Do Hard Things: Executive Function and Resilience

"I struggled to complete the fifth pushup, and I was horrified because it used to be 50 on my knuckles per set. What happened to me?" - Eric Edmeades

I've been fascinated by ancestral nutrition since my early days studying with Dr. Loren Cordain, but nothing prepared me for what I learned from Eric Edmeades, who has spent 15 years living with the Hadza people in Tanzania. As an honorary member of one of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes, Eric has witnessed firsthand what our bodies were designed for—and why our modern approach to ancestral health for women is missing critical pieces. His insights about their three-day limit on depression, their natural relationship with food scarcity and abundance, and their incredible physical resilience have completely shifted how I think about midlife health challenges. What Eric discovered about their seasonal eating patterns and why they never develop the diseases plaguing our society will make you question everything about your current wellness routine.

Pick one "hard thing" and commit to it daily for the next 7 days. Whether it's cold exposure, a challenging exercise (pistol squats, anyone?), or simply taking the stairs instead of the elevator – choose something that makes your inner voice say "I don't want to do this." Notice how your relationship with discomfort changes by day seven.

What you’ll learn:

• How to unlock your body's three metabolic modes – including the "junk food fall" trap that keeps most women stuck in weight gain cycles

• Why the Hadza people don't experience depression beyond three days – and the simple movement solution that could transform your mental health

• The truth about executive function – how modern comfort is literally rewiring your brain for weakness (and what to do about it)

• How seasonal eating patterns can reset your metabolism – without restrictive dieting or counting calories

• Why "doing hard things" isn't just motivational fluff – the neuroscience behind building unshakeable confidence through physical challenges

• The missing link in most exercise routines – how to move like your ancestors to boost lymphatic flow and prevent disease

• How to break free from the "zoo mentality" – combining ancestral wisdom with modern convenience for optimal health span

• The surprising connection between adventure and longevity – what anthropologists discovered about comfort versus vitality

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Full show notes (including all links mentioned): https://jjvirgin.com/eric

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