Dec 11, 2018
In today’s episode, Ben Greenfield, a world-renowned expert in health and fitness, explains how his lifestyle and business evolved into what it is today. Ben is a wildly successful speaker, entrepreneur, and expert on human optimization, and he attributes his ability to operate at such a high level to his purposeful, self-sustaining, and relaxed home life. He also tells us his thoughts on homeschooling, “health” foods, and how he has chosen to raise his kids. Listen in as Ben reveals the four steps to optimization and the secret to rapid recovery.
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Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 01:11 –Introducing Ben Greenfield, a world expert in health and fitness, who has done bodybuilding, triathlons, and is a professional obstacle course racer
- 01:20 – He is a public speaker and expert on human optimization
- 01:40 – Ben’s journey
- 02:00 – He’s always been into mind and body wellness; he got his master’s in biomechanics and physiology and opened personal training studios
- 02:25 – He was named America’s top personal trainer in 2008 and began working more on the business side; he started investing, consulting, speaking, and writing
- 02:40 – He has a podcast and a company that develops formulations and supplements
- 03:30 – He wakes up happy and with a purpose; he wants to help others live their best life, too
- 04:00 – On the way he lives
- 04:22 – He lives in the forest in Washington State and lives off the land; he hunts, his wife grows food, and they have chickens for eggs
- 04:30 – His relaxed way of living helps him operate better because life isn’t too stressful
- 04:52 – The evolution of Ben’s diet
- 05:12 – In college, he ate terribly; he’d eat McDonald’s regularly
- 05:30 – He shifted into the way he eats now by gradually making changes to his diet as he learned more about nutrition
- 06:16 – When he tested his blood markers, he realized that he was fit on the outside but dying on the inside
- 07:00 – He realized that the “health” foods he was eating weren’t healthy at all
- 08:03 – He began eating superfoods, fasting in the morning, and eating home-cooked meals
- 08:50 – He’s learned how bad muscle meats are, and that other parts of the animal, like the liver, heart, and organs, are way more nutritious
- 09:30 – He’s learned how to ethically harvest animals and plants with the least amount of waste possible
- 10:30 – Ben’s diet
- 11:30 – He uses ancestral preparation techniques; if you don’t have allergies/restrictions, he recommends a wide variety of foods prepared ancestrally
- 12:30 – He finds cooking to be meditative and enjoyable
- 12:53 – How his kids eat
- 13:10 – His kids eat everything; they don’t like to eat off kid’s meals and would rather have nutrient-dense food
- 14:38 – His kids are very healthy, fit, and balanced; his goal is to raise them to be independent and free-spirited
- 15:40 – On not homeschooling his children even though he was
- 15:50 – Homeschooling allowed Ben to graduate high school at 15, but he believes traditional schooling has its benefits
- 16:16 – He wants his kids to be able to work in group settings, plus Ben finds it would be unfair to homeschool his kids when he wouldn’t be able to dedicate himself to it entirely
- 16:53 – He teaches his kids everything they won’t learn in school
- 18:11 – Some people are better equipped to teach their children at home; he believes he and his wife can teach some things but not all
- 19:18 – Tips for self-optimization
- 19:52 –Understanding that your body is a battery; charge it with good water, minerals, sunlight, and by touching the planet
- 25:43 – Ben’s thoughts on plastic water bottles
- 26:30 – Plastic impacts our hormone systems; Ben tries to use only glass bottles
- 27:45 – Ben’s number one physical recovery method outside of nutrition or sleep
- 27:55 – Cold and heat; find a sauna and finish with a cold shower or plunge
- 28:45 – A traditional sauna is just heat; an infrared sauna produces a light and heat that penetrates the body deeper
- 30:10 – Ben starts his day with a hot/cold session
3 Key Points
- Ancestral food preparation techniques are a tried and true diet foundation.
- Recharge your body with water, minerals, sunlight, and contact with the earth.
- Educate yourself on food waste, nutrition, plastics, and healthy habits – and adjust your lifestyle accordingly.
Contact/Resources
- Primed Mind – Elliot’s Mindset App
- Book – Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
- Book – Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy
- Spring Locator – Find a Spring
- Book - Estrogeneration
- Ben’s Website
- Ben’s Business Website - Kion
Credits
Podcast Production by Podcastily