Taking The Narrow Path

It took doing one of the most popular weight loss programs out there to realize how depleting these types of programs can be to your body, mind, and Spirit.

*This post is not to attack anyone who chooses to do this program or coach for this program....I am not disgruntled...it is to share my experience...it is to inform on matters you will never here about from those connected with the program or in their facebook groups....as those pages are monitored and sanitized. (Posts must be approved to go on page).

I had my apprehensions initially going into the program. I spoke with a program coach to find out about the program, and my first response was that I did not want to eat packaged food. They spoke about the good ingredients used in the products. After talking with this person I soon received a discount offer that would 'expire soon'. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to just give it a try. I was told I could probably lose the amount of weight I wanted to lose in a month, or two at the most. So I signed up.

When starting the program it was mentioned that working out is not recommended at first. Again, this gave me some apprehension, but I went along with it. I was told I could not eat fruit at first, again that did not sit well with me, but I followed it. I was all in!

That first week you get the biggest weight loss you probably will see....it fires you up, and you totally get pulled in. I had lost five and a half pounds the first week... Then the tip call comes...while you are high on the results of that 1st week. The tip call is to just offer up advice on how to be successful on the plan, with a little spiel about the coaching opportunity. A month and a half into the program, and I jumped on the coach opportunity.

I had lost the weight I initially wanted to lose, but thought I would keep going. This is where someone should have stepped in to determine if that was even a healthy decision for me. Instead, the decision was left totally up to me and I took it too far. And was totally cheered on as I kept going.

That's the thing, you get caught up in it, then as a coach you start making good money, and you're swept away. You accept what you may not normally accept...you totally drink the kool-ade.

In 3 months I had lost 30 lb, but had been having issues for a little while at this point. I just ignored the issues. My hair was falling out from the stress of this extreme program (only 800-1000 cal per day), and my gut was becoming very angry. I was bloated, gassy, constipated, and often in a bad mood. As time went on, mentally I was unraveling. I would get upset with myself if I missed a coaching opportunity, was becoming more obsessed with weight and was looking at people in a way I did not like. The mind game of this type of coaching was the worst. Always thinking about the next client I could sign up, and ranking up, and making the bonuses. Coaching was starting to infiltrate my entire life. And worse, it was taking from my God time.

Don't get me wrong, there were some good things that came out of it. I got more comfortable talking to people I did not know, my sugar cravings had calmed. People do usually lose weight if they follow and stay on the plan, some people may come off of medications or have their medicines reduced...but is it sustainable? I don't think it is, based off of what I experienced myself and what I have seen with others. But more importantly...it should not be a program someone stays on long term. A real AH-HA moment for me was when I started to evaluate the things that I agreed with and did not agree with in the weight loss realm, and knew something had to change here. I became driven to move away from 'diet culture'... Though the program claimed it wasn't a diet.(I mean, how can eating packaged food be teaching healthy eating and be sustainable for life?!).

I started to evaluate the journeys of my clients. Many were successful at losing the weight, but most have not kept it off without doing something else or continuing on the program. Many of my clients carried a lot of body shame and guilt throughout the program... fear and scale obsession or hatred was common as well. Contributing to that kind of thinking was so far from my God calling that it really started to get my attention. My mission and vision is to inspire, encourage, and empower women to be their healthiest and best selves... Body, Mind, and Spirit.....this clearly was not what I was seeing happen here. I was told more than once I was a great coach, but I felt like a fraud.

The next thing that occurred with me, was I became majorly depressed. I had blamed it on the COVID pandemic, but now I know it was how I was fueling my body. Once I stopped the program food, my hair grew back, my gut health improved over time, and I feel amazing!

The truth is, if I would not have become a coach for this company, I would have quit the program after the 2nd month. But that's how they keep you on program...they excite you about how you can help others and make a great incone...and so you keep with it. The problem is this program is not sustainable. Once I stopped eating their food, mind you I was still eating healthy afterwards, I put the weight back on. Luckily early on in my weight gain, I did some experimentation with different ways of eating. I did not lose much actual weight, but my body composition changed...more muscle, less fat.

From this program came revelation for me! The things I'm okay with, the things I'm not okay with, and being bold to voice these things. It taught me to never let money cause me to compromise my principles. There's nothing wrong with making money but I ignored my principles and that's where problems arise.

Doing this has motivated me to promote whole food eating, real life eating, not depriving. True health comes from God-made food....it can never come from a factory no matter how good they say the ingredients are. We need to stop determining health by body size. In my 20's & 30's I was extremely thin, and extremely unhealthy. Many times the reason people are overweight has nothing really to do with the food itself, but deep rooted issues in the mind.

My mission is to inspire, encourage, empower women to be their healthiest and best selves! To help women love who they are and how God created them. To stop body shaming, stop making the scale their God, and to stop dieting! The only prepackaged food I am offering are the ones packaged by God! (Seeds, nuts, fruit, veggies).... And yes, you can have some treats too! (Again, nutrition needs to be realistic).

This is why I chose to get certified with the Christmas Health Coach Academy....learning to live my life with sustainable health, and working with others so they can have the same freedom I have now!

If any of this resonates with you, reach out.

Coach Suzanne Penn

CHCA Affiliate Link: https://christian-health-coach-community.thinkific.com/courses/christian-health-coach-academy-certification?ref=c80e2a