June 4, 2025 • 37 mins
What if the path to better health isn't about working harder, but working smarter? In this fascinating conversation, certified trainer and biohacker PJ Glassy reveals how his X Gym methodology helps busy people achieve functional fitness without injury or excessive time commitment.
PJ shares his journey from psychology student to fitness innovator, explaining how he developed exercise techniques specifically designed for adults aged 40-70 who want to improve their health span—not just their lifespan. Unlike traditional gyms focused on aesthetics, his approach emphasizes overall wellbeing, incorporating physical training alongside nutrition guidance and even AI-powered health coaching.
The discussion dives deep into what biohacking really means. Far from being dependent on expensive gadgets, true biohacking starts with a scientific mindset—questioning everything, including your own biases, and conducting personal experiments to determine what works for your unique biology. Both host Joe Grumbine and PJ agree that health optimization requires moving beyond knee-jerk acceptance of conventional wisdom or trending diets.
Perhaps most compelling is their examination of comfort zones and growth. PJ observes how modern lifestyles can trap people in controlled environments with minimal human connection and physical activity. This comfort-seeking behavior ultimately leads to poorer health outcomes and reduced happiness. By contrast, embracing discomfort creates resilience and stimulates both physical and mental growth—something our adventure-filled childhoods once naturally provided.
On nutrition, the guidance is refreshingly simple: "Just eat real food." Both extremes of the dietary spectrum require significant research to implement healthfully, while most people benefit from a balanced approach focused on whole, unprocessed foods. The conversation concludes with insights on intermittent fasting and the importance of personalization in any health journey.
Whether you're looking to optimize your exercise routine, understand biohacking fundamentals, or simply live healthier longer, this episode delivers practical wisdom for anyone seeking to take control of their wellbeing. Discover more about PJ's methodologies at xgym.com.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well, hello and welcome back to the Healthy
Living Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and today we have a very special
guest with us.
His name is PJ Glassy, and PJhas got a wealth of experience
and, just to touch on it, he's acertified trainer.
He's developed his own exercisemethodology, he's a biohacker,
(00:25):
an author of a book called theCracking your Calorie Code, and
we have a lot in common as faras our approach to health, and
we're about the same age andwe've got a lot of things to
discuss.
Pj, welcome to the show.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, thanks, Joe.
It's great to be here.
I'm doing awesome.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I am doing fantastic as well.
I'm on the other side of a verydifficult spot in my life, and
the practices I've learned andthe biohacking I've been doing
have created a miracle thatdoctors can't understand, but I
don't care.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That's great.
Yeah, I was reading up on it,and good job on all that.
What most people do when theyget a diagnosis like that is
they go into paralysis like afreeze.
We go into fight, flight orfreeze right.
Most people freeze.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
And then they just kind of do what they're told and
they don't do any research oftheir own and they just kind of
follow along blindly.
Because they're numb, they'rescared, they're numb.
It's totally understandable andit's actually a natural
reaction.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Scary as hell yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
But some people like you don't go down that road and
it pays off.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
It's better to live.
Yeah, don't go down that road.
And it pays off.
Yeah, I love my life and I planon being around for a good long
while, and you know so, here weare, so tell me about your
story.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, I started out as a psych major at SPU and that
was all fine and dandy, but myreal passion was fitness.
So my senior year I switched toexercise science.
I always liked science and theexercise science major is made
up of a lot of classes, asopposed to PE, you know, because
(02:14):
in the PE department.
But it's not teaching me how tobe a teacher, it's teaching me,
you know, the biology and thechemistry and the anatomy,
physiology, kinesiology, allthose things in the chemistry,
in the anatomy, physiology,kinesiology, all those things,
and which is fun but also kindof matched up more with my
passion for fitness.
And then I became a personaltrainer after college and then
(02:37):
opened up the X Gym and alongthe way developed a methodology
that helped people save time butalso was safer so people
weren't getting injured likethey are with traditional
training.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That sounds interesting.
I'd like to hear more aboutthat.
I know that yeah you know thelatest thing is always the
latest thing and you know we'vegot hit training and crossfit
training and all these thingsthat are really intensive, and
you know people that are runningmarathons and they all get hurt
yeah, and let me just say thatall forms of of exercise are
(03:11):
great and I view everybody is on.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
we're all on the same team.
We're just helping people getoff the couch and helping our
country and the world get morehealthier.
Really, I I mean, it's allabout health and that's really
what the X Gym, the main focusand goal of the X Gym, is to
help people get healthy.
We're not concerned withhelping people get jacked,
getting that six pack lookinggood, just because most people
(03:39):
think a lot about that and it'sskin deep in the fitness world,
but we're more about overallreal health.
So physical, mental, spiritual,endurance, functional fitness
so people can enjoy their lifeand a longer lifespan, but also
a longer health span so whilethey're living longer, they're
able to enjoy it better.
(04:00):
So you know we're doing a lotof biohacking and anti-aging and
all that kind of stuff, asopposed to the other gyms that
are mostly concerned with howyou look in the mirror and it's
all around them, don't they?
All around.
We don't have a single one inthe next gym, nice yeah.
So it's been a journey ofcoming up with a methodology
(04:23):
that can help people, because wecreated a niche.
That's a time hack workout thatis safer and helps people tone
and define and developfunctional fitness without
bulking up.
So if you go to traditionaltraining and go to a
bodybuilding gym, they're allabout getting jacked and stuff
and that's great.
(04:43):
I went through that phase of mylife too and it was very
helpful and it helped me getmotivated and kept me in fitness
.
So if that works for people, ifCrossFit motivates people to
get off the couch and go out andget exercise, awesome they're
all great and they're alldifferent markets.
Our market is very specific andvery unique in that we service
(05:04):
really super busy people.
They don't have time to workout that are those who don't
want to be injured or have beeninjured and so they're afraid of
getting injured again and don'twant to get jacked.
They want to look toned anddefined, look and feel fit and
be fit functionally, and so thathappens to be 40 to 70 years
old is the biggest part of ourbell curve.
(05:26):
Yeah, yeah, because those arethe busy people and the people
that want all that other stuff Imentioned.
But also, you know, we have, wehave 80 year olds, we have uh
gosh, we have two 90s people intheir 90s now.
Yeah, then we have some teens,so it.
But the biggest part is that 40to 70, because those are the
(05:47):
busy people and those are alsothe people that are really
thinking about their health.
In your 20s and 30s you're notreally concerned about it so
much because you're so resilient.
Yeah, it's easier, but then,when you get into your fourth
decade, then you're thinkingabout it more Hit the first wall
.
When you get into your fourthdecade, then you're thinking
about it more Hit the first wallRight, and so then, anti-aging
(06:08):
and biohacking are moreinteresting, and so we can help
people with that too.
So it's not just a place tocome and get workouts, because
we do a lot of online trainingand we have an app where people
can use for our workouts andmethodology, but we're also
about health, and that's whereour newsletter comes in.
Everybody gets enrolled into anautomated course on health and
(06:31):
nutrition and stuff like that,so it's not just workouts.
