Prediction for the future: being lean is destined for only a select few.

Trend: People are becoming increasingly overweight and unhealthy. In the Western world, there are now more overweight than lean individuals.

Losing weight is by far the most common health goal pursued.

Yet, fewer and fewer people manage to become and stay lean.

There's a logical explanation for this.

What I'm about to say might leave you puzzled:

Focus on losing weight and you'll be overweight for life.

If you don't believe me, just look around. How many people do you know who have tried to lose weight and are still overweight?

Perhaps you even recognize yourself in this.

If you don't ensure you have a healthy body weight, you can't expect to be healthy.

The longer you wait to reach a healthy weight, the more weight you will gain — as a result of your current lifestyle. The heavier you are, the more work it takes to get it off and keep it off.

You can wait until the weight will magically disappear, but let's not count on that. Waiting won't change anything, taking action will. Only when you are able to sustainably change your lifestyle, can you be lean for life.

Waiting makes you heavier; change can make you lean.

Are you truly done with being overweight and want to deal with it once and for all?

This newsletter will help turn that desire into reality.

Temporary Changes In Behavior, Temporary Results

Many people who want to lose weight believe that temporary strategies can keep them lean for life.

That would be wonderful. now, ask yourself this question:

If you do strength training for three months and then stop, do you maintain that muscle mass for the rest of your life?

Powerful changes for lasting results

Just as your muscles require regular training to stay strong, being lean requires a permanent change in your lifestyle.

Discover how profound identity change, not temporary diets, is the key to lifelong leanness.

• Self-reflection: Critically examining who you are and who you need to become for lasting success.
• Behavioral patterns: Identifying and modifying behaviors that support your current identity.
• New habits: Developing new, supportive habits that reinforce your new identity.
• Consistency: Creating sustainable change so that new habits lead to lasting results.

The Knowledge Is There, But Where Are The Results?

In the past fifteen years, I have helped hundreds of people lose fat.

When I first graduated from sports college, I was filled with scientific knowledge. Full of enthusiasm, I started helping people with tips and advice. Or so I thought.

I knew exactly what people needed to do to shed those excess kilos.

To my great surprise, the results people achieved were very inconsistent. When I asked them about the cause, a multitude of reasons and excuses always surfaced.

I knew something was off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what exactly.

In June 2020, through two clients, I came into contact with their company, Straight-line Leadership, a business specializing in leadership training and high-performance business coaching.

When I started my membership there, I quickly discovered a hard truth: it's not the methods that don't work, but the people.

I learned that there is a big difference between 'knowing what to do' and 'doing what you know'. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't apply it, it's useless. A famous quote by Bruce Lee confirms this:

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must act."

But what makes someone take action or not? This might make your brain tick: 

Who you are.

People mistakenly think that a lack of information is the reason for their overweight. That they are overweight because they don't know how to lose it.

I can tell you confidently it's not due to a lack of information. It's about implementation and transformation.

Here's all the information you need to be slim for life:

Don't eat too much and be physically active.

Is that something new to you? Probably not.

Everyone knows why they are overweight. They just know how to justify it very well in their minds.

That's where the opportunity lies; in the mind.

This is the secret to being lean for life: change your identity.

The Same Woman, Not The Same Person

The only way to be lean for life is by changing your identity. If this still sounds vague to you, that's understandable, don't worry. I will explain clearly what I mean.

Through the transformation of my client and now colleague, Marleen, I will show you how to change your identity to be sustainably lean.

Here is Marleen's story:

Nearly four years ago, Marleen came to me with the following goal:

She wanted to lose weight, get rid of her physical pain, regain her energy, and feel healthy again.

This was Marleen then:

• 30 kilos overweight (84 kilograms)
• Felt weak
• Mentally exhausted
• Daily pain (fibromyalgia)
• Feeling inadequate as a mother, partner, colleague
• No energy for household tasks
• A worried mother and constant pleaser

This is Marleen today:

• 63 kilograms; lean and muscular
• Independent entrepreneur and personal trainer
• Strong, direct mindset
• No more physical pain (no fibromyalgia)
• Proactive: no task is too daunting
• Open and honest: speaks her mind
• Conscious choices: deliberately says 'yes' or 'no'

In one and a half years, Marleen lost 30 kilograms; she went from 84 kilograms to 54 kilograms.

Now she weighs 63 kilograms, not because she gained fat, but because she has built muscle mass over the last few years.

Marleen is in shape; she has a powerful, muscular, and fit body.

She is the same woman, but not the same person.

I will explain what I mean by that.

Everything we have in life is the result of our actions — our behavior.

But what drives our behavior?

