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1 1 #052: My Unlikely Story of Ditching Meat For a Raw Vegan Diet June 23, 2014 Introduction The 5 am Miracle - Episode #052: My Unlikely Story of Ditching Meat For a Raw Vegan Diet [Play Interview Bumper] [Intro Song] Good morning and welcome to the 52nd episode of The 5 AM Miracle. I am Jeff Sanders and this is THE podcast dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast. My goal is to help you bounce out of bed with enthusiasm, create powerful lifelong habits, and tackle your grandest goals with extraordinary energy. In this week's episode I discuss how (and why) I made

2 2 the radical decision to stop eating all animal products and opt for a diet filled with smoothies, salads, and a few dozen bananas. This is a fascinating story. But first, let s go Behind-the-Scenes! [Fade Music Up and Out] BEHIND THE SCENES I'm back from Europe! My wife and I had a great trip and I am very glad to be back in the states, even though I really could have spent months, or even years exploring around all of the amazing historical sites and seeing the unique culture that makes Europe such a fascinating place to visit. Being in Europe reminded me that I need to get away more often, to break the cycle and routine of doing the same things over and over again. It s so refreshing to watch how other people live. Many Europeans live very different lives than I do and it s great to remind myself to change my perspective on a regular basis. The good news is that it s not necessary to go on a big vacation halfway around the globe to get a new look on your life.

3 3 There are plenty of ways to slow the pace of life, or radically increase it to jump start new ideas, or even just realize that you have an amazing life already and you don t need to believe that the grass is always greener somewhere else. My tendency is to visit Europe and believe that Europeans are smarter or more progressive or that my life would be better if I moved thousands of miles away. The reality is that I already have a fantastic life in Nashville and I m better off appreciating the beauty around me than to feel jealous of someone else. On a related note, my good friend Andrea has been accepted into a PhD program in Glasgow, Scotland and she will be there for the next 3 years. So, I now have a really good excuse to head back and visit! And for the 2nd piece of the Behind the Scenes segment, today s episode marks the end of Year #1 of The 5 AM Miracle Podcast. It s amazing to me that I have been producing this show for a full year now and I m greatly anticipating all of the fun shows coming up in the next 12 months. I pulled together a few statistics about the podcast,

4 4 just to give you a little background on how the show is doing. First, this podcast has star ratings in itunes and 81 very positive reviews. I am very grateful for everyone who has supported the show over the last year. If you are one of those people who left a rating or a review, thank you so much. I do really appreciate the positive comments, the shares on social media and blog posts, and of course everyone who subscribes and listens to the show every week. As of today, the podcast has been downloaded over 470,000 times, which is absolutely amazing! My initial goal was to reach 100,000 downloads in the first year. Yeah, that s incredible. The most popular episode is the very 1st one: 7 Benefits of Starting Your Day Bright and Early. I find that to be a bit ironic because I personally think it s the worst episode I ve done, but the title is enticing and most people love hearing the pilot episode of any new show. Over the last year, the highest itunes ranking I have seen is #1 in the Business Category and #20 on the overall podcast list, which includes all 250,000+ podcasts in itunes.

5 5 That high ranking only lasted for a few hours, but it was nice to see. If you are thinking about starting your own podcast, I highly recommend it. You can read all about how I launched my show on my blog at JeffSanders.com/podcasting101. I will also have that link in the show notes. Now, let s jump to the Tip of the Week! [Opening Night Music] Now, for this week s Tip I m going to answer two questions about Kombucha from a listener. If you have never heard of kombucha, check out my podcast episode #37, which goes into full detail on why this Chinese tea is so beneficial and how you can brew it at home yourself. [Kombucha Carbonation] Great question Ryan! Unfortunately, carbonation is a part of the fermentation process. If you brew it properly and for long enough, you can t avoid the bubbles. However, like soda, if you take the kombucha out of

6 6 an air tight container and let it sit for a few hours you will have much less carbonation. And now let s hear the second question from Ryan: [Kombucha Heat in the Garage] Yes Ryan, heat does matter when it comes to brewing. From what I ve read and experienced myself, 80 degrees is the optimal temperature. 95 is too high. You could try one batch in your garage and see how it turns out, but I m guessing it won t be as effective. Higher temperatures result in a vinegar taste because the brew ferments too quickly. And yes, kombucha definitely smells a little funky, so the best place to let it brew is in a room in your house that few people hang out in, and that averages around 80 degrees. My laundry room tends to be a good place, but you may have to experiment a little bit.

