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Fork U with Dr. Terry SimpsonLearn more about what you put in your mouth. Author: Terry Simpson
Fork U(niversity) Not everything you put in your mouth is good for you. Theres a lot of medical information thrown around out there. How are you to know what information you can trust, and whats just plain old quackery? You cant rely on your own google fu. You cant count on quality medical advice from Facebook. You need a doctor in your corner. On each episode of Your Doctors Orders, Dr. Terry Simpson will cut through the clutter and noise that always seems to follow the latest medical news. He has the unique perspective of a surgeon who has spent years doing molecular virology research and as a skeptic with academic credentials. Hell help you develop the critical thinking skills so you can recognize evidence-based medicine, busting myths along the way. The most common medical myths are often disguised as seemingly harmless food as medicine. By offering their own brand of medicine via foods, These hucksters are trying to practice medicine without a license. And though theyll claim nutrition is not taught in medical schools, it turns out thats a myth too. In fact, theres an entire medical subspecialty called Culinary Medicine, and Dr. Simpson is certified as a Culinary Medicine Specialist. Where today's nutritional advice is the realm of hucksters, Dr. Simpson is taking it back to the realm of science. Language: en Genres: Health & Fitness, Medicine, Nutrition Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Willpower Is B.S.: A Surgeon on Zepbound
Episode 109
Wednesday, 31 December, 2025
Willpower Is B.S.: Food Noise, Healthspan, and What Actually Changed My LifeFor decades, I started every New Year the same way.In January, I promised myself this would be the year.By February, I tried harder.Every spring, I adjusted the plan.And by summer or fall, the weight crept back.That cycle repeated not because I lacked knowledge, discipline, or effort. Instead, it repeated because I misunderstood biology — at least when it came to myself.This year is different.For the first time since Ronald Reagan was first elected, weight loss is not at the top of my New Year’s resolution list. Not because I stopped caring, but because I lost 45 pounds with the help of Zepbound over the last year. More importantly, however, I learned something that reshaped how I think about obesity, healthspan, and shame.Before anything else, let me be clear: this is not medical advice. This is a story. Anecdotes are not evidence, even when the anecdote is from a physician. Nevertheless, stories help us understand science when data alone fails to move us.And this story matters.I Had Willpower. That Wasn’t the Problem.For years, people told me — and millions of others — the same thing: move more and eat less. At first glance, that advice sounds logical. After all, calories matter. Energy balance matters.However, reality is more complicated.To begin with, I am a surgeon. Surgical training requires extraordinary willpower. Moreover, I’ve logged food meticulously, cooked Mediterranean-style meals, exercised consistently, and followed every evidence-based recommendation I’ve ever given patients.Meanwhile, Oprah has willpower. Olympic athletes have willpower. Yet obesity persists.Sure, willpower works briefly. In fact, go on a liquid protein diet, and the weight will fall off quickly. Unfortunately, the food noise remains. Eventually, biology wins. Always.In the same way you cannot positive-think your way out of hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, or heart disease, you cannot willpower your way out of obesity. Obesity is a disease. It is not a moral failure.Ironically, I knew this intellectually. Nevertheless, I failed to apply it to myself. We have a name for that: cognitive dissonance.Food Noise Was the Missing ConceptThe real turning point did not come from reading another study. Instead, it came from listening to people I trusted.One colleague quietly lost weight on a GLP-1. Another friend told me something more striking: the food noise stopped. Alcohol lost its appeal. Smoking no longer called.That phrase — food noise — suddenly explained decades of struggle.To illustrate, think of sleeping near Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. At first, traffic noise dominates your awareness. Eventually, it fades into the background. Only when you leave the city do you realize how loud it was.Food noise works the same way.When GLP-1 therapy quieted that background signal, eating slowed naturally. Meals ended without effort. Desire changed without rules. Biology shifted.Notably, calories did not lower my stress. Calories did not improve my sleep. Calories did not stop snoring. Biology did.The Unexpected Early BenefitsInterestingly, weight loss was not the first change I noticed.Sleep improved almost immediately. Stress dropped dramatically. Commutes that once registered hours of physiologic stress now barely registered minutes. Appetite normalized. Eating slowed.These changes matter because sleep and stress directly affect inflammation, metabolic health, appetite signaling, and long-term disease risk. In other words, healthspan improved before the scale reflected anything meaningful.That...
