Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Unlearning Medicine: A GP’s Inner Revolution with Dr Avi Charlton
70 Plays1 month ago
What happens when everything you’ve been taught about helping others no longer feels right? For Dr. Avi Charlton, unlearning medicine wasn’t rebellion—it was essential. This is the story of a doctor who dared to listen to her second voice… and prescribed a new way to heal.
Today we’re exploring what it takes to question the very system that shaped you—and find freedom on the other side. My guest is Dr Avi Charlton who is a GP, speaker, best-selling author, podcast host, and thought leader in lifestyle medicine. She is the founder of Melbourne Low Carb Clinic and Breathe in Health, where she helps people reverse chronic conditions and improve wellbeing through nutrition, functional breathing, and lifestyle interventions.
A passionate advocate for empowering individuals to take charge of their health, Dr. Charlton shares her expertise on stage, in the media, through her best-selling book *Prescribing Lifestyle: A Doctor’s Prescription to Lasting Weight Loss and Vibrant Health*, and as host of the *Prescribing Lifestyle* podcast.
Her work has been recognised nationally, receiving an **AusMumpreneur Honourable Mention for Wellness Business of the Year**. With over two decades of experience as a doctor, Dr. Charlton continues to inspire and guide people toward vibrant health, sustainable change, and a future where lifestyle is the first prescription.
At The Second Voice, we explore the inner conversations leaders rarely say out loud.
If this episode resonated, it is likely because the second voice is active in your leadership too.
Hosted by Luisa Hogan, leadership resilience strategist and founder of Vermelho Consulting.
Luisa works with founders, executives, and senior leaders who carry real responsibility and want to lead with steadiness, clarity, and self-trust under pressure.
Her work focuses on nervous system regulation, leadership identity, and the inner dialogue that shapes how leaders show up when things are hard.
Work With Luisa
If this episode sparked reflection, here are ways to go deeper:
• Leadership resilience workshops and advisory
• Keynotes and curated live experiences
• The Steady Leadership framework and private sessions
Learn more at: vermelho.com.au
Stay Connected
Follow along and join the conversation:
• Instagram: @thesecondvoicepodcast
• Instagram: @luisahoganhq
Find Dr Avi:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/avi-charlton/
www.mlcclinic.com.au
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063738752807 https://www.instagram.com/dr_charlton_lifestyle_gp/ https://youtube.com/@avicharlton?si=GI8vQOQ_CJ9N5PwW
Subscribe, rate, and review The Second Voice to help more leaders find these conversations.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Dr. Aby Charlton's Journey
00:00:01
Luisa Hogan
What happens when everything you've been taught about helping others no longer feels right? For Dr. Arby Charlton, unlearning medicine wasn't rebellion, it was essential.
00:00:13
Luisa Hogan
This is a story of a doctor who dared to listen to her second voice and prescribed a new way to heal. Welcome to the Second Voice Podcast, where we uncover the voices that leaders and entrepreneurs don't say out loud.
00:00:27
Luisa Hogan
I'm your host, Louisa Hogan, and today we're exploring what it takes to question the very system that has shaped you and how you can find freedom on the other side.
Dr. Charlton's Mission and Work
00:00:37
Luisa Hogan
My guest is Dr. Aby Charlton, who's a GP, a speaker, ah bestselling author,
00:00:43
Luisa Hogan
a podcast host and a thought leader in lifestyle medicine. She's incredible. I've met her many years ago and she's amazing. She's also the founder of the Melbourne Low Carb Clinic and Breathe in Health, where she helps people reverse chronic conditions and improve wellbeing through nutrition, functional breathing and lifestyle interventions.
00:01:04
Luisa Hogan
She's a passionate advocate for empowering individuals to take charge of their health. And she shares her expertise on stage in the media through her bestselling book, because she's not a high achiever already. prescribing The book is called Prescribing Lifestyle, A Doctor's Prescription to Lasting Weight Loss and Vibrant Health, and he is also a host of the Prescribing Lifestyle podcast.
00:01:26
Luisa Hogan
Her work has been recognized nationally, recently receiving an Osmanpreneur Honorable Mention Award for Wellness Business of the Year, with over two decades of experience as a doctor.
