Meet Gregory Charlop, M.D.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Charlop, M.D.

Dr. Charlop, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I took a plunge. After spending the last 15 years in a comfortable job as an anesthesiologist in a major Northern California medical center, I decided it was time for a change.

Don’t get me wrong; I loved my Bay Area job. I took care of some of the sickest patients, from newborns to seniors with life-threatening conditions. It was satisfying to help so many sick folks through the toughest time of their lives. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

But, I reached a point in life where I decided that either I try something new right now, or continue doing this forever. So, I packed up and moved LA with no job and a home I found only days earlier. I’ve nursed a lifelong passion for wellness and writing, and this was my chance to give it a shot.

It was exhilarating!

As soon as I arrived, I hit the ground running with some of the world’s top plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. We worked together to help actresses and celebrities reach their beauty goals. It was great – and a significant change from my former life.

At the same time, I finished my second book, Why Doctors Skip Breakfast: Wellness Tips to Reverse Aging, Treat Depression, and Get a Good Night’s Sleep. I combined the lessons I learned from the world of elite plastic surgery with the latest anti-aging research from Harvard, USC, and UCLA. I’m now using the book’s techniques to help athletes and celebrities throughout California reverse aging and ward off depression via online telehealth consultations.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Surprisingly, yes. Why Doctors Skip Breakfast is attracting a lot of media attention, thanks to its novel approach to depression and wellness. ABC, FOX, CBS, and Reader’s Digest ran features on the book. At the same time, I’ve been working with leading athletes and organizations to help them use high-performance medicine.

These days, I mostly focus on telemedicine (online doctor visits). Honestly, the timing worked out well since most people don’t want to leave the house these days. They certainly don’t want to set foot in the doctor’s office! With telemedicine, I’m able to work with people throughout California to improve their diet, sleep, mood, and wellness.

Telehealth is taking off like a rocket. There’s an explosion of cool gadgets patients can use at home to monitor their blood pressure, sugars, etc., and all that data is sent directly to the telemedicine doc. In essence, we’re able to turn someone’s house into their private clinic without the doctor ever setting foot in the home.

We’d love to hear more about your practice.
My primary focus is on working with people who want to go beyond treating specific diseases and prefer to focus more on enhancing overall wellness and performance. In my telehealth practice, we pay particular attention to diet, sleep, supplements, and technology.

I work with a lot of athletes, retired athletes, and executives who want to optimize their diets, vitamins, and sleep habits to boost their careers. It’s a lot of fun working with such dedicated people.

Let’s use diet as an example. I’m a big fan of intermittent fasting. In fact, fasting is what inspired the title of Why Doctors Skip Breakfast. Thanks to recent research from the great universities in Los Angeles, we know that when you eat is as important as what you eat. So, we work with everyone to create a food diary, including the timing of meals. We use some technological gizmos to assess health, and then create an individualized meal plan that includes both what and when to eat. Folks love it because it takes the guesswork out of meal planning.

Old age is one of our biggest fears. We’re all afraid to become frail or dependant on others. We’ve seen the ravages of Alzheimer’s – and we dread when it’s our turn. Most of us feel that our later years will be full of illness and suffering.

Fortunately, we have new hope.

If we follow the latest advice from anti-aging researchers, we can live longer and enjoy old-age full of energy and vitality. We can start new careers or hobbies at 70, travel the world at 80, and look forward to playing with our great-grandchildren.

I’m most proud that we can give people confidence that their later years will be years worth living. My goal is to replace the fear of old age with the excitement of new opportunities.

When we eat the right foods at the correct times, take a few select supplements, sleep properly, practice mindfulness, and exercise, we give ourselves and our families the gift of more healthy years. I guess you can say that I’m a missionary for an evidence-based healthy lifestyle.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have started earlier. There’s no doubt that I was complacent with my old job. It was comfortable and predictable. I knew my daily routines and paycheck came every month. As Tim Ferriss would say, I was running on the treadmill, and I accepted it.

If I could do things over again, I would probably have worked the last job in the hospital for no more than ten years and then gone off on my own. It’s so satisfying to be your own boss with creative control rather than a cog in the machine.

Students often ask me for career advice. I recommend young people work a stable job (or two) for a few years to gain industry experience. After that, go out there and start your own business! I also urge people to live in as many different places as possible while young. Once we’re in our 30s or 40s, it’s easy to get tied up with life, and it’s tough to pull up stakes and move around.

Pricing:

• Why Doctors Skip Breakfast Kindle edition $3.99
• Why Doctors Skip Breakfast paperback $12.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gregorycharlopmd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregorycharlopmd/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregory.charlop

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.