[music plays] [no dialogue] >>Lori Banks: On this edition of Being Well, we're taking a closer look at the often frustrating process of trying to lose weight.

It may not be as simple as taking in less calories.

Our guest is Dr. Charlie Schuster from Back to Health Chiropractic, who will be here to address a number of issues that can have an impact on why you gain weight and why you can't seem to lose it.

You might be surprised at some of the reasons.

We'll also talk about other health issues associated with carrying extra weight.

That's all coming up next, so stay right here.

[music plays] Production of Being Well is made possible in part by: Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, supporting healthy lifestyles.

Eating a heart healthy diet, staying active, managing stress, and regular checkups are ways of reducing your health risks.

Proper health is important to all at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System.

Information available at sarahbush.org.

Dr. Ruben Boyajian, located at 904 Medical Park Drive in Effingham, specializing in breast care, surgical oncology, as well as general and laparoscopic surgery.

More information online, or at 347-2255.

>>Singing Voices: Rediscover Paris.

>>Lori Banks: Our patient care and investments in medical technology show our ongoing commitment to the communities of East Central Illinois.

Paris Community Hospital Family Medical Center.

HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital, delivering healthcare close to home.

From advanced surgical techniques and testing, to convenient care for your family, HSHS St. Anthony's makes a difference each and every day.

St. Anthony's, where you come first.

[no dialogue] Thanks for joining us for Being Well today.

And like a lot of people out there, you're probably interested in losing weight.

Maybe you've gained some, what's the best way to take it off and make it last for a lifetime.

And here to help answer some of those questions is Dr. Charlie Schuster from Back to Health Chiropractic.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Hi, Lori.

>>Lori Banks: Welcome back to the show.

We had you on maybe a year or two ago, talking about kind of a whole body approach to just general health.

And we're going to talk about a whole body approach to weight loss, because you see people all the time that have that issue and want to take care of it.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster I do.

I appreciate you having me back.

You know, when people come into our clinic, the name "Back to Health" implies that we want to get them back to living a healthy life.

And so, a lot of times people think of going to a chiropractor and, you know, getting your back adjusted.

And we're actually primary care physicians.

So, the responsibility of the chiropractor, I think Thomas Edison put it probably the most memorable way when he said, "The doctor of the future will prescribe no medications, but instead will interest his patients in the care of the human frame and in diet."

So, that's what we try to do.

And the subject of weight loss does come up quite a bit in our clinic.

>>Lori Banks: So, give us some statistics.

People who watch this show know that a couple of major things lead to other health problems: that is being overweight and smoking.

So, being overweight, give us some facts about how that excess of weight is affecting Americans.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Well, I think, you know, it's no secret.

All you have to do is go down the road or go out to a department store.

And we see that there's such a prevalence of weight issues.

And I think so many of us think of the issue of weight as one where we maybe just want to appear good, look good on Facebook and in the pictures on Instagram and whatnot.

But weight bears with it so many health problems.

And you know, the first and foremost we think about is the epidemic of diabetes, and the even bigger epidemic of pre-diabetes.

And as of 2011 the CDC estimated that one out of three, that's if you're in a room with three people, look to your left, look to your right, could be you, are at risk for diabetes.

And one of the most interesting and simple correlations I think a person really ought to think about is if your abdominal circumference is bigger than your waist, than the bones of your waist, you're at risk.

So, it's something that I think all of us have to wake up and say those stats certainly point to that, and maybe our circumference does as well.

>>Lori Banks: Yeah, and as people who have watched the show, diabetes leads to a whole host of other things.

It's actually, we do this show on all these different diseases and issues, diabetes to me is the one that is frightening because it's so prevalent and again, it's a degenerative disease.

It just eventually wears out the body.

It's scary.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: It is, and of course Alzheimer's is right there with that.

In fact, Alzheimer's has been called type III diabetes, and most people don't realize that it's a very similar mechanism that's happening with neurons, and not other organs of the body.

And so, not only does diabetes lead to things like weight gain and heart disease, and amputations.

It's just a terrible thing I don't believe we were designed to experience.

>>Lori Banks: Right, so we all have cars, most of us do.

And you know, sometimes the check engine light comes on, and you just oh my gosh, something's wrong with my car when the check engine light comes on.

Do we have a check engine light for the body?

[laughing] >>Dr.

Charles Schuster: You know, that's a great analogy.

