Get a quote

Free Consultation

Book a Call

BOOK NOW

GET STARTED

Menu

Blog

visceral fat infographic

What is Visceral Fat?

, ,

Having a healthy body is about more than just your weight. Your body is made up of various components, including water, muscle, fat, bone and more. When it comes to your body composition, the most harmful component is visceral fat. 

What is visceral fat?

Visceral fat, also called abdominal obesity or belly fat, is the fat that surrounds your internal organs inside your abdominal cavity.

Why is visceral fat bad?

Everyone has visceral fat, but having too much of it can lead to chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, asthma, and cancer.

 

visceral fat infographic

 

Visceral fat also releases 50+ harmful inflammatory molecules into your body and bloodstream. These inflammatory compounds include IL-6, IL-1b, PAI-I, and TNF-alpha, among many others. These compounds cause inflammation and can lead to chronic illnesses like the ones mentioned above. Visceral fat can also release angiotensin, which is a protein that can increase your blood pressure, and RBP4 which makes you more resistant to insulin.

 

Inflammatory Markers Visceral Fat

How to measure visceral fat?

Having a protruding abdomen is an indicator that you may have excessive visceral fat. While women with a waist 35+ inches and men 40+ inches have shown the greatest risk of death from CVD & other health issues, women with waist sizes 28 inches and higher and men 36 inches and higher also have elevated risk and studies have shown that VF accumulation is pathologic well below these 35/40 inch waist values. Waist to hip ratio is also used to try and better gauge the level of visceral fat, but because visceral fat is not only found in the abdomen, it extends up into the neck in most cases the true visceral fat load and risk doesn’t usually correlate with waist sizes alone. As waist sizes get bigger, yes it is indicative of more visceral fat, but as they get smaller there is discordance that include factors like gender, ethnicity, economic status and more. Visceral fat around the lungs, heart and major vessels have as big, if not bigger, impact on cardiovascular health events and other comorbidities than the visceral fat in the abdominal cavity. This is one of the proposed reasons that hidden obesity or visceral fat accumulation in overweight but non-obese and also normal weight people is so deadly. The effects of visceral fat located in the thoracic (chest) cavity can wreak havoc for years before the waist sizes are large enough to be considered high risk.


 

Visceral Fat Level

Visceral fat can be accurately measured using sophisticated imaging techniques like CT & MRI, and also in an inexpensive non-invasive manner using bioelectrical impedance analysis scales. Tanita pioneered this technique and have published numerous white papers on its tight correlation with DEXA scans. Blood levels of some of the compounds mentioned above are also being developed as markers of visceral fat levels. 

 

Relationship Between Stress and Visceral Fat

Stress causes increased visceral fat in many ways. First, when we are stressed we tend to reach for foods that are not the most nutritious. Also, stress causes your body to release a stress hormone called cortisol. Studies have shown that long-term elevated cortisol levels lead to increased visceral fat.

 

stress weight gain

 

Visceral Belly Fat Removal

Can you use liposuction for visceral fat? No. Visceral fat is found inside your body and liposuction is used to remove small amounts of fat from the outside of your body under your skin. The best way to reduce or burn visceral fat is through significant lifestyle changes and nutrition, like the 20Lighter program.

 

How does visceral fat cause heart disease?

When the harmful compounds mentioned above are released into your bloodstream, where they have both systemic and local effects in organs like the heart. The inflammation they cause can lead to a plaque forming on the arteries that feed your heart muscles (called coronary arteries). Over time, these plaques can grow and rupture, leading to a heart attack. Visceral fat is also tightly linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), and while plaques play a role, the direct and indirect effects of hypertension have as big an impact on cardiovascular disease and stroke as plaques do. The inflammatory molecules in the circulation and also in local visceral fat stores (such as around the blood vessels) also cause changes in the endothelium that lines the major blood vessels and heart causing additional problems like leaky blood vessel walls and immune cell activation. 

 

BMI vs. Body Composition

BMI is a simple measurement based on your weight and height alone. It is commonly used by medical professionals because of its simplicity and ease of use. Body composition is a more accurate measurement of your overall health, but most medical offices do not have the tools to provide a thorough analysis of your body composition. Bioelectrical impedance scales are available and not much more expensive than a regular commercial body weight scale, and more doctors and healthcare professionals are starting to use them. 

 

How to reduce visceral fat?

Besides choosing a program like 20Lighter that is targeted to reducing inflammation and visceral fat, getting adequate sleep, quitting smoking, taking care of your mental health, and reducing your stress levels can help you toward your health goals.

visceral fat best weight loss programs

Coronavirus

20Lighter Announces Coronavirus Initiative

, ,

The 20Lighter co-founders announce a coronavirus initiative to help Americans with chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and obesity to take positive steps towards better health, lower their risk of infection, improve the odds of full recovery if infected, and address the effects of a prolonged lockdown and sedentary work from/stay at home lifestyle.

 

In response to many inquiries from prospective clients about how to best optimize their health amid the coronavirus outbreak, here we:

  • review why overall health has never been more important,
  • share how a 20Lighter program can be done in the current environment,
  • explain why now is an excellent time to address chronic health issues with a 20Lighter program, and
  • announce wholesale pricing will be offered to the public through June 15th.

