The Samantha Parker Takeover Podcast Series EP2: DR STEVE

Dr. Steve Baum on Kaizen Health, Concierge Medicine, and Peptides/GLP-1s

Samantha Parker interviews Dr. Steve Baum (owner of Kaizen Health), a board-certified family and obesity medicine physician who practices functional and concierge medicine with direct text access and a $99/month membership model without medication markups. They discuss her prior skepticism about peptides and GLP-1s due to extreme weight loss trends, clinics and influencers “selling” medications, and online gray-market peptide access, contrasting this with medically supervised use. DR. STEVE explains peptides as “midget proteins” (short amino-acid chains) that act as hormones, gives examples like Sermorelin/Ipamorelin for growth hormone release, and notes growing research interest. They cover GLP-1 safety history since 2002, common side effects (constipation, nausea), misconceptions like thyroid tumors, and reported reduced alcohol cravings. He emphasizes peptides/GLP-1s as tools alongside strength training, adequate protein, and sleep to preserve muscle and metabolism, and outlines Kaizen Health’s free initial consult and services.

00:00 Meet Dr Steve
00:49 Concierge Care Explained
03:07 ER Story and COVID Chaos
04:33 From OB Dreams to Family Medicine
05:24 Why He Became a Doctor
06:41 Humble Roots and Medical School
08:03 Human First Medicine
10:40 Kaizen Health Philosophy
12:15 Leaving Corporate Medicine
14:26 No Selling Just Care
17:35 Influencers and Online GLP-1 Risks
18:58 Peptides 101 Basics
21:26 Hype Research and TikTok Truth
24:22 Clinical Use and Side Effects Setup
25:11 GLP-1 Beyond Weight Loss
25:48 Fen-Phen Fears and Safety
27:16 Phentermine Explained
28:36 FDA vs Gray Market Peptides
30:15 Side Effects and Lawsuits
32:06 Bad Med Spa Dosing
35:01 Tools Not Magic Fix
35:50 GLP-1 and Alcohol Cravings
37:28 Units vs Milligrams
39:35 Running Faster With Weight Loss
41:53 Muscle Protein Sleep Basics
45:58 Kaizen Health How It Works
47:55 Wrap Up and Where to Find

DR STEVE:
WEBSITE: https://kzn.health/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thekaizen_md?igsh=dHgzZDN3OXVsbXo1

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Transcript

 Hey guys. Welcome back to the Samantha Parker show. This is part of my takeover series, which is something really cool. I've been, oh my gosh, which is something really cool I've been doing, and today I'm actually sitting down with Dr. Baum. We just call him Dr. Steve.

I know we kept saying Dr. Steve, Dr. Steve, just. I think if you're gonna be a doctor, people should call you doctor. Yeah. I mean, I'm informal, but I do, I dig it. Yeah. Yeah. Either way. So you're the owner of Kaizen Health and you also happen to be one of our clients, so this is gonna be a fun episode. You bet.

Are you ready for this? I'm ready. Okay. Have you ever done a podcast? I have not. This is my first, so here we go guys. I do it. I did send you notes though, which was pretty nice of me. Yes. Sometimes I won't do that. Yeah, I appreciate it. I'm like to show up and we're gonna have a conversation. Okay. So Dr.

Steve, what do you specialize in? So I'm board certified in Family and Obesity medicine which means that I have broad spectrum training in all things, both pediatrics and adults. But my passion is in obesity, medicine, and metabolic health. So I operate as a functional medicine doctor, primarily focusing on keeping people optimized and functioning to their, you know, best capabilities. And then as a concierge doctor, which means my patients have continuous cell phone access to me and anytime they need anything, they can just text me rather than having to schedule formal appointments to get things done. You know that soundbite? It's like, don't call, just text me.

I haven't heard that, but yeah, that's what I think of when I think of you. Yeah. You haven't heard that? No, but that is, I tell my patients, I'm like, gotta spend a little more time online, just text me. Yeah. I don't, I don't have a, yeah. Yeah. Okay, so I wanna get into your background really quick. And if I have to be honest, you guys, this entire episode is gonna be dedicated to peptides because I've learned a lot about them from Dr.

Steve. And if you go back to past episodes, you can listen to me like di dissing on 'em. I believe it. I had a really different mindset and it's almost kind of embarrassing because, and I think a lot of it's just because I'm watching so many people get. Too skinny. Sure. And it's scary. Yeah. Like have you seen the, did you see the Golden Globes recently?

I was like, what is happening? No, I believe it. But that is what happens when they're not done. Right. Yeah. It's freaky. And so I've been really, really hesitant about them in general, but I've learned a lot about them. You know, one for listening to the videos that we help you make. Yeah. And two, just asking you questions.

So full disclosure, Dr. Steve is my doctor. But Okay. Really quick though. A lot of people have been asking me, they're like, well, what does that mean? And I'm like, I don't know, you just text him. Right? But what if, let's say I show up in the ER for something. Am I calling you like, what are we doing? Yeah, so that's a good question.

Oftentimes what happens is my patients will reach out to me before they think they need to go to the er because sometimes they're on the fence, right? It's like, Hey, I'm not dying, but maybe I feel like I'm dying. This is weird. What do you think? And then it can be simply a matter of reassurance.

Like, I see, hear about this all the time. No big deal. Wait it out. We can take care of it on another day or, yes, absolutely. I think this is something that needs to be evaluated asap, Rocky. Okay. So like when you go somewhere and they're like, who's your primary doctor? It's you. That's what people say.

Yeah. Okay. I was just, I'm like, how does all this work? You know? Yeah. Yeah. You bet. Because the last time I went to the er, not for myself, I took my husband to the er. This is like a total side story, but I took my husband to the er. He got COVID in 2020, but like I helped him get in the bathtub and he couldn't get out of the bathtub.

Yikes. And I had been really hesitant to take people to the er, you know? I wasn't just like, let's go to the er. Right. But I was like, there's something really wrong with you. And he couldn't walk into the er. And so, and when we got to the er, they kept like saying, your primary physician, you need to call him and talk to him about vaccines.

And I was like, what are we doing right now? Yeah. I was like, for one, my husband had been vaccinated 'cause he was in the military and getting ready to deploy. But I was like, what is going on? I'm like, are you guys gonna treat him or not treat him? And it was one of the most insane experiences I've ever had.

They did not treat him by the way. So you felt dismissed. Oh yeah. Totally. Just kind of like, Hey, we don't need to do anything here, just follow up with your PCP type of thing. Yeah. And they kept saying, you need to reach out to him and talk to him about vaccines. And I was like, what is going on? I didn't ask about vaccines.

