What Every Busy Woman Needs to Know

Struggling to prioritize health amid life's demands? Dr. Tamar Lawful, a pharmacist and  working mom turned health coach, shares her journey and tips on transforming your health through personalized care and new wellness strategies.

Are you struggling to prioritize your health while juggling multiple responsibilities?

Many women find themselves neglecting self-care as they take on caretaker roles for family, work, and community. This can lead to burnout, weight gain, and declining health over time.

But it doesn't have to be this way. By learning to put yourself first without guilt, you can transform your health and life.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Why making your health a priority is essential, especially as you get older
• How personalized genetic testing can provide customized nutrition and lifestyle plans
• The potential benefits and risks of new weight loss medications

Dr. Tamar Lawful's journey from overwhelmed working mom to health coach will inspire you to make positive changes in your own life.

Listen to the Earrings Off Podcast

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Personalized Health
• 2:38 Dr. Tamar's Journey from Overwhelmed Mom to Health Coach
• 6:41 Reducing Medication Dependency in Pharmacy Practice
• 11:04 LYFE Balance and Inner Glow Health Coaching Program
• 14:30 Personalized Nutrition Through Nutrigenomics Testing
• 18:32 Weight Loss Medications vs. Lifestyle Changes
• 23:28 Putting Yourself First Without the Guilt

Transcript

Dr. Tamar: 0:01

I believe that health should be personalized. We can identify the type of medications that would actually work for you and limit the risk of side effects, so why not use it? Why waste time when we can get the answers right away? If you want to break the mold of traditional pharmacy and health care, you are in the right place. Welcome to the Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics podcast, part of the Pharmacy Podcast Network. Here's a little truth bomb. We're all unique, down to our DNA, so it's no wonder we react differently to the same medications, foods and environment. Here's a million dollar question how can you discover exactly what your body needs, which medication, what foods or supplements and which exercises are right for you? How can you manage chronic conditions like diabetes without more medications? How can you lose weight and keep it off? How do you tap into your genetic blueprint so you can stop surviving and start thriving in health and life? That is the question, and this podcast will give you the answer. I'm your host, Dr Tamar, Lawful doctor of pharmacy. Let's pivot into genomics and bring healthcare to higher levels. Hello and welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics. I'm your host, Dr Tamar, Lawful doctor of pharmacy and certified nutritional genomics specialist. Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with Nutrigenomics. I'm your host, Dr Tamar, Lawful Doctor of Pharmacy and Certified Nutritional Genomics Specialist.

Dr. Tamar: 1:28

You know, through my journey as a healthcare professional and a working mom, I've encountered a pervasive issue the chronic neglect of self-care among women. Why are we putting self-care on a back burner, ladies? Well, this often comes from feeling guilty about prioritizing our own health and well-being. On a special episode of the Earrings Off podcast, I shared my own story. I went from being an overwhelmed mom who hardly ever put herself first to becoming a health coach who's all about helping others find their way to better health. Plus, I got into an exciting world of nutrigenomics and how it's changing the way we look at personal health. Today, we're going to listen in on this conversation about why it's so important for women in particular to make their well-being a priority, without feeling guilty. It's time to see self-care as something we can't afford to ignore. It's time to see self-care as something we can't afford to ignore. Stay with me as we dig into why putting your health first isn't just okay, it's essential.

Lou & Teresa: 2:39

Listen in. Welcome to Earrings Off. I'm Lou and I'm Teresa. Dr Lawful, you highlight the need for prioritizing self-care, especially for working moms. What personal experiences or transformative moments shaped your philosophy on the importance of making one's health a priority? Because many times, as women, that's something we struggle with, so help us with that.

Dr. Tamar: 3:01

We do struggle with that. You know why? Because so many times we tend to be in positions where we are the caretakers. We are taking care of our spouses, of our children, as well as other responsibilities maybe outside of the house. And that's exactly what I was experiencing.