00:01:38
Luisa Hogan
Dr. Charlton continues to inspire and guide people towards vibrant health, sustainable change, and a future development. where lifestyle is the first prescription.
Embracing Lifestyle Medicine
00:01:48
Luisa Hogan
and Avey, I'm so glad to have connected with you.
00:01:51
Luisa Hogan
And I'm so glad that you are joining us on our podcast today, because I think your message is so strong and I just want to hear what got you too to, the space. So thank you for joining us today.
00:02:02
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, absolutely. Thank you so much, Louisa for inviting me to your podcast. I love coming on. I love spreading the message and I love our connection from years and years ago when you posted me your book and I was loving reading that book back then.
00:02:13
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:02:18
Luisa Hogan
um Thank you so much. Well, I'm glad we found each other again at the Osmanpreneur Awards because, you know, I just love that, you know, the progression you've taken because we connected a long time ago.
00:02:23
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:02:28
Luisa Hogan
And the reason why we found each other is through running and we were both low carb ketogenic runners.
00:02:31
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:02:34
Luisa Hogan
So that's how we found each other online. And we had that instant connection.
00:02:37
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:02:38
Luisa Hogan
But I'm really interested to hear what's been your journey since then, because at that time, you hadn't quite stepped into the space that you're in now. You were doing that personally, I think, or were you already starting on that journey back then?
00:02:51
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, absolutely. So back then I was just my own journey. That could be 10, seven or eight, 10 years ago, i was discovering my own health trying to lose weight.
00:03:04
Dr Avi Charlton
What happened was I was, I've been a GP for 20 years. One day ah patient had come in to see me. I was writing a prescription and she thought I was pregnant.
00:03:16
Dr Avi Charlton
She asked me if I was having a third baby and I was thinking, oh my God, I wasn't having a third baby. I was just a little bit chubby, not really looking after myself. So this could be maybe eight or nine years ago.
00:03:29
Dr Avi Charlton
And I decided that I'm going to take charge of my own health, join the local gym, which guided me to eat according to their spreadsheet. So I had to weigh up so much protein, so much carbs and so much fat. And I learned about eating a low-carb ketogenic diet and dived into the science and discovered, oh my God, all the things that's been taught in medical school is not quite right. we shouldn't be eating less and moving more to lose weight.
00:04:01
Dr Avi Charlton
We really should be optimizing eating good foods rather than eating less and moving more to starve ourselves. So I learned a bit more about the science and discovered how low carb, eating good food, and eventually led me to all sorts of lifestyle pillars, strength training, stress reduction, optimizing sunlight, making sure you sleep right, community connection.
00:04:31
Dr Avi Charlton
And then eventually, a couple of years ago, breath work and functional breathing, how to manage stress and breathe better.
Implementing Holistic Approaches in Practice
00:04:39
Dr Avi Charlton
So I've gone into a whole lot of rabbit holes which led me to change from a traditional GP, which I've been practicing for over 10 years and enabled me to raise my two boys.
00:04:56
Dr Avi Charlton
And I went from a traditional GP to now call myself a lifestyle GP. Started Melbourne Low Carb Clinic and started to change from 10 minute in and out consultations as a gp to 45 minute consults.
00:05:11
Dr Avi Charlton
forty five minute consults helping patients to be listened to And I think that's really a game changer because patients want to be heard and um we can work on improving their nutrition lifestyle and get to the root cause of why they're feeling not well and ultimately help them to lose weight, gain health, lead a vibrant life, and even improve lots of chronic conditions like mental to health conditions, diabetes,
00:05:42
Dr Avi Charlton
even improve cancer, as well as using all the traditional medicines that we've been taught. So it's ah it's amazing, my journey, how I've come from a normal GP to talking about lifestyle as well as prescribing medications.
00:05:55
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:06:02
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Amazing. I find that so inspiring because I can't imagine what it must have been like for you at the time when you discovered you know, I love that you went and looked at all the science behind it because that's such a doctor thing to do.
