Episode 5
Weight Loss, Health Fads, and Why It's Not a Diet
In this unfiltered episode, Nancy and Matthew dive deep into their messy, funny, and sometimes frustrating journey to better health. They share lessons from blood tests, body scans, fad diets, and functional medicine—and reveal what actually worked (and what absolutely didn’t).
Along the way, they talk about the emotional side of health, how to stay motivated when nothing seems to work, and why it’s essential to craft a sustainable lifestyle rather than chase another diet. Expect real talk about resistance bands, bread cravings, marriage teamwork, metabolism madness, and the occasional desperate experiment with apple cider vinegar.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by health advice, frustrated by slow results, or just need a reminder that progress isn’t perfect—you’re in the right place.
Spoiler: It's not about perfection. It's about not giving up.
Transcript
Hi, I'm Matthew Greger.
Speaker B:And I'm Nancy Greger.
Speaker A:We have this new podcast called.
Speaker A:We should probably edit this, but we won't.
Speaker A:We're recording now.
Speaker B:Yay.
Speaker B:So are you wondering what today's topic is about?
Speaker B:As you hold your breath.
Speaker B:Hold your breath.
Speaker B:Exhale in.
Speaker B:3, 2, 1.
Speaker B:So now this isn't an infomercial on what he's just did, which is using the.
Speaker B:The lumen.
Speaker A:I'm a four.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Today's hot topic, because I think it's a hot topic, is weight loss.
Speaker A:Weight loss, health.
Speaker A:What you should be doing, what you should be optimized at.
Speaker A:I mean, it's just like, oh, my God, we got scales.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:You got the scale right there.
Speaker B:Here's the actual scale.
Speaker A:We have more than scales.
Speaker A:Here's the one.
Speaker A:Now, look, it's the.
Speaker A:The new one that comes up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker A:And it.
Speaker A:And like, trying to figure these things out.
Speaker B:We have one B.
Speaker B:We got weight bands.
Speaker B:We have a weight machine.
Speaker B:We have regular weights.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker B:Wait, wait.
Speaker B:This is the.
Speaker B:We take all of these vitamins.
Speaker A:Look.
Speaker B:Look at that.
Speaker A:We got the.
Speaker A:We got the supplements dialed in.
Speaker B:We got the supplement.
Speaker B:We've done.
Speaker B:We did the whole functional medicine type of deal.
Speaker A:We had our DEXA scan done.
Speaker B:It has been an.
Speaker B:It's a.
Speaker A:It's a journey.
Speaker A:It's a journey.
Speaker B:It's been a journey.
Speaker B:And would we say.
Speaker A:I would say that we got.
Speaker A:The question is, what do we have dialed in?
Speaker A:I'm just not.
Speaker A:I'm not 100% certain what we have dialed in.
Speaker B:I don't think we got anything.
Speaker A:And what, are we supposed to take a shot of this?
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:This is for us to make our own homeschool Manjaro, which is supposedly one of the elements.
Speaker B:Or.
Speaker A:I got a.
Speaker A:I got.
Speaker A:I got the butterfly pea pod leaves coming in today, I think.
Speaker B:And the rest of it is.
Speaker B:Is the vinegar, but it's vinegar.
Speaker B:It's supposed to be the.
Speaker B:The natural way for oic.
Speaker B:What people were giving themselves injections for, to help them lose weight.
Speaker B:So this is supposed to be the formula when we figure it out on.
Speaker B:On.
Speaker B:On how to help us boost the weight loss.
Speaker A:Look, look, it's.
Speaker A:It's something that.
Speaker B:In all seriousness.
Speaker A:No, I mean, we've.
Speaker A:We've been on this journey for a while because, number one, we didn't take care of ourselves in our younger years the way that we should be.
Speaker A:So now, as we're getting approaching the different years of our life, we.
Speaker B:We.
Speaker A:We.
Speaker A:We know that we've got to do something more because, number one, I don't want to be in the shape of.
Speaker A:Of.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:That's the reality to it was.
Speaker B:Is that we took a hardcore look at some.
Speaker A:At our body composition.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:At some people in our lives where we both turned around and said, do I want to be that way?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:When I'm that old?
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Do I want to have the ability to get up and get going and know that I can.
Speaker B:I have.
Speaker A:I want to compete with my grandkids when we're going hiking.
Speaker B:I'm not competing.
Speaker B:I want to be able to maintain.
Speaker A:Well, competing.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:No, I don't want to compete either, but I do want to be able to keep up with my grandkids.
Speaker A:Keep up as we're hiking, traveling, moving around.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker B:We don't want to be the G man, G PA that have to have canes or they got to get pushed along the way.
Speaker B:We want to be.
Speaker A:I don't ever want to take an airplane where they have to push me to the seat.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I don't want to be that.
Speaker A:I don't want to be that guy who's always sitting around on that.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:I mean, hopefully, knock on wood, that.
