How This 60-Year Old Executive Beat Stress and Broke Through Yoyo-ing Weight Loss
The Quick Cut:
When life gets stressful it's tempting to put our health goals aside.
Doing this can cause your weight to yo-yo, which is an unhealthy pattern.
Work and life stress was causing my client Hanna to go up and down in weight, like she had for most of her life.
We discovered that the underlying cause was a struggle with 'perfectionism'.
By learning how to take 'imperfect actions', she's learning how to fit in efficient eating and exercise, even when life gets crazy and stress is high.
This is allowing her to break the cycle of yoyo-ing weight and to never have her weight loss goals be derailed by stress again.
The Long Slice:
Has your weight ever gone down, then back up?
Was it because of a stressful period that caused you to fall ‘off track’ with your health?
When things get crazy, do you ever feel like you have to choose between your career/family, and having the health/body you desire?
If you nodded your head ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then read on because I’ve got a powerful, real-world example that will show you how you can reach - and STAY AT - your desired weight, no matter how crazy life gets.
¡How Stress and Overwhelm Can Cause Your Weight to Yo-Yo
My client Hanna, who is a senior executive in HR, was struggling with stress and overwhelm.
The pressures of a new job, traveling home each week to see a sick parent, and studying for her Master’s Degree were all just getting to be 'too much'.
Like with many people, when things got to be too much for Hanna, she would deal with stress by putting off her health goals (i.e. to lose 30LB).
Emotional eating would kick in, clean eating would stop, and workouts would go out the window.
These episodes were causing her weight to 'yo-yo' up and down. (see her weight loss graph above)
With the busy life that she leads, she was destined to repeat this unhealthy pattern for the rest of her life.
Over time, it’s very likely that, due to age-related changes in hormones and metabolism, this would only get worse and create a future of gaining more weight, the emergence of health problems, and further limitations on the activities she could do.
But I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
The Need to Be 'Perfect' Was Keeping Hanna Stuck
I help my clients create new futures where struggles with weight are non-existent.
And I do this primarily by helping them overcome the limiting beliefs or flaws in their mindset that are keeping their weight stuck.
As soon as I saw the yoyo-ing pattern that was happening for Hanna, I got on several coaching calls with her to investigate how her thinking was causing this reactionary situation to take place.
By being vulnerable and open with me, Hanna helped me uncover that ‘perfectionism’ was at the root of her struggle.
My friend, Petra Kolber, author of The Perfection Detox, mentioned this quote on one of her podcasts: ‘Perfectionism is fear dressed up in nice shoes.’
Yup. Seeking to be perfect is driven by our fears.
Many of us are taught from a young age that if we’re anything less than perfect, we’re not good enough.
So, we become conditioned to want to be seen as perfect, so we can feel like we’re good enough in the eyes of those around us and get all the benefits that come with it (praise, love, etc.).
Over time, we begin to see ourselves, others, and situations through the lens of perfect vs. imperfect.
When we have a subconscious need to be perfect, it leaves little room for us to do anything that doesn’t reflect perfection.
And this can lead to taking NO ACTION at all.
So, we stay stuck, waiting for the 'perfect time' to lose weight (or change jobs, or find a significant other, etc.).
The untrained mind will reason, 'If I can't get a perfect 60-minute workout in, why bother at all?'
(Sound familiar?)
Beating Perfectionism With 'Imperfect Actions'
To help her overcome the perfectionism that was holding her back from taking action towards her weight loss goals when times got stressful, I taught Hanna about the concept of taking ‘imperfect actions.’
When you become aware of your need to be perfect and allow yourself to be less than perfect, you’ve created the space and self-acceptance to simply start getting tasks done.
Without judgment.
Without fear.
Without procrastinating or waiting.
It almost becomes like ‘playing.’
You just ‘do.’
This gets you back in action.
And action creates momentum, where before, there was none.
Where before, you were just waiting for the ‘perfect time.’
While your health and quality of life were deteriorating.
Like Hanna was doing, every time life would get stressful.
And this was causing her unhealthy pattern yoyo-ing weight.
How to Break Through and Keep The Weight Off For Good
Today, things are different for Hanna.
While it wasn't easy to undo her existing, perfectionism-based thinking patterns (it took several coaching sessions, mindset lessons, some 'homework', journaling, etc.) she was able to shift, and transform, how she thinks about things.
As a result, she’s taking action towards her health goals, no matter how small, to keep the momentum going.
This is what creates permanent change, and weight loss that lasts a lifetime.
Have a look at what she emailed me:
“Stress levels were super high last week – and I had class this past weekend and managed the stress levels fairly well - While the weight is coming off much more slowly than before - I am more confident that the weight will remain off as I continue to make good choices.
Imperfect actions have really helped me with my weight, at work, and in my personal life. Still writing my daily affirmation at the top of my to-do list every day – and getting out and moving five times a week."
As you can see, Hanna is back in action.
As a result of the mindset work we did, she has gained greater awareness and learned how to fit her health activities into her life, no matter how stressful and busy things get.
No more having to choose between her career/family and the health/body she wants.
She now has the skills and the mindset to break the pattern and not be stopped by stress or feeling overwhelmed.
She now knows what it takes to live a complete life where she is not only successful in her career, and connected with her family, but also healthy, confident, and unlimited.
The pattern of yoyo-ing weight is broken.
Her future is bright.
So, how about you?
Want to create a bright future for yourself, where you get to 'have it all'?
A career, family, AND your best body/health?
Tired of your weight going up and down?
If you’re ready to achieve permanent body transformation through powerful mindset shifts, coupled with world-class coaching, and a science-based, sustainable system of eating and training that gets the fat off efficiently and permanently, then let me know.
Because this is exactly what you need to move forward and reach your goals, now, no matter how busy you are.
Don't keep waiting for the 'perfect time', while you continue to yo-yo in weight, year after year.
The perfect time is now.
So let's get things started for you, imperfectly.
You can reach me at: deekron@thesharpbody.net