Yeah. I didn't, you know, not sure how that's gonna help my husband walk, right? Yeah. So I ended up basically reaching out privately to people that I knew to get him like IVs. And I ended up with a nurse over at her house and basically I fixed him. Yeah. Yeah. Which is, I mean, great. It's unfortunate that you had that experience.

So yeah, it was really weird. But anyways, I was just thinking about that the other day 'cause I was thinking about you and I'm like, in that situation, I wonder if I could have been like, no, I have a doctor. You know? 'cause they kept being like, you need to talk to Dr. So-and-so with IHC. And I was like, what does this have to do with anything?

Yeah. I don't know. A lot of weirdness going around COVID time. Yeah. It was really weird. Were you, where did you work during COVID? I was in residency, so I was in my third year of residency at Utah Valley Regional in Provo. Okay. Yeah, I was actually born there. Not that you needed to know that, but that's where I was born.

Yeah. I delivered lots of babies in my time there. Both vaginally and C-sections. At one point I actually thought I wanted to go into obstetrics. Okay. And I was gonna do a, a surgical fellowship in OB following residency. But those late night calls, you know. 12:00 AM 1:00 AM 2:00 AM when your patient goes into labor.

I was just like I, it is too unpredictable lifestyle for me. I absolutely love delivering babies. It's a happy time for the most part, but yeah, too un unpredictable lifestyle. It is. And then you're kind of like waiting around for the baby too. Exactly right. Yeah. Yeah. It really is. I never really thought about that.

Yeah. It's tough because when I was having a baby, I was like, where's my doctor? I didn't care. Okay, Steve, so why did you become a doctor? Yeah, that's a great question. I wish I had some like grand, super cool, you know, altruistic reason for you. But the truth of the matter is that I'm a fart in a whirlwind.

That's what my grandma has always said. So I have been all over the place ever since I was young. I think. What really drove my desire to become a doctor was I always wanted to be a teacher and a football coach. That was always what I wanted to do. And then at some point in my life I realized I want too many kids and I'm not gonna be able to afford them on a teacher's salary.

So. What can I do that enables me to both teach and coach? And being a physician actually has been, that was like an actual realization you had, that was an actual realization. So, the word doctor, the Latin root for doctor is docere, which means to teach, to instruct, or to show. And as a physician, that is what I believe.

My first and foremost duty is to educate my patients. To empower them to make informed decisions on their own and just be a partner in their health. Okay. So you have a pretty cool background, which I actually didn't know about it until you got kind of put on the spot the other day at an event we were at.

Oh really? Yeah. And you started sharing some of your journey and your story. Oh, and I was like, what? That's really cool. Okay, so you kind of didn't grow up with your family being like, let's go to medical school. No, no, no. My I grew up a poor kid in, in school, so, you know, we were the family that would put stuff on layaway.

I don't know if you've ever sort of layaway, remember? Yeah. We used to put coats on layaway. I grew up very, yeah. So yeah, put our school clothes on layaway. I thought that was a cool thing to do. Apparently it wasn't. Because I got made fun of at Shopco later. Yeah. Whatever. Shopco. I think Kmart was a thing.

Yep. Back in the day. Yeah. First generation college graduate. So nobody in my family had even gone to college, let alone gone to, you know, grad school or professional school, medical school. I barely graduated high school, to be honest. I think I was a day away from another absence to where I would've not graduated.

I just was all over the place. Like I said, I mean, I played sports, I had a lot of friends. I just. Never really applied myself. But despite the fact that, you know, my parents weren't necessarily, you know, college educated, obviously they were hardworking blue collar people and they loved me. And they always, always, always told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do.

I had the potential to become what I wanted to become, which of course, at a younger age, I didn't really know what that meant. But I guess what the point I'm getting at is if you have people in your corner that love and support you, it doesn't matter where you come from. You can literally do do anything.

And so I definitely attribute my success to the support I had from my family. Oh, I love that. That's awesome. So how did your personal story kind of shape the way you practice medicine today? Because we will get into the way that you practice medicine. 'cause it's not normal. Yeah. I mean, and I'm gonna air quote, it's normal.

Yeah. Like normal, you know, it should be normal. Sure. Yeah. Absolutely. I think just coming from kind of humble beginnings and being a a, a guy from a blue collar family, right? Like I went to medical school at Ohio State, the Ohio State University slash College of Football. And I was surprised because, I mean, there were so many smart people in my class.

I mean, they had gone to Harvard and these Ivy League schools, they had gone to. Private schools growing up, like, what the heck is a private school? Right? Like, I went to public school, I barely graduated public school. And so I'm just a normal dude, right? I, I don't have this like a sense of a higher power or that my education makes me better than anyone.

And I'm not saying that everybody that's a doctor does, but certainly there are some very. I do think sometimes they get like a God complex going. Sure. Yeah. You know? Absolutely. But there's a lot of really awesome doctors. There's a lot of really awesome ones, but, you know, yeah. We just kind of, with all that education sometimes can come a little bit of arrogance.

And so, you know, because I didn't grow up expecting to become a doctor, anything like that just being a normal guy, I, I practice medicine I think more humanistically if you will. Right. I approach my patients as they're equal. As someone who I want to develop their trust from, right? And, and, and as a partner in their health, like, Hey, what are your goals?

And then here's a, B, C, d, E options of how we can achieve that. What do you think is best for you? I'm not gonna tell you what to do. That's not my job. My job is to educate you and work together to, to see what you wanna do and how you wanna go about it. I love that. You know what I'm thinking right now?

I'm like, these are so many good clips for your social media. Cool. I'm like trying to follow it along and I'm like, yeah, that's gonna be so good. You're the expert on that. I try to be right. I don't know if anyone actually is, 'cause it changes so much. Went from like 40,000 views on Instagram a month to 300 and.

Thousand now. Yeah. And I told you we were really watching those numbers and making sure we're pushing them up. Yeah. And we've been doing that. I'm all here. Side note guys, I don't know if you click your trial reels, you have a whole bunch of content that you're not seeing running in the background, you're gonna have to show me how to do it, you know?

Yeah. I'm a little special when it comes to social media. No. So that's a lot of it is, it's kind of cool that we can do that now on Instagram. Yeah. Is like, we're actually running a whole different set of content that like Yeah. In the scenes that's, yeah. That you're not even seeing on your main page.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm like, it's kind of fun. You know more about my account than I do. Yes. I, that's, I'm, I'm cool with it. I try to that'ss our job. And Jess our con, our main content creator, she spends a lot of time knowing a lot about your account. That's cool. Yeah. She's fun. Okay. So what led you to build Kaizen Health?

