EPISODE OVERVIEW
In this episode of "Recipes for Your Best Life with Chef Mareya", Chef Mareya and her guest, Peter, discuss the power of positive thinking in the kitchen as well as Peter's journey of overcoming Crohn's disease and becoming Mr. America. They explore the power of positive thinking in overcoming obstacles and achieving goals. If you're looking for inspiration to overcome your own challenges and lead a healthier life, this episode is a must-listen.
" So many people that I meet in my life, some of the best successful people have had the worst lowlights of their lives. And I think part of the journey is turning that around.."
-Peter Nielsen
‘’There is no way in this world that you can be grateful of something, whether it's in sunrise, a marriage or health, and at the same time, your brain could feel anxiety, depression, anger, hostility. It's impossible!’’
– Peter Nielsen
TIMESTAMPS
02:09 - Introduction of Peter, his journey with Crohn's disease, and his accomplishments in bodybuilding and media
08:23- Peter explains the impact of Crohn's disease on people, especially children, and expresses hope for a cure before he passes away.
09:03- Peter explains how Crohn's disease affects the body's ability to recognize food, leading to ulcers and scar tissue.
10:02- Peter shares his near-death experience from septic shock and how the disease can affect anyone in the prime of their life.
15:05- Peter discusses the importance of aligning oneself with people who are smarter, driven, and have humility and gratitude
15:31- The power of gratitude and challenges listeners to take 15 minutes in the morning to be thankful for what they have, not what they want
20:06 - Journey to bodybuilding and winning competitions, including his inspiration from Arnold Schwarzenegger,
24:02 - Working out as an outlet to get out of a dysfunctional upbringing
29:47 - The importance of reevaluating priorities and living a life with purpose
33:36 - Discussion on Clean Protein and Health Products
37:53 - Staying Motivated with Crohn's Disease and Injuries: A Conversation about Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Bodybuilding.
43:20 - Advice on Bodybuilding, Cardio and Nutrition
47:42 – Peter’s grandmother's homemade Italian meal and his love for sushi.
RESOURCES
- Join Mareya’s new Fit & Fab Over 40 Program: HERE
- Grab a copy of Mareya\'s #1 release book \"Eat Like You Give a Fork: The Real Dish on Eating to Thrive\":
EAT LIKE YOU GIVE A FORK: THE REAL DISH ON EATING TO THRIVE
Check out Mareya\'s award-winning line of eatCleaner products. Try the Chef\'s Bundle, featuring our best-sellers. It also makes a great gift!: HERE
Grab a free meal prep week here: EAT TO THRIVE RESET PROGRAM
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Full Transcript
00:00:02:09 - 00:00:32:20
Speaker 1
At age 15, Peter was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. And what that presented him would be a lifelong journey to physical and spiritual health, wanting to take his life time after time. His challenges led him to winning over 50 bodybuilding titles, including Mr. International Universe and Mr. America. Peter is the creator and host of the syndicated TV and radio show Peter's Principles.
00:00:33:05 - 00:01:13:11
Speaker 1
He has authored six books, including his latest release, Soul Strength, and he's the national spokesman for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. I got a chance to meet Peter at the Sydney Expo, where we were both working with a brand called Zvezda that makes protein and collagen products and really, really great quality nutrients. Supplements, and we had a chance to chat in person and our conversation was so powerful in front of that live audience that I knew I had to invite him on to my podcast so that all of you could experience it too.
00:01:13:24 - 00:01:41:02
Speaker 1
And I think what you'll find is that transformation in Peter's body and in his life really is all about resilience and that you have to be your own advocate to truth and finding your way in the world of health. Peter is a true champion in heart, spirit and body and his personal triumphs, I think will inspire you to no end.
00:01:41:11 - 00:01:45:18
Speaker 1
So let's dig in. Peter, it's so nice to have you on the show.
00:01:46:06 - 00:01:47:29
Speaker 2
It's nice to be here with you.
00:01:48:18 - 00:02:05:09
Speaker 1
I was so thrilled to meet you at the Fit Expo this year, and I just love your story and your journey. Can you just share with everyone how did you get started in the world of fitness and wellness to begin with?
00:02:06:01 - 00:02:32:23
Speaker 2
You know, so many people that I meet in my life, some of their best successful people have had the worst. The lowlights of their lives. And I think part of the journey is turning that around. So I was born with an incurable condition called Crohn's disease. It's got no cure for it from as of right now. And it's like having the stomach flu.
00:02:32:24 - 00:02:50:11
Speaker 2
24 hours a day. 365 days a year. And so it's try and kick me out twice. So I, I was brought up in Brooklyn, New York, and I ended up getting sick at the age of 15.
00:02:51:27 - 00:02:53:29
Speaker 1
But it's something you were born with, Peter.
00:02:54:24 - 00:02:55:07
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:02:55:15 - 00:02:57:08
Speaker 1
It's a condition you're born with.
00:02:57:15 - 00:03:02:13
Speaker 2
Usually condition you're born with on a cellular genetic level.
00:03:02:21 - 00:03:03:03
Speaker 1
Okay.
00:03:03:12 - 00:03:35:13
Speaker 2
There's no, there's no cure for it. So it didn't show its face. Usually it shows its face in the prime of a teenager's life. You know, you're just starting to feel comfortable in your own skin. And, you know, you may be thinking about dabbling into dating and getting into sports So it happened when I was 15, and I went into the hospital for a battery of tests at £135.
