Is the number on the scale determining your self-worth?

As a health coach, I work with a diverse range of people on a regular basis. What has come to light over the past couple of years is that no matter how different each person’s goals are or what their health and wellbeing needs, the most common limiting belief from both the females and males I work with is ‘I’ll be happy when I weigh…’.

This magic number varies from person to person, however from my own experience and now my experience from supporting and working with so many others through this process, the number on the scale isn’t magic and it’s definitely not your answer to happiness. It’s your actions, your mind-set, your bio-individuality and belief in the process that brings a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Once I stopped using the scales to help me shift my mind-set, I became much more open to new theories on how to manage my weight and look at my body. I started to learn that weight loss (actually living a healthy lifestyle) isn’t just about fearing numbers on the scale and for me it isn’t even about calories in vs calories out.

However, I know (and so do many of the people I help) that shifting your mind-set (or even replacing the habit of using the scales to define how much you like yourself that day) is not something that will or can happen over night.

If you are ready to take a new approach to weight loss and weight management, (and get rid of your fear of the number on the scale forever) the following 3 actions can help:

1. Re-direct your energy

The first step is to learn more about your bio-individual make-up, you are unique and have your own unique goals and measures of success. Learn through experimentation what it is that makes you feel good, look good and supports your goals.

Your bio-individuality includes:

• Dietary tastes and how your body responds to the foods you eat.
• How you body responds to movement and exercise.
• Your cravings – this is a big indicator of what you body is over eating and lacking
• Your energy levels (in and outside of work)
• Your stress levels, hormone levels
• Lifestyle choices – what brings you joy? Where or what lights you up? What calms you down?
• Your body make-up, how much muscle do you carry? How much water weight do you store?
• And lets not forget your mental and spiritual health, are you happy? Do you believe in something bigger than yourself?

“Fear of getting fat is a symptom of not trusting your own intuition.”

2. Give yourself permission to try new things

To really learn more about your own bio-individuality try new things, such as foods you wouldn’t normally eat and see how your body responds. For example, you may have avoided bread for years as you believed it would help you lose weight (misguided fear of carbs alert!) You may just find that having a slice of wholegrain toast with your breakfast helps you feel fuller for longer and less likely to snack mid-morning. Perhaps you have been sticking to the same workout routine for past couple of years (because back then it worked) and haven’t risked trying something different, even-though you are not really seeing new results or having that much fun, this is the perfect opportunity to go and do something different. Love lifting weights in the gym? Try out a cross-fit class. Been running on the treadmill? Try out a speed endurance club. Can swim but haven’t in years? Join a triathlon swim club! There are so many options, learn what is best for your body to get the results you want. Stop avoiding and start embracing. To learn what works for your body you need to be open to trying new things and taking the time to see how your body responds.

3. Believe in the process (and yourself)

This is the best part, you get to tap into your own intuition and learn to trust your own choices. This is the key to really helping you not to fall back to your old ways of stepping on the scales for reassurance.

Believing in the process will require you to adopt a growth mind-set (or as some like to call it a winning mind-set). To do this ask yourself ‘why are you watching your weight?’ What is the intrinsic motivation for wanting to do this? Many of the people I help learn that on a surface level they want to look good, but their intrinsic motivation is much more purposeful such as; being a healthy role model for their children and taking preventive measures to reduce the risk of cancer later in life .

Qualities & actions needed for developing a growth & winning mind-set:

• Clear focus or purpose
• Persistence
• Commitment
• Consistency
• Desire to change
• A plan of action
• Accountability

“I haven’t had scale in the house for over 4 years and you know what, I haven’t got fat.”

Health coaching isn’t all about teaching what to eat, there is much more to it than that. It’s about helping others learn how to trust their own intuition and to tap into what it is they really want for their life. It’s a process of self-care and being able to step away from validating happiness from a number on the scale is part of it.

By learning more about your bio-individual needs and having the desire to change your perspective to weight loss and weight management, there is another way. This way can be much more fulfilling and a healthier way to to manage and maintain body weight long-term. As a health coach I am not against using weigh-in’s for tracking purposes. Collecting data is a great tool and for some an essential part of weight loss, however that is all it is, a tool for tracking progress – not a tool for determining your worth or permission to like yourself or not that day.

Learn more from others who have already taken the actions listed above and see how this approach has changed their lives for the better by reading their success stories here:

Inspiring Success Stories – How one woman stopped sugar-coating her life and reversed her Type 2 Diabetes

Inspiring Success Stories – One Woman’s Story Of What You Can Achieve By Committing To Your Goal

Inspiring Success Stories – How one man transformed his health by ditching his excuses

Inspiring Success Stories – Love yourself and you can achieve anything you want.

A health coach supports you in identifying and overcoming the obstacles that are holding you back to living your healthiest and happiest lifestyle. If you would like to know more about the health coaching program or in need of an accountability partner, get in touch by emailing heidi@heidijonescoaching.com