SLIM TLC® Online is a dynamic (regularly-updated and enhanced) collection of all of our program materials, created to assist you in achieving your goals. It is the ultimate DIY (Do It Yourself) manual, and lifetime access (!) can be purchased for the introductory price of only $19.99 by clicking the button above or below (Note: To keep costs down, SLIM TLC® Online is currently hosted on the TLC Family Health website).
NOTE: The purchase of SLIM TLC® Online is required for all who join SLIM TLC® (with prescription) or SLIM TLC® without Meds, so the registration fee for each of those has been reduced from $100 to $80. If you are considering joining one of these programs but would like to learn about the full SLIM TLC® system before deciding, you may purchase SLIM TLC® Online first, then join SLIM TLC® or SLIM TLC® without Meds only if needed or desired!
The full contents of the SLIM TLC Folder (provided to participants of our formal program), including links to download both versions of the SLIM TLC® Map (our groundbreaking goal-setting system), Dr. Cluff's List of Favorite Healthy Snacks and Meals, "Free (4-Diamond) Food" options to help build your own healthy list, TLC University Lesson Checklist and Quizzes, and more.
Includes 24 Lessons, including 1) Orientation, 2) The 4:1 Rule/Nutrition Star (which details our revolutionary "Free Food? Whatever!" eating strategy), 3) The SLIM TLC® Map, 4) Another Magic Pill, 5) Might as Well Face that I'm Addicted to "Whatever," 6) Committing Planticide, 7) Meal Planning the SLIM TLC® Way, 8) Freaks of Nature: "My Metabolism is Frozen, 9) The Chinese Insanity Test, 10) Checking Your Fuel Gauge, 11) Eating out the 4:1 Way, 12) The 4 1/2 True Magic Pills to Weight Loss, 13) Diet is a Four-Letter Word, 14) It's Emotional! The Roll of Stress and Depression, 15) Surviving the Snack Attack, 16) Taking SLIM TLC on the Road, etc.
Includes 21 topics, like 1) "I'm doing everything right," 2) "I must not be eating enough," 3) "I hit a plateau," 4) "I hurt my knee," 5) Morbid obesity, 6) "I never feel full," 7) "I don't have time to exercise," 8) "I don't like to exercise," 9) "I quit smoking and gained lots of weight," 10) "I'm gaining weight like a maniac," 11) "I really started gaining after menopause," 12) "My weight is supposedly normal but...," 13) "I got sick and lost several pounds," 14) Steroid use," 15) "The very thought of marriage made me gain weight," 16) "I ate right and still gained two pounds since yesterday," etc.
Includes the Parents' Toolkit, Parent Orientation, and 12 Game Plans, including 1) The Ultimate Goal, 2) Follow the Map, 3) Check Your Fuel Gauge, 4) Fun Fitness for Life, 5) The Island, 6) It's Screen Time, 7) Transformers at Home, 8) Come and Get It, 9) Snack Time, 10) Choosing Wisely, 11) "Can We Go out to Eat?," 12) In It for Life.
Welcome to TLC University!
It’s no secret that almost all of us need to improve our lifestyles, especially our diets – i.e., to eat more of what we should and less of what we should limit. Since, over the past few decades, our lifestyles and diets as a whole have deteriorated significantly, the whole health care system and our health are crumbling right before – and under – our eyes.
As you know, many factors contribute to the difficulty to become, and then stay, slim, fit, and healthy. For most, at least in developed countries, I'm convinced that the greatest two factors contributing to our unhealthy diets are addictions and convenience. Habits, culture, a lack of knowledge, and many other factors contribute.
At SLIM TLC®, we help you learn the reality about what you need and what you need not concern yourself. After decades of fighting my own fight through nutrition education and strategy, system, and program development, and in turn applying everything I've had to help patients fight theirs, I am absolutely thrilled (and beyond grateful) to report that everything came together in December 2023 – culminating in such a huge leap forward in efficacy, livability, and flexibility (i.e., customizability) that I can't wait to share it with you. It has been, both in myself and others, finally (!), the answer, at least for most – and I hope and pray that you don’t assume or believe you are an exception until you try it, fully.
My mission, which I have chosen to accept, is to convince you to swallow a certain (by the way, free and all-natural) magic “pill,” hook, line, and sinker. I guess you could call it the “Whatever Pill” – but more precisely (you will come to learn):
How well you do on this program will be completely dependent upon how willing you are to swallow this “Whatever pill,” which includes these four components.
