Episode 240:
Show Notes  

Episode 240: 
Transcript

Dr Mary Barson (0:04) Hello, my lovely friends. I am Dr Mary Barson.

Dr Lucy Burns (0:09) And I'm Dr Lucy Burns. We are doctors and weight management and metabolic health experts.

Both (0:16) And this is the Real Health and Weight Loss podcast!

Dr Lucy Burns (0:17)   Hello, my lovely friend. How are you this morning? It's Dr Lucy here. And you know, every now and then I do episodes without Dr Mary. And today's one such episode. So I have a lovely guest who I think you are going to be super inspired by. She's just a real life woman. Her name is Laura Mazin. And I am super excited to welcome her to the podcast. Laura, welcome.

Laura Mazin (00:38) Thank you so much. Great to be here. 

Dr Lucy Burns (0:40)   Oh, Laura, you are doing so well. And I'm so excited. Because honestly, your story is so many women will be listening to this and going, Oh, yeah, that was me. Yep, that's me, tick that. Yep, yep. And, you know, you're like the uncatable woman, you know, a woman in midlife. And I just thought, well, why not have just a story about a real life woman? So perfect. Thank you. So I thought we might start just by, you know, getting you to introduce yourself and maybe telling everyone a bit about where you were and and what was going on for you.

Laura Mazin (01:21) Fantastic. Thank you. So, Dr Lucy, I think that the story kind of begins maybe about 10 or 15 years ago. And I was putting on five kilos, losing five kilos, putting on five, losing five. And this went on and on for a while. And I heard about this thing called low carb. And I approached a low carb program at that time, when low carb was not the fashion, it was not the thing. There were not many, many people talking about it. And I think my family and even my doctors at the time thought I was a bit nuts. I followed that program quite well and lost a fair amount of weight. And then many years have passed since then. And of course, menopause has kind of come and gone, well, it hasn't gone, come and stayed. And I felt every year just sort of five kilos were creeping back on again. And then I'd count calories and try and lose them that way. And I don't think I ever really stopped to understand, to learn and to understand that things had changed in my body and I couldn't just do the things that I used to do. And the big thing for me, the big menopausal symptom for me, or I suppose two really, one was I just didn't sleep at night. So I'd go to sleep, fall asleep like a log, and then be up in the middle of the night for a couple of hours, two, three hours. And I know you'll fall over when you hear what I did to try and fall asleep. I'd pick my phone up and I'd play my Sudoku game or whatever I could to try and switch my brain off and go back to sleep. Sleep was a major challenge for me. Maybe I'd sleep one night and then not two or three. And the other thing was a lot of joint pains, even though I've been on HRT or MRT for quite some time, but I was still having these joint pains. So in conversation with an endocrinologist, she suggested that I look at your program. And it took me a whole about two hours to go, I'm in. And I thought, well, the low carb stuff worked for me the previous time. And this sounded like a great way to get educated, but also to work a bit more on my mind. And I've never been one for meditation. I've never been one for definitely not for hypnosis. And I thought this was the bit that really would put me out of my comfort zone. And perhaps I'm appealing to some of your listeners who go, I've never done hypnosis or I've never thought about that. And yes, I started the program about three months ago. I joined your 4 week program. And I also bought your pack of 31 hypnosis sessions. And I did them every single day. I never missed a day. And I suddenly learned how to calm my mind and think differently. And of course, the low carb real food just resonated amazingly with me.

Dr Lucy Burns (04:16) Yeah, yeah. You've hit the nail on the head, though, when you say people are a little bit wary of hypnosis, because, you know, it sounds a bit like Buncombe, like a bit of woo or a bit of magic or a bit of just, yeah, whatever, you know, doesn't work or whatever. But I mean, it can be super powerful. And it's hard to put into words how and why. And, you know, every now and then I just sort of feel like a used car salesman when I go, you just have to trust me. But well, what was your experience of it?

Laura Mazin (04:51) Well, I didn't think I could last still for so long and so long being 10 minutes on average or whatever your average hypnosis sessions are. I didn't necessarily think that I would be able to concentrate on what was being said. I also thought I'd have to do it perfectly because I'm a little bit of a perfectionist. And you guys do such a great job of saying it's okay if your mind wanders, bring it back, that sort of thing. So I think the first few taught me that I could actually last still for that long. And I could, yes, my mind wandered, but I could bring it back again. But I think the connection for me to how much better I'm sleeping is that if I do wake in the night, which I seldom waking during the night if I do wake during the night, I often do the three big deep breaths and I tell my toes and my knees and everything to relax and relax my body. And I definitely do not recall finishing the entire telling my body what to do because I'm asleep again. So I think I've managed to apply it in helping me get back to sleep.