And I use that a lot with patients because, you know, if you've had any of these symptoms within the last 30 days, if you've had digestive trouble, if you've had fatigue, trouble sleeping, your blood pressure may be high, fatigue, if you've noticed sore joints, these are symptoms.

And for every symptom, there's a cause.

So, most of us just kind of plug on.

And I have people say, "Well you know, I take an Ibuprofen and I plug on."

And I say are you treating your Ibuprofen deficiency?

Because, if your body's not making enough Ibuprofen, that would make sense.

But I think what we're doing when we do that, is we're just putting a little gasoline additive in the fuel tank and seeing if we can go a little further.

But it's not our car.

It's the only thing we're ever going to have to house our being.

>>Lori Banks: Mmhmm, so you've got to kind of be a little body aware of what's normal.

But I think people sometimes forget what's normal.

Maybe if you've lived with pain for so long, you forget about what pain free is like.

Or if you have constant headaches or digestive issues, that kind of can become just part of your existence.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: It can.

And you know, whenever I give a talk to a group, I like to know if anyone's experienced any of these symptoms in the last 30 days.

And if maybe they say only one, and I say but have you had it more than once in a week?

And if you have, you should be concerned.

That is your healthy body, by the way.

That's a healthy body in one aspect telling you that there's a problem.

And you have to start somewhere.

And you know, glass half full, I suppose.

But you know, you're getting the information.

Now you have to figure out what you're going to do.

>>Lori Banks: Do you, yeah, your check engine light.

We actually do have one on our bodies.

We want to get into, because today's show is about taking a whole body approach to weight loss.

Let's talk about some of the common myths and misconceptions that we have that have been out there for years about losing weight.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Okay, well I'll tell you one way that's actually very effective in the short run at losing weight, and that's just starving yourself.

And we've all heard about yo-yo syndrome I think.

And some people, that goes in one ear and out the other.

But the bottom line is that most people really do think and believe that if we cut calories and fat, that that's how we can lose weight.

And that's kind of a joke, you know, when you're out and somebody says it's real easy, just don't exercise your biceps as much, you know.

But the reality of it is that doesn't work.

It may in the short run, but what happens is, you know, your body has all kinds of check engine lights, and hormones become quite an issue.

And we'll talk a little more about that, I know, because you can't talk about weight without talking about hormones.

And when those calories are cut, our body goes into starvation mode.

Our metabolism slows down, and our energy demand is lowered and we become sluggish.

And we stimulate the hunger hormone.

ghrelin.

And then, you know, we actually our more hungry.

So, that's not the approach to take, for sure.

And then you go back to just a little bit of how you were eating before, and wow, your body makes that into fat.

>>Lori Banks: Yes, they do.

Well I mean, you know what it's like if you have the flu, influenza.

You're sick for a week and you don't eat.

Yeah, we all do lose weight.

But then when you feel better, the number on the scale goes right back up.

[laughing] >>Dr.

Charles Schuster: It does, it does.

And Dennis Waitley is a motivational speaker I've enjoyed listening to over the years.

And he was a team psychologist for two Olympic teams.

And he always talks about your brain's set point.

And that's a way to simplify things without really breaking down what every hormone does, you know, in your body and how they all interact.

But the bottom line is, you know, if your brain thinks you weigh 200 pounds and you get down to 150 real quick, you'll get right back to 250.

In fact you'll be sick if you're not getting back to what your brain thinks is a healthy weight.

>>Lori Banks: Really?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: So, there's a definite component to altering your set point.

>>Lori Banks: Well, and I always say you didn't gain 50 pounds in a week, you're not going to lose it in a month or whatever.

It took time to put that weight on, it's going to take time to take it off.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: it does, the body likes slow, subtle changes over a period of time.

You know, I think my antennae go up when anybody says, you know, "I lost 30 pounds in a week."

Uh oh, you know.

>>Lori Banks: Something's not right.

It's the same thing with exercise.

You don't go from being someone who could walk around the block to walking a marathon in a month.

It doesn't, it's a slow progression.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: That's exactly right.

Attractive guys know this.

It takes about 13 weeks, you know, for your body to even adapt to a good fitness level.

We need repetition and time, consistency and time.

I always say we've really got to work smarter, and not harder, when it comes to health.

>>Lori Banks: So, one of the big misconceptions is just going on that low calorie/low fat diet.

