Episode 044: Breaking Barriers: One Man's Journey Back to Health

From Avoiding Doctors to Reversing Insulin Resistance: David’s Lifestyle Medicine Wake-Up Call

Dr. Angela interviews her patient David, a 63-year-old Michigan business owner and single dad of five, about overcoming decades of distrust in healthcare shaped by unresolved family illness and his mother’s heavy medication burden. After years of self-directed health efforts (fasting, workouts, cold plunges) and increasing stress while caregiving, David developed dizzy spells and ordered extensive labs himself, which revealed severe insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk alongside a history of blood clots and a pulmonary embolism. Fear prompted him to join Dr. Angela’s lifestyle-focused practice, use AI tools to interpret labs and food choices, eliminate added sugar and processed foods, adopt targeted supplements, and make small sustainable dietary swaps. Within 30–60 days his glucose dropped from 144 to 89 and free testosterone roughly doubled, with noticeable improvements in vision, urinary symptoms, body composition, and overall wellbeing, emphasizing longevity, self-awareness, and sustainable habits.

00:00 Introduction
00:36 Meet David
06:07 Distrust of Doctors
12:54 The Turning Point
23:04 Joining the Practice
29:09 The Lab Results
38:03 Insulin, Testosterone & Body Changes
44:39 Sustaining the Lifestyle
54:08 Food & Cooking

Transcript

Breaking Barriers: One Man's Journey Back to Health

David: [00:00:00] I felt great. The fasting piece, I went from 250 pounds down to like, 225, and I was, like, feeling better.

Breaking Barriers: One Man's Journey Back to Health 

Introduction

Angela Andrews MD: Hey,  it's Dr. Angela. Welcome to another episode of Lifestyle MD. I have an awesome guest with me today. It's one of my patients, David. He joined our practice, I wanna say back in April, May. First was March. Okay. Yeah. So even sooner, okay.

. His story, in such a short amount of time is, not just an ideal patient, but an ideal scenario, but also a great lesson for many people. Not just men, women too, but I... This is a topic that comes up a lot. We're just getting out of Men's Health Month, but that doesn't mean the conversation needs to stop happening.

Meet David

Angela Andrews MD: So welcome, welcome, David. Thank you for coming with me on this episode, i'm so excited to share what you've been experiencing. So why don't you tell everyone a little bit about yourself? I will, but thank you [00:01:00] for inviting me. It's an honor to be on. People will tell you that I'm an incredibly private person.

Even my brother, who is my best friend, My sister and all ask, and it's he... No, he doesn't talk about those things. So to do this, I know it's important enough to get the message out. So about me, I'm a business owner. I own an Allstate agency over in Hudsonville, Michigan.

I grew up in Boston. I moved to Chicago after I got out of college. I'm in the Midwest now. Love the Midwest. Stayed in the Midwest. I'm a father of five, four of them off on their own, one 16 that's still in the house. I hit the jackpot, relative to kids. They're all, incredibly fabulous people that you walk away from, and you feel better when you've walked away from them.

And just, just, just dad, just doing, single dad doing his thing. In the time that I've known you, it's been truly a joy and a pleasure. I feel like you bring an energy and a passion into every space and clearly into everything that you do.

You don't 

halfway [00:02:00] do anything... 

If I've learned anything about you- ... that's one. You don't halfway do anything. I think it might be helpful for people to understand what led you to seek out care in the first place, 'cause you're not a doctor person.

You weren't someone who was going to the doctor. It was... you were just frank about it "I just don't... I don't like doctors. I don't do doctors." Tell me more about that. Yeah. I'll do the 30,000-foot quick view of it. It goes back to me being a teenager. I was having a lot of chest pains, CAT scans, MRIs, all these other things.

Nobody ever figured it out. Then my father got really sick when I was 17 years old, and he ended up passing, and we really never knew what he had. And then I watched my mom, and I had been her caregiver from afar until I moved her out here, until she passed last year. From Boston- to where I was in Michigan, I would be on the phone with the doctors, and she took, 40, 50 pills, and it was one pill to counteract this.

So I'll be very honest, I lost faith in what are we doing here? What is going on? If... I just felt like it was always a pill. But I'm an insurance agent, and people also don't trust the insurance industry and lawyers- ... and these [00:03:00] other things. So I also understood it can be about the individual, but broad scope, I had a lot of apprehension with my experiences.

So I was more focused on self-help, self-development, and just tried to do as much as I could on my own, and try to live the best life that I could with, and be the best version of myself. So I went to doctors forever, and then I finally, probably even- ... 30 years back, I just started to do just daily physicals.

Prior to that, I had six knee surgeries and an appendix out, so all those things I had to go for. But, I had several hernias in my thigh, and I didn't go to the doctor for that. But, for those kind of things I will just take care of whatever I can.

If I'm not feeling well, I'll get some rest, go drink some water, things of that nature. And just the yearly physicals for a while until probably seven years ago, I just stopped going to the doctor at all. and I said, "Now I can just handle this myself." And 'cause I went the struggling back and forth 'cause I [00:04:00] was pre-diabetic, and the doctor's "You'll take your medicine forever."

that doesn't sound like a plan that I'm on board with, and I just stopped going at that point, and then I said- ... "Look, I'm gonna do other things. I'm gonna take care of this myself." So the critical turning point for you was feeling like the healthcare establishment wasn't addressing your needs, and you were being sold the story that so many people are sold, which is the only way to cure your condition, your chronic disease, whatever that might be, is to medicate.

Yeah, and I was not on board with that because I was proud of the fact that I've watched so many other people, and no slight to anybody else. anything I say, it's my own personal experience. It's like I just try to teach people my truth and not judge others 'cause everybody has their own background.

not everybody has gone through the same thing, so I can appreciate that. But for me, I just didn't subscribe to that, no pun intended- with the prescriptions and things. But I was like- I don't wanna be the medication person. I watched my mom, and I watched her just go through the struggle, and as she got older, trying to organize 60 to 70 pills that she was [00:05:00] taking a day, and I was like, "This is madness."

... Being her caregiver and talking to the doctors, I was like, "What can we do here?" And then at the very end, realizing a lot of, 20, 30 pills got pulled when she was in hospice a year and a half ago, or a year ago, and she was still... obviously she was in hospice. She wasn't fine, but there was, like, no big downsize or rush toward her end when she finally passed by removing these meds.

And I was like- That just made me think, this is not the way I wanna live my life. And that's- ... why I said I'm just gonna... And I got into just working out sporadically at the time- ... and doing cold plunges and trying to eat well, which I thought was eating well, but we'll get into that later on- on what that really meant to me, and just, trying to get rest. And I've always been, like, a big water drinker, like a gallon of water a day, and just trying to do those things that I felt like, you know what? These make me feel good. I felt like I was on a good path, and I was like, "I'll take care of these things myself."

And so you're [00:06:00] not any- someone who's naive to just the concept of taking care of yourself and being healthy. you had some ideas in your mind of what you thought that looked like, and you... sounds like you did your best for a period of time to pursue those things. But you were burnt, e- even vicariously through your mother, and even on your, for y- for 

Distrust of Doctors

yourself.