Plus, I have an AI in mywebsite that members get to
access and they can go in thereand just kind of like chat GPT,
ask it questions about healthand nutrition and meditation and
prayer and whatever you want,and it's probably going to come
(06:52):
up with an answer because it'spowered by my book and almost
500 blog posts.
So it's just my information.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, so it's different from what that.
Yeah, so it's different fromwhat that's just scrolling the
web.
Exactly, it's a lot differentthan that.
It's not the web at all.
So that's another benefit ofthis whole holistic attitude
with the XGEM on health.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So tell us about biohacking.
You know that's a term thatcame up.
You know I considered myself abiohacker as of about eight
years ago and after my dad diedand I realized I was going to
become him if I kept going downthat road, which was overweight,
diabetic, heart disease andeventually dead by 70, and I'm
(07:38):
like yeah oh crap, I can't letthat happen.
And I began my journey um ofbiohacking.
But you know, it's a phrasethat you hear a lot.
Anti-aging kind of speaks foritself.
Right, we want to reverse theaging process, but biohacking
why don't you explain what youmean by that?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Well, technically, the definition is somebody that
uses information, research andtechnology to become healthier,
and that is kind of a broaddefinition, and there are
different levels of biohackers.
I am kind of a gadget freak, sothat's why I've got, well, just
here at my desk, you know, I'vegot my, you know, my blue light
(08:22):
blocker glasses that I usuallywear when on the tv or on the
looking at a screen.
Uh, here's my hydrogen waterbottle.
Um, I've got my, my co2 machinethat I can put on here and and
breathe a co2 mixture for co2tolerance and it's just, you
know, endless as far as thatgoes.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
But my gadget tricks, I've got my gadget tricks too.
Yeah, I've got an ozonegenerator and infrared sauna,
steam sauna.
We've got working withfrequency Rife machine.
Oh, rife, yeah.
All kinds of gadgets and toolsLove it.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, gadgets and tools Love it.
Yeah, and anybody can be abiohacker, even if they don't
get gadgets.
Basically, the bottom line isyou're a biohacker if you're
constantly doing your ownresearch and your own
experiments.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
There are dumb biohackers out there, and there
are smart biohackers out there,I think it's important for
people to realize that one ofthe themes of this podcast is
that your health is your health,and finding your way to it is
not necessarily just listeningto somebody's book and doing
what they say it's.
You've got to find your answersand everybody's got different
(09:44):
metabolism.
Everybody's as unique as yourthumbprint and there's things
that work for everybody, but noteverything works for everybody
the same.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Exactly, and it's important to be a skeptic.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And I know that, yeah , that's your thing too.
So, question everything,believe no one, don't even
believe yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Put it to the test everything.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Believe no one, Don't even believe yourself.
Put it to the test, yeah,Because when you, when you have
that attitude, you're going tobe doing your research in an
unbiased way Well, as unbiasedas possible it's.
It is impossible to be unbiased.
And so when we're doingresearch, we're unconsciously
doing research with a biasalready, and we're we're out
there looking to confirm ourbias.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yes, which is the worst thing we could do.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yes, but if we're aware of that, then we can
actively work against that andgo with all sides of any topic.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Make an effort to try to prove yourself wrong, and
then you can find some truthprove yourself wrong and then
bingo, you can find some truth.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Exactly.
And what I like to do is I Ilook at myself and I think, okay
, what bias do I have?
And then I'm probably.
So there's a scale here.
There's going to be the personwho has the opposite bias and
there's the person over here whohas more of a bias than me.
So I'm going to go and I'mgoing to, I'm going to research
this person first, the oppositebias first.
I'm going to learn all aboutwhy I could be wrong.
Then I'm going to learn, I'mgoing to go to the other extreme
(11:12):
and figure out who's moreextreme than me on this bias and
what are they saying?
Because the truth is somewherein there.
It might be here, but it's notgoing to be here and it's not
going to be here.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Correct.
I love it.
I love it.
That's a good approach.
I've been studying Kuhn's book,the Structure of Scientific
Revolution, and you learn abouthow a paradigm is changed and
you think about what we knowtoday as opposed to what we knew
50 years ago and what we knew50 years before that, and there
(11:48):
were completely different worldsthat had completely different
players and completely differentunderstandings of things.
And you think to yourself,where are we going to be in 50
years from now?
And it'll probably be differentfrom that that.
And then you understand, like,why changes happen and how they
happen and how they get acceptedand how long it takes before
(12:09):
anybody even begins to accept it.
You're like, wow, okay, I got alot of work to do all right,
yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And when new things come out, you know they're.
I think it's mark twain thatsaid you that people react
negatively at first and thenthey're ridiculed and then you
know it goes through itsiterations and the people that
hang in there and stick with itand and can take the ridicule
Right Know that they want andthe best things in life that
(12:40):
people have developed are bypeople who want to help people.
They're not necessarily peoplewho want to make a lot of money.
It's the people that and thoseare the people that stick with
it through all the persecutionand trials.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Absolutely.
You know, it's like anything.
If you have a passion forsomething and you're willing to
stay the course, eventually youcan make a living at it, but
you're going to do it witheverything you got.
You're willing to stay thecourse, eventually you can make
a living at it, but you're goingto do it with everything you
got.
You're going to put your heartinto it and you'll probably make
a difference.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Exactly, yeah, and you know, my dad always taught
me to to pick something that Ilove, that doesn't feel like
work.
And I did, and that's why Iswitched from psychology to
exercise science.
I use both a lot in what I dopsychology and exercise science
but I'm happier and I probablycould have made more money as a
(13:36):
psychologist.
But I'm happier now and that'sreally what it's all about,
because that is such a huge partof overall health.
When you're stressed out allthe time and you're trapped in
fight or flight all day, everyday, then life is completely
different and it's not fun.
And then, sure, you make a tonof money and you retire at 65,
(13:58):
but then what?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Then what Right your life is?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
mostly gone Exactly, even if you live to 100, you've
wasted most of it and you wereunhappy most of the time.
It's just not worth it.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
No, and that's actually you know.
You ever come close to death.
You really come to realize thatyou know all these other things
.
You throw them away, it doesn'tmatter, and you think about
things like your happiness,relationships, the things that
bring you joy, and you startfocusing on that and all of a
sudden, things start changing.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Exactly.
Yeah, that's the key, and it'swhen you ask people on their
deathbed what they want regretthey never say things like I
really wish I would have gotthat nicer car or that bigger
house.
It's never anything like that.
It's always about relationships, about others, about missed
opportunities with connectionwith people.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I wish I would have seen that.
Totally Made that leap andasked that girl or whatever.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah, no one ever says I wish I would have made
more money Nope, never.
Agreed others that yeah, no oneever says I wish I would have
made more money nope, neveragreed so you know you're coming
into this, the, these pillars.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I, I totally agree with these pillars.
You know the, the happiness,the passion.
Um, sometimes it's a, you know,it's a necessity somebody finds
out that they've got somecondition, or they find out
they're pre-diabetic or they'vegot you know something that
they've got to solve and, uh,you know that gives you the same
motivation.
You know you want to decide,you want to live and live a
(15:30):
healthy life, and it gets you upand moving and so so you know
you're talking about thesebiohacking and and gadgets and
and tools.
