BOOST - BLOCK - BURN.... Are you ready to bust that plateau? With guest Dr. Samina Ahmad

“Boost”, “Block”, “Burn”!  Sounds like you’re listening to your favorite sport’s team commentary, doesn’t it? Well, I’m actually talking about a product blend made to help burst through that weight loss plateau we talked about last time.

Dr. Samina Ahmad is an MD, an Ayurvedic practitioner, and nutrition consultant. She is also a Scientific Advisory Board Member for LifePharm Incorporated. Today, Dr. Ahmad is back to continue our conversation about weight loss plateaus, stem cell regeneration, and our mind-body constitution. She’ll tell us all about an exciting product for weight management called Extrim Shape.  And we’ll also hear about her amazing non-profit work with her global charity, the Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative. Stay tuned!

Together, we'll build Healthy Cells, and a Healthy You!

Transcript

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Janet Walker  00:05

BOOST.  BLOCK. BURN. Sounds like you're listening to your favorite sports team commentary, doesn't it? Well, I'm actually talking about a product blend made to help burst through that weight loss plateau that we talked about last time with Dr. Samina Ahmad. Dr. Ahmad is an MD, an Ayurvedic practitioner and Nutrition Consultant. She's also a Scientific Advisory Board Member for LifePharm Incorporated. Today, Dr. Ahmad comes back to continue our conversation about weight loss plateaus, stem cell regeneration, our mind body constitution, and she'll tell us about an exciting product for weight loss management called Extrim Shape. We'll also hear about her amazing nonprofit work with our global charity, the Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative. Welcome everyone, to Healthy Cells Healthy You. I'm your host, Janet Walker. I've been working in the health care community for 30 years and for 16 of those years, I've been a writer and producer for the award-winning national PBS Health Information Programs, American Health Journal, and Innovations in Medicine. We've interviewed 1000s of doctors, scientists and researchers on every topic related to health medicine and medical technology. You can watch current episodes of innovations in medicine on your local PBS channel, or you can stream our programs on the American Health Journal Channel, the Better Health Channel and TV Healthy Kids. This podcast is sponsored by the good folks at LifePharm Incorporated, a company whose innovative cellular repair products are backed by extensive science research and clinical studies. Welcome back, Dr. Samina!

Samina Ahmad  01:47

Oh, it's a pleasure, Janet.

Janet Walker  01:48

Let's pick up where we left off, talking about weight loss plateaus, chronic inflammation and obesity. So it seems like what we have is a vicious cycle scenario happening where obesity is a risk factor for being in a state of chronic inflammation. And chronic inflammation contributes to obesity. So how does chronic inflammation play a part in the weight loss plateau that you were telling us about? 

Samina Ahmad  02:13

So Janet, body has a way of healing itself through processes. One is acute one is chronic inflammation is of two types, the acute inflammation probably is happening all the time here and there. Because it's trying to save you from little kind of experiences which the body goes through whenever there is any virus, any bacteria, any injury, any kind of, you know, sort of degenerative change, the acute cells come in, they try to find out what is wrong, and then they fix it and then they leave. This process is not supposed to stay there forever. It's just an acute incident, which your body took care of. But in some people, low level chronicity exists, which means that inflammation never ceases to exist. And it's always there like a nagging pain. And these chronic inflammatory cells are always present inside our adipose tissue or inside the fat cells. They just stay there. And then they constantly start the inflammatory process and they're causing weight gain. Now it's interesting, there's still a battle on what started first whether inflammation leads lead to obesity, or was it obesity that causes inflammation, but it does seem to be that leptin, the hormone, which we talked about earlier, is definitely being produced in the fat cells at a very rapid rate. And it's constantly, you know, like increasing in levels and levels and levels. And what does it do? It basically is a force a hormone, which tells you that you are the satiety, stop eating, you ate all as whatever you could, but this particular person who's obese, their brain does not actually respond to that signal that I should stop eating. It's just like a big wall. And that's what we call the leptin resistance, that the person becomes resistant, and now the continues to eat. There is no holding them back. And now what are they doing when they're eating? They are causing further inflammation like I told you obesity leads to more inflammation. It's a vicious cycle, non stop.