00:03:36:10 - 00:04:00:20
Speaker 2
And I stayed in there for two and a half months, and it just got worse and worse. I ended up coming out of the hospital at £86. Wow. I took a foot and a half of my ilium, my small intestine. That's where you absorb all your nutrients. And that was where my fitness journey started, because I first was on a pity party.
00:04:01:25 - 00:04:25:09
Speaker 2
A lot of your listeners and viewers could relate to that. It's like, you know that y me syndrome and we waste a lot of energy on getting mad and telling the world that we're not happy until I realize that a lot of my friends didn't want to play with me anymore and people didn't want to hear my stuff over and over again.
00:04:25:09 - 00:04:58:29
Speaker 2
And so I decided that I really wanted to better myself. And nutrition was a huge part of it. So I started to document and journal when I started to eat, and I realized I had a lactose intolerance to dairy products I realized that certain foods made me feel like I was being unplugged by my battery, which made me feel like a dynamo So I knew I was onto something, and then I started to work out.
00:04:58:29 - 00:05:31:25
Speaker 2
And when you're £86 and you're eating good all the foods start and you work out, they start turning into these little bugs called muscles. And I learned that I was hooked, that I was feeling good, had more quality in my life. And there was more. But during that time, my my mom and my dad, my dad started to drink because a lot of times we medicate ourselves with things that we can't control now, things that we're unhappy about.
00:05:32:05 - 00:06:06:10
Speaker 2
So my dad did turn into his raging alcoholic, and I saw him really just starting to destroy our family. And, you know, when you love someone with all your heart and then they start hating you or putting you in the hospital or trying to literally you try to kill my mom and I had to go against him and doing so they got out to call the police and he put a telephone cord around her neck and then broke my collarbone in three places and gave me six stitches over my eyes.
00:06:07:08 - 00:06:28:29
Speaker 2
So I say all that because, again, that was part of my spiritual journey because I wanted to take my life. I hit on the enemy, got my ear that it was my fault, and my dad started drinking. If I wasn't born with this terrible condition and has no cure. They were fighting. Yeah. My mom would cook for me.
00:06:29:11 - 00:06:44:29
Speaker 2
So my dad got aggravated because he didn't want to eat, you know, bland chicken or, you know, certain things. So it was it was a rough childhood, but that's where my fitness and my spiritual journey started.
00:06:45:29 - 00:07:10:20
Speaker 1
So really out of that turmoil and you know, you're right. I think a lot of people who have kind of come along this path have had something that, you know, has kind of sparked what their y looks like. How did you start to really identify? You mentioned kind of, you know, certain foods. What would work for you in certain foods?
00:07:11:02 - 00:07:22:02
Speaker 1
Didn't Were there any resources at the time to understand how you should eat with Crohn's disease? Or was it more really experimentation and.
00:07:22:10 - 00:07:52:09
Speaker 2
More at the time experimenting? And like I said, good growth, good will affect you negative. We are positively within 20 minutes to 36 hours. And whether it's Grandma or Perry, whether it's an ice cream or whether it's, you know, a piece of salmon, you're either going to get lit up or you're truly going to start declining. And I found that out.
00:07:52:09 - 00:08:22:24
Speaker 2
And I really knew I was on to something. So, you know, there wasn't I didn't have iPhones in those days. So I went to the library and I tried to just learn a lot about Crohn's. And Crohn's was actually discovered by Doctor Crohn's. And then I became the national spokesperson for Crohn's and Colitis of America. It used to be called the Crohn's and the National Foundation of elitist and colitis.
00:08:23:11 - 00:08:55:08
Speaker 2
So I've been the spokesperson since 1985 and we've identified the gene. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars have been brought into that. My hope is when I take my last breath that no one has to suffer because I've visited hospitals, children ten and 12 that have had 16, 70 surgeries and have lived past the age of 12 or 13.
00:08:55:11 - 00:08:55:25
Speaker 2
Wow.
00:08:56:12 - 00:09:03:08
Speaker 1
This is severe. So the severity, the severity of it can really I guess very.
00:09:03:14 - 00:09:27:26
Speaker 2
Very best where Crohn's affects and I could see this in front of your, your listeners, it affects from your esophagus to your anus where colitis affects just in your large colon. Okay. I could eat something and I'll get geographical tongue and, and then my, my autoimmune system, which it's an autoimmune condition will run amok so my body doesn't recognize that food.
00:09:27:27 - 00:09:57:25
Speaker 2
It could be a pineapple, it could be you know, it could be kiwi, it could be a piece of vegetable. And what ends up happening is that my body tries to reject it either this way or yeah. You know, we end up living in the bathroom. I started bleeding internally. And then when your body then basically starts producing ulcers on the inside, if you do that too many times, it ulcerated heals it.
00:09:57:25 - 00:09:59:16
Speaker 2
Ulcerated heal, scar tissue, scar.
00:09:59:16 - 00:10:02:02
Speaker 1
Tissue, heart tissue and starts to close up.
00:10:02:11 - 00:10:23:26
Speaker 2
Right. And that's what happened in 2001 or two 14 in the morning. My second near-death experience where I was gone I was gone and they put the fibula it is on me and I flatlined and I was in a coma for four days. I went into septic shock, a hole perforated in my ilium right in front of my two daughters.
