This is the last car (life) you're ever going to get... It's what you do now, today, that determines how your mind and body will operate ten, twenty, and thirty years from now.   -Warren Buffett   Buffett is an excellent example of learning and then applying what you've learned to catapult success. If you had asked him 20 years ago, he would have said that he didn't understand tech stocks and would not invest.   Two years ago, much to the investing world's surprise, Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett's holding company) made a sizeable purchase of Apple (a tech company) after which time Apple became the first company in history worth 1 trillion (yes with a T) dollars.   Seems like just because Buffett didn't 'know' about tech companies doesn't mean he was open to learning and using that to his advantage in the future.   So why do you care about this?   You care about this because it's the same way your life can become better.   2018 is almost over and the holidays are always a time for reflection... so what the heck did you learn? More importantly and less often thought about is, how you can leverage what happened to you in order to make better and smarter choices in the future? Decisions that, like Buffett, will lead to greater success.   The purpose of this podcast is to discuss our 2018, what we learned and most importantly, how we are going to turn those lessons into different actions for 2019 and beyond.   No this won't guarantee our success, but eventually, if you try enough different stuff and learn enough, success will follow.   What we covered:

• The impactful things that happened to us in 2018 and what we learned from them.
• How we plan to leverage those things into the future, meaning what behaviours/habits will we be changing moving forward.
• What if those changes don't work...what's the next step?

In a recent study that was published by The New England Journal Of Medicine, probiotics given to children with gastroenteritis (commonly called the stomach flu) had no effect in helping treat the stomach flu.   Nine hundred seventy-one children were selected between the ages of 3 months to 4 years to participate in a randomized controlled double-blind study to measure whether probiotics had a positive effect on the treatment of the stomach flu. The conclusion reached by the medical team was the group treated with the probiotic showed no improvement over the placebo group, therefore, probiotics are not effective in treating the stomach flu.   The purpose of this podcast is to review the study but more importantly to apply the conclusion to the philosophical difference between disease treatment (the practice of medicine) and health creation - what we are encouraging with The Life By Design blueprint.   We do not doubt the study's results - although we are sure there could have been better measures taken by the doctors to ensure specificity (a bacterial culture was not performed) and repeatability.   What we covered

• A review of the study and the findings.
• So what and who cares? Just because the study found that probiotics don't treat the stomach flu doesn't mean that probiotics are useless and you shouldn't take them. There is more to life than just the treatment of disease.
• A quick review of strategies vs. requirements - yes we do this every time because it's that important
• A discussion around the requirements for creating health and why health is much more challenging to measure than disease treatment.
• A discussion and assumption that supplements should not be used to treat any disease and that is not their purpose, but that doesn't mean that they are useless and should be ignored either.

In a study published in the New England Journal Of Medicine, scientists and researchers were attempting to help kids with peanut allergies survive in a (for lack of better terms) peanut infested world.   The clinical goal of the research was to systematically expose the treatment group to small amounts of controlled peanut protein every day for 6 months and then a maintenance dose of peanut protein everyday for another 6 months in an effort to get the children to be able to consume a small amount of peanut protein with no ill effect.   In essence, the study is aimed at increasing the adaptability of the human body.   Why should you care about this?    You care because adaptability, or at least that principle, is the very essence of health. If your body has a strong immune system - and one of the ways an immune system stays strong is it's exposed to a manageable level of bacteria and viruses - it gets stronger.   If you systematically expose yourself to heavier weights at the gym you get physically stronger. If you expose yourself to mental stress, you get mentally tougher, etc.   The purpose of the podcast is to help reinforce the idea that adaptability and improving it should be central to what you seek to do if you want to get the best out of your body.   What We Covered

• A review of the article found on Healthline and most importantly the mechanism used by the doctors in the research study and how you can leverage the same concepts with your own health.
• Why adaptability is one of the key aspects to maintaining and creating health in your body, and how a lack of adaptability can leave you open and susceptible to poor health, disease and infection.

Stand up straight and don't slouch.   Part of being a kid is having our parents tell us to stand up tall about a million and a half times. I'm sure our parents just wanted us to look good and not look like a lazy slouch... but who would have known just how accurate their advice was with regards to maximizing the health of our bodies.   Yes, it's true, many people the fear the 'ugliness' and sloppiness' that poor posture brings - nobody wants to have a massive hump at the base of their neck when they are older - but poor posture affects ALL aspects of your health and physiology - not just the physical ones.   The purpose of this podcast is to cover the adverse health effects that poor posture has on your body mechanics and physiology.   What We Covered

• What is considered bad posture and why. It's one thing to know that having bad posture is bad for you, but why is it bad for you? What makes it that way?
• A fundamental review of anatomy and physiology, specifically focusing on your spine and nerve system and how the neuro-spinal core is the control system of the body.
• How bad posture affects the things you know about but how it might also be affecting things in your body you might not know about as well. Once you understand how the mechanics of your spine work, this will make more sense.
• Tips and strategies for improving your posture. It's easy to say or think 'I'm just going to spend more time sitting up, or I'll get a stand-up desk that will help," but that might not be the best strategy.

An article reviewing a study posted on October 23rd by the New York Times claimed that people who ate more organic meat, dairy and produce saw their cancer risk drop by 25%.

As you can imagine, and hence why we're doing a podcast on this article, the headline caught our attention.

Twenty-five perfect is quite a number. Imagine your salary increased by twenty-five percent? We would imagine you being very thrilled by this fact and rightfully so.

The purpose of this podcast is to break down the article and talk about the possible meanings and ramifications of such a finding, exactly what it means and how we believe you could best apply this to your life with the most amazing results.

