer, Ryan Schroeder!

Hello! Who are you? What do you do?

My name is Ryan Schroeder, 23 years-old and I currently live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Go Packers!!

I am a Biomedical Engineer, to put it simply, I travel around hospital to hospital testing patient related medical equipment to ensure patient safety and also repair it when it breaks down. I have to solve problems all of the time, sometimes it takes hours to figure out.

When you get to stock some of your favorite products at work! Natural Stacks, the transparency is unreal with this company. Completely open sourced, you know exactly how much of each ingredient you’re consuming, no proprietary blends. You can also view lab testing for every single product so you know that what is listed on the bottle is actually in the product also. I love the stacks they make, making some of the most bioabailable products on the market today. Love em! Oh and thanks for the blue blockers 👍🏼 #naturalstacks #ciltep #magtech #liveoptimal #ouraring

A post shared by Ryan Schroeder (@schrodare) on Dec 10, 2017 at 5:54am PST

 

I need my brain to be working at it's greatest potential, so diet and supplements are key to my success.

CILTEP is one for sure along with some other goodies for the brain. I take D3, Krill Oil, and MagTech every single day for Optimal function. Then I mix and match and swap in and out CILTEP, Acetylcholine, MycoMind and a few others which really puts me at an optimum level of performance.

I have a strong passion for health and fitness, I work part time in the Vitamins/Supplements department at a natural grocery store called Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. I do not need the job in any way, I just enjoy helping people find supplements to help improve their life... Especially when it is the Natural Stacks supplements we carry :)

What's your backstory? When did you start taking your health and wellness seriously?

I originally wanted to lose a bit of weight. I was not overweight by too much, I just wanted a better looking body. Within a few months, I had abs and it was incredible! I did not feel the greatest though, I wasn't really doing eating super clean, I just ate less and worked out A LOT. Over the course of a year or two, I improved everyday to live as optimally as possible. My diet was super clean, I took the right supplements to optimize my performance of daily tasks, and now I just feel amazing every single day.

I never get sick anymore, I feel great everyday, I am absolutely dialed in!!

What was your biggest challenge in improving your health? How did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge was overcoming the fear of being accepted by friends and family. This lifestyle is different than what the majority of the population partakes in, such as not eating junk anymore and doing certain things/activities to enhance my life. At first, they thought I was nuts for paying a lot more money for things of superior quality. I would also bring my own food to events and parties and such. They really did not understand it at really couldn't take me seriously. I was embarrassed at times. I just had to realize and tell myself, it is all worth it, to feel great, look great, and perform well everyday.

Over time, they notice how much I have changed, how good I feel and look. Not being afraid to be different was something that I had to overcome, it was rough at times, but the feeling amazing was just way better than worrying about anything else.

What's the ONE thing that has completely changed your life?

The one thing that changed my life was biohacking to find the best version of myself. No one diet is right for everyone. It takes time and practice but over time, I found the foods that give me the most energy, the greatest health, and the greatest overall benefit. I went from working out with weights everyday to working out once a week with ARX technology. Way smarter and intense! I went from eating insane amounts of protein to eating an ideal amount for my body. Realizing that I am myself and having to find what is right for me changed my life and I immediately started feeling better after that.

I tried ARX (Adaptive Resistance eXercise) today! There are no weights with this, it is motor driven controlled by a computer on both the concentric and eccentric phases. This gives you max effort on the concentric phase, and also max effort on the eccentric while resisting the machine pulling the force back. We can actually resist more force than we can push, which makes this unique because with traditional weights, you will never be able to push the amount of weight that you could resist during your reps. It was unreal, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I signed up for the training package immediately after! Bonus points for only needing one 30 min workout a week and 6 rest days, compared to 6-7 workout days a week, who has time for that anyway? @arxfitstudiosgb #arx #arxfit #bulletproof #biohacker #biohacking #bulletprooflife

A post shared by Ryan Schroeder (@schrodare) on Dec 30, 2017 at 1:39pm PST

Where did you hear about Natural Stacks? What did you try first? What has been your experience so far?

I tried CILTEP first, I immediately noticed the insane cognitive enhancement during my every day work activities. I then experimented with workout supplements.

BioCreatine, Natural BCAA'S, Natural Protein instead of taking the junk and artificial products that I previously was. The ingredients are carefully sourced and with Natural Stacks, I do not have to worry about putting junk in my body.

What does having a better brain mean to you? 

A better brain means to focus on the most important things in life with little to no distractions, brain fog, or weakness. You have to find your brain's optimal performance level through maximizing diet, supplements, and lifestyle. I never knew what it was like to feel the way I do now, I thought headaches were normal and being able to focus sometimes was normal.

The truth is, I didn't know what it was like to have a brain that worked so clearly. We have to find that best version of it, and then keep doing the things that make it work properly.

If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

I really dialed in the diet and lifestyle around the age of 22, I seriously wish I would have started earlier! I can't complain though, the events that have occurred in my life made me who I am today. I can't complain about that because I am living life to the fullest today, and am very healthy and feeling the best I have/could.

What are some of the common mistakes people should avoid when working to improve their health?

People should avoid trying to be like someone else and just find out who they truly are and what works for them. You can take advice from others and use their experiences as an insight, but you will never know for sure until you do some self experimentation. 

What foods, supplements and coffee do you use every day? 

My super nutritious, delicious dinner tonight. Lots of vitamins from the veggies and the sweet potato, also tons more in the @kerrygoldusa grass-fed butter and in the @_prebrands grass-fed ribeye. The fats from a cow that eats grass are loaded in vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, Omega-3's, etc. When they eat corn, soy, other grains, garbage, junk food, leftover animal parts, feces, antibiotics, uh yeah not so much on the positive benefits. #grassfedbeef #bulletproof #bulletproofdiet #prebrands #kerrygoldbutter

A post shared by Ryan Schroeder (@schrodare) on Jan 7, 2017 at 4:48pm PST

Some of the foods that I consume almost everyday or close to it are:

• Sardines
• Sockeye Salmon
• Grass-Fed Beef
• Pastured Eggs
• Avocado
• Olives
• Raw nuts
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cucumber
• Sweet potatoes
• Grass-fed butter.

There are some other goodies too that I am probably forgetting, but those are my key ones.

Supplements taken every single day/almost every day:

• Vitamins D3
• K2
• A
• C
• B12
• Methyl Folate
• Magnesium
• Krill Oil
• Carnitine
• Creatine
• BCAA's
• Brain Octane Oil
• Whey
• Curcumin
• Prebiotic Fiber
• Dopamine Brain Food
• Serotonin Brain Food
• GABA Brain Food
• Grass-Fed Collagen
• Astaxanthin
• Iodine
• Zinc+Copper

And a few others!

Coffee: Bulletproof Coffee Beans free of mold toxins. Sometimes do the Bulletproof Coffee recipe, but mainly just black.

What have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources for your health and why?

Bulletproof Radio and OPP Natural Stacks podcast have been my go to's with tons and tons of free information. I listen to them at work or on the go, perfect resource to get lots of info. My favorite books have been Head Strong by Dave Asprey, and the Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. I also enjoy Dr. Mercola and Dr. Perlmutter. These people/shows have personally been the most influential for me.

Where can people go to learn more about you?
Instagram: Schrodare Facebook: ryan.schroeder.1420