Real Results: Josh's Testimonial on Gaining Muscle and Outgrowing Suits

0:00 Okay, guys, it's Dr. Ryan. And today we have Josh, Josh has been a member of the clinic for Oh, almost three years now. And he's going to tell us a little bit about his experience working with me and sumo up. So Josh, why don't you take a few minutes to tell us a little bit about yourself? Where your friend what you do some of your hobbies what your family lives like? 0:22 Yeah, absolutely. So I'm pushing 40 I just turned 39. I'm an attorney, in a boutique, Labor Employment defense firm. So pretty high pressure job, number of hours, lots of travel, pretty significant stress, load, family life. I'm lucky married happily, just over 10 years, we have two beautiful kids, four year old boy and almost a 10 month old girl. So that keeps us pretty, pretty busy as well. And then as far as hobbies, I've been fortunate to kind of keep up with things like mountain biking, snowboarding, and then I've stayed in the gym. Since college. 1:01 Very cool. Very cool. So very busy life, children and wife, busy lawyer, and lots of really interesting hobbies. Snowboarding is pretty fun. I'm, I'm a fan of it over skiing, just because of the propensity for ACL tears. I'm really happy. You choose that instead. Okay, so Josh, why don't you tell us a little bit about what it was like before you joined the clinic. And let's, let's try to focus primarily on how you felt in terms of your body, your physique, your mentation, and your overall health, 1:32 you know, kind of thinking about the call coming up, you know, how best could I describe what I was facing, then work was going pretty well, my family was going pretty well. But I felt like I was walking towards a cliff, I think is if I'm being honest about what I was dealing with. And, you know, a wake up call for me. And one of these things where I'm just, I have to make a change in my life. I was in my basement gym, probably 7pm, got home, made dinner, put things away, it was getting my workout in. And this is not an exaggeration, I'm slapping myself in the face, for energy to get, you know, that second wind. And that had been become kind of a normal thing for me, of doing something like that just to get going to push through, you know, a 45 minute workout that night, you know, that was probably the biggest thing for me was just my my personal energy reserves. It just I was just grinding to go. My sleep was horrible. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I was getting two to three hours of sleep interrupted per night. And you know, where that impacted may be at work would be, you know, trying to get a quiet place to close my eyes for 30 minutes, midday, just to recharge and you know, push myself through my next 567 hours of the day. So it just just felt like I was running on reserves all the time. 2:58 Yeah, this whole idea of running on fumes is something that I hear a lot from prospective patients, the fact that, you know, they just feel drained at the end of the day, and yet they still have activities they need to pursue, particularly family things, family activities, may stay on plan of spending time with their children are engaged in their children's sports, right. And it's just it makes him very unhappy to not have, as you mentioned, the personal energy reserves to, to get into that. So that's, that's very, very powerful. It's really interesting to really get a description of what you're going through. So you kind of talked about your, how it affected you personally, let's talk a little bit about how this this state affected you in terms of your career as a lawyer, 3:41 I think there I was fortunate enough that I was pushing through taking a step back, again, thinking about it, I don't think I was negatively impacted. I was winning, I was getting my work done. What I found myself lately, though, if I'm looking back and seeing where my, my practices, now, my efficiencies are night and day different, where I think it's probably my level of focus and attention to detail. And I'm catching smaller things early, that I'm spinning off to others that can do the work, that I'm not doing it myself. So I've created more efficiencies internally that have allowed me to focus on the bigger things most likely actually reduce my personal workload in the office. 4:29 Yeah, I mean, delegation is so important and really focusing on those a level tasks, those like crucial, essential tasks that you need to do that will really, you know, contribute to the bottom line of your business is such a key, key item. And I'm I, a lot of us, we recognize what those tasks are, but we're so consumed, you know, by the other tasks and don't have the energy reserves to either delegate or find a more efficient way to do it. That it's just really it's very frustrating. Okay, why don't we translate You know little more to your to your relationship, your family, your friends, your colleagues, how did had this separate particular state in fact that 5:06 probably much the same good relationship with family house, you know, the My Home, life was good. But some of the things that suffered a lot of my friends from growing up there out of state, so just having the, I guess I don't I don't know if it's the energy or focus and drive to say, I'm going to make this visit happen. I've got that back. Or, you know what, Saturday morning, I'm going to get up at 5am, drive the three hours to the snowboard, Hill, snowboard all day and come home Saturday night, some home Sunday with the family. I do that out. Tomorrow, I'm flying to Atlanta to visit one of my good high school friends and their family. We're having my family for a short weekend. You know, February, I was in Park City, Utah, we were in Key West, we're just making a habit. I have a focus on, you know, that type of maintaining those personal connections, not just via phone call, not just via zoom, but getting on a plane and go and going there. And, you know, I don't know if I'd have that energy level to do that during the weekend. And, you know, I'll be in the office 7am. Monday, that's amazing, 6:10 you know, because life doesn't, a lot of life occurs outside of the workweek, right? And missing out on those rich, rich experiences is the B would be really sad. And I'm really happy that you're taking advantage of it. And but prior to joining the clinic, that was perhaps a concern that your life was kind of passing you by. Okay, okay. Now, you kind of alluded to the fact that I guess there was an inciting event there, the event was that you were working out in your home gym, and you had to slap yourself away. Was that the event that finally made you seek treatment? Or is