Former Olympic Weightlifter Jerzy Gregorek Shares His Proven System for Improving Health

Show Notes

The former Olympic weightlifter and best-selling author Jerzy Gregorek explains his proven system for DRAMATICALLY improving your overall health.

Show Prep:

  1. Ladies and gentlemen on today’s show we are interviewing Jerzy Gregorek. Jerzy Gregorek, welcome onto The Thrivetime Show! How are you sir?!
  2. Jerzy, I know that you’ve been able to achieve tremendous success throughout your career however, I would love to start at the very beginning. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like growing up?
    1. I grew up in communistic Poland. It was a strange place to grow up.
    2. Communism was very debilitating. You had to learn how to be obedient to your superior. You could not fight back at all and if you did, you would be punished.
    3. Freedom and independence are one of the biggest benefits of America. In communism, you have to do what you are told.
    4. When I was 15, someone asked me where I was born. I always felt like I was physically born in Poland but my brain was born in America.
  3. Jerzy, I understand that you actually immigrated from Poland to the United States with your wife, Aniela, in 1986 as political refugees. What was that process like?
    1. I was told I had to leave or I would be killed. I ended up in Sweden. I asked for political refugee status while in Sweden. I could not get it because Sweden was politically neutral.
    2. I ended up in the United States.
  4. Jerzy, you went on to win four World Weightlifting Championships and established one world record. What did your training regimen look at that time?
  5. Jerzy, for our listeners that are not super familiar with your background…what was the turning point during your career, where you felt like you were first beginning to gain traction?
    1. In 1996 I contacted the President of the American Weight Lifting Competition. I didn’t really know how I was going to make a living in the United States. 
    2. I heard that there was a new thing called “Personal Training” where you worked one on one with someone to help them have a better life.
    3. I got a shot to work with a gym being a personal trainer. I fell in love with helping people solve their solutions. I had 100 clients in 6 months. I was working 16 hours per day at the time.
    4. 3 months before, I was 13 pounds overweight. Every week from then on I would cut 1 pound of fat.
  6. What did your diet look like after you were at your weight lifting peak?
    1. After the competition I would eat everything. I exercise daily 3 or 4 times per day. 
    2. I eat a lot of burgers and french fries. I eat a lot of veggies too.
    3. The biggest thing is knowing how many calories I was on. I would consume about 3,000 calories in a day when I was not looking to lose weight.
  7. Jerzy Gregorek, in 2000 you and your wife founded UCLA’s weight-lifting team. What inspired you to do this?
    1. A lot of people were wanting to be around us and were comparing themselves to us.
    2. We already had a team of 15 weightlifters. There was a need for better equipment and a better place. We were competing against Gold’s Gym except we were all body builders.
    3. I went to UCLA and talked to their head coach. I told him I had a team and set up at UCLA. He told me to bring my team and see if he would like them. He ended up liking what he saw and knew that they would become stronger during their time at UCLA.
  8. Jerzy, my understanding is that you are the founder of the Happy Body Program. Jerzy, I would love for you to share what this program is all about?
    1. When you have athletes, they have strong goals and that differentiates them from “non-athletes.” 
    2. I noticed that not very many people had goals or that they had vague goals. I wanted to help people to set and break standards. The way I did that was to create a plan and a strategy for them. I would help them to, step by step, complete and achieve their goals.
    3. I pursued to create a sport for people. An activity that had standards and rules. I wanted my clients to have micro-progressions to become better over time.
    4. I despised the saying “Maybe it works for me and maybe it doesn’t.” I put people in the system and, if they followed the systems, stayed consistent, and followed the standards, they would have massive success.
    5. We tried all of the different diets. We concluded that eating every 3 hours was the best diet solution. This is the least aggressive and damaging solution when losing weight.
    6. Eat any food that you would like to eat but you have to eat twice as many veggies as the other food item that you are eating.
  9. Jerzy, my understanding is that Tim Ferriss was actually introduced to you by Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList, who previously founded Epinions which was acquired by Yahoo! And who has successfully invested in over 100 companies…how did you first meet Naval Ravikant?
    1. I met Naval because of my client Jamie Nochalis. He really loved The Happy Body and how it was set up. We met and had a great discussion with each other. I always try to create progress and success in everything that I do. This is something that Naval also loves doing.
    2. He told me that I was a very expensive trainer and a very cheap philosopher.
  10. Jerzy, your website is called TheHappyBody.com, I would love to you to share about what TheHappyBody.com is all about at its core?
  11. Jerzy, on your website it states, The Happy Body returns joy to the practice of exercise, helping to infuse your body with a sense of dignity. You cannot fall in love with burning calories but you CAN fall in love with exercise, the RIGHT KIND of exercise, properly executed.” I would love for you to share what you mean by this?
  12. Jerzy Gregorek, I would love for you to share about the importance of flexibility and strength for all of our listeners?
  13. Jerzy, on your website you have a video called, Hard Choices, Easy Life. What do you mean by this phrase, Hard Choices, Easy Life?
  14. Jerzy, what are the types of foods that absolutely avoid eating?
    1. Just ask “What is healthy and what is not?”
    2. Vegetables are very important and you should eat as many as you can on a daily basis.
    3. I have about 8 pounds of vegetables per day.
  15. Jerzy, in Chapter 3 of your book, The Happy Body, you write about the A Never-Ending Cycle of Failure…what is this portion your book all about?
    1. Book – The Happy Body
    2. I knew that people needed to pursue their goals and master their own lives. I knew that, even though I would meet with them 3 or 4 times per week, they would not have freedom and independence.
    3. I wanted to create responsibility. I wanted to create a person who is a master of his choices. I didn’t want them blaming others for their choices. I created standards and a plan. I created a plan to progress with micro-progression.
    4. I used math to determine how strong, fast, and flexible the person should be. I used my system to help people to get to those standards.
  16. Jerzy Gregorek, you come across as a very proactive person. How do you typically organize the first four hours of each day?
    1. I get up before 5:00 am
    2. I have my first client at 6:00 am
    3. I spend different times with each client to see how they work.
    4. I have a client at 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, and so forth.
    5. If I have an hour free, I will take that time to be productive and to meditate.
  17. If you could go back 20 years and tell yourself one thing, what would you say?
    1. I would tell myself that, whatever happened, happened in order for me to get where I am today. I love the present moment. I would tell myself to be more “present.”
  18. Jerzy, you come across as a very well-read person, what are 1 or 2 books that you would recommend that all of our listeners should read?

