
Brief summary of show:
In this episode, expert Dan LeMoine joins me in exploring the intricate world of weight loss, addressing biochemical changes, gender differences, metabolic age, fasting, quick fixes, and maintaining a healthy mindset.
You will learn valuable insights, strategies, and inspiration for a transformative weight loss journey.
Dan LeMoine is an entrepreneur and cofounder of re:vitalize weight loss & wellness. Degreed in business management, he has worked on both the for- and non-profit sides of the table — in private equity and also served five years with a faith-based nonprofit in the Dominican Republic doing economic and educational development work. He went on to earn two board certifications in nutrition and, along with his wife Danae, he partnered with Dr. Noel Abood to create the re:vitalize program.
He is a former competitive rugby player and now enjoys running marathons, hiking, and longboarding. After growing up in Ohio, both Dan and Danae and their daughter enjoy their home in the southwest, in Phoenix.
Listen in as we talk about:
[1:25] Biochemical changes that slow down weight loss
[3:25] How weight loss is different for men and women
[4:10] What Dan's average client is looking for and how he helps them
[5:50] The metabolic age
[6:55] Factors that slow down our metabolic age
[12:00] Dan's thoughts on fasting
[15:20] Can you reset your metabolism?
[17:10] Quick fixes for weight loss
[25:00] The impact of weighing yourself
Notes from Natalie:
Seeking Health: www.natalietysdal.com/favorites
Consultation call: https://revitalizeweightloss.com/locations/
Connect with Dan
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/revitalizewl
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danlemoine/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/revitalize.weightloss
Website: https://revitalizeweightloss.com
Connect with Me
View Transcript for this Episode
Natalie: Why one size doesn't fit all? How your metabolism affects your weight loss journey.
Natalie: Hi everyone. It's Natalie. It's summer, and we're putting on those swimsuits and sundresses, and if you're like me, you are frustrated because outta nowhere. It's just harder to keep the pounds off and to stay in shape despite being active and eating a healthy diet.
You know, metabolism's a really funny thing. It's different for everyone and it changes. Very quickly. Our metabolism change can happen for tons of different reasons. Today, we're gonna break all of that down. My guest is Dan lemoyne. He is the co-founder of Revitalized Weight Loss and Wellness. He's an expert in certified in nutrition and weight loss, and we're talking today about.
That stubborn weight gain, kickstarting your metabolism, common myths, mistakes and hype, and how to finally get rid of those extra pounds, not just for appearances, but for overall health. If you're listening for the first time. Thank you so much for stopping by. I have more topics like this on my website, natalie tisk.com, and if you wouldn't mind taking just two minutes to let me know what you think of this.
Podcast, it would mean a lot. A link to do that is in the show notes today. I'd love to have your review. Let's get started now with understanding your metabolism and losing weight with Dan Lemoine.
Dan, this is a topic that I get asked about often for more guests to help us understand and help us reset our metabolism, especially when it comes
Dan: to weight loss. Sure. Yeah. I mean, I, and I think you ladies tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to like these biochemically changing events like birth of kiddos and menopause.
Uh, And those biochemical changes ultimately slow down the metabolism. And really the metabolism is just a, an umbrella term that refers to all the chemical reactions that occur inside our bodies to maintain life and how different nutrients are broken down and used by our body. And as we age and go through.
Birth of kiddos and menopause and stress and divorce and all these things that, that, you know, that plague us and stress us in, you know life today. Those things cause our metabolism to slow and I think many of us feel that as we get older.
Natalie: Yeah, I hear a lot of women say that it just happened so fast.
Mm-hmm. Like I think in our, you know, our twenties and thirties, we think, oh, it'll never happen to me. That's my mom and my grandma. And, and then you get forties and early fifties and for women, and you'll have to tell me the difference for men, but for women, it's like, wait, I didn't really change anything.
I'm still eating. I'm still getting a decent amount of exercise, and all of a sudden it's hard to keep weight off and it's coming in different places and it just happens so
Dan: quickly. Yeah, and it really can. And I think that's, oftentimes we hear that in our offices where it's like, man, I, after my third kid or after that life event, it just felt like something changed and it's a beautiful.
