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Dec. 21, 2023 - Dr. Oz Podcast
42:40
Madonna Badger: Life After Deadly Christmas Fire | Dr. Oz | S6 | Ep 89 | Full Episode
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Today on Dr. Oz, her three precious daughters killed in a Christmas fire.
How do you cope?
The grief cure that changed everything.
Who helped you understand that there was a path to healing?
Her journey from unthinkable pain.
I'm angry that I couldn't save them.
To learning to live again.
I'm grateful that I had my children and I knew them.
Coming up next on Dr. Oz.
Today, an inspiring update to a tragic story that gripped the heart of a nation and had parents everywhere, including me, holding their kids a little tighter.
Madonna Badger lost her three beautiful daughters and her parents in a Christmas fire at her home.
Her journey from the depths of unthinkable grief to learning to live again is truly remarkable.
Christmas Eve, 2011, Stamford, Connecticut.
Madonna Badger and her family prepare for the holidays in their new home.
A picturesque Victorian they've been painstakingly renovating.
It's an evening of apple pies, sugar cookies and snuggling for Christmas stories.
Madonna's three daughters and their grandparents go to sleep and Madonna finishes wrapping gifts before heading to bed in the early hours of Christmas Day.
But soon after, Madonna awakes, choking on thick smoke as flames rip through the house.
911, what's the emergency about a major, major fire with people in the house?
Please, please come quickly.
By the time the sun rises that Christmas morning, Madonna Badger finds herself engulfed in unspeakable tragedy.
Her three daughters, Lily, age 9, and her twins Sarah and Grace, age 7, are gone, perishing in the fiery inferno.
The flames also claim the lives of Madonna's parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, both dying while desperately trying to save their granddaughters.
The fire started just before 5 this Christmas morning.
Only two made it out.
Responding firefighters called it one of the deadliest, most destructive blazes they've ever fought.
Not an easy day.
Doesn't get any worse than that on Christmas Day.
Nine-year-old Lily and seven-year-old twins Grace and Sarah were carried into St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
The entire world was moved by the funeral as thousands of mourners streamed through the church.
The fire destroyed everything Madonna Badger loves and holds dear.
Leaving her alone to navigate unimaginable heartbreak and loss.
Today, in her own words, Madonna Badger reveals how she survives, having survived.
I know it's hard to wash that.
Thank you for being here.
Thanks for having me.
It's been three years since you lost those three beautiful girls, Lillian Grace, Sarah, and your parents.
How do you cope?
Every day is different, you know.
I cope one day at a time.
As sort of cliche as that can sound, it's the truth.
You know, there's only one day after the next after the next.
And sometimes it's an hour at a time, sometimes it's a minute at a time.
But I have good days and bad days.
Before we start talking about the healing, I want folks to understand how dark it was, how difficult it was.
If you can, just describe for us, what was it like those first few weeks after this unspeakable tragedy?
I mean, the first few weeks, sometimes I felt like I wasn't even in my own body.
Sometimes I felt like I was floating.
My hair fell out, a lot of it.
I was gray.
I mean, the physicality of it was pretty extraordinary.
And I had nowhere to go.
I literally didn't have a piece of furniture to rest my head on or to sit in.
So nothing was familiar and I was basically running, running around trying to save my own life, I guess.
Speaking about your own life, was there ever a moment you thought you couldn't keep going?
In the beginning, suicide felt like it was the only option.
I remember thinking that, you know, after...
I remember thinking when I had children, in other words, when my children were alive, that if anything were to ever happen to them, that I would have to kill myself, you know?
I think all parents can relate to that.
And so about, I guess, a week after, maybe a week and a half after the fire, God, maybe longer, I had what's called a suicide gesture.
And so I took a handful of pills and said, I'm going to take these.
I can't.
I can't go on.
And someone wrestled them out of my hand.
And at that point, they put me into an acute care unit, which basically means a lockdown psychiatric ward in Connecticut.
And so I was all alone.
And, you know, the only real therapy that goes on in those places is really drug-related.
You know, they just give you pills in hopes that you somehow will miraculously...
Get well enough to leave.
Because I guess, I don't know, I guess that's the best they can do.
You had a crying scale that I heard about.
About nine months, I guess, after the fire and I was cleaning the bathroom and I just broke down, you know, just completely broke down into what I call a level 10 cry.
