In this episode of Strength Stories with Ryan Jore, Ryan welcomes Joe McLean — a dedicated father of four, entrepreneur, and podcast producer — to talk about his evolving health journey while juggling the chaos of family, business, and everything in between.

Joe opens up about how a demanding schedule and fast food habits took a toll on his health, what finally motivated him to change, and how simple strategies like protein shakes, gas station hacks, and mindset shifts helped him stay consistent even during the busiest seasons of life.

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What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

✅ Why discipline — not motivation — is the real muscle behind fitness success

✅ How Joe fits better nutrition into a hectic schedule without overhauling his life

✅ The power of planning ahead: how protein shakes, jerky, and cottage cheese became tools for success

✅ How online coaching helped Joe maintain progress during sports seasons and travel

✅ The role of boundaries, tracking, and accountability in staying on track

✅ Why it’s okay to enjoy your favorite foods — as long as you finish half

✅ How to bounce back after a weekend of indulgence (without quitting completely)

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💡 Why It Matters

Health doesn’t have to be all or nothing — especially when you’re building a business, raising kids, and managing a crazy schedule. Joe’s story is a powerful reminder that small wins, flexible nutrition, and consistent effort pay off. The hardest part? Showing up — and saying no when it counts.

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📲 Connect with the Guest:

Joe McLean: Facebook, Instagram

Check out Joe’s business: Agency 220 — A full-service marketing agency and podcast production team based in Montana.

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🎙️ Connect with the Host (Ryan Jore):

Instagram: @RyanJorePT

Website: JoreStrengthTraining.com

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👉 Enjoying the show? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate ⭐, and leave a review wherever you listen!

👉 Follow for more content: Instagram | Facebook

Ryan Jore 0:15
Hi guys, welcome back to strength stories with Jore today we have on one of my online clients, Joe McLean, who also owns Agency 220 and does all of our podcasting, Joe, welcome to the show.

Joe McLean

Thanks, Ryan.

Ryan Jore

Give the audience a quick background of how you got started here.

Joe McLean

We started producing your podcasts here, and your social media reels for your podcast and things like that. I really wanted to take control over my health and get control over something that I’ve let go for far too long. I have four kids, and, you know, there’s I want to be around for them, you know, in years to come, and see my grandkids and things like that. And so started this business, you know, couple years ago, and really, my health really went down the drain, you know, just working crazy hours, you know, grabbing fast food and things like that, just because it was convenient, you know, I kind of took a step back, you know, reevaluated at the beginning of this year, going, you know, hey, I need to set some goals. You know, I’ve set goals with the business, but I also need to do it personally. That was really a huge motivating factor and drive, you know, in January, I kept telling myself, you know, when I’m making the right choices, it’s you know, my future self will thank you. My the Joe in July will thank me that you know, it’s like, I’m gonna, I’m gonna feel better about myself because I can’t hide undercoats and things like that. And so my future self will thank me for making the right choices. Now, one of the reasons why I have you on is, we’ve talked about four, but you just have one of the busier schedules of any of my clients. I mean, obviously, being a business owner, it’s, you’re working from sun up to sun down, and you throw in, like, again, you said you’ve got four kids, you’re coaching on teams. You’re on an intramural baseball team. Like, just one thing after another that, again, it’s just, it’s just a lot more challenges, and probably most people have in terms of putting it into their schedule. So would you talk a little bit about how, what adjustments have you made that have helped you with that? Yeah, well, I’m gonna be honest. And you and I both know that I wasn’t very successful at that, especially during the sports season. You know, I had two kids in sports, in, you know, sports myself, Oh, in church activities, yeah. So we had something going every single night of the week, and so, you know, I kind of had fallen into the rhythm of, you know, going and doing my workouts in the evening, and going and coaching running kids here and there, has really played a limiting factor in when I could do that.