 

Why your overall health is critically important

It’s not a secret that obesity and metabolic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and lipids are, in their own right, at epidemic proportions here in the United States. Unfortunately this is a result of many factors including the move away from daily physical activity (long commutes, sedentary jobs, longer hours in front of the computer and TV), changes in our food (away from freshly prepared and towards highly processed items and easy meals, etc.), and the tendency towards ignoring or not understanding the personal significance/impact of the problem. But now risks of obesity, hypertension and diabetes should be clear to everyone.

The coronavirus has awakened our society from its comfortable slumber. We see social media discussions by ‘average Joes’ discussing the number of ICU beds in the health system, the state of viral diagnostics, and epidemiology (‘flatten the curve’). Data emerging from the rest of the world shows that while older people are at risk for infection and death, so are those with chronic health issues including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension. The CDC itself notes this on their website:

“…patients who reported no underlying medical conditions had an overall case fatality of 0.9%, but case fatality was higher for patients with comorbidities: 10.5% for those with cardiovascular disease, 7% for diabetes, and 6% each for chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer.”   https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html

Is now the time for a 20Lighter Program?

The consequences of chronic health conditions are now even more obvious, and it’s time we started to take our individual and collective health much, much more seriously. Since the coronavirus became more publicly discussed in early March 2020, we have received an overwhelming number of inquiries from prospective new clients realizing they need to do something to address the chronic conditions that put them at higher risk, but are unsure what to do and if now is a good time. So what can people do in the short term to improve their health, to best position themselves to avoid infection and down the line, if they do get sick, to have the best chance of a full recovery? Beyond the obvious and widely circulated, social distancing and hand washing, sleep is important, as is stress reduction. For those who are looking for a way to minimize the risk of infection to themselves and their loved ones, and since a major stockpile of toilet paper alone is not an effective option 🙂 we wanted to discuss why it is worth considering a 20Lighter program as an opportunity to use the time available to achieve short-term health improvements and lay the groundwork for long-term good health.

First of all, 20Lighter is not a diet– it’s a comprehensive program lasting 34 or 60 days that incorporates physiological, behavioral, and nutritional components to help participants achieve dramatic and long lasting benefits. Our program is 100% telehealth based, you do not need to leave your home for consultations or follow-up appointments. Our meal plans incorporate lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. Many clients have been incredibly successful using frozen vegetables and fruits, and lean proteins like chicken, fish, beef and turkey can also be frozen for convenience. Our weekly guides provide everything a person inexperienced with food prep needs to plan and prepare their meals… from the list of items needed in the kitchen, to a weekly grocery shopping list, and a day-by-day detailed prep guide.

Second, 20Lighter routinely works with clients who have a variety of health issues who come to us specifically because of their desire to reduce medications and regain their good health. Our data has been published in peer reviewed journals and presented at a variety of medical conferences including the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association (AHA). We are including a link to our data page here: https//20Lighter.com/data take a look at the Case Report (Currently in press at a peer reviewed medical journal) to get a sense of the changes that are possible for an ‘average Joe’, a 47 year old participant with poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. It is a great way to gauge changes in blood glucose, HbA1c, lipids and blood pressure that are possible with a 20Lighter 40Day program. The data page has many other presentations that also provide a bigger picture snapshot of 20Lighter client outcomes.  As our data highlights, it is NEVER TOO LATE to make significant progress on your chronic health issues, and that progress can be long lasting with the right program. We are here to help.

Third, as we all know, this is a stressful time, perhaps more so than any other time in our lives. So much uncertainty and disruption of normal schedules is hard to manage for even the best of us. But finding something to do, particularly something that helps improve your health, is one of the best ways to combat that stress especially as we begin the task of returning to our normal way of life. Taking time to build a healthier future is one of the best uses of the time we have on hand. Do a program with your spouse, as a group with other family members or coworkers around the country and share your progress.

What is the 20Lighter coronavirus initiative?

The best way we at 20Lighter can help America overcome this historic challenge is to work to improve the health of those with weight and metabolic disease risks in an efficient and expedited manner. In order to help as many people optimize their health to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, and improve the likelihood of a full recovery if infected we are offering both the 20Day and 40Day programs at wholesale pricing to all prospective clients because we know that the economic impact of COVID-19 is a real and important concern.

Those who are considering a program are encouraged to book a brief (~20-30 minute) consult to discuss their individual situation and goals here: https://calendly.com/20lighter/30min

If you are interested in financing your 20Lighter Program, you can assess your options with no risk at: https://consumer.hcsloans.com/setup/3924

Quotefancy-1725210-3840x2160

The Power of Goals

, , ,

January has come to a close and with it many (even most) New Year’s Resolutions. Why is that? Why do most people abandon their resolutions or goals so early in the year? Perhaps it has as much to do with how the goals are structured (or not structured) than with the level of commitment to those goals. Resolutions and goals can play an important role in self-improvement, but only if they are designed the right way. This blog post helps you evaluate if your goals are designed for maximum benefit, talks about how 20Lighter uses goals to encourage client success, and shares a personal experience with a my January goal (everybody loves a video!).

