October 29, 2022
I don't normally get worried or feel like I need to overthink things when I'm about to interview a podcast guest. After all, I've been recording a podcast twice a week for almost 18 years now.
But I have to admit, before my podcast chat with fitness and nutrition (and now finance) master Larry North, a 35-year talk radio veteran, I was a *little* nervous.
I met my new friend Larry at a private event in Dallas, Texas, when I was there speaking to an investment firm. Recently, Larry made a fascinating organic shift from the field of fitness to the field of finance. I asked Larry if he'd participate in one of my famous “walking podcasts,” so I could learn more, and although I knew I'd be chatting with a real talk radio veteran, my nerves instantly vanished when we started talking.
For more than three decades, Larry has been a leading expert in the health, fitness, nutrition, and weight loss sector. He is the author of three best-selling books: Larry North's Slimdown For Life: 21 Days to a Lean and Healthy You, Living Lean, and Get Fit!: The Last Fitness Book You Will Ever Need. “The Great North American Slimdown,” Larry's globally successful weight-loss program, has reached more than $150 million in revenue. Larry has also operated cutting-edge health clubs and appeared on numerous radio and television programs.
After advising team members at the capital investment firm Satori, regarding health and wellness initiatives through the firm’s “Optimal Living” initiative, Larry found himself inspired by the principles of conscious capitalism and began to see his relationship with Satori as a continuation of his lifelong focus on impacting and enriching the lives of others.
Larry’s orientation toward others and his gift for selflessly connecting values-aligned people have resulted in the development of countless valuable personal and professional relationships throughout the Satori ecosystem.
Larry lives in Dallas with his wife, Brenda, their dog, Bliss, and their cat, Buda. Larry and Brenda are a fantastic couple, with an inspiring love story and an admirable health routine that, I have to say, has made them the hottest physical specimens of grandparents I've ever met.
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-How Larry started his talk radio career…05:57
- Fitness trainer at age 21
- Dr. Ken Cooper
- His own radio show – “The Weekend Workout with Larry North”
- Turned down initially, and then got offered a position in the worst possible time slot
- Ended up with the best time slot after 3 months
- Describes himself as having an unmanageable personality
- Exercise science doesn't always apply to real-world training scenarios
- Larry’s mom struggled with her weight and was an early-stage founder of Overeaters Anonymous
- Strong sensitivity training
- At the private event Ben and Larry attended in Dallas, they did:
- Infrared light
- Hyperbaric
- PEMF
- Vasper
- Vibration platform
- BFR training
-Fitness trends that have come and gone in the 35 years Larry has been in the industry…13:04
- Core issues that most people struggled with then are still the same today
- Science is now better, and we also have better knowledge
- Back then, it was all talk radio; no internet, no podcasts, no YouTube
- It's not so much what works, it's what works best
- Back then, people wanted to look good; 35 years later, they want to be healthier – that's the biggest difference
- Back then, it was all about vanity, now, it's a combination
-Remarkable and memorable stories from Larry’s show…17:27
- Back story – Larry’s experiences growing up
- Coach Wheeler from high school constantly picked on Larry to the point that his mom complained to the school
- Fast forward more than a decade, while he was recording, he saw this coach
- He was in fight-or-flight mode
- Larry approached Coach Wheeler to confront him
- Coach Wheeler ended up sharing his story – diagnosed with cancer, living on borrowed time, doctor told him to listen to this radio show, it was Larry’s show
- Coach Wheeler never missed an episode, if he did, he made sure to tape it
- They had an emotional exchange and, eventually forgiveness
- The gift of forgiveness surpassed any abuse the coach had given him
-Larry's struggles growing up and how he found God…25:03
- God entered the picture when Larry was old enough to understand and say the word
- His mom had to seek help from religious groups Salvation Army, First People's Baptist Church
- They’d often ask their former neighbors for help
- The hardships that have been put in front of him and helped shape his life today were all purposeful – one of many God moments
- Larry believes that without faith, he would feel empty
- Believe in something, believe in whatever you choose to believe but believe that there is a higher source
- As you get older, looking at your life from a distance, you realize that there are no coincidences at all
-Larry and his wife Brenda's relationship…29:14
- They met through a common friend, Yvonne, 18 years ago
- Still very much in love and Larry could still remember everything she wore that day
- Larry is a great salesman and had to chase Brenda for a while
-How did you get involved with investing while at the same time you were doing the talk radio show…31:32
- Last May, Larry retired from his gym business, organically went from fitness to finance
- One of the co-founders of Satori Capital was a long-time listener of Larry’s show
- Initially, he was only introducing people to the founders
- Ended up becoming a licensed FINRA rep – a fully licensed broker
- Source companies to buy, connecting the right dots with the right people
- It's as if it was the easiest thing Larry had done in his life
- FormuLife is one of the companies Larry brought to Satori
- Larry’s values align with Satori's founders – conscious capitalism
-Hormone therapy and replacement…35:05
