006: PETE EVANS - Chef, Health Coach & Author talks about nutrition and surfing.
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Show Notes for The Surf Mastery Podcast: Optimizing Health and Surfing Performance with Pete Evans
What if the key to surfing longer, harder, and better lies not just in your workouts but in what you eat?
In this episode of the Surf Mastery Podcast, we sit down with chef, author, and surfer Pete Evans to explore how embracing a paleo lifestyle can transform your energy levels, recovery, and overall surfing performance. Pete shares his personal journey with paleo nutrition, insights on the anti-inflammatory power of food, and tips for eating clean even on surf trips. Discover how adopting small dietary changes can lead to massive improvements both in and out of the water.
Learn how to fuel your body to maximize energy and recovery for longer surf sessions.
Understand the science behind anti-inflammatory diets and their impact on athletic performance.
Get practical meal prep strategies and discover nutrient-dense recipes that fit a busy surfer’s lifestyle.
Hit play now to learn how simple changes in your diet can revolutionize your surfing and set you on the path to vibrant health!
Notable Quotes:
“Food can be medicine, or it can be the slowest form of poison.”
“By switching from being a sugar burner to a fat burner, you’ll find you can surf for hours without running out of energy.”
“Surfing isn’t just a sport; it’s a way to stay grounded, connected, and inspired, even into your 70s or 80s.”
“If you eliminate inflammatory foods, your body will thank you, and your surfing will improve tenfold.”
“Preparation is key—your leftover roast or a batch of bone broth can keep you fueled on any surf trip.”
Chef Pete Evans summarises the Paleo diet and discusses how it may just help you to surf better - and for longer.
Show Notes: http://peteevans.com/ , https://thepaleoway.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/paleochefpeteevans
Nora Gedgaudas - http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com/ & http://nahko.com/
Key Points
Pete Evans discusses how adopting the paleo diet has improved his surfing performance, allowing him to surf for 6-7 hours without fatigue.
He explains the paleo diet involves eating moderate amounts of animal protein, an abundance of vegetables, and good quality fats while avoiding inflammatory foods like grains, dairy, and legumes.
Pete emphasizes the importance of including bone broth and fermented vegetables in the diet for athletes and overall health.
He shares his goal of surfing until he's 80 years old and inspiring younger generations to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Pete discusses the benefits of the paleo diet in reducing inflammation and managing chronic illnesses like arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and autoimmune disorders.
He recommends trying the paleo diet for 10 weeks to experience the positive effects and see how the body responds to removing inflammatory foods.
Pete highlights the importance of considering sleep patterns, physical activity, relationships, and career satisfaction in addition to diet for overall well-being.
He mentions his website and social media platforms as resources for learning more about the paleo diet and sharing success stories.
Outline
Introduction of Pete Evans
Pete Evans is introduced as a surfer, celebrity chef, author, and health coach from Australia.
He is known as the 'paleo chef' and has written multiple books on the subject.
Impact of Paleo Diet on Pete's Life
The paleo diet significantly affected their life and surfing abilities.
After adopting this lifestyle, noticeable differences appeared within 4-6 weeks, including increased energy, reduced hunger, quicker recovery time, and improved healing of injuries.
The paleo diet focuses on turning the body from a sugar burner into a fat burner, allowing for longer periods without needing to eat and improving overall health.
Latest Book: 'Going Paleo'
Their latest book, 'Going Paleo,' co-authored with Nora Gedgaudas, is described as comprehensive.
It contains sections on nutritional science, the background of the paleo diet, health coaching, and recipes.
A 10-week paleo weight program developed with experts, including Trevor Hendy, has been successful.
Over 30,000 participants have reported significant health improvements such as pain reduction and medication reduction.
Core Principles of the Paleo Diet
The paleo diet focuses on nutrient-dense foods like well-sourced protein from land or sea animals.
It encourages consuming an abundance of vegetables and good quality fats (e.g., avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, eggs).
The diet incorporates daily bone broth and fermented vegetables while eliminating grains, dairy, and legumes, which can cause inflammation in the body.
For those with autoimmune issues, it potentially removes eggs, nuts, seeds, and nightshade vegetables.
This way of eating is anti-inflammatory and can lead to improved overall health, better athletic performance, reduced chronic pain, and management of autoimmune conditions.
Personal Experience with Paleo Diet and Surfing
They have improved their ability to surf for 6-7 hours without fatigue or need for food.
Their overall performance at age 42-43 has enhanced compared to their teenage years.
They have experienced increased vitality and energy levels, better recovery, and reduced inflammation.
Many professional surfers, including Kelly Slater, have adopted similar nutritional approaches to enhance their performance and longevity in the sport.
Advice for Surfers Adopting a Paleo Lifestyle
Surfers should focus on simple meals of protein (meat or seafood) with vegetables and good fats.
When traveling, they should seek out basic options like steak and salad or fish and vegetables.