Speaker A:That I won't have some type of ailment or crippling problem that I have to have that.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I think that's what we're realizing right now is that this stage in our life, we've.
Speaker A:We've got to dial in our health.
Speaker B:We have to dial in.
Speaker B:I mean, I've been working on it.
Speaker B:When I was 50, I was diagnosed as a diabetic, but that wasn't a news flash, right.
Speaker B:Because I had been pregnant several times, and each pregnancy increased the.
Speaker B:My dependency on insulin.
Speaker B:And so I was.
Speaker B:That I had that gestational diabetes when I was pregnant.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Which was always a precursor to.
Speaker B:If you don't get your.
Speaker B:What it should have been is if you don't get your act together, when you get older, things are going to get worse.
Speaker B:And so as true as.
Speaker B:As that was, I turned 50 and everything went flip side.
Speaker A:Well, I don't know if it went flip side.
Speaker A:It just.
Speaker A:You got a rude awakening.
Speaker B:I had a rude awakening.
Speaker B:I was more like, you know, when you go to the doctor's office and you may not know, but I went to the doctor's office and I'm in the doctor's office and the doctor says, no, no, I make.
Speaker B:You have to go see the endocrinologist now.
Speaker B:And I was like, yeah, yeah, all right.
Speaker B:Lose weight, huh?
Speaker B:She said, no, no, no, no.
Speaker B:I'm making the appointment.
Speaker B:You need to go now.
Speaker B:And I didn't understand what exactly that meant.
Speaker A:However, you got to learn what I.
Speaker B:I trusted her enough to feel that there was something more urgent here, that I could not just skirt away.
Speaker B:And I needed to.
Speaker B:To really, to.
Speaker B:To really go.
Speaker B:And that began the lifestyle journey.
Speaker B:Because I hate using the word diet.
Speaker B:I don't like using the word diet.
Speaker B:Diet is a way for you to fail.
Speaker A:Well, I mean, yeah, finagle.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I mean, it's like the thing about it is I want to enjoy what I eat.
Speaker A:I want to enjoy my life.
Speaker A:And you're right.
Speaker A:But I think it also takes a whole change of how you approach food and how you eat.
Speaker A:And I think for us, I think Wildfit is the thing that really helped us.
Speaker B:I started it.
Speaker A:Well, it helped us just like get ourselves back to a baseline of what food is about.
Speaker B:Well, it's.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:I think it.
Speaker B:But it also kick started the journey of where we want it.
Speaker B:Because soon after I was diagnosed, it wasn't a situation where we said, oh, we got to work on changing the.
Speaker A:Plan or changing how we eat or.
Speaker B:Changing how we eat or changing anything about it.
Speaker B:It wasn't what ended up being the situation was I was just given a whole slew of medication and I began a journey of dialing in what medication worked, how much worked, what didn't work in order to control one thing and how it made me feel.
Speaker B:And then we came to a pivotal point where it wasn't the normal medication, wasn't taking it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It wasn't working.
Speaker B:And so the doctor came back and said, if you don't fix this, if you don't get this under control, if we can't get your numbers down to where it needs to be, you will be insulin dependent.
Speaker B:And I remembered what that was, and I was like, oh, no, no, no, no.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no.
Speaker B:So at that point, I think that's when I was at least more open to.
Speaker B:Okay, so we started.
Speaker A:We started trying to get ourselves in shape much earlier than that when we joined Weight Watchers.
Speaker B:Yeah, we did Weight Watchers and that.
Speaker B:And then, by the way, that.
Speaker B:That did work for a little while.
Speaker B:It did.
Speaker A:No, I mean, it did.
Speaker A:It did work.
Speaker A:We lost weight.
Speaker A:Especially when you look at our before and after at that point in time.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And it.
Speaker A:But the thing is, we were both self employed and it gave us a little bit more flexibility.
Speaker A:Flexibility.
Speaker A:We would actually walk to the Gym to the, to the YMCA for to work out and walk back.
Speaker A:But that was like 10 o'clock in the morning, you know, and after the kids had gone to school and everything, we had that moment to do that and we took that time.
Speaker A:But then there were.
Speaker A:Then we kind of just.
Speaker A:We stopped doing any of that.
Speaker A:And then we got back to.
Speaker A:Where were you were at that point that you got that.
Speaker A:That rude awakening.
Speaker B:Another rude awakening because, you know, you can't be hit once.
Speaker A:Well, that was the rude awakening about your diabetics, what I'm talking about from after Weight Watchers.
Speaker A:We didn't, we didn't stick with it.
Speaker A:And then you got that.
Speaker B:And then I started going right back down and the numbers started going right back up.
Speaker B:And so, you know, there had to be.
Speaker B:So we've.
Speaker B:We have ventured into, I would have to say lots of different things when we did Wildfit.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think Wildfit was good because really got you.
Speaker A:It was a food education time.