You know, protective mechanism that we're created with is just that our bodies go through stress and it says, I've gotta protect this organism. And there's a lot of nutrients stored in our fat. And so our body is essentially, it's protecting us. It's doing what it ought to do. But our, you know, our bodies don't know that there is a grocery store in a McDonald's on every corner.
And that food is readily available to most of us in the developed world. So
Natalie: how is it different for women than it is for men?
Dan: Well, it's a pretty complex the metabolism in general is very complex, but it's, it is affected by hormones and genetics and women in general carry less muscle mass than than men.
Muscle mass being a, a huge driver in. You know how much energy you burn in a day. Um, And just hormonally and just the way that that women are built, your bodies are built to carry more weight. And I think as some of the hormonal changes then compound through birth of kids and through perimenopause and into menopause just the genetic side and the hormonal side of things make it a little bit more of an uphill battle for most women uh, when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight.
Natalie: Tell me about your average client. What, what are they coming in and, and saying to you and looking for, and then how do you guide them?
Dan: I think we're seeing a lot of folks who have tried stuff and they've tried different, you know, fad diets or medications or they've Google dieted, right? Or you know, it's like I'm gonna go to the internet and type in how to lose weight and whatever I find I'm gonna do and.
And a lot of our clients are just tired. They're saying, Hey, I know I can lose weight. How do I keep it off? How do I fix the metabolism so I can keep it off, but still live a regular life? And I think that's, that's the key. I think there's a lot of programs that are really effective at helping you lose weight, but you never get to even daydream about.
A carb ever again. And that's super frustrating cuz it's like, do I ever get to go back to a regular life or do I have to like live in a hyper structured mode? And so there are ways to affect the metabolism positively and re restore harmony there so that you can, you know, eat a regular diet. I think the biggest thing that got me into this was seeing my mom work with Dr.
Abud. She's in her sixties. Now metabolically her metabolism, her metabolic ages in the forties. And I think that was the biggest aha light bulb for me as a nutritionist, cuz I was rather skeptical when she started to work with him, seeing this diet. And going do these really work? And then seeing her metabolic age come down, not just losing 32 pounds, but that 3, 4, 5 years later.
Wow. She was able to keep it off eating a regular, you know, diet within reason. You know, she's not eating cheesecake every day, but she's able to enjoy herself and not yo-yo, which is what I've seen her do my entire life. Yeah. And so that really got me into, yeah, okay, how do we affect the metabolism?
Natalie: Talk about that metabolic age for someone who isn't familiar with that term and use, use your mom as an example if she doesn't mind of 60 and then 40 metabolic age.
That sounds amazing.
Dan: Yeah. So I mean, the metabolic age is just, it gives us an idea, it's a number based off of a, it's an algorithm based off of a bunch of hard numbers from a body composition analysis. Things like cellular hydration, body fat percentage, muscle mass, things like that. And it gives us an idea of, How effective is the metabolism working?
So we might see a 54 year old come in, but their metabolic age is 85 and what that's telling us is the furnace isn't burning. And for a lot of folks who come in to sit down with us, they're like, oh my gosh, this makes so much sense. It's almost very affirming cuz it's like they're walking around feeling like.
I'm trying hard. I'm working out, I'm eating the right things, and yet it feels like my body's resisting me. That's a very affirming number to see like, yes, something is off. And then really, how do we affect change? Well, let's identify what are maybe some of the gaps in your nutritional landscape? What are some lifestyle factors that might be contributing to that metabolic slow, slow down, and let's address those things.
So
Natalie: give me some of those things.
What are some of the factors that slow down as you're, as you're talking about, and really impact our
Dan: metabolic age? You know, I would say there's two that come to mind that I feel like everybody can affect you, you know, affect change on themselves. I think the first is really looking at hydration.
And cellular hydration being specific. Yes. I think most of us, yes. I keep water with me, walk around with our,
Natalie: try to keep it with me. I
Dan: got my Stanley, you know, me and every every mom have got our Stanley cups. Hydration's a big one. I think beyond just drinking a sufficient quantity of water, I think most folks are, it's really looking at the quality of the water that we're drinking.
