CONSISTENT by Primal Potential

It's pretty tough to talk yourself into doing anything if you aren't motivated. I know. I've been there. But I've got you covered today with 8 ways to get motivated so you can stop THINKING about what you want & starting GETTING it. For most of my life I desperately wanted to lose weight, I hated my body, had no energy and was tired of trying and failing but it seemed like I wasn't motivated enough to do the work. So frustrating. I know I'm not alone. I get emails every single day like this one: I look up recipes, buy groceries, fail at making them (usually turns out bland and nothing like the recipe) and don't meal prep so I end up eating out for every meal. I still hate the way I look and feel and constantly feel defeated. How do I change or overcome apathy? No idea. I'll be honest, though: I love getting emails like that. I love it because they're asking for help, they want to make a change and I know I can help. I'm thrilled that they've opened the door for me to nudge them in the right direction. Before we dive into the 8 ways to get motivated, I need to establish the fact that most people really don't understand what motivation is or how to create it. It's a bit of a paradox. Most people think, "I'm not taking action because I'm not motivated." The reality of motivation is close, but opposite: you aren't motivated because you aren't taking action. http://primalpotential.com/146-hacking-motivation-8-ways-to-get-motivated/

Obesogens are a real thing. They are a class of chemical compounds found all around us that impair the functioning of our fat cells, interfere with metabolism & initiate hormone chaos. Obesogens are truly chemicals that make you fat. Have you ever heard of endocrine disrupters? Endocrine disrupters are chemicals that interfere with any aspect of hormone action in the body. Obesogens are a specific class of endocrine disrupters that specifically target fat gain, fat loss, appetite and hormone balance related to fat loss. They cause major problems but we can make a difference. Today's episode talks about two specific obesogens: BPA and PFOAs. We'll talk about what they do, how we're exposed to them and what to do about them. Don't miss this episode. It's a good one! http://primalpotential.com/145-obesogens-chemicals-that-make-you-fat/ Obesogens: Chemicals That Make You Fat In today's episode we're covering the following questions: What are obesogens? How do they impact fat loss or gain? How do these chemicals impact your hormones? What is BPA? What is PFOA? What kinds of things are they found in? Why are they legal? How can I avoid them? Is it possible to detox from obesogens I might already have in my system? Why do these obesogens target body fat? Research on Obesogens State restrictions of BPA More detail than you could ever want on obesogens Understanding obesogens More research on obesogens

In today's episode we're talking all about apple cider vinegar and weight loss. I'll be sharing the research related to apple cider vinegar, weight loss, fat burning & fat storage. Plus, we'll dive into how & how much apple cider vinegar to use to get these weight loss benefits. If you're going to give apple cider vinegar (ACV) a shot, it's super important to know which type to buy. Not all ACV is created equal and we'll be diving into that in this episode. Here's the brand of apple cider vinegar I use. Apple Cider Vinegar and Weight Loss In today's episode we're answering the most common questions about ACV What is apple cider vinegar? How is it different from other types of vinegar? Does apple cider vinegar help you lose weight? How does apple cider vinegar impact blood sugar, fat burning & fat storage? Are all types of apple cider vinegar the same? What kind should I buy? How much should I take? How do you take it? What are some delicious apple cider vinegar recipes? What about other uses for ACV? Carrot Ginger Dressing with ACVBlend all ingredients in the blender and use as needed for salad dressing 4 large carrots 1" piece of raw ginger (peeled) 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar the white part (bottom) of a green onion Sprinkle of salt I also love to add 1-2 tbsp ACV to 20 oz of water with the juice from 1/2 a lemon http://primalpotential.com/144-apple-cider-vinegar-and-weight-loss/

