Healing Your Gut: 3 Critical Considerations for Hiring Help

How to Choose the Right Gut Health Support

In this episode of The Nourished and Thriving Show, host Katie Lovitt, a registered dietitian, discusses the transformative power of overcoming gut health issues with the right support. Katie emphasizes the importance of not seeking a savior in healthcare providers but rather looking for guidance and support to play an active role in one's health journey. She outlines three critical considerations when seeking gut health support: ensuring the provider's skills and competencies align with your needs, understanding the format of the support offered, and feeling a genuine connection with the provider. Katie encourages listeners to engage with her on Instagram for further discussions and to suggest future podcast topics.

00:00 A Transformative Journey Begins

00:22 Welcome to The Nourished and Thriving Show

01:02 Engaging with the Community and Episode Inspiration

02:00 Key Considerations When Seeking Gut Health Support

09:18 Skills, Format, and Connection: Your Guide to Choosing a Health Provider

15:36 Closing Thoughts and How to Connect

Find Katie:
Website - www.nourishthrivewellness.com
Instagram - @the_healthygut_dietitian
Facebook

Transcript

0:00

You're going to come out the other side of this transformed. I know God always uses things that are challenging and struggles for good. Right. And so I think it there's purpose in our pain. Right. And so I'm not saying I want you to stay there, but I'm saying it's good for you to work through it with the right kind of support. Hey, everyone. Welcome to The Nourished and Thriving Show. I'm your host, Katie Lovitt. I'm a registered dietitian on a mission to help you increase your impact and legacy on the world while healing your gut and reducing your IBS symptoms. I'm so grateful to have you here. Each week I'll inspire you to live vibrantly and provide valuable resources and information that empowers you to take bold action towards your health goals. Before we dive in, make sure you follow or subscribe to my show wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode. Ready? Let's go! Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the nourish and thriving show. So excited to talk with you guys today. And let me just say, if we are not talking on Instagram, we should be, my Instagram is always a busy, fun place. And I love talking with you guys. And today's episode actually was inspired by two different people who were asking the same question, like on the same day. So I was like, you know what? We need to do a podcast episode about this because I bet a lot more of you guys have the same questions. So if there's ever a podcast, episode idea or something, you want me to dive deeper on that, I'm just not able to go as deep on. Like on Instagram, because it's such short form content. Let me know. I love, you know, getting all these questions. I'm here to serve you guys and help you. So if you have a topic that would be really, really helpful. I'd love to hear about it. So let's get into it. So today we're going to be talking about three things to look for. When hiring somebody to get help with your guts. Now I totally understand this as a question. So I you know, have never hired anyone to help me with my gut health because I figured it out on my own because that's my job. But I have hired people to help me with my business. I did not go to business school. I went to nutrition school, which was heavy on the science light on the business. And so it's just been really figuring it out as I go and hiring help along the way to help support me. And so I feel like even though it's not the exact same, there's a lot of con like congruencies between. Those two things. And I think that as I've hired different people and as I've evolved in my business why I hire people to help me with has also evolved and changed and grown. So I really wanted to provide you guys. With some insight into the lessons I've learned along the way without, too. So first of all, I realized whenever I was first. Starting out in business. I tried to do it myself, first of all, and that worked okay for a little bit, but I got limited results and. Got really burned out really fast. And went nowhere quick. Right. And I bet a lot of you guys feel like that with your gut health. If you're trying to DIY it like. You're researching all the things you're doing, all the things you're trying, random things. And you think it, maybe you should work, but you don't really even know what you're missing. Yeah, I've been there. It's tough. So the very first hires and we'll set first, several hires that I made and some of them were great and some of them weren't great. And this is specifically in a business coach space. So not like hiring people onto my team. But hiring business coaches. We're really, I was looking for somebody to save me. I was looking for someone to fix it for me to tell me what to do. I wanted to take a passive backseat and just be told what to do, and it all work merrily out and ride off into the sunset. Some of you guys might be there right now with your gut health too. Where you are wanting someone to save you, you are wanting to hire. And I think our medical system is really set up where it's like this, where doctors are more of this, like parents, like authoritarian. Position and the patient is more childlike and supposed to just do what the doctor says. And the truth is that hasn't gotten you where you want to go. So why are you continuing to look for. That and what that ultimately ends up doing without you even realizing it is putting a lot of pressure and responsibility and then blame on. The provider. When really that it was set up to fail from the beginning. Right? Like with my business, like nobody could fix my business. Like it's my business. I had to fix it. I had to figure out what worked best for me and what I really needed. No one person or program could come in and do it for me. And that's the same thing when it comes to your health. Like when you're looking for a gut health dietician, or a doctor or whatever, you can't