180 Why I Spent Over 1K on Someone Else’s Body Transformation Program Even Though I’m a Food & Body Coach

In this episode you’ll get a candid behind-the-scenes into my decision making process for signing up for a Body Transformation program as a coach who specializes in helping women release excess weight and feel in charge with food! 

Plus my story, the tearful turning point with my coach and I’ll share my learnings and ah-ha moments of this new program so far, so that you can learn along the way too. 

Book a free call during Next Steps June to see if the Mindful Shape coaching program is right for you.

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Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated, please forgive any weirdness.

[00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to the Mindful Shape Podcast. I'm Paula Parker, and my work is here to help you feel in charge around food, great in your body, and more connected to yourself. This morning, my husband and I went to my son's kindergarten orientation, and so my heart is very full. It was so cute, and he will be in a French immersion program, and so he's...

They're doing little French songs and, like, nothing is cuter than seeing your firstborn child participate with the, like, sweetest teacher, and they're, they're doing all the cutest things. So that is- was very awesome to experience this morning. So it's also in alignment with what I want to share with today because I want to give you a little behind-the-scenes in my world in case it's helpful to you on your path.

So I signed up for a eight-week body transformation program recently. [00:01:00] It was maybe the end of May or the middle of May, and I did get some program material right as soon as I signed up.

But the actual program does not start till next week. And on the surface, you might be wondering why someone whose profession is to help women with food and body pay for a program like this. So I thought it would be helpful to tell you a little bit about how I came to this personal decision, walk you through my decision-making process, and share with you the learnings and the aha moments that I've had so far so that you can follow along and apply it to your own life and learn as we go together.

So this is going to be, you know, a, more of a casual episode, but really I've organized it in terms of four parts. So the first part, I wanna tell you a little bit about my story and share with you my background so that you're able to put all of this in context and hopefully relate a little bit to [00:02:00] what I have to say.

So I'm forty-four now, and a lot of my twenties and my early thirties was really spent yo-yo dieting and trying cleanses and feeling just shy of being comfortable in my body. So I wasn't, like, obese or anything like that, not extremely overweight, but I wasn't comfortable in my body, and I did have some excess fat.

About 40-ish pounds more than I am now. And more than that, my relationship with food was very fraught. So I think of this as an internal guidance system that we have that gets interrupted at some point. And for me, I think that was around the age 14, 15, when I aspired to look like Kate Moss, and it was the era of the supermodel, and I started reducing my food intake.

That's kind of when things started to go haywire, right? So fast-forward to my 20s, I am thinking at this point that I am really the only one who has these issues, [00:03:00] right? Somehow I managed to delude myself into thinking that I was literally the only person, which makes no sense now. But of course, when you're just in it, you're just in it, and you don't see a broader context.

So what I would do is, you know, turn to food to relax. There was nothing better for me after a long day at work than to go to the store, buy all the yummy food, all the food I wanted, and have a little food party for myself. So I would reward myself with pleasure, with food, and it wasn't necessarily the most unhealthy food.

But it wasn't food that was like fuel and nourishment for my body so much as it was more entertainment and, like, fruit and, you know, I don't know, food that necessarily wasn't gonna be conducive for the body that I wanted. That's why I was, like, continuing to gain weight, right? So this was not serving me.

Monday would roll around, and I would feel physically like I had a bit of a food hangover, maybe a sugar hangover. I was eating a lot of candy also at this time, [00:04:00] and emotionally terrible, right? Not feeling good in my clothes, just feeling like I was in a struggle. So at this time, I was working at a yoga studio at the front desk.

I was going to school. I was working at the front desk of this yoga studio, and all the other women there were constantly talking about their coach. "My coach said this. My coach said that." And I had always been interested in personal growth, you know, personal development, wanting to improve myself, wanting to improve my life.

And so it wasn't outside the realm for me to wanna do something like this. I'd done therapy before, and I inquired about it 'cause I thought, "Well, if these... I know what these ladies are making at this yoga studio. It ain't much. And so if they can afford it, I can afford it, too." So I started working with her, and I really started to see that how I was thinking, my mind was impacting the results I was seeing in my life.

But I was still really stuck when it came to my [00:05:00] body. I was really stuck in this model of calories in, calories out, so I was trying to eat a more of a low-fat diet and running all of the time, like- Running outside, it was great, but, you know, looking back, probably not the best thing for trying to release fat and build muscle.

There was also this moment that I had with her when I was just in tears about, overeating and feeling like it was one step forward, three steps back, and I was crying, and she said, "What's good about these tears?" And at first, I really thought, "Well, nothing. This is t- this is terrible. You don't understand.

