Dietary & lifestyle coaching are my two powerhouses in practice. And one of my favorite mottos is that if you care enough you will make it happen. The key word here is ‘enough.’ We all care about our health. But, the truth is that we all fall on our own spectrum of really caring.

On one end you have those who have taken the necessary steps to be 99% ready for change and on the other end you have those who are 25% prepared. I love working with both types of patients equally. It is intuitive that the 99% ready for change patient sees health improvements much faster than the patient who is 25% ready. And, again, let me reiterate I am grateful for both types of patients in my practice. Those who are 99% ready for change remind me of the power of naturopathic medicine while those who are 25% ready challenge and help sharpen my skill set.

While I love both types of patients, I expect my patients to understand one simple concept we began this post with, “If you care enough you will make it happen.”

So, when I meet you I am trying to determine what measures are you willing to take to care for your health. I am also assessing in my mind what information will help you care more so that you can be motivated to make those changes happen. There is zero judgment because we all have a beginning, middle and end to our health journeys.

Tools I Don't Use to Motivate You:

1. I do not use fear in my practice to elicit a readiness to change. I do not want to scare you into making changes because those changes are without intellectual understanding & heart. And, as a result, those changes are not sustainable. I want to win you over by increasing how much you care about the changes I am recommending.
2. I do not use guilt or body shaming as tools to elicit change either. Have you heard the following statement or something like it before?

Did you overindulge during the holidays & are looking to shed that extra weight?

One of the messages this marketing line suggests is that eating too much during the holidays is shameful and because of this over indulgence you are not happy with the way you look. While this very well may be the way YOU feel, I do not believe condoning this thought process is beneficial. I hear SO many of my patients tell me they have been ‘bad’ or that they have ‘cheated’ on their prescribed recommendations. Sound familiar? Why do you feel this way?

I believe that your mind has not been primed enough for sustainable change. 

I believe this is the true culprit and reason your mind could not be resilient during the holidays. It is the reason you feel you might have failed. But, I like to look at your relapse as just another symptom. A symptom indicating that there is simply more work to be done. Work on what? It could be your self esteem, sense of worthiness, self-respect, toxic relationships, resistance, anger etc...

Let's Recap:

So bottomline, if you can continue to care more (on your own or with the help of a friend, family member or health professional), you will continue the ebb and flow of progress and relapse while moving towards your goals. Today, take some time to reflect on your health goals and ask yourself how much do you really care about them?

And as you are being honest with yourself, also be gentle and kind. Some of my lifestyle changes took 10+ years of 'mind priming' before I was able to follow through :) Be patient, keep trying, have fun with the process and you will get there! 

Be Radiant,

~Dr. Dimpi