A Better Way to Think About Eating Healthy

Before I jump into a blog about diet and nutrition, I want to note that I am in no way a health expert, nutritionist, dietician, or anything that would make my opinion credible.  That being said, I'm not really giving any diet advice as much as I am proposing a better way to mentally organize each person's current  knowledge about nutrition.  

I see a lot of healthy eating experts since pretty much forever talk about the do's and dont's of dieting.  "Eat these foods to achieve perfect health" or "NEVER eat this food because it contains blah blah blah". This style of diet advice is pretty widespread, but it's an ultimately toxic way of talking about a nuanced subject.  What ultimately triggered me to write this blog was seeing  CarnivoreMD's instagram page, where he gives his 2 cents on whether or not a food is bullshit.  His black and white opinions on pretty much every food made me realize that nearly everyone in the diet industry does this to a degree.  

So why is this so popular?  Abstractly, I'm sure there is some evolutionary reason why humans take to this advice so willingly.  My guess is that in a primitive context, this advice was probably very useful for getting the tribe to avoid eating plants that were known to be poisonous.  Practically, the do's and dont's method's inherent strength is that it is simple to understand and anyone can adopt a new diet without needing an in depth understanding of how foods affect your body and health.  By merely having discipline and planning skills, nearly any diet can be closely followed.  

If do's and dont's is so simple and straightforward, what's the problem?  One all too common issue is that our primitive brains are not well equipped to deal with the endless content and people on the internet talking about diet and nutrition.  One day you might see online that eggs are bad for you because they contain cholesterol, so they should be avoided at all costs.  The next day you hear that fish has too much mercury, so that too should be avoided.  Then you hear that eggs are great for you, and to eat as many as you want!  Pretty quickly, your head is filled with conflicting information, and you can't fully trust anything you eat because there is probably someone out there that would tell you it is bad for you. (apparently broccoli is BS)

So instead of latching on to the latest diet trend or influencer that makes a compelling case to only eat these foods and avoid those foods, I'm arguing that a better method is what I call the common sense tradeoff method.  The idea is that everyone has a comparative understanding of which foods are healthiest.  For example, if I ask you if an apple or a donut is healthier, you will intuitively know that an apple is healthier.  So you immediately have a framework to make an optimally healthy choice given your food options at any point in time.  

The common sense tradeoff method also facilitates an iterative process for improving one's typical diet.  If you can make a common sense improvement in just one part of your diet, you gain momentum and confidence without doing a cold-turkey style diet change.  An example of this is going from from white bread to whole wheat bread.  It's not that I'm saying eating bread is healthy, but if those are the only two options then whole wheat is the intuitively better choice (this is barring any food sensitivities or anything like that).  Doing this intentionally allows people to recreate their diet at their own pace and takes into account their current situation (limited time, resources, etc.).  The end result is that there is less feeling of guilt when don't have the means to eat a perfectly healthy meal (your vegetables aren't organic, you run out of raw liver, and you ate >1 carb)

Now I fully acknowledge that dieting is certainly more nuanced and sometimes a lot more confusing than comparing an apple versus a donut.  More heavily debated food categories (meat, grain, dairy) may require a more educated reasoning for the justification of a certain tradeoff (cow's milk vs. almond milk vs. oat milk).  The answer then is to become more educated on the pros and cons of the different foods that you could potentially eat, so you have a greater confidence in your ability to compare foods.  With some sustained effort at this, your diet will improve subtly in short term but drastically improve over the course of a few months to a year.  

Get the Most Out of Your Block Leave With the Offset Pass Method™

Disclaimer

Summary: Instead of taking ordinary leave, take several 4 day passes that start on Thursday and end on Sunday.  You will work less and enjoy block leave more all while saving up leave days.

     If you are in the military you probably know what block leave is.  In case you don't or your unit calls it something different, block leave is a 2-3 week period that is set aside for most of the soldiers to take ordinary leave.  It's a great break when you have the leave days to spare, but you might be in a situation where you don't want to spend those days.  Maybe you are saving days so you can take the full 60 days of terminal leave, or maybe you don't have any travel plans and don't want to waste leave days just sitting in the barracks.  The problem with not taking full leave, though, is that you will likely be stuck on the rear detachment roster.  Being put on the rear-d roster sucks because you still have to show up to work during the week, and you could get put on CQ or staff duty on a weekend day.  

