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Personal Transformation · Life and How to Live It with Dr Rocco

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Life in how to live it.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Do you sometimes feel like life is passing you by?
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: How would you like to get more out of life?
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: We explore all things life on this podcast.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Life and How to Live It podcast with Dr.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: Life in Out to Live It.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Dream, create, connect, live it.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Life and How to Live It podcast with me, Dr.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm joined by a fantastic guest today, Dr.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Claudia Wheeler.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Wheeler is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and is the owner and medical director of Derma Zenith Medical Spa and Wellness in Warwick, Rhode Island.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Wheeler has a passion for optimizing the function of body, mind, and spirit.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And she shares this passion with her patients, but also embodies that passion in her personal life.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Around 10 years ago or so, Dr.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Wheeler and I were colleagues.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: We worked together for a few years while I was living and working in Rhode Island.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I left, as I said, about 10 or 10, 10, 12 years ago.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I started following Claudia on Instagram.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And what I saw in my, you know, as she posted things here and there over time, I saw this remarkable and quite inspiring physical transformation.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when I started this podcast, I thought, my goodness, Claudia would be a perfect guest for this, for this show to talk about her story and and give our listeners something to think about.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so Claudia, I'm so happy to have you here.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the show.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much, Rocco.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_03: It is a true honor to be here.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: So Claudia, as you heard, I I was inspired seeing your Instagram posts over the years.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, could you share your story with our listeners?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_03: So, Rocco, you and I worked together at a time that was definitely a crossroads for me.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I was doing a bit of personal reflection and working on authenticity.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_03: And I realized as a doctor of physical medicine and rehab who prescribes exercise for a living, I'm not sure I would take my own advice.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_03: And every day I would be talking to patients about diet and exercise and how to live their best life.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_03: Yet I myself was not a healthy person.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: It wasn't that I had any like overt health issues, but my daughter was, you know, starting school.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought to myself, I want to be the best, most active mom that I can be.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_03: I want to guide her to not make some of the mistakes with food that I had made.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_03: And I started a weight loss and exercise journey.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_03: I um not an athlete.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_03: I'm not somebody who ever played a sport or participated on any kind of team.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_03: But I decided with the help of a friend to go back to Weight Watchers.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: This was something that we had done time and time before and always kind of fell off the wagon.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: And this friend is so dear to me.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_03: And she said, This time we're going to do this and we're going to become lifetime members.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_03: Let's do it right.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_03: So every Saturday morning, her and I would meet at the Weight Watchers at 6 a.m.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_03: We would get weighed in.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: There was a great coach at that time who um really knew how to command the room.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: And we just fell in love with her and the process of getting healthy.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_03: And afterwards, we would go for breakfast, and she was my accountability buddy.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't imagine not being there for my best friend Kate on a Saturday morning.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_03: And after doing this for a year, um, I lost 85 pounds.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Whoa, my goodness.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: 85 pounds.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_03: 85 pounds.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_03: And I became a lifetime member um just about maybe 13 months after starting Weight Watch.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_03: And part of that transformation was also realizing that food is a huge part of weight loss, but I needed to get active, I needed to optimize my body.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_03: So right down the street from Weight Watchers was the local YMCA.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_03: So I started going in and I at first stayed in my comfort zone, the treadmill, the elliptical, and didn't really venture beyond that.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: But one day I saw somebody using one of those handheld fat analysis body composition machines.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_03: So I got up the courage to walk up to the trainer that was using it with his client, and I said, Hi, you know, my name's Claudia.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a physician.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_03: I'm curious what my body composition is because I've never used one of those.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_03: And he said, Well, those are only for use, you know, if you have a trainer here.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, Oh, oh, okay.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_03: And he said, Do you want to sign up?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_03: And I didn't even hesitate.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, Yes.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_03: And what started as a 12-week commitment turned into a five-year friendship.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_03: And truly, we are lifelong friends.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_03: My trainer John got me comfortable in the weight room.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_03: And I started doing things that I never dreamed that I could do.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_03: And it turns out when you've been carrying 85 extra pounds, your legs are pretty darn strong.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_03: So my upper body, not so much, but um I started doing things like squats and deadlifts and bench press.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_03: And he would take me out in the backyard of the Y where they had a big, huge tractor tire, and it had me flip it.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_03: We would run up the hill.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll be honest with you, I dreaded the nice days because I knew we were probably going outside and we were probably running.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: And the mental work that I had to do, I would say to myself, if John says let's do it, it means he thinks you can do it, Claudia.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_03: So don't say no.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: And when we would do running drills, I would actually have to think to myself, pretend like you're being chased.