A Busy Mom's Guide to Health and Fitness: Cara's Inspiring Transformation with SummaUp!

0:00 Okay, guys, it's Dr. Ryan, and today we're gonna talk to Kara. Kara has been a patient in the clinic for about four months. And she's going to talk about her experience. Being in the clinic, what she's what she's seen, secure, once you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from what you do something about your family, some of the hobbies that you participate in 0:20 Sure. I live in Pennsylvania with my husband, and we have three kids 10 and under, and a couple of dogs running around. So it is very busy. He's a physician, and I'm in real estate and really getting busy with a lot of investments. So I'm sure as you can imagine, it's just there's always something going on whether it's personally or professionally, 0:46 are you able to manage all that you have three kids your take care of the household, helping your husband, Fred potentially with his practice and doing real estate? Really, really amazing memory always someone that was that thrives under, you know, multiple different activities, were able to multitask? Well, 1:02 there's no choice you have to. So yes, always have been busy, and you just kind of work through whatever comes to you. Yes, we are entrepreneurs. And I think that's just the drive in us. You can't really explain it to anybody who doesn't understand it. So I think sometimes we welcome more possibly can handle more. So it's just always been very busy. You know, it still is, 1:30 that's interesting, because that kind of transitions into the first question I want to ask you, perhaps like when you first started looking at options for working with the physician and working with the clinic, individual those functional medicine, hormone optimization, what were some of the problems that you're you're trying to solve, given the fact that you're super busy all the time, you have so many, you're pulled in so many different directions? Did you notice on some level that your productivity, your ability to accomplish those tasks was decreased? 1:59 You know, I'm 46 years old. So of course, you know, we're kind of going through different energy levels, or possibly hormones are on the horizon. And when I've reached out to functional medicine, clinicians, I think sometimes they'll they'll, at least in my experience, they may see something, they may not test for everything. They may try a very soft approach to things. But quite frankly, when I was tired, I said, Why am I tired all the time, I'm sleeping so well, who is going to help me so you know, I'm visiting, you know, your general PCPs, nurse practitioners, everybody's trying to put a finger on it. And you know, we're getting closer and closer, but you nailed it. You nailed it, because you were my one stop shop. And I think women need to hear this, you were my one stop shop for not saying hey, if you'd like to, you know, move forward, this is what I'm saying. It's your it's giving me options, I think are amazing. But I was also so tired. I wanted to be aggressive, because nobody else was really listening to me when I'm saying Why am I so tired? Why is this happening? You know, I thought generally Yes, I was eating while I was working out in the past not really seeing results. And I have a five year old. So I said Why am I not really losing this, it's been five years. You know, that's enough, me being able to work with you. And my goals were not sizes, my goals were not, oh, I need to lose this much. It's more, let's see where we can go with this. So being stronger, was a big goal. And I mean, you can you can see that, you know, you hold me accountable for, you know, updates, and pictures and measurements. So I know if I don't do it, I'm going to hear from you. So you gotta get that done. But that's that's great, because we know that as business people, if you don't have somebody to hold you accountable, you're not going to do so well. So you've just made some amazing changes being a one stop shop being a physician being one who can see what's going on with me clinically making correct adjustments nutritionally, and then also in the gym, to maximize results that we're trying to look for. 4:35 Great. So it sounds like it sounds like he had tried several different providers and you had made some headway, but you still had issues with fatigue, with your ability to change your physique to the way that you want to for a lot of women reducing weight post pregnancy is a very frustrating issue. Right. And it takes a holistic approach. I'm glad you mentioned that not just hormone optimization, but Zeid in training Hang in supplementation to really, you know, make it work. And I'm very, very happy to see that that it did that. But I do just want to talk a little bit more about those issues that you were trying to solve, you did kind of touch upon the fact that it was very frustrating that you had fatigue, that your energy levels were not at the level where you want it to be where your physique wasn't where he wants to be. But how exactly the that those issues negatively impact those around you. And then talking about primarily in terms of your family, your colleagues and your business? What are some specific things that you were like, Well, hey, because of this, I know something's off. 5:35 Sure. So when you have, you know, low energy, and you know, you have to accomplish things, I know, a direct correlation was my mood. I mean, I don't want to be a moody person. And you know, when I'm just so tired, and it's frustrating, because you can't figure it out, like, why am I so tired? Because my PCP years ago said, Oh, you're fine. You're just a busy person. I was blown off like that. So, you know, you just keep trying and trying, but realizing it's not being addressed. And you're still tired, moody, irritable, exhausted, and it affects everything, it affects your relationships, your family, your productivity, a lot of these things are compromised because of that, 6:23 yeah, I can, I can totally see that. I mean, even the most well behaved children can sometimes be very, can be very frustrating, require a lot of patience. And if you if you don't have the energy, and the ability to negotiate the situation, make it a lot, lot worse. And I totally agree, I, I am a conventional physician. But