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00:00such an incredible lineup for you guys today so and all weekend so without further ado are y'all
00:05ready to get this day started let's go all right so okay so whether you're on team get snatched
00:13or team take me as i am this first panel discussion is for you we're going to explore the rise and
00:21the risk of weight loss trends that have so many of us in a chokehold now i'm of the belief that
00:29the summer gonna get the body i'ma give it am i alone in my belief okay i know that's right the
00:35summer gonna get the body i'ma give it all right so please welcome to the stage essence senior
00:41lifestyle editor victoria owumarogi board certified physician dr courtney arianne washington and
00:50international doctor and public health educator dr eric griggs make some noise
00:56hello hello hello thank you
01:03how's everybody doing out there
01:07well good morning essence family as you heard my name is victoria owumarogi and i am the senior
01:15lifestyle editor for essence magazine and i'm so excited and honored to be here to dive into this
01:21much-needed conversation about the new era of diet and weight loss with dr courtney washington
01:25and dr eric griggs everybody give it up for them real fast
01:29all right so let's get started dr washington let's start with you
01:35so we're here to talk about the importance of protecting our bodies as black women
01:39as a primary care physician here in new orleans i'm sure you see firsthand some of the issues
01:44our community faces when it comes to obesity and the resulting complications
01:48can you talk a bit about your experience with this and why you think it impacts our community
01:52even more than others yes so being from new orleans i see three groups of women so that struggle with
02:00their weight either they've had a problem with their weight when they were younger and their
02:04relationship with food maybe it was for comfort the second group is those who gain weight from a
02:09stressful life event or pregnancy and then also as we age so when it comes to that it's not it's deeper
02:15than just the outward appearance is how it makes you feel and also the comorbid conditions that come
02:21along with that like the risk for diabetes or development of that or hypertension and so not
02:27only is it just like a physical issue it's a medical issue as well so a lot of people are hesitant to
02:34talk about it they're scared of medications and they go and use dr google but the impact is so great
02:41because this is your life this is your livelihood it affects pregnancy leading to preeclampsia and
02:47different things like that so i just try to make women feel welcome explain the science the need for
02:53medication and healthy lifestyle changes and make them understand it more than just saying oh just
02:59try this drug no we're going to explain it we're going to talk about it so you know your health
03:04conditions and how to get better nice dr griggs you're both here locally in new orleans and around
03:09the country you've become become known for your motto get checked get fit get moving all right
03:14can you take a moment to break down why it's so important for our communities to do all three of
03:19these things yeah so the important thing first of all thank you this is amazing um uh you know it's
03:25important when i say get checked it's more than just going to the doctor it's climbing our family
03:30trees we do the same thing every year every time it happens there's a funeral we say hey you know we're
03:36going to get together and we go talk and it never happens we don't talk about health enough in our
03:41family so get checked it's climbing your family tree and there'll be amazing things that you'll find
03:46this time last year i found my father holy smokes yeah and i we started talking about health histories
03:52uh i know that i need to be checked for certain things now because they're genetic going to the
03:57doctor once a year is something that we don't think about now we'll plan a trip
04:00like that's true this but we won't plan that doctor visit my advice before you go plan your
04:08trips plan your doctor visit your annual wellness visit if you're a sports fanatic plan your your
04:13team when your team is getting ready for the season you go get checked up for the season because if
04:17you like the saints they'll give you heart trouble um the other thing the other thing is it's having
04:23conversations about food so i'm really really privileged and honored to be on this panel
04:28we've vilified food we've vilified our bodies and we're just we're too beautiful of a people
04:33to be even doing any of it we make amazing foods we make amazing beautiful people so
04:38understanding what to eat how to eat and what works best for your body and then get with your
04:43family and eat together and the last part is get moving get checked get fit get moving that's
04:47something that we do really well just find something you like to do and do it i have no rhythm i can't
04:52dance but you can't tell me that i can't dance i'm moving mind your business mind your business
04:56so these are important conversations they have nice i love that so there are weight loss companies
05:01that we've all grown up you know knowing and being familiar with like the jenny craigs and weight
05:06watchers and they're suffering significant losses because people are just not making use of weight
05:11loss programs like they used to anymore so now they're looking for quicker fixes like the weight
05:15loss prescription drugs can you both explain us some of the risks that are associated with using
05:21these drugs some of their benefits um and as popular as these drugs are what would you say
05:26that people need to know about them before considering use let's start with you dr washington
05:30so i use semi-glutide or ozempic in my practice as well as monjaro they are great drugs they work
05:36very very well but it's important to always work up secondary causes of obesity so being a physician
05:43allows me to really do like dr griggs mentioned do that work up get that family history and talk
05:49about why you are obese the quick fix doesn't mean that it's going to be a long-term fix so i believe
05:55that the reason that jenny craig is suffering financial losses is because patients are now seeing
06:00that you can go and see your doctor get a thorough workup and especially in my practice we talk about
06:05lifestyle changes how to read a nutrition label you think you're eating something organic right but you
06:11don't understand how to read that nutrition label and that is processed pushing more fresh foods and
