Having been a nutrition coach for 5+ years now here in Lakeland, FL, I’ve had the opportunity to walk with clients who have big goals, like losing 50+ pounds or more and clients who have smaller goals, like losing 10 pounds or less. I’ve seen numerous clients reach their goals, and I have learned the essential traits that one must obtain when wanting to persevere to the end in order to reach his/her goal! If you’re someone who has a goal you’re working towards, evaluate where you are with these four points below!
1. The client must be patient. He must realize that the best method to apply in reaching his goals is actually taking 1 baby step at a time. Sadly, I’ve coached a handful of clients who have come to me with lofty goals, and they want to change years of bad habits in 1-2 months. It doesn’t work like that. These clients eventually burn out and exhaust themselves, and never wind up reaching the finish line. On the other hand, my clients who reach their goals are ok focusing on one thing at a time and they have made peace with the fact that slow progress is still progress! They know a true life transformation is going to take time and they’re in it for the long haul!
2. The client must not be governed by her emotions. I’ve seen it hundreds of times, when clients start a weight loss journey, they are highly motivated. But then life happens, things get hard, progress is slow, and onto the roller coaster of emotions she goes! She’s questioning everything, wanting to throw in the towel and blame her coach all at the same time! My clients who have the most success have checked their emotions at the door. They do not allow their compliance and consistency to be contingent upon how they feel on a given day. They’re focused and steady and their daily healthy choices really have nothing to do with how they are feeling emotionally about the process.
3. The client must be willing to accept that the road to success is usually not a straight line. There are rock blocks, u-turns, set backs, frustrations, and lulls on the journey to success. My clients who are winning and reaching their goals are ok with all of these things. They realize that these are part of the journey, not reasons to quit the journey.
4. The client celebrates the non-scale victories just as much, if not even more, than the scale victories! A true weight loss journey impacts more things than how your clothes fit and what the scale says. I’ve seen clients get amazing blood work reports from doctors, improve their blood pressure and cholesterol readings, have more energy to play with grandkids, begin sleeping better, have increased mental clarity, and regain confidence in themselves, just to name a few. The scale can’t measure these things and my clients who win long term have learned that these victories are just as important, if not more, than what the scale says!
So if you’ve been on a weight loss or health journey before and you threw in the towel before you met your goal, which one of these factors above made an impact on your decision to quit too soon? Before beginning again, I suggest taking some time to reflect and then purpose in your heart that you will not let one of these factors make you stumble again.
For more support and accountability on your journey, consider scheduling to see if our nutrition coaching program is right for you! Click scheduling link!
To learn more about these 4 traits, view episode 12 of the Getting Healthy With Cis show on all major podcast platforms like Apple Podcast, Spotify and YoutTube.