00:10:24:15 - 00:10:48:02
Speaker 2
And I always say it is when you're dying, you know it. Why did you it sucked out of you? Like, like ways that I can't even articulate. And I saw the fear of my daughters. And I remember telling your mother at the time, get them out of the room because I knew that I was going and I couldn't hold my consciousness.
00:10:48:12 - 00:11:15:16
Speaker 2
And the last thing I heard on March 7th, 2001, two 14 in the morning was screaming as they were crashing through the E.R. doors. We're losing them. We're losing. Have been here literally. You know, a week prior, I was in San Francisco. You were the son of all women's health magazine, and I was on a book tour. So the disease would take anybody out of the prime of their life.
00:11:16:16 - 00:11:39:13
Speaker 2
There's something on the inside that wants to destroy you, and you can look like a picture of how. So it mentally gives you a mind screw as well, because if you look healthy but you have something on the inside and think about it, you and I, we talk about it 60 to 77, how we look and how we how we feel has to do what we put in our mouth.
00:11:39:20 - 00:12:00:03
Speaker 2
Yeah, I was scared of what I was eating. And then after I was eating, I was more worried about looking for a bathroom because food would just go through me. So it was a really rough childhood. But God is good. Nothing is wasted in God's economy. So when people tell me man, you know, what do you do for a living?
00:12:00:18 - 00:12:07:14
Speaker 2
I think back I lived a very hopeless childhood, and now I'm in the hope business.
00:12:08:16 - 00:12:43:10
Speaker 1
I love that. I love that. Well, you know, you're you're road to your own kind of self-help thing, literally, you know, spiritually and also physically led you into a very fruitful and intended career. In the fitness and wellness industry. Can you share let's just kind of fast forward through, you know, this this time where you were trying to figure out what was going on as a teenager to when you really started to hit your stride in fitness.
00:12:44:10 - 00:12:48:26
Speaker 1
You went on to win over 50 bodybuilding championships.
00:12:49:16 - 00:12:56:25
Speaker 2
I the interesting thing it's only a piece of metal.
00:12:57:06 - 00:13:02:29
Speaker 1
Yeah, that's a good that's a good looking guy right there. Do they do they model that after you've.
00:13:03:12 - 00:13:30:14
Speaker 2
Cut and this is the overall winner? The beautiful thing is that when you believe when you have faith when you continue to walk forward, when you speak like to yourself, when you champion your own life, everything is possible. So when the doctors told me I wouldn't be able to live past 20 and they were talking to me in front of my parents, that was rocket fuel to me.
00:13:31:05 - 00:14:07:21
Speaker 2
You know, those were fighting words. How dare you? You believe the same color as me? Put your pants on the same way I do. You may have an education, but so do I. And I am not going to lay down die. You know, I ended up winning 50 bodybuilding titles, but what it taught me was whether I wanted to be the best husband whether I wanted to be in the best shape of my life, whether I wanted to pursue an entrepreneurial career that I didn't care what anyone thought because the dreams that we have, God burns in your heart.
00:14:08:01 - 00:14:13:17
Speaker 2
He has a due date. Yeah. And a lot of times we give up for that due date.
00:14:14:00 - 00:14:14:06
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:14:14:15 - 00:14:37:11
Speaker 2
All I can say is that my life is more than I can ever imagine. One of my favorite scriptures is Joel two 25. I will give you back the time that the Locust have taken, and he is resurrected. Every area of my life that hasn't been always wonderful. But my adult life is just a slice of heaven and earth.
00:14:37:15 - 00:14:38:23
Speaker 2
June because I.
00:14:38:23 - 00:14:39:09
Speaker 1
Love the.
00:14:39:12 - 00:15:04:20
Speaker 2
You know, I don't even related heart. And I say this with humility. It's hard for me to relate to people that are doing what they love or living with purpose. Like you are a passion about something. I don't care if your spouse is telling you your parents, your coworkers is the bigger you dream, the more crazy you're going to look to your friends or your people.
00:15:05:04 - 00:15:31:20
Speaker 2
But if they're going to be dreaming your light, so to speak, you need to find new people. And so I've always been a loner, but I try to align myself with people that are smarter than me, that are, you know, are driven or that have been through a storm. And they're at a place where they have humility in gratitude.
00:15:31:20 - 00:16:10:29
Speaker 2
Gratitude is amazing. There is no way in this world that you can be grateful of something, whether it's in sunrise, a marriage or health. And at the same time, your brain could feel anxiety, depression, anger, hostility. It's impossible. It's an oxymoron. So what I challenge everyone is tomorrow morning, when you get up for 15 minutes before you take your dog out, before you put your your TV on and music on is truly just thank God above whatever your faith is on what you have, not what you want.
00:16:11:04 - 00:16:11:16
Speaker 2
The truth.
00:16:11:24 - 00:16:17:23
Speaker 1
I was going to say, don't wait for tomorrow. Do it today. We're never going to see it tomorrow.
00:16:18:22 - 00:16:53:16
Speaker 2
It's not that complicated, right? Yeah. We make like way too complicated because I believe that what I have everyone has access to everything that we need. God quite right in front of us. But he just is waiting for that mustard seed of faith before he's going to start. We've been mountains other times, so it it's mountains. It's because we're waiting for him to change the situation, and he's waiting for us to change our heart.
00:16:53:28 - 00:16:54:07
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:16:54:26 - 00:17:20:29
Speaker 2
Those are the beautiful lessons you know? So I don't think that I'm smarter than anyone. I just think that I have huge faith, huge love for life. And when God put something in your heart, whether it's a marriage or whether it's reconciliation or whether it's healing from a disease, you got to believe it and you got to speak it.
