The Living Experiment: Rethink Your Choices. Reclaim Your Life.

Wrapping up our successful first season, we offer a big picture view of what we see as the top 10 fundamentals of healthy, happy living, and how they fit into five key domains of wellbeing. We point out some of the essential connections between all these considerations, and we explain why each of them matters — especially those elements commonly overlooked or underemphasized by the conventional media. If you’re looking for a quick tour of what healthy living looks and feels like, you’ve come to the right place.

Episode Highlights:

• Pilar outlines five dimensions of health and healthy living (4:40)
• Dallas and Pilar share their top 10 biggies (fundamentals for being the most vital human you can be), in no particular order (7:40)
• #1: Whole food nutrition and hydration (8:00)
• #2: Rest and recovery (10:20)
• #3: Healthy movement (12:00)
• #4: Face-to-face intimate social connection (16:25)
• #5: Empowered role in directing and managing your own healthcare (19:35)
• #6: Minimal exposure to toxic chemicals, environments and relationships (25:10)
• #7: Appropriate balance of stress/challenge and recovery/repair opportunity (29:00)
• #8: Positive growth-and-learning mindset (32:15)
• #9: Time in nature and the outdoors (35:50)
• #10: Conscious, discerning relationship with media and marketing (39:00)
• The art of conducting (and being) your own "living experiment" (43:55)

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If you're enjoying The Living Experiment, please tell your friends about it (just click the "share this" tool on this page). People are always looking for great new podcasts, and your personal recommendations mean a lot. We'd also love to have you connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, share your thoughts, stories and reflections there.

Resources:

• Pilar’s “101 Revolutionary Ways to be Healthy” (you can explore them all and access the free mobile app here, too!).
• Pilar's "Revolutionary Acts" column in Experience Life
• Dallas's More Social, Less Media program
• Byron Katie’s “The Work” for developing a healthier, more conscious mindset.
• The learner/judger Choice Map from Dr. Marilee Adams and the Inquiry Institute.
• Articles from Experience Life magazine on all of the Top-10 Biggies (search on the topics of interest to you).

PLUS ...

• Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with us and receive new-show highlights as soon as they're published.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunesto have fresh episodes delivered to your podcast feed each week.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s life-changing “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

This week on The Living Experiment, we consider the pros and cons of "Fitspo" — short for Fitness Inspiration — that stream of idealized-body imagery and imperatives that dominates a lot of social media feeds these days. We question whether this supposedly aspirational torrent of photos, messages and hashtags is doing health-seekers more harm than good. We challenge the notion that chasing an aesthetic ideal and comparing your body to others' is likely to be a lasting, positive source of motivation. And we explore a demonstrated correlation between increased exposure to social media and lowered self-esteem. We wind up with some simple experiments you can run in your own life as a way of relating more consciously to the Fitspo memes and messages you're likely to encounter, and as a way of reconsidering the impact they might be having your own health and happiness.

Episode Highlights:

• The Fitspo phenomenon that's flooding our social media feeds (3:25)
• The important difference between internal and external motivations (5:30)
• Why Fitspo tends to increase anxiety and lower self-esteem (6:45)
• How supposedly inspirational pop-culture memes and messages are negatively shaping our self-image (8:15)
• How to spot and deal with the onslaught of "you're not good enough" messages we're slammed with daily (10:30)
• The problem of chasing superficial body ideals at the cost of your long-term health (14:30)
• Why buying into a perfect-body fantasy is unlikely to get you what you really want (19:10)
• Dallas shares his own history as a skinny, scrawny kid, and how he came to terms with his own best body (22:15)
• Evaluating whether your social media feeds reflect your real-life goals and priorities (24:35)
• When you're the one posting Fitspo — how to get more conscious about what you're sharing, and why (26:40)
• Experiments for the week (29:40)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Notice the Fitspo images you come across. How do they make you feel about yourself?

• Pause at images of fit bodies on social media and in advertisements. Ask yourself: do these make my life better?

Pilar suggests: Think about ditching social media feeds that don't match your real-life goals and values. Ask yourself how your own Fitspo posts you.

• Go through your social media channels and consider deleting and un-following any feeds that post images or messages that don't serve you (and particularly those that make you feel worse about yourself).
• Look at your own profile and social feeds. What messages are you sending with your fitness posts? Do they reflect who you really are and what you care most about?

