The other day I was training one of my long-time clients on zoom. I noticed that she was looking a lot slimmer, something I don’t always notice over the internet. I commented on how she was looking really good and she said with the nutrition coaching we were doing this past year she had lost about 26 lbs.
She then followed it up with what I feel every woman does, and said, “I would like to lose another 10 lbs.”
We explored why that was important for her over the next couple of minutes and then I asked, “What do you think you could change to help reach that goal?”
She thought out loud for a moment, going over several possibilities and then eventually said, “Well, I could reduce that can of tuna for lunch to half a can. I mean I don’t need the full can.”
Since this was a long time client I responded, “I’m pretty sure it’s not the tuna.”
The client paused, thought for a second, then started laughing and said, “So, maybe the honey BBQ potato chips might be it.”
(Side note: No food is bad. In this context we are talking about food choices to get to a certain goal and how to reach that goal.)
I thought a lot about those 10 minutes throughout the rest of my work day. It highlights what I feel a lot of my clients and a lot of people do while trying to lose weight. It’s the lies we tell ourselves while going through this journey.
What was interesting with this particular client is that she really loves her carbs. As most of us do. During our coaching sessions we had been working on increasing her protein content. Again, something a lot of women I find in particular have a hard time doing.
What is funny to see is what she decided she needed to eliminate was the protein I was trying to get her to eat! Really she just wanted to go back to what was comfortable to her which is to eat carbs.
I have often said I think weight loss is like a game. We have to play a game with our mind to make change happen. To help move from a lifetime of a particular habit to a healthier one.
Sustained weight loss, weight loss kept off over the years is really just a habit. If you were to really look at how you eat you would find you probably rotate through the same 10 foods every day. Humans are habitual creatures.
It comes down to looking at your diet and saying is this a healthy habit or not? Does this particular food make me feel better? Does it help me to reach the goal I am trying to achieve?
This story of wanting to cut back on the tuna is nothing I haven’t heard before. It was maybe the complete laughter from my client, after my response that made it stick with me and reflect on it.
We all tell ourselves a little lie when wanting to change but maybe not really wanting to change a habit. I’ve made some progress…I don’t need to keep doing that thing I find hard.
When clients are not making progress with their stated goal of weight loss I will often say, “What is one small thing you can change to make your goal happen?”
Because the reality is you have to change something in order to make results happen. You cannot stick with your current habits of eating potato chips late into the night or not getting your weight training sessions in order to lose weight.
We have been told the big lie that weight loss is sooo easy. Just take this pill or do this intense 10 minute workout 3 times a week and the weight will just fly off.
Weight loss is work. It is the daily practice of making yourself just a little uncomfortable. When we reach a sticking point in our journey or ‘stuff’ starts happening in our lives, one of the easiest things to do is to drop those uncomfortable processes we were working on in order to reduce stress.
However, this uncomfortable feeling, if done for a healthy habit and given time, will then become your new way of being. Then when life becomes stressful or time is limited, this healthy habit becomes your norm. The weight does not start to creep up during these times. Because the healthy habit of eating the tuna (or eating a balance of healthy protein and carbs) is just what you do.
Need more inspiration on your weight loss journey? Check out these posts:
– Creating lasting habits: https://infinityfitnessinc.com/creatinghealthyhabits/
– Why Weight Loss is a Must for Weight Loss: https://infinityfitnessinc.com/weight-train-and-lose-weight/
-Tracking Your Food: https://infinityfitnessinc.com/tracking-food/