I am going to tell you a little secret about health and wellness content creators that you see online that will help you understand things more clearly. Most of us started out working with clients IN PERSON. When it came time to learn how to take things online, most of us hired coaches and went through programs just like our MYLF plans. These taught us how to get set up and run an online health coaching business. I hired one in 2020, after my gym shut down, and I learned MAINLY what NOT to do.
I’m sort of kidding. If I’m being honest, I just didn’t do my due diligence to find the right coach with the right program. A trainer friend of mine told me this is what I needed to do during covid and he LOVED it and it was the best thing he ever DID. I later found out that he got a referral fee for me signing up… and he is no longer in the online health coaching space.
One of the MAIN things we were taught to do in that program was “niche down”. This is such a pervasive question in the online business community — what is your niche? Get even more specific, then even MORE specific.
Most of them have a catchphrase like,“you are not Nike, so you can’t just ‘sell shoes’”. You had to choose. You had to decide to sell shoes to moms with size 7.5 feet who love running on weekends — with strollers!
This never felt right to me. Nutrition is not NICHED — it’s VERY nuanced. When you start splitting the world of nutrition into all of these tiny sub-categories, they start fighting against each other. Each becomes VERY dogmatic in their particular approach, and starts arguing amongst themselves about how theirs is the best. This only leads to even MORE confusion about nutrition, and nobody wins.
I’ve loved to see how the health and wellness space has engaged in more NUANCED conversations. People that openly hated on each other are coming together and realizing they are not all that different. There are differences, but overall, everyone is after the same thing: HELPING people with their health. And when we can watch these conversations, WE can benefit, because we can hear all of it and make decisions based on what makes sense to us and where we are RIGHT NOW.
Engaging this way helps us think more critically and open our minds. We can be LESS dogmatic and MORE reasonable.
Today, we are going to talk about how and when to shift from being dogmatic, which has its purposes, into being more reasonable and how that makes a difference maker in sustaining weight loss.
What is dogma in the first place?
Dogma is made up of your principles, beliefs and the things you absolutely will not waiver from. You could almost call these your CORE beliefs.
We LOVE core beliefs because they give meaning to what we are doing. They make us feel like what we do matters. We don’t have to be very disciplined in our actions because we BELIEVE that following this path is the RIGHT way.
So dogma is not a BAD thing. There is absolutely a time and place for it. It’s just good to UNDERSTAND it. What makes something dogmatic is that you have:
- A VERY fixed belief about something
- You speak those beliefs from a place of authority, not to be questioned
- You often accept these beliefs without any real critical examination other than having seen that they somehow work
- And then you’re VERY resistant to change, even in the face of new information or when your circumstances change
Being dogmatic in an approach that works for us serves us VERY well when we are working to change any deeply engrained habit, or really any time that you are trying to adhere to something CONSISTENTLY.
It helps to almost identify with that approach so that you can follow it consistently. The people I’ve seen lose the most weight are the most dogmatic in their approach. They enjoy the plan because it provides:
- Clear structure, which provides freedom from over-thinking
- Simplicity, which makes decision making easier
- Quick results, which is motivating
- Quicker habit breaking and habit formation
- It gives us a sense of control — I can’t control everything, but I can control whether or not I follow this plan
These things often serve us well while we are on a weight loss journey, which is what Metabolism Mastery is. This program is designed to allow you to lose weight, specifically body fat, and maintain muscle. When you have DONE that, YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED. You no longer need to dogmatically follow a plan that is designed for rapid fat loss.
Often at this point is where the diet or approach itself gets blamed. The plan did what it was supposed to do. Now, you’re dogmatically following an approach that doesn’t fit your circumstances anymore. Or you are adhering to certain guidelines of this approach that you can ease upon, but we struggle to let ourselves think reasonably because we only see the one exact way.
Weight LOSS and weight MAINTENANCE are two different things
I believe that having a dogmatic approach during weight loss will help you get to your goals. But then you have the challenge to learn to be more reasonable. THIS is your ticket to sustainability.
The point is not memorizing a script but understanding the logic behind it — which is what we teach in our programs. The main difference between the two phases is your mindset. The framework stays, but you learn to be less dogmatic and more reasonable in your approach.
We tend to see two types of people: those who start dogmatic, lose a lot of weight quickly, but then struggle with reason.
On the flip side, we have some who are almost TOO reasonable in their approach from the get-go and struggle to adhere to the plan consistently enough to get the results they want.
