You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
Cory Jenks
?? Prescription-free thinking for real health ? Inspiring you to eat, move, play (and laugh) for lifelong fitness ?? Speaker | ?? Author | Wellness disruptor | Diabetes reversal expert ?? Sneaky funny
I am fortunate enough to talk to a lot of patients about their diet, and how it can improve many facets of their lives. Diet and food can be an emotional topic, and I often get the feeling from my patients that there has been a lot of disempowering judgment from previous healthcare providers.? I think that most patients make an earnest effort. And if that earnest effort fails, their provider assumes the patient is lying.
As you can probably imagine, this does not make our patients feel very good. And they then are less apt to trust or even be comfortable with the next provider who comes along.
Which is why, especially with diet improvement, I tend to take a less than aggressive approach. I dump out loads of empathy, because I have had my own struggles with weight and food. Oh, and I make it clear I don’t expect perfection.
Just a little dietary harm reduction.
For instance, I had a patient who utilizes medical marijuana for a myriad of medical issues. They are supervised by a physician. They get good results. All good. It also creates a “munchies” situation for them that has really hindered their weight loss. Now, they were not giving up the medical card, but did want to give up some weight.
As they described the list of things they ate under the influence, we both had a realization that the stereotypes of the hungry stoner were real for a reason. It was at this point, I was blunt (pun intended) with the patient:
“You don’t need to be a perfect eater. Just a less crappy one.”
They bought in. And we talked about some healthier alternative munchies. Oh, and the importance of preparing it before using. I can’t speak from any personal experience, but the motivation to cook while high can’t be that much, right?
Maybe you don’t come across people looking to healthy up their munchies. And perhaps it’s you who needs to be a “Little less crappy” at whatever is holding you back from your goals. But that’s the thing: you don’t need perfection. Just some harm reduction and getting a little better at what’s holding you back.
Make a Good Day,
Cory