You've never had food and body issues." And then I, you know, there was like a long pause, and I thought, "At least I am finally talking about it with somebody, and I showed up to the call, and I'm not by myself, , stuffing my feelings down with food." Then I learned about eating to manage insulin, so thank God I [00:06:00] learned a new way to approach eating, which was more focused on blood sugar and optimizing fat loss.

Then, finally, things started to change, so I was combining what I was learning with her, using my mind, the coaching, with this new knowledge. And so as much as it is important to have the right strategy, we need also the mind, so both of those were working in tandem. That's finally when I started to see results.

So I continued along this path. Now, fast-forward to today, I work as a coach that specializes in this area. So what I wanna do is really help women who are also feeling like it's a struggle around food and not quite in the body that they wish they were in, that feels like it would be right for them,

who they know they are on the inside. When those things don't match, it feels very incongruent, okay? And then if we don't know how to handle our emotional world, we [00:07:00] will continue to turn to food. And I really do believe that being in charge around food and feeling good in your body is created from your inner world.

And over these past few years, working with so many clients, I've seen them be able to release excess weight simply by using their mind to follow through on a very simple strategy, on the process of eating only when you're hungry, stopping at enough, and choosing foods that serve you.

Although I've never really been overly attached to specific health strategy or fat loss strategy, other than that, I do see the value in experimenting to see what works for you, your body, your personal preferences, your goals, 'cause not all of our goals are the same, and your lifestyle. Those things are important.

So you wanna, you know, you might wanna try a different approach than, you know, your girlfriend or something. What I [00:08:00] recommend is that you use this guideline to check in with whatever you are doing as an experiment, as a strategy, and you just ask the question, "Could I conceivably do this for three years?"

And if the answer is no, then you wanna keep looking. You wanna find something that is effective, yes, but also more sustainable. All right, let's go to part two. Part two is my big goal. So I've mentioned to those of you who are on my email list, and if you're not, get on there so we can chat, and on this podcast, that this year, so 2026, my focus is really getting into great shape, and more than anything, feeling as good as possible in my body.

So what that means for me specifically is feeling good throughout the day, so this is after my meals, when I go to bed, when I wake up. And now, why I say good as possible, because [00:09:00] I know there are gonna be nights when I'm up, I'm up between 2:00 and 4:00 AM, right? Or I have little kids. My little kids keep me up in the night.

They get sick. Things happen. Like, I'm not always going to feel amazing and vivified every single day, and I do not expect that. But I wanna do everything that I can to feel fit, strong, flexible, you know, to feel like I'm toned, and to not have a lot of soreness or, like, my hips are sore. Even having the agility of getting up off the floor with ease, like it's not a problem.

I know that might sound silly, but, but when you have little kids, and you're 44 years old, you are doing that all of the time, and it's not as smooth as it once was. But I want that sense of, like, just being, you know, a little bit more light on my feet. I also wanna be strong and to be able to carry my five-year-old when I need to.

So my [00:10:00] decision to choose this one thing, which is different, I haven't chosen just one goal before. I usually have multiple goals going on, like something in my business and something else. I decided to really focus in on this one goal. Because why? It affects everything in a positive way.

My mood, how I am with my kids, how I show up in my business, my energy levels, even my marriage totally shows up, right? My thoughts and feelings about my body and my physical energy and how I'm feeling, it affects my entire life

And I also chose this goal because I know that when I reach that vision that I have for myself and my body, and I'm feeling as good as possible in my body, there's just a little bit more of an empowered version of myself that I'm able to access having that goal. Slightly more empowered thoughts. It's the inner work that I've been doing, even [00:11:00] having this goal, that is, like, fueling my energy levels, fueling my positive mood.

So back in May, I heard about this body transformation program, and I reflected on my goal because I had considered the same program when I heard about it last year, I think at around the same time. And at that time, I thought, "No. You know what? I have all the tools.

Like, I can do this on my own. I can totally do this on my own." And when I saw that program come up again, and I reflected on my goal, although, yes, I will say I have seen progress, if I'm really being honest about it, I just, you know, I just thought that if I keep doing what I'm doing, there really would only be a moderate difference by the end of the year, and I'm not going for that.

That would be okay. I would, I would be okay with that, honestly. I would accept that, but that's not what I'm going for here. Like, what I'm going for is feeling as good as possible in my body I was [00:12:00] also given a coaching prompt by one of my coaches, and I sat with it for a few days. I'll share it with you in case it's helpful, which is, what do you know that you're pretending not to know?

What do you know that you're pretending not to know? For me, that was that I wasn't making the progress that I wanted. Now to be fair, I'm light years away from that early picture that I painted for you the beginning of the episode here. From where I was, like, my over-desire for food is now at a natural desire, so I don't deal with a lot of the overeating, the thinking about food all of the time, the overeating and then restricting on Mondays, all of that kind of thing.

