March 7, 2019 • 23 mins
In episode 7 of Amplified Wellness I am joined by the CEO of the worlds largest Paleo conference PALEO FX. Michelle Norris discusses the SAD diet and how it is fueling modern disease and how eating in line with our ancestral past can help regain optimal health.
Paleo Fx is an event that occurs annually in Austin Texas and attracts the the very best thought leaders in Paleo, Keto, Ancestral health and functional medicine
Enjoy the episode
Best health & regards
Chris Barnes
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris (00:17):
Hey Chris Barnes here and welcome to amplified wellness.
Today I'm joined by my veryspecial guest all the way from
Austin, Texas.
She is the CEO of Paleo Fx, theworld's largest Paleo and
ancestral health gathering.
Michele Norris, thank you somuch for being on amplified
wellness.
Michelle Norris (00:35):
Thank you so much for having me, Chris.
I'm excited to be here.
Chris (00:39):
That's, that's awesome.
Michelle.
I was recently listening to afitfluential radio podcast and
you're a guest on there and youwere talking about this sad diet
and it really resonated with me.
It's not a term that I hadn'treally heard too often over here
in Australia.
It sounded pretty grim.
(01:00):
Not a great diet, but, I'm surea lot of us, in this country and
over there in the states thatare following this sad type of
diet.
Can you get started and justtell us a bit more about what
the sad diet is?
Michelle Norris (01:13):
Yes, so a sad diet, standard American diet, I
think that can actually workobviously for Australia's.
Chris (01:19):
Yeah,
Michelle Norris (01:21):
absolutely.
You all might be a little bitmore healthy than we are, but,,
standard American diet is highlyprocessed, lots of sugar, lots
of additives, lots of grain,refined carbohydrates, and,
really just a very unhealthydiet and it's not,, what we were
involved and meant to eat.
, so obviously whole,unprocessed foods are the types
(01:46):
of foods that we really want tobe eating for optimal health.
And so, yeah, standard AmericanDiet.
Sad.
Chris (01:54):
Oh, we can claim that, like you said, standard
Australian diet I think we'renot far behind America with some
of those health conditions and Iguess,, what you're doing, which
is an amazing job with Paleo Fxis Educating people on that
ancestral health, Paleo and Ketoand functional medicine, which
is amazing.
(02:15):
, not, not a lot of Australianswhen I chat to them know about
Paleo Fx and I guess a part ofthis podcast is a great
opportunity to, Open Up theirears, to the world of Paleo and
Keto.
It's a very thrown around termthese days.
A lot of people are using PaleoKeto, but I, I think there's
(02:36):
still a lot of grey area inbetween their understanding.
So, both you& your husbandKeith, had some health concerns
I believe, you were probablyfollowing a sad diet maybe at
some degree.
Is that correct?
Michelle Norris (02:55):
Oh, I absolutely was.
So before I became Paleo, I'm,I'm a chef and so my specialty
is a chef of Italian, so I mademy own pizza and pasta dough.
So obviously lots of refinedcarbohydrates.
We didn't eat a lot of junk foodso we weren't eating a whole lot
of processed food.
But when you're eating that muchrefined carbohydrates and your
(03:17):
putting that much grain intoyour body and you can't help but
have some inflammation& someissues going on.
So whenever I actually decidedto go Paleo, I had been
diagnosed with fibromyalgia,IBS, which is irritable bowel
syndrome, chronic fatiguesyndrome, cfs.
(03:38):
I had been diagnosed with earlyonset rheumatoid arthritis,
which, as it turns out that thatwas a misdiagnosis.
I do not have rheumatoidarthritis because everything
went away as soon as three weeksafter.
going Paleo.
So all of that was gone.
Keith actually had an issue withhigh blood pressure, a genetic
(04:00):
high blood pressure and actuallyit corrected itself after he
went Paleo and he's never hadhigh blood pressure since.
So it's been a really great, um,for us both health wise, Keith
is extremely healthy.
He's always been really in tunewith his diet, with this working
out clearly.
Um, anybody that knows him,knows how he is about all of
(04:22):
that stuff.
So for him to have a high bloodpressure was really concerning
to him because nothing changed.
he changed like, salt, all ofthe things that they tell you to
do the coffee, which everybodythat knows Keith also knows,
Keith is a huge coffee drinker,actually he has coffee with his
coffee and He has a lot ofcoffee with his coffee.
(04:48):
And so he just really could notget that under control no matter
what he seemed to do and untilHe actually changed and went
into a Paleo Diet because, itwas all the refined
carbohydrates.
, you know, the pizza, pastadough, all of that stuff.
Even though I'm making all ofthat by hand and we almost all
(05:08):
of our dinners at home, veryrarely ate out.
, very rarely had any kind ofjunk food or any kind of fast
food at all.
We would have the occasional,sub sandwiches or whatever we,
we were big jersey Mike fans,huge Jersey fans.