    My solution to maximize time off while minimizing your obligation to show up at work, is to put in for 4 day passes.  Submit as many as you can.  Instead of doing a normal Friday through Monday pass, the trick is to do a Thursday through Sunday pass.  This creates a situation where you only have to go into work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Some units even do Friday through Monday 4 day weekends all throughout block leave, so it might just be Tuesday and Wednesday at work.  Additionally, since your pass starts on Thursday you can argue that you can't do a 24 hour duty the day before because you are "driving" and that would be "unsafe".  That leaves just Monday and Tuesday that you are available to do CQ or staff duty.  You could even volunteer for a 24 hour shift on Tuesday, get Wednesday off, and since it's a 4 day weekend for rear-d personnel, get the next Monday off.  Just like that, you got yourself 6 straight days off from work.  Over the course of an 18 day block leave (Friday the 1st to Monday the 18th for example), you could only be required to go to work as many as 6 days and as little as 2 days using the Offset Pass Method™.  

     -Days you should be on pass

     -Days you might have to work

     -Days you will probably have to work

Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23

Any questions, tips, or requests, email tomdipietro@teamroommedia.com

How I Went From Getting B's in High School to Getting Accepted into Harvard

Disclaimer

Look, you're probably thinking that I'm writing this blog for the sole purpose of stroking my own ego.  However, I really just want to convey to whoever reads this that it's not nearly as difficult as it seems to get into a great college after the military.  A guy in my unit got into Harvard the year before I applied.  He guided me through the process, gave me tips and advice, and most importantly, gave me the confidence to believe I could actually get in.  I want to be able to pass some of that same knowledge on to you.  If you want to know how to leverage your time in the military to get into a better college, keep reading.  

Let me start by saying that most of my insight is going to be about my specific situation.  I applied to Harvard College which is an undergraduate, 4-year bachelors degree type school.  I submitted my application at the early decision deadline, which was November 1st 2019, the year before my freshman year (2020).  I had no prior college completed and joined the Army straight out of high school.  I had pretty much a B average (85/100) in high school.  If you have taken some online classes, you could be considered a transfer student.  If you already have a 4 year degree and are looking to get into a graduate school, the application process will probably differ.  Whatever your situation, the principles of submitting a quality application still apply.  

Taking the SAT

The first thing I did was start studying for the SAT.  Most top end schools require veterans submit SAT scores, while pretty much every other school in the country waives this requirement for vets.  SAT scores are good for 5 years, so if you did happen to get a really good score in high school and you are in that window, great.  I was past 5 years, and my scores sucked anyways.  I started studying in February 2019, but the sooner you start the better.  Studying for the SAT is super easy now.  If you don't have a College Board account, make one.  Then use the Kahn Academy SAT practice to get going.  It's all pretty self explanatory, but it's important to know what you're up against so that you can study efficiently.  I go into more detail on studying for and taking the exam here.

I ended up with a 1480 out of 1600 after taking the test three times (June 1st, August 24th, October 5th all 2019).  Your SAT score is the most recent academic metric a college has to look at so it is very important to get the best score you can.  A big theme in your application should be that you are a better person than you were in high school.  The best way to give yourself credibility and show that you are at a higher level academically is to get a great SAT score.  

Starting the Actual Application

The admissions page at a school's website will have the specific application requirements.  I used the Common App for my official application, where you can look up a school and see the requirements again.  If something is confusing at any point, the quickest way to get it figured out is to call the school's admissions office directly.  

Letters of Recommendation and References

Instead of getting old teachers to write your letters of recommendation, asking leaders in your chain of command who know you well will suffice.  The higher the rank the better, but they should still know you and what kind of soldier you are.  I had an officer write one of my letters of recommendation.  He wrote it up in memorandum form, which looked very official and important.  Depending on what the school allows and/or requires, it's good to have at least one reference who knows you strictly personally, one person who knows you inside and outside of work, and one person who knows you just professionally.  Reach out to people as early as you can.  For some reason, people take a while to write these and you don't want to rush someone who is vouching for you.

Personal Essay

There will probably be a list of prompts from which to base your essay.  This is a spot where you can really leverage your military service.  Whereas most high school kids are boring and have had very uninteresting lives.  You have served in the military and have done some very cool things that most people will never do.  Tell the story of your military service.  Tell a great story about something that happened to you while serving.   Talk about how something difficult you were faced with changed you into a more mature person.  The point here is to convey that because of your time in the military, you have grown and learned so much about life and who you are that you are a completely improved version of yourself.  Before you were just a normal high school kid, but from the military values that have been instilled in you, you are now an asset to any organization that you belong to.  