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• "Real Bodies in a Virtual World", an article from Experience Life magazine exploring the impact social media is having on body image and self-esteem.
• "Healthy vs Hot", an episode of The Living Experimentthat explores the often-confused relationship between a fit appearance and a healthy reality.
• The Center for Eating Disorder's public survey of Facebook users and their body image.
• Florida State University's study relating Facebook and eating disorders.

PLUS:

• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and receive new-show highlights as soon as they're published.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunesto have fresh episodes delivered to your podcast feed each week.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson's "Habits 101" Master Class for FREE.

This week on The Living Experiment, we consider the pros and cons of “Fitspo” — short for Fitness Inspiration — that stream of idealized-body imagery and imperatives that dominates a lot of social media feeds these days. We question whether this supposedly aspirational torrent of photos, messages and hashtags is doing health-seekers more harm than good. We challenge the notion that chasing an aesthetic ideal and comparing your body to others’ is likely to be a lasting, positive source of motivation. And we explore a demonstrated correlation between increased exposure to social media and lowered self-esteem. We wind up with some simple experiments you can run in your own life as a way of relating more consciously to the Fitspo memes and messages you’re likely to encounter, and as a way of reconsidering the impact they might be having your own health and happiness. 

Episode Highlights:

• The Fitspo phenomenon that's flooding our social media feeds (3:25)
• The important difference between internal and external motivations (5:30)
• Why Fitspo tends to increase anxiety and lower self-esteem (6:45)
• How supposedly inspirational pop-culture memes and messages are negatively shaping our self-image (8:15)
• How to spot and deal with the onslaught of “you’re not good enough” messages we’re slammed with daily (10:30)
• The problem of chasing superficial body ideals at the cost of your long-term health (14:30)
• Why buying into a perfect-body fantasy is unlikely to get you what you really want (19:10)
• Dallas shares his own history as a skinny, scrawny kid, and how he came to terms with his own best body (22:15)
• Evaluating whether your social media feeds reflect your real-life goals and priorities (24:35)
• When you’re the one posting Fitspo — how to get more conscious about what you're sharing, and why (26:40)
• Experiments for the week (29:40)

Weekly Experiments: 

Dallas suggests: Notice the Fitspo images you come across. How do they make you feel about yourself?

• Pause at images of fit bodies on social media and in advertisements. Ask yourself: do these make my life better?

Pilar suggests: Think about ditching social media feeds that don’t match your real-life goals and values. Ask yourself how your own Fitspo posts you.

• Go through your social media channels and consider deleting and un-following any feeds that post images or messages that don’t serve you (and particularly those that make you feel worse about yourself).
• Look at your own profile and social feeds. What messages are you sending with your fitness posts? Do they reflect who you really are and what you care most about?

Share the love! 

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there. 

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• "Real Bodies in a Virtual World", an article from Experience Life magazine exploring the impact social media is having on body image and self-esteem.
• "Healthy vs Hot", an episode of The Living Experimentthat explores the often-confused relationship between a fit appearance and a healthy reality.
• The Center for Eating Disorder's public survey of Facebook users and their body image.
• Florida State University's study relating Facebook and eating disorders.

PLUS:

• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and receive new-show highlights as soon as they're published.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunesto have fresh episodes delivered to your podcast feed each week.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

 

On this episode of The Living Experiment, we're talking about "Addiction" — what that phenomenon is all about, and how to address the sometimes-subtle dependencies that may show up in your own life. We address everything from physical and psycho-emotional attachments to food, exercise, emotional drama and social media to entrenched end-of-day drink rituals — even porn. We also help you reflect on the dynamics that can drive your own addictive tendencies, so you can start to shift them in ways that work for you.

Episode Highlights:

• Our all-purpose definition of addiction (3:10)
• Cool neuroscience — the pharmacy inside your brain (7:00)
• How the biochemicals associated with stress feed our dependencies (8:35)
• Figuring out the root causes of addiction, and noticing how our culture helps create them (15:00)
• The connection between addiction and lack of human connection (19:50)
• Breaking the addictive cycle with mindful practices and conscious choices (22:00)
• The satisfaction problem — why it's hard to get "enough" porn, doughnuts, and social media (28:45)
• The connection between women's "food" issues and a lack of sensual satisfaction (31:00)
• How guilt and shame drive self-destructive behaviors (33:10)
• Shifting our addictive tendencies (37:20)
• The importance of tracking the outcomes of your choices (39:30)
• This week's experiments (41:55)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Why do you do what you do? Identify your addictions.

• Using our definition of addiction, take a look at your own behaviors. Do they make your life better? Are you doing them even though they're harming you?

