Latest / Cameron's Conversations: The last weight loss podcast you'll ever need. / Episode 70: Going from "comfortable" to getting into great shape
Transcript
- Cameron: Welcome to Cameron's Conversations podcast. And I'm in conversation with Harry today. So we are gonna talk a little bit about this phase, which we see with a lot of our one-to-one clients, where they go from aiming for comfortable, right? Because a lot of people start their weight loss journey in a place where they're not feeling great. They're not feeling particularly good in themselves. Clothes aren't fitting particularly well. All those things like quite self-conscious, perhaps a little bit lower in confidence, either because... they're a weight that they're not comfortable with, or they've just maybe gained some weight over the last while, and it's maybe just knocked them a little bit. So often the initial aim is comfortable, right? It's those jeans aren't cutting you in half anymore, you want to feel a little bit more comfortable in yourself day to day, you maybe get a photo of yourself, and you're fine with it, right? That's often the initial aim. But what we see time and time again is there's that initial goal, you lose a few kilos, or however many kilos it takes you to get there. And then actually there's almost this little bit of intrigue that comes in where it's like, okay, like I've got to there, it wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be, I wonder where I can get to now. And I think that's a really exciting bit to get to. A lot of people struggle to even get that far, of course, because without the right structure it's hard to do. But it can be really exciting to kind of go from that gap from being in comfortable shape to being in good shape to feeling really, really confident in yourself. So we wanted to talk a little bit about. what we see within our clients who make that shift and also what that of like mindset that changes from almost like good shape to great shape if you wanted it to kind of be a little bit cliche and kind of label it that way. So we'll kind of start off obviously with a little bit of a chat from Harry around like what do you see with clients who are kind of moving from that phase? They've been getting trying to get comfortable. They just want to feel a bit happier themselves. And now they're making a bit of a change where they realise actually I could get into seriously good shape now, I could actually make a really big change here. What do you tend to see around that time and what goes on in the head at that point? Harry: I think you kind of hit the nail on the head with the word excitement. I think that's the kind of feeling I get from people. It's obviously like achieving goals is great and getting results feels really good and it's a real acknowledgement of your efforts and things and it's why I love this whole game is because it's quite linear in the effort that you put in. The effort that you put in you quite often will get back. which is what kind of attracted me to the whole fitness realm in the first place really. ⁓ and it's kind of that acknowledgement of noticing that, like noticing that effort. So for me personally, for the majority of clients in that kind of phase, the first thing that I will see is normally gym performance is, is, is the first sign of it. The first little trickle of excitement of lifting that heavier weight, hitting that PBs on, on a, on a deadlift or whatever it might be managing your first pushup, your first pull up, those kinds of moments. that first little inkling of like, I can do better than I thought. Whatever I had planned originally, like, you know, very much like what Cameron was saying, like people wanting to feel good. It's the same in the gym. People kind of, you know, want to do a little bit better, want to feel a little bit stronger, bit fit. But then when you do something so impressive as like your first pull up, it's like, ⁓ this is awesome. And I think that intrigue as well, another kind of key word you use there is really important of like, where can I go with this? Like, What does it feel like to be down to this level of leanness or this level of strength or whatever it might be? And I think there's a huge amount of value in exploring that. ⁓ Challenging yourself in that way is really really wonderful and it helps give you perspective as well You gain perspective on it and on your whole journey because sometimes you might find okay It's really cool going down that lean or whatever But actually it was quite challenging and it was slightly more restrictive and I felt great but actually when I'm three kilos heavier, I equally feel really awesome and It's not I have more flexibility for my life and that kind of thing and you gain that perspective by potentially going down to that level. So it's always something that I try and encourage and if someone's excited about doing it, it gets me excited because I'm like okay cool because it's like there's a fresh challenge there you know it's like a fresh kind of dose of motivation which comes in which is always really nice to see. Cameron: Yeah, 100%. And what I love about it as well is like, I sometimes think that there's almost an element of like, people have kind of almost in their heads settled for like, ⁓ I just want to be comfortable. Because that potentially is maybe the best place you've ever been, is comfortable. It might have been, you might have kind of felt like, ⁓ well, you know, I... I don't know, during this phase of my life was at a weight that I felt pretty okay at. But that might, for a lot of, you're probably feeling this too, for lot of clients, that's as far as it's ever been for them, right? They've never really been at that point where they've looked in the mirror and been like, oh, I feel like I'm in bloody brilliant shape right now. And to be clear, something