I respect your timing; I'm sure you'll do it whenever you see (others) fit. But for whatever reason, if you find this pill to be a little bitter to swallow initially, please do not flush it down the toilet or otherwise discard or dismiss it. You may decide to to break it up and swallow it in pieces, whether referring to the learning process or implementation, or you may sugar-coat it in a way that it’s easier for you to swallow. More about that in a second.
I’ve been neck-deep in the weight loss and lifestyle world for over three decades, and until December 2023, disappointingly and frustratingly, I had only been partially successful at fighting my own battles – and only partially successful at treating/helping thousands of patients and others. Then everything changed when I was blessed to come up with this too-good-to-be-true (only it is true) eating strategy, which I now call “Free Food? Whatever!” – replacing all of my previous mostly failed eating strategies, the latest of which entailed trying to determine what percentage of each day’s diet consisted of healthy – what I call “4-Diamond” or “4◊” – foods (the other diamond of my Nutrition Star is the “Whatever” diamond – getting the picture?). Needless to say, it was messy. “Free Food? Whatever!” trumps the old way many times over, and you will understand once you learn the craft.
The Whatever Pill is an integral part of the “Free Food? Whatever!” eating strategy, which, if you will allow it, will change your life – even if you are absolutely convinced that your eating preferences are more effective or appropriate than my Nutrition Star, for whatever reason. See Lesson 2 to learn how you can take advantage of the “Free Food? Whatever!” eating strategy by adapting it to fit your preferences, and watch the magic happen!
I do have to warn you that you will need to learn some new skills, and it will take a…very…long…hour (or two) to learn them. However, it will be the greatest time ROI (return on investment) you’ve ever experienced, i.e., the best rewards for the shortest investment of time (and money, for that matter). And I’m beyond thrilled to be able to help you in this way. At the end of this lesson you’ll see a preview of what happened (finally!) when I implemented the four numbered “Whatever”-related steps above. SLIM TLC is committed to helping you achieve your weight loss goals and improve your overall health. Our program is designed to provide you with the tools and support you need to make lasting lifestyle changes. We offer one-on-one coaching, group support, and personalized nutrition plans to help you reach your goals.
Before going any further, however, I must bore you with…
My Preface, Story, and Philosophy
If you ask a thousand health care professionals about nutrition and weight loss, you’ll get a thousand different answers. In fact, nutrition is like a religion – it practically takes an act of God (or at least Congress) to make someone change his or her mind about it. My angle? You’ll have to draw your own conclusions, but know that I have done my very best as a Primary Care Physician highly interested in health, nutrition, longevity, weight loss, truth, and reality (trying to leave bias out of the equation) to study the landscape thoroughly and obtain real-world experience, all with the end goal of putting it all together and providing you with the best possible advice and tools. I have seen and studied a lot, and I truly believe that SLIM TLC, TLC University, and my nutrition guidelines (the Nutrition Star – see Lesson 2) will provide you with the magic for which you’ve long been searching.
The main purpose of TLC University is to teach you simple, invaluable principles of health (using the latest in nutrition science and lifestyle medicine) that will empower you to make the most sustainable changes in your lifestyle necessary to meet your long-term health and weight loss goals. These “Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes” are the key both to preventing and reversing disease. Without them, not only will your health suffer, but the entire health care system will continue to crumble. The good news is that the power to prevent and reverse disease is in our hands.
The reality is that the grand majority of diseases from which Americans suffer and die can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle and achieving a healthy weight. An individual who makes these lifestyle changes will not only significantly increase the chances of living a longer life, but it will also be a much more healthy, functional, and enjoyable life. In other words, he or she will add both more and good years to his or her life. In addition, he or she will be much less of a burden to the health care system – i.e., be part of the solution.
My hope is to make TLC University:
I would appreciate any feedback that you can give me to help accomplish those goals.
Lesson Format
I initially thought it would be ideal to conduct these lessons in person, one-on-one, at whatever time or place was most convenient. However, I realized that not only is it impossible for me (or anyone else) to teach all of these principles to everyone individually, it is essential to use the Internet and technology to allow me to reach you in various other formats than in person, at whatever time or place is convenient. I then thought it would be helpful to create videos for you to watch, or interactive multimedia presentations in which to engage. Doing so might be more enjoyable and less work for you. However, trying to do so would not only come at a much greater (prohibitive) cost, but it would also prevent me from being able to easily update the lessons with the latest scientific and other helpful information available. As such, I decided it would be best to create an “O (online)-book,” which would facilitate regular updating. In addition, an electronic format allows the invaluable inclusion of links to content, files, and other websites, simple navigation (“jumps”) between topics, submittable forms, and simplified searching of content (press [Ctrl] + [F] or click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner, then click “Find”).