Dr Lucy Burns (06:08) Oh, I love that. I love that. And you're right. I mean, our brain is it's a funny thing, but it starts, you know, it makes associations, it makes patterns. And it sounds like your brain, you know, when it would wake up, would just go, oh, well, obviously it's Sudoku time. So why aren't we doing that? And now it's gone. Oh, okay. It's relaxation time. So let's do that.

Laura Mazin (06:31) It's interesting because when self-talk is so powerful, as soon as I started to do the meditations, I slept one night, then I slept the next night. Then I actually started writing down because I couldn't believe I slept three nights in a row, then four nights. And at seven, I celebrated with my family. I just slept seven nights in a row. And I realised that my self-talk was I'm actually good at getting back to sleep. I can go back to sleep. So the whole I can't go back to sleep, I'm just going to look at my phone turned into I'm actually quite good at this. And now I've stopped counting. I've totally blown my records. And honestly, if you would have told me this was possible, I would have said only if I took medication or only if you drugged me would I sleep.

Dr Lucy Burns (07:19) Yeah. Oh, that's so amazing. And again, you've just elucidated this thing that we will perpetuate unwittingly sometimes. But things like when we say, oh, I'm a terrible sleeper. If you say that, well, you are like you are what you say you are. So, yeah, if I'm a terrible sleeper or I'm, you know, for a lot of people, I'm a sweet tooth. I'm a binge eater. I'm a chocoholic. If you say that you are. Yeah. And it doesn't take many goes in a row to change that belief and develop in that self-trust and be able to say I'm now a good sleeper.

Laura Mazin (08:03) Exactly. I recommended to a colleague of mine to consider the program that you run. And she and her partner signed up. And within about two days, I had this message. Oh, my God, I slept the whole night. It gives me such pleasure because it's possible. Yeah.

Dr Lucy Burns (08:24) Yeah. Amazing. I love that. And I think what's super interesting is, again, you've described that you were already on MHT and still had the symptoms of joint pains and waking up overnight, which a lot of people would say, oh, well, maybe you need more MHT or something like that. But those symptoms have gone for you now. 

Laura Mazin (08:46) They have. And look, I'm not ready to give up my MHT. 

Dr Lucy Burns (08:50) Oh, no.

Laura Mazin (08:51) And I know you're not suggesting that. But I think the joint pains for me, I don't know what the medical reason is. You can help me on that. But it just feels like from an inflammation perspective, like the food that I'm eating is just honestly, without being silly, real food. And I feel like there's nothing that I'm ingesting that's going to inflame anything in my body. And so things have just all settled down. I find eating real food simple, and easy. I have borrowed some of your sayings like, that just doesn't agree with me. Or I feel like some of the things you say when my children say, really? Oh, you're not going to have any of that? It just doesn't agree with me. And so I do feel I am quite strict or quite committed to eating the real food. And of course, there are days where I'm not perfect, which I've learned is also okay. But I think the hormonal symptoms have improved a lot. Partly probably because I'm sleeping the whole night as well. And that's self-fulfilling. But certainly, the foods that I'm eating just don't cause any issues. I've also had various stomach conditions. I'd say besides an irritable bowel, I've had a diverticulitis episode and all of that. And my stomach's never been less bloated.

Dr Lucy Burns (10:20) Yeah. I know. It's so amazing, isn't it? Bloating and IBS, you just kind of go, well, that's just part of it. And then, I don't know, you reduce both the processed food, but also the carbohydrates. I know people go, oh, carbs aren't bad. They're not bad. But too many of them do cause symptoms for people.

 Laura Mazin (10:40) And I do remember the night that I was deciding to join your program. I think I emailed you guys to say, is this program OK for people with IBS. And I think it took 24 hours to reply. I'd already signed up by then. But like, oh, yeah. Is it OK? This is really helpful.