Janet Walker  04:39

So with leptin and ghrelin being hormones that become out of balance and not functioning like they were meant to. How does stem cell regeneration help to restore those hormones or restore hormone balance?

Samina Ahmad  04:55

So interestingly, stem cells or stem cells regeneration is the whole concept here, Janet, that what happens is when stem cells regenerate a cell, it literally goes and guides or instructs the DNA at that DNA level, where you have the chromosomes, you've got the telomeres, and all and it gives them the instructions of literally a healthier cell, a cell which is able to function at a more, you know, normal natural level, when a cell becomes regenerated, obviously, it is going to reach homeostasis, or that sense of balance, what is homeostasis, where everything is happening and functioning at the right level. And that's what we want to achieve. So of course, when homeostasis is reached, all your hormones are going to be manufactured the way they should be, and they will be in total equilibrium, they will not be more or less, they will be at a level where the body can really you know, understand the mechanics of it, and then act accordingly.

Janet Walker  06:09

So then we can reverse some of this damage and bring about a change to our hormones and the different things that are causing this weight loss plateau.

Samina Ahmad  06:21

Well, according to Deepak Chopra, and he's an endocrinologist, as well, a lot of people think he's not a medical doctor. Well, Dr. Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor who ventured towards ayurveda like I have, and then has now become an enlightenment expert. So Dr. Deepak, like he would tell us during the seminars, that you have a 2021 body, which you left behind last year, and now you have a 2022 body, which is going to regenerate become brand new, new spinal cord, new everything, you already know that the red blood cells, I mean, they break and the new ones come in, every cell in our body is dying and regenerating liver can regenerate by itself. And, you know, we have that for the whole body, too. So what if you actually gave the right instructions to your DNA to your genes, and had a good lifestyle, to follow with it. And that is, you know, what epigenetics is that, of course, you're going to regenerate healthy cells. And I tell and give everybody an example, Janet, that try to imagine the cell as something like a soil. And you know, we do a lot of gardening, we all know that if the soil is not good, I can buy the best organic seeds and put them in the soil, but nothing will happen to those seeds. Whereas if I put the right nutrients in my soil, and here again, I'm using the word soil as, as your cell, if you actually fix your cell, you will fix your body, you will fix everything. So here, again, I will stress on the fact that, you know, try to fix yourself, fix yourself, you fix your body, and that's the way to go.

Janet Walker  08:09

You hear so much about don't eat sugars, don't eat carbohydrates, don't eat fats, don't eat this don't eat that all these different diet plans, especially with sugars and carbohydrates. Do you feel that it's important to limit these things from the body? Or in from our diet? Or can we still achieve some sort of weight management, eating all different kinds of foods?

Samina Ahmad  08:35

So that's an interesting question. Because it depends on a lot of things, you know, like I told you and I or whether we have Mind Body Constitutions, three kinds, some people can eat a whole chicken digested well, and never have an issue. And then there are people who will eat one little brownie and then they will have all kinds of you know, sensitivities issues or gain my weight. So the mind body constitution plays a huge role. You need to know what your mind body constitution is, if you are earth and water as a mind body constitution, you will have a tendency to put on more weight than the other two categories. If you are a fire and water person, like the Pitta people, they have a great metabolism, they're able to digest everything so well. They have good bowel movements. Now, if you're an errand space person, guess what? You can eat all kinds of snacks, and still never put on and be that skinny person. And I'm sure Janet, you have such people in your life, right? And you wonder, and you wonder why is this people your why is this person eating so much and not becoming fat, whereas I just smelled some, you know, dessert and I become fat. So I think it's very important for people to understand the importance of ayurveda as well as a medicine, and that's what it stresses on that you. You need to know your Mind Body Constitution and then eat accordingly. And I have like the zillion things I can tell you and share with you. If we do one program on either weather, I can definitely tell you how we can incorporate these very simple tips and you know, lead a very healthy life. Now, I would exercise caution for people who are already on the track of obesity that you cannot do emotional eating, you must be careful, you have to understand the implication of excessive weight in your body. And it will give example of just a female, they have done research. And women who are excessive, who have excessive weight or are obese, they have danger of getting migraines, they can get breast cancer, they will have trouble with osteoarthritis, fractures, vertebral fractures, these are list of diseases that you just get because of being obese, and many of them are inflammatory diseases or to immune disorders as well. So when you know all that implication, wouldn't we want to live a healthy lifestyle, where we have good control of stress, you know, breathe in, breathe in God breathe out fair, you know, don't let all this craziness upset you so much. And I understand we all have our battles, we all have that. But it's also perception of anything, there are some people who faint at the site of injection needle. And then there are people who look at the site while the injection is being put. So it's all about perspectives. Is the glass half full or half empty. But we need to live this life with as much of positivity as we can. We want to be energetic and positive. And your thoughts sometimes make you go in the wrong direction, the negative negativity of it all and overthinking of it all the anxiousness, anxiety, and I tell people all the time, we create disease, the disease is not created just like that. We are responsible for all that's happening in our life right now. Mind, body, and spirit. Please take out some time and try to find out who you are, you know, ask yourself questions like who am I? What do I want? What? You know, what is my purpose in life? What am I grateful for? These are simple questions we need to find time to ask but we are hamsters on a wheel, we don't have time to do this. And that's what causes the imbalance. And, you know, Janet, if there was one word that I would like to stress on, through your podcast and tell people, just one thing that you have to literally work on in your life is balance. Just that word. balance yourself, mind, body, spirit.