Preparing food in advance for surf trips, such as leftover dinners or hard-boiled eggs, is advisable.
They should view paleo-labeled snacks (e.g., nut bars) as occasional treats rather than staples.
Considering trying organ meats (offal) for their high nutrient density is recommended.
Transitioning to a Paleo Diet
Transitioning to a paleo diet can be challenging for some people.
Starting with one paleo meal per week and gradually increasing is a good approach.
Going 'all-in' is suggested for those with health issues or high motivation.
They should give up dairy, grains, and legumes for 10 weeks as a trial period.
Being patient with the transition, especially for families with children, is important.
Other Factors Contributing to Overall Health
The importance of sleep patterns, exercise and movement, relationships and social interactions, career satisfaction, and community involvement is emphasized.
Recommended Resources
Several resources are recommended for those interested in learning more about the paleo diet.
These include their book 'Going Paleo,' Nora Gedgaudas' book 'Primal Body, Primal Mind,' the website thepaleoway.com, their personal website peteevans.com, and social media accounts under 'Chef Pete Evans.'
Personal Interests
Their favorite surfboards are Firewire Tomo models (Vader and Evo).
They enjoy surfing with family, including their 9 and 11-year-old daughters.
Their favorite surf videos include Kelly Slater's 'Black and White,' Taj Burrow's 'Fair Bits,' and John Florence's 'View from a Blue Moon.'
Music preferences while surfing include Nahko and Medicine for the People, and Spearhead.
Transcription
That food definitely can be medicine, or it can be the slowest form of poison.
Welcome to the Surf Mastery Podcast. We interview the world's best surfers and the people behind them to provide you with education and inspiration to surf better. I want to be out here when I'm 80, hopefully still on a shortboard.
Michael Frampton
Okay, welcome to the Surf Mastery Podcast. I'm here with Chef Pete Evans. Pete is a surfer from Australia. He's known as the Paleo Chef. Pete is a TV celebrity, author of multiple books, and Pete is a health coach as well. Pete, tell me, when you're overseas in the UK or America and people don't know you so well as a celebrity here in Australia and they ask you the question, what do you do? How do you answer that?
Pete Evans
I breathe. Actually, it's quite refreshing, actually, when you're sort of a little bit anonymous in different parts of the world because it changes everything. You relate to people without any preconceived judgments or opinions on who you are. It's a very strange position to be in when people think that they know you from one of your jobs that is on TV, for instance. And sometimes I get a shock when they have a chat to you and go, "Oh, you're very different from your role on television." It's like, yeah, well, it's not every day that I wear a suit and judge people's food. That's just one part of my job, so to speak. So I could imagine if everyone was judged purely on the job that they did, the world would be a funny place. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Your latest book, Going Paleo, yep, it's almost like three books in one. I think you've outdone yourself because the first 50 pages is all about nutrition, nutritional science, the background of the paleo diet, and there's another section on health coaching on how to integrate this new way of thinking into your life. And then the rest of the book is just awesome recipes.
Pete Evans
Yeah, I was quite lucky when I went to write this book that I could partner with a very dear friend of mine called Nora Gedgaudas. And if anyone is interested in health and nutrition, I highly recommend her book more so than any other person that's ever written a book on health and nutrition. Her book is called Primal Body, Primal Mind. And our little very brief condensed version is what we've got in our Going Paleo book. It's sort of the layman's version of Nora's brilliant book. And then we go into a meal plan and how to set up your kitchen for this to work in your pantry and your mindset. And then we've got wonderful recipes. And I was lucky enough to have my dear friend Trevor Hendy, as you know, he's a world-renowned athlete, seven-time world champion ironman here in Australia, who wrote the foreword for us. And Nora, Trevor, and two other friends of mine, one being Luke Hines, who's a fitness coach, and Helen Patteron, who is a naturopath, have teamed up with me on our 10-week paleo weight program, which basically holds people's hands through 10 weeks and gives them all the information that they need to fully understand why this way of life potentially has the ability to not only add decades onto your life but to add wonderful life into your years while you're still breathing. I mean, we're completely proud of not only the books but the program that we've created. And so far, we've had over 30,000 people do the program. It's quite funny because the demographic I thought would be a lot younger, but it seems to be mid-40s through to mid-70s that have, I guess, been attracted or have found this program. And the results are just mind-blowing. Each and every day, we just share more and more stories of people that have basically not only reclaimed their health but they've reclaimed their life. And they're doing things that they've always wanted to do. And some of these people are in their 60s and 70s and going, "Thank you. I'm now pain-free or off my medication and I'm ready to start living." And that's quite a humbling thing to be able to put out into the world as a collective group and influence so much change. And if it was one person, I'd be stoked, but it's tens of thousands of people that are improving their lives. So there's something to be said that food definitely can be medicine, or it can be the slowest form of poison. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
I second your comment on Nora's book, by the way. That's an awesome book. When you first started the paleo diet, how did that affect the way you move and the way you surf?
