Dr. Laurie Rozek is an Integrative Family Medicine physician and a trusted holistic weight loss educator. Her journey to this profession was inspired by her own experience battling gastrointestinal illness in her youth. Driven by her passion for gut health, she has become an esteemed expert in the field. She is the owner of Return to Health Therapeutics where she helps individuals achieve natural and sustainable weight loss by healing their gut, detoxifying their bodies, and balancing hormones. Dr. Rozek's dedication to holistic wellness drives her mission to guide individuals toward better health, one healthy habit at a time.
Dr. Laurie Rozek, Physician & Holistic Weight Loss Educator
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
Hello! My name is Laurie Rozek, DO. I am an integrative family medicine doctor, holistic weight loss expert, and gut guru. I am also a mom and stepmom to five kids, who keep things interesting. I enjoy watching their events, skiing with them, learning from them, and hanging out when possible. We also have three cats who love to follow me around and have a toy thrown their way whenever possible. When I am not reading and learning, both of which I LOVE to do, I enjoy going to the theater and watching my favorite sports teams, including my alma mater, Michigan State University! Go green!
I love and admire the human body. From a young age, I have been fascinated by the fantastic processes our body utilizes to keep us alive, breathing, attentive, etc. I was so fascinated that I used to save scabs as a kid. Yes, it’s true! I thought the clotting process was so cool, and I wanted to figure out what scabs were made of because they literally stop us from bleeding to death; does it get any more awesome? We have a built-in plug that pops up when we need it!
Even though I was fascinated by the human body and the art of medicine while growing up, I didn’t head to medical school right away. I thought only certain people could become doctors, like doctors’ kids and people with more money than I had. I also felt you couldn’t have a family if you became a doctor. I had to watch other people I could relate to fighting their way through the process –– and succeeding — before I believed I could do it. But eventually, I did believe.
The indirect course that brought me to where I am today has helped me develop my passion for good health and enhanced my ability to understand every person’s unique story. We all have goals, but our “why” is often different, and how we wish to reach our goal can also look very different.
Can you tell me about the inspiration behind starting Return to Health Therapeutics and the mission driving your business?
When I was a teenager, I discovered I had a lifelong disease. I learned a lot about being a patient very early on. I appreciated what my doctors did for me, but I also learned much about what I did not care for in our medical system. Early in my medical career, I became frustrated with cookie-cutter solutions for patients that rarely, if ever, addressed the root cause of the illness or symptoms. I learned a lot while healing my gut issues, and I would like to personalize and share the benefits of my experience with others so they can avoid the health roller-coaster I experienced. I believe there is a better way, and I see Return to Health as a vessel for this change. I created Return to Health to provide people with easy access to good information and a like-minded community where people can heal their gut and reap the benefits. One of those benefits is weight loss, a tough subject for many people to address.
What sets Return to Health apart from other wellness centers or therapy services in your area?
Results drive us; the actual health transformations help us gauge our progress and evaluate our ability to provide our clients with the information they need to ensure their own success. Our goals don’t revolve around sales and numbers but the quality and value offered to each client.
We are also different because we aren’t set up to have clients come in and pay us for shots or other weight-loss tools that they’ll need to depend on forever. Instead, we give our clients the tools they need, show them how to use them, and support them during the learning phase. Then, they are free to continue their success on their own — it isn’t a never-ending investment this way.
Can you share any success stories or testimonials from clients who have benefited from the service provided at Return to Health Therapeutics?
Absolutely! Clients choose Return to Health for various reasons, such as detoxing their gut, fixing their hormones, being free of allergies, or sleeping better. But ultimately, we are known for the fantastic weight-loss results clients get from our programs.
It is a funny story, but my husband was the first one, after myself, to try my core program. He had been trying to lose weight for years and had tried many fad diets, bought prepared meals, and tried to eat less—you know, the whole bit! They say that friends and family are the most difficult clients, so I was hesitant, but I knew if it worked for him, it would work for anyone!
Once he made it through the first week, he started to feel good by the end of the week and was pumped to see what week two would be like. He didn’t realize he had brain fog until his mind was so sharp from completing the program, and he felt great. He also lost 70 pounds, all his digestive issues were resolved, and he slept like a baby, which he hadn’t done in years! And that is just symptom improvement — his labs improved, too!
I knew I had to share this transformation with as many people as possible. I know so many women struggling with their weight who have been ready to give up time and again. I want to give them the tools to feel good about themselves again.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
I think the health industry is full of people who really want to help others and elevate people’s lives. Unfortunately, medicine has often reduced people to numbers and monetary decisions. Insurance and pharmaceutical companies play a significant role in this.
Most individuals enter the healthcare industry because they want to make a difference, not churning people through their offices as fast as possible to make the most money. The sector has become divided between those who care about quality and those who care about quantity. Usually, it’s care providers on the quality side and administration on the quantity side, but not always.
I wish we could fix this divide and allow patients and doctors a more prominent voice in administering their care. Treating the root cause of weight difficulties is nearly impossible in the conventional medicine world because practitioners lack the time and resources to teach and support people the way we can at Return to Health. It would be wonderful if more people could spend the time and energy we do helping guide people who need and want assistance to live a healthier lifestyle.
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