In an industry where many leaders love to eat beef brisket, Jobs' medium build was noticeable. What was his secret to dieting? At Apple, Jobs was practically skeletal, and his haggard body showed his diet and health status. Jobs had lunch at the company headquarters cafeteria in Cupertino, California, which was full of fresh foods and drinks such as sushi and Smart Water.
Although Apple employees had a healthy diet, Jobs went to extremes. An employee said he ate grilled or steamed dark green vegetables like broccoli and asparagus. For years, Jobs had been a vegetarian, and his passion for green vegetables grew even stronger after he developed cancer.
According to The New York Times, Jobs underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and had another operation earlier this year to address "the problem that was causing him to lose weight." But this mainly vegetable-based diet did not help him gain weight. An insider at Apple said, "No wonder he was always grumpy."
Jobs' diet is just the latest example of senior executives using their minds to control their affairs. Diet is one of the reasons why tech professionals often end up overweight. As they rack their brains for a project, many forget about their diet and exercise. It is this obsessive-compulsive habit that makes some people shift from mastering technology to reshaping their bodies.
John Walker, founder of Autodesk, mentioned in his book "The Hacker's Diet" combining willpower with tools like spreadsheets to lose weight. Jeremy D. Zawodny, an engineer at the U.S. online classified advertiser Craigslist, used a simplified version of this weight loss plan to lose 50 pounds in a year.
Ted Dziuba, co-founder of Pressflip.com, wrote an article about weight loss on his personal blog, saying, "Engineers like to think in quantitative terms. Counting calories helps with that. You can use charts and statistical analysis to find the optimal mix of foods you eat." Adopting a competitive approach
Others adopt a highly competitive approach. Tibco CEO Vivek Ranadive set a high goal—to run a mile in six minutes—and planned other goals. Not only did he exercise himself, but he also coached colleagues to improve their health.
Roger Craig, a famous San Francisco 49ers football star who is now the business development director at the company, said, "One of us lost 81 pounds." Ranadive said, "I've seen some extreme cases. If you've been to Silicon Valley, you'll find that many company founders and CEOs are physically fit. They are very competitive, so they also pay attention to their fitness diets, but you'll also find that some people have bad habits."
Using your brain is the best way to break those bad habits, and that's the core of software engineer Steve Klassen's weight loss. He described on the GeekFit Podcast how he went from 450 pounds to 300 pounds, saying that those strange dieters use timers to remind them when to eat, and their refrigerators are full of healthy foods like Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine. "If you're a geek, you'll throw yourself into your work, spend a lot of time in your field, and you won't feel hungry if it's not too long. By the time you feel hungry, you'll be starving." More advanced fitness tools
Tech professionals can also benefit from their love of advanced tools. Zawodny relies heavily on spreadsheets, and tools like the geek-a-cycle allow users to exercise on a recumbent bike while using a computer. Others play online games like World of Warcraft to burn off extra calories. GeekFit Podcast co-host Jason Tucker even recommends using an iPhone with apps that track calories and exercise.
The tech enthusiast culture can offer another advantage. Tech companies in California are introducing foods that could cause disgust in companies in other industries. Google provides employees with free, all-organic food that is edible. Jobs' broccoli is a well-known anti-cancer food described by the American Cancer Society. Ranadive, on the other hand, likes blueberries because of their health benefits.
Of course, healthy food can be both delicious and nutritious. All the organic goat cheese pizzas and large tomato salads have created what Google employees call the "Google 15" (the Google 15 refers to the fact that new employees gain an average of 15 pounds due to overeating).
But all this, when you need a burst of energy the most, your body will fall apart. Ranadive was once in charge of the due diligence for a company that Tibco wanted to acquire, and wanted to find out if the company's CEO was a runner as he had publicly claimed. Ranadive said: "So I"