You can't stop it.
And so I looked in the mirror And, you know, I saw my children.
I saw my parents standing with me.
I saw my three girls.
And they told me that everything was alright.
And that love was the most important thing in the world.
And that there was nothing to be afraid of.
And that was a big turning point for me.
So you'd been hospitalized, as you mentioned, in different ways, in different places.
A few times, yeah.
What happened?
Who finally got through to you?
Who helped you understand that there was a path to healing?
So I had rented this little house in Little Rock, Arkansas.
And there I went to the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences and specifically to the Psychiatric Research Institute.
So it's a mouthful.
But there was a very special man there who was the head of that hospital named Dr. Richard Smith.
Dr. Smith explained to me for the first time the physicality of what was happening to me.
The mother-child bond is so strong.
The father-child bond is so strong.
It basically is like a nerve that I feel and we feel together.
In my case, that nerve had been severed.
That nerve had been severed three times.
Tragically, in one fell swoop.
And then that bond between me and my mom and me and my dad had also been severed.
So what he explained to me was that, in fact, I wasn't crazy, okay?
I was sad and I was grieving.
And by him explaining to me the physicality of what had happened to me gave me hope that there was some healing that could actually happen there.
We asked your physician to join us.
Dr. Richard Smith is from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
He's a doctor who gave Madonna hope.
I love that grief explanation.
It really does seem so unique.
Would you mind taking on the issue of medication that so many people rely on?
Why is that not the answer for grief?
Well, I'm trained as a psychiatrist and the psychiatric medicine can help, but what you don't want to do is you don't want to block the grief.
Grief is a normal human process that takes time.
If their anxiety is overwhelming, for a while you want to give them anti-anxiety medicine, but you need to let them, they have to experience The pain is not the desire to have them feel pain, but they're going to feel pain, and you're going to need to let them feel the pain and to work through that process.
There are a lot of folks out there who struggle with this, and you have a way, a path that you help them with.
How long does grief last?
How do you get around this?
Each grief is variable and each person is variable.
Usually for a significant loss, it's at least a year.
I mean, you've got to get through the birthdays and the anniversaries and whatever the day of the death is.
So it's going to take a while and it won't be the same.
It'll ebb and flow, wax and wane is the term that they usually use about grief.
Madonna, how did your life begin to change as you began to process this raw nerve that had been severed so many times in one evening?
Well, I mean, today my life looks very different, obviously, than it did.
You know, I have a lot of gratitude because after the fire, I was able to take a year off from work.
So I'm very grateful that I had that opportunity to grieve for that long of a period of time.
And then I was able to go back to work.
So going back to work actually gave me...
A sense of purpose.
And then, you know, I reconnected with an old friend.
His name is Bill Duke.
And we've known each other since I was 19 years old.
So off and on.
And he's a very, very spiritual man.
Very loving man.
Very kind.
And we got married in July.
Found love again.
Thank you.
Which, you know, is a miracle.
And he has two older girls, daughters.
And, you know, just little by little, little by little.
Madonna, to hear you use the word gratitude, It's so stunning to me, so startling, because I wouldn't think I would ever feel gratitude.
At least I wouldn't feel it very easily if I lost my kids.
Yes.
When you look back at those three years that's taken you to sort of come to grips with this, did you ever ask, why God did you do this to me?
Did you ever blame God?
I definitely have gone through periods of blaming and being angry and screaming.
You know, I go through those periods today.
I don't want to pretend like I don't have those sort of lower self moments, right?
I mean, I'm grateful that I had my children, that I knew them.
I'm grateful that I had that experience.
I'm grateful that I was able to be there for them in the best way that I could.
I'm angry that I couldn't save them.
But I couldn't.
And that's not because some awful hand of God came down and punished me.
You know, this didn't happen to me.
This happened.
I am no one's victim.
And, you know, I'm that by choice.
I can't...
I choose not to be a victim.
It's the only way that I can keep on living.
I have fallen in love with you in just 10 minutes.
I'm very proud of what you've been able to accomplish.
And there is so much we can talk about.
I do want to applaud you.
There's tons more that Madonna and Dr. Smith want to do to help people who are suffering with grief, trying to deal with it.
Their tips and their grief warning signs are on DrOz.com.
I'll be right back.
Coming up, would you know if you were having a stroke?
They don't just happen to the old and sick.
