Your Healthy Happily Ever After is about Change, not Transformation
The False Promise of Transformation
What is our obsession with "transforming" our bodies...? Why does a fitness and wellness goal have to be about "transforming" versus making long-term changes to live better? This recently came up when a new client said she wanted a "transformation!" I have added the exclamation to help you imagine lots of enthusiasm and passion. Her goal is to be her high school weight. She is 40 years old, has two beautiful kids, is 5'6" tall and weighs 175 lbs. Her high school weight was 120 lbs. I asked her, "Why do you want a transformation?". She answered, "Because I want to feel better." I asked her "What if you could feel better without the transformation to your high school weight?". She didn't think it was possible. After an hour-long consultation where we dug into all her "WHYs", we discovered her real goal is to feel better regardless of the weight or size. And it's mostly the goal I uncover in all my client consultations.
The aroma is inevitable
The promise and hope of a transformation creates more anxiety and stress about working out and eating well, making it harder to stay the course. It leads to unhealthy habits disguised as healthy such as fitness supplements and extreme diets. This is the reason why I strive to help my clients change their habits, slow and steady. The weight gain didn't happen overnight, even though to many it feels like they woke up one day and boom - they were 50 lbs heavier or 5 sizes up. If the expansion of the body took a while, the contraction will take longer. By the law of physics, most things that expand will contract, but it may not be back to its original form or size. This perspective helps clients focus on how they feel while making the healthier eating and exercise choices versus weighing themselves on the scale or taking measurements. Losing the weight and dropping dress sizes are like the aroma of coffee - it's just always going to be there when you put in the work to make the coffee. I am writing this on an early morning with my coffee so that's the best analogy I have for now. 😁
Let’s talk Dictionary
According to Merriam Webster, the word ‘transform’ has three key meanings:
'to change in composition or structure': this is achievable but think about what it takes for a caterpillar to transform into a butterfly. Who doesn’t love butterflies, right? But if we really think about it, the beginning and end of that transformation process look completely different. When we say we want our bodies to transform, it can be a daunting undertaking so why not make it more realistic and more aligned to what nature has given us in the form of human bodies and not butterflies.
'to change the outward form or appearance of': making exercise a lifestyle is about changing from the inside-out. The outside must reflect how we feel on the inside for that lifestyle to become a long-term commitment versus a short-term fix. If we commit to 'transform', we could get caught in workouts and diets that promise just that -- changing the outward appearance, ignoring the inside and leading to more frustration not results.
'to change in character or condition': no matter how much weight we lose or gain, we want to stay the same person and not dramatically change who we are. By making exercise a lifestyle change, we are changing habits not our character. Without labeling it as a “transformation” helps us embrace and accept who we are. The healing benefits of nutrition, exercise and sweat help us love ourselves more because it's about the inside-out change.
Do you really want to be a Kardashian?
As the new year is approaching and you are making your resolution to be healthier, don’t go scrambling for the latest Diet book that all your friends are buying. Eat a balanced meal that compliments your workout plan. Choose cleaner, healthier snacks such as options from CLEAN.FIT Box that enable healthier eating and nutrition habits and not diets. When it comes to working out, try not to be tempted by the latest Kardashian workout hack made only for the tabloids and social media for instant gratification. Explore and choose a fitness and wellness plan that promises a long-term lifestyle change and not a short-term transformation.
So where and how to start a lasting Change?
I created SWAZ (Sweat At Zero) Fitness and Wellness LLC because the healing benefits of exercise and balanced/intuitive eating have carried me through several life and work episodes to emerge stronger and happier. I want to share the same benefits with anyone that is looking for tools and strategies to move, eat well and just live a sweaty, healthy happily ever after!