Unknown Speaker 2:36
I will say that, you know, I wasn’t as successful as I ought to have been with being that, being dedicated to, you know, the however many workouts per week, however I’ve still logged my calories, still, you know, have been making, for the most part, the right decisions as far as what I’m eating and things like that. And you know, I feel like I’ve had some good successes with that, even still losing weight and things like that, as I’ve been going through that busy season, that’s a great example, too, of just controlling the controllables. Like right now we were not going to get in your full workout schedule, but even at least not letting everything slide and maintain that nutrition, because you’ve essentially maintained that throughout the whole time. And again, obviously we want to have both parts of that piece, but if we can only have one. It’s like, it’s better to have at least one versus having none. And yeah, I find a lot of times when people stop doing their workouts, like, well, then they just let everything slide, and they just say, Well, I’ll start the whole thing up again. It’s like, well, why? If we can still maintain at least some semblance, like, towards our goals, it just makes it that much easier to start up. And then that way you’re not having to re lose pounds that you’ve already lost, right? So looking at that then, compared to where we started at the beginning in terms of what you’re doing with your nutrition. One of the things that we’ve noticed with you is that protein was an issue initially, which is very common for most people. Most people aren’t already doing fitness stuff, tend to be pretty low in protein initially, and you made huge moves on every category, up 5060, grams a day over what you’re eating initially. So could you talk a little bit about things that you’ve done that have helped fit that in without changing too much with your busy schedule. Yeah. So my secret

Unknown Speaker 4:08
trick has been using the core life protein shakes. They taste great, not sponsored. They taste great. They you know, after having never had protein shakes, or, you know, buying the powder from Costco. And it’s like, Okay, I’m gonna choke some of these down. But, you know, trying to find something that actually tastes good, that I’m actually really gonna enjoy, because I feel like, if I’m gonna enjoy it, I’m going to be more motivated to keep it up. And so getting those the core life protein shakes has really been a huge help to maintain or keeping up with the higher protein grams per day. And that’s actually a good example of one of things I, like with my clients, do with protein shakes, assuming we don’t have allergies, assuming someone can tolerate whey and all those other things, is just going to, like a natural grocers or going to.

Unknown Speaker 5:00
A like GNC, or something like that, where lifetimes, they will have free samples, or samples you can pay, like $1 to and then that way you’re only gonna invest a couple of dollars. You can try a couple different brands and find one you like, versus spending $80 whatever they cost now to get a huge tub, only to realize, like, this flavor actually kind of sucks. Yes, yes. Have so I actually did some research, and I think on Reddit even, and a lot of people recommended the ghost brand. Have you tried that? I haven’t. Again, I’m gonna have some food allergies. And okay, but I actually have a friend who used to be sponsored by ghosts, yeah, and yeah, they have an insane amount of flavors. And so it’s, again, it’s nice to have multiple varieties. I’ve always said that with protein bars, as you can find a protein bar you really like, and if you eat it every single day, after a while, you’re sick of even the best flavors. And that’s why it’s good to find a brand that has multiple flavors to at least can to at least can incorporate some variety and stretch out how long it takes you to get sick of them. Like I used to eat the RX protein bars basically daily, and I think I had solid three, four years where I couldn’t even eat a single one because I just got so sick of that flavor. Just like, again, they’re made with dates. I love dates until you have dates every single day. And it’s no different than protein shakes or any other sort of thing. Like find at least a little bit of variety, because of variety, because no matter how much you like it, you’re not gonna want it forever. I’ve done that with built bars, high protein, lower calorie, and you can have so many before you get tired of those. But those are a great source of protein. Like, at the end of the day, I’m like, Okay, I need to get, you know, another 20 grams, or something like that, and just pop a built bar, things like that. Also, the other thing that I’ve really been incorporating a lot is cottage cheese. So, you know, I’ll grill up some burgers for dinner. And, you know, we’ll have a grilled burger with, you know, and I’ll do the bun and everything like that. I’ll fit it into my calories for the day. But instead of doing like, fries, I’ll do,