Well, what does Kaizen mean? Kaizen is the Japanese philosophy for continuous improvement. So actually started at Toyota. It was like their business model. You know, how can we make small, tiny, incremental improvements every day that lead to long lasting sustainable? Successful results. Right. I recently achieved or obtained, whatever you wanna call it my master's in health administration last year towards the end of last year from Louisiana State University and in one of my business classes, I learned about that and I was like, that is so cool because that's actually how I kind of live my life.

Or practice medicine is like, we don't need to do everything at once. Right. You just need to make small. Changes day by day. Otherwise people get overwhelmed and they jump ship and it and it, you know, it just ends up being counterproductive. But if you can just pick a small, tiny change, focus on it, make it happen, and then work, you know, from one step to the other, that's what really the.

You know, leads to long lasting results. Yeah. You know, my cousin said something to me a couple years ago that's kind of stuck with me. I go, damn, when did you get so ripped? Like he showed up. Yeah, we were at the pool and I was like, when did you do that? We're just a few days apart. And he's like, he looks at me dead in the eyes and he goes, CrossFit 5:00 AM for the last five years.

I was like, yeah, exactly. And it really kind of stuck with me 'cause it was like. Oh, you know that, that he's like, that checks. Yeah. Yeah. Continuous work. Nonstop. Like you don't just show up one day and you're like ripped. Yeah, no, it, it does. It takes consistency too, right? You gotta, you gotta put in the work, but you gotta be consistent with it.

Too many people want a quick fix and Yeah. So how to do things. What was kind of your motivation to leave traditional medicine and start Kaizen Health? 'cause you don't know a lot of doctors, in fact, I can't name any, that have kind of started their own thing. Yeah. And they're going against. Some of the big players here, you know, the big healthcare companies here in Utah.

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, first and foremost, who doesn't want to do things they want to do? Do things the way they wanna do things, right? It's a lot easier to work for myself without having to be told what to do. And then secondly, a lot of people don't realize, but physicians are not the ones practicing medicine these days.

It's corporations that hire them. And it's the insurance companies that pay for, you know, patient procedures and services, right? If I wanna prescribe you, for example, a medication that I think is gonna be best for your health, for whatever condition, et cetera. Insurance will say, well actually, you know, she needs to try three different medications that are less effective for so many months before we'll even consider, you know, approving this.

And it's like, why do you insurance people without any sort of medical education get to dictate? How I practice medicine. I mean, it's ridiculous. So working with insurance was a big turnoff. I don't work with them. I don't want anything to do with them. They're crooks. We can, you know, whole nother episode.

Mm-hmm. And then I think, you know, secondly, the corporation corporate medicine is just so freaking. I'm just gonna say it's stupid. It's, it's all focused on bottom line, how much money, how much profit they can make. I mean, I had, I remember I was working for an organization in Wyoming and I got pulled into my medical director's office and it was like, Hey, you know, your numbers look good.

But we need you to be a little more productive. And so, you know, these patients, you're only seeing them once or twice a year. And I'm like, well, yeah, because they're healthy. I don't need to see 'em like, well, you know, maybe you could ask 'em to come in a few more times a year. I'm like, for what? Right.

Like, what am I gonna waste their time for? And, and to do what? Just to improve, you know, your, your bottom line, your productivity, the money you make. And so it, it's just really sad that medicine has got to that point where it. Almost more about business than, than a person's actual wellbeing and their health.

And I don't want anything to do with that. It's, it's corrupt, in my opinion. Well, what I really enjoy about your model is what you said to me the other day was that you're not a salesman, you're a doctor. Correct? Correct. And so what I think is cool is like you just have your flat monthly fee and then you're not making any money on the drugs.

For Correct. For my monthly membership patients, I don't do any markup. Yeah. Which is so awesome because you know, we're gonna get into GLP once and stuff in a second and do a full. Like, everything I've ever wanted to ask a doctor about peptides, it's gonna happen. Gangster, hopefully. Yeah. If I follow up questions, I'll text you.

Okay. Yeah. You know, you can, it's gonna be like, great, great. But what you, what I'm seeing right now is a lot of like clinics, even like you go in to get your Botox, right? Mm-hmm. And they're like, oh, do you know, we can like. Prescribe you weight loss medication. Yeah. And you know, I'm looking at some of their plans.

You know, you're looking at 200 would be low. Four, five, $600. Yeah. I've seen $1,200 for their monthly plans. Mm-hmm. When really they're slinging you a GLP one that's like maybe a hundred bucks. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's what, that's like my biggest, like what do you will nails on a chalkboard, cringe factor.

You know, people say, you know, do you sell peptides or do you sell GLP ones? I'm just like, I don't freaking sell anything. I'm not a salesman, I'm a physician. Right? Like, you should not sell medicine. Because medicine should be determined by a person's health, their condition, their goals, right. If you need something.

Talk to me about it. If you want something, talk to me about it. We'll determine if it's a good fit for you. And then like you said, where you pay $99 a month and have unlimited access to me, you get medication at my clinic, pricing my discounts. Right. Because I don't ever want you to feel like anything I'm recommending for you is for my profit.

Mm-hmm. And my benefit and not yours. Yeah. Well, I've gotten those whole lists. Well, I've gotten those huge lists that are like, you know, here's all these supplements I want you to take. Here's all of this. And I'm like, what in the world is this? Yeah. You know? Yeah. Well, and I'll, I'll tell you a backstory about that.

And this is, you know, one of the reasons why I, I practice my model the way I do is I went to, when I started TRTA couple years ago so I have polycystic kidney disease. I'll need a transplant within, you know, a few years. And there is an association with kidney disease and, and low T at an early age.

So that hit me. TRT is. Testosterone testosterone replacement therapy. Yeah. Okay. So, so, so yeah, the symptoms of low t having low t hit me earlier, you know, my mid to late thirties as opposed to, you know, forties and beyond. Anyways the point I'm making is, is when I went into this clinic, you know, to, to seek TRT and whatnot guy was a PA who was a good dude, you know, he is going over everything.

And then he was like, okay. And then lastly, and then he is like, okay, well I'm not gonna offer you that. You, you don't need it. And I was like, offer me what? He goes, well, we always offer our patients vitamin D injections. I'm like, you're not gonna offer me it. He's like, well, no, you know, you don't need it.

And I'm like, right. Like, yeah, you're right. I damn well do. No, I don't need it. So, but that's what's going on in a lot of these spas and these clinics. It's just like, here's a supplement, here's an injection, here's whatever. Well, but why? Well, because they're selling it, right? Mm-hmm. And it is like, I just, I didn't agree with that.