Strokes are on the rise in more and more young women, and the symptoms might not always be what you think.
How to detect the warning signs that could save your life?
Coming up next.
We've all used over-the-counter meds, but can a typical dose equal three glasses of wine?
The new DUI, driving while drugged.
All new Dr. Ox.
That's coming up tomorrow.
An alarming report shows that strokes are now happening more and more often to women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.
It's not something you would expect, but strokes in young women are on the rise.
Would you know the warning signs?
I'm joined by Jennifer, Megan, and Diana.
All had strokes under age 40. Thank you all for being here.
Thank you.
Jennifer, let me start with you.
You were in your 20s, I understand.
Yes.
What were your risk factors?
I had no risk factors.
I was young, active, and I was just...
Then, out of nowhere?
Nothing.
And Megan, any clues for you?
No, I was on the pill, I was healthy, and I kind of felt like maybe I was pregnant, but I wasn't.
Yes, well, it hits you a little harder than pregnancy, even.
Yeah.
And Diana, how about for you?
You were around 30 when you had your stroke.
I was, it was a year ago.
I didn't have any risk factors, to my knowledge.
I was really healthy and active, and I'd been surfing the day of, and done yoga, and it ended up, I had a tiny tear in my artery in my neck.
So we would not have known it ahead of time.
This is why it's so important for all of us today.
These women are proof that stroke does just happen to people who are older and sicker.
It happens to very young people in the prime of their lives doing all the right things.
The question is, would you know if you were at risk?
Take a look.
It's no longer just your grandmother's disease or your grandfather's.
Each year, almost half a million women suffer a stroke.
That's 55,000 more than men.
And while the average age of a stroke victim is 68, far more alarming is the up to 23% rise in stroke among younger women over the last 20 years.
And if you're a woman, you're more likely to die.
Partly because your symptoms and risk factors are different from men and more easily missed.
The classic risk factors for stroke apply to everyone, but women must also add to that list migraines, depression, pregnancy, the pill, and maybe even drinking soda, just one glass a day, sugary or diet, or sweetened fruit juice.
Now that you know the risks, today, the surprising stroke symptoms every woman must know.
So let me start by showing you what happens inside your body during a stroke.
If you understand this, you'll understand why these symptoms are so essential to appreciate.
So when you have a blood clot, it often will, for example, form in a large vessel.
And that little clot can fly up and it gets to be caught in these small little tributaries, little streams that come off the big arteries.
When it goes there, it blocks up all the oxygen and blood that would normally give life to this part of the brain.
It hits it like it's a charley horse and that part of the brain begins to die.
You begin to feel the symptoms here, but it might not always present the way you think it would because depending on what part of the brain you've injured, you can get a very different symptom from the person next to you having similar kinds of a problem.
So Jennifer, Megan, and Diana all joined us.
They had strokes when they were young, and you all were willing to share your stories to help teach everybody what the signs are of having a stroke.
So the warning signs are important so you can get the help you need to FAST. And FAST is not just the speed at which you get help, it's also an important clue to keeping track of what are the key symptoms.
So the F in FAST stands for face trooping.
It's gonna be on one side of your face.
So Jennifer, what was that trooping like?
It wasn't something I felt, but my right side of my face was drooping.
When I went to the ER, they told me to smile.
I thought I was smiling perfect, like a model, but I wasn't.
My co-workers and my family saw that my right side of my face was drooping, and they told me like a month after.
So it was your co-workers who saw that you were not smiling correctly initially?
I guess I'm a family in the ER. It's important to point this out because it'll often be someone that you know who has a problem, so you know what their smile normally looks like and you can tell the difference.
So if you smile and it doesn't look nice and symmetrical and beautiful like Jennifer's, and one side will droop down usually, especially if the person doesn't realize it's happening, you gotta call 911, don't pass go, don't collect $200.
That's an important sign.
Next in the FAST acronym is A. A stands for arm weakness.
So it's also going to be on one side of your body.
It won't be on both sides.
One arm will be weak and the other one won't.
Here's why that happens.
When the blood clots, what happens?
It blocks off, as I just showed you, the blood supply of that part of your brain.
The opposite side of the body, away from that side, will have the symptoms.
But it'll be that entire side of the body.
So it'll be the left arm and the left leg if you've got a right brain problem.
So, Megan, what does this weakness feel like to you?