be looking for your Knight in shining armor, riding in on your white horse to come save you and fix all your problems for you. Like you are going to have to fight the fight too, and really. Roll up your sleeves and get dirty and play in the dirt of your health, so to speak which is kind of a functional medicine. I guess that's a metaphor because I didn't use like, or as, so it's not an analogy, whereas yeah. Metaphor. Where, you know, like the, the, I'll just describe what it is. So if you've never heard of the functional medicine tree, It's a tree. Okay. Imagine a tree. And you can see down into the soil with roots and all the way up, out to the leaves with a pretty blue sky behind it. And the trunk of the, of the tree is your genetics. Okay. The branches of the tree are symptoms. And the leaves of the tree are diseases, disease diagnoses. Okay. Now working back down, you have symptoms. Branches are sorry. Leaves are diseases, branches or symptoms? Trunk is genetics. And then you get down into the roots and the soil, and that is all stuff with nutrition and lifestyle changes. So you can affect how your trunk and your tree grows. By changing what's in the soil. So whenever I say in functional medicine, we roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty playing in the dirt. That's what I'm referring to. But in order to get the really great results that you're after. And fortunately you can't just hire somebody and expect them to do the work for you, and just expect to be able to take a really passive role. It's your health and your body, and you're an expert and you have a lot to bring to the table. And quite honestly, like stepping onto a soap box here for a minute. Anyone who is a healthcare provider who treats you otherwise run? Okay. Like, if you go someone and feel talked down to not listen to. Undervalued. Your input is ignored. They're not. They're not a great fit for you. And it's really easy to sit there as the provider. You know, and see you for 15 minutes and tell you all the things to do, and then seeing you again in six months or a year. To recheck your labs. Like that's really easy to do. What's hard. Is rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty, right. Alongside each other, right. That takes effort and time and energy to do, but it's what yields the best fruit for lack of better terminology. Since we're talking about apparently a fruit tree, you guys know, I like my. Like. Imagery in my descriptions. I think it helps. Okay. So that's first and foremost. You need to look for somebody who's going to help support you and help guide you, but not save you. Okay. And if you're looking for someone to completely save you. That's a mindset shift that maybe you need to make a little bit shifting your a G. Expectations, adjusting those a little bit, really understanding what is it that I'm wanting help with and needing help with because you're going to get such better results whenever you're really clear on those things, going into a program, like in fact, That's something I help my clients work through if they're not clear on it, but it's really something we need to get very clear on before we start working, like on actual nutrition changes and stuff. Because they're going to get better results and they're going to be set up for success instead of feeling disappointed at the end, because they weren't ever really clear on what they even wanted to gain. Does that make sense? Cool. So once you're to that point now, You know what you're needing help with. You know, you don't want to get saved. You're not going to get saved, but you need some help. Right. And guidance and support. And that's cool. And that's where you're going to start looking for three key things. Okay. First of all, you're going to look at skills and competency of the provider. Okay. And this, this really like, you're going to have to do your research, which I know you're all great at researching because you're all out there researching your gut symptoms and what supplements to take and what elimination diets are best and juice cleanses. And all of that, I get asked about that every single day. So y'all are going to researching. Research the providers that you're, you know, looking at research me. That's great. I'd love for you to dig into me. And, you know, see like, do they really have the skills and training and experience needed? To get the help to give me the help and support that I need. Right. Do you see how now that first stop of. Knowing what you even need before you start looking for somebody is super important. So do they have the skills and competency in training? But that's needed to help support me. So like for example, I'm a registered dietician. Okay. I have an advanced credential in integrative and functional nutrition medicine. And I have an advanced certification in functional gut health nutrition. Okay. So that's a lot of training in addition to that. I mean, it got health, nutrition, masterminds. So we're always reviewing the latest research. We're arguing cases with each other, supporting each other. All of that. So it's like, you know, a mastermind where we're combining all of our collective experiences for each other's good. And I'm also, you know consistently learning and educating myself and it's keeping up with all of the latest research. And I've helped hundreds of patients, you know, so I have a lot of experience under my belt and a lot of training under my belt. That's a lot different than somebody who took a functional nutrition course online. Without the mastermind or without the, you know, really heavy science background, they may not fully understand all of the biochemical processes in the bigger picture they're, you know, site is going to maybe be more of limited. Or maybe an alternative provider where maybe they have some really great clinical anecdotal evidence. But they don't have the more expansive. Research training and all of that, to be able to pivot and adjust if their typical treatment and approach isn't working. Right. Does that make sense? So you're really needing to understand what skills and trainings and competencies