You had these two very personal close experiences that tarnished your healthcare experience. Yeah. Yep. What was the turning point where you I actually, I need some help with this." where you felt like you needed to connect with a physician. And what was it like going through that process knowing how you felt about physicians?

obviously anyone listening to this podcast knows that I'm not your standard run-of-the-mill- primary care doctor. I place a lifestyle medicine first focus and look at the whole person. And I'm sure that had a lot to do with how we connected, but kinda take us through that transition where you went, "I don't have a doctor.

I don't wanna deal with doctors. Now I need one." Prior to that, my mom started to get really ill [00:07:00] back in 2020, and got to the point where me and my siblings, had to figure out where she needed to live. I was a business owner. I had the latitude to walk away from the business occasionally to take her to doctor's appointments.

Plus, from a financial perspective, it was between me and my oldest brother. We decided with me because he's a disabled vet, and it was Mom is, the best spot is with me." So it wasn't so much... I didn't get to the doctor journey right away.

I got to the self-reflection journey first because- ... my mother came out. She was sickly, and we were at the emergency room almost every single day. It was a lot. Sometimes middle of the night, paramedics knocking on the door because she was hitting her button to have them come there. Wow

I'd been divorced, shortly before that, so I was a single dad 'cause, her mom wasn't around so it was that on top of business and COVID coming up, and just a lot of- significant emotional events, and my behavior was appalling. Somebody I didn't recognize. I was [00:08:00] always... People would say, "Oh, you have saint-like patience," and this, and that, that person didn't exist.

At that point, there were too many events where, honestly, I was exhibiting behaviors that I was ashamed of. I was yelling at- my mother, I was swearing at my daughter, my poor dog that was a puppy at the time. I was having road rage where I'm screaming at people in the car, and the dog is in the back coming to work with me, and-

I would look in the mirror and see this dog's face with their ears down, and she's scared. And I would have to turn around, "Rain, I'm sorry. It's not you." But, I was having issues with everybody. So I realized it was not them, it had to be me- to some degree. And you got to that conclusion on your own?

 They talk about that, symbolic shaving and, Yeah ... for men, and you're like, you're looking in the mirror and you don't like the person everybody's got a guidance system and you know when you're doing stuff wrong. Whether somebody else tells you or not, you know when things are not feeling right.

It didn't feel right. I didn't recognize myself, and I was like, "What is wrong with you? You are"- ... I'm just gonna call it what it is, "You are mentally abusing your [00:09:00] daughter and your mother. This is not you, even close to you." I was the loving, understanding and it was like a polar opposite of what I was.

And I was like, "Dude, you gotta change something." And I read up on things like, sweat lodges and fasting and all these things. I knew I needed something to just kinda shake me out of where I was, and I saw, happened to at the time see this, documentary on fasting.

 I was intrigued. I did a lot of research on. I was like, "I'm gonna do that." that's gonna, like autophagy, it's gonna change everything in my body. So I started with the fasting- And, I went to, one meal a day, and at the first fast that I did was 30 days. I know from your pers- doctors will always tell you, "Are you crazy?"

sometimes. I know, to go right to that? Yeah. Yeah. The thing is I knew I was in such a bad spot, I- ... needed something drastic. It just- You needed something drastic ... potentially dangerous, but I was like, "I have to do something. I have to change me." That, and then I started meditating and I started that- migration of, trying to control myself because I was out of control. It was- ... it was bad. Took me [00:10:00] about a year to get there, to face my mom and my daughter and apologize to both of them, and made the change and then changed my behavior and then, the relationships got significantly better because I impacted the relationship because I changed my behavior, and I was more patient and more tolerant of things and looked at things through a different lens.

So that was the beginning of that. and then I started the cold plunges and the working out and, I'd spent four years just out, off the dating scene or whatever. I had to take care of my mom, my business, and my daughter. But then as my attitude changed to be more open and positive, it opened up a door of positivity and I met somebody significant for me, Krista.

And happy birthday, by the way. Today is Krista's birthday. Happy birthday, Krista. So I met her, and it was like it opened it up, but you close yourself off to things when you attract what you put out. I was putting out a lot of bad. Once I changed that, the good came in, and she's part of that good and just, business improving and things of that nature.

That's powerful ... yeah, but I made a shift. The medical [00:11:00] piece did not come. I'm feeling like I'm eating fairly well. We did carrot cake every weekend here and there and, you know- ... I was, I'll be honest, I was a vodka drinker, but I was like, "Oh, I drank...

If you drink beer, you're gonna get fat." Like, when I was like, "Oh, vodka, the less calories." So I went to that, and I, if I was having a drink on a weekend or whatever, like all these things, and I started to, Be, feel fine. I was like, "I'm doing all this stuff. Life is great." Then I got hit with, about a year ago, I started getting these dizzy spells.

That's where the doctor piece came in, the question that you had asked me. But even then I was opposed to going to the doctor. I was like, "I can handle this, but something's wrong." At first I was like, "Okay, I drink plenty of water," try to analyze when it's happening, and I said, maybe it's iron," right?

So I started taking, doubling up on iron. Now, all the while you're trying to investigate this and, figure it out on your own, right? On my own, yep. Okay. Yep, 'cause I still didn't have the faith yet. Sure ... but then when that didn't go away, I still didn't go. Interesting

I went [00:12:00] in, I said, let me order my labs." So I went to a company and I ordered labs online, 146 data points, and that's when the light went on, oh my God. I felt like I've been doing great. I felt great. The fasting piece, I went from 250 pounds down to 225, and I was, like, feeling better.

Less weight on my joints. I was like, "Oh, I feel like I'm at a good spot." I'm not perfect, like carrot cake and vodka on occasion but I'm thinking, "Man, I'm okay." I got my labs back. I realized I was a walking time bomb. I, with, 'cause I've had a blood clot- from a surgery about 20 years ago, and then I had a pulmonary embolism in 2022.

My labs came back and says, "You have massive cardiovascular issues with blood flow, and insulin resistance, and A1C, and glucose out of control." So all the alarms went off, and I was scared for the first time in my life about my health. I felt like I was doing great, 'cause I ate fairly healthy.

I've never fried foods my whole entire life since I've been an adult cooking on my own, and a lot of pasta, all the protein stuff that they tell [00:13:00] you, "Oh, this is great." And I was doing all those things, and I'm thinking, "I'm fine." I was a walking potential 

The Turning Point

David: stroke.

So I hear this kind of thing from patients of all kinds- Especially, folks that are trying to do it themselves and, the reality is, the healthcare system has let people down. It's not really about health, and so they feel like they have to do it, figure it out because they don't have any guidance, and will think that they're doing everything right?

I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. But there's somewhere in there, there's a gap. There's a disconnect, and it's not for lack of trying to figure it out. The other thing I hear from you that resonates is it's interesting, and I've written about this in blog posts for the month of June, is that men are more likely to put things off and push things down and ignore, right?

