OoM 039： Living a Healthy Life with Shawn Stevenson
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
208.66423
Summary
In this episode of The Order of Man Podcast, my guest is Sean Stevenson. Sean is a bestselling author, and the creator of The Model Health Show, which is consistently featured as the health podcast in the country on iTunes. Sean studied biology and kinesiology at the University of Missouri and went on to start the Advanced Integrative Health Alliance, a company that provides wellness services for individuals and organizations across the planet. Sean s been featured in Men s Health Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, ESPN, Fox News, and many other media outlets. He s also a frequent keynote speaker for numerous organizations, universities, and conferences. And he gives us some breaking news that he has not announced anywhere else.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
Many of you know the health journey I've been on over the past several years.
00:00:02.860
There's been some highs and there has definitely been some lows.
00:00:05.820
My guest today, Shawn Stevenson, visits with me to talk about how to get started
00:00:08.860
on your own journey towards a healthy life, how to break through some of those plateaus,
00:00:13.020
and how to finally take control of your health and wellness.
00:00:16.080
You're a man of action. You live life to the fullest.
00:00:18.940
Embrace your fears and boldly chart your own path.
00:00:21.880
When life knocks you down, you get back up one more time, every time.
00:00:25.980
You are not easily deterred or defeated, rugged, resilient, strong.
00:00:33.920
This is who you will become at the end of the day.
00:00:36.620
And after all is said and done, you can call yourself a man.
00:00:43.360
I am Brian Mickler. I am the host and the founder of Order of Man.
00:00:46.600
And as always, I'm glad to be with you here today.
00:00:49.460
Now, we talk all things manly on this podcast, but specifically today,
00:00:53.280
we're going to be talking about health and wellness.
00:00:55.680
You know, I've been on a journey over the past several years,
00:00:57.820
and I can personally tell you that the level of health and wellness in your life
00:01:01.920
has a direct impact on every other aspect and element of your life.
00:01:07.460
Now, I want to make sure that you have all the resources and information
00:01:10.400
for later references as we get into this conversation.
00:01:12.580
So first, you can find the links, the resources, the best quotes,
00:01:16.900
and the overview of this show at orderofman.com slash 039.
00:01:22.160
And second, if you want to dig into this conversation a bit further beyond what we're
00:01:26.440
talking about on the podcast today, join us on our Facebook group.
00:01:29.760
We've got over 1300 guys having conversations about everything masculinity.
00:01:33.880
And specifically this week, we'll be talking about health and wellness.
00:01:36.420
You can do that at facebook.com slash groups slash order of man.
00:01:41.640
Now, you know this already, I'm sure, but I've set up a Patreon page for you
00:01:47.020
It is an opportunity for you to become more than just a listener of the show.
00:01:51.400
This is going to be laying the groundwork, the Patreon pages,
00:01:55.000
the groundwork for the membership to the order of man that we're going to be creating in 2016.
00:02:00.400
So I've updated some of the Patreon levels I want to make you aware of.
00:02:04.860
So make sure you head to patreon.com slash order of man.
00:02:13.740
We're going to be adding men to our wall of patrons, which is up now.
00:02:16.420
Hosting monthly Google Hangouts with the guys, giving away t-shirts.
00:02:21.580
There's an opportunity to be interviewed for a segment on this show.
00:02:24.760
Also for any of our patrons, I'm going to be giving a discount to a retreat
00:02:32.040
So if you're interested in that, you're interested in the discounts
00:02:34.300
and you're interested in becoming more than just a listener of the show,
00:02:44.600
Sean is a bestselling author, and he's also the creator of The Model Health Show.
00:02:49.880
Now this show is consistently featured as the number one health podcast in the country on iTunes.
00:02:56.740
Sean studied biology and kinesiology at the University of Missouri
00:03:00.140
and went on to start the Advanced Integrative Health Alliance,
00:03:04.320
a company that provides wellness services for individuals and organizations across the planet.
00:03:09.100
Sean's been featured in Men's Health Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, ESPN, Fox News,
00:03:16.420
He's also a frequent keynote speaker for numerous organizations, universities, and conferences.
00:03:21.240
All of them, of course, have outstanding reviews.
00:03:23.460
And he gives us some breaking news that he has not announced anywhere else,
00:03:27.480
so you will hear it first here on The Order of Man podcast.
00:03:36.420
This is part three of the conversations that we've had now,
00:03:39.600
so I'm stoked to be able to finish this and have a different conversation that we've had in the past
00:03:48.360
Brought a ton of value to the table, so I'm just hoping to do the same thing.
00:03:59.860
We're going to come with as much information as we can get the guys.
00:04:02.340
But tell me what you would say to a man who feels like,
00:04:06.320
you know what, I'm ready to take my health and my fitness and my nutrition,
00:04:10.640
whatever level I'm at, I want to take this to the next level.
00:04:14.560
What do you say to that guy who really is ready to do that?
00:04:20.420
You know, one is a mindset thing, and the other thing is a very tangible application.
00:04:25.640
I'll start with that one first because that's really where my wheelhouse is.
00:04:28.480
So even if they're on the couch right now or they're already, like, doing CrossFit workouts,
00:04:35.000
the first thing that I would say is look at specifically where you can upgrade things,
00:04:41.040
So maybe it's just upgrading some of your nutrition, you know.