Pilar suggests: Challenge your daily alcohol ritual, and observe your attachments.

• If you usually have a drink after work, first sit down with a glass of water and just reflect on how you are presently feeling (body and mind). Then notice how it might feel to do without the wine, beer or cocktail on this particular day. What does the drink represent? What are the feelings that come up when you even consider withholding it?

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources

• Bruce K. Alexander's Rat Park addiction studies.
• The fun and fascinating little animated video Pilar referenced: "Addiction - In a Nutshell"by Kurzgesagt.
• BJ Fogg's behavior-change work at Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab.
• Judson Brewer's research at Yale on using mindfulness to treat addiction: "You're Already Awesome. Just Get Out of Your Own Way!" TEDx Talk; and his Huffington Post blog.
• Dallas's blog post, "Porn, Shame, and Doughnuts".
• Dallas's More Social, Less Media program (helpful for exploring your relationship with technology).
• Pilar's video interview with Alexandra Jamieson, author of Women, Food, and Desire.
• The Sipping Point, an article on women and drinking by Gabrielle Glaser from Experience Life
• Potential Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Excessive Endurance Exercise via Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

PLUS …

• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and get notified when a new episode is available.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson's "Habits 101" Master Class for FREE.

On this episode of The Living Experiment, we’re talking about “Addiction” — what that phenomenon is all about, and how to address the sometimes-subtle dependencies that may show up in your own life. We address everything from physical and psycho-emotional attachments to food, exercise, emotional drama and social media to entrenched end-of-day drink rituals — even porn. We also help you reflect on the dynamics that can drive your own addictive tendencies, so you can start to shift them in ways that work for you.

Episode Highlights:

• Our all-purpose definition of addiction (3:10)
• Cool neuroscience — the pharmacy inside your brain (7:00)
• How the biochemicals associated with stress feed our dependencies (8:35)
• Figuring out the root causes of addiction, and noticing how our culture helps create them (15:00)
• The connection between addiction and lack of human connection  (19:50)
• Breaking the addictive cycle with mindful practices and conscious choices (22:00)
• The satisfaction problem — why it's hard to get "enough" porn, doughnuts, and social media (28:45)
• The connection between women's "food" issues and a lack of sensual satisfaction (31:00)
• How guilt and shame drive self-destructive behaviors (33:10)
• Shifting our addictive tendencies (37:20)
• The importance of tracking the outcomes of your choices (39:30)
• This week’s experiments (41:55)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Why do you do what you do? Identify your addictions.

• Using our definition of addiction, take a look at your own behaviors. Do they make your life better? Are you doing them even though they’re harming you?

Pilar suggests: Challenge your daily alcohol ritual, and observe your attachments.

• If you usually have a drink after work, first sit down with a glass of water and just reflect on how you are presently feeling (body and mind). Then notice how it might feel to do without the wine, beer or cocktail on this particular day. What does the drink represent? What are the feelings that come up when you even consider withholding it?

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources

 

• Bruce K. Alexander's Rat Park addiction studies.
• The fun and fascinating little animated video Pilar referenced: "Addiction - In a Nutshell"by Kurzgesagt.
• BJ Fogg's behavior-change work at Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab.
• Judson Brewer's research at Yale on using mindfulness to treat addiction: "You're Already Awesome. Just Get Out of Your Own Way!" TEDx Talk; and his Huffington Post blog.
• Dallas's blog post, "Porn, Shame, and Doughnuts".
• Dallas's More Social, Less Media program (helpful for exploring your relationship with technology).
• Pilar's video interview with Alexandra Jamieson, author of Women, Food, and Desire.
• The Sipping Point, an article on women and drinking by Gabrielle Glaser from Experience Life
• Potential Adverse Cardiovascular Effects of Excessive Endurance Exercise via Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

PLUS …

• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and get notified when a new episode is available.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

This week on The Living Experiment, we're celebrating power of the pause — the importance of taking regular breaks, and the rewards of getting into agreement with our bodies' natural energy-production and repair cycles. We reveal the biological necessity and scientific importance of ultradian rhythms —the regular fluctuations between output and recovery that allow our bodies to maintain optimal energy, focus and vitality. And we offer practical guidance on recognizing your body's "need a break" signals, and building more brief, health-supporting pauses into your day. Whether you want to improve your energy, metabolism, hormonal balance and mood, minimize stress and inflammatory conditions, or just want to get more good stuff done during the course of the day, ultradian rhythm breaks are your best friend. Here's how to make the most of them…

