Episode 462: Wesley Hunt: The Ex-Military Method for Staying Lean While Eating Massive Meals

How does a busy congressman maintain peak physical condition while juggling DC politics and constant travel? In this Fitness Friday episode on the Habits and Hustle podcast, I am joined by Congressman Wesley Hunt as he breaks down his unconventional approach to fitness and nutrition that keeps him razor-sharp. We dive into his extreme intermittent fasting protocol, his massive one-meal-a-day strategy, and why he never schedules breakfast meetings. Hunt also shares his strategic workout split, 10,000-steps-a-day commitment, and how he stays disciplined with his three-days-on, one-day-off lifting routine even during hectic congressional schedules. Wesley Hunt represents Congressional District 38 in Houston, Texas. A West Point graduate and former Apache helicopter pilot, Hunt served eight years in the Army before entering politics. He currently serves on the House Judiciary and Natural Resources committees. What we discuss: 20-hour intermittent fasting and one-meal-a-day protocol Eating 33-ounce steaks and whole chickens in single sittings 10,000 steps daily through strategic treadmill and walking Three-day workout split: legs, chest/triceps, back/biceps Why he avoids breakfast meetings and alcohol Thank you to our sponsor: Momentous: Shop this link https://www.livemomentous.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorDUIZz3psr1Qsq_n1yE8_6JTq_QUFabOO9lH65HDEXCIoJOPLj and use code Jen for 20% off Therasage: Head over to therasage.com http://therasage.com/ and use code Be Bold for 15% off TruNiagen: Head over to truniagen.com http://truniagen.com/ and use code HUSTLE20 to get $20 off any purchase over $100. Magic Mind: Head over to www http://www/.magicmind.com http://magicmind.com//jen and use code Jen at checkout. Bio.me: Link to daily prebiotic fiber here https://bio.me/?utm_source=Jennifer, code Jennifer20 for 20% off. David: Buy 4, get the 5th free at davidprotein.com/habitsandhustle http://davidprotein.com/habitsandhustle. Find more about Wesley Hunt: Website: https://hunt.house.gov/ Find more from Jen: Website: https://www.jennifercohen.com/ Instagram: @therealjencohen Books: https://www.jennifercohen.com/books Speaking: https://www.jennifercohen.com/speaking-engagements

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Hi guys, this is Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

• 0:08Jen Cohen?

  Hey friends, you're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits and Hustle Podcast, where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self. So stay tuned and let me know how you leveled up.

• 0:30Jen Cohen?

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• 1:11Jen Cohen?

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• 1:55Jen Cohen?

  Okay, so how old are you now? You said you started, you became a congressman in your 40s. So I imagine you're still like, what, 44, 45?

• 2:03Speaker 02

  Forty-two.

• 2:04Jen Cohen?

  Forty-two.

• 2:04Speaker 02

  Forty-three.

• 2:05Jen Cohen?

  Okay, you're not old, first of all, so you're not old.

• 2:09Speaker 02

  I'm 40 days, you know.

• 2:11Jen Cohen?

  I mean, listen, well, you're not 25, but like, you know, by the way, did you hear that 50 is the new 35? Have you heard that?

• 2:18Speaker 02

  And I believe it, and I'm gonna live, I'm gonna hold you to that.

• 2:21Jen Cohen?

  Well, listen, so that means like you're actually really only 30 or 29, really, 28.

• 2:26Speaker 02

  Jay-Z had a song that came out, it uh, uh, uh, 40 is the new 30?

• 2:31Jen Cohen?

  That was a while ago. Now they've moved it up. They moved it from 50 to 35. Yeah, they moved it up. So, okay, so then that's why, so what do you, what time do you wake up in the morning then? And what, and also that means you're in, that means you're intermittent fast, so you have no coffee, no water, no nothing until 4?

• 2:47Speaker 02

  I do coffee and water.

• 2:49Jen Cohen?

  Oh, you do, okay. But are you intermittent fasting or just like not eating food?

• 2:53Speaker 02

  I, I, I, uh, intermittent fast for 20 hours a day, so I do 20 hours for my last meal.

