From a young age, I received a different message about promoting and maintaining health than most. As a child of a chiropractor, I grew up understanding that the body is able to take care of itself. I never took an antibiotic as a young child; in fact, my siblings and I never received any medicine unless it was absolutely necessary. Our dad gave us regular chiropractic adjustments as part of our healthy living routine, helping to make us more resilient to our environments. My family didn’t follow a conventional approach to health, but we also didn’t have a strict or extreme lifestyle by any means—we definitely treated ourselves when we felt like it. Still, we rested when we were sick, and our parents helped us keep up on our nutrition. From a young age, we understood that we should employ these methods to help us get well when we were sick, and we should also use them to stay well.
My lessons in health care extended beyond my home life, as well. I visited my dad’s office often and observed every aspect of what it meant to be a chiropractor. I watched him adjust patients, but I also paid attention to his interactions with them: he was kind and compassionate, and in turn, they respected him. Innately, I always knew I wanted to be a chiropractor—it felt natural for me to follow in my dad’s footsteps. I attended chiropractic college, and later, my brother and sister did the same. After college, my siblings took over my dad’s practice in Canada while I stayed in the UK, specifically Scotland, where I started my chiropractic career.
Running a clinic wasn’t always easy. I often felt like I was being pulled from pillar to post, and it only got more intense after my first child came along. Time was at a premium, and unfortunately, diet and exercise went out the window. I stopped looking after myself, and it wasn’t long before I experienced some of the same symptoms my patients had. I couldn’t settle down for sleep at night, and when I did sleep, I slept poorly. I was “tired but wired.” I also gained weight, and that was extremely bothersome because I was typically fit. I felt lethargic, and for the first time ever, albeit mild, I developed irritable bowel issues.
My practice continued to grow, and as I spent more time helping others with their health, my own health took a backseat. I took over another clinic, and I often worked there until nine or ten o’clock at night. Patients continued to show up at that late hour, and I didn’t want to turn anyone away. I relocated the clinic to a larger space to meet the growing demand, and as a result, I continued to work long hours. Then, in my mid-thirties, I decided I couldn’t continue at my current pace—I made changes, hired more people, and lightened my load at the clinic. I was able to give myself more time to prioritize my health. I knew I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, but I didn’t have a lot of time for exercise; I had to design a program for myself that was efficient, effective, and adaptable.
That’s when I focused my attention on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and began learning how it influenced the hormones of the body. I also expanded my knowledge of nutrition and started to follow a Paleo diet. I took many factors into consideration, kept an open-mind, and designed a personal program based on my findings. It worked! Then, I had an idea. If this program worked so well for me, it might just work for my patients. After all, they had similar problems. Inspired, I decided to make an offer on an empty space next to the new clinic and began offering the program as an addition to my practice. We could now offer a more well-rounded approach to care, addressing key lifestyle factors to influence and promote health.
I was excited about my new endeavor, so I consulted my siblings, a personal development coach, and one of my associate chiropractors, Ryan to further develop and refine the program. As a group, we had more than fifty years of combined clinical experience to draw from, and we focused on identifying the most common health concerns of our clients and patients. It was no surprise that high blood pressure, arthritis, and obesity topped the list. We also identified the challenges that frequently held people back from achieving their ideal life and health—time, energy, and fluctuating moods were common. To address these concerns, we drew from our experience and the most up-to-date scientific research to create the first FIT 5-40-5 program.
It was only natural that the next move would be to develop an online platform that could easily deliver our core program and others that can fit into the FIT 5-40-5 model. And that is now available for you here at this website and I’m excited to partner with other health professionals and coaches and share the tool to help you grow your health to new heights.
Yours in health,
Dr. Gavin Sinclair, DC