Until it gets too bad or so bad, and that point is maybe a little bit different for every [00:14:00] guy, but it's usually too far gone at that point. Why is that? it goes back, I just think, to the way we're brought up generationally. Go back how many generations that you want, it starts off with, however far back you wanna go.

Great-grandparents, like men worked. Women were home, took care of the children. whether that was right, wrong, didn't... it was what it was. ... then women enter the workforce, like all these migrations of these different things, and these stressors. But you can go back to, to caveman days of, like hunting.

The hunters verse the gatherer. You have to be the symbol of strength or else everybody else is concerned. It's oh, wow, if this person was supposed to be the provider. And that has changed over time. That doesn't exist today. There are, different genders providing and different family dynamics.

But it's it's- That's what you're taught ... it's internal drive too. It's like it's just wired in you. Yes, and then you learn to hold your emotions. You learn to just take care of stuff, and, don't want your family to worry. it's a quick story- i'll tell. Like I was at an event for my daughter. She was getting [00:15:00] her master's degree, So all the family was there. So two of my daughters were there. My brother, who's my best friend, and his grandson. His grandson was about four years old, and he was all about his grandfather, his pop-pop. And like he was all over him, and then my brother Neil, points down the end of the table and he says, "Hey, Bryson, that's my best friend right there."

Bryson starts crying, and he's "I'm your best friend. He can't be your best friend." And I was thinking, this kid's gonna knock Uncle David off," Like by getting in between him and his pop-pop. And I said to him, come here." and it was wrong. I will admit it at the beginning.

I was like, "Men don't cry." And oh, boy, my daughters, who never say anything contrary to Dad, looked across the table to me and they said, "Dad, you don't say that to him." Wow. And I said, "Why not?" And they said, "Because it's not right. Men should be able to cry." And I said, look, let me just tell you my perspective on it, wrong, or different.

This is my truth. think about this." "You were young kids. When you were young-" A lot of things happened. Worried about paying a bill, sickness, any kind of things- ... family member's sick, anything that was stressful to the family. Did you know about those things? And it's no. Why not? [00:16:00] Because from a father's perspective, and I'm not saying it's right, but we push those things down because we don't want the family to worry.

They're like- You're the protector ... this person is the, like the big, strong 6'3", taking care of everything. if he's scared, should we be scared? Yeah. I'm not saying that's right, but I think that's the mentality that's been bred into us that- ... does need to change. And passed down- And it needs to change. Yes, it needs to change because in my eyes, being able to express your emotions, and I'm getting way better at that now and I'm working on it because I understand, women have the true strength on the planet, right? 'cause- ... can control their emo- their, they are open to their emotions.

They will get them out, like all that stuff. That's why men die- ... earlier too. you hold it in and it's like compression on a body and an emotion and a being that is not natural, that should not... There's no release. So- It, and that- ... that's why I think that happens ... and that, that stress just eats away at you over time, Yeah, so you don't say anything and you're like, no, best to, suffer in, quiet so you don't worry everybody. I think that's what it is. It's not that you don't wanna take care of yourself. And then if there's any other [00:17:00] things that are dysfunctions like that may be, physical restrictions relationship intimate relative, there's some embarrassment, associated with some of those things.

So we just say, "Yeah, you know what? I'm just gonna be quiet." Just gonna push that down. Deal with that another time maybe, right? So you had an awakening and realized that type of thinking was not productive. It was dysfunctional. It was causing harm, not only just to you, but you were just perpetuating this myth, and myth may not even be the right word for it, but basically there, you needed to evolve in your thinking to improve your well- your wellbeing.

I don't mean to interrupt you, but in all honesty- if it was a scale of one to 10, I'm still like a three on that journey because it's still like those male attributes that I still feel. Yeah. And I say stuff sometimes, people are like, that's not really right." But I understand that it's a problem

you can just tell me that's okay. that's what it's supposed to be. And I appreciate that honesty because no one is going, first of all, you only, this is, you spent how much of your... how old are you now? I'm 63. [00:18:00] Okay. Okay. You have spent at least 60 years of your life- 

operating a certain way. Yeah. It's not gonna change overnight. And I would also, dare I say, I don't think it has to completely change. I think there's an element of the protector. We need you to be a protector. Yeah. But how do you do that in such a way that it is, it doesn't cause you harm along the way?

Yeah. Yeah. And then as a woman, my natural innate, and I fought this for a very long time, is caretaker And with that caretaking, it serves me very well in my profession, serves me very well as a mother, serves me very well as a daughter. But in that caretaking, you take on everyone else's burdens.

I learned- there's things that we both do as men and women. So- My mom, like I said, she came out in 2020, and I just watched her change as a person, and it was just heart-wrenching to watch. But [00:19:00] I was blessed to have the opportunity to spend the last four years of her life with her.

But I learnt so much, 'cause at the very beginning I was, like, going to the doctors and it was like, he's she lays around a lot," and "She should be getting up to come to dinner." And at times I was like, "No, Mom," "I'm not bringing your food into your room. You need to come out." And I'm doing some of these things like, "Oh, you need to take this."

And I started to realize I was doing it... I'm the caregiver, but I'm doing it for me because I wanna keep her around as long as possible. And then at one moment it hit me because she's very strong, and she'd give me that look, and she'd be like...

Yeah, when I would be like, "I'm not doing that," which she said a lot, which is funny, 'cause now I'm saying it a lot. And I'm just like, "Go out and tell the doctors. That guy will listen to me. Just go tell him." "Why don't you just do what I asked you to do?" is exactly what- And then I stopped, and my brother always helped me 'cause he says, "Look," he's "What you're doing is not sustainable." ... to the emergency room, like six, seven days a week, middle of the night, running the business. "You're gonna be in the gurney next to her." And he was [00:20:00] right.

It was- ... you're doing what you can for your mom, but I was like... But then I stopped. I said, "I need to take care of myself." But there was also an epiphany of like she said that to me. I'm trying to keep her around, and I stopped the, "Mom, you should do this," to like, "What do you want?" She was at the end, and we had lost- my youngest brother, and she... I knew she had gave up at that point, which I understand. She would talk a lot about "Jesus, why are you doing this to me? Take me, I'm ready." So I stopped telling, and I had to learn after getting a lot of lumps in the head- with the shillelagh on the head, and I said- Trial by fire there

ask her what does she want. I did a lot more of "What do you want?" And that was the kind of the giving up, but that also taught me that same thing that I'm doing, I have to do that for myself. how do I- as a friend of mine, Jimmy, would say, "PYP," how do I protect my peace, right?

At the same time and do what I need to do for other people. So there was just... I learnt so much during that four years, of taking care of my mom and watching, watching the deterioration and making some changes, and I was just a [00:21:00] lot of learning, and I le- and I've grown more in those years than I have my whole entire life, I feel like, in lessons, life lessons.

That's a... that's a tremendous growth journey. and I will say in the... I have the pleasure and

the joy of being with people in some of their worst and best times, and over a decade in healthcare- Everything I do is relational. I get to be in people's lives, and that's the time where I- most people experience, major growth, and it's a trial, right? We know that, understand human growth and development.

