Abel James on the Use and Abuse of Marketing in Health and Fitness

July 6, 2017

After completing high school and college in just six years, Abel James graduated as a Senior Fellow with Honors at Dartmouth College with a concentration in Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Despite some early successes in his life, in his early 20’s, Abel James found himself facing failure. Financially stressed, over-trained, over-worked, 30 lbs overweight and suffering a devastating loss due to an apartment fire, his health came crashing down and he found himself at rock bottom. As a self-proclaimed “nerd”, Abel hit the books hard and learned how to biohack himself back to health.

Now, Abel is dedicated to helping others, who’ve faced the same challenges that he did, recover their health and fitness through his New York Times bestselling book, The Wild Diet, and his award-winning web series, Fat-Burning Man. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and serial entrepreneur. Abel lives with his wife Alyson and his yellow lab, Bailey, in the mountains of Wilder, TN.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Abel James:

[00:01:14] Why do you do this work?

[00:02:59] 30 lbs overweight and the stress of an apartment fire.

[00:04:32] Honest Abe's tips.

[00:05:37] Quote: “Keeping a hundred pounds off for five years, that's special.”

[00:07:04] The importance of being a performer.

[00:08:13] Abel’s YouTube channel, including his first videos.

[00:09:00] Video version of this interview.

[00:10:00] Book: The Wild Diet: Go Beyond Paleo to Burn Fat, Beat Cravings, and Drop 20 Pounds in 40 days by Abel James.

[00:11:32] Weston A. Price Foundation.

[00:14:16] Dr Jack Kruse & Jimmy Moore.

[00:14:49] Hippy Parents, Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease by Dr Tommy Wood at Icelandic Health Symposium 2017.

[00:15:23] Dr Deborah Gordon.

[00:16:26] A day of eating on The Wild Diet.

[00:16:58] Mark Sisson.

[00:17:36] Robb Wolf.

[00:19:36] The use and abuse of marketing in health and fitness.

[00:20:40] How do you do the diet on food stamps?

[00:21:01] Instacart in Austin.

[00:21:14] Abel’s brother James lives on a farm in Upstate NY.

[00:22:02] Working for food on local farms.

[00:22:27] 50% of Americans live from paycheck to paycheck.

[00:24:22] Social isolation.

[00:26:53] The use of humour and authenticity.

[00:28:56] Quote: “Make great content that you know is the best you can do at that moment.”

[00:29:23] Site: Wayback Machine.

[00:31:00] First book: The Musical Brain by Abel James.

[00:32:33] Hustling as a musician.

[00:34:43] What do you think the world needs more of?

[00:35:28] Book: Incorporating Herbal Medicine Into Clinical Practice by Angella Bascom, ARNP.

[00:39:03] If you had to start again, what would you do?

[00:40:02] Site: Quora.

[00:42:27] The transition into TV.

[00:44:22] ABC’s “My Diet is Better Than Yours” show featuring The Wild Diet and Abel James.

[00:46:00] Abel James doing sprints in a bacon suit on ABC’s “My Diet is Better Than Yours” show.

[00:47:33] The Annual Oxford vs Cambridge boat race. (Viking edition).

[00:49:20] Membership Site: Fat Burning Tribe.

[00:50:54] Paleo f(x).

[00:51:31] Start a community.

[00:52:59] Quote: “The hardest part is always right before the best part…”

[00:54:43] Quote: “Take on the challenges that are really appealing to you.”

[00:55:07] Album: Swamp Thing by Abel James.

[00:55:39] Site: Abel James: Author/Musician/Talk Show Host/Adventurer.