244 – Tom Gedman

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I’m thrilled to share a transformative conversation with Dr. Tom Gedman in today’s show. Tom is an impressive GP pioneering preventative health care with his ingenious blueprint model. This multi-faceted approach masterfully, mergers medicine, lifestyle changes, supplements, and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. In our compelling chat, Tom eloquently explains how being proactive is like driving a car with your hands on the steering wheel. Anticipating turns, stops, and obstacles ahead rather than passively drifting. Discover how Tom is revolutionizing GP appointments, trimming, ineffective smalltalk, instead providing clear, concise lifestyle guidance in seconds. Before referring patients to his blueprint lifestyle groups for in-depth education and support. So listen in for Tom’s insights on burnout and how he overcame it along with the unusual way. He discovered the life-changing power of Team CBT therapy. So hope you enjoy this uplifting and educational episode with the pioneering Dr. Tom Gedman. Please subscribe to the art of living proactively on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube. Leave us a sparkling five star review. That would be great. Share this episode with friends. So they too can be motivated by Tom’s message. As always I appreciate your listenership and hope you enjoy the show.

[00:01:34] Tony Winyard: Welcome to another edition of The Art of Living Proactively. My guest today is Tom Gedman. How are you, Tom?

[00:01:41] Tom Gedman: I’m good. Thanks, Tony. How are you?

[00:01:43] Tony Winyard: So Tom has got a metaphor about being proactive.

[00:01:48] Tom’s driving metaphor on being proactive

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[00:01:48] Tom Gedman: So this metaphor is a, driving metaphor. So proactivity is like driving a car with your hands on the steering wheel rather than letting it drift. You anticipate turns, stops, and obstacles.

now I like driving metaphors. I use them quite a lot. and I like this one because it almost… It allows you to take control of your own destiny rather than letting the car drive you, even though that’s where we’re heading as a society and technology. but really it’s important to be able to anticipate the hurdles in front of you.

And I think that’s a huge part of forming effective habits that are going to make a big difference in the longterm to your health it’s anticipating the, The potential setbacks in advance, just so you’re not phased by them. You’re expecting them and you know how to navigate.

[00:02:34] Tony Winyard: I like that.

[00:02:35] Tom Gedman: it.

[00:02:35] Tony Winyard: So there’s a number of things we can dig into there, but what are your general thoughts on being proactive? And actually, should say, bebecause you haven’t mentioned it, so Tom is a GP, he’s a functional medicine doctor, he’s a level two or three in TEAM CBT. Tom’s got an amazing background and we’re going to get into more of that during the episode.

Would you say you’ve got a bit of background? So yeah, what are your thoughts on being proactive?

[00:02:59] Tom’s thoughts on being proactive

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[00:02:59] Tom Gedman: my thoughts on being proactive, have probably changed over time as a doctor. Traditionally, when we were first trained, we were working a lot in hospital rotations, and we were mainly treating people who came in with a specific symptom of concern, and then just sending them on their way once we dealt with that.

but it’s only as I trained and became a general practitioner, that we realized that just treating people with just one issue usually means that they’ll come back either with the same issue or another issue, unless you start to add in certain lifestyle changes, to be able to prevent the illness from happening in the first place.

I think there’s many barriers to doing that, but, since. for the last three or four years, at least I’ve been really having a focus on preventative healthcare, just because it pays so much in terms of dividends with your investment.

[00:03:47] Tony Winyard: So as a GP, your hands are tied in many ways because, as far as I’m aware, typically a GP’s appointment is like 10, 15 minutes. There’s only so much you can do in that time, isn’t there?

[00:03:58] Why Tom burnt out as a GP

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[00:03:58] Tom Gedman: Absolutely. Yeah. It’s a real challenge. And I think that was probably contributed initially to why I burnt out within a year of being a GP. I was trying to do too much in one go. And actually a 10 minute appointment is what. It really is not fit for purpose, unless you’re going to deal with one problem.

we have a saying deal with one problem. two problems, averagely in three problems badly, but generally even after the pandemic, people seem to have saved up. Problems and that’s all credit to them because they didn’t want to bother doctors and GPs during the height of what they thought was a very, it was a very scary, unprecedented situation.

But now we’re feeling the effects of people, really living with problems and finding it difficult to be able to. reverse those ailments, with anything other than medicine. And sometimes you have to work a lot harder with lifestyle change to be able to deal with multiple symptoms, but that’s not to detract from the passion I have for doing it.

And I think I’ve seen a lot of people with quite advanced disease do very well with just even some simple lifestyle changes.

[00:05:04] Tony Winyard: So why is it that generally there’s only 10, 15 minute appointments? Is it a shortage of GPs or what is it?

[00:05:12] What is the reason GP appointments are so short?

