Why Most Doctors Still Keep Their Patients Sick with Dr. Michael Klaper

What do you do the morning after you quit? That’s the question at the center of Steve Kamb’s new book, How to Try Again. Steve founded Nerd Fitness and has spent 17 years helping people try again in their health and fitness journeys. In our conversation we discuss: Why Steve wrote a book for the person who already gave up, and how failure went from something that happened to something you are His four steps for trying again: pause, accept, change, try Why doing the wrong thing harder is worse than treading water How to tell acceptance from avoidance (avoidance usually sounds like “next week”) Why normal is never coming, and where strategically half-assing it comes in Being an insecure overachiever, and why self-compassion was the most important lesson Steve had to learn while writing the book A scenario I gave Steve: Sarah, 45, two kids, joined a gym in January and hasn’t been back in three months Looking back like a detective, with curiosity instead of judgment, then moving forward like a scientist, with a small experiment and an end date What’s worth tracking, what to stop tracking, and when the half-assed version is enough Chaz, his inner critic, and what a pretty good day looks like for him now The story of the quilt his grandmother gave him Chapters: 0:00 Intro 2:23 A book for the morning after you quit 5:52 Why failure became an identity 9:05 The Museum of Failure wall 11:57 Share from a scar, not a wound 15:58 The four-step framework: pause, accept, change, try 18:15 Treading water vs. doing the wrong thing harder 21:09 Acceptance vs. avoidance 25:13 “Normal” is never coming 27:57 Strategically half-assing it 29:33 Giving up vs. quitting 33:09 Self-compassion and the insecure overachiever 39:27 Sarah’s story: detective, then scientist 45:21 Experiments with an end date 48:39 What to track, and what to stop tracking 52:46 When is half-assed enough? 1:01:36 Meet Chaz, the inner critic 1:06:04 A pretty good day: wayfinders vs. warp speed 1:09:37 The quilt story 1:17:44 Words to live by Find Steve: his book How to Try Again at howtotryagain.com, and @stevekamb on Substack, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn. The Health Feast is where health stops feeling like a chore and starts feeling like a joyful and abundant feast. Hosted by Dr. Rak Jotwani, board-certified in Lifestyle Medicine and Internal Medicine. New episodes every week. If this episode was useful, leave a review. It is the best way to help the show reach more people. Live well and RAK ON. This episode is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and does not replace a conversation with your own physician or healthcare provider. Always consult a qualified professional before making changes to your exercise, nutrition, or health routine. The views expressed are those of the hosts and guests only and do not reflect the views of any employer or affiliated institution.

Liam McClintock left a career in finance to build FitMind, the meditation app I have used for years. He went back to school for a master's in applied neuroscience. Then he became a Buddhist monk, gave away his savings, and spent three years training under a master teacher, planning to stay for life.

Optimism is not a personality trait. It is a muscle, and muscles grow with reps. My friend Charles Inniss, a physical therapist turned optimism coach and author of Up Your Optimism Game, returns to the Feast to break down the 24 mental muscles behind joy, confidence, and peace of mind. Charles gives you a five-minute daily workout to build them.

Two doctors, no filter. My friend Kaveh Hoda, MD (gastroenterologist and host of The House of Pod) and I get into why the loudest voices in health are usually the least trustworthy, what supplement companies never have to prove, and the three questions I use with my patients to reorganize a whole health life. We recorded this over a year ago for his show, and I am finally releasing it on mine, because when something is true, it stays true. And because it is Kaveh, we laugh the entire way through.

Fitness trackers are everywhere, watches, rings, bands, all promising better health. But research suggests they can backfire.