Dr. Tamar: 3:17

I was serving on the board of three nonprofit organizations at the same time. I was pregnant, I was newly married and I was just not taking care of myself. That's when it first started. Then I had my baby and I was still serving on these nonprofits. I was now working full time, overnight at a hospital and a pharmacy. I wasn't working out. I was struggling, losing that baby weight.

Dr. Tamar: 3:41

Before the baby, I was able to just drop the weight easily. Now the things I was doing before wasn't working anymore and my weight was continually going up. I wasn't diagnosed with any particular illness at that time, but I knew something was coming, because that's the patients I worked with. That's where it all started Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating habits. So that's where I realized I had to take a just a moment for myself and start thinking about what I wanted out of life. One I wanted to be here for my child as she was growing up, she was my first child. I was 38 years old, having my first child, so I knew I was going to be an older parent and I wanted to be around for her. So I had to think what do I need to do? Where do I need to start? And it started with prioritizing myself, taking care of myself, loving myself first, without this here's the key without the guilt, yeah.

Lou & Teresa: 4:35

Oh yeah, and you know, teresa and I talk a lot here on this podcast about just that, about we take on so many different roles, but how we can only be our best self when we take care of ourselves. You know that has to be a priority for us to take, manage everything else. So yeah. I hear you on that.

Dr. Tamar: 4:59

Yeah, it has to be, because we can only do so much for others if we're not fully functional Right.

Speaker 3: 5:05

So, true. So, as an advocate for reducing medication dependency, have you faced any professional resistance or skepticism from your peers in the pharmaceutical industry and, if so, how do you navigate these conversations and help others embrace a more holistic perspective in patient care?

Dr. Tamar: 5:25

That is a great question and actually, surprisingly, I haven't received any pushback, any skepticism. I haven't received anything but support and intrigue from my pharmacy colleagues. They've been extremely supportive when I started this four years ago, learning how we can use nutrition, how we can focus on lifestyle, to get our patients off of medications. I think it's because it's not so unbelievable.

Dr. Tamar: 5:55

In pharmacy college we are taught before we're taught about medications. We're taught that the patient should be encouraged to focus on nutrition and lifestyle. So exercise, avoiding smoking, all that healthy stuff, and then at least try that for three months and then if doing that doesn't improve their condition, then start medications. That doesn't improve their condition, then start medications. So I believe that's probably why they're not so surprised that I'm doing this, because we are taught that, but just not in detail. We're just just the surface of it. But my goal to actually make that the focus and dive deeper with patients when it comes to nutrition and their lifestyle, exactly what to do, how to do it. With that I've been able to share some information with those colleagues that I work with and I've also found a community of other pharmacists who are doing the same thing, so that's provided extra support as well.

Speaker 3: 6:51

So the doctors are. When you say colleagues, are you talking about doctors? Are they working with you?

Dr. Tamar: 6:56

In my business. There are doctors that I'm working with to help their patients focus on nutrition and lifestyle changes. I still work at a hospital, and a hospital is completely different. My role there is to make sure the medications are safe and that they're appropriate for the patient's condition at that time. But outside of hospital, where I can work with people in their day-to-day life, I am working with those doctors to help them focus on nutrition and lifestyle.

Speaker 3: 7:21

That's awesome, because what we hear so often is that doctors don't get any little to any nutrition training in medical school. So it's good to hear that you at least are getting it in pharmacy school and that you're willing to help patients. So how does that look anyway? Like? Do you approach a patient who brings in a prescription to say, do you volunteer to ask the patient if they need nutritional support? Or do they come to you and say, hey, can you help me? How does it look?

Dr. Tamar: 7:56

The way it works now because I have a business independent of the work I do at the hospital. In my business, they are finding me. I'm doing public speaking engagements, I'm doing workshops in the community, so they will come to me Now. I must say, in about eight years ago I did have a position in the hospital where my role was to educate the patients. They're in the hospital, they're about to be discharged to go home.