Action Item: You have to create your life actively. Ask yourself if you like the position you are in now and if you don’t like it, ask what you can do about it.

Jerzy Gregorek Thrivetime Show Slides

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Audio Transcription

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On today’s show, Jerzy Gregorek, the former Olympic weightlifting champion shares his proven system for improving your health.

Some shows don’t need a celebrity in a writer to introduce the show. This show down to May eight kids, Koch created by two different women, 13 moke time million dollar businesses. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome

to the thrive time show boy

[inaudible] started from the bottom. So you gotta to get you started with the bottom started from the bottom down. Yes, yes, yes and yes. Dr Z, on today’s show, we have an incredible guest. Are you psychologically prepared,

Dr z? I am physically prepared because I, I, I’m gonna, I’m gonna make, I’m just going to go out there and make a blanket promise. Yeah. If after this show, your body’s not happier, we’ll give you a full refund or whatever you spent. Listen to the show. Oh, I bet that’s a true, true statement. Mr Chicken Jersey. I’ll go to the show, sir. How are you? Huh?

Thank you. I appreciate it. I hope everybody will do, we’ll be up here on the body. We’ll be happy as well.

Oh, come on now. Well now I know that all the listeners right now are going to the happy body.com. Everybody’s going there right now, the happy body.com. They’re going there right now to see who you are and what you’re all about. I know you’ve had tremendous success throughout your career, but I’d love to start at the very beginning. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

Uh, well, I grew up in Poland and I, I grew up in communistic, Poland. So, uh, it was a strange place to grow up because, uh, communism was, uh, something, uh, very debilitating. So, uh, you had to learn how to, um, how to look at the teacher or the boss and then be obedient and, uh, not to have the fighting eyes. So if you had it, you could be punished. So, um, that was a strange way of living.

Can you, uh, for the Americans out there, this is not a political show, but I think the Americans out there, many of our listeners, I’d say probably 80% or so are from America. We have listeners in Australia, some in South Korea. Um, and Oh, I won’t get into any political tangents. I just want to get your take on this. Can you talk about the freedoms that you enjoy here in America? And just for a moment, contrast that versus a heavily regulated, Aka communist country and why you decided to come to America?

Well, uh, I think that the most I appreciate is just three of them and independence. And then you in America you can, uh, be left alone and you can do whatever you want to do. That of course, freedom comes with responsibility. And then, um, is this really up to you? Uh, in communism? Uh, you had to do what you were taught. So a big difference. I, uh, when I was 15, I remember somebody asked me, um, what I was born like, you know, you ask he, uh, what state or whatever. And I always felt like, uh, physically I was born in Poland, but my brain was born in America. It was really worthy that I liked too. And maybe a lot of, uh, uh, Polish people felt the same way, that it was something very, very wrong. Uh, how we live life, that, uh, we didn’t have this freedom and we kept fighting for it. And, uh, many of us lost, uh, uh, lives and, but, um, you know, uh, that’s how it is. Sometimes you just, uh, ethically you cannot do otherwise, and then, uh, you end up to losing your life. And then if you’re lucky, you survived.

No. 1986, you became a political refugee, I believe. What was the process like immigrating from Poland to the United States?

Well, I, uh, I was, uh, told that I had to go, otherwise I could have a, uh, you know, I could lose my life in Poland. So I ended up in Sweden. And, uh, when I was in Sweden, I asked for political, uh, refugee status that I couldn’t, uh, immigrate to us, uh, from Sweden because within is a neutral countries. So I had to go somewhere else. So, um, I went to, uh, during this time and there was something going on in Warsaw was, so there was somebody that was, uh, underground spy and was giving people away. And there were a lot of arrests and CIA contacted me, uh, when I was in Sweden and because of that, I ended up in Germany, in Munich. And, and then, uh, from there very fast, I, uh, I ended up in us.

Hmm. Now did you, did you have to sneak into Sweden and then, so into Germany or did you get over there?

Yeah, it was the time that, uh, Poland, uh, would give the passports. Anybody that wanted to live. It was just a time that troublemakers, uh, could go away. And it was different way that it was in 70s. But even though, uh, you know, we, uh, my wife and I were afraid to go together so she would stay in Poland and I left, as you know, so she gets to stay, uh, for me to return, I guess. And, but, um, I didn’t return. And she have a lot of, I know, uh, problems to actually live the country and she was very lucky actually to live.

