true

1. Rose: Okay. I’m excited to introduce to you our wonderful guest today, George
Bryant. He the creative genius behind the widely popular Palo food blog, Civilized
Caveman Cooking Creations. After spending the first 20 some years of his life in a
constant battle with this weight, and then nearly losing both his legs while on
deployment as a US Marine, George took matters into his own hands and began his
own Paleo journey. He hopes to change as many lives for the better by making real
food recipes simple and tasty. George welcome to the show.
George: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Rose: We’re delighted to have you as well. So let’s get started.
George: Awesome.
Rose: Tell me about the moment you realize you wanted to go Paleo?
George: Oh yeah, so for me going Paleo was quite a… it kind of fell in my lap, I was
deployed to Afghanistan in 2010 and I've been struggling with my weight for many
years. I had roller coastered at my lightest I was 155 pound; at my heaviest I was
257 pounds. A hundred pounds [inaudible [00:01:31.24]]. And I was also struggling
with eating disorders, primarily bulimia. So I was in Afghanistan I was doing my
best I could working out every day trying to lose weight and I was just still wasn’t
very happy with my body, I wasn’t sleeping well, my mindset around food was very
unhealthy. And I stumbled across of all things a Paleo book in the middle of the
desert, I picked it up and I read it cover to cover in about two days and it really
resonated with me, it kind of hit me to the core, and I was like this is so simple, this
is so easy and yet I’m not doing it. And I was… at this point I was exhausted from you
know trying to hide my eating disorder and trying to make my body look a certain
way and manipulate everything. And I was like what do I have to lose. So I was in
Afghanistan I got hit with the book and I had about three months left in country in
Afghanistan and so I started implementing as many of the principles is possible

2. while I was there. And then I made a declaration to myself that as soon as I got home
I was going to go 30 days Paleo, no excuses all the way, all in and see what
happened. And it literally changed my life.
Rose: What were some of the… what’s going in your mind at that time?
George: Yeah for me it was… you know a lot of people I encountered in in my
profession now, a lot of times they’re afraid to change their lifestyle because
they’re… it seems daunting, it seems overwhelming, it seems like it was too much.
For me it was the exact opposite. I’ve been hiding eating disorder for close to 12
years. I’ve been literally controlling every ounce of every piece of my body, I was
orthorexia, I get addicted to working out, so for me one of the things that I
experienced the most of was relief. Like I found this… like this is really easy I don’t
count calories, I don’t to weigh and measure everything. I know what foods I can eat,
I foods I cant eat and they all supposed to support a nourish my body. And so the
simplicity of it is what really really excited me about it. And I was honest to God just
as relieved as could be and I was like this, I feel like this is what I’ve been looking for
my whole life and it turned out to work out perfectly. Because it launched my
platform into a new career after I was medically separated from the Marine Corps
and as well as healing my eating disorder and using my story to help other people
heal theirs.
Rose: Can you tell me about that first day when you decided to dive into the Paleo
diet? And what was your first meal like?
George: Yeah, I can it’s actually really exciting, so I am like most people you know
they should deciding on Paleo and they’re at home. I decided to go Paleo in
Afghanistan, so I actually had three months leading up to my first like real Paleo
meal. So the anticipation was like beyond describable, I was so excited to get home
and it didn’t matter what it was, I just wanted to eat real food that was quality. So I
remember that the first thing that I ate when I was Paleo is I had a giant steak, I

3. think I have a 14 ounce bone in rib eye that I made on the grill at home and then I
had like a side of asparagus and I think mashed potatoes. And it was amazing for me,
it was really was really calming. Number one I just got off aneight-
monthdeployment to Afghanistan, so it was very… I guess therapeutic for me to
come to be home and to settle back and to realize that the first choice that I was
making while I was home, was one that was setting me up to win for the rest of my
life. And making healthy decisions and supporting my body. So I was really amazing
for me, because it kind of sparked the beginning of my entire life transformation and
all kind of culminated right in that moment. So maybe it was pretty amazing.
Rose: So you would say this transformation was a meaningful story in your life?
George: Oh yeah yes yes. It was hands down a meaning story. I mean to look back
and to think four years ago I've never cooked before. I was struggling with what I
was; I had all the weight issues; the eating disorders and now fast forward and I’m a
New York Times best-selling author of a cookbook; I cook for a living and get to heal
my body and other people through food and recipes. I get to travel the world and
speak about food in my story. And I get paid to talk about food for living and how it
saved my life and how it can save other people’s lives. So to say it was meaningful is
quite minimal; it was quite a magical moment in transformation and it’s been an
awesome journey.
Rose: Okay, and how did it make you feel?
George: You know I think I felt… I’ve probably felt every emotion on the roller
coaster I can on this journey you know. Just to be authentic, is there’s always
moments, there’s been moments of struggle, there's been moments of frustration;
there’s been moments of fear; there’s also been moments of happiness and joy and
elation and all these different things. And overall what I feel the most of is gratitude.
I just feel extremely grateful that this has landed in my lap and then I was given the

