What a wild month it has been for protein snacks. Some of them were surprisingly good, and some of them were some of the worst snacks I have ever eaten. I wish I were exaggerating.

In case you’re new here: I often poke fun at protein labels in my videos because they are usually quite ridiculous. But I’m also a sucker for a good high-protein option, so I attempt to try as many protein snacks as possible to be a trusted source for you.

I mean, protein snacks have become absurdly expensive, so my hope is that I can help you find the snacks that are actually worth spending money on and save your wallet from the disasters.

I’ve been reviewing protein snacks for years, but it used to be mostly protein bars and protein shakes. Now that protein is in everything, the snacks I try are, well, pretty much everything.

So, let’s recap everything new I tried this past month so you can decide if any of ‘em are worth your hard-earned dollars.

The Good (Like… Surprisingly Good)

Polar Joe Protein Coffee & Matcha

This company reached out and offered to send me product to try with no strings attached, and I’m not one to turn down free protein. But I’ve had enough protein coffee through the years to know that they all pretty much taste the same, and they’re all pretty damn mediocre.

These are actually really, really good. The cold brew legitimately tastes like coffee with creamer & sugar, and it doesn’t have that potent protein flavor that most protein coffee tends to have.

I don’t particularly love matcha, but the protein matcha tasted like any other matcha latte I’ve ever had. I’m hesitant to say that you’d “never know” it was protein, but honestly, I’m not sure I would personally know. Maybe that’s because I haven’t had a ton of matcha, but I thought they absolutely nailed the flavor.

Plus, the powders mixed easier than any other powder I’ve ever used. I just shook it up for a couple seconds in a bottle, and it was perfectly smooth.

The single serves are expensive ($4 each), so you need to commit to a larger batch if you want to make it worth your while, but this is without a doubt my favorite protein coffee.

My Full Review

Wilde Protein Crackers

These are crackers made from chicken breast, and I thought I was going to be absolutely appalled by them. I was really, really hesitant to even try them because the concept freaked me out.

So I don’t say this lightly: I like these more than Cheez-It.

The flavors are unreal, especially the hot honey, and they pack so much flavor and crunch into each cracker. As long as you can get over the fact that these are made from chicken (I promise you would never know otherwise), then these are 1000000% worth trying.

My Wilde Review

MOSH Protein Bars

I saw these MOSH protein bars at Target and thought they were going to be a ridiculous marketing gimmick, but I genuinely enjoyed them.

The labels talk about “brain fuel” and these bars being good for your body and mind, so I figured those claims were going to be doing all of the heavy lifting to promote an otherwise mediocre protein bar.

But the texture and flavor of these are thoroughly enjoyable. 200 calories, 20 grams of protein, added creatine, not overly chewy, and accurate flavors. Can’t really ask for more than that.

My MOSH Review

Biena Roasted Edamame

I did a campaign with Biena, but don’t let the paid partnership label throw you off: I’m a huge fan of the product, which is why I partnered with them. I mean, if you know me, you know I don’t partner with very many brands because I always want my recommendations to remain genuine.

Biena sells roasted chickpeas, which I enjoy, but I’ve been loving the roasted edamame specifically. My wife and I order edamame pretty often with our dinners, so having it in snack form is awesome. Plus, my picky kids (4 & 2) tried the ranch flavor and loved it, so they snack on beans now. If you’ve ever met a kid, you know that’s a pretty big deal.

Absolutely Horrible Protein Snacks

I don’t like speaking ill of a product, but when they’re this bad… I don’t really have a choice.

Target Brand Protein Chips

Hey Target… what are we doing here?

These protein chips were right there on the shelf next to Quest chips, so I was excited that they might be a cheap replica of those. Boy, was I wrong.

These chips miss the mark in every single aspect. The texture is bad. The flavors are bad. The aftertaste is bad.

If you want a dry & crumbly chip that tastes like it was made from chia seeds and pea protein, then you’re in luck. Otherwise, you can safely pass on these.

Legendary Protein Mac & Cheese

If you saw my writeup on Legendary Foods, you know that I’m a little sour towards this company as a whole. Still, I approached this product with an open mind, because 220 calories & 35g of protein for a cup of instant mac & cheese is pretty insane.

But those macros mean nothing if the product sucks and, well, the product sucks.

The noodles were the gummiest, chewiest noodles I’ve ever had, and the extremely salty cheese sauce did not do it any favors.

If you’re in a pinch, I can see these being serviceable, but that “pinch” comes with some stipulations. If you’re absolutely starving, you’re deep into your diet where every calorie matters, and someone gives you this mac & cheese for free, then it will certainly be serviceable.

But all of the positive reviews out there claiming that you “can’t tell the difference” between this and Kraft are absolutely full of it, because it’s not even close.

Bolthouse Farms Max Protein Shakes

I’ve enjoyed Bolthouse Farms products in the past, but these “max protein” shakes were impossible for me to get through.

The vanilla is extremely artificial tasting, and when it’s combined with the texture of Pepto Bismol, it just becomes tough to stomach (ironically). The chocolate is slightly better, but comes with an overly bitter bite to it that really takes away from the experience.

I first tried these shakes 3 days ago, and they’re still sitting in my fridge because I hate wasting food (especially when it’s expensive), but I’m having a really tough time getting through them.

Other New Products I’ve Tried

• Popcorners Protein Chips. If you like Popcorners chips, these are more than serviceable. They’re basically one step down from the regular chips in terms of texture, but the flavor is comparable. Zesty Cheddar was delicious, but cinnamon was a disappointment because it lacks any kind of sweetness, so it’s basically the equivalent of eating cinnamon rice cakes. Bleh.

• Fit Bagels. After writing up an entire article about Fit Bagels, I was really hoping they would knock these out of the park, but they’re just fine. I haven’t done a formal review on them because they’re pretty uninspiring. If you’ve ever had a low-carb bagel before, you know exactly what they taste like- nothing revolutionary here.

• Hippeas Protein Crunchies. I really like Hippeas, but I wasn’t sure I’d love the protein version. They’re basically cheese puffs but made from pea protein, and they are shockingly good (and not earthy tasting). I tried both the regular cheddar and the pizza flavor, and they nailed both of them. I’m not plant-based, and I still crushed both bags.

• Mission Protein Tortilla Chips. Do you love Mission tortilla chips but find yourself thinking, “man, I wish the flavor and texture was noticeably worse!” Then these are for you! I tried the jalapeno flavor, and they have absolutely no flavor. Not just no kick… no flavor.

What Else is Coming?

• Lots of protein bars are competing to take over Barebells as the go-to protein bar. Grenade just re-launched in the US, Battle Bars is releasing a new formula, and Doich is promoting theirs directly against Barebells as the best-tasting protein bar ever. We shall see.

• I bought Backflip Cereal at Target today, and I’m excited to see how that compares to other healthier cereal options. It’s only 6 grams of protein per 140 calories, which isn’t super impressive in the world of protein cereal, but if it can deliver on taste, then it could be a great all-around “better for you” cereal.

As always, thanks for reading! Drop a comment if there are protein snacks out there that you’d like me to try so you don’t have to.

And don’t worry, fun writeups that are not about protein snack reviews are on the horizon, so be sure to subscribe to follow along with all the fun!

I have a serious bone to pick with brands using AI to generate product photos.

I’m not going to make a sweeping statement about how nobody should ever use AI to accomplish anything. I mean, it’s now integrated into virtually everything, and there’s no turning back the clock.

It’s a nuanced topic that I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough to break down, but I have one major issue with the current state of AI as it relates to what I know best: food.

My issue is this new wave of brands, both new and old, using AI to generate actual product photos.

Brands are resorting to AI photos to deceive their customers, and it’s driving me mad. And yes, it is deception, because those AI photos are not the product the customer is going to receive.

Using AI to touch up your photo or create marketing materials using an actual product photo? Sure, I’ll let it pass.

But when your product photos are ONLY AI, to the point where we have absolutely no idea what your product actually looks like, that’s when we have a huge problem.

A Quick Note on Stock Photos

It’s not uncommon for brands to use stock photos in their product listings. It’s also pretty misleading, so it’s worth pointing out here first.

Going on Amazon and searching for Protein Brownies, I was able to find an example almost immediately, because protein products are notorious for this.

Why? Because most protein products don’t look very appetizing, and they want you to buy the product.

Here is a product I came across, and next to it is one of the photos from their product listing.

I assume that the photo on the package is what the actual brownie looks like, and you can see there is quite a disconnect between the two.

How do you know the beautiful brownie topped with ice cream is a stock photo?

If you’re ever unsure, all you have to do is right-click on an image (if you’re using Chrome) and do a reverse image lookup. If that image exists elsewhere on the internet, it will come right up…

You’ll immediately know that it’s a stock photo… or that someone is stealing someone else’s photo. Either way, it is not a true representation of what the product actually looks like, which in my mind is deceiving.

But as I said, the use of stock photos has been happening forever. I certainly don’t like it in cases like this, but it happens.

The real, bigger issue is with companies using AI to generate all of their “product photos.” And while it’s quickly becoming a widespread issue, I came across one established brand that is using AI for every single photo, and we have to talk about it.