  What We Covered

• Requirements vs. Strategies. Are you wondering why we start with this? I hope you are. You cannot escape reality and the nature of your body. Sometimes there are peer-reviewed published studies that seem to fly in the face of reality. The latest one that comes to mind is claiming eggs are just as dangerous as smoking. It's essential for you to remember how your body works and what your body needs to be healthy.
• A breakdown of the study.
• What this study and the conclusion could mean for you and your family's health.
• What can you do if you're on a limited budget and can't necessarily buy organic food?
• The hierarchy principle and where the most bang for your buck can be found with organic food.

 

It's called a mindset because you get to choose how you want to 'set' your 'mind.' For us at Life By Design this idea was an instant game changer. It means that you get to dictate the pace of your life, it means that you get to be in control.    To be totally clear, and to play devil's advocate for that last statement, it is true, nobody completely controls their lives. We interact with people whom we can't control, the outside world is mostly unpredictable, and crap hit's the fan for all of us. So how can you be in control? You are in control because you get to choose how you respond to the situations you are dealt.   Mentally tough people respond differently.   Charles Darrow, who lost everything during the 1929 stock market crash leading into the great depression, did not succumb to the malaise and fear of being without money, he created a game about losing money, and how to make more called Monopoly, I'm sure you've heard of it. I'm also sure you know that Monopoly still to this day, sells about 20,000 units per year.    The purpose of this podcast is to review the success.com article and give the Life By Design perspective on this list of 15. Do they apply and how can you leverage them in your life.   What I Covered

• A play by play, step by step review of the success.com article.
• Which ones I liked, which ones I didn't and why.
• How this all applies to you and how you can leverage it and grow.

In today's episode of Life By Design we bring back one of our favourite and most listened to episodes for a BEST OF week...    No surprise it had to do with burning fat!   What if there was something simple you could do that would help switch your body from fat storing to fat burning?   What if it only took 10 seconds a day?   What if there were other amazing things (like better hair, younger looking skin, better concentration and improved mental function) associated with this ‘miracle’ cure.   To end the suspense go listen to today's episode of Life By Design.    What we covered:

• Why fat is your body’s preferred fuel source.
• The purpose of fat and how we’ve had it all wrong.
• What types of fat you should be eating every single day.
• How a quality fish oil supplement can speed up your fat loss goals.

It is always nice, and not surprising when you read research that supports the idea that improving health makes everything, in this case pregnancy and birth, more comfortable and better for the person who's health increased.   In a study published from the University of Alberta - 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise can result in a 40 percent reduction in the risk of developing gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia researchers discovered.   There was an interesting note that Margie Davenport, a cardiovascular researcher at the University of Alberta made, that pregnant women have been understudied in the past.   The purpose of this podcast is to discuss this research, what it means for pregnant women, and most importantly how to take and apply this research into tangible steps for you to be able to do something with it.   It is one thing to know that exercise is good for you, yet another completely different thing to be able to take that research and do something with it.   What We Covered:

• Requirements vs. Strategies - Just because you're pregnant the physiological needs of your body have not changed. If anything, what was once 'good for you' becomes even more important since your body has greater biological demands placed on it.
• We review the study and discuss the effects on pregnancy.
• Can you really count the recommendations 150 minutes of moderately intense activity as enough or can you expect a little more from your body as a pregnant mama? 
• What you should and shouldn't do, exercise wise, while pregnant. Especially if you've never exercised or trained in the past.
• Other health boosting requirements for the pregnant woman.

Autoimmune disease can be devastating.   Autoimmune diseases are challenging to diagnose (at best), can take various shapes and forms (hence the wide variety of diagnosed autoimmune disorders), can affect different organs and systems in the same person, and to top it all off, can act very differently in each person they affect.   The management of autoimmune diseases has been equally frustrating. Some patients respond well to traditional medical approaches; others do not. Treatment can also be time sensitive meaning what 'worked' before does not 'work' now; with no rhyme or reason as to why. Sometimes symptoms can lie dormant for years and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the patient has a massive flare up.   But one thing that seems to consistently help everyone with an autoimmune disease is to modify their diet.   This is not to suggest that changing your diet is a cure or even a treatment for autoimmune diseases, but it has been shown to help, even tremendously in some people.   The purpose of this podcast is to discuss our recommended protocol for Autoimmune Diseases and why we believe you should give it a try if you have an autoimmune disease and for some, if you just want to test your body out.   What We Covered

• What is an autoimmune disease?
• The proposed mechanism for the development of autoimmune diseases. The cat is far from out of the bag on this one and, there are many things we don't know. However, we do know something and that 'something' can really help.
• A review of the Mark's Daily Apply Autoimmune Protocol, how it works, who it's for and why we like it.
• Managing and helping to understand the psychology of food and eating.

At Life By Design we are big fans of knowledge.   As human beings, we depend on our minds and the mind's development not only to survive but to help us (humans) solve the problems that plague us every day.   Education should be paramount to both the learning and application of knowledge. Unfortunately, in some circumstances, it's not.   We believe that the youth of society, those that are going to carry the torch of humanity's future are not being equipped with the tools necessary to develop their brains fully and completely.   The purpose of this podcast is to share the requirements for education based on what we would like to see, and what we believe you, as a parent can do at home with your children to ensure that they are gaining and applying knowledge.   This podcast is not meant to be a political or a social attack on education. We want to share solutions and tips that we've found helpful for us as parents who know the importance of what a good education can provide to their kids.    We would like to see more children educated properly so they can handle the responsibilities and challenges of life with confidence, ease, and grace.   What We Covered:

• The purpose of education and why 'purpose' sets the goals and standards by how education is taught. To understand any method or system, you must first understand it's underlying purpose and goals.
• Why it's crucial that education follow a hierarchy.
• What you can do to help ensure your child reaps the benefits of your parenting and their schooling.
• How you can begin integrating some of these ideas into your child's life.