• 2:59Jen Cohen?

  Right, so that's what I'm saying, you do the one meal, but are you putting like, anything in the coffee or just drinking black coffee?

• 3:04Speaker 02

  Black coffee.

• 3:05Jen Cohen?

  Oh, okay.

• 3:05Speaker 02

  Old school, black army, black coffee.

• 3:09Jen Cohen?

  Wow.

• 3:10Speaker 02

  And I, I, when I started doing this, I will admit, it was spiritual. That's how you really get to find.

• 3:16Jen Cohen?

  Oh, yes.

• 3:17Speaker 02

  It is tough, it is tough. Uh, after about a month of doing it now, I, this is, I, I can't see it any other way.

• 3:24Jen Cohen?

  Really? Have you tried Prolon?

• 3:27Speaker 02

  I've not.

• 3:28Jen Cohen?

  Oh, you haven't? Because I am, because you do like this one meal a day. Prolon's like a fasting, you know, it's like a whole fasting system. But there's a lot of back studies and has more research and science than I think any other fasting program in terms for its longevity. And so I haven't tried it yet, but I want to because a lot of times on this podcast, people do fast, they tell me that they fast, intermittent fast, water fast. But, so I did a ton of research and that was, Prolon has have, does have the most backed research on all these like longevity benefits. Fits and like.

• 4:03Speaker 02

  And what I'm talking about too is like, that works for me though, that that's not for everybody. I mean, and I've.

• 4:07Jen Cohen?

  Yeah, of course, you got to try. It's like trial and error.

• 4:10Speaker 02

  I've tried it all. I've tried six small meals a day. This, I've done it all. And then over time, I found out, given my life, my schedule, what I have to do, how busy my days are, all the travel. This is what works for me.

• 4:22Jen Cohen?

  Yeah. Well, the thing is also, I think when people are so busy, like you and travel a lot, and when I'm in these like boats where I'm traveling a lot, um, you can really like, you know, you can easily, you know, see, you can gain five to 10 pounds without even blinking an eye, because you're not paying attention, right? And like you're, you're striking your rhythms off. You have lunches all the time. You have dinners all the time. Everything is being, you're, you're, you're eating at restaurants and takeout or, you know, they can never, you're not eating at home. So right away, you have to add 500 calories to each meal.

• 4:55Speaker 02

  This off top. Yes.

• 4:56Jen Cohen?

  It's off the top. So like, I like what you're do, you're basically saying in order to kind of like stay on point, this is what works for me.

• 5:04Speaker 02

  You are correct.

• 5:05Jen Cohen?

  Yeah. Cause otherwise you can like, that's why when my not, my thing is I, I never make a lot. I never have breakfast meetings. I always want to have the same breakfast and even like dinner meetings. I don't love, and I never go for drinks. I'll go for like a coffee or go for something like that, but I'll never like go for too much. The alcohol is what crushes you.

• 5:23Speaker 02

  Alcohol will kill your gains.

• 5:25Jen Cohen?

  Oh.

• 5:25Speaker 02

  Alcohol will kill.

• 5:26Jen Cohen?

  It will, you could be doing everything right and then you, you add that alcohol element and then you're like, forget it. You know, and also because also your inhibitions are lower, right? So you're like, ah, fine. Forget it. I'll have that piece of pizza or oh, fine. I'll have that French fry.

• 5:39Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. Or one drink turns to five.

• 5:43Jen Cohen?

  Or one drink turns to five. Exactly. Either one. I'm much more of a food person. So I see how it affects my food intake, not so much my alcohol intake. But yes, that's true.

• 5:59Jen Cohen?

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• 6:39Jen Cohen?

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• 7:18Jen Cohen?

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• 7:46Jen Cohen?

  So you do one meal a day. Are you a cardio person or you just do where?

• 7:50Speaker 02

  I'm a 10,000 a day step person.

• 7:52Jen Cohen?

  Okay, so 10,000.

• 7:53Speaker 02

  Five days a week, 10,000 steps at least.

• 7:56Jen Cohen?

