MYST 158: Evolution

Quick quiz:

You are starving–literally. Which food do you choose:

 or 

Photo via Pixabay.com by silviarita

Our brains are hardwired to prefer the taste of sweet and salt, and fat (which is now being suggested as the sixth taste–sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami.)

If you go back to evolutionary history, our bodies craved one thing over all others: calories

Calories meant survival. And way back in those days, lack of food was not because the local c-store was closed. Famines killed. Our bodies became built to store calories (as fat) to prevent future famine-related deaths. Those with the bodies better-suited to store fat were able to pass those genes on to future generations. Those with “skinny genes” (sorry–a bad pun) died early and were unable to pass on defective genes.

We are evolutionarily designed to get fat.

The problem is that in most of the developed world, famines are no longer an issue and we really don’t need to be searching for extra calories to store as fat.

So how does that connect to ice cream and pizza?

A half-cup of Ben and Jerry’s Choc Chip Cookie Dough ice cream has 270 calories. Now, our cave-dude likely had no access to ice cream, so let’s think about something that he could get: animal fat. Which of those three foods would be the fastest to give him the daily calories (let’s assume 2500 calories a day):

Lima beans cooked: 11.5 cups
Kale, raw: 74.5 cups
Honey: 2.4 cups
Animal fat: 1.3 cups

Animal fat and honey (or anything very sweet) packs a lot of calories in each bite. When you needed to hunt, gather, and fight for every bite, you wanted it to count. Our bodies are built over the millions of year to crave and love sweets and fats. (We also love salts, because salt would make our bodies hold water to stay hydrated during the long hunts. Because back then, the only Camelbaks found were actually on camels.)

To lose weight, we need to force our bodies to do the very thing that allowed us to survive. That’s why it is so darn hard to lose weight and even harder to keep it off. We are not fighting our own personal natures. We are fighting against nature.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over

work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. Follow his Facebook page to learn how to better use social media. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All images are Creative Comm

MYST 121: Shopping for Success

Listen to learn four simple tricks to help you find more success while shopping for healthy food!

Why is this section so important for success?
Why is this section so important for success?
How can this help you lose weight? You'd be surprised!
How can this help you lose weight? You’d be surprised!

Photos via Pixabay.com by ElasticComputeFarm (Grocery store) and DevilsApricot (Shopping cart)

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen.

MYST 116: Diet Vacations

You measure your food. Log it. Track it. Compare it to your budget. Eliminate one item so you can have extra of something else. And you’ve been doing this for months? Years?

Take a vacation!

Do you do this daily? Are you getting tired?
Do you do this daily? Are you getting tired?

Photos via Pixabay.com by mozjagrebinfo.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

MYST 112 Losing and Finding YOUR Inspiration

Where do you find your inspiration? What happens when you lose it?

This is an episode that I recorded in June, 2015. Almost immediately after recording this, my own muse vanished. Later, I bought a new computer and moved all my files. Today, I found it.

It’s only slightly dated. I recorded this about a month after my knee replacements, and it talks about how to get started toward any goal. How to write more. Create more. Walk more. Even lose weight. It is based on this blog post, from my friend Scott Wilson.

Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson

I originally interviewed him in episode 20, released back on June 9, 2014. His blog continues to this day!

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

MYST 111: Weight Loss and Politics

Yes. I actually dared bring politics into my podcast. Besides religion, politics is major one of the most polarizing topics. It can quickly bring out the ugly side of people.

Don’t worry. I don’t get too bad. (Just a little bad.)

usa-1327119_960_720

Photos via Pixabay.com by PeteLinforth.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

MYST 101 Diet Disasters

What are you going to do when–not if–you have a diet disaster? How are you going to move beyond the realization that you made bad choices and move towards success?

This bus is moving toward it's planned route. What are you going to do when your personal diet-bus crashes?
This bus is moving toward it’s planned route. What are you going to do when your personal diet-bus crashes?

Photo via StockSnap.io, by Alex Wong.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on StockSnap.io are licensed under Creative Commons Zero

MYST 100: Trevor’s Team

Finally! The time has come to actually help you directly, not just by creating these episodes!

Do you want to look like this?            Me, at 265 pou

Or would you rather look like this? 

 

 

MYST 99: CHAF

You’ve probably heard the phrase “to separate the wheat from the chaff”. That means to remove the bad part of something, leaving the desirable part readily available.

That’s not what CHAF is. It is another acronym that I made up (it goes along with GOYLA.)

I reference a junk food diet that can lead to weight loss. Here is the article: “Twinkie Diet”

Quality food, in the right quantities, is one key to weight loss success.
Quality food, in the right quantities, is one key to weight loss success.

Photo via PickUpImage.com, by DiningTable.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on PickUpImage.com are licensed under Creative Commons Zero

MYST 96: Decision Fatigue Can Derail You!

What are you going to wear to work? What are you going to eat for breakfast? Which route are you taking to work? Where are you eating for lunch? What project are you taking care of first?

How many decisions do you make before arriving home? And then you need to decide: What is on the menu for dinner? Not only that, but what are you going to eat that is healthy and will help you make progress to your weight loss goal?

You make many decisions each day. Let’s talk about making decisions when it will give you the greatest chance of success!

I also reference Episode 94 (Planning Ahead).

This is NOT when you want to make your decisions!
This is NOT when you want to make your decisions!

Photo via PickUpImage.com, by Pixabay.

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on PickUpImage.com are licensed under Creative Commons Zero

MYST 94: Planning Ahead for Success

Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Are you planning your weight loss success? Listen to find out the benefits of planning.

When you plan your day, you know the path to success.
When you plan your day, you know the path to success.

Photo via Unsplash.com, by Bruno Belcastro

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Music composed and performed by Jason Shaw, courtesy of Audionautix.com

Voiceover courtesy of Matt Young. Matt is a professional voiceover artist. If you have any need of voice-over work, for your podcast, radio spot, or whatever, you can reach Matt by a variety of methods. He is on LinkedIn. On Twitter. And Google+. And you can read his really nice, contemplative blog. Matt was also my guest on MYST 54. Give his story a listen!

All photos published on Unsplash.com are licensed under Creative Commons Zero