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Simple Rules for a Sustainable Healthy Diet | Jeff Cavaliere & Dr. Andrew Huberman

Huberman Lab Clips10:35Added Aug 31, 2026

Jeff Cavaliere and Dr. Andrew Huberman discuss the "clean omnivore" nutritional framework, emphasizing the importance of protein-centric plate partitioning a...

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  1. Importance Of Counting Calories

  2. 00:00You may have no idea how many calories
  3. 00:02you're actually having until you
  4. 00:03actually count them. You also become
  5. 00:05aware of many of the things that you are
  6. 00:08taking for granted that you're just
  7. 00:09doing almost second nature that is just
  8. 00:11not healthy. You're eating things that
  9. 00:13repetitively that are just not healthy
  10. 00:14or drinking things that are just not
  11. 00:16healthy. And when someone asks you to
  12. 00:17log what you're eating, you become very
  13. 00:20aware of every calorie you put in your
  14. 00:22body. So that's part of it. The second
  15. 00:23thing is there's an education that goes
  16. 00:25into learning how many calories each
  17. 00:28food has. I can't tell you how many
  18. 00:30people they they'll think that chicken
  19. 00:33parmesan is the same as grilled chicken
  20. 00:34just because it's chicken and they're
  21. 00:36very different in terms of their caloric
  22. 00:39impact. So educating yourself on to
  23. 00:42about what those um macronutrient
  24. 00:45profiles look like for whatever food
  25. 00:47you're having is part of the process too
  26. 00:48cuz ultimately where you want to be able
  27. 00:50to get to is can you make equivalent
  28. 00:54swaps in your head on the fly wherever
  29. 00:57you are. Right? That would be
  30. 00:58nutritional freedom.
  31. 01:00As far as what that day would look like,
  32. 01:03what I try to do is I try to build my
  33. 01:05base around protein. I always have. The
  34. 01:07reason for that is I it's one of those
  35. 01:10macronutrients that I know I need to
  36. 01:12build lean muscle. It's one that I know
  37. 01:14can provide satiety. Um it's one that I
  38. 01:18know is
  39. 01:20important to everything I'm trying to
  40. 01:22pursue and what everyone really should
  41. 01:23be trying to pursue. They are trying to
  42. 01:25be healthy. So they should base their
  43. 01:26meal around that first. Start with your

  44. How To Build Your Plate

  45. 01:28protein. And I I usually use a visual
  46. 01:30way of doing that where I just say,
  47. 01:31"Hey, take your plate and divide
  48. 01:34onethird of that plate or that meal if
  49. 01:36you're having it in separate plates or
  50. 01:37separate dishes. One third of that meal
  51. 01:39should come from a lean source of
  52. 01:40protein." And that could be chicken,
  53. 01:43fish, beef, whatever it is that you
  54. 01:45prefer, but have that be the the the
  55. 01:49one/3. And then divide the rest of your
  56. 01:51plate with carbohydrates,
  57. 01:53preferably in a two to one ratio with
  58. 01:55fibrous carbohydrates to starchy
  59. 01:57carbohydrates. So the fibers being the
  60. 01:59the green, the vegetables, asparagus,
  61. 02:01the broccoli, and then the starchy
  62. 02:03carbohydrates, the rice, potatoes,
  63. 02:04pasta. I don't believe me personally, I
  64. 02:07don't believe that I should eliminate my
  65. 02:08starchy carbohydrates. Again, inherently
  66. 02:12I'm an athlete and I know that that's,
  67. 02:14you know, served a very important
  68. 02:16purpose for me for energy, for fuel
  69. 02:17resources, for glycogen, for my muscles
  70. 02:20that I don't I don't avoid that. Plus, I
  71. 02:22know that I could never long-term
  72. 02:25restrict myself from carbohydrates. So,
  73. 02:27when I started out, I said, I have to
  74. 02:28adopt a plan here that I know I can
  75. 02:30stick to. If it was taking away pasta
  76. 02:33and taking away oatmeal and taking away
  77. 02:34the things, there's no way that I could
  78. 02:36sustain that. So, I don't think that