00:04:44.560
And so maybe you know that you need to, looking at your own particular soft spots,
00:04:50.460
you know, maybe it's some thyroid function, maybe it's some insulin resistance,
00:04:54.140
you know, if you're carrying around a little bit of extra belly fat, and you look at those points
00:04:58.260
and say, what can I do here specifically to improve with my nutrition?
00:05:02.780
Well, you know, first and foremost, because for me, it's food first, you know.
00:05:06.580
And there's this big moniker out there that abs are made in the kitchen, you know.
00:05:10.180
And if people see my, you know, my podcast icon or whatever, you know.
00:05:14.320
I'm not the guy that's walking around with his shirt off or whatever, but that's what's on my icon.
00:05:18.680
And I'm not somebody that's sitting around doing sit-ups all the time, believe it or not.
00:05:22.340
You know, I'm doing heavy deadlifts, and I'm eating incredible real food, you know.
00:05:28.020
So if it's somebody with a thyroid thing, and maybe they've got a little bit of hypothyroidism,
00:05:32.340
maybe you can look at, hey, maybe my iodine is a little bit off or a little bit low.
00:05:37.680
So start adding in some kelp, you know, some kelp granules.
00:05:40.700
It's a sea veggie that basically if you sprinkle it on your food, it tastes kind of like salt
00:05:47.460
And so finding little spots like that that you can upgrade your nutrition by adding in.
00:05:52.640
Don't think about taking away because that tends to create a feeling of deprivation or restriction.
00:06:00.780
And as you add stuff in, it's probably going to start to crowd out some of the crap.
00:06:04.760
Yeah, that makes sense because it's probably – I mean, I know from personal experience
00:06:07.780
that it's stressful when you think, okay, I can't have any sugars.
00:06:12.140
And you start placing all these restrictions on yourself.
00:06:14.440
And I know that's stressful, especially if you're not used to these kind of changes.
00:06:19.960
You know, we get into this tug of war with your willpower versus your biology.
00:06:26.520
So when you fortify your biology – and so one of those things is understanding the relationship
00:06:30.520
between these two hormones, leptin and ghrelin.
00:06:37.720
And so when leptin is activated properly and your leptin receptor sites are working,
00:06:44.060
So you feel like you don't have to go and crush that pizza, you know.
00:06:47.220
But if leptin is screwed up and the other one, which is ghrelin, it's the hunger hormone,
00:06:51.700
if that's kind of just ravenous and constantly being secreted in your system,
00:06:55.860
you're going to want to just tear down a whole buffet, you know.
00:06:59.640
And no matter what you eat, it's just not going to be good enough.
00:07:02.060
But the thing about eating real food, so upgrading your nutrition profile,
00:07:05.280
because there's something I always want people to take away whenever we talk about nutrition
00:07:09.240
is that this needs to be, like, printed on the top of this sheet of paper you're taking notes with
00:07:22.080
Nutrient deficiency leads to chronic overeating.
00:07:26.960
Nutrient deficiency leads to chronic overeating.
00:07:29.320
When you're continuously just feeling like I've got to crush whatever it is and just
00:07:34.140
all hungry all the time, chances are more than like, we're talking like 99.999% probability
00:07:40.980
that you're deficient in certain key elements, you know.
00:07:45.560
And so what your body's doing by continuously turning on that hunger signal is giving basically
00:07:51.880
a cry to go and get these nutrients and to rebuild your tissues.
00:07:55.240
You know, it's, you don't get just, you don't get hungry for no reason.
00:07:57.760
Like, your body has this evolutionary push of hunger to bring in building blocks to build
00:08:04.020
Like, your house, your body's like a house and you can build your house out of like bubble
00:08:08.380
gum and sticks or you can build it out of like brick and mortar, like real powerful raw
00:08:16.480
If you're providing your body that stuff, you find that your hunger is in check and you
00:08:19.300
naturally start to gravitate towards foods that are more of the health-giving nature and
00:08:28.900
I mean, there's so many different things that you could actually be struggling with or not
00:08:35.500
Well, if people don't want to get into the more cost-intensive way about that, you know,
00:08:41.260
just make sure that you're eating real food and eating a wide variety of foods.
00:08:47.080
So we're talking about, you know, lots of colors.
00:08:49.760
And colors are an indication of the antioxidant content that's in food.
00:08:53.300
So when people even hear about antioxidants, like, what is it?
00:08:58.740
But antioxidants basically stop oxidation or prevent an oxidative kind of explosion from
00:09:04.300
happening in your cells, which basically makes you die a little bit.
00:09:09.580
Minerals is something that we're talking about right now, being deficient in minerals.
00:09:18.260
They're earth element, and you're made of a lot of minerals.
00:09:22.340
So when you're trying to, when somebody looks at you, they're seeing minerals or lack thereof,
00:09:27.800
and also protein because you're a protein machine.
00:09:30.160
But if you're deficient in any of these minerals, your body starts to have some serious kind of
00:09:38.540
But the other part is, hey, if you want to invest the dollar, you can just get tests done.
00:09:50.560
Also, it'd probably be advantageous to do a stool test, you know, and maybe a hair analysis
00:10:00.840
So there's so many different tests you can take.
00:10:02.460
And I wouldn't just put all my eggs into one basket on any one of those tests.
00:10:06.400
But you can get a comprehensive overview of that stuff if you get, if you work with an
00:10:10.760
intelligent enough practitioner in those fields.
00:10:13.640
So you can actually just, you don't have to throw stuff in the dark and see if anything
00:10:19.860
And it's really important for, and for me personally, I'd rather go with, hey, just make
00:10:25.200
sure you're covering all your bases first and foremost by eating a wide variety of foods,
00:10:29.860
eating real food, doing a little bit of supplementation.