in many cases, we tend to chalk up a lot of these issues just to to aging, right, rather than looking for a solution. Were kind of like, well, that's just the way it is, and just kind of make do some, I'm really happy you did that. Okay, so given that situation, given how you're feeling, what actually made you finally decide to seek treatment with me, I mean, you had been through several providers, what was it about myself in the clinic that made you say, hey, this, this guy, how to work? 7:10 Well, my husband was working with you. And I saw how, you know, he's posing in front of the mirror more than normal muscles and showing off and, you know, sending pictures to his bros. So of course, he's looking amazing, feeling good, feeling confident, because his body is changing the way he wanted to. And he's meeting his goals. And he's very regimens, which I am also. So, you know, that was kind of what sparked it, because I just casually said, Does Dr. Ryan work with women. And he said, Actually, he does, and I can reach out was like, yay. So it was, it was a great gift he gave me not only starting with you, but saying you need to just, we're just just go ahead and you know, set up the appointment with him. Let's get started. 8:08 Great. And one of the things to touch upon. So I know for many, many females working with a male provider sometimes can be a little uncomfortable. Were there any other? Were there any obstacles that you had to overcome? Starting as a client for potentially with myself, the clinic, just the fact that I am a guy versus a female? Was there anything in particular? Like, I need to think about this a bit? 8:31 Honestly, no, because you're a clinician, so you are so professional, you are, you know, your background and knowing labs clinically, and discussions, and yes, male versus female, you are on point with, with everything and asking a lot of good questions and having a better understanding and you had an answer for items. So no, I mean, just like maybe, you know, women have had men before as doctors naturally, I felt very comfortable with you. You know, it was absolutely a good, a good interaction that we've had. 9:14 Yeah, I found it. And this is something that's been relayed to me by my male and female patients. In particular, it's not so much the sex of the provider or the or the consultant or whoever you're working with. It's whether or not the individual is interested in understanding the concerns and the problems that you have and finding appropriate treatments. And so, I'm glad that you learned that you recognize that. Very good, very good. Okay, so why don't we kind of transition over to some of the changes that you felt after joining the clinic? So what were some of the changes you noticed in your body and overall health? 9:50 Well, and just just for background, I always felt like I ate very well chose, you know, good options, you know, your foundational supplement So I've been a user for many, many, many years with your Maltese, your omega is your vitamin D, knowing all those things are super important, but my goals were to be stronger. So you know, as I'm getting older, I just want to make sure I'm protecting my skeleton, my bones, everything with stronger muscles. So I'm not potentially, you know, hurting myself down the road, or having injuries that may compromise, mobility, you know, activity or anything, because I still need to keep up with my kids. And even after they grow up, I still want to be active and not have those issues. So those were the biggest things. And also, it was important for me to talk to the kids about why I'm doing this because I want to be stronger. It was never, oh, I want to lose this amount of weight or pounds or get into this size jeans, that's in my own head. But the message is being strong and healthy, especially for my little girl is the answer. And what I want to represent to them, my muscle definition is getting there. I feel like my muscle definition is more right now than what I remember. And I've been an athlete, you know, since elementary school, high school, college, I played soccer, I just feel like, amazing things are happening. And it's gonna be great to see where we go. 11:30 Yeah, and I'm glad you touched upon that there's so many women that don't recognize the utility of having a good resistance training program, making sure they have appropriately in muscle mass, and staving off, you know, sarcopenia. And osteoporosis because that can be the scourge of of your 60s 70s. And beyond. And the and as you mentioned, mobility is so important. And I really think that's wonderful that you're trying to be a wonderful paradigm for your daughter. So someone to look, look up to children, their their parents, and you guys are excellent examples of people that are self actualized and successful. And I fully expect your children to be the same way to very cool. And I'm going to take a second just to kind of brag on you here, this in the short period of time that we've been together, you've made just such a dramatic change in terms of your weight. And this is primarily adipose tissue, it's not muscle mass, going from 135, down to 120. As you can see, when he started, he still had a very good physique or quite lean, as you mentioned, but is just you've just changed remarkably, you can see that your definitions gotten a lot better, you're much leaner. And you can see the definition are back. It's just, it's just phenomenal. So I'm really, really excited. And I'm very happy that you're able to kind of go back to the state that you were, as a soccer player. Let's talk a little bit about some of the changes that you saw outside of your physique. So you mentioned you're in real estate, have you found that it's been easier for you to take care of your commitments? You know, look at look at deals potential, I understand you guys are looking into a few multifamily potential multifamily options, right? Has it been a lot easier, increasing deal flow, making sure that the process of optimizing those properties isn't better, you get a little stressed a little less stressed out when we 13:17 have our workouts, you know, done for the day, when we get that accomplished knowing okay, it makes us feel better. Anyway, that's just how we are. It's one less thing we have to worry about. Okay, so