This post was originally sent to my private email list on June 5th, 2022.

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Early in my personal training career, I sent clients a mile-long intake form before their first session.

In it, I asked them for their goal weight and why that number mattered to them.

The problem was, I didn’t place enough of an emphasis on the second half of the question. I was afraid clients wouldn’t be happy if the scale wasn’t budging, so we mostly focused on making that happen.

But this heighted scale stress (shocker), and rid us of the opportunity to notice and celebrate non-scale wins.

Which is why now, at the most, I’ll ask clients for a general ballpark of how much they eventually want to weigh. But I ask them to get really, really specific about what they think this will do for them.

People generally mention:

  • Feeling much more confident in their own skin
  • No longer feeling lethargic in the mornings and crashing in the afternoons
  • Being able to get ready for a night out without feeling so self-conscious
  • The pride associated with being a person who finally follows through with a plan
  • How happy they’ll be to break out of the yo-yo cycle

The interesting part is, none of these outcomes require you to weigh a specific weight.

Which is why I recently challenged a veteran client who said she wanted to lose 20 pounds before her cousin’s summer wedding:

“Why does this number matter to you? How do you anticipate feeling on your cousin’s wedding day if you were to weigh this much?”

While the scale is a valuable tool in the toolbox, her answer to this questions will be our REAL North Star.

In my defense, 2014 Sam also wore khakis to sessions while carrying a leather briefcase, and may have had a chinstrap, so it’s safe to say my judgement was lacking at the time.

Oh well.

We all make mistakes!

Sam

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