Interview with Dr. Ryan Oughtred, ND

The information age has created a world where we can gain immediate answers to almost any question that pops into our head. Which is equal parts exciting and confusing given that not all information is created equal and “fake news” is everywhere. 

When it comes to health and fitness, sorting through conflicting information and opinions can be downright paralyzing. Even as a fitness professional, I often find myself questioning what I should be paying the most attention to and passing down to my clients. 

In this interview I sit down with with Dr. Ryan Oughtred, a naturopathic doctor and the founder of HealthOut Lifestyle and Fitness in Vancouver, Canada. We discuss how to sift through the noise, how to focus on what is most important when it comes to your health, and what it means to HealthOut. 

L: You’ve been a naturopathic doctor for 10 years and a fitness professional for 15 years, what trends have you noticed with patients and clients over this time.

Dr. O: I’ve drawn a lot of parallels with fitness and all other industries that are prone to trends. I think fitness is somewhat like the food industry, you need to think of ways to make it interesting for people. Most people don’t want to eat the exact same thing for every meal, everyday. Trends in fitness really just reflect that need for people to have variety, some spice if you will, in their fitness. The squat, the lunge, lifting things or holding yourself up in various positions - you need to find ways to serve these to people in different ways so they don’t get bored, but the basic nutrients are just the same. 

L: Has your philosophy or methodology evolved over the past 10-15 years when it comes to health and fitness, or are you of the same mind as when you started?

Dr O.: I don’t think I had a “mind” until I went through my naturopathic doctoring program. The process of becoming a health professional really does help you think differently. You really learn to step outside of yourself and prioritize what’s best for the person right in front of you. That definitely was a big game changer for me. Even though I don’t use all the things I learned while becoming a naturopathic doctor, the process of sitting down with a patient, putting together a diagnosis, asking the right questions, and making sure you get the answers you need; then using all of that information to put together a plan for that person is an important process that has shaped my approach. 

L: What I notice in the world in general is that there’s a lot of conflicting information when it comes to health, diet and fitness, so it’s easy to be confused. What is your basic advice to someone who is feeling overwhelmed?

Dr O.: To really cut to the chase, I try not to get too caught up in all the information, and help people forget the irrelevant conversations. Often people come in confused about this and that topic, when really those topics don’t even matter when you start to talk about what their goals are. Quite often you don’t need to go into any of it, you just need to focus on what is most important for them. That is where some of the confusion can be, people think that “x” conversation, that is so controversial in the news is really what is impacting their goals, but it’s not. For example, people are having these conversations about fitness and weight loss, debating whether it is the high intensity training or the slow fat burning activity that is more important for weight loss, when in actuality neither of those are really making much of a difference for most people. So when people are talking to me about weight loss I try to move them quickly to the areas that will make a difference for them.

L: Why do you think these debates still exist?

Dr. O.: Misinformation is common in many fields, it’s always going to be very challenging to find out who has the more accurate information if there are a lot of stories out there. Even if there is some really good science around one issue, there can still be some strong, deep set beliefs from many years ago that can cause something to be a controversy when it doesn’t need to be. And sometimes it is a sign, say with nutrition, that there isn’t enough good evidence anyways, so everyone’s opinion gets a little bit of weight because we don’t know the answers to some questions. It is really about getting people back to what is important. There are some things that we have some confidence about, so I usually try not to get to caught up in the debates and move into what do we think is most likely going to work. Almost like a “back to basics” kind of approach. 

L: Do people usually embrace your “back to basics” approach or do you get resistance?

Dr. O.: I find that often the people that are really interested in the debate part or are using it as a big conversation piece, are using it as a distraction. It is not making that much of a difference for the decision processes, they are clinging onto the debate for other reasons. I will get into the debate if I think it will help someone buy in. Is it a good use of time? Not necessarily. But, it if helps them buy in or really get excited about their health I will go into the debates a bit. 

