Dr. Ian K. Smith: The Truth About Obesity, Discipline & How to Transform Your Body in 90 Days

Dr. Ian K. Smith returns to The Concierge Doc Podcast for a powerful conversation on health, discipline, obesity, fitness, longevity, and what it really takes to perform at a high level.

In this episode, Dr. Jason Littleton sits down with the bestselling author, physician, television host, and public health leader to break down one of the biggest health challenges in America: obesity. Dr. Ian shares why honest communication matters, how lifestyle choices shape long-term health, and why exercise may be the most powerful prescription for a better life.

They also dive into the habits that fuel high performance, including how Dr. Ian approaches movement, nutrition, sleep, recovery, discipline, and consistency. From his 70/30 plant-to-animal eating philosophy to his no-excuses mindset around fitness, this episode is packed with practical wisdom for entrepreneurs, executives, and anyone serious about upgrading their health.

If you want better energy, sharper focus, stronger discipline, and a body that can support the life you’re building, this conversation delivers.

In this episode:

• Why obesity remains one of America’s biggest health threats
• Lifestyle vs. genetics in weight gain and weight loss
• How to improve your health in the next 90 days
• Why discipline still matters in modern wellness
• Dr. Ian’s approach to exercise, protein, sleep, and recovery
• The connection between physical health, productivity, and success
• How high performers can build a body that supports their vision

Dr. Ian K. Smith is a Harvard-educated physician, Columbia-trained scholar, bestselling author of over 21 books, and one of the most trusted voices in health, fitness, and preventive medicine. His impact spans television, public health initiatives, and millions of lives transformed through his work.

To go deeper into his world—explore his latest book Beyond Midnight, his proven weight management programs, and his full body of work—visit his official platform at DrIanSmith.com, where science, storytelling, and real-world health strategies come together.

Subscribe to The Concierge Doc Podcast for elite conversations on concierge medicine, longevity, performance, mindset, and proactive health with Dr. Jason Littleton.

#DrIanSmith #ConciergeDocPodcast #DrJasonLittleton #PreventiveMedicine #LongevityPodcast #HealthOptimization #ObesityCrisis #FitnessDiscipline #HighPerformanceHealth #WellnessStrategy #ConciergeMedicine #HealthyLifestyle #MedicalPodcast

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Disclaimer:
Access to the Information and materials contained in this podcast is at your own risk. The information contained is presented for the purpose of educating the consumer on a variety of wellness and health care topics (the “Information”). Nothing contained is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The Information contained is compiled from a variety of sources. The Information should not be considered complete and not exhaustive and should not be in place of a visit or consultation with your own primary care doctor.

Transcript

Listener Disclaimer And Risk

Intro 0:00

The views, opinions, and statements expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Dr. Jason Littleton or the Concierge Doc Podcast. We do not endorse or take responsibility for any statements, claims, or perspectives shared in this content. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and form their own conclusions.

Welcome And Guest Credentials

Dr. Jason Littleton 0:23

Access to the information and materials contained in this podcast is at your own risk. The information contained is presented for the purpose of educating the consumer on a variety of wellness and health care topics, the information. Nothing contained is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The information contained is compiled from a variety of sources. The information should not be considered complete and exhaustive and should not be in place of a visit or consultation with your own primary care doctor. Welcome to the Concierge Doc Podcast. I'm your host, CEO, and founder of Littleton Concierge Medicine, Dr. Jason Littleton. Welcome to the podcast. Now, today's guest needs very little introduction. He's a good friend of mine. He's been on this podcast before. You've seen him on TV, but he absolutely deserves one. He's a graduate of Harvard College, holds a master's degree from Columbia University, and earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical institutions in the world. He is the author of more than 21 books, with millions of copies in print worldwide. Of those, eight have reached the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list. That includes Shred, The Revolutionary Diet, Schrooper Shred, Blast the Sugar Out, Fast Burn, and Eat Your Age, programs that have transformed the bodies and lives of hundreds of thousands of people. He was appointed, not once, but twice by President Barack Obama to serve on the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition. He served as the solo host of the Emmy Award-winning nationally syndicated daytime television show, The Doctors. He was the medical correspondent for NBC News Network and the Today Show. He has appeared on the O for Winfrey Show, The View, Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, and more. He served as the medical and diet expert for six seasons on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club. He is the creator and founder of two national health initiatives, the 50 million pound challenge and the makeover mile, bringing free health screenings and wellness resources to underserved communities across the United States. He has written for Time, Newsweek, Men's Health, and the New York Daily News. And he has been featured in People, Essence, Ebony, and Cosmopolitan. He is also a critically acclaimed fiction author, winner of the BCAA Fiction Honor Book Award, whose Ash Kane Crime Novel Series has captivated readers across the country. His newest novel, Beyond Midnight, was released in August 2025. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show, Dr. Ian K. Smith. Welcome to the show, Ian.

Dr. Ian k Smith 3:25

Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be with you.

Dr. Jason Littleton 3:29

I mean, I love reading your introduction. You're so accomplished. You've done so many things. What got you interested in medicine? What brought you to this point? How did you do all of this? What happened? Tell us the story.