  Okay, so are you doing that on like a treadmill or you're just walking everywhere? What are you doing?

• 8:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, at some point, um, at some point in my apartment or I have a treadmill at my house, so at some point in the morning, after I wake up at some point, I knock out two miles, two to three miles on the treadmill. I usually I'm on the phone, doing work, taking calls, that kind of stuff. Knock that on the treadmill, and then I do a mile walk before my workout, and then a mile walk after my lifting workout.

• 8:22Jen Cohen?

  Right, so you're breaking it up so much better for you. Yeah.

• 8:26Speaker 02

  It keeps you active. And then whenever I'm up in DC, I mean, I've already, I mean, I don't know. I mean, um, how long I've walked today. I've already walked. Just walking around DC, walking to the Capitol and back, walking through the airport. Now, I mean, I'm, I'm already probably three miles in, but I'm already up here.

• 8:40Jen Cohen?

  That's amazing.

• 8:41Speaker 02

  Yes, I'll, I'll hit the gym and then I'll do a mile before and a mile after.

• 8:45Jen Cohen?

  Yeah. So like you're, are you doing splits? What's your workout?

• 8:48Speaker 02

  Uh, so my splits are three on, three on, one off, three days on, one day off. And then it's, uh, my, my, my first day is, uh, usually a leg day, quad heavy leg day. Uh, the second day is a, a chest and tricep day. Third day is a back and a bicep day, then a day off. Then shoulders and another that shoulders, then arm day, and then another leg day, which is a hamstring heavy day and then a day off.

• 9:17Jen Cohen?

  Like it. Okay. And so are you, um, how long is each workout?

• 9:21Speaker 02

  Twenty five minutes to an hour.

• 9:23Jen Cohen?

  Okay. Do you take supplements? Do you take anything?

• 9:26Speaker 02

  Lots of white protein, creatine, creatine and glutamine.

• 9:29Jen Cohen?

  Oh, okay. That's all?

• 9:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's it.

• 9:32Jen Cohen?

  Okay. So you're not taking omega three, you're not taking omega three, you're not taking vitamin D?

• 9:38Speaker 02

  No, no. And I, I, I am a big fish and a big steak eater. So I get a lot of those mac, macronutrients.

• 9:45Jen Cohen?

  Oh, okay. So you're, well, you're only having one meal a day though. How much can you get? Like, don't you have, are you deficient in anything?

• 9:53Speaker 02

  No, because this meal is a.

• 9:55Jen Cohen?

  A big meal.

• 9:56Speaker 02

  It's a.

• 10:01Speaker 02

  It's really funny. My best friend is up here with me. He works, works with me in the office. I mean, the other day, two days in a row. I mean, I had a thirty three ounce day.

• 10:09Jen Cohen?

  Oh, my God. Are you joking?

• 10:11Speaker 02

  Oh, no, I'm, I'm dead serious. Like last night, I, I had a, I had a, I had a whole. Or just three chicken.

• 10:23Speaker 02

  That's like seventy grams of protein. I had I ate a entire three chicken yesterday. My wife is like, she's like, what is it? Sounds like you need to get two of those because one's for me and then one's for y'all.

• 10:36Jen Cohen?

  That's awesome.

• 10:37Speaker 02

  In my body, I think people, everybody is different. So a lot of people can't process all that protein in one sitting. And I fear a lot of people say, you know, your body can only process up to fifty grams of protein every three hours. As I think that's a generalization, depending on your blood type, your activity, uh, what your body gets used to. Every human being is different. That has worked out. That's worked wonders for me. But I mean, it will be massive. I mean, it's a massive.

• 11:02Jen Cohen?

  I love that. First of all, I'm a massive eater. So I mean, I can probably like, I could probably take that down. But like, I think because you've been, I'm so active also, like, I, I know people say a lot of things. You shouldn't have this. You should do that. Everyone has their own opinion, but everyone is so different, right? Like I, I can, like, I'll have, I'm gonna have four chicken breasts in one sitting before somebody even has their third bite. Just because that's how I am. I eat so fast too. That's the problem. I'm like a huge eater and I eat fast. Like, and there's like, everyone says, slow down, slow down. But like, when you're hungry, you're hungry. So I get it. I get that. Thirty-three hours. So what did you have with the steak? Do you have vegetables or do you have?

