Your Why For Weight Loss.

Your Why for Weight Loss.

Everyone has a reason they want to lose weight. Feeling attractive again. Fitting into old clothes. Keeping up with the kids. Being around for the grandkids. Getting off the medication. These are all valid reasons. But they're surface whys, and surface whys don't survive February.

The problem with surface whys.

Surface whys sound good. They're easy to say out loud. But they don't hold up when life gets hard. When the office brings donuts. When stress hits and the pantry starts calling at 9 PM. "I want to feel confident" crumbles against a bad day. "I want to be healthy" fades when you're exhausted and overwhelmed. That's not a willpower problem. That's a why problem.

The real why is uncomfortable.

The real why is usually something you don't want to say out loud. It's the photo where you didn't recognize yourself. The doctor's visit that scared you. Avoiding mirrors, cameras, intimacy. Being winded walking up stairs while your kids run ahead.

It's watching your child struggle with weight and feeling like you failed them. Getting sick and wondering if you did this to yourself. Not wanting to end up looking like a parent or relative (sorry, but this is real). Years of starting over every Monday and feeling like a failure by Friday.

Sometimes the real why isn't about weight at all. It's anxiety that won't quit. Depression that makes getting out of bed feel impossible. Using food to cope with emotions you don't know how to process. The shame spiral that starts after every slip up.

The real why is whatever makes you so fed up that you finally decide to do something different. Not try harder. Not follow another trend. Actually different.

The influencer lie.

Scrolling through "what I eat in a day" videos won't get you there. That effortless girl or jacked guy with the perfect body eating high protein pancakes didn't wake up like that. There's years of effort behind that video. Sometimes an eating disorder. Sometimes a full time job of working out. Sometimes genetics. Often all of the above.

What works for them doesn't work for you because their life isn't your life. Their body isn't your body. Their history isn't your history.

Motivation won't save you.

Here's what the wellness industry doesn't want you to know: motivation is a terrible long term strategy. It's a finite resource. It runs out. And when it does, you're back to square one, blaming yourself for not trying hard enough.

With everything science now knows about blood sugar, hormones, and metabolism, relying on motivation and discipline is outdated advice. If blood sugar is crashing every afternoon, no amount of willpower stops the cravings. If cortisol is elevated from chronic stress, the body holds onto weight no matter how disciplined you are. If anxiety or depression is running the show, food becomes comfort, not fuel. If your hormones are out of whack, you might need medication support that goes along your diet.

Understanding how the body and mind actually work is the unlock. Not trying harder.

Finding your why takes time.

Coco Pierrel, founder of The Healthy Weight Loss Coach, spent two decades dieting before finding her real why. She started dieting at fourteen, the tall girl in class who felt gigantic when the nurse weighed everyone in front of the whole school. She did the Special K diet, the green juice cleanses, the apple cider vinegar shots. Tried every trend out there. She underfueled all day and raided the pantry by night. The cycle never ended.

Until a health crisis forced her to look deeper. That's when she realized lasting weight loss had nothing to do with restriction. It had everything to do with understanding how to fuel the mind and body in a way that actually works. She became a Certified Integrative Nutritionist and turned her why into a mission: helping others break free from diet culture for good.

You don’t have to turn it into a full blown profession, but it could be something you check off the box too. Breaking the cycle by finding peace in your own body, and maybe not pass this burden to your kids by paving the way or inspiring your family and friends to take charge too. You know health (and healthy weight loss) is contagious.

Some real whys sound like this.

Because I'm fed up with not feeling attractive in my own skin. Because I want to starve cancer before it finds me. Because I don't want my kids to inherit my struggles. Because I want to get off this medication. Because I'm tired of being the "before" photo. Because I want to be alive and present for the next chapter. Because I refuse to feel like this at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70. Because I deserve to feel good in my body.

Your why doesn't have to be poetic. It just has to be true.

Your why is in there. Now what?

Once you find it, the next step isn't a complete overhaul. It's knowledge. Learning how your body works for you, not against you.

Low energy? Fix your food. Not a gym person? Take a walk or do a YouTube video at home. Not a veggie person? Find one vegetable you actually like and start there. Struggling with cravings? Add more protein to your meals. Have no idea where to start? Stick to some simple swaps. Struggling emotionally? Therapy, support, rest. All part of the equation.

What if walking 15 minutes every day versus nothing was the difference? Which body feels better after a month? Everything counts. Small changes stack. You don't need to burn it all down and start fresh on Monday. You need to commit to one thing and protect it.

Go out of your way for your why. You get one life. Be your own hero.

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Coco Pierrel, The Healthy Weight Loss Coach, helps you unlearn dieting and relearn eating for a healthy weight loss through the Eat Shed Glow™ method. Ready for personalized support? Book your free 15-min consult today.