Did you know that diets were actually built to fail?
Like intentionally.
It all started with the objective of weight loss and there were many different theories out there. There’s even evidence of low carb diets from hundreds of years ago.
But then something happened …
Companies started to find that when their customers failed, they actually remained a customer for a longer period of time.
And poof … the diet industry became a multi-billion dollar business that is based on the premise of maximizing the lifetime value of a customer by creating a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
The irony of it all is that it’s not even a hidden agenda. Even WW has openly stated that their customers typically can’t make it on their own so they often come back to WW, which is why they have a thriving business.
Diet failure = repeat customer. What a shitty model.
It actually goes even deeper than that. As we’ve accumulated more research and data on the psychology of behavior change, we see that these diet programs actually operate in direct opposition to what works long term.
Most notably, the restriction game. You know, the game where your diet program tells you all the things you CAN’T do. No carbs, no sugar, no fruit, no fat, no alcohol, no social life, no foods that you can’t track, no cheating, no overeating, no fun.
You may be thinking … but some of those things aren’t good for me! I should restrict them.
Keep in mind, there’s a stark difference between CHOOSING not to eat something and feeling like you CAN’T.
Turns out, autonomy is kind of important to humans. Who woulda thunk it?! (Aside from every single psychologist).
There’s a large body of evidence to suggest that successful dieters give themselves unconditional permission to eat. Anything at anytime. That doesn’t mean they eat anything and everything at all times. It means they have total food freedom and autonomy.
They make choices because of how it makes them feel. Studies will show direct quotes like “it’s just part of my life” or “it’s just what I do because I feel better when I do it.”
Usually, that’s in reference to healthy habits like walking, drinking water, and exercise. And yes, eating well.
They also report that “no foods are off limits.”
Which is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of the diet industry and fad diets. Which, remember, the goal is for short term success and long term failure to maximize the value of a customer.
Diets fail because they don’t set people up for long term success.
The challenge is that we’ve been inundated with messaging that repeats in our subconscious mind. We’ve heard it over and over again whether we realize it or not.
That we’re not good enough, small enough, thin enough, lean enough …
And, the solution is to eat less, exercise more, starve more, restrict more, eat less of this, eat less of that …
The internal dialogue must be reprogrammed. The good news is, it doesn’t take as long as you might think. Even though it’s taken you years to get here … it won’t take as long to find the right path for yourself.
What we’ve found is that 6 months of the right kind of work and you’ll be well on your way. Note: I didn’t say you’ll be exactly where you want to be. But, you’ll have everything you need to get there and you’ll actually enjoy it!
This is the exact reason why we begin with unconditional permission for our 1:1 clients. Which can feel scary at first … so we do put some parameters in place, initially. Gotta crawl before you walk.
But, it often alleviates any food anxiety because we can tell you exactly how much freedom and flexibility to utilize while still moving towards your goals. It’s nice to build in the indulgences, fun foods, alcohol, social life, etc. so you never feel guilty or anxious around food.
We teach you how to achieve food freedom.
That’s the first step in moving towards true food freedom. Then, we make sure that you are staying consistent with your weekly calorie and protein goals to achieve the body composition you desire.
The difference in carbs/fats will depend on you … your training, lifestyle, preferences, and personality. Your personality actually gives us insight into the types of food that will make you feel your best.
That way, you become one of those successful dieters like I mentioned above that says things like “I just do it because of how much better I feel.”
The method we use can change depending on the person. For some, the structure of macros gives them peace of mind, but for others, macros can cause stress. So we can utilize a macro-based approach, a plate-building or eyeballing approach, or a combination of both.
Eventually, we like to move towards having the skill of true intuitive eating because our philosophy is all about long term sustainability.
We also make sure to fuel your metabolism properly and monitor all of the stressors in your life to ensure that your body responds exactly how we want it to. Sometimes, this means eating more and taking things in phases. For example, a phase of building your metabolism, followed by a phase of actively losing body fat.
This approach supports internal health and allows for the most effortless level of consistency. No more feeling like you’re banging your head against the wall.
Typically, our 1:1 clients lose between 20-30 lbs. in the 6-month time frame but even more valuable is the peace of mind and food freedom, along with acquiring the skills they need to be successful forever.
If that’s you and you want to see if our program is the right fit, simply click the button below to PM me on Facebook and we’ll discuss your goals to see if we can help!
Much love,
Coach Mike
