Shawn Stevenson: Welcome to The Model Health Show. This is fitness and nutrition expert, Shawn Stevenson, and I'm so grateful for you tuning in with me today. Listen, this is a very important and timely and powerful episode because it was a huge catalyst in my own transformation, and I'm looking forward to really helping to share this message with you, and to see the power of this tool for transforming your own health, and your own well-being, and this is the power of cooking. Alright? Now I was allergic to cooking, alright? I grew up- this was the furthest thing from my mind. I could probably whip some eggs up. As a matter of fact, the first thing I ever made, true story. Mother's Day, I made my mom some eggs in the microwave, alright? Now I'm just going to say, I'm going to throw this out there, it probably was not delicious, but I didn't learn much more after that. I became like Chef Top Ramen Noodles. Like that was like the extent of where I went with it. And how can a man sustain himself like that? You know, I went to college without many skills in the kitchen, and of course as you know my story, I had a big deterioration of my health in that process, and being given this kind of life sentence of having this degenerative so-called 'incurable' illness take place where my body was breaking down because I was not providing it the raw materials that it needed. And so when I made the decision to get well, one of my first steps was to get my behind in the kitchen and start to figure some things out, because as you know, healthy food was not that accessible especially back ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. And now it's a lot different. We have a lot more options, but this is a huge skill that we need to learn because, again, at the time I was in college when I began to transform my health, I was probably on the Hot Pocket pretty heavy. Alright? When I tried to get healthy, what I did was I went to the Lean Pocket. Alright? You remember the Lean Pocket? Why? Why even do it? Why even try? And I realized, 'I need to start making some of my own food.' And I became very, very versed in the kitchen, and the funny thing was my stepfather was a chef. And I grew up with that kind of access, but at home- because he did it for a living, at home he wouldn't cook that much. You know? We got a lot of food that was takeout. But I started to rekindle some of those skills, some of the things that I saw him do, and he had a great skill of making something out of nothing. You know? We ended up with pizzas with like Texas Toast and like some deer sausage from my grandfather. You know? And just being creative and also having a purpose. And so the ingredients that I began to choose were much higher quality ingredients, and the experience of going to the store or going to the farmer's market, talking with the people that were providing me with my food was also a big healing part of my story. And so today, we've got an incredible guest to really speak into this truth about cooking, and also to break down some of these barriers that we might have in our minds about creating and making great food for ourselves and for the people that we love. Alright, so we're going to get to that in just a moment, but right now I've got that hitter quitter in my veins right now. Alright? Today I'm fueled on the Four Sigmatic Lion's Mane coffee, alright? It's one of my favorite things in the world. University of Malaya- check this out, this is just so fascinating. Not only are you getting organic high quality coffee, and not coffee plus pesticides, herbicides, rodenticides, genocide, suicide. It's not all of that, which you're going to find in the typical cup of coffee that you get out there at the QT, or wherever it is. University of Malaya confirmed that there is some extremely valuable neuroregenerative potential that you find in lion's mane mushroom. It has this class of nerve growth factors, very powerful molecules, that stimulate the differentiation and remyelination of your neurons. Alright? So one of the things that we see as we get older, for example, is that myelination - the myelin that's protecting those nerve transmissions - starts to deteriorate, and thus we start to lose those kind of habitual firing patterns, and that's also tied to our memory, to our ability to make certain movements, and this is something that can literally be protected by incorporating some lion's mane mushroom. And it's together in this incredible formula with Four Sigmatic. So it's coffee with lion's mane, plus chaga is in there as well. Chaga has been found to help to support your natural killer cells function, so it can actually increase your NK cell activity mobilization by upwards of like 300%. It's really, really incredible and it tastes amazing as well. I like to have it with some high quality fat. So this might be for you maybe some grass-fed butter, or some ghee, or some MCT oil. But definitely do yourself a favor, add this in, protect your brain, give yourself that really great sustainable energy without that crazy crash. Check them out, www.FourSigmatic.com/model. That's www.FourSigmatic.com/model and guess what? You get 15% off. Alright? 15% off everything that they carry. Head over, check them out, www.FourSigmatic.com, now let's get to the Apple Podcasts review of the week. ITunes Review: Another five-star review titled, 'Love from Shanghai,' by ShanghaiThunder. "Shawn, thanks for your insights and authentic sharing. As someone that is constantly traveling and is based in Shanghai, China, you have helped my energy levels immensely. Also, I got my entourage on lion's mane and Organifi. Love from Shanghai." Shawn Stevenson: Awesome, thank you so much for leaving me that review, and a big shout-out to Shanghai. That is absolutely amazing. And everybody listen, if you've yet to do so, please pop over to Apple Podcasts and leave a review for the show and let everybody know what you think of the show, and I appreciate that so very much. And on that note, let's get to our special guest and our topic of the day. Our guest today is the incredible Kevin Curry, and he's a food blogger who's inspired millions of men and women to eat healthy and stay fit without sacrificing that flavor. Curry has amassed more than two million social media followers and is the founder of one of the top ranked food and drink apps, 'Fit Men Cook.' He's been featured on The Today Show, Live with Kelly and Ryan, Men's Health, and many other places. And right now you can get your hands on a copy of the brand new book, out today, go and pick it up, 'Fit Men Cook,' and this is where he shares 100 plus easy quick meal prep recipes designed to help save money, time, and most importantly live a healthy life every day, and I'd like to welcome to The Model Health Show my man, Kevin Curry. What's up, man? Kevin Curry: What's up, man? How are you doing, bro? Shawn Stevenson: Good to see you, man. Kevin Curry: Thank you for having me. Shawn Stevenson: Thank you for coming out to hang out. Kevin Curry: Of course, man. It's a nice fancy studio. Feeling like a celeb in here. Shawn Stevenson: You are. Kevin Curry: Got the lights, got the mic too. Shawn Stevenson: Had to bring it out for you, man. Kevin Curry: Bottle of water and the glass. Shawn Stevenson: We fancy, man. Kevin Curry: You fancy, bro. You're too fancy for me. Shawn Stevenson: Listen, man. I've been following you for a minute now, and just like diving into your world. I think it's so incredible, man. I mean, just how do you feel right now? The book is out, how do you feel? Kevin Curry: Thank you, man. You know, I actually got that book yesterday finally. I was able to look and put my hands on the real copy, and I don't know, it was just like something just kind of came over me. I was finally able to just sigh for the first time in like a few months. I actually wrote this book about two years ago, and it's just now coming up. So to see the final product, and then to think about all the different things that went into making this and bringing the book together from the photography, from the styling, from the recipe testing, from all of it. From just every single email, it was just seeing the final product, it's now worth it. Shawn Stevenson: Oh man, that means so much. And I know that feeling, but I also know the work ethic that you have and what you put into it is just amazing. It's so beautiful to see, and I told you this when we first connected, like your videos on IG legit make me hungry. Kevin Curry: Thank you, man. Shawn Stevenson: And that's probably the greatest compliment is if you're fooling around with food, and it makes the person hungry. Because not all pictures do. Some it's just like, "What is that? Why would I do that?" Kevin Curry: Thank you. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah man, super excited. So what I want to do, I want to dive into your superhero origin story, man. Kevin Curry: Okay. Shawn Stevenson: I want to know what got you inspired to do this in the first place? When did you kind of fall in love with food and with cooking? Like how did this all take place? Kevin Curry: Yeah you know, my relationship with food is actually pretty long. I grew up in the south. My dad is from South Carolina and my mom is from New Orleans, from the Louisiana region, and so I grew up with good food in the house period. So every Sunday we were just- we had our- either it was some roast beef, or some smothered chicken, we had greens. During the holidays we had gumbo, we had jambalaya, we had all those just amazing things. And so I grew up knowing what good flavor was and is, and also I grew up in Texas, and in Texas we have some of the best Mexican food second to Mexico. You know? And just having all these amazing cuisines and flavors around me just really influenced me. Now, the bad part of that is that I just wasn't versed at all in healthy eating. So I just carried a lot of bad habits that I had learned from my childhood into my adulthood, and it wasn't until- this was way back in the early stages of Facebook when people could post a picture of you and then it would just pop up on your feed. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah that tag, man. Kevin Curry: Yeah man, the security features weren't there yet. So I went to this wedding and somebody tagged me in this photo, and I went to go check it out, I'm like, "Oh yeah, good." And man, when I tell you it was one of the greasiest looking photos I've ever seen, and I untagged myself and I was just thinking I don't have any good friends at all, because nobody told me that I was looking like this. So I did what most people try to do, I tried to go and out-train a poor diet, and I started just doing a whole bunch of cardio and running, and for the moment I actually lost some weight. And then again, my addiction to flavor and to good food brought me back to the same spot again, except with like more weight. So I actually finally just broke down and went to Half Price Books, and I bought literally every single book they had there about nutrition, and my goal was just to learn more about food. Because I was thinking that- you know, we've got this entire world and these amazing cuisines, and I don't think that God would put us here on this earth and say, "You can't eat this, this, this, and this, and this." I just think it doesn't make any sense. So what I realized too, that it was just much more about how we prepare the foods, it's about portion control, and about eating right for you and your goals and your body. And that's how I began my journey. Now the story of Fit Men Cook, I've got to admit, people think that- now it is this really big community, alright? Shawn Stevenson: Huge brand. Kevin Curry: Yeah, you know, and we're helping people, people are like, "Thank you so much for this recipe. I added this too, guys," and everyone is just sharing stuff, and it's just wonderful and beautiful. It didn't start out that way. So Fit Men Cook was actually my like side hustle in a sense because I didn't want to pay another trainer to help me to lose weight. So I said, "Maybe if I post every single meal that I'm eating online, then maybe people will actually give me free feedback." It was a way to kind of crowdsource my diet, and to gain the system, get stuff for free. And the reverse happened. I realized that people were out there just like me who were disenchanted with these cookie cutter diets, and they just began to follow me, and to follow my journey through food because that's all that I was doing. I was posting the recipe, the steps, and also the macros because I wanted it to be as open and accessible as possible so that I could get good feedback for my diet. This was around 2012, and what I realized at the time that that was kind of breaking the mold in social media because before, that content was gated. It was premium content that you had to pay a trainer for, that you had to pay for like a program, and I was just sharing it freely and liberally. And I didn't know at the time that that was kind of this new trend in social media just to share out everything, and then to find other ways to monetize. Shawn Stevenson: Right, the 'freemium' model. Kevin Curry: Freemium, yeah. Shawn Stevenson: That's incredible, man. So I didn't know that, because people see the end result a lot of times. They see the after, but knowing what went into it, and initially it was kind of selfish. Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: You know? But now, like dude, you give so much value and it's just incredible. But my question is why Fit Men Cook? Kevin Curry: Oh, I came up with the name literally within about five minutes. My original name on Tumblr was Fitness and Faith because at the time, I was pretty depressed and food and cooking was also my pathway back to feeling better about myself. And so I would post things that I was doing, journaling and also my workouts just a little bit because I was basically sharing out my pathway back to feeling better about Kevin. And I wanted to change the name on my Instagram so I came up with Fit Men Cook because I realized at the time that food was my problem. Like I would spend three hours in the gym each day for a full year, and I looked the exact same. And it wasn't until I got the food piece right that the weight just began just to literally fall off my body. I began to see improvements in my performance, in the gym, and everything changed for me. So I was realizing like, "Oh okay, our bodies are literally made in the kitchen." You know? And if you want to live this fit life, then fit men cook. You've got to cook. You've got to cook your way healthy. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, that's dope, man. When I first saw it, and I saw you, like I immediately felt connected because for me- I'm sure Fit Men Cook actually means different things for different people as well, but for me it was just like hitting on a big stereotype. You know? Like men cook, first of all. Kevin Curry: Right. Shawn Stevenson: Right? And I was like, "Yeah, yeah." And then it's like Fit Men Cook, and I was like, "Hell yeah." You know, I hit the Dr. Dre in my mind. Just like, "Yes, that's so powerful, man." And so real, and just like breaking those walls down because the reality is, like you said, our bodies are really made in the kitchen, and if you can get that piece down- it doesn't mean you have to like spend your life in the kitchen. We're going to talk about this too, like some really great strategies, and also I want to talk a little bit deeper about why making your own food, or just family food, influences our health. We'll get to that in a moment. But I just- for me, that's what it meant. It was like breaking a big stereotype down. Kevin Curry: Absolutely. Shawn Stevenson: So next question I want to talk to you about is from your perspective, why is cooking such an important tool today, like right now? Kevin Curry: Yeah, it's such a profound question and something that I don't that we think about, but health has become a big business, and before it wasn't like that. You had the TV dinner type of era, and then all of a sudden there was this really big push in the media. I'm not sure which celebrity possibly caused it, but everyone was really concerned about their health all of a sudden. Oprah was probably behind this, too. People like Oprah. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, Auntie Oprah. Kevin Curry: Auntie Oprah will get people right, she's got to get people together. So Americans and the whole world really just became much more concerned about what they were putting into their bodies, and all of a sudden - this is my own rant here - companies saw this trend about people wanting to take better care of themselves, and so we had all these buzzwords - low calorie, fat free - and they began to package up all these different products. The frozen dinners, the lean Hot Pockets, the Lean Cuisine. Shawn Stevenson: Hot Pockets. Kevin Curry: Hey, man those were a hit. I ain't going to lie, those got me through college. And other types of products, and I think that through that, we began to put all kinds of stuff besides food into our bodies. And so what I realized about cooking is that cooking- with cooking, you know exactly what you're putting into your body. Shawn Stevenson: Exactly. Kevin Curry: You know exactly what you're putting in. You don't have to worry about GMOs, you don't have to worry about preservatives, extra sodium. You could actually customize a meal for you and your family and for your health, more importantly. And so I think that cooking is really important because it allows you to become a lot more competent with food too. Sometimes whenever you buy a finished meal, the meal may taste great, but you don't know what the individual flavors of the food taste like, and when you begin to cook, you kind of increase your kitchen IQ. So that way you know, "Okay, this bell pepper tastes great here, and it has this flavor. I wonder if I can put this in this recipe over there." And so more or less with cooking, you're actually giving yourself more ideas, and if you give yourself ideas, then you can fuel your health and wellness journey for a lifetime. If you're just buying things out of the box, it's fine for that convenience, for the long haul is it sustainable? So cooking is the most sustainable form of wellness that we have. Shawn Stevenson: Absolutely. Man, that's so powerful. Kitchen IQ, I love that so much, man. That's incredible. So I want to kind of dive in now and talk a little bit about how do we do this, man? How do we make a great meal? And if we could, you've got these ten kitchen commandments, right? Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: And I just thought that was brilliant right off the bat. So if we can, let's just go through some of those. Kevin Curry: Sure. Sure, the first one is something that I think that we're all kind of guilty of, and that's what I call aspirational buys. And one of my commandments is buy only what you're going to eat for meal prep. Shawn Stevenson: I like this already, man. Kevin Curry: And when you walk in the grocery store, you see all the fresh produce, all the colors, and you're like, "Yeah, I'm going to get this. I'm going to eat this over here, I'm going to grab some spinach. I'm going to buy this broccoli I guess, okay this red chard, these apples." And you know darn well that in about two weeks, you're going to reach into that produce drawer and throw that away. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah. Kevin Curry: Or maybe about one week. So the whole idea here is when you're looking at meal prep, you've got to approach it in a much more incremental and small way. Don't try to boil the ocean on day one. So only buy what you're going to eat, and that is frustrating, because if you go through the food, it's going to cause you to go back to the grocery store, and that's a good thing because then you can buy something else and you can have variety. And then it's not seen as a chore, it's just much more seen as a part of your routine. Shawn Stevenson: So with that- because this is huge, and now this is going to give me something to prove to my wife with this first commandment. Because she would have a lot of these aspirational buys, like for real, real. I get what I'm going to have for sure, you know? And so my wife, for the longest time she kept buying corn, like these ears of corn. Because you know, in Kenya, like it was one of her favorite things. And I was like, "Babe, you're not going to make the corn. It always ends up sitting there for like two weeks." And she was like, "No, I'm going to make it this time. I promise." And she'd get it- you know, it's got like the covering on it and everything, like she wanted to do it the fresh, fresh. And sure enough- because I would think it would inspire her just to disprove me, but it still didn't work. You know, that corn, still I'm throwing it away, and we have our little thing. But also at this point, of course I just think it's cute and funny, but just coming into it not with this aspirational like, "Let's actually know what we're going to get for these specific meals. We're going to come back again, and it's all good." So I like that, man. Kevin Curry: Yeah. Yeah and also, you can buy frozen. A lot of people don't do that, and you can buy frozen and keep that in your freezer so that way if you do make an aspirational buy, then that stuff won't go bad. Shawn Stevenson: Exactly, and also it just depends on the different food, the different nutrients, but it can really lock in and kind of hold onto a lot of the nutrition with the freezing process. Kevin Curry: Yeah, absolutely. Shawn Stevenson: It's better to have some frozen blueberries than some dead ones with the moldy mold on it. Kevin Curry: You know what they look like, too. All that fur on them. When you open up the fridge, it looks like a science project. Shawn Stevenson: Right. Right, what are you doing? So let's move on to number two, the second commandment. Kevin Curry: Yeah, so the second one I say is to set a goal. I think that people want to eat healthy, and they always say, "This is going to be my year to make a change. This moment right here," and they do that without making an actual goal. And what happens with the goal is that- I'm not saying it's got to be something that's super detailed, but a goal helps to focus your efforts, and you want to have like a purposeful type of diet. So let's say you want to lose ten pounds or so. That goal is a measurable goal and it's actionable because now you're going to be accountable for what you're putting into your body and for what you're eating. Let's say that you want to do a marathon, or like a Spartan race, or something like that. When you have these types of goals, it really helps to focus in like what you're doing, and it makes your diet worth something. It kind of makes you think about the everyday intentional actions that even when you're not like in the kitchen, what are you doing to move closer to that goal? And I think many times, people just approach healthy eating and meal prep just with like, "This is what I have to go and do." And when you approach it like that, when it's not as organized, when it's not as structured, what happens is that you will do this honestly for about a good seven days, maybe two weeks, but after that it just dies off. So you want something that's going to continually keep you in the race, focused. Shawn Stevenson: I love that so much, and you literally just described- because this clearly shows me the amount of people that you've interacted with this. Because seven days, I call it- that's the new phase. Right? That first seven days is new. I'm on it, you know? #lifetransformation. You know? Like everything is different. Kevin Curry: The new me. Shawn Stevenson: And then that second part when you get to that second seven days, days eight to fourteen, I call this the struggle phase. This is when your brain is like, "Wait a minute. I know you, okay? You think you're about to take control, but let's just be honest." You know? And a lot of people during that phase is when they start to quit because you start to feel- like your brain literally- we're conditioned to do things a certain way, and everything about us is trying to create that consistency and routine. When you change that routine, you're fighting the way your brain is wired, and it's a beautiful process if you become aware of it, and that you can create new connections, you know? That's what's so amazing, but what can help you to get through that struggle period is having that goal, like you said, and being clear on that when we're doing it. I love this, man. I did not expect you to say that because I purposely did not look at those commandments because I wanted to talk about them. And this second one looking at like creating- having a goal that our meal prep kind of sprouts from in the first place is just so brilliant. So I love that, man. So third commandment? Kevin Curry: Okay, the third one- you know what? I'm going to jump around and do another one. Shawn Stevenson: Okay. Kevin Curry: Here's one that you may not expect. Thou shalt take a break. So I think that when people approach meal prep, they try to go all in, and they do everything at once, and they try to overhaul their diet. And I say always just start small with like one meal, and to build up your confidence. And let's say that you've been going now for like a few months, or just one month, I think that it's really important to remind people to take a break from the meal prep process. Now, that doesn't mean that your diet just goes away, you know? And you're not making healthy choices. It just means that allow yourself to indulge maybe or experience something else. So whether that means to go to the restaurant and make a healthy option there, I think that's really good. One of the things that got me into cooking really, and to the flavorful cooking, was to cook what I like to eat. And what that means is let's say that I really love quesadillas. I love