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[00:05:13] Tom Gedman: generally the GP, all general practices, they’re small businesses, and they can determine their own appointment times based on their staffing levels. And I think 10 minutes is what they arrived on because they have to produce a certain amount of appointments per week for their patient population size.

and obviously you’d be able to, you will be able to, have that many appointments to be able to offer as part of the government contract. yeah, there is a shortage of GPs and I think that’s possibly as a result of. the profession not being as enticing to new doctors, who generally see the stress and the strain that established GPs are under because of the weight of responsibility, extra paperwork, long hours.

and that’s why I really want to change the landscape of this and add preventative healthcare, a form of lifestyle medicine or what we’ll talk about today as part of something that can really help reduce the burden on general practice and add, a bit of passion to general practitioners who want to get into the profession to be able to help people and know that they can do that with advice rather than just medicines.

[00:06:13] Tony Winyard: So when you were at university, did you already know that you wanted to be a doctor when you started university?

[00:06:20] Did you always want to be a doctor?

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[00:06:20] Tom Gedman: Yeah. you decide probably. Age 15, 16, I had a good,careers counsellor. I really didn’t know what I wanted to be. I think everyone says in their medical school interview that they, that they, had a doctor’s kit when they were two years old and that’s why they wanted to be a doctor. Me, I was really good at science.

I was good at maths. I was generally quite friendly and my careers counsellor said, why not become a doctor? And I thought that sounds like a good,reasonable aim. So then I did chemistry and biology, maths at A level, and then decided to be, join a medical school and actually really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the rigor of it. I enjoyed, learning more about the body. The most, the biggest thing I enjoy about medicine is the fact that you learn stuff that helps yourself. So you’re in a business of helping yourself and then that can help other people. it’s tremendous.

[00:07:07] Tony Winyard: And so once you, so you left junior and then you’re at medical school and that’s what, like seven years or something, isn’t it?

[00:07:13] Attending medical school

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[00:07:13] Tom Gedman: Yeah, I did six years. Traditionally it’s five years in medical school, but I did six. I did an extra year to do, it’s a three year psychology degree in one year. It’s called an intercalated degree. So it’s a tough year, but it was really valuable because very early on in medical training, I realized that actually it’s not necessarily as much about just giving medicines and even doing certain behaviors.

There’s a lot of psychology. There’s a lot of mindset. That goes into improving people’s health. And that’s why I wanted to focus on that and, drive my career towards that.

[00:07:50] Tony Winyard: So once you started actually going on your own as such and working in a practice, was it what you expected or was it completely different?

[00:07:59] How was it when you began working in a practice?

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[00:07:59] Tom Gedman: It’s funny you should say that. I don’t know if you can really expect anything until you start doing the job. so I, I’d seen You know, mentors being GPs from afar and very established GPs make it look easy because they just have a sixth sense for what is happening to somebody and say, okay, you’re ill.

I’m going to take you seriously and, and, refer you on, or you don’t look ill. so I’m going to just be able to support you. And they’ve got a knack for having five minute appointments. it’s very difficult because I think the new age of doctors, myself included, we like to get to know people.

We like to use communication skills to be able to develop, a rapport with patients. We like to know that we’re doing a good job and helping. And actually I found that I wasn’t. Really helping people in 10 minutes. I was trying to do too much. I wasn’t really satisfying a person’s agenda who comes in.

[00:08:50] How Tom discovered TEAM CBT

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[00:08:50] Tom Gedman: I wasn’t tackling the important issues. And that’s even with the psychology degree, behind me, I realized I was, not doing enough. to be able to actually help. And it’s only when I started to realize that general practice is completely different to hospital medicine and you have to approach it very differently, that I started to give myself a little break, a little bit of a break and also had some quite transformational personal CBT counseling or TEAM CBT counseling.

that really just shone a light on my self defeating beliefs that I needed to be perfect all the time that I needed. needed to be able to help everyone all the time. And actually, when you start letting go of those beliefs and you start to replace them with, I don’t need to save someone all the time.

I just need to listen and I need to respect, and we’ve got more than just 10 minutes to be able to build a relationship and help someone through. I think that’s a, it was a huge weight off my shoulders and knowing we’ve got time to be able to do this. So I still use the. Self defeating beliefs to be able to motivate me, but I don’t get consumed by them anymore.

[00:09:50] Tony Winyard: cause I know you’ve done both TEAM CBT and also a functional medicine practitioner. So which came first?

[00:09:55] When did you begin to learn TEAM CBT?

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[00:09:55] Tom Gedman: I did TEAM CBT actually, so that I had personal therapy in TEAM CBT,

[00:10:02] Tony Winyard: some people won’t know what TEAM CBT is.

[00:10:05] Tom Gedman: Of course. Yeah. Yeah. And I know that you had Heather Clague on recently, and that was an excellent episode. So she will do a lot better summary of that than me, but TEAMCBT is basically a structured framework for cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a psychological, treatment technique, treatment protocol that, Basically posits the idea that your thoughts affect your feelings, which then affect your behaviours and go in a bit of a circle.

So by changing your thoughts, you can change your feelings and change your behaviours. and CBT almost goes one step further, and it stands for T for testing, which gives people questionnaires about how they’re feeling before and after session. E is for empathy and developing, Very quick, rapport with people using a structured, empathic communication skills approach.

