A Deeper Insight To Health Progress

Transformation photos sell…

A picture pops up in a magazine, a social media post or in a T.V. Ad of ‘before’ and ‘after’.

We see and relate to the ‘before’ and this image gives us hope that we can experience the transition to the ‘after’.

The issue, is that this means the consumer, the client and the humans looking to progress their health – are now seeking a product or coaching service with the expectation that this ‘before and after’ transition is the sign of a successful journey.

Follow this down the line, the coaches recognise they are being paid for this outcome, and have to adapt their marketing to meet the same ‘before and after’ photos as well as adopting coaching strategies that facilitate this as the prime deliverable, sometimes at the expense of the long term results, including; weight maintenance, relationship with food and eating behaviours. (This phenomenon is even more fuelled by the addition of timelines to this before and after, as if to suggest that in all instances a fast transition from one weight to the next is optimal).

And so the cycle begins to perpetuate itself.

I would like to caveat this, by noting that there are situations, such as people sitting borderline type 2 diabetic, where the outcome probably does outweigh the means, in that we should be hoping to reduce body-fat composition in the fastest manner to pull them away from those borderlines more promptly before the health state becomes more challenging to recover. More so, BMI and weight can and are often useful tools to give insight as to overall health, and that in many people’s cases, by reducing their body-fat levels – this often can correspond with improvements in multiple overall health markers, such as blood lipid profiles and insulin sensitivity. It is also important to recognise that this article is not debating fast vs long term weight loss strategies – as there is also some evidence demonstrating faster rates may be easier to maintain years down the line. This article aims to challenge the notion that total weight loss and rates should be the prime objective of any protocol.

The issue here, lays in the misunderstood perception of what a successful ‘end’ looks like, dictating a ‘means’ in which for many people, may not be the best strategy to adopt for long term results, nor for their relationship with food.

An approach that prioritises the biggest change in composition, in the fastest time, may be suitable for some, but it will not be appropriate for everyone.

If the outcome desirable; is to improve these health markers we have spoken about, there is scope for an argument that by seeking a process that prioritises; sustainability, your relationship with food and self-discovery – that we will still see an improved physical health as a result, but a physical health that has not come at the expense of; sustainability, autonomy and mental health.

In practice, this is leaning toward a conversation about the advantages of weight neutral approaches to nutrition.

Working and reflecting on improving habits can build the systems that ensure our progress is sustainable.

Assessing opportunities for wins as well as permission to eat indulgent foods means that we can learn flexible approaches to manage our nutrition, and carry this mindset to navigate the inevitable fluctuations of life, it’s events and changes.

Educating our clients and taking the responsibility to educate ourselves, means we can be empowered to make decisions that serve our best interest as well as being able to navigate information with an appropriate level of curiosity and scepticism. Education also gives us the means of which to impart knowledge onto others, and thereby share in our progress.

Removing fast rates of weight loss as a priority objective gives us more time to listen to our internal cues (guided by an underpinning knowledge of relevant science), learn how to communicate with our internal environment and in doing so - help guide the decisions we make relating to food, and training.

These things don’t have to be exclusive of a strategy that does not track food or weight. However there is an argument about the long term efficacy of any strategy that does not pay respect to learning internal cues and self-value independent of weight.

In my experience, using weight as a metric can be a useful tool for some, and metrics such as weight, circumferential measurements or clothes sizes, can serve as objective proof of progress – immune to subjective assessments (such as how do you feel in your body) that can be vulnerable to an individuals current phycological wellbeing / mental state. Offering a client, first the education around measurements and then the option to or not to use them (something worth re-evaluating throughout the process) is appropriate as long as the coaching process develops the client’s understanding, autonomy and self value outside of these metrics.

Ensure your ‘why’ doesn’t compromise your health long term.

Guide your decisions with information you can trust.

Re-evaluate the success of your methods, against not only the progress you may want to see physically, but also your relationship with food and your body.

Please do not assess your true progress against the information you can get from a transformation photo. This may be something to be proud of, and for sure, an indicator of progress for many. However, ironically, the image is not the whole picture.

I would welcome any of your comments or questions.

Yours,

Louis