In 2006 I enrolled in a nutrition program. I wanted to help many but had a self-limiting belief yet to overcome - "not good enough".
As a holistic nutritionist, I was trained to look at the whole person before prescribing a customized nutrition and lifestyle protocol, designed to enhance health and prevent disease.
Contrary to popular belief there is no one-size-fits-all best diet.
To be clear, ideally a nutritionist works co-operatively with health care professionals who can assess and monitor progress. Unless further certification is obtained, a nutritionist's scope of practice is limited to, for the most part, prescribing food as medicine.
At the onset of my practice, it was my sincere belief that the main cause of human dis-ease was our "toxic" food environment - that improving diet and gut health resolved most health concerns.
'When your only tool is a hammer, everything tends to look like a nail'.
~ Abraham Maslow 1966
Without a doubt, food that is whole, organically or sustainably grown, naturally raised, locally produced, in-season, does provide the nutritional building blocks to help create and/or maintain a healthy mind and body. It also provides information for better adaptation to local environmental conditions, a topic for another article.
However, over time it became clear to me that even the highest quality customized dietary plan, eaten mindfully, with optimal digestive ability, was not always enough to resolve some health concerns.
Active daily living or movement throughout the day is also essential to health. I was driven to learn more about exercise. I became certified as a personal trainer, adding another tool to my toolbox.
Ironically, personal trainers recognize that when it comes to reducing body fat, increasing lean muscle mass, the food we eat makes a bigger difference than exercise. (Rest, recovery, adequate sleep, avoiding prolonged sitting, mindset also matter.)
In fact, while working at a gym, it quickly became apparent that several of my clients, male or female, would best achieve their fitness and wellness goals by spending more time in the kitchen cooking healthy meals. Some would be better off doing meditation, yoga, Tai Chi, hiking in nature or a group fitness class for connection and community. Others needed the more customized personal training approach. But, like me, what many were really just struggling with, were self-limiting thoughts and beliefs.
It became perfectly clear that I did not yet have all the tools needed to increase compliance outside of the gym, to reduce need for reliance on willpower, to create sustainable change. Becoming certified as a life coach, was my next step. I learned to reframe stress as a challenge or opportunity to be embraced for personal growth and transformation, and to help identify and overcome self-limiting thoughts and beliefs.
This poem inspired me along the way:
“Watch your thoughts, they become words;
watch your words, they become actions;
watch your actions, they become habits;
watch your habits, they become character;
watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
~ Frank Outlaw ~
Fortunately, over time, I have learned to help identify self-limiting thoughts and beliefs, create awareness and inspire change to help change habits and outcome.
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