I get all the feels from clients who meet or exceed their goals. Most of us think about our goals like this:
“I hope I can lose 15 pounds.”
“I wish I could get to sleep earlier.”
“I really want to get my stomach issues under control.”
Really? Do you?
Here is my question to you:
Do you really want to meet your goals or are you committed to reaching your goals?
Wanting ain’t getting, dear ones. Wanting is passive and depressing and defeating.
Doing is proactive and empowering. Are you ready to do?
I want to introduce you to an incredible woman who turned much of her life around in three months. I know that we are all in a hurry. I strive to get results with my clients in a short amount of time, but I impress upon them the need to have a realistic time frame: it took you (x) amount of years to get into this mess. Give yourself time to get out of it.
Meet Megan.
Megan is a mother, wife, and employee. Her husband owns a business and she works nearly full-time for the family company. Her children are small, her time is limited, and her life is stressful.
As Megan and I had our consultation call, she expressed her burning desire to lose 10 pounds (she is petite), to get rid of her cellulite, and to gain more energy.
Like, she was real insistent about that cellulite.
I explained to her that cellulite is simply inflammation. Toxins are stored in fat tissue. Lose the fat, lose the toxins, lose the cellulite. Cellulite is also a breakdown of collagen in the body. Collagen breaks down when you don’t consume enough of it, or when you consume inflammatory seed oils like sunflower, corn, soy, and safflower oil.
Get rid of that junk and see your cellulite diminish.
Megan was all in once she heard that our program could reduce her cellulite.
A week later, we started her program with my normal 2 hour Discovery Call. We go over a complete Medical History- I ask clarifying questions. I look at diet, sleep, poop, and mood data, and I glean as much information as I can about lifestyle as I possibly can in two hours, and then Megan left with a semi-personalized holistic health care plan.
Here are some notes from our first meeting:
Low energy: 3.5/10
Layer of fat over tummy and legs and arms. Feels like there is a layer of cellulite over most of body.
Wants to lose 10 pounds.
Tired of working out 5x/ week and seeing no results.
Did Isagenix and gained weight back.
Short temper; frustrated, angry.
Feels like she drinks too much alcohol.
Small child who will not go to sleep. Bedtime is incredibly stressful. Megan cannot get to sleep after fighting over bedtime with child.
Heavy PMS.
She feels not herself- “ I know this is not me”.
Whew. There is a lot to unpack there. But we start with actionable, small steps. We began to focus on our five Pillars of Health: diet, rest, exercise, stress relief, and supplementation.
Here were some of my recommendations:
Diet: nourishing, whole-foods diet with plenty of calories, fat, and protein. Eating three meals a day. No snacking. No coffee or alcohol.
Exercise: get it in when you can, but do not stress about it. When your body is ready to move, it will tell you.
Rest: Work on managing child’s bedtime through use of vitamins, magnesium, and routine. For Megan herself- rest when you are tired. Listen to your body.
Stress Relief: less stress on perfect workouts and diet. More focus on fixing bedtime routines. Take control of that situation.
Supplementation: We started Megan on my PMS protocol and supported her digestion and hormones with other nutrients.
Megan agreed to these changes and we decided we would meet again in four weeks.
At our Month Two Appointment, we took an hour to discuss the new actions Megan was taking and the results she was getting.
She told met that she had stuck to her 28 day program, more of less. When she wandered off path, she paid for it. After just two drinks, she felt like “my stomach was ripping apart”.
During the first month, she and her family went camping. Did she stick with the program? Hell yes she did! Even though she was ridiculed for eating healthy food on a camping-typical food free-for-all, she decided her goals were worth the commitment and she stuck to it.
Her rest had improved and her sleep was getting very refreshing.
When I asked her about her energy levels, she told me they were about “an 8-10”.
I'll take that!
She was working on bedtime with her child- establishing routines and using vitamins. It was working.
We had moved her exercise to just some gentle rebounding, and she expressed her pleasure with rebounding and the way it made her feel.
As her energy returned, she found herself handling a myriad of stressful issues with more patience and grace. She began to put herself first, which meant that some small things were put off or let go, but her relationship with her husband was improving because she was feeling better.
I asked her about her period, my favorite barometer for women’s monthly health.
“It was insanely amazing”, she told me. “It started and I didn’t realize that I was getting it. Zero cramps, anger, frustration. It lasted a little longer but I am feeling better about this period.”
Cool.
We ended our call and agreed to talk one month later for our final session.
When I called her 30 days later, she was full of energy.
She told me that her husband was cooking a lot, and that he was feeling pretty good too. She also said, “I eat a good amount at breakfast and lunch. I feel super full. I eat less food! It feels good. I don’t need to snack. I don’t have to overdo it at dinner. I do not feel hungry at bedtime.”
Yeah, girl!
She continued, “This week I feel very content and happy. I can handle everything I have got going. I feel good. I am at a 7 or 8 for energy.”
I love this. A mere two months ago, this dear woman felt like she was about to lose her mind. We have all been there, right? She reached out for help and she committed to her process, and look at the change she has brought about in only 60 days. It’s impressive, right?
I asked her if I could share her story and she said, “sure!”. So I asked her if she had three tips to pass along to women who feel like they are in that cycle of frustration that she used to be in.
She told me the following:
1) For the first 30 days, I made a strong commitment. Having accountability made me not want to embarrass myself.
2) I was miserable. I was so miserable. I saw how your program worked for one of my friends and I knew it would work for me.
3) I told everyone around me, though very slowly. Telling the ones you love about your goals helps you stick to them.
I could not be more proud of Megan. She decided she would do something, and she did it. She did not blame hormones, circumstances, relationships, or lack of energy on the fact that she could not meet her goals. She did not wish, or hope. She just did. She committed. She is a badass, and those results are visible on her body and in her voice.
This is real work. Real hard work. It was not easy, and it will not be a piece of cake to maintain. But Megan decided that the fleeting pleasures of overdoing food and drink were not worth it anymore. She found a framework for success and she implemented it.
If you are ready to do, and not to wish, contact me. Let’s get you those results too. I know you can do it.
Committed to your health,
Jennifer