00:17:20:29 - 00:17:47:19
Speaker 2
Because what we focus on this morning is how we move out this afternoon in real what we speak today, we're prophesies in good or bad tomorrow. So if someone says, you know, I'm not going to lose weight and I can't deal with these recipes in the gym, it's too crowded and it's too hot out and I'm not going to stop smoking.
00:17:47:19 - 00:18:08:25
Speaker 2
Well, you're going to be addicted to nicotine. You're going to be fat and you're going to be miserable. So it's so much we have such control and access to our future, and we're always waiting for someone to do something for us. No one's going to eat for you. No one's going to train for you. It's just not going to happen.
00:18:08:26 - 00:18:42:12
Speaker 1
It's true. And I think, you know, there was a life or death moment for you where you basically took inventory and decided I am going to go down the path of getting healthier. What led you into bodybuilding specifically? Because, you know, bodybuilding is a very intensive sport. It requires a lot of looking in the mirror to evaluate how you're moving along and it requires an incredible discipline when it comes to your diet, maybe more than any other sport.
00:18:43:16 - 00:18:46:11
Speaker 1
How did you find yourself in bodybuilding specifically?
00:18:46:20 - 00:19:43:15
Speaker 2
Very, very interesting. Great question. And my thought process on that is I really don't have hardly any bodybuilding friends, but I used bodybuilding as a vehicle to get me healthy. And what I mean is, is that when I was on a baseball team and if I struck out six times, my team could still win and if we had a bunch of watches and we had ten people, you're going to basically if you're going to judge which person's watches, the nicest and the most expensive bodybuilding, you are emotionally, spiritually, and you're wearing very little clothes and you know, we were in Speedos, so to speak, and they're judging you on your symmetry, on your vibe, on the
00:19:43:15 - 00:20:05:21
Speaker 2
way pose and put things together. So for people that have physical challenges that are listening right now, I don't know about you, but I felt like a pink polka dot in that we're having Crohn's disease. We didn't know how to spell it, didn't know what it was, and then was given like a death sentence and I was just like, Whoa.
00:20:06:11 - 00:20:16:29
Speaker 2
I wanted to be the best version of myself. And I first just don't let me do this so that I could fit in it. I can get healthy.
00:20:17:18 - 00:20:22:00
Speaker 1
So. So you didn't have any friends that were doing it. How did you how did you find.
00:20:22:08 - 00:20:23:05
Speaker 2
Up a magazine?
00:20:23:14 - 00:20:28:02
Speaker 1
I was going to say, did you pick up a magazine? Did you see and and did your.
00:20:28:02 - 00:20:55:17
Speaker 2
Brazilian and Arnold Schwarzenegger had he had this this this colonel little gizmo that goes around and he's got a strap and he's just like bulging out. And I was just going through it at my first cousins in Long Island, and I was just looking at it when I was sick, and I was just inspired that someone could develop that.
00:20:55:17 - 00:21:22:17
Speaker 2
And I was looking at what age? And I was like, wow, I'm already journaling this and I'm starting to get definition. And I said, Let me go into my first bodybuilding show. So after about two years, I went into a bodybuilding show in Pennsylvania. I came in dead last year, and then my second show, I came in fifth, and then I said, I'm going to take no prisoners.
00:21:22:17 - 00:21:56:12
Speaker 2
That fifth place trophy I buried with my father, who died at 49 years young for me from drinking and smoking. And then from there on in, you know, I won first place and I see it with again, humility in every show because I knew how to die. I went in nutritionally. I was very, you know, I stand about five, ten and a half, five 11 and sopping wet and every show on one 93 in the corner.
00:21:56:12 - 00:22:37:13
Speaker 2
So I would win the light heavyweight and then have to go against the big guys. Well, the big guys, the reason why Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno and a bunch of others are very well known is they're tall and they're like over £267. Well, if, if I'm chiseled and I'm frustrated and I dial 8 a.m. nutritionally nine times out of ten, that bigger person is going to have a harder time dialing in and getting ripped I'm sure my trademark was always to come in, you know, highly define it.
00:22:37:13 - 00:22:46:20
Speaker 2
I would be there the day taking on the Goliath in. I would just know if I came in dial where I was going to win.
00:22:47:09 - 00:23:10:11
Speaker 1
And so I asked this to everybody that is a competitor because, you know, we all know and it's not a secret what we're supposed to be eating right we're training. It's not really a secret. I mean, you can have your little tricks with training, but by and large, people lift weights and they do their cardio and it's like science.
00:23:10:23 - 00:23:35:17
Speaker 1
But the thing that is different is the mindset and being able to visualize yourself winning, to go on a stage and not be intimidated to be in your lane and just to have that confidence. And you can see it being exuded from certain people. They have a certain joy when they're on stage, right? They they have a certain joy when they're competing.
00:23:35:17 - 00:23:59:25
Speaker 1
You can see it whether it's bodybuilding or playing tennis or, you know, anything, any sport. How did you tap into that? Was there like a process that you would go through? Leading up to a show where, you know, you would start to visualize yourself winning and then, you know, being at like walk us through kind of what that looked like for you Yeah.
