Dear Osa friends,
It’s been a minute! Actually, I noticed that it’s been a 7-month minute.😲 What happened??
Since even before I started Osa in 2023, I had envisioned seeing clients in-person, at least some of the time. Last October, I saw an opportunity to do just that at a clinic near my home, and I couldn’t let it pass me up. Since last fall, I have been splitting my time between telehealth appointments at Osa and in-person work at Moda Wellness Clinic, in John’s Landing in southwest Portland. I set The Bear Essentials aside while I settled in to this new work flow.
I have been very grateful for the Osa clients who have stuck with me through this transition and have adapted to my new Osa business hours, which are currently Mondays and Fridays, and occasional later afternoons as needed.
Here on the cusp of summer, I am taking some time to reconnect with The Bear Essentials community.
In this post, I wanted to let you in on some things that I’ve been working on and thinking about lately.
HOW > WHAT
As an evidence-based, personalized nutritionist, I spend a lot of time figuring out the very best “whats” for my clients: what foods to eat, what macro ratios to target, what supplements to take, what tracking devices to use, what books to read, and on and on. This is indeed the nuts and bolts of what I do: provide personalized education to my clients on changes to make to improve their health, always in the context of supporting their goals. I collaborate with my clients to investigate, prioritize, strategize, and build their plan out intentionally, over weeks and months.
But, this is not all that I do, and it’s not even necessarily the most important thing that I do. We’ve got to use those nuts and bolts to build something useful and lasting. This is why, in practice, the how is often at least as important as the what. Without a good how, the what may not be possible. And even if we will it to be possible in the short term, it’s not likely to be sustainable. Short-term gut-healing protocols aside, if what we’re doing isn’t sustainable, then what are we really doing?
How is a very personal question. It involves a probing look at your daily life, at your intentions and motivations, at your support systems. How is not at all straightforward, not at all like what. How can be messy. How can be trying, and failing, and trying again, and failing again, and beginning again. (Remember: you can always begin again. We discussed this topic previously here ).
How is where the rubber hits the road, where you start to see change and where you start to see changes stick.
Anyone can “try on” or muscle their way through a new meal plan or exercise routine or meditation for a week or two, maybe even a bit longer, but if you’re anything like me or most of my clients, soon enough you learn that old habits die hard, very hard. They can even seem to come back from the dead, cropping back up out of nowhere, like weeds in a freshly prepared garden bed. Our nervous system remembers a lot, maybe everything. Rewiring around these remembrances takes time and intention.
How is the way we do the mundane but magical work of turning hopes into reality, not without setbacks but slowly and surely, with strategy and support and creative thinking. For me, this is what keeps me coming back to my work day after day. This is where I strive to support my clients, just as much as I do with the meticulous whats that we can come up with together through our investigative work and collaboration.
If any of this resonates with you, I invite you to ask yourself:
How can you support you own how this summer?
I would truly love to hear what you are thinking!
I have a few suggestions:
1.Before bed, or with your morning coffee, or on that road trip (audio if you’re the driver!), you could read or re-read, one of the great books on habits and time management. In past blog posts, I’ve spoken about two of my favorites: Atomic Habits by James Clear (https://osaintegrative.com/happy-new-year-from-osa/) and Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman ( https://osaintegrative.com/calling-your-guide-embracing-uncertainty/). Check out those posts to see if anything speaks to you.
2. Before diving in to a dietary or lifestyle change, you could also think about concrete things that need to shift in order for you to be able to make that change achievable in the long term. You could make a short list of these things–maybe up to three. Things that need to shift could be external, like family schedules, or internal, like mental blocks or self dislike or nervous system distress.
3. You could ask yourself: Where is there flexibility in my life to make room for ____? (fill in the blank with the lifestyle change you desire). Or: What needs to shift for my body to be in a state to receive change?
My clients (I see you!) are smart people. You don’t do what I tell you to do, just because. You do what you’ve decided to do. I deeply respect that.
If you take inventory and find no flexibility, no receptivity, this is valuable information. Time every day is limited; change is less about squeezing additional things in and is more about deciding what to prioritize and what to let go of. This is hard work. Sometimes this requires getting family or friends on board, because these people can be an important piece of our environment.
In summary, summer can be a great time to set the stage for back-to-school change come fall. Schedules often get shaken up in the summer, and that can be a liberating thing! If you can grab the opportunity to get your how in place, fall can be a ripe time for implementing something new, rather than falling back on old patterns. See what you can do to reduce the friction between the desire and the action, to make it easier, even if it involves a difficult conversation with yourself or a loved on.
Other things I’ve been working on and learning about:
3×4 Genetics
I am highlighting this nutrigenomics test in my practice for clients who are curious about how to work with their genetic predispositions to optimize their health. 3×4 shows you both your Achilles’ heels as well as superpowers you may not have been aware of, and it provides many “aha!” findings that help connect the dots for unexplained symptoms or tendencies. This test organizes specific groups of genes into pathways, which helps you see the big picture and prioritize interventions. Importantly, this test looks only at genes which are known to be actionable–that is, those that we can impact with personalized nutrition and lifestyle.
3×4 is direct-to-consumer, so you can order it directly from their website, but you do need a practitioner to be able to interpret your results. This is because 3×4 practitioners subscribe to a deep, continually updated database which we use to dive into the nitty gritty of each patient’s report.
Because this requires a sizeable amount of time outside of session, I have created a hybrid package for my insurance clients. Please book a complimentary Discovery Call to learn more about this offering or to chat with me about what it looks like to work together in general, or check out my Bookings Page .
Fiber Cycling
Our bodies benefit from variety, and being able to tolerate variety is one indicator of good gastrointestinal health. I have used a number of different soluble fiber supplements over the past few years and can wholeheartedly recommend Florasophy, plain acacia fiber, partially hydrolyzed guar gum (aka Sunfiber), and a homemade combination of ground chia and flaxseeds. I plan to test out the new fiber mix from Pendulum and experiment with resistant starch (like green banana flour) over the summer months. There are many, many options for supplementing soluble fiber, which can be a great support for your microbiome, in addition to (not instead of!) eating a varied, plant-rich diet. The rule of thumb when introducing a new fiber is: Start low, go slow.
I am currently utilizing acacia fiber while also leaning into legumes at lunch and/or dinner time on a near-daily basis, which is something I recommend often to clients but had admittedly not been doing that well myself recently! This has boosted my elimination (i.e., bowel movements), has improved the clarity of my skin, and I have experienced increased satiety as well. (Sidebar: I learned from my own 3×4 that satiety is a challenge for me, which was very validating).
I’ve highlighted some of the soluble fiber supplements that I work with at my supplement storefront here:https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/bbuck-douville
As I mentioned at the beginning, please hit reply to let me know what you’re working on, where you are looking for guidance, and what kind of content you’d like to see in future newsletters. Also, if this resonated with you, please help grow the Osa community by sharing this email with a friend, and thank you so much.
Wishing you a beautiful Memorial Day weekend,
*Disclaimer: This does not constitute medical advice and is for general informational purposes only. Please consult with your healthcare provider to determine whether diet or supplement changes are right for you.