This a long one, but for those of you that know Dr. Steve, you know that he does cut corners on answering questions. 😁 ❓Question: Why is starvation and/or severe caloric restriction a concern as a primary method for weight loss amongst many metabolic health programs, and why is it so prevalent and rampant as a form of general nutritional advice? 💚 Answer: This is actually one of the most important questions in all of weight loss medicine, because it forces us to distinguish between how weight can be lost and how physiology is restored. Those are not the same objective. When people hear me say that I do not begin with severe caloric restriction, they sometimes assume I am saying calories do not matter. That is not what I am saying at all. Physics always matters. The First Law of Thermodynamics has not been suspended simply because we are talking about human biology. What I am am saying is that the body decides how easy or difficult it will be to create that energy deficit, and that decision is made primarily through physiology, not mathematics. In other words, calories determine whether weight changes, but physiology largely determines whether a calorie deficit is sustainable, tolerable, and metabolically healthy. This is where I separate what I call front-loading physiology from front-loading mathematics. Most traditional weight-loss programs begin with arithmetic: “Eat 1,200 calories,” “Cut 500 calories per day,” or “You can eat anything, just eat less.” Our approach begins somewhere entirely different. I ask, “What biology can we restore first so that eating less becomes the natural consequence, rather than the daily battle?” Those are two completely different strategies, even though they may eventually arrive at a similar energy intake. The reason severe caloric restriction is such a difficult place to begin is because the body has evolved remarkably sophisticated systems to defend against perceived energy shortage. The hypothalamus (the primary energy-regulating center of the brain) is not counting calories on a phone app. It is integrating thousands of incoming signals every second: gastric stretch (stomach), nutrient availability, circulating glucose, fatty acids, amino acids, leptin, insulin, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), PYY (peptide YY), CCK (cholecystokinin), ghrelin, thyroid hormone, sympathetic nervous system activity, and many others.

Shout out to @Keri Wass who just hit 50 lbs of weight loss this week! 🥳 Keri has leaned into this journey and has been changing her story, and it has been beautiful to watch. Join me in celebrating her accomplishment and cheering her on for the continued journey ahead. Keri - if you have any words of wisdom or advice, we would love to hear it! 💚 This is possible for anyone folks, and if you know someone who wants to start or continue their health journey, invite them into the community (you can use this link: https://www.skool.com/lifestyle-evolution/about), so they can be supported here as well.

I was just talking to someone today about not overthinking meals. Keep it simple! You can still have great flavor (use those herbs and spices), while also making choices that are quicker to execute. This is especially important if you are someone who does not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, or maybe you are not someone who loves cooking like we do. This meal is from a dinner we had at @Jennifer Gaydeski's house - beautiful salmon filets and bok choy cooked on the flattop outside in just minutes. And it was delicious!! What are some simple recipes that are your go tos? Let's give everyone some new ideas!! 😃

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Today, I have a question I look forward to hearing your thoughts on. Think about your health when answering... How do you want to feel by the end of this week? What needs to happen to create that feeling? I'll kick us off! I want to feel energized after a busy week. For me, that means taking small breaks, no matter how busy I am, so I can move my body, do some deep breathing, and turn my "doing brain" off for a bit.

Alright everyone, what is one win from this week that you can share? No win is too small. I'll start! When it is colder outside (as many of us have been experiencing with storms) and the sidewalks are icy, getting out for walks is challenging, so rather than just skip that movement, I substituted walking up and down our stairs and hopping on the Peloton. Your turn!