Dr. Tamar: 8:22

I would go to their room and tell them about you know, you have heart failure. These are the medications that you're starting on, these are the changes in your medications, and then I will get an opportunity to counsel them on nutrition. You know, limit your salt intake to this, eat these type of foods. Make sure you work out this many days a week. But that was the extent of it. That was it. It was just given these instructions. But now, with my business, I'm able to work with them hand in hand, side by side, weekly to actually implement these changes and make it part of their lifestyle, versus just a list of things to do.

Lou & Teresa: 8:59

And Dr Lawful, I think what you're referencing is your life balance. Is that correct? So can you talk to us a little bit more about that and talk to us about that unique strategy?

Dr. Tamar: 10:08

Of course, life balance is the business name. It's spelled L-Y-F-E because it's an acronym for Love Yourself First Every Day. Oh, I like that. Yeah, and underneath the Life Balance umbrella is my health coaching program called Inner Glow. I-n-h-e-r Glow a play on the word inner and I trademarked that name because the clients I had been working with have all been women and as they get healthy and start focusing on themselves, prioritizing themselves, eating right, they actually start glowing on the outside. And I always tell them you know what that's? Because your inside is glowing. You've gotten healthier and that glow is now shining through to you.

Dr. Tamar: 10:50

So Inner Glow is our health coaching program, and what I do that's unique and different from other health coaching programs other than that I'm a pharmacist and I'm able to look at their medications and work with their doctors is that I use what we call nutrigenomic testing, which is the science of how food affects your genes, your DNA. So from that test we're able to get really personalized nutrition plans, lifestyle plans, exercise plans, supplement plans for my clients, based on what their genetics are telling them. They need months. I work with them for four months to implement those changes in their life, because we don't want it to just be. You know just something they do and then they're over, it's done. I work with them so it can be a lifestyle habit. That is just the norm for them.

Speaker 3: 11:45

So aiming for a healthier lifestyle can be overwhelming, especially when bombarded with conflicting information. Like eggs are good for you, eggs are bad for you. You know what I mean. Information like eggs are good for you, eggs are bad for you. You know what I mean. What would be your top three tips for pharmacists or other business professionals to overcome that initial paralysis and take their first actionable steps toward a healthier, more balanced life?

Dr. Tamar: 12:09

You're right. There's so much information out there. You can do a search on Google and get tons of different answers just for the same question, so it's no surprise that people, when they come to me, they are confused.

Lou & Teresa: 12:21

And overwhelmed, I'm sure.

Dr. Tamar: 12:22

And overwhelmed. Yes, exactly, they don't know what to do, and some of them have tried things and it hasn't worked for them. So what I tell someone is yeah, it's good to try something, something is better than nothing. But when you've tried something and nothing is, yeah, it's good to try something, something is better than nothing. But when you've tried something and nothing is working, from my experience I know it comes down to genetics. We're all different. That's why one person might be able to eat eggs and the other is not able to. It comes down to genetics. Someone might be able to run a long distance race and not be winded, while someone else they can't run half a mile without, you know, without being winded. That comes down to genetics.

Dr. Tamar: 12:59

I believe that health should be personalized, whether it's nutrition, whether it's the type of medication that you have. That's something else I do as well, called pharmacogenomics, where you can identify the type of medications that would actually work for you and limit the risk of side effects. It should all be personalized. And now we have the tools, we have the science to do it, so why not use it? Why waste time? Why go through trial and error when we can get the answers right away?

Speaker 3: 13:25

I mean, I love that Until preparing for this interview, I have not heard that word.

Dr. Tamar: 13:30

Pharmacogenomics yeah, so there are quite a bit of pharmacists that specialize in it and doctors now are becoming more aware of it. It's mostly used when it comes to medications for mental health, psychiatric disorders, as well as cancer medications. Yeah, there are cancer medications, now that before the patient receives it, they have to have a genetic test done, and that will help determine which one would be best for them.

Lou & Teresa: 13:56

That's great, yeah, very innovative. So, dr Lawful, you referenced earlier your 90 day health coaching program. Can you share a success story from that or something that's occurred as a result of your program and folks getting involved with it Of?

