How my client L lost weight, overeating 🍫

Readiness to change?

Courage to try something new?

Tired of the constant battle with food?

Sick of the noise, the guilt, the all or nothing?

Want to feel “normal” around food, healthier in yourself?

This was exactly where L was on our first call,

L was in a state of binge -> restrict, weekly feeling intense guilt, shame, and commented that food was the biggest thing that occupied her mind.

When L was being “good” it looked like 3 staple meals from her SW days, fat free, low carb with as many “free” foods she could get on her plate days.

No permission, no satisfaction.

When L wasn’t “being good” it looked like every food she believed was “bad”, every food with syns, and a negative theory behind (they cause weight gain) 

L felt out of control with food, her body, her life and couldn’t remember a day she didn’t try and diet.

It was her norm, but she knew it wasn’t normal, and in her words “I don’t want this for my children, I’m tired of missing out”

L joined Thrive with two goals;

• Stop the constant overeating and food noise 

• Lose weight to support her health markers, mobility.

At Thrive we’re open, honest and compassionate, holding space for your lived experience, understanding the challenges, the fear and supporting you through a process that can feel very uncertain, scary at times.

Sometimes it isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s always the most compassionate, sustainable approach we take. Period. 

With our honest approach it meant L was given advice to pause fat loss, despite it being a choice for her health, we recognised her food relationship needed support to then attain fat loss.

By pausing fat loss we were able to;

❤️ Stop the binge -> restrict 

❤️ Establish awareness of triggers, situations that caused overeating

❤️ Break down beliefs around food, remove moral judgement 

❤️ Build a toolbox of supportive tools in times of dysregulation without solely relying on food

❤️ Form an including approach to food, where no foods are off limits with unconditional permission to eat 

❤️ Establish and reconnect to hunger and fullness signals, incorporate mindfulness and feel more confident in her actions.

❤️ Remove the constant noise and guilt with food.

It wasn’t that fat loss wasn’t right for L, it wasn’t right for her RIGHT NOW. 

And in trying to pursue fat loss, and restrict, would only perpetuate the overeating cycle and create stumbling blocks in overcoming overeating.

But here’s the thing many fail to recognise, health isn’t fat loss.

Health is a multifaceted puzzle that considers your mental, physical state, relationships, finances, connection, environment, it’s your entire life. 

As we progressed through L made transformative progress with her HEALTH;

Part of L's check in response ❤️

L got to a place of food freedom, food inclusion, food neutrality, where we could then begin exploring fat loss.

Again, coming from pausing fat loss. 

(Delayed gratification is one of the most powerful things here)

We set no goal, our only focus was to remain with all we’d established, and invest in the process.

(Fat loss after healing your food relationship can feel very vulnerable, there can be triggers for “going back” but here we move forward) 

We had primed L for fat loss by laying the foundations that supported her maintaining her weight loss. 

Nothing changed for L bar working with a tool at Thrive that allowed her to explore a gentle deficit 

(No tracking involved, no weighing, no food obsession) 

Her progress has been phenomenal, not with weight loss with the entire process, her patience, courage, commitment and openness. It hasn’t been easy, but each hurdle we’ve overcome.

The prospect of Ls dietary approach now at the start of coaching would’ve put the fear of god in her, L would’ve concluded she was “overeating” and caused a spiral of disordered behaviours. Ls beliefs about food would’ve made her remain stuck in a binge -> restrict cycle, her new adaptive, imperfect, self aware, self compassionate approach would’ve been dented. 

In working through her food relationship, L has managed to break down the beliefs and get to a place of freedom, compassion, inclusion with self awareness, accountability for her health. 

Where she fully understands overeating, her triggers, her feelings, and has worked so courageously on getting to a this point.

Sure, L has lost 5kg, but more than that, L has regained her sense of control, her confidence, her trust, her autonomy, her self awareness, her trust. 

Trusting the process, sitting with some discomfort, breaking down challenges, L is a true inspiration.

Fat loss should make you feel better, not worse.

You should always have permission to eat, food noise, food guilt and all or nothing shouldn’t be present.

If it is, you’ll remain stuck in a cycle of yoyo dieting.

Are you in the place of change, are you looking to end the constant guilt, noise, all or nothing? And perhaps fat loss is right for you but it feels inaccessible right now? We have the space to make it a reality for you. 

I'm ready for this ❤️