and experiences does this provider have. And does that feel in line with what I am needing? To get results. Okay. So that is, that's the first thing, skills and competency. Second, not format. What's the format. Am I a person who really just wants to go meet one-on-one with somebody in person? Okay. And I, the kind of person who wants a course, I didn't really want a lot of like one-on-one interaction. That's not my vibe. I just want to go learn. Okay. And take action. Like take nuggets away as I can. And my somebody who wants to meet one-on-one virtually am I somebody who wants kind of a mix of all of the themes where we're meeting, one-on-one virtually, there's also a course component. That's self paced and a community for support. There is. All of those combinations and more available online these days, which is so cool. But you may not really realize that or understand all of the differences. And then a key thing to ask also, whenever you're signing up for something. Especially online because it's a little bit harder to like, fully understand what you're doing. Is, are you going to actually be coached by the person that you've been talking with online or the person that you're on a sales call with, or having a conversation with. Or is that the sales person and then the coach is someone else, or does the CEO or main like owner of the business handle the sales and then hand off clients to health coaches or other dieticians, like really ask who's going to be doing. The meat of the work with me. Is it you, or is it somebody else? If it's somebody else that's okay. Like we all run businesses, right. And we're all gifted and really great fits at certain things. And maybe they have, if they're not the ones doing the coaching, maybe they have a great fit in their program. Who's doing coaching who's even better, you know, but that's something that you would want to. Be aware of and ask because not everyone knows that. So in gut rehab right now, I actually am the one that is doing all of the training that may shift some in the future. I'm looking at ways to always serve my clients in an even better way. And I know that sometimes that's not me, it's somebody else. And so I always love providing great resources. For my people. So that's the second question. So first skills and competency of the provider. Second is format of the support you're getting. And then third is connection. Do you have a connection with this person? And that's one reason I was saying, you need to ask, who's going to be actually coaching you in the program and helping you because you want to make sure you have a connection with that person. So great ways to really check this are, is the content that they're posting on Instagram really resonating with me. And I feel like, oh my gosh, they read my mind. Right. Do they feel like they really understand what I'm going through? Are they speaking in a way that aligns with how I speak in my vision and values? Like. Is somebody swearing all the time and that's not something you're really comfortable with, or you want to be able to listen to trainings with your kids. And you're like, I can't really, like, that's not really appropriate. Or, you know, do they have a religious background or a spiritual background? Like, is that aligned with your, you know, beliefs and backgrounds? Are do they have a similar energy as you do, they make you feel valued and, you know, supported and encouraged and all of the ways that you need to feel valued and supported and encouraged. So just because. And just because you don't have a connection with that person doesn't mean that there's something wrong with them. It just means maybe they're not the best fit for you. And that's okay. Like, I don't want to work with people who don't feel like they're connected to me or they have a good connection or we're communicating clearly with each other because they're not going to get the great results that I want them to get. There's. So many people out there there's enough people out there for everyone to find the right person. Right. So that's the third thing is connection. Like, do you have a connection to that person? So I hope that this was helpful for you guys. Like I said, at the beginning, if you have any other topics that you are like really wanting to know about. Or, or you've heard something somewhere and you're curious on my take about it. Let me know. Like I said, this was just a couple of questions. A couple of people ask me really close together. It was like, we need a podcast. So first of all, nobody's going to save you. I'm sorry. I know, I wish it was that easy. I say, I wish I could wave my magic wand and make everything better. But you are going to grow so much through this gut healing journey. You're going to come out the other side of this transformed. I know God always uses things that are challenging and struggles for good. Right. And so I think it there's purpose in our pain. Right. And so I'm not saying I want you to stay there, but I'm saying it's good for you to work through it with the right kind of support. So no, one's going to save you. Look for skills and competency that aligned with what you are needing help with. Make sure the format vibes with you and look for somebody who you feel connected to. So if I am those things for you and you would like to learn more information about gut rehab, I'd love to talk with you. Hit me up in Instagram and the DM. Send me an email and we'll talk soon. You'll have a great week. Thank you so much for listening to the entire episode. I hope you are feeling inspired and empowered to take bold action towards your health goals. If you enjoy what you heard, don't forget to follow my show so you never miss a new episode. And it would mean the world to me, if you left me a review, so others know what to expect from my show. Last, get in touch. Let me know what bold action you're taking. Let me know how you're inspired. Follow me on Instagram@the_healthygut_dietitian. I've put a link in my show notes for you, so you can simply click and follow. Come say hi, I respond to all my messages and I can't wait to get in touch.