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Chapter 16
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Graduation Day!! It’s the final Chapter of Season 1! Dave recaps all that he’s learned while Doc celebrates his journey!
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Transcript
Reflecting on Turning 50
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello listener, welcome back. I just, uh, I don't want to, I don't want to cry. I said I wouldn't, but it's the last episode. Can you believe it? We made it. I'm still alive. That's amazing. And I'm 50 now. What? How is that even possible? How did I get here? What's happened in the last little bit? Did I trip over the last hurdle? Let's find out
Introducing the Podcast Finale
00:00:22
Speaker
together. It's the last chapter of season one of Dr. Val saves Dave.
00:00:32
Speaker
Hey everybody, have you heard the news? Dave's turning 50 and he's got the blues. He's out of shape and this is true. He needs help, he has no clue. He grabs his phone and she can't quit. Taco Bell will do her trick. She'll be tough, there's no free pass. Come on Dave, get off your ass. Dr. Bell, can you save Dave? He's blown alive.
Journey and Listener Appreciation
00:01:15
Speaker
Hello listener and hello doctor.
00:01:20
Speaker
Hello, and good morning. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. Can you believe it? It's the last episode of season one. Uh, listener, if you've made it this far, uh, thanks for coming along for the ride. And here we go. We did it. I am 50. Woohoo! What a weird number. That's such an odd thing to turn 50. You know, because you feel, I don't know, it's like you're old, but I don't feel it.
00:01:47
Speaker
Well, of course, because I'm only 49 now, metabolically. Exactly. Yeah. Well, you know 50 is the new 30. I don't know. I'm not 50 yet. I'm so busy de-aging, I'll probably never know.
00:02:03
Speaker
I'm getting younger by the minute. Yes, you are. Although I may have put on a year this week. Yeah, probably. Listeners, you've got to hear about this. Why? What happened? What did I do?
Overcoming Life's Hurdles
00:02:16
Speaker
Oh, I think we're going to get into that. We may or may not. Remember our cliffhanger last time? Will I do it? How will he get through the last hurdle?
00:02:24
Speaker
That's right. Will he fall on his face, trip over the hurdle, and bring the hurdle down on top of him? Nope. I ran right through that hurdle like it was a tape. I took it right in the forehead. I couldn't trip on it because I was kicking it down. There is no hurdle. There is no hurdle. I went full Neo in the Matrix. Well, we'll let the listeners be the judge for that. There is no spoon. Except the one shoveling food into my mouth.
00:02:53
Speaker
What did the food actually exist? Um, yes. Yes. And it had backup. You know what?
Weight, Self-worth, and Feeling Good
00:03:00
Speaker
It was a celebration. It was. So, uh, listener where to go. Uh, we'll start with the thing. I did not, I am not 195 pounds. Just so everyone knows. I did not make it. I almost didn't even weigh myself today because I didn't care.
00:03:14
Speaker
Oh, wow. No, because I feel so good. Okay, good. And why would I look at a number that would give me a reason to not feel good? Yes, that's a good point. Yeah, I don't think you should weigh yourself every day, especially if your mood is going to be attached to the number.
00:03:27
Speaker
Well, definitely not. You don't want to tie your sense of self-worth or your mood to a number. You want to use the scale and all of the metrics as just a guideline so you can be your own scientist. Oh, allow me to use your term. Feedback. Yes. It's just feedback. It's just feedback. So, and I thought you would approve of this. I was like, you know what? I'm not going to look at it because it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Also, it'll change in two days.
Personal Progress and Tools Acquired
00:03:52
Speaker
It will.
00:03:52
Speaker
if it's going to fluctuate as the inflammation goes down. It will. From what was a very celebratory week and also my old friend America. Godly again, because any trip to the States is a five pound penalty.
00:04:07
Speaker
So it'll be gone in a few days, but for the record, I did not. That's a detox and a good bowel movement. Yeah. And I'm right there. I'll probably, so, and I know I will make it back to that weight. I know I can. I have the toolbox now and the skillset as a result of this journey. So the most important thing I would share is I feel great today.
00:04:28
Speaker
And recap from previous episodes. Detox. Retox. Detox again. That's right. There you go. I'm so good at retox. You really are. I am great at retox. Nailed it. Ace that one. Yeah, it's starting the detox again.
00:04:45
Speaker
Yeah, getting back on the horse. Well, because as you've explained to me, once you're toxed, you're now not necessarily capable of making good decisions. Oh, your biochemistry just goes out of control. Yeah, so it's a real challenge to get back into the detox phase when you're in the middle of toxic.
00:05:05
Speaker
It really is. You need the people around you to support you and help you through that wobble time. And you need a good why. You need a good reason to propel and motivate you for what's the next phase. You know, you got to start with a clean slate the next day. I find it's going to start in the morning. You know, it's going to start at five in the afternoon.
00:05:26
Speaker
So, can I talk a little bit about your birthday
Birthday Party Anecdotes
00:05:30
Speaker
party? I believe you're a co-host on this show. I'm just saying like, wait a minute, because you know, there's that rule, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And so I want to talk about what happens at Dave's birthday party probably should stay at Dave's birthday party. Probably should.
00:05:45
Speaker
I'll extend you a little creative license. So we get this whole day, this whole evening to celebrate Dave. And of course, in true Dr. Val style, I'm tapping out early and I'm like, okay, at midnight I turn into a pumpkin, I'm going home. You put in a great shift. I was very proud of you.
00:06:03
Speaker
Yay. So the next morning when I'm up and I'm out for my walk and on my exercise and I'm back on track and I'm wishing Dave a happy birthday, I'm like, yay. It's eight in the morning and Dave happens to be awake and I'm like, oh,
00:06:18
Speaker
Oh, fantastic. He's awake." I'm like, wait a minute. So we get on the phone and I'm like, you didn't go to bed, did you? He's like, nope, still up. It was a beautiful morning. It was a
Balancing Celebration and Health
00:06:29
Speaker
wonderful party. It was. It was a wonderful party and all your friends were amazing. We still had guests. Yeah, I'm sure you did.
