A few months ago I made the decision to stop working with "weight loss” clients in my one-on-one coaching program.
It was a long time coming, and it’s been hard to turn away people who want my help.
Why would I turn away clients?
Because if losing weight is your only goal, it’s going to hurt you more than it helps. And as a nutritional therapist, I can’t be a part of that.
It’s going to blind you from true nutritional healing.
You see… if you dig deeper than what you can visually see on the surface, which is usually the weight, you’ll see a bunch of other stuff that typically goes along with it, like…
- bloating
- blood sugar dysregulation
- poor digestion
- food sensitivities
- fatigue
- stress (often chronic)
- poor sleep
- hormonal chaos
- toxicity in your environment (home, relationships, work, family)
- nutritional deficiencies
- mineral imbalances
- lack of exercise
- depression
- mindset imbalance
- and of course diet...
I mean, did you know that your gut and liver health are KEY components for producing enough thyroid hormone (T3) for your metabolism run like it should?
If you just focus on losing the weight, you’re totally ignoring everything that contributed and setting the stage for the weight loss and regain cycle to happen again and again because you never really addressed why the weight gain started in the first place…
It's like painting and cleaning the outside windows of your house when your house is burning down!
You have to shut off all your internal fires before you focus on the outside aesthetics (i.e. your weight)!
Focus on getting healthy first and not on losing weight
To illustrate, take a look at Graph 1 below: This person wanted to lose weight, but as you can see, the results of their personal nutrition assessment shows a high burden of stress in their digestion (upper GI system, small intestines and large intestines), liver and gallbladder, vitamin needs, thyroid, and cardiovascular system. The higher the points on the graph, the more dysfunction is going on, and the worse the person is likely to feel.
You can’t expect a body this stressed to just drop weight effortlessly, when, well, it’s struggling to perform normal bodily functioning. This body needs nutrients and strategic nutrition (not a diet that is going to restrict calories, carbs, fats, or other nutrients – that would be catastrophic!)
Weight loss just won’t be a priority with a symptom burden like this. It would be unwise of the body and threaten survival..
[FYI: If you’re curious where your body is at, this is the Personal Nutrition Assessment tool that I use with my one-on-one clients and you can also get it with the Wealthy Metabolism eCourse or as an “add on” when you buy the Creating Wealth eBook. It comes with an informative video to help you understand your results so you can target your areas of stress in the eCourse or ebook.]
Now take a look below at Graph 2 of the same person after working together. The burden of stress on their system in every area has dropped tremendously by targeting their nutrition and lifestyle strategically. I do this by finding the client their own "secret sauce" to getting results, that is by finding out the foods and supplements they need (or don't need) to target their nutrition with precision to see big changes!
Would you guess that she feels so much better and finally lost the weight she wanted to without trying? It may not have been as quickly as she wanted, but it’s what I call permanent weight loss because it is backed up by health! She wasn’t just trying to cheat her body and shortcut to weight loss.
Because, when you address your health as your #1 priority and instead see getting closer to your ideal weight as a natural byproduct of getting healthy – it’s a real game changer.
Sound good? If you’re ready to change your approach from weight loss to health, fill out an application so we can have a brief chat and see if it’s a good fit to work together.
--->Client Application <---
Or checkout the new masterclass How to Align For Weight Loss. Because It's time to align your body to weight loss and reboot your metabolism naturally by identifying + putting out your internal fires so that effortless weight loss happens as a natural byproduct of creating health. Not something you have to trick or manipulate your body into doing!
But if you’re looking for a quick fix, diet, or weight loss plan, this definitely isn’t it. Diets force you to play on the opposite team as your body. Your body wants X but you and your diet say "no". The solution is learning to play on the same team as your body instead.
The Body Wants To Lose Weight When It’s Ready (all you can do is help it get ready)
If you’re looking for a way to end the bloating, low energy, dietary confusion, and approach weight loss by pushing your body closer to health as your 1st priority, so that the body wants to lose weight when it's ready…. and it’s more of a natural byproduct of creating health… not something you try to trick or manipulate your body into doing, I’m your girl.
Thanks for reading as I’m on a mission to change the way the world views weight loss one person at a time…
Does this post speak for or against your experience with weight loss? Please share in the comments!
Photo Credit: By Sumayakazi (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Sheryl Bergstrom
I like the idea of focusing on getting healthy rather than losing weight. Its just eating right, have an exercise routine, and motivation. We shouldn't forget to have enough sleep too. Amazing blogs indeed
Michael Hendrix
Losing weight should not be your only goal, you should also think about your well-being. Your health is important and must be your utmost priority.
Lisa
This is so true and I’m glad to read it! Last summer, I dramatically changed my junkie diet to a clean, healthy way of eating. In three months, my cholesterol dropped to normal levels, and I was able to cut back significantly on my diabetes medications as my A1c was 5.1 - that’s what healthy non diabetic people have! Prior to that, I had been at 7.1 for an extended period of time. In the process of getting healthier, my body started letting go of weight - 30 pounds in those three months! Unfortunately, due to some circumstances beyond my control, I “fell off” my healthy diet to the point where I became hooked on fast foods and ate nothing else. No surprise, cholesterol elevated, A1c 8.3, and gained back the weight plus another 5 pounds. I am currently working with a team of health experts to regain my healthy eating habits, and with them, my health. It’s hard work, but I know it will get easier, and it’s definitely worth it!