An Established Brand Cutting Corners For Absolutely No Reason

By now, I think most people have heard of Legendary Foods. They make the Tasty Pastry, which is a high-protein Pop-Tart, and they also now have protein popped chips, protein donuts, protein cinnamon rolls, and more.

I’ve reviewed their products before, and while I don’t particularly enjoy their baked protein treats, I thought the popped protein chips were fantastic.

I came across an Amazon sale for their products, and I was immediately hit with an egregious example of a fake product photo. Maybe I have just developed an eye for spotting AI-generated photos, but this one seems obvious:

Biting a Pop-Tart so the jelly oozes out, then flipping it over and biting the other side is a pretty wild choice for a human to make.

Not to mention the fact that the pastry is the size of her face.

They added a disclaimer that “some product imagery was created with AI assistance,” which is also terribly misleading when the entire photo IS AI-generated.

Add the fact that this is what the product ACTUALLY looks like:

But whatever; if a company wants to toss some AI-generated marketing materials into their listing, I’ll get over it. It happens all the time, and it’s going to keep happening.

As I went down the rabbit hole, I discovered that every. single. photo. they have is AI-generated. Quite literally, for every single product, all of the photos are AI.

I went to the Legendary Foods website to do some digging, and I discovered something wild: there are ZERO AI-generated photos on their official website.

Maybe a few outliers snuck in there, but nothing obvious. On their website, they have photos that accurately reflect the items you’ll be receiving. But on Amazon, there are zero actual photos.

Let’s go through some comparisons.

The official site? Awesome product photography. Amazon? Horrible AI slop. A chip literally cannot break that way, and that texture just looks horrendous.

Why not use the same photos from the listing?

But wait, there’s more!

Not only are the food photos fake, but the listing just suddenly has generic packaging alongside the products.

On the left is the actual packaging of the donuts, and on the right is… whatever that is.

And it isn’t just a single item- every single one of their products has this fake packaging attached to the products.

Why is the mockup on the right completely different from the actual packaging? Because AI generated it.

Does it contain 20 grams of protein, or 22 grams? 2 grams might not seem like a huge difference, but when you’re buying a protein sweet roll, you deserve to know how much protein is actually in it.

For the consumer, that already causes a bunch of confusion. But what if I told you that for one single product, I came across SIX different labels?

All very similar, but AI loves to take some creative liberties when spitting out its own replicas. I mean, the package on the top right doesn’t even say “LEGENDARY” in the background.

And again… how much protein does this item contain? Is it 20 grams or 22 grams? No clue.

And then we have AI-generated reviews

Once I started exploring the seemingly endless variations of the protein sweet roll (or protein sweet roll+ according to Amazon?) I scrolled down to the reviews to see if people even like them.

There, front and center, was the most obvious AI-generated review of all time. And this is where things start to get really scary to me, because I wouldn’t expect anyone to realistically flag this if they’re just scrolling through the reviews.

How can you tell the review is AI?

1. If the review reads like an ad, it’s probably AI. Also, no human has ever said they’re “watching macros” before.

2. It’s obvious that “Kindness” is not a real person, but even if she was, I don’t think the photo of the man eating a cinnamon roll is what she looks like.

3. When you look at the photo, there are some obvious red flags: the gibberish text being one, and the impossible texture of the cinnamon roll being the other.

If you’re looking for a review of the “Legendary Croonu Protalx Sweey Hale”, then this would surely help you!

Flooding your listing with fake AI photos is one thing, but when you start throwing in fake reviews too, we have a serious problem.

So, what’s going on?

Truthfully, I have no idea why there is such a disconnect here, but my best guess is that Legendary Foods has completely outsourced its Amazon storefront management.

Considering their website is completely legit, I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this pains me to witness.

It’s likely a completely separate person or company taking their own creative liberties to infuse AI into every single product photo to maximize sales.

But that’s not an excuse. This is still Legendary Foods’ storefront, and these are still their products. By not having a single actual photo of the product, they are misleading us, the consumers.

And if you go through the reviews, people are noticing, even if they don’t know that the photos are AI:

Real photography exists. It's sitting right there on their own website. Even though the product photos make the products look better than they actually are, at least they’re the actual product.

We know that a disconnect exists with pretty much all product photos; if you go to Taco Bell, you don’t expect your taco to look as perfect as it looks on the menu. But at least the menu has actual photos.

Someone made the choice to replace the real product images with AI slop, fake packaging, and reviews that were never touched by a real person, on the platform where most of their customers are actually buying the products from.

Not only is it deception, but it seems like a really silly choice when your actual website contains beautiful imagery. When I see the horrible AI-generated product photos, it actively turns me off to the product.

It’s hard to believe that an established company like Legendary Foods is completely unaware of the slop that their Amazon storefront has become.

And frankly, I’m not even sure which is worse: being aware and looking the other way, or having no idea it’s happening on your own storefront.

This is not the first time this kind of thing has happened (I’ve seen it countless times), but it’s easily the most egregious example I’ve seen.

As AI continues to evolve and more and more companies choose to use it to cut corners, this is only going to get worse. As consumers, all we can do is look out for it and make purchasing decisions accordingly, because honestly, I don’t know that there’s any way to stop this.

I suppose it starts with holding brands accountable, and maybe this is step one in that process.

I have been trying and reviewing protein products since 2020, so at this point, I’ve basically tried it all. Fun fact: the first ever video I recorded was a protein snack review, and it kick-started my journey as a content creator.

This is the definition of “cringe,” but here’s the first video I ever recorded of myself:

WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING WITH NO EMOTION?!

Okay, I can’t watch that.

Anyway, the point is that since 2020, the protein market has absolutely exploded. From Protein Pop-Tarts to Protein Pizza and everything in between, it’s hard to find a product that doesn’t have protein in it.

To help you navigate it all and save you from wasting your money, every month I’m going to give you a roundup of the latest protein products I’ve tried, and everything I am actually buying & enjoying.

I just went through my pantry (and freezer) for everything I currently have stocked up, so let’s go through ‘em together.

Protein Products I’m Currently Loving

Truely Cereal

I’ve tried every protein cereal in existence, and this is still my favorite. It’s not new- in fact, it has been around for years.

The quick backstory is that Truely sent me cereal to try & review when they launched; I gave them honest feedback about how I didn’t love it, but I saw a lot of potential in the product. They then spent a couple of years reformulating, with my feedback heavily influencing the process.

The new (current) cereal, I absolutely love. I always tell people it’s similar to Magic Spoon, but with better macros, better flavor, and less of that stick-to-your-teeth texture.

It’s still protein cereal, so it’s not replacing Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I could legitimately eat this every day and never get sick of it.

It’s expensive. I can’t deny that. I signed up for an affiliate code (code MATT) so you could save 10%, which isn’t a ton, but it’s something. I want everyone to get a chance to try this cereal, because I absolutely love it.

Favorite flavors: Maple Donut, Fruity, and Cocoa.

Fun side note: I’m currently working with them to give their packaging a little refresh, so hopefully you see those start popping up in Q4!

Grab Some Cereal

Protein Doritos

I joke about this product a lot because it’s the epitome of “everything is protein” but it’s actually… pretty good.

The Nacho Cheese Doritos are close enough to the original that it’s a great way to sneak some extra protein in, but there is a clear tradeoff in both flavor and texture. Although admittedly, it’s very minimal.

Instead of Cool Ranch, they decided to launch a “Sweet & Tangy BBQ” flavor, which I thought was a really strange choice, but I love those chips.

In fact, they’re basically a weekly staple for me now.

Nobody needs protein Doritos. But, I enjoy the BBQ flavor a lot, the texture is great, and a serving is 150 calories with 10 grams of complete protein (something a lot of protein chips and snacks can’t say). It won’t knock your socks off, but that’s plenty good for an indulgent-tasting snack.

Quest Peanut Butter Goodies

When it comes to Quest products, I tend to love or hate them, and there usually isn’t much of a middle-ground. Their two newer products are a “Nutty by Nature” bar, and peanut butter cake bites, both of which I love.

The protein bar is one of their Overload bars, which is basically a protein bar with tons of stuff thrown into it. This one has peanut pieces, peanut butter chips, chocolate chunks, cookie pieces, and toffee bits. But the best part is that it actually tastes like good peanut butter.

Most peanut butter protein bars taste like fake peanut butter, and this might be the only peanut butter flavored protein bar I thoroughly enjoy. In fact, it’s one of my favorite bars of all time too.

The cake bites are technically frosted cookies, but I just call them cake bites, because there’s really nothing “cookie” about them except their shape. But they also taste like real peanut butter. Less impressive macros and much more of a fun snack than a pure-protein product, but delicious.

Crisp Power Protein Pretzels

I went out and bought every version of protein pretzels I could find, but these are the clear winner for me.

There’s a distinct flavor to them because they’re made from wheat protein. It’s a flavor I don’t mind at all, but if you go in blind thinking you’re eating regular pretzels, it’s going to throw you off.

If you want an authentic pretzel flavor, the Kindling protein pretzels are probably your best bet.

BUT these Crisp Power pretzels are one of the only snacks that actually fills me up. One bag is a generous serving size, and it contains 200 calories with 28 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber.

I’m actually eating the flaming hot flavor as we speak.

