On Zero-to-Hero Transformations (#155)

Love it Tim. Keep these Q&As coming.

I wonder if the Johns Hopkins research on treatment for depression might include mindfulness therapy: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2016/04/27/Mindfulness-therapy-may-help-ease-recurrent-depression/4191461802676/

Tim,

By mixing in your podcast with my daily commute, my work days start and end with wonder, laughter, and excitement. I’m sure people are getting annoyed by my Tim Ferriss said… Tim Ferriss was talking to… but they get over it as soon as they listen! I love the interviews, but this episode had me responding out loud in my car. Yet again, I found myself wishing I wasn’t driving so I could take notes (thank you for the bulleted list of links). I agree with others, this is a worthwhile format, revisit again, please.

Looking forward to your interview with Angela Duckworth (I’m assuming, I know she has a book coming out on Grit). Loved her TED talk on Grit and shared it with all my colleagues. As a teacher I am always looking for ways to help my students find passion, learn deeply and quickly, and persevere. I truly believe accomplishing these goals will grow future problem solvers, artists, and doers.

Thanks for being vulnerable with us, “Am I long winded?” That made me chuckle.

Sincerely,

Nicole

I really enjoy the mix of long form interviews as well as your shorter and experimental episodes. Keep up the good work and thank you for what you share with the world.

Just curious… Is anybody doing a documentary about you????

Tim, I really like the solo format.

I noticed that when you do solo shows, they always leave me with 4 – 5 practical insights vs. 1 – 2 on guest shows. (I think the reason might be that solo shows go deeper as the audience already has the background on who you are and what you are about whereas guests have to be introduced first and thereby are more narrative-heavy)

I really liked the solo format. Thanks. Keep on doing these.

Hi Tim this is a letter I have had in mind for years. Some loving, constructive feedback largely directed toward four hour body book. It’s direct but it’s loving! Okay:

1. you claim that aspartame and artificial sweeteners in general ‘don’t appear’ to affect fat loss, and that you are ‘a diet coke whore, you just can’t help it’ but essentially saying it doesn’t matter. I have always been extremely upset by this and feel it quite irresponsible.

Artificial sweeteners are the most toxic substance ever consumed en masse in the history of the human race. And – you have SO many people taking your word at face value and trusting you as the expert – are you certain of everything you say? thirdly, the research is that aspartame and neotame and all the rest absolutely DO lock in fat and make fat loss WAY more difficult. It’s like the golden key for many people: get off the artifical sweeteners and suddenly fat that wouldn’t shift for months and years just goes. And Tim – as you for you – you MUST stop all artificial sweeteners, educate yourself as to their names and their various guises (disguises) and THEN tell EVERYONE to stay far away. Really, man. Come on. Do a whole podcast on just that. You have to. You can change millions of peoples health in an instant with that advice.

2. You never mentioned iodine support and liver cleansing (proper) for weight loss. Both are essential if it’s going to work . A sluggish thyroid or a toxic liver – which lets face it, is all fat people – is going to prevent weight loss. On the other hand you made the mistake of heavily promoting cruciferous vegetables which include the brassica family – all heavily thyroid inhibiting. As a note – Dr Brownstein wrote what at least used to be considered the iodine bible check it out. NOTE – doctors have NO idea about iodine. They couldn’t even prescribe it if you ask – its just not in their understanding. They’ll go ‘ huh? You mean thyroxine? But the marketing reps haven’t been pushing that one this month’

Incidentally aspartame fucks the thyroid amongst everything else

3. You said you had heard the legends of vinegar blunting insulin. I thought, great, he’s going to tackle apple cider vinegar. And, not only do you have NO mention of apple cider vinegar, which is well documented for blunting insulin, you only lean on white vinegar – which is not really fit for human consumption and most vinegar from a shop isn’t real second fermentation vinegar anyway it’s just acetic acid made on the quick. And you tried balsamic! Which, sigh, you mention in four hour chef is often questionable. And we all know it has virtually no medicinal benefits whatsoever. And then you say, well, it didn’t work for me so – vinegar doesn’t work. How do you know? You are not the benchmark for everyone, your tests are not universal. but if you’d actually used the right tools we might have been a bit closer. I was sorry about this. Apple Cider Vinegar, Tim! Come on! ACV needs to be on the list with lemon juice and cinnamon etc.