00:06:13
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:06:14
Luisa Hogan
But like when you discovered that what you had been taught wasn't maybe, you know, quite the right way to go, like what was going through your mind at the time? Was it disappointment?
00:06:25
Luisa Hogan
Was it shock? What what were the feelings you were having?
00:06:29
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, it was it was shocking that what we've been taught isn't quite right, that we've I've got to unlearn it and learn a different way of practising. And um it was quite difficult.
00:06:41
Dr Avi Charlton
And some of the talks that I listened to on online from reputable doctors that I had to listen to over and over again just to unlearn what's been taught before me and relearn what now I had to learn new science.
00:06:55
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:07:01
Luisa Hogan
yeah
00:07:02
Dr Avi Charlton
So I had to dig up different doctors to listen to and learn from various different sources. So it has been difficult. And I have to change my mindset to be open minded, rather than keep looking into the same dogma, which hasn't been helpful for many, many patients.
00:07:24
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Are you seeing amazing success with your patients now?
00:07:29
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, absolutely. Just by changing the mindset, changing the diet to not eat less, move more, but nourishing. So talking about eating good foods rather than eating less and starvation and improving their mindset, thinking about we need to heal ourselves, optimize our metabolism, improving mitochondrial health, nourishing our body with food, sleep,
00:07:42
Luisa Hogan
Mm-hmm.
00:07:56
Dr Avi Charlton
strength training, getting outside into the sun, all those things, even just a few weeks of people doing those things, they feel better, they feel more energy, less bloated, and feel empowered that they can do this, which isn't quite good as a business model because they will get well and then I come back.
00:08:11
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:08:16
Dr Avi Charlton
but but But I'm very happy that I've made my patients better.
00:08:20
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:08:20
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:08:21
Luisa Hogan
I don't think you're going to run out of patients though, unfortunately, because, you know, you just see it everywhere and even online, Even my personal trainer, when I first started with him, you know, he he told me off because I do low carb, ketogenic, intermittent carnivore and fasting, you know, and I change that all up.
00:08:36
Dr Avi Charlton
Mm.
00:08:39
Dr Avi Charlton
Mm-hmm.
00:08:40
Luisa Hogan
But it's always that low carb, same thing that you're saying, you know, outside, fresh air, sunshine, good food that's nutrient dense, you know, all of that stuff.
00:08:46
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:08:50
Luisa Hogan
And even my personal trainer was like, no, like you don't need to like and restrict what you eat when you eat low calorie, which is how you lose weight, because you can eat all of these amazing sugary foods as long as you're within your calorie amount.
00:08:59
Dr Avi Charlton
a
00:09:04
Luisa Hogan
And I'm like, but then you just feel awful because you're hungry all the time. i just can't think of anything worse. And
00:09:09
Dr Avi Charlton
yes
00:09:09
Luisa Hogan
That's what they put out there on social media, that you can do all of these things. And as long as you're in a low calorie and a calorie deficit, you're going to be fine.
00:09:14
Dr Avi Charlton
a
00:09:17
Luisa Hogan
And it's so sad that that that's the world that we live in, that that's what we're putting out there. So I don't think you're going to run out of patience, to be honest.
00:09:23
Dr Avi Charlton
susan yeah i agree the the message is very confusing from different people and then there's plant-based propaganda
00:09:25
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:09:32
Dr Avi Charlton
And as you said, all these people promoting low calorie, which just causes starvation and reduce metabolism. And with yo-yo dieting like this, your metabolism, your mitochondria is not going to work properly.
00:09:46
Dr Avi Charlton
And um that can help you lose weight in the short term. But the more you do this, the more you get starved. And if you crank up your exercise, eat less, then you're going reduce metabolism, get more hungry.
00:09:57
Luisa Hogan
but
00:10:01
Dr Avi Charlton
not satiated, it reduced hung reduce um satiety, you get more and more less um energy. So it doesn't work in the long run.
00:10:10
Luisa Hogan
Yeah, definitely not.
00:10:10
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:10:13
Luisa Hogan
What's been the response from other doctors that you may know? i mean, I'm sure you you know other doctors or you've heard from other doctors. What's been the response from them?
