The Permission Slip You Need: Making Nutrition Work When Medicine Won't Let Up
Hello Reader,
We spend our days counseling patients about healthy eating while surviving on protein bars and coffee. Sound familiar? In this week's episode, Klaus sits down with Colleen Sloan—PA, registered dietitian, and creator of the Exam Room Nutrition podcast—to explore why healthcare professionals struggle with nutrition and what actually works when you're running between patients.
Here's what you'll take away:
- Why your ambitious nutrition goals keep failing (and the smaller step that works better)
- The 30-second habit stacking technique I'm implementing immediately
- How to make healthy food enjoyable without the guilt
- Why "I don't have time" might be masking a deeper truth
- The confidence shift that happens when you practice what you preach
We're Really Bad at This, Aren't We?
Let me be honest. Last Tuesday, my lunch was a protein bar eaten standing up between patient rooms. And judging from this week's podcast conversation, I'm far from alone in this.
Klaus connected with Colleen Sloan on Instagram (yes, social media can create genuine connections), and their conversation captured something I hear from nearly every healthcare professional I work with: we counsel patients all day about nutrition while completely neglecting our own.
Colleen brings a unique perspective—she's been both a registered dietitian and a PA, working in pediatrics. She sees the disconnect we all live with from both angles. The statistics are uncomfortable. Ninety-five percent of Americans aren't meeting their fiber needs. Healthcare professionals struggle with the same challenges—we skip meals, survive on ultra-processed foods because they're quick and cheap, and sometimes cope with stress in ways we'd never recommend to our patients.
But here's what struck me most about their conversation: the strategy failed you; you didn't fail. That reframe changed everything for me.
The Perfectionism Trap
Think about the last nutrition goal you set. Was it something like "I'm cutting out all sugar for six months" or "I'm meal prepping every Sunday"?
Colleen described this pattern beautifully in the episode—we create these elaborate, almost impossible goals. Then life happens. Your six-year-old has a birthday party. There's cake. Of course there's cake. And suddenly, you've "failed." The negative self-talk kicks in, and it's easier to abandon the whole plan than to adjust it.
I've lived this cycle myself. For years, I tried to make meal prepping work for my schedule. I'd follow elaborate recipes from Instagram, stick with it for a week or two, then watch it all fall apart. I never stopped to ask: Is this actually fun for me? Does this feel sustainable?
What Klaus and Colleen explored in this episode—and what resonates deeply with my coaching work—is that we need to adapt strategies to fit our lives, not force our lives to fit someone else's strategy.
What Actually Works: Make It Fun
Here's where Colleen's dual perspective as both dietitian and PA becomes invaluable. She talks about nutrition the way we should talk to ourselves—with compassion, practicality, and yes, permission to enjoy food.
Want to eat more vegetables but hate plain carrots? Dip them in ranch. The carrot is still a carrot. You're still getting fiber and nutrients. The little bit of ranch makes it enjoyable enough that you'll actually eat it.
This simple example from the episode unlocked something for me. I'd been seeing overnight oats, egg bites, and yogurt parfaits on social media for months but never gave myself permission to make them my way—with flavors I actually enjoy.
The book "Salt Fat Acid Heat" came up in their conversation (by Samin Nosrat). Klaus created a little sign in his kitchen with those elements to remind himself how to add flavor without following rigid recipes. After recording this episode, he's adding another element to that sign: Make it fun.
The 30-Second Win: Habit Stacking
If you take one thing from this episode and implement it this week, make it habit stacking.
Colleen explained how it works: Look at something you already do every single day without thinking—brushing your teeth, making coffee, letting the dog out. Now attach a small new behavior to that existing habit.
Her example: While her coffee brews (something she does automatically every morning), she drinks six ounces of water. She'd be standing there anyway, waiting. Why not front-load her day with hydration before the clinic chaos begins?
Other examples she shared:
- Do 10 squats while brushing your teeth
- Eat a handful of nuts when you pour your morning coffee
- Take three deep breaths while your computer boots up
The beauty of this approach? You're not trying to carve out new time. You're using time that already exists in your routine.
The Time Conversation We Need to Have
When Klaus brought up the "I don't have time" objection so many of us use, Colleen pushed back—gently but firmly.
"Life has a way of making you make time for your health," she said. "Whether it's a heart attack or a diabetes diagnosis, eventually something forces the issue."
This landed hard for me. We all have the same 24 hours. The question isn't whether we have time—it's what we're prioritizing within those hours.
Colleen's story illustrates this perfectly. She started PA school when her daughter started kindergarten, worked as both a dietitian and PA, and built her course and podcast—all while raising a family. She found time because she made it a priority.
Your health deserves the same intentionality.
