Dr. Elie Jarrouge, MD – My Journey to Metabolic Health
I grew up active and healthy, proud of my athleticism. But as I immersed myself in medical training, I stopped prioritizing my own health. Over eight years, my weight crept up by 30 pounds, my waist expanded by four inches, my blood pressure soared, and I developed early onset prediabetes. By age 28, I had full-blown metabolic syndrome.
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I thought I knew the solution: eat less, move more. I tried. It didn’t work.
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Then, at 30, my body sent a clear warning. One morning, as I put on my pants, my back gave out. The pain was excruciating. I spent a week unable to function, sleeping on the floor, and three weeks struggling to walk upright. Over the next year, my back continued to give out every few months. Chronic pain became my norm. Structurally, nothing was wrong with my spine, yet I kept suffering. Every attempt to exercise only triggered another flare-up.
BEFORE AFTER
As a hospitalist from 2013 to 2022, I treated thousands of patients in high-acuity settings. Initially, I believed I was saving lives—treating illnesses, stabilizing conditions, sending people home. But over time, I saw the pattern. My patients kept coming back, often worse than before. Conventional medicine wasn’t curing them—it was just managing symptoms. And I was no different. Despite my medical knowledge, I couldn’t heal myself.
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I ignored dietary advice from friends, convinced that nutrition couldn’t be the answer—after all, I had learned nothing about it in medical school. But after my fifth or sixth debilitating back injury, desperation set in. I had to do something different.
That’s when I discovered the power of nutrition. My journey began with the Whole30 program, a paleo-based approach that also tackles the psychology of food. In just one month, I lost 15 pounds and felt noticeably better. Encouraged, I repeated the program a few months later, shedding another 5 pounds. My energy surged, my waistline shrank, and my chronic back pain improved by 80%. For the first time in years, I felt in control of my health.
Determined to learn more, I immersed myself in books and podcasts on nutrition and metabolism. In January 2018, I decided to take it a step further—I committed to a strict ketogenic diet for three months. The results were undeniable: I lost another 10 pounds (30 pounds total), my waist shrank another inch, and my back pain vanished. I hadn’t just lost weight—I had reversed my metabolic syndrome. I even experimented with Carnivore and felt even better than ever.
Since then, I’ve refined my approach, incorporating intermittent fasting and optimizing my diet. My blood pressure normalized. I was no longer prediabetic. My weight returned to what it was at 17 years old. And for the first time in years, I had no back pain.
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This transformation changed everything. Practicing conventional medicine alone no longer felt right. Writing prescriptions to suppress symptoms while ignoring the root cause felt like a betrayal. During my last few years as a hospitalist, I used every moment with my patients to educate them about the real drivers of their diseases—insulin resistance, metabolic dysfunction, and poor nutrition.
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For those willing to listen, the impact was profound. They took notes, asked questions, and left with hope. They realized their diabetes, fatty liver disease, and obesity weren’t irreversible—they had the power to change. But they also felt frustrated. Why had no one told them this before? Why was the advice always just “eat less, move more” when that clearly wasn’t enough?
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That’s when I asked myself: even if my patients wanted to change, would they succeed? I knew firsthand how hard it was. It took me years, multiple attempts, and relentless effort to make sustainable changes. What people needed wasn’t just information—they needed guidance, coaching, accountability, and support.
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But who would provide that? Primary care doctors? They barely have 15 minutes per patient. Most still dismiss lifestyle interventions. I knew if I wanted to truly help people regain their health, I had to be the one to step up.
That’s why I created Metabolic Health MD. Now, through my telemedicine practice, I help patients take back control of their health, reverse their chronic conditions, and break free from the cycle of medications and declining health. Because I’ve lived through it—I know what it takes.
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And if you’re ready, I’m here to help you do the same.