Weight Loss Meds Uncovered: Can You Avoid the Yo-Yo Trap? with Dr. Tamar Lawful

Transcript

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Some people, when they're diagnosed with something or they have a family member that has something let's take diabetes, for example they say, oh well, it runs in my family, it can't change.

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And this is not true.

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If we learn how we can manage those genes like turn it on or off, like a light switch, and it doesn't manifest in our health.

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Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with Neutrogenomics.

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Part of the Pharmacy Podcast Network, a must-have resource for pharmacist entrepreneurs seeking to enhance patient care while enjoying career and life.

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Join us as we pivot into nutrigenomics, using pharmacy and nutrition for true patient-focused care.

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Together, we'll raise the script on health and pivot into a brighter future.

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Hello and welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics.

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This is Dr Tamar, lawful Doctor of Pharmacy and Nutritional Genomics Specialist.

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Today we've got something special.

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We're taking a step back into an insightful chat I had on the Healthy Mind Healthy Life podcast, and this time we're unpacking weight loss meds uncovered.

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Can you avoid the yo-yo trap?

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So I want to start off with a little throwback to the early 2000s.

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This was a period when weight loss medications were making a big, big waves.

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Right, I'm reflecting on those times.

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We've all heard stories of people who were on the hunt for that one fix to solve all their weight issues.

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Whether it was a medication or the latest workout video, you know.

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They realized quickly that the journey to lasting health wasn't as straightforward as they hoped.

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So today we're circling back to that spirit, but with our eyes set on today's conversation about weight loss solutions like the latest injectable weight loss medications.

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Given what we've all learned over the years, we know there's more to the story than just popping a pill or taking an injection.

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So today's chat nudges us to look at the big picture, acknowledging that truth Sustainable health comes from a mix of smart lifestyle changes, not just what we find in a medicine bottle.

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Listen in.

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Hello and welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Night.

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I'm your host, Avik, and today we are joined by Dr Tamar.

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So welcome to the show, Dr Tamar.

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Thank you, pleasure to be here.

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Great.

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So, dr Tamar, to start with, if you can share your perspective on the safety and efficacy of the weight loss medications, and particularly the newer options like VigoV and ZipBone.

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Well, the studies show that they're effective compared to the older weight loss medications that have been around much longer, like Phentermine, bupropion, naltrexone combination or even Orlistat.

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The ability for these newer medications the GLP-1 and the GIP receptor agonist or combination, so the Minjaro or Zetbound and the Wegovy they're pretty effective.

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Wegovy can decrease someone's weight by about 15% from what they originally weighed from what they originally weighed.

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And then medications like Zetbound, which is the weight loss version of Manjaro, is about 20%.

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So that's pretty significant because the older medications were around four or five percent or so weight loss.

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So these newer ones are very effective.

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Okay, so what are some of the common misconceptions like people have about using the medications for the weight loss?

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From my experience, a lot of people are not realizing that when they stop these medications, their weight is going to come back.

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The medications are a short term fix and that's because it's not really addressing the root cause of that weight gain, whether it's genetics or habits that we have on day to day when it comes to eating or lifestyle.

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We're not exercising.

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So these medications may be effective, whether it's a pill form or injection, but once you stop taking it because you haven't changed your lifestyle, you are going to gain a weight back Because, for example, the newer meds a lot of them actually suppress your appetite, make you feel fuller, so you're going to eat less, but once you stop taking them, you're going to get your cravings back.

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You're going to want to eat.

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Some people are stress eaters.

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When they get stressed, they're going to revert back to eating for comfort, because they never learned the mechanisms to better control their feelings and their response to their emotions, so they're going to revert back to food as that comfort exactly true.

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So you have also mentioned about that.

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Sustainable weight loss is not achievable with the medications alone.

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So on this, if you can elaborate, like why this is the case, and like this yes, the newer medications, I'll say they're like the wogovies and the manjaro.

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I'm going to call it zet bound because, just to clarify, manjaro was originally anosempic, originally created to treat diabetes.

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So they have an indication for management of type 2 diabetes as well as weight loss associated with people who have obesity and type 2 diabetes.

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They now separate it out and say, okay, now we're making a medication that's only for weight loss, regardless of whether or not someone has diabetes.

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So that form is called Zetbound.

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That's comparable to Manjaro.

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It's the exact same medication.

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They just give it a different name.

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So for only weight loss it's called Zetbound.

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The Ozempic version, for only weight loss, it's called Wagovi.

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I just want to clarify that.

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So they say you can be used long-term, these newer ones.

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They can be long-term so that you can have sustainable weight loss.

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However, you mentioned earlier, you asked earlier about the side effects.

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It's going to come with these side effects.

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So of course, there's the stomach issues.

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You're going to feel nauseous, have diarrhea, constipation, and the newer medications are injections, so you might have some pain or itching at that injection site.

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It can affect your heart.

