We recently connected with Tanya Linsley and have shared our conversation below.

Tanya , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

We are all creatures of habit and seekers of instant gratification. Successes and/or fallbacks are a result of our daily habits, and the biggest rewards are often delayed. If you are seeing results keep doing what is working, but if you’re not, spend your time auditing your daily habits and take the necessary time to change them accordingly. If you want the reward for doing that, trust the process, because change is not a byproduct of one event, it is a combination of several over time.

Everyone that is open minded to this advice will benefit. It’s about pivoting lives with small shifts, less overwhelm and investing in permanent change.

An example is walking a client through experiences with dieting for weight loss. Historically this client has tried several restrictive diets and achieved weight loss, but the diets were not helpful for maintaining the results, the thought process is that the diet worked, and they (the individual) failed. The approach of the diet is what set the process up for failure in the first place. The approach was restricting carbohydrates, fun beverages because “zone of fat loss”, required intense exercise of one hour five days a week and the “necessary bars and shakes” for calorie control and hunger management. This client enjoyed carbohydrates, an occasional drink with her friends, didn’t have a lot of time to work out for five days out of the week and really valued meals with her family. This approach for fast “results” was NOT anywhere in alignment with what she enjoyed in life, much less valued, which made this not a sustainable approach. This also didn’t save her time in the long run or give her the results that she thought she would be getting. Five years later she was still 30-60 pounds overweight depending on where she was at on the yo-yo train, still confused and had spent around $26,000 – $30,000 on weight loss plans and supplements over the course of the past five to six years. She reached out to me to help her get the results she was looking for while remaining healthy and satisfied.

It took 1 1/2 years to dismantle unnecessary food fears, reestablish a sense of connection with her body and learn healthier eating patterns and daily habits to lose 58 pounds, but today she is celebrating one year of maintaining her results! All while doing this and while she is maintaining, she doesn’t restrict carbs, she delights herself with fun beverages, she’s eating meals with her family, and we have found ways to get additional movement and exercise in that has reduced the amount of time she’s at the gym and increased the time with her family!

Most diets promoting fast weight loss or extreme results are not sustainable approaches and don’t promote behaviors that align with that individuals’ values, capabilities, and long-term goals. This leaves the individual frustrated, confused and often feeling completely defeated. True progress relies on multi-level variables and if an individual isn’t aware of how these things impact them, they will struggle with realistic goals, a solid course of action and ultimately sustainable results.

Tanya , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a board-certified, and masters prepared registered nurse and certified nutrition coach, wife, and mom. Oh, and a dog mom of two boxers. I have been a registered nurse for 13 years. I spent 11 of those years specialized in intensive care. This past year, I left the bedside to fulfill my role as a nutrition coach full time and work on growing my business to help even more individuals with a proactive approach in life. My husband and I own a gym Alpha Family Fitness in Wylie, Tx. In the past we did the traditional nutrition challenges that most gyms offer. After a few challenges I realized that if anyone was going to get results that lasted the approach to change needed to be different. I was also seeing this in many patients in the hospital. I would see many people come back for the very same reasons repeatedly. Although this was to a different extreme, the issue fell in the same realm of lifestyle, knowledge, time, and purpose. To change takes knowledge and permanent change requires a purpose. To change years of leading a lifestyle or habits that haven’t been exactly goal supportive takes time and mostly it takes more time than we would like to admit. Because it takes time it is easy for people to get distracted with the noise of self-doubt and external influences of society and two things end up happening. The individual shuts down or they get sidetracked and take a detour and before they know it another year goes by, and they are still the same conditions or worse than they were.
It was in 2019 that I decided to do 1:1 coaching to help individuals break the cycle of yo-yo dieting with a tailored plan that honored their personal needs, preferences, and values. I have been helping individuals pivot their lives ever since. Currently I offer private and group coaching in hybrid settings. Both services help individuals learn how to leverage food in a way that helps them achieve health, fitness, and sustainable fat loss.
I take just as much pride in being a registered nurse in my role as a nutrition coach as I did as a nurse working in the ICU. The fact that I am a nurse will never change. I will always put my client’s best interest first and I will always advocate for their health first. My experience as an ICU nurse is an advantage in the role of a nutrition coach for my clients. My priority is no longer damage control, but it is damage prevention and that allows me to help them see the potential of the choices that they make in their everyday lives. If there is an existing medical condition that needs to be considered, I can provide and expand on the 15 –to 30-minute limited education that they get visiting their doctors (if that) and walk them hand in hand while living with or process of eliminating that diagnosis.
While I feel it was a privilege to be able to provide and assist patients in their most vulnerable moments of their lives as an ICU nurse, it is also a privilege to be a part of the other side of their journey and helping individuals pivot their lives in a way that will hopefully prevent them from ever finding themselves in the positions that I often witnessed in the hospital.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

What has helped me be the most successful that has nothing to do with my degree or educational background is the skill of listening and observing. Coming from an introvert the listening and observing part is almost natural, but it can be a challenge when someone is coming to you for an answer or a solution that you have expertise in. Naturally we all want to give out all the information and what we think are answers all at once. I have learned two things. Listen more than you talk and observe to understand.

Giving all the information at one time or as a handout isn’t always helpful because it becomes overwhelming and may not even apply to what that person is really looking for. If you listen long enough, you will know the right questions to ask in response to your client’s original question. This assists them will learning how to come up with their own solutions and when they can do this, they take more ownership of their actions when implementing a plan.

Observation has just as an integral role in communication as any verbal response does. Watching someone’s body language and listening to their tone of voice can tell you more about your client than they may be willing to verbally express. This includes how they sit or how they stand. The difference in someone’s posture, sitting at an angle or directly in front of you or how they rest their arms can be signs of insecurities or confidence, which will influence how they move forward with working with you. Speaking in low tones and high tones or with eye contact or not, can also signal confidence levels, trust, and levels of enthusiasm and engagement. These are just some basic examples. The more practice and intention you put into listening and observing the deeper level of understanding you will have of the other person and even yourself.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The book Atomic Habits, by James Clear. I was introduced to this book early into my transition to private coaching. It has helped me shift my own focus from my goals to my systems and routine in personal life and professional life as a business owner. Which has brought me to achieving more than I had originally thought I would in the very beginning of my own journey. I also apply what I have learned from this book to coaching my clients and the ripple effect is remarkable.

As James Clear (2018) states, “If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done. Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero” (p. 15). Tiny shifts can yield big results. The practical strategies in this book can be applied in so many ways for different people, it’s not limited to entrepreneurs and that is why it’s so profound. I highly recommend the book.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alphafamilyfitness.com/nutrition-coaching-2/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanya.linsley/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanyarlinsley
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-linsley-msn-rn-44b55066/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/tanya_linsley
• Other: Join My Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Alphanutritionwithtanya

Image Credits
Brent Baxter, Owner of Side B Productions