Most women I work with, come to me with the goal of wanting to eat healthier so they can lose weight and feel better.
They want to know specifically what they need to do to ensure success.
And the exact steps that they should follow.
It’s no surprise that this is the mindset for the average high-performing woman in today’s society.
As high-performing women, we’re taught to manage our busy schedules for success professionally.
In general, we know the exact steps we need to take to succeed at our careers.
We often know what it takes to move forward as an employee or business owner.
The problem with this mindset when it comes to food?
It causes you to give up responsibility for your own eating habits.
Here, we’re going to talk about how your desperation for the “how” when it comes to eating healthy has been sabotaging your efforts.
When someone asks me, “what exactly do I need to eat to lose weight?”, it seems like a logical question at first.
They want to know the exact actions they should take with food to lose weight and get the results they want.
However, this type of thinking never works out long-term.
If it was this easy, none of us would ever have unhealthy eating habits.
Despite knowing this, so many women are desperate for the “how” when it comes to eating healthy.
The true reason why they obsess over the “how”?
Because focusing on the “how” gives you the opportunity to transfer responsibility outside of yourself.
You give someone (or something) else the responsibility of whether you succeed or fail.
Meaning, when you fail to eat healthy, you can blame outside circumstances.
Whether that’s the meal plan, workout regimen, or coach.
Finding the “how” outside of yourself acts like a protective measure against the feelings of failure.
And the truth is, failing forward in the healthy eating journey is often the only real solution to finding freedom with food.
So many women get stuck in the “how” when it comes to eating healthy.
This is normal, as meal plans, diets, and weight loss programs are constantly being marketed to us.
These solutions all attempt to give you the “how” when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight.
It’s for this exact reason that these solutions rarely work long-term.
The “how” is not enough. It never was enough.
Most women will get stuck in the “how” methods.
And continuously try new diets, health fads, and weight loss elixirs out of desperation.
They are desperate for the “how” to come and save them.
I want you to think if you have been (or are currently) stuck in the how with your eating habits.
Do you notice yourself saying…
…“I would eat healthy, but I don’t know how?”.
This mindset is why most people stay stuck in the “how” obsession for years.
My mission is to show you what really works long-term.
And to help you break free from getting stuck in the “how” for good.
As mentioned, if you could only focus on the “how”, everyone would eat healthy without fail.
This work would be so simple!
You wouldn’t be reading this article.
You’d be permanently living in healthy eating bliss all of the time, right?
The main reason why focusing on the “how” doesn’t work, is because you only learn to eat healthy by doing it yourself.
It’s a process in which you only master it by gaining experience.
Because no one except yourself truly knows what you need to eat healthy right off the bat.
This is only revealed through continuously checking in with your body and seeing what she needs.
You’ll need to form a relationship with food & your body yourself.
And I know this sounds frustrating to a number of women.
Since, this doesn’t feel as safe.
When you’re left without a formula to follow, you’re required to fail.
You’ll be forced to experience setbacks, self-doubt, and growing pains to get the result you want.
The truth is, you really want it to feel good all of the time.
And I want you to notice this about yourself.
There’s no shame in feeling this way, but it’s important that we call ourselves out a little bit.
Because this isn’t the mindset that will get you the changes with food and your body that you want.
To eat healthy and lose weight long-term, you will need to ultimately create your own “how”.
A big theme I come across when coaching women, is that they’re always giving their power away with their eating habits.
They’re constantly giving up responsibility for what they eat.
They hand over this responsibility to diets, emotions, the stress from work, a weight loss program, or their spouse (just to name a few).
This leaves them feeling powerless over their eating habits.
Which often leaves them feeling powerless over their lives.
This is not a mindset you want to create with food long-term.
You can take your power back over your eating habits by taking responsibility for the “how”.
This means you’re willing to dive deep with your eating habits to figure out what works.
You’re not looking for the quick-fix, but you’re in it for the journey.
And while the responsibility of the “how” may seem like something you don’t want, it is.
When you own your “how”, you have the ability to recreate the results you want with food anytime.
To begin working towards your own “how” with healthy eating, ask yourself some key questions:
The theme of these questions is for you to get to know your bodies’ relationship with food on a deeper level.
This is how the “how” for you is ultimately created.
People who truly succeed at forming healthy eating habits effortlessly know this truth.
They take responsibility for the “how” and understand that failure is part of the process.
When you know this, you don’t need someone else’s “how” to take responsibility for your results.
Be willing to figure out your healthy eating habits for yourself, so you can gain the results you want with your body.
One day at a time.
Hey there! I'm Kat Rentas. I’m a certified life and health coach for women who believes that eating healthy should feel simple and sustainable. I teach hundreds of high-performing women to change their eating habits without the overwhelm. Want to change your eating habits in a way that is aligned with your needs, preferences, and goals? You’re in the right place. You can read my full story here.