Dr. Ian k Smith 3:47

Well, I've always wanted to be a doctor since I was a little boy. The only other thing I also wanted to be, of course, was a basketball player because I played basketball my entire life. So every little boy who could dribble the ball wanted to be Dr. J. So I wanted to be that also. But it's interesting. Even as a kid, I saw myself doing both. I didn't think it was mutually exclusive. You had to do one or the other. So I grew up kind of with this parallel desire of being a professional basketball player and being a doctor. I think my love of being a doctor really related back to my pediatrician. And even at a young age, I was fascinated by how this stranger to me and to my family, who didn't go to our church, who didn't eat Sunday dinners with us, who didn't listen to our type of music, how this stranger could build such trust with me. You know, back then, stranger danger was real. I mean, we don't really, you know, as a kid, you don't really interact with other adults who are not familiar with, who you don't know, who aren't family friends. But this guy I really liked. I enjoyed my visits to the pediatrician's office. I always looked forward to my salted pretzel rods, uh was a treat. But I really enjoyed talking to him. And I, as I became more comfortable with him, I talked to him about life, you know, not that I had a bad life, but you know, things that were going on in my life that were beyond my health. Um, and I said to myself, even at a young age, I hope that I could become a doctor one day and engender that type of trust and bond uh in another person who um is a stranger and doesn't know me, but really respects my knowledge, respects my desire to care for them, that they would trust me uh with very um personal information uh and with their health care. Also, you know, I read an article um in Ebony Magazine about the dearth of black neurosurgeons in the country. And featured in the article was Dr. Benjamin Carson. Um, and I just loved hearing his story. I loved hearing the need for more black neurosurgeons. I loved hearing about the complexity of neurosurgical practice. So there were so many kind of influences I had as a young boy that constantly propelled and pushed me uh to want to become a physician.

Dr. Jason Littleton 6:04

Yeah, I mean, you know, that's that's such an amazing story. I think one of the things that um, you know, I admire about you among so many things, and your story in itself is so um, you know, inspirational and is that, you know, you're you're a great communicator, you're a great storyteller. And, you know, that not only reveals itself in the books that you've written in the Ash Kane series, but in terms of how you make complex situations and concerns so easy to people. Tell me about that and how did you develop that skill? Where did that come from? Because I don't see that every doctor doesn't do that.

Dr. Ian k Smith 6:43

Well, first of all, I love story, and I've always loved the story, which is why I now write fiction and I write a murder mystery PI series, uh, the Ash Kane series. I love stories. I've always loved it as a child, I've loved it as a physician, and I really see the world and my interactions as scenes, and that's just kind of how I see the world. And everything and everyone has a story to it. Whether I was just writing, I'm writing right now, and I believe it or not, I'm writing a memoir I'm in the middle of about my first year as a surgical intern.

Dr. Jason Littleton 7:17

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 7:18

And I was never planning on writing a memoir, particularly this early in my life, what I consider to be early, though I'm not a young spring chicken anymore. But I'm telling you this to say, I'm in the middle of writing um this memoir of my first year as a surgical intern. And it's all about story. It's story. And I'm writing a chapter on a night in the trauma center at a South Bronx ER.

Dr. Jason Littleton 7:45

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 7:46

And the patient comes in, young guy, 25 years old, thin, gunshot, multiple gunshot wounds, um, gang-related violence. And I talk about how after the patient unfortunately dies, how his head turns, and I see a small tattoo on the back of his neck. And I'm locked into that tattoo because I'm now thinking about what's the story of that tattoo? When did he get it? Where did he get it? Why did he get it? What does it mean? What is that tattoo? Now his life is gone, um, but that tattoo is still here. And so that tattoo has a story.

Dr. Jason Littleton 8:28

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 8:29

So what I'm saying to you is that I see story in everything. Um, and as far as communicating, you know, when I was a third-year medical student at the University of Chicago, um, and I was on rotations on the wards where we do, you know, the first two years are in the hospitals. I mean, sorry, the first years are in the classroom. Um, we were learning about physiology and gross anatomy and uh neurology. And these are things that I learned at Dartmouth when I was at Dartmouth Medical School for two years, and I was at the University of Chicago. But the south side of Chicago, where the University of Chicago is located, 80 to 90% of the patient base is African American.

Dr. Jason Littleton 9:05

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 9:06

And so I found myself really bonded to the patient population from a racial and a cultural standpoint. We ate the same food. Our grandparents came from the same region of the country. We had a shared experience that, regardless of my Ivy League degrees and regardless of me wearing the white coat, that didn't mask the bond and the shared experience that we had. But what I also noticed was that a lot of these patients did not understand the doctors, the white doctors. They didn't understand the way the doctors were speaking, they didn't understand the esoteric um medical language that the doctors used. They didn't understand the manner of the doctor. There's a lot, there was just you talk about pure cultural dissonance and disconnect. And that's what I saw as a young medical student. And I realized that equally important to me learning about medicine, learning how to make a diagnosis, learning how to draw blood and treat. Equally important was me being able to talk to these patients so that they understood what was going on with them and to them, to empower them with the knowledge that we as the medical staff had, but people were doing a very poor job of communicating or not even trying at all. And so I took it as a personal responsibility for every patient I had, and even patients who weren't mine, but who I saw in the hospital, to try to explain to them this is what hypertension, high blood pressure is, this is how it works, and giving them analogies. Think about a garden hose. And so, really, as a young medical student, is when I first started crafting my ability to take complicated medical and scientific information and crystallize it so that our people, because most of my patients were our people, but I did it for all patients, but so that our people could better understand what their doctors were saying and become more informed to make good decisions and hopefully to make changes in their lives that would make them healthier.