Spylt Protein Shakes

These are caffeinated protein shakes, which is an interesting concept, but not something I necessarily want. As someone who drinks a preworkout in the morning, followed by coffee in the afternoon, I do not need more caffeine in my day.

Luckily, it’s only 60mg of caffeine.

But caffeine aside, I enjoyed these way more than I expected to. Overall, I really like the flavors, and they’re some of the best tasting protein shakes I have ever had.

Specifically, the cookies & cream flavor is really, really, really good. Hopefully it wasn’t a fluke, because I was blown away by how good it was.

If it didn’t have caffeine, I would stay fully sotcked on that one for sure.

PS: For what it’s worth, they just released a banana flavor, and I hate it. But, I hate banana flavoring, so I never expected to enjoy that one.

Other New Products I’ve Tried

• Cold Freak Protein Ice Cream Sandwiches. Such a cool idea, and enjoyable to eat, but the ice cream is very firm and the sandwiches are insanely expensive. If they can fix both of those, I’d be all about these.

• Barebells Protein Shakes. Barebells makes awesome protein bars, but apparently they make horrible protein shakes. Pass on these.

• MOSH Protein Bars. Bought these at Target and expected them to be gimmicky since they advertize them as “brain food” with added creatine, but the oatmeal chocolate chip bar was legitimately good.

• Old Ed Paso Protein Taco Shells. If these were protein doritos in taco shell form, these would be amazing. As is, they kind of just taste like stale taco shells. My kids refused to eat them, for what it’s worth.

The Inside Scoop

What’s coming up in the world of protein? I’m so glad you asked.

• Remember the Fit Bagel story I wrote about? (Read it here if you haven’t, because it’s wild.) Well, they saw it and asked if I wanted to try the bagels, so they sent me a bunch to try. They’re currently in the freezer, so I’ll be trying those next week.

• Grenade protein bars are back! These disappeared from the US market back in 2020, and from what I rememeber, they were amazing. They’re sending me some bars to try, so look out for a full review once I get ‘em.

• Sweet Gains Ice Cream is a high-protein ice cream that’s trying to bridge the gap between indulgent ice cream and “diet” options. It’s not super low calorie like other options, just ice cream with added protein, so I have really high hopes that it will be delicious. These are also currently in the freezer, so we’ll see.

• Battle Bars has been teasing a reformulated bar and really talking it up as the best protein bar on the market. It launches August 1st, so you’ll be the first to know how it actually is once I try it.

That’s all I’ve got for now! I’ll do another one of these roundups in August, so if there are products out there you’re too nervous to try, or skeptical of the positive reviews, let me know and I’ll be the guinea pig.

If you want to skip this read, I’m not offended. Not only is this different from my usual health & food content, but I ended up writing over 8,000 words because I care very deeply about this topic (don’t worry, I’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming next week).

Mental health is something that is always going to be extremely important to me, and as someone with a platform, I want to help erase the stigma that still exists around it, because we all struggle with something.

I want to share my personal journey with anxiety, how it completely snuck up on me (and terrified me), and what I have done to manage it.

Maybe you experience similar anxiety, and this write-up will provide some comfort. Maybe you don’t have anxiety, but someone you love does, and you want to better understand it. Maybe neither applies to you, but you’re interested in learning more about what anxiety is like.

In any case, I sincerely appreciate anyone who takes the time to read my story.

The beginning.

I was 18 years old, living on my own for the first time in my life. I was about a week into my first semester of college, and I was really enjoying my time to that point.

It was just like any other day, and I attended a class I had been to a few times before. About halfway through the class, a sudden feeling of nausea rushed over my body. My body felt flushed, I began to sweat, and I knew I was about to be sick.

I raised my hand, patiently waiting for the professor to call on me. “May I go to the bathroom?” I asked shyly. “This isn’t high school anymore; you don’t need to ask for my permission,” she responded, making me feel silly.

I rushed to the bathroom, closed the door behind me, and frantically fought off the nausea. I must have stood in that bathroom for 10 minutes, riding out that feeling, waiting for it to pass. I’ve always hated getting sick, and it was a fear of mine as a little kid, so I really fought it off.

Eventually, I started to feel a little bit better.

There were still 20 minutes left of my class. “What if I go back in there and the feeling comes back?” I thought to myself.

Instead of going back to class and risking it, I paced the halls for 20 minutes. I waited until I could spot my classmates leaving, because you don’t have the luxury of hearing a bell ring in college. Once I saw them leaving, I slipped back into the classroom, grabbed my stuff, and dashed out as quickly as possible.

I went back to my dorm to relax, assuming that some rest was all I needed to feel better. Whatever sickness I had would surely pass.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was my first panic attack. Physically, there was nothing wrong with me. But mentally, this was the beginning of a battle that would last the rest of my life.

Learning about anxiety.

Throughout my entire life, I had heard people reference panic attacks in a joking manner. You know, “I’m having a panic attack about this test” or “I nearly had a panic attack trying to choose a flavor of ice cream.”

I knew panic attacks were a real thing, but it always seemed like something that someone with schizophrenia would experience. There’s no way something like that would ever happen to me.

After my first panic attack, I had no idea what had occurred. That same feeling came back every single day for the next week, and I assumed there was something physically wrong with me. I mean, how can someone get super nauseous every single day?

At the time, I was dating someone who was studying psychology. When I mentioned what had been happening with me, she said, “It sounds like you have anxiety.”

What?! Anxiety?? There’s no way- I’m not a crazy person.

She must assume that because she’s learning about it. People who have anxiety are worried about every little thing in life; that’s not me at all.

I decided to read up on the topic. To my surprise, what I was reading about was EXACTLY what I had been experiencing. It quickly became very obvious to me…

I have anxiety.

Searching for an answer.

Learning you “have anxiety” is quite a gut punch.

I knew absolutely nothing about anxiety, but I figured there must be a way to cure it. I mean, this just developed out of nowhere, so surely there must be some way to get rid of it.

I soon learned that there isn’t a cure. You learn to live with your anxiety- you don’t “cure” it. The more you try to fight your anxiety, the worse it seems to get.

In my search for a cure, I must have read 10 different self-help books. I’m a self-learner, so the idea of reading up on anxiety and completing workbooks on my own seemed to be an effective route.

I was following strategies I read up on at every turn. Sitting in class, when a panic attack struck, I would start implementing my strategies: breathing techniques, writing exercises, visualization, you name it, I tried it all.

I still have notebooks full of notes I jotted down during classes trying to calm myself down.

I was trying SO hard, but it wasn’t working. I knew every single strategy out there, and somehow my anxiety kept getting worse.

How is this happening?

There was one book in particular that gave me a ton of amazing tools, and I just stumbled upon it by chance. It’s called Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression, and I still own my copy 17 years later.

I took so much away from it, and I implemented what I read about every single day. I took diligent notes and was completing all of the mental exercises to help my anxiety.

I was confident that I knew every single foolproof strategy to beat this thing.

But it wasn’t working.

In fact, my panic attacks were getting worse.

I found the contact information of the author, Dr. Luciani, and decided to send him an email.

Why exactly, I’m not sure. But I felt like I was doing everything right and it wasn’t working, and I had nowhere else to turn.

I didn’t actually expect a response, but to my surprise, I received a response the very next day. I no longer have the exact email, but this is what he told me:

Trying too hard?

Letting go.

This hit home for me. Here I was trying to use logic and reason to beat my anxiety. But anxiety isn’t logical. I mean, anxiety is essentially just excessive worry about things that are never going to happen. How can you expect to reason with something so unreasonable?

Anxiety is rooted in the future. We live in a constant state of worrying about things that we think are going to happen to us. So the answer lies in staying in the present moment and learning not to worry about the uncertain future (easier said than done, I know).

You see, there isn’t always a concrete answer to why we have anxiety. There was not necessarily a direct cause of my anxiety, so searching for “the answer” was a waste of time.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s very clear that I was an anxious kid for my entire life, which can happen for any number of reasons. It never manifested into anything serious, and I would just experience moments of extreme nervousness. Nothing abnormal for a shy kid, honestly.

Going away to college was the first time I was on my own, and when you combine that with nerves, social pressures, stress, and a million other things, it just became the perfect storm for my anxiety to manifest into a panic attack.

After that, it just became generalized anxiety- being anxious about being anxious. A vicious cycle.

Living in the moment is the scariest thing to do as an anxious person. When you have anxiety, you’re living in a constant state of worrying about the future. Living in the moment means not thinking about that future, and when you’re accustomed to overthinking and constantly planning for what’s to come, that’s incredibly difficult to do.

Staying in the present moment and not planning for what’s next feels irresponsible and reckless at first, but it’s the single greatest change we can make to help our anxiety.

What my anxiety looked like.

For me, my anxiety was always a fear of getting sick (vomiting) in public. Whether I was with one person or one thousand, I would freak out that I was going to be sick.

There’s no reason for that fear, either- I’ve never vomited in a public setting before. As a little kid, being sick was unusually traumatic for me (I vividly remember every experience), but I didn’t go through my day worried I’d be sick at every turn.

But my first panic attack manifested itself in the form of nausea, and then my totally irrational fear of vomiting in public was born.