Well, I was holding a bowl, and I had this sudden thought of, I'm going to drop this bowl, and sure enough, I did.
I dropped the bowl, and I went to clean it up.
I tried to take a drink, and the drink was way too heavy for me, so I asked my husband to hold the drink for me.
And for some reason, I said, will you pinch my hand?
I don't know what made me think about that, but I asked my husband to pinch my hand, and I'm looking at him, I'm waiting for him to pinch my hand, and I look down, and there's a big nail divot in my hand.
And we immediately went to the ER. Because you lost the sense of sensation as well as the ability to move it.
So we can all do this right now.
If you want to do this, put your hands in front of you and then just raise them up and see if they're symmetrical.
And then put them back down next to you and raise them one more time up.
And these are simple little tests, but they're life-saving tests because they also assess whether you can understand what the person is telling you.
So both with the smiling and with the arm raising, it gives us multiple clues all at once.
Alright, the S in FAST stands for speech.
Diana, I would like to hear your story.
How did your speech change?
Well, I couldn't speak.
First, my right arm went numb, and I was trying to tell my boyfriend, something's wrong.
In my head, I was saying, something's wrong.
Call my dad, who's a physician.
And the words, though, coming out, what I heard were just gibberish.
It's remarkable.
I hear this also.
There's a lack of understanding, a disorientation that happens along with this.
So the test that I would normally give someone is, you know, a little tongue twister.
Say that the grass is green.
If you say the grass is green and there's no problems, then you don't have a speech issue.
But if something that's simple, seemingly simple like that, becomes a difficult chore for someone to get at or it's garbled when you say it out, that's the sign that I'm speaking to.
And finally, T is for time, because you don't have a lot of it.
You've got to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
In fact, the neurologists, the brain doctors say that time is brain.
The seconds you wait will hurt your brain further.
The faster you get to the help you need, the better your chance for a full recovery.
I cannot thank all three of you enough.
I know it's difficult, especially when you're young and you've had a life-threatening problem because to be public about it, and I appreciate you coming here.
Thank you.
In addition to the classic stroke symptoms you just talked about, just like heart attacks, there are subtle signs that every woman needs to know.
So subtle signs I want to focus on today.
Here to explain to them is Dr. Carolyn Brockington.
She's a neurologist and director of a leading stroke center here in New York.
So besides...
Welcome Carolyn.
Besides the fast signs that our young women all articulated so beautifully, what are the other signs that happen in women that are sort of unique, sort of different, unexpected?
Well, you know, it depends on the part of the brain that's affected.
So you might have problems with vision, where suddenly you have double vision or you can't see very well out of one eye.
You might have problems with coordination, where you're walking almost as if you're drunk, but you know you're not drunk, so something's wrong.
Or sometimes people can have a sudden headache.
You know, everybody has headaches, but a headache that is out of proportion to what you normally have, the most severe headache of your life, that's a problem.
And then as you were discussing, you know, we can have milder, women can have milder symptoms of stroke.
So sometimes they can present with disorientation, sometimes problems all of a sudden, nausea and vomiting, or sometimes problems where they're just having isolated hiccups, which is fairly rare, but it's a constellation of symptoms, and the symptoms are sudden, right?
You said act fast.
So these are symptoms that are going to happen over seconds to minutes, not days, months, weeks, but really suddenly.
So we put all those signs behind me.
Take a look at them.
In addition to the FAST, F-A-S-T, these are the other symptoms I want women to know about.
I want you to memorize them if you can.
Learn these symptoms.
Not just for you, everybody, but learn it for the people that you're with.
We heard about co-workers identifying symptoms.
Family, obviously.
You walk through by someone on the street and notice it, and you can be the lifesaver.
So the more you know about these, the more lives we can make a difference of.
In addition to heading off to the ER, if you've got these signs, generally you want to have two of these signs to really clue you in.
So any one sign at all, I don't panic over, but two or more, you get concerned.
And suddenly.
And suddenly.
When you get to the ER, you've got a very important tip that can really help a lot of us.
Well, both when you think you're having signs and symptoms of a stroke, you call 911 right away because they'll come and get you and take you to the closest hospital that has a designated stroke center.
But also when you get to the hospital and you need to say, I think I'm having a stroke, don't just list your symptoms.
