My name is Andy Babkes and I’m a functional nutritionist, efficient exercise coach, healthy-lifestyle optimizer, emotional regulation specialist, and the owner of OptimizedFit.
I like to think of myself as “the laziest healthiest person around.” Meaning, I’m obsessed with trying to improve myself mentally, emotionally, and physically in the quickest most time-efficient ways possible.
To achieve these goals, I am certified in a unique type of exercise program that gives your body all the exercise it needs in less than 20 minutes, once a week. I know it sounds crazy, but the science checks out and my clients and myself love it! In addition, I implement functional nutrition, using lab work and individualized nutrition recommendations as well as helping to resolve negative emotional patterns, I help my clients achieve their goals quickly and safely.
© 2017 Valentina Sadiul Photography
Time you wake up: I’m more of a morning person so I like to get up around 6am-7am.
Morning routine: To help keep a peaceful mind throughout the day, I always start my morning with a 20-minute meditation. Followed by about 30 minutes of stretching and foam rolling to get my body limber and ready to take on the day!
Best habit: I think I’m good at being consistent with my goals. Once I put my mind to something, I will keep at it! I think I can mostly am able to achieve this by being very meticulous with my goals and planning. Daily, I have “to-dos” and I do everything I can to try and hit these goals.
Worst habit: On the flip side, I tend to take on too many projects/commitments… this I am slowly getting better at.
Personal philosophy: Come at the world with compassion, curiosity, and good-will. Don’t take things personally and don’t hold back.
Book you are reading now: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa… just finished No Boundary by Ken Wilber
Most used apps: Google Docs—great for taking quick notes, keeping my “to-do” list handy on whatever piece of technology I am using at the moment.
Time you go to sleep: Generally around 10pm. I never like to stay up past midnight and try to always get 8 hours of sleep each night. I’m also a fan of daily naps whenever possible!
1. What motivated you to start OptimizedFit?
I started down my personal “optimized health” years ago when I decided to become a vegetarian. Then, during college, I stumbled upon the Holistic Health department. From there, I begin taking every class that was offered through their department and couldn’t stop reading about all things nutrition and health. This inspired me to pursue a career as a health coach… Since then, I became certified as a nutritionist and began eating meat again. After all this training and self-education and research it became clear that I had a passion for all things health. This realization is what motivated me to start a business helping others optimize their health.
2. What has been your greatest professional success and biggest setback?
I’ve had many professional milestones, but one of my greatest moments of pride was when I was able to quit my normal 9-5 job and start working for myself. I’m not much of a risk taker so making this jump was huge! It was a very empowering moment.
I don’t really think I’ve had any major setbacks (thank goodness). And if I had to look at all my “setbacks,” I don’t really see them that way… they were all important learning experiences that I am truly grateful for.
3. What parts of your work do your enjoy the most and why?
Connecting and serving others to get healthier and happier. It’s really strange but cool to have my work life and normal life kind of blend into one. I never feel like I am working.
4. What skills do you consider to be essential to work in this industry?
A thirst for knowledge, wanting to help others, and growth.
5. You are professionally trained in the TiPi. What is Tipi?
TIPI stands for the Technique d’Identification des Peurs Inconscientes (TIPI) or Technique for the Identification of Unconscious Fears in English.
TIPI allows you are able to tap into your body’s innate capacity to heal and process negative emotional patterns. This could look like Phobias such as: Fear of the dark, swimming, heights, driving, being in closed or open spaces, animals, germs, agoraphobia, emetophobia, public speaking, meeting new people, etc. Or emotional patterns such as: PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, depression, low-self esteem, anger, jealousy, etc.
Often when people think about hiring a health coach they just think about exercise and nutrition, but working on one’s emotional health is absolutely critical for a client’s success.
6. What nutrition and fitness advice would you give to entrepreneurs and busy professionals to boost their energy level?
Something I find that all my clients struggle with is being properly hydrated. An easy equation to figure out how much water you should drink is: to take your weight in pounds, divide that number by 2 and that should be about how many fluid ounces of water you should drink (at minimum) each day. I actually wrote an entire article on the subject here: http://optimizedfit.com/drink-more-water/
Another important tip I give my clients to improve their energy level is to build good sleep habits. That includes getting to bed and waking up at consistent times, minimizing blue light exposure at night, avoiding caffeine after 3pm and more. Lots to talk about… check out my article on other helpful sleep tips: http://optimizedfit.com/get-your-sleep-on/
7. What's your typical daily meal and workout routine look like?
I am a fan of intermittent fasting, which is basically a way to skip breakfast and receive the benefits of fasting. (More details can be found here: http://optimizedfit.com/fasting/)
For lunch and dinner I keep things basic. Generally making sure I have a meal high in healthy proteins and fats with a moderate amount of carbohydrates. A typical meal would look like some steamed organic kale and grass fed ground beef… prepared sort of like a stir fry. After cooking, I’ll add raw salad greens, some kimchi or sauerkraut for health probiotics and added vitamins/minerals as well as some nori or other sea vegetable to boost my iodine and mineral intake for healthy metabolic function.
When I do snack I go for organic, raw nuts—presoaked or some sort of nut butter with a little bit of a dark chocolate (85% or higher) for added antioxidants. Sometimes I will pair these treats with some berries.
There’s a lot of random things I do to stay healthy. Feel free to check out my website for more helpful tips! You can find me at: OptimizedFit.com
Web: OptimizedFit.com
Tel: (415) 735-6843