Challenges and Support in the Medical Community
00:10:22
Luisa Hogan
Because from my personal experience,
00:10:25
Luisa Hogan
even and um on my journey, I found Dr. Mindy Pels and she's um fast like a girl and all about, she does, you know, hormone feasting and fasting and how to eat on a ketogenic, you know, during different peaks in your hormones, because I'm trying, I'm perimenopausal. So I'm trying to help that process.
00:10:43
Luisa Hogan
And when I said that to my doctor, you know, she, she was like, oh, that's overrated.
00:10:44
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:10:48
Luisa Hogan
You don't need to do that. That's like, you don't, you know, and she totally um told me, Basically, that it was rubbish and that I shouldn't follow it. But the evidence is compelling to me and the science is compelling because I try to follow the science too.
00:10:57
Dr Avi Charlton
and i
00:11:01
Luisa Hogan
What's been the response on your end? like Do you get lots of backlash or told that you're wrong or how does that show up for you?
00:11:09
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, yeah. For the traditional doctors, I have had lots of backlash. Like in social media, I've put up what my thought process was.
00:11:20
Dr Avi Charlton
And in mainstream doctor forums, I put out that intermittent fasting, eat low carb, ketogenic, can help with mental health, can do all sorts of things, improve diabetes.
00:11:32
Dr Avi Charlton
And there's some mainstream doctor says it's not sustainable, people can't do it. And they even say your woo-woo. You may it might as well get some tarot cards too.
00:11:45
Luisa Hogan
Oh my God.
00:11:47
Dr Avi Charlton
And um there's no science to it.
00:11:51
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:11:51
Dr Avi Charlton
So there has been backlash. But there are other doctors that have kept learning. And I have found quite a few supporters, which has been great.
00:12:04
Dr Avi Charlton
And I think more and more doctors are learning this way.
00:12:04
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:12:08
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, hopefully, with ground forces, we try to spread the message and more people take it up.
00:12:08
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:12:12
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:12:15
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. I mean, even my husband, um I got him onto low carb and he lost so much weight, so much health. He started running, all of that sort of thing. And he told his doctor about, he's like, you've got to tell all your patients about this. And she ah she totally wrote him off. it's so
00:12:30
Dr Avi Charlton
No, no, it is.
00:12:30
Luisa Hogan
It's so sad, you know, so sad. But we keep doing what we do. i mean, for you and this is a podcast about self-talk. So when you get backlash like that from your peers, yeah,
00:12:41
Luisa Hogan
What keeps you going? What stops you from doubting? What stops you from showing up um or keeps you keeps you showing up rather?
00:12:48
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, I think the message is right. I'm just going to keep talking about it. doesn't matter what other people say. I've got lots of evidence. My patients are improving. They're losing weight.
00:12:59
Dr Avi Charlton
They're getting off their diabetes drugs, reducing their insulin.
00:13:02
Luisa Hogan
Yep.
00:13:03
Dr Avi Charlton
They're improving on their mental health. And there's other doctors which are doing similar work than me. They're having similar results. And I have my own tribe, my own community,
00:13:17
Dr Avi Charlton
So I'm just going to keep
Establishing a Low-Carb Clinic
00:13:19
Dr Avi Charlton
promoting it the and keep spreading the message.
00:13:20
Luisa Hogan
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, I found my way onto it just through my family's got a history of type 2 diabetes, great but grandparents, parents, my brother.
00:13:34
Luisa Hogan
So I was determined I was not going to become a type 2 diabetic. So that's how I found it. My brother is ketogenic, low carb.
00:13:39
Dr Avi Charlton
Yep.
00:13:41
Luisa Hogan
He came off his insulin completely. He doesn't take insulin at all.
00:13:44
Dr Avi Charlton
Oh, wow. Great.
00:13:46
Luisa Hogan
So, you know, it evidence like that to me and it's and sustainable, it's but we've been both doing it now for 15 years. and So people will say it's not sustainable. And look, ah personally, I don't know if it is for everybody.
00:13:58
Luisa Hogan
So I'm not i'm not on this podcast to say like be like me, but, you know, talking to you is important because I feel like people can hear evidence and understand that it is a growing ah growing um consensus out there that it actually is very beneficial to your health.