The thing is, it’s not quite black and white but more of a spectrum. During the weight loss phase, you want to trend more on the dogmatic side. Then, as you get closer to your maintenance goal, you start to learn reason. I honestly think you will have the most success with this approach. But we don’t want a dogmatic approach to be void of reason. Here are some ways that we don’t want to let it trip us up.
You tend to hold an all-or-nothing mindset
Usually when you are dogmatic about something, you feel that you only have two options: all or absolutely NOTHING.
You do this because you know what the “all” is — you’ve been there and know that it works. And you want to be back there. I have no problem with the “all”. It’s the nothing that I have a problem with.
That’s where people tend to get stuck, struggling to see that just ONE step can help take them back to the right way. That all wasn’t accomplished overnight, but you expect to get there overnight.
Keeping boundaries in place that may not make sense to you anymore
You are in a fat loss phase, which means that we limit the incoming energy sources, so that you can use your internal energy sources. This translates into pulling back on those sources, which are carbs and fats. It doesn’t mean that those sources are off the table forever and always.
If you come out of the deficit, you have more wiggle room in energy. But people get tripped up here because they have this solid boundary around potatoes, rice, pasta, bananas. We absolutely CANNOT eat those, but somehow cookies creep in.
All whole foods are on the table. Search for the best quality and prepare them to digest them well, but they are all on the table.
Fixation on a single method
Thinking that you need to stick to the method at all times, because it is the only way. Again, the method was in place for structure, clarity, adherence and progress. Once you’ve made progress, you have to understand what the framework is and that your situation has changed. You can apply the framework differently. You can work to come out of your deficit and focus on other goals.
Resistance to adaptation
Plainly, refusing to change your approach even when it clearly doesn’t work or causes negative side effects.
Let’s get real here. A lot of times we see this cycle when someone has, say, a 1500 calorie goal, but hey, the less they eat the more weight they lose. So they restrict further Monday through Friday. Guess what happens over the weekend? They’re HUNGRY so the weekend is a free-for-all.
We set specific macros and goals for a reason — you could go harder, but it will cost you. We’re setting numbers you CAN work with and can see progress with if you’re consistent.
Generalizing personal experiences
Many people assume that what worked for them has to work for everybody — or the contrary, what worked for a friend has to work for them.
Truth is nutrition works for everyone. Different people may need to apply it differently, depending on their current status. Everyone’s DIET may end up looking a little different.
Dogma WORKS for a while. REASON works for good
If you want to lose weight, you will absolutely need to put in the work to make that happen. The point is what you did early on won’t be the same you need to do to maintain that weight loss.
MYLFs approach both phases — weight loss and weight maintenance — with reason.
Here is what that means:
- Use rational thinking: We use logic and critical thinking to assess the situation. Base decisions on logic rather than emotions and feelings. We allow ourselves to get out of the red before we make any decisions.
- Have strong beliefs, yet remain open-minded, because nutrition is an ever changing science. If new information comes out, we are willing to consider it, even if it challenges our existing beliefs.
- Make plans and prepare, yet we are flexible and able to quickly adapt when our circumstances change.
- Live in REALITY. Not should or could, no used to or want. What is ACTUALLY going on and what can I do about that? We accept our circle of control.
- Base our decisions and opinions on facts and reliable information rather than assumptions.
- Have empathy for others, as we all come to the party with a different belief system and point of view. We don’t feel the need to be defensive, because we know that it is possible and allowed for people to hold different ideas than us.
- Practice patience. If things are not happening at the rate we would like them to, we don’t get frustrated but curious. Is there anything that I can do differently? OR do I just need to practice the lost virtue of patience?
- Are self-aware. We know our strengths and we use them. Know our weaknesses and strengthen them. We’re OPEN to coaching and constructive feedback — so much so that we seek it out.
Finding Your Balance
At the end of the day, success in your health journey isn’t about picking a side and staying stuck there forever. It’s about knowing which tool to use and when.
Dogma gives you the focus, structure, and momentum you need to build new habits and lose weight. But reason gives you the flexibility, critical thinking, and peace of mind you need to keep it off for good.
You don’t have to blindly follow a rigid set of rules for the rest of your life to be healthy. Give yourself permission to adapt as your circumstances change. Be willing to ask questions, adjust your boundaries, and step out of the all-or-nothing mindset.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building a sustainable approach that works for your real life, explore our MYLF plans and coaching options today. We’re here to help you navigate both phases with clarity, logic, and support.
Be the first to comment