Together, Unprocessed – Details, episodes & analysis

Which raises your cholesterol more — an Oreo or an egg? The answer isn't what most people are told.

In Part 2 of our Bloodwork Literacy series, we walk through the numbers on your lipid panel — total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, non-HDL — and what each one actually measures. We explain why your liver makes cholesterol, why "good" and "bad" is a moral category laid over carriers doing different jobs, and the one number on the panel that most people never calculate: the triglyceride-to-HDL ratio.

We touch on context that shifts how a single result reads — fasting state, illness, medications, life stage — and on ApoB and particle count for those who want to go deeper.

This is Part 2 of 6. In Part 3, we move to the thyroid panel.

No fear. No pressure. Just enough literacy to read your own results.

⭐ Free Companion Guide

We've put together a companion guide that walks through how to read your own panel — the five carriers, the ratio the panel doesn't print, and how to read your trend over time.

https://togetherunprocessed.com/reading-your-lipid-panel/?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=show_notes&utm_campaign=bloodwork-pt2

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We're not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

Your bloodwork said "normal." That doesn't mean what you think it means. Only 12% of American adults are actually metabolically healthy — and the test that would catch the other 88% isn't on the standard panel.

In this episode, we walk through three blood markers most doctors don't explain — A1C, fasting insulin, and fasting glucose — and how to combine them with HOMA-IR to read your metabolism clearly.

Hugo explains why fasting insulin is the single most useful test you can run, and why a "normal" A1C is an estimate that can mask years of pancreatic strain. Ash shares what catching insulin resistance early looked like in her family — including pushing for a fasting insulin test for her teenage daughter. Kim shows what to do when your standard panel comes back fine but something still feels off.

This is Part 1 of our Bloodwork Literacy series. Next: LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and non-HDL.

No diagnosis. No fear. Just the markers that actually matter.

⭐ Free Companion Guide

The full marker map: https://togetherunprocessed.com/blood-markers-your-doctor-isnt-explaining/

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We're not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

Travel breaks routines — sleep, meals, rhythm — and that is where consistency quietly falls apart ✈️

In this episode, we talk through how to stay grounded on carnivore or keto while traveling, whether it is a short trip, long-haul flight, cruise, or road journey. We cover fasting strategies, circadian rhythm, hydration, airport food realities, preparation vs perfection, and how to recover quickly when things do not go as planned.

This is a practical, experience-driven conversation about staying aligned with your health while still living your life and enjoying travel.

📄 Free Travel Checklist

Traveling keto or carnivore? We put together a simple, practical checklist you can use before and during any trip.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HfzZucIXTXyn7KqFn-gSjZOKFlh1VoOZ/view

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

🤝 Online friends finally meet in real life.

In this special episode, Olivia and Hugo meet in person for the first time, taking Together, Unprocessed off the screen and into the real world. We share the awkward first moments, instant jokes, and the warmth that proves this isn’t just a way of eating — it’s a community.

We talk travelling carnivore, finding quality food abroad, the clotted cream rabbit hole, and a fun myth-bust on “carnivore nails.” Unscripted, human, and real — exactly how connection is meant to feel.

🤝 Community Where We Met

We first connected through Dr. Anthony Chaffee’s Private Patreon Community and Discord, a space for carnivore and ancestral health discussion.

https://www.patreon.com/anthonychaffeemd

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

Helping kids eat better is not about perfection. It is about building a home where sugar does not run the show. 🧠

In this episode, Olivia shares how her family moved away from processed foods and sugar, what worked, what failed, and the practical steps she now uses when supporting other families. We talk about teen motivation, peer pressure, school food challenges, identity, and how to make real food feel empowering rather than restrictive.

This conversation explores parenting in a sugar-saturated environment, unprocessed living, family dynamics, and how small, realistic shifts at home can reduce stress for both kids and parents.