Pete Evans
Wow, it was pretty instantaneous actually. Most people that adopt this way of life, usually after four to six weeks, they notice remarkable differences because generally after four to six weeks of eating this way, say a hundred percent, you start to turn yourself from being a sugar burner into a fat burner. Now that becomes something that becomes very freeing for you because you're no longer hungry, you can go longer without having to fuel yourself, and you start fueling yourself with the most nutritious foods on the planet. And we're seeing this with a lot of endurance athletes as well as surfers that are training hard as well. They're going much longer, their recovery time is much quicker, and if they've got any aches or pains or injuries, they tend to be healing a lot quicker because of the foods that we're encouraging in here. I mean, if you hear about what the football players are doing these days, they're including the bone broths, which is basically a stock made from boiling bones and water, and they're having that in their diet daily. And it's something that we emphasize as part of our program and in our books, that you have a cup or two of bone broth per day, especially if you're an athlete, because it's just so regenerative and it has collagen, it has gelatin, it has glucosamine, it has potassium, it has calcium, it has magnesium in there. It's got the amino acids for your body that it thrives on. Now couple that with small to moderate amounts of good quality, well-sourced protein from land or sea animals, an abundance of vegetables, and then the good quality fats. And then if you want to take it one step further, which is what we encourage people, we ask them to include fermented vegetables in their diet daily, if not with every meal. And what happens is the gut starts to operate as it's meant to do. So going back to your initial question, how did I feel and how did it affect my surfing? Well, the wonderful thing now is if I'm over in Fiji or wherever I go surfing, I'm surfing for six to seven hours without stopping and without really running into fatigue that I need to go and eat anything or running out of energy. And it's absolutely brilliant. Definitely, my surfing has improved. All parts of my life have improved by adopting this. And not only my life, but my children's health and how they're functioning as well is definitely to another level, as is my partner, as is my mother, as is anybody that adopts this life full-time and properly. So yeah, my surfing is better as a 42 turning on a 43-year-old than it was as a teenager. And I have more vitality and I feel like I've got more spring in my step. I don't do any exercise except for the occasional jump on the trampoline with the kids or a bit of running in the park with the dog. I'm not an avid athlete by any means, but I love surfing and that's what gets me out of bed in the morning. Awesome.
Michael Frampton
And what I really like about what you're doing, Pete, is, I mean, the paleo diet is not brand-new news to most people that have been looking into nutrition. But what I like about what you've done is that you've made it taste way better.
Pete Evans
Thank you. Depends who's cooking it, I guess. But yeah, our recipes, we work long and hard with my team to make sure that the recipes not only taste bloody good, but they're budget-friendly, the majority of them anyway, and really simple for people, especially for busy individuals or busy families. Because there's a couple of things: if it doesn't taste good, no one's gonna keep doing it for a long time. And if it's too expensive or too hard, that is going to hinder people from wanting to do it long-term. So I mean, we've written about six books so far on that topic, we've shot about over a thousand recipes, and I tell you what, as a professional chef and I've cooked over a million meals in my life with my two hands, I eat better now than I ever have, and I spend less on food now than I ever have. It's just wonderful. And I know I've got a lot of mates that are in the top echelons of surfing, male and female, that have adopted this way of life or have adopted it before they met me or have adopted it after. And they love it and they thrive, and it's just brilliant to see. And I guarantee within five to ten years, this way of life will become commonplace for athletes all around the world, which will then inspire the younger generation. And it's quite funny. I was watching one of those contests the other day and one of the guys, one of them... it's such a very strange world that we live in that we celebrate with alcohol in 2016. I watch these elite athletes doing what they're doing and then to celebrate, they have beer spilled over them or champagne spilled over them. I'm like, what sort of image is that setting for the younger generation? And I thought about the sports that do it, and you don't really see tennis players like Federer getting doused in champagne. But there are certain sports that still have that sort of mentality that it's the alcohol and the sports that go hand in hand, which in my mind is just like, wow. I mean, how many professional athletes have you seen go off the deep end because of an alcohol issue that may have been world champion or this? And I've seen it in surfing a lot. So hopefully, one day that will be a thing of the past and a distant memory.
Michael Frampton
What you just said reminds me of a quote from Kelly Slater. He says, "I am ridiculously strict with what I put into my mouth." Now, that's a lot. I mean, look at Kelly. He's performing at a super high level and he's in his mid-40s. Yeah. And, you know, there's no denying with him saying things like that, diet has been a massive part of his life. And when you hear him in interviews, he's always saying he's always researching and researching diet. So yeah.
