How I went from 1,300 calorie spreadsheets to food freedom

I tried one of those "eat what you want and lose weight" programs. The spreadsheet landed in my inbox, the calories came out at 1,300, and I thought, there is absolutely no way. In this episode I share the full story: what that eight-week program actually looked like, why it set me up to fail, and the moment that changed the way I coach forever.

This one's personal. It's story time, grab a brew.

In this episode I cover -

• Why I signed up to a calorie-tracking program as a newly qualified PT. I was told to absorb everything, learn from the best. So I paid £125 for an eight-week fat loss program run by well-respected coaches and got emailed a spreadsheet. No call, no conversation, just numbers.
  

• What 1,300 calories actually looks like. Spoiler: eggs on toast for lunch and eggs on toast for dinner. Not exactly the "eat what you want" marketing they promised. I was training, I was active, and I was struggling while watching other people in the group drop four, five, six pounds.
  

• Why women in their 30s and 40s keep falling off the wagon and it's not a willpower problem. The women who came to me as a PT weren't asking to lose a stone in a week. They wanted to feel strong, carry the shopping in one go, eat the same meal as their family. The diet cycle wasn't failing them, it was never built for them.
  

• How I found intuitive eating and why it changed everything. I went down the rabbit holes, I read the handbook, I started implementing it with the women in front of me. And they stopped overeating. Not because I told them to because they finally learned to listen to themselves.
  

• Why I stopped tracking calories with clients entirely. In 2023 I made the decision: no more calorie goals, no more rigid rules, no more setting people up to fail. Food guidelines over food rules. Education over restriction. And yes, weight loss still happens. As a byproduct, when the relationship with food is solid.
  

• The message I got this morning that says it all. A client, six weeks in, chronic dieter her whole life, bought a cake, ate half, put the rest away for today. Said she couldn't believe it worked. I could.

Those eight-week spreadsheet programs are still out there. Still promising you can eat what you want. You deserve more than that and there is another way.

Connect with Cara —

Thanks for joining me today on Chatting with Cara. Hope this one gave you something to think about!

If you're ready to break the diet cycle and build a healthy relationship with food, I'd love to chat.

Email - cara@coachingwithcara.co.uk

Website - www.coachingwithcara.co.uk

Facebook - Coaching with Cara

Instagram - @coachingwcara

Ready to explore how we can work together? Book a FREE no-obligation consultation call to discover what's possible.

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Until next time, keep chatting!