00:06:37
Speaker
I'm like, I don't know how you're alive. Like, honestly, how have you lived this long with that lifestyle? Isn't that how we started this show? Look, we're coming full circle. You just kept partying and you had stuff to do after that. Like you do like a full two days of like no sleep, bad eating, a lot of drinking. Well, you only turn 50 once.
00:06:59
Speaker
Well, this is true. And if you keep living like that and you turn 50 like that, you can only do that once. I keep getting younger, so we don't know. I'll probably be able to do this many times. This is why we do the detox so that you can continue to keep up this lifestyle without dying faster. Listen, attitude is everything. Practice, practice, practice. If you decide, hey, I feel great. What the heck? Keep feeling good.
00:07:28
Speaker
So it was a really great time. I'm glad you were there for it. I am too. It was awesome. I thought you were going to talk about some of the healthy options that I provided. Well, those are fantastic too. I was really impressed. There was food there that I could eat. It was all Dr. Val approved. There you go. Yeah. Except for the cake. But you glossed over that part. I did. Are you out of stickers or something?
00:07:51
Speaker
Well, you've been doing so well. Yeah, I probably am. So you've been doing awesome. Still what impresses you the most is my ability to talk. It boggles your mind. It does. It does. So I talk about people who are what I call meta humans. They're people who do the impossible every day. And you're definitely one of them because you're one of those people who can drink the impossible every day. I don't even know how. It's just, it's impressive.
00:08:19
Speaker
Yeah, it's frustrating too, because it's expensive. I wish I could get to where you're at off a glass of wine. That's true. But I just can't. It doesn't work that way. I've got a Viking's liver. And now that it's healthy, oh, the damage I can do all over again. I know.
00:08:39
Speaker
Every season is just going to start with, give me a month to destroy myself. Yeah. And then you can fix me all over again. Yeah, I like that. Yep. It's impressive. Thank you. Thank you. What a skill set. You've spent, you know, 25 years building that skill set. It shows. That's a pro. I feel you've made me stronger.
00:09:00
Speaker
I feel like you've really given me the tools I need to take it to a new level. I think so. Because I was getting tired. And now I'm vibrant. And that was the awesome thing too, because you know, you integrated so much of that learning experience. So there was like all of this healthy food choices that were so good. Like the little lamb sticks.
00:09:24
Speaker
these protein choices, oh my gosh, the shrimp was amazing, all super clean,
Healthy Party Food Options
00:09:29
Speaker
you had salads there, like everything was so clean in terms of the eating. And then the massive drinking. It wasn't that massive.
00:09:38
Speaker
Well, I mean, by your standards it was, but honestly, by my standards, I was doing a great job of really not drinking that much most of the night because I was so busy looking after everybody. Well, there we go. So I was running around making sure everybody else had a drink. So it looked like I was drinking a lot, but I actually wasn't drinking that much. Okay. And I was quite pleased that I was able to roll out a Dr. Val approved menu.
00:09:59
Speaker
It was amazing. And yet nobody was complaining about the food. Everybody loved it. How about that? So why don't we start with that? Thanks to you and the journey we've had, I was able to provide healthy options at a debaucherous affair. Yes, it was amazing. So if you wanted to talks, it was available to you. But a clean liver like yourself was able to enjoy themselves just as much as the revelers.
00:10:29
Speaker
Exactly. Exactly. And the food was so tasty. So you don't have to compromise because a lot of people think like, OK, if it's going to be healthy, it's going to taste like sawdust. This was amazing. Well, thank you. And I mean that in a larger sense. Thank you, because you've taught me so much about how to actually provide proper sustenance. And so let's talk about some of the recap stuff. I think this is a good episode and a good final. I can't believe we made it.
00:11:00
Speaker
And if you go back to listen to episode one, you know, I sound like a tired grouch. And now look at you. I really do. Eye of the tiger, the fighter. That's it. So yes, I went to Philadelphia.
Running the Rocky Steps: A Milestone
00:11:13
Speaker
This was a neat little thing for my 50th birthday. I'd never been to Philadelphia. So I ran the Rocky Steps.
00:11:20
Speaker
Oh, listeners, I cannot wait for this to be posted. The before photos that we took and then the Rocky montage, the video of him running the Rocky stairs. The difference is night and day. It's it's so the difference is so huge. I'm so impressed with you. You did an amazing job. You'll you'll be you guys will be astounded. I was feeling pretty blessed the serendipitous way that life worked out that I was able to be there just a day or two after my 50th birthday on very little sleep.
00:11:50
Speaker
I'll have you know. But also it was 5.30 in the morning. I ran those Rocky steps. I'm so proud. Right? So you've done it. You've turned me into a weirdo. Yeah. I was going to say the student surpasses the teacher. That's right. That's your favorite part of it is that I did it at 5.30 in the morning. You know what? The whole thing. I'm so proud. It's all awesome.
00:12:13
Speaker
Well and especially like episode six when you were first talking with David Thunder and he was talking about okay what's the goal that's going to motivate you and you were like my goal is to get out of a chair without groaning and then here you are running the rocky steps like way to be an overachiever like crush the goal.
00:12:30
Speaker
Pretty cool,
Podcast Journey and Personal Growth
00:12:31
Speaker
huh? It is. Yeah, well, I'm sure David Thunder will critique my technique when he sees the video. And he'll be like, that's not how you... But I will say for the record, I made it up all the stairs. So take that, David. Not only made it up, like you just, you ran that like a champ. It looked like you actually skipped a couple of steps at the top. Yeah, the last two I did it... I'll tell you this much, short people run better on camera.
00:13:01
Speaker
In fact, nobody wants to see this tall guy. It looks like you're moving slow, but I was moving. So yeah, I flew up those last couple of steps, but my legs are a lot longer than Miss Tristalones. So it doesn't quite look the same.
00:13:17
Speaker
I'm still impressed. It's awesome. It was awesome to be there in that moment and be bouncing around up there with the arms up looking at the sunrise over Philadelphia. Just a really, really cool experience. So thank you for preparing me to have that moment. Instead of me, you know, begrudgingly walking up, I'm going, ugh. I'm stopping halfway.
00:13:38
Speaker
Why do we have to go all the way to the top? Sounding like Selma from The Simpsons. I can't get off the stairs. Taking a cigarette. The view is fine from here. I don't need to go all the way up there. I don't know if that's a Selma. I haven't seen The Simpsons in a long time.