Pete Evans
Kelly actually came over with our good mate Trevor Hendy because they're very close mates. They came over for dinner about a year ago after the Quikie Pro to our farm, and it was great having a chat with Kel about diet and lifestyle. I mean, he's got his finger on the pulse across many things, and he's always been an inspiration for me when it comes to looking after his body and his mindset. I think we have a lot to learn, and I love seeing Kelly on the tour. I'm not sure how long he's going to do it for, but he's definitely an inspiration, and it keeps me motivated as a punter that loves to surf. Seeing Kelly on the tour as a mid-40s and just going nuts, you know, I love it. When I see him competing against the 18 or 20-year-olds, I mean, he's holding his own and he's teaching them things. What's inspiring about Kelly is that when you see a fellow like that, you always think, well, anything is possible. Anything's possible. I mean, he keeps breaking the barriers and breaking the rules of what is thought of. And I think he's a great ambassador not only for surfing but human beings in general.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Yeah. There must have been something that Kelly had adopted earlier on in nutrition, you know, because he's had that longevity for so long. So he's obviously been looking after his nutrition for a while.
Pete Evans
Well, I think he probably witnessed, you know, Tom Carroll, some of the older generation that really respected their bodies, especially nutrition and what it can do for you, for sure. So yeah, hats off. And it's interesting, I'm watching the younger generation as well of the surfers. I love watching the surfing contests and seeing how they potentially are changing their diets as well and their workout routines or whatever it may be. Yeah, it's definitely a different ballgame these days for athletes than it was a decade or two ago. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, if you want to be at the top, you've got to look after your nutrition.
Pete Evans
Well, for me, I mean, I surf Cabarita a lot, and I grew up on the Goldie surfing. And when I'm out there, I've usually got the biggest grin on my face. But what I love about surfing or skiing or snowboarding is that it's something you can do with your kids. I've got a nine and eleven-year-old daughter, and they've been surfing since they were four, and they're getting good now. I just look forward, I want to be surfing with their kids, potentially surfing with their grandkids one day. And when I'm out there at Cabarita, I see some of the older fellas out there. I'm just totally inspired by them guys, you know. I want to be out here when I'm 60. I want to be out here when I'm 70. I want to be out here when I'm 80, hopefully still on a shortboard and catching waves and having fun, and hopefully inspiring the youngsters as well. Because you look at a lot of sports that are played, or, you know, you see a lot of sports that are actually watched. Football is a classic one. I mean, how many players do you see in their 40s or 50s still playing footy? How many players do you see in different sports in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or 70s still getting out there and having a go? Surfing is one of those things, like skiing or snowboarding, as I mentioned, that seems to keep people young because it isn't that full-contact sport where you're punishing your body. It's really something about it that's very grounding, very meditative, very nurturing for our bodies, and recharging it. And I think being in the ocean... I've read a wonderful book called Earthing, and if you've never heard about earthing before, I'd recommend you search it out and Google it because it just makes perfect common sense that our connection with the earth for a lot of us is completely lost. Whereas when you immerse yourself in the ocean, I mean, you are picking up these wonderful minerals, wonderful energetic vibrations if you want to call it that, and it's just doing your body really good.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I totally agree. I'm all into earthing, and that's part of the reason I think why surfing is so healthy because you're very earthed. Yeah. And yeah, I encourage anyone who hasn't looked into earthing just to do a little bit of research on it, and yes, some things will click about what our modern lifestyle has taken us away from, and it can be detrimental.
Pete Evans
It's great for the mind too. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
So yeah, surfing is earthing for sure. Now, what's a typical breakfast for you, Pete?
Pete Evans
It's a good question. Well, it changes every day depending on what I've got on, but generally, when you adopt this way of life, after about four to six weeks, you sort of feel like eating one to two, maybe three meals per day, and that's it. So breakfast is generally last night's leftovers. I usually cook up a big batch of food whenever I do cook it, whether it's in the day or at nighttime, and I'll eat the same thing that I've eaten the night before for the next morning. Generally, though, I'll go out for a surf in the morning, and I won't eat prior to going out. And then when I get home, it might be 10 o'clock, and I'll have a meal then and then probably another meal about four or five. Again, it comes down to a moderate amount of animal protein from land or sea, an abundance of vegetables, good quality fats in the form of avocados or olives or nuts or seeds or eggs or the fat from the animals, and then some daily bone broth and some fermented vegetables. It's a pretty simple formula. And when you start to look at a meal like that, sort of the labels disappear, whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It just becomes a meal that you eat whenever you feel like eating it. And because when you eat this way, as I talked about before, being a fat burner, you actually can go a good 12 to 16 hours, if not longer, without feeling hungry or the need to eat. It's hard to describe, but it's a very enjoyable feeling, that's for sure. And it sort of brings in this intermittent fasting by default, where you go for a period of time having a fast. And that's basically the paleo default, so to speak.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I'm the same. I tend to surf in the morning, and I can say I never feel like I'm lacking in energy even though I haven't had breakfast. And I've been, you know, I've been on the paleo diet for a good 10 years now, and I tend to eat brunch and dinner, and that's it. Yeah.
