Hiring a coach is a big commitment. I wanted to offer you some input from my clients so you can hear from them what it’s like to work with me.
I interviewed Grace, a client that I’m working with around intuitive eating and body image, and asked her a few questions. With her permission, I transcribed our conversation and I’m sharing it here.
TW:
What was it that made you want to work with me?
Grace:
Our college connection and that history. I feel like you're very gentle in your understanding of where I'm coming from and you get me. Even today, you brought me back in a gentle way to seeing the bigger picture. So, yeah. I guess your personality.
TW:
Did you have any concerns or worries about working with me before we started?
Grace:
Going into anything coming from a diet background, you worry about how it was going to line up with that with what the work I'm doing with my naturopath. Wondering what the restrictions were going to be or what I was going to have to do. Also not really understanding intuitive eating, and wondering what are the rules going to be? Not understanding that there really aren't rules, that's the whole point of it.
TW:
Do you have a favorite part of doing this work?
Grace:
I like the check-ins with you. Even today you just really brought me back. I've been ruminating and worrying and you're able to recenter me so I can go off for another couple of weeks and do this work with a clear mind. You know how to work through the issues, whatever issues there are. Every week, it's been different. The personal interaction is great. That's important.
TW
What’s the biggest transformation you've had so far working together?
Grace:
My freedom. The freedom to not be obsessed with food every waking moment and wondering what I'm going to eat next. Or worrying because I ate that, and I can't eat this. I can’t articulate enough how much freedom I have and how my mind is not stressed. (Before we started working together), I literally was focusing on food all the time. And now I have time to focus on other things in my life. I'm also thinking and feeling encouragement to get back into movement and your suggestions about different ways to do that. I have found that helpful, too. The freedom is overwhelmingly the biggest benefit that I've seen.
TW:
Has anything surprised you about working with me?
Grace:
Everything (we’ve been working on) goes against everything I've ever been taught. The biggest thing was you explaining to me that my body was in deprivation mode and then actually seeing that come to fruition. (Before this work), I literally was craving chocolate chips and could not live without them. And then that went away. There’s some residual mental stuff I still need to work on but the physical stuff went away once I balanced what was going into my body.
TW:
Is there anyone you would recommend me to?
Grace:
People going through the whole menopause situation, (what it does to your body and thus to the weight of your body) and trying to fight that. (You can help) people understand that and have freedom to go through this natural process without worrying about the weight piece of it. That would be so awesome for people to know.
I also think a lot about how I can get you to talk to my girl scouts troop or to my daughter or to kids. Because if they have this knowledge at the beginning of their journey before the world starts bombarding them, what a gift that is. It's a delicate thing to talk to girls in their teenage years about their bodies and about what they're putting into it. It has to be handled very carefully. But I think that would be a gift.