Being an overweight heart surgeon didn’t feel right.
My weight didn’t make me any worse at my job, but I felt like a hypocrite.
All I could think was, “here I am, operating on people and telling them how to live healthily, while at the same time unable to control my own weight.”
I also knew that, if I didn’t make any changes, I was destined to be a heart surgeon who underwent heart surgery myself.
Anyone who has struggled to control their weight knows it’s not too hard to lose some pounds when needed. People can easily drop 10, 20, or even 50 pounds or more within a few months. The real challenge is keeping that weight off. For many of us, this feels like a never-ending war.
It’s not like there’s a lack of motivation: most people are aware of the health risks associated with obesity, including diabetes and heart diseases (which, along with other cardiometabolic conditions, accounted for 89% of COVID-19 hospitalizations).
The reality is that doing things for ourselves is rarely a powerful motivator. Often, it takes a health scare to make us lose weight, cut back on the drinking, or stop smoking.
That means we need to focus on becoming healthy for someone else — and not just the person in the mirror.
Being healthy for someone else
“Being bad feels pretty good, huh?” So said the ‘criminal’ character Bender in the classic ‘80s movie The Breakfast Club. And when it comes to lifestyle choices, many would agree with him.
People get pleasure from smoking cigarettes. Alcohol can help us relax and feel good. Binge-eating specific foods can feel comforting. It doesn’t take long for these things to become addictive and potentially take over our lives.
When something makes us feel happier, of course we don’t want to give it up. Of course we find reasons to keep doing it. Of course we justify our actions.
“I’ll stop next week.”
“It’s my only vice.”
“Everyone does it!”
But while making better choices for our benefit isn’t the best motivator, doing it for someone close to us certainly is.
In my case, everything changed when I became a father. I had people who mattered more to me than I did, who I wanted to be there for. My priorities changed immediately. Suddenly, it was important that I was alive in the future.
My patients have told me similar stories, that they made their health a priority because somebody else was so important to them.
Who is this person for you?
A spouse? A parent? A child? Maybe a close family friend?
I want you to think about them right now.
Then I need you to understand something.
Living the longest, happiest, and healthiest life possible means you need to make better choices for them.
And every moment you wait to make a change could be robbing that person of valuable time.
How to get healthy for the people you love
I can’t stress this enough: you can be a healthy weight. Whether you want to do it for yourself or for somebody else, you can achieve it.
My advice is not to focus on an outcome in the first place. Don’t worry about the scale or your waist size. Instead, follow some basic steps to get the ball rolling:
- Eat whole, real foods. Don’t allow yourself to slip back into processed junk or nutritionally empty snacks. Instead, stock your pantry with things that come from the ground and are nourished from the ground. Start by adding animal protein, vegetables, and nuts.
- Incorporate healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine. Add 30 minutes of cumulative exercise into your schedule, then maximize your sleep schedule to meet your personal needs. If possible, try getting out in the sun at least a few minutes every day.
- Give yourself the tools to succeed. First, join a community of like-minded individuals who share your goals and drive to succeed. Then, move forward to one-on-one metabolic health coaching for additional accountability.
The biggest factors within your control are what you eat, how much you move, and how much you sleep. Many people can make significant improvements by eating more whole, unprocessed foods, going for a daily walk, and getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night (or frankly whatever an optimized sleep pattern looks like for you).
Health is within your grasp
Being overweight or unhealthy now doesn’t mean you have to stay that way forever. I was fat my entire life until the age of 40, and now I’m healthier than I have ever been.
You can change your lifestyle habits. You can lose weight. And you don’t need shady weight loss drugs, frozen dinner diets, or fitness influencers to get you there.
Just think about who you’re staying healthy for.
Start with that, and just keep going.
It won’t take long for you to notice changes in how you feel and how clothes fit, and as you get used to the new habits, you can refine them for further optimizations. You might be surprised how quickly the changes come. In 90 days, you may not even recognize yourself — either physically or mentally.
You are stronger than you know.
And if you’re ready to start making a transformation today, I invite you to take my free metabolic health assessment.