Drew Manning

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Okay, HCF Community. I have a really special guest today. We have brought on for you Drew Manning, who is one of the speakers at our event, so let me just start off by welcoming you, Drew. Thank you for being here and for letting me pick your brain for the next few minutes.

Drew Manning:
Yeah, thank you for having me on. It’s my pleasure. Really looking forward to this event. The last event was my first time and I was really, really impressed. Now that I know what to expect, I’m even more excited about this event coming up in November.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah. That actually brings up a really good point before we launch into Keto and women and the way that we help women a little differently with some of the Keto techniques, give us a takeaway. If you’ve never been to the seminar, talk about the vibe and what was your initial impression when you went?

Drew Manning:
Yeah. I saw a group of people that were super excited to be there to learn from some great speakers and a community that, I’m coming from the outside looking in, they look like they’re just so loyal, so excited to just eat up all the information that’s being put out there. I think every single person that was there not only enjoyed other people’s company, but they learned so much. Even for me, I went there and I could’ve just sat there the whole time. I was talking to people and networking and stuff like that.

I wish I could have just sat there and listened to all the speakers, because there was so much great information that I feel like this is like groundbreaking information that can help change people’s lives. From an outside perspective looking in, I would just like to be in the audience the whole time listening [crosstalk 00:01:37] speakers. I was really impressed.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, yeah. I’ve been to a lot of seminars, as I’m sure you have, and there is such an interesting mix of just a family environment where everybody is so welcoming, but the information is jaw dropping. It’s stuff that nobody’s talking about. It’s all science-based and it’s things we need to know as we go forward and help people, so yeah. Let’s talk a little bit, I know you’re going to talk about Keto at the seminar and the topic of the seminar is really women’s health. I think what is new and emerging in the Keto world is how women should be approaching fasting and Keto a little differently. Talk a little bit about what you’re seeing on your platforms and what you’ll be sharing from stage on that topic.

Drew Manning:
Yeah. This is a really important topic that I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me recently because, one, I feel like, first of all, when it comes to helping women, women need to feel understood first versus just getting up there and being authoritative and just saying, “This is what you need to do.” It’s empathy first. That’s what I try and bring to the fitness industry, so empathy first whether you’re a man or woman. Women specifically, I think, need to feel understood and cared about before listening to what you have to say as a instructor or a coach or a doctor even. For me getting into Keto and women, there is a different approach. Even within that category of women doing Keto, it’s different for each woman.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
There’s not a one sentence answer, for sure.

Drew Manning:
Exactly. There are some different techniques though that I have found work really well for women. I think you even brought this up was the importance of cycling in carbs the week before your menstrual cycle and the importance of that. I think sometimes a lot of people, not just women but men too, get so fixated on carbs are bad carbs, stay away from carbs. Then, now we’re telling them, “Hey. It actually might be good to cycle in carbs the week before for hormonal balance.” I think that helps women not feel so crazy sometimes.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Nuts, yeah.

Drew Manning:
Yeah. Then, it builds this healthy relationship with food. I think a lot of people struggle with that relationship with food, food is good or food is bad [crosstalk 00:04:00] food is just food. We put the labels on good food versus bad food. Does that make sense?

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, yeah. So true. I’m sure you see this in your community that for men, you can give them Keto and fasting and it tends to be pretty straightforward. For women, it’s not as straightforward. Then, they’re looking for doctors, they’re looking for health professionals to turn to. If you don’t understand that technique, they’re going to just keep moving on until somebody understands them. Is that kind of what you’re seeing? There’s a difference in how men and women are approaching this and we don’t want women to get discouraged.

Drew Manning:
Yeah. I think that’s really, really important for women not to get discouraged is there’s always going to be constant testing and changing things up. I feel like if they come to someone like a doctor like you or a health professional that’s trying to help them with their health, if they don’t understand these types of things… I recently had someone, a thyroid expert, come on my podcast and talk about hypothyroidism, for example, and how you could be doing all of the right things, doing Keto correctly, intermittent fasting correctly, exercising for hours and still not see results because you don’t understand how the thyroid works.