This might sound braggish and like you're talking yourself up too much.  However, college admissions offices don't know what we do in the military.  Their idea of military service seldom extends beyond what they see in movies.  Military culture tells us to not brag about our accomplishments: let the pins and patches speak for themselves.  The reality is colleges are often looking for diversity on campus.  As a veteran, you are a demographic and a brand that colleges are looking for.  The more "on brand" you can be with your application, the greater chance you have of getting in.  I'm sure there were plenty of high school kids that had better grades than me that didn't get in.  It might be unfair, but it's unfair in our advantage.  Sucks to suck.

Interview

Once I submitted my application, I was contacted by a local alumni looking to conduct an in person interview.  We met at a Starbucks.  He wore a sport coat and slacks.  I wore jeans and a collared shirt.  I also brought a professional resume to give him.  Since you will be older than other interviewees, you can get away with being a little less formal and you can talk with them like they are an old friend.  A big message you want to convey is that since you are in the military, you already know what it's like to be in a great organization.  You know what it takes to succeed in a high level organization, and that it is the people within an organization that make it great.  If you are in a prestigious unit, use that as a reference too.   

I had a second interview request, this time by an admissions officer asking for a virtual interview over Zoom.  It was scheduled in the middle of the day during the week, so I chose to wear my duty uniform. Anything you can do to make yourself stand out in a positive way is usually a good move. 

Conclusion

It might not be Harvard, but you can get into a way better school than you probably think possible in large part due to your military service.  Military culture sometime makes you forget that you are an above average member of society.  Compared to the average person applying to college, you blow them out of the water in term of maturity and life experience.  Colleges realize this fact, and as long as you can show you currently have the tangible academic ability to back it up, you will be able to submit a very attractive application to any school in the country.  

Themes

• I am a more focused, better person than I was when I was in high school because of my time in the military
• I know what it takes to succeed in a great organization
• I want to be able to offer a unique perspective, which then makes for a better overall college experience for other students

For questions, tips, or any topic you want to know my take on, email tomdipietro@teamroommedia.com

Studying For The SAT While You Are In The Military

Disclaimer

This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote on my experience applying to Harvard:

The first thing I did was start studying for the SAT.  Most top end schools require veterans submit SAT scores, while pretty much every other school in the country waives this requirement for vets.  SAT scores are good for 5 years, so if you did happen to get a really good score in high school and you are in that window, great.  I was past 5 years, and my scores sucked anyways.  I started studying in February 2019, but the sooner you start the better.  Studying for the SAT is super easy now.  If you don't have a College Board account, make one.  Then use the Kahn Academy SAT practice to get going.  It's all pretty self explanatory, but it's important to know what you're up against so that you can study efficiently.  

I ended up with a 1480 out of 1600 after taking the test three times (June 1st, August 24th, October 5th all 2019).  Your SAT score is the most recent academic metric a college has to look at so it is very important to get the best score you can.  A big theme in your application should be that you are a better person than you were in high school.  The best way to give yourself credibility and show that you are at a higher level academically is to get a great SAT score.  

More info on studying for and taking the SAT:

Basically the SAT is made up of 2 important sections (Math, Reading & Writing), and one unimportant section (Essay).  Math and R&W are both scored separately, each out of 800 points.  They both combine to give you a score out of 1600.  You are allowed to take the SAT as many times as you want.  Different colleges look at your SAT scores differently.  Some colleges take your best overall Math score plus your best overall R&W score.  This is called a superscore, and that's how Harvard does it.  Other schools look at your best overall test score, and some schools even require you send them scores every time you take the test.  Some schools require the essay and some don't.  Harvard does (I think) I but they don't really care about the essay score (I didn't study for it at all).  After you do some research on your target school, you should know exactly what they want from you. 

Here are a couple strategies I used to get the best score I could:

• If superscoring is an option, start by studying only Math.  Studying for Math is essentially learning a list of skills.  If you know how to solve a certain type of problem, then it is easy.  If you don't have that skill down pat, then you may be staring at a problem for 10 minutes with no clue how to get the answer.  Reading & Writing on the other hand is a lot less technical, which means it's a lot harder to improve as quickly as Math.  When ALL of the math problems on the Kahn Academy SAT Practice are easy for you, you know you are ready to take the real test.  

• Take the real test while you are at the peak of your SAT Math ability.  Don''t worry about the R&W score.  I barely studied it at all for my first test.  The point is to have full focus on math so you can maximize that score. 

• After you finish your first real test, start studying Reading & Writing.  Pay no attention to Math, hopefully that score is maxed out.  There are a finite number of passages on Kahn Academy, so take them seriously the first time around. 

