Stop Giving Away Your Power

Today, I want to look at why we should no longer give our power away to diets and weight loss programs, including my own.

I want to start off by clarifying that there is still plenty of value in having a guide or a coach, whether it’s weight loss, business, or otherwise. That's why I invest heavily into my own development and coaching. However, going into coaching with the expectation that someone else is going to get results from you in your life, is not going to get you the results you want.

When you take back the power and start creating your own life intentionally, you will have the agency needed to be successful in your life. You will create your best life, and you will create your best health intentionally. It will no longer depend on the perfect program, having the most supportive partner, or having a doctor that says just the right thing to you. You'll have the skills to start creating change for yourself, which is truly the recipe for confidence. 

One of the biggest challenges that I'm observing within my own coaching program is when people believe that the program itself is going to give them results. They are depending on external things to empower them and create results, when in reality you can do that yourself. 

If you engage with the five mindset shifts I outline today, I know you will get the best results out of any coaching program you take part in.

Mindset Shift #1

• Stop thinking that you're doing a program or you're following a diet.

If you have joined some sort of weight loss program, whether it's my program Best Weight or something different, I want you to think of it as a place where you are learning tools and skills.

View it as a skill set gap that you’re learning so that you can create your best life. 

If you go into it thinking “I'm doing this program” or “I'm doing a diet”, that suggests that there's an end date. But when the program or the diet is done, what happens after that? People tend to get into a pattern of thinking the program is responsible, and the diet is responsible. That is very disempowering. You're giving up all of your power to something outside of you and ignoring your ability to listen to your own body and your own hunger cues.  

If you truly want to create change, then how you think about it matters. Therefore, the mindset needs to be that you're creating your best life, you're learning how to thrive, and you've joined a program because there is a skill set that is being taught inside that program. But ultimately you are the one who's going to employ those tools and skills in your life to create the results that you're wanting, not the program.

Mindset Shift #2

• Stop looking for more rules to follow.

People often have the mindset of “if you just tell me what to eat, then that will work”. But how many meal plans have you tried in the past? You've likely already been given lots of food rules, in fact there are so many, they've probably started conflicting with each other. Now you're confused because you’ve not been listening to your own body or tapping into your own wisdom. 

When you’re looking for how many points you can have today or how many calories to eat to lose five pounds this week, you’re giving agency to an external set of rules. It does not feel good for any human being to have to live by someone else's externally imposed rules or someone else's value system. And it becomes so disempowering, that eventually you will quit.

If you nourish your body, listen to your body, and start to pay attention to your physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, you will realize just how powerful your body is.  Your body is very effective at telling you what to eat, what feels good when you're eating it, and when to stop eating. If something makes you feel really bloated for example, that's a sign your body's talking to you. 

What makes this more difficult, is the hyper palatable food environment that overrides our body's natural appetite controlling system. This is why nourishing your body with whole foods as much as possible is so important. If you're eating processed foods all day, that is going to mess with your body's ability to tell you if you're hungry or full.

Mindset Shift #3

• Own how you show up and let go of control over the results. 

This is difficult because people like to have guarantees and a semblance of control. Ultimately, we have very little control of our lives. But what you can control is your reactions to things, how you show up, your mindset, and whether you take ownership or blame other people for your life. 

We have to come to a place where we realize that where we're at now is the result of and the outcome of choices that we've made in the past. That is not to shame or to judge, but it's the only way to move forward if you walk around thinking that you will never create the life you want because it will always depend on something external to you happening. That's really disempowering. So if you can own that where you're at now, and that you played a part in that, then you can also own where you want to go in the future.

It’s also important to realize that while your actions are under control, how fast your body's going to respond is not under your total control. This is often where people get really tripped up. They might feel like they should have lost a certain amount of weight by a certain time. Instead, focus on celebrating what you're doing for yourself. Celebrate that you're getting out for walks, that you're no longer binging every night, that you're fueling your body with nourishment instead of restricting, and then let your body do its thing. It might be a longer process than what you're expecting, but you'll feel so much more empowered when you really own how you show up for yourself. 

Mindset Shift #4

• Take the parts that work and resonate for you and then leave the rest.

If you're in a program, you still need to be the authority in your own life. So if there's something that doesn't resonate for you, just leave it. You don't have to take in a hundred percent of what's being taught in the program. 

If there's something that doesn't resonate with you, you can’t let that offend you to the point where you give up all your power to that. Otherwise you're going to be unsuccessful in everything you do. The harsh reality is you can be triggered by anyone and everything in your life every single day. 

You get to choose what works for you and your life because you are the expert on your life. The program will give you some skills and tools and you get to decide which ones resonate with you. You could take just one tool that is taught and transform your life. Ask yourself which skills you want to apply and what works for you in your life. This way, you will always be growing and moving in the direction of your own values.

Mindset Shift #5

• Be the hero in your own life.

If you learn to align with your own integrity, you will be the hero in your own life and you will create an amazing life for yourself. You'll create the health that you want, and you'll create the success in your career and your relationships that you want. 

You will no longer be depending on another person to heal you or a program to fix you. You're not reliant on external things having to come into alignment for you to have the life that you want. You get to be the hero. A program or a coach can’t really change your life. They don’t go home with you. They simply give you the skills that you apply, own, and get to have for the rest of your life.

"I'm not relying on another human being to be the strong, brave, courageous one who shows up in my life. I'm going to do that."

Key Takeaways:

• Own how you show up and let go of control over the results.
• Stop giving up all of your personal responsibility to something outside of you.
• Take ownership and responsibility for your life and choices.
• Take responsibility for your actions and focus on finding solutions to your problems.
• Take what works for you in coaching programs and leave the rest.
• Be the hero in your own life, taking ownership and creating the life you want.
• Being courageous in your own life inspires others.

If you want a program that teaches you self-efficacy, instead of taking your power away from you, so you can thrive in your life…

I would love for you to join Best Weight, where you can celebrate being the hero in your own life.

Book a FREE call to get started now.