Why Getting to Know Yourself Is the First Step to Lasting Change

My kids probably noticed it before I did.

They had a mum who was always distracted. I was there, but I wasn't really there. My mind was constantly somewhere else – worrying about work, worrying about money, wondering where the next client would come from, or trying to come up with another business idea. Looking back, I don't remember having much fun during that time.

At the time, I thought money was the problem. And don't get me wrong, financial stress is exhausting. When you're worried about whether you'll have enough work next month, it consumes you. It doesn't just affect your bank account; it affects your ability to think clearly, to be present and to enjoy the people around you.

What I didn't realise was that I'd become disconnected from myself.

Not in some spiritual, dramatic way. I had simply stopped noticing myself.

I stopped noticing when I was tired because I kept telling myself to push through. I stopped noticing how overwhelmed I was because there was always something more important to deal with. I stopped noticing how anxious I felt because my attention was fixed on solving the next problem.

It wasn't until years later that I realised this was the beginning of everything I teach today.

The first step wasn't learning how to manage stress better or becoming more disciplined. The first step was learning to notice.

I started noticing when I was working too hard. I noticed when I was overwhelmed before I completely lost the plot. I noticed when I was no longer able to give my best. I noticed when I was saying yes to everyone else and no to myself. I noticed when I was letting other people walk all over me because I wasn't honouring my own needs. I noticed when I was blaming other people for the way I was feeling, when really there was something going on inside me that I hadn't acknowledged. This is Why Getting to Know Yourself Is the First Step to Lasting Change.

I didn't realise it at the time, but this was the beginning of getting to know myself.

One of the biggest misconceptions I see, especially when it comes to weight loss, is that women think they need more discipline. I don't think that's true.

I think many women have become so disconnected from themselves that they no longer notice what's driving their choices. They don't notice when stress is eating away at their capacity. They don't notice when they're emotionally exhausted. They don't notice when they're eating to soothe, or pushing through when what they really need is rest.

That's why Getting To Know Yourself is the foundation of everything I teach, and why Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind starts there too.

Because you can't change what you don't notice.

Before you change the way you eat, move or think, you have to learn to notice yourself again.

Not to judge yourself.

Not to fix yourself.

Just to get curious.

If any part of my story felt familiar, perhaps it's time to get curious about your own.

Register your interest in Getting to Know Yourself before 30th August to be one of the first to hear when enrolments open. REGISTER HERE.

Because the relationship you have with yourself will always shape the relationship you have with food, movement and your body.

Mel x