I guess I would say you know,gadgets is kind of a cheap word.
I like tools, um yeah, but whenyou're getting into this, you
know, there, you, there's motion, there's there's stress,
(15:53):
there's the things that makeexercise, exercise and and, and
you know what causes fitness andstrength is resistance and the.
You know movement.
So how do you approach that?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Well, anytime that you're doing something hard,
you're improving yourself, andexercise is no exception.
We all know that a hard workoutis way better than an easy
workout.
An easy workout is better thansitting on the couch.
So I still tell people thatit's better to get up and walk
around your house or outside ofyour house than sitting there.
(16:31):
Anything's better than that.
Right, and that's what mostpeople are doing all day, which
is really sad, but it's really.
It's all about your comfort zone, because change never happens
within your comfort zone, and ifyou want to change and most
people should want to changebecause that's how we improve as
people then you have to getoutside your comfort zone.
(16:54):
Now we help people with thatwith our exercise program,
because it's guided in a certainway, with a certain methodology
, to help them get furtheroutside their comfort zone than
other methodologies and otherexercise techniques.
But we also help people withthat on a brain level, and
that's why I developed my braintype test, so people can take it
and determine which of the 16brain types they are, and then
(17:17):
they get half a dozen braintraining techniques that
literally rewire their brain, soit's easier to achieve their
health and fitness goals andmental goals instead of just
wandering around and tryingdifferent things and seeing what
works or doesn't work, becauseI've got to boil down to those
brain types and I figured outwhat does work for those brain
(17:39):
types, including helping peopleget outside their comfort zone.
But that's really the wholething is not to hate getting
outside it, but even, over time,become addicted to that,
because the process is what youwant to become addicted to with
any habit change or anylifestyle change exercise,
(17:59):
nutrition, mindfulness, whateverit is is building those great,
healthy habits and pushingyourself, because that's great
for the brain too.
Yeah, I mean, people that don'tpush themselves mentally will
decline.
But if you, if you make stuffhard and you do stuff that's
hard and still enjoyable, thenyou can improve mentally and you
(18:21):
would be the first to say, overyour journey, you chose the
hard road.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Always.
Yeah, and it's interesting thatyou say that, because I've come
to.
You know you spend a lot oftime reflecting on yourself when
you, you know my one of mygoals is to be the best person I
can be in all aspects, sothat's a constant job.
I'll never be there, but it's,it's.
You're always when you, whenyou have those goals, you get
presented with increasinglydifficult challenges, and I
(18:49):
always realized that when adifficult opportunity approaches
me, I go oh wow, I'm going togrow again.
This is and and, but you go,it's going to be uncomfortable,
so let me walk into it, and andit's.
It becomes, like you said,almost an addiction.
It's like you know, like you'realways on an adventure.
You're going down this river,you don't know what's going to
(19:09):
be around next.
All of a sudden, somethingjumps out at you and you got to
deal with it.
And instead of it being oh no,what am I going to do, it's like
, oh OK, let me pull out mytoolbox and see what I got to do
.
And it does not make it easy,does not make it fun, but you
know that on the other side ofit is going to be a reward and
you're going to gain somethingfrom it and become a person.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Exactly, and you just hit the magic word there and
that's adventure.
Some people are fearful ofadventure because there's an
unknown there and we're wired tofear the unknown.
We like to have everythingknown and we like to know what's
coming next and we like to knowwhat color it's going to be and
what it's going to look like,and we don't want to have
(19:53):
uncertainty.
That's really the certainty isa basic human need, but so is
uncertainty.
So you can't get toocomfortable with certainty.
You know, I think about, I hearI live here in the Seattle area
and this is the tech area.
So there's there's Amazon andthere's Microsoft and there's
(20:14):
there's all these companies thathave these coders, and so
coders can fall into this trapreally easily because they are
typically an introvert and theywere typically raised to be able
to, and their parents let themstay inside and play video games
and be a front of a screen, andso they kind of that was kind
(20:37):
of their thing.
And then they learn how to code, and then they like to be by
themselves a lot thing, and thenthey learn how to code and then
they like to be by themselves alot, and so typically a coder's
day is wake up late-ish andthen go to work or work from
home and code, and then orderpizza and the food comes to them
and then they're in theirthermostat-controlled
(20:59):
environment all day and sittingmost of the day.
And then they get off work andthen they're in their thermostat
controlled environment all dayand sitting most of the day, and
then they get off work and thenthey they turn on their video
games and so they're in this.
They're alone in thisenvironment.
That isn't natural.
That's all controlled.
They're comfortable all daylong, and so when they think
that that's their norm andthey're in always in their
(21:21):
comfort zone.
So then when they think of anadventure that's scary right Is
that?
This is what they know.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
And it's too bad.
But those people need tostretch and need to get outside
and form more relationships,because even the most
introverted introvert has tohave connection with other
humans, even though they don'tthink they do and even though
that might scare them.
They've got to push themselves,get outside that comfort zone
(21:51):
and find relationships and thebest relationships they can have
are the ones they have to workon, because anything, even
relationships, if it's easy andyou get along really well with
that person, that's fine and youcan still be on a nice deep
connected level.
But it's the working on therelationship that is so good for
(22:13):
the brain.
And the sad thing about thesecoders is with the sedentary
lifestyle and no connect or lowconnection to most humans and
very few relationships and beinginside all day, they die early
and they get dementia reallyearly and cancer and all these
(22:35):
other things because of thisunhealthy lifestyle and lack of
connection and they're not happy.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And they don't really know why.
Most importantly, they're nothappy.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Oh gosh, and that could just yes just loneliness
and depression can cause disease, even if everything else is
right, because it's a cellularlevel, and I'm sure you've
studied a lot about water andstructured water and Dr Emoto's
experiments and all that photo,the flash freeze picture of
(23:14):
their water molecules.
It would be awful.
But then you you get the flashphoto of of uh, you know
somebody who is joy, has joyevery day because they love
their life and they'reconnecting with other humans and
doing hard things and learningnew things all the time.
That's going to be a completelydifferent picture of their
water molecule.
100, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
You know, I feel so blessed that I was born when I
was born, because you know Igrew up.
You got thrown outside and goplay with your friends.
And you know, we were basicallyferal, you know, and there was
no computers, there was no cellphones, we had bicycles and dirt
(23:51):
and dirt, and and and baseballs, and and yeah everything was an
adventure.
We went exploring and we went.
You know all those huckleberryfinn stuff, you know right and
it was all about relationships.
There was no like ghostingpeople or whatever you know.
You picked up the phone and youcalled somebody, and and you
(24:14):
yeah met up and you hung out allday and if you had a fight, you
just got into it and fought andthen yeah, for it and went and
got some ice cream.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
You know right yeah, we didn't hold things in, we
didn't, we didn't try to becareful, we didn't wear bike
helmets, we broke bikes and gotyou know we had issues.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You know we were always getting beat up and hurt,
but it was always an adventure.
Always, every day was anadventure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It was an adventure and it taught us that adventure
is fun instead of being scaredby it.
Agreed, yeah, so that's great.
I remember going to see mygrandma.
