Over years of yoyo dieting, Andrea had tried many approaches and interventions to tackle her issues with food and exercise. Having reached her 40s she was frustrated that some of these issues were still affecting her health and wellbeing.
Andrea says: “I got to 40 and wondered why I was still having childish battles with myself about eating and exercise. I was using food as a reward or as a comfort. My willpower was shot! I didn’t want to do exercise. When I wasn’t trying to ignore it, I felt guilty. It was exhausting and I didn’t want to have to think about it anymore.”
At the start of coaching, we explored Andrea’s values relating to her eating, exercise and health to extract the values that were really driving her beliefs, habits and behaviours.
And as part of this values work, we look at creating a good understanding of what the value really means. For instance, the desire for ‘control’ is often a strong value for people with food / eating issues, but what the word ‘control’ means will be different for everyone.
A breakthrough for Andrea was understanding that ‘sustainability’ was another driving value for her, which not only meant being able to easily sustain a healthy lifestyle, but also to be sustainable in her choice of food and the amount she ate.
We were able to use her core and driving values to guide the coaching sessions and ensure everything Andrea did was consistent with them.
Andrea says: “I no longer think about eating, except when I’m hungry. And I am enthusiastic about the exercise that I do. Lorna’s coaching and NLP helped change my thinking and my habits. I feel joined-up and it is such a relief.”
I have changed my client's name to protect her anonymity, but this is her real story and I have quoted her actual words. My sincere thanks to 'Andrea' for generously allowing me to share her experience in this way.
One of the ways of prioritising when you are feeling overwhelmed is to understand your most important values - whether it’s for work, relationships, health or anything else that is making you feel stuck - is really important for your success and satisfaction.
To find out more about how Lorna Thomas / Be The Best You In Business coaching and mentoring could support you to increase your confidence and grow your business with clarity, focus and control, book a call...