Seven years (and two days) ago New Leaf Nutrition was born. After working in the inpatient and hospital outpatient settings, I knew nutrition education needed to change. A single one-hour-long appointment wasn’t enough to create lifestyle changes, and the pre-written handouts we were told to center our education around were an offense to the individualization each person deserved.

I’ve learned a lot over the last seven years and it’s helped me continue to change how I show up for my clients. Here are 7 things I’ve learned over the last 7 years.

1. Goals can change. I really enjoy helping people adjust the goalposts when things get tough. I don’t want perfection. I want to see the messy in-between and to point out where today’s hard might be tomorrow’s easy, and both are ok.
2. Persistence pays off. It’s not uncommon for someone to worry they’re wasting my time because they haven’t implemented the changes we planned. Those are THE MOST important appointments to keep! Showing me what real life issues come up helps us create super practical work arounds that make keeping up with goals easy. I’ve had people need to circle the same idea for months before it finally clicks. This isn’t a lack of effort, it’s persistence and patience in action. If you’ve made it to the appointment it means you care and that’s worth something.
3. This can take a while. I have clients that I’ve seen since New Leaf began. Not because they aren’t accomplishing what they want, but because they know gentle, consistent accountability goes a long way. I’ve seen some people thrive when we meet every two weeks but lose traction when we have to push to three.
4. People know their bodies best. I think it’s, unfortunately, fair to say that most people have been brushed off by a healthcare provider. I make it a point to work within what someone is able to do. For a lot of people that means respecting low energy. Expecting someone to exercise or make a meal from scratch when they’ve slept poorly or are struggling with depression only leads to more fatigue and frustration.
5. Personalization is required. What works for one person could harm another. For example, some people find the structure of counting calories or regularly weighing themselves to be helpful guideposts, whereas for others this could lead to a restriction and binging cycle. This is a bit of an extreme example, but that’s why I don’t have set programming.
6. Meal plans don’t work. Most people ask me to please just tell them what to eat, “make me a meal plan!,” but I’ve never seen it work (and I’ve tried a lot of times and in a lot of ways). The best way for me to tell you what to eat is for you to tell me what you enjoy eating and we’ll find ways to make that meal more in alignment with your goals.
7. Mental wellness makes physical wellness A LOT easier. High fat, high sugar foods are, chemically, a very effective stress management tool. However, the benefit is temporary, it doesn’t address the problem, and, for a lot of people, it leads to even higher stress because it can start a shame cycle (why did I eat that.. I didn’t need it.. I have no self control.. why even try, I might as well have more.. then back to why did I eat that). If the underlying stressors aren’t managed or if other coping tools aren’t practiced and we try to clean up your, I’m taking away your coping mechanism and that isn’t sustainable. Finding a therapist, not eating vegetables, is sometimes the homework I give.

What we eat is often more than just the food itself. It includes things family dynamics, body image, health anxiety, and how we’re raised. It’s humbling to know that people trust me with these intimate parts of their lives.

Thank you so so much,

Jen