Episode Highlights:

• Why trying to be consistently productive all day long doesn't work (3:00)
• Circadian and ultradian rhythms in the body and why they matter (6:30)
• Why managing time is less effective than managing energy (11:00)
• "You need to have a valley to have the next peak" - the rules of the ultradian healing response (12:00)
• The scientific research behind ultradian rhythms (13:00)
• How to know when you need a break, and the wide range of break options (15:00)
• How our go-go-go corporate culture undermines productivity and creativity (22:05)
• The relationship between ultradian rhythms and key health factors (26:00)
• How taking regular breaks can reduce emotional reactivity and improve willpower (27:30)
• Simple ways to pause during the day (30:20)
• Key takeaways (42:10)
• Experiments for the week (44:00)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Drink a glass of water each time you take a break.

• Set an alarm if you need initial reminders to break; effects of good hydration will encourage subsequent breaks.

Pilar suggests: Book two 15-minute interval breaks to check in on your body.

• Aim for one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon break every day for a week. Start by noticing how you're feeling; bonus points for then taking the break your body wants.

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• Check out the ultradian rhythm chart at Pilar's blog (pilargerasimo.com) to see how your energy rises and falls throughout the day.
• Visit The Energy Project blog for more information on managing energy to improve productivity.
• Can't turn out all the lights? Consider getting some blue blocking glasses.
• Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with us and get notified when a new episode is available.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you can automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson's " Habits 101" Master Class for FREE at livingexperiment.com/habits.

This week on The Living Experiment, we’re celebrating power of the pause — the importance of taking regular breaks, and the rewards of getting into agreement with our bodies’ natural energy-production and repair cycles. We reveal the biological necessity and scientific importance of ultradian rhythms —the regular fluctuations between output and recovery that allow our bodies to maintain optimal energy, focus and vitality. And we offer practical guidance on recognizing your body’s “need a break” signals, and building more brief, health-supporting pauses into your day.  Whether you want to improve your energy, metabolism, hormonal balance and mood, minimize stress and inflammatory conditions, or just want to get more good stuff done during the course of the day, ultradian rhythm breaks are your best friend. Here’s how to make the most of them…

Episode Highlights:

• Why trying to be consistently productive all day long doesn't work (3:00)
• Circadian and ultradian rhythms in the body and why they matter (6:30)
• Why managing time is less effective than managing energy (11:00)
• “You need to have a valley to have the next peak” - the rules of the ultradian healing response (12:00)
• The scientific research behind ultradian rhythms (13:00)
• How to know when you need a break, and the wide range of break options (15:00)
• How our go-go-go corporate culture undermines productivity and creativity (22:05)
• The relationship between ultradian rhythms and key health factors (26:00)
• How taking regular breaks can reduce emotional reactivity and improve willpower (27:30)
• Simple ways to pause during the day (30:20)
• Key takeaways (42:10)
• Experiments for the week (44:00)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Drink a glass of water each time you take a break. 

• Set an alarm if you need initial reminders to break; effects of good hydration will encourage subsequent breaks.

Pilar suggests: Book two 15-minute interval breaks to check in on your body. 

• Aim for one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon break every day for a week. Start by noticing how you’re feeling; bonus points for then taking the break your body wants.

Share the love! 

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• Check out the ultradian rhythm chart at Pilar's blog (pilargerasimo.com) to see how your energy rises and falls throughout the day.
• Visit The Energy Project blog for more information on managing energy to improve productivity.
• Can't turn out all the lights? Consider getting some blue blocking glasses.
• Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with us and get notified when a new episode is available.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you can automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “ Habits 101”  Master Class for FREE at livingexperiment.com/habits.

This week on the Living Experiment, we're talking about travel—the real challenges it poses for health-seeking people, and smart things you can do to make it easier on your body and mind.Dallas starts by sharing about his recent run-in with hotel bed bugs. Then we get into the more typical array of pesky problems that most health-concerned travelers face, from limited food options, disrupted sleep, and excessive seat time, to dealing with special temptations, increased stress and social isolation. We share some of our best tips and tricks for pre-trip preparation and also for rolling with whatever conditions you're faced with out on the road, up in the air, and while stuck in random hotels. We wrap up with some easy experiments you can try out on your next trip.

