After spending nearly 30 years helping people to get healthy and stay that way, receiving a gut‑punch diagnosis himself sparked a transformation that today fuels Mark LaMaster’s mission to help others reclaim their health.
As an emergency nurse, flight nurse and clinic nurse, he had seen just about everything. He took pride in being the calm presence in the room and the person who could guide people through their worst moments with skill and compassion.
But, nothing prepared him for the day he became the patient.
He was sitting across from his longtime doctor, a man he had trusted for more than two decades, when the physician leaned forward and delivered a blunt warning. “Mark, if you don’t do something pretty drastically here you’re going to have a hard time seeing those grandkids of yours someday.”
The words hit Mark harder than he expected.
“It was really a gut punch,” he explained. “I couldn’t believe I was hearing my doctor tell me the things I’ve been trying to help people with my whole life.”
Mark had spent decades teaching others how to stay healthy. Now he was the one in trouble.
Facing the truth
Mark was sick at the time. In fact, he was too sick to begin making big changes right away. But, the doctor’s honesty stayed with him. He knew he couldn’t ignore it. When he finally felt well enough to think clearly, Mark turned to research, the skill set he knew best.
“I have my master’s degree in nursing, so I did a lot of research to get that,” he said. “I just went after it.”
He dug into journals, books and medical literature while searching for the root cause of what was happening inside his body. Mark suspected he knew the answer. But, the deeper he went, the more he realized how much he had missed.
What Mark discovered was metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance. He knew the basics from his nursing career, but not the depth.
He certainly did not understand the way it quietly builds over 10 or 15 years and affects nearly every system in the body. He was also unaware of how it had been affecting him.
“I realized that, because of my diet of highly processed foods, I was constantly putting food in my mouth,” he said. “I wasn’t giving my body a chance to switch fuel sources.”
Breakfast, snacks, lunch, more snacks, dinner, then popcorn and M&Ms while watching Netflix. His insulin levels stayed high all day, every day. His glucose levels stayed high, too. His body never had a chance to burn fat.
A phrase he learned stuck with him: “If the insulin is low, the fat’s gotta go.”
It became the foundation of his transformation.
A new way of living
Mark found a program that combined intermittent fasting, whole foods and a supplement system called the Feel Great System. It wasn’t a fad diet or a temporary fix. Rather, it was a complete shift in how he fueled his body.
He began fasting 16 to 18 hours a day, skipping breakfast entirely. He ate whole foods instead of highly processed ones. He stopped grazing throughout the day and he stuck with it.
Ninety days later, Mark had lost 45 pounds.
His blood pressure normalized and energy returned. His mood improved and he even looked forward to getting his lab work drawn.
“I’m a new person,” Mark explained. “I have more energy, and I just want to give people hope that there is a way to change where you’re at, if you feel stuck.”
His wife noticed the changes within three weeks. “She told me, ‘I can tell your mood has improved,” he added. “’You have more zip and you’re not taking as many naps.’”
Soon she began following the same plan and her post‑menopausal symptoms eased. She slept better and felt much better. Then she told a friend and family members noticed, too. The ripple effect began.
Mark realized he wasn’t just improving his own life. He was modeling a path forward for others.
Understanding the real problem
Mark believes most people don’t realize how much of their fatigue, bloating and weight gain is tied to insulin resistance. He cites a statistic that shocked him: 93 percent of Americans are metabolically unhealthy.
“You see it in the grocery store, at the mall, at the beach, and at your family reunion,” he said. “It’s significant.”
He believes the modern diet is largely to blame. Highly processed wheat, corn, fructose and corn syrup dominate the shelves. Most packaged foods come from the same handful of ingredients, just arranged in different colors and shapes.
“They’re scientifically and chemically designed for us to want more,” he said. “We crave them because they’re made for us to crave them.”
Insulin resistance, he learned, is tied to a long list of health problems, such as bloating, cardiac disease, post‑menopausal symptoms, infertility, fatty liver, high blood pressure, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune disorders and chronic inflammation.
Once he understood the root cause, everything clicked and one question became the foundation of his new purpose.
“How do I change how and when I eat?,” he asked. “How do I take care of the symptoms by getting after the root cause?”
A calling to help others
Mark realized he didn’t want to keep this information to himself. He had spent his entire career helping people get healthy. Now he wanted to help them in a new way.
So, he created the LaMaster Plan. It is a program designed to help busy adults over 40 to understand metabolic dysfunction, insulin resistance and the lifestyle factors that shape their health.
Mark developed a quiz to help people identify their biggest metabolic struggle, whether it’s afternoon crashes, stubborn belly fat or the frustration of trying everything without seeing results.
“I like to be creative,” he said. “I think people are more engaged when there’s some fun involved. It’s not just technical and medical words. It’s what’s happening in real life.”
Today, Mark wants people to know that many chronic diseases can be reversed, including Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver and long‑term inflammation. He has seen people accept their diagnoses as permanent, believing they will be on medications for the rest of their lives.
Mark wants to show them another way.
“By education, teaching, coaching and helping people to understand something that’s disruptive to the medical world, I believe we can change the health of our country,” he said.
He especially loves working with people over 50 to live like they did in their 30s. Mark believes it’s possible.
“I think we’re just getting started,” he explained. “We’re coming into our own and realizing our true potential.”
A new adventure ahead
Mark and his wife are planning an RV tour to share the message on the road. With both of their children grown and living in different states, the couple wants to travel while they’re young enough to enjoy it.
“We want to hit as many national parks as we can,” Mark explained. “We want to see the countryside while we’re young.”
They started with a truck camper, but quickly realized it was too small. Now they have a Grand Design Imagine travel trailer with a rear living layout, two couches and a full kitchen.
“It’s really glamping,” he said.
They want to travel, explore and stay healthy enough to enjoy every moment because Mark knows first-hand what it feels like to be too tired to live the life you want. He doesn’t want that for himself or anyone else.
Living with purpose after 50
Mark turned 50 and got sick. Now at 51, he feels like the best part of his life is still ahead of him.
“I feel like I’ve had a great life, but the best part of it is in front of me,” he said. “If I would’ve been on the same path I was going, it wouldn’t have looked like that.”
He wants people to know they can change. They can feel better and reclaim their energy, their health and their future.
Mark wants them to know they don’t have to wait until someday. Someday is now and people don’t have to do it alone.
For more information
People can connect with Mark on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheMarkLaMaster. If they leave a comment with the word “forward” on one of his posts, and he’ll send you a link to his metabolic health quiz and information about the LaMaster Plan.
