1. Home
2. Blog
3. Lab Testing
4. Wait For It!

Wait For It!

Written by Christopher Kelly

Jan. 16, 2015

Discovering the Process for Restoring Your Health

Humans are impatient creatures. We love the idea of the quick fix, the magical solution that enacts rapid change and solves the pain or stress that was making life so difficult. But the truth is that real change—lasting change—takes time.

People in pain are especially desperate for a quick resolution. They ask me all the time, "How long does this take? How long until we get the test results? How long until I feel better?"

The good news is that many people feel much better two weeks after eliminating specific foods from their diet. Finding out which foods should be cut out and which supplements should be added takes longer.

Let's walk through a sample scenario. Let's say that you contact me because you have been feeling ill, lethargic and uncomfortable for a long time, and conventional medical wisdom doesn't seem to be working. You may have tried a few diets and supplements already, with no success. So, you get in touch with Nourish Balance Thrive, and we discuss the problem.

Here’s how the process works.

Testing for Trouble

Once I understand your case, I order a few tests. The kits take a little time to arrive—a week or more, depending on where you live. Once they arrive, you may not have time to collect all the samples right away. Most people take up to a week to sort through the boxes, read the instructions, and complete their part of the tests at home.

After following the instructions and collecting the samples, you use the prepaid mailing label to send everything back to the lab. You wait a few days, but you really want to find out the results. When you call me for an update, I have to say, "I'm really eager to find out how to help you. In two to three weeks, the lab should send those results. I will call you as soon as I have them in my hands."

Getting the Results

For whatever reason, labs sometimes batch certain tests together. This means they wait until they have enough samples on hand to do that particular test.  If your urine or saliva sample arrives near the end of their batch, it might be processed the next day. If it arrives at the beginning of a batch, you will wait longer. Stool samples, being less stable, move through the process more quickly.

Depending on the tests and lab time, it may take up to a month for me to receive your results. As soon as I get them, I call you to let you know. If we have already spoken about the specifics of your problems and your goals, I may design the protocol for you before I call, so that I can give it to you right away.

Establishing the Protocol

Your protocol consists of four specific elements—diet, rest, exercise, and stress reduction. We go over the information for about an hour. After that, my Clinical Rounds call is the best way to continue asking questions about the changes you are making in your diet and lifestyle.

The programs at Nourish Balance Thrive often include the Autoimmune Protocol. The idea is to eliminate all of the foods that could potentially be doing damage, so that your gut is able to heal. Later, once your digestion improves, you can experiment with the reintroduction of “gray-area foods.” If you start adding foods back in too early or reintroduce too many at once, you may spoil the positive effects of the diet and have to start all over.

Another element that we emphasize is sleep. Human beings need 8-10 hours of sleep every night. Besides that, they need certain conditions of calmness and darkness in order to properly prepare for sleep. They also require bright light to help them wake up with energy in the morning. Putting all these elements into place should help you get better rest.

Movement, especially walking and weight lifting, is vital to health. So is taking the supplements that your body needs to restore its levels of certain beneficial nutrients, vitamins, and hormones. Although these lifestyle and diet changes may seem stressful at first, the program also includes guidelines and resources for stress reduction, including highly effective guided meditation.

Enacting the Protocol

Putting all of this into practice takes time. You take several days to adjust to following the protocol correctly. Once you understand what you should be doing, you take a mental inventory of your condition. You wonder, "Why don't I feel better? Shouldn't I start to feel something if this is working?"

Hoping for a quick fix is only natural. Unfortunately, it takes more than a few days or weeks to undo months or years of harmful eating, poor rest habits or stress-filled living. If you are hoping to correct your digestion and drop some extra pounds, you will have to be patient and allow the diet and the supplements to do their work. You have to let your body learn to relax, to become more rested and to stop living on high alert.

Waiting for Weight Loss

Reaching an ideal weight can happen quickly through crash dieting, but maintaining a healthy weight and sustaining that weight is impossible unless your whole body is healthy and functioning as it should be. Get super healthy first, and the weight gradually comes off.

Enjoying Renewed Energy

Fortunately, energy levels tend to rise faster than the weight falls off. Before you might have been couch-bound, exhausted by the thought of getting up to work or exercise, but now, you feel more energetic and ready for action.

As your new nutritional plan takes effect, you may start to notice a decrease in headaches and a reduction in depression and anxiety. This is a direct result of your cells getting the nutrients and fluids they need.

The "How Long?" Helper

This chart offers you a quick guide to the time frame within which certain conditions and symptoms typically improve. Of course, some people may be exceptions to the rule, experiencing relief sooner or later than the average patient.

You should see gradual improvement in the weeks, months, and years following the start of your protocol. Make sure that you retest after a couple of months, again after 6 months, and as recommended after that. Take your supplements until you are sure that the issue is resolved, or until whatever caused the issue is no longer a factor in your life. After the two-year mark, most of the big changes have already happened, and you should feel like a new person. You may continue to see minor improvements as you tweak your diet, rest, and exercise regimens to best suit your body and your ideal lifestyle.

Find out more in a free 15-minute consultation.