Episode #23: WE'RE BACK with Unconventional Wellness!

Frank: (00:00)
Hey, what's going on everybody? I'm so sorry that I have literally fallen off the map. I think this last episode that I did was probably upwards of almost two months ago. So let me, let me first start by saying I'm sorry and that it actually happened for a very good reason. So over the last two months, it has been a whirlwind of awesomeness. And why I'm saying that is because we as a family have bonded in such a great way that the last two months I wouldn't give it back for a thing in the world. All right. We have been able to spend very good quality time together. We actually have decided as a family to restart homeschooling. And so that was one of the things that has kind of taken some time. And then there was a lot of other things that were related to both, uh, you know, the business of unconventional wellness as well as me helping with a project that we've got going on here in my home state. 

Frank: (00:59)
So I apologize. But from now on, you will be receiving these great pieces of content from me every single week. And we will not let you back down. Okay. So I apologize for that. But welcome to the unconventional wellness. I am your host Frank Ritz. I am a service disabled combat veteran of the US army in which I had the pleasure of serving for over a decade in the U s army. And now I am home as they retired, uh, medically retired, uh, veteran, uh, oh here with my family on our wonderful farm in western North Carolina. Uh, where we raise actually here to animals. I'll tell you a little bit about the farm really quick, is that we, uh, we raise animals for a sustainable purpose. And what does that even mean? Well, a couple of years ago we, we figured that we wanted to start making the move toward organic food, right? Because you really are what you eat. 

Frank: (01:55)
And so my wife and I made the conscientious decision to say, let's start moving toward nonprocessed organic food. Well, considering how crazy we are, we decided to take that one step further and we wanted to not only be able to go to the store and purchase organic food, but we said, you know what, we're going to just start creating in ourself. And so, uh, to folks pretty much born in the city decided that we were going to go ahead and go start a homestead. And, uh, and it's, and it's not been without its extremely hilarious moments and it's a really significant setbacks. But you know what? We just keep pushing on and now we can, uh, sit here and say that, uh, out of all of those experiences every single day, we've become even better farmers than the day prior. Uh, so we raise heritage animals. We figured that if we were going to do this in a sustainable way, we wanted to rate those, raise those animals that have been around for literally hundreds of years. 

Frank: (02:58)
And these are the ones that are, have fallen off of production. So we raise these animals in a way that we give back to the land that we wonderfully live on. And we wrote, we just created this community of really a fantastic way of having these animals on the land. We're learning from these animals and they really help let you make mistakes. That's the good news about a heritage animals that these heritage animals have been around for hundreds of years. And so even the most novice of homesteaders, which is my wife and I, we were able to learn a lot about the different breeds of animals that we could raise on the property. We have raised chickens, ducks, Turkeys, geese. We have raised a what other poultry? Or did we raise? No, that's all for the poultry. We've raised rabbits, a, we've raised a sheep, pigs, cattle, anything that has pretty much hubs, you know what I mean? 

Frank: (04:01)
So like we've raised goats. And what else? I think that's about it, honestly. So if it had feathers or feet or feathers or hooves, we raised it. And so, uh, we sold everybody rehomed everybody. At one point we went on an RV trip for an entire year and then we said, you know what? We want to come back. There's really other places in the country or should say that there's not very many other places in the country that really have the beauty of which we are able to experience here every single day. So he said, you know what, we just want to move back home, uh, which is the home that God wanted to put us in any way. And so we're just going to raise animals again and have that wonderful relationship with them. And so currently we are raising Nigerian dwarf goats, which are absolutely hilarious. And we are raising American Jacob Sheep, which are these beautiful white and black spotted sheep, uh, that have two or more horns. 

Frank: (04:57)
Like they honestly can have two, four, even six horns. And so that's a really cool, beautiful sheep. And we also raise Gloucestershire old spot are these really cute pink pigs with black spots on them and they have the big floppy ears. And so they're just absolutely adorable. Uh, so we raised those and then we also raise some cows, uh, because we just use them for pasture maintenance. We just love having them on the property. And then of course we have to make sure that we always have chickens. And so those are the animals that we're currently raising. We might get back into the rapids, were not super sure about that. But anyway, that is our farm. And our farm is also now not for profit. We are moving toward a nonprofit farm. Uh, it is actually a nonprofit currently. It is called gather heritage farm of North Carolina. 

Frank: (05:45)
And we are going to be raising a apprentices, predominantly veterans if I can, uh, to learn about like farming concepts, learned about agriculture and stuff like that. And after they perform, say I think we're going to do about 1,250 hours, we will be able to launch them off to actually start their own farms. And so we were really want to create a community of likeminded, uh, folks who are both veterans and farmers right here on the property and a, and being able to actually launch them off to have the mission of feeding their local and regional communities. And so that is the project that we've currently got going on as well. And so that's our farm. And so we, we just, we made that shift to wanting to really have great food again because the earth is so capable of putting out really great food. 