I want to challenge you today. I want to show you how to silence your inner critic. You know, that voice that says, "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I can't" or "This is so hard". That voice. How do we make it go away? There’s no strategy, no plan, no protocol, no diet that will work if you don’t get out of your own way & do the work. Unfortunately, many of us stay stuck for too long, if not forever, in our own way. We are the only reason that we aren't living the life we want. We are the only reason we don't have the body we want. We are the only reason we aren't who or where we want to be. And we have the power to change that. Today's episode is all about "how". http://primalpotential.com/143-how-to-silence-your-inner-critic/ How to Silence Your Inner Critic Identify your most common excuses, limitations or methods of procrastination Determine when you anticipate them to pop up in the next week Pre-determine your response Most of us misunderstand motivation. We think it’s just wanting something badly enough, and if we do, we’ll do the work. That’s not true. That’s grossly incomplete. Motivation is like a fire. We misunderstand when we think it's a simple as lighting a match. When you light a match, do you have fire? You sure do! But then what? What happens to a match? It fizzles out really fast. It's just the beginning. It's just potential for fire. It is a spark. It must be sustained. If you just have the spark, you find yourself wondering, "What's wrong with me? Why am I not doing the work? Why can't I follow through? Why aren't I strong enough?" You're just missing a step. You're missing the step that keeps the fire burning. That step is ACTION. Action fuels motivation. Action stokes the fire. You might be wondering, "what does this have to do with how to silence my inner critic?" Everything. Our inner critic keeps us from taking action. The voice of doubt & delay makes excuses that tell us tomorrow will be better. That's the dragon we must slay. That is how you silence your inner critic. Know it. Expect it. Deny it.

Fake flavors and frankenflavors are everywhere! The biggest challenge we face is that these fake flavors trigger us to overeat & experience strong, consistent cravings. Today I want to share 10 tips to beat fake flavor so you can burn more fat, feel less hunger & get rid of your cravings. This is the tactical follow-up episode to the 2 part series I did on how our food has changed. In part one, I talked about the changes to whole foods and how/why they're more bland than ever. In part 2 I talked about processed foods & how flavor is designed to make us overeat. Today is all tactic. These 10 tips will help you beat fake flavor, retrain your palate, enjoy food mood, eat less, free yourself from cravings & conquer the world (too much?) http://primalpotential.com/142-10-tips-to-beat-fake-flavor-fall-in-love-with-whole-foods/ Pay attention to where your flavor comes from Set a goal to reduce fake flavor Cook at home more often Buy quality over quantity Dial down the use of sweeteners (even honey, agave & stevia) Try new things & taste bold flavors Slow down Eat for hormone balance Vote with your wallet Build mental toughness For the details on how to execute these tips, definitely listen to the full episode!!

Is fake flavor making you fat? What is fake flavor? Why does it seem like year after year we crave food more yet experience less satisfaction from it? What has changed? A lot has changed. Our food has changed. Whole foods are different and processed foods are different. This combination makes fat loss tough and fat gain pretty easy. In part 1 of this 2-part series we talked about how whole foods have changed. We went into detail on what has happened to our chicken, beef, pork, fruits & vegetables to reduce their quality and their flavor. Today we're talking about processed foods & how their flavor has skyrocketed as have their addictive qualities that set us up to overeat & keep coming back for more. Most importantly, I invited you on a challenge with me. A challenge to break the chains of fake flavor and stop allowing your palate to be held hostage by the food industry. This 14-day challenge is 100% free and you can do it as many times as you'd like! I really hope you'll take the leap & take control of your food choices and your life. http://primalpotential.com/141-is-fake-flavor-making-you-fat-part-2-of-2/ There are a couple problems I want to tackle in today's episode: Whole foods are being turned into processed foods Processed foods are out of control, addictive & often dishonest I want to help you understand how & why processed foods are causing problems, what foods are a problem & how we can overcome it. We often approach dieting from the willpower first standpoint of "don't eat the donuts". I want to challenge you to a new approach: "create a state where you don't desire the donuts to begin with". That is 100% possible & that's what I want to kick off today. Relying on willpower against processed foods is like trying to arm-wrestle a crane. We can be smarter. There are several ways processed foods are engineered to hijack our palate: Flavor (taste & smell) Texture Emotional state Hormonal state Brain response These foods, from cookies to soups are fake, cheap & addictive. Functional MRI (fMRI) is used to ensure addictive qualities. Emotional profiling is used to ensure these foods satisfy emotional needs & trigger desired emotional outcomes. Macronutrient profile is manipulated to ensure that we stay hungry, avoid satiety & experience cravings Natural doesn't mean natural "Natural flavoring" doesn't mean the ingredients are from natural sources. It may mean that the processing method was natural. According to the Environmental Working Group, the chemicals used in natural and artificial flavors are often the exact same or nearly the same. There is no legal requirement in the United States to disclose the components of "natural flavorings".