Dr. Jason Littleton 11:24

How did how did you see that translate into better health care and amongst the black community? How did I see the like just being able to be their doctor and just being able to um communicate in the way that you do?

Dr. Ian k Smith 11:42

It was big. It was very impactful. It was impactful because I think the patient, you know, when you're on the this side of the stethoscope with the white coat, yeah, sometimes you lose connection to the humanity of the person at the other end of the stethoscope. And I felt like me being able to talk to them, not talking down to them, but me being able to talk to them in a way that they understood, that they could hold on and grasp the information, that had an impact. It had an impact not just on their knowledge base, but it had an impact on their fear.

Dr. Jason Littleton 12:24

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 12:25

Okay. It had an impact on their feeling of being empowered because now they understood. And so therefore, they could make decisions and do what they needed to do. So I think that being able to clearly communicate in a culturally sensitive way when necessary is extremely impactful on delivering quality healthcare.

Why Obesity Still Wins In America

Dr. Jason Littleton 12:47

Yeah, well said. Well said. Now, let me ask you this question. You know, you worked across so many platforms, medicine, media, public health. What do you think is the biggest health problem in America that we're still not addressing well?

Dr. Ian k Smith 13:03

When you talk about health problems from a illness standpoint, right? Not healthcare system problem. I'm talking about what illness kind of bucket. I think it's obesity. No question about it.

Dr. Jason Littleton 13:18

Okay.

Lifestyle Responsibility And GLP-1 Talk

Dr. Ian k Smith 13:18

Um obesity, chronic obesity um has its uh hands in almost every disease process. Um, and it's getting worse. And we are seeing rates of complications related to obesity, like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, some cancers. We are seeing these number numbers at record levels, which are commensurate with the rise in obesity. And I think that we have done a tremendously poor job of really attacking the issue. I think that, you know, we do a little campaign here, we do a little movement here, but approaching it from a systemic standpoint as a country, a nationally global perspective of how to reduce obesity in this country, I think we have done an absolutely inadequate um job at doing that. And if we really want to make a change in a lot of the medical afflictions that are prematurely killing people and making people's lives, you know, very difficult to live, we have to attack obesity in a very serious way.

Dr. Jason Littleton 14:38

Do you do you think that this is a result more of lifestyle or genetics when we talk about obesity?

Dr. Ian k Smith 14:46

Well, I think it's a combination of the two. And I think that, you know, it's very difficult to tease out what the ratio is of responsibility. But if I had to make a guess, and I don't have research numbers, but just based on my experience of being in this area of weight management for so long, I would guess that the majority of it actually relates to lifestyle behavioral choices.

Dr. Jason Littleton 15:15

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 15:15

You know, what people are eating at their table, how they're moving on a daily basis, whether or not they're reducing their stress, are they chronically overstressed, therefore leading to sustained chronic levels of cortisol? I think that a lot of what is afflicting us is actually within our control. And I do think that there is a part of the genetics, but I think that even the genetic side can be overcome by behavioral changes. And so I've been very concerned recently hearing statements from celebrities who are, you know, endorsing and pushing these GLP1 agonists. I've been very concerned to hear statements like, you know, I've come to realize that obesity was not a choice. What does that mean? I mean obesity was not a choice. Sure, there are a small number of cases where people have a genetic predisposition to physiological processes that lead to obesity. But that number is very, very small. The vast majority of people who are clinically obese, morbidly obese, and overweight are there because of combination of unfortunate and unhealthy lifestyle choices that they're making. And I'm not, this isn't victim blaming because they're not victims. I'm not blaming people. I'm not being mean about it. I'm just being honest about what the situation is, even though I know people like to hear, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it.

Dr. Jason Littleton 16:56

Right.

Dr. Ian k Smith 16:57

I think that's very disingenuous and very dangerous.

Discipline Without Shame

Dr. Jason Littleton 17:01

Yeah, you know, I agree with that. I think that um it's something that you know all different types of people deal with, all different backgrounds. Um, but I think when people say it's not your fault, it takes the responsibility out of it. And then we don't focus on the things that we have to do to empower us, whether it's diet, exercise, you know, avoiding, you know, again, certain habits. Um sleeping better. Yeah, sleeping better. And but how do we communicate that so that people don't get turned off? Or or what how should we be communicating that to make a difference in people who do struggle with obesity? How do we articulate that?

