There’s something I hear from so many readers, clients, and people who are considering working with me:

“I’m really scared to make changes to my diet. What if I cut out gluten, dairy, and sugar, and my mood doesn’t improve? Then I’ll be even more anxious and depressed because it didn’t work for me. It makes me too afraid to even try.”

I get it, I really do.

Cutting out foods — especially when you turn to them for comfort — can seem so daunting. And it probably seems like a lot of work, especially for something that doesn’t have a 100% guaranteed outcome.

You’ve seen my success story and my clients’ success stories, but there’s a little voice in your head saying, “Nothing ever works for me. What if this is no different?”

You’d love to have a better mood, more energy, and more self-confidence, but change is hard … and your life is hard enough already.

What It All Boils Down to is Fear

When you’re trapped in a place of fear, staying put seems like the best possible move.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Better the devil you know”?

The idea is that it’s easier to stay in a place that makes you unhappy, because trying something new could backfire, and you’d end up even more unhappy.

While this seems logical and safe, it’s actually the riskiest attitude you can have.

Life is in a constant state of flux and change, and when you resist change, you become stuck. In order to get unstuck, you have to get to the bottom of fear.

When it comes to dietary change, I see two primary types of fear: fear of failure and fear of success.

Fear of Failure

Let’s think of the worst possible outcomes …

You try to change your diet to help your anxiety and depression, and either:

• It doesn’t work, and your mood and health don’t improve at all
• It’s too hard, and you can’t stick with it, so you don’t get results

These are crappy hypothetical outcomes, but I can’t think of anything worse happening. Dietary changes are a safe and low-risk option for health and mood improvement.

First, let it be known that I have never seen dietary changes simply “not work.”

Every single client who has successfully implemented my program has experienced improved mood and health. Some have experienced more profound changes than others, but this is true of any modality, whether you’re talking therapy, medication, or alternative treatments. Results vary.

You have to find what works for you. But in order to do that, you have to take the first step and start somewhere, anywhere.

If the changes seem too hard, know that you don’t have to implement them all at once, and having a coach really helps.

There’s no sugarcoating this: change is hard. This stuff isn’t easy.

But is it really any easier to stay where you’re at? 

Eventually, the pain of staying still becomes greater than the pain of moving forward. And when that realization hits you, it’s a powerful catalyst.

I’ve always said the best medicine is getting really mad.

Fear of Success

This is a sneaky one, and most people don’t realize they have it.

Deep down, you might be afraid that dietary changes will work for you.

It’s not success you’re afraid of — feeling happy, confident, stable, and energized are all things you desperately want.

The fear comes from what it will take to maintain that success.

Consciously or subconsciously, you may be wondering whether you’ll have to give up certain foods forever.

And it’s true — you might. (Again, I’m not one for sugarcoating.)

Through our work together, I’ve had several clients discover they had celiac disease or severe gluten sensitivity.

They’ve had to give up traditional bread, pasta, and baked goods for life, but they’ve discovered delicious grain-free alternatives (and most of them don’t even miss bread, even though they thought that was impossible).

But looking at what they’ve “given up” isn’t the important part. Because when you look at what they’ve gained, the tradeoff is a no-brainer:

• Daily panic attacks down to zero
• Migraines completely vanished
• Unexplained, rapid weight gain reversed
• Depression and brain fog turned to joy and clarity

These are just a few examples of what’s possible.

And nobody’s saying you have to give up anything forever. I’m definitely not saying that.

But you’d be surprised — when you discover how good you were really meant to feel, it becomes a personal choice, not a sentence. You deliberately choose to eat well because you want to feel well.

And when you get the hang of it, it’s the opposite of deprivation. It’s liberation.

Several years ago, I was depressed, anxious, foggy, obese, fatigued, painfully shy, and hopeless.

These days, I am happy, stable, calm, alert, at a healthy weight, creative, confident, and full of hope.

I had to trade in bread, sugar, and limiting beliefs to make it happen.

But it’s the most worthwhile thing I’ve ever done.

Facing the Unknown

Fear never goes away. I still deal with fear all the time, but I’ve learned to be afraid of the things that are truly scary.

Instead of being afraid of what will happen if you do try …

Consider what might happen if you don’t try.

A different tomorrow is one choice away.

From the heart,

Holly

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