Now you went on to win four world weightlifting championships and to establish one world record, um, where were you living when you were beginning your weightlifting championship, uh, career? Where were, where were you in the United States at this time? Tell us about,

yeah, yeah, it was you, us, and it was, uh, a ended up, uh, in us in 86. In 86, I contacted, uh, Bob Highs. He was, uh, the president of a eight American with Weightlifting Association. Basically, I wanted to know what to do with myself to, uh, you know, to, uh, do, uh, to work as a fireman or weightlifting coach. Uh, I really didn’t know, uh, where, uh, and how, um, my way’s going to be in us. But, um, Bob told me that, uh, there is something new. The first thing is he told me that that weight weight lifting coaches, they, they actually don’t teach weight lifting in the west of crossfit was not yet there. So, uh, what they do actually, they open the car shops and repair car cars or something like that. And they, they pretty good job because they are, you know, engineers usually and so on.

So I said, well, I don’t want to fix cars. And, and uh, Bob said, you know what, you can go and, and find a gym and there is something you, um, that many athletic coaches don’t like to do, which is personal trainer that, uh, is, uh, the purpose of it is to work with regular people and help them to live a better life. And I said, well, uh, I like to, you know, try that. And I ended up in power source. I walk around, I didn’t have a car. I lived in Los Angeles and stuff that really walking and walking, kept walking and found the power source and talk to the owner. And, and, uh, he gave me the shot. He said, okay, you can come and, uh, uh, you can work with new people and show them the gym and, and uh, respond to the, uh, questions, desires and so on, and then write them programs, whatever it happens. So, uh, I that then, then I really finally locked with, you know, figuring out a solution for different people with different problems. And so I just felt like, I mean, like a fish in the water. I just really liked that and became very successful. We’ve been maybe like, uh, six months. I get about a hundred clients and, you know, work 16 hours a day and I end the work until today. This code is working for the time.

Now you, you, uh, I mean, I’m, I’m looking at pictures of you here. I mean,Z , Z, you’ve seen some of these photos. I mean, Jeremiah, you were jacked. I mean, you’re still, you’re still in great shape. I mean, but you were, I mean, wow. So I want to ask you this. I mean, what were your, what was your diet like when you were doing the world weightlifting championships? Did you just like, was it like rocky or you just ate raw eggs? I mean, were you just, you know, what was your diet like then and now? What’s your diet like today?

Well, he’s, the Diet was very, uh, consistent. So, um, let’s say three months, people, uh, championships, not the rocky early. And so it’s like no running and, and you know, so Olympic weightlifting, so it’s not really, uh, it’s not entertainment. Uh, about three months before I was about 12, 13 pounds overweight, and usually that’s normally about 10% body fat. And, uh, every week from then on I would, uh, cut one pound and a all fat. And then, uh, from 10%, I would go down to 3%. And because, you know, in weight lifting you have to stand on the scale. So if you want to, uh, use the most efficient by the system that you have to be on a scale. So, um, it, the way, uh, that would be the best would be to have, uh, the weight with the least flat and the least water.

So, um, but it was in weight lifting is only two hours between the weighing and competitions. Not like in the resting. In boxing you have a day. So he a, you have to really know what to do and, and how to hydrate yourself after and how to dehydrate yourself before. So the first three months is of course losing the body fat, going to from 10% to 3% and be in the negative caloric intake, 500 calories, but consistent day by day, week by week. And then, uh, last, uh, three, four days more, uh, dehydration, the last, uh, about three pounds. And then, uh, you then you stand on a scale and you up the way it will say I was 156 pounds competition. So usually on the 36.6, so I was usually 136.4 or five. That’s how criticize the system of a Prilosec weight was. And then, uh, after the right, the way hydration. So hydration had to be very slow. So, uh, introducing water by sipping throughout, uh, oh two hours and then getting food, uh, very slowly like power bars, food that, you know, kind of saved me like, uh, by divided by the, by the is liquid, uh, better and very slowly, not too fast. So, um, after two hours then I was, I was ready to compete, but it’s, it was, uh, quite an interesting craft. And today is just the same way.

If you could think about your diet back then, like just a typical day. I mean, what would you eat during a typical day? Just, just z. We want to note this. We do, we want a guy cause he, is it, is it the, the 10 weeks before he’s going to compete or is it just your, your normal routine? This isn’t, this isn’t, this isn’t a competition week. This is just your normal, when you are at your weightlifting peak, what was your normal week like?

Well, you’re talking about not competition.

Yeah. Just Kinda your normal, you know, maybe it’s the week after you just competed. You got another one in 20 weeks and you’re just Kinda, what was your norm? I just want to know what you eat for breakfast. Well, you know,

um, first of all, uh, we have to sit up where we are. So let’s say I am 10 weeks people competition. Got It. And I live normal way. I am bad, 14 pounds overweight and uh, I did everything, but I have the sudden cup of the, uh, of the weight. So I would go 250 pounds and while I will not pass that, so I, I cannot go to one 60, eh, because there will be too much weight permit to lose. So I usually after the competition go from 3% body fat to 10% and stay in the 10% range. So then, uh, I eat everything. I uh, exercise, uh, daily two or three times a day. And uh, for about 40 minutes, 50 minutes, uh, eat, I eat a lot of hamburgers, a lot of uh, French fries, a lot of fruits, a lot of veggies, uh, uh, soups, everything,

what was there? No, no. What was it something you would not eat at all? What was like a no, no for you? Is there a certain reason he said I can’t go to in and out Burger can’t go there cause I’m like, Oh man,

I didn’t have enough now even, you know, in even preparing for competitions and I had gotten burgers at that time, so no,

really. Okay. Hey, I had everything going on.

