The Path from LifestyleRx

About the Episode As part of our late summer break, we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations from The Path archive. Randy Belaire found out he was Type 2 diabetic almost by accident, through routine bloodwork before a bariatric procedure, with an A1C of 11.7. In this episode, he walks through how he researched his way to LifestyleRx, built his own "W.O.N." framework (wanting it, taking ownership, nurturing himself) and used it to lose 154 pounds and bring his A1C down to 4.8 with no remaining insulin resistance. Randy and Brendan also dig into why baby steps, percentage-based goals, and leaning on a support community made the difference between temporary change and lasting remission. We're bringing this one back because his story keeps resonating with new listeners, and it's a perfect one to sit with while we take a short pause before new episodes resume. About The Path Podcast The Path is about simple strategies for better metabolic health. We break down metabolic disease, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes through patient FAQs, better health decisions, and honest interviews with patients and the physicians who treat them. Learn More About LifestyleRx: https://lifestylerx.io/ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca Episode 116 | The Path Podcast

About the Episode This one's a bit different from our usual format: instead of Dan and Brendan digging into a topic together, University of Western Ontario alumna Dr. Charlotte Alabaster turns the lens on LifestyleRx itself, sitting down with our own Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brendan Byrne. He walks through how the 4+2 program actually works, from insulin resistance and exercise timing to why osteoarthritis doesn't mean you have to stop moving. It's a rare look at the program from the inside, straight from the doctor who built it. About the Speakers Dr. Charlotte Alabaster is an alumna of the Sport and Exercise Medicine Program at the University of Western Ontario. Dr. Brendan Byrne is the Chief Medical Officer of LifestyleRx, a family physician who moved into lifestyle medicine after opening a practice in White Rock, BC in 2017, and who has since helped scale the program across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario. About The Path Podcast The Path is about simple strategies for better metabolic health. We break down metabolic disease, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes through patient FAQs, better health decisions, and honest interviews with patients and the physicians who treat them. Learn More About LifestyleRx: https://lifestylerx.io/ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca Episode 115 | The Path Podcast

About the Episode Kristen Watson spent years feeling exhausted and in pain before one experience made her stop and take a hard look at her health. In this episode she talks about the lab result that changed everything, why she leaned on food, fasting, and exercise instead of any single fix, and how she learned to measure progress by more than the number on the scale. It's a real look at what it takes to keep going through plateaus without giving up. About the Guest Kristen Watson is a single mom and accountant who joined the LifestyleRx program after years of chronic fatigue and joint pain. She used her comfort with numbers to track her own results, including a dramatic drop in her inflammatory markers, and turned that insight into lasting habits around food, fasting, and movement. Her journey started with one experience, but it became a story about choosing better, not perfect, every day. About The Path Podcast The Path is about simple strategies for better metabolic health. We break down metabolic disease, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes through patient FAQs, better health decisions, and honest interviews with patients and the physicians who treat them. Learn More About LifestyleRx: https://lifestylerx.io/ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca Episode 114 | The Path Podcast

About the Episode In this Q&A episode of The Path, Dr. Brendan Byrne answers real questions from LifestyleRx patients on some of the trickiest parts of the program: eating enough protein with reduced kidney function, understanding confusing bloodwork, deciding if liver supplements are worth the money, and knowing when GLP-1 medications make sense for a stubborn weight loss plateau. You'll also hear why better sleep and better eating feed off each other, and how to work through an after-dinner sugar craving without feeling like you're failing. About The Path Podcast The Path is about simple strategies for better metabolic health. We break down metabolic disease, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes through patient FAQs, better health decisions, and honest interviews with patients and the physicians who treat them. Learn More About LifestyleRx: https://lifestylerx.io/ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca Episode 113 | The Path Podcast

About the Episode In today's episode, Dr. Brendan Byrne is interviewing Lisa Maks, a Diabetes Clinical Nurse Specialist at Providence Health Care with 38 years in nursing, 22 of them in diabetes care. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and serves on the Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines committee. She is also a LifestyleRx patient, which gives her a rare view from both sides of the clinic. About the Guest Lisa Maks is a Diabetes Clinical Nurse Specialist at Providence Health Care with 38 years in nursing, 22 of them in diabetes care. She is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia and serves on the Diabetes Canada Clinical Practice Guidelines committee. She is also a LifestyleRx patient, which gives her a rare view from both sides of the clinic. About The Path Podcast The Path is about simple strategies for better metabolic health. We break down metabolic disease, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes through patient FAQs, better health decisions, and honest interviews with patients and the physicians who treat them. Learn More About LifestyleRx: https://lifestylerx.io/ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca Episode 112 | The Path Podcast Timestamps 0:00 Intro 1:03 Welcome & Lisa's background 3:12 Obesity and weight cycling 5:12 How she discovered LifestyleRx 7:01 – First impressions of the program 10:52 – Consistency over intensity 14:49 – How physiology shapes behavior 15:59 – All-or-nothing mindset and food noise 18:19 – Outcome-based vs. process-based goals 20:08 – Measuring success beyond the scale 23:59 – Listening to your physiology 26:06 – The Amundsen vs. Scott metaphor 28:17 – Deciding to start a GLP-1 32:06 – How GLP-1 quieted food noise 34:26 – Obesity as a dysregulated system 36:26 – Facing the "cheating" stigma 37:53 – Willpower and hedonistic behavior 41:03 – Our evolutionary food mismatch 44:49 – LifestyleRx's prevention mission 46:22 – Food quality and social determinants 50:07 – Dopamine and engineered foods 50:55 – "Lifestyle first" vs. "lifestyle next" 51:03 – Weight management as an ongoing practice 54:19 – Closing thoughts 54:45 - Outro