A is the transformational bit for me. It’s called assessment of resistance. and basically it plays to the idea that we all want to be able to change our thoughts, but we all cling to the familiar. We have almost one foot on land and one foot in the sea of change. and we never really want to let go of the good things that are holding us back.

And actually by bringing the resistance, which isn’t a bad thing, it’s a really good thing about yourself to conscious awareness. You’re able to work with it and weigh it up in a pros and cons decision and say, I can see that my depression and anxiety and guilt and inadequacy are serving me in lots of different beautiful and amazing ways, but actually the downside is that it really saps my energy and exhausts me and it causes frustration. And I’d like to really work hard to change it. And as soon as you’re able to get that buy in from a patient, a client, and definitely myself, you’re able to move on to M for methods, which is a hundred different cognitive and motivational, psychodynamic methods that can.

Basically change the thoughts that you had, which were causing your depression and anxiety. if they are distorted in a way, and you can reframe them and change them into a more helpful thought that allows you to basically address and achieve your goals quicker with less frustration.

[00:12:08] Tony Winyard: And it was quite from what I remember from what you said, it was quite lucky how you discovered TEAM CBT, wasn’t it? So

[00:12:15] Tom Gedman: Yeah, I had CBT before, and it didn’t really work, and then I felt a bit hopeless because it didn’t work. And I thought, I’ll never get better. And then I tried again. And the, it’s called the Practitioner Health Program. It’s an NHS run service for doctors in need. And they essentially said, okay,it’s unprecedented.

We’ll let you have a second go at therapy. And then I met, The only TEAM CBT therapists in the UK,called Peter Spuria, who’s an ex GP. So yeah, I Maybe I’d go as far as say, I owe my life. I owe my career definitely to him, because it just set me on a path to learn these techniques, master them in a way, and also help really frame what I think is going to be a hugely beneficial preventative approach that includes psychological and other lifestyle habits, together.

[00:13:07] Tony Winyard: how does TEAMCBT help you as a GP?

[00:13:11] How does TEAM CBT help you as a GP?

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[00:13:11] Tom Gedman: In many ways, the first thing is that it helps you to, create a rapport and create a relationship, because we have a framework called the five, skills of effective, the five secrets of effective communication, and those skills are going into more detail in the podcast with Heather, but just briefly, it’s, the, disarming, so agreeing with whatever the person the opposite of you saying, or finding some truth in that, even if it’s, Quite aggressive or, insulting to you as a person, getting your guard down and trying to get people on side, explaining what you’re hearing from them and almost making the assumption about how they might be feeling as a result of the thinking, say how you’re feeling about the situation and really assert if you feel a little bit awkward or a little bit sad to hear what’s going on and also ask for more insight from the person and really this can take about 30 seconds from a skilled practitioner, but in my view. from before I learned TEAM to afterwards, it allows the patient, the person in front of me to be able to really know that I’ve heard them really know that I’ve understood them and it gets you on to a more of an empathic relationship to allow your recommendations, your clinical recommendations to be better adhered to, rather than you just saying, do what I say, I’m the boss, it’s working with somebody rather than you.

[00:14:28] Tony Winyard: And so what was it then made you decide to look into functional medicine?

[00:14:34] Why did you decide to get into Functional Medicine?

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[00:14:34] Tom Gedman: It’s interesting you say that because I spoke to Peter because Peter’s an ex GP and I said I had this idea that I wanted to be a full time TEAM CBT therapist. And he actually said, you would be great. at this, but I think you should use the medicine as well. And I think you should use, the skills you have and the training you’ve had to be able to create some sort of new blend.

and I’m really glad that he told me that because it’s just set me, in the last year developing this. It’s protocol, this plan that I’ve created, and I owe that to functional medicine as well, because functional medicine, open my eyes to the ability to use lifestyle interventions to be able to improve or even reverse the pathology of chronic disease and definitely improve symptoms as well.

And the conventional training that we have didn’t really address that. It was only when I dug deeper into functional medicine that I get really exposed to the huge amounts of evidence, that supports these lifestyle interventions, making a big difference. It also trained me up in, how to use supplements and, whether it’s herbal and nutritional supplements, judiciously, I think a lot of the time people can use supplements, without a firm evidence base and having the medical knowledge as well as the supplement knowledge means that I’m, I’ll never be reckless and I understand the indications and interactions with them.

And I can speak openly about the benefits and the drawbacks. So functional medicine was great. TEAM CBT is great and conventional medicine. is great as well. And I think a blend of all three is, is hopefully what I’m, the unique value proposition that I’m giving people.

[00:16:14] Tony Winyard: that is a pretty unique blend, isn’t it? I wouldn’t imagine there’s any others in the UK that have got that blend.

[00:16:20] A unique blend

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[00:16:21] Tom Gedman: no, because I think the TEAM CBT is a bit more of a niche. I think there’s a lot of conventional medical doctors with functional medicine, but I think blending that with TEAM CBT, yeah, that, that gives me an unfair advantage, unfortunately, in this realm, hopefully.