And so, um, just having changingand moving that out of his diet
(05:32):
because he was, his diet's was,super dialed in, always has been
just changing that really wasable to affect and help him get
his blood pressure undercontrol.
That's incredible.
And for yourself to see thosechanges within three weeks is
astounding.
Yes, it was crazy.
And then this is your thing.
(05:53):
So when you are on a standardAmerican diet, even if it's a
standard Australian Diet, ifyour on that diet particularly
as women, you YoYo a lot in yourweight.
So in my closet I had anythingfrom a size six to a size 12,
because I would yo yo and goback and forth.
And what was interesting is, um,over a six week period I had was
(06:17):
my size was going back down andI was getting into, actually I
got into a size four for awhile.
That's not actually, I don'tthink that's healthy for me.
I don't look good at a size fourand I think that's not a good
weight for me health wise.
But I wasn't really, I wasn'treally paying attention at that
point.
I was just eating a paleo dietand really, no added sugars, no,
(06:43):
refined carbohydrates and I wasjust really dialed into, a
little bit of fruit, some nutsand seeds of vegetables and
meat.
And so, um, what wasinteresting, our son plays or
did play, he's grown now.,select baseball back at the
during that time.
And we were out of season when Istarted the Paleo Diet and I had
(07:07):
probably been Paleo for aboutsix weeks.
We had not seen any of the, teammembers or any of the parents or
anything for about 12 weeks.
And so, when we came to the veryfirst game of the season when we
came in, everybody was like, ohmy God, you look amazing.
You've lost so much weight,looks so healthy.
(07:27):
You look so you know, so vibrantand what are you doing?
And that was it.
I was only doing Paleo.
I wasn't trying to lose weight.
It just happened naturallybecause I was eating foods that
were, my body was meant to eatand my body was capable of
processing and actually takingthe nutrients that it needed and
(07:47):
getting rid of the stuff that itdidn't.
And it was just an, I becamevery fat adopted at that point.
Chris (07:53):
That's amazing.
My wife and I, we work in thefitness, health and fitness
industry.
We own a gym and we see thestruggles that members have just
trying to get their bodycomposition in line just with
training and training.
So for all of the listeners thatare trying to get some change
with body composition,potentially a Paleo lifestyle
eating regimen might be the bestplace to start.
(08:19):
With, the transition for Keithand yourself.
So obviously your specialty inItalian cuisine, which is carbs,
carbs, carbs was there somehiccups along the way?
, some speed bumps to moving.
Some of those high carbpreferences out of your diet.
Michelle Norris (08:35):
When I first went Paleo, no, there was no, I
didn't divert from it at all.
what was interesting because Ifelt so good.
I stopped, I stopped being, Iwas literally, before I went,
Paleo was literally in painevery single time I ate.
And so, then I also, the brainfog went away because, and then
(08:57):
I started not having, I also hada lower back pain that I
actually really didn't recognizeuntil it went away.
So I have that.
And then I had a lot of jointpain.
My knees really swelled and hadI had some real serious issues.
So for me, gluten actuallyshowed up in my joints and
everything.
So I felt so good.
There was no way I was gonna go.
(09:18):
But what was, for me, the, thesituation that happened for me
was I was in a state of denialand I was very angry that I had
to cut these foods that I lovefrom my diet in order to be
healthy.
I was really mad at the time.
And so, and I had this wholethought processes about at some
point I'm going to be able tofigure out how to put these
(09:40):
things back into my diet.
That was where like, whycouldn't it be able to figure
this out?
And I'm going to, you know, defyevery person out there and I'll
be able to figure out how to putit back in my diet.
Well, what was, so I was nothappy about it.
I was pretty angry.
I came into Paleo kind ofkicking and screaming, but the
day that we went to that thatbaseball game and all the
(10:04):
parents were, were talking abouthow good I looked and how, how I
lost so much weight and I hadnot tried, I had gone through
periods of time where I wastrying desperately to lose
weight and could not lose weightand was, you know, starving
myself doing all the shit you'renot supposed to do.
(10:24):
I was doing all that so that,that was like the light bulb
moment for me.
That was when I realized at thatmoment this is information that
could actually really helppeople and could actually make
losing weight and actuallygetting healthy a lot simpler
process and a lot easier.
And then at that point I reallydidn't, did not, I just really
(10:49):
don't have a taste for it verymuch anymore.
So if I went Italian now, I lovecauliflower crust pizza, love
it.
I love, I actually prefer likezoodles,, with any of my pasta.
I prefer that actually.
I prefer the taste and Iactually prefer it to having
(11:10):
actual roll pasta.
Now I enjoy, um, copellosoccasionally copellos makes a
really good pasta.
The substance, you know, a kindof a substitute that's made more
out of flour and all of thatstuff, but not enough.
No, no gluten, obviously.