So what does a well designed goal look like? Let’s review the components that make your goal a “good” one and what constitutes a bad or weak goal. A good goal needs to be clearly defined, quantifiable, and have a set timeframe. I’ll bet you know someone whose 2019 goal was to “lose weight”, and while it seems like a great idea, it is a weak goal. It is too ambiguous… and it lacks action and metrics. Lose what? How much? By when? If I take off my heavy sweatshirt before hopping on the scale, I am sure I can see a change in the number on the scale… but is it valuable? That certainly does not improve your health or appearance (unless it was that ‘lucky’ sweatshirt you only wear around the house). Be specific; define your goal in relation to the outcome you want. Next, make sure your goal is quantitative, not qualitative. How much do you want to lose? A half pound, two pounds, ten pounds? There is a big difference between a half pound and ten pounds… make sure your goal has meaning. Lastly, put an expiration date on it. When do you want to lose that weight? In a month, or by your birthday, or that upcoming class reunion? Let’s apply these guidelines and reexamine our original goal: wanting to “lose weight” now becomes wanting to “lose 10lbs of body fat by my upcoming class reunion on May 15th”. Now with this well designed goal you can include some checkpoints to make sure you are on track. You should be down at least 2.5lbs by February 27th, 5lbs by March 22nd, and 7.5lbs by April 20th to be on track, so add these milestones to your calendar. Make a plan of action and outline the actual steps you will take, things you will do (or not do) to lose the weight and reach these smaller goals that add up to success of the bigger goal.

Our flagship programs at 20Lighter start with well defined goals for each participant… lose 10lbs of body fat in 20 days or lose 20lbs of body fat in 40 days. The client and the provider track progress in the mobile app where body composition changes are updated daily and a graph populates helping clients visualize their progress in an easy to understand way. We know that some days are easy and some days are not so easy, such is life. But goals pull you up and push you through… the momentum of progress is so hugely motivating. Once clients see that they can and are making tangible progress towards their goal they get excited and become more engaged as the program moves along. Inevitably, rough days happen, but sharing your goals with others allows you to tap into them for support. Here is an exchange typical for this time of year, with the Super Bowl just a couple days away:

“Joe, you are down 8lbs on day 9 of your 20Day program. I know SuperBowl Sunday will be a challenge, but your 10lb goal is within reach and your stretch goal is 15lbs is coming into sight! Hang tough, remember this is about you and your health and I believe in you. So if you need some personal cheerleading just message me here in the app anytime on Sunday because I am here to help!”

Reiterating where one is in relation to the big picture, reminding them of their progress thus far, confirming that the result is within reach, and providing a support mechanism is how we help our clients through those hard days… the goal pulls them up and helps push them through the tough times. Perspective, motivation, empowerment… well designed goals help you succeed.

My personal January goal was to complete ‘The Winter Warrior Challenge’ with pretty well defined parameters: run at least 1 mile every day in January, outside. This goal tied directly into my bigger 2019 goal of running a half marathon in the Fall, and I decided to give it a go. Once I committed, my mind wandered to milestones and sub-goals… running more total distance each week, and ending with an average of at least 2.0 miles each day. Overall, I wanted to use this challenge as a way to ramp up my fitness after the Thanksgiving to New Year’s running hiatus without causing an injury. Some days it was not difficult to get out the door, as I was energetic and feeling motivated to complete my goal. Other days when I was tired, it was snowing, or downright frigid it was tough to get out there. To keep the challenge in the forefront of my mind, I put a printed calendar on the fridge and marked the mileage each day. I kept proving to myself that I was capable of more than I had previously thought, and more and more I wanted to see every day marked on that sheet of paper. Quite the feeling on January 31st when my calendar was complete and my mileage totaled 65.5 miles with each week showing a slightly higher mileage. I’m excited to see what I can accomplish in February with my new understanding of what I am capable of doing. I decided just before my first run to make this Winter Warrior Challenge one I would share with you, so I took a picture everyday while running and put together this 1-minute video to inspire you to evaluate the goals in your life and make sure they are helping you succeed:

Define your goals, set attainable endpoints, add checkpoints to gauge your progress, share with others, and keep your eyes on the prize. Nothing worth having in this life comes without sacrifice, be prepared to work for what you truly want! If your goals include improving your health, reducing your weight and risk of disease, schedule a free consult to learn how 20Lighter can assist. Helping people make tangible progress is what we do every day, let’s discuss your goals and how 2019 can be the year you make your health and wellbeing a priority.

heart2b

The Sleep-Cardiovascular Risk Relationship Highlighted at AHA2018

, , , , , , , , , ,

On Saturday at the America Heart Association Scientific Sessions we attended a morning session titled ‘Reducing Cardiometabolic Risk by Improving Sleep’, a topic that is near and dear to my heart.

The four talks ranged in scope from how sleep can improve cardiovascular (CV) risk, to how much sleep one needs, to the role of the circadian system in CV health & disease. This area of study is closely related to my doctoral thesis work, which focused on the molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock- literally how that clock functions on a sub-cellular level.

 

While the circadian system is not well known by consumers (and even physicians for that matter), it has a role in nearly every major organ system and disease… cancer, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, infertility, and yes obesity, metabolic, and CV disease. It’s very exciting to see docs now interested in the role it plays, learning how its disruption influences health and disease, and asking how they can start to implement measures to improve function of the circadian system, lower risk of disease, and improve the health of their patients.

Data presented at this year’s AHA conference included a review of direct and indirect effects of sleep disruption on CV risk & outcomes. There is a clear relationship between both good sleep and lower disease risk/improved CV outcomes and between poor sleep and higher disease risk/worse CV outcomes.

