Training and Nutrition – Best With a Coach!

I was chatting with a woman yesterday after she hit me up on IG with some questions about her training and nutrition.

She’s doing a lot of things really well.

Eating mostly quality foods. Getting in daily movement. Lifting weights.

Said that her sleep could be better and stress is fairly high but whose isn’t?

Anyway, she was more seeking confirmation that there weren’t any major red flags with her training and nutrition because she doesn’t seem to be making any progress.

I asked her for more specifics and how long she’s felt like she’s been dialed in with not much to show for it.

She said that over the past year she’s been super consistent and before that it was kind of hit or miss. And she’s down about 7 lbs. over the past year which she’s not happy with.

Then, I asked her if she’s ever worked with a coach before …

To which she promptly replied, “no.”

I said, do you mind me asking why not?

She said, because I have this persistent idea in my mind that I should be able to do this on my own.

We chatted a bit more. I gave her my feedback and told her to reach out if she ever decides to pursue the coaching avenue.

And since that conversation, I have not been able to get that damn thought out of my head.

“I have this idea that I should be able to do this on my own.”

Let’s apply that to other situations in life …

I’m really struggling with depression and my mental health is suffering. What? See a therapist?

No, I have this idea that I should be able to do this on my own.

Damn, I tore my ACL and I need surgery on my knee. A surgeon you say??

But I have this idea that I should be able to do this on my own.

My kid is really struggling with their speech and it’s just not getting any better.

Why would I send them to a speech therapist? I have this idea that they should be able to do this on their own.

If I asked the average person, what’s the ONE thing that if you don’t have, you have nothing …

And I’m guessing the answer of health will be among the most common. Physical health, mental health, emotional health.

So why is it that the most important thing to many of us is the thing we’re convinced we need to figure out on our own?

Fear? Pride? Stubbornness?

I had two people message me yesterday acknowledging their fear of investing in a coach because of past experiences.

They’ve paid for programs or coaches that didn’t solve their problems and now they feel paralyzed with investing again because what if they’re out even more money without a solution?

There are several things to address with this line of thinking …

1. Are you ok with keeping your current problems? If so, then definitely don’t invest. If your current problems aren’t painful enough then you certainly won’t feel the need to solve them.

2. Why do you view this as a one and done thing? I’m sure you had bad teachers throughout your time in school. Did one bad teacher make you stop paying to go to school? No, because you wanted something (more knowledge) so you kept showing up to acquire it.

You want better health? Improved body composition? A healthy relationship with food? Then you’ll keep working with people who can help you achieve those things.

3. It wasn’t wasted money. I spent 10 years of my life on the yo-yo dieters hamster wheel. I invested thousands and thousands of dollars into programs that basically drove me into disordered eating and body dysmorphia. I don’t regret a single penny I spent because they gave me a wealth of understanding in what works and what doesn’t work for me. I didn’t lose money. I paid for valuable lessons.

4. What happens if you don’t? Imagine if I gave up after 10 years and decided that I would no longer invest in solving my problems. I’d be sitting here today with over 20 years of struggle and frustration instead of 10. The time is going to pass anyway. The pivotal moment for me was finding and investing in a coach who changed my life. And then I decided that my health was a non negotiable investment for myself each and every year.

5. Doing it on your own happens after you learn how to do it on your own. The other day Coach Liz got a text from a former client (I’ll share the pic below). She worked with Liz for about 10 months and made incredible progress. Well, it’s been about a year since she graduated and has been making even more progress on her own.

That’s how this works in every area of life.

I’ll never understand the concept of feeling like you should be able to figure it out on your own.

My real interpretation is … if I do it on my own, then I always have a built-in reason (aka excuse) as to why I’m not where I want to be. And then I’m in control (perceived control).

Once I give up that perceived control and actually get the help I need … then shit gets real. I no longer have my built-in excuse and it’s just me … naked, vulnerable, and exposed.

Correct. And that’s what it takes to create change.

The real response you should give is … I’m not ready to truly change.

Which is always acceptable and at least you’re being honest with yourself.

Hope this makes sense.

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