00:24:02:21 - 00:24:37:29
Speaker 2
Interesting story. I ended up winning the Mr. America. I won the Mr. America five times, the Mr. International Universe, twice first time gold for the Mr. America. The rock movies were out here, and I wanted to honor the Tiger and I related to that song, and I was always kidding around saying, he's an actor, but I'm the person who's putting the Sun comic strips of paper around my socks because I had holes in my kids.
00:24:38:20 - 00:25:16:27
Speaker 2
And when I would run and do my, my roadwork, my feet would be, well, sure, I come from a very poor family in Brooklyn, New York. Never knew I was poor until I left New York. But the most powerful thing anybody can change is their mind. And I wanted so bad to get out of the dysfunctional vomit of child abuse, of alcoholism, of screaming, of cops coming to the house that I used, working out as an outlet, a positive outlet.
00:25:17:20 - 00:25:46:04
Speaker 2
And then I felt that I was able to embody that because I believed it. So I wouldn't date, you know, for 12 weeks before I trained. I never would drink alcohol. I've never smoked, you know, any cigarets in my life. So it was all or nothing. I'm either I'm the kind of guy I'm either all in or get out.
00:25:46:14 - 00:26:23:09
Speaker 2
And so there was such significance there was such I just felt like it was part of my destiny that this was part of my, my life. So was to do this, you know, and the interesting thing, you know, share this with your listeners is that all my health clubs were called Eye of the Tiger even I ended up going to a patent attorney, and I trademarked the Tiger in my first lawsuit with Sylvester Stallone because his brother basically wrote the song I Ate a Tiger with Survivor.
00:26:24:03 - 00:27:09:11
Speaker 2
And the beautiful thing is that we have such admiration for each other because, you know, I didn't do it purposely, but that song meant so much to me that it just was rocket fuel because it says, don't ever trade your passion for the glory. No, and when someone does things for the money, it's short live. When someone does things, that's so purpose driven that you want to break out of the bondage or generational curses or whatever, or get healthy from Crohn's or cancer or it's a beautiful thing.
00:27:09:15 - 00:27:40:21
Speaker 2
And I don't think that the destination that so many people want is what no one our creator cares about or what really matters. What really matters is where we're in the valley, where we're going through the store how do we react to it? Do we crumble? And for my sister lived in the same, you know, two bedroom apartment when she became unfortunately and I love her, she became the victim.
00:27:41:06 - 00:28:06:16
Speaker 2
So she reads and rewrites that same character in her life over and over again. Yeah. And there's other people then that will surrender. And I believe God will either walk me through that storm or fire or catapult you over it. And those are the people that I admire the most. I can't even relate to people that haven't been through stuff in their life.
00:28:06:16 - 00:28:14:16
Speaker 2
Because I appreciate people that have been through storms and then still shine.
00:28:16:10 - 00:28:44:06
Speaker 1
And you know, I think when you when you really look at it, everybody has been through something. It's what they take with that. And now at this point in your career, you know, you you have been able to take what you've accomplished in the health and wellness world right and what what does that translate into? I mean, your Y is maybe adjusted a little bit, but maybe not so much.
00:28:44:06 - 00:28:56:24
Speaker 1
The core is like you want to be able to show up to help other people. What keeps you motivated every day to just, you know, kind of I mean, you're now how old?
00:28:57:14 - 00:28:58:13
Speaker 2
I'm 61.
00:28:58:21 - 00:29:20:22
Speaker 1
You're 61. You're in amazing shape still. I saw you in person. I was like, dang, he's still rich. What does it look like today to show up for yourself and your family? You know, still knowing what is important, but having accomplished so much like what keeps you fired up still?
00:29:21:04 - 00:29:47:09
Speaker 2
It's a great question. I think everyone needs to reevaluate their Y every every now and then, every few years. I've always I knew I had a calling on my life at 15. I realized that God was going to give me the nations where my TV show has been in 110 countries and it's way bigger than me and I went through to.
00:29:47:09 - 00:29:49:11
Speaker 1
Just share the name of your show for everybody.
00:29:49:25 - 00:30:26:02
Speaker 2
Peter's principles. Yeah. And beautiful thing is that, you know, when God gives you a promise, I went through a terrible divorce for 19 years. I was single and I just gave God the permission. You got to give him that permission to pick my bride. And I just was married this last July 16th. And my point is, is that I could have settled and I could have got jaded and desensitized, and this could be with anything in your life.
00:30:26:19 - 00:30:58:10
Speaker 2
But the beautiful thing is that God is the promised keeper. And there was a due date if he needed to work on my heart I need to go needed to go through healing and relinquish that emotional debt with my dad and all that stuff decades ago. But I'm living again a life where I feel like I'm living a second life in my wife is that not only do I want to touch as many people and spread the good news, but I also want to encourage people to dream again.
00:30:58:29 - 00:31:27:24
Speaker 2
Cause here I am. 61 years old and I feel like this this chapter that I'm walking into is the best chapter of my whole life. I have someone that I love more than the oxygen I breathe. I We have so many commonalities. We have this threesome with Christ and we, I want God to use us as best as He can see.
00:31:28:01 - 00:31:51:05
Speaker 2
I believe that God will bless you, but it's not to build our kingdom which to build His kingdom. And I've had, like you said, an amazing life. And I've had I've been pretty full of myself to be a professional athlete. With 50 bodybuilding titles, you sometimes dig and get caught up at the world does revolve around you then you have children.
00:31:51:16 - 00:31:58:07
Speaker 2
It sucks you dry where you truly realize the selfishness is gone. Yeah. About them.
