05/25/2025
This… we couldn’t have said it better!! 🩵
“I Had a Patient Cry in My Office Last Week…” 😢
She was in her early 30s. Fit. Lean. The picture of what most people would call “healthy.”
She came in for “fatigue,” but when I asked how long it had been going on, her lip quivered.
Her voice cracked.
“I’m just... so tired,” she said. “I’m doing everything right. I eat clean. I work out every day. I take all the supplements. I track my macros. I’ve cut out gluten, dairy, sugar… everything.
But I still feel awful. My periods are irregular. I’m bloated all the time. I can’t sleep. I’m anxious. And I’m just… exhausted.”
Then she cried.
Not just a single tear, but a deep, chest-shaking sob—the kind that comes from feeling like your body is betraying you despite all your efforts.
🩺 I let her sit with it. Then I gently asked:
“Can I tell you something you might not have heard before?”
She nodded.
“You’re not broken. You’re just burned out. You’ve set the bar so high it’s almost impossible to jump over it.”
In the modern world, there’s an insane amount of pressure put on us.
We are expected to be productive members of society and to work 8 to 10 hour days.
But then, we must not forget to eat, clean, to work out, to meditate, to do breath work, to track your lifestyle habits, to pursue passion projects and hobbies.
Oh, and let’s not forget social connections.
Did you call your friend? What about your kids? What about your work colleagues? What about your mom? Did you spend time with all of them?
🛌 And don’t forget to sleep 8 to 9 hours per night and to work out one to two hours per day.
This is unrealistic and even damaging.
Our modern environment combined with the high expectations portrayed by social media are making us feel like constant failures.
Even I have been a victim of this.
Although I do post my life highlights on social media, I do have days where I don’t want to work out, where my sleep is subpar and where my nutrient intake relies on supplementation instead of home-cooked meals.
👌 But that’s OK.
Health will be determined by what you’re doing most of the time over the long-term.
But this patient was constantly feeling enormous amounts of pressure to check off all of the health boxes every single day.
This is highly unrealistic with all of the curve balls that real life can offer. And it can even be destructive.
Here’s the thing 👇
She wasn’t eating for nourishment.
She was eating for control.
She wasn’t moving to feel strong. She was moving to earn her meals.
She wasn’t “healthy.” She was overtrained, under-fueled, hormonally dysregulated, and emotionally drained.
And sadly… she’s not alone. I see this all the time.
We live in a culture that glorifies restriction:
✨ “Clean eating”
✨ “Discipline”
✨ “No excuses”
✨ “Just cut carbs and lift heavier”
But restriction isn’t health.
Willpower isn’t wellness.
And smaller doesn’t mean better.
💥 When Wellness Becomes a Cage:
Orthorexia is a form of disordered eating defined by an obsession with “healthy” eating.
Unlike classic eating disorders, it’s often praised.
But it’s no less harmful.
📉 Missing periods
😴 Chronic fatigue
😰 Anxiety around food
🧠 Obsessive thoughts 🚫 Social withdrawal 💪 Injuries from overtraining
Sound familiar?
This isn’t self-care.
This is self-punishment wrapped in kale and collagen.
✅ What Real Health Looks Like:
* You sleep well without needing a supplement cocktail
* You enjoy food without guilt
* You move because it feels good, not because you have to
* You can skip a workout and not spiral
* Your hormones function. Your digestion works. You’re not cold all the time. You laugh. You play. You live.
And yes, you still care about nutrition. You still eat plants. You still move your body. But you do it from a place of love—not fear.
✋ If you needed a sign to take a break… this is it.
Eat the damn sandwich. Skip the gym and take a nap. Put down the tracker. Unfollow the influencers that make you feel like health is a math equation.
You don’t need more willpower.
You need more grace.
💬 Let’s talk: Have you ever felt like the pursuit of health made you feel worse?
You’re not alone—and you’re not crazy.
Let’s unlearn the lies together. 🙏
💚