Dr. Ian k Smith 17:52

How I have done my entire career and will continue to do in my books and whether I'm making appearances is to be honest with people. And the first thing I say to people is that weight loss is difficult. Weight management is very difficult. I have never struggled with weight problems because I've been an athlete my entire life. And part of my belief in being an athlete was treating your body like a temple. And so I've done that. Not because I have, not because I'm clairvoyant, not because I'm special, not because I'm smart. I just I did it by default because I wanted to be the best athlete, which meant having a good body and exercising. So I was doing things that were making me a better athlete that also happened to be things that made me healthier. So I'm not so the first thing I say to people is weight loss is difficult, it is not easy, it is challenging. I'll be the first one to mention that. But there is no silver bullet to kill weight loss, overweight, and obesity. There's no silver bullet, it doesn't exist. It's a multifaceted approach to try to bring your weight down and maintain a healthy weight. And so I talk to people, the way to communicate is to talk to people honestly and openly and start there and then talk about the things that are contributing to this obesity and things that they can change.

Dr. Jason Littleton 19:12

Yeah, I love that. So discipline's a big role in this, obviously. Would you say that?

Dr. Ian k Smith 19:18

Or I will, but you know, discipline is getting a bad rap, right? The minute you say discipline, everyone doesn't want to hear the word discipline because that connotes that you're saying someone is weak, that they're undisciplined. So they don't want you to use the word discipline, but it is discipline. Whether you call it discipline, whether you call it focus, whether you call it consistency, they're all the same thing. The idea is that you have to do what it takes in order to deliver results. Doing that on a consistent basis is discipline.

Dr. Jason Littleton 19:54

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 19:54

And I think that discipline is not a bad word. It's not a word that is shaming someone. Uh, and it I also believe that it's something that we all can actually that most of us can actually do. Obviously, there are people who have addictions, so that becomes a problem. But, you know, most of us have it have a disciplined muscle. And the only way for that disciplined muscle to work is it needs to be exercised.

Dr. Jason Littleton 20:20

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Now I like that. I I know in practice when I look at patients, um, there's that factor. And I also look at metabolic issues such as thyroid, um, cortisol, you know, hormones. Um what role do you feel like that plays in any individual case, or is it possible that we can just correct that, override that with good exercise and good nutrition?

Dr. Ian k Smith 20:53

It depends, right? That's a that's a very difficult question to answer specifically. It depends case by case basis. Yes, there's some people who are hypothyroid, which leads to lower metabolism and all the kinds of problems that lead to weight gain. There's some people who have chronic levels of cortisol due to various reasons, they're too stressed out in their life, they're not getting enough sleep. So it really depends on what the cause is of these problems that are leading to weight gain. And so if the causes are related to lifestyle, yes. Now you talk about someone who's hypothyroid. Well, obviously, we know there's a way to treat hypothyroidism. Some people get treated very well where they become, you know, thyroid becomes, you know, normal uh after treatment, not the thyroid itself, but their thyroid hormone levels become normalized. And those patients um obviously experience less weight management problems. But it depends, really, honestly. It's it's it's it's hard to say unless you look case by case. I don't want to, in a broad brushstroke, say that all patients who have some type Genetic predisposition or some type of a physiological thing happening can overcome that by eating better and working out. That may not be the case for some people.

Dr. Jason Littleton 22:11

If someone listening um wanted to dramatically improve their health in the next 90 days, what are the first three things you tell them to do?

Dr. Ian k Smith 22:22

The first thing I would tell them is to make a plan. Make a plan. This business of haphazardly trying to make changes and make improvements and break bad habits in a haphazard fashion typically ends up giving you haphazard results. You have to have structure to a plan. I've obviously written tons of plans. There are thousands of other plans that are out there that are good, that are accessible and doable. Find a plan that works for you. Take that plan and customize it to your lifestyle, to the resources that you have, to what your schedule is. Make the plan work for you. So that's number one. Find a structured plan. Um number two is exercise. You know, if I could only write one prescription to people for better health, it would be exercise. It wouldn't be medication, it wouldn't be eating. Well, yes, because nutrition is my thing too, you know that.

Dr. Jason Littleton 23:29

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 23:30

It would be if they said only one, it would be exercise. Because physical activity and the results of physical activity can affect almost every uh organ system, uh, physiological system in the body. Period. It does. And the body itself, as you know, the way the body is constructed, it is the most elegant, most complicated, most amazing machine that's ever been built. But that machine needs to be tested, it needs to run. It's like my mechanic once told me. You can't take an expensive German sports car and because you want to preserve it, leave it sitting in a garage. That's the worst thing you can do for it because the seals and the engine break.

Dr. Jason Littleton 24:20

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 24:21

Right? Oil starts to leak, you know, valves don't work as well.

Dr. Jason Littleton 24:26

Right.

Dr. Ian k Smith 24:27

So hoses dry up. So a sports car needs to run. Same thing with the human body. The human body needs to move. So that'd be number two. And then the third thing I would say is that I think that what people can do right now is try to make sure that the diet ratio of what they're consuming in food, that 70% is plant-based and 30% is animal-based. Okay. I'm not saying you have to be a vegetarian. I'm not. And you can if you want to be. I'm not saying you need to be a vegan. What I'm saying is if 70% of what you consume is something that comes from the ground or from a tree, and 30% comes from something that was walking around, then you are going to have better health simply because of the concentration of phytoplant nutrients that exist.