00:13:59
Speaker
So, anyway, feeling good feels good. Yes. There you go. There's another silly little saying. It works. But feeling good feels good. It felt great to be able to get up that early and run up those stairs. Yeah. And so let's talk about how we were able to do that. There were definitely weeks or stretches where I followed the letter of the law to a T. And some of those weeks felt awful. Yes.
00:14:28
Speaker
in the beginning. And some of those weeks felt amazing. But I'll tell you what, life happens or life finds a way, as Jeff Goldblum would say. And there are just times where it's not a realistic possibility to follow the program exquisitely. But I have the skill set and the toolbox to right the ship. So in the wavy ocean water, you might get tipped over, but the boat can come back up.
00:14:57
Speaker
You do the best that you can in the moment and you plan for everything to have no food available. You do your planning in advance and you don't expect to ever use willpower because willpower, as we discovered, is just not a thing. Still in the trunk of my car.
00:15:13
Speaker
is, yep, he killed him, buried him somewhere, we'll never find him again. And so, you know, just be prepared, have strategies, have solutions. When you do go off plan and off track, just look at what happened and say, okay, if it can happen once, it can happen again. So how do we prepare for next time? What could I have done differently? What could I do better? You know, what is the learning opportunity here?
00:15:38
Speaker
I've got one better for you than that. And here's a great takeaway from the whole season for me is the Friday night before the party, the night before the party, I ordered pizza. I hadn't had pizza in a long, long time because I'm off dairy and off the gluten and the wheat going off everything that comes in a pizza box. It's the anti-life diet. But you know what? It was Friday night. We didn't feel like cooking. I was like, yeah, we'll do a pizza. What the heck? I haven't had pizza in a long time.
00:16:08
Speaker
time, and I was like, this is going to be the last pizza of my 40s. So I was able to romanticize it into a good idea. And I had it, and I was like, oh, pizza, my old friend, and enjoyed it. Saturday morning. How sick were you? Well, I'm going to call it sick. I'm going to talk about the level of flame coming out of me.
00:16:32
Speaker
Talk about just sitting there rocking going, this is so not worth it. This was so not worth it. Welcome
Awareness and Informed Health Choices
00:16:41
Speaker
to my world. I couldn't believe, like, first thing in the morning the body was like, can we get this crap out of us now?
00:16:46
Speaker
I was like, wow. Wow. I can't believe how much my body is mad at me for this pizza. So if you remember from the beginning of the journey, you said you have to learn to speak to your body. And I said, I don't know how to speak body. Yeah. And I don't know. Now you do. My body has found its voice.
00:17:06
Speaker
And my body has a very direct way of communicating with me. And so does your household. And now I gotta get a fire extinguisher in the bathroom.
00:17:22
Speaker
I'm pretty sure I crapped flame. Just absolute. I'm so sorry for, I feel so sorry for anybody who lives in that household with you. I think everybody listening has had this experience at least once. That's not great. Where you're on the toilet going, oh my, I can't believe the level of discomfort that's happening right now and the pain and instead of the rocket going, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie, owie,
00:17:48
Speaker
Why this is just, get out of me, get out of me, be gone, devil, demon. This is when you get jealous of those hamsters. Hamsters? Hamsters can have like that anal prolapse where you just want everything out. You're just going to get it out of me. I'll take your word for it. There we go. Anal prolapse is that, I love your jargon. You've never seen that before. You've never owned a hamster. Well, I certainly don't watch hamster poo videos. You need to get out more.
00:18:20
Speaker
What happens when you're a scientist? When you're eating a carrot? You weirdo. Yeah, well, pretty much. Yeah, this is when you wake up before in the morning and you have nothing to do. How did history shrink? In the morning, I always wake up before the morning. That's what I'm reading. See, if you slept in a little bit, you wouldn't have to watch anal prolapse videos. I don't. Anyway, I don't have to watch the video because I had one.
00:18:42
Speaker
Exactly. ... came firing at me as fast as they could. So my point is, and listener, here's one for you to chew on in the off season, is you might not actually like the foods you think you like. Yes.
00:18:58
Speaker
So here's my mature growth takeaway is it turns out I might not actually like pizza. No, you don't. Well, I did for a long time. I loved pizza. Pizza was one of my favorite things to eat. But now that you've done your brainwashing dirty work, now that you... No, you were brainwashed before.
00:19:19
Speaker
Okay, here we go. I know. So a lot of food companies know fat, salt, and sugar, the magic addiction formulation. I don't remember having fire poops in pizza in the past though. That's the weird thing. So I'm not sure if my body back then was just so used to it, it gave up trying to talk to me and it was like, there's no point. You know, that whole concept boiled a frog. Like you just turn up the water slowly.
00:19:42
Speaker
Yeah. You've been in that water for so long, you're doing the backstroke. Is that what you watch after your hamster poop videos? These frogs getting murdered? Well, their legs are delicious. Are they on my menu? Can I have a frog? We never talked about frog. Or turtle. Could I eat turtle? Technically, yes. Snapper soup is a very popular thing in Philadelphia, I learned. Oh. Yeah, snapping turtle soup. I had no idea. And you pour sherry on top of it.
00:20:10
Speaker
Oh, well, the sherry would be out. So, yeah, I'd say. Oh, now you tell me. Well, you were going to do a Philly cheese sandwich, steak sandwich. A Philly cheesesteak. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we'll go back to that. Okay. Fire in the hole. You can't go to Philadelphia.
00:20:31
Speaker
First of all, a Philly cheesesteak used to be one of my favorite sandwiches in the world. Now, maybe it isn't. Maybe I don't like anything. Maybe I've never known me at all because the pizza revelation, and this is why it's good to go off books sometimes and to wander off the path.
00:20:49
Speaker
Um, because you find out the reason there's a path because you go, Oh, it's, it's not very nice out here. So, uh, yeah, the pizza destroyed my guts felt horrible. It was not worth it as delicious as the bite was at the time. It was not worth it. And now I realize I don't like pizza. Yay. Uh-huh. Now I might like pizza, but let me put it another way. My body does not like pizza.