[00:16:35] Tony Winyard: staying with functional medicine, I remember when I first started, when I sought out a functional medicine practitioner, and that would have been, wow, probably about seven years ago or seven or eight years ago, and there wasn’t that many in the UK. There’s a lot more now. The landscape’s really changed, hasn’t it?

[00:16:51] Functional medicine is getting a lot more well known now

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[00:16:51] Tom Gedman: Yeah, there’s some really amazing doctors and, nutritional therapists and osteopaths doing some amazing work, with people, some mentors that I’ve met, just fantastic, really caring, empathic people that just want to make a difference and functional medicine really comes into its own for people who have not found the answers to their health concerns with the conventional approach.

and that can lead to a huge amount of hopelessness, helplessness, huge amount of stress, and just being able to know that there might be some answers that, conventional tests can’t elicit. I think that’s tremendously powerful with the right person and the right combination of therapist or practitioner.

[00:17:32] Tony Winyard: So you were talking about, you were saying about your unique blend with TEAM CBT and Functional Medicine as a GP. And I know you’ve put together something called, is it the Blueprint Scheme or something?

[00:17:43] The BLUEPRINT Plan

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[00:17:43] Tom Gedman: Yeah, the blueprint plan,is basically an acronym and every single letter stands for a different element, which, you know, 10 years of, experience being a medical doctor, now a GP, functional medicine practitioner, and also a TEAM CBT practitioner. I found these are the things that are the common thread that help a lot of people with a lot of things.

there’s a lot. Being said recently about the personalization of medicine and everything has to be disease specific. And I would say, yes, for pharmaceuticals, you need to have disease specific agents, but in terms of lifestyle changes, the things in the blueprint model, they will work for most people.

And I think the good thing about it is it allows a bit more flexibility in terms of people can choose where they want to start on their health journey. and it can tailor to people who really have non negotiables within their health and really want to work around certain difficulties and obstacles by trying something new.

and I guess it’d be helpful to go through the actual plan, wouldn’t it, Tony?

[00:18:45] B=Baseline testing and tracking

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[00:18:45] Tom Gedman: I’ll give you a brief overview. so B is for baseline testing and tracking. So using questionnaire, self examination, and in the more advanced sense, if you see me in clinic, it would be using functional testing as well, biometric testing, to be able to work out what your baseline is for health.

And I like to use an analogy of being dropped into a forest in the middle of nowhere. That’s where you are at this time. If you have a health goal and you don’t know where you’re starting, it can be really quite challenging to navigate the dense forest. And you want to try and get out to the other side to a specific destination, which is your goal.

And if you don’t know where you’re starting from, if you don’t know your GPS kind of coordinates in detail, you could be walking in any sort of direction. You wouldn’t know where you’re heading. Likewise, if you’re not setting milestones, then you’re going to might be going in the wrong direction that you wouldn’t know about it until too late and you can’t change.

course. and sometimes setting your baseline and also setting a smart goal, and milestones towards that can just really take the frustration out of the process. And it allows you to, not jump too high. You can have dream goals, but not be frustrated if don’t reach them within a week because you may have met your first milestone there.

[00:20:00] L=Limiting toxins

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[00:20:00] Tom Gedman: So that’s B. L is for limiting toxins. so things like alcohol, smoking, recreational drugs for some people, even things like pesticides on foods, chemicals in cosmetic products, the chemicals that we are exposed to in daily life, all sorts of things. And I use the analogy, of a bathroom sink, not to be insulting to everybody, everybody is worth more than a bathroom sink, but it, you imagine that.

You are turning on a tap and the tap is the amount of toxic exposure you have of all of these different toxins and many more that we’ve mentioned, and your body has an exquisite ability to be able to drain and detoxify all of those toxins. Otherwise, we would just curl up in a heap and we wouldn’t be here, within a minute of, and actually sometimes those detoxification, that plug, it gets blocked up or it can only filter out so much and the water starts to fill up into the sink and it starts to spill over, over the sides. And what we see the spillover is akin to the symptoms and the disease states that we’re in. And what we do fantastically well in conventional medicine is being able to have big mops to be able to sweep up all of the, of the water.

And we’re fantastic at being able to do that. And that’s good enough for some people, but actually the better approach is either, getting a larger sink, getting a larger plug hole, so working on your detoxification pathways, but actually just limiting the tap, turning the tap off or turning it down.

and there’s really good ways of being able to do that, to be able to set intentions and be able to change habits with the TEAMCBT method and other methods that we’ve used as well. that’s L.

[00:21:32] U=Understanding and changing habits

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[00:21:32] Tom Gedman: U is for understanding and changing habits. Now I was really inspired by lots of different books.

one of the main ones is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I think he’s got a really exquisite framework that everyone should read to be able to just make small changes to make big difference, and I utilize that. but there’s also something called the COMB, C O M B model of behavior change, which is really fantastic.

It really assesses the barriers and the motivation that you have to change. And we can work on that using some CBT methods as well.