But one of those common trials in later adult life is the caretaking and then subsequent transition of a loved one, and especially a parent. And we usually, we learn so much from them and through that, and every person I've spoken to that has had the pleasure and joy of being with their parent, hospice I think is a beautiful thing It's, [00:22:00] you're still learning on the other side of that too.

Yeah. She's been gone over a year, still learning stuff and reflect back on things and, ... just a- all along, she taught me good lessons all, even when I was a little kid, She's I was five or six. That's many years ago when she said something to me. She says "You're a handsome young man.

You're Black. People are gonna not like you." Like- ... "This is the planet that we live in, but be the best person that you can be. You can't flip to what everybody thinks. you be the best person that you can be." My brother Neil likes to poke, and he says, she..." Because we just talked about this after she passed, and he says, "She said the same thing to me except she didn't say I was handsome.

She said I was smart." She's "She must have not thought I was handsome." And I said, dude, that's a double-sided coin 'cause maybe she didn't think I was that smart." So we just kinda had a good laugh, but that's how we keep her alive, in our memories and in our hearts and minds.

Because, she was a great- ... woman, and I, like I said, I learnt a lot. And like at the end, listening to her [00:23:00] and holding her hand and reading to her at the end or whatever, it was... I wouldn't exchange it for anything. Yeah ... and it's hard but, it's, that's, it's family. It's what we do.

It's what we should do. That's what you should do. Yeah. 

Joining the Practice

David: So you connected with me and joined our practice right around March. Yes. What led to that decision? Once the labs got there and all the bells and whistles went off, I went and plug, started plugging into several AI sources 'cause I- wanted to trust like the different comparisons of the data. And I popped my labs in at first, and it was all these, "Oh, you should do this," and a doctor this and this. And some of it, I had to take everything with a grain of salt, but I realized like the clot piece- ... 'cause I had the blood clot, like that could've- killed me in 2022 when it was like with other, with the insulin resistance, and they were drawing the correlations to like, "Look, you potentially could have a stroke or another embolism. You won't even make it to the hospital." When I'm thinking I'm living a good life and I'm feeling really good, there's all these underlying things that are [00:24:00] brewing that could kill me.

And I was like, "Look, I, this I cannot do on my own." Even before I came to you, realized I had done some things weeks beforehand with running by like food, and I eliminated 99.9%. I'm a coffee person. I was not gonna give up my creamer for my coffee. I gave up the sugar, but it had very little in there.

But I was taking pictures of things and sending it to Claude and telling him what my diet is and Gemini- and all these other AI sources, and getting the feedback and just being a student of what I needed to know and realized like processed food... processed food is poison.

You think, so all these little, it stacks up. Little bit of sugar here, a little bit of sugar here, a little bit of process here, oils here, and all these other things that were creating the insulin resistance in my body, the issues with my glucose pro- processing, my A1C out of control, my testosterone.

Plenty in my system to develop muscle growth, but I was, having a lot of [00:25:00] things that men have with- You couldn't use it ... fat in my chest. It was all blocked. It's like they talk about- the vitamin that has a certain capsulization of, it's capsuled in plastic or whatever. It's like you take it and it never gets into your body.

working out and whatever good foods I had never got to me because of these things that I didn't know. Because I felt ah, what's the big deal? I don't fry food. I bake everything. But, if I take a slice... I'm not gonna name any companies, but if I take a slice of cheese, it's been processed, right?

The rices that have been processed, and the box, and the macaroni and cheeses, and all these things that you're like, "Okay, what could be wrong with rice?" but, there's these issues in there with, if it's processed with wheat and there's gluten problems with it. they have sprout bread for a reason.

Animals will not eat wheat on the stalk before it sprouts. There's a reason, because it messes with the digestion. And gluten and that- Oh ... kind of wheat is just inflamma- I tell, I've been s- preaching this, like a lot lately. It's inflammatory. Even if you're not sensitive, it is [00:26:00] inflammatory.

It is not good for you. We were not intended to consume all of that. Animals are smart. They won't eat it because that's the circle of life, because they don't eat it. Nature took care of it. Don't eat it too soon. they're not following emotions, right? They're not responding to dopamine and- They're eating out of necessity and livelihood, and so they're making decisions on the basis of what's good for them. Whereas we make decisions often around food that i- is around what makes us feel good. And if it hadn't been for the clot, I'll be honest, I probably still might not have gone to you 'cause I would just- No

I would- I hear, I don't disagree with you. But the clot- That's, that's just the reality of it ... scared, clot scared the bejeebies out of me. And that speaks to the point that, I hate that's the reality and I want, and I would like to figure out a way to help more m- more men especially get to that point without...

 Yeah. Quite frankly, potentially lethal scare. Yeah. the thing is, like- All right ... take the clot- can you close that door? Yeah, and it's just interesting, remove the clot. I still feel like I could have done this on my own with the labs because I was not a- you've really done a lot, you really [00:27:00] have honestly done a lot of this and a lot of our conversations have been me reaffirming or maybe tweaking or s- like urging you one s- slightly one way or another.

I'm gonna just give you all of the props and credit there. Yes, you have done a tremendous amount of it on your own because you've had resources at your disposal. But I'm also grateful that something happened that brought you to this point because what you needed is that outside point of view that can help you digest all that information in a meaningful way and apply it to you I don't even know how to say it. There was... It was necessary at some point, but- the framework was great because, again, barring the clot, I might've just still never went to the doctor and I would've figured out a lot of this on my own, I believe. But what... This is another thing, we have to be learning creatures, through my eyes.

What I learnt is, you don't have to be opposed to participating in a relationship with a doctor from a guidance perspective. So that taught me to [00:28:00] be more open to that for my health, and running labs, and recommendations on supplements. And all I've had to do was, take a b- and I wasn't on board with that, but I was like, "Look, either I'm in or I'm out."

either I'm gonna do this or I'm not, and I just got on board with a list of supplements that have attacked the areas I wanted to attack. My insulin resistance, which all comes from processed food and all that other stuff, and, the way that we eat as people. And just attack my A1C, the glucose, my testosterone not being free.

'Cause, when... I heard that, once I free that up, and it actually gets into my body, the fat that I've had in my chest forever. And I got to the point of, I was doing, four sets of 100 flies with really light weight and, working my ch- How many pull-ups can you do now?

I can still only do two pull-ups. You were gonna embarrass me in public. Thank you, doctor, for that. I see, now you make me want not to go again.

You got me in the door. Be careful. You got me in every other way possible. I just- I have a lighter body weight, like- that's my advantage ... no, it's got nothing to do with body weight. It's got to do [00:29:00] with strength and whatever else. I'm gonna give you credit for that, 'cause...

But anyway. Oh, thank you. No, that's okay. Thank you for that public humiliation. But it's okay. No. I know who I am, so you can not fully humiliate me. You can only, take... I took a shot to my deflector vest, and that's okay. You did. 

The Lab Results

David: let me point something out here that's incredibly impressive, though-

About you that no one else that I've taken care of so far has been able to do. So first of all, you had the blood clot, and my first mission with you was why do you have a blood clot in a otherwise seemingly healthy person? Yes, insulin resistance. Yes, yes, you're aging. Yes, but you had two blood clots, one massive one.