Is fake flavor making you fat? What is fake flavor? Why does it seem like year after year we crave food more yet experience less satisfaction from it? What has changed? A lot has changed. Our food has changed. Whole foods are different and processed foods are different. This combination makes fat loss tough and fat gain pretty easy. Today is part 1 of 2 episodes talking about what has changed about food & what we can do about it so we enjoy food more, eat less of it & reach our fat loss goals without deprivation. http://primalpotential.com/140-is-fake-flavor-making-you-fat-part-1/

I can't tell you how often people email me and say, "I'm doing everything right & it's not working". Here's what I say in response: "If it's not working, you're not doing everything right" You need to keep in mind that your mental construct of what's "right" might be holding you back because if it's not working for you, it's not right for you. It might be right for someone else. It might have been right for you a year ago or 20 lbs ago. But if it's not working for you, it's not right for you. You have tweaks to make. You need to make a change. Stop getting frustrated and invest that energy in being strategic. In today's episode I'll be sharing 10 potential tweaks you can make to accelerate fat loss. http://primalpotential.com/139-accelerate-fat-loss/ Do not take shortcuts here. You absolutely need to listen to the full episode to understand the how & why behind each of these tweaks. Most importantly: only implement ONE AT A TIME. Seriously! Being an overachiever will not serve you here! If you want to accelerate fat loss, you've got to know which strategy works & which doesn't. If you implement more than one at a time, you don't know which one is responsible for your results! Eat less frequently Dial back the sweet stuff (even "healthy" sweet stuff) Increase non-starchy vegetables Eat more fat Eat less fat Decrease protein Increase the intensity of your workouts (you'd better listen to the full explanation here!) Get more sleep Reduce stress and/or increase frequency of stress-relieving activities Practice self-discipline

Let's talk about your goals. How's it going? Or, maybe, WTF happened? Is there a gap between what you said you were going to do and what you've actually been doing? Are you finding that you make excuses & exceptions on the regular? You're not alone. But let's not let the year slip away feeling like we could have done more or tried harder. Let's assess the situation and get real about how we can get the results we want. That's what today is all about. http://primalpotential.com/138-wtf-happened/ In today's episode we're talking about how to break out of the cycle of setting intentions and not doing the work. Unfortunately, we take the approach of "same pond, same frog" and end up wondering, "WTF happened?" The intentions were there, the motivation was there when we set the intentions, but same pond, same frog, nothing new to see here. The notion of "same pond, same frog" basically means that we don't change ourselves and we don't change our environment but try to change the outcome. It doesn't work. I want to teach you, in this episode, how to set yourself up for the situation of either: Same pond, new frog OR New pond, new frog You must change YOURSELF if you want to change your results. We cannot focus on the external only. When we focus on eating differently or exercising differently, those are external foci. Our external results are reflective of our internal results. Change must start inside. To be successful in achieving our goals, we must strengthen the following mental muscles: Motivation Consistency Self-discipline In this episode I detail these 5 keys to creating new results & becoming a new frog. Start small Keep your word Challenge yourself Be positive Seek feedback from failures