• There are 8 full practice tests.  I would take the first 4 as bench marks to track your progress and save the last 4 to take as warm ups for a full test day simulation.  

• If you are only studying for one section at a time and want to take a practice test, consider skipping all the question in the section you are not studying (you can take the tests again)

• Make studying an every day habit.  Studying for 30 minutes 7 days a week is way better that studying once per week for 3 1/2 hours.  I did the daily recommendations section almost every day at first and it seemed to take me about an hour.

• The practice tests are online, but the real tests are taken in paper booklets.  Flipping through the pages for some reason slowed me down.  Having extra time at the end to go back and double check your answers is valuable.

• Try doing an exact test day simulation.  The test is about 3 hours of total concentration, and you can end up being in the classroom for up to like 6 hours on test day.  You could get fatigued by the end.  Waking up and taking the test at the same time, not taking long breaks, and even printing out the test could help.

• Get used to the calculator you will be using for the test.

• Look up as many tips and tricks for taking the test as you can.  There are too many to completely list here and different test taking strategies work for different people.

For tips, questions, or requests, email me at tomdipietro@teamroommedia.com

Why Re-Enlisting for 2 Years Might be Your Smartest Option

Disclaimer

Summary: Re-enlisting for 2 years with no bonus is sometimes better than 3 years with a bonus, because you will make VA Disability compensation as soon as you get out.  

Everyone hates on the 2 year re-enlistment option because typically there is no bonus.  Why do 2 years for nothing when you can do a third year and pocket at least $10k in most cases? Here is my take on why the 2 year option can be a more attractive option than most people think. 

Look, if you are considering re-enlistment in the 2-3 year range, you probably see yourself getting out of the Army in the near future.  You may be unsure of what you want to do with your life and you're willing to give yourself a few more years to figure it out.  For most people, the decision for any re-enlistment often comes down to getting the most out of the Army, while also maximizing money and freedom.  

When comparing 2 years vs. 3 years, think about both options in 3 year chunks.  What will you get in that 3rd year of the 2 year option (you'll be out of the Army) that you would not get if you were still in?  During the ETS transition process, you will file for VA disability.  The whole VA disability process is a blog for another day, but essentially it's tax free money in your pocket every month, for life.  You will get anywhere from about $150 to $3,200 per month, depending on how your claim goes.  The trick here is to think of this like a 2 year re-enlistment bonus.  

For example, let's say the current 3 year re-enlistment bonus is $12,000 (assuming you could get overseas and get it tax free).  Now, lets say you were confident that you could get at least a 60% disability rating (more on this later).  The 2020 amount for a 60% rating without dependents is $1,131.86 per month.  This means that for your first 12 months out of the Army, you would pocket $13,582.32 in VA disability compensation.  In this example, if you took the 2 year option you would end up with more money and less of a time commitment to Uncle Sam.  

The numbers will obviously vary from person to person, but the point is to show that you do essentially get a "bonus" for a 2 year re-enlistment.  If the numbers work for you, great.  But sometimes, the disability you think you will receive is less than amount of the current 3 year bonus.  In this case, you need to ask yourself, "What is the rough dollar value I place on being out of the Army 1 year sooner?"  Personally, I value that freedom pretty highly, so I would be willing to make a couple thousand dollars less in the end to have an extra year of civilian life.  

Now I know what you're thinking, " Tom, how do I know what my disability rating will be?  What about health care as a civilian? What if I want to go National Guard or get back in someday?"  Look, there is no standard answer that I can give to each of these questions without turning this blog into a novel. You need to do your research.  Get all your bumps and bruises documented.  Google how much of a rating certain medical conditions usually receive.  Look up health care rates (for single veterans its pretty cheap).  Talk to a NG recruiter and ask what conditions would be disqualifying.  The point of this blog is not to say that a 2 year re-enlistment is always financially smarter, but VA disability is often an overlooked source of income that can bridge the gap between getting $0 and whatever the current 3 year bonus happens to be. 

Any questions, tips, or a specific topic you want to see next? Email tomdipietro@teamroommedia.com

Pell Grants, Tuition Assistance (TA), and the best kept secrets in the military.

Disclaimer

 Summary: This post will show military members how to make a few thousand dollars while taking college classes. 

Keywords: Free money, free education, Tuition Assistance, Federal Pell Grant. 

