One Year No Beer | Hack Your Healthy Lifestyle

Ali Roff Farrar is author of The Wellfulness Project and the Wellness Director at Psychologies magazine. She is also a regular contributor to the OYNB Blog! She is passionate about combining western sciences of psychology, neuroscience, and coaching with the Eastern philosophies of meditation, mindfulness, and yoga, to cultivate true holistic wellness in body and mind. In addition to the BSc degree she holds in Psychology, Ali is a qualified ‘200 hr Yoga Alliance Certified’ teacher and will shortly qualify as a Mindfulness teacher and expert for both stress and chronic pain. Ali joins the podcast today to talk about how, amid all of the noise and information out there, we often rely on others to make us happy or heal us and consult our phones for advice before consulting our inner compass. She is interested in empowering people to start to look inwards and discover the wisdom they have inside themselves instead of seeking answers outside. She believes that mental health is often pushed aside as we get caught

Everyone wants to find a partner with whom they can share a lasting, rewarding relationship. For those who haven’t already found that person, or who have had difficulty maintaining a relationship, or even those who have difficulty loving themselves as much as they deserve, today’s guest has valuable insight. Channa has over 15 years of experience as an international, award-winning, matchmaker, love coach, and holistic practitioner. She specializes in total transformation - from loving yourself to falling in love to maintaining a fulfilling relationship. Channa has helped thousands of men and women make this transformation and guided them every step of the way. “Setting boundaries is not being mean. Setting boundaries is being direct with grace and kindness.” Throughout her professional experience as a Matchmaker and love coach, she has learned the science of what makes and breaks relationships and witnessed the emotional component behind the science first- hand. Channa’s extensive experience in dating and

What’s it like to change your relationship with alcohol when you come from a family that’s in the alcohol business? Today’s guest has some insights on that intriguing question. Sid Mallya is an American Born British actor of Indian descent. He attended Wellington College and then Queen Mary, University of London where he obtained a BSc in Business Management. He spent some time in business but felt that his true calling lay elsewhere. So he trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, graduating with a Master of Arts in acting. His film credits include the Netflix Original film, ‘Brahman Naman’, and ‘Best Fake Friends’ which is currently streaming on Amazon. “If you hear all the stuff that I've said, I've never said alcohol is bad either.  I said that you just need to figure out if it's bad for you at this juncture.” In today’s interview, Sid shares his college experiences and his brief career in business. He explains how he ended up deciding to pursue acting instead of st

Some jobs are more social than others, and people who have social jobs often find that alcohol accompanies the social aspect of their work. That may be especially true for those who work in the entertainment industry, like today’s guest.  Suzanne Shaw auditioned for the ITV show Popstars in 2001. As a participant in the show, she won a place in the newly-formed pop band, Hear’say. The band saw great success, including two number one records and four top 10 hits, as well as their own TV show.  “At the end of the day, if you do put your mind to something and you are determined, you can achieve great things.” When the band eventually broke up, Suzanne found career success in musical theatre, plays, and television. But despite her career success, Suzanne’s life was not perfect, and in today’s episode, she talks about some of the challenges she faced over the years.  At the time of this interview, Suzanne was 95 days into her One Year No Beer challenge, and she talks frankly about the improvements in her life

Patrick Sweeney is an entrepreneur, an adventurer, and an author. He’s also known as the “Fear Guru”. In the current climate, many people are experiencing even more fear than they normally do, so today’s interview with Patrick may be helpful for people who are looking to overcome or control their own feelings of fear.  In today’s interview, Patrick speaks about the neuroscience of fear. What is fear for? Why do we feel it? Why do we need it, and how can we keep it from controlling us. Patrick explains how fear can be leveraged as the fuel that drives you to your peak performance.  “The first thing that everyone should know out there is that our brains were designed to adapt.” He discusses how the brain works as a prediction engine, and why being unable to predict an outcome causes feelings of fear and anxiety. He also discusses the different types of fear and what they mean. And Patrick also explains the relationship between fear and alcohol or the decision to give up alcohol.  Patrick also talks about ho