Dr. Jason Littleton 25:23

I love that. I I I love that. That honestly, that that's worth the ticket of omission right there. I I love that point. Um you know, you've written this is just an off-the-cuff question. You've written several books. What book do you have that in? Do you know, or is it like in all of them in principle?

Dr. Ian k Smith 25:47

Oh, that principle is in a book called Plant Power.

Dr. Jason Littleton 25:50

Okay. Okay.

Dr. Ian k Smith 25:51

Which was actually my personal journey into moving to a 70-30 plant-animal lifestyle because I was the opposite. Wow. I ate a lot of animal products, I ate a lot of red meat, a lot, love ribeye. Oh my goodness. I ate ribeye two or three times a week. I haven't had a ribeye. Jeez, if you gave me a million dollars, I couldn't tell you last time I had a ribeye, and that was a staple of my diet.

Dr. Jason Littleton 26:14

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 26:14

Do I miss it? Yeah. Maybe I'll have one on my birthday this summer, a ribeye, a good old-fashioned ribeye. But I haven't had ribeye a steak in over three years, maybe.

Dr. Jason Littleton 26:27

But can't that make a part of the 30% there if you have it what? Yeah once every two weeks?

Dr. Ian k Smith 26:32

Sure. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm a I'm a little extreme. Like once I get out of something and I like it, I go with it. And so I say to myself, ah, you know, yeah, one steak every once in a while is never gonna hurt me.

Dr. Jason Littleton 26:45

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 26:45

I haven't had a burger in a long time. I love burgers too, by the way, cheeseburgers. I like making my own burgers, by the way.

Dr. Jason Littleton 26:50

Yeah.

Health For Busy Leaders And Entrepreneurs

Dr. Ian k Smith 26:51

Seasoning them, making them at home. Uh, you know, there's nothing and taking my bread and toasting the bread. I'm getting hungry thinking about this, by the way. But um, but yeah, you're right. Having an occasion is fine. I tend to be a little on the extreme side, but you know, it's just me.

Dr. Jason Littleton 27:07

This this is so motivating. I I want to ask you this next question for all my CEOs and entrepreneurs out there, all my high-functioning people. You're a high-functioning person. You're on TV, you're traveling a lot. But one of the things you've pointed to us today in so many ways, you eat healthy, you train your body right, you are an athlete, you keep that type of discipline up. Why is it so important for the successful person to take care of their body so that they can function and do their careers at a high level? Why should they do that? Why should they continually be motivated when they're 60, 70, and they're running businesses, they're running corporations. Why should they stay healthy? I kind of answered the question by asking the question, but I want to I want to hear I want to hear what you have to say.

Dr. Ian k Smith 28:01

People who are highly functioning, who have busy lives, I'm going to speak specifically to that demographic since that's who you mentioned. Okay. You have to have some type of vision of what you want your life to look like. And by that I mean you have to divide your life up and say, this is kind of where I'm going. And I'm not speaking from just a career standpoint. I mean life in general. What do you want out of life? Um, and I would argue that most type A executives want to have a life where they are financially solid, they're providing for their family and their grandkids, that they can retire well and live well and comfortably and travel and eat whenever they want and not worry about expenses. But my argument is this if that's the life that you want to lead, then you also need to make sure that your physical is up to the challenge. There's nothing worse than having a bank full of money and you're on five different medications because you have high blood pressure, you have a little congestive heart failure, you have edema in your legs, your kidneys aren't working too well. There's nothing worse than that. And so what I would tell people is this I'm a very busy person. I travel a lot. I'm on planes a lot, I'm in hotels much more than I ever want to be, but I am consistent. I will get a workout in and a hotel anywhere in the world with the most inexpensive minimalist equipment. And I post videos on my Instagram, which is at Dr. Ian Smith, spell the doctor out, Ian Smith. On my Instagram, I say, hey guys, here's a 15-minute hotel workout. And I do that because people tend to make excuses when they get to be executives in corporate, they make excuses, they don't have time, it's not available for them. It is available for you. The other thing I do is I make a conscious decision. If I fly into a city and it's at night and the restaurants are closed, and my options are limited, and the options are fast food, junk from downstairs at the vending machine. I try to find a yogurt. If I can't find the yogurt, I go to sleep. Going to sleep hungry one night is not gonna kill anybody. Went to sleep hungry many nights as a kid. Trust me. Many nights as a kid when there was nothing to eat. I learned as a kid, you know what can solve that hunger? Sleep. You can't think about it.

