Welcome to Dr. Warrick's podcast channel. Warrick is a practicing cardiologist and author with a passion for improving care by helping patients understand their heart health through education. Warrick believes educated patients get the best health care. Discover and understand the latest approaches and technology in heart care and how this might apply to you or someone you love. Hi, my name is Dr. Warrick Bishop, and I'd like to welcome you to my podcast and videocast station. And today I have with me Adrian Lee, who's in the fitness industry, supporting people to keep well and fit. Hi, Adrian, how are you? Warrick, great to be here. Thanks for the invitation. Look, it's nice to have someone local, local being Melbourne. For us Hobartians, we are only a plane flight away. How is it where you are? Mated, here in Melbourne today, it's a nice sunny day, a little bit windy. Just finished a workout and I'm pumped up to chat with you. Look at yourself, look at your background. It's pretty cold. It's pretty cold on a Tassie winter day here, but let's talk about keeping fit and keeping well. It's an industry that we're both in. I'm obviously in it trying to help people with the precision around cardiovascular risk. But how did you get into the health and fitness industry, Adrian? Great question, Warrick. So I live in Melbourne, Australia, but I grew up in a country town called Shepparton, which is two hours away from Melbourne. Mum and dad were both very physically active. And from an early age, that is where I sort of started to, you know, play sports, cricket, football, soccer, get into boxing, martial arts and all that good stuff when you're younger. And that evolved over time. Warrick because I think when I was about 17 years old I was a fat overweight kid and even though I was active the foods that I was eating was actually from now that I look at it were actually contributing to you know brain fog and feelings of like feeling dumb to be honest and yeah so I started to you know look more into to nutrition and training and those types of things. And, but more importantly, my mindset around, you know, nutrition and what was really holding me back. So I started early days when I was 18, I got my Cert 3 in fitness and then personal training. And then I started to dabble in that industry. And that has been ongoing for the last 15 years. because my parents, they had a building business. So I was kind of personal training and, you know, working with that as well. So that's how it evolved. So if you've been in the industry for 15 odd years and started around 17 or 18, you're obviously towards the end of your 20s, early 30s or thereabouts. And presumably over that decade or more. Have you seen a change in the landscape of the information we're sharing with people and the, I guess, really what we're advising on a regular basis? Spot on. So when we look at like the landscape now, I feel as though we're just getting busier and busier. We're getting more information every day. And a lot of it can actually be confusing and conflicting because it doesn't align with people's lifestyle factors. So, you know, everywhere people are staying up later, maybe they're, you know, consuming more TV or Netflix or whatever it is, information in general, and we're being less active. And then. Certainly one of the things that I've noticed is the. ability for social media as well as the popular press to share snippets of information or present pockets of logic. which I think can create confusion, you know, banners that sort of say blueberries are good for you. And suddenly people think, well, if they eat blueberries, they won't have a heart attack. And then I see them afterwards, they've had a heart attack and they say, but doc, I thought blueberries were good for you. I'm exaggerating, but it's those little misplaced, poorly balanced snippets of information, which drive me nuts. And I guess you must suffer the same frustration at times. Spot on, Warrick. And I think too, you might look back at your journey as well. I look back at mine and think about the conditioning from society over the years and how that can really hold people back from working out where they're at in life with their body and health. And as we discussed prior to this podcast, we were talking about priorities. And it comes down to Everyone has the time. It's just a priority. Indeed. That's all it is. Make it a priority and then, you know, the information will come to you because you go out looking for the right advice and connect with people like yourself. That reminds me of a wonderful quote I heard a long time ago, which is, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Spot on. That's exactly what you're talking about. Look, I'm... One of the areas that really I find people wrestle with and have a fair bit of trouble with is weight loss. And I imagine you've got an approach to that. In a nutshell, what are the main points that you would see people need to recognise in a weight loss journey, Adrian? I think it all starts with the mindset, Warrick, and looking at, you know, your past experiences, what might be holding you back. Because all the tools are out there. Like if it was just about, you know, a training plan, nutrition plan, or just more information, we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs. And, you know, with the abundance of information now, you know, mindset and, you know, going deep within yourself and uncovering what's really held you back in the past, what are those habits that have formed over time, and then slowly working