We went over there a lot andshe lived on a river and there
was a gravel road to get to herplace and there was the shiny
red two speed and I made rampsand I did jumps and I wiped out
(25:06):
and then I'd come down to her,you know, with scrapes and
everything, and she'd clean themout and she'd put bandages on
them and went right back out,send me back out, yeah totally
agreed.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
You know it's crazy.
So you know you're dealing withall these people, um, and is
there.
You know america especially.
We have obesity.
We have, you know, sedentarylifestyle and all the the
problems caused with that.
We have processed food and allthe problems caused by it.
(25:39):
We have a difficulty evengetting, you know, good quality
food.
It's an effort, it's expensive.
Um, I I'm assuming you knowdiet based on you've got a book
about it is is a big part ofyour biohacking.
What's your you know what'syour pillars of that.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
You know it's pretty simple Just eat real food.
And then the kind of food isdifferent between people and you
know there's hundreds ofdifferent preferences of
different people and I tellpeople, just don't go too
extreme.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And if you do want to go extreme, then you need to do
more research.
So what I consider extreme?
Because we've talked earlierabout the two edges of it, right
, so there's, there's the, themilitant vegans over here, and
then there's the militantcarnivores over here, right, and
I know both.
Yeah, and neither is going tobe a healthy lifestyle.
(26:39):
You can make it healthy-ish ifyou do a ton of work and
research, or you can just be notso extreme.
Right, agreed, but the bottomline is whole foods and avoid
processed foods as much aspossible, and that would include
, you know, most vegetable oils,because you know they're
(26:59):
extruded and manufactured andall that kind of stuff and they
don't come off a plant or ananimal, and so you know, just
don't eat it.
And then even with animals it'sdifferent, because if people do
eat meat, then it's even moreimportant for that to be very
clean, wild, free range, grassfed, all those things, organic
(27:27):
cow that's roaming around, likehe did since time began and a
feedlot cow is completelydifferent animal.
The feedlot cows are literallypoison yeah and the grass-fed
cows are amazing.
It's a.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's a real food one of the the the sayings that I've
taken into my life is you arewhat you eat eats, and it's
important to consider that.
If you're eating a commerciallyfarmed anything.
Go and look at what they eatand what they're injected with
(28:07):
and realize that that's whatyou're eating.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, even fish farms .
Fish farms are like eating ayou're eating.
Yeah, you think again, evenfish farms.
I mean fish farms are likeeating a bag of chips.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yes, horrible.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
A bag of chips fortified with fake protein.
Agreed, I mean, it's so peopledon't realize this, but they've
got to get back to.
Our country is probably themost developed, yet we have the
worst food.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
So explain that it's so sad and stuff that we're
doing with our food supply areillegal in most other parts of
the world.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
It's cheap, easy and we're lazy.
That's really comes down to it.
It's work.
You know I grow a lot of myfood now and you know current
situation.
I have to live a vegan dietbecause of what I'm dealing with
, but not by choice, and when Iam cancer free I'll I'll go back
to eating some, some, some meat, and you know the.
(28:58):
Thing is is we do things inextremes and you know we always
do too much of a thing, like yousaid, and most people eat way
too much meat Not that you can'teat some meat and be fine, but
they generally just do too muchand then you get more harm than
good.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Right yeah, and because you're a biohacker and
because you like to research andlearn new things, you're able
to do vegan in a healthy way,absolutely, and that's great.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
And for this time in your life, it's perfect for you
and you should what it needs todo it's, it's working, it needs
to, and and a big part of it,too, is having goals and and
monitoring yourself.
You know when, when I beganthis journey, I was 80 pounds
heavier than I am and lost 50pounds over the course of about
(29:47):
a year and maintained it forseven years, and then, when I
got cancer, I've had to go tothis vegan route, this really
extreme diet, and I've lostanother 30, and now I'm building
back up and I went below what Iwanted to be, but it's what it
took to beat this thing, and sonow I'm in the process of
(30:09):
rebuilding and it's a difficultpath with this vegan diet, but
we're doing it and youdiscipline yourself and you do
the things you don't necessarilywant to, and you do it.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Right, and you know you'll, I'm sure you'll agree
that cancer is there because wegave it a certain soil to grow
in.
Exactly when you change thatsoil, soil, it can't grow
anymore.
And there's there's lots ofways to do it.
There's not one right way to dothat.
There's lots of ways, but everysingle right way and there's
(30:42):
lots of them is real food alwaysand staying away from all that
process stuff always and justgoing back, basically going back
200 years, going back in time,200 years when that stuff didn't
exist and just eat like that.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Yeah exactly no, it's like ingredients are food and
that's it.
You know it.
If, if you gotta put a dishtogether, it needs to be made of
food and yeah, and you startputting things that aren't food
into your food, then you're nolonger eating.
I know we're getting a littlelight on time.
(31:20):
What are your thoughts onfasting?
I know that that's in a lot ofpeople's world.
That's a pillar.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Yes, and that would be an experiment someone would
need to do, because I think it'sappropriate for most people,
but it isn't for some.
Now, it's also something tophase into, because if somebody
is eating processed food andthey're overweight and they're
out of shape and theyimmediately start fasting,
(31:47):
they're going to feel awful,they're going to immediately
assume it's pretty horribleanyways, even when you're good
at it.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
But coming right off of a fast food diet man, it's
the worst.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah, exactly, and so it kind of depends on the
person.
Personally, I do intermittentfasting, so I'm doing the 8-16.
And so I'll eat for eight hoursin the day, and that's what's
worked great for me.
Now it's easier for me becauseI'm largely I.
(32:22):
Some people say I'm keto.
I would say more like I'm lowcarb, and the reason I
differentiate is because I eatmore protein than your classic
keto person, but I'm about thatlow on carbs and so it's easy
for me to do intermittentfasting because I just don't get
hungry.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Yeah yeah, protein makes you stay full for a while.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Right, yeah, and so, and I don't have the sugar highs
and lows and so I don't getthat kind of hunger either.
So it's easy for me to to dothat.
And other people do itdifferent.
You know they'll, they'll picka day and they just won't eat
the whole day, or they'll doonce a month.
It'll be, you know, three daysoff and do that.
But I, I do think fasting is agood idea, but you have to work
(33:10):
into it.
And then there are some caseswith some women, with some
conditions and other otherexamples, but that's just one
that I threw out there.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Some people can't do it yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's a horrible idea.
So you just gotta you gottawork with your.
Hopefully you know a goodfunctional medicine doctor, a
holistic doctor, um, that canguide you through this and and
help you decide if it's rightfor you.
But yeah, it's not foreverybody, but it is for me and
I found a way to do mine becauseof my specific experimentation
(33:42):
and what I'm doing isn't rightfor everybody and, in fact, I
don't recommend a low carb dietto most people because it's too
hard to do.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
I tell people, do the Mediterranean yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I start people on the Mediterranean all the time
because that's the easiest oneand it's really healthy.
It's a whole food diet, yeah,right.
And then, over time, I helppeople find their perfect diet
based on what works for them,because everyone's different.
What works for them?
Yes, because everyone'sdifferent.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
I couldn't agree more .
