What I learned Most In Becoming a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

It's official. I'm a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.The last 16 months have been a big shift for me.

• Varun and I left Silicon Valley and moved back to my hometown in Boston to dive full force into our businesses.
• Oh - we moved in with my parents (!!), and let me tell ya - I'm 31 now and I haven't lived at home since the age of 18! It was such a cool full circle moment. That's a story for another time.
• I healed my body from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea 
• I decided to pursue two advanced holistic nutrition degrees to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist.

But perhaps the biggest shift in the last year+ has been in my mindset and how I approach fitness, weight loss and wellness goals both for myself and for my clients.You see, last weekend I graduated from the Nutritional Therapy Association and I am now a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.NTP's view the body as an amazing intricate system, that always has our best interest at heart. We look for "clues" when a client is struggling and support them in a foundational sense - with nutrition, stress management and blood sugar balance. This is SIMPLE STUFF (yet often super complex).NTP's believe that the human body has an innate intelligence, and when given the right conditions - it is able to restore balance.I was drawn to this program because both in my personal life and in my coaching practice I kept running in to people with "imbalances", whether they be hormonal, digestive etc. and The more I kept reading and researching - the more I realized just how much POWER the right nutrition/stress management has to bring the body back in to balance. I felt like I was witnessing miracles first hand - and it's really freakin inspiring.During my nearly year long journey - I discovered more and more something that I had "felt" all along but didn't know how to put in to words.Bio-individuality.

It's always about the person NOT the protocol

You see - in my previous journey (before the NTP program) I found myself reading holistic/paleo/keto books and thinking "ah-ha , that's the thing!". But a little voice in side of me felt kinda "icky" - it was as if I agreed with some of the things the author was saying - BUT the dogmatic approach that many people in the space made me feel like something was missing, (and let me tell ya - there are some VERY VERY smart and wonderful people in the online holistic world whom I look up to and respect SO very much - so this is NOTHING against them - rather me feeling like I needed a different mindset for my clients and in my journey).In other words - sure an elimination diet can be great for some people - BUT what about for others? And what happens if an elimination diet still has a client eating a particular food item that THEIR body is reacting to yet they have no idea?And sure- one research study says that white rice can be great - but is this true for EVERYONE  always? And in what context?I kept asking why why why. I kept wanting to look at things more critically. And that is exactly what the NTP program had me doing.I didn't want to believe that "protocols" or "superfoods" or "miracle pills" were the thing - heck that's never how I operated with my weight loss clients.In fact I have always been up front with my coaching clients and I tell them that when they come to me with a specific goal - I give them my best darn guess and what protocol will be best for them based on their goals/lifestyle and my evaluation - but that I have NO idea how their body will respond - which is why I am ALWAYS tweaking their plans as we go.You see - humans are bio individual. One protocol can be AMAZING for one person, do nothing for another - and can make another person WORSE off.It's never about the protocol, it's about the person, always.I can tell you first hand that people will NEVER respond to the same protocol in the exact same way, but it's my job as a coach to ask the question "why", to not just say -"Oh you're deficient in this vitamin - you should take it"Rather it is my job to ask "why are you deficient in this vitamin?" Perhaps there is an area of the digestive system that needs some support. 

Context is everything

To further emphasize the notion of bio-individuality, I invite you to consider that context is everything. Here's the thing, even "superfoods" can be "bad" in the wrong context. For example, if someone has a yeast overgrowth, something as healthful as kombucha can contribute to the problem. But in other circumstances - kombucha can be an awesome addition to your lifestyle!If someone is dealing with a lot of seasonal allergies, sensitivity to smells/smoke etc, and they use essential oils - it could be further stressing out the liver. But in other circumstances essential oils can be great.In my opinion, all about context & what is right for that person at that moment in time. I have found that letting go of labels  has given me the freedom to use whatever protocol, philosophy etc. that is needed for either myself or others at a certain moment in time. After all, we are evolving, dynamic beings and if we can ease up on the black and white thinking - and step out of our "comfort zone" to embrace the gray I think we would be much better off :) Special thanks of my NTP instructors Jordan & Mishabae for really pushing us to think outside the box. I am forever grateful.