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Taking Action

“There is nothing brilliant or outstanding in my record, except perhaps this one thing: I do the things that I believe ought to be done... And when I make up my mind to do a thing, I act.”

- President Theodore Roosevelt

Through the years of working with clients and fellow Health Professionals, I’ve seen one intangible thing determine their success: The ability to take action. We all research, plan and prepare throughout our lives so we feel ready to take that next step, as preparation is the easy part. The challenging part is the actual choice to take action. I would like to share the story of James Gottschalk, Jr. and how he took Action.

Jim is a quiet and confident man. When I first met Jim, he shared with me that he was just diagnosed with Type II diabetes. He’d recently quit smoking and was taking Metaformin (a diabetic medication). He originally felt he could just start exercising and beat the Diabetes alone. When he first met his doctor he was prescribed medication and that was it... He didn’t get a recommendation to see a nutritionist, he didn’t get an invitation to take diabetic classes, and he didn’t even get a blood glucose monitor... He had no tools to combat his Diabetes through Nutrition and Exercise.

Jim realized his Diabetes was bigger than he was. He’d just turned 60, he was a working professional, married, had grown children, and neither nutrition nor exercise were ever a part of his life. He’d never been interested in making his health priority, until that moment...

Something special happened when Jim was diagnosed. He made a choice, a choice to take back his health, a choice to Take Action. Over the past year that Jim and I have worked together... I have witnessed a man that never cared about his health, completely adjust every aspect of his life to make his health a priority. I watched Jim change before my eyes, gain more energy, achieve greater awareness, stabilize his blood sugar, lose weight and body fat and overall attain a higher quality of life. Jim took something that he thought was impossible and made it possible. In other words, he won.

"This has been a life changing journey and a special friendship for me. After 6 weeks of following the nutrition and exercise program, my A1c number dropped to 6.0%. It’s not the destination, it's the joy of the journey, I’m having the best time of my life."

- Jim Gottschalk

Here are Jim's results:

I shared this story with you because in it we see the essence of taking action. Jim was 60, he lived a busy lifestyle, he had limited health knowledge, and he was practically void of all healthy habits... Even as he faced all of these obstacles, he simply chose to take Action and find the answers. I have seen so many people wait for the right moment, the golden opportunity, the perfect time... The reality of all this is that those times do not exist. Opportunities are made by the choice to act and to stay committed to the process.

My invitation to you is ask yourself: “Are you Taking Action with your health or are you just waiting?” If you are waiting, ask youself “Why wait?” Do you want a higher Quality of Life? If you do, how is it possible without good health?

We can all learn from Jim’s experiences. I want to personally thank him for being an inspiration to us all. He’s a shining example of what can be achieved and what really is possible.

Other Medical Challenge success stories:

Culinary Corner

by head chef Valerie Cogswell

Simply Grilled Asparagus

If your looking for the perfect vegetable to serve alongside your dinner tonight, give “Simply Grilled Asparagus” a try. This recipe is easy to make and guaranteed to turn even the pickiest eater into a vegetable fan. To prepare, wash and trim fresh asparagus stalks. Place in a bowl and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil, tossing to coat. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then grill or roast asparagus until soft and lightly caramelized. Grilled Asparagus makes an excellent side dish for filet mignon, roast chicken or your favorite grilled fish. Keep in mind that this method of preparation works well for all of your favorite vegetables including bell peppers, zucchini, and portabella mushrooms. For the complete recipe and more, please see your Recipe Tab today. Enjoy!