Eh? Mostly what was it mostly was the, knowing how many calories I can be on and, and calories. Where was the drive? Not really what we were eating.

So what, so an a non, I’m not trying to lose weight week. What would be your calorie count for the day?

I had, it was about 3000. Okay. And, and then, uh, when I wanted to cut down, then I would cut down 500 calories and start losing one pound a week.

Now you and your, you and your wife in, in, in 2000, um, you guys founded the UCLA weightlifting team. Um, what, uh, what inspired you to do this? I mean, you obviously had mastered your, your training. You, you were very good as a, as a competitive athlete. What made you want to found UCLAs weightlifting team?

So it was the, uh, competition of, uh, establishing the antibody as well. Uh, you know, weightlifting. So a lot of people would try to, uh, be around us and learn from us. And when we were preparing ourselves in gold gym in Venice, that was 19, uh, five, six, seven. It was the, uh, the situation that we needed more equipment, better equipment buyer. I, we had already our team, uh, about 12, 15, uh, weightlifters. So the, uh, there was a need for better equipment, better place, and be around more serious athletes because the venn goals was mostly, uh, bodybuilders. So, uh, we were like unique there. I, as I said, the crossfit at the time was not yet, uh, there’s, uh, we, we, we dropped the weights, let’s say 300 pounds and then it was just a lot of noise and, and, and irritated it know, some people said there was no really conditions for us to really, uh, train, uh, you know, really hard.

So I went to UCLA and talked to Dr Christ, uh, the head coach there and I said that I have a team and then I would like to bring the team here and set up the UCLA weight lifting team and, and he said, well, bring the team and I will see, uh, who you are and what we want and so on. And then, uh, if I like it, then we can go on and set up the team. So, uh, that’s what we did. He look at us for a week and said, I like what I see and you know, the Bruins, you know, we’ll definitely, um, uh, learn how to be more powerful, powerful when, when you are here. And, uh, we started a, we go to a lot of all this, uh, other coaches and one of them was Phil Wagner. He was a medical student and also the coach and help people also after when you finished medicine to set up his Sparta, the gym in actually red, was it there? Not far from me.

Hmm. So at Jersey when you were competing, yeah. Were you, um, were you competing for the communist? Were you competing for the four Mirka American World Hashtag. So when you came over in 86, how old were you?

86. A was a old, I was 31. 30, 54 32.

Well, I’m looking at your website right now, the, your website. Uh, if up for the listeners out there who aren’t familiar with the happy body program, I love for you to share with the listeners about, about the website. Cause when you go to the happy body.com Z, have you been to the happy body.com? I’m all, I’m all, I’m all over. I’m going to say Jersey. I mean I don’t, I don’t know, I’m not really good at guessing ages, but see he said that you, he was 31 when he came over, but he’s, he looks like he’s 31 right here. So you didn’t start competing until after you’re 30, after you are thirties.

Yeah, I started competing at a, so the master divisions starts at 35. So Eh, and then every five years changes. A senior division is between, uh, 18 and 35 competed during this time in Poland. And uh, when I was us and became the master and then, uh, competed from 35 on until, uh, fifties.

Yeah. So I’m 54. If I wanted to compete, what would they have a like a, like an old man. I can come out with my walker and tried to walk off the stage.

Well, you know, you still have to be really, uh, powerful at that.

Oh, that does, that’s no fun. What’s your body weight? I’m a hundred and spout 270 pounds. Probably 70 of those pounds are as calves. Still you 170 pounds. So you probably,

uh, the world champion at that class probably can lift a three 50 for his report in something like that.

What three 50 is this? These are these pounds we’re talking about or if you have found a your body weight, probably, yeah. Oh Wow. Well, okay. Now tell us about the, the happy body program. I know some of the listeners are curious, what is the happy body program? When did you start the program? What’s it about? Just can we give us a look inside the happy body program?

Well, you know, uh, when you uh, have athletes, you know, then they have very strong goals and uh, that competitively differentiate them from a non Annapolis. So when, uh, I started really working with non athletes that wanted to actually, uh, get better and have a good life, I notice that people really don’t have goals. And I know over the, they have vague goals. So, uh, there was a really need to, uh, set up the goals to, uh, to know, uh, what you need to do and also to develop an a plans for the standards that you go towards the standards. It’s like you want to go to Olympics and let’s say in sprinting or whatever it is, and you have set in a standard, what is the word record. And then you drive yourself toward and you develop the plan, you develop the strategies and, and then, you know, on a daily basis and weekly basis, you know what to do and whether you progress and whether you don’t progress, then, uh, it’s clear for you.

So, uh, I noticed that people don’t have completely any, any plan. And then they have, uh, you know, vague ideas about what they want and they want more energy, something and then losing weight, but they didn’t know how much and so on. So, uh, I pursued to create, uh, like a sport for people and something that people would have standards, they would have plan and they would pursue that plan and they would know when they fail and where they not. And they could really gain certain self controls, certain self discipline, and they would engage a micro progression in order to make you make themselves better over time. So a work on that and then, uh, created the happy body program with standards, with plan, with measures mathematics. So I, I want to avoid one thing I didn’t want, I despise the, the saying maybe it works for me, maybe, maybe does such and such thing doesn’t work with athletes, you know, athletes, uh, perhaps this has to work and has to work for everyone and that really this one or that one.