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_03: This is to save your life because that's how averse I was to exercise.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: And suddenly these things started to become exciting.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_03: Like, what are we gonna do next?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_03: And I overcame a lot of fears.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_03: I had a fear of jumping onto a box, it's called a box jump.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_03: I really believed I could not do it, and I would probably fall and knock my teeth out.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: And John held my hand, and we started with 12 inches and went up to 14 and to 16 and to 18, and and now I can do that.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: I still have a little bit of a panic attack, but I can do it.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let me let me stop you there for a second.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: So, what was the process really like?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sounds like you started from a place not only of being overweight, but not being fit in terms of like being used to going to the gym.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you said you started with the things you were comfortable with.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how long a period of time are we talking about here before you started seeing the trainer and getting comfortable and and actually getting excited about some of these things you were gonna do?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, my best friend Kate and I started, I want to say right around the new year for going to Weight Watches.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_03: And it was in March that I signed up at the YMCA.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: So about three months into my weight loss, I was down probably 10 or 15 pounds.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_03: I I did lose, you know, when you have a lot of weight to lose, you often do lose a lot quickly at the beginning.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I was already starting to see some progress.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I think that positive momentum kept going.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_03: So then when that day that I asked him, may I use the fat body fat analysis machine?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I when I said yes, I made a promise to myself that I'm gonna become the person that I always wanted to be, that I'm perfectly capable of this.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_03: I understand concepts of exercise, I know the attachments of these muscles, the nerve that innervates them, the why behind getting strong.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_03: But I just hadn't done it.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_03: So I made a promise that I'm gonna start living the way that I wanted to, and that was the best version of me.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so um it took you about three months before you started going to the why.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then, like, when did you start with the trainer?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_03: Probably around May was when I started with John, and I was 88 years old.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_03: And I recall then doing a feature.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_03: Um, every month they would feature a different member right before my 40th birthday.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_03: They did a feature.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and in it I say how you know I'm now able to lift my own body weight.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I could deadlift now.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_03: I probably weighed about 165 at that point in time.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and it was this feeling of like I'm a strong person who now my goals were starting to change.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_03: Now it wasn't just about losing weight.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_03: I eventually got down to 155 pounds, which is the my, which was my goal weight.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_03: It's a strong, healthy weight for me of five foot seven.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_03: And um, I said to John, it's not about getting smaller now.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_03: Now I want to do things that I've always dreamed of doing.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_03: I want to run a 5K.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_03: I want to get so strong that I can do lifts that we don't do here.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_03: And I ended up actually changing gears and switching to CrossFit, a type of exercise that as a physician, I mostly thought of it as causing injuries to people.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but it really is being prepared to be able to do anything.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_03: It's cross-training where you work your cardiovascular endurance, your strength, your agility.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_03: And through CrossFit, I developed another passion, which was HYROX.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_03: And HYROX is also a cross-training, and that's now, you know, 10 years, this non-athlete, 10 years into exercise.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_03: I participated in the HYROX competition in Boston in 2025.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, Claudia, I'm not familiar with that.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Tell just give us a real quick explanation.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: What is HYROX?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_03: So it is um uh a competition that happens all around the world where athletes of all abilities can participate.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you can participate as an individual, as in a duo, a pair, or with a team.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I did a male-female pair, and you run together eight kilometers.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: So times you run a kilometer around the outside of the rot zone, and the rock zone has eight different um competitions inside.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_03: You do the um the ski erg, the row, burpee broad jumps, lunges with 40 pounds, um, a sled push and a sled pull with between 250-350 pounds on it.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: So there's all these different stations.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_03: When you do it with a partner, you can split and you can split in any way, but we we split pretty 50-50, and you always run together.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_03: And then the final thing is you do 100 wall balls where you throw a 14-pound ball into the air and hit a target, different targets for male and female heights.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_03: Um, this is not the kind of thing someone like me does.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: No, no.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I I mean, this is remarkable.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, how long did it take you to get to the point where you were able to compete in the high rocks?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_03: So at that point, I have been exercising for 10 years.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_03: I've maintained my weight and gotten stronger over these past 10 years.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_03: I had been doing CrossFit for four years.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_03: And doing CrossFit is a very easy transition to doing high rocks.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_03: And we trained for about three months prior to the competition.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_03: Our gym does um once a week a high rocks day.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_03: So we had been incorporating these types of endurance workouts into our weekly regimen, and then we really amped it up and pushed the training right beforehand.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: So so what I've what I've heard here, besides just an incredible story, is that you know you had to kind of have appropriate goals for the place where you were in your journey, right?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you had told yourself at the beginning that you had to do this high rocks thing, you would have just gone right home, right?