This is a difficult time for many people. The spread of coronavirus is having a devastating impact. Whole countries are instituting lockdowns. Even people who aren’t compelled to stay home may do so out of fear of catching the virus. Some people have lost their income, others are adapting to working from home for the first time. Children are out of school and stuck at home with parents who are also stuck at home.  What does this mean for the One Year No Beer community and the wider community? Anxieties are high. Emotions are volatile. People are fearful – and perhaps bored at the same time. This is going to result in many people turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism. But we know that alcohol really doesn’t help you cope.  “Alcohol is a depressant. We don't really realize the impact, and I'm yet to have a scientific study around this, but one day we definitely will.” Alcohol increases anxiety. It’s a depressant, so it may also increase feelings of sadness and depression. It puts you at risk, both because

The subject of today’s interview is Andrew Liddle. Andy is a teacher who’s made great progress in his alcohol-free journey. In today’s episode, Andrew shares some of his history with alcohol. He says that he was introduced to alcohol at a fairly young age – around 14 or 15 years old. Like many people, he found that the people around him, including friends and family, enabled his alcohol use, and by the time he reached the age of 18, he was well-versed in drinking.  Andy said that he had some great times and great holidays, and didn’t see drinking to be a negative at that time in his life. But by his early 30s, he had started to question whether this was where he really wanted to be in life. He was experiencing anxiety, especially when dealing with hangovers. And that’s where he was when he discovered One Year No Beer. “Being alcohol-free, I’m just not as stressed anymore.” Andy says that he had tried giving up alcohol before, especially by attempting to participate in Dry Januarys, but those attempts were

Today’s guest is the founder of Expert Empires, the cofounder of the Elite Closing Academy, and the creator of the Expert Empires Mastermind. Nick James joins the podcast today to talk about a secret sauce he’s discovered that will help him grow his businesses even more – and it’s a secret that OYNB members already know about.  Nick started running events in 2008. He recalls that 8 people showed up for his first event. His most recent event attracted 1500 people. He brings in experts and speakers to talk about how to successfully grow businesses and establish brands, and he’s already successfully grown his own business quite a bit. But when he sat down to set his intentions for 2020, he wanted to find a way to grow even more and help even more people.  “This is not fashionable in the personal development world, but I actually don’t read books. But I like to digest content through audio.” An audiobook prompted him to ask himself what one thing he could do to make everything else either easier, or unnecessar

Is alcohol especially problematic for women? What exactly are the effects of alcohol on women’s health? That’s one of the subjects that today’s guest is going to address.  Kanchan Koya has a PhD in Molecular Biology from Harvard Medical School. She’s also a certified health coach, an author, and the founder of the online platform Spice Spice Baby. Kanchan has also recently completed One Year No Beer’s 90 Day Challenge.  Not only is it preventing our body from detoxifying estrogen efficiently, but the estrogen that’s accumulating is then making the alcohol more irresistible. So, you get stuck in this loop. Kanchan grew up in India and considers herself to be a health and wellness educator. One of her areas of interest is the science of spices. She’s studied the health benefits of spices and their value as preventative medicine. She explains that many medicines have their roots in plants and that it’s worthwhile to consider both traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals as parts of a whole wellness solution. 

When it comes to raising children, you have to make your moments count, because your child will only be a child for so long. Parents know this, but many find it harder than they expected to get in the quality time that they and their children need. And worries about doing it wrong can lead some parents not to even try.  Today’s guest joins the podcast to talk about intentional parenting. Justin Batt is the founder of Daddy Saturday, an organization designed to help dads raise good kids to become great adults. Justin explains how Daddy Saturday got started – his wife was getting started establishing her own business, and Justin found himself in the position of being the primary parent on most Saturdays. He noticed that these Saturdays didn’t always result in the kind of time he wanted to spend with his children, despite good intentions, so he decided to make a change.  “It starts with you as the parent first, and you modeling for your kids what you want to see in them.” Justin started making plans to engage