It's like, if you know, I know I don't need it. Why would you, you're like, you should be embarrassed. Push that on a patient, right? Yeah. Who doesn't know? And they're just, you know, but a lot of people are just in it to, to get money and, anyways, yeah, I didn't like that. Yeah, it's, it's kind of wild. And then the other thing, and I've told you this too, it might already be, it might be in my notes further down, but we're gonna talk about it now.

I cannot handle how many influencers online are getting paid. So like, they're, they're making money. Off of pushing peptides. Yeah. And you can get on websites. I, I've looked, there's an MLM right now that a lot of girls right here, Utah girls are slinging. Yeah. And you can get on, you put in your height, your weight, so you can make up whatever you want.

And that GP one ships to your door and that freaks me out. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and, yeah. Where's the you know, medical necessity determined in terms of, you know, a person's. BMI, their body composition. Other health factors, you know, metabolic issues. Diabetes for one, right? GLP ones definitely regulate blood sugar.

So as a person already have high blood sugar, they're already on medications that could potentially conflict. With GLP ones. So do you run labs before you So they're not absolutely necessary. Okay. That's, I was wondering, so this is, this is, this is a good thing. I don't have to run labs. If people report any sort of history of you know, kidney disease or, or things that could potentially, you know, interact with that G GLP ones are for the most part safe.

But again, it's, you know, what medications are you taking? 'cause there are certain things that need to be. Figure it out. I just don't think you should be able to go on a website and then get like injectables into your body. I don't, I, yeah, I have just personal thoughts I have on it. Yeah. Agreed. Agreed.

Okay, so let's break this down. What are peptides in the simplest terms, midget proteins? Okay. That was super helpful. Yeah. Yeah, so, so you think of a protein, right? And most people know it's a chain or a sequence of amino acids, right? So tiny little chain links, multiple. It's like to make a protein, you have to have 50 to a hundred amino acids.

At least anything less than 50 amino acids is considered a peptide. So a peptide really is just a very, very tiny. Protein. That's why I call 'em visual proteins. Okay, so what do they do? Like, so I inject it into my, yep. Fat in my stomach. Yep. It goes in really easy. What is it doing? So a peptide actually is a hormone.

And so when we say peptide, we were referring to it's chemical structure, which again is amino acids. So. Peptides are water soluble, meaning that they can travel and circulate around your bloodstream without being bound to any sort of carrier protein or little boats as I like to call 'em. And so once a peptide enters into your bloodstream, it will bind and interact where it's supposed to.

For example, you take a peptide like Smolin or Ipamorelin, right? That binds, what are those? Yeah, those are peptides. Okay. So those are peptides. They're technically referred to as growth hormone releasing hormone secret dogs or analogs. Meaning they mimic the action of growth hormone releasing hormone.

Okay. So that comes from a hypothalamus in the brain. It goes to our, what's called anterior pituitary. If you look at an anatomy scan, it looks like this little, I do know what that is. Yeah. Little ball sac in the, yeah. Anyways, so goes to the anterior pituitary where it says, Hey, release growth hormone.

Right. Okay. And so then that gets into the bloodstream and growth hormone has so many benefits for us to include like good sleep, muscle recovery. You get increased lean, muscle mass, decreased fat, so, you know, body competition change. Are you gonna grow though? No. Not gonna grow. Not in a, not a, like what if I wanna grow two inches too late for you?

I'm sorry. What if I wanna hit six feet? I'm so close. Yeah. Not, not gonna, not gonna happen. No more, no more growth. You've, you've reached that, you know, point in your life where those growth plates don't exist anymore, but, so yeah. That's what, that's what a peptide does. You think of it compared to like other hormones, like what we call sex steroids.

Mm-hmm. Testosterone, estrogen, those types of things. Peptide hormones are very short acting, so they act quickly and they don't last super long. Insulin, for example, is a peptide hormone. Okay. A lot of people don't know that. Okay. No, I did not know that insulin is a hormone. It lasts for like five minutes once it's secreted.

Right? So it's in and out, whereas like testosterone will last in your body for a week, you know, at a time. Okay. So that's kind of a small breakdown for you. That's actually really fascinating. Okay. Why are they getting so much attention right now? Yeah, because there is a lot of up and coming research on various clinical benefits of peptides.

Now, when I say clinical benefits, most of the research, which I know, these social media influencers and people getting off the gray market are just completely ignoring, right? I don't know what it is about today. And today's generations are whatever. But it's like people are so willing to look on social media, and if a person has a microphone and an ear muffs or whatever the heck they're wearing and they say X, Y, Z, it's like, oh, that's a fact.

And it's like. Well, I think what's happening is like there's been so much mistrust, you know, distrust created in the world in general. Like you could put that in any industry, politics, medical, whatever. Medical, for sure. Yeah. And it's like, so everyone's kind of gone whoop. Yeah. And they're like, oh, we're our own advocates now.

Which is awesome. But I think the problem is, is we've gone a little like loony bin. Yeah. And you kind of just have to come back to it. Center. Sure. You know, where you're still your own advocate, you're still doing your own research, but you're like, Hey, maybe everything this guy over here is saying isn't true.

And I love what you just said because you said doing your own research. Right. So trust but verify I'm all about people. I I don't think you have to have the initials MD after your name or PhD. You know, to be smart and to be educated, you absolutely don't need that. Right? But too many people are eager to just say, well, this person said it.

I don't know anything about that person. I didn't even look up anything with what they said, but I'm accepting that as truth. Yeah. And it's like, that's a, that's a dangerous way to live your life, especially when it comes to injecting something into your body. This is really funny. But the other day. I, so my husband and I were laying in bed, you know, at night, and we were like watching Doing what?

In bed at night? Laying in bed at night. Oh yeah. Watching tiktoks together. Sure. Listen, I do have my explicit rating. TikTok. TikTok and Chill. Is that a thing? TikTok? Yeah. Instead of Netflix and Chill. And we were laughing and I kept scrolling and it was another funny video and it was another funny video.

And all of a sudden. My husband goes, is this your TikTok? And I go, I don't think it is. It was your TikTok. Oh. And I was like, I think I'm on someone else's TikTok. Yeah. But he's like, because that those were good. Good. Was good. Was like pulling up what? What my feed or whatever, whatever. Yeah. Your algorithm.

I was on your account. I, that's h switched to my account. Yeah. It was so funny. I find some funny stuff on there. Yeah. Yeah. And Jake goes, well, at least, you know, he's like, he's like minded. Yeah. Clean. Clean, right. Yeah. Everything appropriate. It was really funny. I was like. It was, yeah, it was like another thing, another thing I was like.

I Okay. Yeah, it was so funny. That's cool. Yeah. Anyways, that was my random thing. It was about, there was a lot of stuff about like truth and research and all that kind of stuff, and I'm sure you guys can connect the dots there, but it was good. And usually I'll have like one or two of those things in my feed, but it was like, next video, next video.

