episode 161: how long do you need to work with a coach for?
Hello friends.
Today I’m talking about Eat with Ease, my 6 month semi private group coaching program that starts February 12.
Yes I’m talking all about what we’ll cover and what you’ll get.
But more importantly I’m talking about why I created this. How it will change your life. Why it’s 6 months.
There’s a lot of good stuff packed into this episode around how change happens, why you are where you are and what your options are.
Here’s some of what I cover:
The battle between instant gratification and delayed gratification
The biggest reasons why you don’t stick with diets and workout plans
What coaching actually is and why it’s a game changer for behavior change
How Eat with Ease will help you lose weight without counting calories
The four big areas of focus we will work on together
How this can transform your body confidence
If you’re ready to lose fat, stop feeling guilty about what you ate last night and feel really GOOD in your body in 2024, get your name on the early interest list for a discount and first access to sign up.
And if you’re looking for more resources around how to lose weight without counting calories, check out episodes 145 and 160 of The Diet Diaries.
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[00:00:00] Good morning, friends. I'm saying good morning because that's when I'm recording this. I don't know when you're listening to it, but it is Monday morning, January 8th. If you are curious about when I'm recording this, I'm squeezing this one in early today. I usually do them on Monday afternoons, but I have a lengthy, very involved dentist appointment coming up, and I'm not so sure I'm going to be able to speak extensively afterwards.
[00:00:24] My mouth is going to be pretty numb. So I'm getting this done early. This episode, you're going to be listening to this on or after Monday, January 15th. And here's what I wanted to talk about today. I wanted to talk about eat with ease. And, um, I really want to give you some details so that you can understand what is possible for you.
[00:00:45] Um, I think that so many of us, and I blumped myself into this group for a very long time, think that we are just kind of like trapped where we are. That the only way out is diet because it's worked in the past. The only way out is we know we have to work out five days a week. The only way out is we think that like we have to cut out sugar or not eat carbs.
[00:01:05] Because we've done those things and they worked at some point. Whether it was a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago, or longer. And it might have sucked, we might have hated it, but it worked, we lost weight. But inevitably we gained it back, right? Because that's why we're here. That's why you're listening to this.
[00:01:19] One of the reasons maybe. And so really what I wanted to talk about is that This is kind of a very cliche thing, but it's like, if you want a different outcome, you have to take a different action. And it seems so obvious and logical when we hear ourselves say that, when you hear me say it, but then when actually, like when push comes to shove and we actually have to take an action, we're so afraid.
[00:01:40] We want to lean in and stay with what's comfortable and what's familiar and what we've done before because there's safety in that. And I get that. That is a totally normal nervous system response. But here's the thing. This is kind of like a little bit meta because In order to get the outcome that you want, you're going to have to get uncomfortable during the process.
[00:02:00] And part of that discomfort might be just choosing to do something in a very different way than you've done it before. Because once you make that choice, and you commit to doing something differently, you will actually find that the work that you'll do When, like, in, in our group is actually going to be enjoyable.
[00:02:21] Is it going to be hard? Yes, parts of it are going to be hard, but it's not going to be restrictive. It's not going to suck. You're not going to dread it. You're going to feel empowered and you're going to feel capable and you're going to prove to yourself what you are capable of. And so it's like the upfront decision to do it differently feels hard because you're letting go of something you've done before that's familiar.
[00:02:40] But once you're in it and you have me and you have our small group for the support. It's gonna feel awesome, and you're gonna start to get results, and you're gonna be like, yes, this is working, and you're gonna be able to keep going because you have the group, and because you're doing something that's sustainable, that doesn't suck, that's not making you miserable.
[00:02:59] So, Part of the reason that I created this is I've, I do work one to one with clients and I love it, and I have led a six week, several six week group coaching, um, courses, both nutrition focused and when I exclusively taught movement years ago, I did a couple, um, When I taught movement. I have been a client slash student in group coaching programs.
[00:03:26] I have been a client on With one to one coaching I am right now. I have a business coach right now So I have taught a lot coached a lot and also been on the receiving end as the student clients coachee so to speak Which is awesome because I have learned a lot and I think that One to one is phenomenal.
[00:03:50] And I think that because it's, it's personalized, it meets you where you are at, everything is customized to you. The reality is not everyone can afford it. Not because it's like so outrageous, but look, I mean, we all have different price points of things that we can fit into our lives. And I want to be able to provide services for people at all different places.