Yes, fortunately for you, the use of good old-fashioned text and graphics (or maybe “digital content” sounds more impressive), combined with the leveraging of technology, provide the best format for being able to keep your educational experience as up-to-date and dynamic as possible.
About the Professor (Dr. Cluff)
My interest in weight loss came as one of those necessity-mother-invention things. I have told many people that I am a 350-pound man in about a 200- (now 190-) pound body – I say that because I love to eat every bit as much as (if not more than) the next guy, and had I not discovered what I am going to share with you, I am confident I would weigh that much or more. I must inform you that I am used to telling everyone that I’m 6’5” (I was 6’5 3/8” at my peak), although now I’m actually 6’4 5/8” due to significant degenerative disk disease. So, at a body mass index (BMI – recognized by most as an imperfect indicator of adiposity) of 24.9 I would weigh 208 (18.5-24.9 is considered “normal,” but a BMI of 18.5 is way too thin in the opinion of most). Currently I’m well into the normal weight range (see my SLIM TLC Map at the end of this lesson).
It all started in my mid-20s (I was born in the mid-1960’s – I’ll let you do the math), around the time I met my wife, Sandy (funny how that works, huh?). Prior to that, I was (younger and) active enough that I could eat about anything I wanted without gaining weight (saying nothing about the seeds of disease that were being planted because of my inflammatory diet, of which I was ignorant, erroneously equating health with a normal weight). I was determined never to be one of those men who immediately gained a bunch of weight after getting married, so I was quite disappointed in myself when I quickly gained 20 pounds, passing the 200 pound mark (my average weight prior to that was a skinny 185, a BMI of 21.7). Although I still tried to stay active, my focus shifted more and more from sports with the guys to spending time with my new-found love (yes, we should have spent more of our time together doing active things and eating healthily).
Over the next 10 years or so, my waistline kept expanding little by little, despite many weight loss efforts and short-term successes at losing a few pounds (which I guess cannot be defined as true success). By the time I finished my residency, which provided an around-the-clock infusion of stress combined with free (unhealthy) food, I had added over 45 pounds to my frame (weight >230) – despite the fact that throughout medical school and residency I had developed several tools and strategies in hopes of reversing my weight gain.
It wasn’t until after residency – after I began to actively treat obesity – that I was able (finally) to begin seeing a promising reversal of my weight gain. Like almost everyone else, over the many years since then it has been a (fortunately average downward) roller coaster, and I can attribute the most significant gains (i.e., losses) to specific things I learned and changes I made. Within a few years of finishing residency, excited to share all I had learned and accomplished, I wrote a couple of books, held a weekly weight loss support group for three years (2003-2006), created a kids’ program, an online program (quite the joke compared to what you now have in front of you), and more. Between those efforts and my own medical practice, I have counseled thousands of patients about how to lose weight and become healthy.
In spite of, and through, all that, I held onto an embarrassing secret: I still struggled to achieve a normal weight, usually oscillating between 205-220 pounds – and, like everyone else, I continued to struggle with my “drive to eat” (which I’m convinced is stronger in overweight folks – not so strong in the thin people who look at overweight folks and ask, “Why don’t you just stop eating?”).
I have since learned that that one’s drive to eat is mostly dependent upon how addicted one is to the massive number of “Whatever” foods present in the SAD (Standard American Diet). As one begins to reduce the ratio of “Whatever” to “4◊ Foods,” one’s addictions diminish accordingly.
Now back to me. Besides being unable (until December 2023) to figure out how to break my addictions, I also struggled to stay active. I (thought I) had all the right answers, and I thought I had a pretty good handle on what worked and what didn’t – and I also thought I knew a lot about nutrition. As it turns out, at least until about 2012, I did not. More about that in a minute.