00:10:33.540
First and foremost, with concentrated food supplements.
00:10:36.320
So things like kelp that I mentioned earlier, spirulina, some hemp seeds, you know, doing
00:10:44.680
some fish oil, some fermented cod liver oil, like that kind of stuff.
00:10:48.620
These are supplements, but they're pretty food based.
00:10:51.520
And then we can get into the conversation about supplements later.
00:10:56.840
And if you still think you've got some potential holes in your game, then get stuff tested.
00:11:01.260
I like that you talk about nutrition first as being one of the foundations.
00:11:06.180
I don't know if you know this based on our previous conversations, but a couple of years
00:11:09.140
ago, I actually weighed 50 pounds more than what I weigh today.
00:11:12.000
And I feel like even right now that I'm a little bit at a plateau with my level of health.
00:11:19.040
And the reason I feel like that is, is because I'll go to the gym and work my tail off as often
00:11:27.200
But when I come home, I don't, I still don't really eat all that well.
00:11:31.200
And so I've heard the phrase and the phrase keeps coming to my mind, which is you can't
00:11:36.700
So I really appreciate what you're saying, which is, this is for me.
00:11:40.920
I need to take all this stuff to heart for sure.
00:11:43.700
And I've seen this over the years, you know, I, it marvels me how little I actually work
00:11:48.560
out, you know, and I love working out, but I'm doing so many other things.
00:11:52.720
But because of the way that I eat, it's just like my body just doesn't require that.
00:11:56.820
Whereas when I was 19, 20 years old, like I'm hammering McDonald's down, like it's
00:12:02.200
going out of style, you know, and, and building muscle that way.
00:12:06.380
But if I would miss workouts, I would feel horrible.
00:12:09.320
My muscle would start, like my, my abs would start to get blurry really quickly.
00:12:13.480
You know, like I was, my body was dependent on keep trying to regenerate these very crappy
00:12:19.180
tissues and make my, make my tissues out of garbage.
00:12:22.720
But when you make your body out of real things, it makes it so much easier and more sustainable.
00:12:28.740
But the other thing too, that mindset piece, I'll just drop really, really quickly.
00:12:32.500
And then we can talk about it as well, is when you're, when you're like really ready and
00:12:37.740
willing to step up and take things to the next level, it's one thing to kind of, to say
00:12:42.740
that it's another thing to actually do something about it.
00:12:46.120
And for me, it really boils down to having a specific action item, you know, so this can't
00:12:54.480
You know, people talk about setting goals, but having a very specific goal because your
00:13:00.800
So it's like, yeah, I want to take stuff to the next level.
00:13:06.360
Everybody wants to be healthier, but you got to define it, right?
00:13:09.440
Like if you say, I want to be healthy, I want to lose some weight.
00:13:12.840
You know, I could throw a, one of those sauna suits on you and make you run around the
00:13:16.480
block, you know what I'm saying, for a couple of times.
00:13:19.340
I remember that from the days of high school wrestling, when we were garbage sacks around
00:13:25.440
And I just talked with Ronda Rousey's trainer, Mike Dolce.
00:13:30.840
Yeah, and so, you know, he's all, like he's immersed in that world, you know, but that's
00:13:37.000
false, you know, like that's not really weight loss.
00:13:48.680
Or should I say in fat, in body fat, how many pounds of fat do you want to lose?
00:13:53.060
Get specific because your brain really operates.
00:13:59.400
You have something called the reticular activating system or the RAS.
00:14:05.960
And this is how, and everybody's had this happen.
00:14:09.520
You get a new car and you start to see that car everywhere.
00:14:14.120
And the thing was, the cars were already there before, but.
00:14:18.820
So now your brain is scanning, seeking because it's top of mind, you know?
00:14:22.320
So you give your brain specifics because it looks for specifics.
00:14:25.560
And if you, and I'm pretty sure, just based on my experience and I'm having that unique
00:14:31.300
opportunity to work with a couple thousand people, you get, you're going to get what
00:14:35.020
you ask for more often than not, you know, specifically what you ask for.
00:14:39.220
But if you're not being specific, then you can already forget about it from step one.
00:14:43.000
But then comes the other part that a lot of people are not doing, which is once you get
00:14:47.900
specific, taking action in that direction on a consistent basis.
00:14:51.300
And so that means for me, it doesn't mean you got to go and kill yourself every day trying
00:14:57.200
It means just making even a little bit of progress every day because you're either growing or
00:15:03.540
Better said, you're either moving forwards or you're going backwards.
00:15:08.500
So even if you move forward just a little bit every day, you're getting closer and closer
00:15:12.680
to making that very specific, tangible goal a reality.
00:15:17.280
I really like, I listened to your interview that you just did with Ben Greenfield and I
00:15:21.360
really liked the discussion that you guys were having.
00:15:23.440
You talked about, I think he specifically mentioned Spartan races and having something that he's
00:15:30.920
I know when he said that, that resonated perfectly with me because that's what I did.
00:15:36.560
And if I have something that I'm actually working towards and working for, I'm more
00:15:41.060
likely to accomplish those things as well when it comes to the mindset.
00:15:45.000
And it's really what this stuff really boils down to is you understanding your own psychology.
00:15:52.360
You know, like this is a basic psychology questions.
00:15:56.060
Like, are you more motivated by pain or pleasure?