  79. Managing Cravings & Fats

  80. 02:38people should try to start out on some
  81. 02:41change to their diet where they're
  82. 02:42restricting foods they know they're
  83. 02:44never going to be able to maintain long
  84. 02:46term or keep away long term so that if
  85. 02:49you can learn to manage them and eat eat
  86. 02:51them in a way that's more controlled
  87. 02:53because the rest of the stuff on your
  88. 02:55plate is actually helping to minimize
  89. 02:57your cravings for that or or controlling
  90. 02:59your portion sizes there. That's the
  91. 03:01long-term goal I think. And then
  92. 03:03overarching overall that
  93. 03:06calorically just because it's it's a
  94. 03:09fact of nature, fats are more
  95. 03:11calorically dense than carbohydrates and
  96. 03:13proteins. So just be aware of your fats.
  97. 03:16I know a lot of people who go down the
  98. 03:17path of healthy eating and they're
  99. 03:19putting olive oil on everything and
  100. 03:21avocado on everything because they're
  101. 03:22healthy foods, but they're putting so
  102. 03:25much of it because they want to feel
  103. 03:26like they're doing they're doing the
  104. 03:27healthy thing. But you're also
  105. 03:28skyrocketing your calories. So, you have
  106. 03:30to at least be aware where where and how
  107. 03:33you're applying your fats because
  108. 03:34calorically they will add up. I have
  109. 03:36nothing against fat. I think everybody
  110. 03:38should have it. I think it it should be
  111. 03:39part of every meal. I'm just saying it
  112. 03:41should be you need to be aware of your
  113. 03:42fat content. I try to go low sugar as
  114. 03:45much as I possibly can. I do not try I I
  115. 03:47try to avoid processed foods. I try to
  116. 03:49avoid um blatant sugars unless it's my
  117. 03:52birthday and I'm having my carrot cake.
  118. 03:54But for the most part,
  119. 03:55that's really your only quote unquote.
  120. 03:57That's not my That's not my only like,
  121. 03:59you know, that that's a that's become an
  122. 04:00urban myth a little bit. Maybe I'll have
  123. 04:02it twice a year, but but no, I I don't I
  124. 04:05don't I really try not to um indulge in
  125. 04:08those things, but I'm not missing it.
  126. 04:10I really enjoy it when I have it, but
  127. 04:12I'm not depriving myself of it along the
  128. 04:14way. If people felt deprived and have it
  129. 04:16more often, you could have I could have