For years, any public setting induced a full-blown panic attack. You can imagine that, as a college student, there were quite a few public situations in my life. Rather than risk having a panic attack in these settings, I just avoided crowds at all costs.

Avoidance is an anxious person’s best friend, but the kind of best friend that is actually a horrible influence on your life and you should stop being friends with immediately.

I skipped classes constantly. I bailed on presentations. I stayed in my dorm room instead of going to concerts or parties. It got to the point where I couldn’t even eat at the dining hall, and I had to resort to eating cereal alone in my room for dinner.

Even going down to the hall to do laundry became a dangerous situation, because how would I know how many people were in that laundry room?

It felt like I was doing the “smart” thing by avoiding these situations, because I was avoiding the potential danger and embarrassment. But when you look at my situation from your perspective, you can clearly see that there was never any real danger, and avoiding those situations did nothing but force me to miss out on fun.

When a situation wasn’t avoidable, I would do everything in my power to plan my escape route just in case.

I sat at the desk closest to the exit in every class in case I needed to run out of there. In lecture halls, I would make sure I always sat on the end of a row. I would find any excuse to drive myself places, because if I was in control of the car, I would be able to pull over at any time. If I went out to eat, the first thing I did was find the bathroom to be sure I knew how to get there quickly.

Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it?

Even if I wasn’t anxious, I was planning what to do in case I became anxious. There was never a break.

I was always able to think rationally about my anxiety, too. I would think, “What are the odds that I suddenly feel nauseous and immediately get sick at the dining hall? It doesn’t work like that.”

And then I would go to the dining hall, feel a hint of nausea, and all reasonable thoughts were thrown out the window.

No matter how much I tried to convince myself that it was all in my head, the danger became very real. I needed to immediately remove myself from the situation completely.

That avoidance continued for all 4 years of college. I changed my major to avoid classes that had major presentations and speeches involved. I turned down a great internship opportunity with a large company because I couldn’t handle the thought of being in an office. I worked with the athletic department and regularly skipped going to sporting events, claiming it was due to a group project running late… every time.

Yeah, college was rough.

I wrote a letter to myself a few weeks into that first college semester, and I still have it on my desk. Honestly, I hate reading it, but it gives me important perspective:

My life before & after anxiety.

The craziest part of my journey with anxiety is that it is book-ended by complete opposite experiences.

I was always a shy kid, but I thrived in grade school. I was homecoming king in high school (I stand by the fact that it was a fluke, but it still happened), I loved giving speeches, and I even dabbled in improv.

Then anxiety snuck up on me in college and turned me into a shell of myself for many years.

Let’s fast forward to today.

I’m a content creator who is regularly watched by millions of people online, and I’m absolutely loving my role as a father to two incredible kids. If you had told me at the peak of my anxiety that this is where I was going to end up, I never would have believed you.

Don’t get the wrong idea: I still have anxiety, and I always will.

I know that’s not what anyone wants to hear, but anxiety doesn’t just disappear, and it’s okay for it to be there.

Once you learn to manage it (which does take some time and practice), anxiety becomes just another small piece of us. It becomes no greater piece than our fear of spiders, or our obsession with The Office, or our love of the outdoors- it’s a piece to our story, but it’s not the only thing that defines us. Not even close.

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “That sounds great, but how do you learn to live with your anxiety?” Trust me, I always thought it was impossible. But with a little bit of effort and patience, I promise you can get there too.

The squirrel analogy.

This silly analogy really helped put things into perspective for me, and I’m hoping it will for you, too.

When we have anxiety, we tend to try to control everything. We build our fears up so much that we will do ANYTHING to avoid them, so we try to plan out every little detail of our lives to avoid anxiety-provoking situations.

Let’s look at it from a different angle…

Imagine yourself driving down a quiet country road. It’s a beautiful day, and nobody else is on the road. You roll the windows down, turn the music up, and enjoy the beautiful open roads.

At any point, a squirrel can dash out in front of your car. Do you spend the entire drive looking out for squirrels and planning what you will do if one jumps out in front of you? No, you trust that if that situation occurs, you’ll know what to do and react accordingly.

With anxiety, we’re driving down the road as slowly as possible, looking out for squirrels with every passing tree. We’re not enjoying the drive, we’re not taking in the scenery, and we’re worrying for no reason.

You don’t need to plan what you’ll do if a squirrel runs out in front of you. You know that you’ll be able to react accordingly if it does happen, so you put those thoughts behind you and enjoy the drive. Assuming it’s going to happen is only going to ruin the drive.

If you have a vacation coming up in 2 weeks, but you’re nervous about flying, you have two options: you can think about that flight every single day, making yourself more anxious the closer you get to your trip, or you can try to stay in the present moment and not think ahead to the flight.

The flight is happening in 2 weeks regardless of which option you choose, so why not choose to take it day by day, enjoy the life you have right now, and “worry” about the flight only when the time comes?

It sounds way easier than it is, I know that. But you can get to that point, just like I have.

How I learned to live with anxiety.

Before we dive into specific strategies I’ve implemented to help my anxiety, please understand that there is no one-size-fits-all formula. While I believe that these strategies can absolutely help anyone struggling, they’re not a guarantee.

Some people respond better to therapy; others may require medication; others may do well on their own with minimal help from others. It’s important to figure out what works best for your situation.

These are strategies that I believe are worth implementing in any situation. I can’t recommend a particular type of therapy or medication to you, because I don’t know your situation. If you’re questioning what your next steps should be, I highly recommend seeking out a professional opinion to help steer you in the right direction.

1. Mindfulness and meditation.

To me, meditation was always something I felt was best left to the monks. I always thought it was boring, silly, and just plain weird.

Here is what I learned about meditation, though: it’s just a tool to help us achieve mindfulness. What exactly does that mean?

Mindfulness is the state of being fully immersed in the present moment. You can practice mindfulness in any situation- if you’re washing the dishes, you can make yourself aware of every single sense and fully immerse yourself in that activity. You smell the soap, feel the smooth plates, hear the faucet running, etc. If you are fully immersed in the moment, you are mindful. When you practice mindfulness, you’re teaching yourself to be fully in the present moment.

Meditation is a tool to help you achieve mindfulness. When you meditate, you’re teaching yourself how to stay in the present moment. You don’t need to meditate with your legs crossed in the middle of a floor, either (but you can). I’ve practiced meditation while walking my dog. Meditation is a tool, much like intermittent fasting is a tool to help you lose weight. The goal is mindfulness, but meditation can help you achieve that.

• Before I dove into meditation, I started doing mindfulness practices like the dishes example above. Every time I take a walk, I try to take 1-2 minutes to fully immerse myself. I grab a leaf off the nearest tree to feel it in my fingers to experience touch, then I go through every other sense one by one: I smell the fresh air, I listen to the birds, I notice the cars driving by… I don’t taste anything, but I suppose you could. Thoughts will enter your head, and that’s totally fine. Don’t fight them. Allow thoughts to come and go, and simply continue with the exercise. If you do that just one time, then congrats, you’re practicing mindfulness!

• There are tons of great resources out there for meditation, but I love the app called Balance. It has a ton of amazing guided meditations for virtually every single activity and situation. All it takes if 5 minutes, and it walks you through exactly what to do. And yes, it’s weird at first. I’m a pretty restless person, so sitting still always feels a little unnatural. But once I started to notice how great I felt after those 5 minutes, it got easier and easier.

Again, you don’t need to meditate, but I highly recommend giving it a try. It took a little while for me to get used to it, but I came to really enjoy it. If you try it, be sure to prioritize it like you would a workout.

Working out once per month isn’t going to be super effective- you need to do it consistently. And like anything else, it gets easier the more you practice.

2. Laugh & be grateful.

At the peak of my anxiety, it took people very close to me telling me “you’ve been miserable to be around” to make me realize I needed to make a change. Anxiety tends to make us feel isolated, stressed, and bitter. Needless to say, I wasn’t really a joy to be around. I wasn’t happy (I was downright miserable, actually), and I knew I needed to fix that.

I ended up picking up this book called “The Positive Dog” which is a really quick, easy read, but was very impactful to me. I’m a sucker for dogs, what can I say? I took 2 major lessons away from that book:

We need to smile and laugh more

• Children laugh about 400 times a day while adults laugh only about 25 times (and often much less). That’s just depressing to think about. We need to stop taking life so seriously and go back to having more fun!

• When we smile, our brain releases endorphins, which make us feel good. Smiling and laughing reduce stress, which we can really use in our anxiety-filled lives.

• Make it a point to laugh every day. Listen to a funny podcast, watch an episode of your favorite comedy, hang out with your best friend, look at silly memes- anything to bring a smile to your face. Laughing is also a great way to get us out of our own heads and to stop worrying, even if it’s only temporary.

It’s important to be grateful (thankful)

• We can’t be blessed and stressed at the same time. When we’re thankful, there is no place in our minds for stress.

• Start the day with a “thank you walk.” Outside, in your living room, at work, it doesn’t matter. Simply take a short walk, and think to yourself all the things you are grateful for, no matter how small. You can be thankful for the shoes on your feet, or for being able to hear the birds chirping. Starting your day like this really sets you up to experience less stress in your day.