L: You have a really interesting background, you were a professional skier, naturopathic doctor, fitness professional and at this point you are opening up a business, a boutique studio where the focus is fitness. I’m curious what has made you go in one direction; what made you go into the fitness space versus naturopathic medicine or another direction?

Dr. O.: I think that fitness needs a more professional side to it. I’m only two months into this business and I’m really noticing more and more the gap between fitness and health professionals. There is a gap between the way the two would ideally see fitness prescribed or implemented. So, I think it’s a good way to make a difference. 

Also, a lot of my clients think I’m really good at what I do and they keep asking me to do fitness with them. I thought when I became a naturopath I would be doing less fitness, but I really have continued to do a lot of fitness with my clients. 

The last reason is it just works. I have learned over the years the limitations of so many therapies that are out there. I am just the type of person that wants to know the things I’m doing are really helping someone change their life for the better. I think as a naturopathic doctor, it really can change a person’s life to have conversations about the fact that we don’t really know a lot and a treatment may or may not help them. But it is a terrible business to sit down and tell people you don’t have a magic potion for them! When you talk about fitness, it is a bit of a magic potion. You may hurt a couple people along the way, but most of the time I think you are benefiting almost everyone who does it, so that is amazing. 

L: Boutique fitness has exploded over the past 10 years. What are your general thoughts on this and how do you fit into the fitness space?

Dr. O.: I think it’s a trend, but I think there are aspects of it that are never going to go away. I think group fitness is always going to be around and I think there are a large number of people that are going to want to go exercise with other people. It’s like the food analogy, there are going to be trends, you’re gonna want variety and you’re gonna want to do it with other people. So I think we will always have group fitness. 

In terms of the current boutique trends, I think crossfit has played a big role in it. I don’t know where the other boutiques would be if it wasn’t for crossfit. As much as we like to make fun of crossfit a bit because the people who are into it are really into it ! But crossfit really did do an interesting job of taking the structure of the way athletes train - in small groups with progression over time - to the masses. I also think spin classes have driven the market too. 

A certain amount of it is a little bit trendy, but we’ve always done group fitness over the last 50 years. Where is fitness going over the next 50 years, I like to think it’s going somewhere much smarter. That is why I started HealthOut, I don’t think fitness is focused on health enough. It started with bodybuilding and then went to aerobics and yoga, which was probably our healthiest phase. Eventually the box gyms took over and group fitness kind of died within the box gyms. Box gyms is the business term used for large membership gyms like Equinox, Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness. Then someone realized they should just take it out of the box gyms. And here we are with our current boutique fitness trend. 

L: I know that part of your philosophy with HealthOut is about trying to get individuals to workout smarter (hence the term, HealthOut) and training in a way that supports them long term, not just short term. What are you doing with fitness and your prescriptive approach that is different from what other people are doing?

Dr. O.: I honestly don’t think it’s complicated at all. I just try to focus on the basics, the things that actually work. You can easily get sucked into some aspect of fitness that is trendy, or sounds sexy or cutting edge, but then you lose the bigger focus. The bigger focus is the holistic view of your physical health, your total health and how your total health plays into your physical health. 

Really what I’m doing with my clients day to day is stepping back and just simplifying. I’m trying to think what is really important for this person today. Once in a while people might pay you to take some time to talk about their overall routine, where it’s all going and how it all plays into their overall health picture.  A lot of the times you are just dealing with one day at a time; you work to modify things so that people can make the most of their time and still get the most benefits that they can in a short period of time. It’s about prioritizing and simplifying. 

L: If you could just tell the world one thing, what would it be?

Dr. O.: I did just write “Respect Your Body” on the blackboard in front of HealthOut. How you respect your body, that’s another thing! But just starting with that mindset, I think if a lot of people had that mindset they would change everything they are doing throughout the day. They would probably sit a little bit less, eat a little bit differently and they wouldn’t do the risk taking stuff like smoking. 

To learn more about HealthOut, check out www.healthout.com and to learn more about Dr. Oughtred’s naturpatic practice, visit: www.doctoroughtred.com.