00:14:04
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:14:09
Dr Avi Charlton
That's, yep.
00:14:16
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, absolutely. I think the sustainability depends on your mindset.
00:14:17
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:14:20
Luisa Hogan
yeah
00:14:20
Dr Avi Charlton
So if you believe it's sustainable and you keep doing it and you've made it become a habit, then it is sustainable for you. But if there's certainly some people who have carb cravings, sugar cravings, and they slip and the whole environment is so carb heavy with lots of marketing, different messages,
00:14:40
Dr Avi Charlton
And it's quite difficult. So maybe you've been influenced by the mainstream marketing and that's certainly understandable. So that makes that person not sustainable. It's not because of of that diet is not sustainable. It's because of the mindset and the society influences.
00:15:01
Luisa Hogan
Yeah, I love that. It's ah environments not set up to help. the The system is is broken really. And again, like i said, you know mainstream doctors don't even support you if that's the journey you want to take and you tell them about it.
00:15:08
Dr Avi Charlton
That's right.
00:15:15
Luisa Hogan
They don't even support you with it. In fact, sometimes tell you not to go and do it. So
00:15:19
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:15:20
Luisa Hogan
And yeah, for me personally, it's if the if it doesn't feel right, you don't have to listen to that doctor. You can go to another doctor, right? So that's that's always my gut instinct.
00:15:29
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:15:34
Luisa Hogan
So for you, you know, has this whole process, i mean, how long has it taken you to transition from that mainstream traditional GP work to where you are now? Has it taken, you know, a few years to open your clinic and get it going?
00:15:47
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, it has.
00:15:48
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:15:49
Dr Avi Charlton
I think about seven or eight years ago, I started this journey and about five or six years ago, I actively promoted in my normal general practice. So I was still 10 minutes in and out, but billing GP, which sees patients very, very quickly.
00:16:06
Dr Avi Charlton
So I was doing that for maybe a couple of years and I found... Lots of patients that come to see me from all over Australia, because I listed my name through Low Carb Down on the website.
00:16:19
Luisa Hogan
Yep.
00:16:19
Dr Avi Charlton
People come in look for me, and they haven't been supported by their own doctors, and I was still a normal mainstream doctor. Three years ago, 2022, woke up one morning and I decided that I'm going to start my own clinic because 10 minute consultation isn't enough.
00:16:39
Dr Avi Charlton
And I ah don't want to be bot billing and 10 minute in and out like a supermarket train.
00:16:45
Luisa Hogan
yeah
00:16:47
Dr Avi Charlton
So I woke up one day on a Sunday morning, I told my husband sleeping next to me and said, I'm going to start my own low carb clinic. And I kept brainstorming with my close friends and And eventually I came up with a business model that I'm just going to start in the usual clinic that I work in, in Montana in Melbourne.
00:17:09
Dr Avi Charlton
I talked to the boss and the boss said, yeah, all right, we'll support you. So I had a room so decorated in my usual clinic and I started 45 minute consults, private billing. So $300 for a consultation.
00:17:26
Dr Avi Charlton
People paying actually makes them more committed to
00:17:29
Luisa Hogan
Mm-hmm.
00:17:30
Dr Avi Charlton
this process because they paid, they've committed, they want to do the changes. Then I see them, I organize blood tests, give them a plan. And I see them again, maybe three or four weeks later.
00:17:43
Dr Avi Charlton
And they have lost couple of kilos, they feel less bloated, more energy. And it's so rewarding that just by changing the practice a bit, and eventually over the three years, I've evolved lots of things, I've written a book called Low Carb Down Under first, which has got pictures and sample meal plans and recipes.
00:18:05
Dr Avi Charlton
And then I started a podcast last year, which has helped me with interviewing other professionals and I can learn from them.
00:18:17
Dr Avi Charlton
And then this year I've written my book called Prescribing Lifestyle. So all that through the journey and becoming a speaker, that's all been an amazing journey so far.
