For the past few years I’ve identified myself as a ‘weight loss’ coach. That’s because weight loss is the number one reason why I became interested in nutrition and fitness in the first place. I started with the highest motivation to shed body fat. At the time, I didn’t care so much about anything else but that.
It wasn’t until after I lost the weight that I started to care about other goals like building muscle, mindset, confidence, and eventually self-love. And it wasn’t long before those turned into gut-health, hormone-health and mental-health.
Like myself, majority of my clients come to me because they wanted to lose weight – that is always their biggest and first motivator.
A new client of mine recently told me “I don’t think I can maintain this level of restriction because I don’t feel like it’s helping me find a good balance with food and my social life”
And it really struck a cord.
And now I feel the need to clarify a few things…
She’s right – because what you must do to lose weight is NOT sustainable.
A weight loss program is not meant to be maintained for the rest of your life.
In order to achieve weight loss, you have to be in a deficit. And with that, comes sacrifice. You’ll have to say ‘no’ to some food at some point. Period. End of story. You can’t eat all the things and expect to make progress. If it were possible, you wouldn’t be trying to lose weight in the first place!
But it’s not forever.
Weight loss isn’t a lifestyle. It’s only a temporary phase.
Being in a weight-loss phase for too long isn’t good for your health – both mentally and physically. Therefore, the deficit that you must be in to lose the weight isn’t necessarily the healthiest phase of your life.
What you need to understand when you are actively trying to lose weight is that you’re making healthier choices but that doesn’t mean you are making the healthiest choices.
Health is a spectrum. People think you’re either healthy or you’re unhealthy but it’s not nearly as black and white as that.
Even though the process of losing weight might include developing ‘healthier’ habits and choices… it’s a phase of your life that might knock you out of balance and if taken too far could also result in poor health.
When my clients come to me to lose weight, they need to understand this: the actual process of weight-loss is not a healthy lifestyle.
It’s only a very small phase of life to achieve a specific goal. And it must be dialed back when you reach that goal. And even if you don’t fully reach that goal, you need to take your foot off the gas pedal at some point because, just like a Ferrari, you are going to need more fuel eventually!
Taking it one step further… Finding a good balance with food and social life is not synonymous to losing weight. I don’t believe you can have it all at the same time.
Can you lose weight now and then find balance later? Yes. Absolutely.
If you’re currently in a weight-loss phase, just remember it’s not forever. Be sure to have a definite ‘break’ or term ‘end’ in sight.
And if you’re ultimate goal is to find balance, you don’t have to lose weight.
If you chase true health you’ll achieve aesthetics. If you chase aesthetics you’ll never achieve true health.
Get honest with yourself and find out what YOU want. Not what society pushes. Choose the right mindset, your body will thank you for it later.
P.S. Most of my clients initially start working with me for weight loss but when we dig deeper, it’s always because they are searching for happiness within themselves. Once you get clear on the goal, the mindset transforms and the body quickly follows. Check out my 1:1 coaching program here.