00:15:59.640
Like, and so the carrot or the stick that's basically like dangling the carrot in front of the
00:16:04.920
Or do you got to hit the donkey with the stick with pain?
00:16:11.940
You know, like I don't like people telling me what to do necessarily.
00:16:15.680
I don't, I don't really subscribe to, I don't like the, even the negative talk.
00:16:20.220
I know there's negative situations, but I deal with them and process them within myself because
00:16:27.620
So for some people, you know, and just understanding some basic psychology, but then we can grow
00:16:34.080
So we talked about on the show, Ben is somebody like, I want to have something on the board
00:16:37.940
in front of me so that I know that I've got something to work towards.
00:16:41.320
Whereas for me, I'm more, I'm more right now results based.
00:16:46.860
You know, there are very specific things that I want within myself.
00:16:53.740
I want to have massive energy to be able to play with my kids, even at the end of the
00:16:58.360
day, when I'm tired, you know, when I'm supposed to be tired, I want to be able to think clearly
00:17:04.740
You know, I'm, I'm fit so that, you know, just to be very authentic about this particular
00:17:10.940
thing, being somebody who's in the public eye, I want to look the part, you know, I want
00:17:16.240
to make sure that when people see me, they're like, oh, he has the thing, you know, whatever
00:17:20.000
it is he's talking about, he has the thing, you know, because I'm not like a, I'm not
00:17:23.800
the guy on my, like my podcast icon to walk around with his shirt off, but I want to make
00:17:28.380
sure that if the moment came to it and this is like, you're on national TV, we want to
00:17:33.480
prove that those abs are not airbrushed, you know, take your shirt off, that I can do it.
00:17:38.080
You know, I want to be ready for whatever situation manifests.
00:17:41.320
And, you know, so I have those little pin, um, uh, pinpoints in my mind about what that
00:17:45.980
And so just being ready at all times, photo shoot, ready to be ready to do any type of
00:17:51.160
physical, uh, activity that might be called for.
00:17:53.620
Maybe we do just, Hey, we're going to go for a hike.
00:17:56.080
Hey, we're going to do this crazy CrossFit workout.
00:17:58.920
Hey, we're going to, and I want to be capable, you know?
00:18:02.940
I'm really glad you talk about looking the part because one of the key elements that we
00:18:07.280
talk about of, of masculinity and being a man is style.
00:18:10.900
The way that you come across the way you show up and with you, it ties together, obviously
00:18:15.820
with the health component that we talk about as well.
00:18:18.320
But we talk about this all the time is you've got to be congruent with your message.
00:18:21.660
You've got to be congruent with who you are and people are going to view you and make judgments
00:18:26.300
about you based on your style, the way you show up, the way you communicate, the way you
00:18:33.100
And for you, obviously that's a credibility booster.
00:18:35.640
If you were out of shape or you were tired from a little, you know, minor exercise, what's
00:18:40.380
that going to say to your credibility when it comes to talking about people with their
00:18:47.120
And, you know, this is what we really need today is, you know, we, we live at the time
00:18:53.220
Like there's so much stuff going on, so much stuff coming at us.
00:18:56.320
And our BS meter is just like super spot on for people, you know, it's just like we can
00:19:02.600
So what we want to do as authentic men is to understand that transparency is the name
00:19:10.780
So even like whatever weird skeletons are in the closet, like the closet is in, like it's
00:19:16.280
Like people can see in the closet, bro, you know?
00:19:18.260
So just understand, like, you just want to be more of yourself and express more of yourself
00:19:23.160
and to make sure that you're being congruent with who you portray yourself to be.
00:19:29.200
You know, if you're, if you're putting on an act, you know, if you were, if you, and
00:19:34.280
we, the thing is, you know, we all modulate and change based on the environment we're in.
00:19:41.620
So, because people have a certain, they have a work personality, you know, and they have
00:19:49.360
But hopefully they have a net, like you're not doing a complete 180, you know?
00:19:53.760
And you're showing up at work as the nicest guy ever.
00:19:56.000
Then you're getting home and the first thing you do is kick your dog, you know what I'm
00:19:59.760
So we want to be, be congruent as possible to just demonstrate who we are, to really step
00:20:07.100
into those shoes, to walk our talk is really what I want to get to is just, that's what
00:20:13.140
More so than ever is because everybody can, if you've got a Facebook page, you're a brand,
00:20:19.940
So more than ever, people can falsify who they are, you know?
00:20:23.300
And there is some validity to fake it till you make it kind of thing.
00:20:26.300
But at the end of the day, you got to walk your talk, you know?
00:20:29.440
And that's what I really feel is important as a characteristic for a man in today's environment.
00:20:35.660
I want to go back to something that you were talking about when it comes to that you're
00:20:41.360
What are some of the rewards that you personally set up for yourself to keep yourself motivated
00:20:48.580
So some of the things that are really motivating me now is, oh man, I mean, this is like, it's
00:20:57.500
And I remember, I don't think I've shared this story yet, but I remember-
00:21:04.640
Well, I remember when, it depends on how quickly you get this show out.
00:21:08.420
I'm going to have to get it up quick now before somebody else steals the thunder.
00:21:12.180
Oh man, I mean, it's a small thing, but when I was a kid, when I was in third grade, maybe
00:21:17.820
I was in fourth grade, but I remember walking home from my bus stop and I saw this huge,
00:21:23.420
and I lived in a, you know, it wasn't the best neighborhood, but there was this huge pink
00:21:33.580
And I was just like, wow, I mean, this is really cool.