Unknown Speaker 6:43
you know, a cup of cottage cheese, yeah, and that, that really helps me get my numbers. I mean, that’s going, like, all the way back to, like, the 1980s I was like, the cliche, like, you go to the salad bar, you get your salad and your cottage cheese. And again, it’s good because it works, yeah? Except, like, your the macros are crazy. Taste is great, and you can do a billion different things with cottage cheese. Yeah, I’ve, I’ve seen where people make queso with cottage cheese. I need to try it. But I actually just saw a video today of this guy that made ice cream out of cottage cheese. It’s been, it’s especially that’s where you look into, like, the ninja cream and stuff like that, yeah, kind of the craze. Like, yeah, half Cohen. They are like, I don’t have them myself. And I have them myself, and I have multiple clients who have it, and they just love them. It’s, I have to try it. Yeah, yeah. And honestly, for a lot of people, that’s really what is, is just finding ways we can eat roughly the same foods and incorporated versus, again, if you have to change your entire lifestyle, unless you end up really realizing how much you like that food that you didn’t realize before, you’re probably not going to stick with that. Instead, it’s like, okay, how can I make the same meal? Because it feels comfortable then, but then make it adjustable so that it still fits within your calories. So then, as far as workouts, which now where I feel like I’m getting back on kind of a roll with your workouts again, what has helped you with that? As far as finding time or making time for that, I think really, and I’ve said this to a few people, the hardest muscle that I’ve actually had to learn to exercise is my brain, although it’s not a muscle, but you get the figure of speech, though, and it’s the discipline, because

Unknown Speaker 8:11
exercising that discipline is and just doing it when I don’t feel like it, or it’s like I have to do it. It’s Tuesday night, I have nothing going now, sports are done. I need to go do it, exercising that. So just doing the hard thing, even though it’s not enjoyable, that’s and then once I go, I’m like, Yeah, this is great, you know. And it feels good to actually get that workout in. You get that fresh blood into the brain, you know. And I come away just feeling like, what’s the cliche saying? Of like, the hardest exercise is actually just opening the door. It’s like, once you’re in there, you’re gonna work absolutely. And I’ve talked with this, actually, numerous clients with, like, with my classes and stuff, where that’s what they like so much about having a class structure is that someone waiting on them, because, yeah, once they’re there, nobody ever wimps out on their workout once they’re there. Yeah, it’s more a matter of, like, finding reasons, like, oh, well, you know, I can’t make it today. I’ll make it in tomorrow, and then it becomes next Friday, and then becomes two months later. And so, yeah, if you can get there, you’re gonna tend to do pretty good, yeah, yeah. And then I feel like, yeah, getting there once it makes the next time easier, and then it makes that next time easier, and just getting more comfortable in general, with being there, yeah. And then, even, honestly, one of the things that was, one of the hardest things about coming into the gym for the first time is figuring out where the equipment is that was, I mean, and everybody just always knows, you know, it looks like it, and I’m the newbie, like, you know, walking around going, okay, there’s that. And one. And literally, like, within two, three weeks of you getting started, we got all brand new equipment. Brand new equipment, and everything was a different place. So even I was like, okay, lat pulldown is over here now. Yeah. So one of the biggest differences I’ve noticed in your nutrition recently has been when you’re taking trips now or when you end up having to go to restaurants with your family. Can you talk about a little bit about some of the hacks you’ve found there that have helped you stay a little more on Plan?

Unknown Speaker 10:00
With that, yeah, absolutely my favorite breakfast is the chicken fried chicken at Cracker Barrel. And before I went on my trip to Missoula, I texted Ryan and said, Okay, this is my weakness, and this is where I’m going to struggle. And one thing that you said really stuck with me, and it really has changed how I eat, you know, and planning ahead going to a restaurant or or eating something that’s going to be not so good for me. And, and you said, well, pound down one of those shakes. So I was in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel gaming. Yeah, yeah. I pounded down one of those core fit life things. And went in, ordered the chicken, fried chicken, and the other thing you said was, don’t finish. And so I went in, ordered what I liked, and I didn’t finish. Texted you a picture, because I was like, it was hard to do, but actually I felt satiated a lot sooner. And once you hit that, you know, feeling of satiation again, exercising that brain again to say, Hey, enough is enough. Don’t eat because, you know, I like to eat. I like the taste of the food. That’s how I got fat.

Unknown Speaker 11:17
But feeling satiated and eating for the, you know, just to for the sustenance instead of, and so it’s just a really, kind of a reprogramming of the brain and things like that. The other thing is

Unknown Speaker 11:29
finding a good gas station food, yeah, and, and so, yeah, I know those, those core life again, I’m,

Unknown Speaker 11:38
should be sponsored. Should? We should, maybe.

Unknown Speaker 11:42
But, but, you know, eating, drinking one of those, the core lives. And then beef jerky.

Unknown Speaker 11:50
I just got back from Missoula, I did

Unknown Speaker 11:54
the beef and cheese stick for a higher protein, low calorie option.