Pete Evans
And that's common, but it might sound weird for anyone that's listening that has never experienced that. Because when you're a sugar burner... and I'll just quickly describe what the sugar burner is. It's when your diet consists mainly of grains and starches, sugary foods. For instance, the typical Australian or Western diet is very sugar-heavy. So we start off with cereal or bread in the morning, and mid-morning, two hours later, you're usually quite hungry. You want a little biscuit or a muesli bar or something to get you through to lunch. Lunchtime comes, you're having a sandwich or a stir-fry, some rice, or sushi, or whatever it may be. Mid-afternoon, you go into a crash. You need something to pick you up, and that might be alcohol for some. It could be coffee for others. And then dinnertime comes, and once upon a time, it used to be meat and three veg, which is what paleo is. Whereas now, it'll be pasta or it'll be rice or it'll be something that's very distant from what our grandparents would have eaten. And then there might be dessert on top of that. So every two to three hours, you're having grains that turn to sugar in the body, as you know. Sort of legumes, so you're constantly on this sugar hit. And that's why a lot of athletes end up with type 2 diabetes because they've been carving up the whole time for decades, and then all of a sudden the body craps out and goes, "You know what? You're either pre-diabetic or you're now type 2 diabetic." And then that's usually when they discover paleo and go, "We can reverse this." So to give you an example of a breakfast or a meal, it can be as simple as a piece of steak or a piece of fish with an abundance of vegetables or salad. I mean, it's that simple. Include some fermented vegetables that you can get at any health food store these days if you don't make it yourself, and have a cup of broth per day. And that's it. I mean, the most common paleo meals in the world... classic Aussie barbecues, just get rid of the bread. Classic roasts, that's what paleo is. It's fish and salad, it's steak and salad or steak and veggies. It can be as simple as that. You don't need the fancy bread substitutes or fancy cakes or anything like that. It always is really simple, very nutritious, very nutrient-dense foods. There's an interesting thing as well that I try to encourage people to try and get out of their comfort zone, and that is offal. So we're talking about liver or kidneys or heart. The interesting fact is it has ten to a hundred times more nutrients than, say, a piece of steak. So take vitamin A, vitamin C, even in liver, vitamin D. All of these beautiful fat-soluble vitamins are all contained in this. So I'd encourage anyone that's really passionate about what they eat to discover or investigate offal from well-sourced animals. It's the superfood. And I know it's a bit squeamish for a lot of people, but if you think back to how our grandparents ate or our ancient hunter-gatherers, they thrived on this stuff.
Michael Frampton
Ten to a hundred times.
Pete Evans
I mean, a lot of children and babies were fed a lot of these foods as their first foods as well. And not going back that many generations either, but we've sort of lost our connection with what we were, what we are. We are animals, and we're omnivorous, and we have always been hunter-gatherers. And I tell you what, any of our ancient ancestors would have gone for the offal before anything else because they knew that it was the most nutritious part of the animal. Sensational. And it's funny, I'm a bigger chef, and every chef loves cooking with it, loves cooking with offal.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, my favorite is lamb's brains.
Pete Evans
Yeah, because we just know how much flavor it has, and it's sort of a badge of honor to be able to cook with it. So if you're interested, get into it. How sensational. Stop it. Yeah, it's dirt cheap. It just makes sense. I mean, a lot of this stuff is common sense that we're talking about, but we, as a society, have, as I said before, lost our connection with what it means to be our species, so to speak, and how we live. But that's not to say that we can't combine the best of the 21st century with the knowledge from our ancestors as well.
Michael Frampton
Good as sweetbreads? Sweetbreads and lamb brains are my favorite, and the best thing is you go to the butcher, and they almost give them away. Yeah, get into your offal. Definitely. I think eating seasonally is very important.
Pete Evans
Yeah, and that's how I love to view it. I mean, we do live in, I think, the best of the ages. We have modern medicine, but we have ancient wisdom. And it's that combination of both, if we choose to delve there and meld the two together, that we can have the best fun. I mean, it's nearly like surfboard design. I was looking at Instagram last night, Tomo Surfboards or Firewire Surfboards, and there was a wonderful picture of a board shaped in the 1950s, I think a timber board, and it basically was identical to his new Evos and little five-foot-six number or something like that. And there was 50 or 60 years in the difference between the two boards, but they looked so identical. And that's what I love about surfing at the moment as well. We really are looking back and acknowledging and respecting where the sport came from but embracing the future as well. Yeah, and it's, you know, that's why I want to be surfing in another 40 or 50 years because I just can't wait to see where the sport goes.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, so back to the surfing thing. So let's say you're on a weekend surf trip. How do you approach your nutrition in that situation when you're away from anywhere where you can cook?
Pete Evans
Well, generally, I try to be able to cook wherever I go. I'm quite lucky. I've got dear friends in Fiji, Scotty and Mandy, that have Namotu Island Resort, and I've cooked on the island many times for their guests. We've become dear friends, and, I mean, for instance, I go surfing there for a week, and whether I'm cooking there or not, they accommodate really good food. And again, it's a simple formula. Wherever you go, if you can eat good quality animal protein from the land or sea, whether it's seafood or land-based animals, with an abundance of vegetables or salad, you're doing really well. I mean, that's all you have to do.