I like, like, yeah. Hold on. Maybe this isn't me. Yeah. That's not mine. Yeah. But little Austin Powers humor for you. You really do have to find, you know, and I think doing your own research doesn't always mean like just watching, you know, someone's TikTok either. No, no. Like, look up what you know. Again, especially when it comes to peptides, like there are legitimate research studies and articles you can find that are published, right.

Or for example, I have a good friend, he's a orthopedic surgeon in Spokane, Washington. And he's saying, yeah, we use peptides all the time. Well, particularly BPC 1 57. We'll talk about that later. And I asked him today, I knew I was gonna come talk to you. I was like, so, you know, in your clinical experience, is this a positive thing?

He's like, absolutely. It's been, it's been a game changer. That's awesome. So it's, it's really cool when you can not only read the research and say, yeah, it suggests a Y, Z, but then you know, somebody who's using it in clinical practice and it can be applied and it's, and it's working, so that's cool. Yes, ma'am.

Okay, so peptides are, are we seeing any side effects? Because I keep thinking of, and this is just relates 'cause GLP ones are their own peptides, right? GLP ones are peptides, yes. Yeah. And they're their their own. Yeah. But they're like for weight loss and then there's all these other peptides that do other things, right?

Yeah. So GLP ones primarily we, we see 'em as weight loss, but we're starting to. I noticed that they have a lot of anti-inflammatory properties and benefits as well. Mm-hmm. Have many patients that take a very small dose, not because they're overweight by any means, but because it, it, it reduces the inflammation that they've struggled with for so long.

It really does. And one of the things I came to you and said was, I'm like, when I first stopped drinking all the inflammation, like left my face and I've noticed like I'm getting puffy again, and now it's gone. I'm like, oh my gosh, my face is back. Yeah. Yeah. You know, which feels so good. It's a nice face.

Thank you. I appreciate that. So yeah, so back to your point, you said yes, GLP ones are their own peptide. They have their own pH physiologic. Okay. So when I think about GLP ones in my head, I'm almost wanting to connect them to things like fenden. Mm-hmm. And, you know, everyone was taking Fenden. I remember my mom taking Fen.

I remember everyone taking it and they got skinny and then all of a sudden it was like all these people had heart valve issues. Yes. And all of these things were going on. Yeah. And so I think I'm like, kind of been really like. Was so hesitant, like break full breaks on, I'm like, I'm not taking this shit.

Yeah. You know, you're gonna find out that we're all gonna die later on. Yeah. But what are your thoughts on that? Yeah, I mean, I'm taking it, so, yeah. Yeah. And, and, and so a lot of people don't realize because they've only become more popular in the last, you know, nine years or so. I dunno, 2017, 2018, whatever that math comes out to.

Eight, nine years. But GLP ones have been on the market since 2002, so we're literally talking over two decades. These things have been extensively studied for safety and efficacy and all kinds of things. So they're not new, they're not this, you know, trendy thing that hasn't been studied or used. It's just that more recently.

They're being used for weight loss, which is great. And we could talk about all the different, you know, health risks associated with obesity later. But back to your point about fen. So yeah, phentermine, fenfluramine, that was discontinued I believe in 1992 because the ingredient fenfluramine did cause heart valve issues.

Mm-hmm. I think we're associated with pulmonary hypertension, things like that. Phentermine is still on the market. And Phentermine is very safe. They're doing a huge study of Wake Forest about the long-term effects and safety of phentermine. I actually took phentermine. I had a doctor, the same doctor that I was telling you about earlier.

Yeah. I went in and I was, I actually, so I had a tumor in my leg and I went in just to see, I needed to see him 'cause insurance hoops. I'd already had it removed, but my leg was hurting a lot. Yeah. This was probably like. 11 years ago, but I had to go see him to go see an orthopedic, just to get an X-ray to make sure it was still good to go, you know?

Yeah. Go see this guy to get a referral from, and he was like, well, you're overweight. I'm gonna give you. Phentermine phentermine. Mm-hmm. And I was like, I am, you know? And so I was like, okay. And I took it. And I have to say it was quite lovely. Yeah. It was like crack. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, and so a lot of people think it's like, okay, is it a cocaine, is it like a stimulant like Adderall?

It's not it does act as a stimulant, but it's not a stimulant in terms of being like an amphetamine. It's what's called a sympathomimetic, meaning it's. Stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. So people oftentimes they feel more alert. They feel, oh, everything was like crystal clear. Yeah, right.

I was like, is this what people feel like? Yeah, no, it's, it's pretty good. Yeah. And then average weight loss, like five to 10% of your body weight. So not as effective as. As something like a GLP one, but again, very safe for people who have normal, healthy hearts and things like that. Yeah. I did have to go in, I think every two weeks and they would just check my blood pressure or something.

Yeah, you check their blood pressure. Yeah, and I have patients on phentermine and they have cuff at home. They send me, you know, okay. Every regular reading, so that stuffs okay. Totally. Oh yeah, I've, I've prescribed that for years. Okay. I never had any issues, but this is where I get is I'm like, are we all gonna find out?

'cause I mean, everyone I feel like is taking peptides. You mean GLP ones are different things or GLP ones? Yeah. Yeah. So GLP ones are totally different ballgame than bi peptides, like BPC 1 57 and, and IPAM more, all these things because. GLP ones are FDA approved, right? These other ones are up and coming and they're promising, and they have a lot of preclinical.

Have they done any studies, like, if people take them and then they're pregnant, like, are we getting birth defects? Like, is there anything coming out at all? Like, I'm thinking of all these things. You, yeah, that's, that's a good question. So in general, you know, we don't do studies on pregnant women. Obviously that would be unethical, but I, to your point, I get what you're saying.

Have they showed that someone who was on like a jail point got, I'm trying to find something wrong with them and got, is what I'm doing? Yeah, yeah. No, nothing like that date. A lot of people talk about thyroid tumors, right? Thyroid tumors are not a thing in terms of, it's not happened in human studies or, or trials.

And anytime a drug hits the market. In the US it has to go through extensive clinical trials. And part of what they do before testing humans is they test it on mice. Some mice develop these thyroid tumors. It didn't happen in the human trials. It hasn't happened in humans since it's been on the market, but because of the theoretical species crossover, we're super cautious.

You know about that and that's why you ask people, do you have a history of. Medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type two, I don't even know what that is. Right. And nobody does because they've never, they've never heard of it. Right. Cindy, do you know what that is? She's over there.