Janet Walker  12:47

I love that advice and your approach to health and well being it's fantastic. Thank you. So let's now talk a little bit about Extrim Shape, which is LifePharm’s special blend of ingredients for weight management, and I know that you're on their scientific advisory board, and they're so lucky to have you. So, start by telling me what is the supplement Extrim Shape?

Samina Ahmad  13:14

Okay, so Extrim Shape

Samina Ahmad  13:15

is a wonderful product made by LifePharm. And it has my favorite product of like my favorite ingredient in it, which is the FGF, which is the fibroblast growth factor, the typical LifePharm proprietary egg blend, which they have put in it. And the reason I love it is because this is that blend that we needed in all the supplements as such, because it goes to the stem cells, and it guides them into making repair possible everywhere, all over the body. If the pancreas is not working well, and a person has issues with sugar, which you already know, is a big cause of obesity, insulin resistance and all that it's going to go and cause the repairing of the event, the eyelids and the pancreas and try to make you know your organ healthier. So that goes without saying but beyond that, we have three other blends. We have a block blend, a boost blend and a burn blend. And a very intelligent approach to all this because Janet before I joined you know LifePharm I've been an avid sort of person who is always like reading and trying to find out what's new in the market for weight loss and all. So I think these guys managed to put all those ingredients which we have seen in separate bottles, like you know, I'm gonna name them right now. But you will notice that, you know, Dr. Oz probably talks about them and then everybody starts going and buying Gymnema sylvestre and then they go and buy you know, it's like that. So they decided to put everything together in a supplement with these three very, very wise blends which helped the body and they have no side effects. They are from a pure natural source. These are natural sort of supplements, they are not synthetic, many people don't even know the difference between the natural and the synthetic. But, you know, these are basically literally taken from food, things that your body recognizes as natural and does not go against. So organic good sources of the supplement. And remember that told you those four things that cause the plateau, the weight loss plateau, where we are unable to lose weight. So let's talk about Extrim Shape now how it's going to literally smash this plateau, so that you can lose weight. And we start with that first point that I remember mentioning that the first when my body is going against me, leptin, ghrelin, and all those hormones, how are they gonna, like, you know, literally prevent me from losing my weight when they go out of whack or they lose the balance. So the boost blend has Cascara Sagrada, and it has these herbs. It has gum acacia. So Cascara Sagrada,  and Gum Acacia are actually like fiber.  Gum Acacia actually absorbs seven times the amount of water that it can, you know by itself. So imagine it swells up seven times it’s size, and it will give you a feeling of fullness. When you feel full. You don't feel like eating right, we know that already. And then kiss Cara said Greta is going to collect all the toxins from the body and try to remove them, get them out. Now what happens when you remove the toxicity from the body and you add the bulk, you will have more bowel movements. And you will be able to detoxify better your metabolism or metabolic rate will increase. So we call it the boost plan. It boosts your metabolism and it detoxifies. So let's move to the second one. The second issue was how we lose heart in a diet. Hey, I'm sick of this diet. And I talked about that I don't want to do it. Because it's stopping me from you know, eating my dessert today and telling me to do cheat day. Well, you don't have to cheat anymore, because here we have our blend, which is called the block blend. Now the block blend, as the name suggests, is going to block sugar, carbohydrates, fats, and it's going to block the sugar and carbs from being absorbed right before they get absorbed. It blocks them. It usually these sugars and your carbohydrates get absorbed in the body, right? That's when they get converted to fat cells. So this particular product is going to stop that no absorption of sugar, carbohydrates. And fat is also not going to get deposited there as fat cells. So what does it do also, it reduces your cravings. You know how we have