there something else that made you say, hey, I need to do something about this? 6:47 I think it was just really a combination of how long can I continue this, you know, i Young, long ago, just after high school, I drove myself really, really thin with work and college. You know, back then, I unloaded UPS trucks, I was in ups at 4am, you know, something like that. I was in school one day, and then I picked up a side gig route, you know, was working till 10pm. And, you know, I reached that cliff, and I just everything kind of imploded. And I was feeling like, am I going through that again? And I can't let that happened. Because now I have a son, I have a wife, I have a real career. I need to fix this. And so yeah, that might be the physical or the the one thing that happened, but it was more that mental sense of what's down the road. 7:39 Okay, so you're at the situation where you recognize you have a significant problem, and you need to correct it. So how did you actually find out about myself and similar? Was it an ad? Or was it a was a referral? What was in specifically? 7:54 You know, I think it was just starting general online research, you know, I made some initial small modifications, diet, trying to work on things that might help with the sleep a little bit eliminated. Alcohol use was one thing that I kept up for a long time, but then it was just, there's got to be something more here. And let's seek some actual medical advice. And I think I probably read a number of different advertisements went on a number of different sites. And I think what resonated with me was just your personal story as well. You know, it's like talking to the physician that practices what they preach, appealed to me, you know, much like I hear people say, anybody that's dealing with a financial advisor, you kind of want to know about that, since fight, you know, financially secure as well. So, I think that really resonated with me and is one of the reasons that I think I reached out to you directly. 8:50 I mean, I think it's really important to get with a professional or an advisor, or consultant that, quote, unquote, Easter on cooking, the fact that I've been on hormonal optimization therapy is for many, many years ever since my 20s was very useful to me in that it helps me better understand what my patients were going through and some of the issues and obstacles they may have and starting up therapy, and no, maybe maybe the more I'm my mind, a more compassionate provider. But I'm glad that you recognize that. So that kind of gets to my next question, some of the obstacles you need to overcome. So what were some specific obstacles that you need to overcome? You know, in deciding between providers or even making a decision? Were there any obstacles? You're kind of like, I'm fed up. Let's just do something. 9:37 Yeah, I don't I don't think there was when it was time to kind of pull the trigger. I suppose. Just all but all fit. It all worked out. I wouldn't say that there's an obstacle that came out, you know, and especially as user friendly as your system is, how was there an obstacle? You know, scheduling was a breeze. It just, it wasn't difficult. It was seamless, you know? So I don't really think I had an obstacle in my way. 10:06 Very good. Well, I mean, we do try to be very patient client focused, and we try to make things as easy as possible. And again, I'm glad you, you recognize that. Okay, so let's talk a little bit about the changes you experienced after each one the clinic after you're on therapy after after you started taking some of the supplements after you started engaging some of the practices. What changes did you notice in your body and overall health over time? 10:30 Yeah, I mean, I could say, you know where I am today, it's really easy to just pull out some just black and white numbers and differences. When I started with you. I was Alene you know, I was I had good muscularity. I weighed 150 pounds. I'm 176 177. Today. Wow. low body fat. You know, I was a size 40 suit. You know, thanks to you, I hate to throw all my suits away. I'm a 42. Today, okay. You know, the one one of the first changes that happened physically where, you know, things kind of gradually happen, so you're not seeing yourself, but all sudden, my suit pants aren't fitting me I had to get the the ham lowered. Why? Because I gain more muscle in my legs and glutes, and it lifted the pants off. So as you know, as things like that, but it's been a while now that I've been kind of at this level. But you know, when I had hit that, like six or seven, eight month mark, maybe maybe even a year ish. People that I hadn't seen in a while, especially because of COVID Gym buddies, especially walk up to them, and they're just floored, like, who are you? I mean, there was multiple times where that was the reaction of like, just, Oh, my God, what are you doing? And you know, I told him, I'm with the mob. 11:42 Yeah. Well, I feel that there have been a few referrals. And I appreciate that. And I think all of my patients on some level are an embodiment of the of the care they receive and the choices they make, and so are kind of like a walking advertisement for the for the clinic. And you certainly are are one of them. And so you kind of talked about those changes he knows in your body. But what about some of the changes you saw in your career, he did already talk about how you're now able to focus on more high level more tasks that are meaningful to the to the law practice. What What else did you notice in terms of your career after joining the clinic, 12:19 I have a really good balance right now. And I think it's because of what I'm able to do another some just, you know, my day to day schedule, I've changed pretty drastically before. You know, I've always been an early riser, but I was getting to the office first. And then doing the thing coming home working out. It's flipping out. I'm up at 430 in the morning, I'm down in the basement gym, you know, I'm getting ready. I'm in the office by 730. But you know, but now I'm able to get home sixes 630 A lot of nights and have that family time versus trying to, you know, just get everything done. So I get down to the gym to get the workout in. So my balance has shifted where I think I have a much more healthy balance between work and family and everything. And when I'm at work, you know, sure. Do you still have those days where you have the afternoon slump? Yes. Is it every day like it used to be? No. Is it so bad that I feel like I can't push through it and function through it? No, do I have a lot of days where I feel pretty energetic throughout the entire workday? Yes. Especially if I'm doing something where I'm not just at my desk that day. And I have some movement. And then again, the focus and the delegation of tasks. And it's the little things like just remembering to do the calendar reminder of the quick phone call you just got before you jump off on another task. It's these tiny little incremental things that as I look at everything that I'm doing, it has a compound effect, right? So it's very positive. 