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Transcript
- 03:11 About Dr. Warren Willey
- 05:03 How Much Protein
- 06:50 Best Kinds of Protein
- 08:07 Red Meat
- 12:22 Protein Shakes
- 15:22 Three Types of Protein
- 16:58 Whey Protein
- 18:50 Best Protein Supplements
- 21:02 Poor Absorption of Amino Acids
- 27:31 Weight Loss
- 31:31 Tips and Tricks for Weight Loss
- 34:46 Weight Loss Preventing Toxins
- 38:43 The Most Pressing Health Issues in the World Today
- 43:08 Closing Thoughts
Wendy Myers: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Live to 110 Podcast. My name is Wendy Myers, and you can listen to the video podcast on my YouTube channel or on the corresponding blog post.
I’m really sorry I’ve been away from such a long time. I had surgery. I removed my breast implants that I got pretty much at the same time I applied to be a brain surgeon when I was 19—not thinking too clearly at that time. And I unfortunately had some Dow Corning relics placed in my body about 23 years ago to be exact.
I went and got a SonoCine breast scan from Dr. Kevin Kelly, who I had at a podcast a while ago. And in that breast scan, he told me that I had some silicone leaking in my tissues and in my lymph node, which obviously can be very problematic for a lot of women.
I mean, there’s a Facebook group called Breast Implant Illness that has 17,000 members because a lot of women are negatively impacted by silicone and some of the 40 chemicals that are in breast implants.
So, for me, long overdue to have those removed.
Now, I’m very, very and feeling really good about my decision. I had a great result. I had an amazing plastic surgeon, Dr. David Stoker in Marina del Rey. I’m just really happy about that. And probably some blog post to come about my experience and some of the problems with breast implants—and podcast as well.
So, today, we’re going to be talking about protein. I’ve been wanting to do a podcast about this for a while. How much should you be eating? What are some of the problems with protein powders, some of the pitfalls with some of these products that are out on the market today, and why people have problems absorbing protein?
And we’re also going to talk about some of the problems people have that’s preventing them from losing weight. I know a lot of people out there trying to lose weight, eating a lot of protein.
So, we’re going to talk about some of the issues with protein intake and consumption.
Dr. Warren Willey of GetWell3.com is joining me to discuss protein. He’s dedicated his entire career to helping his patients improve their health through diet, fitness, and health education.
But please keep in mind that this program is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or health condition, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. The Live to 110 Podcast is for informational purposes only. Please consult your healthcare practitioner before engaging in anything that we discuss today on the show.
Wendy Myers: So, our guest is Dr. Warren Willey. He’s the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Get Well3. He has spent over 25 years helping people obtain optimal health through nutrition exercise and educational programs. He is recognized as one of the groundbreaking weight loss specialists in the United States.
He’s a board certified osteopathic physician and did his post-graduate training at the Mayo Clinic. He speaks often to physicians and patients around the country sharing his insights and methods.
He practices medicine in Idaho and has developed a process of training other physicians and healthcare practitioners how to incorporate his methods into their family medical practices. He’s an accomplished author and an accomplished athlete.
With the establishment of Get Well3, you’re no longer required to travel to Idaho to capture some of his magic. They have automated his training and consultation, and give you the ability to customize it to your individual needs through webinars, support groups, and online tools.
Dr. Willey, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
Warren Willey: Thanks for having me.
Wendy Myers: Why don’t you tell the listeners a little about yourself and your background?
Warren Willey: My background, I’ve been writing eating and exercise programs for about 35 years (20 plus years as a physician). And my goal is just to take a more unique but holistic approach to health and weight loss, and building muscle, and losing fat because we look at all the different variables involved.
We know—and you as well as anybody out there—that it’s not just how you eat or how much or little you exercise. It’s other variables—environmental toxins, genetics, epigenetics, stressors in life, hormonal control and aspect.
We look at all those, and then help people find an optimal way to health with the great side effect of weight loss.
Wendy Myers: Yes. Yeah, we all want that. That’s what we’re out looking for.
Warren Willey: Yes.
Wendy Myers: And a big component of weight loss and health is eating proteins, the right kinds of protein. So, let’s start with just some basics. How much protein does someone need to eat per day?
Warren Willey: That’s a great question. I would say, and if I can go even back one step farther, Wendy, to talk about when I design a diet, I would say the number one rule is what’s the protein the person needs?
I calculate that before I calculate their amount of carbs, their amount of fats, their calories. I figure out, what is the protein content for this person, their environment they’re in, the stresses they’re under, their illnesses, their athleticism, their exercise amount?
