Description: Abel James is a bestselling author of The Wild Diet, entertainer, and lifestyle entrepreneur. As the #1 rated Health podcast in 8+ countries, Abel’s award-winning web series, Fat-Burning Man, has helped millions reclaim their health with cutting-edge science, outdoor workouts, and outrageously good food. When his debut cooking app, Caveman Feast, bested The Food Network and Martha Stewart with more than 1,000 5-star reviews in 48 hours, Abel became the first independent publisher to hold Apple’s #1 food app and #1 podcast at the same time.

A leading voice in new media, Abel was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Health and Fitness along with Michael Pollan, Dr. Andrew Weil, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Deepak Chopra. Abel starred on ABC and has been featured in People Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, NPR, Forbes, and many more. Also a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Abel has toured internationally and won several awards for vocal performance.

After completing his B.A. at Dartmouth College a year early, Abel created his own interdisciplinary curriculum to study brain science, music, and technology, graduating as a Senior Fellow with Honors. He later independently published his research in The Musical Brain, which became a #1 Amazon bestseller.

On ABC’s “My Diet Is Better Than Yours” Abel’s contestant, Kurt, lost 87 pounds, 22% body fat, and is off all his prescription medications after 14 weeks on a high-fat, low carb diet. He practiced intermittent fasting (with butter coffee!), drank bone broth daily, and had plenty of organic veggies and pasture-raised meat and eggs, while staying away from processed foods and grains (except for a couple cheats).

The show based its competition on weight loss instead of fat loss. Even though Kurt lost the most total body weight and double the body fat of the other contestants (22%) he lost the competition to Jasmine who lost a higher body weight percentage. Jasmine only lost a total of 13% body fat.

Abel enjoys strong coffee and cheesecake, preferably together.

Sponsors:

$50 Discount: Today’s show is brought to you by Casper. Get $50 toward any mattress purchase by visiting casper.com/primal and using the promo code PRIMAL at checkout.

Show Notes:

• Abel talks about his appearance on the ABC TV show called “My Diet is Better than Yours.” [00:01:26]
• What happened with the contestant that Abel worked with who started out at 52% body fat? [00:04:14]
• Is judging the contest as weight lost the best way to pick the “winner.” [00:09:44]
• The contestant’s quote: “Who thought you could lose weight eating butter?” [00:14:07]
• How did Abel keep his professionalism in tact when there were conflicts on the show? [00:16:34]
• How does exercise in the pool help?  [00:20:04]
• Were there many similarities in the diets used on the show? Did they all work? [00:24:24]
• How does strength training differ from cardio? How can you apply it at home? [00:26:21]
• Now that the TV show is over, what response is Abel getting? [00:29:09]
• Were there psychological implications with the folks on the show? [00:33:37]
• What did Abel do, in his early 20’s, when he realized he needed to change his lifestyle? [00:36:00]
• What is the story about people staring at Paleo folks when they eat out? [00:42:08]
• Should we really eat butter as a snack? [00:46:45]
• What should be in your survival pack? [00:49:21]

Selected Links from the Episode:
Fat-Burning Man
The Wild Diet
Caveman Feast
My Diet is Better Than Yours
The Musical Brain

Get the Primal Blueprint Podcast

• Download Episode #107 here (right click to “Save As”)
• View and subscribe to The Primal Blueprint Podcast on iTunes here and on Stitcher here
• Subscribe to the RSS feed here

Do you have a question you would like answered on a future Primal Blueprint Podcast? Submit a voicemail message by clicking the blue “Submit a Question” button on the right side of the page, or email us!