The session speakers highlighted the direct and indirect negative effects that sleep disruption can have on CV disease risk (development of diabetes, atherosclerosis, etc), and cardiometabolic outcomes (changes in blood glucose, stroke, heart attack, etc). They also called attention to the benefit good quality sleep can have on these same parameters, luckily it’s not just a one sided situation- good sleep can dramatically reduce risk and improve outcomes!

However, sleep is not something one can fix with a snap of a finger, or a prescription pad. The first step is assessment; are you getting enough sleep? Are you able to fall asleep without tossing and turning for a long period of time? Do you sleep through the night? Do you feel rested when you wake up?

The next step is education; bright light, even a cell phone screen or TV within 1-2 hours of bedtime is enough light to disrupt the natural process your brain uses to transition to sleep. Move the TV out of the bedroom, turn off the cell phone, and make the bedroom environment conducive to sleep.

The last step is execution; don’t burn the candle at both ends, sleep is an important part of good health so proactively make time for it.

 

Often what we see on our program is after about 7-10 days clients report sleeping ‘better’… for some that means falling asleep more readily, waking up less often, and/or feeling rested and refreshed the next morning. Overall that improvement is important, no matter what aspect it is from.

Dr. Dembrowski and I understand that obesity, metabolic and CV diseases are extremely complex, and as a result, there is no single target or thing that will prove effective in combating them. Packaged foods, counting points, a pill prescribed for high blood pressure or high cholesterol, no carbs… these things are not going to address the problem and are not going to be effective in improving your health over the long term. They can provide short term changes, transient effects on the scale, they can treat the symptoms by reducing your blood sugar or blood pressure but they do not change the disease process itself… period, end of discussion.

20Lighter flagship programs were designed to be highly integrated- to incorporate as many different complimentary strategies to disrupt the mechanisms promoting disease, because that is how you have a real long term positive impact on health you go after what is causing it.

I could talk for hours about different aspects of the 20Lighter Program—our meal plan design, the natural strategies we use to break the cycle of inflammation throughout the body, how our programs are designed to re-establish robust circadian signaling and why that is so important, the role education of healthy sleep habits plays, or about the importance of reducing more than just body weight. We are fundamentally different because our programs are not predicated on a single ‘thing.’ All the aspects I just mentioned are equally important to the overall long term success of 20Lighter clients.

Think of it this way, you have driven your car for years over very poorly maintained roads and as a result the frame is bent, the suspension is shot, gas mileage is poor, and the tires wear unevenly. If you use a better grade of gas or get new tires, will it fix the problem?

 

Nope—It may temporarily improve the symptoms (worn out tires and bad gas mileage) but it will not fix the underlying issues that cause the car to have problems.

What makes 20Lighter different and why our program so effective for so many people is that we take a shotgun approach as we go after those causative issues, and we do it in a way that is not complicated from a client perspective. Our programs require commitment and work, but they are straightforward and they are relatively short.

Obesity, metabolic, and CV disease are complex health issues, the reasons why and how 20Lighter programs are painstakingly designed are equally complicated, but the program itself is not complicated and stunningly effective.

 

ahacrop

AHA2018- Cardiologists continue to lead the pack on big picture thinking

, , , , , , , , , ,

This is a very busy week for us at 20Lighter, as we have our two biggest medical conferences of the year back to back. On Saturday, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions kicked off in Chicago. The three-day conference has been very well attended with ~13,000 total cardiology docs taking time out of the office to spend time here in Chicago. Later today we fly down to Nashville for ObesityWeek, more on that as the week progresses.

I’ve been attending medical conferences for about 20 years, and in that time the norm has been that most specialist meetings stay in their lane… cancer conferences focus on cancer, neuro meetings focus on neuro topics, etc. However, the exception to that rule has always been the cardiologists, who, by nature are quicker to embrace new ideas and to adopt therapeutic options shown to improve outcomes and the lives of their patients. Historically I have found most other physician groups are slower to accept and adopt new technologies, procedures, and standards of care- it takes a lot of time and effort to sway them. At this year’s AHA meeting, the field once again shows they have a keen eye to the horizon where topics with less traditional direct relationship to cardiology may, in fact, provide important information in understanding disease processes and offer novel avenues to treat them.

Of particular interest to us were two special symposia, highlighted by conference organizers and prominently displayed in the daily attendee newsletter and on the conference mobile app. These sessions were held in major conference rooms and garnered lots of attendees, they weren’t token discussions held in small rooms far from the main action of the conference. The symposia focused on (1) the role of gut health and the microbiome (bacterial colonies that live in your gastrointestinal tract) on cardiovascular health and disease and (2) the role of circadian control of sleep and feeding in cardiovascular (CV) events and outcomes. These are pretty far-out topics for cardiologists, topics we at 20Lighter have been focusing on since our inception almost 4 years ago in an effort to use a bigger picture strategy in designing a truly effective weight loss and metabolic health program.

The symposia themselves are made up of between 3-5 different short presentations (often ~10-15m each) that have an overarching theme but can be very different from one another. As I sat in the audience and listened to the experts that AHA had invited to share new and exotic perspectives, I was excited to see the cardiologists were very engaged. The discussions after the talks were chock full of excellent ‘how should I think about implementing these new perspectives into my practice’ and to the credit of the presenters sometimes the answer was ‘I don’t know- this is new cutting edge stuff and we aren’t really sure what to do, but it’s important for you to know about them because they will likely be very important in the future’. Gutsy move by the conference organizers to consciously challenge their colleagues to begin thinking out of the box and towards the future on these particular topics.