00:21:35.980
And I took that bear home and I gave it to my mom slash my sister, ended up with it, you
00:21:42.640
know, so it ended up being my sister's pink bear.
00:21:44.920
And it was bigger than she was because maybe she was like one year old at the time, maybe
00:21:50.540
And so, but my aunt, my aunt was the first one in our family to graduate from college.
00:21:57.120
And she actually ended up writing a book that got published.
00:22:02.020
She was like a kid's book and I need to go and look this up because it's the first time
00:22:05.380
I'm thinking of talking about this in so long, but it's called Michi and the Pink Bear.
00:22:12.440
And I just, when she wrote this book, I just was like, I want to do that.
00:22:18.960
And it became this thing that it definitely got covered up over the years, you know, going
00:22:22.940
to school and, you know, you trying to express yourself in writing style and some teachers
00:22:29.320
And in some, I remember I had an eighth grade teacher was another kind of paramount moment
00:22:34.760
And she published, we did this project on poetry and she published one of my poems in the school
00:22:38.840
newspaper and it just gave me so much confidence.
00:22:42.440
And I kind of lost track over that again through the years, going through health problems and
00:22:46.880
just struggles with, you know, problems in school, you know, getting in trouble, things
00:22:53.000
I lost track of how passionate I was about this, but it rekindled.
00:22:56.280
And I recently agreed to a incredible, like, it doesn't even make any sense, a book deal
00:23:01.420
with Rodale, who they're huge in the wellness space.
00:23:05.360
Men's Health Magazine, you know, Women's Health Magazine, Runner's Magazine.
00:23:10.740
That's actually why I was working so hard today is I'm doing an article for Women's Health
00:23:14.640
Magazine today that was just so out of the blue and I've just been crushing myself to
00:23:19.560
But anyway, so right now, what's motivating me is having this book when it comes out in
00:23:28.100
March 2016 to be a New York Times bestselling book, you know, to be a number one New York
00:23:40.440
You know, but again, I'm the reward, you know, like I don't care.
00:23:45.260
Like, number one, if I just even scratch the bottom of the list, shooting for the moon,
00:23:51.200
at least you hit the stars kind of thing, you know?
00:23:56.380
This is another thing that really motivates me.
00:24:00.120
Of course, I would love to make my family proud to honor my aunt who wrote that book,
00:24:06.040
who inspired me to just see that look in her eyes, you know, being proud of me for making
00:24:14.520
I want to change the landscape of health on this planet.
00:24:17.380
And not just, and when I say I, it's a bigger I, you know?
00:24:21.780
I can't do this without a lot more people, us working together to change how things are
00:24:27.500
Because stuff is like, it's not very good right now, you know?
00:24:34.080
And I feel that I'm a part of this huge shift that people are going to look back on and
00:24:38.400
decades from now just be like, that was the dark ages of health, you know?
00:24:47.340
Like, these books came along and changed the conversation.
00:24:51.340
And they got people to tune back into their own health and their own body.
00:24:54.620
And they showed up as better people for themselves and for other people.
00:25:00.120
And that's really what motivates me, kind of just gets me up out of bed every day, just
00:25:10.960
And you just make sure you let us know how we can support you.
00:25:13.040
Because we want to help and we want to support you.
00:25:14.560
And I know your message is something that I'm interested in.
00:25:16.960
And it's a message that a lot of the guys that are listening are interested in.
00:25:20.460
So however we can support you, we want to do that.
00:25:25.820
This is the first time I spoke it out loud right here, man.
00:25:27.980
All right, I'm going to get this episode out quick then.
00:25:30.820
So how do you, why is it that men become unmotivated?
00:25:35.960
And this is actually pretty timely because right around the beginning of the year, we
00:25:39.520
always have these New York, New Year's goals and New Year's resolutions of, hey, I'm going
00:25:49.260
And then a week later or four weeks later, if you're lucky, you forget all about that.
00:25:53.620
Why do we lose track or lose sight of what we once thought was really important for us?
00:25:59.040
We just talked about this on the Good Dad Project.
00:26:02.660
And this episode, I think it's coming out in a couple of weeks.
00:26:05.300
But I went in and talked about there's a difference between motivation and inspiration.
00:26:11.560
It's different in our lexicon, in the words that we use, but the meaning is different and
00:26:16.320
You know, motivation is like, it's something external, you know, it's something that can
00:26:25.500
But it's very, it has this ebb and flow, you know, it's very in and out.
00:26:33.620
Whereas inspiration, what that word means is in spirit, you know, and it's kind of this
00:26:38.840
internal fire that you have, you know, whereas the external motivation, I think that that can
00:26:44.740
kindle the fire, you know, it can can make the fire, you know, kind of warm up a little
00:26:49.980
But that entire that internal fire has to be there, you know, and everybody is it has
00:26:55.000
we all have different aspirations and inspirations, you know, so it's tuning in and finding out
00:27:06.740
Do I have a fire for actually being healthy and fit, you know, or is it just like that's
00:27:11.100
somebody else's bag and I'm just going to go and hang out at McDonald's or I
00:27:14.700
right now and give me a Big Mac, you know, like, you got to be honest about this.