Our identity. This is how it works:

Who we are → What we do → What we have

Who we are at a conscious and unconscious level drives our actions.

Only when we change our identity sustainably, can we change our behavior sustainably and achieve lifelong results.

This is how Marleen fundamentally changed her identity:

An Identity Drives Action

• A worried mother can be carefree
• A non-athlete can exercise
• A stress eater can refrain from eating during stressful times

The question is, for how long?

How long can someone persevere this behavior against their own identity?

"There will always be an end to perseverance” I always tell my clients. You can't keep something up for a lifetime.

So, what's the answer?

Change who you are at your core, along with the associated behavior.

This means changing beliefs, values, norms, and standards you have. In short, how you see yourself, how you view things, and how you act.

If this sounds abstract, here is an example of what changing identity looked like for Marleen.

From Pleaser To Owner

When I first met Marleen, I perceived her as a kind, good-natured lady who liked to stay in the background.

When I started coaching her, I quickly concluded that Marleen was a pleaser. Doing everything for others, consequently not having to look at herself.

Being a pleaser is linked to specific behavior.

Here are some examples:

• Being mainly focused on others
• Basing actions on what others want
• Seeking approval and affirmation from others

You might wonder what this has to do with being lean?

Well, everything. Because what happens when you're always busy with others?

You don't have to focus on yourself.

It's often an (unconscious) strategy to avoid looking at yourself, and therefore, avoid change.

That, of course, has its consequences.

In Marleen's case, it resulted in overweight.

By not looking at herself, she lost control over her diet and physical activity, which is essential for maintaining a lean and healthy body.

By shifting from a pleaser to an owner, Marleen managed to transform her identity for good.

This is what that looked like for her.

I Am An Owner

• An owner takes responsibility for their own life
• An owner takes good care of themselves, enabling them to care for others
• An owner only needs their own permission to act
• An owner acts from their own strength and principles
• An owner creates their own life

In short, an owner is independent and determines their own course.

An owner is perfectly capable of serving others, without pleasing. In fact, others benefit more from an owner than from a pleaser.

An owner not only places responsibility on themselves but also on others. I taught Marleen that things that fall under the responsibility of others, should stay there.

She doesn't need to take them on.

If she does, she not only harms herself but also others. By taking away responsibilities and autonomy from people, you make them dependent.

Being dependent is not powerful, being independent is.

This shift in thinking transformed her into a powerful mother, partner, and colleague.

Marleen changed from a pleaser to an owner by declaring herself as "I am an owner" and living accordingly.

Everyone can declare who they are, in any possible domain.

This is what declaring who you are and living accordingly looked like for Marleen:

An Identity Drives Behavior

Can you see how an identity drives behavior?

Can you also see why changing actions alone is not enough for sustainable change — because it's not in line with who you are?

Who we are and how we see ourselves directs behavioral patterns. This example is just a small selection of the behavior patterns linked to a specific identity. In practice, there could be many more patterns.

Now, let's turn knowledge into action.

With the following assignment, you will map out who you are now and who you need to be, to become lean for life.

Create An Identity For Lifelong Leanness

Your level of activity and your eating habits are crucial for your body weight.

You will now look at your current identity in these two areas. You add depth by linking behavior patterns to your identity.

Once you have mapped this out, you can more easily determine what needs to change and who you need to be.

Use the following questions to clearly map out your situation. Don't rush this; really take the time to do it consciously.

It will give you a lot of insight into your behavior, on a deeper level than you have probably ever thought about.

I can guarantee that if you carry out and implement this assignment, your life will never be the same again.

Eating Habits

1. How do you see yourself in terms of food?
2. If you had to translate this into an identity, what would you call yourself?
3. What behavioral patterns (contributing to overweight) are linked to this identity?
4. What is the effect of this on your weight?
5. What needs to change in your behavior to be sustainably lean?
6. Who do you need to be to transform your behavior sustainably?

Physical Activity

1. How do you see yourself in terms of movement (throughout the day) and training (planned sessions)?
2. If you had to translate this into an identity, what would you call yourself?
3. What behavioral patterns (contributing to overweight) are linked to this identity?
4. What is the effect of this on your weight?
5. What needs to change in your behavior to be sustainably lean?
6. Who do you need to be to transform your behavior sustainably?

Live Your New Identity

What you've learned:

• Your identity drives your behavior.
• Knowledge is useless without application.
• A change in identity is crucial for lasting results.

Your next steps:

• Reflect on your current identity.
• Choose a new identity that suits a lean lifestyle.
• Live according to your new identity.

Being lean has little to do with information; it's all about your identity.

Fully commit to this and if you need any help, let me know.