That's Fit

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

I'm thrilled to death about my guest this week, Dr. Mehmet Oz., vice chair of surgery and professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University. I, along with millions of others met Dr. Oz a couple of years ago when he started appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show as her health expert. Kind of like the way she introduced Dr. Phil; except that Dr. Oz is truly brilliant in a non-subjective kind of way, easy on the eyes, and easy to understand.

I've been teaching fitness for almost two decades and have earned a Master's Degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences. I'm always hungry for new and relevant information. Rarely I find it. But, Dr. Oz always teaches me something new. He breaks highly advanced medical concepts down, so that everyone can understand them and how they affect our lives.

Dr. Oz is a major force in the push for real deal, gimmick-free healthy living. Mehmet is one of Oprah's favorite things, and a host of his own talk show on the Oprah and Friends radio network. He has a series on the Discovery Health Channel called You:Staying Young. He also happens to have best selling books out: You:Staying Young and You:On a Diet. I'd like to shrink down small and run around in his brain for a while to absorb all that he has to offer; either that or be his apprentice for a week. Since I probably can't do that, I invited him for an interview. Enjoy it. I did!

Fitz: How did you make the transition from cardiologist to wellness guru?

Dr. Oz: I spent the first few years of my career doing general medicine; you have to learn all other aspects of being a doctor before becoming a cardiologist. I got a great education on how the entire body works. Medicine is somewhat of a narcissistic profession, and I've spent a lot of my life keeping myself healthy. I saw the lifestyle mistakes others were making which led them to me, and I started to feel kind of guilty for not sharing what I knew about health and fitness. The stuff I've been pursuing my whole life! I lettered in eleven sports; everything from water polo to football. I love how you feel after working out; there's a lot to learn in life from pushing your body.

Fitz: How old are you?

Dr. Oz: I'm 47.

Fitz: Do you have children?

Dr. Oz: I have four kids. Ages twenty-one, seventeen, thirteen, and eight.

Fitz: Are you still married to their Mom?

Dr. Oz: Yes and her name is Lisa. I always kid at parties that the first child is from her.

Fitz: How does Lisa feel about you being the sexiest real doctor on television?

Dr. Oz: You're very kind. Well, my wife has taught me so much about being healthy. She keeps our home a physically and mentally healthy place.

Fitz: How do you feel about all the attention?

Dr. Oz: I wasn't totally prepared for it, and I'm not necessarily aware of it all. Very little that I do is by myself; I have a great team.

Fitz: As a trainer, I find that some of my clients will do exactly what I suggest and have instant success. Others though, are stubborn as heck and refuse to budge. Do you have the same experiences with your patients?

Dr. Oz: Yes, of course! I think the biggest problem we have in these professions is that people think they already know what we're going to say! The reason I start my books off with myth busters and quizzes is because I want people to see that they don't know all there is to know about any given topic. I want them to instantly feel that there's something to be learned from my books. It's a challenge to show people the truth about something without making them feel dumb. I also want to offer readers something they can take home to share with family and friends that will resonate with them as well. We always learn best by teaching others.

Fitz: Do you still see patients? It seems like you wouldn't have time to, since you're always on the television.

Dr. Oz: Yes, I do! I usually see two cases each day, Monday through Thursday. Friday is my media day....I'm very busy, but I do see patients almost every day.

Fitz: What about feedback from fans/readers/viewers? Do you find that people are responding to the message?

Dr. Oz: I'm inundated with people who are doing the right thing, but I get feedback even more from people who aren't doing it period. It's not easy, but the big mantra is .. don't dive hard, dive smart. For most Americans, the problem isn't understanding the subtleties of how their bodies work. It's teaching the fundamentals and the basics of how to do things right, so they don't make mistakes that can affect their health negatively..

Fitz: What is your advice for the general public striving to become more fit?

Dr. Oz: Nothing I'm teaching is rocket science. What was missing before were the deep- well, folks don't want you to dumb things down, because they won't believe it. I try to provide them with a true insight of an issue or a body function, without overly complicating it. The best advice I can give people is to work on cutting out 100 calories a day, and doing it every single day. Remove useless things like the simple carbs; sugar, white flour and white rice. Drop sodas and sugary beverages as well. Adopt the basics of nutritious eating. Work at it for a while and eventually these great choices will become automatic.

Fitz: What do you think about diets?

Dr. Oz: I'm not a big fan of diets; and I've never done it personally. Moreover, yo-yo dieting doesn't work long term. Smart eating habits are something you can do daily to get you to your healthy weight and help keep you there. I'm a advocate for rational eating. I want to get you on a thoughtful eating program so it's effortless. Great Discovery Health programs- including YOU: STAYING YOUNG- feature average people who were overweight and struggling to lose weight. In the end, every one of them lost weight, and they all say things like, 'If I knew it was this simple, I would've done it so long ago." Frank Fiscello, a bowler from YOU: STAYING YOUNG, who was just on Good Morning America with me is a perfect example. I tell people that determining what foods are healthier for you starts in the supermarket; if you don't look at the label, you'll never know what's inside. Some people just don't know that broth-based soups are healthier than cream-based soups.

Fitz: What is your workout regimen like?

Dr. Oz: I normally train four days a week. I workout like a banshee on Saturdays and Sundays. I have equipment in my home and usually spend at least 35 minutes on my elliptical machine or treadmill. I do three to four sets of pull-ups (12 reps) on the Gravitron. I also lift weights with dumbbells. Overall, I try to do two to two-and-a-half hours each week on the elliptical. I also do 100 reps of push-ups every day, with one foot in the air so it works my abs. If it's warm, I run outside three to four miles, which takes me about 40 minutes. Bob Greene taught me that pull-ups are the single best workout. I do yoga most mornings for about seven minutes as well. I weigh 185 pounds and have held here steady for a long time.