But, um, and so I can enjoy thatfrom time to time, but I still,
I still don't feel great on it.
(11:31):
Like I do.
And I do zoodles because youstill are putting some refined
flours and even though they're,they are grain free and all of
that, and they're, they'reactually good for you.
For me, they just don't work aswell because that's still a
carb.
That doesn't work well.
Well for me, so I don't recoveras well, but every once in a
(11:51):
while I'll enjoy it.
And I'll savour it and I'll beokay.
And, um, you know, just move on.
But, um,
Chris (11:58):
zoodles zoodles are they a Zucchini noodles?
Yes.
Yes.
I figured so.
Yeah.
They're fantastic.
Yeah.
Well, I use them as a substitutein our spaghetti.
They go for the Aussielisteners.
Zoodles a Zucchini noodles.
Michelle Norris (12:15):
That's awesome.
Yeah, the noodles.
Chris (12:21):
It's a great name
Michelle Norris (12:25):
When you'd make noodles, yellow squashes it.
Squoodles I don't know.
Chris (12:29):
Potentially potentially I guess.
for some of the listeners whohave children and I've got a
four year old boy and a one anda bit year old girl.
Some some of the challenges thatwe have, we know that we should
be reducing the refinedcarbohydrates and things, but
the convenience factor in thebehavioural side of things comes
(12:52):
into play.
Do you have any tips for movingaway from those kinds of foodsas
a chef?
So like crackers and things likethat?
Michelle Norris (13:02):
So this is the thing.
We actually used to own gyms.
We actually sold our shares ofthe gyms just really recently.
So we actually, we're dealingwith clients on a daily basis
and everything.
And the thing is, is that forus, whenever we're coaching any
clients that are going into thePaleo Diet, if you can do it, if
(13:25):
you can do the, you know, justknock it all out, eliminated
all, that's obviously the best.
But for some people that'sreally difficult.
And so our first thing right offthe bat is getting out all the
processed sugar because thesugar a piece is the part that
is the hardest to overcome.
And sometimes that can just dosomebody in immediately.
(13:47):
So, you know, we hear everybodytalk about Carb Flu and it's a
real thing., it sounds weird,but what happens is when you
first start getting rid of thesethings from your body, your body
starts a detox process.
And what happens is you can hitthis point where you just feel
absolutely miserable.
(14:07):
You just feel like you have theflu, which is why we call it
carb flu.
And so, um, to get, oh you justhave to push through that.
Cause usually that carb flulasts anywhere from 24 hours to
usually no more than 72 hours,maybe four days at the most.
I've, I've don't think I've everseen anybody wear it lasted more
than two, three days tops., butthere's extreme cases.
(14:31):
But the thing is, is at thatpoint, that means that your body
is actually making thetransition from being a,,
glycogen burning engine to that.
It's trying to move over to notburning sugar but now starting
to burn some fat.
And so if you just keep pushingthrough that and just to get
through the, the fact that it,it's kind of painful, you
(14:53):
actually get to the other sideand you just feel a lot better.
So the first thing we tellpeople if they honestly think
they can't get rid of everythingat one time is to do the sugar
first and then go to the grains.
The next thing is getting rid ofall the grains and the gluten
super highly inflammatory.
And so those are, that's wherewe would say those are the first
(15:16):
things to go.
And obviously we want to, justto make sure it, particularly
when you have kids, it's reallyhard if your kids are already in
a space where they are gettingaccess sugar or they're getting
grains and all of that andtaking that away from them, it's
kind of hard.
So our recommendation for tryingto get children on board is
(15:38):
actually find a really goodsubstitute, something that's
really a good alternative that'shealthier.
It's not, it's not, we justbelieve you focus on the good
and not the perfect becauseobviously we want to get to the
perfect, we want to get to wherewe have all the crap out of our
diets.
But in all honesty, that's nevergonna happen.
(15:58):
I don't have a perfect diet.
I still have to from time totime do things.
I decide that I'm going to havesomething that's got grains in
it because I actually want thator enjoy that or what have you.
And so I, mindfully make thatdecision and I mindfully, know
how I'm going to end up payingfor it.
(16:20):
And whether or not it's worth itto me and then I make that
decision.
And so, um, for children it'sreally hard for them because if
they were in this thing of wherethey're eating some types of
grains or they've, they'regetting desserts or they're
getting excess sugars and thattype of thing is, it, it's
better to transition them outwith good alternatives.
(16:40):
So if you have a child that's,um, really hooked on Coca Cola,
for instance, or Dr Pepper orwhatever that is, if they're
hooked on that switch'em out toa zevia to a natural soda
because that's going to be abetter transition for them.
And they're not going to feellike they are being deprived so
(17:02):
much because it's a much bettersubstitute the process for,
there's no artificial colors,flavors, any of that stuff
that's in Zevia.