Despite the reality that all weight lost through any modality comes back when that modality is stopped, time after time I had patients request phentermine (an addictive appetite suppressant FDA-approved for only short-term use) to boost their efforts. In 2009 I came up with a program to use it in a way that did not allow one to get addicted, and would hopefully give patients the highest chance of sustaining the weight loss they achieved. The plan consisted of using phentermine Short-term, at a Low dose, Intermittently, and in the Middle of the day (instead of how it was usually prescribed, in the morning, which wore off in the late afternoon when people needed the most help) – combined with the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLCs) necessary for long-term success. I figured the phentermine would be a “carrot” of sorts, to get people into the program so I could teach them the TLCs necessary. And thus was born SLIM TLC.
SLIM TLC has evolved significantly since then, and now it primarily means becoming SLIM through TLCs (although the medicine options have been part of that evolution, and as you likely know, the “SLIM” now also means “Short-term, Lowest effective and tolerated Intervention with Medicine”). In reality, not only can it stand all on its own, it can be combined with any other effort, whether it be a medicine (to provide the best chances of long-term success once the medicine is stopped) or as the missing link between what you are doing now (or have done in the past) and true, long-term success.
Permission Granted
As alluded to above, up until around March 2012 I thought I had a good handle on nutrition. However, everything changed when I read Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live, followed by many other books (and going to conferences) that I now consider representing the “new nutrition.” I was so moved and convinced (“cognitive dissonance”) by Dr. Fuhrman’s work that I stopped recommending the 380-page book I’d written in 2006 (called SvelteLife: The New Weight Loss Reality – don’t buy it) and started recommending Eat to Live. Patients who read it were frequently also “converted,” and I started seeing the same miracles in them that Dr. Fuhrman saw in the patients highlighted in his book (which, until then, I just considered anecdotal, “results not typical”). I started keeping a list of those patients, and started calling them “Fuhrmaniacs.” Problem: One by one, over the subsequent few months, patients began falling off the list, as they slipped back into old habits. Why? Because his diet, as powerful (effective) as it is, is unsustainable for most.
How can one get that magic intersection between both effective and livable? Well, I combined all I had learned through the process (with just enough doses of livability), and after many iterations (it’s actually somewhat comical to me now), eventually came up with my Nutrition Star (Lesson 2). For a few years it appeared as a rookie artist, doctor-drawn graphic, until my sweet niece Naomi Sweet (graduated in graphic design) created the current attractive iteration.
However, the SLIM TLC program continued to evolve until December 2023, when I came up with (more accurately, frankly, was inspired with the idea of) what I now call SLIM TLC’s “Free Food? Whatever!” eating strategy (see the end of Lesson 2). Not only did that give me and my patients full “permission to eat” (I cannot tell you how refreshing and life-saving that was!), but other educational experiences over the years gave me “permission not to eat” when I wasn’t actually hungry, including intermittent Whatever fasting (see Lesson 10). All together, these strategies finally provided me and my patients with the tools necessary to achieve and sustain both a normal weight and many of our health goals!
The SLIM TLC System in a Nutshell
It all comes down to this: Long-term lifestyle changes must be simple enough, both in concept and implementation, to be maintained for life – or they will help no more than any other diet (short-term solution) in the marketplace. With SLIM TLC, the magic fusion between ease and effectiveness, i.e, the main Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes that will make all the difference in your long-term health and weight, includes:
In concept, it’s that simple; in practice, it may not seem simple at first, but you will soon be pleasantly surprised to see that it is very livable, and quite enjoyable and gratifying (and liberating)! And the efforts you make will yield dividends of gargantuan proportions, both in your weight and health. These three components of the SLIM TLC System are based on an ideal balance of the latest in the science of nutrition and motivation, effectiveness, and the likelihood of long-term livability.
I promise you that if you will open your mind to new possibilities, you will not regret it. So buckle your seatbelt, try to keep your hands and feet in the car at all times, grab a healthy snack (Lesson 15), and let’s get this show on the road. Start by exploring the next lesson, The 4:1 Rule and Nutrition Star, and review the others whenever able or desired. You may do so in order (it may make more sense that way), or…not!
Warning: Graphic Material!
You may cringe at the sight of my SLIM TLC Maps below, but remember how I warned you that it may take an hour or so to learn/digest/set it up? Let's just say that once you learn how to set it up, it looks busier than it is difficult. Fortunately, thanks to a couple of patients, we're close to being able to provide you with the option of using an Excel spreadsheet, which will drastically simplify the set-up process. But before moving on to Lesson 2, I wanted to give you a preview of what might happen to you if you follow the program (being a study of one I understand how biased or inadequate it could be, but know that I’m also seeing some promising results in my patients, and in a few months I'll publish a few of their Maps, minus any personal identifiable information). My Maps below are current as of April 28, 2024.