7 7 No More Kombucha Now, on a related note, and this may surprise you, I have actually stopped brewing and drinking kombucha. Don t freak out! About a month ago I began a huge shift to get as close as possible to a 100% raw vegan diet, which I will discuss in much more detail in the feature segment. But, to quickly summarize why I made the choice to give up kombucha for now: my new low fat, raw vegan diet is so full of water and fiber that I feel that don t need the primary benefits of kombucha. When I was eating more cooked foods, kombucha was incredibly beneficial. Cooked food is harder for the body to digest, which is why the probiotics in kombucha are so helpful. The more cooked food I eat, the more I feel that I need kombucha for optimal digestive health. On the flip side, when I eat more low-fat raw fruits and veggies, kombucha just isn t necessary. Now, I know many listeners have started home brewing their own kombucha because of episode #37 of the podcast where I outlined how to brew it yourself, and you should keep doing it! Don t stop because I did, unless you have a similar story and your diet has improved to the extent that

8 8 you also feel like you don t need the benefits of kombucha any longer. In fact, I may go back and start brewing kombucha again. I don t know right now because I am in the midst of grand raw food experiment. I think it will go well and I don t anticipate going back to kombucha in the future, but anything s possible. Alright, now, let s get to the meat of the content today in the feature segment! [World Music Interlude] It s typical for me to create very detailed outlines for each of my podcast episodes and have a nearly, word-for-word script by the time I m done. But, today I m going to tell a story and a script will only get in the way. So, today s episode will be more off-the-cuff than normal, but I think this format will work well for me to be as genuine and real as possible. My topic for the show is both exciting and fun while also having very dark moments and some stark realizations.

9 9 In other words, I want to speak from the heart as much as I can so that you will get an authentic look into my story and how I came to make a few radical decisions over the last few years. If veganism is new to you, or you really have no interest in it, I encourage you to listen from the perspective of personal growth. Everything for me is about personal development as a means to become the best version of myself that I can be. I fully believe that I am only at my best as a vegan AND, if I might say, I truly believe you would be as well. Without being too mushy, all human behavior and communication comes from a place of love or fear. The cool part about veganism is that is stands for both at the same time. With veganism, there is a very clear dark side while also having a beautiful, abundant side that makes my life incredibly better than it ever would have been. Because veganism reminds me of the best parts of life: love, compassion, energy, abundance, joy, and fun. Okay, now let s get to it.

10 10 I have divided my story into 7 phases. These phases are fairly standard with anyone who goes through a radical transformation of any sort. Now that I have the benefit of hindsight, it s clear to my that I have been on a journey and it s also clear that the journey is just getting started, even though I m been doing this for more than 4 years. Let s begin with Phase 0 Phase 0: Who I Was the First 25 years of My Life My Unlikely Story of Ditching Meat Human Trashcan Fast Food Freshman 30 College, Drinking 215 pounds On a path to become a Standard American (heart disease, diabetes, etc.) Phase 1: Initial Exposure & The Epiphany My vegan journey begins in the fall of 2009 when I discovered a blogger named Steve Pavlina [Personal Development for Smart People] Benny Phase 2: Curiosity & Research

11 11 The China Study [book by T. Colin Campbell, PhD] Food Inc. [documentary] Food Matters [documentary] Phase 3: Experimentation & Self-Awareness 30-Day Trial 7 Intoxicating Reasons to Drink Green Smoothies [blog post] Tofurky and Daiya Cheese Phase 4: Finding My Reason & No Turning Back Earthlings [documentary] Weight Loss Mental Clarity Phase 5: Going Pro & Going Raw The 80/10/10 Diet [book by Dr. Douglas Graham] The Juiceman s Power of Juicing [book by Jay Kordich] Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness [book by Robert Cheeke] Eating Animals [book by Jonathan Safran Foer] Slaughterhouse [book by Gail Eisnitz]

12 12 Finding Ultra [book by Rich Roll] Eat & Run [book by Scott Jurek] Phase 6: Distractions & Slowly Falling Off the Wagon Assuming I was healthy without the data Blood Work: B12 and Vitamin D Cooked food addiction Went on autopilot and slowly drifted off course Phase 7: Vitamix & Returning to My Roots Why You Must Buy a Vitamix Blender [blog post] How you can easily begin your transition to eating healthier foods today. 1.Life Without Bacon [my book] 2.Forks Over Knives [documentary] 3.Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead [documentary] [Fade In Music] Announcements Just 2 quick announcements here at the end of this episode.

13 13 First, if you have not yet joined The 5 am Club, you can easily do so today for free. When you join the club you will get a free copy of The 5 AM Miracle ebook, which shows you exactly how to wake up each morning with vigor and make enormous progress on your biggest goals. To join The 5 AM Club AND jump start your morning - visit 5amMiracle.com. My 2nd announcement is that next week s episode kicks off year #2 and I will be discussing the most important skill of the 21st century. If you have big goals in your life right now that you having a hard time making progress on, next week s episode is a must-listen. Final Thoughts As always, I would be grateful if you would rate my podcast in itunes. That helps tremendously with keeping my podcast visible so that people who have never heard of it can discover it. I created a quick 2-minute video that shows you how to rate and review any podcast, which you can watch at JeffSanders.com/review Or, just head on over to JeffSanders.com/itunes to leave your review right now.

14 14 Also, if you would like to see all of the resources I mentioned in this show, please visit the show notes page at JeffSanders.com/52, as in Episode 52. Well, that's it for this episode of The 5 AM Miracle. Until next time remember, you have the power to change your life, and the fun begins bright and early. [Fade Out Music]