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

Falling off track after Christmas doesn’t mean you failed — it means you’re human 🧠

In this episode, we talk honestly about what happens after Christmas, when routines slip, stress builds, and guilt starts creeping in. We share how each of us navigated the holidays, what threw us off track, and how we reset without shame or self-punishment.

We explore intentional vs unplanned choices, the impact of sleep and stress, why labels can trap identity, and what living a carnivore way of life looks like when real life isn’t tidy. This is a grounded conversation about awareness, self-kindness, and moving forward with clarity instead of guilt.

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

✨ Weight loss isn’t always linear — especially when healing is involved.

In this episode, we explore why weight loss can feel effortless at first on carnivore, and why stalls, plateaus, or even weight gain can show up later. We talk through real experiences with fat loss, body recomposition, and maintenance — and why the scale doesn’t always tell the full story.

We discuss hormones, metabolism, dairy, protein-to-fat balance, sweeteners, stress, sleep, and circadian rhythm, and why supporting the body’s healing process often matters more than chasing weight loss alone.

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

📄 Sources & References

(Referenced in episode discussion and available in the YouTube description for those who wish to explore further.)

🧠 About the Evidence

Our conversations reference experimental and mechanistic research from human physiology, metabolism, and endocrinology — alongside clinical explanations popularized by Paul Mason — to explore how insulin, hormones, and lifestyle factors influence weight loss and metabolic health.

These discussions are educational and interpretive, not prescriptive medical advice.

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

You knew better and still did it. 🧠

In this episode, Cindy shares a real moment of going off track during stress, choosing comfort in the moment and waking up dealing with the consequences. We talk honestly about why staying carnivore can feel hardest when emotions, hormones, and old habits collide.

We explore emotional eating, all-or-nothing thinking, sugar as an addictive pattern, and practical ways to reset with kindness, perspective, and one day at a time thinking. This is a human conversation about slipping, learning, and choosing again without shame.

🤝 Community Where We Met

We first connected through Dr. Anthony Chaffee’s Private Patreon Community and Discord, a space for carnivore and ancestral health discussion.

https://www.patreon.com/anthonychaffeemd

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

Reduce stress in real time by changing how you breathe. 🌿

In this episode, Cindy guides us through practical breath awareness exercises that help shift the body out of stress and into a state of calm and regulation. We explore how posture, diaphragmatic breathing, and slowing the breath activate the relaxation response and support long-term health.

This is a hands-on episode you can practice along with anywhere — at home, at work, or in moments of stress — using simple tools you already have.

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

🧠 About the Evidence

Our conversations reference experimental and observational research from the natural sciences — including physiology, nervous system regulation, and stress response — to explore how awareness and breathing influence health. These discussions are educational and interpretive, not prescriptive medical advice.

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.

🧠 Stress isn’t just in your head — it’s happening in your body.

In this episode, we explore what stress actually is beyond the feeling. Cindy explains how stress affects the nervous system, why chronic fight-or-flight can quietly disrupt nearly every system in the body, and why awareness is the first step toward real change.

We walk through the history of stress research, share personal stories, and spend time working through the Holmes–Rahe stress inventory together — reflecting on how recent life events contribute to overall stress load. Cindy also introduces her foundational CALM technique. This is Part 1 of a two-part series, setting the groundwork for practical regulation tools in Part 2.

🧩 You can download Cindy’s version of the Holmes–Rahe Stress Test here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12CPoMkdCBZYrmpQ5O2n_NDyENpko3OS_/view

🎵 Music

"Marathon Man" by Jason Shaw (Audionautix.com) — CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

🧠 About the Evidence

Our conversations reference experimental and observational research from the natural sciences — including physiology, stress biology, neuroscience, and metabolic studies — to explore what the evidence shows about human resilience and healing. These discussions are educational and interpretive, not prescriptive medical advice.

Disclaimer

Everything we share comes from our own journeys and experiences. We’re not doctors, and nothing here is meant as medical advice. Always make decisions about your health with a trusted professional.