We determine protein on a very individual basis.
As a general rule, the 0.8 mg per kg that the RDA suggests is way too low. I do more than that for my chronic renal patients, people with kidney issues. I would say most active, high-stress, type-A working people need at least 1.5 to 2g per lb. of body weight. So, I do double, if not triple, what the RDA suggests. And I’ve never had an issue on it—and I’ve been doing this a long time.
Wendy Myers: Wow!
Warren Willey: But that’s the number I calculate first, Wendy. When I help people design an eating program, let’s determine your protein content, and then we’ll fill it in with fat or carbohydrates based on your activity and other needs.
Wendy Myers: That’s a lot. I mean, I feel like I do a lot better on a high-protein diet. So other people, of course, will also—
I mean, I did try to go vegetarian for a couple of years and it just decimated my health, absolutely decimated. You don’t quite get the same kinds of proteins from vegetables or the complete proteins that you do from meat, from animal protein.
Wendy Myers: So, let’s talk about one of the best kinds of proteins that you eat.
Warren Willey: The best kinds are—and if I can focus on that [where you] just use eat, I really encourage people to chew their food, not drink it. I think the hormonal response to food is drastically different when you drink food versus eat it.
The best analogy I would take or have is take a big piece of UVC pipe, pour mud down it, (like chewed food) it goes slowly, so the hormonal response to that food is slow versus water down it, drinking your protein or your food, it’s quick, and so the hormonal response is quick.
And the response of hormone to eating is as important as the response of—in other words, how quickly hormones respond is as important as how they respond at all.
So, first rule, eat your protein, don’t just drink it. But if you do drink it, there are some options we can talk about here in a minute.
I agree with you that your meat-based protein—so if it walked, crawled, swam, or flew at any one time—it’s a protein and it has other wonderful things in it like vitamins. The B Vitamins in particular, it has minerals you need. It has other ingredients that we tend to forget about that are very important in our overall health.
Wendy Myers: Yes, I totally agree. I couldn’t live without animal protein.
Warren Willey: I hear you.
Wendy Myers: So, that begs the question of red meat. A lot of people have been told by the American Medical Association, the Heart Association, that they should not be eating red meat. Avoid it at all costs. And it did this for 20 years I think as a detriment to my health. What is your take on red meat and how much should we be eating?
Warren Willey: That’s a good question. I think it goes back to the individuality of medicine, the way it should be. Personalized medicine needs to be practiced, not medicine based on large numbers—not even that large number of studies that big pharma would do for us, and teach us, and dictate our medicine practice.
So, medicine needs to be very individualized. Diet needs to be very individualized. As a general overview or overlook, if you will, your best protein sources are the ones you like. In other words, you need to eat something that you can store, that works with your schedule, something that you can keep refrigerated if it an animal-based protein. Focus on those types of things, and then find the textures, flavors, whatnot you like.
I think I kind of sidetracked from your question there, but I wanted to emphasize the point that having an individual designed eating program is so essential. Discussing this with a health professional like you, helping people determine what works for your schedule.
I think of the big problems with, if I maybe so bold to discuss, overall diet programs out there is they don’t address the needs of each person. So, a person grabs a book (a good diet program), they change their entire life to try to meet this book’s suggestions, and it fails.
So, when you approach someone’s protein intake even, you have to do it on a very individualized basis. What works for you? What works for your schedule? How can you cook? And if you cook, can you store your food? It’s very individualized. Sorry, I got sidetracked, but I had to emphasize that.
Wendy Myers: No, no, no. No, it’s okay. And I totally understand the individualized diet plan.
But say, someone is just not able to do that or whatever, how often do you think generally people should be eating red meat?
Warren Willey: The red meat, I know. I’m sorry about that.
Wendy Myers: Yes.
Warren Willey: I get out in these tangents. Yoo-hoo!
Anyway, there’s a couple of studies that show red meat causes more cancer, more heart disease. They’re blaming everything from the saturated fats that’s involved with it to some of the chemicals like L-carnitine. All these different things are being targeted as bad.
I think it’s a big picture again. You cannot focus on one lifestyle choice and say, “That’s why you have heart disease… that’s why you have cancer… that’s why you have these issues.” It’s not just the red meat. It’s the fact that you don’t exercise, or you’re under a high-stress job, or you smoke, or you don’t have enough sex with your wife. I don’t care what this excuse is, but that’s what causes disease states. I don’t think it’s one thing.