The conversations we had with colleagues at our poster session were also very interesting. While discussing our visceral fat reduction data the cardiologists were vocally supportive and confirmed our feeling that reduction of visceral fat in particular was critical in reducing risk of disease and events (heart attack, stroke, etc). In general, the folks stopping by our poster to chat were incredibly well informed and seemed truly excited to find a weight loss program that was looking beyond the number on the scale to quantitate tangible benefits and measurable health improvements- especially in participants that were on medications for common comorbidities.

Tomorrow’s blog post will discuss the take-away messages from the ‘Reducing Cardiometabolic Risk by Improving Sleep’ and ‘You Are What You Eat: The Intestinal Microbiome and Cardiometabolic Disease’ AHA symposia. I’ll also discuss why and how the 20Lighter program has incorporated these important topics into the Flagship programs. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

20L-widescreen-Podcast-Art

New Podcast Series!

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In his latest podcast series, 20Lighter co-founder Dr. Gerry Dembrowski discusses “What is Making Us Sick & Fat”. The three episodes cover a pretty wide range of topics including ‘The Obesogen Hypothesis’ that postulates chemical food additives (artificial sweeteners, preservatives, etc) seriously contribute to weight gain and health problems, evidence showing the food and beverage industry and main stream weight-loss industry collaborate to enrich themselves at the expense of our health, nutrient differences in organic versus non-organic foods and grass-fed versus grain-fed meat, and what we have been told for years causes weight gain is not actually supported by the scientific literature.
Listen to this new podcast series & others here: http://20lighter.libsyn.com/

Tolle2

Let It Go: 5 Tips for Focusing on the Present & Maximizing Your Future

, , , , , , , ,

Letting go is not always easy. Something you did (or did not do), ideas, expectations, desires, people, bad habits… the list goes on. Sometimes our struggles weigh heavily on our shoulders long after they happen, holding us back and preventing us from moving forward. There are many theories why people are unwilling or unable to let go and move on, but experts all agree that the most successful and happy people all have found healthy ways to make peace with their past, and focus their energy on being their best self in the present.


Here are 5 ways to help yourself let go of the past, focus on the present, and maximize your future.

1. Let go of the negative feelings you are carrying around

We spend too much of our precious time dwelling on the past. As much as you might want you cannot change the past, and allowing yourself to feel shame, guilt, anger, and other negative feelings does nothing but hurt the present. If your brain is focused on the past it can’t be focused on the here and now. Stop revisiting things you can’t change and stop allowing your mind to focus on the past because that time and energy is wasted on what will not help you right now. Yes, things in the past were difficult and decisions made were perhaps not ideal- take responsibility for your happiness now. Detach from the emotional component of past experiences and resolve to learn from them but not allow them to damage or prohibit your growth moving forward. Learn from mistakes, but do not be defined by them.

2. Re-evaluate your environment

It’s time to take stock of where you go and those you spend time with. Are the places you frequent contributing positively to the person you want to be, or are they holding you back? Are those around you elevating you? Letting go of your past struggles, old habits, people who aren’t serving your best interest, and anything else that is not helping you be your best, isn’t an easy task, because it requires leaving your comfort zone. This is why many people simply choose to maintain the status quo. They keep coming up with excuses as to why they shouldn’t let go of their past YET, rather than embrace change. Think about your goals, what is important to you and then ask yourself what kinds of things and people would help me towards that goal?

At the Run To Remember over Memorial Day weekend I overheard a runner talking. He was saying that in hopes of getting into shape for this event, he had joined a Facebook group about running on a whim. Turns out the support and motivation he received from people he didn’t even know shocked him. He found himself encouraging others and using the positive feedback he received to fuel his enthusiasm every week as he improved. He was so happy and so excited to participate in the Run To Remember not only because it would be the longest event he participated in but also so he could share his success with those in his group. Support is all around you, you just need to look.

3. Create space for new things & positive thoughts

As you let go of your past struggles, you create space for new things. As you stop focusing on what has been you allow yourself to consider what makes you happy. Look for people and places that help you be the best you, that provide support and encouragement. What calms your nerves… the ocean, mountains, good music, dancing, walking your dog? Who likes the healthy things you like? Ask around- hey anyone want to go for a walk at lunchtime? Use social media like the runner at the Run To Remember, join a walking group, a book group, a public speaking group. Create daily, weekly and monthly goals… attainable goals. Try new things, you won’t like them all but you will like some and those new things are opportunities learn about yourself and lead to other opportunities. Use those small positives to build momentum and share those accomplishments with those your care about and who care about you. The world is full of opportunities waiting to be discovered, divert time and energy away from negative and funnel them towards positive personal growth.

4. Know who you are not, at least as much as who you are

I would very much love to be musically inclined, to play one or two instruments with skill and precision, but I will not ever be able to accomplish that goal. And that’s ok, because I am able to enjoy the talent of other musicians and let music enrich my life through their artistry and dedication to their craft. This is a small example of using that knowledge of who you are not to open opportunities to who you are… I am not a musician, but a music lover. Sometimes knowing who we are not is extremely informative and guides us to who we are. It’s ok not to be everything, but it is important to use that information to help guide you to who you are. Again, reassess the places you go, the people you spend time with and make sure you are allowing yourself the freedom to not be something you are truly not. There is a great short speech by Matthew McConaughey where he speaks about the importance of this topic; about allowing yourself to focus on who you want to be by eliminating things that work against you attaining that best self. It’s 5 minutes that give great perspective and something to think about, and I strongly suggest you check it out.