The Imposter Syndrome Relief
Here's something that came up in the episode that we don't talk about enough: When you're giving nutrition advice to patients while living on vending machine snacks and stress-eating your way through shifts, you feel like a fraud.
Colleen named this cognitive dissonance perfectly. If we're counseling patients to limit alcohol while using it to cope with our own stress, or recommending Mediterranean diets while surviving on drive-through meals, that internal conflict erodes our confidence.
But here's the flip side she shared: When you start living even some of the recommendations you make, you show up differently. You're no longer reciting textbook guidelines—you're sharing what actually worked for you. You're offering lived experience alongside clinical knowledge.
That's more compelling. That's more authentic. And your patients can feel the difference.
This aligns perfectly with what I see in coaching. When healthcare professionals begin prioritizing their own wellbeing—even in small ways—their energy shifts. They move from that helper energy (Level 4 in our Energy Leadership framework) that absorbs everyone's stress, to a more sustainable place where they can support others without depleting themselves.
Starting Where You Are
If you're reading this and thinking "I can't overhaul everything right now," good. Don't.
Colleen's advice throughout the episode was clear: start with one small thing this week.
- If nutrition feels overwhelming: Pick one meal to focus on. Just breakfast. Or just having a real lunch instead of a protein bar.
- If time feels scarce: Try one habit stack. Just one. See how it feels.
- If perfectionism is your struggle: Give yourself permission to enjoy food. Add that ranch to your vegetables. Put Nutella on your banana. The nutrition still counts.
- If you're feeling stuck: Join a community. Klaus and Colleen both found momentum by connecting with others doing similar work. (They met through Instagram "FaceTime Friends"—proof that social media can foster real support when used intentionally.)
And here's your permission slip: You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be consistent.
Two or three breakfasts a week is three more than you were eating before. That's not failure—that's progress.
What's Next
Colleen has created something I wish existed when I was struggling with nutrition: a comprehensive CME course on obesity medicine and nutrition counseling. It covers everything from "what's the best diet?" (a question patients ask constantly) to GLP-1 medications, to the behavior change piece we all struggle with—both for ourselves and our patients.
Klaus mentioned in the episode that he's going through it himself and finding practical frameworks he can use immediately, even without a nutrition background. (Full transparency: We're sharing an affiliate link below, which means we earn a small commission if you enroll, but more importantly, you get 10% off with our community code.)
Whether or not you take her course, I encourage you to follow her on Instagram or LinkedIn (@examroomnutrition) or subscribe to her newsletter and podcast. Her approach to nutrition—compassionate, practical, and free of shame—is exactly what healthcare needs more of.
A Question for You
What's one small nutrition change you could make this week? Not perfect. Not elaborate. Just one small thing that might make you feel slightly better, slightly more energized, slightly more aligned with how you want to show up?
I'd love to hear what you're trying. Reply to this email or connect with me on LinkedIn—I read every message.
And if you're looking for a community of healthcare professionals working on these same challenges, our medTHRIVE community is starting a nutrition awareness challenge next month. We'll log our food for a week (just for awareness, no judgment), identify what we want to change, and support each other through small adjustments. [Link below]
Here's to taking care of ourselves so we can keep taking care of others.
— Lillian
Listen to the Full Episode: [Link to podcast episode]
Resources Mentioned:
- Colleen's Obesity Medicine & Nutrition Course (10% off with code: [CODE: COACH10]) - [Affiliate link]
- Exam Room Nutrition Podcast (Apple, Spotify)
- Connect with Colleen: @examroomnutrition on Instagram and LinkedIn
- Book: "Salt Fat Acid Heat" by Samin Nosrat
- Book: "Atomic Habits" by James Clear
- Join our medTHRIVE Community nutrition challenge - [Link]
What's inspiring us this week:
An air medical helicopter crashed on October 6 in Sacramento, CA, and bystanders ran to help. If you didn't catch the news story here. Together they lifted the helicopter. Sending prayers for the crew hospitalized and the teams taking care of them.
The Practice: Celebrating Wins
We get more of what we focus on. The practice of gratitude and celebrating the goodness of life is the first step in changing our brains, mindsets, and circumstances for the better.
Currently on Day 10 of a 30 day challenge to post a video on LinkedIn and I am keeping up! It's not easy and yet, it's so fun! Seeing the feedback and support from people around the world doing the same has been so fulfilling. There is power in community and like-minded community of growth. Come check out my LinkedIn and tell me what you think!
Stay mindful and keep leading,
Lillian
Founder & CEO
P.S. It's not too late! Our next medTHRIVE Book Rounds free book club is right around the corner! Sign up, even if you haven't finished the book and join the discussion!
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