Particularly, you know, you saw that your patients here or the people here were very young and we know that anybody can have a stroke.
But sometimes if you're young, people think, hey, You're not having a stroke.
It's something else.
But you have to tell them, I think I'm having a stroke, and these are symptoms I've never had before.
So you have to clue people in that something's wrong to get rapid evaluation and treatment.
Be a smart patient and save yourself.
Absolutely.
You know, time is brain, as you said, and it's very important to get the treatment right away.
Thanks, Carolyn.
So all the stroke warning signs and risk factors unique to women are on DrHouders.com.
Be right back.
Has the show helped you detect a stroke?
I watched the show a few months ago and learned the warning size of a stroke.
I shared it with my mom and five weeks later, she had one.
Luckily, we knew exactly what to do.
It saved her life.
Share your story on Dr. Oz's Facebook page.
Coming up next, do you enjoy eating cheese and ice cream but your stomach doesn't?
If you feel bloated and cramped afterwards, you could be dairy sensitive.
Find out if you are.
The plan for anyone who loves dairy but doesn't want to give it up is next.
You adore the ooey gooeyness of cheese or the way ice cream melts in your mouth.
I can see your eyes already thinking about this.
But after you eat the dairy, you're left with this cramps and bloating and maybe running off to the bathroom.
So if any of these are true, you can relate to my next guest, Karen.
Take a look.
My name is Karen and I must confess, I have a real weakness for dairy.
And my biggest weakness is cheese.
I have to eat it every day.
In fact, my one girlfriend calls me Mouse because I love cheese so much.
I sneak dairy and cheese every day in my meals.
For breakfast, I love putting cheese on my omelet, and I also have a lot of milk in my oatmeal.
For lunch, I have a healthy salad, but I have to have my cheese.
For dinner, I have chicken and provolone on it, sour cream on my potatoes.
I think osteoporosis runs in my family.
I'm a runner and I want to keep my bones healthy and strong and I know that eating cheese and dairy is very good for you.
However, I am really worried about how dairy and cheese is affecting my health because I have diarrhea, bloating, cramping.
It's just very uncomfortable.
Some people call me Pepe Le Pew because I'm a little smelly.
Even though Derry doesn't agree with me, I still love it.
I just try to ignore the consequences.
I've never been tested for Derry intolerance because I feel like I've lived with it so long, I don't know what normal is.
I really don't want to say goodbye to Derry, but I don't know what else to do.
Derry's joining us.
How long has Derry been making you feel sick?
I can remember probably around when I was 12, 13, when I was younger.
That's where I felt bloated, having diarrhea, a lot of gas.
So why do you think you've let it go so long?
I just kind of lived with it because I love cheese, I love dairy, I love ice cream, I love the texture, and how can you give up such a great product?
So Karen, which do you fear more?
The possibility of never having cheese again, or the possibility that cheese is doing damage to the inside of your body?
It's a two-fold.
Both.
I really love cheese, but I know the consequences are not good.
I'm intolerant to the cheese.
So, as a matter of fact, at work they had cupcakes with cream cheese, and I don't want to be that person at work not having the...
Velvet chocolate cupcake with the cream cheese on it.
I enjoy it.
That's true at home, too.
You never want to be the person who misses out on those.
Listen, you're not alone.
There are millions of people who are having issues with dairy and they either don't realize it Or, they sense it's a problem, but they're more fearful, actually, of the consequences of giving up this important part of their life.
So, let's go figure out what's happening with you.
Okay.
Because there are actually tests we can do.
And there are two things we look for inside your body.
Okay.
We try to figure out whether or not you've got an allergy issue.
There are things that would reflect antibodies in your body.
Those are allergies.
Sure.
And then there's the intolerance issue, which is you just can't absorb it well.
They cause different problems, different dangers, and they can show up in different kinds of tests.
Okay.
We did both on you, because I love you so much.
I want them just to be sure.
So, a dairy allergy happens when you have an allergy to a protein in the milk, like the casein or the whey.
So we did your test, and I've got good news and bad news.
Which do you like?
How about both at once?
Sure.
So, you have a slight sensitivity to the dairy.
Some of your antibodies react, others don't.
It's an interesting and not rare scenario, but it does explain the fact that you don't get really, really sick, but you know something's not quite right.
Mm-hmm.
So that was the initial test.
And then we did the more detailed test to see if you're intolerant.