Well, listen, we are just aboutout of time.
I, as I suspected thisconversation was going to be
easy and and we got a lot moreto talk about, so I'm hoping
that we can get you back on, butI always like to give a guest,
(34:33):
your elevator pitch and a chanceto let everybody know how to
get a hold of you.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Yeah, everything's on xgymcom.
You know all the social linksand everything there, xgymcom,
and you know that's how to get ahold of me and see all the
stuff and get in touch if youwant or get more information on
different things you know, likethe book and the brain type test
and the app and online trainingand live training at our
kirkland club and all that kindof stuff fantastic well pj.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's been an absolute pleasure.
I look forward to a furtherconversation and to all the
listeners.
I thank you for your support,and this has been another
episode of the healthy livingpodcast right on, thank you.
Well, hello and welcome back to the Healthy
Living Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and today we have a very special
guest with us.
His name is PJ Glassy, and PJhas got a wealth of experience
and, just to touch on it, he's acertified trainer.
He's developed his own exercisemethodology, he's a biohacker,
(00:25):
an author of a book called theCracking your Calorie Code, and
we have a lot in common as faras our approach to health, and
we're about the same age andwe've got a lot of things to
discuss.
Pj, welcome to the show.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Yeah, thanks, Joe.
It's great to be here.
I'm doing awesome.
How are you doing today?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
I am doing fantastic as well.
I'm on the other side of a verydifficult spot in my life, and
the practices I've learned andthe biohacking I've been doing
have created a miracle thatdoctors can't understand, but I
don't care.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
That's great.
Yeah, I was reading up on it,and good job on all that.
What most people do when theyget a diagnosis like that is
they go into paralysis like afreeze.
We go into fight, flight orfreeze right.
Most people freeze.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
And then they just kind of do what they're told and
they don't do any research oftheir own and they just kind of
follow along blindly.
Because they're numb, they'rescared, they're numb.
It's totally understandable andit's actually a natural
reaction.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Scary as hell yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
But some people like you don't go down that road and
it pays off.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
It's better to live.
Yeah, don't go down that road.
And it pays off.
Yeah, I love my life and I planon being around for a good long
while, and you know so, here weare, so tell me about your
story.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Well, I started out as a psych major at SPU and that
was all fine and dandy, but myreal passion was fitness.
So my senior year I switched toexercise science.
I always liked science and theexercise science major is made
up of a lot of classes, asopposed to PE, you know, because
(02:14):
in the PE department.
But it's not teaching me how tobe a teacher, it's teaching me,
you know, the biology and thechemistry and the anatomy,
physiology, kinesiology, allthose things in the chemistry,
in the anatomy, physiology,kinesiology, all those things,
and which is fun but also kindof matched up more with my
passion for fitness.
And then I became a personaltrainer after college and then
(02:37):
opened up the X Gym and alongthe way developed a methodology
that helped people save time butalso was safer so people
weren't getting injured likethey are with traditional
training.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
That sounds interesting.
I'd like to hear more aboutthat.
I know that yeah you know thelatest thing is always the
latest thing and you know we'vegot hit training and crossfit
training and all these thingsthat are really intensive, and
you know people that are runningmarathons and they all get hurt
yeah, and let me just say thatall forms of of exercise are
(03:11):
great and I view everybody is on.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
we're all on the same team.
We're just helping people getoff the couch and helping our
country and the world get morehealthier.
Really, I I mean, it's allabout health and that's really
what the X Gym, the main focusand goal of the X Gym, is to
help people get healthy.
We're not concerned withhelping people get jacked,
getting that six pack lookinggood, just because most people
(03:39):
think a lot about that and it'sskin deep in the fitness world,
but we're more about overallreal health.
So physical, mental, spiritual,endurance, functional fitness
so people can enjoy their lifeand a longer lifespan, but also
a longer health span so whilethey're living longer, they're
able to enjoy it better.
(04:00):
So you know we're doing a lotof biohacking and anti-aging and
all that kind of stuff, asopposed to the other gyms that
are mostly concerned with howyou look in the mirror and it's
all around them, don't they?
All around.
We don't have a single one inthe next gym, nice yeah.
So it's been a journey ofcoming up with a methodology
(04:23):
that can help people, because wecreated a niche.
That's a time hack workout thatis safer and helps people tone
and define and developfunctional fitness without
bulking up.
So if you go to traditionaltraining and go to a
bodybuilding gym, they're allabout getting jacked and stuff
and that's great.
(04:43):
I went through that phase of mylife too and it was very
helpful and it helped me getmotivated and kept me in fitness
.
So if that works for people, ifCrossFit motivates people to
get off the couch and go out andget exercise, awesome they're
all great and they're alldifferent markets.
Our market is very specific andvery unique in that we service
(05:04):
really super busy people.
They don't have time to workout that are those who don't
want to be injured or have beeninjured and so they're afraid of
getting injured again and don'twant to get jacked.
They want to look toned anddefined, look and feel fit and
be fit functionally, and so thathappens to be 40 to 70 years
old is the biggest part of ourbell curve.
(05:26):
Yeah, yeah, because those arethe busy people and the people
that want all that other stuff Imentioned.
But also, you know, we have, wehave 80 year olds, we have uh
gosh, we have two 90s people intheir 90s now.
Yeah, then we have some teens,so it.
But the biggest part is that 40to 70, because those are the
(05:47):
busy people and those are alsothe people that are really
thinking about their health.
In your 20s and 30s you're notreally concerned about it so
much because you're so resilient.
Yeah, it's easier, but then,when you get into your fourth
decade, then you're thinkingabout it more Hit the first wall
.
When you get into your fourthdecade, then you're thinking
about it more Hit the first wallRight, and so then, anti-aging
(06:08):
and biohacking are moreinteresting, and so we can help
people with that too.
So it's not just a place tocome and get workouts, because
we do a lot of online trainingand we have an app where people
can use for our workouts andmethodology, but we're also
about health, and that's whereour newsletter comes in.
Everybody gets enrolled into anautomated course on health and
(06:31):
nutrition and stuff like that,so it's not just workouts.
Plus, I have an AI in mywebsite that members get to
access and they can go in thereand just kind of like chat GPT,
ask it questions about healthand nutrition and meditation and
prayer and whatever you want,and it's probably going to come
(06:52):
up with an answer because it'spowered by my book and almost
500 blog posts.
So it's just my information.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, so it's different from what that.
Yeah, so it's different fromwhat that's just scrolling the
web.
Exactly, it's a lot differentthan that.
It's not the web at all.
So that's another benefit ofthis whole holistic attitude
with the XGEM on health.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
So tell us about biohacking.
You know that's a term thatcame up.
You know I considered myself abiohacker as of about eight
years ago and after my dad diedand I realized I was going to
become him if I kept going downthat road, which was overweight,
diabetic, heart disease andeventually dead by 70, and I'm
(07:38):
like yeah oh crap, I can't letthat happen.
And I began my journey um ofbiohacking.
But you know, it's a phrasethat you hear a lot.
Anti-aging kind of speaks foritself.
Right, we want to reverse theaging process, but biohacking
why don't you explain what youmean by that?