So, We filter our water, most of us in our homes. That filters out all the, the bad stuff. But it also filters out all of the good stuff like trace minerals and the polarized trace minerals that uh, or the electrolytes we've heard of mm-hmm. That help water actually get into the cell. And the cells are really the foundation of all of your metabolic processes.
So if water's not getting into the cells effectively because it lacks the electrolytes or the trace minerals, it's really not being as helpful as it could be. And your metabolism really can't do what it ought to do, no matter how. Clean you're eating or how hard you're working out. If your cells are dehydrated, the metabolism isn't going to repair as effectively as it could.
It's not gonna, they're not gonna do what they need to do as
Natalie: So that's specific. Okay, so give me something with that. I know people, because I'm always worried about water. I mean, I try to drink enough water. I, I like to go with like the 80 20 rules. So I say, okay, if I'm drinking filtered water, which I have in our house most of the time, then the other water's gonna be fine.
But what, what's wrong with that? What can I do if I'm drinking that filtered water? I've heard of and I have purchased before? Uh, Just trace minerals. At the health food store and I love put 'em into the water, but, but give us exactly what you would suggest for hiking.
Dan: Yeah. So trace trace minerals that are sugar free.
Cuz you know, you can get into like, well I drink Gatorade, that's got electrolytes, right? And you're like, well that's also got a lot of sugar. Mm-hmm. So, yes, trace minerals you can buy if you're not feeling like buying trace minerals, a very common or uh, Easy source would be like a, a high quality pink salt, like a Himalayan or Oh, great Hawaiian pink salt.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh, There's 80 to 90 different trace minerals in that, so getting a teaspoon or so a day on your food, or you can even put it in your water if you wanted to. And then vegetables, there's a ton of trace minerals in vegetables. And so making sure that your, your plant sources that you're eating throughout the day can also help.
From a, from a micronutrient standpoint and a cellular health standpoint. Great.
Natalie: Okay, so you mentioned hydration. Um, What, what else, what are the other things
Dan: that affect metabolic sleep is like, sleep is like the magic, the magic pill. And it's unfortunately, you know, fortunately it's an easy one in theory, unfortunately, what's hard about that is that it becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy.
It's like, oh, I gained some weight and now I'm not sleeping as well, and now I'm not sleeping as well, so I'm gaining more weight. And it becomes this like downward spiral. Yeah. And so the big. Go-tos are just try to go to bed at the same time. And like, so sleep hygiene is like going to bed at the same time.
Having some type of like shutdown routine that doesn't include staring at a TV for several hours before you go to bed. Or if, if you are put the blue light blocker glasses on that we've all seen and yeah. Maybe many of us have. But sleep is just, it's when your body repairs, it's, it's so good for your psychology, but it's also so good for your, you know, for your, your cellular health, your metabolic health, your body's just ability to repair and reset.
Yeah,
absolutely.
Natalie: So much easier said than done, but you have to start somewhere, right? Yep.
Natalie: Okay. What else?
Dan: You know, I think uh, fasting is an interesting one that mm-hmm. Like, I think is very in vogue, intermittent fasting. There are, You know, benefits of fasting from a digestive standpoint, from a metabolic standpoint.
I think there's also times though, when we undereat and so we are like, oh, I just skip breakfast because I'm kind of like just rushing out the door, but I'll call it intermittent fasting. So I feel healthier about it, but in reality, I think, I know for me, at least personally, and I see this often with our folks, They're stressed, right?
We've got adrenal fatigue. We're under stress at work. We're under stress with our family. Then we go work out like fiends at a CrossFit gym or, or you know, we, we get our heart rate up. Cuz that's, we've been told that that's good. And it is. And then we're also undereating because we've, you know, we, we skip a meal or we just grab something on the go and we're not filling ourselves well.
And so I think like this idea of fasting is, could be good. So I'm, I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth, but I think fasten could be a tactic that could help metabolically and just help in general. But I also think we need to just be kind of looking at our lives holistically and being like, Hey, am I stressed?
Then maybe like skipping meals isn't gonna be the thing that like helps me. It actually is going to that chronic stress is gonna be compounded by skipping meals and working out like a banshee. Yeah. And so I think kind of in that fasting and skipping meals comes the, like reducing stress and, and finding what works best for you.