Okay.
Which I feel is a very, very common problem in America.
And so we did something that we do to check for this.
We actually gave you the lactose in a very concentrated form.
Lactose is the main sugar in dairy.
So you drank this drink with a lot of lactose in it, and then we tested your blood to see how much of it you absorbed.
Now, the National Institutes of Health, which gives us guidelines on these, you can look up here for the ranges, say the optimal stress test results with the glucose, you'll have to absorb at least 30 more points than you normally have in your body within two hours.
Okay.
So you need to be more than 30. Your result was 22. So, like so many people, you're with that, you know, in that awkward predicament.
But I have a solution for Karen the mouse and everybody else out there who gets them in problems from dairy they love because I have a plan that allows for cheese.
Allows for cheese.
Stay with us.
The dairy sensitivity plan when we come back.
Next, is dairy making you sick?
Disrupting your digestion and not letting you enjoy the foods you crave?
There's hope.
Being lactose-free doesn't mean giving up what you love.
The plan for anyone who is dairy sensitive.
Coming up next.
We've all used over-the-counter meds.
But can a typical dose equal three glasses of wine?
The new DUI. Driving while drugged.
All new Dr. Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
Today I plan for any of you who are questioning whether dairy is disrupting your digestion, leaving you bloated, cramping and, well, not doing your best.
Dr. Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer of the Cleveland Clinic, is here to give you the dairy sensitivity plan.
But think carefully, Dr. Roizen has been off milk, ice cream, and cheese for 21 years.
Now, why is that?
I had some of the same symptoms you did, and Nancy didn't like the gas.
So I looked it up on...
Nancy's his wife, by the way.
Nancy's my wife.
And I looked it up on, if you will, doing the research.
We don't need dairy.
We need the nutrients in it, but we don't need dairy.
You can live well without dairy.
So I'm going to help you, in fact, get rid of the dairy and coach you through this, and then maybe we can add some dairy back in.
Okay.
So here's the deal, everybody.
I know we've all been told dairy is good for us.
And it is actually good for us.
These are nutrients of it.
But a lot of people are getting better off on a dairy-free lifestyle.
It's going to end up benefiting their health.
But we've got a plan that's, I think, a very smart compromise.
We're not taking your dairy away forever.
But the first step of the plan is to eliminate all dairy and lactose for two weeks.
Ask yourself, can you give yourself two weeks and then log your symptoms over that two-week period?
Okay.
Okay?
I know it's trepidation here.
Mike, explain why it's important to do for these two weeks.
So what we want you to do is keep a log of everything you eat and all those symptoms, the cramps, the bloating, the gas, the nausea, and as you take the dairy away, you in fact help to get rid of those symptoms and they should go away one by one too.
Okay.
And then after two weeks, Assuming you're free of symptoms, we can start to add it back in a little at a time.
Okay.
Let's talk about that.
Let's come back here.
You can do that, right?
Yeah, sure.
Two weeks of pain and torture, not having cupcakes at work with your buddies.
And then after that first two weeks, Mike says we have to add back a half a cup of dairy a day, but you're going to keep logging those symptoms.
Okay.
So everyone at home, you don't need the tests.
You can do this by eliminating the dairy and And then after two weeks, if your symptoms are gone, we want you to start with hard cheese.
The reason hard cheese is it's got less lactose in it.
So hard cheese, so you like cheddar at night.
Yes.
Can I have a piece?
Not right now.
Okay.
Go ahead.
This should be...
Oh, it smells good.
This should be your first day dairy-free.
But what we want after the two weeks is you add a half cup a day and you do that for a week at a time.
So a half cup every day and you again log your symptoms.
If you don't have symptoms in that first week, then you can go and, for example, add another half cup the second week.
We don't want you to add more than a half cup per day in that second week.
Keep your symptoms.
And what we want you to determine is your threshold.
Okay.
So is it a half cup of this and a half cup of milk, or can you go to three cups before you?
You have an awful lot, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's why they call you the mouse.
Yes.
So, in fact, this is in fact what you want to do is just gradually increase to find the threshold.
Okay.
Okay, so if you really like it the way you do, you want to find out what you can do.
Sure, and it's reasonable.
The final step is actually to get those nutrients from non-dairy sources.
So non-dairy calcium, non-dairy vitamin D. Mike, give us some examples.