I'm a big proponent of thatbecause it's just getting the
small wins that make it adifference where you can
actually move on to the biggerpicture and really get their,
(17:24):
them on board with, actuallytaking part in and choosing and
being mindful about their owndiet and that they feel better
and that they, and they want tofeel better because, you know,
the last thing kids want is tofeel like crap and because they
want to go up and play and theywant to run and they want to do
all of that.
And so those are the things thatwe would say is make the
(17:45):
alternative, bring in thealternatives they're there to
help you get in that transitiontime period there.
It helps you get them from hereto here.
And so, those are the thingsthat I would do.
There's so many options now.
, which we love on.
You see it, you're going to seeit when you come to Paleo FX
(18:07):
this year, which I'm superexcited.
You're going to see so manyreally great alternatives on the
floor.
And this is the great, and webet every single exhibitor
that's coming in, there's noband ingredients that are on our
floor.
So when your kids are runningaround on the floor and they can
actually take samples and younot have to be worried about
(18:27):
what it is they're they'regetting and they're going to
love all the stuff that's on thefloor, they're going to be like,
oh my gosh, that's so good.
And so, um, then they're goingto want that.
And, and there it is.
It's a healthier alternative.
And so, um, that's just mythought process is just go for
those healthier alternatives.
It's a better choice than what'scurrently maybe they're
(18:50):
currently doing.
And that's just an easier way totransition children into a
better, healthier eatingprogram.
Chris (18:57):
That's absolutely fantastic advice, and touching
on Paleo Fx.
So it is literally only a monthand a bit away.
Um, my wife and I's pendingaccount white, bringing,
bringing their family across toAustin, Texas for our very first
time.
, this event is so exciting.
I, I look at the lineup and it'sthe best of the best of the
(19:20):
thought leaders in Paleo, Ketoancestral health functional
medicine look the likes of DrMercola, Chris Kresser, Dave
Asprey from bulletproof, to namea few Robb wolf.
Mark's decision.
Do you just get blown away ateach event?
Like working with these, theseguests?
It's unbelievable.
Michelle Norris (19:41):
Yeah.
I sometimes have to pinch myselfthat this is when I get to do
for a living and then I get to,um, bring together, like you
said, the best of the best inthe world in what they do and,
and the fact that they arechanging millions, not just
thousands but millions ofpeople's lives, every single
(20:03):
year.
And that, um, we get to be asmall part of what they do and
being able to bring them in is,a real honour.
And, we feel very blessed thatwe are, we've been able to, to
be able to continue to keepdoing this.
And this will be our eighth yearand we're super excited about
it.
So it isn't an it, it's astellar lineup.
(20:23):
I mean like it's all line upthat you can't see anywhere
else.
So we're excited
Chris (20:30):
and I believe that,, there's, there's opportunities
to network and speak with theseguests, presenters also, which
is just unparalleled with anyother kind of conference you go
to.
So that's, that's amazing.
So any Australians that havetime and the ability to get
across, I'd highly recommend,uh, but I'm, I'm definitely
going to do a follow up from myexperience at Paleo Fx.
(20:53):
So hopefully for years to comemore and more a Aussies will
make the trip across there andhopefully more and more
conversations will start inAustralia around these highly
important topics as well.
Michelle Norris (21:07):
Well, it's also, there's also talk, I've
heard through the grapevine thatwe've talked about coming to
Australia, so we want to do inthe next couple of years is to
be able to come to Australia.
We're trying to really dial inwhat we do so that we can take
it out on the road.
It's,, it's quite the beast to,to put that on in the region
(21:30):
here in our backyard.
And, but taking it, across thepond is going to be quite a
feat.
So we want to make sure thatwhen we do it, it's right and
it's at the caliber and levelthat we want to be able to
present.
But yeah, well I know thatAustralia is one of the places
that will be coming.
Chris (21:50):
Paleo Fx down under.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Michelle Norris (21:54):
Sounds good to Me.
Chris (21:57):
Michele Norris.
Thank you so much.
I look forward to getting acrosshere and meeting you in person
next month in Texas.
And um, yeah, if, if peoplewould like to find out more
about halo effects, is it, uh,just to the website,
Paleofx.com?
Michelle Norris (22:12):
Yes.
our Facebook page is, Paleo FXand you can follow us on all
social media at Paleo FX and allkinds of stuff going on.
This is Paleo awareness month.
For those of you that mightmarches to Paleo awareness
(22:32):
month, something that we claimedit a couple of years ago.
And so, um, we have a hugegiveaway coming up, and so we'll
make sure that you get all thelinks and everything, Chris, so
that you can get that out toyour followers and you could
actually win tickets to paleofx
Chris (22:47):
Fabulous.
Fabulous.
Well, like I said, absolutepleasure.
Look forward to seeing you andmeeting you next month.
and thank you so much.
I know you've had a busy day.