Episode Highlights:

• Why traveling (especially for work) can take a huge toll on your health (3:25)
• Dallas shares his unfortunate encounter with bed bugs (4:45)
• The challenges of healthy eating on the road, and why planning and preparing so important (8:00)
• Why breakfast is a big deal (11:00)
• Packing "low-maintenance" food for the trip (12:15)
• Pilar's "Quick-Trick Snack Stack" (14:50)
• The special lure of cravings on the road (16:20)
• Finding healthy options away from home (19:00)
• Consider bringing some condiments (23:10)
• Weighing your options — eating junk vs. not eating at all. (25:00)
• Getting to sleep in weird hotel rooms (27:30)
• The worry of waking up on time (32:55)
• Why relying on TV to wind down or fall asleep is a bad idea, and how to avoid it with a bedtime ritual (34:15)
• Staying "regular" when you are off your normal schedule and out of your normal environment (39:30)
• Fitting in exercise (or not) (41:30)
• The value of getting out and about (46:50)
• Being where you are vs. being consumed by your digital devices (48:30)
• Experiments for the week (54:00)

Weekly Experiments:

Dallas suggests: Tweak your hotel room for better sleep. Plus: Ask locals for on-the-ground advice.

• Lower the room temperature, use a white-noise app to cover ambient sounds, and get the room as dark as possible (blocking light from clocks, under the door, etc.).
• Connect with the people in the community by getting their suggestions for what to do and where to go.

Pilar suggests: Avoid an unhealthy, mediocre breakfast by packing your own basic supplies. Plus: Mimic your home evening routine while staying in your hotel.

• Bring nuts, seeds, flaked coconut, and dried fruit with you, and order fresh berries and yogurt as a base. Having eggs? Ask for a side of sautéed greens.
• Make your hotel life feel more like home by maintaining your normal evening routine. Take a shower, unpack your suitcase, settle in.

Share the love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources:

• For tips and tricks on planning for and finding healthy food on your trip: "Whole30 Business Travel 101" and "Whole30 On the Road & In the Wild (Part 1)"
• For a fast, portable breakfast or anytime mini-meal, check out Pilar's Quick-Trick Snack Stack
• Dallas's More Social Less Media program can help you assess your relationship with technology.
• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and future episodes.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson's "Habits 101" Master Class for FREE.

  This week on the Living Experiment, we’re talking about travel—the real challenges it poses for health-seeking people, and smart things you can do to make it easier on your body and mind.Dallas starts by sharing about his recent run-in with hotel bed bugs. Then we get into the more typical array of pesky problems that most health-concerned travelers face, from limited food options, disrupted sleep, and excessive seat time, to dealing with special temptations, increased stress and social isolation. We share some of our best tips and tricks for pre-trip preparation and also for rolling with whatever conditions you’re faced with out on the road, up in the air, and while stuck in random hotels. We wrap up with some easy experiments you can try out on your next trip. 

Episode Highlights:

• Why traveling (especially for work) can take a huge toll on your health (3:25)
• Dallas shares his unfortunate encounter with bed bugs (4:45)
• The challenges of healthy eating on the road, and why planning and preparing so important (8:00)
• Why breakfast is a big deal (11:00)
• Packing “low-maintenance” food for the trip (12:15)
• Pilar’s "Quick-Trick Snack Stack" (14:50)
• The special lure of cravings on the road (16:20)
• Finding healthy options away from home (19:00)
• Consider bringing some condiments (23:10)
• Weighing your options — eating junk vs. not eating at all. (25:00)
• Getting to sleep in weird hotel rooms (27:30)
• The worry of waking up on time (32:55)
• Why relying on TV to wind down or fall asleep is a bad idea, and how to avoid it with a bedtime ritual (34:15)
• Staying "regular" when you are off your normal schedule and out of your normal environment (39:30)
• Fitting in exercise (or not) (41:30)
• The value of getting out and about (46:50)
• Being where you are vs. being consumed by your digital devices (48:30)
• Experiments for the week (54:00)

Weekly Experiments: 

Dallas suggests: Tweak your hotel room for better sleep. Plus: Ask locals for on-the-ground advice. 

• Lower the room temperature, use a white-noise app to cover ambient sounds, and get the room as dark as possible (blocking light from clocks, under the door, etc.).
• Connect with the people in the community by getting their suggestions for what to do and where to go.

Pilar suggests: Avoid an unhealthy, mediocre breakfast by packing your own basic supplies. Plus: Mimic your home evening routine while staying in your hotel.