Dr. Tamar: 14:16

course I'll share our experience. I just met with one of my clients this morning and she I don't usually do private, but for this particular client I said you know what, it'll just be one-on-one Me and you will make it a private. So I've been working with her for about two months now. We met this morning and she said you know, dr Tamar, I went into my closet and clothes that I haven't been able to wear in a couple of years. They fit. Some of them are actually too big. They fit. Some of them are actually too big. And I've only been working with her for two months.

Dr. Tamar: 14:49

She's lost, I believe, about 11 pounds right now and her goal was not weight loss, by the way, her goal is to improve her A1C so that when she goes to her doctor in February, that A1C says you're no longer pre-diabetic.

Dr. Tamar: 14:57

So we are hopeful that that's what the result will be. But by just making these changes in her nutrition and also her lifestyle, she says to me you know, dr Tamar, your program is not really like. She says I see it more like a lifestyle program or so than a nutrition health coaching program, because she says I've helped her be able to structure her life better and prioritize it. So the tips that I'm teaching her about nutrition, the tips I'm teaching about prioritizing herself self-care she's been able to take those and apply them to every aspect of her life work, her family life. So she feels that she's being more well-rounded in her health overall, not just for nutrition but in every aspect of her life. So success stories like those where you get the results that you know you aim for, what your goal is this, but in addition to your goal, you've also had these other side effects. You know those are amazing. So that's a very recent result for client.

Lou & Teresa: 15:59

I tell you that's amazing and you're right. When you can coach folks to actually make a lifestyle change in the way that they do nutrition and exercise and other elements of their lives, then you're really making a difference. So we applaud you for that, Thank you.

Speaker 3: 16:16

So why do you think you're obviously having some successes right and I'm pretty sure you're sharing them, but why do you think some healthcare practitioners and patients don't think about this route or overlook this route? What would you tell someone who's skeptical at first, particularly those who struggle with their weight?

Dr. Tamar: 16:38

I believe a lot of healthcare practitioners don't go this route because it's not taught when they're in school their education. For whether you're a doctor or a pharmacist or nurse, you're not being taught nutrition. You know, you're being taught.

Dr. Tamar: 16:53

This is a disease and this is the medication for it. That's it this is a disease and this is a medication for it. And we to the point where I would go far as saying that we are brainwashed to believe that medications are the only answer, the only solution to health conditions, but we forget where the source of some of these medications are from the plants.

Speaker 3: 17:14

Yeah, that's right.

Dr. Tamar: 17:15

And some of these medications are mimicking what's naturally in our bodies. For example, the latest medications being used for weight loss medications for weight loss, ozempic, wigovi, terzapatide, stemaglutide they're mimicking a hormone that occurs naturally in our body. So what if we, by eating a certain way, by reducing stress, we could actually help that natural hormone in our body work better without having to rely on outside medications? So the reason they're not going this route is because they're not taught to go this route. And for those who are skeptical about it, I would say try it yourself, take the test. Take the test, see what it says, and then two weeks of implementing a nutrition plan that's in, that comes from that test, you'll see the results. So um.

Lou & Teresa: 18:04

Dr tamar, you referenced the emerging weight loss drugs, so can you talk to us a little bit about that? What's your view on those?

Dr. Tamar: 18:14

the um, the latest weight loss medications. They've been around actually a long time, over 20 years, 20 years or so. They're being mainly used for diabetes, so now they've got the latest indication for weight loss. They work for some people, not everyone. It all comes down to genetics again, I believe. But not everyone is going to get the same results or lose the same amount of weight. I believe that for those who have truly been struggling with obesity, with weight loss, it can definitely be an addition to help them to start losing that weight. However, it's important that they are fully informed about what to expect from that medication. I actually collaborate with a doctor to prescribe those medications to patients who need it. And, expectation wise, it may work, it may not work. That's the truth and that comes down to genetics.