5. Accept you will make mistakes, but have the discipline to learn from them and move on

Time and again I hear the Thomas Edison quote of ‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.’ None of us are perfect, and no matter how hard you try life will go awry and you will make mistakes down the line. But don’t allow those mistakes to become set backs and derail your path forward. Edison used his 10,000 ways that wouldn’t work to produce one that would, and changed the world. Only you control your happiness. Use the tools you have gathered and those around you for support to figure out what went wrong, why it went wrong, what you can learn from it, and then aspire to not make that mistake again. Accept you are not perfect, and provide a path forward not backward.

Every moment of every day presents an opportunity to be who you want to be, to make choices to work toward your goals, and to create that best self. You need have the courage to shrug off the emotional baggage of the past, and make choices in the present to fuel becoming that best self in the future. We all have a past and we are all shaped by it, but we are not bound to it. Only you have the power to define who you are and who you will be. No one can do that work for you; it’s up to you to accept you are not perfect and to seize opportunities that promote happiness in your life.

horse

Horse of a Different Color: The Importance of Data Impacting Lives

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We are often asked why we go through all the trouble of IRB protocol approval, put in the weeks of work needed to analyze data, write and submit abstracts, design poster presentations, and present data at medical meetings. It requires a lot of time, a ton of analysis and writing, and more than a little bit of financial investment. The answer to the question of ‘why’ is rooted in the scientific foundations of our program. The 20Lighter Program is not just another weight loss program. Our goal from day 1 has been to assist clients in rebuilding their overall health. Yes, weight is a part of that, but it is not the whole story.

Dr. Dembrowski’s long history of patient interaction taught him that wellness was not just a function of the scale being at a certain number, but the whole picture of how a person was feeling… aches and pains, medications (and side effects of medications), sleep (quantity & quality), mental clarity, mood and self image. We worked together to produce a program that, to our very best ability, could address as many of these parts of the whole as possible. And at every step in the process we would get feedback from colleagues that the ‘diet’ and ‘weight loss’ industry is one big gimmick and you will be classified as another ‘fad diet’, that it takes pharmacologic therapy to walk a person back from the brink of disease and tissue damage, that overweight people just lack discipline and don’t want real help, and that if people just learned to put down the fork things would be different.

But what we found to be true in our discussions with clients and our exhaustive review of the scientific literature on almost every aspect of weight, metabolic, and disease processes was that only ONE of those commonly held beliefs by our colleagues was partly true. The weight loss industry is for sure full of gimmicks, but we work every day to distance ourselves from the industry whose main goal is to generate money by keeping those consumers hooked on their diet products or group meetings or subscriptions.

Over the past 3 years we have seen with our own eyes that a cross-discipline approach that embraces a return to freshly prepared foods focusing on good nutrition and natural (homeopathic) means of reducing inflammation- not another pill being pushed by a pharmaceutical company- can have clinically relevant and long lasting impact. Our clients are educated and shown what needs to be done for them to see improvements in how they look, how they feel, and in their health overall. As they prove to themselves that they can have a dramatic impact in a relatively short period of time without adding more medications, without having weight loss surgery, and eating prepackaged foods and shakes that confidence builds and what may have seemed like an impossible journey previously is now looking do-able.

On our program we have proven that our colleagues are holding some pretty significant misconceptions. So while we work to spread the word to our clients about their ability to change their situation and their lives, we also work to educate our colleagues. Our labor of love in preparing data for presentation is important for many reasons with two being the standouts. First and foremost, we want to show our colleagues the progress and results that can be achieved when you take the time to put together a program that addresses issues underlying the cause(s) of weight gain and of metabolic disease, that teaches clients what those underlying issues are, what triggers them, and works to establish good healthy habits long after their program is finished. You would be surprised how many health professionals have come to our posters and been blow away by our data…

Them: Your attrition rate must be ridiculous? Us: No, over 95% of those who start our program complete it.

Them: You must have excluded a ton of people. Us: No, our only contraindications are pregnancy or breastfeeding, current treatment for cancer, major organ transplant with immunosuppressive drugs, schizophrenia, or being over 70 with three or more CV comorbidities.

Them: Wow, that’s a really average looking baseline demographic. Us: Yes, our average client is 54 years old with a BMI of 34, and takes 3 daily prescription medications. Our program works for the real average person.

Them: This is the first data I have seen at this meeting looking at reduction of visceral fat in a weight loss program. Us: Well, we thought it would be critical to gauge the important surrogates of disease as best we could. Makes you wonder what real benefit beyond weight reduction other programs are actually having, doesn’t it?

Physician or health professional referrals account for one third of our clientele. In almost all cases those referrals come from docs who have had other patients go through our program and be successful or those docs themselves have gone through our program and been successful. Nothing is more convincing than seeing results firsthand.

The second reason we do these analyses and presentations is because it informs us on how our clients have done on program historically. This allows us to share solid data-driven information with clients concerned or focused on specific aspects relevant to them. I have type 2 diabetes what can I expect for results? Will my antidepressant medication impact my ability to do well on 20Lighter? The more we understand how specific groups of clients do versus our clients as a whole, the better we can talk with prospective clients about how they will benefit from the program based on actual data, unlike other programs who rely on generalities and shrug off questions and addressing specific concerns with ‘oh yes our clients do great’ and avoid providing meaningful responses. 20Lighter takes the health and well being of our clients incredibly seriously, and we feel understanding- in a granular way- how our clients perform and what co-morbidities impact their ability to do well is of significant importance.