Paleo is about removing any foods that can cause the body to have an inflammatory response, okay? And the most common culprits, and this is why paleo works across the board for so many ailments, are grains, especially gluten-containing grains, dairy, and legumes. So they're the three most common culprits that can cause a response in the body, which causes inflammation. If you have an autoimmune issue, then you may need to take out eggs, nuts, seeds, and nightshade vegetables. And nightshades are potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, chilies, and eggplants for a period of time. By doing that, you're left with what I just mentioned before. You're left with good quality proteins from land or sea and an abundance of vegetables and good quality fats. So you don't have to make it too difficult.
Wherever you are in the world, you can eat this way because it's how we've always eaten. Wherever you are, I guarantee it. You can always get yourself a piece of meat or seafood and salad or vegetables in any restaurant, in any supermarket. So all it comes down to is a choice. Bacon and eggs, sensational, you know, as a choice as well. Put some greens on there, whether it be an avocado or some broccoli or some zucchini, and you have one of the most nutritious breakfasts in the world.
Michael Frampton
Yeah.
Pete Evans
So it doesn't have to be hard, that's what I'm saying. And it shouldn't take too much thought, maybe a little bit of preparation. If you're at the local surf club, get the prawn platter and a salad or a bucket of prawns and a salad. Or get the steak and salad. I mean, you can eat like this at RSLs and surf clubs. If you're camping or going on a camping trip, awesome, you know, take your meat or take your seafood, get an esky, and just get some fresh vegetables, and you're laughing. And some eggs and maybe some bacon. I tell you what, there is nothing better than having, as I said before, a dinner for breakfast. If we can take the label out of breakfast, lunch, or dinner and just look at this food in that context, then you can eat like a king for breakfast, lunch, or dinner each and every day.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I like the word preparation. Yeah, so there's no harm in taking some leftover dinner in a container in the car for a surf trip.
Pete Evans
Not at all. That's awesome. Cold curry the next day or cold stir-fry or leftover roast, or some chicken drumsticks that you've roasted in the oven, you know, absolutely delicious. Hard-boiled eggs, great snack.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Now, what about all these nut bars that seem to be pretty popular in all the cafes, and they seem to label them paleo? What do you think of those?
Pete Evans
I'd view anything that doesn't fit into the moderate amount of meat with lots of vegetables and good quality fats as a treat. Yeah. If the vegetables aren't the main part of your meal, then I would be viewing anything that's outside of that realm as a treat. So the paleo bars, the paleo cookies, the paleo breads, anything like that, I would be saying that is a treat, and it shouldn't take up a large part of your diet. But, you know, as a snack, if you're on the road trip or something like that and you want to grab, I think they're Dinosaur Bars or Paleo Bars or Chief Bars, fantastic. They're probably better, well, I know they're better for you than a Cherry Ripe or a Mars Bar or something like that or a packet of chips. Yeah. Fantastic. It definitely is a solution for some people that want that snack. But again, why not just buy a bag of macadamia nuts or something like that and buy a bag of carrots or some cucumbers or a bunch of celery and eat that as well?
Michael Frampton
What do you think of ghee?
Pete Evans
Well, ghee is dairy. It's a clarified butter. What we know about dairy is that 70% of the population can't really tolerate it that well. So, seven in ten people, dairy isn't your friend. Add to the fact that most dairy in Australia is grain-fed, so here we have an issue where our cattle is being fed a diet that it hasn't evolved to eat. Now, when that happens, what has to happen to the animal, or what generally happens, is that they potentially will get sick. So then they include antibiotics into their feed as well or into the animal itself. Now, what happens with those antibiotics that get put into the animal, especially if you're drinking the milk or eating the meat from that animal? You're gonna get some of that into your system.
So, on a planetary sustainability viewpoint, the dairy industry is probably, in my opinion, one of the worst industries in the world to support. But in saying that, there are some wonderful dairy farming operations that are organic, that are holistic, that are sustainable. But is there anything that you're getting from dairy that you can't get in better sources, such as the offal or the good quality meats or from other quality fats? No. I think dairy is a poorer choice, and it has, as I said before, seven out of ten people have an issue with it. So, I can't recommend it just because I know that so many people are better off without it.
And the funny thing with dairy is a lot of people don't want to give it up, and they have this emotional attachment to it. And that's because what the studies have shown is that the proteins actually can break through the blood-brain barrier and sort of attach themselves to opiates. So you get this pleasure sensation when you're having dairy, in any form, whether it be ghee or however. And that's why people freak out when you say, "Why don't you try giving up dairy for, say, 10 weeks?" And this is what I say to anyone, "If you don't believe a word that I've said tonight, why don't you give up dairy and grains and legumes for the next 10 weeks and then see how you feel?" I guarantee within four to six weeks, you'll be a new person no matter how old you are. And then put some of those foods back into your diet and then see how you feel. Your body will never lie, and I guarantee that you'll probably go, "You know what? Maybe I'm better off without those foods."
