From Super Size Me to Super Healthy Me with Mike Wendland

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In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest Mike Wendland talks about his health journey from ‘supersize me’ to ‘super healthy me’.

Mike has no involvement in healthcare whatsoever – he’s just a regular guy who decided to take control of his health!

Actually, he’s a longtime media guy and investigative reporter. He’s written for national newspapers, from USA Today to the New York Times. He’s also a travel writer who travels around North America in an RV looking for cool stories about people and places.

He uses his blog and podcast to chronicle exactly what happens to him as he started to exercise daily and abandon a junk food diet and eat only good, whole, organic and nutritious foods.

He shares every aspect of this adventure, revealing his weight, his struggles and successes and what he’s learning and experiencing through his new emphasis on health and fitness.

Main Questions Asked:

What was your big ‘aha’ moment that drove you to make a 180 degree turn with your health?
Can you share some of your struggles and wins as you’ve gone on this journey to health?
What has been the biggest impact to your success – diet, exercise, or mindset?
Is there a conspiracy going on in our food industry?
Does eating healthy cost more?
What are three tips we can do to help keep healthy?

Key Points made by Mike:

Mike struggled on yo-yo diets for years. It was the movie “Supersize Me” by Morgan Spurlock that gave him the idea to challenge himself to completely change his diet and lifestyle.
One of Mike’s secrets that helps keep him accountable is his podcast “Super Healthy Me” – his listeners help keep him on the health track.
As an investigative reporter Mike was shocked at the secret within the food industry to keep us addicted to their unhealthy, processed foods.
One thing he did was simply watch what fit people eat verses what obese people eat, and he started to mimic the fit eaters.
Between diet, exercise, and mindset, it’s really mindset that Mike credits with his success.
Mike put a tape measure down, put one foot on his age, then said to himself “How much longer can I expect to live?” and saw there wasn’t much room between the two numbers. This spurred him to take action!
Mike’s mindset: The past is the past – there’s nothing you can do to change it. But, the future’s still there. And, it will get longer the healthier you are.
Educate yourself about the food industry (like Mike did) and you will naturally start making better food choices.
Mike highly recommends the book “Salt Sugar Fat” to learn about how the food industry is diabolically plotting to make you addicted to their junk foods.
When you look at old photos and old movies from the 40’s and 50’s you’ll notice there are no obese people – they’re all fit! What’s changed? Our food and our diet are different now thanks to the food industry.
Eating healthy does cost more. But, you will also enjoy your food more, too – it tastes better, and you’ll feel better.
Reading labels is like a hobby for Mike. Learn to read labels and see what’s in your food.
Tip #1 – Do not eat after 6pm.
Tip #2 – Make sure you’re getting good sleep – 7-9 hours a night. Research shows it’s one of the most important factors to lose weight.
Tip #3 – Find exercises that you love doing, and then do them 30 minutes six days a week.
Sitting at a desk is worse for you than smoking cigarettes.