And yes, you were more sedentary during the caretaking of your mother, but something just didn't add up. So we started going down that journey of figuring that out, right? And that was a huge...

that's something that you needed from a medical perspective. The other piece of it, you knew that you had insulin resistance. You did the testing yourself. You started on that journey. You eliminated, I think you had [00:30:00] eliminated sugar from your diet before you and I even started talking.

I eliminated every bit of sugar except I would not give up the... And I ran it all by the different three or four- different AIs and it was like, "This has this and this," and learned- if I buy, the, spaghetti sauce if you wanna make this or if you do it on your own, tomatoes have sugar in them.

That- that's regular, natural f- it's from nature. So you also used it to kind of- I got rid of the added ... help you figure out how to do those things- in the absence of sugar, right? ... 100% of everything. Amazing. And I was doing Jell-O 'cause I need, I wanted to get rid of the carrot cake. I was like, "Oh, I'll do Jell-O," but it was regular Jell-O.

It's oh, it's got some sugar in it. I was like, okay. So I went to the sugar-free and it tasted just as good and I was putting like a can of mandarin oranges in there 'cause I love mandarin oranges. I would put fresh strawberries, blueberries in there. And it suggested, how about you try apples with the skin on them for fiber, fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries or frozen, and then instead of the can, just get the orange.

So I got the orange and I peel the orange and I put it in there. And I was like, "Wow." And then I used whipping cream. And it seems so subtle and insignificant for a lot of people [00:31:00] They will just might poo-poo that. And some of the greatest improvements over, a little bit of time for many of my patients have become from those subtle incremental changes.

I wanna make this point, 'cause people might be thinking like, "I don't wanna drastically change my whole life." I pulled the trigger on everything because I was walking around. But, barring that, I still had, I'd work out forever and I look forward.

It's oh, wow, it's like not bad, 63, things are going okay. \. I would turn sideways and I would see my chest, and I'd be like, "What the..." I won't say what I said, but I'm like, "What the, what's with the..."

I'm just gonna say it. I know it's in a big piece if I offend anybody. Man boobs. I'm like, "What is going on?" Yes. But I couldn't- Legitimately though- ... no matter what I I could not get rid of them, and then I learned that the visceral fat- You were aromatizing testosterone into estrogen- 

because of your insulin resistance. That's what was happening. So you were producing more sex binding hormone, which was binding up a lot of your free testosterone, and some of it that was still there because of your insulin resistance and your body fat, your visceral body fat was converting it over to testosterone, [00:32:00] or to estrogen.

So now you've got man boobs. Yeah. And I started to see, the... I always worked out forever, but, those areas, the stomach and the chest, I couldn't, And I was doing, like I said, I was like to the point of in the gym doing like 800 reps of stuff, but really light weight, And I said, no, increase the testosterone, lower reps, heavier weight, and then all the food changes. No processed food, the sugar elimination, walking after I eat a meal to control the glucose by walking the dog, things like that. I'm already seeing signs of this, changes in my chest. The fat is starting to go away.

There's a ton of muscle underneath it 'cause I worked it like a crazy person. But all it was doing was pushing out the fat further, and it was frustrating me beyond belief. When I threw it into the AIs and talked to you and it's "This eventually will go away, but you've gotta work on the insulin and all this other stuff, insulin resistant and the free testosterone that's in your body to get it to do its work where it's not blocked, in six months consistently, like you could get rid of that," you would've thought you told me I got a lottery ticket for $5 million 'cause [00:33:00] I was so excited 'cause I've been fighting this for 20, 30 years.

And it wasn't about appearance, it was like just embarrassment to, be- doing a pushup and have the gravity taking your chest down. that was emasculating to me. And it impacts, just I'm not even gonna get into some of that stuff, but it's like- but that's, I completely, I can completely see why it would take you there.

That's human instinct. And also it's not like you weren't making effort. You were working out. You were doing all the things, and that, I think that makes it even worse, right? When you're- doing all of the training and then the results still aren't there like you expect them to be.

Yeah. I needed to educate myself on stuff, and the information that I got from the labs and from you, and then doing my research with the different AI sources of plugging in- But I wanted to get back to a point that you made about, the steps that kinda get you there.

The funny thing is there are very small steps that get you in that bad position. oh, slice of cheese. oh, just fruit in the morning. Fruit is great for you. What's the problem? Orange juice, it's like all sugar. But knowing that, protein first and then it's okay with the fruit. Like, [00:34:00] all these little things that, were cumulative that get you- 

into a spot where you feel like you're doing good, not fantastic, but good, and you're a good decent picture of health at your age. Ageism has nothing to do with it. It has to do with lifestyle. age is just a number, and I hate to say that 'cause it is a cliche, but truth be told, you can feel the way that you need to feel, but, those little things that got you to the point of that underlying, the 600-pound gorilla that's not in the room, it's in your body, that could kill you or debilitates you or stops you from doing things, and inflammation and all this other stuff.

I would love everybody to take if nothing else away from this. It was also those little things that got me there. Taking those little things out that actually get me to improved health where, the free testosterone in my body has doubled. It was like 37. It's 75- 

almost 80. My glucose- ... was, like, 144. It's down to, 89. and this was in 30 to 60 days. This wasn't like, oh, it took me- This wasn't over- ... a year to do this. And that was [00:35:00] the hu- lit- I think my jaw dropped when I looked at your results 30 to 60 days. And not only did your labs improve, you improved.

You felt those different, the impact of it almost immediately, right? Yeah, 'cause the data is the data. it is good information, but, that's one million things on YouTube about, oh, this plan, this diet, this workout, this and this, right? It's all confusing. I think that's what the problem is.

Me, I follow my body. I got up one morning after about a month, and I put my glasses on and I was like, "Wow," feel like I got a new prescription. What the heck is going on?" I had no idea what it was. I was like, "Why can I see better?" I popped it into the AIs and shared it with you too, and it's okay, there's blood vessels in your eyes too.

That's why diabetics and pre-diabetics have vision issues because it swells in your cornea. and when you hear it, it's like you feel dumb. It's oh, wow, that makes absolute sense and so I noticed something. But why would you have ever remotely considered looking at that- any other [00:36:00] time, right?

No. No. No. And then the thing with, just general blood flow, just feel- and I, this is a little embarrassing, but I think this helps people. it started to feel like they talk about incontinence in men. I didn't have an incontinence issue, but, if I went to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I have my PJs on, and I would go to the bathroom and I'd feel like I was done, but I would stand up, after I was done and whatever men do to be sure that they're done shake whatever.

