Issue #12: Do more of what you love

Hey Radical Health Seekers 👋 

Coming up in your Radical Health Newsletter this week:

• Why you should do more of what you love and less of what you like;
• And how Zack cured his IBS with an animal-based lifestyle;

But first…

⚒️ Meet Wyatt

Wyatt is a Health Guide here at Heart & Soil.

And when he’s not helping people reclaim their birthright to radical health, you’ll find him in his blacksmith forge…

Which luckily for us, means he keeps us supplied with the BEST steak knives in the world 💪🏽

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from having Wyatt on our team, it is to…

🧡 Do more of what you love

Because whether that’s coaching Pee Wee football, playing guitar, or adopting stray dogs, we all have certain things we love to do in life…

And not only do we find these things deeply enjoyable, but they give us a deep sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. 

Now we also have things in life that we just like…

And while these things may offer us momentary pings of joy, they don’t provide us with any deep pleasure or fulfilment.

They are usually just something to pass the time, like consuming social media.

And we believe doing more of the things you love and less of the things you like is one of the keys to living a happy and meaningful life.

Here’s how to do more of what you love 👇

Start by writing down everything you love to do…

These are the things that fill you with passion, purpose, fulfilment, joy, and meaning.

We shall call this our Love List.

Next, write down everything you do that you just like (or even dislike!)…

We shall call this our Like List.

Then step-by-step, eliminate and replace the things in your Like List with things in your Love List.

This will require changing your habits…

You may need to put restrictions on your phone, and prioritize more of your time for what you love…

And while it may sound like a strategy for those with the luxury of lots of time, it’s actually quite the opposite.

Because we all have limited time.

And much of that time is already filled with things we have to do.

(like assembling flatpack furniture, making spreadsheets, or queuing at the DMV)

This is why it’s even more important that what little time remains is spent doing things you love and not wasted on the things you only like!

How Zack cured his IBS with an animal-based diet

What is up everyone! 

I’m Zack, a member of the Health Success Team here at Heart & Soil, and about 8 years ago I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

My symptoms included severe and chronic abdominal pain, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and depression as well as difficulty gaining/maintaining weight 😖

For the longest time, I couldn’t find out what my trigger foods were because it seemed like EVERYTHING triggered me. 

I tried many different diets…

Vegan (horrible idea) 😱…

Paleo… keto…low-FODMAP, you name it and I tried it.

Nothing worked until I completely eliminated all plant foods (about 5 years ago). 

And while a carnivore diet kept me symptom-free for a few years, it didn’t cure me…

I still suffered with visceral hypersensitivity and dysbiosis, even though I drank bone broth religiously. 

Eventually (about two years ago), I started including fruit, honey, white rice, and maple syrup in my diet…

Which helped me to gain weight finally and I was delighted to have some variety in my diet. 

But the best part was that my sleep, athletic performance, body composition, energy levels, libido, cognitive function, and mood all improved and I felt incredible!

But while my digestion was better, my gut was still unbelievably sensitive. 

What I mean by “sensitive” is that if I so much as tasted something that I couldn’t handle—and I am not exaggerating, ask the other H&S peeps – I would be in horrible abdominal pain for three or four days…

So by no means was I out of the woods at this point. 

Then about a year ago, I started drinking raw, unpasteurized, grass-fed, A2 milk.

And not only did I feel even better, but I noticed that my gut was nowhere near as sensitive. 

I also started eating pickles.

And not just any pickles, but traditionally fermented pickles from brands like Bubbies or RealPickles.

I also made sure to drink the juice, and with this, I saw even more improvements in my food tolerance.

I was finally able to eat small amounts of foods that for years I wasn’t even able to taste without experiencing a flare-up! 

Here’s what I was eating everyday

2 pounds of beef…

1-3 ounces of organ meats

64 ounces of raw milk

a few pickles or a couple of ounces of sauerkraut,

and a little raw cheese.

I should also mention that throughout this process, I made sure to get in the sun every day and exercise as often as possible 🌞🏋️‍♂️

I continued with this for a couple of months and at some point, I realized that my gut could handle just about anything!

As far as I was concerned I had cured myself!

Today, I’m able to cheat on my diet if I want to without the insanely painful consequences I used to deal with, but at this point, I have absolutely no desire to.

And through this gut-healing journey, I learned so much about nutrition, gastrointestinal health, and the power of living an ancestrally consistent lifestyle.

But perhaps more importantly, I learned what a gift our health is. 

And today, I’m passionate about optimizing this gift and helping others do the same. 

I hope my story is helpful to you… 

And if you are struggling with a debilitating or frustrating health issue, I encourage you to keep moving forward, keep seeking to deepen your knowledge, and stay positive! 

And if you want some help, don’t hesitate to shoot the Heart & Soil Health Success team a message. You can even ask for me!

That’s all from us this weekend ,

Stay Radical!

Zack and the Heart & Soil Crew