The January Trap

January has a certain energy to it.

It’s hopeful. Motivated. A little desperate.

Every year, I see people decide that this is the month they’re finally going to fix everything that hasn’t been working (sometimes for years). Diet, sleep, stress, exercise, supplements, mindset. All of it. Usually starting on a Monday.

I understand the impulse. I really do. But after more than two decades in medicine, here’s what I’ve learned the hard way:

Most people don’t fail because they lack discipline. They fail because they try to change too much at once.

And when that happens, the body doesn’t rise to the occasion.

It braces.

---

When Effort Becomes the Problem

I see this most clearly with patients who overhaul their diet, add five supplements, start exercising again, and then can’t sleep. They come in confused … doing “everything right,” but feeling worse than before.

 

 

 

 

What they don’t realize is that effort itself can become a stressor.

Healing isn’t impressed by ambition. Biology doesn’t care how motivated you are. It responds to order, not pressure.

I think about this a lot when I talk with people outside the clinic too.

Lisa Tamani, an ultra-endurance athlete and longevity expert, said something in a recent conversation that has stuck with me. She was talking about caring for her mother through a devastating stroke and later brain lymphoma, with very little medical support.

She said, “You don’t get through things like that by being perfect. You get through by taking the next step. Then the next one. You just don’t stop.”

That mindset applies just as much to healing as it does to ultramarathons.

---

The January Trap

January convinces people that intensity is the answer: More rules. More structure. More effort.

But intensity without clarity usually backfires. The nervous system feels it as threat, not progress. Instead of moving toward repair, the body shifts into protection. This is why so many people burn out by February. Not because they’re weak, but because they overloaded systems that were already under strain.

I see this pattern constantly. People don’t need more things to do. They need fewer things done consistently.

---

Why Simpler Works (Even When It Feels Wrong)

Shelly Rose, a nutritionist and therapeutic chef, talks about this beautifully. She spent years dealing with migraines and chronic symptoms that everyone assumed were “just how her body was.” At one point, she realized the problem wasn’t that she wasn’t trying hard enough; it was that she was trying to change everything instead of identifying what actually mattered.

She put it bluntly in our conversation:

“People want the perfect plan. What they really need is one change they can actually live with.”

That’s uncomfortable for a lot of people. Simple feels suspicious. It doesn’t feel like you’re “doing enough.”

But in biology, enough beats extreme every time.

---

The Reset That Actually Works

A real reset doesn’t ask you to fix your entire life. It asks you to choose a starting point.

In UnCURABLE, I talk about foundations not because they’re trendy, but because they work. When you address the core systems that regulate recovery, everything else becomes easier to layer in later.

Not at once. Not perfectly. Just first.

Momentum builds quietly, like compound interest. Most people don’t notice it while it’s happening.

---

How to Choose Where to Start

You don’t need advanced testing to begin. Most people already know where their body is asking for attention; they’ve just learned to override it.

Here’s how I usually frame it:

• If digestion, food reactions, bloating, or energy crashes dominate your day → that’s a clue.
• If you feel chronically overwhelmed, reactive, or emotionally on edge → that’s a clue.
• If you’re exhausted, not sleeping well, or never feel restored → that’s a clue.

This isn’t a life sentence. It’s a starting line.

You’re not committing to this focus forever. You’re just giving your body a clear signal: this is where we begin.

---

What a Real January Reset Looks Like

This part tends to disappoint people: A real reset is quiet. Almost boring.

One habit. One boundary. One support tool.

Not ten.

That’s why it works.

The patients who make the most progress aren’t the ones who white-knuckle their way through January. They’re the ones who stop fighting their biology and start cooperating with it.

---

Where Supplements Fit

Supplements don’t rescue chaos. They support direction.

When supplements are layered onto an unfocused plan, they create confusion. When they’re used intentionally (to support the lane you’ve chosen) they can accelerate progress.

That’s the spirit behind our New Year Supplement Sale. It’s not about doing more. It’s about supporting what you’re already doing.

---

A Different Kind of January

You don’t need to fix everything this month.

You don’t need more discipline.

You don’t need a more aggressive plan.

You need one clear first step.

Healing doesn’t start with doing more. It starts with knowing where to begin.

And that’s enough for January.

---