13:47 Oh, yeah. So it's incremental things over time. That 1% increase in your effort and your your ability that just needs to tremendous changes over time, if you have a long enough timeline for the Japanese concept of kaizen that Toyota took to them to the moon, I guess, just continual improvement. But I'm glad you're able to implement that. Because in many cases, particularly my patients who who just you just start with me, they don't even have the energy to just just to stay where they're at. Right? It almost seems like they're using all their energy reserves, just to keep their head above water. Metaphorically. Okay, well, good. So we talked a little bit about the changes you saw in your career. What about the changes you saw in your relationship with your family or friends or colleagues? Now, you did notice you already had a very good family situation, but has it improved? And you did kind of allude to the fact that you are able to spend more time with your friends, but what else did you notice? 14:41 There's a lot more quality time. So you know, when you have the energy base, there's more weekend days where even if I have a chore that I'm doing, I get something done in the morning, work for a little bit, catch up on things, and then you know, turn to my four year old son, a bud, you know, let's get packed up and go to the pool and you're running out and using that, you know, the hour or two that you have before dinner, to go and do something like that, you know, hey, when else pack up and take the dog for a walk, you know, get the stroller out and do that, you know, those small things that are very, very easy to miss. But how meaningful is it? When you look back, you know, when I look back 10 years down the road, you know, those hours or two hour sessions at the pool or the park, you know, what am I doing my son or my daughter to have that time, you know, again, I think is a tremendous improvement that, you know, I don't know, looking back three years ago, you know, how I would have dealt with, you know, two or three nights in a row of my 10 month old daughter was sleep regression. And because of that, you know, missing that much, I just, I would have been a roadblock on Saturday, you know, now, I've got those reserves, and I'm able to get it back, that, you know, you are just pushing through it. So I think that's been the victory there as those moments that would have been missed, are not missed. 16:01 Well, I think that's really powerful, because it's the time that you spend with your children, particularly when there are, you know, in their, in their younger years, elementary school, beyond before they hit puberty that makes such such a huge difference and in how they turn out in life, right, you are able to impart a lot of knowledge and, and it's a two way street, they're also going to look back at those at those experiences they had with their dad and be like, Man, that was just such a great time at the pool, I really, really enjoyed it when, when he I were able to go and swim is just a very positive memory I think about so, you know, that's, that's wonderful that you're able to create those things. Okay, so we talked about some of the changes you noticed in your, in your career and your physique, with your family. Were there any other benefits that came from from working with myself and sum up? 16:48 I think, overall, it's, you know, you see positive change, and that puts momentum behind you. And those changes, beget new changes, and new changes and new improvements. And, you know, my focus, so I turned 39, you know, this month, so this is my 40th year. And my mindset is, is what do I want the next 25? What do I want six, you know, who is who Who am I at age 65? What things do I need to do now, to get me there? And so, you know, there's been just much more, you know, improvement, I think, and really now, watching some of the smaller things in my diet, watching, you know, small things, here and there, throughout that I just think would have been missed, because you're focused on such larger problems, you know, in smaller things like going through the bloodwork with you, Josh, is this is a little out of whack. You know, Josh, are you you're probably eating too much cheese. Yeah, right doctor, I don't really need that, you know, focus on these things, and then looking for those solutions, or those, you know, fixes that are going are going to be positive, so that you're not actually, you know, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything, because I've just replaced it with something I actually like even more, you know, instead of having, you know, ice cream at night, it's fruit cut up into a Greek yogurt parfait, you know, to put that in action you have to think about. So I think there's just a lot of those types of things that about kind of, are falling into line. 18:18 Yeah, and I think he touched upon something really important. It's not just you know, high height, your your mental state, your physical state. It's also the biomarkers that we try to really optimize so that we can improve your longevity right? And really reduce the risk of you know, developing those chronic illnesses. diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, if you do the right things, if you eat the right foods, you take the right supplements, if you check your labs regularly and optimize those values, your lipid panel, hemoglobin a one C, your homocysteine, your hormonal levels. Yeah, there, there's a large group of individuals in the anti aging longevity functional medicine community that feel that our endpoint is, you know, when 2131 4150 not just getting there, but getting there in excellent health. That's my goal for all my patients. Okay, so just to end things. What would you tell someone who's watching this now and is uncertain about you in the clinic? 19:18 I think the only thing I can say is just boil it down. And it's it works. I mean, that's it, it works. So I mean, if you have goals, and you do this, and you follow through, and you do the work, it works. 19:31 Well, Josh, thanks so much for for doing this. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to tell us a little bit about your experience. And I really thank you being patient. Thanks. Absolutely.