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Well, technically, the definition is somebody that
uses information, research andtechnology to become healthier,
and that is kind of a broaddefinition, and there are
different levels of biohackers.
I am kind of a gadget freak, sothat's why I've got, well, just
here at my desk, you know, I'vegot my, you know, my blue light
(08:22):
blocker glasses that I usuallywear when on the tv or on the
looking at a screen.
Uh, here's my hydrogen waterbottle.
Um, I've got my, my co2 machinethat I can put on here and and
breathe a co2 mixture for co2tolerance and it's just, you
know, endless as far as thatgoes.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
But my gadget tricks, I've got my gadget tricks too.
Yeah, I've got an ozonegenerator and infrared sauna,
steam sauna.
We've got working withfrequency Rife machine.
Oh, rife, yeah.
All kinds of gadgets and toolsLove it.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, gadgets and tools Love it.
Yeah, and anybody can be abiohacker, even if they don't
get gadgets.
Basically, the bottom line isyou're a biohacker if you're
constantly doing your ownresearch and your own
experiments.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
There are dumb biohackers out there, and there
are smart biohackers out there,I think it's important for
people to realize that one ofthe themes of this podcast is
that your health is your health,and finding your way to it is
not necessarily just listeningto somebody's book and doing
what they say it's.
You've got to find your answersand everybody's got different
(09:44):
metabolism.
Everybody's as unique as yourthumbprint and there's things
that work for everybody, but noteverything works for everybody
the same.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Exactly, and it's important to be a skeptic.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And I know that, yeah , that's your thing too.
So, question everything,believe no one, don't even
believe yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Put it to the test everything.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Believe no one, Don't even believe yourself.
Put it to the test, yeah,Because when you, when you have
that attitude, you're going tobe doing your research in an
unbiased way Well, as unbiasedas possible it's.
It is impossible to be unbiased.
And so when we're doingresearch, we're unconsciously
doing research with a biasalready, and we're we're out
there looking to confirm ourbias.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yes, which is the worst thing we could do.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yes, but if we're aware of that, then we can
actively work against that andgo with all sides of any topic.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Make an effort to try to prove yourself wrong, and
then you can find some truthprove yourself wrong and then
bingo, you can find some truth.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Exactly.
And what I like to do is I Ilook at myself and I think, okay
, what bias do I have?
And then I'm probably.
So there's a scale here.
There's going to be the personwho has the opposite bias and
there's the person over here whohas more of a bias than me.
So I'm going to go and I'mgoing to, I'm going to research
this person first, the oppositebias first.
I'm going to learn all aboutwhy I could be wrong.
Then I'm going to learn, I'mgoing to go to the other extreme
(11:12):
and figure out who's moreextreme than me on this bias and
what are they saying?
Because the truth is somewherein there.
It might be here, but it's notgoing to be here and it's not
going to be here.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Correct.
I love it.
I love it.
That's a good approach.
I've been studying Kuhn's book,the Structure of Scientific
Revolution, and you learn abouthow a paradigm is changed and
you think about what we knowtoday as opposed to what we knew
50 years ago and what we knew50 years before that, and there
(11:48):
were completely different worldsthat had completely different
players and completely differentunderstandings of things.
And you think to yourself,where are we going to be in 50
years from now?
And it'll probably be differentfrom that that.
And then you understand, like,why changes happen and how they
happen and how they get acceptedand how long it takes before
(12:09):
anybody even begins to accept it.
You're like, wow, okay, I got alot of work to do all right,
yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
And when new things come out, you know they're.
I think it's mark twain thatsaid you that people react
negatively at first and thenthey're ridiculed and then you
know it goes through itsiterations and the people that
hang in there and stick with itand and can take the ridicule
Right Know that they want andthe best things in life that
(12:40):
people have developed are bypeople who want to help people.
They're not necessarily peoplewho want to make a lot of money.
It's the people that and thoseare the people that stick with
it through all the persecutionand trials.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Absolutely.
You know, it's like anything.
If you have a passion forsomething and you're willing to
stay the course, eventually youcan make a living at it, but
you're going to do it witheverything you got.
You're willing to stay thecourse, eventually you can make
a living at it, but you're goingto do it with everything you
got.
You're going to put your heartinto it and you'll probably make
a difference.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Exactly, yeah, and you know, my dad always taught
me to to pick something that Ilove, that doesn't feel like
work.
And I did, and that's why Iswitched from psychology to
exercise science.
I use both a lot in what I dopsychology and exercise science
but I'm happier and I probablycould have made more money as a
(13:36):
psychologist.
But I'm happier now and that'sreally what it's all about,
because that is such a huge partof overall health.
When you're stressed out allthe time and you're trapped in
fight or flight all day, everyday, then life is completely
different and it's not fun.
And then, sure, you make a tonof money and you retire at 65,
(13:58):
but then what?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Then what Right your life is?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
mostly gone Exactly, even if you live to 100, you've
wasted most of it and you wereunhappy most of the time.
It's just not worth it.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
No, and that's actually you know.
You ever come close to death.
You really come to realize thatyou know all these other things
.
You throw them away, it doesn'tmatter, and you think about
things like your happiness,relationships, the things that
bring you joy, and you startfocusing on that and all of a
sudden, things start changing.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Exactly.
Yeah, that's the key, and it'swhen you ask people on their
deathbed what they want regretthey never say things like I
really wish I would have gotthat nicer car or that bigger
house.
It's never anything like that.
It's always about relationships, about others, about missed
opportunities with connectionwith people.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I wish I would have seen that.
Totally Made that leap andasked that girl or whatever.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Yeah, no one ever says I wish I would have made
more money Nope, never.
Agreed others that yeah, no oneever says I wish I would have
made more money nope, neveragreed so you know you're coming
into this, the, these pillars.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
I, I totally agree with these pillars.
You know the, the happiness,the passion.
Um, sometimes it's a, you know,it's a necessity somebody finds
out that they've got somecondition, or they find out
they're pre-diabetic or they'vegot you know something that
they've got to solve and, uh,you know that gives you the same
motivation.
You know you want to decide,you want to live and live a
(15:30):
healthy life, and it gets you upand moving and so so you know
you're talking about thesebiohacking and and gadgets and
and tools.
I guess I would say you know,gadgets is kind of a cheap word.
I like tools, um yeah, but whenyou're getting into this, you
know, there, you, there's motion, there's there's stress,
(15:53):
there's the things that makeexercise, exercise and and, and
you know what causes fitness andstrength is resistance and the.
You know movement.
So how do you approach that?
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Well, anytime that you're doing something hard,
you're improving yourself, andexercise is no exception.
We all know that a hard workoutis way better than an easy
workout.
An easy workout is better thansitting on the couch.
So I still tell people thatit's better to get up and walk
around your house or outside ofyour house than sitting there.
(16:31):
Anything's better than that.
Right, and that's what mostpeople are doing all day, which
is really sad, but it's really.
It's all about your comfort zone, because change never happens
within your comfort zone, and ifyou want to change and most
people should want to changebecause that's how we improve as
people then you have to getoutside your comfort zone.