00:21:12
Speaker
My brain enjoys the salty, sugary feeling of a pizza. My brain loves how cheap and available it is. My brain loves that. It's a solution. There's pizza. Oh, we'll just grab a slice. Oh, we can just order one. It'll be here. My brain loves pizza. My body finally has a voice.
00:21:33
Speaker
And my body is now telling my brain, dude, we got to talk. It's ticked off. Yeah. So it's interesting now that my body has a voice because my body has just been, you know, bound and gagged. I've been a prisoner for a long time. Yeah. Of my impulse of mind. Yeah.
00:21:57
Speaker
And now I like that my body has a voice and my body and I are starting to get
Managing Cravings and Dietary Choices
00:22:02
Speaker
along. As you can see, by the way, I flew up those stairs. I did. I saw that. See, there is no failure, only feedback. Some of the things you're saying are making sense now.
00:22:14
Speaker
Who knew? So I did have a Philly cheesesteak. But let me tell you, it's a two part story. Oh, good. I was golfing at Marion Country Club, which is a very private ferry, ranked sixth or seventh in the United States. It was a true, amazing
00:22:37
Speaker
Unique I'm the luckiest guy in the world that I got to play it Thomas Greenwood. It was an incredible host Mike kenefick did a fantastic job of arranging this for my friend Alex and I to go play and They had a what they called a golfers buffet Available and one of the items on the golfers buffet was a big tray of Philly cheesesteak Wow, but without the bun
00:23:00
Speaker
So I found the loophole and I had the Philly cheesesteak, the guts of it, without the bread. How about that? So yesterday I had the cheese, the dairy is mixed in, but it was delicious. And then the next day I had a real one.
00:23:18
Speaker
So the first day you picked your poison, you stayed on track. Yeah, and then I was like, it's not really a Philly cheesesteak though, is it? So I had that one with the bread and I felt way worse. Yeah, I bet. So turns out, well, it's done. There, I did it. I can say I've had a Philly cheesesteak, the country club version, not the street version, certainly not the one with the Cheez Whiz or cheese sauce, whatever that core on it, which I wouldn't have done anyways.
00:23:43
Speaker
But again, feedback was negative. The feedback from my body was like, yeah, we don't love that either. So I like eating clean now. Yay. How about that? Look at that. This is the growth, is it's now no longer a case of me going, oh, when can I eat that stuff again? Or why don't you? Or, oh, I'm cheating today. Forget it. I'm going to eat it. Now it's a case of, boy, I really don't feel good when I eat that stuff. So I'm going to try not to eat that stuff.
00:24:14
Speaker
How do you like that? I love it. How's that for a graduation ceremony talk? That's awesome. Now, so my takeaways, so I'll give some Doc-isms back. Sure. Eat real food. I believe you've mentioned that throughout the season. One way to do that is pick good colors. Yes.
00:24:34
Speaker
There was a mystery sauce. We were stuck on the tarmac. Our flight was delayed. And then we were stuck on the tarmac for hours. And nothing you could do, right? It was supposed to be a one-hour flight. Instead, we were three hours stuck on the tarmac. And so then they offered a chicken nugget dish, which, sadly, I've never been so excited for really, really awful chicken nuggets.
00:25:03
Speaker
When you're hungry, yep, you will be. They came with what was hard to identify as a ketchup or a barbecue or what I would have called amusement park barbecue sauce.
00:25:14
Speaker
And the reason I called it that was because of the color. I said, I don't know what that sauce is, but I know that color does not appear in nature. And I know that the doc has taught me if the color is odd, don't have it. Don't eat it. And again, you know where we differ is if you don't know what's in something, you won't eat it. Whereas I,
00:25:38
Speaker
I wonder what that is and I will eat it to find out like a toddler going around a room trying to eat a chair leg or a remote control. Is this food? Is this food? So I tried it again and you'll be shocked to discover I didn't feel great after.
00:25:59
Speaker
I really did not. Did the neon color get expelled from your body? I didn't look again. I'm not like you. I don't like to study poo.
00:26:14
Speaker
I don't look back. It's all part of the training. Yeah. Well, of course, you're a doctor. I don't look back because I'm an amateur. What would I know? You should know that it's not supposed to be a Ronald McDonald hair color orange. I know that if it feels like fire, I don't want to see it. If it's a good, firm, healthy excavation process or a good outing, I might take a look and go, that's probably worth admiring.
00:26:41
Speaker
You already know if it feels like fire going away. Yeah, that might be a personal best. Sure, I'll take a look at that. I wonder if that's coming out of the water or not. Those kind of guide curiosities, sure. But if there's a Pollock painting back there, I don't need to see it. I don't need to know what my body's already telling me, which is, we don't like that. We don't want that.
00:27:06
Speaker
Here's the other takeaway. I would say this, and I'm choosing bad language here, but indulging, I'm going to say. Indulging is a slippery slope. Yes. Yes, it is. Yeah. I'm just going to have that little potato. I can get away with this thing. I can sneak that in. The sugar spike, the dopamine hit, leads to a craving for more dopamine hits, which is why I say you have to start first thing in the morning.
00:27:33
Speaker
clean slate because otherwise it's, here we go. And before you know it, you're, you know, eating pretzels and drinking a beer and it gets away from you that quick. So, uh, if you, uh, if you are out there or if you've been listening to our journey, dear listener, then one of the things I can tell you is once you start eating those things, you shouldn't, you will eat more of the things you shouldn't. It just happens. There is no willpower.
00:28:01
Speaker
That's right. So don't feel bad about it. Don't beat yourself up about it. Just say, oh, this is called human physiology. And acknowledge that and say, OK, now it's time to get back on track. And how do I do that?
00:28:13
Speaker
Well, I'll tell you what, as much as I have a capacity for the drink, I also have a capacity for the garbage. When I go off the rails, I can really shovel a lot in before I get the ship righted. I drink a whole mouthful of ocean water before the boat pops.
00:28:32
Speaker
Welcome to being human. But here's my new graduate statement.
Learning from Dietary Mistakes
00:28:40
Speaker
The temporary high of bad food doesn't last long enough.
00:28:47
Speaker
to compete with. Thank you for finishing that statement. Miserableness you will experience on the toilet. The awfulness you will feel the next day. The high of the pizza was, what's it last? A few minutes? Yep. Whereas the discomfort the next day lasted well over an hour.
