Always Keep Learning

Always Keep Learning

Something happened yesterday that I was ecstatic about, and I want to share it: A very pleasant woman came in for a return visit, and was direct with me. She told me she "couldn't follow” the specific dietary program we'd shown her. I asked, ‘Why?”

Well, as it turns out, she found it complicated and, being the very busy woman she is, didn't relish the idea of documenting and being preoccupied by food portions.

What she did though, based on our recommendations, was read Dr. Jason Fung's book The Obesity Code and began following her own fasting regime of 6 to 8 hours of eating, and 18 to 16 hours of fasting. She focused only on lowering all starchy carbohydrates and sugar. The result? She feels fantastic, she has no cravings, and she lost 4 pounds in one week.

My point is that we always need to find out what works for each of us as individuals. I want, and hope, for people to read more, learn more, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts, ask questions, and never, EVER feel badly about doing something that doesn't exactly fit our template (or any other template). As a society, we can get lost in the multitude of "ways” to be healthy...be it the ‘low fat' mentality, vegetarianism, veganism, paleo, ketogenic, Mediterranean, very low calorie, growth hormone diets, etc. It is confusing and overwhelming!

Simplify, simplify, simplify. If I had to over-simplify, I would simply say, watch (and I mean really watch) your intake of starchy/high-sugar carbohydrates (breads, cereals, anything baked or made with sugar, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc.). They aren't packed with nutrients, they mainly raise insulin and prevent weight loss; often they lead to weight gain. Similarly, I would recommend everyone to look at some degree of fasting. (Dr. Fung's most recent blog is on this topic). I recommend it, not just for weight loss, but for the health benefits from a process called autophagy. Basically, when we don't eat, ‘bad cells' and inflammatory proteins are eliminated from the body. They are looking at using this in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimers, even cancer, in combination with lowering daily intake of carbohydrates.

So, I am very impressed with any of you who learn to follow your own path and learn what works for you. Importantly again, don't be afraid to change what you are doing. If it's not working, change. Try something different. Each of you has a different metabolism and each of you has a different set of stresses/demands in your life. Our goal is to help people to develop healthy lifestyle habits that they will maintain forever. No person is exactly alike, so we will always work with you to find out what fits with your life and works for YOUR body. Ask questions, advocate for yourself, and do your own research to tweak your regime if your body is getting used to what you're doing.

Keep reading. Keep learning. Keep trying to find what works for you.

You can do it...never give up!

Dr. Doug