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Joseph Wysoki: Physician, Cholesterol, Overweight

The fundamentals of the McDougall Program are simple yet often difficult to implement. Star McDougallers have either adopted the Program themselves by learning from our website and books or joining one of our programs. For personalized help, learn more about the 12-Day McDougall Program. For questions on whether a change in diet can help your ailment, learn more about our consultations.
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A Star McDougaller: Physicians Need Help Too

joseph_wysoki-8071006My name is Joseph Wysoki, I am a 55 year old osteopathic family physician practicing in San Antonio, Texas. Up until 3 years ago, I was living proof that the standard American diet can make you fat, sick and tired. I ate what I thought was a healthy diet, but I just couldn’t understand why I was overweight, short-of-breath, had high cholesterol, and was unable to control my blood pressure on three medications. Dr. McDougall says that physicians like to blame “bad genes” for these types of problems. My bad genes were that I was born to a family where my father owned three subsequent meat-packing plants and a steak restaurant. In our family meat was encouraged and plentiful, so I must’ve eaten enough for three people.

When I was in my 20’s I finally got sick of beef and swore it off forever, but I moved onto chicken and fish. I was surprised when these healthy alternatives made no difference at all! I joined various weight loss programs and was successful until I reached my goal. After working so hard to reach that ideal weight, I somehow thought that I could never gain the weight back, even if I cheated “a little”. The cheating eventually, over time, brought all the weight back. But I hated those diets anyway. I just felt starved and denied. There just wasn’t enough food in those plans to satisfy my hunger. I always told my wife, that if I could just find a diet that offered my favorite foods, like potatoes, rice and corn, I know that I would stick with it forever. I had thought of becoming a vegetarian, but my brother was one and he had multiple health and weight problems, so that must not be any good.

The opinions I read about weight loss were conflicting and confusing. It seemed like everyone eventually put out a diet book. One day I noticed an ad for Dr. McDougall’s 12 day program. I also noted that the program was endorsed by other doctors, (namely the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), as the “#1 Weight Loss Program in America.” Once I saw John’s videotape, “Five Dietary Myths”, I knew I was hooked. Here was an intelligent, eloquent physician with a common sense approach to eating. Not only that, but he had proven, scientific reproducible results. I was definitely going to do this! Even better, was the fact that it offered, in abundance, food that I loved: potatoes, rice, and corn, with fruits and vegetables as side dishes. I dove right in, the pounds melted away (35 of them), my blood pressure dropped to normal, and my cholesterol dropped from 222 to 121. My triglycerides are now 118.

My wife, Glen Esther, noticed the dramatic changes, she liked the approach and started the program as well. Her lifelong constipation (due to dairy products) resolved within the first week, and the chronic minor arthritic aches and pains vanished. She went to her ideal body weight in two months, and hasn’t budged once. Her OB/Gyn physician can’t believe her bone density scan is so perfect because she eats strictly vegan, with no dairy and ingests zero calcium supplements. Amazing isn’t it? Since then, my son, daughter and sister are all McDougalling. I am still working on my vegetarian brother.

I definitely wanted to meet John and Mary personally. We caught up with them on the McDougall Adventure Cruise to Alaska. Glen Esther and I had a really great time, and I had a chance to speak with John. I basically told him how hard it was to convince people, and doctors specifically, of the merits of eating like this. What was needed, I felt, was a program that allowed physicians to help those patients who finally decided they wanted to change their life, but just didn’t know exactly how to do it. In that way, physicians themselves could be educated first. The truth is that doctors, in general, know little or nothing about nutrition and eating correctly. They send their patients out the door with instructions to “cut down” and “watch what you eat”. I think that means to keep your eyes open while you chow down. There is hardly ever any direction or correct guidelines. Anyway, John said, “Joe, that is a great idea, why don’t YOU do it?” I never expected that answer, but that is exactly what I did! With John’s guidance, McDougall Right Foods assistance, and my ideas, we formulated a two-package/sixty day program to introduce people to the McDougall health-style. This is a physician-only program, dispensed from doctors’ offices, and meant only as a transition to eating healthy without pre-packaged assistance. As the patient becomes healthier, and medications become unnecessary, then dropping those drugs becomes a joint decision between doctor and patient.

Now I REALLY have my work cut out for me! San Antonio is listed as the Number one fattest city in the United States. Most people here think that is just as good as an NBA title. When Krispy Kreme Donuts opened their first store here, it set all time corporate records for dollars made on a store opening. The lines were so long that major freeways shut down, and the traffic had to be police-directed 24 hours a day. Texans just don’t want to give up their barbecued steaks and cheese- and meat-laden Mexican cuisine. The resistance in this city to change from eating high- fat food is horrendous. Yet the doctors here can’t ignore the high degree of problems caused by eating like this: hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. Yes, we are also the diabetes capital of the United States. Despite the huge obstacles, I think that you have to start somewhere, one patient at a time. Doctors need to be told. I have to believe there are a large number of patients out there that really want to change, but just don’t know how, and this is because of lack of direction. I hope the new McDougall Program for Physicians fills that gap.

Fellow McDougallers, I need your help. You all have doctors, or have doctors as friends or family. Help me get the word out. Please let them know that there is a specific web site that they can go to in order to obtain these transition programs for their patients. The boxes consist of: education, (Johns’ DVD, tapes, and books) dietary menu plans, food diary, and pre-packaged vegan meals. That web site is: www.rightfoods.com.

Lastly, I want to encourage Dr. McDougall in his work. Like John, I am finding out how hard it is to change peoples’ unhealthy lifestyles, as I know many of you have found out as well. Be committed! Stay the course. It is well worth it. If you build it, they will come.

Best Wishes for Health and Happiness, Dr. Joseph and Glen Esther Wysoki

San Antonio, Texas
jwysoki@satx.rr.com

 

 Dr. McDougall’s Comments:

Many of you have asked me, “How can I find a doctor who practices like you do?” My answer has been, “You can’t, and the main reason is there is no money in this kind of medicine.” I seriously believe all doctors entered the profession to help people, but unfortunately they got side tracked along the way with making money to pay the bills, fear of lawsuits, and most importantly, the ineffectiveness of their efforts. I believe the tremendous dissatisfaction with medicine among physicians today is because we (doctors) so rarely help people. Sure, we prescribe them drugs and send them off to surgeries, but the results are dismal – you can’t miss the obvious. Our patients are still fat, lethargic, pasty looking, and feeling sick – the only difference is they are now on a bag full of pills or recovering from major surgery.

Dr. Joseph Wysoki has solved the three major obstacles keeping your doctor from practicing honest medicine. First, there is now a way your doctor can make a living by helping patients become well – through selling the education and support in the McDougall’s Program for Physicians. Second, the program works, as most of you know, so now your doctor will feel fulfilled as a healer. Lastly, healthy, happy people don’t sue their doctors. Now you have a chance to help your doctor have a better professional life and at the same time help many people become truly well. Tell your friends and your doctors to get more information from www.rightfoods.com/prohealth about building a new medical model – a real “health”-care system.