As you can see, the SLIM TLC Map provides a full picture of one's efforts and progress (and reveals one's strengths and weaknesses). Each one covers three months (13 weeks), so I am into my second Map for the year. The first one starts on New Year's Day (January 1), 2024 (actually I plugged in data from the day before, New Year’s Eve), shortly after my “Free Food? Whatever!” eating strategy “came to mind” and I started logging my “XWcal” instead of my old “percentage 4◊ Foods” or “%4◊F” each day. In case you're wondering, no, I’m not taking any weight loss medicine. Note how many XWcal I consumed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the first two days after I started, how quickly that changed, and how rapidly the weight started falling off after the change! You'll notice a few changes or updates in the second Map.
If you could see my weight history, you would understand how thrilled I am right now, seeing progress and changes in my body I’ve never seen so quickly. Seriously, >26 lbs in four months (which means I was consuming an average of >750 XWcal/day!)? And for someone who was only mildly overweight (the closer you approach your ideal weight, the slower you are able to lose), without medication or killing myself with exercise? You can really see it in my face, but I can really feel it in my neck, when I button the top button of dress shirts. I feel so blessed. Notice that I was out of town and used two sets of different scales from February 21st through March 4th (I knew they were being too kind), so I didn’t lose as much as I thought I did during that time – but when I got home I realized I hadn’t “lost a step,” a wonderful illustration of how being out of town does not have to ruin your efforts! You will notice that I’ve had a couple little bounces, but that will happen! You must not allow yourself to get discouraged and fall off the bandwagon.
But what I was not prepared for was how much easier it became within just 3-4 weeks, as I noticed the “pull” of my addictions fall significantly (I guess because I stopped feeding them so much!), giving me a power over food and ability to make healthier decisions that I’d only previously preached and dreamed possible! What a concept. I’ve been teaching my patients how that’s supposed to work for years, but never actually experienced it myself! My taste buds have changed, I crave healthy foods (I’ll share which ones in Lesson 15, Surviving the Snack Attack) every bit as much as Whatever foods, and it takes a lot longer to feel hungry. Oh, I still indulge a little, almost every day (some days more than others) – but indulging isn’t the problem. Overindulging is.
“Free Food? Whatever!” Capitalizes on Our Laziness
One of the most magical things about this new SLIM TLC eating strategy, and perhaps the main reason it works so well (you will quickly learn), is that having to keep track of, count, or calculate Whatever calories (Wcal©) takes more work – depending on what Whatever calories you eat! When have you heard these words used together in a sentence? “I eat healthier because I’m lazy.” I understand that’s not fair for the majority of us who we know aren’t lazy, for whom the more appropriate statement is, “I eat healthier because it’s easier.” But again, when have you heard those words used together in a sentence? Of course, the ease of this increases dramatically when you have been successful at creating an environment of success (see Lesson 15, “Surviving the Snack Attack).
For example, you’re watching TV and encounter a commercial about you-name-it, giving you the time and urge to get up and grab a bite. You may or may not have Checked Your Fuel Gauge first. You’ve been following this program faithfully for 3-4 weeks, so not only do you have several healthy options around, with your SLIM TLC List of Favorite Healthy (4◊ Food) Snacks posted in clear sight on your refrigerator, but your addictions no longer have the best of you. You still haven’t broken the habit of going straight to the pantry, but you open it and see a ton of old, stale, half-eaten bags and boxes of processed snacks, and think, “Man, not only does none of this sound appetizing, but counting Wcal© takes work, and I’ve already paid my dues today. And that Honeycrisp apple over there (or shrimp cocktail or handful of cashews or smoothie or anything on your SLIM TLC List of Favorite Healthy Snacks) sounds really good!” And the magic continues.
Imagine a world where every label and menu item lists their Wcal© content! Obviously it would be a world fuller of healthy, slender people! Food manufacturers and restaurants, take note! It’s a long road between now and then, but together I hope we can travel it quickly.
My plan is to publish many SLIM TLC Maps from other participants, minus any personally-identifiable information, which will be WAY more powerful than any before-and-after pictures – which have many limitations, as you know, e.g., How much weight did they actually lose, and in what period of time? How tall are they (affecting their BMI)? How healthy were their eating habits, actually? How much exercise did they do? Etc., etc., etc. Oh, the data we’ll be able to extract.
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