 It is the beginning of May and I find myself completely bored out of my mind.  We are approximately a month and a half into a quarantine for an ever elusive COVID-19 virus that has, oddly enough, not affected anyone I know.  What does this virus mean for members of the Armed Forces?  Well, since the Department of Defense banned all domestic travel for personnel and families back in March, it could mean more free time.  Everyone has a different schedule, but most people I know would use any potential free time to catch up on television shows or something else just as useless.  However, with all this down time, I argue that military members should be finding ways to exploit the fact they are one of America’s bravest.  What I mean by that is there are a multitude of things the government and civilian entities will freely give away or pay service members to do just for the fact they are service members.  While there are literally thousands of dollars to be had (and I mean thousands and thousands), this post will focus specifically on how to get paid to go to college while you are in the military with Tuition Assistance (TA) and federal Pell grants.  And don’t worry I will address the other couple thousands in a later post.

I remember when I walked into the education center last August looking for information on obtaining my undergraduate degree.  I only vaguely knew this was a thing because of many an incoherent drill sergeant, or any other instructor at a school, randomly ranting and yelling about the importance of obtaining an education while in the Army.  These rants sounded something like this, “And  make sure you fucking do school and shit, or you’ll never make sergeant major, Hooah!?”.  You could have easily missed the TA office because of how tucked away it was in the Ed center.  As I walked in, the staff perked up and looked surprised to see me.  Keep in mind, this was 1PM in the afternoon on a Tuesday, well within their work schedule.  One of the associates asked me how he could help me, and I explained I was interested in going back to school.  He promptly sat me down on a dusty desk, that looked like it hadn’t been touched in a few months, and had me make an account on GoArmyED (a website that is the starting point for your college ventures- I’ll provide links at the end of the post).  Once I made the account, I filled out numerous questionnaires about what I wanted to study.  After I filled out that information, it showed me schools that offered bachelor’s degrees in that area of study.  Next, I had to apply and be accepted at the school I chose.  (If you’re thinking this is already too many steps, just know I did all of this in less than a days’ time.  Also, military members always have preference in applying to a school and usually never get turned down.)  Once you’re accepted at the school you will be asked to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA).  This step is admittedly the most arduous, but again took me less than a day.  This form, in the simplest terms, basically establishes if and how much money the federal government will provide you for your college education.  Every student in America fills out this form, and its free money if you qualify, in the name of the Federal Pell Grant.  Basically, the determining factor in how much money you can get depends on how much money you make.  If you’re out in the world all alone as an E-1 all the way to E-6 and beyond you will probably qualify.  Here’s where you’ll ask the question, “Dave this sounds great, but doesn’t that money go to funding my school”?  Yes, but most likely no because of Uncle Sam and his willingness to fund education.  The Army, and all other branches to my knowledge, have what is known as Tuition Assistance (TA).  This program gives service members a cap limit of $4,000 per fiscal year (usually October-October).  Basically TA will pay for your college classes at a rate of $250 a credit hour, for a total of 16 credit hours a fiscal year or roughly 5 classes and some change.  Now, most every school has varying rates for dollar amount per credit hour, especially for online classes.  But most schools will waive that more expensive fee in favor of charging you $250 a credit hour if you’re a military member.  Don’t believe me? check out any major institutions VA page and you’ll see I’m right.  So, once you’re approved for TA and you get qualified for Pell grant money, you’ll send that information to your school.  What happens next is the financial department at your educational institution will receive all that information, automatically fund your education, and refund what’s left over to you.  There is no catch to this, you are simply sending too much money to the school so they have to give it back to you.  Every case will be different, but I made $3,000 last semester taking 4 classes and I am continuing to find money every time I apply for classes using TA and the Pell grant.  To put it even simpler you are taking federal money meant for education from two pools and throwing it into one cup, your cup overflows and you get to clean up the overflow yourself.  It’s completely legal and there is literally no downside to doing this.

After starting my classes, I notice a large chunk of change in my account.  I didn’t have any idea this was a possibility, so I rushed over to the education center and asked the staff what was going on.  They explained how it worked, and I was perplexed.  “Why doesn’t everybody do this?” I asked. They told me, “Because no one knows about it.”  So, if you’re a military member and you find yourself with more free time, or just want to go to college, why not get paid to do it?  Again to summarize, it does not matter how many classes you take at any given time.  You’ll make as much money in the refund as is left over.  For example, if you take 4 classes, or 12 hours full time, at $250 per credit hour that’s a total of $3,000 in tuition owed to the university.  Your TA will cover the $3,000 and whatever amount in Pell Grant you qualified for will be refunded to you. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but a simple way to make a few thousand while getting an education.  It is just too easy to pass up.

LINKS: https://www.goarmyed.com/#

https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

QUESTIONS: daveirons@teamroommedia.com