- In his early thirties, Larry had no testosterone, so he had to opt for testosterone therapy
- Biote did not invent the pellets but pioneers with the pellets
- Even if you eat correctly, exercise, do your ideal routine, sleep all you want, if your hormones are low, or extremely low, you're swimming upstream
- There are side effects, but there are more side effects if you’re low on hormones
- A lot of the deleterious effects of testosterone therapy come when values are high, around 1,200+ where PSA starts to rise and risk for cardiovascular disease increase
- When those numbers are cleared, in many cases, there is improved brain function, better bone density, energy saving sarcopenia…
- Biote was started by an OBGYN; he founded the company more for women because women rarely check their testosterone levels
- You don't want only one partner to be hormonally optimal; you want to be a hormonally optimal couple
- With many of the high-functioning couples, Ben has worked with, the guy is typically on testosterone, not so much DHEA because that'll over aromatize or convert to DHT, which causes male pattern baldness, an increased aggressiveness, and ball shrinkage
- DUTCH test
– How do hormone pellets work?…44:28
- Types of hormone therapy applications
- Creams and gels, which Larry is not a fan of because the skin is designed to protect
- Injectables, preferred by a lot of people
- Pellets are embedded into the skin, “set it, forget it,” looks like rice pellets, not time released but acts like it is
- With testosterone injections once or two times a week, there is a surge in testosterone that, in Ben's opinion, no way matches the natural kind of diurnal morning and evening surge in testosterone
- Injections have a short life – inject on Monday, peak on Wednesday; dude is on a rollercoaster
- You do want to maintain consistency within your hormone levels
- Larry thinks that most men above 45 years of age if they do not know their testosterone number, have low or below-normal levels
- Get a blood test or salivary urine test
- It's a complete game changer, and it's it saves marriages
- The importance of being hormonally optimal and the importance for women to understand the benefits of testosterone
-What Larry has learned in 35 years about weight loss trends and why people don't lose weight…47:04
- Nutrition is top of the list
- There are better and more efficient ways than following a traditional bodybuilding diet – five, six meals a day, low fat, high protein
- If your goal is to lose weight:
- Exercise – changing the type of exercise can accelerate weight loss or fat loss
- Nutrition – calories, protein, and quality of food matters
- Hormones – need to be in balance
- Medications – a lot of meds have awful side effects, from bloating to increased appetite and micronutrient depletion; work to become healthier, so you do not need them
- Mind – learned behavior and attitude
-How Larry and Brenda eat…50:36
- What worked for Larry before was no longer working
- Started to resent having to cook food, have food, special order food
- Advised by the doc to go lower carb; triglycerides could never break 100
- Finally switched to three meals – quality protein, good fats, good fibrous vegetables, very little carbs
- Cutting carbs and not snacking
- Larry's advice to people is to be open-minded and open to trying new things
- That's where food science and gurus like Ben have changed the food narrative
- Limiting carbohydrates in the morning, you're forcing your body to burn an alternative fuel, typically fats or ketones or some proteins the rest of the day
- Sunlight increases insulin sensitivity
-Larry and Brenda's exercise…56:58
- The fountain of youth is that water fountain in the weight room
- Brenda is certified in Kundalini Yoga, she does an hour of breathwork
- Larry is a walker
- No matter how fast you run, you cannot outrun a donut
- Weightlifting five or six times a week
- Stay at the gym max 60 mins
- Sleep is a big deal
- Kion Sleep
-And more…1:01:54
- How Larry got his first gym
- 3 Ps of Success
- Passion
- Perseverance
- Persistence
- The story of the black belt
- Meet Larry North – article from Voyage Dallas
- Brenda, Larry's wife – These two images are of Brenda, who is in her 50s, and a grandmother of a one- and four-year-old.
-And much more…
Upcoming Events:
- Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources from this episode:
– Larry North:
- Larry North's Slimdown For Life: 21 Days to a Lean and Healthy You
- Living Lean
- Get Fit!: The Last Fitness Book You Will Ever Need
- Meet Larry North
- Slimdown America
– Other Resources:
Episode Sponsors:
Supergut: Supergut's resistant starch fiber mix is a clean, vegan gut health booster that nourishes the healthy bacteria in your small intestine. Go to supergut.com/ben and use BEN20 for 20% off your first purchase of Supergut Gut Balancing Fiber Mix.
Water & Wellness: Use code GREENFIELD to save 10% on all orders. Go to WaterAndWellness.com/Greenfield.
ButcherBox: ButcherBox is offering our listeners an incredible deal—one FREE 10-14 lb turkey when you sign up at butcherbox.com/ben.
Neurohacker: If you want to try the best brain fuel on earth, go to neurohacker.com/ben for Qualia Mind for up to 50% off right now, and use code BGF at checkout for an extra 15% off your first purchase. Start experiencing what Qualia Mind can do for YOUR mindset.
Heart & Soil: Organ meats, especially those from grass-fed/grass-finished cows, are the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet. Nothing else comes close. Go to HeartandSoil.co and use code BEN10 for 10% OFF your first order!
BGL Careers: Recruiting an IT Specialist. Check out BenGreenfieldLife.com/ITJob to learn more about this position.
Last time i will listen to one of your podcast. the sound quality is terrible.
Can you tell me more about what you didn’t like regarding the sound quality?