  130. The Clean Omnivore Approach

  131. 04:18a piece of carrot cake uh once a week
  132. 04:20and probably not have anything happen to
  133. 04:22my physique. So the fact that I don't is
  134. 04:26just really more out of habit than
  135. 04:27anything else. But if you're in a plan
  136. 04:29where you feel so deprived that you know
  137. 04:31you're pulling your hair out and you're
  138. 04:32trying to like the first chance you get
  139. 04:34to just jump off your diet and and eat
  140. 04:36all the things that you you really were
  141. 04:38keeping yourself away from, then you're
  142. 04:39on the wrong plan. So I think that no
  143. 04:41matter what it is, whether it be keto,
  144. 04:43whether it be the what I I guess you'd
  145. 04:46call this a bodybuilder style diet that
  146. 04:47I eat or
  147. 04:48or I call it clean omnivore.
  148. 04:50There you go. Yeah. you know, like
  149. 04:51you're not like I basically eat the same
  150. 04:53as you, although I I suppose I probably
  151. 04:55a little little high on the fats
  152. 04:57sometimes just cuz
  153. 04:58I mean I I love, you know, nuts and
  154. 05:01parmesan cheese and a little bit bit
  155. 05:03little bit of butter and some olive oil
  156. 05:05and stuff
  157. 05:05which which are all good foods. It's
  158. 05:08just that calorically there's an impact
  159. 05:09there.
  160. 05:10And if you're going to eat them, what I
  161. 05:12always recommend people do is again you
  162. 05:13could just cut back a little bit on some
  163. 05:16of the other portion sizes to just to
  164. 05:17accommodate calorically for what you're
  165. 05:19doing. But I do think that that concept
  166. 05:21of the equivalent swaps is big because
  167. 05:25if you learn to eat the way I just
  168. 05:27suggested and there's no magic behind
  169. 05:28what I do. It's just been very I've been
  170. 05:30very consistent with it is that you'll
  171. 05:32be able to make swats when you go
  172. 05:35anywhere. What's a protein I could have
  173. 05:36here today? What's the restaurant have?
  174. 05:38Oh, they only have uh uh pork chops.
  175. 05:40Okay, fine. I'll have a pork chop. Like
  176. 05:42like you you can you're visually just
  177. 05:44replacing equivalents on the plate.
  178. 05:47Sometimes it doesn't always work. I I
  179. 05:49just did a video where I talked about a
  180. 05:51steak and a and a grilled chicken breast
  181. 05:53are potentially
  182. 05:55uh the same protein in terms of their
  183. 05:57protein content, but they're not the
  184. 05:59same calorically because the steak has a
  185. 06:01lot more fat than the chicken breast
  186. 06:02does. So, you might have a smaller steak
  187. 06:05to make that equivalent swap out. But
  188. 06:07that's only going to come through your
  189. 06:08understanding and knowledge of the foods
  190. 06:10and what they contain. So, that early
  191. 06:11phase of learning what they have is is
  192. 06:13important there. But ultimately,

  193. Consistency & Nutritional Freedom

  194. 06:16nutritional freedom comes from the
  195. 06:19ability to be consistent with what you
  196. 06:20do. I talk a lot about the fact that we
  197. 06:23can get to the gym, we can train for an
  198. 06:26hour. It's not easy for people,
  199. 06:28especially to do it at a high enough
  200. 06:29intensity level, but we can train for an
  201. 06:31hour, go home, and feel like, I did my
  202. 06:33work today. I feel good. I did what I
  203. 06:34was supposed to do. Great. Your
  204. 06:36nutritional job just started. You now
  205. 06:38have to figure out how do I navigate the
  206. 06:41next 23 hours whether I'm asleep or I'm
  207. 06:43awake but how am I gonna navigate the
  208. 06:45next 23 hours because that's what
  209. 06:46nutrition is. That challenge is
  210. 06:48infinitely harder. And the reason why a
  211. 06:50lot of people struggle with their weight
  212. 06:52is because they have to figure out how
  213. 06:54to get that right and do that in a
  214. 06:56repeatable way day in day out day in and
  215. 06:58day out. And I've been doing what I've
  216. 06:59been doing here now with my nutrition
  217. 07:01approach for 30 years. 30 years. So when
  218. 07:04people ask me is it hard? It's for me
  219. 07:07it's not hard at all, but it wasn't
  220. 07:09super easy in the beginning. It just t
  221. 07:11there's a process to go through to get
  222. 07:12it there. And I was willing to to go
  223. 07:15slowly, but also not sacrifice the
  224. 07:17things that I really knew I wouldn't be
  225. 07:18able to live without. So therefore, I
  226. 07:20could live with it for forever. And I
  227. 07:22think people make way too aggressive
  228. 07:24changes when it comes to nutrition.
  229. 07:25They're basically, you're not just
  230. 07:27changing your diet, you're changing your
  231. 07:28habits and you're changing your
  232. 07:29lifestyle. So when you go and you start
  233. 07:31making these radical changes to your
  234. 07:33nutrition plan because you're on a diet,
  235. 07:36it does not work.
  236. 07:38Listen, what you described what I'll
  237. 07:40just call clean omnivore is I think is
  238. 07:43it's just an awesome way to approach
  239. 07:45nutrition for a couple of reasons. One,
  240. 07:47it works. Like you said, it's flexible.
  241. 07:49Even with travel, you can always make
  242. 07:50some adjustment toward that. It handles