00:29:07
Speaker
So I don't mean I was on the toilet for over an hour. I mean, I didn't feel good. I didn't feel good. I woke up not feeling good. I didn't feel good for a while. It takes a while to flush all that out of you. You get the food hangover. Yeah, the food hangover. You're a little lethargic, a little lazy. And again, you just want to eat more garbage because you're like, oh, I don't feel very good. I should get something crappy in me to spike me. Hair of the dog.
00:29:31
Speaker
Yeah. And so you want all of a sudden it's like, yeah, I could go for a McMuffin. Yeah. You know, cause again, fast and easy, quick and easy hit. So you've mentioned in the past that the food companies, you don't trust them. Nope. None of them. Right. So you have convinced me.
00:29:55
Speaker
But the quick and easy out is something that the brain wants to solve the problem because it feels a little sluggish and tired. Yeah. And don't do it if you can avoid it. And if you have to do it, do it with a smile. Lean into it. Exactly. But I am repeating myself, but it turns out I don't like a lot of the foods I thought I liked. Yep.
00:30:17
Speaker
That's going to be really interesting to play with going forward, is to revisit some of them, which I will still do, but now I want my brain to know. So now I'm going to go ahead and go, you know what, brain? I'm sick of you thinking you want a Big Mac. Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead and have it. Body, brace yourself, buddy.
00:30:37
Speaker
You talk to it. Be gentle. Yeah. Because I'm on your side now, body. But we got to teach this brain it doesn't like these things. Exactly. Yeah. But probably now my body will be able to go, dude, we're not. You don't want that. Yeah. You don't want that. You think you want it, but you don't. Yay. I know. You're just five gold stars. Gushing with pride, aren't you? Our medical disclaimer. Before you go down the rabbit hole of kale smoothies and laughter yoga, a quick reminder. We're not your doctor.
00:31:06
Speaker
We might have the prescription for a good joke, but when it comes to your health, consult the pros. So laugh and learn, but keep that stethoscope handy. Just in case. Hey everybody, Dave here.
00:31:19
Speaker
I hope you're enjoying the journey with Dr. Val and I so far. If you haven't yet, be sure to like or subscribe or follow us or whatever they tell you to do on Spotify or Apple or whatever platform you listen to us on. And if you have any questions or if you want to follow up on anything we've discussed on the show so far, head on over to Instagram and find us there at Dr. Val Saves Dave. Send us a message with your questions and we'll be sure to answer them on a future podcast. Hey, thanks for listening and be good to yourself.
00:31:51
Speaker
I'm just so happy and excited for you and it's great for people to hear your experience through this because you don't recognize how much you're being poisoned and how much your brain is being hijacked into wanting foods that
00:32:06
Speaker
actually don't really taste that good, but they're just hijacking your biochemistry. So you crave them and you think, oh, I want this. It's like, no, you actually don't. And so when you get on the other side of it and you see like, oh my gosh, I was being so controlled and so manipulated and you're now you're over here and you can make actual choices and you're in control of the choices.
00:32:29
Speaker
It's a fantastic feeling. So for me, I don't care what choice you make in the sense that, you know, whether you choose to eat the pizza or whether you choose to make your own gluten-free, dairy-free keto, you know, vegan keto, pizza, you know, whatever you want to do, right? Or, you know, vegetables or whatever it is that is healthy for your body.
00:32:51
Speaker
Like whatever choice you make, I just want you to make it from the sense of it's you making the choice. So you're not hijacked by the food company. You're not hijacked by your body's biochemistry. It's not about the sugar levels spiking and crashing. It's not about the chemicals in your system wanting more dopamine hits or wanting that stuff that is put in food on purpose to addict you and make you want more. It's actually coming from, hey, I actually want to make a choice.
00:33:20
Speaker
So now moving forward, if you choose to eat pizza, you've made that choice. Your body, your rules. You know what the consequences are. You're an adult. You make the choice. If you want to choose something different.
00:33:33
Speaker
Your point is the addiction was making me choose that before. Exactly. It was not my choice, but I was addicted to the food. Here's another thing I've figured out and learned too. Speaking of colors, and look for colors, the packaging of food is in all the exotic colors. Yes. And what I realized, interesting link, if you have a phone addiction,
00:33:54
Speaker
One of the things they suggest you do is switch your phone to black and white because the colors of all the apps are part of the addiction. So the food companies, and just look at a potato chip aisle, look at Doritos packaging or look at, you know, go into a McDonald's, look at all the fast food companies that have associated themselves with the color and their bright packaging too. So if you could see the world, I think colorblind people would have a better chance not eating garbage food.
00:34:22
Speaker
Absolutely. How's that for a takeaway? So use a color system. If it has bright packaging, it's probably bad for you. Exactly.
00:34:30
Speaker
I've never seen cauliflower wrapped in neon orange with a sexy logo. Exactly. Well, and a lot of the marketing to kids, this is where, you know, a lot of the cereals where a lot of people are getting upset because you're like, wait a minute, now you're having these garbage cereals that are full of sugar that you are specifically marketed to kids so that the kids pressure the parents into, we want that, we want that, when can I have someone, can I have someone? And it's awful for the kids and it makes it harder for the parents to.
00:34:58
Speaker
I followed his snoot to magical fruit. Hold two canned sandwiches to get one. Exactly. But yes, forget the cereal aisle. I can't eat cereal or any of that stuff, obviously. No. Because, and as we said, I'm a perimeter shopper now. Yeah. I go around the outside, around the outside, around the outside. In the produce section, there is no packaging.
00:35:23
Speaker
There is no come by this. It is just this is the color of the food. Yeah. And here's the healthy food. So I'm avoiding. Eat real food. Eat food made from food. Right. It must be so exhausting for you to just keep going. Eat real food.
00:35:42
Speaker
answer to everything. Just eat real food. It's so simple, but it's so challenging in our society nowadays. Because you have to break the addiction.
Breaking Food Addiction
00:35:50
Speaker
Because you're addicted and you don't even realize it. And again, my body was so poisoned that it didn't even know what feeling good felt like. And now that it does, now that it's been exposed to a different way, it is speaking up. You've unplugged from The Matrix. Way to go, Neo.