00:31:58:24 - 00:32:10:29
Speaker 1
That is the biggest gift of children, by the way, which I take. I think the biggest gift of actually being a parent is that it takes the focus off of yourself.
00:32:12:05 - 00:32:15:01
Speaker 2
For a it's like you could hear it like, like a back alley, but.
00:32:15:23 - 00:32:16:05
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:32:16:09 - 00:32:45:08
Speaker 2
Oh yeah. So passion is coming out of you. So here I am a grandfather times to two married daughters, and now I have a seven year old and a ten year old in this house, and I have this amazing opportunity to be a spiritual leader and influence and to do it all over again. But the difference is, when I was raising my two children, I was worried about building my fitness empire.
00:32:46:01 - 00:33:11:01
Speaker 2
And now I want to spend as much time with my family. Yeah, I want to truly travel the world in just love you know, because at the end of the day, regardless of what your belief is, I believe with all my heart, at the end of the day, it's about loving and being love. You know, so I'm really having a great time.
00:33:11:01 - 00:33:36:00
Speaker 2
As you know, I've partnered with a really significant, wonderful Christian company called Vita about ten years ago. It's a supplement company, a wellness company, and I'm having just a blast with them traveling and, you know, doing stuff like we've done together, talking about on how people can get healthy. Yeah, eating and nutrition. So it's pretty cool.
00:33:36:22 - 00:34:02:02
Speaker 1
Sabina let's talk about Sabina for a second, because I had the opportunity to become really exposed to their products for the first time, too. And, you know, a big part of what we both extoll in a lifestyle is the cleanliness of your food. Can you just talk a little bit about their protein and their products in general or flagship product.
00:34:02:13 - 00:34:29:27
Speaker 2
Which is zeal. And it's a I used to drink a lot of coffee and now for the last ten years, literally, I drink hardly any coffee. And what the zeal is, is just it's an all in one drink. It comes in powdered form. You put water or whatever you like in it, different flavors. It's got antioxidants, phytochemicals, a lot of anti-inflammatory properties.
00:34:29:27 - 00:35:00:18
Speaker 2
And then it's got something which is a distant cousin because it's in a water, it's in an oil base of caffeine. It's called guarana. So it's just a very nice, gradual take off in a gradual landing. So that is one of the things that is wonderful that's really got us on the map for protein is super clean. I just helped formulate our new version, which we put digestive enzymes probiotics prebiotics into.
00:35:01:04 - 00:35:02:24
Speaker 2
You know, think about it, protein.
00:35:02:25 - 00:35:16:08
Speaker 1
I actually put the protein on my oatmeal this morning. I do protein. A lot of time in the morning because I love the warmth of oatmeal, but I need more protein in it. And I put a scoop of the vanilla protein.
00:35:16:19 - 00:36:03:23
Speaker 2
And I would chocoholics. I take the oatmeal, I put the chocolate. But the beautiful thing is, is knowledge is power. So protein is the building block to muscle every cell in your body is protein, nitrogen is Benson. So if you don't get an adequate amount of protein, you start working out, you're going to go into a catabolic standpoint, you're going to atrophy but the beautiful thing that I realized in my journey in nutrition is that digestive enzymes, we produce less bile pepsin and enzymes as we age, and we need digestive enzymes to break down just what protein carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, so it's beautiful to have something that is so clean but yet has ingredients, enzymes
00:36:03:23 - 00:36:26:21
Speaker 2
that are going to help break down that protein and then we have probiotics, which are the good guys fighting the bad guys because most diseases, carcinogens, inflammation, starting your gut. So, you know, I'm really happy with our with our new protein. And then we have that Zehnder that you tried as well which is our.
00:36:26:21 - 00:36:27:17
Speaker 1
College you.
00:36:28:05 - 00:36:43:14
Speaker 2
Know, our largest organ is our skin. So we're getting such great testimonies. It's got collagen and it's got an entire needs. It comes in a just a tear for tear gel taste like blueberry BlackBerry.
00:36:43:21 - 00:36:46:18
Speaker 1
I love it. And that's one of my favorite new products.
00:36:46:18 - 00:36:47:20
Speaker 2
Honestly, it's amazing.
00:36:47:20 - 00:37:22:25
Speaker 1
To say that without I'm not an endorsed spokesperson, but I really I like the flavor of it and I took it consecutively for a week and I really saw a difference in my skin. I'm a huge fan of collagen. I've been using it for many, many years. And I always tell the ladies You need it not just for beautiful skin and nails, but it's very important for your connective tissue because as we get older to and our connective tissue gets dry and a little less elastic, that can lead to injuries.
00:37:22:25 - 00:37:52:18
Speaker 1
I consequently tore my ACL and my meniscus a few years ago, and I opted out of the surgery. And Peter, I have been training and did my first bodybuilding competition myself with a torn ACL and meniscus. And so and I credit that to protein and eating. You know, taking collagen and just eating clean. But how how do you stay motivated to just stay on the clean eating path?
00:37:53:02 - 00:38:01:03
Speaker 1
I mean, is it the Crohn's because Crohn's is not something that you ever really like cure? It's something that you live with and you manage.
00:38:01:16 - 00:38:01:23
Speaker 2
Right.
00:38:01:24 - 00:38:13:22
Speaker 1
Right. So how do you stay motivated and how do you avoid relapsing? Because, I mean, if you go out to eat, you probably can't eat garlic and onions. Right?