• Something that I have personally implemented was creating a “victory jar”. At the end of every day, you simply write down one victory from the day and add it to the jar. If you had a particularly bad day and can’t think of any victories, it can be as silly as “I didn’t die today.” There’s always something to be grateful for! Whenever you’re feeling down, reach into the jar and read a few of your victories to remind yourself how awesome you truly are.

3. Do what scares you.

This is the advice that nobody wants to hear, but everybody needs to hear.

In order to truly learn to live with our anxiety, we need to desensitize ourselves to it.

Think of your anxiety as a muscle. The more we work it, the stronger it gets. If you felt your biceps were too muscular (blasphemy!), the only way to lose those muscles would be to stop working them out. The same goes for anxiety.

The key to this is facing our fears a little bit at a time. I’m going to walk you through exactly what I did to start facing my fears so you can see what I mean.

Backstory: I got married in January of 2018. As someone who has historically gotten panic attacks merely sitting in a room with other people, you can imagine that the thought of being the center of attention for an entire day was absolutely terrifying to me.

For years, I would think about my eventual wedding day and how there was NO WAY I would be able to go through with it. My secret hope was that I would be able to get married on a beach somewhere with nobody around to watch.

When real wedding planning began, it was obvious that the whole private beach thing wasn’t a realistic option. I knew a real wedding was coming whether I was ready or not.

In 2017, about one year before our wedding day, I made an appointment to start seeing a psychologist. I had gone to speak to someone before, but it had been many years, and I knew I needed to try something.

I mean, your wedding day is the most special day of your entire life, and I wasn’t going to let myself ruin that. I wasn’t sure if a therapist would be the answer, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to try.

Luckily for me, I found a great therapist (more on finding a therapist in the next section). She is the one who convinced me that I didn’t necessarily need to find an answer to my anxiety- I just needed to face it.

Her strategy was to have me face my fears. She told me stories of past clients who overcame some truly irrational fears, like a woman with a fear of yellow flowers (for real). A slightly more relatable story- she told me about her own deathly fear of flying, and how she slowly took steps to face her fears to the point where she loves to fly now.

I’ll be honest, the thought of facing my anxiety was really, really scary. But I knew I needed to do it.

What was even scarier was that she told me that my “homework” every week was going to be to make myself anxious.

WHAT?!?!

Every week I was to put myself in an anxiety-provoking situation. On a 1-10 scale, 1 being no anxiety and 10 being a full-blown panic attack, she wanted these situations to put me around a 6 or 7. The goal was for me to be uncomfortable and to realize that I can live through it and be fine.

By learning to live with the discomfort, the hope was that I would begin to desensitize myself to it.

We started small. Remember, my fears stemmed from public situations, so there were a lot of opportunities. The first week, I was tasked with going to a store and waiting in a long line.

The second week, I was told to be a passenger in a car instead of driving myself. If I didn’t reach that 6 or 7 on the anxiety scale, then we found something else for the following week that would be slightly more difficult.

I absolutely dreaded it, but I had someone holding me accountable and knew it was in my best interest. I kept at it for weeks, and eventually it got to a point where I myself WANTED to be anxious.

Think about how insane that sounds.

I wasn’t reaching that 6 or 7 level that she wanted me to get to, so I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing what I needed to (but in reality, my anxiety was dissipating with each situation).

One day, after a few months of appointments, I took it upon myself to go to a Toastmasters meeting in my town. If you’ve never heard of Toastmasters, it’s a national organization that has meetings in practically every town across the country, and people attend these meetings to work on their public speaking skills. They give rehearsed speeches or take prompts and just go right off the top. The meetings are open to anyone, so I decided to show up to one.

I sat in the back, as any anxious person would do. My plan wasn’t to give any kind of a speech, but to see what the class was all about and at least sit through a meeting for a couple hours. For me, just sitting there amongst strangers would be enough of a win.

But right when the class started, they asked for the “new faces” to introduce themselves. Suddenly, I felt a rush through my body. Great, here comes the anxiety. I was asked to stand up, introduce myself, and tell everyone why I was attending the meeting.

I stood up, and unfiltered honesty immediately spewed out of my mouth.

I told everyone how I’ve been battling anxiety for years, and how I wanted to be able to enjoy my upcoming wedding without anxiety. Yes, I got so nervous that I told an entire room of strangers about my most personal issue.

After about a minute of blabbing, I sat down. I was then approached by strangers congratulating me on how well spoken I was, and how they would have never known I was experiencing any kind of anxiety.

And in that moment, it felt like the biggest win I had ever experienced in my life.

I told my therapist about it in our next meeting, and she was so surprised and proud that I was able to do that on my own.

And you know what? So was I.

Back in college, I dropped out of a class because I needed to stand up in front of people and give a presentation. And here I was, standing in front of strangers on my own.

Granted, it was only for one minute, but the small victories can be absolutely monumental. Getting through that minute helped me realize that I’m capable of so much more.

To bring this full circle, my wedding day came, and it was indeed the greatest day of my life. Standing at the altar, there wasn’t a hint of anxiety. I was way too happy to even bother myself with anxious thoughts.

Throughout the wedding day, I would find myself thinking, “I can’t believe I don’t feel anxious right now!” But as I said earlier- you cannot be blessed and stressed at the same time. And on that day, I felt extremely blessed.

Two weeks after that, I was the best man at my friend’s wedding, and I had to stand up and give a speech. After my own wedding, I had that feeling of “if I can be the center of attention for an entire day, then I can give a speech for 5 minutes.” I delivered the speech with absolutely no nerves at all. And the craziest part- I actually had fun doing it.

I know it all probably sounds like a fairytale, but there’s no magic here. I faced my anxiety, and I was able to come out better on the other side because of it. You can do that, too.

It wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t face my fears.

Whatever your fear is, I advise you to face it. Let’s use driving as an example.

If you’re afraid of driving, then I would never recommend that you get in the car and try to force yourself to drive on a highway.

Instead, sit behind the wheel of the car in your driveway. Put the car in the reverse, but don’t actually move. That’s it. That’s your first win. You can do that a few more times until putting the car into reverse doesn’t make you think twice.

Once you’re comfortable with that, back out to the end of your driveway, but don’t go into the street. Continue with that strategy until you’re comfortable with it.

Keep doing this in baby steps- drive down your street, then around the corner, then 2 blocks away, then to the grocery store, etc, until eventually you feel comfortable enough to drive on the highway.

Baby steps is all it takes.

The important thing is to allow yourself to feel anxious. You want to feel a little bit anxious. When you continue to conquer these situations, they become easier and easier. And eventually, they won’t feel scary at all.

It’s terrifying. Trust me, I know it is.

That’s why we start really, really small. As time goes on, your confidence builds, your anxiety lessens, and it all gets easier.

4. Professional help.

I’m not going to dive too deeply into this one, but I do think it’s important to bring up.

The first time I saw a psychologist was in college, and I did everything in my power to hide it from everyone around me. I lied to my roommates about where I was going and made sure nobody saw me walking into the office. I was ashamed.

I went one time and never returned there. “I don’t need this,” I thought, “I can figure it out on my own.”

I felt like I was somehow failing by going to speak to a therapist. If you feel the same way, please understand that it’s actually the exact opposite. Understanding that a professional can help you is a winning realization, not a losing one.

Let’s bring it back to fitness, because that’s what I do best. You can go to the gym and build your own workout routine, which works for some people, but might not work for you.

If you’re confused and overwhelmed in the gym, then you can hire a trainer to help you so you don’t need to do it all on your own. There’s no shame associated with that at all- that’s what they are there for.

Likewise, there should be no shame in going to speak to a therapist.

As a teenager, I felt so embarrassed to speak to someone. Now, as an adult, I’ve come to realize that SO many people see psychologists. Even those with no real issues go to speak to someone regularly. It’s healthy to have someone to speak to. Professional sports teams even have their own psychologists for players to talk to! It’s incredibly common, even if people aren’t talking about it.

The important thing to understand about seeking professional help is that not everyone will be a great fit for you, and that’s okay.

I once went to a psychologist who practiced hypnotherapy, meaning he would have me close my eyes and would try to get me to visualize myself walking through forests and things of that nature, then ask me how I felt afterwards.

It was basically a form of guided meditation (although I didn’t realize it at the time), but I thought it was absolutely insane at the time. Instead of trying to find another psychologist, I just assumed that going to see a professional really wasn’t for me.

The therapist I found leading up to my wedding was amazing. I did some research to find her, and when I read her bio online, it sounded like she could be really useful for my specific situation. After our first meeting, I’ll admit I wasn’t totally sure, but I gave it another shot and realized she was a great fit for me.

If you seek professional help, understand that shopping around for the right fit is part of the process, and they know that! You can (and should) call a therapist to chat about your situation and learn about their strategies to see if it feels like a good fit.

Or, you can meet with them for a session, but decide you don’t want to reschedule for another appointment. They don’t take it personally- it’s part of the process.

You’re searching for someone to share you most sensitive insecurities with- I encourage you to be picky. Finding someone you are comfortable with will make all the difference.