(16:54):
Now we help people with thatwith our exercise program,
because it's guided in a certainway, with a certain methodology
, to help them get furtheroutside their comfort zone than
other methodologies and otherexercise techniques.
But we also help people withthat on a brain level, and
that's why I developed my braintype test, so people can take it
and determine which of the 16brain types they are, and then
(17:17):
they get half a dozen braintraining techniques that
literally rewire their brain, soit's easier to achieve their
health and fitness goals andmental goals instead of just
wandering around and tryingdifferent things and seeing what
works or doesn't work, becauseI've got to boil down to those
brain types and I figured outwhat does work for those brain
(17:39):
types, including helping peopleget outside their comfort zone.
But that's really the wholething is not to hate getting
outside it, but even, over time,become addicted to that,
because the process is what youwant to become addicted to with
any habit change or anylifestyle change exercise,
(17:59):
nutrition, mindfulness, whateverit is is building those great,
healthy habits and pushingyourself, because that's great
for the brain too.
Yeah, I mean, people that don'tpush themselves mentally will
decline.
But if you, if you make stuffhard and you do stuff that's
hard and still enjoyable, thenyou can improve mentally and you
(18:21):
would be the first to say, overyour journey, you chose the
hard road.
Speaker 1 (18:26):
Always.
Yeah, and it's interesting thatyou say that, because I've come
to.
You know you spend a lot oftime reflecting on yourself when
you, you know my one of mygoals is to be the best person I
can be in all aspects, sothat's a constant job.
I'll never be there, but it's,it's.
You're always when you, whenyou have those goals, you get
presented with increasinglydifficult challenges, and I
(18:49):
always realized that when adifficult opportunity approaches
me, I go oh wow, I'm going togrow again.
This is and and, but you go,it's going to be uncomfortable,
so let me walk into it, and andit's.
It becomes, like you said,almost an addiction.
It's like you know, like you'realways on an adventure.
You're going down this river,you don't know what's going to
(19:09):
be around next.
All of a sudden, somethingjumps out at you and you got to
deal with it.
And instead of it being oh no,what am I going to do, it's like
, oh OK, let me pull out mytoolbox and see what I got to do
.
And it does not make it easy,does not make it fun, but you
know that on the other side ofit is going to be a reward and
you're going to gain somethingfrom it and become a person.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
Exactly, and you just hit the magic word there and
that's adventure.
Some people are fearful ofadventure because there's an
unknown there and we're wired tofear the unknown.
We like to have everythingknown and we like to know what's
coming next and we like to knowwhat color it's going to be and
what it's going to look like,and we don't want to have
(19:53):
uncertainty.
That's really the certainty isa basic human need, but so is
uncertainty.
So you can't get toocomfortable with certainty.
You know, I think about, I hearI live here in the Seattle area
and this is the tech area.
So there's there's Amazon andthere's Microsoft and there's
(20:14):
there's all these companies thathave these coders, and so
coders can fall into this trapreally easily because they are
typically an introvert and theywere typically raised to be able
to, and their parents let themstay inside and play video games
and be a front of a screen, andso they kind of that was kind
(20:37):
of their thing.
And then they learn how to code, and then they like to be by
themselves a lot thing, and thenthey learn how to code and then
they like to be by themselves alot, and so typically a coder's
day is wake up late-ish andthen go to work or work from
home and code, and then orderpizza and the food comes to them
and then they're in theirthermostat-controlled
(20:59):
environment all day and sittingmost of the day.
And then they get off work andthen they're in their thermostat
controlled environment all dayand sitting most of the day, and
then they get off work and thenthey they turn on their video
games and so they're in this.
They're alone in thisenvironment.
That isn't natural.
That's all controlled.
They're comfortable all daylong, and so when they think
that that's their norm andthey're in always in their
(21:21):
comfort zone.
So then when they think of anadventure that's scary right Is
that?
This is what they know.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:29):
And it's too bad.
But those people need tostretch and need to get outside
and form more relationships,because even the most
introverted introvert has tohave connection with other
humans, even though they don'tthink they do and even though
that might scare them.
They've got to push themselves,get outside that comfort zone
(21:51):
and find relationships and thebest relationships they can have
are the ones they have to workon, because anything, even
relationships, if it's easy andyou get along really well with
that person, that's fine and youcan still be on a nice deep
connected level.
But it's the working on therelationship that is so good for
(22:13):
the brain.
And the sad thing about thesecoders is with the sedentary
lifestyle and no connect or lowconnection to most humans and
very few relationships and beinginside all day, they die early
and they get dementia reallyearly and cancer and all these
(22:35):
other things because of thisunhealthy lifestyle and lack of
connection and they're not happy.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
And they don't really know why.
Most importantly, they're nothappy.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Oh gosh, and that could just yes just loneliness
and depression can cause disease, even if everything else is
right, because it's a cellularlevel, and I'm sure you've
studied a lot about water andstructured water and Dr Emoto's
experiments and all that photo,the flash freeze picture of
(23:14):
their water molecules.
It would be awful.
But then you you get the flashphoto of of uh, you know
somebody who is joy, has joyevery day because they love
their life and they'reconnecting with other humans and
doing hard things and learningnew things all the time.
That's going to be a completelydifferent picture of their
water molecule.
100, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
You know, I feel so blessed that I was born when I
was born, because you know Igrew up.
You got thrown outside and goplay with your friends.
And you know, we were basicallyferal, you know, and there was
no computers, there was no cellphones, we had bicycles and dirt
(23:51):
and dirt, and and and baseballs, and and yeah everything was an
adventure.
We went exploring and we went.
You know all those huckleberryfinn stuff, you know right and
it was all about relationships.
There was no like ghostingpeople or whatever you know.
You picked up the phone and youcalled somebody, and and you
(24:14):
yeah met up and you hung out allday and if you had a fight, you
just got into it and fought andthen yeah, for it and went and
got some ice cream.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
You know right yeah, we didn't hold things in, we
didn't, we didn't try to becareful, we didn't wear bike
helmets, we broke bikes and gotyou know we had issues.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
You know we were always getting beat up and hurt,
but it was always an adventure.
Always, every day was anadventure.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
It was an adventure and it taught us that adventure
is fun instead of being scaredby it.
Agreed, yeah, so that's great.
I remember going to see mygrandma.
We went over there a lot andshe lived on a river and there
was a gravel road to get to herplace and there was the shiny
red two speed and I made rampsand I did jumps and I wiped out
(25:06):
and then I'd come down to her,you know, with scrapes and
everything, and she'd clean themout and she'd put bandages on
them and went right back out,send me back out, yeah totally
agreed.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
You know it's crazy.
So you know you're dealing withall these people, um, and is
there.
You know america especially.
We have obesity.
We have, you know, sedentarylifestyle and all the the
problems caused with that.
We have processed food and allthe problems caused by it.
(25:39):
We have a difficulty evengetting, you know, good quality
food.
It's an effort, it's expensive.
Um, I I'm assuming you knowdiet based on you've got a book
about it is is a big part ofyour biohacking.
What's your you know what'syour pillars of that.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
You know it's pretty simple Just eat real food.
