It all comes down to educating the client on the understanding of human metabolism. I refuse to do "Just tell me what to eat!" If the client is disinterested in the basic understanding of WHY certain foods are inappropriate, I'm not a good match as a coach. To be clear, I'm not going to quiz them or anything, but if they're going to ask me whether a food is appropriate, they will also hear WHY it is or isn't. If they just want to be fed, they can hire a chef. I can do that too, as it happens, but it's WAAAY more expensive. As long as the client is dependent on a paid consultant to decide what to put in their mouth, they're susceptible to being both ripped off and injured. THAT is a failure of me as a coach.

You make it sound like neutral results are a negative outcome! Most people I've worked with have chosen to work with me because of downward trending results. When we have 12 weeks that have stopped a downward trend, that seems to me to be a victory. But if you're referring to a case of someone who doesn't seem to have experienced any improvement at all, over 12 weeks in my experience that's rather rare. I always presume there WILL be some improvement, but for some reason it's been overlooked. When a client has a particular outcome "at heart" so to speak, and that outcome doesn't look like they expect, it can be so disappointing that they may completely ignore improvements that are more subtle but just as indicative. If a client is over focused on, say, weight loss, or A1c, things like improved sleep, reduced cravings, more energy, and better digestion can go unremarked and underappreciated because they don't realize that these changes are often a better indicator of improvement than the "big numbers". I do my best to show a client that their body is a complex system, and that small improvements in any part of it are are evidence that the whole system is improving. Once that conversation has been accomplished, the next discussion is "If you are not making the kind of progress you would like to, perhaps you are one of those who will need to be more strict for a period of time. Perhaps food is not the only lifestyle change you will have to make. Perhaps there are other behaviors that can be changed which will better support your goals." At this point I like to ask the client "If you could wave a magic wand and achieve your health goals tomorrow, what would you do to celebrate? (not to include any behavior that has already been determined to be detrimental) The client will usually discuss some activity that they are too unhealthy to take part in, but have dreamed of doing. Here is where I ask, "How much would you be willing to give up if you knew for sure that you would be able to do that, eventually?" Then we have a conversation about what can be done to further fine tune their practice. Most people end up being very enthusiastic and motivated to "up the ante."

Well, I think I understand your intent, and in general I agree. Ultimately, one must always be prepared to acquiesce to the suggestion that one may not be the "means" by which the "ends" are achieved, regardless of competence. My goal in that case would be to part company in as supportive and generous a manner as possible. If circumstances change we would prefer to retain the possibility of further collaboration in the future. Even if all they take away from their experience with me is their conviction that I truly have their best interests at heart, that, in itself, has value.

I always make sure the client understands that the recommended numbers in these analyses are not based on scientific experiments which have determined minimum requirements. The health care community calls them "evidence based" because they know that most people will hear that and presume it means the same thing as "experimentally demonstrated" which we know it is not. When I tell clients that the researchers merely measured these markers in a bunch of healthy people, then presumed ALL healthy people would have similar numbers, and all people with significantly differing values would be unhealthy, I usually get the "deer in the headlights" stare. This routine bloodwork (please understand I am not referring to any patient with any kind of active, verifiable disease process) has nothing to do with the individual health and well being of the individual, it has entirely to do with whether the insurance companies or potential litigators can find a bone to pick. Numbers are not a pathology. If a client has "poor numbers" but no symptomology, and obvious, active good health, it doesn't matter what the numbers are. I will do everything in my power to motivate a client to understand their own biology. As long as they have the "just tell me what to eat, I don't want to be bothered by the technical stuff" attitude, they will be forever manipulated by somebody who wants to sell them something.

At the risk of being labeled a nit picker, it depends on what you mean by "pass", now doesn't it? 😄 Nobody needs (or gets) a "pass" from me. My clients must decide on their own what they will and wont eat. My job is to educate them with regard to what they can expect, health wise, should they elect to eat particular foods. A medical condition like Alpha-Gal requires a therapeutic diet. Therapeutic diets, by definition, are individualized. A client with Alpha-Gal should still reduce plant sourced foods as much as possible, but what is possible, what is manageable, and what constitutes improvement is largely up to the client. A client who truly wants to improve generally will. The really sad part is learning that there are plenty of sick people who don't really want to.