00:36:07
Speaker
And every now and then I'm a bit like Cypher and going, I know this isn't good for me, but I want it. I want the steak, blend me back in. I know it's bad, but put it in me. It tastes so good. But now it doesn't. Now I will never eat a slice of pizza the same way. Yeah.
00:36:23
Speaker
That's one of the biggest takeaways for me, and I can re-question all the food. So I have another tip for our dear listeners, which is if you have gone off the rails and eaten poorly, and in the morning you were thinking, oh, I need to eat some more garbage, the cheat code is a cold shower.
00:36:43
Speaker
Oh, Wim Hof style. Love that. But it actually resets your brain and snaps you out of it. The hot shower is comforting and soothing and it'll keep you in that lethargic like, oh, I don't want to be cold right now. And you go, oh, you have your hot shower and then you'll come out.
Cold Showers and Mind-Body Reset
00:36:59
Speaker
You go, I don't feel. Oh, and then you might go sit on the couch for a minute or have your lazy thing or get on your phone and start scrolling.
00:37:05
Speaker
But if you can just turn the dial and start with the warm shower, because don't be cruel. Don't be cruel to yourself. But at the end, once you've done your duties, I'm not saying you have to wash your hair in a cold shower, but once you've finished your business, your shower, whatever that may be, shaving your legs, or in my case, very little.
00:37:25
Speaker
because I have no hair. There we go. So it's a very efficient showering process. Yeah. But if I turn the dial to cold just for the last minute, then what that does to your brain is fantastic and magnificent. And the, you know, you can, I look cute on this better than I am about to. But the, the spike in adrenaline. Yes. And dopamine, is dopamine you're getting? Certainly adrenaline. Well, adrenaline. Fighter flight. Oh, absolutely. Gets activated.
00:37:55
Speaker
A whole lot of blood flow. Tons of it. And the, the, ah, ah, sure terror of it. When you get back out, you are activated again. Yes. You are jacked up and you will not, at least for me, I would then not eat anything crappy. Yeah. That's my cheat code.
00:38:09
Speaker
And for me, what I also love is on that day, starting with some greens, you know, the greens powder in some water, just starting off with that, starting off with something so healthy, it energizes your body, it alkalinizes your body.
Vitamin C and Hydration
00:38:24
Speaker
And you just get this hit of energy and it feels good and you're like, oh, now I'm healthy. Like now I'm getting back on track.
00:38:31
Speaker
And I'll give you a little bit of a cheat, too. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine. But when you take vitamin C, it also helps your body to hydrate more. So if you've done a night of drinking and you do a lot of vitamin C before you go to bed, it helps in terms of preventing a hangover.
00:38:52
Speaker
And then the next morning, if you're doing a lot more vitamin C throughout that day, it helps in terms of decreasing some of the histamine response and some of the allergic response if there's a potential allergic response. Are you joking my ass? No. You wait till now to tell me that?
00:39:07
Speaker
I know. I have more tricks, actually. Wait till now. The person you know who drinks the most. I know. I've sat across from you for six months. Yeah. We've discussed my drinking. Yeah. At no point did you say, by the way, take a whack of vitamin C before you go to bed and again in the morning. What am I going to say? Like, here's the hack. Exactly that. Here's how you can drink more. Take some vitamin C before it's just what you just said. What are you going to say? There's also a homeopathic remedy, and it's called Colubrina. And if you take that, it helps in terms of getting rid of hangovers, too.
00:39:36
Speaker
Do I did I want so instead of calling you I should call you Breena. Yes Would you Breena help me know what's call you Breena?
00:39:45
Speaker
It's a homeopathic remedy. There's another name for it, too. The other name is just not pleasant. The other name is called Nuxvomica. Nuxvomica. I know. It's an awful name, so they changed it to Call Ubrina. Really bad marketing session. It is, right. So they changed the name to Call Ubrina. They thought that sounded good. It's better than Nuxvomica. Yeah, but not better than whatever it could have been. How about Feel Better Saurus?
00:40:12
Speaker
Well, that could have been that too. But that's something that you can take to help in terms of... Amazing replenishaka. Hasn't won a stupid name. And some electrolytes. And when do you take that? A night before bed? Before bed, but then you do it the next day to get rid of any of the symptoms. A little bit of electrolytes and greens powder as well.
00:40:32
Speaker
You withheld this on purpose because you wanted me to feel bad. Well, yeah. So I would learn to feel better, couldn't you? Yeah, great. Because there's nothing more, like I have been in the past an experiential learner. So there's this wonderful saying, a wise man learns from his own mistakes.
00:40:48
Speaker
an experienced man learns from, or sorry, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. An experienced man learns from his own mistakes and a fool learns from neither. So I used to be an experiential learner. I would go through stuff and I would be like getting the experience and going, that sucks. I don't want to do that again. And so now I want to be wise. And so now I'm kind of like, okay, if someone tells me, hey, you know,
00:41:11
Speaker
this this tastes bad taste it i'll be like no thank you this smells bad smell it no thank you i'll trust you right don't stick your finger in a like socket okay i trust you right i want to learn from other people's mistakes right but i used to be an experiential learner and i get the value of experiential learner because and learning because i can tell you okay if you eat that this is what's gonna happen and this is how bad you're gonna feel
00:41:37
Speaker
But there's something about having that experience where you feel it, where you go, oh, now I get it. Like, I'm not doing that again. That's a great point. And there's another saying that the wise people have, which is friends don't like to see friends in pain. Oh.
00:41:53
Speaker
Have you ever heard of that one? Except... Maybe don't watch your friends suffer if you could give them a tip like, hey, take a bunch of vitamin C, Jackass. And you don't have to lay on the couch all day hurting instead of going, he'll learn, he'll learn. Yes, the suffering is good for him. Guess what, Dave? What? Take a whole bunch of vitamin C on your drink. Six months is good.