Speaker A:It was about looking at the processed foods and the way that that worked was it.
Speaker A:It eliminated.
Speaker A:You eliminated things out of your diet.
Speaker A:You cleaned out your pantry.
Speaker A:You really basically just went back to the bare bones and the basics.
Speaker A:And what was an unique about that is that you began to taste food how it's intended, not how it's been covered up and processed.
Speaker B:But that wasn't just the only thing.
Speaker B:There's a psychological element to it as to the why.
Speaker B:Why you eat the way you eat, why you want what you want.
Speaker B:And to some extent, you know, those.
Speaker A:Are like the different hungers, right?
Speaker B:The different hungers of why you had to, you know, make those decisions as to.
Speaker B:Okay, so why do you feel it necessary that after you've had your dinner, you needed to have snack or dessert?
Speaker B:Why is it that you gravitate to, you know, certain things more than other things?
Speaker A:So some things are traditions, right?
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker B:Some things are what you were brought.
Speaker A:Up with, like Thanksgiving.
Speaker A:Do you really need to have those different courses, you know, or is it just.
Speaker A:Is it.
Speaker A:You know, that's where food becomes a feeling and it brings back the memories and the bonding time of family and stuff.
Speaker B:So there was a lot in the program that helped you digest everything that you did and why you did it.
Speaker A:I think it helped us remove the process.
Speaker A:Well, the processed foods.
Speaker B:The processed foods, yes.
Speaker A:And sugar and dairy and caffeine.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And it, it did.
Speaker B:While I was on that program, I will say that my diabetic numbers were the lowest that had ever been in a long Long time.
Speaker B:So much so.
Speaker B:So much so that the doctor, when I went back in and said, nancy, something's wrong, and I would say, what do you mean something's wrong?
Speaker B:She says, your numbers are.
Speaker B:Are drastically lower.
Speaker B:She says, that's not a good thing.
Speaker B:And I looked at her and says, I don't understand.
Speaker B:She says, we want to see you go on a steady decline.
Speaker B:We don't want you to just drop.
Speaker B:And so it was funny how she said that.
Speaker B:And I said, well, she says, what are you doing?
Speaker B:I says, well, you know, we've doing this program where we eliminated so many things out of our food and we're getting down to the basics.
Speaker B:And she said, I could see where that would be helpful, but my concern is the fact that you took a deep dive.
Speaker B:And again, my goal was, well, I don't want to be on meds.
Speaker B:So for me to get off this medication roller coaster, I needed to figure.
Speaker A:Out, you don't want to be.
Speaker A:You don't want to be on meds, but yet we have.
Speaker A:Doing that to vitamins.
Speaker A:You got boswalia, you've got turmeric.
Speaker B:But that wasn't where we were.
Speaker B:Well, turmeric was.
Speaker A:You got brain and memory boost.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm still.
Speaker A:I don't remember what this is for.
Speaker B:Do you know?
Speaker B:I'm telling you, I still don't know why we take that.
Speaker B:But in any case, so you.
Speaker B:You know, it did.
Speaker B:It was very enlightening.
Speaker B:And when we finished the program, that's when we kind of sat back and said, okay, can this be sustainable?
Speaker B:Because.
Speaker A:And what do we want to bring?
Speaker B:What do we want to bring back?
Speaker B:Can we sustain this?
Speaker B:Can we really hold on to this type of.
Speaker B:Of feeling?
Speaker B:And at first, you know, because we also gave up alcohol, at first it was kind of like, yeah, I think there's fundamentally certain things we just don't need to bring back into our lives.
Speaker B:Primarily dairy.
Speaker B:We took dairy out, so no cheese, no yogurt.
Speaker B:We eliminated the processed food, which is in my.
Speaker A:There's a lot of.
Speaker A:There's a lot of re.
Speaker A:A lot of reading ingredients, lot of.
Speaker B:Sitting there, going to the grocery store.
Speaker A:I think the biggest thing is for us through that, too, is like, if you can't pronounce the ingredients, you know, maybe you don't need it.
Speaker A:You know, it's like, if it's got more than five things in it, you know something's wrong.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So it's.
Speaker A:It's like trying to figure those things out.
Speaker A:And then the thing about it Is, is that each program that you look at or that you watch, they all have a specific way of doing things and they tell you not to do this or to do this or don't do this.
Speaker A:It's like, honestly, it's freaking confusing.
Speaker B:It's crazy.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's crazy.
Speaker A:Should I fast?
Speaker A:Should I not fast?
Speaker A:Should I have carbohydrates?
Speaker A:Should I not have any grains?
Speaker A:Can I not have a piece of bread, you know, or not.
Speaker A:It's enough to, and it's enough to really just drive you nuts.
Speaker A:And then when you try these different things and they don't necessarily work, it's like you go, man, sometimes.
Speaker B:So what's next?
Speaker A:Or it's just like, it's like, why bother?
