This wasn’t a scheduled blog post on my calendar. In fact it was just the text on an inspirational infographic that I was going to post. As I began writing out the caption I realized that I’m advertising as a “weight loss expert.” See, I have debated whether I should call myself a “weight loss expert” or not. This label says that weight loss is my desired outcome for my clients. I think this tagline actually has the potential to make people think that “Weight DOES determine value.” I wanted to make it very clear to my clients and followers why I decided to carry this label if I truly believe that weight is NOT a determinant of value. So if I don’t believe that weight is a marker of worth why did I become a “weight loss expert?”
When you are a virtual nutrition coach, it’s essential that your Instagram is attracting your “ideal client.” The first thing a new client or follower will see is my tagline or bio. I have a second of their attention span to spark their interest. No, weight loss is not my desired outcome FOR my ideal client but weight loss is the desired outcome OF my ideal client. I want to work with women who are seeking weight loss because I want to be the voice of encouragement and truth that is telling them how worthy and valuable they are while they work to achieve their goal. I want to be able to offer them support and resources that stop the negative cycle of self-loathing and instead kickstart the cycle of sustainable healthy habits. My heart for my clients is that they would live a life of freedom; freedom from guilt, shame and distorted body image.
Weight loss will be an outcome of my nutrition plans and coaching packages because of the nature of my services. But just because weight loss is a product doesn’t mean it’s the purpose. True empowerment doesn’t come from changing something you dislike about yourself. Empowerment comes from appreciating and loving the body that God gave you and having the strength and the discipline to give it what it needs. Culture will define beauty and health as perfection. Social media posts, magazine covers, and television may not explicitly tell you that beauty = perfection but the content that they feed you portrays an unrealistic expectation. Don’t even get my started on the message behind fad diets!
My intention for my coaching packages and nutrition plans are to first help you understand that you are valuable right now before the successes and failures. In fact, your value will be EXACTLY the same after those successes and failures. How do I do this? I take the power away from the culture of perfection and I put it back into my client’s hands. Step one, of my 5-step plan, begins with YOU defining what health is. I provide you with a handful of questions that help you to determine your own definition of health. This definition then becomes the standard. We then assess and evaluate your current and future health on this standard that you have defined. Empowered women don’t allow themselves to be compared to a standard created by someone else. Empowered women set the standard.
The second step of my nutrition plan includes assessing both the strengths and weaknesses of your current health and/or lifestyle. Step three you will set goals that will help to redirect your habits to help you meet the new expectations that you have set. This change doesn’t come overnight. In fact, I ask that only one to three goals be set at a time. The beauty is in the process and the change is in the everyday. Step four of the coaching packing is planning. I provide resources and tools to help you make a plan that leads to success. During this stage we create realistic plans that fit into your everyday life. Step five is the Evaluation step. We use this same definition that you created at the beginning of the 5-step plan to evaluate your progress. This step is crucial because we begin to uncover any unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves and expose lies or and negative self-talk that you experienced throughout the weeks of the program.
The second step of my nutrition plan includes assessing both the strengths and weaknesses of your current health and/or lifestyle. Step three you will set goals that will help to redirect your habits to help you meet the new expectations that you have set. This change doesn’t come overnight. In fact, I ask that only one to three goals be set at a time. The beauty is in the process and the change is in the everyday. Step four of the coaching packing is planning. I provide resources and tools to help you make a plan that leads to success. During this stage we create realistic plans that fit into your everyday life. Step five is the Evaluation step. We use this same definition that you created at the beginning of the 5-step plan to evaluate your progress. This step is crucial because we begin to uncover any unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves and expose lies or and negative self-talk that you experienced throughout the weeks of the program.
Labeling myself as a weight loss expert is a very tricky move on my part. My goal is to help you achieve your own goals, even if weight loss is one of them. But my purpose is to teach you to value yourself for who you are no matter the number of the scale….by the way we won’t be weighing ourselves during the program, sorry. Be sure to click “contact” above if you have questions about the program and packages. And remember, “Your weight DOES NOT determine your value.”
sararima.com 