I'm just saying it. and then I would get up and go walk to go back to bed, and I'd feel this trickle down my leg. It's embarrassing, but I was like- ... what is going on? It's like- ... I'm a healthy person. I'm not overweight. I'm a little overweight, and like what is going on? I feel like I'm doing all these plunges and all these great things and fasting and trying to eat well.

so I'm just thinking there's an issue. But then as I took the supplements, like literally 30 days later, again, the eyes I noticed, and then that was the other thing that I noticed 'cause it was important to me. It was like I got up and I- And let's not discount the fact that outside of your coffee you completely- Everything, yes

1,000%- ... removed sugar and [00:37:00] processed food from your diet. 100%. But the last part of that thing caught my attention But again, never dawned on me- Popped it into the AIs, and I talked to you about it and was like, that's also about like vasal, the vasal restriction.

yes ... I wanna make sure, You got it right. But I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not... I have, no medical background. this thing that you did, and you've made... this is the kind of conversation, like I- I'm okay with my patients doing Google searches, and now AI is so much more powerful.

When you do that and bring the con- it actually helps facilitate the con- we're not starting from zero. Yeah. We're starting from you've, you have some kind of foundation, and then we can build on that. Yeah. It's great. Yeah. It's a great tool. And it was just so relieving to be like, wow, like I didn't realize, like I don't have prostate cancer.

There was nothing there. Yes. But things are pushing on my prostate- .. from the vessels. but when that was freed up a little bit with all the changes in the food that was creating all these like cumulative issues, and then to get up and be like, "Wow, I don't have that issue anymore," it's [00:38:00] again, like these are all like- What about recovery during workouts?

How did that- how did that change? here's the thing. 

Insulin, Testosterone & Body Changes

David: I'm one of them people, like I've always responded quick. I could not go to the gym for a month, and I'll see signs of stuff except on my chest and in my stomach, but like I would see signs pretty quick. So I didn't... That was never really a problem for me, so that never really sped up.

But what I'm seeing is like I'm watching, like I just notice things like- I said this to you, I feel I'm going through puberty again. And what I mean by that- men work out, we do things, and we see our body go from, ah, relaxed, to like changes in your body, but they're always the same kind of changes.

I have peaks in my bicep that were never there before. Like it's a complete different thing. I have these striations in my body and shoulders and stuff that I never had before. I can feel the presence of like muscles in my back and like all these other things. But like my body has changed, and my lady, Krista, she always says this, like she keeps looking at me, she's "I cannot believe."

Like my face is obviously, it's 20 pounds less, so it's thinner. She's "You look so much younger than you already looked younger than your age as it [00:39:00] was." She's and she keeps staring at me saying, "I can't believe how much you changed and how much your body has changed." And as I'm showering- I would rub, soap on my body, like I feel the fat disappearing and not paying attention to it, just like I do it, I was like, "What is that?" like chest is harder and I can feel my abs coming through and the fat disappearing, so like all these physiological changes.

Yes. And it was a little disorienting for a couple of weeks in there because I felt it was an out-of-body experience. I felt like there's so many cha- like the butterfly coming out of the cocoon. It was like odd. But it's the same thing like when men go through puberty, like your body's going through all these things that were like massive changes in my body.

It's like you were getting a bolus of testosterone. Like it was dormant, and it just came back alive. And it is very similar to puberty in men, where your testosterone levels- It threw me off. I was like, "What is going on?" I felt very much, like not myself, and it was kinda confusing, so anyway, like those things happening that were data, websites, all these other things. I was having physiological [00:40:00] evidence of wow. 'Cause I was still like, I'm the skeptic. is this gonna work? And I'm on board. I'm gonna try it. Bought, six or seven supplements, took the supplements, completely eliminated processed food.

No rice, no bread, no pasta. I replaced it with veggie pasta, lentil, et cetera. Rice, which I loved, it's now greens, or it's like it's all vegetables. so little changes. It's not a lot, people, is what I would like everybody to take away from this. The same little things that get you there, removing them.

I'm not saying do them all at once like I did. I had a clot, But even barring that, if you want the testosterone surge, if you want the fat that's a visceral fat that's just ... And it's not even just on your chest and in your stomach, folks. Your heart, your organs. Which is the underlying danger.

And again, I'm not trying to be the- Like, you're speaking for me. It's amazing. Yeah ... everything you're saying is spot on. And, people are, unfortunately, in modern day, are quick to turn to the GLP-1s, quick to turn to, specifically for men, testosterone replacement therapy.

Yes, testosterone declines [00:41:00] over time, but it should, the amount of testosterone, like low testosterone levels I'm seeing in middle-aged men now and otherwise healthy men is in excess of what it should be. And diabetes in young kids. Yeah, diabetes. In kids. Yes. Missing the mark. That's scary.

I hate saying this, but it's really not complicated. It really isn't. The hard part is making the changes. it's the psychological and the acce- and in some cases, it's an access challenge too, but for those who don't have an access issue and are making choices knowingly There's a better way I think the big block is information.

Too much information out there- ... and then where that's been promoted that this is good for you, this says sugar-free, this says this, whatever. So what do you say to people who are in that situation and they're overwhelmed and don't know what they should do?

follow your body first. Your body will tell you, whatever changes that you make. But processed food, I'll just tell you, processed food is horrible for you. make your choice, 'cause I eat an omelet with [00:42:00] cheese. It's got cheese in it, but I don't buy the processed cheese.

I buy the block of cheese that's, which is the non-processed stuff, and then spinach in there, and I'm eating eggs, and then I put turkey or chicken sausage in there, and I eat that every single morning. So it's not like I gotta, no offense to anybody who eats tofu, it's not like I have to suffer, And I'll have shrimp with steak and then vegetables. I just made tofu last night. that's the, but not my thing. I'm not doing that. But- That's okay ... so that's what I'm saying. so I still eat- And that's an important factor. It's not a one-size-fits-all solution. listening- and my grocery bill has not gone up, so it's not wow, how do you eat like that? And then I cook a big thing of chi- I cook a big thing of chicken, either thighs or legs, on a Sunday, and I put it in the fridge and I eat a couple every night with some vegetables.

So it's like the prep is big, too, because you're thinking like, "Wow, how the heck do you do all this stuff?" and, "How do you eat?" and I found an ice cream that is, like, all protein with no sugar, and I took a picture of it, did it by the sites, the AI, the Google, and checked it out. I was like, "Wow, this is actually great for your la-" And everything is like, how does this work for my labs?

I take a picture of something and they're like, [00:43:00] "Oh. Oh, this is okay, but watch the fact that it's got this in there." I make my own informed decisions. there's- ... too much information out there. And, that whole food pyramid thing, when I found out that was created by politicians and not doctors I almost fell off of my seat.

So just looking that you wanna trust the source, but people, trust yourself, trust your body. I'm, I was still like, I'll take the supplements," but I don't know. But after 30 days I didn't go rerun my labs and say, "Oh, if my labs change then I'm good." And don't get me wrong, the data is good, but my eyes got better.

you have to see. You have to know how you feel, and your body's going to give you warning signs and also gonna help you experience progress. it is your most significant tool, and that's something that no doctor can give you. I'm not in your body. 

If it feels off or it feels right and you are improving, that's really important to ask those questions. And I will often, when I'm thinking about women's health and I'm talking to women about their hormones as an example, I'll say, we can do lots of testing," but sometimes a test and the [00:44:00] data that you get from blood work isn't going to explain why you feel the way you feel.