That doesn't work.

What other misconceptions are out there about losing weight?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Well you know, that's a very big one obviously.

I think a lot of people think that there's a miracle supplement, you know.

And there you go, you know, wanting something easy and quick.

And I am a proponent of supplements.

I mean the AMA is a proponent of a multivitamin.

And the, some of the vitamins and herbs out there can be very helpful when used correctly.

But I think if we're looking for a magic bullet, you know, that's very difficult even with today's technology.

Many foods can be well preserved.

There are green drinks, I have one everyday.

So, I'm obviously an advocate of it.

But I still don't want that to be my source of real food.

You know, that's the thing you want to watch.

>>Lori Banks: So, there really is no magic pill.

Alright, so you talked, you alluded to hormones.

And as women, we know hormones cause all sorts of crazy things going on, and we do claim that it's our hormones that make us not be able to lose weight.

So, there's three particular glands in the body that deal with hormones and can have an effect on losing and gaining weight.

Why don't you tell us more about it?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Okay, well you know, the first, is so often overlooked, is the adrenal gland.

The adrenal gland produces cortisol.

Cortisol is our stress hormone, and it helps in breaking down fat into sugar so we can use it for energy.

And with the adrenal glands, I so often use the analogy if you've ever flushed the toilet and didn't flush all the way, if you go to do it again it doesn't always work.

Well our adrenal glands are being asked to work all the time, and our subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between real and perceived.

So, if you have a nightmare that a dog is chasing you down the street with big fangs, and you wake up and your heat rate's up, your midbrain thinks it's happened.

You've released epinephrine, you've got extra cortisol in your bloodstream.

And cortisol is helpful to a point, but excess cortisol causes our body to store fat, and particularly around the abdomen.

So, when you see abdominal fat, think adrenals.

Don't think that person's just, you know, eating wrong.

You can't make that assumption that they're just drinking too many cokes or having too many McDonald's burgers, or whatever, you know.

>>Lori Banks: So, that's a correlation when you hear stress is bad for you.

It's the stress hormone, if you're releasing too much of that, some of that is converting your sugar to fat?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Yeah, it does.

Cortisol, that's a specific function of it is converting fat into energy.

And so, you know, too much of a good thing, not so good.

We're not meant to be under stress releasing cortisol all the time, because that actually has an effect on insulin.

And without getting into, you know, just how these hormones regulate each other, because you can get into, you know, quite a big-- It really gets complicated.

I mean, one has an adverse impact on the other and effect.

But insulin is what carries sugar into the cell.

And that's from our pancreas.

That's the big hormone we have to think about.

That's the number one hormone of all the diabetes.

And insulin will remain high in the bloodstream when we have cortisol being released in abundance.

And so, you don't, when you have extra insulin in the bloodstream, you end up, you know, with high blood sugar.

And that has an impact on us.

And so, when we think about the adrenals, cortisol is our thing.

And stress is the number one thing that affects the adrenal glands.

So, we have to look at adrenal health.

Now, before I leave the gland here we're talking about, which is the adrenal gland, there are several really nice ways to evaluate that adrenal gland.

There are many tests you can do in labs.

But what I like is a test called Ragland's test.

And that's where the patient lies on the table for about five minutes, and we take their blood pressure.

And then when they go to stand, we take it again.

And the upper number, the systolic should go up by 10.

>>Lori Banks: Okay, in a normal person?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: In a normal person, yeah, because you just need more blood flow when you stand, and the adrenals do that.

Now, if they don't kick in and do that and your blood pressure doesn't go up, or maybe it only goes up five millimeters of mercury, then you have a fatigued adrenal gland.

And that could be a case where you're not even able to secrete cortisol any longer in response to stress.

And so, that's even worse because you're not going to get the energy that you need from your sugars, so.

>>Lori Banks: So, if you have that, how do you fix it?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Well, and there's a case where, you know, iodine's a very viable mineral for the adrenals, the B vitamins are extremely important.

And adrenal gland from bovine or pig has been a very popular way that's been very useful in helping get that adrenal gland functioning.

But in addition to that, I think that's important to get the nutrients, managing stress, you know, is very important.

And that's where, you know, changing some of your daily habits becomes important.

You really can't lose weight without having some component of a stress management plan in place.

So, you asked about a couple other glands.