on those, releasing those anchors in your mind. And that will help you take the first step. So one of those anchors could be all or nothing. If I can't start Monday and do it properly, I won't do it at all. Whereas in life, in fitness business or whatever it is, if you take the first step and build momentum and create small wins, that helps you to form habits over time. But it all starts up here first and then uncovering those self-limiting beliefs that you might have. Yeah, no, that's true. Look, my own feeling on this is exactly along the lines of number one is getting the mindset right. And so I've spoken with people and supported people for a long time. My own interest is in trying to help people reduce their carbohydrate consumption, particularly for the metabolic effects, which are increased triglycerides, lower HDL cholesterol, and the propensity to hold fat around the tummy or central adiposity that we call it. So my experience over the years has been, first of all, for a successful weight loss campaign, people need to want to change. That's absolute priority. If they don't want to change, then let's talk about the weather. So my general approach is to make sure that's in place. Number two, give them information. And often I give them some low carb information. I bring them back and turn that information into knowledge. The difference between information and knowledge is a little bit like a final year medical student hitting the hospital wards. And the experience I've got now, I've got knowledge. I had information when I was a final year medical student. And they're a big difference. Knowledge and information are a big difference. Then I keep people accountable. So help them maintain their goals. And then I give them emotional support, a bit like a coach. And I imagine you do that because when people fail, They don't need to be punished. They need to be encouraged, supported, because often it's other priorities in their life that have knocked them around. And if people succeed, you need to really recognise their efforts. And I bet you do exactly the same. Spot on. I love how you've just taken it step by step there with people, because when we have too many steps ahead or we try and do too many things at once. that's when the overwhelm can come in. And I always like to keep it super simple for people as well, like you have. And exactly. Five steps. Five steps. Keep it simple, one step at a time and just tick it off. It may sound too simple, but it's actually very hard to keep it simple. We've talked for about 10 minutes in what appears to be no time at all, which is just fantastic, and it shows that we're on the same plane and we're both passionate about what we're doing and making a difference for people's lives. I mean, you must be fired up, as I often am, when you see people just change. Have you got any quick stories? Because I've got a quick one if you don't. Go for it. You go. Well, I had a gentleman come in a little while ago. Literally, he was a big guy. He looked. Like he could have been very comfortable on a Harley Davidson with a leather jacket. He had a face that would have not been out of place in a bikey pub. And he was well overweight. And when I spoke with him, I thought this is a guy who might just turn around and tell me to, well, go for a hike. Yeah. Well, this fellow who looked for all the world like a heart attack about to happen, took on board what I said. Came back about nine months later, he had dropped over 25 kilograms, over 25 kilograms. He walked in and his face was glowing. He had a sparkle in his eyes. He was smiling. It was extraordinary. He said to me, Doc, Doc, he says, really grateful for what you've done. He says, you know, I get up in the morning, I go to the gym. He says, in the afternoon, if the weather's good, I grab the missus. I say, let's go for a walk. He says, Doc, even the sex is back. Well, this is a great story. And as I was letting him, showing him out the door when we'd finished our consultation, he says, Doc, I just want to let you know you make me a bit funny. And I said, I'm sorry, sir, what do you mean funny? He says, You know, just a little bit emotional, Doc. I can't thank you enough. I was so moved by that. Yeah. You basically saved his live worry. I bought him quality of life. Yeah. Quality of life. But it only happened because he was ready to change and took on the information. Yeah. It's a great story. Mate, goal. I'm going to wrap up. Forgive me for indulging at the end of my own podcast. Of course. It's a great story, man. But I'm going to invite you to think of a story and I'm going to wrap this one up. I'd love to come back to you and talk about weights, move from weight loss to actually weight, strength, mobility and strength. And if you've got another opportunity, I'd love to engage and speak with you about that. Would that be OK? Sounds good. Well, I'm going to let you say goodbye to my podcast listeners. Thank you, Adrian. Thank you so much. Really appreciate the chat. And time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it? Absolutely. Look, for those listening, thank you so much for taking the time to tune in. I think this space about making choices and priorities is incredibly important. Until we prioritize our own health, it doesn't happen. The most valuable resource we've got is our health. I'm about you living as well as possible for as long as possible. Thank you for joining me. If you've got any queries or questions, let us know on info at drorichbishop.com. Until next time, take care. And bye for now.