Balancing Passion and Wellbeing
00:18:32
Luisa Hogan
So did you have um any doubts in that process? Because you were going through business planning, setting that all up. were there Were there any moments of self-doubt or any moments where you thought this is not going to work? Or were you, from that moment you woke up saying, I'm going to start my clinic, 100% sure you just went for it?
00:18:54
Dr Avi Charlton
Well, certainly there's self-doubts because I've gone from a normal GP, just practicing, going to the clinic, in and out, practice medicine to a learning about business, which is a whole new world to me.
00:19:09
Dr Avi Charlton
So I had to learn about marketing, getting visibility, getting myself out on social media a bit more. and email marketing, creating lots of posts.
00:19:20
Dr Avi Charlton
So it's a whole different world learning about marketing rather than medicine.
00:19:24
Luisa Hogan
like
00:19:27
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:19:27
Dr Avi Charlton
So, and then I learned about podcasting, learning about hiring a virtual assistant in the Philippines, which has helped me heaps.
00:19:37
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:19:38
Dr Avi Charlton
So it's a whole new world, which has been totally rewarding.
00:19:40
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:19:43
Dr Avi Charlton
And I learned to become a speaker. learning about how to use my words better and not ums and ahs. And yeah, it's been amazing journey and connecting with lots of people, which is one of the best things about having a business is getting lots of new connections and working with a whole lot of people in the same mindset.
00:19:53
Luisa Hogan
yeah yeah
00:20:08
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. So rewarding. And it's been so lovely watching you go through that or reconnecting with you rather and seeing you have gone through that evolution because it's, it's such a, it's such a great opportunity for you. And it's so good that you haven't allowed those things that you weren't sure of before to hold you back.
00:20:28
Luisa Hogan
Because I think some people you've, you've, just year' you've become a you're a doctor, but you're also an entrepreneur now.
00:20:35
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:20:35
Luisa Hogan
And, I think that's amazing. I think some for some people who are starting or thinking about starting new businesses and maybe even who have, like you, had this um career and learning that they've had through this whole time and now need to change that and they they feel convicted by it and need to start their own business, hearing your story would be really reassuring because you can learn all of those things.
00:20:57
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:21:02
Luisa Hogan
All of those things come to you. And sometimes you learn by failing, right? You you learn something new, it doesn't work, you try again, right?
00:21:09
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I've totally enjoyed my journey and connecting with people. There's courses that I've bought and it has no use at all.
00:21:19
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. um I'm there with you.
00:21:20
Dr Avi Charlton
And then, and then there's other people trying to pitch to me to try and sell the services, the different course that they want me to buy.
00:21:29
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Do you get pitched to to promote products now as well?
00:21:30
Dr Avi Charlton
but
00:21:33
Luisa Hogan
Do you get pitched to promote products?
00:21:35
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes, I do. Yes, there's some products I really like to promote.
00:21:37
Luisa Hogan
Oh, wow.
00:21:39
Dr Avi Charlton
But then there's some products that's just no, I'm not supporting it.
00:21:39
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:21:42
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:21:43
Dr Avi Charlton
Sorry.
00:21:44
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah, I see stuff out there. i always laugh at the keto bar or low carb and then you pick it up and it's definitely not low carb or ketogenic bar.
00:21:54
Luisa Hogan
You know, you pick them up or, you know, products out there that they sell. I just find some of them are, they label them one thing, but they're not. It's a bit discouraging too.
00:22:02
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, absolutely. They're just processed foods. So
00:22:05
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:22:06
Dr Avi Charlton
eating real foods is the key for yes.
00:22:08
Luisa Hogan
It's the key. Yeah. So for you, what's next for you? What's, what is the, you've got this prescribing lifestyle um ah model that you've created.
00:22:21
Dr Avi Charlton
Yep.
00:22:21
Luisa Hogan
What's next for you? What is that evolving to, or are you happy to keep pursuing the way you're going and and see what comes? What's next?
00:22:30
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah. I've progressed from one location couple of years ago to five locations. So now I spread myself out over a four-week cycle to five different locations consulting in different areas of Melbourne.
00:22:46
Dr Avi Charlton
And I'm very happy with it because I'm meeting different demographics and help serving patients in different areas of Melbourne. And what I'm hoping to do is speak more and work on my speaking business because I think One to one is great and I'm seeing lots of patients and helping them with their journey.