In this episode, Brendan and Dan use The Tortoise and the Hare to explore the central paradox: behaviour changes physiology, but physiology also shapes behaviour through reinforcing loops that determine whether change becomes easier or harder over time. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan and Dan answer more of your questions! Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan interviews Dawn Froste, a patient from the LifestyleRx program. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan is joined by LifestyleRx practitioner Dr. Barbara Oliveira. Dr. Oliveira is a registered dietitian and research associate at the University of British Columbia, where she oversees clinical trials and leads an independent program focused on type 2 diabetes remission through evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle interventions. She holds a BSc in Dietetics, an MSc in Neuroscience, and a PhD exploring the role of vitamins in type 1 diabetes — a journey that led her to a postdoctoral appointment at UBC and, ultimately, to the research program she runs today. Her work is driven by a core mission: bridging the gap between what the science says and what actually reaches patients and clinicians in the real world. From low-carbohydrate interventions to knowledge translation, Dr. Oliveira is passionate about making diabetes remission not just a research outcome, but an accessible reality for people living with type 2 diabetes. Today, Brendan and Dr. Oliveira discuss nutrition, type 2 diabetes remission, and the power of lifestyle medicine to change lives. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan interviews Alex Devlin, a patient from the LifestyleRx program. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan & Dan discuss the problem with cheat days and what to do about them. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan is joined by LifestyleRx practitioner Dr. Werner Spangehl. Dr. Spangehl is a family physician who has provided full-service family practice for over 30 years—including maternity care, hospital care, teaching, and management of acute and chronic medical conditions across all age groups. He specializes in medical care with a focus on lifestyle interventions. A member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Spangehl was among the first physicians to become board-certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine in 2017. He has a particular passion for studying the science behind nutrition, exercise, sleep, meditation, relaxation, relationships, and purpose—and how these can prevent, treat, and reverse chronic medical conditions. Dr. Spangehl is the author of One Minute Medicine: Your Effortless Guide to Vibrant Health, which explores the determinants of health and outlines 12 Habits of Healthy People. In 2018, he delivered a TEDx Talk in White Rock about using food as medicine to improve blood flow and organ function. Today, Brendan and Dr. Spangehl discuss all about lifestyle medicine. Dr. Spangehl’s TEDx Talk: https://youtu.be/ytzF2hZKXLs?si=C3HnXS97xFCo-ziJ Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan and Dan answer more of your questions! Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan interviews Louise Gour, a patient from the LifestyleRx program. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Dan and Dr. Brendan Byrne tackle one of the most powerful questions in any health journey — when does flexibility set you free, and when is it quietly pulling you off course? Together, they explore how to build a lifestyle that bends without breaking, and why adaptability — not perfection — is the true key to lasting change. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode Brendan is joined by Dr. Farah Shroff to discuss all about yoga as a physiological and psychological practice. Dr. Farah M Shroff is a Canadian public intellectual with expertise in global public health research and education. She envisions and strives for Health for All on a Healthy Planet. A policy expert, she has worked for governments in Canada and elsewhere. She specializes in solving health problems. Her research areas are integrative health approaches such as Ayurveda and yoga, and social/environmental justice. Speaking French, Spanish and English, she has worked in many nations as an educator in academia and other communities. She founded and leads Maternal and Infant Health Canada (https://linktr.ee/MIHCan), a global public health collaborative aiming to improve the wellbeing of women, young ones and the environment. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health recently awarded her a mid-career fellowship, recognizing her expertise and leadership in global public health. Currently, she is on the Board of the Harvard Health Lab and Expert, Global Health, at the Harvard Innovation Lab. She works as an independent consultant, faculty member at the University of British Columbia and teacher of yoga, dance, meditation and other mind-body activities. She is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (https://www.vch.ca/en/dr-farah-shroff). Dr Shroff is regularly featured in the media. She lives on the land of the Coast Salish Nations aka Vancouver, with her spouse and their sons (when they are home!). Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan and Dan answer more of your questions! Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan interviews Louis Janke, a patient from the LifestyleRx program. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Dan and Brendan discuss the relationship between consistency and intensity. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/

In this episode, Brendan is joined by Dr. Stuart Phillips, one of the world’s leading researchers in skeletal muscle physiology and protein metabolism. He’s a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University, where he has spent decades studying how muscle adapts to exercise, how protein supports that process, and how these factors influence health across the lifespan. Dr. Phillips has published hundreds of scientific papers in this area, and his work has played a major role in shaping current thinking on protein requirements, muscle health, aging, and resistance training. More recently, he chaired the updated resistance training position stand from the American College of Sports Medicine, helping define how we think about strength training and physical performance today. He’s known for bringing a clear, evidence-based perspective to topics that are often oversimplified in the public space—and for helping bridge the gap between physiology and practical application. Ask us a video question! https://ask-a-question.lifestylerx.ca More info: https://community.lifestylerx.io/c/the-path-podcast/