Speaker A:What, what are we doing here?
Speaker B:I don't think, I don't think it's in a.
Speaker B:Why bother it.
Speaker A:No, it's.
Speaker A:Sometimes when it doesn't work, you go and like, what am I doing?
Speaker A:You get frustrated.
Speaker A:I get frustrated.
Speaker B:You do get frustrated.
Speaker B:And, and what was the one thing I've said to you all along?
Speaker B:We're not in our 20s.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:And they don't work like they used to.
Speaker B:We've evolved differently.
Speaker B:Like, you know.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I used to be able to.
Speaker B:Like drop 20 pounds like that and.
Speaker A:Just do a little bit more exercise and it'll go away.
Speaker B:It would go away.
Speaker A:Now I'm doing twice 10 times the amount of exercise and the damn stuff is still sitting there.
Speaker B:It's still, it's still stuck.
Speaker B:And, and with me, I'm.
Speaker B:I'm going through menopause.
Speaker B:So there are moments in that, that, that plays a role.
Speaker A:Is that a ten year journey too?
Speaker B:It can be.
Speaker B:It can be.
Speaker B:But here's the thing.
Speaker B:There's differences between the two of us.
Speaker B:And while we try to be supportive with each other and how we do things, there are certain things we can support each other with.
Speaker B:And then there's going to be certain things that she's going to do differently than what.
Speaker A:I think there's one thing that we're learning about.
Speaker A:I mean, I think with the Lumen pieces, our new adventure.
Speaker A:Yeah, that's the, that's the new thing within the last two weeks that we've gotten.
Speaker A:And I think what that shows us is that our metabolic rate is different.
Speaker A:You know, so maybe.
Speaker A:No, but me, duh.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But maybe we need to have slightly different food compositions in our meals, you know?
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker A:Even though we may prepare the same thing, maybe one of us has less of one thing than another.
Speaker A:We have to prepare a couple different things there.
Speaker A:And adjust the plate combination.
Speaker B:I think it's adjusting the play combination because if I was gonna.
Speaker B:If I.
Speaker B:I don't want to be a short order cook.
Speaker A:Correct.
Speaker B:So I don't want to sit there and have to make.
Speaker A:Tried that.
Speaker A:What was that?
Speaker B:We did that years ago when you and Katie did something.
Speaker A:I can't remember whatever the name of that either.
Speaker B:But you and, and our daughter did this one program and the rest of us weren't following that program.
Speaker B:And so I would make your meals one way and then the rest of us had the other meals and then you guys would get all a tighty whitey because we were eating everything you wanted.
Speaker A:Smell good.
Speaker A:And here we are with carrots and celery.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it just, and it just didn't work.
Speaker A:I felt like we were grazing and they were having.
Speaker A:And they're going, smells good potatoes.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So it's, it's.
Speaker B:It.
Speaker B:This is probably.
Speaker B:Let me put my takeaways.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:My takeaways.
Speaker B:You give yours, I'm gonna give you my takeaways.
Speaker B:My takeaways are there's not one size fits all.
Speaker B:Everything has to be manipulated.
Speaker B:And you really have to know and dial into yourself, right.
Speaker B:What works for me isn't going to work for him.
Speaker B:And so you really have to know what that's going to be.
Speaker B:I'm a little bit different than he was because I've been seeing a doctor every three months.
Speaker B:In the beginning, I was seeing a doctor every month, but I've been seeing a doctor every month for years now.
Speaker B:Every quarter I go in and every quarter I have blood work done.
Speaker B:So there's a pattern and there's a phase from what I can see.
Speaker B:And I know that there are things that as much as I love, I just can't do.
Speaker B:And I have to be willing to know that.
Speaker A:What are some of those things you can't do?
Speaker B:Well, having any type of alcohol and alcohol affects me now in two ways.
Speaker B:Number one, it does affect my sugars, but with menopause, let me tell you, the night sweats, I'm not joking.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:I felt like I've done a five mile race at 3 o'clock in the morning when I am unbelievably sweating like nobody's business.
Speaker B:So alcohol for me had to be ruled out.
Speaker B:It's just not.
Speaker A:I think that's something that we both agree on with it, but I don't.
Speaker B:Know if it was.
Speaker B:It didn't have any metabolical change on you like it did on me.
Speaker A:It did make me feel better.
Speaker B:But it didn't give you an adverse reaction like you were sweating at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Speaker A:No, I didn't have.
Speaker A:I didn't have a monumental moment where.
Speaker B:I did something like that.
Speaker B:There were certain things that were different.
Speaker A:I mean, it wasn't like we were like alcoholics and we were drinking and, and we had like four.
Speaker B:No, no.
Speaker B:@ one point we could do a bottle of wine by ourselves a night if we wanted to.
Speaker B:We could.
Speaker A:Yeah, wine was good.
Speaker B:Yeah, wine was good.