them, and I can eat them every single day, but they're not good for me. So there's a cooking challenge. How could I make this much more nutritious for my body? So we're going to break down the fundamental elements of what a quesadilla is. And how can I substitute in healthy fats, complex carbs, and lean protein instead, and fuse that with flavor? That's why cooking is so important, because remember your kitchen IQ is now increased. And you say, "Oh my God, I could put bell peppers in here now. Oh my God, hummus could be good in this, too. Or guacamole." So if the quesadillas are your favorite food, then you can deconstruct that recipe and then make it really flavorful, right? So eating out, oftentimes it inspires other ideas of what you could do. Eating out will get you to think about, "Man, this was a really good Monte Cristo sandwich. How could I make this healthier? How could I make a healthy version of this?" "I love this mac and cheese. How could I flip this recipe?" So I think taking a break every once in a while from the healthy eating or just from you preparing food is a really good thing. Shawn Stevenson: Man, I love that so much. People out here are flipping houses, we're going to flip these recipes. Kevin Curry: Oh, I love this. Flip this meal. Shawn Stevenson: Flip this meal. Because literally this is- and this is why I was so excited about this episode, and why I think that it's so timely and valuable for people is that that was the first step that I made. Because for me, making the decision to transform my own health, my rock bottom, my point of entry was just like what I saw on television which was like Slim Fast at first, you know? Shake for breakfast, shake for lunch, and a sensible dinner. I'm surprised that I didn't get locked up for taking somebody out because I was hangry, bro. I was hangry. And you know, of course like I lost a few pounds, gained it back, and I eventually by asking the right questions- and I love the statement when the student is ready, the teacher will appear, and the right books started to come to me when I started asking better questions. And my next transition point, which was huge, it changed everything, was flipping my meals. So okay, I love McDonalds. How can I have my burger and my fries, but upgrade this dramatically? And so I started going to Whole Foods, and Wild Oats was around at the time. Get the grass-fed beef, getting my sprouted bun, and getting the oven fries, organic with the spices on it. You know? But now I'm doing- instead of the whatever else, the apple turnover or whatever, now I'm getting like broccoli or whatever, you know? Just adding in some vegetables that I would eat as well. And I had pleasure because I was having that burger that I wanted, and also having the process of getting my behind in the kitchen and making my own food. Now, there's that quality control that you talked about. So many of these things are real, these are the things that I did, and now you're just sharing this with everybody else. Kevin Curry: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. You know, that leads me to another one, it's actually thou shalt embrace variety. So what you were talking about tasting other things, and deconstructing the burger, it's the exact same thing when it comes to meal prep. I think especially people in the fitness world- and I hope that trainers are listening to this too, because I think that trainers, sometimes they can get into this mindset that, "I'm only going to eat for fuel." And competitors can do that, too. That's not the way that most people are built. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, I agree. Kevin Curry: And I think that sometimes we inadvertently kind of push that onto clients. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, they say eat to live, don't live to eat. Kevin Curry: Right, and that's great for about a good five days. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah. Kevin Curry: And that's why they're always having to constantly encourage their clients. So I think that one thing that you have got to be ready to do for meal prep is to embrace variety. There are tons of different cuisines and flavors in the world, and I think that you just need to find little by little small ways to introduce those things into your own diet. For me, it looked like this; about every two weeks I would introduce a brand new complex carb into my diet. And if I didn't know how to cook it, I would just go to Google and type in 'vegetable' and then 'recipe,' and that's how I began to add variety. That's how I learned a lot more about Thai cuisine, about Mediterranean, about different Latin cuisines and the different flavors out there, so that way you can always have something different, and your diet- it keeps your palate guessing while also nourishing your body. Shawn Stevenson: Oh man, it's so good. So good. And also, this is just- this gets back to what our genes expect of us as well, if we want to get like to a deeper level of this. Our ancestors, we ate based on what was available, and now today just because the same thing is available 24/7, you're missing out on so many key components. And I just did a show recently that looked at the crazy thing that's going on. Because so many of these things, like we ask these questions, but why do people tend to get sick during the wintertime. Right? And some of the things that I brought forth in that episode was we have a change in the guard of sorts with our microbiome. Our gut bacteria literally changes based on the season. Also, our genes, about a quarter of our genes - so just over 5,000 of our genes - literally change the genetic switch, epigenetic change happens in our genes just based on the time of year it is. Alright? And so with those two things coupled together, what are you putting into your body that's associated with the change of seasons as well, you know? So proactively looking for and experiencing more and having some variety. I love what you said too, man, about you cook what you like to eat, or love to eat. So we can have that piece, but we can continue to add in some variety as well. Kevin Curry: Absolutely. It's important. It's important. This wellness journey is not just some quick sprint for you to lose the last ten pounds for this photoshoot or for your vacation. This is a lifelong journey. Shawn Stevenson: Absolutely, man. So we've got- I think that's four we've got in the bank. Kevin Curry: It's four. Shawn Stevenson: Let's do like a couple more. Kevin Curry: Okay. So another commandment that I think that people need to embrace is multi-tasking. Thou shalt multi-task in the kitchen. And one of the top complaints that I've always heard from people is that cooking just takes too much time. And they're right, but they're also wrong. And I think it's because we approach cooking in a very linear fashion, in a sense. That like let's say that I want to cook chicken, rice, and broccoli. People literally cook like this. "Alright, let me go ahead and cook the rice." Thirty minutes go by. "Alright great, so that's cooked. Let me go ahead now and prepare this broccoli. I'm going to go and steam it. I'm going to cook that." And then after that, they will go and cook the chicken. So in the book, I try to teach people to multi-task. That like you're always moving in the kitchen. Treat the kitchen almost like a workout, almost like a HIIT workout, where you go from station to station to station to station. So while the rice is cooking, we are seasoning up the chicken, and then we're going to put it into the skillet. And then while that is cooking up in the skillet, we're going to set a pot of water on the oven, and we're going to start to boil the broccoli. And so by the end of thirty minutes, everything is already done. So what used to take now maybe an hour and a half process, is now done in less than forty-five minutes. And I think that's a really important point because we've got to move past the complaints about cooking, and the excuses that we give. And here's the catch; cooking does and it can take a lot of time, but it's not until you start cooking that you can lessen the amount of time that you spend in the kitchen. So you actually have to do it. Shawn Stevenson: And it just makes sense. That's like with anything in life, you know? But when you said the multi-tasking, I got nervous. You know? Kevin Curry: Okay. Shawn Stevenson: Because a lot of stuff that we talk about is like to get rid of the multi-tasking, but that's not really multi-tasking. That's one thing that you're focusing on, but it's like a dance. You know? Like when I see your pictures, you look like a DJ in there. Straight up. Like a couple of times, I actually