It’s the Year of the Horse. Are you going to be a rocking horse, going back and forth and staying in the same place? Or a champion—sharp and focused, determined to win the race?

Easier said than done. In this episode, I share how I had decided to shut the podcast down, because I felt like an imposter, that I’d been too ambitious, and bitten off more than I could chew!

I recall tools shared by our guests to combat fear and overwhelm, and which ones worked for me. In the end, I realized we don’t always need to spend time and money correcting course. Often, it just takes the right person saying the right thing at the right time to shift your perspective.

What got me back in the game was trusting myself to do my own triage, and choosing the strategies that felt right. Two mantras I embraced help me enjoy the work, not just obsess about the result.

Just because you don’t know how it’s going to happen, doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Spoiler: Self-doubt and self-belief are both needed to create anything of value.

If you’re waiting for the perfect time to go after your It Has To Be Me, you’ll be waiting forever.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

It’s a puzzle, not a problem. If you want to, you can figure it out.

Don’t be overwhelmed or depleted by your “to do” list—be energized by it.

When faced with an overwhelming task, imagine the feeling of having done it.

Worrying is like a rocking horse. It has motion, but gets you nowhere.

There are a finite amount of yes’s and an infinite amount of no’s. Choose them wisely.

A compassionate no is a gift for you and the other person.

Stay in the race. Most people give up right before they cross the finish line.

Give your imperfect offering. The right people can handle it. The wrong people never will.

MEET TESS MASTERS:

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.

Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.

Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.

CONNECT WITH TESS:

Website: https://tessmasters.com/

Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/

Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/

Delicious Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theblendergirl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmasters/

Thanks for listening!...

Fatty Liver Disease is an epidemic—1 in 3 people has it and many don’t know they do. Dr. Ibrahim Hanouneh, leading hepatologist and co-author of Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, tells us what we need to know so we can avoid fatty liver or reverse it.

We track his career from early medical training in Syria and England to cutting-edge work at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hanouneh shares how the liver’s extraordinary ability to regenerate brought him into the study of the liver, then breaks down the progression of liver disease in an accessible—and hopeful—way.

We discuss the critical role of the liver, the metabolic health crisis affecting 90% of people, the root causes of fatty liver in both adults and children, and how the disease is linked to heart attacks and strokes. From there, we cover risk factors we can control, those we can’t, and why women over 40 and adults with obesity, diabetes, and sleep apnea are at particularly high risk.

Dr. Hanouneh explains the non-specific symptoms of “the silent disease,” the five criteria for metabolic syndrome, and how to get tested for fatty liver. He addresses the four metabolic types, why BMI is outdated, and how “skinny fat” is the real medical risk.

Stressing the importance of prevention and early detection, Dr. Hanouneh shares the impact of diet, sleep, and stress, the best exercise to reduce fat in your liver, and proven food and lifestyle strategies. Next up: the common supplements, detox products, and over-the-counter medications that are causing liver damage, and why a daily cup of black coffee may be exactly what you need.

For those diagnosed with liver disease: We get into the latest studies, what we need to know about the two FDA-approved medications, timelines for recovery, and exciting new developments with transplants.

The key takeaway: When you catch it early and make strategic lifestyle changes, fatty liver is 100% reversible. Don’t miss this episode so you know exactly what to do.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

Fatty liver has surpassed alcohol as the leading cause of liver disease and liver cancer.

What causes fatty liver is a high intake of carbs and sugar—not necessarily fat.

Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver are linked—having one increases risk for the other.

Sleep apnea and chronic stress both accelerate fatty liver through inflammation.

Children are developing fatty liver due to diet and sugary drinks, obesity, and diabetes.

Fatty Liver was renamed from NAFLD to MASLD to reflect its metabolic origins.

Knowing your metabolic type enables detection and tailored treatment for fatty liver.

Rezdiffra and Wegovy are FDA-approved drugs for treating fatty liver disease.

ABOUT DR. IBRAHIM HANOUNEH

Dr. Hanouneh completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic, and served on staff there before attending patients at the Mayo Clinic and joining the Board Of Directors at MNGI Digestive Health.

Co-author of the books Skinny Liver and Regenerative Health, Dr. Hanouneh has spent much of his career working with liver disease, with particular expertise in studies relating to fatty liver. He has presented at national and international conferences, and authored over 70 papers and numerous abstracts.

CONNECT WITH DR. HANOUNEH

Website: https://www.mngi.com/provider/ibrahim-hanouneh-md

Skinny Liver book: https://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Liver-Program-Prevent-Epidemic-Fatty/dp/0738234648/

Regenerative Health book:

Want to lose weight but don’t know whether a GLP-1 medication is right for you? Ashley Koff, dietitian and author of Your Best Shot, explains the links between gut health, blood sugar, hormones, and metabolism, and how we can achieve and maintain our goal weight, with or without the Shot.

We start with Ashley’s own struggle with weight, from belly awareness as a kid and dieting in high school and college, to obsessive exercise, extreme fads, and even a goat’s-milk cleanse! Finally, a gastroenterologist provided a real solution: First, focus on digestion. The results were life-changing. Ashley became a dietitian, building on that approach. She recognized, before the GLP-1s came along, the impact of weight-health hormones—"the Switch"—on blood sugar and appetite, and the connection between these hormones and gut health. She fine-tuned her system, and treated patients with huge success.

From there she walks us through the science—the difference between the Switch and GLP-1 medications that replace these hormones, ”The Shot.” We weigh the benefits and side effects of medications, and how to titrate off them and maintain your results. Covering what you need to know to establish and maintain a healthy weight, Ashley says it's not just about losing weight, it's about optimizing your weight health.

What's “Your Best Shot”? Assess and decode your body’s signals, then create a personalized action plan to fit your specific situation and needs. We talk through that process and what a plan might look like, common pitfalls in formulating a strategy, the skinny on supplements, and why doctors are not always the best guides.

The great news: You can control your weight health more than you think.

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS

1. Your body is an ecosystem, and needs optimized resources to run better.
2. To optimize weight health start with improving digestion and gut health.
3. The body produces hormones that act as “the Switch” to regulate appetite and blood sugar.
4. GLP-1s can reduce food noise, regulate blood sugar, and support weight loss.
5. GLP-1 medications are a hormone-replacement therapy—and suppress the Switch.
6. The medications also can cause dehydration, digestive problems, and other health issues.
7. Titrating off a GLP-1 medication without improving digestion can result in rebound weight gain.
8. Willpower is a fake muscle that does not play a role in effective weight management.

ABOUT ASHLEY

Author of Your Best Shot, Ashley Koff, RD is the founder of The Better Nutrition Program (BNP), the Nutrition Course Director for UC Irvine’s Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute's Integrative and Functional Medicine Fellowship. Also a faculty member at the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy, she teaches the IFNA course “An Integrative and Functional Nutrition Approach to Obesity and Weight Management.”

A go-to nutrition expert on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and others, Ashley was among CNN’s Top 100 Health Makers, InStyle magazine’s Hollywood Nutritionist, and a Global Wellness Ambassador for Westin Hotels.

As a practitioner and business owner, Ashley makes her mission providing personalized nutrition solutions and helping people identify their needs to make “better, not perfect” choices toward their...