Like, what? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, nobody does. But those are the questions I ask my patients just to make sure, because if you have heard of it, you've heard of it. Right. And so yeah, it's, it's never been a thing that's popped up, but, but that's why. So, you know, to get to your point, what are these, you know, crazy.

Long-term effects. We don't know of any right now. Gastroparesis, I'm sure you've heard of that one. Mm-hmm. That's a paralysis of the stomach so it won't empty the contents. Yeah, I've seen that. I guess people I've seen where people are going to the ER 'cause they haven't pooped in like two weeks.

Yeah. And constipation, obviously if you're taking medication that slows down your digestive system. To make you feel full so you don't eat as much. That can happen, and that's where a plan, right? You have to make sure your patients are staying hydrated. You have to make sure they're taking eating fiber and, and getting these things.

I have a whole, you know, supplement protocol of digestive enzymes and, and probiotics and things that, that really help with that. Well, I have to tell you, I'm the opposite. Like I always, like, I wish I could not go to the bathroom so much, and so I have really enjoyed it. I'm like, this is just normal. This is regular, normal.

As long as, as long as your stomach doesn't hurt. You know, and you're not bleeding from your bum afterwards. So, yeah, I think that's, no, that's good. No, but yeah, I mean, even gastroparesis, a lot of people don't know that is a complication in and of itself of having uncontrolled diabetes because high blood sugar for so long damages the nerves that innervate the stomach that let go of the contents of it.

And so it's like the chicken and the egg thing, it, was it the GLP ones that caused it or was it the fact that you had diabetes and it wasn't well controlled? Okay. And there's a lot of lawsuits that you know are going around the US. Class action, whatever you call 'em. And I think it was, you know, the federal system, there's an article about it, but they're like, yeah, they, they reject a lot of these lawsuits because these people don't even have a definitive diagnosis of gastroparesis.

Okay. They're just claiming I couldn't poop for six days. So yeah, I had the gastroparesis, now I'm suing you. It's like, no, that's not how it works. So yeah, there's a lot of, of myths and misconceptions, and I'm not saying that, you know, the medication can't have. It's side effects, but for the majority of people that when they're doing it right, it's medically supervised.

It's a very safe. Very safe medication. Okay, so this is, do you like all my concerns? I think I've told you a lot of 'em all the time. I'm like, remember when I was like, I don't look like a bobblehead? And you're like, why would you look like a bobblehead? Do you remember me saying that to you? I do remember that because I have to tell you, I had just gotten back from a retreat and there was these two ladies of the retreat and they were so thin.

Like, you know when your collarbone stick out and the one was like on the couch, like doubled over in pain and the other was like, oh, that's just part of it, you know? And I'm like, what are they? So I sat there and listened to 'em. That's part of it. Yeah. Yes. I sat there and listened to 'em and they were talking about being on a GLP one and like the pain that comes from it.

And I mean, these women needed to be taken to like an anorexic clinic for sure. Yeah. Yeah. And that, you know, when these first were becoming popular a few years ago, I would have patients that were coming to me from various med spas. I'm not gonna, you know, say any names or anything like that, but, and they were being told literally.

If you're not sick, you're not doing it right. And I was just like, that is such a crock of crap. Like we can lose weight and you can feel good about it. The goal is not to be sick. Like I don't even know. And that's what happens when you get people that are slinging GLP ones, right? Mm-hmm. Kind of go back to what we talked about earlier.

It's like you don't know what the hell you're talking about. And, and so many people out there are selling these peptides, these GLP ones and different things, and, and they really don't know what they're doing medically speaking, and they have no business doing it. Yeah, that's, see, do you see where I'm like, there's like so many red flags everywhere I go.

I'm like, Nope, nope, nope. No, I remember. I mean, I remember when we, we first got acquainted, so to speak, and yeah, you were very, very hesitant, very much against stuff and just, you know, recording social media and the various things we were, were doing from, you know, series to series. You kind of. Oh, I've, I've lightened up.

Oh. Oh, okay. I'm like, I like, so that's how that works. That's the, I like these now. Yeah. But I think it's just education and when you're seeing so much like bad go on, a hundred percent. You know, I'm like, I don't want that in my sphere. No, I get it. I totally get it. Okay, so. There are people buying peptides online from the black market, or you call them the gray market?

Is that what you call them? Yeah. Yeah. I don't, and I, I don't, we'd have to look it up with the difference. I think a gray market, it's like a lot more, you know, something you can actually Google and find where as a black market's like super underground Got you gotta go to the secret websites, you know, it's like high school.

Yeah. Yeah. I gotta go get it from the guy that knows a guy, you know, where they sell, like, they only human organs. You know, well, I never went that deep. I was just buying marijuana. That From the black market? No, I don't know. From a guy in his car. Oh yeah. I, so anyways, yeah. Gray market, you know, but that's the thing, is they go to these websites and literally the first thing that pops up is not meant for human consumption.

Right? So you're gonna buy something that you're about to inject into your body that they say not meant for human consumption. What happens if something goes wrong? You have literally no legal grounds. To go after anybody because they already told you this isn't meant for you to put in your body even though it is.

Yeah. And I'm not saying that you can't get, you know, legitimate peptides from legitimate sources, you know, and this, and that comes with a certificate of analysis, COA, whatever. It's just, I don't know if I'm gonna be injecting something into my body. Is it worth the risk? You just have to be really careful out there with where you're sourcing your.

Your peptides from? I really think you do. And then, okay. So what I like about your approach is you're like, okay, you can take the peptides, but you need to go to the gym and you need to, or whatever you wanna do. Yeah. You know, you gotta lift the weights, you gotta actually like take care of your body. Yeah.

And that made me feel a lot better about it too. Yeah, right. Peptides, just like we talked about GLP ones, they're tools. They are a part of the plan. They're not the plan itself. You don't take a peptide to replace exercise. You're not gonna take a peptide to replace your crappy diet. You're not gonna take a peptide to replace poor sleep, right?

These are basic things that your body needs to thrive and to be healthy. And so many people just dismiss them because they're looking for this miracle cure for their poor. Lifestyle. Yeah. And so yes, peptides can be a very good thing to optimize your health when you're already doing or start to do, you know, those things that really matter.

Okay. So, a lot of the women in my recovery program talk about how they took a GLP one. Yeah. And I'm actually seeing, I'm starting to see like tiktoks pop up about it, about alcoholism and GLP ones. Have you heard anything about this From my own patients? Yeah. I, I would have to look at like the, the clinical data, if there's any, you know, research that says, yeah, this actually is associated with, you know, alcohol cessation or decreased cravings.

But for sure, I have quite a few patients that have like, I don't even. Want alcohol anymore, it doesn't taste good to me. And it's helped them a lot with that for sure. Yeah, mine was I did, I took a, a GLP one for just a couple of months right in the beginning. It was funny how it just like worked out.

