I get a lot of questions about what clients can expect from the 12 Weeks to Transformation. They want to know what those twelve weeks look like and—more importantly—they want to know what they walk away with at the conclusion of the program.
In this episode, hear directly from one of my current 12 Weeks to Transformation clients, Beth, who joined the summer session with the goal of losing a few pregnancy pounds and in the process saved $4,000, transformed her family life, and, yes, her weight is down as well. This is Beth’s experience.
04:35 Everything Was Going So Well
Beth’s hardships this year are painfully familiar. A stay-at-home mom of two small children, Beth was interviewing for her dream job. She was in the final stage of the interview process and she found the perfect daycare, everything was lining-up. Then Covid hit and everything fell apart.
Beth was in a bad place, binge-eating, spending too much money, just trying to cope with the stress. Having read my book Chasing Cupcakes, Beth was aware of me and The 12 Weeks to Transformation. She was hesitant about joining because she’d already spent money on other programs that didn’t give her the results she had hoped for. She sent me a message and we talked about her doubts and the embarrassment she felt about spending more money in the middle of a self-described “covid-spending binge”.
With the stated goal of losing her last baby pounds, Beth joined the 12 Weeks to Transformation. As of the time we recorded this podcast episode, the 8-week mark, it was becoming clear to Beth that the transformation was manifesting in other areas of her life. After eight weeks, Beth has saved $4,000.
9:30 Big Changes in 8 Weeks
What changed? Beth went from making covid-guilt-ridden purchases, buying stuff to comfort her son about not seeing his school friends, to saving $4,000 in less than 2 months.
In the 12 Weeks to Transformation Beth found tangible tools. She made a plan, started a budget, and took control. She learned to direct her focus to finances with a new journaling practice where she writes down her purchases and really thinks through the intentions behind her spending impulses. With her identity journal, Beth makes the time and space for those changes to resonate.
She also flipped her view of the situation. Working with her husband, Beth and her family figured out a way to make saving money fun for them. By tying the process to her husband’s vinyl record hobby and instituting a fun Friday ritual, the whole family is engaged and enjoying it. Beth says it’s a better way to live.
17:00 The Lingering Problem of Binge-Eating
During our conversation, Beth also describes the challenge she’s faced by being in a repetitive cycle of binge-eating, followed by restricting eating.
Most people don’t know how good it feels to feel good. For so many of us, normal is the binge-restrict cycle or it’s inconsistency. What’s working for Beth is a change in mindset. She’s not eating to lose weight, she’s eating to feel good and to be less moody.
She told me (20:25) I am so addicted to the peace that I feel around food if I don’t have sugar. I can’t imagine having carbs in the middle of the day, or sugar in the middle of the day, ever again.
For me too, my mood stability hinges on how I eat and drink. So I can expect the struggle to be worse if I consistently make food and alcohol choices that don’t serve me and that make me emotionally volatile.
Yet, most people don’t know how they would feel if they made different choices. This is something that I wrote a chapter about in Chasing Cupcakes. Give yourself the experience of giving maximum effort. You can always go back to the way things were before, but giving yourself the experience is powerful because you will actually know how it feels.
26:20 The Most Helpful Tools
For Beth, the most helpful tools have been:
1. The Identity Journal
When Beth is thoughtful about her journaling, it helps her, not just track her spending choices, but figure out what went wrong the previous day.
2. Affirmations
Beth shared her two favorites:
I am a creative and energetic parent. She says this affirmation empowers her as a parent by helping her to identify as that kind of care-giver.
I am willing to be uncomfortable to see what I am capable of. Beth uses this one when she’s stressed out, wants to eat something she shouldn’t and “numb-out”. She tells herself, we don’t do that anymore, it’s going to be uncomfortable, and then 15 minutes later she’s moved on.
*This is how uncomfortable things become comfortable!*
3. Working Out
Beth says, “I eat and move through the world to feel amazing. It doesn’t feel amazing to snap at my husband, to yell at my kid.” Beth has realized that when she’s feeling low-energy and moody, there’s no better way to feel better than working out. She describes how taking care of her body helps her mood, in turn making everyone in her family happier.
4. Gratitude
Looking for gratitude is part of the 12 Weeks to Transformation process and it’s one of the first things that Beth noticed, one of the first of many shifts she felt.
33:30 Trusting Yourself to Make Change
I asked Beth what she would tell someone who doesn’t trust themselves to actually do the work if they invest in the 12 Weeks to Transformation. Here’s what she said:
The reason that you want to do it and that you feel like it’s something that can help is because it can and YOU can and you want to do it because you want to change.
The thing about this program is that it’s not for everyone because if you don’t want to do the work, don’t bother, it’s not easy.
You feel the pull because you know that you are capable of better than this, and you know you can feel better than this.You have to take that step to find out because it’s there and you have it in you, you just have to let yourself succeed.
To learn more about the 12 Weeks to Transformation—opening again in September—visit primalpotential.com/transform. For a limited time, anyone who joins the waitlist for the 12 Weeks to Transformation will receive totally FREE access to my new Client Preview Series where we are tackling topics like consistency, resilience, goal achievement, fat loss, and more!