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_03: I often think how me 11 years ago would never believe this is me.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, so how like share that a little bit.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a big part of the challenge for people who are really, you know, out there listening and they're like, wow, if she could do it, I could do it.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: But how did you do it?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_03: So I think there were a lot of little mantras that I would be saying in my head that kept me going.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um, food-wise, I would say, are you choosing health or are you choosing disease right now, Claudia?
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: Are you choosing health or are you choosing disease?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_03: That's kind of like a punch in the stomach, right?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_03: When you're doing something that you know is not moving the needle towards health.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: So that kept me honest, I think.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: And it made me really look at my habits and say, is this something that you should be doing every day?
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_03: And it might have been, you know, we would eat out a lot at the time.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_03: It turns out cooking your own food is a great way to lose weight because you know exactly what is in every recipe.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um, other things that I would say, remember, I was a mom of a young child at this point, is would you feed this to your baby?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_03: And that would really resonate because I wanted to make sure she did not follow in my path.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: I wanted her to be somebody who understood healthy eating, who embraced movement and wasn't afraid of it.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: And I wanted her to be somebody who wasn't in pain.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: I knew when my weight was over 200 pounds because my knees would hurt.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_03: And then, you know, do a little work, get the weight off, and right under 200, my knees wouldn't hurt anymore.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: So believe me, along the way, there were a lot of aches and pains and get and being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_03: Because all of it was uncomfortable.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_03: This was not me.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_03: And as a physician, again, who prescribes exercise, I knew like if I had pain that lasted probably four days or more, I had probably overdone it and hurt something.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_03: But if the pain goes away 24, 48 hours or with a little hydration, I knew this is the pain of getting stronger.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: This is what getting better feels like.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you've said a couple of times, this is not me, but clearly it's you now.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, how long did it take to for it to not feel like you're struggling against your normal default mode, you know?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_03: Mm-hmm.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know how in medicine we when we're first becoming physicians, we have imposter syndrome.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, of course.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_03: And I would say in my 22 years, the first 10 of them were spent feeling like an imposter.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_03: And then one day you just kind of like you're like, I'm good at this.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_03: I I know what I'm talking about, I know what I'm doing.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_03: I would say when I started going to CrossFit and they referred to me as an athlete.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_03: Wow, that is not a word I've ever used to describe myself.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_03: Um, also along the way, I don't know if you saw this picture on my Instagram.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_03: It was actually the whole reason why I started Instagram.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_03: I participated in a dance competition, a ballroom dance competition.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_03: I think it might be my first picture on my profile page.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_03: It was life-changing because dance is extremely athletic.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_03: And I was asked by a um a very good friend of mine whose daughter suffered a brain injury to represent um their foundation in a dance competition, kind of like a dancing with the stars.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_03: And for 12 weeks, I had to go to the ballroom dance place and learn how to dance.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: And the dance instructor said to me, We're gonna be doing a lift.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_03: And I was like, What?
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_03: Both of your feet are gonna be off the ground, you're gonna jump into my arms and I'm gonna catch you.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_03: And I thought, me?
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_03: Huge me.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_03: You're gonna, and he was like, You're gonna be very easy for me to move around.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't see myself as being as fit and healthy as I had become.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_03: I I didn't look in the mirror and see that person, but he did.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess, you know, for for the listeners, you know, there's it's like a lot of this is mindset.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: How much?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: What percentage of this is mindset?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_03: So I put a lot of work in physically, however, it is the mindset shift that 100% keep you in the game.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_03: Because weight losing weight is hard, but maintaining weight loss is even harder because now it's not a diet anymore.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_03: It is my lifestyle.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: I am someone who eats healthy, I am the relative who brings the healthy dish for the holiday dinner, I am the relative who goes to the gym before the holiday meal to get my workout in, or does the Thanksgiving 5k before coming to the Thanksgiving meal.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_03: That's who I am now, and it meant literally changing everything about who I am.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I I imagine those changes were hard, but now they're just natural.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_03: Now it is who I am.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I feel so much more authentic when I talk to my patients because I was in their shoes.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_03: I know all the stumbling blocks, and believe me, I've had them along the way.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_03: There's been times where I could not exercise, and I I had a shoulder problem and had to have rotator cuff surgery due to a trauma, and I could not go to the gym for a period of time.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_03: I was in a sling.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_03: But you know what I could do?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_03: I could walk, and then once I could move a little bit better, I could use my right arm, even with my left arm in the sling.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: I could do the leg machines at the gym, and I was that person at the gym wearing their sling, doing whatever I could to keep moving, to keep my mind in the game.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because once you have started to exercise and you stop, you realize how much it's benefited you in other ways that help with our so you got to the point where not going to the gym was painful for you, or at least emotionally painful for you, right?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: And also there is that person.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_03: I think any anybody that's lost weight knows this.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_03: You still think of yourself and you could go right back to where you were.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_03: And you look in the mirror and you don't always see the person that's there.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_03: And and I thought, I I can't slip back to who I was because I'm not going back there.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_03: I got rid of all those clothes.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_03: I got I got rid of all the bad things in the house.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_03: I know my triggers, I know my things I can't have in the house.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_03: And believe me, I still live light.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_03: But I also realized like what a slippery slope it is if if I start making bad decisions again.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: So do you have some suggestions for the listeners?