So this is what we call green calcium.
Green, dark green leafy vegetables have a lot of calcium in it.
So do figs.
These are from turkey, so they're a special...
Variety, if you will.
Beans and almonds all have calcium.
So you can get the calcium in other ways.
It's tough to get the vitamin D unless you're out in the sun.
We don't want you to get the sun, if you will.
We want you to wear a sunblock.
So you've got to have a D supplement.
And I'd start with 1,000 international units a day.
Once a day?
Once a day.
Now, you mentioned cupcakes.
So Mike and I, we're both going to have some of these.
Mike, here's some.
Oh, well...
This is fine to eat.
Why is this fine?
This is made, this is non-dairy, no milk chocolate, so this is real cocoa powder.
And in fact, it's a cupcake made without any dairy.
So we've got a lot of recipes like that.
You can probably find them on DrOz.com.
Okay.
Listen, this is a crushing process.
He's absolutely right.
We're going to give you the things you need.
And I think you can enjoy life just as well and you won't have to run to the bathroom.
Wonderful.
As frequently.
That's great.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
We get the full plan and all the information we talked about from our YouTube experts on DrRoz.com.
We'll be right back.
Next, is trying to lose weight too big of a hurdle?
Do you struggle with dieting, desperate to make a change?
Meet an amazing woman who shed 200 pounds and transformed her life.
The small, simple steps she took to reach her dream weight.
And you can too.
Next.
We are bringing a healthy back this season and want you to bring it too.
Grab your prescription pad for fun and sign up for free tickets today.
You can go to dros.com/tickets and sign up.
Every day I'm in awe of viewers who have been inspired to make remarkable transformations in their lives.
And the transformation of the woman you're about to meet proves that it all starts with small, simple steps that anyone can do.
My problems with weight began after my first child was born.
My beautiful baby had a rare digestive disorder and I stayed round the clock with him in the hospital.
I turned to food to cope.
I ate myself up to almost 400 pounds.
The weight took a terrible toll on my health.
I had high blood pressure and was on the verge of diabetes.
My doctor warned me that if I did not make changes soon, I could die.
Since my son was so sick, I became a stay-at-home mom and I started to watch The Dr. Oz Show.
What I'm asking you to do is to lose just 10 pounds.
That was a pivotal moment for me.
I finally felt this was a realistic goal that I could achieve.
Dr. Oz inspired me to get rid of the soda, the white sugar, and the processed foods.
It's been three years and I am proud to say that I have lost over 200 pounds.
Now I pay it forward with my own Facebook page called We Have Got This to motivate other people to lose weight and eat healthy.
I share with everyone what I learned from Dr. Oz.
The secret to successful weight loss begins with taking just one simple step.
Kelly, come on out at over 200 pounds lighter.
I want to dance with you.
Oh my goodness.
That is unbelievable.
So, so beautiful to see this.
You know, there are a lot of folks out there who just don't think they're ready to make the change.
You've beaten this.
You've gotten past this.
What would you say to them?
You take it one step at a time.
Small steps are the most important and crucial part of any lifestyle change.
It adds up, doesn't it?
It does.
Once you get going, you get confidence.
Yes, absolutely.
You gain a lot of confidence.
You can't think of it in terms as you need to lose 200 pounds.
It's daunting.
Right.
It's a very daunting task.
It is a very seemingly unrealistic goal.
However, if you take it 10 pounds at a time, over the period, of course, of a few years, you have lost the 200 pounds.
And it doesn't come back if you do it that way.
Right.
Absolutely.
Slow and steady wins the race every time.
So you show everybody your steps, your small and steady steps.
And the first way Kelly reached her dream way is to do something that seems self-evident to have on your list somewhere, but you made it your first step, which is to eliminate soda, in particular diet soda.
Why?
Soda was my crutch.
It was my go-to addiction, even beyond the normal processed foods.
I was drinking at least six cans a day.
I went to my doctor and he told me that I needed to stop doing that because I had high blood pressure.
I was on the verge of having diabetes.
He was getting ready to put me on insulin.
And he said, if you simply cut out soda, you can easily lose weight without changing any other part of your lifestyle.
And that first week, Dr. Oz, I lost 10 pounds by just cutting out soda.
Incredible.
And it actually tricks you to head in the wrong direction.
So it's one of those steps that makes sure you don't slide back again as well.