thought- it was like, "Oh, he's a DJ, too." And I click on it, and I was like, "Oh, that's kale. You know? That's not a turntable." And so- but also- and when you were talking about this, it brought something up which is so beautiful and what I see with my wife, even yesterday with multi-tasking. Your brain is really great at- if it's two completely different things. But if you're like multi-tasking on different work things, like I'm trying to write and answer emails and post on social media, you're going to have a little bit of a problem. You're going to have this switching cost is what we call it. But if you're doing something else, like you're doing your meal prep but you're also listening to a podcast, right? You're doing the meal prep, but you're also listening to an audiobook or my wife, she was watching some show, I don't know what it was, but it brings her joy. You know? It's her little- whatever it is. Kevin Curry: That's what I do too, man. I ain't going to lie. My Hulu stays on in the kitchen. Shawn Stevenson: There it is. And she's about that Hulu. I'm like, "What does Hulu got now?" Kevin Curry: Hulu is wonderful. It has all my shows on there. Shawn Stevenson: Oh man. You know what? And I've never shared this on the show before. My family is big into like these singing competition shows. I don't know why, where it started, but like right now we are like hardcore on The Four. Have you seen The Four? Kevin Curry: No, my mom is into the show, and she texts me, "You've got to turn and tune in." I'm like, "Mom, I have not watched any singing competition since like American Idol." Maybe when Fantasia won. Shawn Stevenson: Okay, yeah. Kevin Curry: But it's a good show I'm guessing? Shawn Stevenson: Oh man, it's great because they battle, you know? So it's got that Puffy or P. Diddy, depending on the person listening, you might know him as different names. Sean Combs, but it's got that- because you remember he had Making the Band back in the day? Kevin Curry: Oh yeah, that was a good singing competition show. Shawn Stevenson: You've got to like go up against each other, you know? It's the funniest thing to see people singing against each other. Like battling, singing, and like giving them shade. You know? Kevin Curry: Okay. Just your description alone just makes me want to tune in. Shawn Stevenson: And I mean the quality of people that they have on the show itself. And then it's got the color, the character to it because Puffy is on the show, and DJ Khaled, and Fergie is like the hostess of the show. And yeah, it's just really good, man. But I haven't talked about this, but it's a little bit of a family tradition that we have now, is to sit and watch these shows together. Kevin Curry: See? And you could be cooking in the kitchen at the same time. Right? Shawn Stevenson: There you go, getting that meal ready. Yeah. So I love that so much, man. So you know what? We've got- we'll maybe do like one or two more commandments, but we'll do that right after this quick break. So sit tight, we'll be right back. Alright we're back and we're talking with my man, Kevin Curry. He's got an incredible name for being a chef and doing what he's doing, by the way. And new book out right now, definitely just jumped to the top of my list of favorite cookbooks, and it's the 'Fit Men Cook Cookbook,' and you can pick this up right now, again. Hundred plus meal prep recipes for men and women, so don't get caught up in the name. And also if you've got a man in your life that you want to cook some good stuff for that's healthy but also tastes phenomenal, make sure that you add this to your library. And so before the break we were talking about his ten meal prep commandments that he has, and we're going to go through a couple of these. I think we've been through maybe five of them now, so let's do one or two more. What would the next one be? Kevin Curry: I would say another good one is thou shalt not waste food. So oftentimes whenever we meal prep, we just meal prep way too much. Because again, we not only do the aspirational buys but we also do aspirational cooking. So we'll make a huge pot of quinoa or we'll make too many chicken breasts, and we'll just have it at the end of the week. And oftentimes - or even produce - oftentimes we'll just toss it, as much as people don't want to talk about it, you know you toss it. So this book actually talks about the importance of reducing the food waste in our lives. So whether that's incorporating that into a beautiful garden frittata, or a casserole. I just really encourage people to do that a lot more, because it's really important. I think that we can spend so much money. And if you look at your grocery bill and break it down at the end of the month, you can easily spend about $400 just on food. And then at the end of the weeks, if you can think about how much food that you've actually tossed, those are savings. Those are savings, and it's also really good food. Shawn Stevenson: Right. Kevin Curry: So what are we doing with that extra food? Shawn Stevenson: Yeah. We're actually going to talk a lot more about this topic on the show because I just came across some research that has found that we can literally feed the world consistently. Every person on the planet can be well-fed just with the amount of food waste that we have alone in and of itself. And so looking at this a little bit more holistically- and by the way, so I mentioned that corn issue with my wife. But from my perspective, for us, like I grew up different. And she's from Kenya, like they didn't have a lot of food. True story, one of her- and I've seen the picture many times, it's so cute. But it's her birthday party, and she's just got the biggest smile on her face, I think she was like six at the time, and just so cute. And it's just like, "Oh, you've got your birthday cake." It wasn't a cake. It wasn't like Betty Crocker, it was- I believe it's called mukimo which is like mashed potatoes, corn. Kevin Curry: It's [Inaudible 00:41:44]. Shawn Stevenson: Peas- different name. Kevin Curry: Is it? Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, and that was their cake. Kevin Curry: That's in the book, too. I actually made that same recipe because it's such a nutritious meal. It is very nutritious. Shawn Stevenson: It is crazy, right? Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: And so she didn't grow up with a lot- like nobody- and even in my family growing up, it was like, "Eat it all. Eat it all." Right? And so if you planned on getting up to do anything, you'd better clean that plate. And so for me just coming into it, of course just like moving past my scarcity consciousness, and also using myself as a trashcan, how about we just be a little bit more strategic in the food that we're buying, right? And be a little bit more judicious in the amount of- because you can always go back and get a little more too for the plate that you're making for yourself. Kevin Curry: Right. Shawn Stevenson: You know? Because for me, I'm a seconds and thirds kind of guy, you know? But if I'm starting off right out the gate, and I might not even be that hungry, and I've got the seconds and thirds already on my one plate, and I've got the eat it all consciousness, that can be trouble. So I love that commandment in our meal prep, in our approach in the first place, and there's so many incredible things layered there, man. That's awesome. Just to shift gears now, because again, people can pick up the book and get the rest of the commandments. Super valuable. I want to ask you about the recipes in the book itself; what were the qualities, what were you looking for in the recipes that you decided to put into the book? Kevin Curry: Oh, that's a really great question. You know, for the recipes in the book, they kind of follow my same philosophy on food, and I've got to kind of go back to how I got started in the kitchen first with that. The recipes are based off of foods that I actually like to eat, but I also put them together because I wanted to show people a practical approach to cooking meals each week, and I think that one of the biggest hiccups that people have are just like, "Alright, I can cook my chicken breast, but what do I eat with it?" And so I was really heavy on showing different ways to cook the sides, and things like that. And then just showing how you can put together a complete meal that way. Now my cooking philosophy was inspired by my own personal journey. In 2008, I was in grad school, graduated and the stock market just went crazy. Shawn Stevenson: Right. Kevin Curry: I had to move back home with my parents, and it was a very humbling thing for me. At the time, I was also- I had just kind of