By John Cunningham

Dr. Paul Kilgore MD is a member of Inner Circle. He is from Detroit, Michigan and does triathlons. He is also one of the world’s leading experts on infectious diseases like the Covid virus. Besides all of these things, he also has a unique side business, Quantitative Health, that provides individuals with actionable, integrated health information. At Quantitative Health they strive to give each client the best opportunity to improve and sustain their health, and help people maximize their enjoyment and productivity in life. You can check out Quantitative Health at https://quantitative-health.com.

JC How did you find MorningCoach?

PK I was at a spa and they had several Hay House books in the waiting room. I saw this turquoise book with black title called Sacred 6. This was around 2015. A lot of what JB was talking about in that book really applied to me. And it was stuff that I knew I was deficient in. It gave me a clue about what I needed to do next. 

And within a couple months I had signed up for and attended a Sacred 6 workshop. I met a lot of interesting people there who were totally different from the people I work with professionally. It really opened my eyes to some of the other things I need to be doing.

JC You have a side business focused on understanding your own health, don’t you?

PK Yes, exactly. It’s called Quantitative Health. The reason it’s called that is because as we are going through life, there are lots of different bits of information we pick up along the way. The things that affect our health are very diverse. It could be family, finances, your health reports and laboratory tests, how you think and how you view the world. Putting that all together is something that regular doctors never do.

JB always talks about getting a coach. You are an expert in some things; I am an expert in other things, but none of us is an expert in everything. Part of the job we have is recognizing which of those experts we need around us.

Layer on top of that your environment, genetics, nutrition and diet and one thing I can guarantee folks is that the medical system in the US (and around the world) is not really set up to address health in a wholesome fashion. I call it a 360 degree view.

JC I get blood work a couple times a year and when I ask the doctor questions about the numbers, they always just respond based on ratings within optimal zones. It’s really frustrating. 

PK Yeah, in my podcast I talk about that. One thing people don’t realize is that they can empower themselves by asking the right questions. When you do research, talk about your findings and ask good questions; doctors will respect that. Also prepping the doctor by giving the assistant your questions in advance will make your experience with the doctor more beneficial. This is what I stress to the people I work with.

JC At the end of the day, it’s all about communication, right? Being able to communicate what is happening with you and then asking the right questions to understand your health better.

PK Absolutely right. The traditional model for doctor patient interaction was the doctor as all knowing. The doctor was going to tell you what you need to do to be healthy, and the training in medicine is changing as well. One way it is changing is that the doctor patient relationship is much more of a partnership. 

Yes, mental health is absolutely number one because if you don’t have that, you can not function during the day.

 

Still, there are many people that don’t understand that while the partnership empowers the patient, they have added responsibilities as well. That is to come equipped with some knowledge, have your information organized so that you can easily share that with the doctors. It also helps you to realize what you need to focus on. That is what I do with people, help them understand what to focus on, why it is important, and how to do that.

JC I agree, we really need to know how to listen to our bodies.

PK I am glad you mentioned that. People often think that it’s an on/off switch and if you make a lot of sudden changes, then suddenly you’ll be transformed in your health. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. It’s not like taking a pill and in a few minutes you will feel better. It’s a lifelong change that you need to make. It is a barrier because it is hard for people to maintain. We go very slowly and a transformation will occur, but it happens slowly, and it’s better not to push too hard too fast.

It’s like when you see someone who is too heavy and you ask yourself, how long did it take to get like that. And it happened gradually, over decades! If it happened all of a sudden, then people would say, “Oh my gosh, this is not right. Something is wrong.”

But it happens so gradually over time that people become used to it. And even when other problems come up like knee pain and being overly fatigued, people don’t realize the connection. If I could give people a way to reverse that instantly, I would (but that is just not possible).

Changing what people do is by far and away the hardest thing in the world. Sometimes a radical shift in thinking, environment and approach is what is required.

JC It seems like you had that radical shift when you discovered Sacred 6. What was the impact on your life of the book and attending the workshop?

PK It was pretty dramatic, actually. I became better focused and organized. I got more efficient at my job, so that I could get more done. I think it helped me to get more done in my co-curricular activities too. JB always talks about getting a coach. You are an expert in some things, I am an expert in other things, but none of us is an expert in everything. Part of the job we have is recognizing which of those experts we need around us.

I actually don’t know anyone like JB. There is no one I know that has knowledge of these systems and how to apply them.

It could be a life coach, an athletic coach, a medical specialist or a lawyer. Part of the job we have is identifying the areas we need help in.

JC When JB first launched GIDN, one of the hardest questions for me to answer was, “Who are your trusted advisors?”

PK I talk with the people I work with a lot about that. It isn’t always a physician, it could be a counselor or a person in another field.

JC As I talk to more and more people, I am beginning to realize that we take mental health for granted. But this is actually a very important part of achieving success.

PK Yes, mental health is absolutely number one because if you don’t have that, you can not function during the day. And if you can’t function during the day normally, you won’t be able to do the things you need to do to A) financially succeed or survive and B) do the physical things you need to do to take care of other people and yourself.

When I was in Korea my work colleagues and I would go out together and socialize over lunch. And in other countries, we’d spend lunch chatting, breaking the ice and getting to know each other. That is really important.

Here in the States, people eat at their desks and there is very little interaction. So people don’t really get to know each other as well. That can have mental health repercussions down the road. The more you get to know people, the more relationships you have, then the more support you have.

JC When I was in the States, the 15 minute menu was common in restaurants at lunch time. That really seems counterproductive to what a break is supposed to be.

PK The typical MO in America seems to be to take a 30 minute lunch or not have any lunch! I don’t recommend that. Having a break is important for mental health and you need to recharge and get some nutrition.