Dr Lucy Burns (10:59) It's so many people are on a FODMAPS diet for their irritable bowel. And then they look at the list on the various food lists. And they go, oh, well, I can't do cauliflower. And I can't do onion. And I can't do garlic because of my FODMAPS. And we often go, just see how you go. And people can introduce their onion, garlic and cauliflower back in, once all the other stuff's out of the way. So, yeah, it's quite amazing, isn't it? So the scientific thing that we find with the joint pain. So there's a thing that happens where glucose. So carbohydrates are broken down to glucose. And then glucose likes to kind of bind with proteins in our body. And we know this. It binds with our hemoglobin protein, which is how we measure how much glucose is in our blood. It binds with all sorts of proteins, including the collagen in our skin and in our joints. So when we then have glucose bound with proteins, it's much more likely to oxidise. And that is what causes the joint pains, the inflammation. It's the same with people who always go, oh, you know, you've got such lovely skin. And I'm thinking, I think a fair bit of it is that I've very little carbohydrate in my diet now. I haven't for the last eight years. And we know that, again, the glycation of that skin, that collagen in your skin, and then particularly with a bit of excessive sunlight, not a little bit of sunlight, but it's fine. But excessive sunlight oxidises, then causes wrinkles and inflammation and redness and all the things that go on with our skin. So, yeah, there's definitely a scientific basis for those improvements. And people often think, oh, I think you're making it up. You know, your joint pain, how is changing your diet going to improve your joints? But it does. 

Laura Mazin (13:04) Most certainly, I'm a living example of that. 

Dr Lucy Burns (13:06) Oh, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. So one of the things I'm interested in then is if you've done low carb before and had good results. What do you think's been the difference this time then?

Laura Mazin (13:24) You know, I've definitely been one of those people who espouse that it's 80% diet and 20% exercise. And I heard you guys saying last week or the week before, oh, it's about 95% mindset or something like that, and 5% what you eat. And I really think what's changed this time around for me is I'm not just doing low carb and real food. I think I'm doing low carb, real food, and working on my mindset around not just the eating, but my mindset around calming and relaxing my body, allowing my body some time to restore, allowing my mind some time to restore. And I do feel like I'm a bit of an advocate for the hypnosis or maybe too much of an advocate. But I really feel that that has just broken something down for me. I don't know if breaking down is the right word, but it's given me an opportunity to totally relax every single part of my body, which ashamed I am to say I've never, ever done. Every now and then I do a yoga class that's just more of a stretch yoga class. And initially, I just find that quite stressful, but I know that's good for recovery. But I have never taken time each day to just give myself 10 minutes to relax everything and clear my head. And I just think that 10 minutes is worth gold. It's just been so dramatically different for me. The other thing I think that's different here is the education that you provide. I think I'm reasonably well educated on insulin resistance and I understood absolutely what proteins and carbs and fats were and all those lovely things. But I've learned so much. I've gobbled up all your podcasts and I have consumed all the content that you shared. And I just have really educated myself to understand what's going on in my body and to perhaps be a little kinder to myself because I can't just do the calories in, calories out and there's a reason for it. So I think the education has been incredible for me and for those who are on any of your programs who don't put in an effort to listen to and watch and consume the content I think I'm missing out. And then the hypnosis and the relaxation I think are the major differences because the low carb is low carb is low carb. Kind of know how to do that. Yeah. These have all been incredibly valuable to me.

Dr Lucy Burns (16:08) What you've just described then is really you're managing your cortisol levels. So I often talk about the metabolic triad of menopause and we know that as our oestrogen declines and that's whether you replace it or not with MHT it's still declined from when you were 20. We know that oestrogen declines, we know that insulin goes up and we know that cortisol goes up. And a lot of people will go, okay, I know about the insulin and it makes sense. And we talk about the woodshed and that's fat-storing and all of this sort of stuff but they really struggle to appreciate the dramatic effect that prolonged cortisol can have on our body and the way our body processes its energy. And I understand why particularly Western women because our society glorifies busyness and resting is lazy and busy is good. Whereas some more Eastern philosophies promote rest. They do Tai Chi and yoga, they're not traditional Western entities. So giving yourself permission and learning the skill to rest is the key.