Unknown Speaker 12:01
And then, yeah, this last time, when I went back to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, I got the steak and eggs. Awesome calories. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So it’s like, but see, I’m not as green and needing that like, you know, hand holding, so to speak, but it’s like, really being able to identify what it is when I’m looking at a menu, you know, the looking at it with a whole different lens, what’s high protein, what’s lower calories? Eggs, steak. I mean, you can’t go wrong with eggs. Mistake anyway. And I also think it helps too. It’s like, once you get rolling, you start to see results, and you’re losing weight, it becomes a lot easier to be like, Well, okay, I don’t want to lose what I have my progress here, so I’m going to pick this option. Yeah. And then they said it’s not really suffering to have steak and eggs. Like, eggs is delicious, but yeah. And going back to what you’re saying in the gas stations, like six, eight years ago, 10 years ago, it was definitely not as easy. I mean, there was almost always jerky of some kind, but your options are kind of limited now. You go to, like, a town pump, and there’s literally an aisle of just jerky. So it’s like, again, as long as you don’t have allergies to anything, like, right? You’re there’s no way you can’t find an option that’ll work for you. Like, yeah, there’s always protein options playing half the time. There’s, you know, bananas and strawberries too, or yogurt if you want something that’s less salty. Like, yeah, you can almost always find something. Now it’s just whether or not, again, we can go back to that willpower and being like, okay, my is my goal this important? Or do I really want to, just like you said, have the chicken fried steak and say, Screw it, yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, and one thing that’s also empowering is, you know, having that chicken fried steak and saying, screw it, but, but keeping that within my weak calories Exactly. So okay, I’m gonna go over today because I am having that, enjoying that dinner with my family, or it’s a holiday, or whatever it is. But then the next day, I’m going to eat lighter so that i i can make up those the difference on those calories. Yeah, and again, I think people, at times, overrate the going over things like, even to you, over like, 1000 calories over the course of the week, that only averages, like, to 160 calories per day, which, again, is a jump, but it kind of tends to even out most of the time, as long as we’re not crazy, right? If you have 5000 calories over that’s gonna be a little different. But in general, it’s if you can keep it to one day and not let it like, throw you down the stairs. Essentially, it doesn’t tend to have much of an impact. But if we let it affect our mindset, that’s where it tends to matter. A lot works, and we just start saying, screw it to the next thing. Saying, screw it to the next thing and the next thing the next. And then it’s been six weeks, and you’ve been on time the whole time, yeah, you know, and, and the other thing is, you know, okay, Friday, we’re gonna go out for pizza, because it’s been a long week. We go to do pizza. It’s like, okay, here’s the cheat day. And then Saturday, it’s like, we’re at a barbecue. And it’s like, oh, okay, well, all right, so it’ll be another cheat meal, and then come Sunday, and it’s like, no, no, no, no, no, you can’t turn a cheat day into a cheat weekend type of thing. And just again, exercising that self control of of

Unknown Speaker 14:57
having that cheat meal, but not making it a cheat.