[00:04:10] And so. It's not like, can't be all or nothing, right? You either do one to one or you get nothing. Like that's not, that's like totally against like the ethos of how I operate in the world and the values that I teach. So that's, that's a kind of a small part of it. Another part of it is that we have so much shame around food and our bodies and the only way to get past that shame is to be able to connect with other people who have experienced those same feelings.
[00:04:41] And a small, intimate, safe group is such an amazing way to do that. Um, I think it's much more, um, comforting and realistic to be able to do that in a small group than in kind of a giant group, especially because we're going to be meeting online. Um, and It's just, there's the, what I'm hoping for this group is that we like really bond and get connected, and that's why I'm keeping it small.
[00:05:08] That is why we are going to meet. We're gonna meet every week for the first three to four weeks, and then we're gonna switch to every other week. So we really have time to kind of establish that. And then in between our meetings, we're gonna have a WhatsApp group text, um, so we can stay connected, right?
[00:05:23] So you always have support. There's always gonna be someone there to to know that you're not alone. Um, and that's going to be just as much of the people in the group as it is going to be me. Um, this is. It is group coaching in a very small group format. Um, and so I think part of it kind of going back to what I was saying kind of in the upfront is we want these instant results, we want this instant gratification, we kind of crave that and our culture now just reinforces that at every turn, everywhere we go.
[00:05:55] And part of it is being willing, right, this is the getting uncomfortable part. to let go of that. And having this small group there to support you and to be able to send a quick text in our, in our group chat and being like, Oh my God, I'm really struggling today. And just having a place to vent that, knowing that someone will see it and, you know, be able to respond within, you know, 24 hours, 48 hours, whatever it is.
[00:06:16] Like they're not just going like weeks on end, trying to figuring something out. Um, or two weeks between our meetings, like. You're going to have that support there to help you navigate all of this in like, you know, in somewhat real time. Um, and so what are we going to cover? We're going to cover everything that I kind of talk about here.
[00:06:32] We're going to cover fat loss. We're going to work on your relationship to food and cultivating that ease around food. So that includes the nutritional, kind of like the nutritional foundations. Um, that includes all of the skills that, that go with that. Meaning, um, learning about macros, learning about portions, meal prep, meal planning, um, the mindset that we have around food with good and bad.
[00:06:54] How do we overcome that? How do we figure out what food does what job? Um, how do we slow down? How do we deal with cravings and snacking and stress eating? How do we kind of start to prioritize eating instead of making it an afterthought, right? So there's going to be a lot of work, obviously, around food.
[00:07:13] And so If you, if you are someone who wants to work on fat loss, and if you're someone who is not interested in working on fat loss, that's okay. We can be in the group together. Because the skills, the reason why, is because the skills that help you feel at ease around food are also the same skills that can help you work on fat loss, right?
[00:07:32] They're not mutually exclusive. It's not one or the other. So if you want to work on fat loss, you're gonna be working on the skills first. And if you don't want to work on fat loss and you're just working on your relationship with food or stress eating or cravings, you're going to be working on those skills.
[00:07:47] There are going to be some tweaks that we would make personally, mostly around portion sizes if you're working on fat loss or not, but the skills are the same. You're still going to be thinking about nutrition in the same way, whether you're working on fat loss or not, which is really fucking cool, um, because that means that the skills that you learn are with you for life, right?
[00:08:06] Working on fat loss needs to be a really, really small part of your life. Like you do it. for a period of time, longer than you're used to, longer than six weeks or eight weeks, right? It could be many months kind of going in and out of fat loss, and we're going to talk about that. But then once you've done, once you've kind of lost the weight and you're feeling really good in your body, and this isn't about goal weight, this is about best weight, right?
[00:08:30] So you're getting to a point where, um, You are able to feel at ease around food and in your body without making any mental or emotional sacrifices, right? Where you're not giving up foods, where you're not stressing about food and all that. Once you get there, you're still gonna be using the same skills, right?
[00:08:47] Because it's not like our problems are just like solved and we check the box and everything is like all sunshine and roses. These skills stay with you for life. You will need them for life, especially if you're coming from a really long time background of yo yo dieting, disordered eating, disordered relationship with food and your body and all of that.