Speaker B:And, and what did the functional doctor tell us when we said to him?
Speaker B:No, we like a glass of wine?
Speaker B:What did he say?
Speaker A:You're better off to have a shot of vodka than you have a glass of wine?
Speaker B:He's like, I'd rather you mix bourbon and ice and have a glass of wine.
Speaker A:Because the sugar content.
Speaker B:The sugar content was just extreme.
Speaker A:And it, I mean, I think it's.
Speaker A:I think for, for that we've had to find alternatives that make it feel, make us feel like we're enjoying a drink.
Speaker A:And I think simply put, right now we enjoy seltzer, you know, or a, you know, like a sparkling water like Pellegrino or something with the lime.
Speaker B:What's the one that, the, the one that.
Speaker B:The grapefruit.
Speaker A:Oh, it's the spindrift.
Speaker A:Yeah, spin.
Speaker A:So the spindrift ones are good.
Speaker A:We really like the grapefruit from the spindrift.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then I got you a membership to this other one.
Speaker A:That's curious.
Speaker A:Curious elixirs.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:It's all completely non alcoholic and they.
Speaker A:Have mushrooms and different things in it.
Speaker A:Yeah, I know it's an acquired taste.
Speaker A:Very earthy.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But I, I have the feeling like I get my.
Speaker A:Still have my craft ice and I put it in the, in the jar and then I.
Speaker A:Then I make sure it's garnished and then I pour it in there.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So I feel like.
Speaker A:I feel like I'm having the drink.
Speaker B:Here's the, here's the funny part to that, is that we've been in public settings where other people are drinking and we've had our own drink and we've put in a lemon or a lime in.
Speaker B:In that I have not felt in any way, shape or form in.
Speaker B:Intimidated to the point where I needed to disguise what I was drinking because you.
Speaker B:To.
Speaker B:Yeah, to fit in.
Speaker A:No, I think, I think it's like, like I enjoy the flavor of the sparkling water with a little bit of lime or something.
Speaker A:In it.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker B:But what I'm saying is, is that I think we've evolved enough so we're.
Speaker A:I mean, drinking.
Speaker A:Drinking is like a social thing, right?
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker A:To have a conversation.
Speaker B:It's very social.
Speaker A:And to have talk about.
Speaker A:But so that.
Speaker A:So that was.
Speaker A:One thing, you know, is getting rid of the alcohol and what it does.
Speaker B:And the other thing is, is that I love bread.
Speaker B:I'm not gonna lie.
Speaker B:I could eat a whole Italian loaf by myself.
Speaker B:And I don't need the butter, by.
Speaker A:The way, just the olive oil, though.
Speaker B:But I can.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:I can finish a loaf of bread.
Speaker B:I'm not joking.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:And so what have we?
Speaker B:Every once in a while, a bagel.
Speaker B:Just the smell of that bagel would make me go, oh, I could just eat that big.
Speaker A:We haven't had a bagel in a while.
Speaker B:I haven't had a bagel in.
Speaker B:In years.
Speaker B:But the problem with that is that when I have it, I know what it's going to affect me.
Speaker B:I know because I test myself.
Speaker B:I have a monitor on my arm that tests what my sugar levels are.
Speaker B:And soon after, desserts.
Speaker B:Well, yeah, desserts.
Speaker B:That's a really big deal for me.
Speaker B:I'm not really.
Speaker A:Especially cakes.
Speaker B:Oh, cake.
Speaker B:I admit cake.
Speaker B:I go down deep for cake.
Speaker A:Especially that bakery in New Canaan.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker B:And if there's a birthday party, I'm gonna have cake.
Speaker B:Um, but the difference, though, is we don't have it at home.
Speaker B:It's not inside the house.
Speaker A:Don't have it in the house.
Speaker B:We don't have it in the house.
Speaker A:Don't put it in there.
Speaker B:So there is no cakes or cookies.
Speaker B:And don't get me wrong, in the very beginning, when.
Speaker A:Oh, my God, the things that I.
Speaker A:That she made me eat.
Speaker B:The things that I experimented with because I was no longer.
Speaker A:No dairy and no gluten.
Speaker A:Try to make a case.
Speaker A:A pastry, a cookie, a cake out of that.
Speaker A:Try to make.
Speaker A:Try to make bread.
Speaker A:Bread.
Speaker B:Bread was not bread.
Speaker B:I could not conquer bread.
Speaker B:I did.
Speaker B:I did come up with some alternatives.
Speaker A:You know, some of them are actually pretty good.
Speaker A:Like, yeah, one of our favorites is avocado chocolate avocado mousse.
Speaker A:You know, and you can use a maple syrup or you can use xylitol, which is the birch sugar with it.
Speaker A:That doesn't have as much issues as maple syrup does.
Speaker A:But I mean, that's actually really good.
Speaker A:It surprises.
Speaker A:It'll surprise you.