Unknown Speaker 15:00
Weekend, and this while, unlike the 1000s persons, compared this extra by the millionth. But why it’s so similar to finances? Like, yeah, you can buy something you want, but if you keep buying the thing you want, eventually you’re gonna want something you really want. You’re like, Oh no, I don’t have the money, right? And it’s really no different with nutrition, where, like, you kind of looking at your week ahead of time, like, Okay, I know I’m gonna have, like, said pizza with the family on Friday and we have this barbecue. It’s like, okay, planning those ahead is constants. Now, looking back the week, how do I adjust to make those fit into my week? Because again, we was the thing. I literally share this on Instagram today. You could have anything you want and not get fat. You just can’t have as much of everything you want and not get fat like you can have it like you said with your chicken fried steak. You can find a portion of it that fits your calories. You just can’t have that whole thing all the time and still fit the plan, yeah, yeah, totally. Because yeah, like, I told you I would, I would pound down that whole chicken fried steak and the pancakes and then be looking to my kid for whatever. He’s not like, three days, exactly, but having that exercise of going, Okay, I had half of that chicken fried steak, I had a bite of that pancake and called it quits. Yeah, there was a study that did one time, and I assume this is true on most foods, but if they found with like, dark chocolate, when you have like, a square of dark chocolate, and you get the dopamine hit, what’s funny is the second and third and fourth hits, or squares, don’t actually give you any additional dopamine. Like, at that point, we’re just eating out a habit, and we’ve all done this before. We’re like, I don’t really give a shit if I’m not hungry anymore. Hungry anymore. I’m still eating this cake. But again, coming back to goals and stuff, how bad do you want that coke? So again, like, I will fit in any food that I want. But sometimes there’s, like, a guy actually, I was just on vacation this last week in Texas, and I had a ice cream thing where I didn’t finish the whole thing, because it’s like, I wanted it. So I’m never going to see us again in Montana. But I’m like, I don’t want to. Be want to be just ruined for the rest of the day, so I’m gonna have it, and I’m gonna accept the fact that I threw away $5 worth and just move on. Like, right? You can afford to throw away $5 worth of food. It’s not that big of a deal, right, even if it’s not always the fun thing to do, yeah? But again, it’s like, if you have goals, you’re gonna adhere to that, right? Yeah, setting that limit and that boundary. Yeah, boundaries and fitness in general, just they said coming back to time, or coming to food, or all these things like, if we don’t set boundaries, We’re never getting anywhere, yeah? Well, and then one thing I appreciate about you is, you know, okay, maybe I don’t have a great week, and then you realign me with my goals, going, Okay, well, what about your goals and and things like that really help refocus and realign. Going, Yeah, I did have that pizza night, and I did have that barbecue, and I had that Sunday, whatever,

Unknown Speaker 17:31
and then, and you know, come Monday, you’re like, Well, what about your goals? And it’s like, yeah, I’m not going to get to my goals if I’m blowing it all weekend. And I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone that hasn’t had a bad week or a bad weekend. Like, everyone’s gonna slip up or have something that’s worth it to them to slip up for. Again, it’s just, how do we get back on track? Like, getting back on track is actually arguably more important than the track itself. Like, if we can’t get back on track, none of it all matters. Like, I give you the perfect numbers, but if we’re constantly just jumping off of them. Where are we going? Yeah. So to finish here, I just wanted to wrap up with some rapid fire questions. Okay. First one, what’s your favorite exercise? I feel like I know the answer. I like the lat pull down. Yeah. I feel like such a tough guy doing them.

Unknown Speaker 18:15
Thanks for posting that on Instagram. Oh yeah, I look good.

Unknown Speaker 18:20
Arguably more important question, favorite Star Wars character? Oh, that’s a good question. What is my favorite?

Unknown Speaker 18:28
I kind of like Han, because he’s kind of that goofy guy, and I can, you know, somewhat identify with him a little bit. In regards to that,

Unknown Speaker 18:39
we’re gonna go with Han. Okay, see, I would have originally said Han as well, but now, when we watch Star Wars with my daughter, she has to figure out which character is each person. So since she’s Princess Leia, that makes me naturally Darth Vader. So now I guess I’m Darth Vader. Oh, you’re Darth Vader. Not a bad thing to be, yeah. Last one, a little more on topic. What’s been your favorite protein snack? My favorite protein snack. I mean, would it be surprising if I said, we

Unknown Speaker 19:06
say four times they have

Unknown Speaker 19:09
it’s the strawberry banana one. Yeah, yeah. We will take some. Take a box of those. Yes, I have them on reoccurring delivery on Amazon. But okay, I know it’s kind of the end episode, but that is another super smart thing. Is just, if you find something you like, put it on reoccurring, like, again a you save a tiny bit of money, but also that way, you’re ensuring that it’s never not there, right? Like, I have that happen to a lot of people where they have, they have their protein stuff all set up, and then they just forget to go shopping for like, a month, and now they have nothing. It’s like having a stock on hand or having something that’s constantly coming in is always a good idea. I have, I have them in the refrigerator at the office, and I have them in the refrigerator at home. There’s no excuse why I can’t just, yeah, I think eventually is maybe for the winter, you can build a jacket that just has one like built ins. You’re just always

Unknown Speaker 19:58
like, I.

Unknown Speaker 20:00
Awesome. So Joe, thank you for coming on. Thanks Ryan, appreciate it awesome. Thanks, you guys. We’ll see you next week.