Mark Williamson says that he came from a privileged background – not in the sense that he came from wealth, but in the sense that he came from a loving family and enjoyed a happy, carefree childhood. Initially, Mark saw himself pursuing a scientific path. He studied engineering and became interested in understanding how to fix things and how the world works. This interest led him to finish a degree in electronics and pursue a Ph.D. He also worked on developing WiFi technology. However, Mark realized that he fundamentally enjoyed making connections with other humans, and he just wasn’t getting the human contact that he wanted from science or academia. So he decided to pursue another path. He went into management consulting but found that this career didn’t make him happy either. He liked the people he worked with but didn’t enjoy the job itself.  “What I realized on that journey is that it’s not just the planet that’s broken, our culture is broken.” It was during this period of his life that Mark began to d

Graham Roberts is a coach who believes that everyone is capable of anything. He believes that to change behaviour, one just has to figure out what makes people tick, why they make the decisions that they make, and how to ignite their motivation so that they’re able to achieve their aspirations. In today’s conversation between Graham and One Year No Beer’s Jen Fairbairns, Graham talks about starting his own business and the difficult decisions that he has had to make. Graham says that beginning his own business took a lot of soul searching. At the time he was only a little over a year into being a father, and going out on his own was a leap of faith. “The real strength of humankind is the ability to be authentic with the conversation that’s going on inside.” Graham works with organizations to transform the way that they work, and with world-class athletes to help them understand what they’re capable of achieving and how to go about it. According to Graham, authenticity is the key ingredient to success, and

What happens when you quit your job to spend more time running ultramarathons? Just ask Chase and Nikki Parnell. Together, they’ve made big lifestyle changes and turned their love of running into a family activity.  Previously, Chase worked as a lawyer in Bend, Oregon. He was always interested in distance running and got into running ultramarathons about 8 years ago. He describes running as his passion. However, while Chase was still working as a lawyer, he was also a big drinker. Between that and the stress and hours of his job, his efforts to scrape by eventually came crashing down. He decided it was time to make a life change. Chase had heard Andy interviewed on a podcast and was inspired by the dialogue, and that encouraged him to get into the OYNB community. Chase quit drinking, and he also quit his job.  Chase’s wife, Nikki, is also a runner. Chase got her interested in ultramarathons, and she’s found ways to not only get involved in running and in the ultramarathon community but also ways to include

Which is better for health and weight loss, paleo or veganism? Is one diet really better than all the others? Or is weight loss more about mindset and what works for you as an individual, rather than about finding the one correct diet plan? And what is it that causes disordered eating or just a seeming inability to lose the weight that you want to lose in order to look and feel your best? Today’s interview will address some of those questions. Today’s guest is Adele Tevlin, who has devised a revolutionary weight loss program and created a coaching business to help business executives manage their weight for life. Her goal is to help bridge the gap between what people know and what they actually do.  “There’s always something in the background that’s holding us back from achieving our level of greatness.” Adele knew from an early age that she wanted a career that would allow her to help people. At one point, she was gearing up to follow in her mother’s footsteps and attend dental school, but she realized th

Can changing your morning routine change your life? And what do you have to do to not only grow on a personal level, but also get out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself, and achieve your larger goals? Those are the things that you’re going to hear about from today’s guest Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning and a new book, The Miracle Equation. Hal starts by talking about his first book, The Miracle Morning. However, as Hal explains, the idea for the Miracle Morning wasn’t really a book idea at all to begin with. The idea originated after the crash in the US economy in 2007. Hal says that his own life went into a spiral along with the economy. So, he began looking up habits and rituals of successful people. Much of the information he came across referenced morning routines, but Hal himself wasn’t much of a morning person. But he decided to give it a try.  “The miracle is always inevitable when you live by the miracle equation.” Hal came up with a list of six practices. At first, he was going to

