Brian McAndrew: The Backstage Keto King

Brian McAndrew, the man behind the scenes of the Get Over Yourself podcast audio production, as well as Primal Blueprint’s audio and video production efforts, takes the stage as the honored guest on this wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion about life, peak performance, exploring your passions and dreams, learning from failure and setbacks, and of course ketogenic eating.

At the age of 31, Brian has had quite a healthy journey of vast exploration and deep immersion. He’s been hard-core keto for over two years, all the while pursuing ambitious goals in the weight room. Brian’s life experiences include: dealing with a serious parasite infection contracted while swimming in an African pond (hey it’s hot in Sierra Leone for an Oregon coast boy!); plunging into the trendy LA juice bar health scene and digging a hole of veganism and chronic cardio; getting big into the familiar combo of Paleo and Crossfit; getting a burnt out on Crossfit and transitioning into a pattern of MAF pace cardio workouts along with high-intensity strength training; and finally gracefully pairing ketogenic eating with athletic training.  

Brian offers some thoughtful insights while Brad intersperses several cameos for Brian’s amazing viral YouTube video that he made in college that was the genesis of his current career. Search YouTube for “I Love My Ducks,” and you will see a masterpiece of filmmaking and positive energy for the beloved Oregon Ducks football club. Brian is constantly tweaking and testing on our behalf and today has a very groovy rhythm of simple, delicious meals, eating enough food to fuel his ambitious workouts, not stressing about testing his ketone numbers, and enjoying occasional departures from keto followed by effortless recalibrations. There is much talk about how athletes should optimize carb intake. Brian offers a sensible recommendation to calm down: “Life will give you refeeds,” Brian says. Brian also conveys the benefits of a simplified approach, where you don’t get overwhelmed by excessive choice or temptation because you are honoring a distinct commitment to dietary guidelines without any will power or decision fatigue involved.  

This is a very informative show where Brian shares insights from many resources; he consumes a ton of podcasts and has 14,000 followers on his Instagram account despite rarely writing anything more than, “I’m eating this” or showing pictures of his cute one-year-old daughter. Brian describes the magic and effectiveness of a simplified approach to ketogenic eating—the motto on his WholeDoods Instagram site is, “Eat boring food. Live an interesting life.” Brian believes one of the highest benefits of keto is the pleasure of a simplified approach. You don’t get overwhelmed by excessive choice or temptation, because you are honoring a distinct commitment to dietary guidelines without any will power or decision fatigue involved. Psychological studies confirm that when we are presented with too many choices, it compromises our enjoyment and increases our stress levels, likely due to FOMO – fear of missing out.  

Brian relates some wild stories during the show, such as his wilderness survival retreat where things got dicey due to a flash flood leaving participants without food for 6 days. Oh, this was when he was parasitic and “wasting away” at a buck twenty! There are numerous insights about formulating an effective training program and avoiding the perils of overtraining that plague Crossfit athletes, endurance athletes, and even recreational fitness enthusiasts trying to be consistent about their 6am Spin classes. Brian says he “hates rest days” but emphasizes the importance of purposeful light days or weeks in the gym to keep blood flowing and hormones optimized. Regarding the ethical dilemma we face when eating animals, Brian was obliged to slaughter a sheep during his survival school and offer up the profound insight that if you are going to take another life to support your life, you best make the most of your existence.  

Particularly for a younger listener, this will be a memorable story of exploring your passions and dreams, avoiding the pitfalls of fitness trends, and soul-sucking jobs in the world of advertising, and pursuing career excellence along with optimal health and fitness. Also, a reminder to appreciate your partner because Brian had to wait a freakin’ year to secure permission for his wife to join him in the crazy nation of America.  

These two voices on the show have talked at length during their long days filming content for Primal Blueprint digital courses, trying to sort out hype from effective tips for athletic training, healthy living, and the best approach to a healthy, sensible, whole foods, whole doods diet. They have figured out almost everything for your listening pleasure, so don’t miss this show. Brian’s meals on Instagram, and Brad’s underground recipe videos have become so popular that the duo are working on a top-secret book for lazy doods who want to cook keto but can’t be bothered to follow complex recipes. 

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