00:23:10
Dr Avi Charlton
But one to many is even more powerful. And if I can get into speaking business, speak to corporates and help their workforce function better with looking after their nutrition and lifestyle.
00:23:24
Dr Avi Charlton
And um my teenagers will eventually in the next few years not rely on me as taxi driver. So I'm hoping I can be speaking and traveling at the same time.
00:23:38
Luisa Hogan
yeah
00:23:39
Dr Avi Charlton
Then I can get my travel bug going as well as venture out into speaking business. So that's my next step.
Future Goals and Advice
00:23:50
Dr Avi Charlton
But I'm very happy with how I'm going and I'm totally enjoying the journey so far.
00:23:50
Luisa Hogan
Amazing.
00:23:56
Luisa Hogan
I think you're gonna impact so many people and i ah love that you want to help more people with this, it's fantastic. If somebody's watching this and they feel like they've outgrown their ah there old frameworks, what advice do you have for them so that they can bring out their own process of relearning or change without fear?
00:24:22
Luisa Hogan
you You seem so fearless, you you seem so confident and fearless What tips can you give to others who may be facing a similar challenge?
00:24:31
Dr Avi Charlton
yeah i think just be curious and keep learning if you keep digging into a different rubber holes you will learn more about your lifestyle learn how to improve your health and if it's a business type of mindset then you can keep learning how to find your own way on what your occupation or job can give you and maybe you can develop different type of businesses that you might come across so the the thing that I'm fearful of is burning myself out so I'm just going to pace myself and enjoy the journey and don't dip into too much of each rabbit hole and take it easy as well so certainly I'm fearless but I have to take my own pace and
00:25:20
Dr Avi Charlton
that isn
00:25:21
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:25:21
Dr Avi Charlton
rather than burn myself out.
00:25:21
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:25:24
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. It's easy to do.
00:25:25
Dr Avi Charlton
So yeah, be curious. That's right.
00:25:27
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. When you're passionate about something and and I'm right there with you in this one, when you're passionate about something, you do go down these little rabbit holes and you chase things because you feel so passionate and it's exciting.
00:25:39
Luisa Hogan
And then you've got this other opportunity and that's exciting. And so it is easy.
00:25:42
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:25:44
Luisa Hogan
when you find that peace and intuition that this is the right thing for me, it is so easy just to do more and more and more and more and burn yourself out.
00:25:50
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:25:51
Luisa Hogan
So that's wonderful advice. And I think it's something that I need to hear even sometimes.
00:25:53
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:25:56
Luisa Hogan
So slow down a little bit and just enjoy the ride too.
00:25:56
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:26:01
Dr Avi Charlton
That's right. Yes. And it's okay to have a rest.
00:26:02
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:26:03
Dr Avi Charlton
like if you take a day off, go walking into the bush, go some go do some running or just do nothing on the couch.
00:26:08
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:26:12
Dr Avi Charlton
It's okay.
00:26:12
Luisa Hogan
yeah
00:26:12
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:26:13
Luisa Hogan
yeah Are you still running?
00:26:15
Dr Avi Charlton
I am still running, but not quite as far as I used to be, like three kilometers, five kilometers.
00:26:18
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:21
Dr Avi Charlton
I'm still getting out there three times a week.
00:26:22
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. That's what feels good. So just be out in the sunshine, I think. sometimes I'm not training for anything at the moment, so I'm also the same. 4K, 5K, just enjoy the sunshine, right?
00:26:32
Dr Avi Charlton
That's right. Yeah, I'm even not bringing AirPods anymore.
00:26:33
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:26:36
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:26:36
Dr Avi Charlton
Rather than listening to podcasts nonstop, I'm just enjoying whatever's out there.
00:26:36
Luisa Hogan
Yeah.
00:26:41
Luisa Hogan
The birds. Yeah.
00:26:42
Dr Avi Charlton
That's right. Yeah.
00:26:42
Luisa Hogan
I started doing that when I was ah running with my pram, my daughter was born. And so I started pushing her in the pram.