And so instead of repeating the pattern and saying, "I'm just gonna figure this out on my own a little bit longer," I thought instead, what if this changed everything? I'm open to the idea that I don't know everything under the sun, that my body as a 44-year-old woman is [00:13:00] changing, that I do value experimentation and trying different strategies, and there might be more to know.

And if I did, if I did know all that I needed to know and how to do it, then I would be there by now. All right. Let's talk about identity, part three. So now that I had this possibility of this program, it really didn't take me that long to decide. I did not linger in confusion or indecision. With all of the mindset and embodiment tools that I have and I teach and, more importantly, the identity that I have now of someone who follows through on any strategy, any program, my success is virtually guaranteed.

When I talked to my husband about allocating our money towards this, I was able to honestly say, "Well, I know if I sign up for it, I'll do everything she says." And you know what? He agreed immediately. And do you know how good that [00:14:00] feels? Like, that is from the inner work that I've done. That is from the coaching, 'cause it was not always the case.

So that's the mindset I have going in. There really is no doubt. I can't even describe to you how good that level of confidence is. That level of belief is so powerful. So what gives you that level of confidence is what I believe are three beliefs, three vital beliefs: I know what to do, I can do it, and what I do will make a difference, even if it's just learning and getting more information.

So the program was gonna tell me what I needed to do, and because my identity is so solid in that I can do it and I know that even if I don't get the exact results, like let's just say, let's open to, you know, there's no guarantees. If I don't get the exact results that I want, I will have definitely learned more by the end [00:15:00] than I started.

So there's gonna be a few things that I didn't know, maybe about my health, my body, myself. Maybe there's things I can pass on to my clients and people around me. And I will feel so good for having just, you know, given myself a shot, just for having prioritized this and feeling like I laid it all out there.

I did everything that I could. So I had all of these, these beliefs, so I could move forward feeling really confident and enthusiastic, even though, of course, results are never guaranteed. It's the feeling that I have going into it because I believe those things. I believe now I know what to do. She's gonna give me the program.

I can do it because of my identity, and I also have a solid belief that whatever I do will make a difference.

I was drawn to this because it really focuses on specifically women over 35, and is heavily focused on the strategy, so what to eat, when, and how much, for what I'm going for. [00:16:00] Now, I still wholeheartedly believe that you can, and I've seen it over and over and over with myself and my clients, reach your desired weight with less precision than this by simply eating a balanced diet and allowing your body to use its fat stores for energy.

So if this is not for you, don't feel like I am advocating for this or I am telling you, "Well, this is what you need to do if you wanna reach your goal." Not at all, because I've seen it so many times where this level of precision is just not required. But for me, I was ready for this level of precision, to do all the heavy lifting, like tracking macros and weighing my food, doing longer, more structured workouts that I wouldn't typically love doing with all the heavy weights.

And it's not my first time with this type of strategy. So I've worked with macro coaches, like, years and years ago, and it's like what I've been talking with clients about recently, because they're saying the same thing. Just like me, [00:17:00] they now have the mindset tools to try any strategy, to not spin out on it, to not miss a day of tracking and go into screw it mode with food.

Like, "Well, the day is done, so I might as just eat whatever." To not give up because you can't be accurate when you go to a restaurant twice in one week or three times in a week, or you're traveling. We go into that all or nothing thinking, okay? So because of the mindset and all of this inner work, we're able to actually follow through on the plan at all

And that for so many of us can be more challenging, right? We have a great plan, we just don't follow through on it. We need those skills. And then also, we need to have a natural desire for food and alcohol oftentimes, rather than what I call an over-desire for them. If you have a strong over-desire for food and alcohol, and you are trying to do some sort of, like, meal plan that's [00:18:00] vastly different from what you're currently doing, it's gonna be very difficult with all that over-desire.

It's not impossible. Of course you can do it. It's just gonna be much more challenging. When you reduce that natural desire first, and you do all of this kind of inner work, it's like, "Give me the plan. I'll just follow it, no problem." Okay, now I wanna move into part four. This is what I'm learning so far. So I shared with my email list That in the month of May, I released five pounds.

Now, give or take that, because I'm also gaining muscle, and our weight, as you know, naturally goes up and down around, like, two to three pounds, but it's in that range. So I saw, like, a new milestone. That's why I call it five pounds down from when I started. More importantly, I feel stronger than I have since, I would say, before my son was born, like five years ago.