You might get the feeling that the 20Lighter Program is not like other weight loss program- perhaps we are a ‘horse of a different color’. You are 100% right- we actively work to NOT be like other programs. We feel being different, having unique goals and being vocal about that is just who we are. While the weight loss industry may be about those companies with household names doing well, 20Lighter is about doing good, with a strong focus on our clients doing well.

trader joes organic green kombucha trader joes coconut creamer

Are You Leaving the Grocery Store Without These Four Items?

, , , , , , , , , , ,

There is considerable evidence linking the food we eat to a variety of illnesses. It’s not just a case of what we eat, but also what we don’t eat. So, in honor of #ShoppingCartDay here is a list of four must haves to add in your grocery shopping cart!


1. Shiitake & Button Mushrooms — A great source of vitamin D

Mushrooms are the only plant-based food that can make vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, in a manner similar to how your skin makes vitamin D. Place your mushrooms by a kitchen window for an afternoon prior to using them to get the best bang for your buck.

Research suggests that vitamin D intake can facilitate the absorption of essential trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, and selenium. Healthy levels of trace minerals are required for all metabolic processes. There is literally no physiologic process, at the cellular or systemic level, that can operate at its best (or even operate efficiently) without trace minerals.

Vitamin D deficiency is common in teens and adults, so focusing on natural food-based options to help enrich your levels is a great (and easy) way to help ensure you are getting enough!


2. Bison — a complete protein, never exposed to antibiotics or growth hormone

What is a complete protein you ask? The difference between ‘complete’ and ‘incomplete’ proteins is that complete proteins contain all essential amino acids your body requires daily, and incomplete proteins only contain some essential amino acids. Your body digests proteins you eat into amino acids, the building blocks needed to repair tissues in your body, provide energy, and perform all body functions. Because bison is a free-range animal and isn’t grain fed like commercially raised cattle the meat is rich in the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

Bison, by law, can’t be treated with antibiotics or growth hormones and feed on grass pastures. The incredibly lean meat is an excellent source of iron, zinc, and B vitamins. With a mild flavor and so many nutrients it’s a must try!


3. Parsnips — assist your body’s natural detoxification mechanisms

Parsnips are a root vegetable, which look a lot like white carrots. They contain nutrients and molecules known to support your body’s natural defenses against toxins. More and more we are seeing studies that show exposure to toxins has serious health consequences. The more you are able to assist your body in breaking down and removing toxins form your body the better, and of course natural means of assisting is the best!

Parnips, along with other apiaceous vegetables (veggies in the parsley family) are strong supporters of the first stage of detoxification- the inactivation of dangerous molecules that occurs in the liver. Looking for more options in addition to parsnips? Grab carrots, celery, parsley, and fennel!


4. Jerusalem Artichokes — Support a healthy gut

With a taste halfway between the nutty flavor of an artichoke heart and the savory flavor of a potato, the Jerusalem artichoke is a superhero for promoting gut health. Rich in what we refer to as ‘prebiotics’, this food (you are likely to find in the produce section of your grocery store) has a powerful ability to help foster growth of good bacteria in your gut.

Prebiotics are fiber molecules that are digested directly by friendly bacteria residing in our small and large intestines. The digestion of prebiotics by those friendly bacteria produces short chain fatty acids (SCFA) that are a major fuel source for the cells that line our GI tract, that promote good immune function and have anti-inflammatory effects. With all the research suggesting an interrelationship between our gut and brain function, immunity, skin, and disease it’s so important to use all natural means available to you- and you might be surprised just how tasty Jerusalem artichokes are!

Quotefancy-4805080-3840x2160

The Power of Possibilities

, , , , , , , ,

On the heels of the #RuntoRemember event on Sunday, I thought a release of the next installment in a series of blog posts related to reducing stress and positive thinking made sense. It seems as I write each of these, a new topic of discussion comes to mind. The first Blog post entitled “The Necessity of Difficult Things” discussed how I learned over time to find something that helped me constructively deal with stress. The post was intended to engage readers to reassess how they deal with stress, ask themselves if it is working for them, and nudge one down the path towards understanding what things may work better for them. Today’s post is a bit different, but again has roots in running. Odd for me to admit that something I hated and avoided for decades holds both obvious and hidden meaning. But as they say, life is a journey…

This past January my daughter Summer told me her New Years Resolution was to run her first half marathon before the year’s end. For some folks, this New Year’s Resolution might seem par for the course, but for Summer this is a big deal- a very big deal. Back in middle school she struggled to conform and feel comfortable in her own skin (rough times as we all remember). I knew her to be a hard worker, a smart and friendly kid who easily made friends with all sorts of folks, young and old. She really has a wonderful gift of making people feel comfortable and liking her off the bat. But it was very clear she lacked confidence, she was unsure of herself despite her natural gifts and how she viewed herself was very different (much less positive) than how others viewed her. This was painful to see as a mother, but not something that was remedied with me telling her more often how great she was and about the skills and gifts that I saw her use in her daily life. This was a personal journey that she needed to travel, and I could assist and play a big role in that journey, but it was one she needed to decide to embark on.