[00:09:07] So, We're going to obviously do a lot of work on skills around kind of the food, the what, why, and how to eat, right? Another big area we're going to work on are just behavior change skills. So you can actually do the things you know you want and need to do, and they'll stick with you, right? We're going to work on values.
[00:09:25] We're going to work on how to cultivate more awareness, attention, and use that to take action. We're going to work on identifying triggers. We're going to work on so many skills. I'm not going to read through them all that are going to, um, pertain to food, to body image. and to exercise, right? So we're going to be working on all three of those buckets and the behavior change stuff will apply to all of that.
[00:09:46] We're going to be working on body image, um, so that you can really start to shift the way you perceive your body and how you feel in your skin. And there's a lot of skills we're going to work on with that. And then we're going to talk about exercise and working out, um, and help you cultivate a plan for that.
[00:10:00] So you can build strength and just really optimize your overall health and well being, um, through movement. And the way we're going to do that is because we're going to be a super small group, we'll be able to kind of customize each month what we're working on. And so, um, kind of the overarching theme or focus of each month will meet the group where they are at, right?
[00:10:22] I'm not going to have a preset agenda of month one is this, month two is that, because that's too prescribed, right? I want to see where everyone is coming in at. Everyone who comes in is going to take, um, kind of like a, an intake survey. And then. We're going to use that to say, okay, this is what we're going to kind of work on and work on in month one to meet you where you are at.
[00:10:42] And then it will evolve from there, right? So that's where you kind of get like the one to one piece coming in is it's really customized to where everyone in the group is coming in. Um, and then we have kind of a, a set of skills, a structure of what we know we need to cover and learn over our time together.
[00:10:59] So that's kind of a bit of an overview about what's, what we're going to cover. And, um. You know, why did I make it six months? I talked about this a little bit. Because you need time. Change, the change you want happens with time, right? That is the only It's, it's, it's just the only way. It's time plus skills equals the change you want.
[00:11:22] Like that's a little equation. I talked about that on social media a couple weeks ago. Time plus skills equals the change you want. If you do take time and you don't have the skills, you're not gonna get it. If you have the skills but you don't give them enough time, you're not gonna get it. You need both pieces of that equation.
[00:11:37] And I've taught six week group coaching programs. I've been in six week group coaching programs. And are there things you can learn in six weeks? Absolutely. Are you going to learn stuff in six weeks with us? Absolutely. Is it enough time to get long term changes or results? No effing way. It's just not.
[00:11:53] And so what happens often in those six weeks program, programs is you, a lot gets thrown at you. It's kind of like drinking from a fire hose because it's trying, like you've got to learn all the skills in six weeks. And then you have to go off and practice them on your own. And that's where it gets.
[00:12:05] tricky, right? Because you don't have structure, you don't really have guidance, there's no support system, and it's very easy to default back to our regular habits and our regular ways of kind of thinking and doing things because that's what's ingrained in us. Takes a lot more than six weeks to kind of rewire.
[00:12:22] The way we think about food, the way we think about our bodies, um, I mean, honestly, some of these, some of this is work that you will do for life. But what will happen is it will get a lot easier over time. It will take less effort. The volume will go down on kind of the struggles and those resistant negative thoughts that come up, and it will sort of become the new normal.
[00:12:42] That is what will happen. Especially around the behavior change piece, the body image piece. That's kind of how, like, that's like sort of the, um, the cognitive shifts, meaning like changes in your thinking. So, I think this is a lot of what I wanted to cover. I'm kind of looking at my notes. Um, and I really like, there's not, I've never seen anything else like this out there, right?
[00:13:06] There's a lot of group coaching programs that are bigger groups. There's obviously lots of one to one and I offer that. There's nothing that's really a long term small intimate group offering. Um, so I kind of saw that as like a gap and that's something I think people really need. I had asked you guys about this way back in the summer in August and a lot of you responded to that survey expressing interest like this could be really cool.
[00:13:29] Um, I think looking back on my journey, I hate that word, but sometimes it's the best one. I would have loved something like this. I would have loved it. Um, and so I want to offer that to you. Um, So we start February 12th. And I'm going to open up the registration, right, I'm thinking February 1st to the folks on the early interest list.