those cravings? Yes, we want to eat something and all. And then another thing it does is and I tried to do it, I broke a piece of the Extrim Shape and I put it in my mouth. And I let it melt a little in my mouth and a little tiny piece and then I had some chocolate after that. I couldn't taste the sweetness of the chocolate because my sweet taste buds were blocked. And this block blend is going to do that. What does it have? It has the white kidney bean extract. It has Gymnema sylvestre, which is called the sugar destroyer in Ayurveda. And it has jettison which is a fat destroyer. So now we come to the third point I told you where the toxins are there in the body, right? What are we going to do about all those toxins? So guess what? They have the burn blend. The burn blend has yerba Mati, it has green tea in it, and also Garcinia Cambogia, the Garcinia Cambogia and all these products that I told you about these particular ingredients are going to cause thermogenesis they start burning the fat cells, hey, let's burn fat. So thermogenesis whenever that happens, what does it do? It improves your metabolism again, you know, you get more energized and you sort of hit to do that. So and the good thing is it doesn't give you the jitters. You know, it doesn't have a lot the weight loss supplements. They have a few dry in it. They've also got caffeine, and I know people who take it and they start like literally trembling and they're so hyper and you feel like they've got some kind of like, classic case of, you know, anxiety or something. But here, you don't have that happening. And now my fourth point about the weight loss plateau. How do we break that that was about your digestive or gut health right So a lot of times we tell people who are taking Extrim Shape, can you also take digestive with it, and laminate, because according to the study, I just told you, if you take these for four weeks, or even more, you will be supporting your gut, in trying to really repair the gut, the lining of the gut. And when the lining of the gut is repaired, then important nutrients get absorbed, even Extrim Shape will have a better chance of getting into the body. Because if I was somebody with leaky gut syndrome, and I popped a supplement in my body, my body cannot absorb anything, because my gut lining is destroyed. So it's just going to go out as an expensive stool, I need to repair my gut wall first. And that, Janet, goes for any food you eat, if you are not absorbing, it doesn't matter what you put in your body, you could have organic avocados, but they don't really matter. Because you don't absorb well. And people don't understand digestion is a long process. It's not just that it starts with you and me, smelling food, looking at food, tasting it, taking it inside, all the sensory organs start at work, then the mouth starts the digestion, and then it goes into the stomach and all your gut and everything. And if you have good absorption, assimilation, and even elimination, it's really important. All these aspects make up for a good gut.

Janet Walker  21:35

That is so important. Can I tell you my experience with the product real quick? Yeah. So in preparation for doing this podcast, I thought, Okay, well, let me look at the family of products and see which ones I want to try. And the holidays were coming up. So I tried the Extrim with Digestive and Laminine, just like you mentioned, and I didn't change anything else. I thought, Okay, I've got lots of family coming. I'm just going to enjoy the holidays. I'm not going to worry about anything. The only change I made was to take the supplements. And then I noticed after the holidays, I'm running around wearing my jeans, and then cooking and doing things in the evening watching TV. And I thought, “Wait a second. I didn't change out of my jeans into my yoga pants”. Here it is, after Christmas when I normally would have gained, you know, five pounds over the holidays, eight pounds over the holidays. And instead, my jeans are fitting more comfortably. So easy. Yeah, I really thought okay, well, the only change I made was taking those supplements, I noticed that I didn't have those cravings for the sweets. And I also was able to stop eating with smaller portions.I felt full with smaller portions. So I really liked the supplement. Now, after the holidays, I got lazy, I didn't reorder. And now we just went through the Easter holiday. And oh my gosh, I ate more sweets. I had more cravings. I had larger portions. So guess what I'm going to be doing after this podcast. I'm gonna get back online, and I'm gonna reorder.