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"Diets" vs. "Programs" - The Power of Blood Sugar Stabilizationwritten by Mark Macdonald, Creator and CEO of Venice Nutrition

Like most people I’ve experimented with the different philosophies of nutrition. Most of the time you’ll hear people discuss particular “Fad” Diets or Programs. Now, believe me, I’m a fan of anything that gets people to take action with their health. For that reason, even the craziest idea helps at least to create a moment of health action within its audience. That being said, I am also very aware of what it takes to turn that moment into making your Health a Priority. My goal of this article is to provide you with the ability to understand the difference between a “Diet” and a “Program” and secondly, to help you become educated on the two main philosophies behind nutrition programs. This way you’ll learn the tools you need to ensure any program or diet you choose can provide a YES answer to these two questions:

1. Does the Program make sense based on Physiology?

2. Can I do this for the rest of my life?

First, let’s begin with the differences between a Diet and a Program:

Diets are life’s quick fixes. They are used in our moments of frustration and desperation. The most common place for these moments is when: your clothes do not fit, you’re heavier than ever before, summer’s around the corner, you’ve got a wedding in three months, you’re getting ready for vacation, etc... I know because I’ve been there myself and so have 1000’s of our clients. Diets are that piece of potential magic each of us hold on to, believing that it can be that easy & simple. We become so overcome by the pain of our current status that we’ll do practically anything. It’s at these times that our vulnerability is at its highest and our sense of reason is at its lowest. This is when we reach for the magic potion and unfortunately as we all know, the reality is it doesn’t exist. When do quick fixes ever solve the real challenge? What in life can successfully be accomplished by going for a quick fix? Can a business succeed without a plan? Can a relationship succeed without continued communication? Can you parent without leading by example? Your health is no different from these things. The fact is that anything we do that’s worth something takes a proper foundation, hard work and a commitment. I’ve never seen a diet work permanently, never. Please ask yourself... have you ever seen one work permanently? We know they can create a temporary result – they really can do that... and then life shows up again. My invitation to you is to focus on Programs and let go of the “Quick Fix” mentality that leads to a Diet.

Now, realize that Programs are actual plans. They’re designed to give you an education and follow a system. They provide Structure that can be worked into your lifestyle and direction on how to do that. The goal of a Program is to create a plan that you can follow the rest of your life. Now, there are many programs to choose from, and each can be categorized into one of two Philosophies. This is where we can finally get to the heart of the matter. If you can learn the base physiology and science behind both Philosophies, you can quickly determine if the program you’re investigating will provide you with the long lasting results, education and foundation to become a permanent part of your life.

The Two Philosophies are:

Philosophy 1: The type of Program centered on Caloric and/or Carbohydrate Restriction & Deprivation – A Philosophy that Creates Deficits:

This is the most common nutrition philosophy, most clearly explained with the phrase “calories in vs. calories out”. The thought process is this, if you are Burning 2500 calories per day and you eat 2000 calories a day, you are putting your body in a 500 calorie deficit. With that deficit, your body will burn body fat and you will lose weight... This philosophy also states that it doesn’t matter when you consume those calories as long as the deficit stays in place. These restrictions will assist you in losing weight, unfortunately, because they’re based on deprivation, the body will always hit an immovable Plateau. While following a program like this, the initial drop in weight and bodyfat you experience will be stimulated by Low Blood Sugar. Yes, it will cause the body to drop fat, but it will also cause a drop in your muscle... The drop will continue to happen until your body reaches its internal Set Point – the weight it’s used to being. Once you reach your Set Point, your body will begin aggressively attacking its muscle converting it to the glucose it needs to feed the brain the fuel that’s necessary for the rest of the body to Function. Physiologically speaking, your stored fat cannot be converted fast enough to feed the brain the necessary glucose. This is why it begins "cannibalizing" (burning its own) muscle tissue. Each pound of muscle burns approximately 30-50 calories per day, which means every pound of muscle you lose slows down your metabolism. This is why it’s almost impossible to lose fat in your trouble areas when you’re on a program centered on restriction; it prevents the body from reaching an internal hormonal balance and actually slows your metabolic rate. After this slowdown occurs, eventually you begin eating the 2500 calories again, except now your body has lost part of its engine (muscle) and you gain more weight back. The worst thing about this is that this weight contains more bodyfat than you had before you started. What I’m describing is what we call the Yo-Yo syndrome. Think about it, when in life are deficits ever a good thing? Eventually every Deficit must somehow be paid back. When the focus is on cutting and restricting, the outcome is already set. If you want the weight loss to continue, you’ll need to keep cutting more and more because you’re training your metabolism to Slow Down, not speed up. I have personally worked with clients that came to me because they could only eat 500 calories a day! They told me about the cycle of cutting and restricting and then how they gained back all their weight and body fat plus some. These people came looking for solutions, looking for answers... They felt they were doing what they were supposed to do.... They just didn’t know what they didn’t know. The bottom line is: this Philosophy is based on incorrect physiology. It fails question #1 above and for most people it also fails question #2. This leads us to Philosophy #2...