Dr. Tamar: 19:08

Expectation wise when you stop taking it, the weight is likely to come back, because the reason you may have issues of weight has never truly been addressed. Whether it's your emotional eating is a problem. The medication shuts that off. It shuts any kind of cravings off. There've been reports that people no longer even crave to drink alcohol, no longer crave to gamble. Wow, yeah, so it works in the. It works in a receptor in your brain that handles all that as well. So when you stop taking it, people report their cravings. They feel like their cravings are stronger than they ever were before they were on the medication. So that's something, that's an expectation. The cravings may come back stronger than before. So you're going to eat more if you haven't learned the habits to cope with cravings, to cope with emotional eating. So I believe it's an effective medication, but they might have to be on it lifelong, depending on the individual, if they want to keep that weight off.

Speaker 3: 20:06

And, as far as we know, being on it lifelong, have there been real side effects that have been identified, or is it OK to be on it?

Dr. Tamar: 20:16

From the studies that they've had because it's been around for so long. The common side effects are all the gut side effects the constipation or the diarrhea. Those are ornithology and vomiting. Those are the main side effects. Now, as far as thyroid cancer has been reported not in humans yet but in laboratory mice. So that's why there is a warning that if you have a history of a certain type of thyroid cancer that you should not be on the medication Because, based on the animal studies, there's a risk of it. There's a risk of potential risk of suicide with this medication. That's been reported. To my understanding it's not an official warning yet but they're still under observation. They're keeping track if there are any suicide behavior associated with these medications. But other than that, as far as I know to date it's a relatively safe medication in comparison to some medications that are out there.

Lou & Teresa: 21:13

Well, thank you so much, Dr Tamar, for coming on Evening's Off and sharing your knowledge with us off and sharing your knowledge with us. And particularly we thank you for thinking outside the box in terms of your interactions in your practice and in your coaching program, because Teresa and I both agree that that's very much needed, particularly from medical personnel. So we applaud you and what you're doing and we're thankful that you care enough to come on our show and share this information.

Dr. Tamar: 21:47

Yes. First off, I want to thank you for allowing me, your platform, to share this information. I want to encourage everyone listening to do life, to live life, which is love yourself first, every day, without the guilt. Put yourself first. You are worth it. You're worth every minute, every moment of putting yourself first, every minute, every moment of putting yourself first. If you want to connect with me, you can connect with me on Facebook at Dr Tamar Lawful, as well as Instagram and TikTok, if it's still going to be around, at Dr Tamar Lawful, and visit me at wwwvlifebalancecom, that's wwwW-W-W-T-H-E-L-Y-F-E-Balancecom, and on Facebook, you can join my Facebook group Blessed and Thriving, because we are blessed, we are blessed, we are blessed, but we need to be thriving because the survival thing is not it. We need to start thriving.

Lou & Teresa: 22:42

Amen, I agree with that. So thank you so much again for coming on Earrings Off. We wish you all the very best.

Dr. Tamar: 22:51

That's all I have for you, friend. I hope you walk away understanding why self-care is essential, especially if you often find yourself juggling multiple roles at the expense of your health. I hope you are inspired to discard any guilt associated with prioritizing your health. Remember, understanding and catering to your unique health needs through personalized strategies like nutrigenomics isn't just self-care. It's a radical act of self-preservation and empowerment. For more insights and to learn how you can start your own journey toward holistic health how you can start your own journey toward holistic health self-care visit my website at wwwthelifebalancecom. That's wwwthelifebalancecom, friend.

Dr. Tamar: 23:44

Health is your wealth and taking care of yourself isn't selfish, it's essential. Thanks for tuning in. Next week on the show, we have a special treat for all the healthcare entrepreneurs out there. We're talking about integrating psychology with entrepreneurship, so you can revolutionize your sales strategy without feeling salesy, learn the secrets of connecting with your dream patients and mastering personal growth, all while navigating the challenges of sales and entrepreneurial life. Talk to you next Friday. Until then, always remember to raise the scripts on health, because together we can bring healthcare to higher levels. You