Right, absolutely.
Diet soda is actually a drink that will make you overeat.
Which people don't appreciate all the time, but take it for someone who's been there.
Kelly also eliminated the fast food she was eating, and she incorporated more greens and protein into your diet.
I just laid out what you told me you were doing in your food diaries.
Breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner.
Give us a high-level summary.
Well, I eat breakfast.
It is the very most important meal of the day.
It gets your metabolism going.
I drink a cup of hot, unsweetened green tea every morning.
And then I eat some sort of food that has a high fiber value, like an apple, and then I make sure I get my protein in by either a hard-boiled egg or some ricotta cheese.
It's unbelievable.
It's the recipe for success.
Same for your lunch, you'll have a salad with a similar mix of protein and fats.
Right.
Simple stuff done beautifully.
Absolutely.
A snack, and then look at this dinner.
This is every vegetable you ever want to have in your life.
Yes.
And I guess you don't hold yourself back, because this is a feast.
No, yeah, absolutely.
I don't think that dieting, you need to be starving.
I tell people all the time, eat until you're satisfied, but never let yourself starve.
And so I eat all of the vegetables that I could possibly want, and then I just incorporate some sort of lean protein to go in there so that I can get my proteins.
I want to compare this, which obviously I'm proud to have on the show, to this, which is what Kelly was eating.
So when you see all this, what goes to your mind?
Shame, embarrassment.
I was consuming this much food in one day.
There are people watching right now who are eating exactly this and they want to move to where you are.
They see the transformation in you physically.
What's happened mentally because you made this shift?
I... When I look in the mirror, I sometimes get startled because I'm used to seeing the much bigger girl.
I look at myself and I celebrate myself now.
I finally have given myself permission to love myself enough to be good to myself.
One of my favorite quotes is to believe, believe that you can, and you're halfway there.
Right.
You did exactly that, and you're all the way there.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Everybody, we'll be right back.
You're a Hellstar!
A Hellstar!
All new Oz.
240 million of you take them regularly.
We've all used over-the-counter meds.
You all think that you can take OTC meds because they're safe.
But can a typical dose equal three glasses of wine?
Dr. Oz sounds the alarm.
The new DUI. Driving while drugged.
Plus, you do everything right, but still get sick.
The secret weapon that could protect you from getting ill this winter.
All new Oz.
That's coming up tomorrow.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there may be a looming shortage of one of my favorite foods, avocados.
The drought that hit California this year, where 95% of U.S. avocados are grown, was the worst in over 1,000 years.
There's no water there, and that might mean no avocados.
For just a pound of avocado, you've got to have 70 gallons of water, so it's a thirsty little additive to our diet.
But fear not, avocado-less guacamole can be just as tasty as the original, and it's lower in fat.
So, I'm going to show you how to make it.
Use all the ingredients from your normal guac recipe, but replace the avocado with one of these clever swaps.
You can use pureed peas, asparagus, or my favorite is edamame beans.
You know what you would call it if it was edamame beans?
You'd call it edamame mole.
I'll be here all weekend.
Okay, now it's time for, in case you missed it, an alarming report shows that strokes in young women are on the rise.
So, I've armed my viewers today with the warning signs of a stroke so you can save your own life.
This is what happens when you have a stroke.
The blood clots off, for example, way up in that part of the brain.
The opposite side of the body has all kinds of signs.
These classic stroke signs, face drooping on one side, the same side has arm weakness, and the leg weakness, so you won't be able to move it.
Now, we highlighted that these symptoms are more common in women and they're often missed.
Symptoms like nausea and dizziness on top of these physical changes.
Next, the plan to go dairy-free for everyone who worries dairy could be the cause of their bloat and cramping.
I want you to cut out all the dairy.
I know it sounds hard, but it's worth just two weeks.
Cut out the dairy, and then you can do a little experiment.
You're going to try adding back into your diet a half a cup of hard cheese.
It's about this much cheese.
Every single day.
And these hard cheeses, because they tend to be lower in lactose, don't cause as much discomfort.
So if you're just a little sensitive to lactose, you can get away with it.
But doing this little experiment, testing yourself will make you the world expert on dairy and your body.
Finally, I want you to be careful of dubious people online that make it seem like I'm endorsing their products, because I don't.
To see a full list of our trusted sponsorship partners, please go to dros.com.
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