New Year’s resolutions can bring self-deprecation and self-denial, often seeming to be barely manageable without support. Dr. Oltman at Grain Integrative Health notes “Resolutions commonly revolve around losing weight, eating healthier, exercising more, improving relationships, and overall increasing vitality. This makes sense, because everyone wants to feel better. Being at a healthy weight, eating nourishing foods, moving regularly, and cultivating harmonious relationships are all signs of high vitality.” He is helping to refine a resolutions curriculum at Grain Integrative Health that accomplishes all of these things to help patients springboard into a lifelong process of continually feeling better. The quickly growing, modern, comfortable northwest primary care clinic hopes the program will help patients realize that the accomplishment of one goal is simply an invitation to set another.

Dr. Samuel Oltman is the newest addition to the renowned northwest primary care clinic, Grain Integrative Health, where he has developed this program to empower people to use their resolutions as catalysts for lasting change. The Back to Basics New Year Program is an inclusive service including comprehensive and advanced medical workup for cardiovascular, hormonal, and metabolic health; individualized health recommendations to reduce inflammation, improve detoxification and restore adrenal function; meal planning, exercise programming and lifestyle counseling; meditation workshops, acupuncture and structural integration.

Goal setting and resolution building is also a pillar of the program, as it allows Dr. Samuel Oltman and the other doctors to work individually with each patient in determining their desires and needs as well as provide a dialogue and team approach to increasing vitality. Dr. Samuel Oltman acknowledges, “setting achievable goals can be more difficult than it seems. Helping patients decide if they are over-reaching or under-reaching is handled by our doctors. A medical history, blood work (including genetics testing), diet evaluation, and counseling are necessary first steps in making not just a new year’s resolution, but life-long change. The desire to reach the goal instantly without putting in the work is insidious, especially when everything in our culture emphasizes instant gratification. In my experience, the secret to sustainability does not lie in working harder, denying yourself more or in increasing self-control– the secret lies in working smarter. By working with an expert physician in health and vitality you are assured the work you do is producing maximum results.”

Grain Integrative Health hopes the achievement of resolutions through their new health program will serves as a trigger to set a new resolution as patients accomplish each goal they’ve set alongside their doctor at Grain Integrative Health. Established or new patients can call Grain Integrative Health or visit their website, www.grainintegrativehealth.com to explore their overall philosophy and the different providers available. The wait list for this type of program can last approximately 2-6 months. Couples are welcome to join together and sessions can be done jointly.