One Of My Favorite Podcasts!

I posted a while back that I would share one of my favorite podcasts, so here you go!

I love listening to podcasts. I also love listening to music. So I usually go back and forth throughout the day while I work. I can't always concentrate on everything being said, but I still pick up quite a bit and learn a lot.

I recently discovered Abel James of theFat-Burning Man Show while listening to another one of my podcasts, On Diet and Health with Beverley Meyer. He was a guest on her show and I was really impressed with how clearly he explained everything and his story was pretty awesome too. 

Source

"After years of frustration, sickness, and increasing flab, I stopped listening to the “experts,” “gurus,” and even my doctors. I buried my nose in the research and experimented on myself like a lab rat until I found the truth. And man, it was a doozy... I learned that almost everything that I thought I knew about health, nutrition, and fitness was completely wrong."   

 -Abel James

So I decided to check out his podcast too.

It really hasn't been around for all that long; the first episode (I believe) aired just under 2 years ago. His podcast discusses Paleo Nutrition, Ancestral Health, and Primal Fitness in an interview format. He has had a large number of pretty amazing guests on his show to talk about how Paleo/Primal living has impacted their lives and how they are sharing it with the world. Some of the guests include Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple, Jimmy Moore of Livin' La Vida Low Carb, Melissa Joulwan of The Clothes Make The Girl, and George Bryant of Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations.

"Once I did the opposite of what my doctors told me, I dramatically improved my health – reversing hypertension, healing my malfunctioning thyroid, and effortlessly shedding 20 pounds in 40 days."

-Abel James

I think the reason that I love his podcast so much is because it is straight-to-the-point, clear, concise, and organized information. The information is also very relevant to the journey that I'm now taking and supplies incredible resources for any direction I'd like to learn more about, in regards to Paleo. There is information on recipes, cooking, fitness, the science behind weight loss, overall better general health, women's topics, men's topics, Paleo for families, and good mental health. It explains the how, why, and what of just about everything I've wanted to know about Paleo. And the best part... it's very interesting. The conversations are never boring. Abel is very lively and creates a natural flow throughout the podcast, which I think helps to make his guests feel at ease. This creates the illusion that you're all just sitting around in the back yard discussing Paleo amongst friends, rather than you listening at home while they are sitting in front of a microphone broadcasting to hundreds of other people.

I must not be the only one who thinks his blog is pretty cool because in just the short amount of time that he's been creating podcasts, he has grown to be one of the main competitors against Jillian Michaels for the #1 spot in Health in the iTunes store. That's a pretty impressive accomplishment, especially considering how big Jillian Michaels has grown to be in the last decade.

"But make no mistake: I’m no guru. I do not have all the answers. YOU are the expert on you. Through my podcast, books, and coaching, I am dedicated to helping others optimize their health and reach their ultimate potential by being their own guru. But with the collective health of the country (and beyond) falling off a cliff, it is more important than ever the help reverse the obesity and health crisis. As such, I share the principles and system that enabled me to dramatically optimize my life with folks who want to shed unwanted fat and improve their health in a way that is completely honest, fun, and lifelong. If I can do it, so can you." 

-Abel James 

Source

Besides his blog, Abel also has a few books out, including some cook books, he's got a LeanBody 30-Day Rapid Fat Loss System, he provides online coaching for a very reasonable price, and he has created a recipe app with George Bryant of Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations, which you can purchase here!With all the variety that he offers, there's really something for everyone. I have purchased the cooking app and have tried out a few of the recipes. It is, not surprisingly, very organized and easy to navigate. I definitely recommend checking out the app along with the podcast! : )

The only bad thing I can think of at this time is that I have caught up on all of the podcasts and have to wait until he puts out another one!  

Check him out:

Blog

Facebook
Twitter

Pinterest

iTunes 

Little Triumphs

My favorite part about the losing weight journey would have to be those "make it" or "break it" moments, when you REALLY want something that you know you shouldn't have or when you REALLY don't want to get up and do your workout ... but you do the right thing anyway. I feel like you grow a little each time you do that and you become a little more determined. I know I always walk away feeling more powerful, even if it sounds a little silly saying that, lol.

Tonight was an example of one of those times. We've had a crazy, stressful week with my job situation, we had to go pick up my husband's car from the shop, then had to go pick up some carpet cleaning solution because, guess what, I accidentally forgot about a gallon of milk in my car. Half of it leaked out and we didn't realize until my husband started smelling it. Yeah, it's been one of those kinds of weeks.

Credit: amazon.com

Credit: civilizedcavemancooking.com

So we were hungry and tired and didn't have anything planned for dinner. We could have very easily  decided to run to one of our favorite drive-through places, which I won't name, lol, but we chose not to. I had a recipe in my mind and it just sounded sooo good and it's so easy to make too. So, we picked up the ingredients and I'm now working on fixing it up while my husband is out getting the carpet cleaner.

That recipe would be the Honey Mustard Burger and Sweet Potato Apple Mash that I've talked about before from the Civilized Caveman Cooking website. It has to be really good if it is more appealing than an easy and cheap drive-through. This recipe is not only really good, it is mouth-wateringly delicious and it's not very complicated to make either. Check it out if you get a chance!

So I feel like I've accomplished something today. And, given the week I've had, it feels really good. So if you have had one of these moments recently, or maybe even if you didn't manage to quite conquer that moment yet, leave me a comment and tell me how you're doing! I'd love to hear about your journey too! : )

Heart For Mike

Credit: civilizedcaveman.com

I follow a few different paleo people on Facebook and Twitter. One of them, Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations, caught my eye today. He posted a picture of bacon. If you follow him, you know that this is not unusual. The picture was a huge stack of bacon. It was the wording that got my attention though.

He said, "It is amazing how many people I can get to share this photo of bacon, but I can't get to donate $1 to help save someone's life. I NEED YOUR HELP. Share this photo and this post and help me help Mike please". 

Credit: civilizedcavemancooking.com

Mike was born with a rare heart defect and that he now needs a heart transplant. There have been complications, however, because most people with Mike's defect do not live to adulthood, so he is having problems getting approval for the transplant. Mike's web page says that Stanford has agreed to pay for most of the bills concerning the heart transplant as long as he can pay for medications before and after the transplant. And most of those medications are not covered by insurance, so he has been doing his best to raise money for those medications, which I'm sure most of you realize would be a very difficult thing to do, especially once you listen to Mike tell his story and realize just how sweet he is and how badly he feels asking people for money.

So then George, the Civilized Caveman, came across Mike's story. He does not know Mike. I do not know Mike. Neither one of us have anything to gain from sharing his story other than knowing that we did a small part to helping him reach his goal. But George took it a step further. He set up part of his website to spread awareness about Mike's condition to help him raise money. It was going to be a surprise that George handed over to him at the end, but by accident Mike found out. (You can tell he feels horrible for ruining the surprise, which he shouldn't. Imagine someone feeling so bad for ruining a stranger's surprise to help them save their life. What a sweetie!)

Anyway, I saw George's post on Facebook and followed the link to listen to Mike's latest vlog. There are 6 total, I think. It's about 13 minutes long, but it was such a touching video, and I couldn't help but feel the need to donate and share his story. I don't think I'll need to convince you, just take a minute to listen to what he has to say and then decide if you want to help:

Here's his latest vlog:




Here are some more links to Mike and George to find out more:

Mike's blog
Mike's YouTube
Mike's Facebook
Mike's Twitter

George's webpage about Mike (Do You Have a Paleo Heart)
George's Facebook
George's Twitter

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