  243. Avoiding Marketing Based Nutrition

  244. 07:53the protein needs thing
  245. 07:55pretty much on its own. I mean, you have
  246. 07:56to make sure you eat enough of those
  247. 07:58meals and enough protein. But as you
  248. 08:00were saying it, I I realized that it
  249. 08:01gets people if they adopt this mindset
  250. 08:04that you do that you have for nutrition.
  251. 08:07It gets them out and away from the
  252. 08:10marketing based draw of nutrition cuz
  253. 08:12people say like, "Oh, like protein bar
  254. 08:14or you know, high high protein yogurt."
  255. 08:17And listen, there's some great yogurts.
  256. 08:18I love Bulgarian yogurt. It's like Greek
  257. 08:20yogurt's great. Bulgarian yogurt, no no
  258. 08:22disrespect to the Greeks. Love Greek
  259. 08:24food, by the way, too. But Bulgarian
  260. 08:26yogurt so good. full fat Bulgarian
  261. 08:28yogurt or lowfat Bulgarian amazing and
  262. 08:31yeah and it you know the Bulgarians are
  263. 08:33known for their strength in many ways
  264. 08:34but you get outside that the marketing
  265. 08:38pole and you start thinking about food
  266. 08:40for its macronutrient content
  267. 08:43and its micronutrient content and
  268. 08:45quality as opposed to like the packaging
  269. 08:47based stuff because even the
  270. 08:49nonprocessed or non- highly processed
  271. 08:52foods mostly we're reaching for them
  272. 08:53because of what's on the label like the
  273. 08:55colors the the words and these And what
  274. 08:57you're describing is completely
  275. 08:58different. It's getting to the the the
  276. 09:00actual food. I think that's a very uh
  277. 09:03very important not so subtle
  278. 09:04distinction. And once people make that
  279. 09:06switch, they're really in the driver's
  280. 09:08seat. It's not like you're like have to
  281. 09:09go prepare every meal, this kind of
  282. 09:11thing.
  283. 09:11Well, yeah. I mean, and again, even with
  284. 09:12some of the the push towards higher
  285. 09:15protein foods now, again, the packaging
  286. 09:17is brag bragging about the protein
  287. 09:18content, but they've also increased the
  288. 09:21sugar, they've increased the fat, and
  289. 09:22it's like you've you've all you've made
  290. 09:24is a higher protein. I mean, even
  291. 09:25Snickers has a high protein bar.
  292. 09:27Are you serious?
  293. 09:28Yeah, I Snickers are Milky Way. They
  294. 09:29have a high protein bar. It's like,
  295. 09:31okay, this is this is insanity. So, show
  296. 09:34me the seauite of the Snickers. Uh, you
  297. 09:36know, I'm going to get in trouble for
  298. 09:37this, but whatever. Um, I I want to see
  299. 09:39how fit these people actually look, you
  300. 09:41know, and if they're eating that stuff,
  301. 09:43you know, it's like something tells me
  302. 09:44they're not.
  303. 09:45Yeah. Thank you again for for being a
  304. 09:47voice of reason in in the nutrition
  305. 09:49space.

  306. Sustainable Habits For Success

  307. 09:50Yeah. And I'm not a nutritionist, you I
  308. 09:51I I and people are quick to remind me of
  309. 09:53that when I whenever I speak of
  310. 09:55nutrition. I'm only speaking from my
  311. 09:58experience both with myself and anybody
  312. 10:00I've ever advised on how to do that. It
  313. 10:02works. It's it's sensible and um it's
  314. 10:05something that could be sustained. So
  315. 10:07for me, that's what's most important
  316. 10:08with nutrition. And again, I don't
  317. 10:10fixate on any one particular way. If if
  318. 10:12doing keto works for you, great. As long
  319. 10:15as you can sustain your your eating that
  320. 10:17way, great. because all we're trying to
  321. 10:19do is manage our weight long term and
  322. 10:21and and not sacrifice other elements of
  323. 10:23our health in the process. So, if it
  324. 10:25works for you, cool. But this is what's
  325. 10:26worked for me.