Let's try something new! I'm going to be kicking off a monthly series on the podcast - you can consider it the Primal Potential Book Club! We're starting with Always Hungry by Dr. David Ludwig. I read a ton. I've always got a couple of books going. Each month, maybe even a couple of times a month, I want to share with you the best books I've read, the most interesting things I've learned and how I've changed my fat loss approach (if at all) based on those books. Without question, one of the best books I've read recently is Always Hungry by Dr. David Ludwig. In today's episode I'm sharing the most powerful lessons in the book and my thoughts on his "Always Hungry Solution" that he argues (quite well) will conquer cravings, retrain your fat cells and help you lose weight permanently. http://primalpotential.com/137-always-hungry/ In today's episode I'm sharing what I feel are the most powerful & high-impact points made by Dr. Ludwig in his new book. I share my commentary and what changes I made based on this great read (as well as how my body responded). Definitely take a listen to the full episode but here are the highlights of what I share from the book. We don't get fat because we overeat. We overeat because we're getting fat.What? Huh? Of course we get fat because we overeat. No. We overeat, he argues, not because of the volume of food we eat but because of the type of food we eat.The type of food we eat creates a hormonal condition that makes us 2 things: hungry and fat.It makes our fat cells greedy. They suck up more than their fair share of the nutrients we eat. The body responds by triggering hunger & cravings. We eat more. We overeat because of the hormonal conditions created by the type of food we eat.Dr. Ludwig uses a couple of great examples to help explain this notion that we overeat because we're getting fat, not the other way around.Think of a teenage boy during puberty. Do we say he’s growing because he’s eating so much? No! We say he’s eating so much because he’s growing. The hormonal conditions in his body are increasing his appetite. His appetite isn’t creating the hormonal conditions that make him grow.The same is true in pregnancy. Do we say that a pregnant woman’s belly is growing because she is eating so much? No! She is eating so much because her baby is growing. The hormonal conditions in her body increases her appetite.This, he argues, (strongly, in my opinion) is what happens with obesity. Here’s what Dr. Ludwig explains in Always Hungry:The food choices we make when our diet is filled with processed foods, grains, wheats and oats send insulin production into overdrive. Insulin is a fuel delivery hormone (if you need an overview on insulin, check out this episode).This chronic, overstimulation of insulin essentially fertilizes your fat cells. Your fat cells become greedy because they are overstimulated. They suck up more than their fair share of the nutrients you consume.Well, what happens if the fat cells are taking more than their fair share of the nutrients you consume?The body misses out. The rest of your body doesn't get the fuel it needs, even if you're eating it! How does the body respond? Hunger & cravings to stimulate you to feed it and by lowering your metabolic rate to conserve fuel because it's not getting enough (even though it is).It’s not a matter of having too many calories in the in the body, it’s too few in the right place. We can reprogram our fat cells to release stored caloriesOur food choices are responsible for programming our fat cells to take up too much fuel. Therefore, by changing our food choices, we can reprogram our fat cells to release stored calories. We do this in two ways (that I go into in more detail in this episode). We do this by choosing foods that don't overstimulate insulin production/release and that control (and minimize) inflammation. Dieting is not the answer.Cutting back on calories will cause weight loss in the short term, but it programs your body to work against you. There's a better way. Dr. Ludwig uses the example of taking an ice bath in response to a fever. Yes, a fever is reflective of too much heat in the body so you could reason that sitting in an ice bath would bring your body temperature down. And it will, in the short term. However, the body will compensate by making you shiver and trigger vaso-constriction to conserve heat, so it's not a long term approach.We see this all the time with dieting. Sure, it might lead to short term weight loss but the body will fight against you by lowering metabolic rate, increasing hunger and triggering cravings.Dieting is a short term strategy that has been repeatedly proven to deliver, at best, short term results. We have to work with the body, not against it. It's not about calories.Even when you keep calories constant, you can significantly impact the number of calories you burn at rest by changing where your calories come from.In Always Hungry, Dr. Ludwig shares some of his clinical research where two groups of individuals received the same exact number of calories per day, but with different ratios of carbohydrate and fat.The individuals on the higher fat, lower carb diet burned 325 more calories per day at rest than the individuals consuming the exact same number of calories but on a lower fat, higher carb approach.It's not about the number of calories you consume as much as it is about the signals they send to your body. Your fat cells reach a critical threshold where they begin to emit stress signals to your body.Your body's primary objective is survival. It will always operate from a "survival first" perspective. The two most significant threats to your body are starvation & infection.Your body fat is protective against starvation. It is the fuel reserve for your body. More or less, it ensures your protection against starvation. For that reason, your immune system (prevention from infection) and your body fat are very closely linked.Your white blood cells (whose job it is to protect against infection) patrol your body fat. They do so because your body fat would be the holy grail feast site of a potential infection.Unfortunately, your fat cells become stressed when they're taxed and over-fed. They begin to emit stress signals to which your body responds.Those white blood cells call in reinforcements from the rest of your body (preventing infection fighting elsewhere) and your body begins to attack itself. This is the onset of auto-immune disease and other inflammatory conditions including heart disease. We have to eat to reduce inflammation & calm our fat cells so they are willing to release their stored fat.Dr. Ludwig shares how to do this via food choices in his Always Hungry Solution. The Always Hungry Solution is all about minimizing your body's insulin response and controlling inflammation via food choices. Of course it emphasizes whole foods with the greatest emphasis on plant-based fats like avocado, extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil followed by non-starchy vegetables and high quality animal proteins. Phase 1: 2 weeks long. 50% of calories from fat, 25% from carbohydrates (non-starchy veggies and non-tropical fruits) and 25% from protein Phase 2: Duration of weight loss. 40% of calories from fat, 35% from carbohydrates (non-starchy veggies & fruit) and 25% from protein Phase 3: Maintenance - finding what makes you feel the best while maintaining results After reading Always Hungry, I was inspired to make a few changes. Just these tiny changes to my already clean diet improved my sleep, significantly reduced my hunger (and I wasn't really hungry to begin with) and in just 10 days led to noticeable changes in my lower abdominals.