You don’t understand how hypothyroidism could be affecting all these other hormones. There’s this cascade of bad things that could happen if you don’t understand that. You’re just trying to like, “All right, eat less and fast more and work out more.” You’re doing more damage than good in the long run until this one thing is fixed [inaudible 00:05:32] your body’s efficient at moving forward. Does that make sense?

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah.

Drew Manning:
[crosstalk 00:05:36].

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, no, yeah. It’s in that customization and the toolbox, I always say we just need a really big toolbox to be able to help people in this day and age. It’s no longer throw on your workout clothes and go workout and your health will change. That does not exist anymore. Talk a little bit, and I’m sure you’re going to talk about this from stage, but you’ve been in the fitness industry and the health industry for a while, how popular do you feel like Keto and fasting is right now? Is it on the down side? Is it up? Are people wanting to know more information about Keto and fasting?

Drew Manning:
Yeah. From my perspective, Keto is still, from the last time I checked, was the most Googled diet of this year and last year. It still has that popularity. In the fitness industry, it’s so interesting. These cycles come and go really, really fast. That’s why people think Keto is this fad diet when, in reality, it’s been around forever. Fad diets come and go for sure, because people are looking at Keto as this miracle weight loss pill that’s going to… If you eat bacon and cheese all day long, then you’re going to lose this weight magically. As far as that goes, I feel like it’s still pretty high up there as far as popularity goes, but I see it kind of slowly declining in the near future, within this year.

That doesn’t mean that it’s still not popular. I could go down the street and say the word, “Keto,” and people’s heads turn like, “Oh, I’m doing Keto. I’ve lost 50 pounds.” That happens all the time. I still think it’s still up there, but I feel like the fad diet aspect of it is starting to decline because people are like, “Okay, what’s next? What’s the next big thing?” We’re so addicted to this diet mentality here in America. We want the quickest way to lose the most amount of weight with the least amount of effort in the shortest amount of time. If it doesn’t do that for them within a month or so, then it’s like, “All right, what’s the next thing?”

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Right. I’ve thought about this before on my platforms is like, “Okay, so people, they don’t want to give up on Keto. They don’t want to give up on fasting, but they want to know what it’s going to be morphed into.” What I love is what Dr. Pompa teaches is variation, you know? I come to these seminars and I’m like, “Oh my gosh, here’s what it’s going to be morphed into.” This is exactly why you come to a seminar like this is so that you can get that next thing that will be the evolution of Keto because, like you said, so many people’s heads turn when you say Keto.

Drew Manning:
Yeah, it’s so true. This is why I wish I could just be in the audience at this seminar and just learning from all the great speakers, because they’re talking about the latest science and the latest research that’s out there. To your point with what Dr. Pompa said, variation or metabolic flexibility really is the key. Not just being efficient at ketones or just being efficient at glucose, but being efficient at different types of fuels instead of just one type of fuel. I think that’s really the ultimate goal for people. Unless you know how to do that, for example, by coming to a seminar like this or learning from a practitioner that understands this, then I feel like you’re missing the mark a little bit on what the ultimate goal with Keto. Like you said, it’s one tool in your tool belt.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, okay. Then, here’s another interesting question, because you have such a large platform, how disillusioned and frustrated do you feel like people are right now with a traditional approach to healthcare, diet, exercise? Do you feel like we live in a culture now where people are really starting to find their own answers outside of their traditional doctor’s office?

Drew Manning:
Yes. I see it more prevalent in my generation and the younger generation. Whereas, for example, my parents’ generation, there’s a lot of people are still stuck in that mentality of whatever my doctor says goes because they’re smarter than me. This is what their role is and I just do what they say and I take the pills that they give me. I feel like my generation and the younger generation is starting to break through that mold, because we’re listening to podcasts, we’re reading books, we’re talking to experts. This information is so much more accessible now that it’s starting to shift our perception of the traditional method of healthcare of maybe that’s not the best approach. Maybe I can take control of my own health.