Yeah. But I do think it helped with things like, I wanted something, it's weird. It's like, yeah. I wasn't alcohol dependent, but it was like the habit was there, you know? So it wasn't like I had to go detox or anything like that, but I definitely like, I wanted like, I was like, let's go buy Swedish fish, you know, and things like that.

And still good choice. That's still one of mine when I get a little like itchy or irritated places. Like when we were in Vegas a few weeks ago, I was like, I'm gonna go buy some Swedish fish. Yeah. Yeah. It's just like, I was like, I don't wanna be here right now. But I do know it helped quite a bit. So it wasn't like, because I do know people, a lot of times they'll replace their habits with like cake, something else.

Yeah. Ice cream. Yeah. You know, whatever else cookies, like you're bored. You don't know what to do with your time. And I do know that that helped. Yeah. It wasn't like that. My mind had forgot about it though. I had to really like put in the work for that. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No you're not gonna forget about it obviously, but.

But yeah, there I have quite a bit of anecdotal, anecdotal evidence, you know, from my patients that that's worked for them as well. Yeah. Okay. So the only time I've ever gotten sick was actually this weekend on the GLP ones, and I don't take a lot. I've been taking like five of five units of choice hepatitis units.

I go to the five on the little markers. Yeah. So, so yeah, units is the measure of syringe. It's a measure of volume fluid, right? Yeah. So, but milligrams is a totally different. Okay. That's what I thought. How much, how much powder is in that little, I don't know. I do what it says to do, so I do it right.

And then last week I was like, well, maybe I'll try six. Just 'cause people were like, oh, you should increase it. I don't know, people. And I was like, I don't think I should. Yeah. But I did, you know what's funny though is this was my own fault. So, and I don't think it had anything to do with the GLP one. I ran, what did I run on Sunday?

I ran eight miles. I came home and we had a lot going on. My grandma just passed away and I, all of her stuff was being delivered. That was like coming to my house. Super stressful. Yeah. So I ended up. Just right now, if you can run my house, my living room is full of boxes of her clothes and I don't know what to do.

Yeah. You know? So I realized like I only drank like a protein shake, which that's not enough protein for the whole day and running on eight miles. And then we went over to my parents for Super Bowl and they just had snacks out and they didn't end up making like burgers until like way after, like anything.

Like halftime. Yeah. Truly substantial. So I ate the burger and I went home and I puked my guts out and I was like, I did that to myself. Yeah, I think the, between the stress and the exercise, eight miles, that's a lot. Mm-hmm. And then going all day without anything. Have you eaten burgers in the past though?

Yeah. I mean, I'll eat like, I, I didn't eat the bun. I was just eating like the patty on like some veggies. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I just, I I only meant like if you had eaten them before and, and it made you sick, if you had just like a similar reaction. No, no. I can eat a, I love, I love a cow. Yeah. Yeah. My wife loves to make smash burgers.

That's funny. Yeah. I was like, I love steak. I love anything. Anything. Grass fed beef. I love some beef. Yeah. Some Costco, grass fed ground beef. Yeah. In the green package. Yeah. Good stuff. Yeah. No, but that's the only time that I've ever felt like nauseous sick, you know? Sure. And so, I don't know, but I feel like I did.

Yeah. 15 months is great, right? Yeah. I feel like I did that to myself for sure. Yeah. It was a, it was a long day for you. Yes, it was a lot going on. I was like, I should not have waited to eat. Yeah. Okay. One of the other reasons I came to you too, 'cause you know, you talk, like I was watching you talk about fitness and just different things like that, and I was like, you know, I really can't run any faster.

And you were like, it's a basic science. Equation. Oh yeah, yeah. You were like, you know, it's weight, it's a bunch of different things. And you were like, I bet you if you drop a little bit of weight, you will be able to run faster and you'll feel better. That's true. And I was like, I think he's right. Yeah.

And you were right and I was right. Where do you go sometimes I am just this once. Yeah. So you've helped me a ton with that as well. Like I feel like. This morning, and you know how it is, like, I think women fluctuate too with their hormones. Like I can tell I'm feeling really good, but I was, yeah. I'm married to one.

I get it. Yeah, I would, I had the speed pumped up there and I was like, I am a gazelle. I was like, I can run so fast. Yeah. And I was like, look at me. But I was like, oh, it's working. It's a good feeling too. Right. It was such a good feeling. Yeah, yeah. And I wasn't winded. I'm like, who am I? I think I also got a little runner's side there yourself?

Yeah. Thes, were pumping. It's a thing. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, it was awesome. So I feel like everything I've came to you for, I'm like, oh, it's actually working. Yeah. You know? And it's not a quick fix. It's not a quick fix. And, and that's just a, a, what's the word I'm looking for? A testament to you. And the effort that you're putting in, right.

Like what I gave you is very minimal. Here's, here's the education, here's the science, here's the plan. Right? Yeah. You brought it to life and, and that's you're my favorite kind of patient because I can only help you as much as you're willing to help yourself. Yeah. No, I, I go lift the weights. I do my running.

Absolutely. No, you, you, you're doing big things and it's, and it's working. It's paying off. Oh, you know what? After this podcast comes out Well, so when this pod comes, comes out, I will have already ran the half marathon. I'm really excited about that. Hell yeah. I feel like I could go run it right now. Yeah.

I would need like you could, no, I would, I'd be like, okay, I need to eat a little bit and then I need to like get my hydration situated and I'd be like, okay. Bye guys. Get your, your pre, pre-run snacks ready? Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I love to eat on my runs. It's probably not doctor approved, but. Is Rice Krispies.

That's okay. They're so good. Good sugar, easily absorbed, gets you going. I mean, as long as you stomach it, so to speak. Right. It's, it's what works. Oh yeah. They sit well. Yeah. As long as it doesn't not fit well, those gels are freaking disgusting. Oh, I feel like they're poison in a little pouch. Yeah. Yeah.

I feel like it's a marketing gimmick personally, for sure. Okay, so what role does muscle, this is just a different question too, but mm-hmm. What role does muscle protein sleep and lifestyle play when someone is using, you know, these GLP ones? Yeah, that's a, that's a great question. So let's start with muscle.

Okay. Your, your muscle mass or how much muscle you have on your body is the primary engine that drives what's called your resting metabolic rate. AKA, how many calories you burn just from existing, right? So on a daily basis, for example, I burn like 22, 2300 calories just from, so how do you know that? There's an equation.

You're like math, there's a scientific equation where you, you know, input some stuff and, and we can do that. But yeah, so your muscle drives your resting metabolic rate, which accounts for 60% of your total daily energy expenditure, right? So literally my muscle is what burns the majority of my calories.