that's number one, when we have our nutrition ready to go meal prep, you know, we're making sure that we're eating on a schedule, so our energy is not depleting. And that obviously has an effect of how productive you can be or how you're feeling what your mood is. Those are things that immediately happen. And let me tell you, when you don't do it, when you don't work out on schedule, or you're thrown off, or you didn't plan appropriately. It's not good, as we all know. Yeah. So it affects everything. It affects your energy, your mood, your hunger, everything. So having a plan and just you know, putting just a few minutes to prep by no means is any of this taking hours and hours and hours. I've looked at programs that I'm like, I don't even know how I will do this. This was so simple. You had great options. You made it so easy on the nutrition, the supplementation, the workout program, nobody should feel intimidated to do this. And I've I've done a lot of them. And it was it's awesome. Very simple. 14:40 Yeah, I try to and you're alluding to the lien fly program as part of the clinic. Yeah, we try to we basically try to use law the principles I utilize when I was competing physique competitions and also through my training through the American Academy of anti aging medicine to create a diet program that is anti inflammatory and reduces glycation, which As oxidation and reduce methylation at the same time improves your lab values, but at the same time is going to induce tremendous changes in your physique and improve your energy levels. And just make you feel a whole bunch better. And I tried to structure it in a way so that busy professionals like yourself and your husband can can make it work. And I'm glad that that you recognize that. What about some of the changes you had in terms of your your family? So more or less with three kids and your husband? Has that changed a bit? What are some of the things that you've noticed? After starting with the clinic 15:32 mood, for me was the biggest thing I wasn't as exhausted, I wasn't as you know, moody or irritable with them. But I also know that they're watching us very closely. I just went on a field trip with my son, the oldest, and they brought a pack lunch. So I also brought my lunch. So he let everybody know, oh, my mom is doing a very special diet for herself. And she's doing so good. So he, he didn't even you know, he and I didn't have that discussion. But that was what he believes. And it's great to see. He's believing it's very positive. So it's not like, Oh, she's trying to lose, you know, all this weight or whatever. It's, Hey, she's doing this and she's doing really good. Yeah, I 16:20 think again, you know, as I mentioned, children tend to marry their parents. And if you can establish like a, like a model of healthy eating, it's very likely they'll pick it up and want to I want to do the same I'm sure your your daughter is looking at you like, oh, I want to I want to look strong and they like mommy and this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna follow she's following eat the healthy foods and something really cool. So yeah, it sounds like you're at sea, it's allowing you to both provide a model that maybe strengthen your relationship with your with your kids. Very cool. Aside of the changes in your your physique, your career, your family, are there any other benefits that you've noticed after working with us? 16:56 I mean, what what more can you say, to be honest with you, I mean, those are the things that are usually really important to us. It's our health. It's our physique. It's our family, it's our mood, it's our energy. And yes, it all is a ripple effect to the things that are important to us, including professionally. So just to maximise on performance, and, you know, getting good sleep and knowing how that is helping you to maximise on your day, all of this just is all together, it's full circle for that core, and then it affects everything around you. 17:35 Very cool. Okay. Well, one last thing, then what would you tell someone who's watching this right now is uncertain about when the clinic what would you tell that individual, 17:46 so any individual, but most specifically, women, if you're in your 40s, if you're like cheese, I can't lose weight, I'm tired all the time. I've looked at everything. I've tried supplements, I didn't multilevel marketing nonsense, and I didn't lose anything except probably a lot of time and energy, I would say that you have to, you have to sign up with Dr. Ryan, because he is absolutely the one stop shop. He's a physician bodybuilder, you know, he knows it. He knows about nutrition, and he's going to look at your labs clinically and say, Hey, this is where you're deficient. Or this is where we need to focus, or here are our goals clinically with these labs. And this is where we're going to get there. He has solutions. So when you can go to one provider who has all the solutions for you, you are going to win. So you just have to jump on board. Try it out. He makes it simple. And see where you will go. It's exciting. 18:56 It's it's hard for me to accept that all but I will say this, I think I think in general, whenever you're choosing a provider provider, you always want to look for someone that addresses your goals and takes a holistic approach now, looks at your home hormonal levels, looks at your vitamin mineral levels, assesses your physique and gives you a plan that consists of Diet, supplementation, medications workout, and has accountability. And I'm really happy that you recognize that we try to provide that for for all of our patients and it's worked really well for you. 19:30 Oh, one one last Bonus. Dr. Ryan allows you to have a little cheat meal. So don't be discouraged. It's lovely. We look forward, though, and they'll see amazing results. So you still have that little you know, little there and little meal that you're like, Oh great. 19:49 Yeah, you got to make it sustainable. And you know, it's it's not a difficult program to follow. But you know, whenever I can I try to add things to make it much more enjoyable and I'm glad Did you enjoy that aspect 20:01 yeah 20:02 well Kara I really appreciate you telling me a little bit about your experience with the clinic and thanks so much 20:09 thank you Dr Ryan