Yeah.
Natalie: That's interesting because I, I often think the best diet, when people talk about diets, I hate the word diet, is the one that, that works for the lifestyle you're in, in the moment, and that makes you feel better. Yeah. And we all think it's like, well, that worked for one person. Maybe it'll work for me or.
You know, it's keto, worked for them, but, oh man, keto is like a nightmare for me. Totally. Like, just to really find the thing and, and, and I know a lot of people who do that. I've been guilty of that. Like I'm not really hungry in the morning, so I'm just gonna wait. But then by 11 o'clock I'm starving. And my cortisol levels I've had tested are high.
So I know that's affecting a lot of things. Mm-hmm. So it's figuring it all out, right? Yeah. For yourself.
Dan: Yeah. I mean, I think that's what we want all of our clients to our members to, to really be students of their body, figure out what works. We're gonna, we're gonna try a lot of these different things.
We're gonna introduce you to a lot of these different things. We're gonna put you through these various protocols. Not to say you have to stay this way for the rest of your life, but for you to see why you're actually really liked. Intermittent fasting, or actually, I didn't like it. I'm gonna be eating breakfast.
And that's where I've landed, you know, on, on this subject is like, I, I don't do well intermittent fasting. Well, it's like, man, the internet would, is burning right now, hearing me say that because it's, yeah, everybody makes sense this, this solution, right? So I think you hit the nail on the head. Natalie is like, you have to figure out what works well for you and what, and I think.
One of the things we don't talk a lot about or talking enough about is just like, how do you feel, right? Mm-hmm. Like I think there are people who we would look at and say, maybe that person's not as healthy looking as they could be, but they probably have a more dialed in mindset and are happier and healthier individuals than somebody who's got a six pack who obsesses over every calorie and worries that if they even look at a taco that they've gained weight.
And, you know, I think there's, between our ears is oftentimes a, a big, you know, predictor of, you know, our, our health.
Natalie: Absolutely. So you talk about, and one of what we really wanted to focus on today, and I think you've hit several of these things, but, but talk about this reset. So what is a metabolic metabolism we know is so important to overall health and to losing weight and all of that.
But is there a way that you can just push a reset button?
Dan: Yes and no. You know, I think there, I think it's, it's not like a one and done boom. I've been reset. Mm-hmm. I think it's more of a, a compounding of these lifestyle and diet. Changes. So of moving your body purposefully and getting exercise of getting sufficient sleep, not just one day or one week, but really focusing on saying, I'm going to get you know, a sufficient amount of sleep and go to bed at the right time and take care of myself there.
And like over time these things start to compound in the same way that oftentimes we don't just gain 30 pounds overnight. You know, we don't just like fix our metabolisms overnight as well. So it's like, it really depends on the person. It could include losing weight, it could include eating more frequently and getting more fiber in your diet so that our blood sugar is more regulated and our insulin is in going going crazy.
So I think there's like a, it's really a combination of all of these things, of living a healthier life will help reset the me the metabolism to do what it's designed to do. Yeah.
Natalie: Everyone's looking for, and I, I know we've talked about this for years a magic pill or mm-hmm. A surgery or something just to make was this process.
It's not easy. Mm-hmm. I mean, it'd be great if we could just push a button or take a pill. Yeah. But in terms of being healthy and happy, and like you're saying in your mind, all of these things like sleep are important. Even if you did have a pill to make you lose weight, you still need to sleep. Yeah. To feel well.
So let's talk about some of those quick fixes and when it's right and when it's not Right. Bariatric surgery has been around, of course, for years. People who have really needed that have been successful with it. We hear so much about weight loss drugs now. Mm-hmm. Can you talk about those, are those ever the right thing?
Dan: Yeah. You know, I think it's a, I am a holistic practitioner as we all are here at revitalized, so I definitely skew towards feeling like medical interventions ought be the last resort. Mm-hmm. That said, I don't know if it's always as black and white as even I sometimes think it is.
I really kind of view these things as more on a spectrum of risk. Right. Like if, if you just got diagnosed with diabetes, And your doctors and you now have diabetes, and this can be reversed with losing weight, and here is a medication that can jumpstart you and get you moving in that direction. There's gonna be some side effects short-term that we know of.