Speaker A:You don't even.
Speaker A:You don't even taste the avocado.
Speaker A:And you still get that.
Speaker A:You still get the.
Speaker A:And where do I use pudding like flavor?
Speaker B:And I moved away from cocoa powder, even non unsweetened cocoa powder.
Speaker B:And we went to a different chocolate.
Speaker A:Well, it's still cocoa powder.
Speaker B:Well, it's a little different than cocoa powder.
Speaker B:It's not as refined as cocoa.
Speaker A:Now, do you remember what it is?
Speaker B:Cacao?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Something like that.
Speaker B:Something like that.
Speaker B:And we did.
Speaker B:I did make these chocolate chip cookies.
Speaker A:They're not chocolate chip.
Speaker B:They're not choc.
Speaker A:I don't know how many times I got to tell you that.
Speaker B:I know, but when I first started, I.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:This is how new it was.
Speaker B:I was at the grocery store and I saw this bag and it said.
Speaker B:It said chips.
Speaker B:It said carob, carob chips.
Speaker B:And they look like milk chocolate chips.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And I was like, oh, look this.
Speaker B:It's a new chocolate chip.
Speaker B:And I came home and there was a recipe on the bag.
Speaker B:I used almond flour, which I had been a real big challenge, which.
Speaker B:And it had almond flour and had coconut oil.
Speaker A:Coconut sugar and.
Speaker A:Coconut.
Speaker B:Coconut sugar.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And you.
Speaker B:You had to freeze it.
Speaker B:But so I did.
Speaker A:You had to cool it before you.
Speaker B:You had to freeze it or put it in the refrigerator before you baked it.
Speaker B:And I did it and I was like, well, these are great.
Speaker B:And he came.
Speaker A:I think that, I mean, they, they're flat and they're almost caramelly.
Speaker A:They're actually, I think this.
Speaker A:The coconut sugar and the.
Speaker A:And the carob chips make a great combination.
Speaker A:And those are really good.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I don't know if I'd consider them healthy.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:But they're better than some things.
Speaker B:But the thing about it is, as I came home, I showed it to them.
Speaker B:I gave them the recipe and I showed them.
Speaker B:I said, look, I found these new chocolate chips.
Speaker B:And he just looked at me, said, this isn't chocolate.
Speaker B:I said, yes, it is.
Speaker B:He said, no, it's not chocolate.
Speaker B:But they were a great substitute.
Speaker B:And like I said, to eliminate everything from your diet, especially if it's something that you crave, is really hard.
Speaker A:You struggled with coffee.
Speaker B:I went back to coffee.
Speaker A:But you are doing some decaf now?
Speaker B:Now I am doing some decaf.
Speaker B:And I really just try to do one cup every once in a while.
Speaker B:I might have.
Speaker A:You mean once a day?
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:You do one cup a day and once in a while, too?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:And because I.
Speaker B:I've moved to matcha.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I would say 90 of the time.
Speaker A:10.
Speaker A:I'll have a.
Speaker A:I'll have an Espresso or a coffee or something.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker A:But I enjoy the matcha when it's.
Speaker A:When it's mixed.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker A:But that's okay.
Speaker A:That's fine.
Speaker A:You know, but I've always liked those earthier flavors.
Speaker A:Raw mushrooms, matcha.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yum.
Speaker B:But you know, the, the funny part of it is, is that we began this together.
Speaker B:We're still working at it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker A:I mean, I think, I think it's like doing it together is important because.
Speaker B:Like you said, you do need a buddy.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And you can't be that short order cook where you're like preparing different things.
Speaker A:That's why I think now, you know, when we prepare the meals, we just may assemble them slightly different than that.
Speaker A:Maybe more.
Speaker A:You'll.
Speaker A:You'll have a little bit more rice than I would.
Speaker A:I'll have more vegetables than you might.
Speaker B:Well, the lumen is telling you now you have too many carbs.
Speaker B:Where for me it's.
Speaker A:And I had no idea that carbs were beyond everything.
Speaker A:Grains and bread and stuff.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:But rice, like fruits.
Speaker A:Fruits are high carbohydrates.
Speaker A:It's like.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I mean, so it's been an education part for me.
Speaker B:Yeah, that is true.
Speaker B:It's been.
Speaker A:But they, but the diets that are out there, it's like, it's crazy.
Speaker A:We tried the fast metabolism diet, lost 10 pounds.
Speaker A:It's supposed to reset your metabolism, but you go, it's.
Speaker A:I think it's complicated in the way that it pairs up some foods.
Speaker A:It's like you just don't want to eat that.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You're two days.
Speaker A:Your two days.
Speaker A:Two, Two and three.
Speaker A:And like the middle two are protein only.
Speaker A:Really?
Speaker A:Spinach and meats.
Speaker A:Seems like that was it.
Speaker A:And breakfast was challenging.