But what I think, they try to do—the American Medical Association and whatnot who we mentioned earlier—in their attempt to help people, we focus on things that they think are modifiable, easy like, “Okay, eat less red meat, have less heart disease.” But
I think that criminalizes red meat (unfairly so) because it then points it out as a culprit. So, what they’re doing is they’re putting smoking here and then putting red meat right next to it. “We encourage you to quit smoking, we encourage to quit red meat.” Well, you forgot to tell me about my stressors and I’m still going to have a heart attack.
So, I think it goes back to the individual thing. A side note with there was, “What’s the right amount for you?” If red meat affects you negatively, if you have markers of health that we can follow using biomarkers in an individualized or personalized medicine practice, then I might suggest red meat for certain conditions. But overall, I don’t want to criminalize red meat.
So, having it two or three times a week is fine, as long as everything else in your diet and eating plan is appropriate.
Wendy Myers: Yeah, within the context of a healthy diet and lifestyle?
Warren Willey: Yes, exactly. Yes, ma’am.
Wendy Myers: And so, let’s talk about protein shakes because a lot of people like protein shakes, a lot of health conscious people, people that are dieting. A lot of people in health love their shakes. They’re easy, they’re quick.
But there are a lot of bad ingredients in some of these protein shakes—very popular ones, very expensive ones even. Let’s talk about some of the pros and cons of protein shakes.
Warren Willey: Excellent! First, by analogy using the PVC pipe, when you drink your protein, your hormonal response to it is very different. So, insulin spikes immediately when you drink protein.
If you’re insulin-resistant, diabetic, have polycystic ovarian syndrome, or any of these insulin-related concerns (including weight gain, particularly around the belly), you shouldn’t be drinking even your protein because the insulin response to it is so rapid that you will gain fat from it—even though it’s a healthy protein drink.
“Well, wait minute, doc. I thought sugars do that?” Well, the body responds to food the same way. It doesn’t know that’s not a Milky Way. It may be a protein shake, but the hormonal response is the same, so we have to adjust for that.
Number two, you mentioned a great point, that chemicals involved in processing these proteins are eyebrow-raisers for a lot of us that really understand the toxic effect of the environment and the difficulty people have losing fat because of toxins.
Remember, fat is the storage site for toxins. And in my world, people that get fat, it may not be maladaptive, it maybe adaptive. They’re under so much toxin exposure that they’re gaining fat to protect the body.
And let me give you an example. Why do you think there are so many deaths post bypass surgery a year or two years later? It’s because fat disappears and all these toxins are now in the body. Hello, heart attack. Hello, stroke.
So, maybe we have to start thinking of fat as being more adaptive versus maladaptive. And I think the chemicals utilized in protein powders (a lot of them out there) are eyebrow-raisers. We should really consider that.
Now, I don’t meant to criminalize those either. I think they have a great place in a lifestyle plan. When I am too busy in my practice to sit down and chew my food like I should, I will drink a protein drink. And the reason I do that, Wendy, is because I know myself. If I miss a couple of meals throughout the day, I get home, I push the kids, I kick the dog, and I go right to the fridge. I’m ravenous.
Wendy Myers: Yeah.
Warren Willey: So, I think protein shakes have a great place and a great use, but I don’t think they should our staple. I think they should be what they were termed to be, and that’s a supplement to our diet.
Wendy Myers: Yes. Yeah, and I think it’s problematic. I have a protein shake every once in a while. I enjoy them. I try to get my berries and other kind of supplements in there. But every morning, probably not the best idea.
Warren Willey: Right, absolutely not.
Wendy Myers: So, let’s talk about some of the three types of proteins, isolates and things that can be in protein shakes or protein powders and some of the pitfalls with protein powders.
Warren Willey: Sure, the three basic types are: your concentrates, those are the ones that taste the best because they’re roughly 80% protein and 20% fat, and carbohydrates, and chemicals. So, they taste good.
So, if you have a picky palate or you have a kid that refuses to eat protein and just wants Lucky Charms, then concentrates your best option because it does taste better.
But you have to be aware of the sugars involved. You have to be aware of the extra calories because of the fat involved. You have to be aware of the other things involved in that;
Then you hydrolysates and your isolates are a higher percentage of protein, but they’re chemically treated to be that way. So, they have more of a bitter taste. And so if you have someone that doesn’t like protein powder, they’ve probably tried and isolate or a hydrolysate. And the chemicals utilized to do that are eyebrow-raisers for some of us that understand the importance of looking at environmental toxins, and what crosses our lips, and how it’s affecting our hormonal cascade and system.