4. opportunity to use it to help myself and to help other people and I’m grateful that I
have the tools to do such an amazing job at everything that I’ve been a part of.
Rose: There is an emotion in your voice, I do hear that so.
George: Yeah, it's probably right now a mixture of passionate and caffeine. That
would be the emotional going on right now.
Rose: Oh what were the steps that got you from a career into the military to actually
starting a blog and helping others?
George: Yeah that’s a great question. So like I mentioned earlier my transition to
Paleo you know kind of started in Afghanistan and then when I came home. One of
the challenges that I had and someone that had struggled with eating disorders and
control was that if I didn’t have accountability, I wouldn’t stick to my guns, like I
would stick to the lifestyle. So when I started Paleo, I wanted to have a place where I
could document it and to be held accountable. So I started an online blog and
Facebook page. And my theory was that if I posted about my food and what I was
eating online and other people read, that it was motivation for me to continue to
stick to that lifestyle. So initially I was blogging for an additional two years, while I
was still in the military. And it was quite a busy busy time; I was working 70 hours a
week as a marine and then blogging any chance I got in between then. And
connecting with people online and sharing my story, and going to conferences and
all those things. And eventually intentionally I feel like everything worked out
perfectly, the Marine Corps decided that they wanted to medically separate me
because of my injuries. I've traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder
and I almost lost both my legs, like you said in my intro. So they decided that I and I
used every bit of resource they could for me and they didn't need me anymore and
they wanted to discharge me from the military. And it was a perfect transition, it
was a scary one. But it was perfect, I was like I’ve never worked for myself, I've been
in the marine since I was 17 and never been in this big bad world. And the next step

5. was really getting grounded and focused on what you know my vision was and
where I wanted to go. And I feel like as long as I kept my vision externally focused
and making a difference in other people’s lives, that everything would kind of work
it’s way out. And sure enough we fast-forward a couple years and it’s all worked out
perfectly.
Rose: Great, you seem very confident right now. Was that always the case?
George: No that’s a great question too. I do sound very confident right now and
that… it wasn’t always the case. For a while I would portray confidence, which was
just masking insecurity. You know as I continue to work my way through my own
healing journey, you know from the inside out with overcoming the demons about
my bulimia and my weight and my eating disorders and all the things that I had
going on in my own head. Eventually I started to find this inner peace. And I started
to find acceptance and who I was and what I had to offer and I realized that it’s a gift
to be here on this planet. And it’s a gift to share our message and to work other
people. And I stopped focusing so much on impressing other people and looking a
certain way and portraying a specific image, and focusing more on just being my
authentic self. And letting that shine through and once I got really connected to that
really and really grounded to that and surrounded myself with amazing people like
my fiancé and all the friends we have. Those moments were kind of push to shine
even brighter and shine even brighter and bring out the best version of myself. And I
guess that translated into authentic confidence as what you described so.
Rose: Okay now how do you measure your success in your diet right now?
George: That's a… you're just nailing these questions. These are all good ones. And I
think that’s really important to talk about too. How I measure my success in my diet
which I don’t like the word diet because implies temporary, I go with lifestyle but
how I measure my success in my lifestyle is all about how I feel. So if I’m sleeping
good, if I have ample amounts of energy, if I’m feeling good, I feel like I’m doing

6. everything that I need to support and take care of my body. You know I want my
body to thrive not survive. And then there will be days where I will be sluggish and
tired and not sleeping good and kind of just pushing the limit and I realize that it’s
an opportunity for me to see my holes to adjust my approach then kind of fix them
and get myself back on track. So my only gauge is my body, I look at my body like it’s
a vehicle, you know my check engine light comes on in my car; my gas tank tells me
when it’s out of fuel and I feel like our bodies do the same and I’ve become really in
tune with mine. So I focus on the triggers and the signals that my body gives me and
I adjust my lifestyle accordingly. Whether I have to sleep more or go to bed earlier,
drink less caffeine, more vegetables, eat more fat, increase my meal size, decrease
my meal size. I just listen to the signals that my body is sending me.
Rose: Yes I really do agree with you on that one 100% about listening to your body,
because your body is able to tell you what it needs and what it doesn’t need. If you
take a minute or two after you eat a meal just listen to your body and your body will
talk to you.
George: Oh totally. And it is very honest with you. You just have to listen to it.
Rose: Okay this is been very good, good information. Where could our listeners go
to learn more about you?
George: Oh that’s a great question as well. I guess people would need to know that.
The best place to find me is on my website. It is Civilizedcavemancooking.com. I
have all the information that you could need there. The links to my Instagram
channels, to my e-books, to my other book, the Paleo Kitchen. And I post weekly
meal plans, shopping list, guides, informational articles, recipes, anything you need
and it is always and always will be free. So I appreciate the time and I hope
everybody comes and says hello.

7. Rose: Oh they will, after this, you are the creative genius behind the popular Paleo
food blog. So I’m sure there will be out there listening to you. So I just want to thank
you again for sharing your transformation lifestyle with us and we will continue to
keep in contact with you, for more information about Paleo food.
George: Awesome well thank you so much for having me and I hope you and your
readers or listeners have an amazing day.
Rose: Thank you so much.
George: Alright I’ll talk to you soon.
Rose: Okay bye