So, uh, yeah, so, uh, created the, the system and put a said, put the people into the system. So once they had standards and the plan and then started executing, I just noticed that is a very difficult for people to, uh, pick up on the, uh, hard choice, be consistent and override the, um, immediate gratification. So, so create a delayed gratification is a very, uh, difficult thing. And I started working, uh, on that levels of the creating more philosophy, more poetry, more literature, uh, and more focused on the knowledge and skills, uh, to help people to override that, uh, uh, immediate, uh, impulses to reach for something they, that is not good for them. Got It. And then spent the last 10 years doing that.

Awesome Jerzy Gregorek. This is Paul Hood here. Hey, uh, we, uh, about a year ago I competed with my son in a physique bodybuilding show at age 50, and they got jacked. You know, it was, it was great. I went from 175 to 147, 2% body fat in about 16 weeks. It was crazy. It was kind of distracting from the neck down. I wanted to touch my, I mean, I was sexy. I didn’t look good. But yeah, you probably know what it means. Details and then consistency, right? That’s right. That’s exactly right. The mirror was his favorite picture frame in the head was he love some of that. They had to turn it around cause I just stood there all day long. So my question is, is during that process, we, you know, my strength and conditioning coach had us, we ate every two hours and we measured our food and all of that. And then, then there was this other group that, that, uh, really preached, um, intermittent fasting. Do you get involved in that conversation and if so, what’s your opinion? I mean, is it, uh, you know, you just keep the calories coming consistently every two hours, uh, to force your, your body to metabolize or starve your body for a period of the day, every day and only eat certain hours.

Uh, we have ever curry hours and, uh, I, uh, we, uh, explore all the other diets a long time ago, like a once a day or twice a day, intermediate pass thing and so on. Then it didn’t work, uh, for the athletics because, uh, made us weak and, uh, that was, uh, now, uh, no way for us to actually keep, keep the energy. So, uh, it looks like the three hours bang was the best way, uh, to do that. Uh, we, we don’t, we do like fasting all day. Like, you know, three, we have five meals and we have 12, 12 hours and 12 hours, no eating. But, uh, the whole thing to know, uh, when to eat that you eat every three hours and not before. Again, it’s, it’s helping with this overriding that, uh, immediate gratification system and, and also keep your metabolic rate and also losing the fat, like slicing a little bit part of your body system every three hours is usually that’s what we eat.

We eat only for two hours, but the last one hour, if you lose weight, the last one I, or an hour is that time when the body actually will give a little bit energy as fat, uh, to use by the body. But it cannot be too much. It can be, let’s say hundred calories every three hours. Right? So that the body will give you, but if you ask for more, let’s say if you starved about it, four hours of five and the body wants actually at the food and the food is not there, the body will hang on to the fat and we’ll give the muscle away. [inaudible] fat becomes really the, uh, the security and, and the body recognizes the fat as, as more important than actually the muscle. Uh, and that’s how, uh, our experience is with really preparing athletes. The more is the consistency and every three hours, this is the system that is the least, uh, uh, aggressive and, uh, the least damaging system when we are actually lose weight.

Hmm. So Jerzy Gregorek you’re saying that the calorie count, does it matter where it comes from, from bet fat, a carbohydrate or a protein? I mean, in your system it could be because like you said, you, you eat anything, you sugar the calorie count that’s watching 3000, a hundred, 2,500, then I would assume maybe another cut for the next week. We just keep it at 2,500. After you’ve, you’ve done it, but steel, do you differentiate between, um, the type of, uh, the source of the calorie or is it just, it doesn’t matter?

Yeah. W we have a lot of, uh, on there. Happy Buddies, different snacks, like bread. We have a yogurt, we have, uh, a bars, then we have fruits and nuts. And then you have juices and lattice, let’s say. So, uh, it’s up to the person to choose. And uh, but h eight choices are there. And uh, the most important is that the choices are limited, so you don’t have to think too much, uh, uh, what to eat on the daily basis. So you really know what to eat and you are relax and you, you don’t have anxieties and thinking systems. Actually what to eat is very clear for you. Right? So it’s more relaxed system now, uh, for meals, we have, uh, lunch and dinner and lunch and dinner. We have a high energy put. It can be protein, animal protein or can be a, an a, a grains, beans and so on and twice as much veggies. So, uh, that sets up the way of eating, of the, between snacks and, and meals. Uh, the most important is that we eat, uh, one fist, let’s say, uh, the protein or high energy food because it can be rice and, and, and veggies. It can be even potato and veggies. It can be, uh, fish and veggies, but it’s always twice as much veggies as whatever it is can be pizza can be past that. Right? So, uh, and if food that you would like to eat is going to be the replacing the protein.

No, I, uh, first heard about you while listening to the Tim Ferris podcast of the top podcasts

on the planet are a podcast devoted to a life optimization and a studying the habits and routines of the world’s most successful people. And, uh, in that, in that podcast, I learned quite a few things, um, about you, but one is that apparently, you know, neval ROV account who we often quote on this show and a guy who previously founded [inaudible] opinions that was acquired by Yahoo and a guy who was invested in hundreds, literally hundreds of businesses. As an, as an angel investor. Can you share with us about your experience on the Tim Ferriss podcast and, uh, getting to meet Mr Naval Ravikant?