[00:21:59] E=Exercise

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[00:21:59] Tom Gedman: E is for exercise in different types. so going for a walk is great. Going through maybe, more faster paced cardiovascular exercise if it’s safe for you is better, but also blending the cardiovascular with the resistance training to be able to help muscle strength, size, bone health, but also having a firm eye on stability and balance training as well, which is so important for longevity.

As you all know, Tony, you’re a big fanatic about that and you work really hard to be able to condition your body. If you just walked every day, it wouldn’t be as good as if you did your resistance training and your balance and stability work. So really having the skills to be able to employ those sort of tactics safely is really important.

[00:22:40] P=Purpose and spirituality

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[00:22:40] Tom Gedman: P is for purpose and spirituality. I think if we were to try and engage with a health goal, and we were to say something like, I want to, lose 10 kilograms in weight. Now, you might get to the end of the first week and feel like it’s a little bit restrictive, or it’s a bit of a change, unless you’ve got a strong purpose for why you’re doing something.

Sometimes, you might not have the fuel for the fire to keep on going. Actually, if losing weight meant more to you, if you felt that actually you were losing weight because you wanted to reduce your risk of chronic disease to be able to live longer or protect your joints to be able to play with your grandkids when they’re older.

That’s more of a purpose to aim for rather than, some people are really driven by looking good and I don’t discount that. That could be a really strong purpose but just having something on paper to say this is why I’m doing it can really power people through the hard times.

[00:23:33] R=Rest and relaxation

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[00:23:33] Tom Gedman: R is for rest and relaxation, and that’s sleep optimization, with different protocols and also stress management.

and this is specifically for behavioural tools. So like you do Tony, excellently, your breath work is fantastic. I think, that they say that if you’re in a panic state, don’t try and control the mind with the mind. you’re better to control the mind with the body by. Being able to breathe in certain ways to be able to give you that edge off.

And then you can click your executive functioning part of your brain back online to be able to talk yourself out of a panic situation. And I think that is the same thing with stress. And I think we’re really good as a society of being able to turn on our stress response. We’re not very good at being able to turn it off and that can lead to lots of different downstream consequences for our health and our wellbeing.

there’s other tools, forest bathing, meditation, mindfulness, all of these different things are fantastic as well. So they’re all in the plan.

[00:24:27] I=Interpersonal relationships

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[00:24:27] Tom Gedman: I is for interpersonal relationships. So that’s finding your tribe that, suits your goals, but also, being able to nurture the people around you, your friends and your family,and even work colleagues or bosses to be able to use communication skills, to be able to get them on board.

And negotiate time to be able to do the things that you need to do. And we can teach you the skills and being able to do that.

[00:24:49] N=Nutrition

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[00:24:49] Tom Gedman: N is nutrition and supplements. and that’s a huge thing that people dedicate their lives to. That’s just one part of the framework. And you’ll know that, weight loss, people could think, Oh, it’s just about shifting calories, but all of these different things can help.

But nutrition is so important. I do believe, there’s ways to eat that can benefit our health. and then to be able to harm us as well. And there’s some simple ways. I never like to say that foods are never events. food, I think food is, it’s got so many links culturally, it’s links to society and being social with other people.

And I’m just allowing people and educating people to use food in a way that helps them. And on the 80 20 rule, so 80 percent of the time, if you’re doing something right, that’s better than if you’re doing it the other way around. And supplements, I’m blessed with the education to be able to give judicious advice about supplements in a tailored way.

[00:25:39] Thought change with TEAM CBT

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[00:25:39] Tom Gedman: and finally, T is for thought change with TEAM CBT, because bottom line, I think it’s probably the most important, but some people are just not in that position where they want to examine the thoughts and that I wanted to develop this whole protocol to be able to help those people and say.

Listen, if you’ve got some trauma, if you can’t access these memories, if you can’t access these thoughts, if you don’t want to work on that, don’t think that you’re a hopeless case. You can actually manage your feelings with all of these other lifestyle behaviors. And then when you’re in a, maybe in a better place, it might be a bit more suitable for you to be able to work on the thoughts.

Likewise, I’ve seen people that have got terrible lifestyle habits. They work on the thoughts and they feel happy even while they’re still eating McDonald’s, it’s a real balance. And it’s about where would you like to start? What’s your goal and what appeals to you first? It’s trying to be as inclusive as possible, without really ruling out or making anyone afraid to make that first step.

It’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it, Tony, to be fair. that’s my one drawback, but I think, people like to have simple answers to complex problems, and this isn’t complicated, it’s slightly complex, but when you dig deeper into it, it generally becomes a little bit more intuitive and the people I’ve been doing it with in these lifestyle clinics that I’m running with the NHS, they’re really enjoying it.

And they’ve got some remarkable results, even after four weeks, which I’m really pleased about.

[00:27:00] Tony Winyard: But I’m guessing doing something like that, there’s no way you can do all of that in a 10 minute appointment. so how do you do it?