So to be fair, I was... I feel like I was in pretty good shape before I started this. But now that I'm so focused on it, I'm really amazed at how quickly my body is changing. [00:19:00] If you are listening to this and you are feeling reluctant to measuring and tracking your food, just know that it's simply information that you can use for yourself to make informed decisions.

It's not a report card that you get a pass or a fail. So do it first for maybe a few days or a week without making any changes, and you might be astonished at what you are intaking. I realized, for me, just how much fat I was consuming and how very low on carbs I was, ridiculously low. I really didn't realize that when I was just eating more intuitively, eating off of habit.

So every now and then, it's, I think, helpful to get more data, more information if you either, A, are just not seeing the results that you want, or B, there's something going on with your health or your energy, right? So will I be incorporating this into my program? You might be wondering. And I will partially. It's not required to follow a specific strategy when [00:20:00] you work with me, but I do always love sharing what is working and what I'm learning, and to build what I think is appropriate into the program.

So my program is very much not like I'm gonna tell you what to do and you just do it. It's more of I'm gonna lay out the map, and then you choose based on your destination. So here is a few hot tips that I am really loving so far. One is to really measure your food. Like, get one of those scales. I did this years ago, but I just had so much mind drama around it.

Okay? So measure your food, but see it as data. This is just information. See what you're actually taking in. I am also starting... Every day before I have my coffee, I start my day with lemon juice. So juice from one lemon, a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, some sea salt, and some bitters. So I use the... I think it's called St.

Francis, and it's Canadian bitters. And I mix that [00:21:00] together with some water. Now, you're supposed to do warm water. That's the recommendation, which makes me wanna gag. So I, I do it cold. Maybe it's 'cause of the time of year. I don't know. So I have that first thing in the morning. I swear that is the best wake-up you could imagine.

I also like sour and bitter things, so if you have a bit of a sweet tooth, one, drop the identity, second, it might feel terrible or it might taste terrible to you, or maybe you get used to it. I don't know. But I love it, and that makes me feel great. Then I have my coffee with a little bit of cream, but I, I will say I have cut down on the cream a little bit.

So now I have just two tablespoons of cream in my coffee. The other thing that I'm doing, which is probably so obvious, but I think it bears repeating, is I'm lifting heavier weights. I'm lifting weights where it feels uncomfortable on that third set. So in the last couple in that third set, I almost can't do.

And this last one I really love because it's more in my, domain, which is mindset. [00:22:00] Even if you have excess fat that you wanna release, don't focus on trying to lose weight or release body fat. Focus, make your intention, make your goal on a day-to-day basis on nourishing your body and building muscle.

Then the fat will come off because that's what the body is designed to do. So it's nuanced, but I do think it's worth repeating because in my work I talk a lot about releasing weight. Like, that is typically what people think of. They wanna release excess fat. They wanna get toned. And there's a slight nuance there of letting that go a little bit and really focusing on nourishing and building building your muscle, fueling your body.

So, you know, we've heard it a million times, but something for me really clicked. And so I wanna [00:23:00] share it with you because maybe you'll just hear it at the right time, and it will shift things and, and improve your approach or improve how you're feeling about it

Final thoughts here. Just like you, I am always growing, learning, trying new things, and I want efficiency. So yes, could I have learned all of that info that I got in the PDFs that she sent through AI, through YouTube, through podcasts, even her podcast? Probably. But I want it streamlined. I want it organized.

I want someone else to have figured it all out so I have a very optimized plan. You might be in a situation where you don't need or want to be that precise. All you want is to feel balanced with your food choices and to not overeat, to stick to your healthy habits. But no matter what your goals are, you need that relational piece.

It's because of the [00:24:00] relationship I have with food and the trust that I've built with myself that I've literally gotten my money worth before the program has even started. From a few PDFs, I have already gotten my value, not because this is, like, rocket science, but because of how committed I am. Because the act of buying this program, of joining, of signing up, of having to talk to my husband about allocating our money towards it, all of that , is the mental and emotional investment that is making the difference.

It is fueling me. It is carrying me. It's the emotional fuel. And so that combined with all of the work that I've been doing specifically in my Shape Shift program, working with my subconscious, balancing my nervous system, doing the meditations, intentional thought work, those exercises, the [00:25:00] specific mindset exercises we're doing in there, all of that

has laid this new foundation for a new identity. Now, I can bring in a very... I don't want to say rigid, a very optimal, precise strategy, and it's like we're off to the races. So I hope that was helpful for you to get a little insight into how I made the decision, why I did it, and some little nuggets in there that you might wanna try to see if it starts moving the needle forward for yourself and in terms of that identity piece of what might help make it click for you, so that really no matter what program that you do, you get the result that you signed up for.

Okay, I'll talk to you again soon. Bye.