00:38:14:23 - 00:38:16:23
Speaker 2
Um, garlic. I actually love.
00:38:16:29 - 00:38:18:15
Speaker 1
Garlic is okay. Okay.
00:38:19:04 - 00:38:43:17
Speaker 2
I could have your, you know, your red your red onions. I could paste fried foods that will irritate me. I haven't had red meat, so to speak, for 30 years. I'll have a piece of grass fed maybe once or twice a year. Now, for the last two years, I haven't had dairy products for over 42 dairies.
00:38:43:17 - 00:38:44:14
Speaker 1
The big trigger.
00:38:44:22 - 00:39:16:22
Speaker 2
Because people don't realize it. And again, I'm not throwing any industry under the bus. This is medical science. This is in Peter's principles. But a dairy is, is an inflammatory it's an irritant. So it's like, you know, salmon is anti-inflammatory. It brings inflammation down B it brings inflammation up. It's a miracle cure. Milk powder irritants, you know, I mean, I could go avocado.
00:39:16:29 - 00:39:41:13
Speaker 2
I mean, is it anti-inflammatory properties? So it's it's beautiful. I do live on an anti-inflammatory eating regimen and it's just being smart. You don't need a master's in nutrition you don't need to be a doctor or a scholar. You need to just be present on what you're putting in your body.
00:39:42:00 - 00:40:08:02
Speaker 1
Well, and I do I do think it's really different for people because like, you know, I know being Middle Eastern there is something in your genetic makeup to where you just are predisposed to certain things. Like, I can't eat a lot of heavy dairy, but I do really enjoy yogurt yogurt is fermented. It's rich in probiotics. So for that, I'm able to metabolize it.
00:40:08:02 - 00:40:36:23
Speaker 1
I can have goat cheese, I can have sheep's milk cheese. But like if I eat too much, like, you know, cows, milk, dairy, that is inflammatory to me. And I think it's important that we listen to our bodies. You know, we listen and we keep a food log and actually document as we're eating things and what our triggers are so that we can kind of move on from the things that bother us, so to speak, so that we can be more productive.
00:40:37:00 - 00:40:53:28
Speaker 1
What would you tell somebody who maybe looks at you and says, you know, I want to go down that that path of bodybuilding, what would be maybe one of the most important things or suggestion is you could give that person on how to get started and to do it well.
00:40:54:09 - 00:41:32:06
Speaker 2
But I would say a lot of times our our mind is doing a thousand and our body is doing time. And we need to be realistic. We need to have a good balance there is beginning programs for a reason, because your body can only take a certain amount of workload. It needs a certain amount of rest. The only time that you are recovering on a cellular level, whether it's for an injury or for a workout, is when you sleep you know, we need seven, 8 hours sleep over there.
00:41:32:08 - 00:42:01:21
Speaker 2
That workout literally is going to go down the toilet because we won't be able to then rebuild what we've torn down. If we're not having enough protein, we're going to go into that catabolic. So I would say that you don't do your homework, maybe get yourself an exercise physiologist, get yourself electrical bio impedance, test a body fat test, and start at ground zero and be realistic.
00:42:02:12 - 00:42:35:09
Speaker 2
You know, here we are going into the second month of 20, 23 and most people are already falling off of the bandwagon because, you know, 90%, 90% of people will fail. The first 90 days of their New Year's resolution. So what would you say is is you know workout anaerobic wi with weights isometric movements push ups sit ups you know every other day Monday, Wednesday, Friday workouts shouldn't take 2 hours.
00:42:35:20 - 00:42:44:15
Speaker 2
I mean I have guys they're bragging Seven-Year-Olds imagine for two and a half hours I was like, what were you doing? Were you like watching like soap operas and so on.
00:42:44:21 - 00:42:45:01
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:42:45:13 - 00:42:53:04
Speaker 2
In the gym for more than 55 minutes, man doing just weights. So I'm doing something wrong.
00:42:53:08 - 00:42:56:04
Speaker 1
Yeah. Because you're not pushing you're not pushing your max, right.
00:42:56:16 - 00:43:20:11
Speaker 2
So I like the superset. I'm not looking to get bigger. I like to combine two exercises back to back pre exhausted muscle. So I would say do a full body workout you say two exercises. Oh, per body part to start three sets, ten repetitions and then most importantly, if you look at the facility, it means excess body fat.
00:43:20:23 - 00:43:52:01
Speaker 2
You need to make sure that you're eating less and exercising more because it's not rocket science. It takes 3500 calories to lose or gain more in fat pounds. So my recommendations for two reasons cardio vascular taking care of the most important muscle your heart, increasing your VO2 max and burning excess body fat, you should be doing cardio. See a walking program five out of seven consecutive days.
00:43:52:19 - 00:44:24:03
Speaker 2
45 to 60 minutes. Yeah, at least 70 80. 75% of your maximum heart rate. I know that's a whole lot of information. And if anybody wants to you then ask me a question they can go to Peter Nielsen dot com or find me on any social media at Peter End Nielsen and I'll be happy to help you. I mean this is all I do, but you really want to put together a sound program and then you want to change that workout.
00:44:24:10 - 00:44:52:26
Speaker 2
Like I say, every eight to ten weeks because your body builds immunity to it. The last three repetitions should be somewhat difficult. Never sacrificing style for the amount of weight. So if the magic number is ten repetitions, then that 89 tenths should be challenging. If you could do 15, you're bragging, Oh, I can do this. I haven't gotten all this for 14 years and you're doing a little of nothing.