Quick side note regarding medication: If you think medication might be for you, speak to a professional about it. I am in no place to speak on the topic because I never used medication for my anxiety. Medication is not a “cure” for anxiety, though. It can be incredibly helpful in helping your anxiety, but it’s similar to taking a painkiller after breaking your leg. The medicine helps alleviate the pain, which allows you to continue to rehab and get back to full strength. When it comes to anxiety meds, they help to temporarily alleviate the anxiety, which allows you to focus your efforts on dealing with anxiety using the things I’ve talked about here. View medication as a tool, not a solution.

5. Talk about it.

I cannot stress enough how important this is.

You should never feel embarrassed to talk about your anxiety. I hope this article can spark a bit of courage in you to open up about it, but if it doesn’t, allow me to share a very short story with you.

Shortly after college, I decided that I wanted to reveal to the world that I had struggled with anxiety. This was before I had a large following on social media- I just finally wanted to put it all out there and hope that maybe my message would hit home with someone.

So, I wrote up a short article (I reposted it here if you are interested) and decided to post it to my personal Facebook page. I nervously hit the “post” button and shut my computer in total fear of the response (or lack of response) I would receive.

I vividly remember the exact moment I hit publish, where I was, and what it felt like.

To my surprise, I immediately had people reaching out to me thanking me for opening up. There were people from high school that I hadn’t spoken to in YEARS sending me lengthy messages about how they’ve been struggling too, and how much it means to hear that they’re not alone.

I was so happy I opened up about it, and I vowed from that point forward to never hide it again. I will happily talk about it now, because I know there are still so many people out there who feel alone in this.

When I first developed my anxiety, I felt alone too. I felt like nobody understood what I was going through. Now I know that I was never alone at all. In fact, it is far more common than I ever realized.

You don’t need to go and publish an article for the whole world to see, but watch how good it feels to open up about it. I hid my anxiety from my college roommate all throughout college, and he was surprised to hear what I had been through after the fact. He was my best friend throughout school, and looking back, he would have totally understood and been supportive if I had opened up to him.

If nothing else, open up to your best friend. If they love you, they’ll be supportive too.

Dealing with the panic attacks.

You may have noticed that I haven’t actually discussed how to deal with panic attacks. Well, that’s because I learned that you really don’t need to deal with them directly.

You remember the hamster wheel analogy from earlier? That’s exactly what happens when we try to actively “defeat” our panic attacks. By trying to beat them, we begin to fuel them and make them worse.

When you’re in the midst of a panic attack, your body is in fight or flight mode, and fighting that fight is a losing battle.

That’s not to say that there’s nothing you can do when you begin to panic, of course.

Something that I have always found very useful is a simple breathing technique: take a deep breath in through your nose and count to five. Hold that breath and count to five again. Then slowly breathe out through your mouth, counting to five once more. Repeat this a few times.

By focusing on your breath and counting, it’s a way of bringing yourself back into the present moment and away from the worry (it’s a form of mindfulness, like what we talked about earlier). It might not make your worry suddenly disappear, but it’s a step towards getting your feet back on the ground.

Here’s something about anxiety that sounds insane, but is true:

I know that sounds particularly crazy because our anxiety tortures us, but hear me out.

Anxiety creeps up whenever our mind perceives danger. Our minds convince us that there is a real danger out there (which is never true) and our anxiety comes to our rescue, ready to help us avoid the situation and get us the hell out of there.

Imagine your anxiety as a close friend who sees that you’re scared. They come up to you and try to hug you in an effort to calm you down. But instead, you push them away. They keep trying to give you a hug, becoming more determined with each try, but you continue to push them away while getting more upset each time. Eventually they give up, but not without first putting up a fight.

Instead of pushing them away, give them a hug next time. Put your arm around them and embrace them- they mean well.

Deep down, our anxiety means well, too. When you feel these anxious thoughts coming on, don’t fight it. Embrace it. Acknowledge that it’s your mind’s attempt to save you from a danger that it thinks is there. Allow the thoughts into your mind, acknowledge them, and let them pass.

Thoughts will always pass. So, why fight them? Allow them to come and go, and you’ll be well on your way to co-existing with your anxiety.

Final thoughts.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Anxiety (and any mental illness for that matter) is incredibly complex. If you take nothing else away from this reflection, at least read these last few points.

Anxiety is different for everyone.

The anxiety and panic attacks I’ve experienced are totally unique to myself. Public settings and crowds have always made me feel sick to my stomach. You might get anxious about trying something new, and your anxiety might make you dizzy and lightheaded

Or, maybe you get anxious and overwhelmed by school and you break down in tears because of it. Anxiety is incredibly common, but our exact situations are unique.

But even though our symptoms might differ, our experiences are very similar.

The anticipation of anxiety is worse than the anxiety itself.

When we experience anxiety, we begin to stress about situations that we feel are going to bring on that anxiety. Suddenly, we become anxious about being anxious.

If you’re like me, your anxiety becomes a constant state of being anxious about becoming anxious. It is absolutely draining.

But know this- the anticipation is ALWAYS worse than the anxiety itself. Think about any situation that has ever made you anxious- what was the outcome? Did the situation harm you in any way? Likely not- it just made you nervous.

But the weeks, days, hours leading up to it, you probably drove yourself crazy worrying about what was to come.

When the time finally comes, it’s never as bad as we anticipated.

It takes work.

It took me a solid 10 years from my first panic attack to get to a place where I felt I had my anxiety under control. That doesn’t mean it has to take 10 years, but it might. And that’s okay.

Some people have been battling anxiety for 40 years. Others for 40 days. No matter your situation, I want you to understand that it takes time and effort. Anxious thinking becomes a really strong habit, and like any habit, you can’t just break it overnight.

We can’t sit back and hope it goes away on its own- if we want to better ourselves, we need to put in the effort.

You’re going to have bad days.

It has been 17 years since my first panic attack. That’s half my life. And I still have bad days.

I’m not immune to stress, and sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed by the stress and anxiety. Some nights I’ll lay in bed unable to sleep, body shivering from the anxiety. Sometimes that wave of nausea will come back to test me in the most random of places, even if I’m completely alone.

It happens. And it’s always going to.

That’s because our journey isn’t linear. Every single day won’t be better than the last.

We might feel great for a week, and then suddenly be struck with a panic attack. Some days we might not feel like ourselves. Some days might just be really difficult. But that is normal.

Even the happiest person in the world is going to have bad days. Don’t let the bad days get you down. Keep going.

You are not alone.

I felt really alone when I first experienced my anxiety. I felt like something was seriously wrong with me. I didn’t think anyone would understand.

But I was never alone. As the years have passed, I’ve learned how common anxiety actually is, but people are still afraid to talk about it.

Men seem to especially want to hide it, because it makes them look “weak.” But you know what? Opening up about your struggles is showing your strength.

It’s proving to yourself, and to the world, that you’re willing to fight the good fight. That you’re not going to let your anxiety keep you down.

We didn’t choose to have anxiety. Nobody wants to deal with this. But the reality is that we do have anxiety. It’s part of our lives, but it doesn’t need to control our lives.

I know it’s hard. Sometimes it feels like you’re walking alone down a dark street. But you’re not alone. People are standing on both sides of the street with flashlights in their hands; you just can’t see them because they choose to keep their lights off.

I’m walking right beside you with my flashlight on.

The more you open up about what you’re going through, the more you’ll see that others are willing to turn on their flashlights and walk with you down that street. By opening up, you give someone else the courage to open up, too.

And the more we get people to open up, the brighter that street becomes. I hope that some day, nobody will have to find their own way down that dark street ever again.

We should all be walking together.

You’ve got this.

Whether you’ve been battling anxiety for your entire life, or you just developed it last week, there is no better time to start working on it than right now.

Wherever you are right now, sit back. Close your eyes. Just take one deep breath. And don’t just breathe and be done- really feel the air you’re breathing. We are always breathing, but we rarely take the time to really appreciate that breath.

Congratulations- you’ve just taken a step towards bettering yourself. Sometimes one breath is all it takes.

This life can get frustrating, disheartening, and lonely. But it’s not hopeless. YOU are not hopeless.

I promise you, it gets easier.

It will take some work, but it gets easier. And all of the work you put in will be 100% worth it.

If you had told me when I was 18 that I would be where I am today, no part of me would have ever believed you. I mean, I couldn’t go to the grocery store without having a panic attack. But now here I am, posting videos on the internet for millions of people to see, and sharing my story with anyone who is willing to read it.

This isn’t a fairytale story. I went through some really dark times, and I wasn’t sure things would ever get better. But I’m here now, and I’m truly happy.

I want that for you, too.

If you’re ever feeling alone in this journey and want to know someone is listening, you can email me at any time.

I strongly encourage you to open up to someone close to you, but I will always be here for you too.

I learned about this story, did some digging, found out it was even crazier than I originally thought, and now I am bringing it to you here, because it’s too good not to share.

Thanks to Adam, one of my readers/followers, I was tipped off to the fact that The Better Bagel, which I had previously reviewed a few years ago, was now back and being sold as The Fit Bagel.

The story of how that actually happened is pretty wild. You can watch the condensed version of the story in the video attached to this post, but keep reading if you want the full story.

What was “The Better Bagel”?

BetterBrand, created by Aimee Yang, was a “tech-food startup” that launched in 2021. The company developed a proprietary “Grain-changing Technology,” which might sound like nonsense... because it sort of is.