[00:27:06] Group programme

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[00:27:06] Tom Gedman: It’s interesting because what I’m developing now, is a group program. So I pay lip service to the blueprint plan within a 10 minute consultation, but I would refer people to the group program that I’m, I’ve started in West Coventry, and that’s when they can learn a bit more about it. And within 10 minutes, no, you can’t explain the whole problem, it took me 10 minutes just to explain it.

And that’s before you’ve actually assessed the person in front of you and made sure they’re not dying of a heart attack. So it’s really important. I think the only way to be able to spread this word is in a group setting, and actually the benefit of the group setting is that you’ve got that eye for interpersonal relationships.

You’ve got that tribe that are on the same path as you, that’s going to be able to help you out, and you’ve got the accountability as well, which is really important.

[00:27:55] Tony Winyard: So is it all done face to face or is it remote as well?

[00:27:59] How is the programme delivered?

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[00:27:59] Tom Gedman: We’re looking to build a remote service on Zoom, but at the moment we’ve got some charitable funding from a wonderful charity called Think Active to be able to provide face to face groups. So it’s an hour of education and discussion and then half an hour of guided exercise. and the people who come to the groups, they’re really happy with both.

[00:28:21] Tony Winyard: And so say someone approached you and they wanted to do this whole blueprint but like one to one, so do you also do it one to one?

[00:28:28] Can the BLUEPRINT be done 1-2-1?

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[00:28:28] Tom Gedman: Oh, sure. Yeah. the only issue is having a functional medicine doctor. or a conventional medicine doctor privately. maybe you’ll know it can be very expensive, and I lament that. I, I don’t like the idea of being able to charge people a lot of money for, for just simple lifestyle advice.

So that’s why I endeavoured to be able to give as much away for free or low cost as possible to give people the education so that when they do see a functional medicine doctor, they are armed with that ability to say, I’ve tried so much stuff and now I’m still feeling poorly. So where do we go?

Rather than starting with the basics of, here’s how to eat better and here’s how to exercise in a sustainable way. so I really wanted to develop this model to be able to be more inclusive for people who, either couldn’t afford or maybe even could afford, but would just be wasting their money learning basic stuff that can make a big difference.

[00:29:21] Criticisms of Functional Medicine

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[00:29:21] Tony Winyard: What do you think of some, a criticism I’ve heard of functional medicine practitioners recently is that some of them recommend some tests that aren’t really necessary and people are spending money where they don’t really need to spend it.

[00:29:38] Tom Gedman: Yeah, no, I agree with that criticism. I think it has to be based on the Person in front of you is there, the, affordability, has to be based on what you think it’s going to achieve. I wouldn’t do a whole blanket set of tests without a good reason, because the tests you do in functional medicine, they’re not diagnostic, they’re not like the things that you get with your conventional medical doctor.

they just point their clues to be able to build a picture of where imbalances lie. and then you can work on those imbalances, but the secret is most of the stuff that you find within the blueprint plan that will get you most of the way to be able to reset your imbalances. And actually that’s when we start using, judicious supplements after that to be able to help people on their journey and even some medications as well.

so I think starting with lifestyle first and as, as little tests as you can, to be able to try and get the answers that you need is my philosophy really. I never liked to start with a huge whack of baseline tests.

[00:30:42] What do you think of wearables?

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[00:30:42] Tony Winyard: What about wearables like, like CGMs and HRV and Oura rings and all that kind of thing?

[00:30:49] Tom Gedman: Yeah. I think they have their use in being able to provide satisfaction to a habit loop. so if that’s what you need to be able to reduce your intake of simple carbohydrates, sugar, junk foods. You need to be able to see that on your CGM, then that will be helpful for you. If you find that actually you can do that on your own, you can feel better.

I think the jury’s still out as whether, as to whether there is a benefit of. non diabetic patients using CGMs, it’s still an emerging science. I think there’s a lot of companies like Zoe and Levels and Veri that are doing it. And I’d like to see more science come out of it, to be able to recommend it.

But at the moment, if you’re able to get most of the way there without using Yeah, complex trackers, I’d prefer that, but I’ll never turn anyone away if they want to use me as their coach and their clinician to help them guide with a CGM or a sleep ring or, HRV tracker, be very comfortable talking through the results and using that to feed into the program as well. there is a sign. I remember we were talking a little bit about before the, the show, Tony, about your. fear that sometimes you can do too much proactivity and you can know too much data. And I think that’s always my fear as well, especially with things like sleep trackers, if you wake up in the morning and you feel okay, but actually your sleep score says that you’re terrible, there’s something psychological about.

Saying, okay, do I feel terrible? Maybe I do feel a little bit bad. Whereas actually you wouldn’t have that information. You would just go on your basic instinct of saying, how do I feel? so sleep rings and all of these, trackers, they have their pros, but they do have the ability to cause more anxiety and I would use them in certain cases.

[00:32:35] Can someone be too proactive?

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[00:32:35] Tony Winyard: And also, that’s one element of being maybe too proactive. Do you, in your experience, do you get many I don’t know, hypochondriacs, or people who are trying to be way too proactive and they just think they’ve got all sorts of different things wrong with them?