Speaker B:Breakfast was challenging.
Speaker B:It was a lot of egg whites.
Speaker A:I just don't want to revolve my life around having to be dictated by certain foods I must eat.
Speaker B:Well, the objective though, of that was to kind of set you off.
Speaker B:So once you finished it, you did the 28 days.
Speaker B:It then helped you figure out where your metabolism was to kind of kick your metabolism in.
Speaker B:The problem with that theory is, is that you need to know where your metabolism is at now before you can really render a decision as to whether or not that's going to be the program that's going to work for you.
Speaker B:Because maybe you don't have a metabolism issue.
Speaker B:Maybe you just have to figure out what your carbs are going to be, what your protein is.
Speaker B:Going to be, you know, and fasting, fasting.
Speaker B:Matthew did really well.
Speaker B:But, you know, I couldn't do it because for me, being a diabetic, fasting isn't always a great thing to do because if you tend to plunge down and you're going in a downward spiral, that's not a good, good thing to be because then the first thing you're going to eat is going to just spike you up high.
Speaker B:And the objective is to kind of stay in a zone.
Speaker B:Not too high, not too low in the zone.
Speaker B:And when you have that type of roller coaster ride, it does.
Speaker A:And I think that the struggle that I have is somebody says, no, you don't need to fast, you need to eat five meals a day.
Speaker A:You know, then someone else says, no, you gotta fast.
Speaker A:And it's just like, I think what we've learned from all this, even from like Wildfit, from the Fast Metabolism diet, fasting is, is you've got to craft your own recipe and that works for you.
Speaker A:You know, like with Wildfit it was just like, okay, no grains, you know, after the Fast Metabolism diet, you know, we brought, we, we brought back in oatmeal and, and oats, you know, where we had said that wasn't good for us, you know, but, but I've learned to enjoy some of the newer grains that I would have never eaten if I hadn't been down these journey from farrow to quinoa, quinoa to those different things too.
Speaker A:So it's definitely been a journey and I don't think the journey is over.
Speaker A:We're still trying to dial in what works for us.
Speaker A:I do feel that once we reach the physique that we want the bodies that we, our goal that we're going for, I think maintaining it's not that won't be that hard and I think it'll be enjoyable for us to do because I.
Speaker A:It's not that that we're gaining weight, we're just stuck.
Speaker B:Well, I've lost a lot of weight.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:From where you were.
Speaker B:From where I was, I did lose a lot of weight, but there's always.
Speaker A:Still pretty good bit, a little bit.
Speaker B:More to go for me.
Speaker B:And I haven't really gained weight.
Speaker B:Like I've gained a pound, maybe two.
Speaker B:I think the most I've ever gained was maybe five.
Speaker A:But then you went back down.
Speaker B:But then I would go right back down again and, and I would try to.
Speaker B:But I needed to get, I think I need to get a little bit more.
Speaker B:Like if I was to lose another £20, I'd probably say, okay, I think I'm good.
Speaker B:The reality though is, is the bigger question is, is that if I lose that extra 20 pounds, is that really going to affect my numbers?
Speaker B:Is that really going to reflect in the diabetic, you know, situation and going on, are my numbers going to improve enough that I can really dial back on?
Speaker A:I think they will.
Speaker A:I think, you know, let's, let's kind of end in this, this episode on, on exercise and exercise.
Speaker A:What we're in, what we're doing with exercise.
Speaker A:And I mean, that's another thing that I know that I'm probably lacking the most on.
Speaker A:I really just don't like going and exercising with weights and not doing something, to be truthful.
Speaker A:But I've started to enjoy it a little bit more than I had in the past.
Speaker A:But I'm the guy that wants to be outside.
Speaker A:So now that we've got warmer weather here, I love getting up in the morning and going for a bike ride.
Speaker A:That's something that I enjoy doing.
Speaker A:And I try to push myself.
Speaker A:And I've also changed the way that I work out to really isolate different parts of my body for that workout.
Speaker A:And instead of trying to do three, three day workout, I'm trying to do five day more ice, more isolated, versus three day total body.
Speaker A:So I think I'm hoping that's going to help change.
Speaker A:But I know I need to really ramp up the whole physical part of doing it for me to really move that needle.
Speaker A:And I find that that's hard.
Speaker A:I mean, I want to find things that are, that are active for me that, that I can do that I enjoy, like playing tennis.
Speaker A:And it seems like that's when I can actually get my cardio in and I see the actual heart rate move up, you know, riding my bike or working out, I don't feel like I'm making that movement like I do when I'm playing tennis.
Speaker B:Well, that's great for you.
Speaker B:I'm not playing tennis that I wanted to do, nor am I really interested.
Speaker A:I think we should try pickle ball.
Speaker B:I'm not doing pickle.
Speaker A:I think you could do pickle.
Speaker B:I don't want to do pickle ball.
Speaker B:But what I have been doing that I have not done before is I do weightlifting three times a week.