Well, uh, I met Navab because of my, um, other, uh, client Jamie Nicholas, who is, uh, who owns some restaurants in San Francisco and, um, like a couple of year and mar law, a very successful, uh, business that he has in San Francisco. But he, uh, really loved the happy body and loved the way that, uh, the happy buddies set up how, uh, how we train to actually, uh, create over time a better body system, how the happy body has standards and pursue, uh, over the years to become more flexible and stronger and faster and have better posture. There is certain brain that, uh, engages micro progression. So, uh, you said that I have a dear friend, uh, Nepal and I would like you to introduce you so maybe you can come for a dinner. I said, yeah, true. So we came and we met crystal and Nevada and, uh, I was, uh, very, uh, great discussion because, uh, uh, I, I’m always to create, uh, the situation with, uh, progress that is, uh, goodness and success, right?

So there was very interesting for Novalis said, you know what, you know, you can create, uh, actually a good, uh, something good in the world and, and succeed as well. Right? So that’s what he was also doing. So he started really, um, uh, liking the idea and he started coming to my place and, uh, and he called my place that he said that, uh, I am very expensive trader, but very cheap philosopher. So, and well, at one point he actually pointed to the hard choices and easy lie, you know, he, he said that, uh, at, at the party, uh, one day was this a Denali part Denali, the, the Indian, uh, uh, holiday. And then he’s a, that there is very difficult to say something meaningful in a few words. And he said, um, Aristotle, I learned, uh, you know, uh, know yourself. So, uh, and then he said, so I engage really and, uh, pursue, uh, really learning about who I am and discovering, uh, really myself in the world.

And from she said then from Buddha, I learned, uh, that, uh, desires suffering. So I tried to deal with it. So I would detach yourself from desire and the work in the world and produced the progress that, uh, without expectations. And then a, is this from Josie? I learned the hard says is easy life. Then you know, by that I learned how to live, how to uh, choose, uh, you know, that when something is important, have to recognize, uh, uh, what is the hard choice? And, uh, and because of that I kind of, uh, uh, lean toward, uh, you know, seeing, uh, actually my saying, uh, Nevada first pointed to it, that is actually very, uh, important saying that I used. And as a more talking about that.

Now I want to ask you this question is that, is he, I know a lot of listeners want to know this. They want to know, they want, they want to know, Josie, what are the three foods, maybe two foods, five foods? What are the things that definitely caused the most weight gain? Is, is it, is it just sugar? Is it alcohol? Is it, uh, Graham crackers? I mean, sugar, the alcohol. I mean, what’s your why? Why is he going to go negative like [inaudible] or like positive show in three posts. You can be in the chip, you can be in the gym just walking out two hours a day. But if you eat this or drink this, it’s going to cause weight gain. What is it?

a is a, it’s galleries. A in a, uh, we follow calories. We don’t really follow, uh, what food you can follow. Uh, what food you want to eat from the perspective of health, what is healthy and what is not. But if you want to each parents phrase every day and lose weight, you will. So, uh, it really doesn’t matter. So if you want to be healthy, this is different question.

Eh, Jerzy Gregorek, don’t you think so? So you preach a lot of the, the vegetables, you two times vegetables based on that other stuff. My trainer basically said eat all the vegetables you want. And the more you eat the better because it’s kind of like a, it’s very good for you, but they’re empty calories and so you’re using up calories, which you wouldn’t use for the hamburgers. So you just eat a smaller part of the hamburger, smarter part of the pizza because you’ve, you’re using up double calories on, on the the vegetables. And I personally, I love vegetables, so that was easy for me.

Empty calories. Well they are really great calories. You know, actually you, uh, you know, the, uh, the vegetables actually, uh, novel one one said, you know, nobody has died because of eating too, too many veggies, right? So, but vegetables are very important because they are anti-inflammatories, so, and also alkaline, alkaline. So it, it is very buoyant to eat as many veggies as you can on a daily basis. So, uh, you know, twice as much veggies on that plate. It’s just, uh, uh, very, uh, they’re not really pushed by very slight way, subtle way to introduce veggies to people so they could actually, uh, eat veggies because usually people don’t have twice as much veggies on the plate. Right. But, uh, vegetables, uh, uh, used to, are a lot of, you know, cancer healing and all kinds of healing and it’s very important for our system and we know that, you know, certain illnesses in the past were because we didn’t have veggie veggies in the system. So, uh, uh, it’s important to have them as much as possible. Like I would, I would agree with the, we are trainer. I have about today I have about eight pounds of veggies a day. Eight pounds, I, yes. Eight, eight pounds of veggies a day.

A day. Yeah. Well that’s, that’s not much because you know, when you think about those who actually want to cleanse the liver and, and heal themselves from problems and so on, they use 14 pounds. Yes.

What’s your move? What’s your favorite vegetable? Come on. What is rolled back?

Well, you know, first of all, you think about having, have you eat them. Oh, so when you have, let’s say a juice a day, that’s two free pounds of Veggies, right? And that’s like 69 ounces of juice, right? And you have already, when, when you have a soup, then you can eat two or three pounds of veggies. And you’ll think about the one pound of Veggie really is about a hundred calories, right? So, so if you, uh, if you have Jews from free pounds, and that’s not really much, we have 300 calories. So then you have reduces and then you have not many calories, right? So if you have a one pound of green beans with Salomon, let’s say, right? So one pound of, uh, of green beans, it’s about a hundred calories. Just literally not many colors, but it’s a very feeling and a very nutritious,

no, I have, I have two final questions for you there. I didn’t mean to cut you off. Did I cut you off there? That the connection cut out for a second.