Samina Ahmad  23:29

That's a great.

Janet Walker  23:31

I haven't done a testimonial for anything else. But I'm doing one for this because now I have that personal experience to say it didn't feel like a weight loss management program. Because like you said, it wasn't I wasn't jittery. I wasn't doing anything special with regard to my diet or, you know, changing and adding exercise to what I was already doing. So yeah, I guess I'm a testimonial now because you for me. 

Samina Ahmad  24:05

I think you did well. And I have a confession to make as well. So my husband and I also went on, you know, a little program with Extrim Shape. And I told him, he's always, you know, willing to try anything. He loves food. So he puts on pounds and he does a lot of he's a rock star. He's a musician. He has to be fit on the stage. So he's always asking me what do I do, but this time I decided to do it together with him. So we will motivate each other. And I have to tell you, Janet that his face became more chiseled. I noticed that he was not waking up in the middle of the night to grab ice cream from the freezer, because he must have developed a little distaste for sweet. I don't know. He wasn't grabbing the ice cream or he will always say no no, I don't want it I don't feel like it. And I myself felt that my bowel movement really improved. I love that because I really We love that concept of detoxification, because I know some people are unable to evacuate their bowels regularly, literally, they go after three days, they're not regular. And I know all that can happen to the body, if you don't, if you're not regular. So I think for me, that was the best part. And then also, it took me a little time to let you know, really start feeling the benefits of like fullness that I felt after maybe two, three weeks that I feel fuller, I don't feel that hungry. So that was another thing I definitely benefited from, they have done studies in which after two months, two and a half months, people have lost weight, they have definitely lost and I did a program also with one of my research assistants. And her there was a group of like 9, 10 women, and they definitely, you know, lost nine pounds, 10 pounds. And now the good thing is this weight that you lose stays off, it doesn't stick. And that's what we were talking about. You don't want to regain it. Because here you know, you  have actually tried to make a change at the cellular level. The cellular regeneration is what we're talking about making the soil good. So that whatever happens after that will work out well. And I think that benefit is something that we should all take advantage of.

Janet Walker  26:24

And what's great is this is a whole food supplement. So it's healthy, there's nothing in it that can hurt you. So then Dr. Samina, can you tell us the best way to take Extrim Shape in the morning in the evening with food on an empty stomach? How many a day? How do you recommend incorporating Extrim Shape into our supplement regimen.

Samina Ahmad  26:50

So we have a protocol that we would like everybody to follow because remember, whenever a supplement is made, there is a certain protocol, which is written on the back of the bottle of most of the supplements the suggested use and you know, it mentions the best way of taking it. So let me mention that. For Extrim Shape, we want you to take two tablets in a day, and 30 minutes before your heaviest meal. So if your heaviest meal is your breakfast than 30 minutes before that, if your heaviest meal is your dinner, then 30 minutes before that. And I would like to add though, here's my iron Vedic tip, don't make your dinner your heaviest meal, please. Okay. It's not supposed to be great. This is more like a footnote. So I would like your breakfast and your lunch to be your heaviest meals. And we want 30 minutes before now a lot of times people tell me Dr. Sometimes I forget. And I didn't do it 30 minutes before is it not going to work? And I tell them, It's okay. You know, don't worry about it. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's okay. You can take it within an hour. And I give you that little time period. It's okay. Don't like you know, beat yourself on that. But that's the idea that I just told you the 30 minutes before your heaviest meal. And you take it do not take it for just a month, I would urge everybody to give it a 90 day period, you must do a 90 day trial. And I say that about all supplements do not come to conclusions within a week or 10 days saying hey, I took it nothing's happening. I don't think it works on me. You know, we have to be a little patient. There is no magic wand. You must try something first. And do it also with good intention because he agenda I do want to talk about that. You know, remember one thing, if you take something with a lot of speculation in life, even if it's drinking water saying I don't know what the source of this water is, I'm drinking it. But I don't know what is that little dirt in it. I don't know the classes. You know, when we start making those stories about anything food or otherwise, you have already poisoned your brain and your systems on how bad this is. And it'll never work. You know, you say hey, nothing works on me. It's that poor me syndrome. I don't think that anything will happen. I don't know why I wasted my money buying the supplement. Don't try to put thoughts in your mind before taking anything. Start this whole protocol, this whole thing with a very positive attitude that I will do a do something I will make a difference in my life. I'm going to lose my weight and this product is going to be the best for me. You know, it's like energy healing. I learned how to do dowsing I remember once and my teacher told me that you can even douse bad food. The energy of that bad food can be made into good food. Just by your you know your the way you you you change the energy of anything. You enter the room which has negativity, and you can just change and convert that into a positive notion for yourself. You know, just that same thing I talked about is the glass half full or half empty, change your perception. And that really is helpful. Whenever you start anything, go into it with full confidence, and 100% of you that you're going to make it happen. Right. And that's, I think what helps it Yeah.