I think it’s empowering people to make those decisions themselves and do their own research, so that they know how to fix themselves instead of relying on a doctor to say, “Hey, here’s your prescription pills. Just take this.” Now, there’s a time and place for that for sure. I think we all can agree on that, but I think for a lot of the diseases that are preventable, the younger generation is starting to break that mold to research themselves, like, “Okay. What else is out there that maybe I’m not really trusting what the mainstream is saying? Maybe there’s other options for me that will be optimal for me.” I think that’s awesome. I think that’s great because we’re finding all these [crosstalk 00:10:27].

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
It’s amazing, yeah.

Drew Manning:
Medicine that just used to be so… We used to just not pay attention to or not give any credibility to. Now, you see all this new research out there that’s being consumed and maybe there’s something to that. I think it’s slowly starting to change. I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight, but hopefully in the next decade or two, we’ll be a lot healthier as a nation with all the knowledge that we have.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, I absolutely agree. I think when I was first in practice, people would just go to their doctor, they would take whatever they said and they would just do it. If it didn’t work, they’d still do it. Now, people come into me and they’re like, “Don’t send me to my doctor. I don’t want to go back there. They don’t know what they’re doing.” There’s an interesting switch. I’m curious if you see, because I know you do a lot of online programs around Keto, what people are looking for are leaders that are going to stand up in this new version of healthcare. They could go watch 1,000 YouTube videos, they could listen to 1,000 podcasts, but they still may not know how to put it together.

Drew Manning:
Yeah, yeah.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
I really want to point that out is when you come to an event like this, and I’m sure you see it in your platforms, people are looking for who’s going to stand up and lead them in this new paradigm.

Drew Manning:
Yeah. I just want to say that to your point, this is what I’m trying to do with my brand and helping other people do with their brands is, yes, I might put a cookie-cutter program of how to do Keto as a starter starting point for someone. Then, from there, you put them into a system where they can work with either you or a qualified coach to help customize it to their needs. Like you said, it’s not a one size fits all approach.

That’s what you need to learn how to do, whether you’re a doctor, whether you’re an influencer like me, learn how to educate your audience using your brand, using that leverage to really help empower that person to become their own self-experimentation, so that they then have the tools to know how to test this or test that and find out what works best for them and find out what is optimal for them, instead of saying, “Hey, here’s my keto plan. Just do it and it’ll fix all your problems.” I wish that were the case, but it doesn’t [crosstalk 00:12:34].

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
I know, I know.

Drew Manning:
I’ve set up my brand in a way, and we’ll talk about this at the conference, how to do that with still impacting the masses by having maybe a one size fits all approach in the beginning, but then taking those people and putting them through your system, through your brand, of how to really get across all the things you know to help empower that person. That’s one of the things I’ll be talking about at this conference too.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Yeah, I absolutely agree on that. People are looking for leaders. I mean my brand grew in this big way by just standing up this year saying, “Here’s what I know about Keto. Here’s what I know about fasting. Here’s what I know about how it ties to women.” It was like the world is so thirsty for that. They’re just dying to get this information, and so yeah. I’m super excited to have you at the seminar and that we’re going to get to be on a panel together talking about this stuff.

Drew Manning:
Yeah, yeah. I’m excited too. I will be putting people through a workout as well, which will be really fun because I don’t think we had that last time, but doing some physical exercise. Then, me talking about the mental and emotional side as well. We love the science. People are thirsty for the science and the knowledge, but I think bringing it all together there of the physical, the mental, emotional, the scientific, bringing all that together is what’s going to help you with the complete transformation. I’m really excited to be out in Newport beach, which is a beautiful location.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Amazing, yeah, yeah. Amazing, yeah. Awesome. I’m looking forward to it and, yeah, thanks for taking the time today. Hey, if you’re watching this and you come to seminar, come and introduce yourselves to Drew and I. You are entering a family environment and we’re excited to have you join us. Thanks Drew.

Drew Manning:
Thank you Dr. Mindy, really appreciate it. We’ll see you guys there in November.

Dr. Mindy Pelz:
Have a great one.