As a tech/food company, BetterBrand was looking for a way to get ahead in the health space. Their “grain-changing technology” was basically a proprietary combination of ingredients and processes that take something carb-heavy and drastically reduce the carbs by making them indigestible.

In other words: fiber. They used fiber.

They launched The Better Bagel as their main product as a way to demonstrate this technology, and they did so with 35 grams of fiber per bagel.

I can’t help but laugh at the “Grain-Changing Technology” trademark, since there are hundreds of other products out there also using fiber to bring the carbs and calories way down. Maybe the way they formulated the product is proprietary, but a high-fiber bread product is something we have seen plenty of times.

I did review The Better Bagel back in 2022, and I thought they were fine. As a direct replacement for bagels, they weren’t great. But for what they were (a super low-carb & high protein alternative), they were decent.

Regardless of how I felt about these bagels, there’s no denying that they were a huge success. By 2023, just two years after launching, BetterBrand was valued at $170million, having raised over $10M in total venture-backed funding.

In the words of Business Wire: Founder Aimee Yang sets record for highest Series A valuation posted by a female founder in venture history.

Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty big deal.

The Better Bagel was nationwide at major retailers like Whole Foods and Target, and they went international, entering the UK. They were successful, growing, and at the forefront of a major protein boom that the market was about to see.

And then…

When Things Get Weird

Heading into 2024, BetterBrand was absolutely crushing it. At least, that’s what we all saw from the outside.

After raising millions of dollars at a valuation of $170million, you might think that the company would be set for a while. But, in May of 2024, BetterBrand signed a loan agreement for $500,000 with JSD Management & Consulting.

5 short months later, BetterBrand still had not made a single interest payment, so JSD Management & Consulting sent a Notice of Default and Demand for Payment, which is a formal letter of demand for overdue payments.

This notice is typically the first step towards a resolution. In the case of The Better Bagel, it was the first step towards the implosion of the entire company.

JSD Management couldn’t get a hold of Aimee, the founder of BetterBrand, to collect what was owed to them. Not a single person on Earth seemed to know where Aimee was.

To make matters worse (and even stranger), the BetterBrand website was suddenly taken down, and the company stopped operating, leaving all active subscriptions and orders completely unfulfilled.

Naturally, customers, vendors, and investors had questions.

After a few days, the company attempted to provide answers... and it only made things stranger.

BetterBrand put a post out on Instagram, seemingly trying to put everyone's minds at ease. But much like everything else in this story, the way they went about it was really odd, to say the least.

BetterBrand claimed that employees were conspiring with their fulfillment partner to steal money and inventory, and that these employees also shut down the website for those few days.

BetterBrand attempted to put everyone’s minds at ease by sharing that these bad eggs were fired, and everything was now back to normal.

If you go through the comments on their post, they were met with nothing but praise for their transparency and bravery through such trying times.

If the story they were telling was truthful and they came out the other side with long-term success, then I wouldn’t blame them for sharing all of this.

But you know this story doesn’t have such a happy ending.

BetterBrand took to social media once again to overshare, except this post has since been taken down. But thanks to Snaxshot, we still have a screenshot of one portion:

After doing what they called a “thorough investigation” into the matter, the company was apparently working with a new fulfillment partner, Cold Chain 3PL, and went as far as to publicly provide the names and emails of the co-owners.

BetterBrand’s post also said the company had sent one million dollars’ worth of inventory to Cold Chain’s processing centers in California, Illinois, and Maryland.

After seeing this Instagram post, Nosh reached out to Aimee Yang for a comment about the company shutting down, and her exact quote was: “No truth to any of it…so strange haha.”

Yes, Aimee, it is very strange. Ha. Ha.

Nosh did some really great reporting on this when it first broke, and they reached out directly to Cold Chain 3PL (the new fulfillment partner) for comment. If you like spicy, now things get really spicy.

Straight from Judd Rosenberg, co-founder of Cold Chain 3PL:

Remember, this is all happening behind the scenes. To the outside world, BetterBrand was back to business as usual.

The website came back up, BetterBrand started posting on social media again, and new orders were being fulfilled, so it was as if nothing ever happened.

But there was no new fulfillment partner. The CEO was still in the wind. Interest was left unpaid.

According to Jamie Woodard, JSD Management even hired a private investigator to locate Aimee in February of 2025, but they came up empty.

Then They Vanished

In April 2025, BetterBrand took to Instagram (that's their move) to give customers an update that exciting new updates and improvements were coming.

After that, they went completely radio silent on social media, leaving customers wondering not only what these updates were, but if this company was still even operating.

Then, in June of 2025, the website was once again deactivated. This time for good.

It has now been a full year since BetterBrand abruptly shut down, and not only has the company not made a single statement, but the founder, Aimee Yang, is still missing.

To shut down the company with no warning (although you can’t say there weren’t plenty of red flags) is one thing, but to completely disappear without a trace is something straight out of Catch Me If You Can.

From Better Bagel to Fit Bagel

The court eventually ruled that Aimee Yang’s failure to respond after all this time represents an admission of guilt, so I have to imagine she will remain in hiding forever.

In the meantime, the fulfillment partner that BetterBrand claimed to be working with, Cold Chain 3PL, was able to secure the brand’s inventory through the court to sell the remaining bagels to recover some of their losses.

In selling the inventory that was left, they discovered there was still a huge demand for the product, so they went to work coming up with a new (similar but unique) formula for protein bagels, and launched their own product called Fit Bagel.

They already had the infrastructure, supply chain knowledge, and production experience to move quickly, so they were able to bring this product to life without any friction.

Now, they claim to have created a new product completely from scratch, but they decided to use nearly identical branding. For consumers, it’s essentially the same product, and I suppose that was the goal.

Is that a smart move? Since you’re trying to capitalize on a demand left by a successful product, it’s a smart move in theory. But when the product in question has left so many customers in the dark, I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want a brand-new identity.

I mean, when you view these products side-by-side, they look identical thanks to the minimalistic Apple-style branding. Although I will admit that the Fit Bagel product photography looks noticeably less appetizing.

According to The Dieline, as of April 2026, The Fit Bagel was working on updated branding to give the product its own identity, but that is yet to be seen.

Time will tell if the Fit Bagel finds success. They’re launching on the back of a defunct company, in what is now a very crowded protein market, so it certainly won’t be easy. And it certainly doesn’t look like they have the same excitement that The Better Bagel was able to command.

There are still a lot of questions left unanswered here, like…

Where in the world is Aimee Yang?

Somehow, she remains completely in the wind. Something tells me that the reason for her completely shutting down the company and going into hiding extends beyond simply missing some loan interest payments, so I’ll be tuning in whenever the documentary launches and we get some answers.

A captivating protein bagel scandal…what a world.

I originally posted this story on my blog so it would have a permanent home, so feel free to head over there to bookmark it if this is a story you want to come back to!

Closing Notes

My original review of The Better Bagel is now completely irrelevant, but I do my best to try & review as many protein products as I can! If you’re ever interested in trying a new protein snack on the market, be sure to check out my reviews to see if I have tried it first.

My Protein Snack Reviews

And if you read this story (I know it was a long one, thanks for sticking with me) and enjoyed it, drop me a comment and let me know! Better yet, leave me a comment if you know of any other bizarre stories or scandals in the food space, because this was fun to investigate.

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I have a longstanding feud with Lenny & Larry’s. And by feud, I mean the company has absolutely no clue who I am, but I have despised their marketing from the start.

If you’re unfamiliar with Lenny & Larry’s, they’re the company behind The Complete Cookie and plenty of other “healthy” products you’ve surely seen on shelves.

The issue I have always taken with the cookie in particular is that they position it as a healthy, high-protein cookie, but it’s really just a regular cookie with some protein added to it (the calories and sugar reflect that).

Well, now that the world has gone completely protein-crazy, Lenny & Larry’s has fully leaned into that and rebranded their Complete Cookie into a Protein Cookie.

Lenny & Larry’s is no stranger to healthwashing

OK, calling it “healthwashing” might be pushing it, but I needed a headline and I’m sticking with it.

The Complete Cookie is slightly healthier than a regular cookie in the sense that it checks certain boxes that may be important to some people.

They’re vegan, which might make it healthier to you, they contain 10 grams of fiber, which is undoubtedly more than a regular cookie, and they do contain more protein than your average cookie.

My issue has always been twofold:

1. These cookies contain 440 calories, with more overall sugar than protein. 440 calories, 22g sugar, and 16g protein, is not a great protein source.

2. They love to throw around buzzwords to make their products feel healthier than they are.

The Complete Cookie was always the example of a product I would point people towards to demonstrate why it’s so important to read the nutrition facts.

This looks like an incredibly healthy, high-protein cookie. But when you flip it over and see that to get those 16 grams of protein, you need to consume 440 calories, maybe you’ll be less excited.

But their recent rebrand of turning The Complete Cookie into a Protein Cookie really takes it to the next level.

This is the perfect lesson in “protein” branding.

Did you know that there are no regulations on using the word “protein” in a product title? If you were to launch your own candy bar with 5 grams of protein, you could frame it as a protein candy bar.

Sure, depending on the product, you might face some backlash, but I know you’ve seen by now that everything seems to have a protein label on it these days.

