I used to believe something super crazy: That you have to count every calorie and exercise religiously to have the body and life you want.

Yeah, I feel kind of silly now that I know that’s scientifically false, but isn’t it AWESOME that it’s false? Such a huge relief, at least for me.
If I had to count calories and log five miles a day for the rest of my life to stay fit and energized, I’d go crazy. It’s not sustainable, and the worst part is that it leads to negative mental patterns, and usually backfires.

When you’re chained to a diet plan, if you mess up, you’re gonna beat yourself up, am I right?

If you know the foods that energize and fuel you, and you know you can eat to fullness without worrying about calories, you’re gonna feel like a superhero and naturally lose weight, gain energy and focus, and clear up pesky chronic conditions like fatigue and acne.

Yep, it’s simple, but it’s not easy. You have to be ready to make permanent change. You might feel a little resistant, but once you get rolling and gain momentum, you’ll be so happy you finally have a body and life you’re psyched about.

I’m guessing you want to wake up before your alarm feeling naturally energized, focused and light, but you have so much diet and health information that you don’t know where the heck to start.

Sound familiar?

This is how my clients transform physically, mentally, and emotionally, and how they make it stick:

1. They have a strong reason why. When people come to me, they’ve tried everything else. They’re frustrated, and they have a heavy-duty reason why they want to lose weight, gain focus and energy, clear up their skin, and finally have good digestion so they don’t feel bloated every day.

2. They’re ACTUALLY ready for change. A diet book will inspire you with personal anecdotes, science, a meal plan that looks easy enough, and case studies to prove its efficacy. Most nutritionists will evaluate your height, weight, BMI, and give you a meal plan mapped out to the last calorie.

Those things work for a while, but then most people revert to the same eating, exercise (or lack thereof), and mental patterns they used to feel like a slave to. The plan backfired because it only addressed the surface of the issue.

The missing piece is the subconscious belief system that’s keeping you stuck where you are.

What I and other Integrative Nutrition Health Coaches (INHC) do is rewire your belief system along with guiding you through the practical food and exercise steps to get you where you need to be.

Books, nutritionists, and doctors are awesome and have an important place in the healthcare system, but if all that hasn’t worked for you, it’s time to take a deeper, holistic approach.

3. They have accountability. One of the big motivators to hire an INHC is the accountability factor. You could have all the diet and lifestyle info in the world, but what do you do with it? And if you’re really into this stuff, you gather such a huge trough of information that you don’t know when to do what. Oy.

You might grapple with yourself daily: Should I be cleansing right now? Do I need to go hardcore vegan? Ok, it’s finally time to just stick to that Whole30 thing.

Exhausting, right?! I’ve been there.

When you have an objective professional evaluate what you really need, talk through an action plan with you, and then hold you accountable through email and text messages every step of the way, you see real results: The weight finally shifts, you wake up feeling energized and focused. Your skin is finally clear. You just feel genuinely HAPPY for the first time in a while, not like you’re dragging yourself through your days. When you have accountability, the changes stick.

4. They’re self-compassionate. As a teenager I used to weigh myself every day and post self-loathing blog updates on LiveJournal for a gaggle of other girls to chime in on.

Sounds effective, right? ::eye roll:: It never worked, because hating yourself simply doesn’t work.

When you embrace and love your body and life now, from that place of compassion you can make permanent changes.

5. They heal their digestive systems. The gut is the groundwork of health and the foundation of my practice. If your digestion is wonky, you’re going to have other symptoms like weight gain with no change in food intake or exercise, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, skin breakouts and more.

Gut health is linked to almost every chronic condition. By healing the gut, we boost the whole system and naturally balance weight, optimize energy and focus, improve mood, and get skin glowing.

Notice that this is last, because food is NOT the most important thing.

Without the mental-emotional components, you have no framework to make real change. When you change your behavior you change your DNA and you naturally stop craving sweets and start craving the things your body actually needs to function. Things that used to be standard fare start to taste incredibly sweet or processed, and you don’t want them anymore.

You might have been expecting a list of foods to eat, but that stuff just doesn’t work on it’s own. I want to be honest with you about what it takes to change your body, mind, and life, which is why I put together this list for you. I hope you understand.

I’m so curious – what diets have you tried? Did they work or did they backfire?

What’s your #1 health goal right now and what do you need to reach it?

Leave a comment below – I can’t wait to discuss this with you.

P.S. Want my job? Email me at lula@goodtastebylula.com or leave me a comment here and we’ll discuss the Health Coach Training Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.