gotten dumped as well, so I wasn't feeling the best about Kevin. I got depressed and I had zero money after grad school, and one thing that I had to do was go to the welfare office and get some food stamps, and it was crazy because I had a consulting background, I had all this- I was great before financially, and then all of a sudden I just had nothing. So I was on a really small income, and still like depressed. So one thing that I had to do, was I had to learn how to be creative with just a little bit. So the recipes are inspired by that, in that they have to be budget friendly, they have to be- and budget may be different depending on where you are in the world, because quinoa is not that cheap when you're in Europe but it's cheap over here. It's cheaper over here. They had to be budget friendly, not take too much time, and they had to taste good. Just those three things. And so with that philosophy, I set out to do the Fit Men Cook community, and I wrote this book too with that in mind. That some things are going to be a little bit more costly than others, but overall with the different [Inaudible 00:45:28] in the book, people can kind of carve out and find out what they can do for their diet, for their health, and also with their pocketbook. Shawn Stevenson: Incredible, man. Incredible. I did not know that, man. That's wow. Wow, that's incredible, man. And to have that kind of experience and that perspective. So this is bigger than food, you know? Food is a great bridge to get you from where you are to where you want to be. Kevin Curry: Yeah, food is. It just impacts so much of who we are, and what we do. Not only is it nourishing for us physically, but also for our mental health. And I say this very much so truthfully that like Fit Men Cook helped to save my life per se, I got a melatonin- not melatonin. I've got plenty of melatonin. I got a serotonin boost whenever I could share something online and have people who were in other parts of the world say, "Hey, tried that, loved it." And then also just there was something that kind of happens whenever you step into the kitchen, and you're putting things together, and you're seeing something come to life, and you're tasting it. There's a sense of gratification and like appreciation and like achievement too that you get from that. And I didn't know it at the time, but I was basically cooking myself back to better health. So I encourage people too that even with the mental health aspect, that cooking is not just seen as you've got to eat the right foods nutrients-wise, but also the sense of achievement that you get from creating something is also pretty significant. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah. Dude, this is so good. You're one of the few people that because of this, the energy behind what you're doing, that I very much have like a positive perimeter put around my brain food. The things that even on social media that I'm subscribed to, or that I follow. And so that's amazing, man. One of the things I also know about your posts are you also do the Spanish. So you do the English sub with it, caption, and then you have the Spanish translation of that. What's going on with that? Kevin Curry: Yeah, that was really important to me. About a couple years ago when I was in college, I wanted to delay the real world, so I went away to Quito, Ecuador, and I lived there for almost about a year, and I worked in a restaurant, and I worked at a local gym. I didn't lift weights or anything, I just didn't know what I was doing. I actually- so funny story here. I actually taught hip hop dance classes in Quito, Ecuador, and the crazy thing is I couldn't dance, but they believed me because I was black. So they're like, "Oh, yeah absolutely." And I got by. Shawn Stevenson: Kevin C. Kevin C's class is amazing. Kevin Curry: I can do anything, and they believed me. And these people- I've got the video in my mind just about that experience. And so that was important to me to continue on with that. And also whenever you look at the diabetes rates and like heart disease rates, they are pretty significant in the black and brown communities. And so I wanted to be able to, with my platform, reach as many people as possible. That's really important, and growing up in Texas, I mean you just need to know Spanish, too. You don't have to know it to get around, but it's just a good thing. And so in my quest to kind of globalize this mission, this purpose of spreading healthy eating with the world, language is one of them. But you know, I can't speak all languages of course, but that's- again, it comes back to cooking and food. Like it's a universal language and it connects us, and it binds us, and it transcends all these other barriers that we have. It comes back to the flavor, and the process, and the way it nourishes our bodies. Shawn Stevenson: Love it, man. It's inclusion. Kevin Curry: It's inclusion, yeah. Shawn Stevenson: Man, that's so powerful. And I didn't even think from that perspective. I just thought that that was some Rico Suave stuff. Kevin Curry: Trying to. Shawn Stevenson: But I mean, it helps people to get involved, you know? And also if you can speak- like, "Oh, that's speaking to me. That's my language." You know? That's powerful, man. Just a big, big respect for doing that, man. And so another thing that I saw on one of your posts, I think it was IG story, and you talked about how a lot of folks have this all or nothing mentality when it comes to their food religion. Right? So it's just they're either like, "I'm eating the keto, or I'm out." You know, and also when you don't do the keto, then you're going to die, or whatever. Or you're out of the tribe. And same thing, you know, it's all or nothing. You're vegan or you're nothing. You're South Beach Diet or nothing. So can you talk a little bit about that? Kevin Curry: Absolutely. It burns me up a little bit because it's just one of those things that we've got to stop telling people, that they have to subscribe to a certain diet. I'm not an absolutist in any way. I have tried the keto diet, I've tried the vegan diet, I've tried Paleo, and those were things just to give me more ideas. And I think the purpose- and I tell people and my followers it's perfectly fine to jump around and to try different diets. And I think the purpose of you doing that is to learn about the diet first off, so you can become competent in it, but also walk away with, 'What can I take from this to give me more ideas for my regular diet?' And I think that once we- if we can just stop this whole thing, 'It's keto or nothing,' 'It's vegan or nothing,' then people would just live happier and healthier lives. And it's funny because a lot of the people that actually are the biggest advocates for these diets, they're also the same ones that reach out to me offline and say, "Hey, how can I transition? I don't want people to think that I'm this and that." I'm like, "Well the first thing, you've got to stop talking like that. And there's nothing wrong, it's your diet." And what- I think in the IG story, I was telling people to stay on their own plate. Just like when you're driving, stay in your own lane, there won't be any accidents. Stay on your own plate. And it's fine to share the joy of what you're eating, the joy of your diet, but do so in a way that, "Hey, this is what's working for me right now, and I'm enjoying that," and realize that there are other ways to arrive at wellness, and once you can embrace that, then you eating something else over there is no threat to me, it's just another form of wellness. Shawn Stevenson: Love it, man. And if you are getting a lot of this, screenshot this, and tag me, tag Kevin, and just let them know- just do a quick screenshot that you're digging this episode. Because I'm just getting huge insights here as well. Stay on your plate. Get out my plate. Kevin Curry: Yeah, stay on your plate. Shawn Stevenson: That's so powerful because that's something that it literally- it pushes people away because even though food is a connector, and it's a big factor of love and sharing, you don't necessarily want somebody all in your plate, you know? Kevin Curry: Absolutely. Shawn Stevenson: And so it's just like that little bit of like self-respect for yourself and also respecting other people and respecting their choices. Because some people are cool with like you take some of your wife's fries. My wife will bite my fingers off, you know? And so stay on your plate. Stay on your plate, do something great for yourself, and you can encourage other people to make changes with what's going on with their plate not by bad talking them or having this all or nothing mentality. And by the way, so same thing, I know these guys. I know them, alright? I've been them. Kevin Curry: Right. Shawn Stevenson: And we shared this before the show. I really feel that one of the things that makes me great at what I do is that I've done all of these things, but I mean, I go 120. So if it's raw food, you can forget about it. Like there's no- the stove doesn't work at my house. You know? For a year, two years, three years, whatever it might be, or Paleo, or keto, whatever it is. And I know that I'm doing this and I'm bringing back valuable gifts of connection. And what I eventually did, because in my practice at the time, I was into something, my patients, my clients were into it, too. Like if this is what I'm into, you're going to be into it. We're going to find a way to make this work for you instead of making something that works for you the other way around. This is how it's really supposed to be. I pay attention to you, make something based on your needs. And so I really feel that when I kind of- and again, so knowing all these guys, I really strive to bring on the people who would outwardly say, "I am pro-keto diet, but I'm not always keto." Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: You know? So the one show that we did was a really, really big episode. I think it was close to maybe half a million folks who have checked it out, is with Mark Sisson. And he wrote 'The Keto Reset Diet,' and Mark said on the episode, "I'm not always doing this." You know? And he shared with me as well like, "If there's some whatever, some cheesecake, or whatever it is, like I'm going to have some." But this is giving people valuable frameworks, and that's what they are. They're incredibly valuable frameworks. Kevin Curry: Give them ideas and they can eat for a lifetime. Shawn Stevenson: Exactly, man. So, so good, man. You know what? There's like ten other things I want to talk to you about, but I've got to ask you about this, man. Kevin Curry: Okay. Shawn Stevenson: So I want to ask you about this, and I read through your dedication here, and this one really jumped out for me. 'To my family, ever since I proposed the idea of quitting my job at the Thanksgiving table, you've taken every opportunity to encourage, pray form, and promote me. No matter what my wellness journey may reveal, I'm blessed to have already experienced some of the greatest health of all, and that's knowing what real love looks and feels like through each of you.' Talk about that for me. Kevin Curry: It's kind of hard. No one's ever asked me that question before, and so much of my wellness journey- I can divorce my overall health in terms of my body from the mental part of that. And my family, just as many of the people listening, is just one of the strongest support systems I've ever had. And also in that dedication- I thought at this time I would be married. And I wrote a dedication to my then girlfriend. When I think about what I wrote there, oftentimes we can use health and wellness and training and working out to chase something or to unnecessize [sic] pain or something. I hear- I get a lot of emails from guys, or have about, "Oh, it's a bad hard breakup and that's what prompted me to get into fitness." The same thing with women, and I think that people can use that to necessize [sic] it, and what I realized that I was doing a little bit of that to my own life, and not really dealing with some of the underlying issues. And I like that because- I had to thank them because if I never do another recipe, if I never work out ever again, I never post anything on social media, this all goes away, I know that my family still loves me, and I know where I'm loved and where I'm celebrated, and that's really important. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah. Kevin Curry: Sorry. Shawn Stevenson: No, don't be sorry, bro. That's so powerful and I love how you articulated it here, and saying that you've experienced some of the greatest health of all, and that's what's up, you know? This is one of the things that we really bring to the table here on the show, because initially food was just everything. I was devouring nutrition books, learning about it in college, teaching it, but that's just one part of what real health looks like. You know? A big part of that is your relationships, and family, and that is the catalyst for everything else that we do. And so if we can actually feed into that- you see how I'm throwing these puns in here? What's on the table, and the feed it. I didn't know, it's just happening. It's coming out. But you know, when I read that I just knew that I wanted to ask you about it. And also, I've got to ask you, Thanksgiving? You was like- at Thanksgiving dinner you were like, "Guys listen, I'm done. I'm Corporate America, I'm out," and they were just like- they're going to support you. Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: So just take me through a little bit of that moment. Like what was going on? Kevin Curry: Yeah, I think it was maybe 2014, and sitting around the table, and I had just been chewing on the idea to- chewing. Shawn Stevenson: Can't stop, won't stop. Kevin Curry: I can't get away from food. I know. I'd just been chewing on the idea that I was going to quit my job and really do this full-time. And at the time, I was a brand manager for a large computer company, and I'd just gotten a good job offer from Google. And I'd flown down there for the interviews, got the job offer, and it was really exciting. But then I went to my old boss, and he gave me some of the best advice I've ever received. He said, "Yeah, well Kev, first off if you're coming in here to ask me if you should take this job at Google, that means that you don't want the job first off. Because nobody turns down that job. Secondly, I don't know what you're doing, but everyone here in the office is talking about this thing that you've got called like Fit Men Cook, and I just think it's great. I'm not sure what it is, but it sounds amazing. You walked away from us a couple years ago, but I would hire you back today. So you've got what it takes to make it, but most importantly you want to be able to sit your grandkids down on your knee and say, 'Hey, here's this thing called Fit Men Cook. Now here's how I F'd it all up, or here's how I did it well. Now you go do it better.'" And I don't know, but it was just that practical way he kind of just- something just kind of triggered in my mind like, 'This is something that I just have to go and do.' And I picked the Thanksgiving dinner table- it wasn't planned, it was just we were all around the table, just talking, and something just said, 'This is the moment.' And the reason why is I had all my family there, and I wanted to say something out loud. There's a lot of power whenever you can verbalize something, and when you speak it out of your mouth, it actually becomes real. And so I wanted to hear myself say it, and then I wanted to also make myself accountable to everybody else that, 'Yes, this is something that I'm going to go and do.' And I thought, because we don't come from- I don't come from a really rich background at all. We are a tight knit family and we take care of each other. So I'm my own safety net per se, and I thought they were going to be worried, and they all got quiet and my brother said, "Finally." And my mom was like, "Oh, this is great. This is just so great," knowing that like I don't really have anything except for what I'm doing right now. But there was so much power though. I tell people- because they always ask me this about like starting your own thing. I think that it's great to jump out there. Now there is a big difference between faith and foolish, and sometimes we kind of blur the line right there, but if there is something that's keeping you up at night, and knocking on your door, and you can't shake it, it's like something is chasing you, I tell people, "Well, just let it catch you and start to work on that thing." And even though sometimes you don't have everything kind of figured out, just you saying that you're going to go and do it, that's an action in itself. And little by little, you just start working on it, and then I just said, "I'm going to quit my job," and once I did, honestly I haven't looked back. And it wasn't even like a public post that I made. I did say that I was quitting my job, and I honestly- like I just had every single opportunity after that period. Like I haven't looked back, and it's such a blessing to be here, and to see this book materialize, and to this, and to be here on your podcast, first off. Seriously. I just haven't looked back, so be courageous, be faithful, but don't be foolish. So have a plan, but there is going to become a time where it's going to be really uncomfortable for you, and you are going to have to just step out there and just make a decision. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, man. This is so good, man. Thank you for sharing that, and I love that so much because you were faced with that moment of like the thing that you should do, and the thing that you were really called to do. You know? Kevin Curry: Right. Shawn Stevenson: And having the audacity. And I love the fact that you had that family support, and this is one of the things that everybody listening- and also you, as you carry on, and as you did the dedication to the future bae in the book to carry that on for the generations to come after us. Kevin Curry: Right. Shawn Stevenson: You know? To create that space, you know, for people to really follow their heart, but also teaching them the difference with the foolish, you know? Just being mindful of that because man, if you didn't make that decision, like Google was- Google, right? It's calling. All of this incredible impact wouldn't be here in this form and fashion right now, and so I'm just really, really amazing man, grateful for you, and thankful for you saying yes and making all this happen, and I'm very, very excited about your book. So can you let folks know where they can get your book, and also where they can connect with you online? Kevin Curry: Sure. They can get my book anywhere books are sold, so we're everywhere. Barnes & Noble, Amazon, in Canada there are a couple other bookstores. So anywhere that books are sold, you can get the book. And then you could follow me @FitMenCook on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Even Twitter. I'm not as active on Twitter. Shawn Stevenson: Yeah, we've got our place we hang out. Somebody messaged me like, "Dude, you didn't post whatever on Twitter?" I don't really hang out there. But I get in my zones with Twitter where I just start- I think it's a really cool because I just put ideas out there, things that I think about, even crazy stuff. But who knows? I might get more into it, but I feel you, man. Kevin Curry: I'm kind of an oldie, too. I love social media because of what it's done for me and my business and Fit Men Cook in the community, but there are some times where I kind of think about the pre-social media days. And so I try to give myself a break and like take a step back just a little bit. Maybe once a month or so. Shawn Stevenson: I love that. That's a necessity, man. Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: I love that. We've talked a little bit about it, but we're going to talk about that a lot more. You know? Kevin Curry: Yeah. Shawn Stevenson: So wow, man. Again, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your gift, and I'm just- truly, man, truly, truly excited and grateful to get this episode out there. And also again, everybody make sure to pick up a copy of 'Fit Men Cook.' This book is phenomenal. I'm literally hungry right now, you know? And I've got one more quick question for you, man. Kevin Curry: Okay. Shawn Stevenson: Final question. What is the model that you're here to set for other people with the way you live your life? Kevin Curry: The model that I'm here to set for other people is to- the model that I'm here to set for people is just to live your life freely. You don't have to be a purist or like an absolutist whenever it comes to food. That food is something that should be enjoyed, but one thing that you need to understand about food too is that you need to make sure that it's nourishing your body. So I want to show people that they can enjoy different cuisines, they can enjoy the decadence of food, but in a calorie conscious way. And I want to break this idea that people can be fearful of food and have anxiety about it, that all of a sudden if you eat something, it's going to jump onto your back and you're never going to be able to lose the weight again. It's not like that, and I hope that people can follow the model that I did within my own life, and cook their way to a healthier and happier life that you can just start small. Don't look at it like you're trying to, again, boil the entire ocean. We're not trying to do that, we're just going to start little by little by little by little, and you will win in your diet, and you'll win in your life. Shawn Stevenson: Awesome. Kevin, my man, thank you so much. Kevin Curry: Appreciate you. Shawn Stevenson: Everybody, thank you so much for tuning into the show today. I hope you got a lot of value out of this. I had a great time just hanging out with Kevin, and hearing these insights, and just the amount of success and impact that he's having on the world right now. There are a lot of cookbooks out there obviously, and so for him to jump in the game and to jump in this with- he had his heart in the right place, right? So this is a medium for him, he got in there early of like, "Let me actually give away these great things. Let me just give it away where people are- they have to invest in this and that. Let me just make this open, and accessible, and bring people in, get people inspired, and brought in on this mission." Like he said- he said 'community' many times, he didn't say, "my followers." He's looking at this as a community of people that he's serving, and he's doing this the right way. My man's been hanging out with Oprah, he's doing classes in Nigeria, all of these incredible powerful things because he said yes to his vision, even with the uncertainty. You know? So I also want to just speak that into your spirit today as well, and where are you holding back, and making excuses, and waiting for the right moment? Because the right moment is when you say it is. And also, one thing that just kind of stuck with me, and it came up like thirty minutes later, about taking a break. Man, we don't talk about this enough. If you just meal prep every Sunday from now to kingdom come, you're going to be like me back when I did the Slim Fast diet. You're going to want to take somebody out. You're not going to like people, you're not going to like yourself, you're not going to like the process. Unless it's something that you're deeply, deeply, passionate about, like you feel like, 'I can't breathe unless I meal prep,' go for it. Alright? Knock yourself out. But just to keep yourself fresh, and I've seen this firsthand. I saw this with my wife specifically. She was doing the meal prep for months, and then all of a sudden, nothing for like months. Alright? Like it just- she went so hard with it, and made it that this was something she had to do, when the best thing is like- but here's the thing, let's strategically plan it as well. You know? Like three weeks on, one week off. This is the opportunity to try new things, try some different restaurants, outsource your food prep. There's lots of different services now. Maybe you do more ready-made meals. Have somebody chop stuff up for you. There are so many ways you can go about it where you don't have the whole weight of the food prep going on your shoulders. Even though at the end of the day, that's what's going to be ideal for us because one of the biggest ah-ha moments, because he spoke this out, it's something that I know in my heart. But when you're cooking your food, you are in control of what you're eating. Just that in and of itself, we can miss that. Because you might have some great sautéed kale, or brussel sprouts with bacon from whatever restaurant that you fancy, but maybe they're cooking it in canola oil, or some highly processed- what is it? Can't Believe it's Not Butter. Right? Whatever it is. And you know, "Okay, this is some partially hydrogenated whatever. Like this is causing massive free radical activity in my body." Whatever it is, you can then take- make the same thing, but with the ingredients that you really want. And actually nine times out of ten it's going to come out better, especially if you've got something like 'Fit Men Cook' in your hand. Alright? So definitely check it out, and listen, I've got some incredible episodes coming up so be ready. Take care, have an amazing day, and I'll talk with you soon. And for more after the show, make sure to head over to www.TheModelHealthShow.com. That's where you can find all of the show notes, you can find transcriptions, videos for each episode, and if you've got a comment you can leave me a comment there as well. And please make sure to head over to iTunes and leave us a rating to let everybody know that the show is awesome, and I appreciate that so much. And take care, I promise to keep giving you more powerful, empowering, great content to help you transform your life. Thanks for tuning in.