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_03: I would say there are definitely things that have helped me along the way and kept me honest.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_03: I still have my Weight Watchers food scale that I purchased there 10 years ago, and all the little buttons are somewhat broken, but I can still turn it on.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: Weighing your food, it turns out, is a really, really helpful tool.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_03: And back when I did Weight Watchers, it was a point system.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: And there was one point system you could do where you could eat whatever you wanted as long as you picked it from these foods.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_03: And then there were the points where you could still eat your bad things as long as you added up what the points were and you stayed within your point balance for the day.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_03: I ended up uncovering what that is, and it's understanding macros.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_03: So once you kind of unlock that knowledge and you realize how you have to eat, and eating for weight loss is different than eating to fuel an athlete's workout.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_03: I will say I eat different today than I did during the weight loss phase.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_03: There were points of restriction during the weight loss phase.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_03: And then when you become somebody who is focused on training and gaining muscle, I eat a lot more food now than I did before.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: And it's the right food.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_03: It turns out it's all the things that were on that list at Weight Watchers where you could eat as much as you wanted.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_03: It's clean eating.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_03: Eating whole foods that are, you know, fruit high in fiber, vegetables high in fiber, lean proteins, healthy fats like avocado and olive oil.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_03: The old me still wanted to counter chips and make sure that she got her 12 chips.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the new me doesn't eat the chips anymore.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: Say something about macros for folks who don't know what those are.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_03: So macros is short for macronutrients.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_03: All food is made out of either carbohydrate, protein, or fat.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_03: And each one of those has a certain number of calories associated with them.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_03: And as a woman who's in her 40s, perimenopausal, right now, you know, my other part-time job is eating protein.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, it really should be for anybody who's over the age of 40 because we're all in this state of sarcopenia, meaning losing muscle mass every year.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_03: If we're not making an intentional effort to keep it, we are losing it.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_03: So I have my food scale so that I can measure my macros of how much protein I get every day.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_03: I aim for about one gram per pound of my body weight.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_03: And I have to be very intentional.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_03: It's hard to get 150 grams of protein every day.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: But when you weigh your food, now you start having an appreciation for just how much it does take.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_03: And then you can start making some really smart nutrient-dense choices.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, I don't measure everything.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_03: I don't measure my vegetables, you know, and healthy fats, but but I still do measure my protein.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_03: But for somebody who's in the weight loss phase, measuring all three of them and getting guidance from either a registered dietitian or a physician who understands macronutrients, it's a great idea.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_03: I do that for my patients who are on GLP because when your appetite is low from a GLP, you have to be very, very cognizant of how much protein you're getting in.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so one suggestion that you have is the macros, it's like really understanding how those work.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Any other suggestions?
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_03: So, in order to really track your macros, you're gonna need a good food scale.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_03: And you can find digital ones on Amazon for about$10.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_03: Um, having some measuring tools at home, and that helps keep you honest so that when you're scooping into the cereal or you're measuring your creamer and your coffee.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_03: I now can eyeball things pretty well, but it helps you to really appreciate where the calories are coming from.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um so that's one tool that I've used.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, what about on the exercise side?