[00:32:51] Tom Gedman: Yeah, having health anxiety, is a real issue because generally, doctors, unless people have got a set of tests that rule out very important, diagnoses or red flags, then sometimes that can feed into the cycle of anxiety because the doctor wants to be certain they’re not missing anything. And then the person in front of you, the patient says,I’m scared about this specific red flag symptom and this specific quite dangerous symptom and this specific injury symptom.

And it takes quite a bold doctor to be able to say, okay, this is just part of your health anxiety. So I see where things do escalate in that regard. but, in answer to your question, yeah, I see a lot of people who are very anxious about their health and this wave of proactivity can sometimes do more harm than good.

And that’s why I think, just being able to start with small habits and building up, if you feel better, and if you deal with the psychological aspect of health anxiety, which is often, Really, there’s a lot of levels, there’s a lot of layers to health anxiety that really aren’t addressed in a 10 minute consultation.

And I think that’s really important to be able to examine your own thoughts about what’s causing you to be anxious and really deal with that. And sometimes I even see health anxiety being as a result of an interpersonal conflict. if you’ve got some problems at home, it manifests as health anxiety or health anxiety could be due to the symptoms that are produced from a nutritional imbalance.

And actually you’re worried about something, but actually if you manage the symptoms and the physiological response to eating the wrong foods, then sometimes those symptoms can improve as well. So there’s different aspects and different ways to be able to treat depending on the person’s preferences.

[00:34:33] What changes might we see with GPs?

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[00:34:33] Tony Winyard: Do you see things, GPs generally in the UK, do you think things are changing? I know, for example, doctors like Rangan Chatterjee is trying to change things and he’s doing some sort of training schemes with GPs and so on, isn’t he?

[00:34:48] Tom Gedman: Yeah,I think there’s a lot of change,with GPs. And I think the only issue I would have is that doing extra training in lifestyle medicine or functional medicine, it generally gives you more knowledge to be able to empower patients. but then there’s the time to be able to do that. So what I don’t want is to be able to get in a situation where people are running late, They’re more stressed as general practitioners.

They have more workload because they’re spending 15 minutes and 20 minutes with people trying to go through these topics. And that’s why I think. being able to sell a patient or be able to motivate them to a, to join a group clinic where they can speak in more detail and actually you’ve got 60 minutes with one person for six patients.

That’s the same as 10 minutes per patient with a doctor or with a health coach. I think that’s why I’d like things to be leading to. So you would literally, instead of a 10 minute conversation about lifestyle change, you would have 15 seconds and say, here are the facts, here’s this program, if you’d like to change.

Please join it and then, educate yourself and be with some like minded people. And I think that’s the only way that, that really this lifestyle medicine movement is going to be sustainable for GPs. Because I know some GP partners who have actually said. where do I have time for this?

I’ve got three hours of paperwork waiting for me. I just need to get through things. And that’s being, even from the most empathic and considerate and kind and gentle, GPs, they still have families that they need to go and see. they still have lives that they need to lead. And actually it’s causing so much more burnout if you have to add something else to the plate of general practitioners at this time of crisis and overload.

[00:36:26] How will AI change things?

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[00:36:26] Tony Winyard: What are your thoughts on AI? Do you think AI can help any of this or in any aspect of a GP surgery, can it be helpful?

[00:36:34] Tom Gedman: Yeah. I think there’s loads of different things that could be optimized within a The NHS and with their GP surgery, I think those things are probably coming through now, but the NHS is the biggest organization in the UK, and it’s hard to make those changes. They have to go through rigorous protocols. So I feel sorry for anyone who tries to push change in the NHS, like AI driven things, I’ll never blame somebody.

Because it’s just a huge endeavour. but do I think AI will be useful in clinical practice? Yes, I think it can be useful, for triaging people. What I think it will never replace is clinical judgment. and I think, I think you’d be a bold AI developer to be able to create something that reassures people completely without seeing a GP.

I think what it could do is educate somebody to be able to know what they’re doing is the right way of going. And it can sometimes be helpful for a GP to be able to see a range of differential diagnoses on a screen based on what a person said. And it’s transcribed their audio to be able to say, here, have you considered this and this?

And also even transcribing the notes or writing up letters. I think that’s where AI. could really improve the lives of GPs by just improving the efficiency of note taking and differential diagnosis.

[00:37:46] Tony Winyard: Tom, we’re moving on. Time’s gone pretty fast. a question I always ask everyone is there a book that comes to mind that has moved you for any reason?

[00:37:56] Tom’s favourite book

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[00:37:56] Tom Gedman: Yeah, I was thinking about this and I was thinking, I’m big nonfiction reader. So I was thinking, do I try and sound clever with a really whimsical fiction novel, which may be like one of the only ones that I’ve read. Or do I go for what inspired me first?

And actually the first thing that inspired me for this whole movement of preventative and lifestyle medicine was Rangan Chatterjee’s first book, The Four Pillar Plan. I remember reading that and thinking, wow, this is just. He’s made it sound so simple, he’s made it so accessible and it basically, I used to refer it and I still do refer it to every patient that I think would benefit from it.