00:27:21.140
And chances are, if you're listening to this podcast, then it is, you know, so understanding
00:27:26.480
So number one, inspiration, and it's helping to kindle that fire by the external motivation
00:27:35.300
I love this word immersion, immersing yourself in the things that help to keep reminding you
00:27:40.420
of how powerful you are, to keep reminding you of how important this moment is for you
00:27:47.600
What's so demotivating is the number one thing as human beings, our number one driving
00:27:52.780
force is to stay congruent with the ideas that we carry of ourselves.
00:27:56.660
So when you start to step outside of that paradigm, you're going to get hit with pain, like it's
00:28:00.880
going to feel uncomfortable and it's not going to feel good because you're stretching yourself
00:28:05.340
outside of your reality that you're comfortable in, you know, so when that resistance starts
00:28:10.360
to show up, so maybe it's like I've been going to the gym consistently for a month and
00:28:14.100
eating great food and now I'm on my way to the gym and I got a flat tire.
00:28:19.580
Matter of fact, well then now I can't go for the next week because now, you know, and then,
00:28:24.180
you know, now I've got this thing with my face and then all of a sudden it's been a
00:28:27.340
month and you're back hating yourself and beating yourself up because you fell off the wagon,
00:28:35.720
Now here's the thing, man, that wagon, like this whole idea of falling off the wagon,
00:28:40.640
like some people fall off the wagon and they just stay there.
00:28:43.660
It's just never get back up, never get back on.
00:28:46.400
You need to have like some ninja moves that when you touch the ground, like boom, I'm
00:28:52.840
I'm driving, I'm ghost riding the wagon, you know?
00:28:56.040
And so you can really start to modulate because you continuously have that external motivation
00:29:03.720
So immerse yourself in things that keep you on track, you know, powerful messages like
00:29:08.320
this podcast, you know, whatever it is, inspirational videos, reading, you know, you got to get yourself
00:29:15.220
surrounded by people who are already where you want to be.
00:29:18.220
That's why people get demotivated is they get disconnected when they start to hit up against
00:29:23.800
that struggle or that discomfort of going outside their paradigm and problems inherently show
00:29:30.500
It usually generally are very small problems, but the more and more we ignore those things,
00:29:35.400
they get bigger and bigger and bigger and more difficult to overcome.
00:29:38.880
So what I'm wanting to do too, even with some of the stuff we're talking about today is instead
00:29:43.620
of hitting rock bottom, which I did, getting people to create their own rock bottom so they
00:29:48.520
don't have to actually hit the real rock bottom, you know, and getting irritated and getting
00:29:53.640
fed up and getting just completely done with the fact of where they are right now, like
00:29:59.500
I'm so over it, I'm finished with this, you know?
00:30:02.720
And so you create your own discomfort so that life doesn't have to do it for you because
00:30:07.560
here's the thing, Ryan, and you know this, like if there's something we have to do, like
00:30:12.580
if it's for the health of our child or if it's like taking care of a certain bill and we don't
00:30:19.200
have the money, we will find a way if it's necessary, you know, if it's truly like do
00:30:25.780
We always find a way, you know, even if we don't have it.
00:30:29.080
But the thing is we don't do that for these other things because they're not pressing,
00:30:32.440
you know, it's just kind of like, it would be nice if, you know, I had a six pack or
00:30:37.940
It would be nice if, you know, instead of just like do or die, this is a must.
00:30:46.000
You know, I can't live like this anymore, you know, and you get fed up.
00:30:49.120
And you create that, but then you go into the immersion that we've been talking about
00:30:52.780
so that you can break through and the demotivation naturally happens.
00:30:59.140
I remember, and my story was actually very similar to something you said.
00:31:01.900
I remember coming home one night and my boys jumping on me, dad, let's go do this.
00:31:15.320
And that was the moment that I just thought, this is not cool.
00:31:19.380
Like I cannot be the kind of dad that I really want to be if I continue to go down this path.
00:31:24.780
And I remember the moment that I felt like I had actually turned the corner
00:31:29.140
is my boys asked me to go jump on the trampoline with them.
00:31:37.780
And it was so cool to know that they got tired before I did.
00:31:43.840
So I want to talk about some of the other pitfalls that we as men should avoid or be wary of,
00:31:50.360
and at least be able to recognize when it comes to getting in better shape and the right nutrition
00:31:57.960
What are some common missteps that you see people are making in their path to become healthier?
00:32:08.200
You know, I think one of the just foundational things that a lot of people have been victim
00:32:12.800
to is listening to ideas, concepts, theories, hypothesis, a hypothesis of something regarding
00:32:29.140
So people buying into, like we did for so long, and it was not based on solid science
00:32:37.160
You know, where the basis of your diet should be 7 to 11 servings of grains every single
00:32:42.120
day, you know, and that should be the foundation of what you're eating.
00:32:46.080
Not really understanding or people having the common knowledge that grains will inherently,
00:32:52.580
it's a carbohydrate-based food, so they will inherently spike your insulin more so than
00:32:56.900
And insulin is your body's number one fat-storing hormone.
00:32:59.360
So chances are you're going to be storing a lot more fat a lot easier, you know.
00:33:03.600
And so if we want to lose weight, I need to eat 7 to 11 servings of this stuff.
00:33:07.680
And also, are you a fast oxidizer or a slow oxidizer?
00:33:11.660
You know, like basic stuff like this, if we look at some more stuff along the lines of
00:33:16.540
And so somebody who's a fast oxidizer, they burn through energy very quickly.
00:33:21.280
So if I'm a fast oxidizer and I'm basing my diet on a high-carbohydrate diet, I'm going
00:33:26.320
to keep on, I'm going to just, again, be ravenous.