Fitz: I know you didn't volunteer for this interview to be harassed by me, but why aren't you doing regular pull-ups with a bar?

Dr. Oz: Simple. I can't do enough of them! I can only do four pull-ups with a bar, but if I use the Gravitron I can do several sets of twelve.

Fitz: But if you practice regular pull-ups enough, you'll soon be able to do twelve of them as well. I couldn't do one this August, but then I worked with Anthony Field of The Wiggles and he inspired me to work on them because of his amazing pull-up bar routine. Now I can do several sets of four.

Dr. Oz: Really? I love The Wiggles! They're great for kids.

Fitz: I know! And the pull-up thing is fantastic. You should do them too.

Dr. Oz: OK! You've convinced me. I'll start training with regular pull-ups.

Fitz: Great! You better get to work too. I'm known to show up and test people.

Dr. Oz: I will! I definitely will. :

Fitz: Have you ever had an issue with your weight?

Dr. Oz: Yes, but only once! I was in the sixth grade at a new school and it was a point when I wasn't involved with either community or school sports. I went to the school cafeteria and found this sandwich called a "Fluffernutter". Have you ever heard of that? It's a sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow inside. I had never tried this thing before, but once I did I was like "Wow! I want another!"

So for quite a while, I ate these Fluffernutters for lunch. And then one of my teacher's stopped me and said "You're turning into a little butterball!" She didn't say it in a mean way, she just said it as an observation. I guess I knew what was doing it to me, so I stopped eating Fluffernutters. I naturally returned back to my regular 'kid weight' and have never had one of those sandwiches again.

Fitz: What is your favorite healthy food?

Dr. Oz: I love Fage Total 0%Yogurt. It's a strained Greek yogurt, found at Whole Foods. American yogurt is also fine, but you need to find a brand that doesn't have quite so much water. I don't eat regular flavored yogurt; it's too sugary. I stir in my own blueberries. I also love raw carrots too.

Fitz: What is your favorite junk food?

Dr. Oz: I honestly don't really like junk food. I guess I'd have to say dark chocolate with something salty, like nuts.

Fitz: What's your key to raising fit kids?

Dr. Oz: Play with them! I like to play a game called "ball tag." I have a basketball half court in my basement. The game is you kick the kids (gently) with the ball. If they get frozen, they have to pay a 'kiss toll' to get unfrozen, or one of the other kids can touch them. We made it up. I get a great workout too, because I try to get all the kids frozen at one time. That's normally pretty hard.

My wife and I also let them eat anything that's in our home. We only provide healthy options, so we never have to worry about what they're putting in their mouths..

Fitz: What do you think about kids drinking juice?

Dr. Oz: I've concocted a 'green' drink composed of spinach, apples, celery, and ginger. Though I'd rather kids eat the whole fruit, I'm OK with this juice. My children don't drink other types of juice though.

Fitz: What about other drinks?

Dr. Oz: We stopped drinking bottled water, because I'm worried about all of the plastic. Instead, I've installed water filters throughout my home. I use these great Vodka Infusion jugs without the vodka in it. We fill them with filtered water and fruits like lemons or limes. Not only does it look great, but it reminds our kids to drink the water. I'm giving the Infusion bottles as Christmas gifts.

Fitz: What would you like us fitness trainers to do to help you cardiologists out?

Dr. Oz: I think the biggest problem we have is that people think fitness is all or nothing, either you're training or you're not. I'd like to see more trainers encourage people to build up a fitness foundation of their own. The average person can't see a fitness trainer more than three times per week. Even that's hard! But there are so many things you can do on your own, without the help of a trainer. If everyone builds a foundation of walking and a little yoga they'd be great. A trainer can build off of that foundation.

Fitz: How quickly can you reverse heart disease?

Dr. Oz: It depends on whether the actual heart muscle is damaged. If it has been damaged, it's very difficult. If the muscle itself hasn't been damaged, progress can me made in about a week.

Fitz: Fit tips for holidays?

Dr. Oz: Never walk around a holiday party with both hands full; one with a drink and one with food. Keep a hand free to greet people and you'll cut lots of calories. Also, after every two alcoholic drinks have a 12 ounce glass of water .

Fitz: What grosses you out?

Dr. Oz: Handling fat is slimy, but not much grosses me out. If you're looking for a weakness, I don't like heights very much. I've gotten much better about it though, living in NY and looking out of skyscrapers.

Fitz: How did you hook up with Oprah?

Dr. Oz: I was working on a Discovery show called Second Opinion. We needed a great guest on that show and Oprah came on.

Fitz: What's the best advice Oprah ever gave you?

Dr. Oz: That this is not about us. Just the other day Oprah was telling me about a turning point in her life, Her show was hugely successful and she had everything she wanted, but she was incredibly unhappy. She changed the focus of her show towards helping others, and her whole life improved.

Fitz: Advice for the general person trying to get fit?

Dr. Oz: Stay flexible and get comfortable with your body. Yoga is a great place to start. It integrates both the mind and body and teaches you to be strong on your own.

Dr. Oz: Fitz.......how much more time do you need?

Fitz: How much can I have?

Dr. Oz: Well they're calling me into surgery now.

Fitz: Go! Go! Thanks for spending so much time with me though. I've loved it! I hope to see you and your fancy pull-ups soon!

**Dr. Oz truly is a smarty pants when it comes to living well. If you've been struggling to become fit, give this guy a chance! Watch him on TV, listen to him on the radio, or read his books. He has the ability to change your life for the better. This fitness expert personally endorses him %100. He's one of a kind! Fitz

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