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You're going to have higher heart rate and then you have possible issues with your pancreas, your gallbladder, your kidneys and most recently they're indicating the possibility of suicidal thoughts.

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This is still being investigated, but the FDA felt the need to put that in with the cautionary statements for these medications of the suicidal thoughts and also the risk of thyroid cancer.

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So it comes with those side effects.

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So the longer you're on it, you have the potential to have these side effects, or you can have the side effects as soon as you start.

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So sustainability when it comes to the patient.

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They have to decide at what point do they want to stop taking it.

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Are these side effects tolerable?

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And I'm going to say not everyone's going to have all these side effects.

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But if we have a way to get these results without having to expose our body to the side effects, then why not explore that option as well?

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Exactly.

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Just one more thing is coming to my mind, like what role do the genetics play in the sustainable weight loss?

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That's a very good question, avik.

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When it comes to genetics, we think of some people when they're diagnosed with something or they have a family member that has something.

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Let's take diabetes, for example.

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They say oh well, it runs in my family.

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I'm diabetic now, that's just the way it is, it can't change in my family.

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I'm diabetic now, that's just the way it is, it can't change, it's in my genetics.

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And this is not true.

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We might be genetically coded to have a high risk of developing diabetes or even obesity as well.

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There are certain genes, like the FTO genes, and I believe there's over 400 genes that research has found that's linked to obesity.

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There was a Harvard health study that was done.

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In addition to that, the genes that affect your appetite affect your ability to feel full when you're eating.

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If you're going to be a stress eater, that's all in our genes, so it affects us.

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But if we learn how we can manage those genes, like turn it on or off like a light switch, we have the ability to do that.

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So, yes, we might be genetically coded to have this high risk of obesity, high risk of being a stress eater, high risk of diabetes or even having high blood pressure.

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But the things that we put in our bodies, the environments that we expose ourselves to, can turn that switch off, so that it's not so prominent and it doesn't manifest in our health.

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And that's the study of nutrigenomics.

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We look at how food affects our genes and by eating certain foods we can actually suppress our appetite, just like these medications do.

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By eating certain foods we can keep our blood sugars down, our insulin levels down, just like these medications do.

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As a result, we can lose weight.

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But we have to be able to tune into our bodies.

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We have to be able to unlock the mystery of our DNA to see what our body is telling us.

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We need to do, and we use nutrigenomics as that tool Exactly we need to do and we use nutrigenomics as that tool Exactly.

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So if you can also share or discuss some of the key lifestyle factors that contribute to the long-term weight management process, Indeed, when I talk to my clients in my health coaching group, I tell them there's three things involved, and underneath those three things, of course, there's more.

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So I'm going to break it down to everyone that's listening today.

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It's the strategy that I call DNA, and the D actually stands for detox.

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So this is very important part of the weight loss process not just weight loss, but overall health in general.

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And when I I'm talking about detoxing what you've already been told about health and nutrition and exercise.

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So whatever you thought you knew before, now that we're going to look and listen to your genes, you have to forget what you knew before, because your genes might have some surprising information for you that you never realized before.

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And also, part of that detox in the wrong mind involves letting go of our self-limiting beliefs.

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A lot of people will say I can't do it, I'm not worth it or, like I mentioned earlier, it's in my genes, there's nothing I can do about it, I'm stuck this way.

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And then there's a physical detox in our body, which will actually occur naturally when we get to the next part of this framework or strategy, which is nourish.

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And we're nourishing ourselves with sleep, exercise, nutrition, self-care.

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These are four components of our habits that are vital for us to get healthy so that we can lose weight.

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As a lot of my clients come to me, they want to lose weight, but I always tell them that weight loss is a side effect of health.

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So you have to get healthy first to have that side effect of weight loss.

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And by focusing on your sleep, your exercise, nutrition and your self-care or stress management, you're going to get on the right path to getting those results.

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Whether it's weight loss, whether it's less pain, whether it's less inflammation, whether it's controlling menopause and not having mood swings and hot flashes, these are the key components to it.

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And then, once you do all that, the last part of my strategy is to be in attunement.

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Your actions have to show that you have detoxed your mind from these self-limiting beliefs and these old habits, that you are now nourishing your body with sleep, exercise, nutrition and self-care.

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So this attunement is bringing it all together consistently, and it also involves setting boundaries, because a lot of us we let external factors affect our ability to really focus on ourselves, and so we can set those boundaries to be consistent.

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Then you're on the path to success, optimal health and weight loss.

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Exactly.

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So there are a lot of questions coming in because the topic is so great and we are actually learning from you, so it's really, really great.

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So, in your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges that, as a client, they face when trying to achieve and maintain that sustainable weight loss?

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Avik, that is an excellent question.

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I would say the biggest challenge in achieving and maintaining that weight loss is the external factors.

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So if someone's in my coaching program most of the women I see they have spouses, they have kids.

