“Sarah knows what she’s doing and she really wants you to succeed. Trust her and the process; don’t ghost her. Stay in contact and just do what she says because she’s smart and she’s in your corner. ”
I’ve learned the magic key to achieving what I want is my thoughts. When I am on my game and making progress it’s because my thoughts (and the resulting actions/behaviors) are centered on the progress. When I am off my game and frustrated, it’s because my thoughts are centered on other things. I’m thinking about food that I’m “missing” or that it’s “not fair” that I have to spend so much time planning and logging…and those thoughts lead to behaviors that don’t support my goals. Making progress or not is literally in my head.
What led you to FWM and what value have you found with the team?
I was really struggling with my weight and what to do about it. I had lost weight before on programs like Weight Watchers and Whole 30 but nothing really stuck. I decided that one thing I could do to help me get started was to find some podcasts about fitness and health/weight loss and listen to them for inspiration. I stumbled upon the Pound This Podcast with Amanda Valentine and I started listening to it. One of the episodes (#585 if you’re wondering) featured Sarah talking about her journey and her program. What Sarah had to say just really spoke to me. She seemed so no nonsense (she is), and smart (she is), and practical (she is). I really liked what she had to say. I actually listened to the episode a few more times and decided to contact her. And even then it took me a few months to commit. My first day with Sarah was November 30th 2020.
What myths have you heard about health and fitness have you learned to not be true?
The myth I heard for a long time was essentially, that weight loss is as simple as calories in and calories out. You eat 300 cals? Just burn 300 cals and it’s a wash. False. The quality of food is SO important. Way more than I ever thought.
One piece of advice for someone starting their health and fitness journey?
Sarah once said “If it (the program) has a cute name…it’s not effective for any long term success.” There is SO much bs out there. I mean…it’s kind of mind bending and actually, this is why it was so hard for me to just get started. I don’t do well with a glut of choices. It’s like…too many choices often leads me to make no decision at all. So, it was very easy for me to just kind of stand there, dumbfounded, not making any change at all. Sarah is all about science and the thing about science is that it’s slow. And when you are desperate to have a different body but have lived your life eating secret donuts in your car before having a salad at a dinner with friends, slow feels frustrating. And, what’s more, the science says eating more calories (like…a lot more) than all the cute diets suggest is terrifying because eating more is counterintuitive to the “calories in/calories out” narrative that ALL women have been told their whole lives. This is a long way around saying: Sarah knows what she’s doing and she really wants you to succeed. Trust her and the process; don’t ghost her. Stay in contact and just do what she says because she’s smart and she’s in your corner.
ALSO
When you have setbacks (and you will…because I really have) return to your thoughts and evaluate where they are centered.