When Everyone Has Health Advice, Who Do You Listen To?
What growing my business taught me about autoimmune healing, conflicting advice, and finding the deeper why behind your goals
Have you ever gotten so much health advice that you didn’t even know who to listen to and who to ignore?
I have, and not surprisingly, it wasn’t my autoimmune journey that taught me this lesson first. It was my business.
I was DMing my Instagram followers, running Facebook ads for my meal planning challenges, and showing up every week on live video, because allegedly that’s what successful coaches do.
Turns out that trying to do all the things means you end up making progress on none of the things.
Don’t get me wrong.
I looked busy.
I seemed productive.
In actuality, I was doing a lot, but I wasn’t actually moving forward. Just like I was following every piece of business advice, you might be finding yourself following health advice that is bringing more confusion than clarity.
What I realized is that the same confusion I had growing my nutrition coaching business was present during my health journey.
Too many conflicting voices.
Too many “it worked for me, so it will work for you” solutions.
And I see the same thing happening for many women with autoimmune disease.
You’re being told by doctors to lose weight.
By wellness influencers to cut out carbs.
By pharmaceutical companies to just take the pill.
And instead of gaining clarity, you’re just more confused.
What I’ve learned is that confusion is not just a symptom. It’s part of the cycle of not being clear on the deeper why behind why you’re pursuing a particular health goal.
Why does the why matter? When we know why we’re doing something, it also makes it clear why we aren’t doing something else.
So, how do you stop letting ‘well-meaning’ health advice lead you astray? You get clear on your why.
One of my favorite tools for doing that is called The 5 Whys.
The problem isn’t that we can’t figure it out ourselves. It’s that we’re chasing goals that aren’t actually connected to what we really want most.
The 5 Whys
Knowing what you’re doing isn’t the same thing as knowing why you’re doing it. The 5 Whys is an exercise I learned when I became a Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified Coach, which helps coaches help their clients understand the deeper why behind what they’re doing.
With this exercise, you always start with a why question. For instance, when I first decided to focus on reducing my autoimmune symptoms, I asked myself:
Why do you want to reduce your autoimmune symptoms? (Why #1)
Then, you (or your client) shares their answer:
Because I want to be healthy.
You ask yourself (or your client) why again:
Why do you want to be healthy? (Why #2)
You (or your client) share their answer again:
Because I want to live a long life.
You ask yourself (or your client) why again:
Why do you want to live a long life? (Why #3)
You (or your client) share their answer again:
Because my dad died young and didn’t accomplish half of what he wanted to achieve.
You ask yourself (or your client) why again:
Why is achieving things before you die important to you? (Why #4)
You (or your client) share their answer again:
I don’t want to die knowing that I had the opportunity to make an impact in this world, but my autoimmune condition held me back.
Now, you might be saying to yourself right now, we just went really deep here. And, we haven’t even gotten to the fifth why!
You’re right, and you don’t necessarily need to get to five or stop at five. The idea is for you to get a layer deeper each time, which means you might stop at two depending on how self-aware you are.
Or, if you’re doing this for a client and it reveals something beyond your scope of practice, you’ll need to refer out to the appropriate health professional.
And, if you know my story, you know this example isn’t made-up. This is exactly how I felt after my father passed away in 2021.
It’s an exercise that helped me recognize that while reducing my autoimmune symptoms is important, it’s actually NOT my deeper reason why.
My deeper why is that I want to make an impact in this world, and I can’t do that if I’m too tired to get out of bed. Knowing that is not only the reason I take autoimmune nutrition very seriously, but it’s also the reason I won’t pursue wellness trends that also leave me too tired to get out of bed.
In other words, it becomes easier to know what’s not for you when you actually know what your why is in the first place.
Now, can I challenge you to do something slightly uncomfortable? I want you to complete the 5 Whys exercise for yourself.
No, you don’t have to share with anyone. However, if you want to, you can always comment below or send me a message to keep it private.
I promise you this is an exercise that will benefit you (or your clients), especially on the hard days when you need a reminder of why you’re doing this in the first place.
And if you’re tired of sorting through conflicting health advice and want a clearer understanding of what your body is trying to tell you, I got you.
Download your copy of the “Feel Like Yourself Again Without Another Elimination Diet.”
This guide helps you uncover the patterns your body has been trying to show you all along, so you can stop chasing random solutions and start making decisions with confidence.
Click here to grab your copy today!
And, if you have any questions about implementing the guide, feel free to hit reply.
I’m here to help.
Tomesha