“For the last 38 years I’ve been helping people lose weight. Our Weight Loss In A Box provides the perfect kick start to see a shift in the scales, however it’s the daily coaching that comes with it that makes the real difference. If you want to know the secrets of successful weight loss read the blog here.”

The Answers Behind Successful Weight Loss

Over many years in health coaching I’ve seen hundreds of different named diets and had the privilege of coaching literally thousands of people who want to achieve some weight loss. I’m often asked why some people are successful, whilst others fail? Is there a secret to weight loss success?

To me, success in weight loss, is about being able to lose it and most importantly keeping it off. The question is then, how do you make permanent changes and where do you find the motivation from to begin? Here are 3 powerful coaching questions that I would ask you to consider if weight loss is your goal:

1. Are you ready for change?

Successful weight loss requires time and effort, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

If you are not willing to take a good long look at your daily habits, or prepared to commit to long term change, then save yourself the disappointment of further failure. The fact is that 99% of what you weigh today is a result of your choice of lifestyle. The way you live your life is reflective of what you see on that pair of scales and make no doubt about it, your weight will inevitably largely determine the level of health you get to enjoy and the number of years you get to experience living on this planet.

Score between 1-10, (10 being the highest figure), for yourself on the following questions:

What is my motivation for losing weight?

• Will weight loss make a big difference to my life?
• How willing am I to make some changes to my diet?
• Do I have the right support around me to make changes?
• Am I ready to get comfortable with feeling ‘uncomfortable’ (are you willing to let go of your comfort food, or that daily glass of wine?)
• Is this the right time in my life? (look at current commitments, time constraints, accessibility to healthy foods)
• Am I willing to become more active?

If you have not scored 48 or over on the above questions, then you are not ready to make a permanent change yet to your weight.

2. Do you have enough emotion to lose the weight?

I’d like to share with you a story. I clearly remember meeting a guest on the Nordic walk one day at Homefield back in 2015. Mary began telling me the story of how she had lost 3 stone in the last year and only had 7lbs left to hit her ideal weight. Mary told me she had been heavily overweight all her life. She became a mother in her words, “late in life” and at 52 years of age walked her 7 year old boy to the school gates each day. As they turned the corner to approach the school one sunny June morning, her little boy turned to her and said, “mummy can you wait here for me tonight and not come to the school gates, my friends are teasing me that I have a fat mummy.” In that moment Mary said she gained 100% clarity in finding her reason, her passion and the emotion needed to become successful at losing weight. It was not about the weight loss any more, it was about making her son proud of his mummy. It was the right time to make changes.

3. Do you feel that living healthily is a punishment?

There is nothing better in life than feeling your best. Eating healthy, nutritious foods, treating your body to gentle exercise/movement and being mindful about how and how much you eat should be a joy, not some sort of prison sentence. Healthy habits create the best version of you – don’t you deserve that? Perhaps in the past you may have been too strict with your diet and tried to survive a week on a couple of carrot sticks and a bean sprout!

Weight loss begins and ends with what you decide your body deserves to eat on a daily basis. It’s common sense that the closer to nature your food choices are, the closer you will be to obtaining and maintaining your ideal weight.

Live your life!

If after reading the above 3 weight loss questions, you simply don’t feel committed enough to begin a weight loss journey, even though you feel you should, then be kind to yourself and simply move on for now. Just get on and live your life the best you can. Live each and every day and make it count. Life is so short.

Guests at Homefield who tell me they struggled with their weight for years, end up being successful at weight loss without really paying it much attention because they fall in love, or find a new career or passion. By filling their lives with meaning and purpose they rely less on the alcohol, sugar, or food for comfort. They are also happy to let go of habits, people or relationships that no longer serve them. It’s true that weight loss often happens when you place the attention on changing your life and not just focusing on changing your weight.