• 11:43Speaker 02

  So I had thirty grams of steak. I had it. I had a whole sweet potato. I had broccoli and a dinner salad.

• 11:50Jen Cohen?

  Oh, my God, that's hilarious.

• 11:56Jen Cohen?

  That's awesome.

• 11:56Speaker 02

  I mean, it is, it is, it's, it's, it's an event.

• 12:00Jen Cohen?

  It really is.

• 12:01Speaker 02

  Significant emotional event.

• 12:02Jen Cohen?

  No, I love it. Could we have dinner together? Maybe when you're all like, I would love that.

• 12:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, I would love that. I would absolutely love that.

• 12:09Jen Cohen?

  Like, where do you go? What's your favorite steak? Like, tell me the best places.

• 12:12Speaker 02

  My favorite steak. So I, I eat at a, at two restaurants when I'm up here in D.C. One of them is Joe's Seafood, uh, Stone Crab and Seafood.

• 12:20Jen Cohen?

  Oh, my God, I love that place too.

• 12:23Speaker 02

  That place, it's the best restaurant in D.C. in my humble opinion. I love that place. And then they have a porterhouse, thirty-three ounce porterhouse, they have bone in a ribeye. They have stone crab claw. There's a very high protein meal, see, by the way, very high protein.

• 12:37Jen Cohen?

  Oh, I love this. This is, you and I are on the same page.

• 12:40Speaker 02

  Great. It is, it is wonderful. And actually, what's really funny, I actually went out to eat. I was one of my supporters one day and then he just sat there and watched.

• 12:51Jen Cohen?

  I love that.

• 12:53Speaker 02

  I've never seen anything like this before in my entire life.

• 12:56Jen Cohen?

  That's amazing. Where, what other places do you like? Have you been to anywhere in LA yet? Have you been to, do you get steak here?

• 13:03Speaker 02

  Um, uh, so, um, uh, Mastro's uh, in that area is, is a really.

• 13:11Jen Cohen?

  Yeah, I like Mastro's. That's really good.

• 13:13Speaker 02

  I have, it was really cool. So I happen to be the congressman for the owner of the chain as well. And so I get to try out all of the Mastro's all across the country. Best ones in Houston and Miami.

• 13:24Jen Cohen?

  Really?

• 13:25Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 13:27Jen Cohen?

  Okay. Thank you for telling me that because I didn't know that they're like, I had never been to the Mastro's in Houston's or Miami. And so now that you said that, really? Okay. I'm going to try that. Okay. When, when you come here though, we're going to go to the one here.

• 13:41Speaker 02

  Great. That's it.

• 13:42Jen Cohen?

  Okay, that, that sounds amazing. Okay. So we got the steak part down. Um, how about all the other stuff? Like, do you do any kind of sauna, cold plunge, red light, any of those things?

• 13:52Speaker 02

  I do. So whenever, whenever I'm up here in DC, uh, uh, there is a sauna down here and I, after my workouts, I'll do 15 minutes of sauna.

• 13:59Jen Cohen?

  Hmm. Okay. No cold plunge?

• 14:02Speaker 02

  Not yet.

• 14:02Jen Cohen?

  No, I hate that thing.

• 14:04Speaker 02

  I gotta toughen up.

• 14:05Jen Cohen?

  Oh, it's so terrible.

• 14:06Speaker 02

  Apache pilot army guy, like I got toughened up from the cold.

• 14:09Jen Cohen?

  Isn't that crazy? I know. I'm gonna say, I mean, for whatever reason, that cold, just, I, I can do hot all day, but the cold just, it's so difficult.

• 14:18Speaker 02

  I've done it a few times. Yeah. I've, afterward, it's great.

• 14:21Jen Cohen?

  Af- afterwards.

• 14:23Speaker 02

  Sorry, but during it's rough.

• 14:25Jen Cohen?

  Really rough.