00:26:46
Dr Avi Charlton
Okay.
00:26:49
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:26:49
Luisa Hogan
And because I was doing that, I couldn't put headphones in anymore because I had to listen out for her if she needed me, if she wanted something. And it was a game changer.
00:26:57
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah.
00:26:58
Luisa Hogan
I was like, wow, actually running without music in the ears is wonderful. It's so nice.
00:27:02
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, be more mindful as well.
00:27:04
Luisa Hogan
So good.
00:27:05
Dr Avi Charlton
Quiet mind.
00:27:06
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Yeah. yeah It's wonderful. So now I don't run with headphones in either and enjoy the birds and the sound of the trees. It's excellent.
00:27:13
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes.
00:27:13
Luisa Hogan
Really helps with business decisions too, I think.
00:27:16
Dr Avi Charlton
Yes, more things pop up in the mind.
00:27:16
Luisa Hogan
Yeah. Yeah. So any final tips for anybody listening to this around mindset, self-talk, doubts, anything, any final tips that you have for anybody listening
00:27:32
Dr Avi Charlton
I think it's just being being curious. Keep learning. Know what suits you. You are your own boss. And keep looking into each rabbit hole. If it doesn't feel right, then don't do it.
00:27:46
Dr Avi Charlton
Trust your intuition and you'll find your own journey.
00:27:50
Luisa Hogan
Brilliant. i think you ah think you've been really brave. Do you think you're brave?
00:27:56
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, I think so.
00:27:57
Luisa Hogan
I think you're brave. I think you're brave, but also really inspiring.
00:27:58
Dr Avi Charlton
Thank you.
00:28:00
Luisa Hogan
So thank you.
00:28:01
Dr Avi Charlton
Thank you, Louisa.
00:28:01
Luisa Hogan
i think I think your work's amazing. Where can people find you if they want to connect with you? and you've You've mentioned your podcast. They can come listen to you on your podcast and I recommend it. I've listened to a few episodes of Aby's podcast and it's wonderful. She brings in some amazing guests, talks about all sorts of things.
00:28:18
Luisa Hogan
um So I suggest you listen to it. But where else can they find you if they want to connect with you?
00:28:22
Dr Avi Charlton
Yeah, thank you My podcast is called Prescribing Lifestyle. My clinic website is called Melbourne Low Carb Clinic. So they can go on my website, mlcclinic.com.au.
00:28:35
Dr Avi Charlton
And I'm very active on social media, Facebook, Instagram, with Dr. Charlton Lifestyle GP as a handle. I'm also on LinkedIn, Dr. Ava Charlton.
00:28:45
Dr Avi Charlton
I'm on YouTube, Dr. Ava Charlton. And you can buy my book on my website called Prescribing Lifestyle. And I've got a picture book called Low Carb Made it Easy as well, which has some sample meal plans and some recipes, which makes it easier for people to try low carb ketogenic diet.
00:29:06
Luisa Hogan
Amazing. Thank you. Well, I recommend everyone go take that out, not only for your own lifestyle and your own lifestyle prescription, but also because AV is just such a perfect example of being brave. You don't, you aren't stuck. You're never stuck and you don't have to get stuck in one dogma and believe that that's where you are for the rest of your life. If you find something that lights you up or that is compelling for you to look into.
00:29:33
Luisa Hogan
AV is just a clear example of how you can do that and you can do that bravely and you don't doubt yourself because you can, just like AV, wake up one day and go, nope, I'm going to do this thing and I'm going to make it happen.
00:29:44
Luisa Hogan
And you lion land up being a bestselling author and award winner and a podcaster in the same breath.
00:29:48
Dr Avi Charlton
oh
00:29:50
Luisa Hogan
So incredibly inspiring. Thank you so much. um I look forward to seeing where you go with everything, Avey, and looking forward to seeing everyone else on the podcast next time. So thank you so much.
00:30:02
Dr Avi Charlton
awesome thank you very much louisa for inviting me on your podcast and i wish you all the best with your ventures as well
00:30:09
Luisa Hogan
Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Take care. you everyone at the at the next episode. Bye.