06:16things like that and it's not going to be always just a quick fix right because we don't want to
06:22gain the weight back the medication is going to make you lose weight regardless but you can't sustain
06:27it if you're not eating well so that's usually my big practice but the side effects of the medication
06:32if you're not getting it from a licensed physician from a certified compounding pharmacy and if you're
06:40getting it from out of the country you don't know what's in that drug so i work in the er as well
06:45and what i see is people go over to mexico and they'll come in with big bruises their liver enzymes
06:51are elevated and i cannot tell you what was in that drug so that's a huge side effect that i see from
06:57the drugs that are used off label or you're taking the wrong dose i have um i've experienced people
07:03that have taken their other family members ozempic at the highest dose you're going to cause liver failure
07:09the positives about the drug if you're going to an actual physician and they're working you up
07:15is that the nutritional counseling is going to take away the hunger sensation in your brain
07:19it's going to help your body use and process the foods that you eat more efficiently and target your
07:25body to use more of the fat cells for energy so you're able to lose weight but i cannot stress
07:31big enough these internet oh get ozempic for 200 bucks guys even the compounded medication is more
07:39than 200 bucks do not budget shop on your body this is your body you only get one amen dr grace what
07:46would you say yeah so the only thing the big thing that i'll add to that is the good thing about these
07:51drugs is the conversation is taking place that obesity is a it's a disease it's a chronic disease like
07:58it's just like any other condition there are medications that can help now that moves into the
08:05mental because we we vilified ourselves it took me a long 53 years to get this beautiful and fine so
08:12it's going to take me a long at least five to ten years to get it to where it needs to be again right
08:17you there's no such thing as a quick fix but what you can change quickly is your body image there's no
08:24pill there's no shot there's no magic one you can wave to all of a sudden look like you think it's
08:29going to take work so all of these these drugs and i do emphasize they're drugs the reason that
08:35you're paying more is because you get a whole you get a whole doctor with it and a whole workup that
08:38you should get because everything that you take affects every part of your body and to it's
08:44irresponsible to get these without health care supervision because this might not be the one for
08:50you and it might not be the dose for you but the important thing is to look in the mirror and
08:54understand these things are only going to help me be as beautiful as i know that i am i can change
09:00my diet i can exercise i can laugh with friends and setting long-term goals i'm going to lose your
09:06body safely you can lose about one to 1.8 pounds a week safely without your body if you've ever been
09:11on a diet before and it failed it ended up bigger than you were more fine than you were before
09:16it's because your body wasn't keeping up with what you were trying to do with it working with your body
09:22being patient giving yourself grace and knowing that you're beautiful every day will help you
09:26along with the doctor use these drugs properly i love that i love that and dr washington in your
09:31opinion what's the first course of action that someone should take if they know they have a
09:35significant amount of weight to lose and they don't want to go to the weight loss drug route how do
09:40they start the path to get healthier or possibly to save their own life starts with finding a good
09:46primary care physician you need to cover your basics your annual exam if you go and you buy a
09:52range rover right you're going to go get the range rovers oil check when that light comes on and you're
09:57going to spend the amount of money and take it to the dealer your annual exam is very important family
10:02history as dr greg says it's important because i'm going to be screening you for certain things
10:07maybe younger and find that out so that's where you need to start first because i'm going to work
10:12up secondary causes of obesity or whatever's going on so that's where you start second is going over
10:19like he said other things your self-image depression can also lead to weight gain if you're depressed
10:26some people go get that big jar of bluebell ice cream and they just gouge on it so let's address
10:32the depression i feel very seen right now i feel no judgment but it's true it's true and they do
10:42that so sometimes you don't need a ozempic what you need is a diagnosis of depression and every time i
10:47say depression like oh no no like as black people we need to talk about it it is okay statistics show
10:53a good 80 percent of people will be clinically depressed at least one time in their life
10:57there are medications that are safe that can treat that depression and now you're not overeating
11:02so that's where we start and also exercise people not just walking if you walk oh i walk a lot from
11:09my job no that's not exercise exercise is saying you know what i'm making this time for myself so
11:15you're giving yourself a mental break you're preparing your body for that and you are doing
11:19exercises that are going to be good for your cardiovascular health and your overall well-being it's for your
11:25brain and your body so that's where you that's where you start before we even talk about weight
11:29loss drugs per se i love that you got to take care of the mind first and don't go don't go ham on the
11:34blue bell y'all share it sharing is caring okay sharing is caring we're not talking about just you
11:41dr griggs look if i see you in the whole food we know you eating the blue bell i feel so attacked i'm
11:47gonna be your accountability partner put that down but no dr griggs you created your foundation the
11:52doc griggs foundation around the idea of promoting community health and wellness so what are some of
11:56the initiatives that you've taken on to build awareness among our community about the importance
12:01of safe weight loss wow so it's conversations going from church to church to school to school to anyone
12:07that will listen letting them know first of all that food is your friend there's no such thing as bad
12:12food they're just bad portions and i educate we've done bike rides we've done the bayou classic events
12:17uh the numerous walks we've done the uh what do you call the scavenger hunts all over the city