And just hanging out. Right? Just hanging out. Okay. It doesn't even have to be active. It's just hanging out because muscle is metabolically active if it's on your body. Okay. Okay. So that plays a huge role and that's why it's so important that my patients, and we always emphasize. You have to focus and track your protein intake right?

Daily basis. Mm-hmm. And you have to strength train because that's what stimulates what's called muscle protein synthesis. Otherwise, if you lose a bunch of weight, including your muscle mass. Sure the scale looks good, but now you've just wrecked your metabolism. And so when you come off the medication, guess what?

All that weight's gonna come right back on. Now you don't even have the muscle that you began with, and you're gonna have a heck of a time getting that weight back off a second time if you try or a third, you know, et cetera. So yeah, muscle absolutely essential. You gotta preserve it, you gotta gain it, you gotta keep it on.

And then you mentioned protein, right? Protein obviously stimulates what's called muscle protein synthesis. And just so people are aware, you need a minimum of 30 grams 30 grams per serving to stimulate what's called the, the NPS. And so, you know, if you're getting five here, five there, whatever, try to get at least 30 grams per serving per meal.

Yeah, you said that to me and I was like, okay, so I'm just gonna try to get a little bit more Yeah. And it's been great. Yeah. It's, it's, and it absolutely works. So, so protein obviously. Provides or preserves your muscle sleep. So there's health risks that are associated with less than seven hours of sleep and more than nine hours of sleep.

And why does sleep matter? Because if you are sleep deprived, your body responds to this physiologically speaking by increasing. The production of hormones that make you hungry. So there's only one, actually, it's called ghrelin. Ghrelin is from a stomach. You know, think of ghrelin as the monster. And it will decrease the production of hormones that make you feel full.

For example, GLP one GIP. And so not only do you get this decreased energy expenditure and this drive to eat more calories, then you also have cortisol secretion. What does cortisol do? Spikes your blood sugar. What do you do with that? Spiked blood sugar. You just store it as fat. So that's why I was saying, okay, you hit a weight loss plateau, you're not losing weight.

What is your sleep quality like? We absolutely have to focus on sleep quality. I love sleeping. I'm a sleeping champ. Yeah, sleep is, sleep is good. You, you need it. I mean, there's not a night me and my wife don't go to. By 10 or you know, earlier, it's just Oh, for sure. It's just not a thing. I don't know how people stay up anymore.

Well, you know a lot of it too, Cindy. Well, your kids are really young, right? I know. Cindy's like messaging me at like midnight. I'm like, no, that's cool. I used to be able to do it. I just, not anymore. Right. I need my, yeah, I need my 10 to six. But honestly though too, it's like. You know, I feel like I'm in a place where, you know, I don't, I go to bed and I don't know what my kids do.

I'm like, hopefully they go to bed, but, but they're old enough that's, yeah. Yeah. And my one knows he's supposed to go to bed and my other one's old enough that I can't dictate her bedtime, you know? Sure. Yeah. No, our kids are in bed and, and sleeping. By the time, are they? We go. That's awesome. How old are your kids?

My youngest ones. My oldest ones, yeah. I'm like. Same thing. I just have a prayer of hope that they're doing. I know. I'm all Please keep, like I'm not staying up for you. Quiet. Yeah. Be quiet. Quiet when you come home. I've never been more mad when I have to get up and I'm like, shut up out here. Right. I feel like an old lady.

Yeah, I know. I never thought I would be that, that guy I thought I was like, than you are. When I grow up, I'm gonna be cool and I mean, I'm kind of cool, but now I'm, I'm a little more. Not cool than I thought I would be. I need my sleep, man. I need my sleep. Oh, absolutely. Can't mess with my sleep. Okay. So what does the process look like at Kaizen Health?

I can kind of explain it as well. You know, they book a call with you. Yeah, yeah. Super chill. Mm-hmm. So I have a, I have a online scheduling link. Pick a day time that works best for you. You can, you can do a call, which is typically what most people, you know, choose. We can do video, but most people are like, yeah, let's just do a phone call if they're at work or on a break or whatever.

Consultations. Initial consultations are always free. So people don't have to worry about, what do I have to pay for this visit? It's like, well, I don't know what you're coming to me for. Are you coming to me for weight loss? Are you coming to me for concierge service? Are you coming to me for labs? You know, X, Y, Z?

So it's like, you know, I don't know what it's gonna cost you. But typically it's very affordable. But anyways, initial consultations are free. We go over everything. Talk about. What your health goals are, what you need, and, and if I be a good fit to help you. And then at that point, if you decide to move forward with any particular service, you know, you would get charged for whatever the medication is or the lab, or if you start concierge service, you know, $99 a month.

A month type of thing. Yeah. That's what I keep telling people. I'm like, it's a hundred dollars a month. It's like, well, 99. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, literally. I'm like, it's not. And they're like, well, how much were your labs? And I'm like, I don't even remember. Because it was inexpensive. Yeah. Yeah. And I get the discounted labs.

And, and again, that, that's, that comes to that. I don't charge more for labs. Right. You're getting everything I can offer you at my price, which is awesome. When I went to go get my labs, it was so funny. Well, you know, I passed out and okay. And she goes, we're gonna call your doctor. And I was like. Do not call my doctor.

And she's like, really? You don't want me to call him? I'm like, no. You were too embarrassed at that point. I was, it was too new. Our relationship was too new. I not call Steve and tell him I passed out and she was like, okay, well you're gonna need to come back tomorrow. You didn't want me to think you were a, a weenie.

Well, that's what happened. I was like, goodbye world. Its alright. I was dying though. And they were like, you're not, you're not the first. You won't be the last. Oh, I know. And I've passed out before, but not like. I just was dying. They're like, we're gonna go ahead and call your doctor. And I, I remember just laying there and I was like, do not call my doctor.

But you could have, you've been like, here's his cell phone, right? Oh, well just text him. Yeah, just text him. Don't him text him. Just text him. Okay. So what's your website again? KZN Health. Yeah. And then if you guys just go to Instagram and actually if you just search Dr. Steve Baum, you'll pop right up.

Yeah, that's good. And then you guys can book right from there as well. And I talk about a lot of words. I talk a lot about Dr. Steve over on my Instagram as well. We think he's awesome. He does a really great job. I've sent so many people over to you that just are like obsessed with you. Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.

So I haven't heard a single bad thing about you. In fact, all I hear is people bragging to their friends about you. So you've got something good going on. Appreciate that. Okay, so thanks for coming on the podcast today and thanks for your time and go check him out online, guys. Appreciate you. Good job.