So, those I think are great for protein sources, but I think we better be wise, once again, when we use them.
Use them as supplements. Maybe use them post workout because you want a quick hormonal response after you exercise to help preserve muscle mass, burn more fat, et cetera. But again, like you said, I don’t think they should be part of your daily regimen.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. And so, let’s talk about whey protein. Whey proteins are very, very popular. What types of whey proteins are best and any cons of whey protein?
Warren Willey: Whey, I think it’s important [for] people to know, everyone remembers the old nursery rhyme, “Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey.” So, what dairy producers do—
And I remember (I’m old enough, you’re not), I’m old enough to remember in my Northern Colorado town where I grew up, the dairy farmers would get the milk and they sloughed the curds and whey right off the top, and threw it away. Do you know how much that stuff is worth now? Oh, my goodness.
Wendy Myers: Yeah.
Warren Willey: Anyway, I wish I had foresight and went out and bought some. But anyway, so that’s what whey is. It’s the top part of milk.
There are roughly four different whey proteins involved in whey. And those whey proteins people can have allergic responses to. There are actually ways for us to test each one. But it is a milk-based protein.
So, if you’re lactose intolerant, that’s intolerance to the sugar in milk. Whey is a protein, so you may have an intolerance or an allergy, if you will, to one of the whey proteins which we can test for, believe it or not, and have it removed, even—but ways to curds and why off milk. So, that’s your primary whey protein.
The benefit of whey protein is that it has a lot of glutamine. It’s what we call a semi-essential amino acid. But I would say in today’s world of high stress, high living, little sleep, tons of exercise, it is more of an essential protein. Whey protein also has all your branched-chain amino acids—those are very, very important amino acids that are our body can’t make.
The two of the benefits of whey are the high amount of glutamine and the branched-chain amino acids in that. I hope that answers your question.
Wendy Myers: Yes. Yes, that’s very illuminating.
Wendy Myers: So, what are the best protein supplements in your opinion, if you had to choose? We know meat is the best actual meat, but after that what kind of supplements do you prefer for protein?
Warren Willey: I would go with the whey-casein mix. Casein is a milk protein, but it has very unique feature, Wendy. When you drink casein protein, it tends to ball up in the stomach. Stomach acid tends to grab it and it balls up, so it actually sits there in your belly and is slowly absorbed. Whereas why? Right through you.
So, again, the whey-casein mix allows longer satiety. You feel full longer. Great studies on using it post workout for that quick insulin surge to build your muscle, burn your fat, et cetera, but also to have nutrients over time with that. So, my favorite protein supplement is the whey-casein mix.
Wendy Myers: Yeah, that’s really interesting. One thing I like to do, when I do have a protein shake, is add some collagen protein powder to is, because I think a lot of people are missing key elements that are only found in collagen and key amino acids that are only found in collagen. I need them for my ligaments. I’m just very loosey-goosey. I need the proteins, amino acids in collagen to help firm everything up. So, what are your thoughts on collagen protein?
Warren Willey: I think it’s a great protein source. It’s a little more expensive than some of the others out there. I have no problem with it. It’s something. I would focus more on just overall diet. We can test—and Wendy, I do this daily in my practice. We look at amino acid profiles, both in serum and urine, and we look at micronutrient testing. So, I can run a profile on you and look at which amino acids you’re deficient in, and then I know how to either supplement your or which foods to point you to.
So, again, back to that personalized medicine approach, that is my favorite way to do it. so, I have a distinct advantage because I have a medical license. I can do that. As a general rule, I think collagen protein is a great option. It’s just my only hesitancy with that would be cost compared to some of the others.
Wendy Myers: I think it’s interesting that you mentioned testing because I do organic acids testing and every single client is low in their amino acids. People today, for some reason, they’re not absorbing amino acids in their diet. Can you explain some of the issues, like the underlying causes of why they’re not absorbing amino acids? Because so many of my listeners are eating Paleo, they’re doing protein shakes, or eating protein, protein, protein—but they’re not absorbing it, why?
Warren Willey: Yup. Oh, a couple of great, great question. I love it. so, let’s follow protein all the way through. It would change the rating of your program if I did that. So, let’s start at the top. We chew our protein. The primary enzyme in your mouth is amylase, which breaks down carbs. So, we really don’t break down any protein in our mouth other than with our teeth. We swallow it. It goes down our gullet, into our belly. Our stomach acids start breaking it down further into constituent amino acids.