Laura Mazin (17:39) I think you hit the nail on the head. For me as a busy business owner, worker, mother, daughter, all the things that we have on, I kind of thought that yeah, insulin, to your point, I can understand that. I think I know what to do about that. Yeah, my oestrogen, but I kind of just went, well, that my stress or cortisol levels, there's nothing I can do about them. I think I was of the belief there was nothing I could do about my cortisol levels. And I knew if things were more hectic, well, I suppose it was a combination of a bit more stress and less sleep. And I just went, I can't control those two things, bad luck. So I have learned how to control those and encourage anybody else listening that they're really controllable when you think they can't be, they are. And I've learned how to control those. I think it's a life skill. I think I'm now, I'm good, I'm safe. Yeah, I love that. I'm sure there'll be blips and I'm sure there'll be times when I lose the plot a bit with it all, but at the moment, it's a great skill to have.

Dr Lucy Burns (16:56) Yeah, absolutely. And you are completely right. So many people think the only way they can manage their stress is to run away to a deserted island. Like that's the only option. There's no other option, but to go on a holiday forever. And it's like, well, most of us don't have deserted islands that we can just nick off to. And you can't always change what's going on around you. All you can change is your reaction to that. And recognising that sometimes we also just are in a storm and we have to wait it out a little bit, but it will pass.

Laura Mazin (19:32) So I have enjoyed learning those skills and have, I think, a way of living now that's quite different to anything I ever imagined. If you would have told me six month ago, I'd be lying still for 10 minutes each day. Amazing

Dr Lucy Burns (19:47) And what I love too is that it doesn't, it's not, you don't have to go and meditate on a rock for three hours to get this benefit. Like you're describing 10 minutes a day.

Laura Mazin (19:57) And being able to apply that at other times of the day, if, you know, every now and then I just go, okay, take a couple of deep breaths, reset. So it's not just those 10 minutes, but I think it's a skill that one can apply.

Dr Lucy Burns (20:13) Yeah, little, we call them little, like little mindful snacks. So, you know, as you know, at Real Life Medicine, we don't recommend snacking in general, except for exercise snacks where you do like maybe, you know, 10 squats or 10 foot raises or some little mindful moments. And just taking those little micro-moments to do something useful that will then add up over the day. And so what about your family? Have they noticed a difference in the way that you are?

Laura Mazin (20:46) I think absolutely yes. So besides my famous five kilos are off and they're not coming back on. So besides the fact that, you know, I've lost weight and I'm feeling much better in that regard. I don't know if they've noticed I'm calmer or I'm more, I generally am a calmish person, but I think they're just celebrating with me that I sleep every night. That's probably the biggest thing that, and most younger people can't really relate to why you wouldn't sleep at night. And I hope they never do experience it. But for those of us at this age or this stage, sleep is really important. And I've managed to sleep for three months now. So yes, I think my family are certainly noticing that I have more energy as a result.

Dr Lucy Burns (21:37) Yes, I love that. And you're right. I mean, sleep, a lot of us just think sleep is sort of something that you do at the end of the day. And I remember people used to say, I wish I had a few more hours in the day. And I'd be thinking, I wish I had a few more hours at night so that I could sort of sleep for longer. But, you know, so much happens during our sleep. It's not a passive process where we're just closing our eyes and nothing's going on. There's a whole heap of goodness going on. So I love that for you, that you've now got that, you know, while you're sleeping, you've got your DNA, little, you know, fractures in the DNA repairing, your proteins are repairing, your brain's laying down memory. It really is. I'm sure some of you lovelies might remember, but I often refer to my bed now as my rejuvenation palace. Because, you know, lots of us, and this is one of the things I have to often come back to, is just reminding my brain that sitting on the couch watching Netflix till all hours of the morning is not that pleasant. Every now and then thinks it is, and it goes, yeah, yeah, let's do this. Let's stay here. And I'm going, no, no. And then I have to go, no, no, we're off to the rejuvenation palace.

Laura Mazin (23:00) It is, it is that way. And I'm grateful I've always had pretty good bedtime routines. You must have the Sudoku wasn't one of them. And I fall asleep really easily, which I know some people are not as fortunate to do. So now that I can fall asleep easily and stay asleep, it's like an absolute jackpot for me.

Dr Lucy Burns (23:22) Yeah, that's so great. I love that. I love that, Laura. So what would you say to anybody then who's sort of, because, you know, I know that there are people who are thinking, oh, I need to do something. I'm sick of myself. But it all feels still a bit hard for them. What do you think is the first step they should take?