• Bring nuts, seeds, flaked coconut, and dried fruit with you, and order fresh berries and yogurt as a base. Having eggs? Ask for a side of sautéed greens.
• Make your hotel life feel more like home by maintaining your normal evening routine. Take a shower, unpack your suitcase, settle in.

Share the love! 

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there. 

Resources:

• For tips and tricks on planning for and finding healthy food on your trip: “Whole30 Business Travel 101” and “Whole30 On the Road & In the Wild (Part 1)”
• For a fast, portable breakfast or anytime mini-meal, check out Pilar's Quick-Trick Snack Stack
• Dallas's More Social Less Media program can help you assess your relationship with technology.
• Sign up for our newsletterso you can stay up to date with us and future episodes.
• Subscribe to The Living Experiment on iTunes so you automatically get new episodes when they come out.
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson’s “Habits 101” Master Class for FREE.

On today's episode of The Living Experiment, we're talking about seasons: the natural fluctuations your body goes through during the cycles of winter, spring, summer, and fall, and the nutrition, fitness and life-rhythm strategies you can use to stay healthier through all of them. Dallas shares his simple but powerful, science-based model for eating, moving and sleeping in accordance with the seasons.I offer up some insights about the value of observing nature's ebb-and-flow patterns—rather than being driven by the non-stop madness of modern-day mass culture. Together we explore the ancient wisdom our human bodies still carry about patterns of dark and light, warm and cold, exertion and recovery. And of course, we wrap up with some seasonally appropriate experiments you can run in your own life.

Episode Highlights:

• How our human rhythms got out of sync with nature: the disorienting influence of electric lights, artificial temperature controls, jet travel, standardized daily schedules, and more (2:45)
• How the agricultural and industrial revolutions radically de-seasonalized our diet, activity, sleep and other lifestyle patterns (5:00)
• The value of embracing a nature-designed, seasonal model of health rather than a standardized, modern-era prescription (8:00)
• The biological (hormonal, neurological, metabolic, immune) effects of circadian and seasonal rhythm disruption (12:00)
• Strategies for getting back in touch with more seasonally appropriate rhythms (15:15)
• Why eating locally and seasonally is a great place to start, and why seasonal oscillations (between lighter, plant-based, higher-carb diets and heavier, meat-and-fat rich diets) can make sense (16:45)
• Why all this applies to you (at least somewhat) even if you live in a very consistent climate (21:00)
• The difference between short-term "corrective" phased eating interventions and a more sustainably healthy seasonal approach, especially for the microbiome (24:00)
• Following our intuitive appetites (rather than diet dogma) toward more seasonally appealing eating choices, and why summer is a fine time to eat fruit (27:20)
• Beyond diet, changing your exercise approach (power, strength, speed, endurance, etc.) and sleep cycles with the seasons (29:40)
• Moving beyond cultural programming and habitual repetition toward natural body wisdom (31:30)
• Observing the yin and yang energies of winter and summer, and the transitional subtleties of spring and fall (33:00)
• Dallas walks us through how he approaches seasonal eating, and why it's actually pretty easy (36:30)
• The importance of giving yourself permission to listen to and trust your own body (38:50)
• Timing your fruit intake — and why permanently cutting out entire food groups is rarely necessary (40:15)
• A recap of the logic of the Seasonal Model (45:35)
• Recommended experiments for the week (47:25)

Weekly Experiments

Dallas suggests: Take a look at how well your current food/activity/sleep programs are coordinated. Seek to correct any observed imbalances.

• Assess your diet, exercise routine, and sleep schedule. Do they complement each other and the current season?
• Brainstorm how you can better align these different factors for better results.

Pilar suggests: Look at the season that's coming into view and consider: What is one single, relatively simple thing I could do to accommodate this shift of season?

• Trust your first instinct in deciding which specific change (an adjustment in food, activity or sleep) would be most impactful, appealing and doable for you.
• Don't stress about integrating a bunch of seasonal changes all at once. Make it gradual. Keep it easy.

Share the Love!

Each week we offer you a few life-shifting experiments to try on your own. We'd love to hear how they turn out, and what insights they provoke! Connect with The Living Experiment on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and share your stories with us there.

Resources

• Check out Dallas's Whole9 Seasonal Model of Health(infographic).
• Get a year's worth of seasonally-appropriate nutrition, fitness and lifestyle suggestions in "The Fitness Almanac" (featured article from Experience Life magazine)
• Subscribe to our newsletter (so you can stay up to date with us and future episodes).
• Sponsor link: Check out Brian Johnson's "Habits 101" Master Class for FREE.