From Flab to Fab with ‘Celebrity Fit Club’ Dr. Ian Smith

CBN.com Dr. Ian Smith is the panel host of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club. He’s taught celebrities like actress Tempest Bledsoe and rock star Gunner Nelson that the key to a healthy lifestyle is to find the right balance between diet and exercise. He shares his thoughts from his new book, The Fat Smash Diet, in this interview with Pat Robertson and Kristi Watts.

Pat Robertson: Please welcome to The 700 Club Dr. Ian Smith. Doctor, so nice to have you with us.

Dr. Ian Smith: Very good to be here. Thanks for inviting me.

Pat: What are you doing with these celebrities? How do you motivate them to get fit? What do you tell them to do?

Dr. Smith: I think the biggest motivation is that they’re losing weight in front of millions of Americans, so they don’t want to embarrass themselves. Also the issue is that people kind of let themselves go, and they reach a point I call the bottom, where they finally say, ‘I want to go back,’ or ‘I want to get my life back, some of what I was.’ I think that what happens is that they get on the show and they decide this is serious. The first couple of weeks are tough because we’re trying to convince them this isn’t just about TV. This is about making you healthier. But they come around to it, and they lose a lot of weight. They’ve been very successful.

Pat: Terrific.

Dr. Smith: It’s been a great show.

Kristi Watts: Because we have a series called “Healthier Heart,” we’re talking about high blood pressure. First of all, a lot of people don’t know what high blood pressure is. And then, when they do get the numbers, they don’t know what that means. Describe it for us.

Dr. Smith: The blood pressure is the pressure of your blood inside of your blood vessels. Imagine water going through a hose, and if you were to kink the hose, the water would start bulging against the walls of the hose. That’s high blood pressure, the pressure against your blood vessel walls. What we’re trying to do is get that blood pressure down. Because when you do have that tautness, that tightness, in your blood vessels, that causes all kind of problems: heart attack, stroke. There are two types of blood pressure readings: there’s the systolic, which is that number up top you always see; and that diastolic, which is the lower number.

Kristi: Well, as you’re describing it, can you do mine?

Dr. Smith: Yes, let’s do your blood pressure. Your heart has two phases, so it’s trying to beat, and that’s the systolic; that’s when you force the blood through the heart. And here we’re going to do a little, simple cuff on you to get your blood pressure. The beauty is that with these machines now you can do it right at home. And so we’re going to let this go up, and this will take your blood pressure. But the systolic is when your heart muscles are contracting. The diastolic is when it’s resting. And so those two recordings—the diastolic is the lower number, the systolic is the upper number—they’re important, because 120/80 is normal, or beneath that. We get concerned when you’re up around 140/90. That’s considered to be high blood pressure. Pre-high blood pressure or pre-hypertension is when you’re between 120 and 139. The numbers in there start getting a little concerning. But in your case, of course, you’ve been the model for this heart healthy series.

Pat: She’d better have low blood pressure or we’re all in trouble.

Kristi: What am I?

Dr. Smith: Your blood pressure is a little up, which I knew would happen.

Pat: She’s a little nervous being with you, Doctor.

Dr. Smith: Can the cameras get that? See. So it’s a little high. But today, we did it earlier. This is called the white coat syndrome, by the way, which means that patients get nervous which is why this is important information. You should take three recordings, not just one. One blood pressure reading . . . .

Pat: I didn’t see those numbers.

Dr. Smith: 141/88.

Pat: You’re going to have a stroke!

Kristi: No, I’m not. I’m still normal. Say I’m normal, Doctor.

Dr. Smith: You are very normal. We did it twice earlier today. She was normal.

Pat: I’m worried about you. We’d better get the boys in the white coats here to get a stretcher or something. Call 911.

Kristi: It’s all good, Pat. It’s all good.

Dr. Smith: Well, she’s in good shape.

Pat: What are some of the tips that you give your patients?

Dr. Smith: Most of it is about overeating. People overeat. Everything is so jumbo sized, Big Gulps and jumbo fries. We eat too much, so I tell people right away, leave a third of what’s on your plate but don’t skip meals. People believe that if you starve yourself that you’ll lose weight. Just the opposite. When you starve yourself, your metabolism, the engine inside of your body that burns the calories, slows down. So that’s no good also. Then I tell people eat fiber, fruits, and vegetables. All this nonsense about not eating fruits and vegetables and all these gimmicky diets, that’s ridiculous. Your parents were right a long time ago. They said eat your fruits and vegetables. They have great fiber.  They protect against colon cancer. They help with your heart. So those are some of the major areas that I try to talk to my patients about.

Kristi: OK, what about exercise?

Dr. Smith: Let’s be honest with each other. You get these diet books that tell you that you don’t have to exercise. That is nonsense. You must exercise, not just to lose weight, but to keep your heart and your lungs and your blood vessels healthy. People think exercise means you have to join an expensive gym. My book tells you there are simple things you can do right at home that will help your heart and help prevent obesity and gaining weight. So exercise is key, but you don’t have to kill yourself or spend a lot of money in a gym.

Pat: What kind and how often?

Dr. Ian Smith: I believe that you should start off doing about 30 minutes a day for five days a week. But you should do different things: walking steps, riding a bicycle, walking around a track, small weights, like you said, small resistance to build up what’s called your lean muscle mass. There are basic things you can do that burn off these calories without having to go to these expensive gyms and spending all this money.

Kristi: Excellent.

Pat: I want to recommend the doctor’s book. It’s called The Fat Smash Diet. It includes more than 50 easy and tasty recipes.