So in terms of something that would change my life, I think that, but also like you’ve read recently, Tony, Feeling Great by David Burns, is really the manual for TEAM CBT, and I think if everyone read that and did the exercises in there and really examined their own thoughts and how it made them feel and used it, it’s like a, it’s like neurosurgery for thoughts, I find.

You’re not just targeting the whole brain, you’re working on a very specific thought pattern and that makes it less overwhelming. And if you deal with one specific thought and you use multiple methods on that thought, you can change it often for good. And you learn how to be able to manage relapses when you inevitably start thinking in similar old ways, you can just get out of that hole quicker. And I think if the whole world read that book,I think it would make a big difference to people’s mental health and also physical health as well.

[00:39:25] Tony Winyard: Yeah, it’s a superb book. So if people want to find out more about you and Blueprint and everything else, where would they go?

[00:39:33] Get in touch with Tom

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[00:39:34] Tom Gedman: sure. So you can get to my website. it’s www. drtomgedman. com. That’s D R T O M. G E D m A n I imagine you’ll put it in the show notes. I have to spell my name every time. Golf Echo Delta, Mike Alpha. November is a strange one. dr tomgedman.com. you can also find me on Instagram, at Dr. Tom Gedman or Twitter at Dr.

Tom Gedman or LinkedIn. the blueprint plan is on the website, but, soon to be a kinda on-demand video course. but yeah, follow my journey. I’m trying to get over some performance anxiety, at the moment by doing 30 days of, LinkedIn and Instagram video posts about the project. So you can come along and join me and see me, either succeed or fail miserably in that task.

[00:40:20] Tom’s podcast

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[00:40:20] Tony Winyard: And I think it’s safe to say as well, sometime, we can’t say when, but there’s going to be a podcast coming at some point as well in the future.

[00:40:28] Tom Gedman: Do you know what, I’ve just spent a fortune on podcast equipment and, actually the first thing I bought was a microphone about six months ago and I realized it, I didn’t have the equipment to be able to actually do it. So it’s developed dust. So I’ve dusted it off. I’m going to sign up for a podcasting program and then get the equipment.

I’m going to get it done. So I’d love you to be on a, an episode of mine, as well in the near future, Tony.

[00:40:52] Tom’s fave quote

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[00:40:52] Tony Winyard: Absolutely. to finish off, Tom, is there a quotation that, resonates with you for any reason?

[00:40:58] Tom Gedman: I was thinking about this too, and that the only thing I can think of is, what is it? The, Henry Ford who said, "You can think you can, or You think you can’t, and you’re probably right". I think there’s a lot to be said about mindset, and the way that you think about different things. so I like that quote as well.

There’s also a quote by, James Clear that sticks with me. I think it’s something about. identity and you, it’s not really a quote, but it’s just a, an idea that you can either cognitively and with thoughts, change your identity to be able to then suit a new habit, or you can just do that habit enough that it makes that identity a reality.

So you can work it in both ways. So the more you do healthful behaviours, the more you will. form that identity, or you could start by just saying I am somebody who looks after their health and then the habits might be a little bit easier for you to adhere to.

[00:41:53] Final thoughts on being proactive

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[00:41:53] Tony Winyard: Could you leave the listeners with any thoughts on being proactive around health?

[00:41:59] Tom Gedman: Absolutely, I think definitely it’s well worth the investment. I’m in a privileged position to be able to see lots of different people in clinic and what I do know is that Years and decades of treating yourself in an unhealthy way can lead to problems that can sometimes only be treated with medicines, like painkillers with side effects and surgery.

so the more you invest at any age, even as a teenager, early twenties, you can help to prevent lots of different chronic diseases. so I think it’s really worthwhile and actually you can have fun on the way. It’s not all deprivation and doom and gloom. It’s actually, when you feel fit, you feel better when you’re eating better, you feel better when you’re thinking better, you feel better.

So it’s only hard to start with. It generally gets easier and, just enjoy the process.

[00:42:54] Tony Winyard: Tom, it’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you.

[00:42:58] Tom Gedman: Thanks so much, Tony. Love this opportunity. Thank you. And I look forward to seeing you soon.

Join me next week for an adventurous episode with Dan Roberts an accomplished Explorer and an avid athlete. In our lively chat. Dan shares his contagious enthusiam for travel and boldly seizing opportunities. Discover how reading "On the road" as a teen sparked Dan’s Intrepid attitude, propelling him to backpacking adventures worldwide. Learn how Dan transitioned from tennis coaching at 16 into a prolific coaching career across fitness, film, and more. His passion is helping people connect their mind and body to live more athletically. Dan believes being proactive means confidently taking action and getting out of your comfort zone. He explains why having a coach signifies a proactive mindset, yet many avoid it out of ego. So tune in next week to hear Dan’s insights on living life as a thrilling adventure. Please subscribe to the art of living proactively on your favorite podcast platform. Leave us a sparkling five star review. Share this episode with friends to spread the inspiration. I appreciate your listenership and look forward to seeing you next week.