Janet Walker  30:27

That's excellent. Well, thank you so much for being with us, Dr. Samina and I'm so happy that you're willing to come back and talk to us a little bit more. But before we go, I can't leave without mentioning the wonderful work that you and your husband are doing through your foundation, the Salman and Samina Global Wellness Initiative, would you be willing to tell our listeners a little bit about what the global wellness initiative is, and what caused you to found such a great organization?

Samina Ahmad  30:56

Thank you, Janet. SSG WIS, Almanza Mina global wellness initiative is my little baby. And my parents always instilled the notion of social work in our lives, you know, at a very young age. And I saw my mother, always helping poor and giving charity. So I think she was the motivation behind this whole project. And my husband and I, you know, we have been doing social work since we were 1617 years old. But we wanted to make an organization of it a nonprofit, and in 2008, We registered our nonprofit in the state of New York. It's a 501 C three tax exempt organization. We have a website and you can check out all the work www.ss GWI dot o RG Salman and Samina global wellness initiatives, where we basically work on many different projects as such, but our heart right now is on women and children's health and education, especially in underprivileged communities. And we've also used music as a tool to, you know, build bridges and for interfaith work, and have incorporated people from different religious ethnicities to come together on the platform and create peace and love and in different countries. Salman and I have adopted a village in Pakistan in sin, were there, they were floods in 2010. And we have made a model village with over 700 people 43 homes, we are making, you know, we are literally working on water project there because I recently adopted four more villages. And Janet, can you imagine that these four villages have a population of over 3000 villages, but they don't have access to water they never had. But I have started putting water pumps there. And literally, you know, giving them some ray of hope and really excited about all that work that we do. I also give rations to them because they come from a very poor socio economic status and they have no support systems. So I go to Pakistan often going back and forth and feeding people. I think it's something that I learned from my mother feeding she was a great cook also and I love cooking. So a lot has to do with food like you know you mentioned I've also done food and nutrition, Ayurvedic food and nutrition. Then I was also I started the first cooking show in Pakistan, which ran for seven years

Janet Walker  33:48

exciting

Samina Ahmad  33:51

I just realized why talking to you that food played a huge hole in my life. It's all about food. I love it.

Janet Walker  33:59

Well, what a wonderful organization listeners you can find out more about the Global Wellness Initiative at https://ssgwi.org. and you can visit Dr. Samina at www.drsaminaswellness.com.

And I'll have both of those links posted for you on the podcast Facebook page. Thanks again so much Dr. Samina I can't wait to talk to you some more. You're doing such great work in the world and for LifePharm and it's just been a pleasure having you with us today.

Samina Ahmad  34:30

Thank you so much. Thank you Janet.

Janet Walker  34:33

All right everyone. Thank you so much for listening to the healthy cells healthy you podcast with me your host Janet Walker. Find us on Apple podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, subscribe and tell your friends. Together, we’ll build healthy cells and a healthy you!