So I started seeding some food for thought on different ways she might be able to start this self-improvement project, and one day in January of 2012 she finally came to me and asked if I would help her train for a 5k race that spring. I enthusiastically agreed, and told her I thought it would be a great opportunity for us to spend some time together no matter whether she decided to run the 5k or not (keeping the pressure low at this point seemed important).

I think it’s fair to say all of us have some ‘thing’ or aspect of our lives we might want or need to embrace a similar ‘journey’ to tackle. Professionally or personally there is always something we can learn to better ourselves. But often it’s scary, or seemingly too big a hill to climb (or even begin to think about climbing) and we put it off. Every day Dr. Gerry and I work with people who feel they have an insurmountable task ahead of them in losing weight and regaining their health. And we very strongly tell them, ‘hey taking the first step to even have a conversation with us about that task is the breaking point… it means you have acknowledged to yourself the possibility of change‘. This blog post is about the power of possibilities.

As a young child Summer was very active, but she had broken her arm a couple years prior to 2012 and had since not really engaged in athletics, opting for books and school work instead. So at the age of 11 she did not have much of a base of cardiovascular fitness and I am fully sure she was equally scared stiff and excited about the goal she had set for herself. We started off slow… SLOW… getting some good running shoes… talking in depth about each daily and weekly goal and putting it into perspective. Week 1: 3 runs that week with each run comprised of 2 total minutes of running broken into 4- 30-second intervals with 2 minutes of walking in between… (2 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, mom! I can totally do that) …running meaning we go faster than walking but we are not racing each other. We kept an easy pace… nice and clear, seemingly easy -with very defined goals. And I did this on purpose because I remember vividly how much I struggled in the first weeks when I started running.

So our first day we were careful to make sure we had everything we needed. We had our headphones and music players charged up, I had my running watch to keep track of the time and we were off… and the first 30 seconds go by, not bad… the second 30 seconds is half way done and then it gets HARD. I offered some gentle support (almost there just a few more seconds!), big picture perspective (wow we are already half way done!!), and lots of positive feedback (I am so proud of you for pushing through!). That first week was an interesting combination of ‘oh boy what did I get myself into’ and ‘cool I did it’. And in this timeframe reassessment of the goal occurs… Can I really do this? Do I want to do this? And I tried very hard to provide positive feedback but not overdo it, while also actively knocking out any comments I heard about quitting (it’s been less than a week, I believe you can do this- so work with me for two weeks before you make any decisions).

When most people embark on a significant endeavor, one that requires time and energy and pushes you beyond your comfort level, that first week is the most critical. The small triumphs have not yet had long enough to build momentum and the discomfort is in the forefront of our minds. We see and feel the impossibilities… and have not yet allowed ourselves to be open to the possibilities. SOOOOOO many people quit in this first week, if I had a penny for every time I have heard clients tell me they tried to diet, or quit smoking, or exercise and couldn’t get through the first week. Change is hard, there is no doubt, but a shift in thinking is the key to success or failure.

So we are now about three weeks into our new endeavor, and Summer is pushing through- it’s not easy, but we are now running for 2-3 minutes at a time. She’s made it past the first two weeks; she has improved enough and shown enough resolve that now I can be a little tougher on her without fear she will flat out quit. In response to the ‘I have a cramp in my side I have to stop’ I can point out we have 20 seconds left in this 3 minutes and then we can walk it off and she trusts me enough to know I am not fibbing. I point out how far she has come in only three weeks and how she has completed every run we scheduled and followed through on her promise to herself to give it a shot… progress and positive reinforcement. Slow, but steady progress to build upon.

This is not all that different to what we see and hear with people on our programs. Some folks lean more on ‘I can’t’ and ‘I have to’ as a knee jerk reaction when the going gets tough. In any endeavor worth pursuing, the going ALWAYS gets tough. Instead of a reason to stop, look for a reason to continue. I’ve come this far; I CAN go a little further, and I trust that there is someone there to help me find strength to test my limits.

Each week Summer’s ‘I can’t’ comments are overtaken by ‘OK, let’s try’. In a subtle way Summer has PROVEN to herself that she is capable of more than she thought was. What a huge turning point. And this is really what this blog post is about. That time where something you were absolutely convinced you could never do becomes potentially possible. That door that was shut to you now is cracked ever so slightly open. Summer turned those three weeks into four months and we did our first running event, a one-mile run, on Mother’s Day 2012.

Summer was convinced that being a runner was not within her, yet she made it happen, slowly- with effort and setbacks- but she made it happen all the same. Once that limit had been tested and broken through I started to see her testing limits in all sorts of areas (school work, social settings, etc) and watched her confidence grow. She ran her first 5k in June of 2012, joined the track team her freshman year in high school, now she won’t bat an eyelash at a fun run 5k (even running solo when I am injured as the picture above shows), and she routinely kicks my butt when we run together. Once you prove yourself wrong and accept that maybe you can do more than you thought, the range of possibilities becomes endless because the world truly is your oyster.

With clients that go through our programs, we not only see a reduction of weight and improvement of health but we also hear them talk about renewed engagement at work, confidence that they can be successful in other things that they had been holding back on. Once you start testing your limits and find out you are stronger and capable of far more than you ever thought, the world looks different. You have proven you can do something you were so sure you could not do, so what’s next? What else have you closed yourself off to? Maybe it’s time to crack that door open just a bit and re-examine?

Load More

Email Us