So, problem number one is low acid. All the drugs out there: omeprazole, nexium, Axid, all these low-acid drugs are causing people not to absorb because you cannot break down that protein to its constituent amino acids without that acid in your stomach. And Wendy, I rarely meet a new patient in my practice who is not on one of those. So, there’s our first problem.
Number two, related to that is […] 1.5 is the fact that a lot people with reflux and indigestion are told they have high acid, when actually low acid is the problem. So, they’re naturally not producing enough acid.
So, our first issue 1 and 1.5 is there. Number two, pancreatic enzymes are depleted because of our terrible eating habits, because of toxins, because we have high insulin resistance, and this part of our pancreas is pumping out insulin. It’s working overtime, and for some reason your mechanism is not really understood our exocrine system—so, the endocrine system and the pancreas produces insulin. The exocrine system produces all your enzymes to break food down farther.
Well, peptidase, which is protein broken down—enzyme that breaks down protein is just not sufficient in people and neither is lipase. We see a lot of fat malabsorptions. So, we have an issue there too—there’s number two.
As we go farther down into the gut, part of the bio genome or the gut bacteria that we’re also very, very prominent in medical literature right now, and in just lay literature how important gut bacteria is, is awful. The continuous use of antibiotics in our foods, every time we sneeze and cough, people go to their doctor and get an antibiotic, yada-yada, I won’t go into that. So, we’ve ruined the gut bacteria that are important for absorbing the protein.
So, you put all those together, Wendy, and you have people not absorbing what they should, and fat goes right along with it. And fat’s a very, very, very—fat and protein are essential nutrients, Wendy. Carbohydrates are not.
You can live without carbohydrates. People through the history of the world have done that, but you cannot live without fat and protein. But you nailed it, most of my clients too don’t absorb it until I fix them.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. I want to add one more underlying cause, something a lot of people don’t know about, just for the benefit of the listeners, my specialization is detoxification. What I’m finding is a lot of my clients are toxic in trivalent metals—arsenic, aluminum, tin, and thalium.
Thalium is a gasoline […] that we’re breathing it in the air. These reduce your mitochondria’s ability to produce energy. And the amino acid transfer proteins in the gut require energy for proteins to be absorbed.
So, that’s another reason, just low-energy levels, especially if someone’s chronically fatigued or has really bad adrenal fatigue. They’re also not able to absorb proteins and amino acids simply because of low-energy levels.
Warren Willey: Yes, ma’am. Oh see, you got much more technical than me. I didn’t want to do that to you, but thank you because now you’ve opened the door for me. No, I’m just teasing. No, you’re exactly right, girl. I mean, you nailed it. That is exactly one of the causes.
Wendy Myers: Yes. And so, another question a lot of people have, especially the Paleo community, everyone’s noshing on sticks all day long, can you eat too much protein?
Warren Willey: You know, our bodies are pretty smart. I think when you do, you just have expensive bathroom breaks. I think your body utilizes what it needs. And then, there’s an energy basis to it too. I think calories are given credit and/or blame for weight gain and weight loss. I think there’s a lot more to it, but I think that’s a part of it. I think calorie-wise, protein is the most efficient nutrient to eat because our body—your biceps you have this week, they’re not the same biceps you had last week. So, the process of protein degradation in your biceps and protein repair and building up is an energy requiring process. So, eating protein actually is more chloric expensive than eating fat or carbohydrates.
So, eating too much protein? I wouldn’t say too much until we get into where the calories start becoming more important, if that makes sense. Back to again the individualization of your eating plan, what’s too much? I would say if you’re bloated, you’re having problems with bowel movements, you haven’t addressed that issues of toxins, your gut enzymes, your gut bacteria—then, yeah, in those situations you can eat too much protein.
Wendy Myers: If you eat too much protein, can your body then convert that into sugars which then cause weight gain?
Warren Willey: Yeah, there’s a term which you’re very familiar with called gluconeogenesis. “Gluco” means glucose for sugar. “Neo” new. “Genesis” production of something. And so, yes, your body will take protein, particular glutamine (that’s the liver’s favorite source) and turn into a sugar, and then utilize it as such—and then store it as such too.
And so, that’s where we get into, “Is there too much for this individual?” It’s called partitioning. The body’s using what it’s given. It needs it in this source, so I’m change it into a source I need to feed the brain, feed the red blood cells, and the other things that needs sugar to survive.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. I was actually going to have a protein shake after this podcast […] because I’m like, “Hmmm… I’m craving it.”