JC How are you doing on the GIDN Belt System?

PK I am 60% through yellow.

JC What is your take on that?

PK I love it. JB has this broad and deep knowledge of different systems. I mean, he has studied them for so many years. 

I actually don’t know anyone like JB. There is no one I know that has knowledge of these systems and how to apply them. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, because there is so much information. It is helpful that he has broken it down into these nuggets.

Get It Done Now is kind of like mental bootcamp

I have him on my left screen and my note taking on the right. I save a dedicated file for each section and then organize by belt. That makes it easier to study them.

JC I did not realize that he is certified in heart rate variability (HRV). And just knowing your HRV is beneficial to having a good performance regardless of if it's in sports or business situations.

PK One of the things I did was to take myself and my father to a transcendental meditation course. We learned how to meditate and understand the different models of meditation. These different models are very important, as getting people to slow down is almost impossible at times. But meditation provides that avenue for stopping and not doing anything. It gives you a chance to reflect on where you are and what you are doing.

Get It Done Now does that for me. I turn off all my other programs, silence the phone and focus on that. It is a way to step away from my normal routine with a purpose in mind. That practice and ability to focus on one task is beneficial not just for my job but also for my triathlon training.

In triathlons you really need to be focused on a single task. To be honest, most athletic events are mental exercises. Once you’ve done the baseline training, the event is 80 - 90% mental.

JC I agree, when I was doing Tae Kwon Do one thing we learned was to constantly visualize success.

PK  You can actually apply that principle to every facet of life actually, including your health. There is a way to visualize a healthy future and make it happen.

JC Yep, one of my key takeaways from using the GIDN journal every day is spending 5 minutes at the end of the day to visualize future success.

PK Yes, and it will change things. I know it did for me. I am healthier than I’ve ever been. I track a lot more health information than I did before. I pay much more attention to the food I am eating. There is no alcohol consumption, and I reduced my sugar. I also have a morning routine that I am locked in on.

JC So what is your morning routine?

PK First thing starts the night before. I try to go to bed no later than 9:00, which is difficult sometimes, because there is a lot going on. Then I put a big glass of water next to my bed. 

JB is always talking about how to get life balance, like good health, it doesn’t happen overnight. You can set out and achieve the steps that help get you to a new place. That is one of the things that has been really amazing for me.

 

Health wise and physiology wise one of the things that happens when we are sleeping is that we have these insensible water losses. Insensible water loss is basically the moisture you lose when you're breathing and sleeping. This particularly affects older people as our skin gets thinner and does not lock in moisture as well. So older people are at higher risk of dehydration than younger people. As we get older, the moisture sensor is not as finely tuned and we lose awareness of being dehydrated. So you need to force yourself to rehydrate. That doesn’t mean with beer or coffee or tea. It means with water. So I put a big glass of water next to my bed and sometimes two. One of the first things I do is make my bed. That gives my brain time to get organized. Even before I get out of bed, I stretch. Stretch out my hamstrings, tendons and get the circulation going. That may sound kind of weird.

JC Actually, I remember JB saying in the past that when we wake up, we should do a big stretch like other animals do to get the blood flowing. 

PK Yes, I am sitting there stretching, getting the blood flowing and I do it in bed. Then when I get out of bed I don’t feel lightheaded or dizzy, because the blood is already flowing.

Then I make the bed and drink the water. I know I am dehydrated and when you drink water right away you feel more alert because it gets absorbed very quickly into your circulatory system through the gut. That allows me to think better. After that, I take some supplements. And head to the bathroom to get that done. Then, take a cold shower. When I first started taking cold showers. It was painful and I thought it was crazy. But now it gets me going right away.

After that I get some nutrition and do exercise. I mix it up: strength training, running, biking, swimming. To prepare for triathlons, it is important to do all of these. 

I worked in Papua New Guinea in Wabe, way up in the highlands. It was the greatest medical training I could have ever gotten. We were miles and miles away from any hospitals or other medical facilities, so we were it for the people there. You either sink or swim.

One of the great things about that was when I came back and did my medical residency, many of my colleagues were green, a little scared and not quite ready. I was more than ready for my medical residency. My overseas experience was like medical bootcamp.

That is what JB does for me mentally and the life experience. Get It Done Now is kind of like that.

JC If someone were listening to the Monday free cast what advice would you give them about investing in MorningCoach®?

PK Don’t hesitate, dive right in. That’s what I did. So I went from the book, to the podcast, to his website, which I explored and was great. Then he announced a workshop, and I registered. I thought, I am just going to go for it. I am learning a lot of cool stuff. I am at the point where I am changing what I am doing. 

That year, 2015, was really transformative. There were a huge number of changes. One was doing triathlons competitively. I got a coach, joined JBs activities and one thing led to another - you improve your financial management, you improve your organizational skills, you improve your health, you improve your focus and you just dial in what is important to you. 

Fast forward to 2021. We’ve been focused on controlling the pandemic. That is a lot of what I do day in and day out. We’ve been working on the Covid vaccine trials here in Detroit, and we are starting a new one. That occupies a lot of my time, but I still carve out time to do those other things I mentioned. That is really important.

JB is always talking about how to get life balance, like good health, it doesn’t happen overnight. You can set out and achieve the steps that help get you to a new place. That is one of the things that has been really amazing for me.

JC Thanks so much. It has been a pleasure speaking with you.

PK Thank you too. I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface.

JC I agree. in closing, is there anything else you’d like to add?

PK For anyone reading this, stop for a minute and think about what MorningCoach has to offer you. You could be a young person in your teens or 20s, a middle-aged person, or an older person. My mantra is that it is never too late to change. It is never too late to find a better way to do what you want to do. It’s going to help you, your family and everyone around you.