You did a little bit, but he, I’m sorry to cut you off there. How do green beans is very filling and not a lot of calories. Okay. I don’t want to offend our guests here. He was just getting on a roll with this tough dude. I would not want to fit in this dude. He’ll come in weight lift you over his head. Jerzy Gregorek Here we are. My final two questions for you. You wrote this book called the happy body. I’d love for you to share about the book. I think that’s an important thing. Want to make sure we get a chance to share about the book. And also we’d really like to get into your daily routine. You know, what time you wake up and how you organize the first four hours of every day. So let’s start with the book. What inspired you to write the book, the happy body, the simple science of nutrition, exercise and be that station?

Oh, what inspired me is that, you know, as I said, people really, uh, needed, uh, to pursue for themselves and to master their own life. And that must be, has to have to come from them and not from me. I coach people, you know, seven times a a week and then still they would not really achieve independence. So independence was very clear that they have to really be independent. The, the s that the from independence, it goes the freedom and the fire from within all of it. That it was really, uh, important. So, uh, and also I don’t like when we, uh, complain and blame and others for our problems and so on. So, uh, I wanted to create a responsibility. I wanted to create a person that is a master of his choices and doesn’t blame it, doesn’t complain others for his failures. So, uh, creating a system that would allow that person to live a youthful life over time until, uh, you know, a hundred and beyond and create a happy buddy system.

That was my, uh, aim and the purpose created standards for that. I created the plan and created the whole thing, how to actually progress, how to, to build micro progression and how to achieve the, the body that would be equal, let’s say eight year old, uh, weight lifting champion, uh, from where I actually, uh, took the all the mathematics to, uh, to know how strong the person should be or, or how fast or how, uh, flexible the person should be. So then I created, uh, also the system, the exercises them, the food system that would allow people to gain weight, lose weight, a gain muscle, and then the system also that would, uh, help people to, uh, to stress release, to be mindful, to, uh, to be in the system that would be meditative system for 30, 40 minutes a day. That they would experience calmness, they would experience, uh, uh, the system that over time they would feel that everything is good, everything is right in their life and, uh, uh, that, that good life is within the rage. They, they, they don’t have to have anxiety and the more they can actually have calmness and a good life.

Okay. Well, Z, Z, I’ll tell you what, this guy is dropping knowledge bombs. I feel like Z, I’m almost scared to me. Knowledgeable there. Same for your dad. Bit of fear in it’s like running through the world of knowledge.

He knows. So is that, you know, I want to, uh, I want to live good life. I don’t want to know how to live the good life so that, you know, a plate, it was the philosopher they wanted to know about living Betsy gratis, wanted to know, Eh, to, to uh, become the living and, and that’s a, the happy body is the way, that way that you, you can not really, uh, you can learn about it, but you will never be, uh, you never experienced that. They’re heavy bodies. So in a way, um, you know, you, you need to go on and create for yourself that mastery and, and uh, stability thinking. What is it about really, because the life you go through life and, and you lived a life and you live the life the way you actually create it. And, and that’s how it is. And if it’s not good, if you feel like, uh, something is missing, then then go and acquire the knowledge, then quiet the skills, and then actually start, you know, creating and manifesting it. Like Wayne Dyer said, manifest your life.

So let me ask you this. So if we’re looking into your schedule and how you’re manifesting these principles in your own life and you’re living intentionally, what time do you typically wake up at and how do you spend the first four hours of every day?

So I, uh, wake up before six and I’m a very fast, uh, I shaved myself. I cleaned my teeth right? And it takes me about 10 minutes. Uh, and then I have a first client that’s six. All right. So I will sit with my client for, you know, let’s say sit and I drink tea. Uh, and then we have a good time. We talked and we go to the gym. Then, uh, all my clients are, uh, one on one and I spend some time with them to see how the mind is working. Also, how the physically they work. So I go to the gym and I see, uh, how I can create progress and how that micro progression can be tweaked. So that’s what I do. And then, uh, that person goes to meditation room, meditates for five minutes, and I, uh, come to the house and then, uh, next client is coming in at seven.

So, uh, and then another comes at eight and nine and 10, 11. If I have one hour three, let’s say, then I spend that hour on meditation. I spent time on, uh, making food or uh, writing something or talking to annual. I bet that something moves me. So I will write the poem and then I spend time. So I catch my time. But I see that working with people is the most useful time. That actually it makes me the most real. Uh, Eh, I am connected to, uh, to something that is evolving. Something that is a hard choice and something that is, uh, uh, upgrading the life. And we are doing this together.

Jersey, Jersey, the uh, you and your wife worked together. You’re saying you do all this together.

Yeah. But you know, we see separately people, uh, we don’t, we don’t sit with one person person together sometimes. Yes. You know, the, the a, she does it. She has her own clients. But, but uh, our clients are mixed. Uh, sometimes she can be with my client. I can be where so it’s not like my or her. Uh, yeah, we do the same thing.

I think technically on your website, I think she’s won a UN more world championships than you or yeah.

So today, but she still queens, queens, you know, a and jerker the way. So, you know,

wow, I love a girl that could clean and clean up a squirrel here in Oklahoma because it, you’ve got the final, final question here. Cleaning, Cook. Um, okay. So I always liked to play the game. If you could go, if you could go back in time, so let’s go back to 1986. You could fly back in the Delorean time machine and catch you coming off the plane to America or the boat or the train or however you got over here. Start the bordering on a train and you could sit down with yourself and say, self self, let me tell you a few things. What would you tell yourself at that point? What would you say to your younger self, self, self? Let me tell you a few things. More burgers and mean. What would you say?