Philosophy 2: Blood Sugar Stabilization – The Solution:

Imagine using Nutrition as a foundation. Imagine using it to create balance in the body. I always like to use a baby as an example. Babies eat every 3 to 4 hours, and never overfeed or underfeed... Babies eat when they feel hungry, and stop when they’re satisfied. They drink Breastmilk, which is a balanced mixture of Protein, fat and Carbohydrates. You see, from the moment of birth, our bodies are meant to be fed with a balanced source of nutrients at regular intervals. This is due to the fact that our Energy source comes from Glucose (sugar). Our Nervous System is fueled by Glucose, and our body’s number one goal is to create Balance (Homeostasis). Homeostasis means stabilizing your blood sugar. The key to stabilization is to implement the correct Nutrition Ratios and Calories per meal, as well as maintain the correct Meal Intervals to help the body maintain stable blood sugar. This in turn creates Homeostasis among all systems in the body. Homeostasis causes the continual release of the body’s Stored Fat (each pound of stored fat has 3500 calories), which is then burned within the Muscle Tissue. As long as the body maintains balance it will continue to build Lean Tissue (what forms your Metabolism) and burn Stored Body Fat. The biggest thing that makes Philosophy 2 stand out from Philosophy 1 is that even if you are in an overall Caloric Deficit, because your blood sugar is stable your body will use the calories from your stored fat, NOT your muscle. This key process will increase your appetite and calories as you progress, which is in turn the sign of a faster metabolism. Homeostasis will also eliminate all your sugar cravings and increase your overall energy. The key to Blood Sugar Stabilization is to Use Nutrition to Create Balance, Balance to Create Energy, and Exercise to Burn that Energy up.

As I said in the beginning I think any action that’s creating a moment of health awareness is positive. Diets will fail you, and programs centered on restriction & deprivation will take you to immovable plateaus and ultimately create a high level of frustration. Programs centered on Blood Sugar Stabilization are based on the physiology of the body. That is a clear fact.

Making your Health a Permanent part of your life is a true commitment.

So, my Invitation to you is this: Take Action with your health, Become Educated on how your body works, Implement the correct strategies, Accept you don’t know what you don’t know, and Engage in a program that you CAN follow for the rest of your life which is Centered on Blood Sugar Stabilization. This way you’ll Achieve permanent results.

I would like to leave you with this quote: “Once you have the knowledge, even if you choose to not apply it, there is no disputing that you know it.”

There are many things we cannot control in life. The one thing we can control is how we choose to take care of ourselves. It is up to you and... Your Goals. Your Lifestyle. Your Choice.

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You Asked | We Answered

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Q:What is the Glycemic Index?

A:The glycemic index is a tool used to measure how quickly food items containing carbohydrates are digested in your body. In general, the food items that are lower on the glycemic index are digested slower, thus keeping your blood sugar stable longer. That being said, there are a number of healthy food items higher on the glycemic index that are still an essential part of a healthy diet. That is why the most important factor in keeping blood sugar levels steady is to eat balanced meals consisting of protein, carbohydrates and fat in the correct ratios according to your nutritional parameters; nothing else matters if each meal is lacking one of these macronutrients. Once correct nutrient ratios are achieved, it is time to focus on the other factors that will help stabilize your blood sugar levels, specifically the quality of food. For more information on the glycemic index and quality of food chart, visit your member handbook by logging into your account today >>

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