I always talk about is like. you know, when you're in great shape, that doesn't mean that every moment of every day, your body image is like 110%. Like people still have bad body image days as well. you know, I've coached a lot of female clients as high does as well. like, you know, body image can be variable as well. It points in your cycle and at other times too, depending on mood. But nonetheless, like I have definitely felt like when I've dropped a good chunk of weight and I was really quite lean, I just felt really good day to day. And one of the things I am very transparent about is, and it's nice to say this online, but it's off not reality, it's like people will say like ⁓ you know the shape you're in shouldn't matter and I think there's an element of that which is useful for sure, like you want to work on the way you see yourself and the language you use to yourself but there's no doubt about it like when I was a bit leaner and I was kind of from where I'd been being a lot heavier you know 20 kilos heavier I woke up every day feeling more positive like I liked what I saw in the mirror much more than I did previous to that and I'm not gonna pretend otherwise right that's just honest and I think this is the cool thing is that sometimes what happens is like people have Harry: Good. Cameron: settled a little bit where it's like ⁓ the best I can be is comfortable and then you kind of get there and especially when you're in coaching right you get there quicker than you maybe would have initially thought you feel a lot better in yourself and then you're like well okay I'm here already I might as well keep going and that's often what happens right is people are like ⁓ well I feel like it could kick on and that is the excitement but it's really cool and I think how you hit the nail on the head like often it starts with training and maybe starts with like you know they start to feel like they're kicking on a bit with their training a bit more they feel a lot stronger and fitter than they ever would Maybe being they feel like they're lifting weights they wouldn't have before and then they start fitting into clothing that like historically has always been really like they've not been comfortable in or like clothes that they were always okay in but didn't love and then they start to be like ⁓ actually I really look good in this and then all these little wins start to like accumulate don't they and it becomes like a little bit of excitement there of like ⁓ where can I get to and I think like how you said the cool thing is it's almost like doing a half marathon isn't it is like you probably for most people not everyone of course don't want to be doing like half marathon like training runs every single week, right? That's not like I've enjoyed doing some endurance running. I wouldn't choose to do a 15K run every single week. Like it probably is a little bit more time consuming, a bit more effort than I want, but I really enjoyed the process. And then it meant that any running I've done after that has been a bit easier because of it, because I've done so much more before. The same applies to getting lean is like, if like, you know, I've done like a photo shoot before when I got to that lean, that is actually like, it's almost exactly what Harry said. It's probably. three to four kilos too lean for me to sustain. Like in the winter I did one of them in late November in Scotland. I was bloody frozen. Like I'm not even exaggerating. I remember going to bed with like a fleece on and my pajamas and I was like, I'm still cold. And I was like, ⁓ for God's sakes. So like that was a little bit much, right? That definitely was a wee bit lean. But actually after that, it's been so much easier to sustain much better shape around that, right? When I wanted to just do periods of maintenance, I've been quite comfortable maybe four or five kilos up from that. Harry: Hey Cameron: still looked good but it was a good experience to kind of get there and kind of look in the mirror and be like okay like I'm obviously in great shape right now it's maybe a little bit much but I'm happy to hang around somewhere around this if not exactly there which I always think is really cool. Harry: Yeah, 100%. And ⁓ I get like messages from clients and things. I had one last week of a client saying she's, ⁓ she's get making her, making her husband sick. Cause she's coming out of the shower every day and like flexing in front of him and showing off her muscles and all this stuff. And it's like, that's cool. Do you know what I mean? That's, and that's where like what Cameron was saying about this kind of like positive body image you get, because you're seeing the results of your efforts and that's what's super cool. And you know, that's where it starts that kind excitement and it builds from there and that's always a real kind of cool spot for us because it's someone being you know happy with their body and happy with what they're achieving which is ultimately what we're trying to help people with so yeah it's super cool. Cameron: I think the other thing too that I think is an interesting bit of context and this just kind of popped into my head as you were talking there is like I don't think that just happens as often when it comes from weight loss alone. I think the training part of it is a big part of it too, where whether you train at home, whether you train in the gym, feeling like your body has a purpose out with the way it looks is also part of that. It's a really strange thing to say, but like we've talked about this, think once before in the podcast is like, I have very much found as a coach that when people are more bottom to the training and they're kind of excited about that, often is not the weight loss pieces easier because you don't tend to get as stressed out by the scale. So if you have a week where it's a bit