learnin' is livin'

Or, I Did a Thing

I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for a good Cyber Monday deal. Even after having read Michael Easter’s Scarcity Brain (which I reviewed a few weeks ago), and knowing that I’m being dragged into the “scarcity loop” that he so aptly describes — the artificial “limited time deal” that “ends at midnight TONIGHT!” — I fight to resist that urge to click, buy, click and buy again on all the emails that flood my inbox around the Thanksgiving weekend.

Mostly, this year, I won. But not entirely. There’s one deal that got me hook, line, and sinker, and I actually think I’m the better for it.

Nutrition Network, a nonprofit run by South African scientist Tim Noakes, describes itself as “an online, accredited education, connection, and learning platform.” They offer trainings for both professional clinicians and laypeople who are interested in the benefits of Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction (aka, ketogenic diets).

Last year, after attending the Low Carb USA conference, I became interested in bringing my keto know-how to the next level, so I signed up for the NN’s Advisor training. I’m happy to say, after several hours of online lectures and test-taking, spread over several months (mostly during my rather sporadic Zone 2 sessions on the exercise bike), I am now a certified Nutrition Advisor. I even got a nifty certificate, see?

What will this piece of paper allow me to do? Well, I’m not entirely sure about that. But I do feel more confident in writing this blog, knowing that I’m sharing with you ideas and tips based on a strong foundation of science (even if I am just an English major). And I had a lot of fun learning new and interesting stuff along the way.

up next…

Which brings me to Cyber Monday. NN had a huge sale last week and some deep discounts on their CPD-certified trainings, so I signed up for the professional-level classes that constitute the next step in getting a Coaching accreditation from the Society for Metabolic Health Practitioners.

All of the research from my book, and all that I’ve seen in the rapidly-evolving landscape of metabolic health, points me to the conclusion that coaches will be a key component in the future of healthcare. Why?

For one thing, (as I well know) it takes a lot of ongoing support to follow a ketogenic or therapeutic low-carb diet, when the entire food system seems to be against you. In a word, it takes a lot of time. But doctors’ time is only getting more expensive — as is PAs’, nurses’, dietitians’ and so on — in the US. healthcare and insurance system. And with a growing shortage of these kinds of healthcare professionals, that time is becoming a scarce resource. For all these reasons, I see coaches becoming the front line in the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Some doctors, like Dr. Tro Kalayjian in New York, already have a team of coaches on staff.

Now, I’m not sure if I will ever actually practice as a coach. I have a pretty good day job, which keeps me busy, and a career trajectory that involves ladders of its own. Does this mean that this certification is a waste of time?

growing and giving

I go back to one of my favorite quotes by Richard Leider, bestselling author of The Power of Purpose and the recent Who Do You Want to Be When You Grow Old?: The Path of Purposeful Aging among others. I’m paraphrasing here, but he says that the purpose of all life — whether you’re a peach tree or a forest critter or a human — is to grow and to give. He advises:

“Take out a sticky note and write the words ‘grow and give’ on it. Put it on a mirror that you would see every day. Ask yourself each morning, ‘How am I going to grow and give today?’ And then at the end of the day, ask yourself, ‘How did I grow and give today?’”

I love that mantra. In this case, I take it to mean that even if nothing material emerges from this coaching thing, it’s a chance to grow my knowledge of ketogenic and low-carb diets, and to give that knowledge to you all, my long-suffering readers.

As this year winds down and the new one approaches, maybe we’d all do well to take up Leider’s challenge; think about how you’ll grow in 2024, and what that growth will enable you to give to the world. Feel free to share your ideas here in the comments. Onward, my friends!