Week 20 – Discovering Your Why

Last week Mary decided to stop prioritizing weight loss for the immediate future. 

Commonly clients change their goals during their journey, because as they make progress they discover what is important to them.

Between getting a positive report from her doctor and continuing to lose more body fat, Mary’s goals shifted away from losing weight and moved towards improving her health.

As fitness professionals, we hope our clients reach this deeper relationship with exercise and nutrition that goes beyond physical appearance. While changing our appearance through weight loss can improve confidence, self-esteem, and be a positive experience, the number on the scale or how we look in the mirror isn’t the most important outcome.

It may be hard to see that initially, but to reach a long term goal, you need a deeper, more meaningful “why.”  

Without having a “why” that speaks to your core, you are less likely to stay committed to your goals.

Initially, Mary wanted to lose weight to change her appearance. However, in pursuing this goal she experienced improvements in blood sugar, bone density, sleep quality, energy levels, and body composition. Being a healthy weight is still important to Mary, but her focus has shifted from the appearance of being healthy to her actual health. 

This subtle shift fuels the drive to live actively and practice healthy habits even if they don’t directly result in an immediate change of appearance. 

Looking at fitness and health through this lens, Mary told her coach this week that she wanted to change her primary goal from weight loss to increase her lean body mass (bone and muscle), which would improve her body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and strengthen her bones. 

Since Mary’s doctor had emphasized the importance of these specific health markers for her, she felt continuing to take steps towards improving them was the best decision for her well-being.

Coach agreed that shifting her focus would be beneficial and scheduled a coaching session to review the changes she would need to make.