The pancreas obviously we've already touched on because you can't hardly talk about the adrenals and cortisol without mentioning insulin.

But one other hormone that's really important to think about in the pancreas is glucagon.

Glucagon is our friend.

It's very important because it assists the pancreas in letting the brain know that we're full.

It let's the brain know that we're not hungry.

And it assists as well with managing the amount of blood sugar that we have.

So, very important hormone as well.

So, the pancreas should be functioning.

And pancreatic enzymes can be very helpful.

But also, you know, how we eat is going to-- I know we're going to talk about that, I had a feeling, so.

>>Lori Banks: Can you, the last gland was the thyroid.

And you hear, that seems to happen more in women, they've got hyperthyroid or hypothyroid.

What does the thyroid have to do with weight loss/weight gain?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Well the thyroid is what's going to regulate the speed at which we convert fat into energy.

Because, it all really boils down to energy, your body's energy demand and what drives it.

And then when we convert that, the thyroid is really concerned about your body's temperature.

It's your temperature regulator.

And you know, if you think about any kind of a chemical reaction, the hotter it is, the faster the reaction will occur.

And when we're at 98.6 degrees, the reactions in our cells occur most efficiently and at their proper rates.

And so, when the thyroid is sluggish we have all kinds of issues.

Slow metabolism is the most obvious one, but I think most of us have looked it up or heard from somebody.

But you know, dry hair, dry skin.

We notice that people who have thyroid problems can even have, you know, obviously losing weight is the most obvious thing, but fatigue.

And so, having a properly functioning thyroid has to be in place as well, because you know, obviously they all work together.

>>Lori Banks: Yes, they do.

Alright, so let's get down to some of the nitty gritty, because people want to know what should I eat and drink.

You know, I mean it is, you know, you've got-- James DiNaso was on our show a couple weeks ago, and he said, you know, when you're exercising you have to put good food into your body to, you know, help the body work better.

So, what should we be eating?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: You know, this is a, I use this sort of as a mantra.

I can't speak for Jim, but I imagine he would agree with me on this.

You know, dead food promotes death, and live food promotes life.

And I think if you think of it that way, live food teeming with enzymes and nutrients protect our cells.

And we've known for a long time, everybody says well yeah, fruits and vegetables, you know.

But it's funny, as much as we all would know that we're supposed to eat more fruits and vegetables, when you tell somebody you need to try to eliminate sugar, okay, and grains, and you say by the way, there's sugar in milk.

[gasps] And they go, what?

Everybody asks, the next question out of their mouth is, "What do you eat?"

Well there's a lot.

There's just a ton of stuff you can eat.

But instead of focusing on what we can't eat-- >>Lori Banks: Focus on what you can.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Yeah, so that's where that component of planning really comes into place a little bit, because you know, it's not hard to prepare a salad, and broccoli and cauliflower.

And have it just rinsed, washed, ready to eat and in bags, you know.

And so, it's on the go.

But we really need to avoid hydrogenated foods that contain free radicals.

Everybody talks about free radicals.

And they destroy proteins in DNA.

And that is very hard on our cells.

And so, we need that.

It's also the best form of energy for our body.

It allows the pancreas to be able to function very efficiently.

We don't have high levels of insulin being thrown at our cell walls, and our cell walls eventually, you know, become immune to insulin, and the problem being insulin resistance, diabetes.

So, what we need is more fruits and vegetables.

There's no doubt about it.

And you know, I have to say one other thing there because water is ultimately the most, you talk about antioxidants.

Well water is one of the best antioxidants you can possibly put in your body.

It's protective for our cells.

All of our cells need it to function correctly.

And so many people drink tap water.

And the problem with that is when it's tested... And you can go on, I always tell people, you know, Google's good but PubMed is really where you want to go for peer reviewed articles that give you the straight stuff with no product to sell.

And if you start to look around, you start seeing that we have higher levels of antibiotics-- >>Lori Banks: Yeah, that are coming from people disposing of medications that's ending up in our groundwater.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Even chemotherapy drugs, painkillers, tranquilizers, these things are all showing up in the water.

And it's best to have a clean water filter.

So, that's very important.

About half your weight in ounces of water a day is very important.

>>Lori Banks: Well I go back to our show with our urologist, he said drink the water.

It keeps everything cleaned out and flushed out.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: I'll tell you, if I could create a really awesome machine, it would be to stand up on a scale, and then it makes a little plastic container with no PCB's in it.