And then the kind of food isdifferent between people and you
know there's hundreds ofdifferent preferences of
different people and I tellpeople, just don't go too
extreme.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
And if you do want to go extreme, then you need to do
more research.
So what I consider extreme?
Because we've talked earlierabout the two edges of it, right
, so there's, there's the, themilitant vegans over here, and
then there's the militantcarnivores over here, right, and
I know both.
Yeah, and neither is going tobe a healthy lifestyle.
(26:39):
You can make it healthy-ish ifyou do a ton of work and
research, or you can just be notso extreme.
Right, agreed, but the bottomline is whole foods and avoid
processed foods as much aspossible, and that would include
, you know, most vegetable oils,because you know they're
(26:59):
extruded and manufactured andall that kind of stuff and they
don't come off a plant or ananimal, and so you know, just
don't eat it.
And then even with animals it'sdifferent, because if people do
eat meat, then it's even moreimportant for that to be very
clean, wild, free range, grassfed, all those things, organic
(27:27):
cow that's roaming around, likehe did since time began and a
feedlot cow is completelydifferent animal.
The feedlot cows are literallypoison yeah and the grass-fed
cows are amazing.
It's a.
Speaker 1 (27:45):
It's a real food one of the the the sayings that I've
taken into my life is you arewhat you eat eats, and it's
important to consider that.
If you're eating a commerciallyfarmed anything.
Go and look at what they eatand what they're injected with
(28:07):
and realize that that's whatyou're eating.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, even fish farms .
Fish farms are like eating ayou're eating.
Yeah, you think again, evenfish farms.
I mean fish farms are likeeating a bag of chips.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yes, horrible.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
A bag of chips fortified with fake protein.
Agreed, I mean, it's so peopledon't realize this, but they've
got to get back to.
Our country is probably themost developed, yet we have the
worst food.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
So explain that it's so sad and stuff that we're
doing with our food supply areillegal in most other parts of
the world.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
It's cheap, easy and we're lazy.
That's really comes down to it.
It's work.
You know I grow a lot of myfood now and you know current
situation.
I have to live a vegan dietbecause of what I'm dealing with
, but not by choice, and when Iam cancer free I'll I'll go back
to eating some, some, some meat, and you know the.
(28:58):
Thing is is we do things inextremes and you know we always
do too much of a thing, like yousaid, and most people eat way
too much meat Not that you can'teat some meat and be fine, but
they generally just do too muchand then you get more harm than
good.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
Right yeah, and because you're a biohacker and
because you like to research andlearn new things, you're able
to do vegan in a healthy way,absolutely, and that's great.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
And for this time in your life, it's perfect for you
and you should what it needs todo it's, it's working, it needs
to, and and a big part of it,too, is having goals and and
monitoring yourself.
You know when, when I beganthis journey, I was 80 pounds
heavier than I am and lost 50pounds over the course of about
(29:47):
a year and maintained it forseven years, and then, when I
got cancer, I've had to go tothis vegan route, this really
extreme diet, and I've lostanother 30, and now I'm building
back up and I went below what Iwanted to be, but it's what it
took to beat this thing, and sonow I'm in the process of
(30:09):
rebuilding and it's a difficultpath with this vegan diet, but
we're doing it and youdiscipline yourself and you do
the things you don't necessarilywant to, and you do it.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Right, and you know you'll, I'm sure you'll agree
that cancer is there because wegave it a certain soil to grow
in.
Exactly when you change thatsoil, soil, it can't grow
anymore.
And there's there's lots ofways to do it.
There's not one right way to dothat.
There's lots of ways, but everysingle right way and there's
(30:42):
lots of them is real food alwaysand staying away from all that
process stuff always and justgoing back, basically going back
200 years, going back in time,200 years when that stuff didn't
exist and just eat like that.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
Yeah exactly no, it's like ingredients are food and
that's it.
You know it.
If, if you gotta put a dishtogether, it needs to be made of
food and yeah, and you startputting things that aren't food
into your food, then you're nolonger eating.
I know we're getting a littlelight on time.
(31:20):
What are your thoughts onfasting?
I know that that's in a lot ofpeople's world.
That's a pillar.
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Yes, and that would be an experiment someone would
need to do, because I think it'sappropriate for most people,
but it isn't for some.
Now, it's also something tophase into, because if somebody
is eating processed food andthey're overweight and they're
out of shape and theyimmediately start fasting,
(31:47):
they're going to feel awful,they're going to immediately
assume it's pretty horribleanyways, even when you're good
at it.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
But coming right off of a fast food diet man, it's
the worst.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah, exactly, and so it kind of depends on the
person.
Personally, I do intermittentfasting, so I'm doing the 8-16.
And so I'll eat for eight hoursin the day, and that's what's
worked great for me.
Now it's easier for me becauseI'm largely I.
(32:22):
Some people say I'm keto.
I would say more like I'm lowcarb, and the reason I
differentiate is because I eatmore protein than your classic
keto person, but I'm about thatlow on carbs and so it's easy
for me to do intermittentfasting because I just don't get
hungry.
Speaker 1 (32:43):
Yeah yeah, protein makes you stay full for a while.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Right, yeah, and so, and I don't have the sugar highs
and lows and so I don't getthat kind of hunger either.
So it's easy for me to to dothat.
And other people do itdifferent.
You know they'll, they'll picka day and they just won't eat
the whole day, or they'll doonce a month.
It'll be, you know, three daysoff and do that.
But I, I do think fasting is agood idea, but you have to work
(33:10):
into it.
And then there are some caseswith some women, with some
conditions and other otherexamples, but that's just one
that I threw out there.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Some people can't do it yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
Yeah, it's a horrible idea.
So you just gotta you gottawork with your.
Hopefully you know a goodfunctional medicine doctor, a
holistic doctor, um, that canguide you through this and and
help you decide if it's rightfor you.
But yeah, it's not foreverybody, but it is for me and
I found a way to do mine becauseof my specific experimentation
(33:42):
and what I'm doing isn't rightfor everybody and, in fact, I
don't recommend a low carb dietto most people because it's too
hard to do.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
I tell people, do the Mediterranean yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
I start people on the Mediterranean all the time
because that's the easiest oneand it's really healthy.
It's a whole food diet, yeah,right.
And then, over time, I helppeople find their perfect diet
based on what works for them,because everyone's different.
What works for them?
Yes, because everyone'sdifferent.
Speaker 1 (34:12):
I couldn't agree more .
Well, listen, we are just aboutout of time.
I, as I suspected thisconversation was going to be
easy and and we got a lot moreto talk about, so I'm hoping
that we can get you back on, butI always like to give a guest,
(34:33):
your elevator pitch and a chanceto let everybody know how to
get a hold of you.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Yeah, everything's on xgymcom.
You know all the social linksand everything there, xgymcom,
and you know that's how to get ahold of me and see all the
stuff and get in touch if youwant or get more information on
different things you know, likethe book and the brain type test
and the app and online trainingand live training at our
kirkland club and all that kindof stuff fantastic well pj.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
It's been an absolute pleasure.
I look forward to a furtherconversation and to all the
listeners.
I thank you for your support,and this has been another
episode of the healthy livingpodcast right on, thank you.
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