TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE AND YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY NOW
One of the principal components of holistic health coaching is mindset. It’s an area that is sometimes missed in general nutrition and fitness coaching that we need to work on and it includes things like thought patterns, self talk and motivation. I want to discuss the beliefs that might be standing in your way when it comes to weight loss (yes thoughts can be the thing standing in your way!) and how to learn how to be successful in your health journey. (Make sure you read to the end for the step-by-step guide on how to build a successful weight loss mindset!)
Life Is Happening Now, Don’t Miss Out
This might sound obvious, but I know you could probably use the reminder. There will never be the ‘perfect’ time to start your health journey.
Life is happening now. This IS it. It doesn’t start when you lose the weight or get the guy or start the family or buy the house, you’re already in it. So if you have been clinging to this idea that you need to be “there” to be happy or for this “thing” to happen before you feel confident, strong, or “stress free”, this is your reminder that life is now and that you’re going to miss out on all that’s actually happening right now if you put all the good feels in the future.
As a coach, the most common goal clients come to me with is getting to a specific scale number. Now I get this, because I have been there, but I have also gotten to my goal number and realized that it had nothing to do with that number. That number didn’t magically hand me confidence, willpower or self love. That number didn’t make me dedicated, it didn’t make me happy or stress free.
And there is this perception that this number on the scale will bring with it these certain feelings and change in confidence .
Set a goal for what it will make of you to achieve it.
There’s the belief that this one weight, this one number on the scale, will magically hand you happiness, self love, willpower and all the good feelings.
But, guess what? It doesn’t.
Now if you start to see weight loss from my perspective, it will. The characteristics, habits and skills you need to be able to make changes to your body require you to be better. Better thoughts and better actions as well as better dedication, perseverance and follow through. The scale number isn’t going to give you a feeling, the efforts that got you to that scale number, will.
If you want to know more about better ways of measuring weight loss success, take a look at this blog I wrote.
Happiness isn’t just given as the reward for accomplishing your weightloss goal. Reaching that goal doesn’t mean you will have self love or willpower. It’s the things it takes to achieve that goal, the characteristics you MUST create, the perspective shifts created in the process, the It’s a perspective, a mindset shift that happens when you take action to move towards a goal. The consistent efforts you make on a moment to moment basis are what create the characteristics of becoming someone new – it's required in order to actually keep those body changes.
And time and time again I see motivation subside quickly, that’s why motivation often subsides and the journey feels really tough – because your focus is on the wrong thing. It’s on this point in the future.
Instead, focus should be in the present; how the process is making you feel. Focus on the willpower needed to stick to your meal plan or the motivation to get up earlier for a workout. Focus on how accomplishing these makes you feel physically and mentally. Do you have more energy? More confidence? Is your digestion better? These thoughts will give you more satisfaction than getting stuck on the future goal that won’t come instantly, and without this instant gratification you might sabotage the process and therefore miss out on the results.
The same goes for self love, reaching this goal or that won’t mean you have self love, self love is a practice, something you must create from within. Life happens now. It’s the sum of all these small daily rituals that add up and create where we are now, so if you change those small daily rituals, you’ll be somewhere new tomorrow. That’s why it’s the daily rituals that matter most. Start there.
Mindset Is As Important As The Physical Changes
Mindset is often underestimated.
When we decide to lose weight/tone up/get healthy we primarily focus on nutrition and fitness. Don’t get me wrong, these are essential and 2 of the main roots we focus on as health coaches, but for these to be successful, our mindsets have to be trained too.
Many clients come to me with negative thoughts towards themselves and their bodies. This is the first obstacle we need to tackle. We need to praise and nourish our bodies because they are the only ones we will ever have and they work so hard for us. With nutrition and fitness we can do tons, like optimizing our metabolism, building muscle and stabilizing hormones and sleep. Through getting to know our bodies we can understand what works and doesn’t work for us as individuals (one weight loss plan will not work for everyone).
With this personal understanding we can grow a positive mindset which will lead to better motivation and follow through. Whatever your goals, it’s never going to be a breeze reaching and maintaining them, that’s why it’s so important to discuss.
Doing What You Want Vs What You Actually Need
I can’t tell you how many times we, as coaches, have a client hire us only to tell us what they want to do. We often will get push back on changing the way they are doing things, when that is exactly the reason they came to us - because what they are doing, is NOT working. We work through this with our clients and help them understand why this is sabotaging their results.
Likelihood is, what someone is already doing, what you are doing, is what you ‘like’ to do. We don’t tend to want to do the things that we don’t know we are good at, don’t feel confident in, or make us uncomfortable. Yet, they are often the things that one needs to actually achieve the goals they are after.
Listen, you won’t always want to do the things that you need to do to get the results you want.
Read that again.
You will NOT always want to do the things that you NEED to do to get the results you want.
This is when the importance of mindset training comes into play.
When you hire us, we often have to bring tough love. How you are exercising right now, how you are eating right now, how you are living right now… has got you here. You have to understand that it is VERY likely that you will need to shift what you are doing and it may not be what you ‘want’ to do.
Wanting and needing are two different things. If we only did what we wanted to daily, notice how far you would get in your days, weeks and lives… Also, notice how many things you may not have wanted to do at first (the push back often coming from that new, not yet good at, uncomfortable part of the brain), yet you did and how they became easier and more natural.
We don’t just tell our clients what to do, we help them understand why they need to make the change and learn how to do these things on their own. This will require effort. Yet it will also ensure they end up with skills for the long haul so they don’t need a coach.
We’re here for the tough love and the progress - we’re accepting clients, fill out an application!
4 Steps To Weight Loss Empowerment
First let’s start with what is weight loss empowerment. Weight loss empowerment is feeling in control of you and your body. This might feel like feeling capable of creating change, having proof that our efforts matter, unconditional acceptance of yourself, following through on your word and believing in yourself.
Here are some steps to help get you there:
Focus on and write down how you feel now: Your feelings towards your body, your energy levels, quality of sleep, digestion, how you feel after meals, whether you’re motivated to exercise, your happiness etc.
Imagine yourself 6 months in the future after being consistent with your efforts and following through on what you said you would do every day…what does that you feel like? Say yes to? Say no to? Look like?
Survey your daily life, what are you doing that is causing you to stay here (not at your goal)? What needs to change?
Start by implementing just one or two changes but make them specific. For example, walk for 20 minutes outside every day or switch your morning pastry for fruit and yogurt. Focus on how you feel from these small changes and increase the habit change each week. Note your progress! Remember, progress at this stage is marked by follow through and consistency of the plan.
Often, for the most successful change, clients need more knowledge and an objective support system (we are all emotional beings and instant gratification can get the best of us). As health coaches, our mission is to set you up for a lifetime of success which is why we make sure you implement manageable and impactful change.
What are you waiting for?
Don’t let life pass you by wishing you felt or looked differently, the time is now, I know you won’t ever regret starting.