I’m thinking, but it, you know, um, I, uh, I moved through life with, uh, appreciation of every moment and, uh, I, uh, I always say that the past is not interesting. That, that the present moment is interesting, right? Like it is now. So, uh, I believe that everything, whatever I happen needed to happen to be what I am today. So, so, uh, there is no way that I could actually speed up the any process because that I recognize this anxiety or something like this. So I have a very, I have fantastic, uh, living, you know, Eh, I always live in the present moment and I see that in the present moment. I only have the power to change. There is some, you know, uh, insights about in the present, I can think about the future or in the present. I can think about the past, but they still in the present. So, um, the present moment is extremely valuable and that’s the only moment that we are actually live life. And I, uh, I love the present moment. So,

so you just, you would just go back and give him a big man hug and say, sign president, you’re going to be okay and walk off. Yeah, yeah. Like that, you know,

wait, when you think about where I was, uh, you know, our luggage was stolen when, uh, we were from New York to Detroit and we lost everything.

I’d say, I’d say watch the luggage a little better. Yeah.

Uh, maybe it’s better to have nothing, you know, start, you know, in America, uh, without anything what the past, you know, uh, came with us. So, uh, it was really, we had only $600 and, and uh, there you go. Somebody else. So, uh, but you know, it’s uh, it’s very interesting too because, uh, it, you evolve and there are people and then when they are people, then uh, you find them and they will find you too. You know, we and people found us and then, uh, help us and then we found others and help them. [inaudible] there are always people there and people, mostly people are really good. So, uh, you don’t have to worry wherever you go in the world, you know, there are always people there.

Well, with the thing I love about your story is, and what is inspiring hopefully to all the thrive nation, listen to this, is that you’ve taken a passion. You’ve taken something you enjoy true. You’re taking something you excel at, right? I mean, you could just have this as a side hobby. You could just say, you know what? I’m just going to stand shy. I’m going to stay in shape. We competed back in the day, we were pretty good and now I’m going to go punch a time clock somewhere and do whatever. But what you’ve done is you’ve taken your passion, you’ve taken the thing that you enjoy doing and turn it into a great business. And that’s, that’s inspiring. And so people out there go, what do I do? You know, people are out there wondering how to start a business or, or take their hobby or their passion and their love and turn it into one. And that’s why I love about your guys’ stories, that you guys have done that and now you’re making a great living, doing the thing that you love doing and see, you know what I like to do on every show? What’s it? I like to direct our listeners to go visit a specific website. I love to do that when I call. Yeah, sorry. You’re out there. The you learned something today. Go check out the happy body.com.

Check out the happy body.com and I have no data to prove this, but z and I have speculated that we’ve talked about this, that if the listeners don’t go to happy [inaudible] dot com there is a strong chance they will not have a happy body. I mean [inaudible] slight to moderate chance. We’re going to have it make sense. If you’re in a moderately happy body, then don’t go to happy body.com if you want a happy body, well go to the happy vault picture on that. On your website. The little girl is, that’s your daughter? Yes. Okay, so you and your wife and your daughter, she’s, yeah, you guys are beautiful family, so you’re welcome because there’s a little of eye candy. Even if that’ll make your body happy, they’re just a little bit, yeah. Yeah. Beautiful people and beautiful websites that have the body.com Jersey. Thank you so much for your time, my friend and then we’re going to hang up so that way you don’t have to hang up on us. Thank you sir. Well Done Jersey. Well keep up the good work. Make bodies happy. Boom. Now Jersey, we’re off. A quick question here for you. Did you have a good time today? Yeah, it was really fun. Okay, awesome. Well as soon as we get the show edited, we will send this link to you so you can share it or not share it to your heart’s content. We’re looking at kind of early May right now placement based upon the ones we have ahead of you. But we appreciate you so much for buddy.

Thank you. I hope you know, uh, we’ll talk about this in about two years, you know, free again, it would be, it’s always like, uh, that time really changes and when you are contemporary, everything changes. I think the words change, but we do the same thing that that’s what I would say.

Jersey. If you uh, run into neval. Oh, Ravi Con, do you just tell him, you say clay Clark really wants to have you on the show. I haven’t tried to chase down that beautiful man for a long time and I know he’s in your Dojo with you getting, getting in shape. That’s why he can’t be on her show and tell him he can, he can be working out with you while we’re doing the interview. He can be wearing a headset. Clay wants to check out his happy body. He, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Don’t miss reading the notes. Okay. Well, jersey, you take care of my friend.

All right. Thank you guys.

Alright, you’re fantastic. Thanks, Andrew. Before we wrap up today’s show, I just, uh, for historical record, I wanted to ask you, what is the official official time, what is the official time right now? What is the, the time you and I are experiencing on this great planet earth? Oh, man, it is 3:03 AM what time did you wake up? I woke up at one 45 this morning. Really? One 45 and I did. And why’d you wake up that early? I just don’t like being late, so I always wake up stupid early. Yeah, I woke up at two 15. Oh Wow. Yeah. Let’s go ahead in the show with a three Oh one boom. So it’s like three Oh one boom. No way we can celebrate the, the, the, the threeness in the morning. Yeah. For historical purposes. All right. Are you ready? I’m so ready. Here we go. Three Oh boom.

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