Healthy Habits Don’t Stick? It’s Not You — It’s Your Soil
Why foundational health—not willpower—is the key to thriving in midlife
If you’ve ever tried to build healthier habits only to lose steam a few days or weeks later, I want you to hear this clearly:
It’s not a lack of discipline. It’s not aging. It’s not perimenopause. It’s your internal soil.
Just like a garden can’t grow in depleted, dry, compacted soil, your body can’t thrive or sustain healthy habits when the foundations beneath them are compromised. And the surprising truth? Most people have no idea their soil is suffering until the symptoms become too loud to ignore.
In my work as a nurse, herbalist, and functional health practitioner, I see the same pattern again and again—people trying so hard to “do all the right things,” but their bodies are too overwhelmed to receive the benefits. Today, I want to help you understand why your habits may not be sticking, what your symptoms are trying to tell you, and how restoring your foundations can help you finally gain traction in your health.
Let’s dig in.
When Your Soil Is Depleted, Habits Feel Impossible to Maintain
Most of my clients come to me feeling frustrated, confused, and often a little defeated. They’re dealing with symptoms that are not only noticeable but sometimes downright debilitating. Do any of these speak to you?
Constant cravings
Weight loss resistance
Low energy and fatigue
Achy, inflamed joints
Skin issues
Reliance on caffeine to function
Feeling “too busy” to make changes
Being told “everything looks normal,” even though they feel far from normal
And perhaps the most heartbreaking thing they’ve been told—by practitioners, friends, or even themselves—is:
“Maybe it’s all in your head.”
No. It’s not in your head, it’s in your soil.
Metabolic Chaos: The Real Reason You Don’t Feel Like Yourself
When your internal soil becomes depleted, irritated, or imbalanced, your metabolism—which includes energy production, detoxification, digestion, hormone signaling, blood sugar regulation, and more—can no longer operate smoothly.
This is what we call metabolic chaos.
Metabolic chaos doesn’t show up neatly on a standard lab test.
It shows up in your life via symptoms. Some examples include: Mood fluctuations, energy crashes, sugar cravings, poor sleep, stubborn weight, digestive symptoms, hormone fluctuations, inflammation, achy joints, and brain fog.
It’s no wonder habits don’t stick during this phase. Your body is stuck in compensation mode, not optimization mode.
Think of trying to plant a vegetable garden in a patch of dry, nutrient-poor earth. It doesn’t matter how carefully you water it or how much you want it to grow—the soil needs attention first.
Why Quick Fixes Don’t Work (at Least, Not for Long)
I’ve worked with many clients who skipped past the foundational work and jumped straight into fancy supplements or maybe powdered meal replacements. The list of trendy wellness gadgets and quick fixes might include detox kits, trendy herbs, fad diets, and hardcore exercise programs. And almost every time, they feel better—for a moment. Eventually, their symptoms return, often worse. It's not because their efforts were wrong, but because they hadn’t addressed the underlying problem: depleted soil.
Related blog post- http://www.nurturingrootshealing.com/nurturing-roots-blog/sick-of-wellness-trends-heres-what-actually-moves-the-needle
One client (let’s call her “J.”) spent months bouncing between supplements, adaptogens, and online detox challenges. She would feel energized for a week or two… then crash back into fatigue and cravings.
Once we focused on restoring her soil—balancing blood sugar, building nutrient density, supporting her stress response, improving sleep—her habits finally began to flow. Not because she tried harder, but because her body was no longer fighting her.
This is the power of foundations.
Why Midlife Makes Soil Health Even More Important
Many of my clients are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. And while aging or perimenopause may intersect with symptoms, they’re rarely the primary cause.
The truth is:
Most midlife symptoms are not caused by age.
They’re caused by years of depleted soil that has never been restored.
This period of life often reveals the cracks that were already there:
Decades of stress
Chronic nutrient depletion
Under-eating or restrictive dieting
Overexercising
Skipped meals
Sleepless nights
Environmental toxins
Inflammatory foods
Ignoring early warning signs
So when midlife arrives, the soil is asking—sometimes begging—for attention.
The good news?
This is also the perfect stage of life to rebuild it and create resilience.