In today’s episode of the One Year No Beer podcast, Chris Barez-Brown joins the show. Chris is the founder of Upping Your Elvis, a movement designed to bring more energy into the workplace and to help individuals level up their performance in business and in life. Chris is a speaker, the author of four books, and a regular writer for publications like GQ Magazine and the Harvard Business Review.  Chris started out his adult life in the army, but says that his military career didn’t last long because he quickly realized that he was more of a lover than a fighter. So, he went to college and earned a degree and started pursuing the things that he thought he was supposed to want – a job with an expense account, a car, a chance to climb the corporate ladder. And then he found that those things didn’t make him happy either, so he made a drastic change. Now, he says he’s on a mission to help others love their lives as much as he does.  “The important thing is it’s always all about making sure every individual has

If you’re interested in a fun and versatile way to work out, you might be interested in the kettlebell. And if you are interested in learning about the kettlebell or improving your skill with the kettlebell, then today’s guest is somebody that you need to know about.  Taco Fleur is a certified kettlebell trainer and the creator of Cavemantraining, one of the most well-known kettlebell training programs out there. In today’s episode, Taco talks about how he got into kettlebells and what it is about kettlebells, specifically, that he’s so attracted to.  “But overall for ourselves, we enjoy the kettlebell more. It’s just so versatile.”  Taco also talks about teaching beginners to work with kettlebells, and what kind of exercises and routines are appropriate for those just getting started. He also explains how beginners can find out what type of kettlebell they should choose for themselves. He talks about where Cavemantraining started, how long it’s been around, and where it’s going next.  Taco also talks abo

Everyone has something that they’d like to fix about themselves, whether it’s related to their drinking habits or substance use, their professional status, their diet and exercise habits, or some other areas of their lives. But how do you get started on fixing something that’s important for you to change in your life? Today’s guest may have the answer.  Today’s guest is Shaa Wasmund. She is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. In 2015 she was awarded an MBE for ‘Services to Business and Entrepreneurship’. She’s also been named one of the top 20 most influential entrepreneurs in the UK by the Sunday Times. “If you own your own business, your business can never outgrow you. You can’t have business growth without personal growth.” Shaa avoids alcohol and other substances scrupulously, with the exception of an occasional small sip of champagne for toasts at weddings. In today’s interview, Shaa explains her feelings about alcohol and other substances and why she avoids them.  Today’s interview also cov

In today’s episode, One Year No Beer’s Jen Fairbairns is joined by Grant Flynn of Social Fit Edinburgh. Social Fit is a free group that’s giving back to the community by encouraging fitness through mini and mega missions, meet and eats, and buena vida sessions that are open to all who are interested.  In today’s interview, Grant discusses his background and interest in fitness and related activities, and he also shares some of the background on how Social Fit Edinburgh got started. Grant explains that in the beginning, the group was just three individuals jogging – the larger social aspect and variety of activities came later.  “We’ve got what we’ve got, and often what we’ve got is enough.” Grant and Jen discuss how people find Social Fit and the role that social media plays in getting their message out to the public. They talk about wanting more people to feel included and about the inclusivity goals that are core to Social Fit’s mission. Grant also shares his thoughts on how to get people into fitness ac

In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Jerry Lyons. Today, Jerry is the author of a popular children’s book that offers an important message that children of all ages need to hear. But that wasn’t always Jerry’s life.  Jerry grew up in a working-class Irish family and played football, and as he explains, there was always alcohol around. So Jerry became a heavy social drinker for over 30 years of his life. But eventually, Jerry began to get tired of the drinking. He wanted a break. He saw the ad for One Year No Beer after trying Dry January. He decided to do a 90-day challenge on his own, without joining OYNB. After completing it (and on April Fools Day) he opted to drink again and felt bad dealing with the resulting hangover. That was when he decided to take the plunge and join OYNB.  “I look back and I think did drinking affect what I do? It definitely did, it definitely did.”  Listen to the episode to hear more about Jerry’s journey, which has now reached over 500 days without drinking. Hear him explain ho