00:33:32.300
And so because I'm burning through this, and this is, I'm a fast oxidizer.
00:33:37.920
And so for me, I need to eat a higher-fat diet because it's more of a slow-burning fuel.
00:33:42.860
You want to think about your metabolism as like, you know, your metabolism is another fire
00:33:46.880
that's within you, and eating carbohydrates is like throwing some paper onto that fire.
00:33:51.500
It's going to burn really brightly for just a second, but then it's going to be gone.
00:33:55.020
You know, protein is sort of right in the middle.
00:33:57.260
Fats are like putting a big, heavy log on the fire.
00:33:59.720
It's not going to burn really hot, really bright, but it's going to burn steady for a
00:34:05.700
So understanding whether or not you're a fast or slow oxidizer, that's going to dictate
00:34:12.120
You know, basic stuff like this, but chances are it's still across the board.
00:34:15.760
Eating 7 to 11 servings of, quote, healthy whole grains, which they put that on freaking
00:34:20.800
frosted mini wheats or, you know, like Cocoa Pebbles, like whole grains, you know.
00:34:26.340
And so I was eating that stuff too, man, because it's just like, oh, yeah, this is whole grain,
00:34:31.220
You know, so buying into the marketing, buying into the popular paradigms regarding health,
00:34:35.920
and this is what happened with me that changed everything, is that I just stepped back and
00:34:42.660
It's like, so many people are doing this, but it's not working.
00:34:49.500
And this is just like that whole thing with the definition of insanity so many people have
00:34:54.500
heard before, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
00:35:00.020
And it's just like, we've gone insane as a society when it comes to nutrition and diet,
00:35:07.020
We bought into information and faux science and stuff that doesn't actually work and hold
00:35:13.660
So that's one of the biggest things that comes to mind immediately.
00:35:19.760
Because if I typed in right now, if I typed in health or exercise or nutrition or fitness,
00:35:25.300
it would literally come up with a trillion results.
00:35:29.040
And there's, I don't know how many podcasts in the health and fitness space, just like
00:35:36.120
there's a ton of podcasts in the masculinity space that we're talking about.
00:35:40.260
So how does a guy say, all right, this is something worth listening to.
00:35:51.220
You know, I think it's actually, even though it's harder than ever today, in ways it's
00:35:55.200
easier than ever, you know, because the cream rises to the top, you know?
00:36:00.900
So paying attention to the people who have the results and who've gotten those results
00:36:06.100
But here's the caveat, in ways that feel good to you, that resonate with you, because there
00:36:11.720
are people out there who are fit and they've got people fit by having them work out for 30
00:36:16.200
minutes a day doing like insane, like crazy exercise, just beating themselves down and
00:36:23.780
then causing like, um, some reverse cortisol issues later on down the line that makes it
00:36:29.200
almost impossible for them to lose weight once they gain it back, you know?
00:36:33.060
So like, it's understanding like, does that what I want?
00:36:38.980
And if you, because some people that's, that's what they want to do.
00:36:41.820
And if people have the result and they've gotten the result for other people, go for it.
00:36:46.060
If that's what feels good to you, but that's what it's really about is looking to the person
00:36:51.180
Do you actually look like what you're talking about and what have you done for other people?
00:36:56.480
You know, and that's more obvious and easy to find out today.
00:36:59.140
You know, when you look at the top health experts and here's another little secret, let's just,
00:37:06.840
If you go to iTunes and you look at the health chart, top of the chart, you're always at the
00:37:11.860
And then you've got Jillian Michaels right there.
00:37:18.700
You know, a lot of people in my, in my niche, especially who are more geared towards, you
00:37:22.920
know, real food, smart exercise, great sleep, all the basic human stuff that your genes expect
00:37:29.080
of you have this beef with Jillian Michaels because it's just like the biggest loser TV,
00:37:34.320
messing people up, calling, you know, you idiot, get up.
00:37:39.120
But there's a lot more, I mean, she's on TV, so there's a lot more fluff, you know.
00:37:43.620
Of course, there has to be, it has to be entertaining.
00:37:45.660
But chances are she's not going to get to that level of success if she doesn't care to
00:37:53.980
She started off in the game teaching the crap that I was just talking about, which is,
00:37:58.740
you know, eating a high carbohydrate diet, low fat and all this stuff.
00:38:02.200
But she's been in the public eye longer because right now she's gradually shifting her, her
00:38:07.900
message, you know, and like organic kale chips, seaweed, you know, like she's, because if you're
00:38:15.840
going to get to the top and stay at the top, you've got to do what works, you know, and
00:38:20.900
as more people like myself who have just kind of come to the forefront, Abel James, Ben Greenfield,
00:38:28.440
we were just talking about, once we start really coming to the forefront, like people
00:38:32.400
can choose and say, hey, you know what, what he's saying makes a lot more sense, Jillian,
00:38:39.380
It's like, you better get with the program or better yet get with the D program, you know,
00:38:46.260
And I remember that line, like this guy, David Wolf, who's like a raw food guy.
00:38:50.420
He said that as just like, absolutely, you just said it, bro.
00:38:54.100
And so this is what we have to really pay attention to.
00:39:04.640
And that's kind of what I pride myself on, man, as you know, this is just making this
00:39:08.820
complex biology, biochemistry, very attainable and easy.
00:39:18.540
You know, it's just like, that's because that's who I am.