Wendy Myers: So, your specialization is weight loss, and you have a weight loss program on your website. Why don’t we talk about something that frustrates a lot of women—it certainly frustrated myself at one time—is when women or men are eating an amazing diet (lots of meat, lots of protein, vegetables) and they’re exercising three, four, or five days a week, and they’re still not losing weight, what is going on?
Warren Willey: To me, I could sum it up, it’s a hormonal response. It’s not a calorie thing. I think most people are where you can’t exercise off your fat and you can under-eat your fat, your body’s too smart for that. The hormonal response of high exercise and low calories is high cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone. Cortisol is a great belly fat producer. High cortisol levels cause our belly fat. High insulin levels cause our belly fat.
And so, your eating is not just how much you burn, how much you take in, but what’s the hormonal response to these foods. So, what we look at, we look at all the hormones in the body from the neurotransmitters in the brain to the pituitary hormones, the thyroid hormones, the adrenal hormones, the sex hormones, and the fat hormones.
Remember, fat isn’t just a storage site for Twinkies. Fat is a metabolically active hormonal producing organ—incredible effect on the body with leptin, adiponectin, working in [coinsure] with insulin and cortisol. All these things take the place, so what we do—we teach people how to eat based on their hormonal response to food. So, based on their starting point, if they have insulin resistance, we’re going to need the insulin resistant issues such as PCOS or hypertension, diabetes, whatever. We help them understand the hormonal response to that.
So, part of the secret to our long-term success is when you understand how to eat hormonally, then I can take calories out of the picture. I can say, “Wendy, I want you to focus on these foods, but I don’t want you to worry about how much. Eat until you’re full, until you’re comfortable. If you’re exercising at this level more times than not, Wendy—” this may surprise you, but I cut back on people exercise. I don’t increase it, because exercise is an extreme stress to the body. It raises cortisol, and that can be very detrimental for some people.
So, by cutting back on their exercise, given them adequate amounts, but eating hormonally correct, now they lose the weight—and not only that, they lose the right weight. They maintain muscle mass. They lose the fat mass. But it’s a hormonal issue.
Wendy Myers: Yeah, as I’ve gotten older I’ve definitely focused on, exercise is not stressful—walking, Pilates, weight-lifting, not doing that high-intensity cardio. Maybe occasionally, give the body a little bit of a push. But some of my clients are coming to me five days a week doing CrossFit or running, and I’m like, “No, no, no, no.” It seems like you’re burning calories but it’s very, very stressful.
Warren Willey: It’s too much! The classic the look of those people, Wendy, just to give you a phenotype, they’re emaciated here, they’re thin here, but they still have their big bottoms. They still have their waist and issues. Those are your over-exercisers.
They are over-exercising. Cortisol’s through the roof if you do testing. Insulin’s way too low.
Remember, most things in life are on a bell-shaped curve. Too little pizza, I’m not happy. Too much pizza, I’m not happy. I have a right amount of pizza I can eat every week. Well, hormones are the same way. You have a balance there.
And so, over-exercising is a very, very common cause of inability to lose weight and weight gain, and we know that. Let’s all look at the first of the year. Look at how crowded your gym was—January, February, maybe March into April, and then they all disappeared. Why? Because that didn’t work.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. And so, can you tell us any more tips and tricks for weight loss that you use in your clinic?
Warren Willey: Absolutely. We do all [four] hormonal panels on everybody. We review stressors and toxins in the environment, so I get a detailed work history. History as they grew up, where they grew up. Did they grow up in farm world? Do I have to worry about organic phosphates? Did they grow up in the cities? Do I have to worry about the heavy metals and the toxins you talked about? Understanding their role in everything going on.
We look for nutrient deficiencies, and we try to balance it all out with a hormonally proper eating plan utilizing the proper supplements to help the body detox, to get their PH where it should be—really balance the body out. Maybe replace some hormones. Replace their thyroid for a while because a lot of people with weight issues, especially if leptin is high—so, you have a lot of belly fat, and you’re insulin resistant. If you’re insulin resistant, you’re leptin resistant. If you’re leptin resistant, your thyroid’s not working. I don’t care what your doctor says.
It’s not TSH we follow. We follow 3T3 and Reverse T3, and that ratio I use. So, I’ll put people on thyroid medication that have normal TSHs to give them a boost, to give them a start there. So, balancing those hormones is absolutely essential to long-term proper weight loss. As far as what you can do, exercise appropriately like you so wisely mention—Pilates, go for walks, weight-lifting.