The D.R.E.S.S. Protocol: How We Restore the Soil
The framework I use with clients—because it works—is called the D.R.E.S.S. protocol, which focuses on all the foundational areas, so that you can build resilience and vitality.
D — Diet
The fastest way to nourish depleted soil. Not with fad diets or restriction, but with foods that support your metabolism, your digestion, and your unique biochemistry. This will look different for each individual.
R — Rest
Your body repairs itself when you sleep. Poor rest = poor metabolic function. This is the time your body needs to “rest and digest,” detox, and repair.
E — Exercise
Movement should strengthen—not stress—your system. Overexercising is one of the top reasons midlife metabolism stalls.
S — Stress Reduction
Stress is like a drought in your internal garden—nothing grows well under it. You may have heard practitioners say that “all disease begins in the gut,” and while this is partially true, I believe that if we take one more step back, we will find that it all begins with the body's internal stress response.
S — Supplementation/Support
Herbs and supplements are incredible tools—but they only work well when the foundations are solid. Otherwise, they’re like pouring fertilizer on dry soil. When we can start from where we are and build a protocol such as the DRESS protocol, it rebuilds the terrain, nourishes the roots, and allows energy, digestion, metabolism, and hormones to come back into balance.
The One Thing Method: Your Way Out of Overwhelm
When people try to change everything at once, nothing sticks. Not because they don’t want it badly enough, but because the body—and brain—can’t sustain multiple major shifts at once, and especially in a depleted environment.
This is why I integrate The One Thing Method into every stage of the D.R.E.S.S. protocol.
Instead of trying to overhaul your life, I help you identify:
“What is the ONE habit, in this ONE category, that will move the needle the most?”
One habit for Diet.
One habit for Rest.
One habit for Exercise.
One habit for Stress.
One supportive habit.
Once one habit is flowing, we build on it for the next. Its all about triage. When people choose their “One Thing,” something powerful happens:
They feel less overwhelmed
They gain momentum quickly
They experience small wins
Their confidence grows
Their habits finally have a foundation to stick to
This method is simple, but it is not simplistic. It’s strategic, efficient, and deeply supportive for the nervous system.
My Own Story: When I Tried to Skip the Foundations
Like many of my clients, I once believed I could “fix” my health with things like fad diets and a little discipline, but none of it was sustainable long term. I have pushed myself into burnout—physically, emotionally, and functionally. It’s because I was missing core foundations, and my soil was running on fumes.
Rebuilding those pillars is what moved the needle, and when I began to see my energy return, my digestion improve, my resilience increase, and my habits finally became effortless. This is why I teach what I teach, because I lived it.
When Clients Restore Their Soil, Everything Changes
When someone begins nourishing their soil, I watch the same transformation unfold again and again:
Their energy rises
Their cravings lessen
Their sleep improves
Their body composition shifts
Their mood lifts
Their confidence returns
Their habits finally feel doable
This is a short list of what can start occurring, but most importantly, the journey always dials up Confidence → momentum → lasting change. This is where the magic happens and where small changes become lasting habits. That is the most beautiful part of my work.
🌿 So If Your Habits Aren’t Sticking, Here’s What I Want You to Know
You don’t need more motivation or to be on another diet. You don’t need to work harder, just more aligned with what works. You do need support and a roadmap to start from exactly where you are and not from where someone else is. You need your soil restored in order to build stronger roots and sustained resilience. And you don’t have to figure that out alone.
🌱 Ready to Rebuild Your Foundations and Start Feeling Like Yourself Again?
If you’re reading this and thinking:
“This is me. This is exactly what I’m going through…”
Then it may be time for support that meets you exactly where you are and gives you a clear, personalized plan to move forward.
🌿 I invite you to my Rooted Renewal Challenge
Together, we will:
Map out your unique blueprint for restoring your soil using my D.R.E.S.S for your health success framework
Identify your “One Thing” in each D.R.E.S.S. category
Choose supportivehabits that work with your body
Clarify what has been holding your progress back
Build a sustainable plan for energy, balance, and vitality
You don’t have to keep guessing.
You don’t have to keep trying to do it all on your own.
You can start from where you are—and grow from there. Check it out here!
👉 For more customized, deep-rooted support, click here to book your FREE consultation.