Debra devoted her whole life to her corporate job.

“I spent over 15 years in corporate and it was my whole life,” she says, “I wanted to be a star performer.”

But living in the fast lane caught up with Debra.

“My health went downhill,” she says, “I put my health on the back burner just dedicating my life to my job, and achievement, and career success and generating income. Like everyone else I was with -- my colleagues -- we were all in the same boat, we made our career our life. And I started to gain weight. I started having health issues.”

She might have continued down this path if it weren’t for the tragic and sudden death of her mother.

“It brought me down. It made me think,” she says, “She had dreams for herself and it all happened after she retired….I was thinking, I don't want to end up like my mother, living my whole life for my job and then retire and then just have all the dreams I have for myself to go down the drain.”

That’s when Debra decided to commit to wellness.

She decided to take herself out of the pressure cooker and focus on what really mattered: her health, and living a positive, purpose-filled life.

One step at a time, using trial and error, Debra focused on improving her health.

She dealt with allergies, gut pain, and bloating… but stuck to her guns and committed to a healthy life.

“After healing myself, I said, "I really enjoyed what I've been doing. I really want to take the information I've learned and help other people."

She studied how to be a dietitian at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and never looked back.

“All Her Unrealized Dreams Dying With Her”: How Debra Inspires Clients to Get -- and Stay -- On the Right Path

In order for Debra to change her life, something tragic had to happen….

She had to witness her mother’s dreams dying with her… after a life devoted to a paying job over her own dreams and goals.

This painful event made an indelible impression on Debra… but how could she help clients change THEIR lives, if they don’t necessarily have a big life event steering their behaviors?

According to Debra, it’s all about addressing mindset and establishing structure.

“[My client and I] would be working on the nutrition piece and they go away with some action items and they come back and say, "Well, I didn't do any of it."

She would delve into why.

“I forgot”, they would say. “I was too busy.”

“There was always something underlying that inaction,” says Debra, “There’s always beliefs underlying the inaction and action. There are stories they tell themselves, beliefs that come up.”

Debra’s deep-dive style … her ultra-customization with each client that examines their belief systems against their goals… is why she prefers to work with clients one on one.

“I can customize something that will work.”

There’s magic in the one-on-one conversation you can’t get in a course. That’s what Debra has seen in her practice, anyway.

“If it doesn't work for a client, I can pivot and create something else, “She says, “That's the beauty of working one on one because it's not a one size fits all. It is looking at the client's background -- what's coming up for them? And then I can create something that's perfectly for them and experiment. It's all experimentation. That's one of the things that a lot of courses cannot offer.”

Speaking of customization, there’s an essential tool Debra uses to meet her clients exactly where they are. “The most important thing is to create a structure.”

Debra knows how new health goals can get overwhelming for most people, so she makes sure her clients feel like they can take that first step.

She uses Meal Garden as a practice management tool to make healthy eating less work for her clients.

This way, they’re more likely to stick to the plan.

“A lot of clients I work with find meal plans too overwhelming. We take baby steps. I’ll give them one recipe, put them in the collection, and once they try that one, I’ll add another recipe… and then they have a collection of recipes I’ve recommended and it’s all there.”

(Psst — using nutrition practice software can save time and help you connect closely with each nutrition client, offering them the personalized nutrition attention they need to get real results. Meal Garden makes it possible to create, curate, and share dietitian-approved recipes, and modify meals and collections based on each client’s unique needs. Why wait? It’s free to join.)

Liked what Debra had to say?

Check out her website at inspirethrive.com to learn more.

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