Michael Frampton
Yeah, there you go, surfers. The challenge is laid down. Ten weeks, no processed food, no dairy. Do it. Try it. I can't recommend it enough, and it can be really, it can be literally that simple, right?
Pete Evans
Well, yeah, it's pretty simple. You know, a lot of people are in a situation where possibly they can't do it all at once. They might have their family involved, so they might have some kids, and changing their whole diet in one fell swoop is gonna bring a lot of stress to the family. So I always say, well, maybe just start with one meal a week. Maybe just have that roast, and then maybe the second week, have the roast again, and then another night, have a barbecue night. And then the third week, maybe include the third paleo meal. And then after seven or eight weeks, when you're sort of doing this and you're cooking in bulk, you'll basically become paleo by default.
Some people want to do it straight away because they need to, because they feel sluggish or they've got major health or minor health issues. So they're just like, "You know what? Stuff that. I've tried everything else. I'll give this a red-hot shot." And for those people that do want to do it, I'd say go in a hundred percent and see how you feel. But other people that have different situations or different circumstances where they feel like it's too hard to do it all at once, then that's sweet as well. I mean, you've been doing what you've been doing for the last decade or three decades or ten days or six decades or maybe a few hundred. Maybe you're doing something right anyway, so don't feel like you need to change anything. And I'm not here to change anyone. I'm just here to encourage people to potentially look at their diet if they're not feeling a hundred percent.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, I'll second that. Definitely. I like the fact you're talking about the anti-inflammatory side of it because that just makes sense. I mean, anyone who's aware of their body knows when something is inflamed. It doesn't feel good. It's weaker, and you just don't surf as well. So an anti-inflammatory diet is the way forward.
Pete Evans
This is what paleo is. It takes out the inflammatory foods or the foods that eventually cause inflammation in the body. I mean, the amount of people that have some form of arthritis that have shared this story with me after doing our ten weeks and said the pain is gone or, "I've reduced my medication by that much." I mean, people with rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune issues, multiple sclerosis. We are seeing that people are improving. You know, this isn't... this is not a cure for anything, and I put my hand on my heart. But I definitely say that it is helping people improve their life and improve these symptoms.
But if you went back to eating the foods that you were eating before, then you're going to end up where you were originally. But for a lot of people, type 2 diabetics, people with autoimmune, as I told you, they're discovering that they're getting on top of their symptoms and managing them so that basically they're non-existent anymore. I mean, you cannot deny that. I've had so many people come up to me and show me their hands, and they said, "You know, for ten years I couldn't move my joints, and now I can. And it was as simple as following what you just said."
And I didn't discover this, as you know. You've been doing this for ten years. For me, it's five or five and a half years. My girlfriend was reading a book, Nora Gedgaudas' book, and said, "You might want to read this." And I've met people that have been doing this for 20 years, 25 years, 15 years. Absolutely brilliant. And over the last couple of years, I've traveled the world interviewing doctors, professors, scientists, researchers, athletes, naturopaths, and farmers that are all speaking the same language. They might not call it paleo, but if you pull back the cover of what they're actually teaching, it by definition is paleo. It is removing the inflammatory foods.
So if you have any inflammation, then I tell you what, this is a bloody good place to start. It may not be the be-all and end-all because food is only one part of one of the ingredients for the recipes of life, as I like to call it. You need to look at your sleep patterns. You need to look at how you move. A lot of people overtrain. A lot of people undertrain. A lot of people move their body in a way that is torturous for it.
And then you need to look at your relationships and your career or where you are, your social interaction, whether you're giving back to the community. I mean, all of these impact how we feel and whether we have ease in our life or disease in our life. But food is one of the things that you can choose to change today. As I say, a lot of people are in a job that potentially isn't giving them the joy that they thought it would give them, and they can't leave that today. Some people are in a relationship, and they might be stuck in there financially or for emotional reasons that they can't change it, which definitely we understand.
But food is the one thing that you can take control of today. Everyone can change how they eat, except for the very young children or the invalid or people that need carers. And that is why I really try to make this well known, especially for new parents or grandparents, about how they can feed their children to help them thrive. So that when they become adults, they're not going to repeat the same processes that a lot of parents have done over the last couple of generations, which is why we have a society that's overweight, which is why we have a society that's chronically ill and getting worse each and every year.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Now, people listening to this podcast have probably picked up enough information to start applying some of the paleo principles. But if they wanted to learn more, obviously, you've got your book Going Paleo, which we mentioned. It's a great book, and I highly recommend it, and it's got loads of recipes and guidelines in there as well to implement it into your life. We mentioned Nora's book, Primal Body, Primal Mind, if you're interested in learning a little bit more of the nitty-gritty details. Could you point us... have you got a website or anything else?