00:44:54:17 - 00:45:11:26
Speaker 1
How how about a show? Like, if you're ready, if somebody wants to actually get into bodybuilding, like they're, they're seeing results. They're, they're building some mass in the gym and they're starting to feel like, Okay, I want to do a show. How do you pick the right first show?
00:45:12:06 - 00:45:48:27
Speaker 2
Great question. Start out with a novice show. Start out with a novice show where everybody is in the same category as you in the sense of experience. Yeah, and that would be and then and then also all the old fashioned bodybuilding RoboCop, you're not going to just tear down and get ripped. It doesn't work that way. I you know, like I said, I have been fluctuating weight probably probably 30 years and my weight stays at around one 95, one 93.
00:45:49:20 - 00:46:21:23
Speaker 2
And my point is they have gone up as much as to 25 by just trying to bulk up. And then when I tear down for the contest one 93 and a quarter every time. So what I'm trying to say is, you know, if you're doing this clean when I say clean those steroids and you're really, really eating good and you want to just, just take the body, the one model year that God has given you and maximize that, it's so doable.
00:46:22:11 - 00:46:33:22
Speaker 2
But muscles take months and years to mature. Yeah. At 60 years old, my body is in better shape in a way that 40 because because.
00:46:33:22 - 00:46:41:02
Speaker 1
It builds, right? I mean, you're able to build and I think, you know, for a lot of the maturity of the muscle. Yeah. The maturity of.
00:46:41:03 - 00:46:42:14
Speaker 2
The muscle fibers is.
00:46:42:26 - 00:46:43:05
Speaker 1
Doing.
00:46:43:05 - 00:47:20:04
Speaker 2
The same thing and hitting it and isolating that muscle. It's just, it's beautiful. It's like, it's like a fine bottle of wine. It gets better with, with years in it. It's in the right environment. If you're standing on clean soil, if you create your house and your refrigerator and you're eating good, if you're going up and down and you're doing it helter skelter and you're doing it before you go on a cruise or you want to look good in a dress before the wedding, and then you put on your £40, you're going to go nowhere quick.
00:47:20:13 - 00:47:41:16
Speaker 1
Yeah, I think you know, I see people in, quote, the off season and I'm always kind of amazed. Like people will really eat a lot of stuff. And I think, you know, trying consistency is everything, right? And then you can have your, your feeds or your cheese ever you want to call them every.
00:47:41:21 - 00:47:42:17
Speaker 2
Meal that you.
00:47:42:26 - 00:47:43:22
Speaker 1
Got to go off the.
00:47:43:22 - 00:48:12:03
Speaker 2
Wagon. There is no off season. And I say that again with humility. I think the same way all year round when people have a turkey dinner or turkey and there they have turkey every week. Yeah. Every day. And would you just said, I agree with this, if you want something so bad that you can taste it and you need to be you need to truly be consistent.
00:48:12:17 - 00:48:33:29
Speaker 2
If you want to keep what you worked so hard to get. You need to be persistent and it's one thing to get something. It's another thing to maintain it. It's one thing to be able to save up money to buy a house. It's another thing to be able to maintain that house for years. And it's the same thing in a marriage or a relationship.
00:48:33:29 - 00:48:45:20
Speaker 2
It's one thing to just, you know, romance somebody buying stuff, you know, entertain them, date them, and then all of a sudden you get married. That's when you start.
00:48:46:02 - 00:49:04:19
Speaker 1
Yeah, that's that's the beginning. Of it. So, you know, Peter, I could sit here and talk to you all day, but we're running out of time. I think people have gotten so much from this and will include the links to where people can find you in the show notes. I always ask the same question to people at the end of our interview.
00:49:04:27 - 00:49:13:14
Speaker 1
If you could have one meal created by anyone, what would that meal be, your favorite meal and who would make it for you?
00:49:14:20 - 00:49:43:11
Speaker 2
Well, my my grandmother used to she came from Naples, Italy. She had rheumatoid arthritis and she would make homemade cavatelli on a literally a roll and piece of metal, and she'd dry them out on her bed on a sheet, and then she'd make Italian gravy from scratch. She'd take garlic bread, homemade Neapolitan bread, and she put her gravy on there.
00:49:43:26 - 00:50:05:24
Speaker 2
And bless her heart, have and say a nice dish of linguine and and close to Chuck. It would be sushi. I just love sushi me and any kind of sushi. So, you know, the Italian and the fish all day long well.
00:50:06:03 - 00:50:31:02
Speaker 1
The fish there is the I see the resemblance there. I see the connection with the birds. And anything that grandma makes in it. Yeah. My daughter. Thank you so much. This was such a pleasure. Thank you for sharing your heart and your story and your wisdom. I think that everybody can, you know, whether you're male or female, can take something away from this.
00:50:32:00 - 00:50:48:27
Speaker 1
Just thinking about our own lives and how we can show up in the best possible way, even when circumstances dictate that things should be difficult or challenging. Or sometimes even hopeless that we can overcome. So thanks for being a beacon of light for.
00:50:48:27 - 00:50:53:15
Speaker 2
Pleasure, and may God continue to use you in a mighty way. Thank you for having me.
00:50:53:24 - 00:50:54:20
Speaker 1
Thank you, Peter.