Michelle Norris (22:56):
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
I, I'm honoured to have on.
Thanks.
Chris (23:00):
Thanks, Michelle.
Bye.
If you love this podcast, besure to subscribe to the
amplified wellness podcast andstay up to date with all the
latest episodes.
Hey Chris Barnes here and welcome to amplified wellness.
Today I'm joined by my veryspecial guest all the way from
Austin, Texas.
She is the CEO of Paleo Fx, theworld's largest Paleo and
ancestral health gathering.
Michele Norris, thank you somuch for being on amplified
wellness.
Michelle Norris (00:35):
Thank you so much for having me, Chris.
I'm excited to be here.
Chris (00:39):
That's, that's awesome.
Michelle.
I was recently listening to afitfluential radio podcast and
you're a guest on there and youwere talking about this sad diet
and it really resonated with me.
It's not a term that I hadn'treally heard too often over here
in Australia.
It sounded pretty grim.
(01:00):
Not a great diet, but, I'm surea lot of us, in this country and
over there in the states thatare following this sad type of
diet.
Can you get started and justtell us a bit more about what
the sad diet is?
Michelle Norris (01:13):
Yes, so a sad diet, standard American diet, I
think that can actually workobviously for Australia's.
Chris (01:19):
Yeah,
Michelle Norris (01:21):
absolutely.
You all might be a little bitmore healthy than we are, but,,
standard American diet is highlyprocessed, lots of sugar, lots
of additives, lots of grain,refined carbohydrates, and,
really just a very unhealthydiet and it's not,, what we were
involved and meant to eat.
, so obviously whole,unprocessed foods are the types
(01:46):
of foods that we really want tobe eating for optimal health.
And so, yeah, standard AmericanDiet.
Sad.
Chris (01:54):
Oh, we can claim that, like you said, standard
Australian diet I think we'renot far behind America with some
of those health conditions and Iguess,, what you're doing, which
is an amazing job with Paleo Fxis Educating people on that
ancestral health, Paleo and Ketoand functional medicine, which
is amazing.
(02:15):
, not, not a lot of Australianswhen I chat to them know about
Paleo Fx and I guess a part ofthis podcast is a great
opportunity to, Open Up theirears, to the world of Paleo and
Keto.
It's a very thrown around termthese days.
A lot of people are using PaleoKeto, but I, I think there's
(02:36):
still a lot of grey area inbetween their understanding.
So, both you& your husbandKeith, had some health concerns
I believe, you were probablyfollowing a sad diet maybe at
some degree.
Is that correct?
Michelle Norris (02:55):
Oh, I absolutely was.
So before I became Paleo, I'm,I'm a chef and so my specialty
is a chef of Italian, so I mademy own pizza and pasta dough.
So obviously lots of refinedcarbohydrates.
We didn't eat a lot of junk foodso we weren't eating a whole lot
of processed food.
But when you're eating that muchrefined carbohydrates and your
(03:17):
putting that much grain intoyour body and you can't help but
have some inflammation& someissues going on.
So whenever I actually decidedto go Paleo, I had been
diagnosed with fibromyalgia,IBS, which is irritable bowel
syndrome, chronic fatiguesyndrome, cfs.
(03:38):
I had been diagnosed with earlyonset rheumatoid arthritis,
which, as it turns out that thatwas a misdiagnosis.
I do not have rheumatoidarthritis because everything
went away as soon as three weeksafter.
going Paleo.
So all of that was gone.
Keith actually had an issue withhigh blood pressure, a genetic
(04:00):
high blood pressure and actuallyit corrected itself after he
went Paleo and he's never hadhigh blood pressure since.
So it's been a really great, um,for us both health wise, Keith
is extremely healthy.
He's always been really in tunewith his diet, with this working
out clearly.
Um, anybody that knows him,knows how he is about all of
(04:22):
that stuff.
So for him to have a high bloodpressure was really concerning
to him because nothing changed.
he changed like, salt, all ofthe things that they tell you to
do the coffee, which everybodythat knows Keith also knows,
Keith is a huge coffee drinker,actually he has coffee with his
coffee and He has a lot ofcoffee with his coffee.
(04:48):
And so he just really could notget that under control no matter
what he seemed to do and untilHe actually changed and went
into a Paleo Diet because, itwas all the refined
carbohydrates.
, you know, the pizza, pastadough, all of that stuff.
Even though I'm making all ofthat by hand and we almost all
(05:08):
of our dinners at home, veryrarely ate out.
, very rarely had any kind ofjunk food or any kind of fast
food at all.
We would have the occasional,sub sandwiches or whatever we,
we were big jersey Mike fans,huge Jersey fans.
And so, um, just having changingand moving that out of his diet
(05:32):
because he was, his diet's was,super dialed in, always has been
just changing that really wasable to affect and help him get
his blood pressure undercontrol.
That's incredible.