00:42:20
Speaker
Six months, I've known you 17 years. I never mentioned it once. All this time. Because you didn't want me in amazing shape until I did it your way. Well played. Any other secrets you haven't told me? Oh, probably tons. Now that it's the last episode of potentially season one. Well, I think, you know, everything I want to share pretty much
00:42:46
Speaker
That's it. Yeah. Oh yeah. So I see. Keep your friends close. Your enemies closer. Keep your cards close to your vest. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So thanks. Thanks tips. That's great stuff. Vitamin C turns out if you're like me and you enjoy a drink or if you're like Dr. Val and can't handle more than one drink.
00:43:08
Speaker
Then, by all means, go get some vitamin C and apparently take it before bed. By the way, one thing I always do if I've been on the drink is make really great decisions right before bed. Oh, yes. Yeah, rest assured, that's what I'll do right before bed is go, oh, right, time for responsible thinking. I will brush my teeth and take some vitamin C and lay out tomorrow's clothes. I definitely won't pass out on the couch in my clothes watching a movie I've seen nine times.
00:43:40
Speaker
Well, good thing it also helps the next day. Vitamin C, electrolytes, call you Breena. Thank you. All right. There we go. Okay, so what
Celebrating Transformation
00:43:51
Speaker
else? This is it. This is the big end of the thing. Well, champ, I'm here to celebrate you. You have done a phenomenal job. Your transformation has been awesome. You should be really proud of yourself. And the wonderful thing is this is just the beginning.
00:44:07
Speaker
You know what, I wouldn't have believed that six months ago, like most of the stuff you say.
00:44:15
Speaker
And you wonder why I never shared the vitamin C with you. You're like, yeah, yeah. Listen, I ignored you for 17 years. It's a few more months. And the combination of something David Thunder said back in chapter six when we asked him, you know, what can we do by the time I'm 50? And he said, I couldn't answer that, really, because the better question is, well, what do you want to be like when you're 90?
00:44:40
Speaker
Which also, as you recall, and you can go back and listen, blew my mind apart a little bit. And I was like, wow, why haven't I been thinking about that? And so as much as this show has been dedicated to how fat, what can we do to, as I said, turn the cruise ship around before it crashes into the harbor at 50. And by the way, well done you on that. Mission accomplished as far as I'm concerned for you because I'm not just sitting here going, there, I did it.
00:45:09
Speaker
I don't have that sense of, well, that's that, now back to regular life. I am changed. And in a way where I don't know, I know you love your Ferrari example, but I will say I am curious how much fitter I can get, how much better I can feel.
00:45:28
Speaker
And I am interested in pursuing a healthier lifestyle than I've lived in the past. So you have successfully brainwashed or unbrainwashed me from the what's your three combo poisoning.
00:45:45
Speaker
Starved. Yeah. Starved, poisoned, and lied to. Poisoned and lied to. Yes. I accept that now because I can feel it. And so I now support you in that thinking. You're being starved, poisoned, and lied to by the food manufacturers and how they manipulate the food to addict you in order to get you to eat more and more often. And it's almost like they're trying to make money off it.
00:46:13
Speaker
Yeah, go figure. It's almost like it's a capitalist society. Yeah, it almost is like that.
00:46:23
Speaker
Almost like they're more concerned about profits than your health. Absolutely. Huh. Who would have thought? I don't know. That's crazy talk. I know. All I know for sure. Because the government is going to step in and regulate that. The government is going to take care of that. Sure. Because that's... That's what the government does. Governments don't want companies to make money. Exactly. Right, because that's what's best. Level playing field.
00:46:50
Speaker
Luckily, corporations have no say in politics. Exactly. So the cold shower is a thing. My other tip of the, my takeaway for people that I've learned, and I do not do this every day. I am not pretending to misrepresent myself, but exercise first thing in the morning before you can talk yourself out of it.
00:47:16
Speaker
Yep. That is the, it is just harder and harder during the day to squeeze in your exercise. Yeah. Life finds a way and keeps you busy. But if you can exercise first thing is more, even 20 minutes at home. If you don't have time to get to the gym, you got kids and stuff, I get it. Just set that alarm a half hour earlier, do 15 minutes, even just roll out of bed and do 10 pushups. Yep. Just anything to activate the system. You will make better decisions throughout the day. Yeah. A hundred percent proved it to myself. Again, I don't always do it.
00:47:46
Speaker
Some mornings, my body's just like, no, we don't want to, and it convinces me not to. We'll do it later, I swear. I'm like, all right, fine. And I fall for it, and I believe you. And I can't keep count of how many days. I never did get back to it. But I can say for sure that every day that I exercised in the morning, I was a better person that day.
00:48:07
Speaker
I was better to the people in my life and I was better to myself as well. So the takeaways for me this season, cold showers to cheat code, exercise first thing in the morning, eat real food. It's almost like a diet and exercise. Why has nobody ever said this before?
00:48:29
Speaker
Well, because the noise out there is so challenging because what you're being told about diet and exercise is being, there's a lens there where it's just not correct.
00:48:41
Speaker
Exercise is a straight up thing. Exercise is exercise. Diet can mean a thousand different things. That's where I think it gets misinterpreted. Because again, if we go back to the beginning, I thought I was making healthy choices when I had balsamic, right? And that's still the one I take. I thought balsamic was healthy for you. I thought that was my healthy choice. I had no idea how much sugar was in it. And there were numerous other examples, I'm sure, where I thought I was making a good decision.
00:49:08
Speaker
And it was a poor decision. Yeah, so thank you so much for teaching me I'm not gonna say how to be an adult Because I don't think I am one yet. Yeah, but you know you're one until you're none I really don't believe in age. Yeah, you're one until you're none
00:49:32
Speaker
and the rest of it's made up. We live in a simulation anyways, so how could we be aging? The computer programmers that made us and put us here probably laugh at us for the way we've come up with a number system to explain our existence. But anyway, when you eat better, you're more inclined to exercise.
00:49:52
Speaker
And when you exercise, you're more inclined to eat better. I find that when I exercise in the morning, the chemicals that are released in my body make me want to make better decisions. I instantly crave better food and make better decisions throughout
Diet, Exercise, and Health Insights
00:50:07
Speaker
the day. I know it sounds remedial and it probably is to a lot of people out there. But if you were like me or if you've been listening to this and there were times where you've made a ton of poor decisions like I did, I'm living proof now that you can turn it around.