Frank: (06:38)
We do not need to synthesize our food in a lab. We do not need to create something that tastes good and is full of a bunch of synthetic sugars and things like that. I tell you what, you take a, you know, a berry that you can find inside of a store and you compare it to an organic berry and the bear that you find in sound, the store shirt that may look a little bit better, but honestly when it comes down to flavor and the, the natural sugars that are inside of that barrier that was grown right in your backyard, there's just no difference. I mean it is just our, I should say there is a massive difference, but there is no comparison. Um, that, that very, that was grown with your two hands is just going to be so much more flavorful and just so much more memorable than that Barry, that you would buy in a store. 

Frank: (07:25)
And so it has been a really great shift that we have had in learning how to do this for ourselves. And so that's one of the things that I want to provide also eventually as I want to let people know about farming and teach people how to farm. Um, even if it's just as simple as an urban garden all the way up to something where they're actually raising their own livestock. I mean, I want to be able to teach everybody to be able to do that. And so, um, I say all that because we have really became super acquainted with our food and we really know what to expect when it comes to our food. And so the local regional food system here is really great and we are able to either grow and or purchase locally a lot of the foods that we actually have, uh, every single day. 

Frank: (08:12)
And so it's been really, uh, you know, wonderful to be able to have these, these foods, uh, because we've been able to support many different types of diets and lifestyles and choices that we've been able to make, which is, which is what, which is what unconventional wellness. This is all about. Unconventional wellness is a program that seeks to, uh, discuss, uh, five different areas of our life that we can make choices. And these are lifestyle choices. These are things that we can say and do and perform an eaten all that kind of stuff every single day. And so these five pillars, if you will, or what we are going to create on the foundation of good health. And so these pillars are nutrition, the other pill, another pillar, a pillar number two is, uh, being able to get out and move. I don't really necessarily like the word exercise. 

Frank: (09:01)
And so being able to move using the world is your gym. That is pillar number two. Pillar number three is going to be getting great sleep. Pillar number four is being able to de stress your life who absolutely doesn't need that. Right? And then pillar number five, if I said pillar number four. So pillar number three is sleep. Pillar number four is reducing your stress. And then pillar number five is, uh, being able to detoxify your life. And we are talking about both physically or we should say physically, mentally, and even socially. And so that's what unconventional on this aims to do is that it is a holistic program. I believe that it is one that is not been done ever. Uh, usually when I see a lot of these wellness programs online or I say wellness programs here in my local area, usually they just focus on one thing. 

Frank: (09:52)
They'll just say like, this is the Diet that will change your life or, you know, perform these exercises and it will change your life. Well, the way that I see wellness as, I see wellness as a holistic sense anyway, it's a whole person involvement. I've seen often that people will have these really tremendous diets, have fantastic breakthroughs, lose a bunch of weight, but the problem is that they're not sleeping well or they'll have this like excrutiatingly awesome workout and there'll be losing a bunch of weight looking really great, but they're super stressed. Or they'll have like, you know, this really great sleep pattern and you know, maybe, and the problem is is that they're toxifying their bodies, what these different harsh chemicals that they're consuming and these other environmental things that they're coming around. And so I want to maximize people's health and I want to teach them how they can make the correct lifestyle choices and empower them in being able to actually choose these things to live a life that they have always wanted. 

Frank: (10:56)
And so I think of it as like five pieces to a pie. And each one of these pieces is important because it makes up a hole. And any one of those pieces missing, you absolutely cannot have a hole on conventional wellness is like being able to say like it is the gateway to good health. So, you know, when somebody decides to start making that choice to actually have good health, like it's time for them to say, I don't want to have this type of body weight anymore and so I'm going to change my diet. And then they start changing their diet. They start losing that weight and then they often will either plateau or they will lose interest and then they will find themselves back on the roller coaster of weight gain and weight loss. And so I would offer to you is that we want to help continue this positive flow. 

Frank: (11:47)
There's positive energy into your lifestyle so you can absolutely stay motivated in order to be able to make these choices every single day. Because it's a moment by moment, minute by minute, day by day choice that we have to make to have good health and is far too often we can end up making those really great solid choices, stay on it for maybe a month or two, and then all of a sudden we're making bad choices again. And so, uh, we want to help you push through the mundane and be able to understand these sorts of things like their second nature and that way every single time that it comes down to it, you can absolutely make a positive choice sometimes or often. Now when I look at Food Ira, see the nutritional value of it, it's like I actually look through the face value of it and I could sit there and I can say, okay, well I know that I need this and I know that this is going to have this particular set of vitamins that I know is going to be good for my body. 

Frank: (12:43)
Or this is hiring calcium or this is the fiber that I need to take or this is the fiber that I need to eat, you know? So I was like, I see through that now and I can actually see the benefit that it does for my body. Herbs, you know, my wife as an herbalist and her and I have worked toward understanding herbs and how complimentary in our diets, herbs and flowers and oils are critical for our good health. And a lot of folks naturally omit these things because they just don't understand them. And so we want to make sure that you understand that as well. And so there's herbal components there, supplement components that we want to talk about because nobody eats the way they should. Nobody eats the exact right way. You might follow the Diet plan really, really well. And if weight gain is your, excuse me, weight loss is your goal, you're probably achieving that. 