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Their spouses may not be on the same page as them when it comes to changing their nutrition, being more active in life, their kids.

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Of course we usually tend to feed our kids different things.

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They can be very picky, so that challenge is actually staying consistent with what they have to do when others around them are not on the same page.

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But thankfully most of my clients end up getting their spouses on board.

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Just from observation, I have several clients whose spouses have actually lost weight about average of 18 pounds within eight weeks.

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Actually my program is 12 weeks but within eight weeks they're averaging about 18 pound weight loss and they're not even in my program simply from just changing how they eat.

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My clients are eating differently.

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They're cooking now for their household.

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Now their household is eating different and learning and they're also sharing what they learned in my program with their family and friends.

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So as a side effect, I say their spouses also benefit and lose weight as well, and I've had clients spouses reach out to me and thank me and say, oh, you've really helped me and I'm thinking you weren't even my client.

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But so it brings me joy to not just be able to help those who directly I'm working with, but also those that my clients know in their lives.

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But yeah, it can be a challenge when you're the only one trying to work on your health.

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Exactly true, yeah.

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So, looking ahead, what do you envision as the future of weight management and holistic health practices, especially in the relation to the personalized approaches like nutritional genomics?

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I visualize more practitioners using tests like this to guide their patients or their clients on the path to health and it's something that's needed and wanted or their clients on the path to health, and it's something that's needed and wanted.

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I spoke to a nurse practitioner that works at a medical spa, a weight loss clinic, a few weeks ago and she does administer the weight loss medications to her patients, and she said to me you know, tamar, I feel guilty because I know that nutrition is important.

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I know that other factors in their life is important for them to address, but I don't have the time to really sit down and talk to them about nutrition to the extent that they need to.

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I don't have the time to consistently guide them and make sure they're staying on track.

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So practitioners acknowledge that nutrition plays a huge part in weight loss, but they don't have the time to really sit down with their clients and do it, and that's one of the reasons.

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As a pharmacist, I branched out and created my health coaching company because I realized the same thing years ago, where I was counseling patients in a hospital setting when they were being discharged to go home and I would say you know, you're diabetic, we want to keep your blood sugars at this level.

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Check it this often, make sure you're eating X, y and Z and exercise in 30 minutes five days a week, okay, bye.

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And then they'll come back a week later because their blood sugar is super high, you know, or some other issue, and we send them home on more medications or increase their dose.

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So I said you know, or some other issue, and we send them home on more medications or increase their dose.

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So I said you know, something's got to give.

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This is what I'm doing here is really not helping the way that I would like to help.

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So that's why I created my health coaching company so I can work with people more closely, one-on-one, group settings and throughout the week, day-to day, to really help them develop the habits that they need to develop so they can truly get healthy.

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But the future of holistic health can definitely benefit from having nutrigenomic testing as a tool, so that patients and clients can really see and understand what's going on with their body and know exactly what they need to do to start correcting it.

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Wow, that's really lovely, Great.

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So, dr Tamar, it's really great talking to you and, like definitely, I believe all of our listeners have gained the valuable insights into the complexities of vet management and the limitations of relying solely on the mitigations.

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So thank you so much, Dr Tamar, for sharing your insights.

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You're welcome, Vivek.

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Also, dear listeners, I would love to mention that Dr Tamar has shed light on the importance of incorporating lifestyle changes, addressing the genetic factors and adopting a holistic approach to achieve the long-term success in the weight management.

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So, while medications can play a role in jump-starting the process, suitable results require a comprehensive strategy that encompasses the nutrition and physical activity and emotional well-being.

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So remember that sustainable weight loss is not a quick fix, but a journey that requires the patient's commitment and their support.

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That's all I have for you, friends.

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I really hope this conversation has offered you a new perspective or at least giving you some food for thought on the journey to finding balance in your health and wellness journey.

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Remember, health is a journey, not a destination.

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It's about making informed choices, understanding the role of medications in our lives and, more importantly, recognizing the power of lifestyle changes and personal commitment.

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So if today's conversation actually sparked any insights, revelations or even more questions, I'd love to hear from you, because our conversation doesn't have to end here.

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It's just the beginning.

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So, whether you're feeling inspired, curious or ready to dive deeper, let's keep this dialogue going.

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Reach out to me on social media platforms at Dr Tamar Lawful, and share your thoughts, your experiences.

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Have you tried these medications?

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What have you been doing for weight loss, or what have you tried in the past for weight loss?

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What have you found to work for you?

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Let me know.

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And if you found value in today's episode, I encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you can stay up to date on the latest releases and leave a five-star review and share with your friends and family, because every bit of support you give to us helps us continue bringing these conversations and empowering content your way.

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Talk to you next Friday.

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Until then, always remember to raise the script on health, because together we can bring healthcare to higher levels.

Weight Loss Meds Uncovered: Can You Avoid the Yo-Yo Trap? with Dr. Tamar Lawful

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