Speaker B:I follow this lady on YouTube and it's 30 minutes.
Speaker A:Who is that?
Speaker B:Lift weights with Cece, and I do it for 30 minutes and that is a doable process.
Speaker B:And I do it first thing in the morning because If I wait till the afternoon, something will come.
Speaker A:Have an excuse not to do it.
Speaker B:It's going to, something's going to come up that's going to say, no, don't go.
Speaker B:And at first the, the company that I worked for kind of was trying to get us to go back into the office more.
Speaker B:And the building that they had had a great workout room.
Speaker B:And I said, okay, listen, I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to go into the office.
Speaker B:So maybe what I'll do is I take a break for my lunch, I'll go downstairs, I'll do the workout, and then I'll come back upstairs.
Speaker B:That worked for a little while until I realized it really wasn't what I wanted to do.
Speaker B:Because here's the thing.
Speaker B:If I get ready and I get dressed in the morning, I don't want to sweat in the afternoon.
Speaker B:Call it whatever you want.
Speaker B:If I'm dressed and I got my end of the day, well then by that point I got too many other things I got to get done.
Speaker B:Like I got to get home, I got to start dinner.
Speaker B:You know, when you work to 5:30, you don't have a big huge window before you have to get dinner done.
Speaker B:Get all the things.
Speaker A:If we want to get to bed.
Speaker B:At a decent and you want to.
Speaker A:Get to bed at it, I mean, that's another thing.
Speaker A:Sleep, sleep is sleep, right?
Speaker A:Because it's sleeps and it sleeps a big factor.
Speaker B:But let me finish my end because you did your whole thing.
Speaker B:So mine was the three days.
Speaker B:It's 30 minutes, I get up early in the morning, I throw on my, my clothes and I do it.
Speaker B:And then the two other days I'm doing some cardio and I found this again on YouTube and it's a, it's a Zumba dance, which is a cardio, but there's no, it's all standing because I don't like laying down, getting up, laying down, getting up.
Speaker B:I don't, don't like doing that kind of stuff.
Speaker B:So I've been doing that and you don't like burpees.
Speaker B:And so I've been doing that and I'm realizing that yes, the weight strain, you know, is really doing, is really doing well.
Speaker B:But you also have to keep in mind, you start a plan and you start a routine.
Speaker B:Don't expect to, you know, drop or get physically toned or curved out muscles.
Speaker A:It took us 50 something years to have, we have now.
Speaker A:You know, there was a lot of sculpting that went into that.
Speaker B:And as a friend of mine Said, oh, I don't want any saggy skin, because then what do I do with the saggy skin?
Speaker B:And my.
Speaker B:My response to her was, we'll just go get the surgery and suck out the skin.
Speaker B:But there is something to be said about understanding there's a path.
Speaker A:It's gonna.
Speaker A:It's gonna.
Speaker B:It's gonna take some time.
Speaker A:It's gonna take a little bit more work to sculpt what we have now.
Speaker A:We've got a big block of clay to work with.
Speaker A:I'll tell you that.
Speaker B:It's gonna take a lot to sculpt it back down, but it's okay because I think we're moving in the direction we want to move in.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But we.
Speaker B:We did a lot of things, and.
Speaker B:And we still are doing a lot of things, and we're still practicing, and still.
Speaker A:And it's learning and trying to figure out what those new routines are and making them stick.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I think that's the trickiest part.
Speaker A:The older you get, too, it's really easy just to fall back into what you're comfortable with and what you know.
Speaker A:So teaching yourself those new things to do, it's a journey.
Speaker A:It's a process, and you've got to honor the struggle.
Speaker B:But don't call it a diet.
Speaker A:Nope.
Speaker B:Don't call it a diet.
Speaker A:And you don't know.
Speaker A:You don't know what's gonna happen.
Speaker B:You don't know what's gonna happen.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's.
Speaker A:It's just a.
Speaker A:It's just a new way of eating.
Speaker A:It's a new.
Speaker B:Yeah, it's what I tell my family when they say to me, oh, you're.
Speaker B:You've lost a lot of weight.
Speaker B:You're on a diet.
Speaker B:I'm like, no, no, I'm not on a diet.
Speaker B:No, I've changed my life.
Speaker A:We're looking for a sustainable new way to.
Speaker A:To live.
Speaker B:To live.
Speaker A:To live.
Speaker A:And on that note, make sure you get your sleep in, too.
Speaker A:Take your.
Speaker A:Take your.
Speaker A:Take your supplements.
Speaker A:Drink your apple cider vinegar or whatever.
Speaker A:And make sure you make sure you weigh stuff, too.
Speaker A:And get the.
Speaker A:And get those bands and resistance going.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:It's all about measurement.
Speaker A:It's all about measurement and progress.
Speaker A:So until next time, we should probably edit this, but we won't.
Speaker A:Bye.