00:50:22
Speaker
Thank you for revealing the matrix to me. You are welcome. By all means, if you are confused or struggling, reach out to Dr. Val. You know, sign up for sessions with Dr. Val. She is a life changer.
00:50:38
Speaker
You know, feel free to book a fireside chat. You know, just reach out, book a fireside chat. We can just sit down, have a conversation and I can just help guide and direct you. And I'm happy to talk to anybody. And if you want to go for a drink, give me a call.
00:50:57
Speaker
Bring some vitamin C. Yeah, I was going to say, you now have the anti-hangover cure, so yeah. Yeah, I'm going to open a bar called Victor Charlie's, and it's just going to be code for vitamin C. There we go. VCs is going to be the name of my bar. I love it. And I'm going to serve vitamin C with every drink I sell. That's awesome. And I'm going to have the happiest clients in the world. Here's your vitamin C, here's your electrolytes, here's your glass of water, drink up. We're open at 9 a.m.
00:51:29
Speaker
And I'm going to have a lineup. Exactly. What about we don't serve carbs? On the menu. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Proteins. Pikido bar. I love it. Yeah. We're going to open up protein, protein billies. Yeah.
00:51:46
Speaker
I don't know how to really sign off the end of this journey, except what would you like to, how would you like to end our journey here? I want to end the journey by number one, celebrating all of your successes.
00:52:00
Speaker
and just saying how awesome and amazing it's been being able to just watch you crush all of your goals and get back to that state of health and be that leader and example and to be honest to be an inspiration for so many people because there's so many people who are in the exact same spot that you were in
00:52:22
Speaker
and who are going through what you're going through and a lot of people they just give up and they think that well this is it's okay that I hurt oh I'm just getting old oh I've had you know you know years of you know gluttony or I've tried all of these other things and nothing has worked nothing's worked because you haven't had the right information you haven't had that detailed dialed into your biochemistry assessment
00:52:45
Speaker
And just don't give up. Find the information that you need. You shouldn't feel old. You shouldn't even, you know, sixties, seventies, eighties. You still shouldn't be old. You shouldn't have aches and pains. You shouldn't have low energy. You should still be a going concern. So really want, like get into that. Okay. What am I truly capable of? And just start living your best life and just hold that space.
00:53:10
Speaker
I feel so much younger than I did six months ago. I really do. So listener, I'm telling you, you know, I know it sounds like, you know, cliched stuff, but it really is true.
Benefits of a Three-Day Fast
00:53:26
Speaker
You have to break the cycle of addiction.
00:53:29
Speaker
and you have to learn that you're addicted to these foods. My number one takeaway from this seat, well, I've had a lot of great takeaways, but one of the things I would encourage you all to do is a three-day fast. At some point, you have to get through the second day. The second day is hell, but there's no point in going through the second day if you're not going to find out what happens on the third day. Get to the 72 hours. The high I got that third day,
00:53:55
Speaker
was unbelievable and such a great drug. The first couple days kind of suck, but you can do it. And once you break through, it's an amazing feeling. It flushes out your system. There's euphoria. There's dopamine. It'll reevaluate. And you can teach yourself, or at least what I learned in that fast, is I don't need to eat right now.
00:54:19
Speaker
That's my brain wanting a spike. I'll be just fine not eating for a little bit longer until I can get home and eat something healthy. Yeah. I don't need to eat junk right now just because I want it.
00:54:31
Speaker
And the great thing is, too, is that we've been working all through this season just to heal what was out of balance and out of alignment. Now that you're in that healed state, now we can really play. Now we can have fun. Now we can start to see, okay, how do we get you to that level of performance and see what you're really capable of? So for me, this is the fun part. Like, okay, we've healed it. We've got you back to, okay, this is what your body is like.
00:54:55
Speaker
But now, let's move that needle and just get you blowing out all sorts of performance. The real trick you've pulled off here is that if you go back and listen, I was always talking about, well, when can I go and eat the food? When can I have all that food again? And you said later, when you're healed, you'll be able to eat it all. But the real trick you've pulled is now that I can, I don't want it. You guys are sozay to eat.
00:55:21
Speaker
The greatest trick was you convinced me you didn't exist. Sure, you can eat it later. Later, you can eat it. Now I can and I don't want it. Exactly. Son of a gun. Well played. Well played. I'm tricky like that. Oh, listener, eat real food. Take a cold shower. Try a fast. You can change the way you feel. If I said this throughout, if I can do it, you can do it because, you know,
00:55:48
Speaker
I am not a very disciplined person. And I also, you know, I would say that many of the poor decisions I made this season are due to my pathological demand avoidance. Which is if you tell me to do something, I probably won't do it.
00:56:09
Speaker
Just at a principle. Yeah. Yeah. Screw you. You're not the boss of me. Exactly. And so if it hadn't been... But now you're the boss of you. His body, her rules, was the only way I was ever going to make these decisions.
Future Health Journey
00:56:24
Speaker
And I could have been in better shape now had I been able to just do what you said. I can't wait to see what you're actually capable of. But pathological demand avoidance prohibited it.
00:56:35
Speaker
And also I had to learn. I had to learn for myself and I'm an experiential learner. And so I have learned quite a bit. Thank you for taking the time and for doing all the research you've done and studying so much and figuring out a way to make it palatable for a guy like me to actually listen to you and change the way I live.
00:56:57
Speaker
So where do we go from here? Find out in season two. Will it be his body, her rules or his body, his rules?
00:57:07
Speaker
Who knows? Will we start next season with me 220 pounds again? Or will I be rock solid 185? Who knows? I'm curious. I'm excited about the future. I'm excited to take what I know and go out into the world. And, uh, I hope you are too, listener. I hope you've, uh, if you've made it this far, I hope you've learned some of the things I have.
00:57:32
Speaker
learned a little and laughed a little. That was the idea. Yep. Right. So thanks, doc. Thanks, listener. Thanks, listener. And yeah. And thank you. And thank you. And thank you, doctor. All right. We'll talk to you next time. Be good to yourself. Make good choices. Bye, everybody.
00:58:01
Speaker
Can you save Dave? Do you think that he'll behave? Or do you think he will cave? Listen in! He's back in school! It's his funny buddy's Dr. Val's rules! It's his funny buddy's Dr. Val's rules!