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like um working with a personal trainer was a game changer for you.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_03: I encourage my patients who are both rehabbing an injury and ones who have never exercised to get a personal trainer.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_03: So say you are rehabbing an injury.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_03: After PT discharges you, the work isn't done.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_03: So transitioning to somebody who can help you to get stronger, but be mindful of what restrictions you have is so helpful.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_03: So that's where having someone who understands your body mechanics.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_03: It might be that you know you have neuropathy or you have a bad shoulder or a bad knee.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_03: There's always an alternative exercise that can be suggested.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what a personal trainer will do.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_03: And that's another accountability partner, too.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't want to let John down on my Saturday mornings because after I left Weight Watchers, I went over to the Y after breakfast with Kate.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_03: And having that person expecting you, that person who created a program for you, that person who believes in you, that's huge.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's great advice.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we're kind of coming towards the end of our time together today.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I wonder if there's any other things you want to share, uh, whether it be about your story or suggestions for people.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, Rocco, another tool that's helpful is to track.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, when we write things down, we have a mindfulness about it.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_03: And tracking can come in the form of writing in a paper food journal, or it could be using an app on our smartphones.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_03: I love the app chronometer, and I look at it as data.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_03: I I don't do it every day anymore, but during my weight loss phase and during my training phases, it's been really, really helpful.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_03: You can actually use it to figure out your macros, which is very helpful.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_03: You put in the data and it does the calculations.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so chronometer, and that's a free app, correct?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_03: It is.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_03: You have a great free version.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_03: The paid version is really wonderful if you love data like I do, because it also gives you your micronutrients.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm not a fan of just taking some of the vitamins.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_03: I'd rather know exactly which nutrients I need to supplement.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_03: So when you do the paid version, you are able to see um which vitamins and minerals you should add to your diet.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story with us.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's as I I've used the word inspiring many times.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: I I'll say it again.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's an inspiring story.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that, you know, there's uh a lot for people to think about from your story that may apply to their own lives, to take control of their lives and be the person that they want to be, like you said.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, well, first of all, I'll say uh please look at the show notes today.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have some more information, including a before and after picture, right?
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Are we sharing that picture?
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, we can share it.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_03: And I'll be honest with you, I didn't have a lot of pictures from before because I wasn't somebody that was a fan of being photographed.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: So please take a look at the show notes if you're interested.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we'll have full information about Dr.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Wheeler.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, before I let you go, Claudia, um, there's a question I ask everyone who's a guest on this program, and it is if you had the ability to put a message on a billboard, and that billboard is in a busy part of town, and you know that thousands of people drive by it every day, what would your message be?
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_03: Rocco, I love that.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_03: You know, there is a philosophy that I've used throughout my 20 years now as a physician, which is to just meet people where they are.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_03: And I see myself as a catalyst for change in my patients' lives.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_03: And the reason why I have such success doing it is because I just meet them right where they are.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_03: And that might be different from where I was at my starting point or where you might be at yours.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_03: But when you have that ability to just see where this person is in their mindset, in their readiness for change, you can really help them and be the catalyst.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it is just meet people where they are, right?
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I love that.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Claudia, Dr.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Claudia Wheeler, thank you so much for being on the show today.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Rocco.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_03: It's been a pleasure.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_03: Now it's time for Dr.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's Rex.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's Rex.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's time for Dr.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's Rex.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: My recommendation today for Dr.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco's Rex is always eat at the bar.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you're going out to eat at a restaurant, which I suggest you don't do that often, frankly, because as you heard in this earlier in this episode, uh preparing your own food at home is is much healthier for you.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: And that was the topic of episode three as well.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: But if you do go out to eat and you are with one person or maybe two other people, go and sit at the bar.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: The bar is the place where the magic happens.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's where you will meet other people, you meet the bartender.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes nothing will happen at the bar.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: But there are many times where my wife Susan and I have gone and sat at the bar and we struck up a conversation with the bartender, the person next to us.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: We learned about a new place to go, a new show that was opening up.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: Anything.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am a person who likes cocktails and the way cocktails are made, and many bartenders are really craftsmen back there, and they're putting together these beautiful drinks and uh strike up conversations about that.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing is if you are new, if you're visiting a town, say you're on vacation and you go with your your spouse, your best friend, whoever you're traveling with, and you just go and sit at the bar uh at a restaurant, you can just learn so much about that place.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the bartender can be your tour guide.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we learned so many pla interesting places to go in San Francisco a few years back.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that is my recommendation for today.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: Always eat at the bar.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know that a seven character password, so that would be one with uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols, seven character password has about six point six trillion possible combinations.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: No wonder I can never remember my password, and I always have to do the please change my password setting.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: Think about that next time you make your new password.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a lot to choose from.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: 6.6 trillion possible combinations.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it for today's show.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: I hope everyone enjoyed it.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, so long, that's all for today's show.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the Life and How to Live It podcast with Dr.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: Rocco.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe and leave a review.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: See my show notes to find out more about the show.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: And remember, life is not a dress rehearsal.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Life and How to Live It.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: Dream, create, connect.