Dr. Jason Littleton 30:43

Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 30:44

So, so it really is about being serious and committed. I say the three C's commitment, challenge, and consistency. And that's how I live my life. And by the way, I gotta tell you something. I am more productive than ever. I wake up with great energy, I'm positive. Um, writing, obviously, is my main thing. I am writing like crazy. I'm in the middle of writing right now, this book that I thought of uh a week ago, and I've been going guns blazing because I can focus and lock in, because the rest of me is up to the challenge. Because now I have bad hours. I'm up three o'clock in the morning, you know, uh, or going to bed at six and waking up at 11 and writing, because that's what happens when I get my writing zone. There's no clock. But the only way my I can withstand that and continue to be productive because that schedule makes me productive, is that my habitus, my physical habitus is up for the challenge and my mind's up for the challenge.

Workout Sleep Protein And Daily Movement

Dr. Jason Littleton 31:46

I love that. I you know, and I have um this next question I want to blend into our sponsored session uh by Littleton Concierge Medicine, our move, eat, drink uh section, where I ask you how you move, eat, drink, sleep, our meds protocol. Um, with that being said, as you walk us through, and you kind of have already, how you move, eat, drink, sleep. One of the questions I want to ask you, if you would blend in, is you know, do you ever have brain fog? And do you always go to sleep and wake up at the same time? And what do you do when you can't do that? Walk us through that progression.

Dr. Ian k Smith 32:23

Sure. Um, I work out six days a week. I used to work out five days a week. I have a particular goal in mind. I'm going to my 35th year reunion this summer, and I have a physical goal that I want to reach. And so I have upped my workout schedule. Does everyone need to work out six days a week? Absolutely not. Three to five is completely fine. But I work out six days a week. I'm a morning person. I love mornings. I have great energy in the morning. Mornings are quiet. Everyone else is sleeping. The world is sleeping, at least in our region, the world is sleeping. So there are very few distractions. And so I get my workouts done early in the morning. Um, and by the time, by 10 o'clock, it's my afternoon. Because I get up within 10 minutes at the same time every single day. I'm an early riser. I'm up between 4:30 and 4:45.

Dr. Jason Littleton 33:19

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 33:20

If I'm running late, it's 5.15. But you can be assured, and this is without an alarm clock, that I am up, and that my body gets up. And my body's not getting up saying, oh, I'm still tired. My body's saying, okay, it's time to go. Like I can't go back to sleep. Nah. What do I do? I also take a nap when I can. I love naps. I think people underutilize and underestimate the restorative power of napping. A lot of European countries, by the way, nap a lot. Um, they call it siesta in some countries. But that's important. You know, rest is not a luxury. Rest is a necessity of the body saying that I need time to restore and reinvigorate. Because imagine running a car. Imagine driving from New York to LA without stopping. Okay? Now, let's say you let's say you had a tank of gas that could last that long, but imagine running nonstop all those hours. Okay? That's a lot of cycles on the engine, on the tires, on the brakes. You gotta let things rest. And so sleep, my sleep cycle is extremely uh regular. And even if I stay up late, by the way, if I stay up late, I still won't sleep more than six hours. It's just kind of like I don't get so sleepy where I sleep nine hours. Just doesn't happen. Now, different people need different amounts of sleep. You have to figure out what works for you. But that's kind of what my day looks like. Um, I eat a lot of protein um and I try to divide it throughout the day. I try to get at least 40 grams of protein in my first meal because I've typically do that. So I try to combine, so I'm very strategic. I eat fast protein, which is something that you can find in dairy, like a whey protein. Um, and then I will eat um some animal protein that will probably incorporate into my muscles, you know, two hours to three hours later. So I put both of them on board to get immediate protein uh benefits for muscle building early. And then for the next two, three hours, I put other protein in so that will help down the road. That's kind of what my day looks like. And I'm physically and I'm and I'm always moving. I mean, I'm riding a lot, but I move a lot. I'm I'm moving outside of exercise, right? It's called neat non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which basically means moving around that has nothing to do with you being in a disciplined workout.

Dr. Jason Littleton 35:51

Wow. I love that. I love that. So when it comes to like, you know, I just want to I want to re-ask you something about the sleep thing. Were you always like that? Where you were waking up around quarter to five around that time? Medical school. Medical school, okay. Medical school. Okay, so doing doing my surgical rotations, yeah, yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 36:15

I got into the groove.

Dr. Jason Littleton 36:17

How do you so when you have a late night, if you're up late writing and you go to bed at two, you're still waking up around that time? Or what do you do? You make an adjustment?

Dr. Ian k Smith 36:29

Sometimes, sometimes I still get up at five o'clock. Sometimes.

Dr. Jason Littleton 36:34

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 36:35

But usually I will get up probably like 6 15, 6 30. You know, I won't get up at 8. It's just, you know.

Dr. Jason Littleton 36:43

I've always felt that when a person lives a healthy life and they eat healthy, they create a buffering system within their body to be able to absorb stressful times. And I'm not saying that that's stressful, but I am saying that, you know, to a degree, when you don't get a lot of sleep, you know, um, I just feel like because you're in such great shape, your body can absorb that really well and you can move on to the next thing. What would you say?

Dr. Ian k Smith 37:08

I agree with that, by the way. I agree with that 100%. I like the the concept of buffering, more than 100%. But I also want to tell you, it is stressful, by the way. Let's not, we gotta remind people that not sleeping enough is a stressor to the body.