00:39:21.280
You know, I don't want to be standing here like I'm a billion times better than you.
00:39:25.720
I might be a little bit cooler than you, but that's okay.
00:39:31.200
And so, you know, just being somebody who's like a cool friend, like somebody who you can,
00:39:36.100
like, you can trust me that I'm not going to have you do something that's ridiculously
00:39:42.980
Like, I'm going to do a lot of the homework before I come and even talk to you.
00:39:46.520
So I'm going to present you with the best information in a way that's cool, fun.
00:39:51.840
Matter of fact, you're not even going to really trip off the fact that you're learning.
00:40:05.720
Look at all these other people that he's helped.
00:40:09.680
And that's the reason I like listening to your show.
00:40:11.320
I think a lot of times when people want to get started with better nutrition or better
00:40:17.560
fitness, you know, they sit on the fence, they get all the information, then they get
00:40:20.780
so overwhelmed with all of the technicalities that they end up never taking action.
00:40:25.040
So I really appreciate you breaking this down for us and making it simple.
00:40:28.040
And I want to give because we're scratching the surface, right?
00:40:30.700
So I want to give all the guys that are listening an opportunity to connect with you.
00:40:35.840
I want to ask you a couple other questions as we do.
00:40:38.640
And then, like I said, I'm going to give you the opportunity to share with us how we get
00:40:41.720
in touch with you and find out more about what you're doing.
00:40:43.940
But before I do that, I want to know from your perspective, what does it mean to be
00:40:51.520
It's exactly what I said earlier, walking your talk.
00:40:55.200
That's a man to me, you know, somebody that whether right or wrong, you stand for what
00:41:00.800
you believe in, you walk your talk, you're not just telling everybody, it's not just the
00:41:05.120
audio, you know, you got the video to go along with it, you know?
00:41:08.720
So when people see you, you're doing the things that you talk about.
00:41:12.680
You're not going to see Sean at the airport, like sipping on a Diet Pepsi, you know what
00:41:20.480
And if it is happening, then chances are I'm being held hostage, you know what I'm saying?
00:41:25.420
And somebody, you know, but even in that context, it's like, I'm still good on the Diet Pepsi.
00:41:29.980
But just understand, you know, we got to walk our talk.
00:41:32.820
We got to be the man that we say we are, you know, first of all, within ourselves.
00:41:39.300
When you actually know that you are the person that you say you are.
00:41:47.100
You know, people are just going to know when they see you.
00:41:49.280
They're just going to know when they're around you, you know?
00:41:57.480
How do we find out about the podcast, connect with you, go to your website?
00:42:02.160
Well, just where everybody's listening to this episode, this podcast, this incredible
00:42:05.920
podcast, they can just check out The Model Health Show.
00:42:12.400
And just type it into the search box or just check the top of the charts.
00:42:21.960
I'm very, I'm just blown away to be able to say that because that show started off as
00:42:25.140
an idea, you know, and to see it grow to this level.
00:42:30.400
And I think that it just ties back to, again, what we're talking about is walking the talk
00:42:36.460
And so people could check me out there or you can go to themodelhealthshow.com and the
00:42:42.040
Also, we do some videos so you can be in the studio with us.
00:42:46.600
I'm really late to the game in social media, man.
00:42:48.520
But I'm at Sean Model, S-H-A-W-N-M-O-D-E-L on Instagram and same thing on Twitter.
00:42:57.100
I'm very active on Instagram and connecting with people.
00:43:04.180
Like I've got two teenagers like three years ago and I was like, I'll never, you know?
00:43:11.760
Oh man, we got to, again, we got to get with the deprogram, man.
00:43:20.580
So those are the way people that people can connect with me.
00:43:23.760
And again, themodelhealthshow.com is where my kind of home online is.
00:43:36.680
I appreciate your wisdom and what you've done for me and my fitness as well as I know the
00:43:41.200
guys that are listening to this are going to get some value as well.
00:43:47.980
Mr. Sean Stevenson talking with us about how to take your health to the next level and
00:43:53.300
His podcast and the information he shared today has been so valuable as I've set out on my
00:43:59.460
So I encourage you to check him out and what he's doing.
00:44:01.940
If you want to dig into that, again, you can head to orderofman.com slash 039.
00:44:05.240
You'll get the access to the links and the resources and the highlights from the show.
00:44:09.260
And then again, if you want to have a further discussion about this, go to our Facebook group,
00:44:17.020
Again, we're going to continue the conversation with over 1300 men about health and wellness
00:44:25.060
Last thing, if you want to learn more about how you can help the show and become more involved
00:44:28.500
with the order, head to Patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N, patreon.com slash order of man.
00:44:36.680
Again, the wall of patrons, monthly Google hangouts, t-shirts, an opportunity to be interviewed
00:44:42.140
And of course, the discount to the retreat that we're going to be announcing next week.
00:44:47.380
Now, next week, I also have a conversation with a man who has been extremely successful
00:44:51.860
He does not pull any punches when it comes to telling men how the world really works.
00:44:56.760
This is a man most people either absolutely hate or absolutely love.
00:45:00.960
But I promise if you tune in, you will begin to think differently about some of the things
00:45:06.140
Guys, I look forward to talking to you next week.
00:45:08.420
But until then, take action and become the man you were meant to be.
00:45:12.320
Thank you for listening to the order of man podcast.
00:45:15.300
You're ready to take charge of your life and be more of a man you were meant to be.
00:45:18.980
We invite you to join the order at order of man.com.