12:22trying to make it fun if you trick people into being healthy uh you make a lot of friends but you
12:27gotta you gotta trick them like even over today i have hula hoops and i challenge anyone to a hula
12:31hoop contest did you know that you burn seven calories per minute that you hula hoop seven calories
12:37per minute so in 10 minutes 10 minutes you'll burn about a bag of chips 70 calories so understanding
12:44getting people to understand that you can't outwork or exercise a bad diet you can take all the
12:49ozempic you can take the wagovi you can take any of these quote-unquote miracle things if you're
12:54eating a bad diet you're not gonna lose weight it begins with food nutrient-rich calorie-poor foods
13:00and my example is has anyone ever ate a whole head of cabbage a whole pot no no no i'll bust it not
13:07gonna make for a good day or good night if you do i wouldn't advise it but that's a whole lot of food so
13:12nutrient-rich calorie-poor foods i won't say calorie poor but calorie less dense foods
13:17and coloring up your plate showing those examples starting with the babies and taking it all the way
13:23up because kids will change a household yeah very true very true and lastly we know that much of the
13:29issues around obesity that we deal with in our community it comes from generations before us that
13:33just didn't know any better and pass those issues down in regards to diet and how we eat so for the
13:38men and women in the audience raising children of their own how can we begin to make the changes
13:43that are necessary to turn this health crisis around and possibly possibly impact our children
13:47and generations after them well i'll let dr washington go first so that is a great question
13:54because always when i talk about a weight loss program for the mom i always ask okay is husband on
13:59board right because you need an accountability partner it makes no sense for you to start the diet
14:05but you still got the chips and the candy and the sodas and no fresh produce in your house okay and
14:12when they're like oh my kids like they like this food no no you buy the food and you program what
14:17they do like if they see you doing it they're gonna want to do it so it has to be a family effort
14:23childhood obesity and of these problems there are studies that show that when kids that we they asked
14:29when does cardiovascular disease start right so they all looked at the pediatric patients and they
14:35saw that with poor diets they started to develop coronary artery plaques by age five years old so
14:41even though they may not be obese today you're setting them up for heart disease later so feeding
14:47them all of the processed frozen foods all of those things are going to individually land them up in a
14:52poor health spot so i try to encourage because i'm a mom i have twins i work i do a lot of things
14:57my slow cooker is my friend you press the button you got red beans you know you come home oh somebody
15:03been cooking all day right so those things are relatively inexpensive so making time for yourself
15:09again we're busy but you have to make time for your body you only get one and especially for your kids
15:15and your whole household i have seen whole families change and look completely different and feel
15:20completely different especially when we talk about little black girls right as they grow older they
15:25notice and they pick on them when they're overweight right imagine how they feel when they're able to
15:29eat healthier they're able to participate in physical education longer than mental and building up the
15:35self-esteem so it's really really a big issue but it's a family effort dr graves so high functioning
15:41societies are child-centered adult governed and elderly ruled now if you take that society to a family
15:47model the family that cooks together and plays together lives a real long time cooking together
15:54cooking teaching your kids healthy habits challenging your kids pizza night who can make
15:59the and sometimes you'll get jelly beans and licorice and crazy stuff on the pizza but you got it if you
16:05make it you got to eat it but challenging and making it fun letting everyone look for healthy healthy
16:10recipes to cook and having a taste contest with a prize at the end i keep bringing up hula hoops if you
16:15want to incorporate your grandparents you would be surprised i challenge anyone in here to talk to their mom
16:21challenge their mom or grandmother to a hula hoop contest kids don't hula hoop we didn't hula hoop but
16:26they did i'm telling you they started wrapping around the arm jumping the whole nine but it's all about
16:33the smiles and the fun and the talking and the feeling included you get it at both ends of the spectrum
16:38your seniors as elders they govern the family they feel included the kids they love it because they get
16:44to play with mom and grandmother prime example is my grandmother started us mall walking when i was 11 years old
16:50and all the way through med school it ended up being my mom my grandmother my grandfather my uncle my
16:55aunt my sister my three cousins whatever dude they were dating at the time we started mall walking and
17:00ironically we have we come from five generations of diabetics none of us are diabetic amen and she
17:06changed our food to she had us eating off sauces instead of a plate and my grandfather wasn't having
17:10he was upset like yeah he still wanted a big piece of chicken in a big plate but it it's working and it's
17:15working doing those things just loving on each other and keep making it fun starting in the
17:21kitchen and going outside and playing you'd be surprised just don't let your mom be the banker
17:26because mom mom yeah yeah i only like vegetables when i started having them cook with me well and he's
17:34like oh these green beans are the best i ever tasted yeah they are because they cooked it exactly
17:39i love that i love that so you guys hear that you got to cook with your kids to help them
17:44learn some of these healthy habits we got to work on our mental health so that we can have better
17:49habits when we eat so we're not indulging and doing the most with our blue bell ice cream even
17:53though we love blue bell we love you don't have to bring it back to that and you got to just you
17:59know go and see your doctor make sure you're making these appointments they made some really
18:02great points and i hope that you guys gathered a lot from that so let's clap it up for dr
18:06courtney washington and dr eric griggs helping us kick off
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