Sometimes in a weight loss journey, we come face to face with the reason we can't lose the weight in the first place. Alongside that, we realise there are valid reasons why you can't stick to a healthy meal plan. 

Madison's Story

Madison came to me wanting to lose weight. She had battled her body and food her whole life, and was approaching her 50's and was OVER IT. That's how she explained it to me. 

We started with a simple meal plan and gentle movement she could do at home. We caught up weekly for coaching calls - something she knew she would need in order to keep herself on track. 

She didn't follow any of it. She shared her reasons 'why' she didn't stick to it, and it didn't matter how many times I re-wrote the plan, or how well I tailored it to her needs. We even wrote one together that she was excited about. She didn't follow that, either. 

She made some healthy changes, but wasn't following it closely enough to bring about a weight loss result. 

Her Deeper Reasons for being Stuck. 

Every week we caught up she made the same excuses, she blamed herself, criticised herself, apologised constantly. I continued to reassure her that when you can't 'just get it right', there is ALWAYS a valid reason (sometimes women who get it perfect from the get-go actually get stuck much later!) She agreed she wanted to uncover it. 

We spoke about how she looks after the household alone, with her kids helping but her husband never present. We spoke about his inability to acknowledge her, and how this made her feel - it was triggering a deeper part of her who felt unloved as a child. She never recieved the love she needed from her father, and thus married an emotionally unavailable man. 

She NEVER felt special. And food was her comfort. 

We ended the coaching relationship acknowledging that sure, she 'failed' at losing weight, but she did make enough changes to gain clarity, and this clarity exposed the real reasons she was battling this whole time. The things that came up in our sessions were not something I am qualified to work through, but she went off and worked on them with someone who was. 

Sometimes you get what you need, not what you want.

Note that this kind of situation does not happen often. I've written about it to share how not ALL fat loss journeys work out exactly how you want them too, even with the right support. Regardless, if you approach it with an open mind, you might uncover the EXACT reason why you're stuck, and this gives you something to move forward with.