And for yourself to see thosechanges within three weeks is
astounding.
Yes, it was crazy.
And then this is your thing.
(05:53):
So when you are on a standardAmerican diet, even if it's a
standard Australian Diet, ifyour on that diet particularly
as women, you YoYo a lot in yourweight.
So in my closet I had anythingfrom a size six to a size 12,
because I would yo yo and goback and forth.
And what was interesting is, um,over a six week period I had was
(06:17):
my size was going back down andI was getting into, actually I
got into a size four for awhile.
That's not actually, I don'tthink that's healthy for me.
I don't look good at a size fourand I think that's not a good
weight for me health wise.
But I wasn't really, I wasn'treally paying attention at that
point.
I was just eating a paleo dietand really, no added sugars, no,
(06:43):
refined carbohydrates and I wasjust really dialed into, a
little bit of fruit, some nutsand seeds of vegetables and
meat.
And so, um, what wasinteresting, our son plays or
did play, he's grown now.,select baseball back at the
during that time.
And we were out of season when Istarted the Paleo Diet and I had
(07:07):
probably been Paleo for aboutsix weeks.
We had not seen any of the, teammembers or any of the parents or
anything for about 12 weeks.
And so, when we came to the veryfirst game of the season when we
came in, everybody was like, ohmy God, you look amazing.
You've lost so much weight,looks so healthy.
(07:27):
You look so you know, so vibrantand what are you doing?
And that was it.
I was only doing Paleo.
I wasn't trying to lose weight.
It just happened naturallybecause I was eating foods that
were, my body was meant to eatand my body was capable of
processing and actually takingthe nutrients that it needed and
(07:47):
getting rid of the stuff that itdidn't.
And it was just an, I becamevery fat adopted at that point.
Chris (07:53):
That's amazing.
My wife and I, we work in thefitness, health and fitness
industry.
We own a gym and we see thestruggles that members have just
trying to get their bodycomposition in line just with
training and training.
So for all of the listeners thatare trying to get some change
with body composition,potentially a Paleo lifestyle
eating regimen might be the bestplace to start.
(08:19):
With, the transition for Keithand yourself.
So obviously your specialty inItalian cuisine, which is carbs,
carbs, carbs was there somehiccups along the way?
, some speed bumps to moving.
Some of those high carbpreferences out of your diet.
Michelle Norris (08:35):
When I first went Paleo, no, there was no, I
didn't divert from it at all.
what was interesting because Ifelt so good.
I stopped, I stopped being, Iwas literally, before I went,
Paleo was literally in painevery single time I ate.
And so, then I also, the brainfog went away because, and then
(08:57):
I started not having, I also hada lower back pain that I
actually really didn't recognizeuntil it went away.
So I have that.
And then I had a lot of jointpain.
My knees really swelled and hadI had some real serious issues.
So for me, gluten actuallyshowed up in my joints and
everything.
So I felt so good.
There was no way I was gonna go.
(09:18):
But what was, for me, the, thesituation that happened for me
was I was in a state of denialand I was very angry that I had
to cut these foods that I lovefrom my diet in order to be
healthy.
I was really mad at the time.
And so, and I had this wholethought processes about at some
point I'm going to be able tofigure out how to put these
(09:40):
things back into my diet.
That was where like, whycouldn't it be able to figure
this out?
And I'm going to, you know, defyevery person out there and I'll
be able to figure out how to putit back in my diet.
Well, what was, so I was nothappy about it.
I was pretty angry.
I came into Paleo kind ofkicking and screaming, but the
day that we went to that thatbaseball game and all the
(10:04):
parents were, were talking abouthow good I looked and how, how I
lost so much weight and I hadnot tried, I had gone through
periods of time where I wastrying desperately to lose
weight and could not lose weightand was, you know, starving
myself doing all the shit you'renot supposed to do.
(10:24):
I was doing all that so that,that was like the light bulb
moment for me.
That was when I realized at thatmoment this is information that
could actually really helppeople and could actually make
losing weight and actuallygetting healthy a lot simpler
process and a lot easier.
And then at that point I reallydidn't, did not, I just really
(10:49):
don't have a taste for it verymuch anymore.
So if I went Italian now, I lovecauliflower crust pizza, love
it.
I love, I actually prefer likezoodles,, with any of my pasta.
I prefer that actually.
I prefer the taste and Iactually prefer it to having
(11:10):
actual roll pasta.
Now I enjoy, um, copellosoccasionally copellos makes a
really good pasta.
The substance, you know, a kindof a substitute that's made more
out of flour and all of thatstuff, but not enough.
No, no gluten, obviously.
But, um, and so I can enjoy thatfrom time to time, but I still,
I still don't feel great on it.
(11:31):
Like I do.
And I do zoodles because youstill are putting some refined
flours and even though they're,they are grain free and all of
that, and they're, they'reactually good for you.