Pete Evans
Yeah, it's our 10-week program where you'll get all the information. It's thepaleoway.com and peteevans.com, which is my website. But jump onto our social media, whether it's Instagram or Facebook. We've got a million and a half followers approximately, and it is Chef Pete Evans, which is pretty easy to find. Each and every day, I share another success story from somebody that has adopted our program. I've been doing this for years, sharing stories each and every day, so much so that it doesn't seem miraculous anymore. It just seems normal that people just get better from debilitating chronic illness on a daily basis.
And it's always the same old story: "We've seen that many doctors that couldn't help us, and all we did was change our diet, and within three to six months, we are feeling a hundred times better." I'm not saying it's going to work for everyone, but I haven't met anybody or heard of anyone that this has not improved their lives for. So that's a pretty good success rate so far. Yeah.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, well, if you get rid of inflammation and you improve your energy levels, you're going to surf better, and you're going to surf a shortboard until you're 70.
Pete Evans
Yeah, maybe 80. That's the goal. So I hope to see everyone out at the surf. Say good day to us. I'm usually the guy with the biggest smile dropping into some of the worst waves. I'm not a great surfer, but I'm a grom at heart, and I froth over every time I get to go out there.
Michael Frampton
Awesome. Before you go, what's your favorite board?
Pete Evans
I'm riding the Firewire Tomos at the moment, and I'm loving them. I've got a Vader and the Evo, and I've just ordered a couple of the new Slater Designs to take over to Fiji later this year. I've got my kids on them, and for me, I can catch waves really easily on them, and I'm surfing well. I think I'm surfing better than I ever have. I could just be dreaming, but I love them. They've come around at the right time for me. Before that, I was riding Chilli boards, which I loved as well.
I like experimenting with different boards. Sometimes I'm on a mini-mal if it's one foot and I'm out there with my girlfriend. And I ride foam boards as well. My kids live in Bondi, and you'll often see me at North Bondi between the flags with my kids, and we're riding the Catch Surf or something like that, the Jamie O'Brien models. Yeah, or the Chippa Wilson. I've got one of the Stumps, and it goes nuts. Yeah, so I ride a multitude of boards, and I love body surfing too.
Michael Frampton
All right. I don't think you could go past Kelly Slater: Black and White or Taj Burrow's Fair Bits and the new John Florence: View from a Blue Moon.
Michael Frampton
Yeah, okay. What's your favorite surf vid?
Pete Evans
That was pretty special. And Strange Rumblings in Shangri-La and the kind of all films, I froth on all of them. So, pretty spectacular.
Michael Frampton
Awesome. Who's your favorite surfer?
Pete Evans
Mate, no, in actual fact, it's my kids. I just love watching them improve every day, and they're catching their own waves now. They're 9 and 11, and I've never really pushed them. I've just... gentle does it. And I just love watching them surf. And now that I can surf with them and my girlfriend, and the four of us go out, I'm stoked. When I'm surfing by myself, nothing compares to being able to surf with your family, and it's something that I look forward to doing, as I said, for many decades. And I can't wait to surf with my grandkids and great-grandkids one day either.
Michael Frampton
Awesome. And if the waves are pumping, is there a particular song or album you'd like to listen to?
Pete Evans
Yeah, Nahko and Medicine for the People or Spearhead is generally the two bands that resonate with me when I'm out in the surf. If you've never heard of Nahko, he's a mate of mine. He's from the United States. He's a surfer who now resides in Hawaii. Very emotional, very grounding, very connected music. He eats very well, and he's connected to spirit, he's connected to the land, he's connected to the ocean, and he's connected to the people that listen to his music. Nahko and Medicine for the People travels around Australia every year, one of the best concerts you'll ever see.
Michael Frampton
Awesome. Pete, thanks so much for doing this, and I'm gonna put links to all of the stuff you mentioned in the show notes. Links to your website, your book, etc., so those that are listening in their car can just go back to the website and check out those links. Thanks again, Pete.
Pete Evans
Thanks. Thanks for listening, and hope to see you all in the surf. Give us a wave.
Michael Frampton
Thanks for tuning in to the Surf Mastery Podcast. Again, I'm your host, Michael Frampton. Make sure you subscribe so you can keep up to date with the latest interviews. Please share with your friends. Check us out on Facebook at Surf Mastery Surf. And if you're on iTunes, please go and give us a little rating. That'd be awesome. Until next time, keep surfing.
06 Pete Evans - Chef, Health Coach, Author.
For the passionate surfer—whether you're a weekend warrior, a surf dad, or an older surfer—this podcast is all about better surfing and deeper stoke. With expert surf coaching, surf training, and surfing tips, we’ll help you catch more waves, refine your paddling technique, and perfect your pop up on a surfboard. From surf workouts to handling wipeouts, chasing bigger waves, and mastering surf technique, we’re here to make sure you not only improve but truly enjoy surfing more—so you can get more out of every session and become a wiser surfer. Go from Beginner or intermediate Surfer to advanced.