Yeah. So let's talk about what that is and what's changed. And let's use that as a guide too. And that's something that's missing. Yes, labs and data and objective information is important and can be a tool, but not in replace of, in addition to, like how you're feeling and how your body- ... is responding.

I guess I kinda wanted to get to, ultimately kinda coming full circle- 

Sustaining the Lifestyle

David: How confident are you in your ability to sustain this indefinitely? and what... And I'm gonna infer that you're confident, and then I'm gonna also follow up with the presumed answer and say why.

why do you have that confidence? I know I can do this because, at first my girlfriend, she was all about the supplements, and I was just thinking "Ah, I was like, "I'm an LOA," and it's like sometimes it is about vibration and energy and all these other things. "I'm gonna levitate one day."

She look at me like I was crazy. "No, I'm going to..." She's "All right, whatever." I was like, "It's mind over matter." But regardless, it is about your [00:45:00] emotional state, right? And you do attract what you put out there. All that stuff being there, and then just thinking about, the changes that I made them because it wasn't...

Like my workouts, right? I was doing my workouts for a reason at first, 'cause I wanted to look better. Then I said, why? Is that really what I want?" then I realized it was really about longevity. I wanna be around as long as possible for my family and for myself, and I wanna be the 95 or 100-year-old guy that I can at least get up out of my seat on my own.

I can go get a cup of coffee. I'm not gonna be out there chopping down trees But if I wanna get on my ride mower and cut my grass, I can do that, 'cause I see it, right? Yes. You're doing well. And because people at the same age, two different scenarios. Like, why is that? So I wanna be that person that's at least I have active and I can live on my own as long as possible.

It's about longevity. But then even then, like the workout piece of it, like I'm seeing the changes in my body, but then I even said, and I put it into the AIs again with the workout program, and I said, "Food, everything else is in there." I said, "But I think we're going about this the wrong way.

I don't just wanna look. I don't care. I wanna be [00:46:00] strong." that's the longevity piece, and how do I, with the legs being important for longevity and all these other things, you need a leg workout. so it gave me the feedback on stuff, and some more military calisthenics, because that's about flexibility, mobility, whatever.

And then I migrated to yeah, but like I ache and pain, this other stuff after I work out, and my flexibility is horrible. You would think I'm not even stretching when you watch me stretch. And it's like, why is that guy just sitting there on the floor like that? I'm trying to stretch.

But that was a month ago, but now it's wow, I'm feeling it and, the flexibility. Excellent. So I realize, I'm realizing all these things, and I'm just learning, and it's so to me- ... it's like I just feel better, and I can move better. So why I'm confident I can do this is 'cause I'm feeling better.

I know what the target is. I don't wanna look like I'm 40. I love my children. I love my family. I wanna be around for my lady for as long as I can, and know that if that is tomorrow, I'm okay with that because I did everything that I needed to do To live the best life and be the best version of [00:47:00] myself.

That's the physical piece. But also realizing I worked on my emotional state when I was being horrible to my family, and then my spiritual with the meditation that I did, and then the physical part of my body. And then the next piece is, looking at the financial, which I won't get into. But, like- being a holistic pr- if I wanna be the best version of me, those things are all important. So- You recognize that all these things have to coexist together and be in harmony- ... in order to be healthy and effective in all the ways. So that's the why that I can do it. The other thing is, I've been pressed, you, Krista, like macros, and I've been fighting it and, yeah, I can be stubborn, some of those things are always down.

I'm like, "I'm not doing that 'cause it's gonna feel like work." If I gotta measure something, that's a no starter for me. I'm gonna spitball it like I cook. man, not measuring the food much. I look at this, I know what it tastes like. I smell it. and I know it's, and both of you may not agree, but that's hard for me to get there, but it was also hard for me to get to the supplements.

But I got there. So my point is- once, if I feels like it's a no to me, then it's a no. Today. But so I'm always open, and figure out how to get [00:48:00] to the levels that I need to get to. So I want it to be... My point is I want it to be easy, 'cause that's- the sustainable part for me, that it's easy.

It needs to be intuitive and easy and sustainable because if you're just doing it short-term, then you're not gonna... what's the point? And it also has to make sense. is it going to get you to your goal? Like- ... you have to have confidence that it's gonna help.

Yeah, 'cause forever she's she had the watch and I was like, "Oh, you gotta get the watch." And now you don't know this, but I did get that based on your recommendation and- You did? 'cause I wanted to check my sleep apnea because then- ... at first I was like, "I'm not doing that. I don't care about the data.

I, why do I care how much REM I got?" But I'm like, eh, you buy it, repent. May I ask- what you found out? I've not been sleeping well, but there's something emotional- ... going on that's kinda been like- ... the last couple of months I've been tossing and turning a lot at night, so I'm not- I'm not getting accurate data from... I know before, 'cause I was like, I get into bed, I fall asleep right away. I don't wake up till the morning. That's not been the same since I've gotten- ... the watch because of something personal that's going on in my life right now- ... that's kinda preoccupying my brain.

and that may, and I, we haven't talked about sleep at all in this, and I'm not gonna, we're not gonna have time to get into that and it's not necessary, [00:49:00] but, it gets hard when there's things outside of your control. And what a lot of things you talked about is how do you do and manage the things that are in your control.

Yeah. And I find for many people that sleep piece There's a lot more things that impact that are not in your control. Yeah. I got good at it, during mom being sick, and business, and all these other things, and I was actually feeling really good about it, and, I'm putting stuff aside and better at calendar-ing things and stuff like that.

But this is something that's hitting me a little bit hard at this point- ... and it's throwing me off. I'm sorry to hear that. Eh, it's all right. it's all temporary. it hit me, and it is impacting my sleep. But anyway, why do I- ... 'cause, the measuring and calling what I do a diet.

A diet means to me something you do for a period of time. I'll be honest, I want a lifestyle thing. I wanna eat well. I don't wanna suffer. my coffee was important to me, right? I'm- not giving up the creamer, but I figured out the dessert piece, and I found the Jell-O, and I found the ice cream.

And I'm researching, instead of a bun with a hamburger I did the sweet [00:50:00] potato thing that had some yogurt in it, whatever, and that, it tasted really good. And I will tell you this, as soon as I try it, if it's like- that sounds really good ... and if it- You're gonna have to share that with me

it's like eating sweet potato fries with a hamburger at the same exact time. It's amazing. But I'm also like, I've tried some other stuff and I'm like, "That is a non-starter." we ain't doing that. So you've done trial and error, too, and so you've embraced that it doesn't have to be perfect.

You don't have to have it all figured out. You're not gonna- have the right answer. you're on a journey. and 4th of July I'm going to my brother's house. I am going to have a piece of carrot cake- That is-

legit at the store carrot cake. That is good. Because the- That's okay ... 'cause I don't need to suffer eating- But don't have any more after that. Yeah, I know. But see, that's the- ... but honestly, so but that's p- part of the challenge. Yes. to be careful, 'cause I go to grocery store. I was like, before I changed everything, I had these cream horns, and I was eating them, and they're, like, decent size.

