I was working with my coach Justin this week (yes every great coach has a great coach) and he shared this client story with me. It was impactful and relevant to many of the people who contact me and currently work with me for weight loss and health improvements. Please read through the whole conversation. If nothing else I hope it gives you some enlightenment or something to think about.
He was telling me about a person who contacted him about training. The man needs to lose about 100 pounds. He explained the program and the guy said he was interested. Then he told him the price and the guy immediately balked.
Now, being a seasoned professional he simply replied, “I understand. Price can be a concern for some people. Can you tell me how much you thought it was going to cost to get the help you need to lose 100 pounds?”
The man replied, “I don’t know, maybe 100 bucks a month.”
Again, being the professional that he is AND not being afraid to pull any punches as a good coach replied, “Interesting. Let me ask you, how much do you think it costs you per month to be 100 pounds overweight?”
Silence.
You see, it actually costs a lot more than $100 per month to be that overweight. And, you don’t need to have 100 pounds to lose to benefit from this lesson so stick with me, even if you only have 5 or 10 pounds that you’d like to lose or you have a health issue you need to improve. But, let’s get back to the 100 for a moment. You see, he actually has a client who he helped lose 100 pounds and this guy is one of those really smart, analytical, numbers tracking type guys.
He told him that he estimates (with great accuracy) that it was costing him about 40k per year to be 100 pounds overweight!!
“How?!,” you might be wondering. Here is what this client figured;
- You gotta do some extra eating to be 100 pounds overweight.
- You’re definitely eating out a lot ($)
- You are consuming more than you need ($)
- You’re likely consuming alcohol ($)
- You Probably daily coffee drinks and treats ($)
- Then there’s the medications ($) and doctor’s visits ($) after the deductible
- Shopping at specialty stores ($) or have clothes specially made ($)
- Your shoes wear out a lot faster, too. ($)
- Since he flew a lot for business, he was either forced to purchase first-class seats ($) or buy two seats ($)
- He even said he needed to purchase more expensive furniture ($) and even cars ($) with seats that would hold up
- The list went on and on.
Then, of course, there are the emotional costs ($), the loss of productivity at work ($), physical discomforts ($), and so much more. Needless to say, this client was quite happy to spend a few hundred dollars per month on training! 🙂
In his case, the REAL cost of training was actually a rather large negative number. He was saving tens of thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands over his lifetime!
So, whether you have 100 pounds to lose or no pounds to lose, have you ever considered the REAL cost of a fitness program and professional coach? If you’ve got nagging symptoms like joint pain, fatigue, headaches, mood swings, poor sleep, lack of sex drive, or any other host of irritants that a fitness program can eliminate…what are they costing you?
How about diabetes or heart disease? What about poor self-confidence or lack of motivation? Some of these things are hard to put a number on, but try. Between the things you may be spending money on to get those symptoms and what those symptoms are costing you in life, it’s a pretty safe bet that hiring a coach is a lot cheaper. 😉
Someone reading this is definitely upset and wants to reply, “But I don’t have the money to pay a coach now! I’m living paycheck to paycheck!!”
OK. I understand that as a first response. Let’s help you out and take a quick look at how you’re spending your money. What are you spending it on beyond the bare essentials? $5 coffees? Alcohol? Eating out? All those things that cost money and contribute to the problem – what can you eliminate? Really, be honest with yourself.
Second, do as my coach’s client did. Evaluate what being unhealthy, overweight, and or out of shape is costing you each month/year both financially and emotionally.
“Not being able to afford it” usually comes down to one of three things:
- You don’t want to change
- You’re afraid to change
- You think it’s not going to work
We can work with #2 and #3. #1s probably didn’t read this far. If you REALLY want to make a transformation, please reach out. We CAN help you. It’s what we do best.