For me, they just don't work aswell because that's still a
carb.
That doesn't work well.
Well for me, so I don't recoveras well, but every once in a
(11:51):
while I'll enjoy it.
And I'll savour it and I'll beokay.
And, um, you know, just move on.
But, um,
Chris (11:58):
zoodles zoodles are they a Zucchini noodles?
Yes.
Yes.
I figured so.
Yeah.
They're fantastic.
Yeah.
Well, I use them as a substitutein our spaghetti.
They go for the Aussielisteners.
Zoodles a Zucchini noodles.
Michelle Norris (12:15):
That's awesome.
Yeah, the noodles.
Chris (12:21):
It's a great name
Michelle Norris (12:25):
When you'd make noodles, yellow squashes it.
Squoodles I don't know.
Chris (12:29):
Potentially potentially I guess.
for some of the listeners whohave children and I've got a
four year old boy and a one anda bit year old girl.
Some some of the challenges thatwe have, we know that we should
be reducing the refinedcarbohydrates and things, but
the convenience factor in thebehavioural side of things comes
(12:52):
into play.
Do you have any tips for movingaway from those kinds of foodsas
a chef?
So like crackers and things likethat?
Michelle Norris (13:02):
So this is the thing.
We actually used to own gyms.
We actually sold our shares ofthe gyms just really recently.
So we actually, we're dealingwith clients on a daily basis
and everything.
And the thing is, is that forus, whenever we're coaching any
clients that are going into thePaleo Diet, if you can do it, if
(13:25):
you can do the, you know, justknock it all out, eliminated
all, that's obviously the best.
But for some people that'sreally difficult.
And so our first thing right offthe bat is getting out all the
processed sugar because thesugar a piece is the part that
is the hardest to overcome.
And sometimes that can just dosomebody in immediately.
(13:47):
So, you know, we hear everybodytalk about Carb Flu and it's a
real thing., it sounds weird,but what happens is when you
first start getting rid of thesethings from your body, your body
starts a detox process.
And what happens is you can hitthis point where you just feel
absolutely miserable.
(14:07):
You just feel like you have theflu, which is why we call it
carb flu.
And so, um, to get, oh you justhave to push through that.
Cause usually that carb flulasts anywhere from 24 hours to
usually no more than 72 hours,maybe four days at the most.
I've, I've don't think I've everseen anybody wear it lasted more
than two, three days tops., butthere's extreme cases.
(14:31):
But the thing is, is at thatpoint, that means that your body
is actually making thetransition from being a,,
glycogen burning engine to that.
It's trying to move over to notburning sugar but now starting
to burn some fat.
And so if you just keep pushingthrough that and just to get
through the, the fact that it,it's kind of painful, you
(14:53):
actually get to the other sideand you just feel a lot better.
So the first thing we tellpeople if they honestly think
they can't get rid of everythingat one time is to do the sugar
first and then go to the grains.
The next thing is getting rid ofall the grains and the gluten
super highly inflammatory.
And so those are, that's wherewe would say those are the first
(15:16):
things to go.
And obviously we want to, justto make sure it, particularly
when you have kids, it's reallyhard if your kids are already in
a space where they are gettingaccess sugar or they're getting
grains and all of that andtaking that away from them, it's
kind of hard.
So our recommendation for tryingto get children on board is
(15:38):
actually find a really goodsubstitute, something that's
really a good alternative that'shealthier.
It's not, it's not, we justbelieve you focus on the good
and not the perfect becauseobviously we want to get to the
perfect, we want to get to wherewe have all the crap out of our
diets.
But in all honesty, that's nevergonna happen.
(15:58):
I don't have a perfect diet.
I still have to from time totime do things.
I decide that I'm going to havesomething that's got grains in
it because I actually want thator enjoy that or what have you.
And so I, mindfully make thatdecision and I mindfully, know
how I'm going to end up payingfor it.
(16:20):
And whether or not it's worth itto me and then I make that
decision.
And so, um, for children it'sreally hard for them because if
they were in this thing of wherethey're eating some types of
grains or they've, they'regetting desserts or they're
getting excess sugars and thattype of thing is, it, it's
better to transition them outwith good alternatives.
(16:40):
So if you have a child that's,um, really hooked on Coca Cola,
for instance, or Dr Pepper orwhatever that is, if they're
hooked on that switch'em out toa zevia to a natural soda
because that's going to be abetter transition for them.
And they're not going to feellike they are being deprived so
(17:02):
much because it's a much bettersubstitute the process for,
there's no artificial colors,flavors, any of that stuff
that's in Zevia.
I'm a big proponent of thatbecause it's just getting the
small wins that make it adifference where you can
actually move on to the biggerpicture and really get their,
(17:24):
them on board with, actuallytaking part in and choosing and
being mindful about their owndiet and that they feel better
and that they, and they want tofeel better because, you know,
the last thing kids want is tofeel like crap and because they
want to go up and play and theywant to run and they want to do
all of that.