I was eating them- ... like they were Oreo cookies, like- Holy moly ... But what you have to do is have your piece of carrot cake, and if it's not all gone, give it away. See? See, I confess, and then the reprimand. I know. Look, I have to, I have to- I get the reprimand.

[00:51:00] I gotta look out for you, okay? That's what I'm here for ... I appreciate that. But I did ask you about, hey, to what degree can I do things? Yes. 'Cause that's something I want people- ... to know. I eat really well. Like- ... this is not, like I said, it's, if you like chick- I eat a lot of chicken.

I grabbed the pasta that I realize most pastas only take on the essence of the sauce that you put on it. I needed the fat from the hamburger. I was doing turkey, but I went back to hamburger. I make my spaghetti sauce with something- ... that's got no added sugar in there, right?

Fair. But the steak or salmon, those two things, make your eyes make- now I'm getting hungry. that's a food that will make your eyes roll up in the back of your head. and here's the thing, like eating, doesn't have to taste bad. It shouldn't taste bad.

yeah. Food is an experience. and as human beings, we are designed to enjoy fellowship- ... and have tasty meals. That's important. Yes. It's about community. Yes. And again, back to accolade to my mom, like I was 11 and she was working two jobs and going to school at the same time. She'd call [00:52:00] "Hey, could you start dinner?"

Wow. Like she'd, "Go put some rice on." Boy, how many times I messed up rice, but she would walk me through it on the phone. So I've always learned to cook from that, and I enjoy it. And actually, it's a big part of my relationship now, where Krista and I, we cook all the time and we make some dishes. We look at it and we're like, it's like man, like that is like restaurant style stuff.

But now we're delving into the good foods. And I love that you guys do that. I have a lot of women, that I've taken care of over, over that have, that borne the responsibility of doing all the c- of cooking, even if they're, even if they're not stay-at-home moms.

And one piece of advice that I will often give them, and this is actually another layer , share that with your partner. And not just because you're, it's a matter of offloading something. It's an experience for both of you. My husband and I, we cook together whenever possible.

We, things that we enjoy doing together, 'cause we did it together when we were dating and it was an experience and we enjoy it, making meals together and working out together. Two things That whenever possible we do that, and it's a good thing. That is definitely a plus in men.

We should all lean into that. But, you're also gonna have a [00:53:00] group of us that are not willing to lean into the helping out part. For those of you, which I was maybe not 100% in that camp, but maybe, if I was the 30% of ah, like anytime you're helping out frees up your young lady to, quality time, i- whether that quality time- you're taking things off of her mind- ... and it makes it better for you. be able, yes, to be able to relax and have a cup of coffee and- whatever benefit that you feel like the free time gives you. Yeah. be smart about those things. So if you have to be calculating- 'cause trust me, we're men, we have things that are self-serving on occasion. But the helping out. Yes. But I just like the cooking thing, and we do that piece together. That's so good. I know we're kinda running up on time but I will tell you- I was gonna ask you for some takeaways before we wrap up.

one, I 

Food & Cooking

David: wanna just hand a lot to my family. Like I said, I hit the jackpot from my kids. Like they're amazing, and I know every parent thinks that, but you also gotta know nah, I see the bad kids like, I don't promote that, but I'm just like- ... look, that, that's a bad child. I got the, I hit the jackpot with my children. My brother is my best friend. He helps me a lot- ... with the feedback on [00:54:00] different areas and, and my lady, Krista, obviously So I've got people in my circle That of watching wow, you are like way different than you used...

And I was fairly level-headed, but since you started meditating and all this other stuff, like you're a different person. Like better, So that feedback from people, but also supporting me during those times of significant emotional events and just having an ear or checking in on occasion or whatever.

I'm very grateful for those things. my takeaway is, I'm just gonna say it again. Processed food, it's poison. It can be replaced with things, and you can still eat really well. Yes. And on a budget. Same exact budget, 'cause I've watched my food go down because it's like mass producing of certain things, and you can still eat really well.

You don't have to suffer. So good ... pick and choose. pick and choose the hill you wanna die on. Yes. Carrot cake on the Fourth of July, it's okay. Yes ... but on occasion, but nothing in excess, and you can still find s- No creamer in your coffee.

and you can find substitutes, like sweet potato- ... on your burgers or whatever. If you are motivated, just know [00:55:00] the why. Like for me, I wanna be around for a long time, right? but I don't wanna suffer in what I eat either. So what's the balance? Figure it out, and trust yourself.

There's way too much information out there that we provide to the population at large. but there's a lot of lies going on there about what food is good for you and like all these other things. Yes ... you need to know yourself and what- There's different motivations that are not for in-

they're not for us. They're... The mo- you have to understand what's behind them, and it's not always in our best interest. It's about the money. It's about the money. Yes, exactly. So trust yourself. It is. Trust yourself. So many things are about the money, right? but yeah, for us too, 'cause we have budgets.

But trust yourself. Yeah. listen to your body, listen to your brain, listen to your- ... emotional state, and take care of yourself first. Like it's, you know- When are you gonna become a motivational speaker? I... everybody who knows me knows that I hate talking in public, so this is good that this is you and I feel like it's you and I even though a lot of people- but I had anxiety. I would walk like holes into the rug when I had to present, and I was the supervisor with 10 people reporting to me. And I'm having a panic attack. I was like, "This is my team. They report to me," but I was like having a panic attack. 'Cause I understand that if you're the [00:56:00] conduit of a message, and if you feel strong, that you have a good message.

Yes. But if you're- sweating or nervous or whatever, it takes away from the message, so it always made me really nervous, like how important this was. Like this now, I'm only doing this because this is not my thing, but I know this is really important, and if I have the story to tell and it's my truth that I can get out there, that's important to me.

So I am so grateful that you entertained this even before agreeing to it because I know how you feel about- public speaking and putting yourself out there like that. So I'm incredibly blessed and our listeners will be very blessed to have heard your story because it's one that needs to be told, and hopefully can give someone else encouragement to take the steps necessary to improve their health, improve their longevity, because it's possible, and you're a testament to that.

I appreciate you as well because even in our first like Zoom call that we had, like your comments about not instantly about medication or whatever, 'cause you talked about some of those things about like food choices and emotional state and some of those kind of things. [00:57:00] Like that connected with me for what I needed, 'cause it wasn't just about oh, you have this and then do this or whatever, 'cause people have this misnomers like they feel like the lack of disease is healthy.

No, that's not equ- that's not an equivalent of health just 'cause you don't have a disease, cancer, whatever, like that's on the radar. Underlying things like, your health, mental state, things like that. So you approached me with that, like I was like, "Okay, this is a good connection here.

This is, I can get my arms around this and go to the doctor and not be stubborn." Good. I'm looking forward to many years and watching you flourish and through your connections, through your community, having an impact on them, your children, your grandchildren, the people that work around you.

... You're going to multiply this so many times over, and it's gonna be beautiful to watch. Thank you for the opportunity. I appreciate you- giving me the invite. Thank you. It was an honor. Thank you.