Resistance training is the secret. If I can sidetrack just a little, cardio respiratory activity by a Kenneth Cooper out of Dallas back in the 60’s really got all the credit for weight, for cardio vascular [help], and whatnot. But I think the tide has completely shifted to where we understand that resistance training is the secret to weight loss. Resistance training is the secret to preventing cardiac disease. So, adding a resistance training program in your lifestyle is absolutely essential if you have those goals. Not running on a treadmill for 45 minutes every day. That’s not going to do it, that’s too stressful. Your body’s going to hold the weight.
As far as eating, try to eat organic. Try to eat clean. My favorite diet I can sum up in one sentence, “If God made it, eat it. If man made it, don’t.” Simple. That’s it. So, eat that weight. Don’t worry about counting calories. Don’t worry so much about your amounts, but focus on these hormonally important foods, be active or inactive. Eat at the right time of day for your schedule. Make sure you’re sleeping well, and you will succeed.
It’s sounds like a lot, but really if you break down each one it’s simple. What we do with our patient clientele is we have them pick one or two of those to start with. “Mrs. Jones, my goal for you purely is to teach your body how to sleep, and you and I aren’t going to worry about diet or exercise until the next month. We’re going to get your sleeping, and then we’ll go to our next step.” And when you do it like that, Wendy, I have a very high success rate.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. I have a few clients that they tell me they’re working out five days a week, and they wake up at 4:30 AM to go get their workout in, so they can lose weight. I’m like, “You’ll be better off just sleeping in and sleeping your workout.”
Warren Willey: It’s so true. It’s such a balancing—
Wendy Myers: Yeah. And so, let’s talk about toxins that prevent weight loss because I know for many people that are doing everything right, the last piece of the puzzle is toxins in preventing weight loss. Can you talk a little about that?
Warren Willey: I think there’s so many that your audience would shut you off and go to sleep. So, I’ll start with the really important ones, and unfortunately you see me doing a big no-no—plastic. Plastic people—
Wendy Myers: Yeah. See, I’m doing glass. I’m doing it right.
Warren Willey: Good. I’m going to blame my business partner over here who handed this to me. He’s laughing right now saying, “Ha-ha. You’re going to grow boobs now,” because of all the xenoestrogens in this.
Wendy Myers: Yeah.
Warren Willey: So, this is one of your big ones there, Wendy. The BPAs and BPBs—
And remember, that’s very important. This is a petpeeve of mine. It may say BPA-free, but it has BPB in it, which is the same thing. It’s one of those slip-under-the-radar of the FDA type thing. So, drinking from plastic, cooking in plastic, microwave in plastic—oh, my heavens, don’t do that. That’s chemical castration. That’s why we see so much low testosterone in men today—if someone’s microwave their plastics, one of many examples.
So, plastics, try to avoid. Stick with glass, ceramic, and whatnot. Heavy metals, huge. Arsenics are a top heavy metal problem in the country. And mercury, I see all the time, not just people that have amalgams but just the exposures from the environment. The persistent organic phosphates, we see in my area—I live in Southeast Idaho, so I mean we are just inundated with organic phosphates every spring and fall as the farmers spray, those affect your ability to lose weight.
I mean, the list goes on and on, and on. And I think that’s why it’s so important to assess your living area. Am I sitting in the car, driving to work for two hours every day, breathing the toxins? I need to go have those tested, and if they’re high I need to be chelated, get it fixed, and then figure out something else to do or at least make sure the rest of my health is good. Make sure I’m methylating properly. Make sure my vitamin and minerals count is appropriate, so my body can handle those toxins because I can’t really quit my job when I’m driving two hours into LA everyday but I can help my body adjust or deal with those toxins.
And I think that’s one place that’s very important for people to start—understand what toxins are in your exposure radius. How you optimize your health to prevent those toxins from being or having an effect on you is a great place to start.
Wendy Myers: I know, for me, when I was having trouble losing weight, I was arsenic toxic—very arsenic toxic. And arsenic poisons enzymes that transport triglycerides out of your fat cells, so that’s another thing—one of many things that can prevent weight loss for some people. And it’s in everything. It’s in conventional chickens, and eggs, and rice, and your water, and just lot of different places we pick it up.
Warren Willey: Yes, ma’am. Yeah, that’s why I mentioned that one, that’s a mean one.
Wendy Myers: And rice protein powders, even if they’re organic, even if they’re very expensive—very, very high in arsenic.
Warren Willey: Very high.
