5 Things I’ve Learned as a Wellness & Nutrition Coach

Entering the field of nutrition, I believed our health and wellness to be about food. Some aspects of the mind, yes – but mostly about the food.

Well into the field of nutrition and wellness, a few hundred clients and years later, I see it’s  about the mind. Some aspects of food, of course – but mostly about the mind.

As a nutrition and wellness coach, here are the 5 biggest things I’ve learned so far.

 

 

1. Inner change before outer change

Our thoughts are our inner programming. We can take steps in the right direction, but without changing our inner programming, anytime we move forward, there will be that nagging sense of something holding us back.  It’s like an iPhone 46 trying to download an app for the iPhone 7. It’s not going to happen until we update our internal software.

Our thoughts affect our feelings, feelings affect our behavior, and our behavior affects our results or what we decide to do or not do. Inner change is important for lasting outer change.

Take action: Start by simply observing your thoughts. Don’t judge, just observe. As negative, self-doubting thoughts come up, reframe them from a place of empowerment; question whether your limiting-beliefs are true; and shift negative self-talk to positive promoting talk. This is a daily action, but overtime it gets easier, allowing you to move forward in making decisions that reflect the life you want to live.

 

 

2. Self-love for body love

The most underrated, undiscussed topic in wellness? Accepting (and loving) YOU and your body exactly as you are right now. Coming at yourself from the frantic approach of needing to change your body and hating your body (and yourself), will only lend to frantic approaches to your wellness practice that neither last nor serve you – not to mention horrible nasty unkind thoughts in your head, which you don’t deserve and only block you from moving forward.

However, approaching yourself with kindness and releasing all expectations of weight and your body size and instead, focusing on respect for your body and things that you actually have control over (your physiological and skeletal frame you don’t have much say over!), like creating a movement practice that feels really good to you, choosing foods that make you feel good, and allowing yourself to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full and not beat yourself up, if you eat more than you think you “should have.” THIS – these simple yet super important self-compassionate ways of living, moving and thinking – is where you begin to feel vibrant and happy and where real change manifests.

Take action: Below are actions clients have had success with. Keep in mind–these are just ideas! You need to do what feels right for you, if anything.

1) Body love journals : Just like a gratitude journal, but instead of gratitude, you write 1-3 reasons daily why you love you and/or your body.

2) Finding strength in movement: When you see what your body can do, it’s an instant source of empowerment, not to mention endorphins. Finding something you enjoy is key.

3) Getting support: Whether working with a coach, finding other women like you, or joining an online community, sharing your feelings, realizing you’re not alone, and then working through your thoughts can be extremely helpful.

4) Mantra mentioning: Finding a mantra that feels right to you (or a few) and mentioning them throughout your day calls in the Law of Attraction, allowing like to attract like. You can download a bunch here.

5) Purposeful pampering: Wear clothes that flatter you and make you feel good, throw out the ones that don’t! Get a new hairstyle, buy yourself flowers, light your office with a lovely smelling candle, enjoy a bath with fancy bath salts. Making time for yourself is an act of self-love and compassion that’ll seep into all other areas of your life. These little things (… really the big things) make you feel good and when you feel good, you make other decisions that make you feel good too and support you on your wellness journey.

 

 

3. Weight loss alone won’t make you happy

Yes, you read it right. Weight loss alone won’t make you happy. Without changing your mind, you’ll still be the exact same person as you were before, only smaller. It may be hard to imagine how you can’t not be happier once the weight is gone, but trust me – I’ve met plenty of miserable thin people. Heck – I used to be one…

It’s not about the weight. It’s about changing the way you think about yourself and doing things that make you feel good in your skin. Would you rather be thin and miserable, feeling like you’re stuck in a diet box OR would you rather be happy and taking care of yourself – emotionally, physically, spiritually, and nutritionally?

Take action: Think about it—if you were your ideal weight, what would you do now?? Think about that one more time—what would you do now if you were at your goal weight? …  My advice to you???…  Go do that. When we hold ourselves back from feeling how we want to feel or doing what we really want to do, we’re blocking ourselves from moving forward. Unblock yourself, pretend you’re there, and start living and stop waiting on the weight. Because that’s the thing that’s really holding you back.

 

 

4. Dieting isn’t normal

Not only are they not normal–they don’t work.  You have to live your life and thinking you’re not going to eat something forever, sets  you  up for a diet… and we all know those don’t work – or else there wouldn’t be a new one every other week. Plus, we always want what we can’t have. It’s less about the food here and more about changing your thoughts on how to make this work for the long term. Side note: there’s no food you can’t have.

Take action: Honor your hunger and fullness. Tune-in to your hunger cues. When you’re hungry, feed your body. When you’re satisfied, honor that. To help you know when you’re satisfied, pause in the middle of a meal and ask yourself how the food tastes, are you still hungry, or are you comfortably full? You’ll be surprised at what happens when you really start to focus on enjoying your food rather than stressing about the calories, grams of carbs, and protein content of what you’re eating. When you eat intuitively, choose real whole foods,  and fuel your body regularly throughout the day – your body regulates itself. Honor that. Honor your hunger and fullness.

 

 

5. At the end of the day, it’s about how you feel

I say this again because it’s true… How many thin people do you know who are still unhappy or have problems or insecurities? I’d bet ALL of them because they’re humans and humans are complex with lots of feelings and layers. Also because, it’s not about the weight. It’s about how you FEEL. It’s about loving you, accepting you, and choosing actions that serve you. You, my sweet friend, have the power to do all that and more. It’s possible for you. I feel it. I know it. I want you to find hope in the knowing it too.

Take action: Get clear. Ask yourself, “Why is how I feel important to me? How do I want to feel? In moving forward to achieve this, what next steps will I take – if any? How can I better serve me?”

With love,
Corinne