Unknown for long-term side effects, but the alternative is dying of diabetes or having your leg amputated, like it may be worth it, right? It's a spectrum of risk of whether you choose to, to engage with that medical intervention or not. In the same thing with like a bariatric surgery. Like if this is a matter of life and death, maybe it makes sense going under the knife if you've tried everything else or there, you know, this has to happen.
All that said, I think. We as a country have a kind of a storied history with these different weight loss drugs that have come to the market. There's been a lot of buzz. And people use them, they see results. But then over time they yoyo or they, they, we, the FDA says, actually this wasn't healthy. We shouldn't have been doing this.
And they pull these drugs off the market. And so I'm often skeptical when there's these, you know, purported miracle drugs coming on the market and experts who also happen to be incentivized cuz they sit on these advisor boards of the very drug manufacturer saying, these are all safe and good. Yeah. I tend to be a little bit skeptical and really even the doctors prescribing these medications, If they're doing their job right, they're saying this is a tool.
This is a part of the broader picture of changing your lifestyle. Yeah, this needs to come with diet change. This needs to come with some lifestyle changes. And I think that's what oftentimes is forgotten is that like, oh, I'm taking, you know, these weight loss medications, I'm not hungry, so therefore I'm only eating 500 calories a day.
Of course you're losing weight, right? But when you stop taking these medications that cost $800 a month, what's gonna happen is you're gonna go back to eating regular. And we haven't re-skilled you on what foods are best for you for keeping this weight off long term. And so when we were caught with this yo-yoing and then the psychological damage.
And the physical damage of doing that, yeah.
Natalie: the magic pill isn't always magic in the long run. Yeah. But, but I, I, I will say that, that for some people as a health reporter and following these stories for a long time, that there are people, like you said, who you gotta weigh, weigh what it might be if you are Medically obese or you can't keep the weight of her diabetic.
Like there are, there are reasons for it. Sure. Um, Maybe sometimes just abuse.
Dan: My dad's a great example. Like he had a, a severely injured hip that he had to get an a hip replacement. And these orthopedic surgeons say you have to be under a certain, you know, height to weight ratio or body mass index for us to do this safely.
And that this needs to happen in the next 60 days. Wow. So that is going to inform his choices of how fast he's gonna lose weight, how he's gonna go about losing weight versus it doesn't matter if it takes a year or two years to lose a hundred pounds. I'll just get there when I get there. Mm-hmm.
That's a, that's a different conversation than saying, Hey, you can't walk until you get this new hip. We need you to lose 60 pounds. That's gonna change your, yeah. Your choices,
Natalie: right? Yeah. Yeah. Good example. So what else do you do there in your offices, in helping people and give us some more tips for, for people um, who are just frustrated with the process?
What are some other things that you can
Dan: give them? Yeah, I mean, I think the process can really be frustrating and I, and oftentimes it can be frustrating because we've either chosen the wrong goal, we got the wrong expectation of how quickly we should be seeing results. Or we just don't have clarity on like, how do I even get started?
Yeah. And I think that's where we see a lot of folks are just like, I just need a plan. Mm-hmm. And I think that that can be true of all of us in different areas is just if we can get clarity on what those first steps are and really kind of bring our focus back from, I need to lose a hundred pounds, or I need to fit into a certain, you know, pant or dress size and say, all right, what I can really control at the end of the day is these small things.
Let me focus on stacking up some of those wins, whether that's, I'm just gonna put my running shoes on. I don't even have to go for a run, but that's gonna be like my measure of success. I'm just gonna start super small and just start stacking these wins and feeling like I'm making um, momentum I think can have a huge impact.
There's an interesting study that kind of think illustrates my point. They took a control group and they took the, the test group and they gave the group these two groups, the same really unhealthy milkshake, and they said to the one group, they said, this is a health shake. It's good for weight loss and all these other wellness benefits.
And the other group, they said, this is a terribly unhealthy milkshake. Enjoy it. The group that thought it was like a health shake ended up losing weight. Oh my. And so you can say, oh, does our mind somehow change the compounds that we're eating? Yeah, maybe. I think more it's that like when I think I'm doing something healthy for myself, even if it actually isn't that healthy, I start to make.
