Client Story: The Starbucks CHOICE

I had a great conversation with a client the other day in regards to some changes she's made since some of our initial discussions in working together.

My client enjoys the caramel frappucino from Starbucks. She also likes to get the Venti size when she goes. For all you non-Starbucks folks I found this graphic for you...

Image from: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/starbucks-coffee-sizes/

This is where the conversation and mindset differ from the norm with Zenergy Coaching. I want to share this not only for the purpose of the specific nutrition discussion here, but also to help show a refreshing and more REALISTIC approach to nutrition habit change.

First let's look at the "common approach" to a situation like this. 👇

The common APPROACH:

In anything nutrition related like this, the first step is to look at the nutrition facts and then tell yourself (the client) or have the professional (or your neighbour down the street, co-worker, gym buddy etc) tell you all the reasons why "it's bad" for you AND all the reasons why you "shouldn't" have a venti caramel frappuccino (or your favourite food/drink/meal).

The common REACTION:

As the client or person being "told what to do" (like you're a 5-year old), we "obey" and have every intent to follow this "good" and/or "helpful" advice from the "wise and all knowing guru before us". Then...

-We begin to restrict ourselves from having something we ENJOY.

-We label this (and other things) as "good" or "evil".

-We follow the belief that if we have this thing we ENJOY that we will IMMEDIATELY have drastic negative effects on our health and wellbeing.

-We actively force ourselves to NOT have "this horrible, awful concoction"... EVER again.

We approach our health in a "Just do as your told" manner ~ And that's why so many STILL struggle to find what works

The common OUTCOME to this reaction:

For a while, it may work. We've gone a week, two or even a month where we've forced ourselves to "do as we're told" and we've avoided the "death trap" that is this ['insert favourite drink here'] that we love so much. And we give ourselves a pat on the back like we're gonna get gold star and the world will know of our "amazing-ness".

But then LIFE happens; Stress, temptation or that "F#$% it moment" that inevitably pops up because we've had enough!!

-Could be because things are not changing how we thought they would (even after stopping the "evils of our favourite drink")...

-Could be because Starbucks had a sale on that was just too tempting...

-Could be because something has thrown you off in your lifestyle / daily routines...

Regardless of why, MOST PEOPLE who follow this common approach to ANY nutrition (or health) aspect / effort end up here; Feeling like they're "back where they started", LOST and CONFUSED and down right frustrated. This often then actually sends them further from where they want to be in regards to their goals.

Let me show you how clients and I discuss nutrition in a way that's more REALISTIC and that helps THE CLIENT LEARN about what works and doesn't work FOR THEMSELVES.... while NOT causing MORE stress for ourselves in the process!!!

(That's VERY important in itself)

The Zenergy APPROACH:

An important element of our nutrition that we RARELY factor in is our "likes and dislikes", "willing to do's and won't do's". THESE ARE CRUCIAL to figuring out your next steps. Also crucial is what the client WANTS in regards to her health, lifestyle and wellbeing. We VERY OFTEN skip ALL OF THESE things in favour of some "do this, not that" approach or a "quick and straight forward recipe" for health that some TikToker shares as "the best" advice EVER.

You CAN be healthy and still ENJOY things you ENJOY

In my clients case, she LIKES her caramel frapps. It's NOT my job as her coach to tell her to HAVE IT or DON'T HAVE IT. My job is to help her, help herself decide if and how it works for her in her lifestyle and health goals. Often, clients end up learning that they can have things they enjoy while still creating positive lifestyle changes!

In this case, we talked about doing things from the approach of "What's just a little bit 'better' than a venti caramel frappucino?" In this context, "better" means something that is taking you CLOSER to your health goals than the current habit / choices. With that, my client shared with me in her recent session that SHE made the CHOICE to get a Grande caramel frappucino at Starbucks. That's STILL HAVING her drink of choice, but it's DIFFERENT than what she typically would get.

The REALITY of this small change:

Some points to focus on here with this decision to move from a Venti sized drink to a Grande;

• She's still having something SHE ENJOYS

• She's still creating positive change in the direction SHE WANTS

• She's taken what can be a 500 calorie drink, down to 380 calories (all approximate)

• She's reduced the sugar content by 30g (that's almost a whole can of pop!)

EVERY SINGLE one of these points is CHANGE in the direction that SHE wants to go with her health practices, all the while still "allowing" herself to be an adult and make whatever choices she wants to make.

To add to that, she shared with me something else that was an "ah-ha" moment for her (and myself). She shared with me how with her venti sized drink, she would be carrying it around all day long (she gets her drink on the way to work). This means she'd be sipping on it all day (perhaps taking away from water or other choices of drinks she could have) but also it becomes a stressor at times; "Do I have my drink with me?"... "Where did I leave my drink?"... "Can I take it with me to this room / meeting / place?"... Sounds silly right? But we don't consider these things in our nutrition practices very often and YET THEY HAVE A MAJOR impact on us throughout our day.

She followed this by sharing that with her Grande size drink, she's sipping on the way work and is typically done by the time she gets there or just after. Meaning, it's just ONE more thing off her mind during her days - which she shared "feels really nice". 🙂

The "Zen" that comes with SMALL change:

Rather than going "All or Nothing" into ANY change, Zenergy does our best to help people work on the spectrum BETWEEN these extremes. Slowly progressing along the spectrum as we learn and discover things that work and don't work for each individual client.

What my client is beginning to learn for herself is that by making this small change in her drink of choice, she can learn and discover if it helps create positive changes in her health throughout her days/weeks/months. In doing so, she may come to learn that she's quite happy with just getting a grande and NOT NEEDING to make any further change for herself! This is where the "common approach" fails us!!!

The "common approach" we discussed earlier has us going "all in" on CHANGE, which does NOT allow us to learn what may work for us in between that extreme and where we are now. When my clients open their minds to the possibility that there could be somewhere between "where they are now" and "where they perceive they have to go" to achieve their health goals, it often doesn't take long to realize they don't have to go as far as they thought to feel good, feel healthier AND feel happy!

What makes this client story special (as with my favourite client stories) is because SHE made that decision based on a conversation we had. I didn't "tell her" or "bully her" into changing ANYTHING about her Starbucks or anything else for that matter. We talked like two adult humans together, I shared some ideas, info, options and approaches to things we're going to work with regarding her goals and health, while she shared thoughts and experiences with me. And within her first handful of sessions together SHE made this CHANGE FOR HERSELF. And because SHE made that SMALL CHANGE HERSELF, guess what??

SHE feels GOOD about it.

It doesn't feel like a BURDEN for her.

It feels GOOD!!!

When we jump in "All or Nothing" and/or listen to what we "should do" or what "so and so told me to do", we SKIP ALL OF THESE POWERFUL FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES, which is why we end up right back to feeling like we did when we first jumped in full tilt.

While MOST people are struggling to "fight a war against themselves" as they perceive it to be with their nutrition habits, my client is making positive changes and sipping on her caramel frapp at the same time. Whether she continues to CHOOSE to get her caramel frapp down the road is irrelevant. She may, she may not. It DOESN'T MATTER. IF that change happens, it will happen IF / WHEN SHE is ready and IF / WHEN SHE feels SHE wants / needs to.

THAT'S DAMN POWERFUL in my books.

And it's how we do things together here. 🥰