slower, you're like, well, like this skills didn't move so much, but I feel really good and my training's been great this week. And often like there is an acute effect of training on body image anyway. Usually when people go to the gym, they come out of it, they actually feel better. Like I definitely find that myself. don't know if this happens to you, but after like three or four days of not training in a row, you can kind of sometimes feel a bit like, like it's just not quite the same. Not that I like, not that it massively impacts how I feel, but like I definitely noticed the bump of I've done a couple of days training in a row. I feel a little bit like sharper in my stomach. Harry: 100. Yeah. Cameron: I'm sure there's no visual change at all, by the way. It's just the way you feel. But I think that's it, isn't it? It comes from training a little bit. It's like you probably get more of that when like your client where you're basically, you start to feel good about the fact that you can see a little bit more muscle tone or you can see a little bit more definition, but you also feel like there's purpose behind it because there's a function of like, I got stronger in the week, sorry, stronger in the gym this week as well. Harry: Yeah, 100%. Yeah, 100%. And like even outside of kind of GM or kind of, you know. Exercise I suppose in a way because I mean, you know, I have clients saying something about you know They pulled their freezer out to clean behind it or whatever and they were able to do that themselves for the first time or whatever it might be or you know, I always say to people as well like if you go and do something that is Active and intense, you know hiking a mountain for example If you go and do that and you get to the top of that mountain Find me one person who has poor body image at that point, right? Because you're doing something that you're going to be proud of your body for being able to do that and feeling strong for being able to do that. And it's like, do things that allow your body to impress you and that will improve your body image. That's one of the real big things. And it's like, whether that's kind of consistently in the gym, that's where one of the reasons why it's so good. Or, you know, if you train at home, just consistently having some form of exercise that you allow yourself to try and impress yourself, but then have these little moments as well, where you go and do this certain thing, this certain activity that maybe before you wouldn't have been able to do and acknowledge it. like that could be something so simple, could be on the school run there's a hill that you normally get to the top of from carrying your kids scooter or bike or whatever and you think bloody hell I'm puffing a little bit here and then one day you do it and you're not puffing and you think hold a minute like acknowledge those moments because that is part of that whole body image conversation you know you're going to go home feeling pretty good about yourself because again it's that acknowledgement of your efforts that acknowledgement of progression which is super rewarding. Cameron: Yeah, I think so. think there's a really cool thing and like, I mean, very much fits with my bias of you should go up a hill because hills are fun. So not that I'm biased at all, but yeah, I think it's a great way of looking at it. like, there was a really great line there actually, it's like do things that allow you to, what do you say, to impress yourself with what your body can do. Harry: things that allow your body to impress you. Cameron: There you go. I think that's a great line. That could be a good tagline there, Harry. That could be in the Instagram bio. That's so good. But like, I think that's a really nice frame for it as well, is like... there is more to this than just weight loss, but that is part of it. But I think that's where the excitement comes from is like a sense of what can my body do. And part of that is also what your body can look like as well. That should be exciting. There's nothing wrong with that. You know, it's good to have both. think if you're purely focused on the way you look, that can create like, you know, a bit more pressure than you need. But I think a mix of both is definitely the sweet spot. yeah, I think that was a really, really cool topic to cover because it's like for me, it's one of those things that when we're coaching and like I had a message similar today actually, that was kind of, can see someone's at that point where they're kind of kicking onto that next stage and being like, oh, I really can achieve more than I thought. It always puts a spell on our faces as coaches. It's always really, really motivating and nice to see as well. find it quite inspirational sometimes. Like, I know if you get this, well, I'm sure you do. Sometimes I feel quite inspired by my clients as well because everyone's at a different stage in their journey, but the inspiration bit, I'm like, oh, that's really cool that they're like in that head space. And it makes me be like, maybe I need to be more ambitious with whatever goal as I have as well, like 100%. Harry: I should be doing more? What can I do more? Cameron: Thank you. Yeah. Yeah 100 % no it's really really cool. So hopefully that was helpful guys I hope you're having a great week so far. If you are interested in one-to-one coaching you're perhaps struggling a bit with your weight loss right now or things just aren't progressing as you would like then in the link in the show notes there is a link to my whatsapp so you can drop me a little message there and inquire about coaching or just ask any questions you have. So if you are interested in coaching at all you're not exactly sure what it's involved in one-to-one coaching then you can just drop me a message there but otherwise have a great week guys and I'll speak to you soon.