Other lifestyle choices. Maybe I go to bed at a different hour. I say I'm a healthy individual cause I drank this health shake. Wow. And so I think that there's whatever it is you choose, choose something that you can be successful at and win at. And whether it's, you know, fits with the keto diet or this thing, that thing just starts somewhere and starts something I think is like, I know it feels like a little bit generic, but that tends to be really helpful and really powerful for folks when it's, when they feel like they're making progress and they feel like they're being healthy, it starts to bleed into these other areas of their life.
It's so true. Making healthy decisions. Yeah.
Natalie: Have you ever seen, I'm sure you have it, it feels like it makes its rounds on the internet year after year, the military officer that gives the graduation speech about making your bed. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. It just popped up again after I've seen it so many times.
And the whole premise behind that is make one good decision. Yeah. And it leads to more good decisions. Yeah. And so that, that study is similar to that is, I'm making a good decision, I'm making a good decision. I'm gonna eat something healthy, and now I'm gonna go make more good decisions. Totally. And I, I love that idea.
And it does. It feeds on throughout the day. You feed on the better decisions you made earlier in the day.
Dan: Yeah. I mean, I, I like to go, like my wife and I will go to like a little juice bar and get juice. I know that like the, the benefits of juicing really are questionable. You're removing all the fiber, you know, that's probably a higher concentration of sugar in there and this and that, but like, you just feel healthier.
Right. And you did. Then I start, I start the day off, or I go through that day just feeling like, I'm empowered to make more healthy decisions. And so I think, yeah, there's something to the psychology of just tricking yourself into getting some of these wins. For us, in the weight loss space, we do ask people to weigh themselves every day unless it's a trigger, a psychological trigger for them.
And part of that is because it's really fun in those first couple weeks of just seeing progress every day. Cuz it's really hard when it's like, I'm gonna diet on January one, I'm gonna cut out all these things. Mm. And you don't really lose weight. Right away when you're just kind of cutting out a little here and a little there.
Yeah. Yeah. And so for us in kind of our guided weight loss members and clients, you know, we want to stack up those wins quickly because psychologically there's something about like, Okay, I did give this thing up or I didn't indulge in that thing, but guess what? I lost a pound this morning. Like that is, let's go and I'd lost another pound the day before.
And you start to like get these, when you get out the gate quick and you get some of those winds under your belt, there's a much more of a staying power through more of the, you know, the times where you are, you know, cutting back or structuring. Yeah,
Natalie: I think that's huge. And and weighing yourself can psychologically, but you can get past that too.
Mm-hmm. You know, psychologically at first, but as soon as you start seeing a tiny bit of progress, it feels
Dan: good. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we, and we have these little, like, signs above our biometric devices that include weight, but we get folks on in when they come into our office and it just says this scale is not a measure of who you are.
Mm-hmm. And I think that's like a, a good reminder anytime you're standing on the scale is like, these are just numbers. Even if they don't move, like this is not. It's not worth getting down on yourself about Yeah, and I mean the research is pretty clear. Those who like keep weighing themselves through the holidays tend to gain less weight.
Even if they're not trying to follow any type of diet, they end up gaining less weight. Cuz what gets measured gets managed. Right. Well it's
Natalie: true. You can put a blindfold on, I've done that many times. Like I'm just not even gonna think about it. But then yeah, a month later like, oh, I wish I would've thought about it.
Dan: Yeah, totally,
Natalie: totally. Well, where can people learn more about your clinic and, and what you all do and follow along with you?
Dan: Yeah. Our, our clinic website is join revitalize.com. And there you can find out more about how we approach weight loss and wellness. And then Dr. Bud and I actually authored a Amazon bestselling book called Fear No Food.
You can get it on Amazon or at our website at that same website I just mentioned.
Natalie: Fantastic. Well, it is so nice to talk to you, and I appreciate your tips and your encouragement. I know that those who are listening, this is a topic I get often and I relate to it as a woman. And I know men too, but I, I really appreciate your expertise.
Dan: Well, thanks for having me on. It's been an honor.