Laura Mazin (23:45) I actually think educating oneself could be a really great first step. I think knowledge is such power. And most of us prefer to know what's going on with our bodies and not know. I don't know, maybe some people are happy to live in darkness. But so I think the first step is, I know you've got some e-books and of course, all the podcasts, 200 plus podcasts. So just listen to a few. Go and educate yourself a bit through the program. I think there's quite a huge amount of support offered that I've not seen before through your program. The various emails and the keeping in touch and the doctor in your pocket and, you know, all the things that are available that give you access to yourself and Dr Mary that I think is incredible because otherwise, we have to make an appointment for the doctor. You know, I just think there are opportunities to ask your questions and to educate yourself and learn. I also think, and my observation with others is getting a list of foods that you should have and you shouldn't have and some that you shouldn't have too often. It's just clear, and simple. It's not saying to measure 12 grams of this and 33 grams of that. And it's not complicated. So give it a shot. Give it a shot. Learn and listen and educate yourselves. And I think following the food directions that you give or the food lists, I should say, makes life quite easy. It's very, very given to us on the platter. And don't be afraid. Like, so what? So you stuff up one day and then you try the next day or the next. So I think there's a degree of skepticism about any program. And there are so many programs available. I think that's no doubt. I think this is the most supportive environment and caring. And there's no stupid question. I think I've asked some stupid questions. And Dr Mary gives a beautiful, calm answer. Then I feel like she's thinking that was a silly question. But there are no silly questions and the support is incredible. So you're not on your own. Maybe that's the message.

Dr Lucy Burns (26:18) That's actually our tagline for momentum is that you're doing this for yourself, not by yourself. I'm so happy because, you know, you just said that unprompted and I think, oh, good, we've achieved our aim because that is our aim. We want people, you know, I know people's brains, everyone's brain does this. They're looking for the missing bit and their brain thinks the missing bit is a meal plan or a recipe book. And whilst we have those, they're not the missing bit. It's the whole bit. It's the whole thing, isn't it?

Laura Mazin (26:59) It is. And a lot of people ask me what I change and I said, well, about 10 things, you know, so it's exactly that. It's not just the one thing. And in fact, I changed so many things on day one that I wasn't even too sure what was working. And then I kind of went, OK, I'll just maybe stop that or do a bit less of this, a bit more of that. And I found my happy place. So I think it's the whole shebang, really, isn't it? It's supportive. It's hard to describe. Yes, we know there are other women and obviously men as well. But other people who are facing similar things. But here's a community of people who are literally all facing the same thing with the same questions and the same challenges or similar. And somebody else gets to ask a question sometimes for you and you don't have to or you can ask it. And as I said, the education and all the podcasts and all the online stuff answers a lot of the questions. So you don't feel like you're on your own. And it's actually nice to know other people are going down the same path as you are.

Dr Lucy Burns (28:07) And all with the same goal of becoming a HOTI, which is our favourite thing, that Healthy On The Inside. Because again, yeah, you know, weight loss is in there, but it's not the whole focus. And I think that any program that focuses on people's external appearance and your validation is all based on that. I mean, that's the whole diet culture issue. And we really try and move away from that and just go, it's about this healthy on the inside and then you'll be glowing on the outside.

Laura Mazin (28:47) Amazing. And I do feel that that mindset is not one that most people think of immediately or that thought is not what a lot of people approach. Perhaps the menopausal symptoms are getting them down, but they want to lose weight. And then you realise there's actually so much more that can be achieved. Absolutely.

Dr Lucy Burns (29:06) I love this. Well, Laura, you are one hottie. I love it. Thank you so much for sharing your story with our audience. I'm sure we'll be inspired by you and know that change is possible and you're doing it. 

Laura Mazin (29:21) Thank you very much. Change and sleep. 

Dr Lucy Burns (29:25) Absolutely. Here's to another good night's sleep. 

Laura Mazin (29:30) Thank you. 

Dr Lucy Burns (29:31) All right, lovely ones. That's it from me this week. And I'm sure Dr Mary and I will be back next week with another episode of the Real Health and Weight Loss podcast.

Dr Lucy Burns (29:40) The information shared on the Real Health and Weight Loss Podcast, including show notes and links, provides general information only. It is not a substitute, nor is it intended to provide individualised medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor can it be construed as such. Please consult your doctor for any medical concerns.

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