Wendy Myers: Yeah.
Warren Willey: And it’s an easy test for most doctors to do. I would suggest a provocative test, so find a functional medicine specialist who knows how to stimulate those chemicals to come out, so we can see them over a 24-hour urine catch, and then we can tell you how to get rid of them, and then we find the source. And again, back to that thing, then we help your body optimize so you can clear them when you’re exposed.
I can’t take all the arsenic out of the rice, but if I eat some at my favorite sushi restaurant, I know my body can get rid of it without problems because my overall health is where it should be.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. And so, I have a question I’d like to ask all of my guests. What do you think is the most pressing health issue in the world today?
Warren Willey: Oh, how long do we got? No, I’m just kidding. Oh, boy. Well, because of my background on what I do, I would say it starts between the ears—mental health issues, followed closely if not, in parallel with obesity issues because I think the whole process—let me back up a little. Let me start with the mental health issues.
I think mental health is so important because everyone I know is stressed. Everyone’s trying to be like the Joneses. Everyone’s trying to make more and do more. Everyone’s on their phone or their iPad 24/7, so they’re getting the intensity of the sun in their eyeballs from not sleeping. So, mental health I think has got to be addressed in everybody with health issues. You have to understand the neurotransmitter response to your lifestyle and help balance those.
Obesity, I tell some of my very large patients, I’d say, “Hey, you know what? Let’s consider your fat a blessing. It’s a warning. If you think about most men that walk into the emergency room with acute myocardial infarction or heart attack are lean think and healthy, and have normal cholesterol levels. There’s more to it than just fat.” So, if you look at obesity and all the problems associated with it, it’s not just in people with fat issues, it’s in people with bad lifestyles. I don’t care if you didn’t get fat from your lifestyle, you still have the same issues going on. And I think those all start at the liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is what starts all this process forward.
So, if I was to break it down for you, I’d say mental health and then liver health. Those two are my top.
Wendy Myers: Yeah. So, why don’t you tell the listeners a little more about yourself, your programs, where they can find you.
Warren Willey: Oh, you bet. We have a website called GetWell3.com and it’s a portal into information like we’ve been talking about. We have hundreds of short little 30 to 6-minute videos on everything we’ve just talked about, Wendy. It’s kind of funny. It’s really everything we’ve talked about. So, they can start to understand this is a different level.
There are places for them to get on there and get health coaches online, people that have worked for years, to sit with one on one with people. We have a combined experience. I can’t even tell you how many years’ worth of combined experience we have. And these are people that understand those very things we’ve just talked about. They understand the mental health aspect of it. They understand the stress aspect. They understand the liver involvement. And so, there are health coaches for people.
And then, the site has a place for you to understand your hormones, with hormonal questionnaires. And then we direct people to providers in their areas that understand hormones, then we can help them optimize them so they can start on that weight loss path.
And then, we would have places for designing your own hormonally responsible menu, based on your questionnaires. You can go in and write your own menus, with foods you enjoy. It’ll tell you, if you pick a Twinkie, it’s going to pop up with a sign and say, “Hey, I don’t know if that’s hormonally responsible for your particular situation.” So, it’s an evolution. It’s a teaching process for people that understand it. And then, there’s a bunch of recipes on there that tie into what menus people design.
And then, it’s just really a support system. There are thousands of weight loss websites out there, but ours is unique because we take a look at everything you and I just talked about. We understand the bigger picture. We help people on a level where they can do it themselves without having to take drugs, without having to go visit the bariatric surgeon—really take it to the next level.
And we have a coupon code. My partner just handed this to me. It’s getwell3.com/liveto110. That’s a free coupon code. You can download a book I have on there, called The Calorie Myth. It’s just a 20-page little white paper that talks about calories aren’t the answer, you have to understand your hormonal health, and everything we’ve just talked about. And that’s a place for users to go on and get some free stuff and whatnot.
Wendy Myers: Great. Thank you so much for offering that. I really appreciate it.
Warren Willey: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you, Wendy.
Wendy Myers: Thank you so much. And listeners, thank you so much for joining us on the Live to 110 Podcast. You can learn more about me at MineralPower.com and myersdetox.com. Mineral Power is my healing and detox program where I help shed your body of all the toxic metals and chemicals, et cetera, that are an underlying cause of so many health issues including weight loss issues, et cetera. It’s what I use to heal my health and I definitely highly recommend it.
Again, thank you so much for listening to the Live to 110 Podcast.
Warren Willey: Thanks, Wendy.
