Ep. 86: Feel better in five with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

Jan 2

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A new year brings about new hope in our hearts. We come with this long list of resolutions and plans that we swear to live by, but most often fail by the end of the first month. Why are habits so hard to make? How can we make it possible to make changes that will stick throughout our lives?

In this episode, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee joins us to talk about making behaviour changes in our lifestyle and how all it takes five minutes every day to create these changes. We talked about his book Feel Better In 5, which is about doing three things a day for five minutes each will help change your health, well-being, and mindset.

Sit back and join us in this episode that will hopefully inspire you to not only achieve your New Year's resolutions but to make long-term changes to make your life better.

You can download a full transcript of this week’s episode here.

As always, we continue the conversation over on Instagram, so once you’ve listened to the episode, come and join me there.

Key Takeaways From this Episode:

Journey Towards Functional Medicine

Dr. Rangan was frustrated on how medicating is always the first solution, even when lifestyle changes can resolve health issues. (05:01)
His son almost died from a convulsion when he was six months old. (05:30)
At that moment, Dr. Rangan wasn't an experienced doctor; he was a worried dad. They immediately rushed him to the hospital. (06:10)
A febrile convulsion is a common occurrence in children, and it’s associated with fever. But his son didn't have a fever. (06:36)
They found out later on that it was due to a deficient level of calcium in the blood and low vitamin D in the body. The guilt of not being able to prevent it from happening to his son, especially as a doctor with high qualifications, drove him to where he is today. (07:07)

Getting Into The Root Cause of a Problem

By not relying on medication, he's now able to help his patients better by looking for the root cause of the problem, identify and take simple, actionable steps to start resolving it. (9:16)
For example, eczema is a dysfunction on some level of the immune system. Steroid creams get rid of the symptoms of rashes but don’t do anything to address the underlying issue. (12:50)
Food has a significant influence on people's skin. Before going down the route of medicating people, try excluding some food from your diet to see if it can help. (13:35)
Getting into the root cause of a problem with functional medicine is empowering. (14:16)

Why Do Resolutions Fail?

The first reason is that people rely on willpower and motivation alone. (15:46)
Motivation comes in waves. It means that motivation comes, and motivation goes. (16:54)
Aside from willpower and motivation to act on plans, people make them too complicated. These plans don't follow the rules of behaviour change. (17:38)
The second reason is that the plans people make do not take on a holistic view of health. (17:58)
You can't just look at one component in isolation and expect long term-change. Health is a combination of multiple factors. (19:17)

Feel Better In 5

Knowledge doesn't always lead to action. (21:02)
One of the reasons why people struggle with this is because they're so busy. They don't have a minute to themselves anymore. (21:40)
A lot of the mind interventions will help you clear your mind or help you get in touch. (22:20)
Doing five minutes consistently every day is much more powerful than doing one hour of a habit once a week. (22:53)
The content of Feel Better In 5 is a set of recommendations that only takes a maximum of 5 minutes to complete. (23:32)
The habit of journaling is so powerful. Merely writing in five minutes where you download the thoughts out of your mind onto paper can be transformative. You can feel calmer, happier. (24:20)
It doesn't matter where you are in life or what your job is; everyone can have access to these simple health interventions. (25:51)
There's no one right approach for everyone. Everyone responds differently. (27:04)

Resentment and Lifestyle Changes

Resentment is baggage that weighs us down. (29:30)
Emotions dictate much of what we do. (29:58)
A 5-minute maximum of Dr. Rangan's practices from his book is how long it will take to help you let go of resentment. (30:31)
There was a lady who had high blood pressure for a long time, and no lifestyle changes would stick. Dr. Rangan observed that she is on edge, and found out that the deeper reason behind it is the resentment about her ex-husband. (31:01)
'Holding onto resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die'. (32:09)
Awareness is change. Once you're aware, you'll start noticing it in other aspects of your life. (32:27)
The resentment exercise in the heart section of the book can influence your overall health. (33:20)

The Importance of Connection

If you are not connected with your family and friends, you will feel isolated. (34:13)
If you want to change a behaviour or a stress response, you have to understand where it's coming from. (35:46)
Mums often want to eat and sleep well, but it's hard when they're tired and stressed. (36:41)
Even the busiest moms can have five minutes in their day to play or dance with their kids. (40:05)

Steps In Making Behaviour Changes

The first thing you need to do is make it easy. (41:07)
If you could do it in your house, or if you can do it without buying any equipment, you are lowering the bars to entry, allowing you to do a new behaviour. (41:38)
When you get good at doing the little things for five minutes every day, before you know it, that five minutes will turn into ten that ten will turn to fifteen. (45:33)

Dr. Chatterjee's Gift To All Mums In The World

The gift he would give to every mum in this world is the permission to relax (53:14)

About Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is one of the most influential GPs in the UK with nearly two decades of experience. He is the star of BBC 1's Doctor In The House, a resident doctor on BBC One's Breakfast Show, and a regular commentator on BBC Radio. Dr Chatterjee is also the author of the international best-selling book, The 4 Pillar Plan. His new book, Feel Better In 5: Your Daily Plan to Feel Great for Life, is available now.

For more insightful content, visit Dr. Rangan's website. You can also reach him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.