I've got to throw that in there, those are toxic.

But it would be whatever that size container is would be half your weight in ounces.

Because so many people think eight glasses of water.

But then that becomes, well but one of those could be tea, and then one could be... You know, and then you have caffeine in it, which affects your adrenal glands in a negative way.

And it also takes water out of your body, so you know, you drink more because you had it.

>>Lori Banks: You're taking more out, put more in, yep.

So, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, things that are not...

I mean, we can't, most of us can't get through life without eating stuff that comes out of a box.

But try and eat stuff that doesn't come in a box, meaning it's unprocessed.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Yes, and protein, by the way.

>>Lori Banks: And protein.

You've got to have some of everything, right?

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Absolutely, protein is how you make neurotransmitters.

One of the key neurotransmitters is serotonin.

It's the happy hormone.

It regulates your digestive tract.

If you want to have stuff, you know, for a shorter period of time and you want to have feelings of satiety and be full, you've got to have proper levels of serotonin.

And if you're not sleeping, you can't produce good serotonin, by the way.

>>Lori Banks: Okay, so we're running-- We need protein.

So, we're running really short on time.

We've got to have some exercise, got to have the physical activity, fitness, exercise as kind of a-- >>Dr.

Charles Schuster: We've got to throw that in.

Yep, and I could tell you in a hurry there that, you know, if we don't build muscle mass, then we don't have centers for, you know, burning calories.

And we, you know, all metabolism occurs in the muscle cell, so.

>>Lori Banks: It's all like, it's kind of like a flow chart: if this, then that.

Because, to increase your metabolism, you need more muscle mass.

You get more muscle mass by exercising.

And you've got to have the right fuel to fuel those muscles.

So, it's like a-- We're just a little engine, really.

We're a little factory, where one thing affects the other.

Last thing, pain, dealing with pain.

That becomes an issue for people who, if they have chronic pain it's hard for them to exercise, and then all these other things.

So, get the pain under control.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Absolutely, yeah.

Because, cortisol is released when your under stress.

And if you're not sleeping well, we all know that, you know, you're going to put more weight on as well.

You produce too much cortisol, your adrenals become fatigued, just all as a result of pain.

So, it is very important.

you know, exercise is movement.

And when you have proper mobility, exercise becomes much easier.

So, a good weight loss program would also address joints that are moving correctly or painful joints particularly.

>>Lori Banks: Alright, so just give us one last little thing about tips for making this a lifestyle, and not a temporary fix.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: I think the biggest thing I would say is, is that if you have to resort to tracking and counting calories, that typically isn't going to be something that just gels with your everyday life.

And if you, even if you look at a plate, and you decide you can only have half as much as your hand of this or that color, or so much of that, those things can be helpful.

But I think you have to listen to your body, but understand that your body needs some training.

And during that training isn't always as fun as it could be.

But it shouldn't be swimming upstream.

It should just be if you're well, and you're used to it and you've adapted your set point, and that's why keeping your weight down for a period of time is so important.

We like a year at a weight, so that that's the best weight for you.

And when it doesn't work out, so often we just haven't given it enough time.

And you should almost feel sick when you eat wrong, if you're used to eating right, you know.

>>Lori Banks: Alright, well Dr. Schuster, thanks so much for coming back on the show and giving us some things to think about when it comes to a whole body approach to weight loss and weight gain.

>>Dr.

Charles Schuster: Thanks for having me back, Lori.

Appreciate it.

>>Lori Banks: Production of Being Well is made possible in part by: Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, supporting healthy lifestyles.

Eating a heart healthy diet, staying active, managing stress, and regular checkups are ways of reducing your health risks.

Proper health is important to all at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System.

Information available at sarahbush.org.

Dr. Ruben Boyajian, located at 904 Medical Park Drive in Effingham, specializing in breast care, surgical oncology, as well as general and laparoscopic surgery.

More information online, or at 347-2255.

>>Singing Voices: Rediscover Paris.

>>Lori Banks: Our patient care and investments in medical technology show our ongoing commitment to the communities of East Central Illinois.

Paris Community Hospital Family Medical Center.

HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital, delivering healthcare close to home.

From advanced surgical techniques and testing, to convenient care for your family, HSHS St. Anthony's makes a difference each and every day.

St. Anthony's, where you come first.

[music plays]