The other day I told you a story about a friend of mine, Natalie, who I had asked to participate in a phone-based weight loss coaching program. I did this for several reasons. First, she’s a dear friend who has struggled with her weight as long as I’ve known her and I wanted to help put that struggle to rest. Second, I figured that if someone as busy as her could see success, then just about anyone else could. Natalie is a full-time overnight ER nurse, and when we started the program she was a full-time student and in the midst of planning a wedding. Other than a busy schedule, Natalie’s greatest roadblock is stress. Thanks to super smart friends and colleagues like Jade Teta, a naturopathic doctor who co-owns Metabolic Effect (www.metaboliceffect.com), I have come to understand how significant a role stress plays in whether the body burns or stores fat. Many times, people emphasize calories burned and calories consumed–which is important–but they oftentimes don’t take into account how other factors like stress can impact body change. Having known Natalie for nearly 15 years, it was my assessment that her inability to see long-term weight loss success was in large part due to her high-stress life. If you’d like to learn more about that story and her successes, click here.
The only thing I requested from her during this program was that she provide me with honest feedback. This is partly because I wanted to learn whether or not my assumptions were correct and also because I needed someone to go through this program before we released it to the world wide web.
So far, things have gone quite well. But instead of hearing from me, I thought I’d ask Natalie to share her experience in her own words.
“Ryan Halvorson helped me realize my goals of looking great and feeling happy on my wedding day. I participated in Ryan’s coaching program for 5 months leading up to my wedding. I lost 20 pounds and felt beautiful as a result of this program and Ryan’s coaching. While the weight loss was one of my primary goals I also wanted to improve my energy level, response to stress, understanding of nutrition, and overall well-being. As a result of this program, in addition to the weight loss, I feel calmer, more supported, less fatigued, and more motivated than I have during other fitness programs.
Over the years I have tried various diet, fitness, and coaching programs. While each program had attributes nothing “stuck” and so any positive results were temporary and didn’t last. The tremendous success of this program has been that the weight loss is a side effect of a much greater and positive transformation. I have changed the way I perceive my body, my relationship with food, ideas about activity, and response to stress. Ryan helped me identify goals, challenges, and maladaptive patterns of thinking and acting. He gave support and guidance as we collaborated together and made short-range plans that were goal-focused and completely tailored to my individual strengths, challenges, and needs.
Ryan’s attentive, knowledgeable, non-judgmental, energetic, positive, and encouraging presence was an amazing gift that assisted me with transforming my mind and body. While my weight loss is the most tangible part of working with Ryan, it is not the most profound. The alterations to my perspective and understanding of nutrition, fitness, and stress reduction are the best outcomes of Ryan’s program. My wedding is over but the transformation continues as a result of the excellent coaching I received. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Ryan and I am very grateful for the positive and enduring transformations he helped me achieve.”
Stress Less, Achieve More
Natalie actually exceeded my expectations. Mostly because I didn’t ask her to get super tight with her diet or to tack on hours of exercise per week. My primary focus with her was “less is more,” which, based on her busy life, seemed to be just what she needed. My biggest fear was that I would create more stress in her life and that would cause her to become overwhelmed and either drop the program or not see progress. Keeping her mentally and emotionally relaxed is paramount to her progress.
The best part is that she’s taken on these new behaviors and thought processes and they are sticking. Because of our mindset-first, action second approach, she’s become more thoughtful and present in her actions. This approach helped her to understand what her barriers are and how she could overcome them. She learned how resilience is paramount to success. Instead of too rigorous, action-oriented programs based on restriction and tons of exercise, the focus was on how to do less and how to enjoy life. This unique method has helped Natalie lose weight, increase overall happiness and wellbeing, and decrease stress–and, as she says, she’s stuck with it and shows no signs of stopping.
Coming Soon . . .
Do you relate to having a stressful life like Natalie? Have you struggled to find a program that sticks? We are currently fine tuning a 6-week coaching program that could be just what you need to see success–for the long-term. We will accept 20 people into this program, which will include:
- Weekly workout programs for all levels;
- Stress management protocols and techniques;
- Nutrition guidance and information;
- Weekly educational webinars and support from Ryan;
- Inclusion in a closed Facebook group where you can ask questions, share insights and receive support;
And much more.
In the coming weeks we will send out more detailed information on what you can expect from this program and how you can get involved. To make sure you don’t miss out, please enter pertinent information into the fields below.
In the meantime, more details about the Do Less, Lose More distance learning program can be found here.