That’s why it’s really not surprising to see Lenny & Larry’s go down this road.

And since they are no strangers to the capitalizing on “healthy” marketing, their new labels remain a masterclass in protein branding (that’s not necessarily a good thing, but it will surely bring them success in today’s market).

Here’s what they’ve done:

1. The 16 grams of protein on the front of the label has been made even larger, but there is still zero mention of the fact that it’s for 440 calories.

2. They’ve made the protein callout green and added leaves to make sure everyone knows it’s plant-based. Even if you don’t eat plant-based, seeing that just feels healthier.

3. Highlighted the 10 grams of fiber more prominently. This isn’t a negative, but it shows how the market has shifted towards protein + fiber thanks to GLP-1s (and still no mention that this is 10g per 440 calories).

4. They’ve added naturally sweetened to the label to make this sound like a natural product. It’s a cookie with cane sugar and invert sugar. Invert sugar is simply made by breaking down regular sugar, for what it’s worth. It just sounds healthier.

5. Updated logo to show Lenny & Larry with muscles. Again, I don’t know that this is necessarily negative, but it sure is amusing. The previous logo was just their crazy faces, so if you want to re-position yourself as a protein company, you might as well make them buff.

That’s already a lot to point towards, but the marketing fun doesn’t stop there.

Their product photos & marketing materials take full advantage of the fact that these cookies give you energy.

They tout “carb energy” and “anytime fuel,” but what exactly does that mean?

It means that when you eat something with carbs, it gives you energy. That’s it.

That’s true for Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Biscoff, and Lenny & Larry’s. Carbs = energy.

Again, I’d like to emphasis that this type of marketing wouldn’t bother me for a normal protein cookie. If Quest wants to tout that their protein cookies will give you energy and help you build muscle, I’ll fully get on board.

But when your cookie contains 440 calories, that’s when I take issue.

If you apply that rule to Lenny & Larry’s, the cookie should contain 22 grams of protein at a minimum to be an acceptable source of protein.

Instead, that’s how much sugar is in the cookie.

And that’s why I take so much issue with the protein positioning.

PS: if you want to easily figure out if something is a good source of protein, I built a Protein Quality Calculator you can use here.

I searched far and wide to find another product containing exactly 440 calories to be able to make a clean comparison, and I finally found it with Annie’s Bagel Bites.

Of course, if you’re craving a cookie, you’re not going to turn around and eat bagel bites instead, but this gives us an apples-to-apples (or cookies-to-pizza) comparison.

With zero mention of protein on their packaging, the entire container of bagel bites contains 440 calories and 22 grams of protein. If they wanted to brand themselves as protein bagel bites, by Lenny & Larry’s standards, that would not be an issue.

The truth is, Lenny & Larry’s isn’t a bad product.

Let me clarify: I do think the cookies taste bad.

But I’m not trying to say that these cookies are a horrible product or shouldn’t exist.

Clearly, there is a market for these cookies and the other Lenny & Larry’s products. They check boxes that other products might not: the sodium is relatively low, they do contain more protein and fiber than regular cookies, they’re vegan, non-GMO, etc.

If you buy these cookies, I’m not trying to imply that you’re doing something wrong. You’re not.

But these cookies are the perfect example of a company taking full advantage of the protein craze we’re seeing right now.

They’ve taken a product that was already stretching the limits of what should be considered a good source of protein, and they have rebranded it to outright call it a protein cookie.

Technically, yes, it is a protein cookie because it contains protein.

And that’s exactly what is wrong with the market today, because simply containing protein in any amount with no other qualifiers is enough to be a protein product.

I hope that someday we will see some tighter regulations on that, but today is not that day.

The self-promotion corner:

Do you want a protein cookie that’s actually worth it?

Years ago, my content heavily revolved around high-protein recipes, and one of my long-time favorites was always my giant protein cookie. I originally made this recipe largely thanks to the existence of the Complete Cookie.

True story: A protein cookie company launched by stealing this exact recipe. Ah well.

Here is the comparison I made many moons ago to show how it compares to Lenny & Larry’s, although they have since reformulated a tiny bit so the macros aren’t quite the same.

My protein cookie is still high in calories, but it contains nearly twice as much protein, tastes infinitely better, and is gigantic. I’d consider that a win!

If you want to make the cookie, it’s a free recipe you can get over on my blog!

Giant Protein Cookie

Both are fair questions, so allow me to (re)introduce myself and explain why you might be seeing this.

I’m Matt Rosenman, and you likely ended up here through one of my social media channels. Maybe it was Instagram, where you might know me as Cheat Day Design, TikTok, Youtube, or from my blog, cheatdaydesign.com.

I have always had a passion for writing, which is why I started my blog. The intention was never to monetize my blog, but that eventually became the case via ads on the site (I know ads are extremely annoying, but I have to keep the lights on).

With the monetization of my blog came a pressure to maintain traffic, writing “search engine optimized” posts, and doing everything I could to keep Google happy.

That already started sucking the fun out of writing, but then A.I. happened. The entire landscape of the internet has shifted, and the small bit of enjoyment I had left for blogging was completely ripped away.

I know you’ve seen the endless amount of A.I. slop articles out there. My blog revolves around health and nutrition, with a large focus on fast food menus, and that specific space is absolutely flooded with just the worst content imaginable. I simply don’t have a desire to try to compete with that.

As I’ve slowed my blog, my newsletter slowed with it. I simply didn’t have weekly updates to blast out in a newsletter, so I just stopped writing altogether.

And then I discovered Substack, and it felt like the perfect opportunity for me to begin writing again.

If you’ve never used Substack before, don’t worry, neither have I. I’m learning this thing with you.

What is “Beyond The Label”?

This is my new newsletter and community combined into one place.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that my content has shifted over the years. At one point, protein recipes were my focus. At another point, macro breakdowns and flexible dieting were my focus.

Now my content mainly revolves around food labels, but I’m more than just “the food label guy”.

I understand how marketing manipulates perception, especially in the health and food space. The rebrand videos you see me post on social media revolve around food labels, but it goes beyond that (hence the name… get it?)

We’ll all consumers, and it’s fascinating to explore why we are drawn to certain products.

Food labels are an obvious path. I love breaking down the absurdity of protein labels, ridiculous health claims, and nonsensical buzzwords.

But there are so many other areas worth exploring:

• Preworkouts, vitamins, and other supplements with insane branding

• Mediocre products that become insanely popular thanks to marketing

• Where do all these silly trends come from and what’s coming next?

• I’ll also try new “healthy” snacks (protein snacks, mostly) and give you my reports to save your wallet.

As I browse the grocery store aisles and come across ridiculous new products or rebrands, we can take a closer look at them.

Maybe Doritos launches Doritos Fiber+. Maybe Pepsi decides to drop Protein Pepsi. Maybe Frosted Flakes will randomly decide to start touting that they use “real sugar.”

At the end of the day, I don’t think anyone is specifically following me on any platform because they’re passionate about nutrition labels, so this is not going to be a “let’s learn about food labels” newsletter.

This is about human behavior and how easily we can be manipulated. Food just happens to be my area of expertise, but we’ll explore it all around here.

What my Substack is and what it isn’t

If you’re still reading this, I love you. If you’re not reading this, well, then I’m talking to a wall right now. But here are some bullet points that you might read.

What this is:

• My new newsletter. Let it hit your inbox, read it or don’t, and continue with your life. Nothing has to change.

• My community. I moved over to Substack because when you see a post, you can leave comments and we can chat. I’ll be able to post notes with random thoughts (basically little Twitter posts), and we can chat there, too. It’s way more personal than a newsletter that just gets buried in your inbox.

• A place to learn and have fun. I’m going to be posting about food labels, marketing, and the like. No matter the medium, I always hope to simultaneously educate and entertain.

• An occasional brain dump. Since I can post here without worrying about SEO or traffic, you’re going to get many of my raw, unedited thoughts.

• A safe space for all. Much like my social media channels, I’m not going to tolerate nonsense. Hateful comments get deleted, and that user gets the boot. All ages and races deserve to pop in here and have a good time.

What this isn’t:

• A.I. Slop. Look, AI is integrated into everything these days, and it can be an incredibly useful tool. But when I’m reading something that somebody wrote, I want them to have actually written it. Call me crazy. My posts are always going to come directly from my strange, stuck-in-the-’90s brain.

• A replacement for my blog. My website still exists, and the tools over there will continue to be updated (my Starbucks and Dunkin’ calculators, specifically). Occasionally, I’ll take my posts here and repurpose them for my blog as well, but this is its own unique place.

• A place exclusive to fitness-minded folks. Much of my content has historically revolved around fitness in some capacity. My background is indeed in the fitness space, but that is not my only focus, and I don’t want you to feel like you don’t fit in here because you don’t care about fitness. This content applies to everyone!

Let’s have some fun.

I’m really excited to have a platform where I can just be myself and enjoy writing once again. If you choose to stick around, I promise to make it worth your while.

If you see this and think “I hate this guy,” well then you are free to leave. Know that my feelings are hurt and my ego is crushed, but I’ll be OK.

To everyone else: leave me a comment and introduce yourself! I love that these posts now have a home that allows me to connect with all of you rather than simply showing up in your inbox and then disappearing forever, so let’s connect:

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