[00:13:52] And if you're on that list, I'm already emailing with the folks on that list, they've already, by the time you listen to this, they'll already have heard from me twice. Kind of with some more details and information, and I'm asking some questions and getting feedback, like we were talking about when do we want meetings to be like, what would be your preference?
[00:14:05] So on that list, you're kind of getting the chance to give some input. Um, and really get even more information about what this is going to be like, start practicing a couple skills in advance, and also 50 off the monthly rate. Um, this group is going to be super small. So I haven't totally finalized the number yet, but somewhere in like the 3 to 5, 3 to maximum, like 6 range.
[00:14:31] Um, if more people than that are interested, I will create two groups. Like, I am firm. Like, this is small. I'm not just going to add people because people want to join. There will be two separate groups. And we will figure out the scheduling. So, I'm not going to say, like, I'm not going to give you, like, that false urgency.
[00:14:46] Like, oh, like, get your spot or they're going to go away. Because, like, I don't know. I just think that's, like, bullshit and not fair. Like, if you want support, I'm going to, like, we're going to find a way to make it work for you. I think that's just, like. I don't know. I don't like that way of doing business.
[00:14:58] Um, but the groups are still going to stay small. So potentially if I got six or seven people, we might split that into a group of three and a group of four. We'll see what happens. Um, but. Yeah, I think that's everything I wanted to share. I'm just, I'm really excited about this. I have been thinking about this for probably close to a year.
[00:15:17] Um, and, you know, for lots of different reasons, just took time for me to get it going. So we're going to start February 12th. That means we will run through the middle of August. Um, like I said, we're going to meet every other week. And I do actually want to let you know, the meetings are not going to be recorded.
[00:15:34] And here is why. We're meeting for six months. So if you are sick or you have a conflict or you have a vacation and you miss a couple of meetings over six months, like it's not a huge deal. It's not like you miss one out of six weeks and it's a huge percentage. I want you to be able to have the flexibility to live your life.
[00:15:52] I also think that most of us do not watch recordings, and even if we do, it is just not the same experience as being on the call and being engaged and it being dynamic and having a conversation and sharing and listening. You're going to be listening to it after the fact, while you're probably in the car or cooking dinner.
[00:16:12] or have a show on in the background, or helping your kid with your whatever it is, like it's not going to be your focus and you're just not going to get as much out of it. And so I'd rather you just like miss the session and like we're going to be in touch on WhatsApp anyway. Now, if you're missing like a lot of sessions, that's a problem.
[00:16:27] I'm talking about you're missing like, you know, a couple few here and there over the course of six months, it's going to happen. Um, I also don't want it to be something where it's like then watching the replay is like another thing you have to do to add to your list, like that just becomes stressful, and I just don't think, then it becomes like a lecture, like you could just then go watch like a YouTube video, and that's not what this is, this is dynamic, this is collaborative, this is interactive, this is personal, this is intimate, and that is not what watching a replay is, um, so that's why I'm doing that, right?
[00:16:59] It's not because I expect you that like, You know, that you're never going to miss a call, like life is going to happen. I know that it's going to happen. But I also hope that it helps you prioritize this, right? That you commit to this and you commit to these meetings twice a month, which feels like a lot, but also isn't a lot, and you really show up for yourself and you show yourself that you are capable of prioritizing this and making that time and doing this to take care of yourself and improve your well being and improve your health.
[00:17:30] And just, yeah, I, I really, like, that's so much of what this is about. So I did want to just kind of share that so that you know, like, full transparency. Um, and That's really it. Um Thanks for listening. Thanks for being here. If you're on the early interest list I'm gonna be talking about pricing in there So we can kind of like talk through that that way if you need like I am open if you need a different payment It's gonna you're gonna pay per month.
[00:17:57] There's not gonna be even an option to pay up front. You're gonna pay per month but if you needed a payment plan to stretch like the six monthly payments out over longer We can talk about that. Like, I want to be flexible. That's why we're gonna kind of talk about that in, like, on email. So, again, if you're curious, if this is sounding interesting to you, if you want to know more, get your name on that, on that list.
[00:18:18] We can email, we can talk through things. Um, there's a link in the show notes. I'm talking about it on social media. There's a link through Instagram, all the places. Um, it's on my website. So, That's everything. Um, hope you have a great day whenever you're listening to this. Thank you for listening. Thank you for being here.
[00:18:36] And, um, I'll be back next week.