And so those are the things thatwe would say is make the
(17:45):
alternative, bring in thealternatives they're there to
help you get in that transitiontime period there.
It helps you get them from hereto here.
And so, those are the thingsthat I would do.
There's so many options now.
, which we love on.
You see it, you're going to seeit when you come to Paleo FX
(18:07):
this year, which I'm superexcited.
You're going to see so manyreally great alternatives on the
floor.
And this is the great, and webet every single exhibitor
that's coming in, there's noband ingredients that are on our
floor.
So when your kids are runningaround on the floor and they can
actually take samples and younot have to be worried about
(18:27):
what it is they're they'regetting and they're going to
love all the stuff that's on thefloor, they're going to be like,
oh my gosh, that's so good.
And so, um, then they're goingto want that.
And, and there it is.
It's a healthier alternative.
And so, um, that's just mythought process is just go for
those healthier alternatives.
It's a better choice than what'scurrently maybe they're
(18:50):
currently doing.
And that's just an easier way totransition children into a
better, healthier eatingprogram.
Chris (18:57):
That's absolutely fantastic advice, and touching
on Paleo Fx.
So it is literally only a monthand a bit away.
Um, my wife and I's pendingaccount white, bringing,
bringing their family across toAustin, Texas for our very first
time.
, this event is so exciting.
I, I look at the lineup and it'sthe best of the best of the
(19:20):
thought leaders in Paleo, Ketoancestral health functional
medicine look the likes of DrMercola, Chris Kresser, Dave
Asprey from bulletproof, to namea few Robb wolf.
Mark's decision.
Do you just get blown away ateach event?
Like working with these, theseguests?
It's unbelievable.
Michelle Norris (19:41):
Yeah.
I sometimes have to pinch myselfthat this is when I get to do
for a living and then I get to,um, bring together, like you
said, the best of the best inthe world in what they do and,
and the fact that they arechanging millions, not just
thousands but millions ofpeople's lives, every single
(20:03):
year.
And that, um, we get to be asmall part of what they do and
being able to bring them in is,a real honour.
And, we feel very blessed thatwe are, we've been able to, to
be able to continue to keepdoing this.
And this will be our eighth yearand we're super excited about
it.
So it isn't an it, it's astellar lineup.
(20:23):
I mean like it's all line upthat you can't see anywhere
else.
So we're excited
Chris (20:30):
and I believe that,, there's, there's opportunities
to network and speak with theseguests, presenters also, which
is just unparalleled with anyother kind of conference you go
to.
So that's, that's amazing.
So any Australians that havetime and the ability to get
across, I'd highly recommend,uh, but I'm, I'm definitely
going to do a follow up from myexperience at Paleo Fx.
(20:53):
So hopefully for years to comemore and more a Aussies will
make the trip across there andhopefully more and more
conversations will start inAustralia around these highly
important topics as well.
Michelle Norris (21:07):
Well, it's also, there's also talk, I've
heard through the grapevine thatwe've talked about coming to
Australia, so we want to do inthe next couple of years is to
be able to come to Australia.
We're trying to really dial inwhat we do so that we can take
it out on the road.
It's,, it's quite the beast to,to put that on in the region
(21:30):
here in our backyard.
And, but taking it, across thepond is going to be quite a
feat.
So we want to make sure thatwhen we do it, it's right and
it's at the caliber and levelthat we want to be able to
present.
But yeah, well I know thatAustralia is one of the places
that will be coming.
Chris (21:50):
Paleo Fx down under.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Michelle Norris (21:54):
Sounds good to Me.
Chris (21:57):
Michele Norris.
Thank you so much.
I look forward to getting acrosshere and meeting you in person
next month in Texas.
And um, yeah, if, if peoplewould like to find out more
about halo effects, is it, uh,just to the website,
Paleofx.com?
Michelle Norris (22:12):
Yes.
our Facebook page is, Paleo FXand you can follow us on all
social media at Paleo FX and allkinds of stuff going on.
This is Paleo awareness month.
For those of you that mightmarches to Paleo awareness
(22:32):
month, something that we claimedit a couple of years ago.
And so, um, we have a hugegiveaway coming up, and so we'll
make sure that you get all thelinks and everything, Chris, so
that you can get that out toyour followers and you could
actually win tickets to paleofx
Chris (22:47):
Fabulous.
Fabulous.
Well, like I said, absolutepleasure.
Look forward to seeing you andmeeting you next month.
and thank you so much.
I know you've had a busy day.
Michelle Norris (22:56):
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
I, I'm honoured to have on.
Thanks.
Chris (23:00):
Thanks, Michelle.
Bye.
If you love this podcast, besure to subscribe to the
amplified wellness podcast andstay up to date with all the
latest episodes.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.