Frank: (13:31)
But the thing is is that we want overall health because as you get in your forties, 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, it is imperative to have good health. And so we want to ensure that you are able to do that through just not only nutrition but also your movement, keeping things limbering, uh, and moving. We want to make sure that you're getting that great sleep. We want to make sure that you're reducing the stress in every possible way that you can in your life. And then we want to make sure that you're also not coming across. These would be toxins that might actually be, you know, doing things like disrupting your hormones. And changing your body chemistry even where you'd actually don't even see it, but you'll feel it later on in your life. And so that is the five pillars guys. That is what unconventional wellness is all about. 

Frank: (14:20)
And so I aim, I promise that anyone who can come across this program, their life will change. This is the thing that I have been putting forth for the last decade. I did a study one time or it's very often that there are studies that are being done when I was back, even in college, almost 20 some odd years ago and that it usually takes 10 years our 10,000 hours for somebody to become an expert. And so that's what I want to offer to you is that I have been doing this now for a decade. I have been studying and learning and applying and talking to patients and having those patients talk to me and learning about the human body and learning about holistic therapies in order to be able to live this lifestyle that I have always wanted. And now it's time for me to share that with you. 

Frank: (15:08)
I have been able to take all of this information and I am going to drastically shorten this period of time and I want to help save you that time to where you're not spending a decade to try to figure it out on your own. I can hopefully teach you in far less time to be able to do that and so that is what I want is I want to put my brain out there. I want to put my experience out there for you. I want you to be able to understand all of these concepts as quickly as possible so you can assimilate them because there is a lot of really amazing information out there. There are people who are doing tremendous things with nutrition. There are people doing tremendous things with exercise. There are people doing tremendous things with helping folks understand what is out there in their environments and how you can reduce those things. 

Frank: (15:58)
There are people doing phenomenal work on being able to help you reduce your stress and reduce your anxiety. But the thing is is that we can't just focus on one of those things. We need to put them all together. Because you are a dynamic fluid creature that requires mind, body, and spirit. We can't just focus on one aspect of the triangle and expect that the triangle will become stronger. We need to have all three points of the triangle being interacted with in order to ensure that you have that lifestyle that you've always wanted. And so we will uncover and unpeel a lot of these concepts. I have different modules inside of the program. The modules are designed to be associated with the pillars and these modules will change over time. A lot of these modules are, excuse me. All of these modules have concepts where we discussed the sciences inside of each particular, uh, realm. 

Frank: (16:55)
If you are each particular pillar, we build upon those sciences in a way that makes sense. Like we tried to make it to where anyone can understand it. And so we build upon those sciences and then I start giving action steps, immediate action steps that you can start applying in order to be able to start doing things that day to improve your health. Because we don't want you to sit there and be in analysis paralysis where it's like, okay, now I have all of this really great information but what to do next? Because the Internet is full of it. The Internet is full of amazing information and we can find a lot of truthful information out there, but then the question is how do I implement it? How do I start at, how do I get it going? And so that's what unconventional one, this will help you do as it will help you by giving you actions, action steps. 

Frank: (17:40)
You will learn something and then apply it and then learn something and then apply it and then learn something and then apply it. You'll see the pattern here. The reason why the pattern is like this is the only way, the key to adult learning, the key to our education is repetition and then the key, the other key to ours is doing it. How many of us say that we have that Aha moment when we actually touch it, feel it, smell it, implement it, do it. That's when we actually start understanding it and so that is what this program sets out to do. And so unconventional wellness is coming. Folks, the program is wrote, I am getting my Beta folks put through it right now and I'm making sure that it is the program that I needed to be for you guys because when I release it out into the world, I want to make sure that it changes lives. 

Frank: (18:33)
I want lives to be changed for the better because of lives are changed for the better. Families will be changed for the better. Couples will be changed for the better and the world and our communities can be changed for the better because of this program. So stay tuned. I will do exactly what I've been doing on a podcast. I will be bringing you new content every single week. If you guys give me a rating or review, let me know that this is spot on and that is is doing something that is helping change your life. Please put a rating, a review there because that is how these different podcasts servers see and make sure that my information could be available to even more people. And so I love you guys. I will be bringing new content on nutrition, on getting better sleep on detoxifying and I will be bringing you movement education every single week because I love you guys and I absolutely want a change for the better. 

Frank: (19:33)
And so like I said, I start, I finished the way I started, I apologize. This channel will continue and we will be bringing you unconventional wellness where I will be talking to different providers, giving insight, giving knowledge, giving research. That way I can ensure that you are living the lifestyle that you have always wanted. I'm frank, this is unconventional wellness. Like I said, please give me a like, give me a rating, give me a review and share this with somebody that you know so we can help them as well. So until next week, I love you guys and we will definitely be talking or seeing you again on our very next podcast. Take care everybody.