Dr. Jason Littleton 37:21

Right, right.

Dr. Ian k Smith 37:22

It causes it causes elevated cortisol levels, which is the body's way of releasing a hormone from the adrenal glands. And this hormone is what helps your body in turn in times of stress to kind of lower things. So it is stressful for me to stay up to two o'clock in the morning and then try and getting up at four or sorry, get up at five or six o'clock. That is a stress, but you're right. I think that if your body is in a way that there is a buffering, um, and I think that people would do well by creating a system where they have that buffer. Hey, listen, when I was a resident, um, I was surgical resident, then I became a resident in uh physiatry, physical medicine, and rehabilitation. When I was looking and had patients who had suffered from traumatic brain injury, TBI, and they're up on our floor because they're now recovering. You know, we are the doctors of the physical therapist to bring people back. I can tell you to the patient that, and I could predict just by looking at the medical history and the demographical information of a patient, I could predict to the patient who was going to bounce out of our hospital fastest. Those patients that were manual laborers, that were physically active, that were former athletes, those patients almost always bounced back faster than the white-collar lawyer, uh businessman, right? Professors, the other guys bounced back faster. And the reason why they bounced back faster is they had that buffering that you just mentioned.

Dr. Jason Littleton 39:13

I love that. Does the buffer that you have because of your health and your diet, does it prevent you from getting sick? I mean, do you get sick a lot?

Dr. Ian k Smith 39:21

Well, let's knock on wood. No, I don't. I just actually, for the first time in a long time, I had something upper escritory that I caught from my wife, um, who works at a clinic full of six people, sick people. But I, it is rare for me to get sick. Um, knock on wood. Um, and I think a lot of that has to do with my exercise and what I'm eating. And so my body is resilient, you know? Um, and I also try to exercise cautions. I'm I'm very, I'm very careful about open areas. I still wear a mask, I clean my hands, I don't touch public pens and doorways and elevator buttons. Don't do any of it. Uh, because I think a lot of a lot of transmission occurs mindlessly. We're not really thinking that when we push that elevator button, how many other fingers have pushed that button and where those fingers have been. Um, and as you know, um, you know, germs are easily transferable on surfaces that they can live on, right? Depending on the germ and depending on the environment.

No Coffee No Alcohol Real Energy

Dr. Jason Littleton 40:25

Right, right, right. You know, before we um this has been great, by the way. I've learned, you know, I love listening to you. I mean, it's so uh educational, inspiring, and I know my audience is getting a kick off this, but I have this one last question I want to ask you, and it's just left field, but it goes along with the movie drink uh sleep protocol. In terms of hydration, um, you know, are you a coffee drinker?

Dr. Ian k Smith 40:53

Zero. Never had in my life.

Dr. Jason Littleton 40:56

Wow, never.

Dr. Ian k Smith 40:57

It's never in my life. I don't know what it tastes like. I see no value for me. Yeah, I'm not speaking down, I'm not casting aspersions. I see no utility for coffee for me.

Dr. Jason Littleton 41:11

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 41:11

I can't imagine the taste. The smell is interesting. I don't mind the smell, but never had that or alcohol in my life.

Dr. Jason Littleton 41:18

Wow. I'm glad I asked that question. Wow. I didn't know that. I did not know that about you. Wow. Incredible. Well, listen, this is great.

Dr. Ian k Smith 41:28

I also don't want to be stranded in an airport with 50 people at 7 o'clock in the morning trying to get Starbucks. I can't imagine trying to do that. Uh uh, and let me be clear. Once again, I mean, I'm kind of ribbing coffee drinkers, but I have people in my family, not my immediate family, I have people in my family who cannot have a conversation with you unless they've had some coffee.

Dr. Jason Littleton 41:50

Wow.

Dr. Ian k Smith 41:51

That there's no way I could live that. I do not want to be. No caffeine.

Dr. Jason Littleton 41:56

No caffeine whatsoever.

Dr. Ian k Smith 41:58

Uh, where do I get my caffeine from?

Dr. Jason Littleton 42:02

Jeez, I don't drink soda. I drink tea occasionally. Okay. There's a little bit of caffeine in that. Occasionally? Okay. Occasionally. Occasional caffeine.

Dr. Ian k Smith 42:11

Yeah. Wow. I don't have and you know what? I gotta be honest with you. I don't need caffeine.

Dr. Jason Littleton 42:16

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 42:16

I don't need it. Okay. I have a natural high that, you know, my workouts are caffeine to me. Those endorphins, I feel like I can lift a house after I work out because the endorphins are just running through my veins.

Stretching Running And HIIT Efficiency

Dr. Jason Littleton 42:29

Wow. Wow. I love it. I love it. When you work out, do you stretch?

Dr. Ian k Smith 42:35

Um, I started to, by the way. You know, I learned the hard way. Yes. I stretch a little bit before I work out. Those particular muscle groups I'm going to be working on. I didn't always do that. I used to get right into the gym and go right at it because I love I've been pushing on for all of my life. Um, but I stretched now and I try to do a stretch afterwards. I injured, which is rare, I pulled a hamstring by running on a treadmill a few weeks ago. And it was simply because I got on a treadmill and was sprinting, I want you to say how fast I was going at a ridiculous speed I should not have been doing without warming up. And I pulled a hammy.

