Podcast Episode #7

By Guy Lawrence

Eat fat to lower cholesterol… What about dairy, is it healthy? Can I run an ultra-marathon or CrossFit on a low carb/ high fat or paleo diet?

These are just some of the questions we cover in this episode of The Health Sessions as we catch up with Nora Gedgaudas, best selling author of Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet. I’ve time coded the bullet points so you jump straight to the bits that interest you most in the video. But when you’ve got the time, it’s well worth kicking back and watching the whole video as the content is invaluable!

Download or subscribe to us on iTunes here.

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By Guy Lawrence

Ah the supplement industry, full of hype and claims to attract your attention. Weight gain protein supplements, fat blockers, creatine… the list goes on and on. From my experience though, what actually increases daily performance (whether it be athletic performance or just day to day stuff) is clean living.

I also find self-experimentation a great way to see if supplements actually work. Without undergoing rigorous blood tests etc, most of the time it’s hard to tell whether the pill you pop or supplement you take is actually doing you any favours.

But if there’s one supplement I take without fail, which I truly notice after a few days if I run out and haven’t taken it… it’s fish oil. And here’s why I think it’s liquid gold.

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By Guy Lawrence

Do you hang out in cafes? We do! Do you drink soy lattes? Mmm, we don’t.

This post was inspired by a conversation I had recently in a cafe (of course …) so let me paint a quick picture for you.

The one thing I’m finding as 180 Nutrition continues to grow is that Stu & myself seem to be involved in more meetings. This is actually a compliment and we are always looking at different ways to make them fun and worthwhile.

Our usual criteria is:

• funky cafe
• great staff
• stones throw away from the ocean

Just last week we had the NSW Police S.W.A.T team sitting next to us in a cafe. One of them approached us and it turned out that he uses our 180 protein supplement and also trains CrossFit. We hung out with them for 20min talking everything from CrossFit to diet and gave them bar samples and a t-shirt… relevant? No… Seriously cool? Oh yeah!

I try and stick to one coffee a day and anything after that I reach for the tea – but never the soy.

Turning up at these meetings, I can’t help but notice what different people order. Now I’m a live and let live kind of guy, as I certainly don’t like to judge. But it doesn’t take long before I get asked questions on health and nutrition, it simply comes with the territory.

During a recent conversation, I happened to mention that I ate 1 – 2 avocados a day as I have them in my 180 smoothies. The person I was meeting seemed quite shocked and their instant reaction was ‘what about the fat?’ They felt counting calories and a low fat diet was the way forward. This was said whilst they sipped on their soy lattes with honey (you can read my thoughts on honey & fructose here).

Without wanting to sound like a tool, my reaction was simple. I said I would rather eat half a dozen avocados a day than drink that soy latte. Naturally I had to explain myself, and here are my thoughts on why I don’t drink it… Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

          “Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living.” -
… Health Promotion

My mate was faced with something that he felt was a serious problem, his job demanded lot’s of hours, blood, sweat and tears on a weekly basis. He loved his job but his health was beginning to suffer. He’d been at it for four years and whenever he fitted exercise into his routine it became too much and simply exhausted him.

When we met up one evening, he told me that he had a 6.30am spin class that morning with a jog lined up for the following night. He also looked like he was going to have to crawl home like a lizard as he was that tired! I did feel for him.

After discussing the food pyramid at length and coming to the conclusion it sucked, I really felt we’d need to look at his exercise regime too.

I asked him why he was exercising?

After a bit of a dumbfounded look he said he wanted to be fitter, leaner, toned and healthier. He was feeling like a slug with no backbone when he sat in his office chair and he desperately wanted it to change.

From where I was sitting, his road to greater health wasn’t looking pretty. All I could see for him was fatigue, burnout, frustration, possible injury and an attitude that said ‘screw you’ to exercise with a million justifications on why he can’t do it anymore.

Do you like the idea of exercising less & becoming a lean mean health machine in the process?

He did… Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

“…an 8 oz /230g serving of hamburger daily, is technically permitted under the pyramid.” - Harvard nutritionist Dr. Walter Willett

Have you ever had one of those moments… Someone asks you a question which seems to be really simple, yet you know if you answer it, it opens up for a 100 more questions?

After explaining to my friend about my feelings on why counting calories doesn’t work (you can read my thoughts on calorie counting here), I think he was having a little bit of a paradigm shift regarding his health, nutrition and weight loss. I had just created a monster and I knew more questions would come flying at me!

The penny had dropped and all was not as it seemed in the world of weight loss and marketing. He began to understand that nutrient dense food was of the upmost importance when it came to weight loss, not counting calories. He also began to realise that most of his daily diet consisted of food that was not nutrient dense. It was loaded with refined grains, white flour and starch like breads, pastas, rice etc.

So here came the next question… What about the food pyramid? He was actually eating in no greater quantity than what is recommended by the somewhat vague prescription advocated by the food pyramid. Yet he wasn’t losing weight.

This was my answer to why I thought the food pyramid sucked. Here’s why… Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

These are delicious! If you are a fan of the Paleo Diet like we are, these ultra tasty and healthy 180 Hash Browns make the perfect companion with some eggs and grass-fed meat. No doubt about it, these versatile savoury protein snacks can contribute to a nutrient rich high protein breakfast, or are fantastic to throw in your lunchbox giving you that protein snack you can rely on throughout the day. Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

The media continually creates buzz around the latest diets, especially when it comes to weight loss. Currently under the spot light at the moment is the Paleo Diet, where one eats more like our ancient ancestors by cutting out processed foods, starch (including grains) and sugar. Then eats a much more natural diet with good sources of fat, protein and veg with some fruit. Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

You get to meet a lot of people when working in a gym environment. Your die-hards for instance who train to excess, rain, hail or shine trying to figure out different ways they can isolate their biceps to get the perfect guns (flexed arms). But most people I find here at the Uni (where I work) are there to shake off those stubborn pounds of extra body fat! They do mention their health sometimes, but it’s a distant 2nd compared to shape and size.

I have noticed over the years that the majority of people don’t physically change regardless of how hard they are working! I always here moans and groans that ‘I’m buggered if can lose weight’, and ‘This exercise malarky is a load of b@$%^*&^s’!

But here’s the secret, they are missing the two magic ingredients to shred fat fast: Continue reading →

By Guy Lawrence

We’ve got 3 of Nora Gedgaudas’ books to give away to celebrate her Sydney talk here in May 2013. For a chance to win click here. http://on.fb.me/YXkGdH

I have placed some relevant links at the bottom of the page which I would recommend checking out when you have 5 minutes to spare. From meeting Kelli 4 years ago at the small organisation I mention in the video, to Nourishing Australia (Organisers of Nora’s tour in Australia), to a couple of podcasts with Nora talking in depth. So check them out, and if you have experienced Nora live or have read her book, would love to hear your comments. You can also buy Nora’s book here Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life
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By Guy Lawrence

You maybe sitting there wondering what the Paleo diet is, or as I like to say, a Paleo way of eating. So if you haven’t heard of the Paleo diet then chances are author Nora Gedaudas would have slipped under your radar too. And that’s ok as diet’s and fads come and go all the time, so who’s to know what is another bunch of baloney hype or the real deal! It can get a little confusing that’s for sure.

But from where I’m standing, I’m very excited to be going to see Nora Gedaudas on Nov 12th. It is being held at the Matthews Theatre, University of NSW in Randwick. The seminar is entitled :- Continue reading →