4. There’s a bit in the back where your friend does a vegetarian experiment. Stuff himself with legumes and complains about how bloated he feels, how nothing digests etc. it would be easy to read it as a case for promoting meat eating. This seemed so obvious – a) legumes ARE hard to digest and thats why finding the right ones for you is essential, not all legumes suit all stomachs – and mixing them up makes it worse. Don’t just eat 6 different kinds all at once and then say oh they don’t work in my stomach. Try ONE at a time and discern whats best for you. B) More importantly legumes need to be SOAKED in salt water for 24hrs then rinsed to activate them. Canned legumes might be easy, but who knows if they’ve been soaked properly – and if seriously toxic chemicals have been used to prepare them before canning. Which is generally the case with canned food. They then need to use more chemicals to preserve the consistency and colour of the food thats been destroyed by the preparing. SOAK those legumes.

5. Cheat day. i suppose you are used to get bad press for this over the years. Now, I get the psychological factor. I get that north america is junk food nation and everyone is addicted to junk food there. I get that it’s got the best quality junk food in the world and the cheapest and its a drug for the entire population. Unlike the rest of world. Okay. I also get the bit about spiking the levels in the body once a week for weight loss. Fair enough. The problem I find, is that like everywhere else in your writings on fitness and the body, the body is a machine to you. Fat loss good – fat gain – bad. You don’t relate to the body as a holistic unit. Like – bulk up in a short period without considering all the losses to posture and physique, flexibility, balance, alignment, vital forces of many kinds. Bulking up with weights as you describe in 4HB creates all kinds of problems someone like an osteopath would detect that weren’t there before and take years of treatment to correct. Ask a ballet teacher to explain this in more depth to you. You get bulk but at what cost? And – the body is a machine – You never seem to consider the virtue of consciousness and the energy body, the subtle meridians, and even how the immune system is utterly utterly suppressed very soon after eating sugar.

I eat a perfectly clean diet 7 days a week as do plenty of people outside of north america. i have to struggle to think HOW i would cheat on cheat day. True story. goats dairy maybe? buckwheat? appreciate that not everyone is capable of being so far removed from those desires. But you need to appreciate WHY one should aspire to eating this way. Because it promotes consciousness and quality of life. i never crave junk food because to me it is poison. i want clean blood and a clean energy body and to cultivate my awareness. One can eat clean food that tastes good – EASY. You seem to miss this. For you it’s the sports science ‘the body is a machine’ – it’s okay if I obliterate myself for a day on eating crap just so long as I take the right drug supplements and get my fat percentage back to the same or lower the next day then it’s like nothing has happened. WRONG. you have lost SO much vital force, various life energies through your lifestyle choices. You would be so much richer in internal quality of life and life consciousness. Cultivating awareness. On a physical level, Plenty of people have diseases dormant in their system that may only come to fruition because weaken all their vital energies on cheat day. Maybe your ice cream competition in four hour chef weakened your immunity sufficiently and poked enough holes in your energy body to allow lymes disease to flourish, however much later, for you stripping months and years off your productivity. It may easily have just been that ONE event that did it. Maybe one cheat day or one weekly cheat day is enough for someone to become seriously ill losing months off their life – because it was enough for a dormant illness – even HIV to flourish , that otherwise would never had had a chance, as it was kept in check with clean living and clean blood. If one is going to have a cheat day – have it with REAL QUALITY food. Not ice cream and Macca Donalds and all the assorted chemical poisons your fine country churns out

Thats all! I would have written a shorter more articulate letter but I didn’t have time 😉

much love and kisses Timmy xoxoxo thanks for your AMAZING work

Hi Tim,

Catching up on this episode while sitting on a train while on my first trip to Japan. You are right this is an amazing country. I really enjoyed the episode. Keep up the great work.

Oooo that stache is filthy!

Tim, can you direct me to the tool you mention here and there that allows you to record your onscreen activities and voice? My brothers and I have a craft sauerkraut company and I would love to be able to create an engaging/informative how to on leaving us an amazon review. Thanks brother and keep up the great work, we all appreciate what you do.

I loved the episode. The wife and I listened to it twice.

These are a great transition between interviews. Love the free flow and question answering, similar to your live Facebook videos. Thanks, Tim.