Dr. Jason Littleton 43:11

Wow. So yeah, you know, and I and I said one last question a while ago, but I gotta ask one more question. This is so interesting to me. Um, I know you lift weights, but how much is like running a part of your exercise routine? Now you you've just kind of alluded to it, but how much do you run?

Dr. Ian k Smith 43:31

My goal is to run three times a week for a mile as fast as I can.

Dr. Jason Littleton 43:37

What's your mile time?

Dr. Ian k Smith 43:40

If I'm really booking?

Dr. Jason Littleton 43:42

Yeah.

Dr. Ian k Smith 43:43

Oh, just over seven minutes, maybe.

Dr. Jason Littleton 43:45

Okay. That's pretty that's awesome.

Dr. Ian k Smith 43:47

That's okay for me. Seven minutes is fine. I'm 56. I'm not trying to setting records at 56. But but the other thing I do is um I Um we'll do um hit running. So so on some days, what I'll do is hit running real fast, by the way, and people listening may try this, is you take on a flat treadmill, um, I take the treadmill up to about a nine and I run that for about 30 seconds, and then I hop off for 30 seconds and hop back on for 30 seconds. I do that six times.

Dr. Jason Littleton 44:26

Wow.

Books Social Links And Finding Motivation

Dr. Ian k Smith 44:26

Wow. That hit H-I-I-T, high intensity interfacing. Yeah, that workout, which lasts, as you can imagine, 30 and 30 is six minutes. Yeah, that six-minute workout can get you more results than walking at a steady state for an hour. So your executive should think about that. I mean, you want to you want to be efficient, do hit workouts.

Dr. Jason Littleton 44:50

I love listen, I I listen. One day I'm gonna work out with you because it's like, you know, this is so inspiring. I look, I appreciate you have you you know coming on, being able to pick your brain, ask questions, and everything like that. Where can people find you? Where can people get in touch and buy your books, things like that? I mean, your books are everywhere. So that's obvious question. I'm telling you, you you want to buy this book, go to your local bookstore. It's everywhere. Go to the airport, go to the book, go to the bookstore, go to Barnes and Noble. You're gonna find it, go to Amazon. It's everywhere, okay? Look left or right, you'll find it. But seriously, what how can people um engage with you on social media?

Dr. Ian k Smith 45:30

So my last book is called The Last 15, my last uh weight management book, which is not a diet book, it's a book about losing the last 15 pounds and breaking through your plateaus. My last fiction book was called uh Beyond Midnight, which is book five in the Ash Kane series. I wrote them out of uh as standalone so you can read them out of order. Um and of course, my website is dreansmith.com. Spell the doctor out. My Instagram is dr Ian Smith, and my TikTok is uh the official Dr. Ian D-R-I-A-N. Let me say this before I go. People have to find motivation. And motivation comes in all forms, in all different places, and often when you least expect it. Whether it's trying to, like for me, look the best I can for my reunion um in about 90 days, or whether it's you want to lower your blood pressure, every individual has to find what motivates them. And you need to open up your senses and be on the lookout for it. I was in getting food at a restaurant and a young guy, I was in Michigan, and a young guy behind the counter says to me out of nowhere, can you bench 315? And it kind of just like it took me by surprise. This guy just kind of, and uh I said, uh, how old are you? He said, I'm 17. I said, I'm more than three times your age. Three times. He's like, What? I said, three times your age. I said, so me trying to bench 315 at my age and what it takes to get there may not be the best thing for my joints, but I can come close to it. And so that inspired a conversation with him and a guy behind me, this big old guy in overalls, heard us talking. He had a question to ask, and that kind of I went back to the car, and my wife and son were in the car. My son was like, Dad, what why are you so hopped up? What's going on? And it was because I was motivated by that conversation. Wow. I was motivated that a 17-year-old kid was looking at me physically, and one didn't realize how old I was, but two, from a physical standpoint, he was like, Man, this guy can bench 315. Wow. Yeah. That that to me is a motivator.

Dr. Jason Littleton 47:51

Wow, that's a great story. That's a great testament to your diet, your workout, your fitness, all of that. That's an incredible story. I'm I'm glad you I'm glad you shared that. Amazing. Man, can you bench three? You said, was it 315? 315. 315. Wow. And the bench, and the way them community is called three wheels. Three wheels. There you go.

Dr. Ian k Smith 48:12

Six six forty-five-pound plates.

Subscribe And Closing Thanks

Dr. Jason Littleton 48:14

Wow, man. Great question. Can you bench 315? Can you bench three wheels? I don't know. I don't know if I can do that. I don't know. I don't, I mean, I could leg press it. How about that? Does that qualify? You can do that. You can do that. Well, thanks. Thanks for being on. And um, you guys, thank you for listening. You know, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Remember to subscribe. And thank you. If you've listened to us all the way to the end, we appreciate that. Thank you. Talk to you guys later.