How Life Coaching Helped This Gentleman Move From Diabetic To Non-Diabetic

One can have the most impressive and well-made diet plan, exercise regime, a list of superfoods and supplements, but does all of it matter if you miss two key elements – Discipline and Consistency?
Absolutely not. Like Luke often quotes, vitamins D and C (Discipline and Consistency) are at the center of all success, whether it is health, finances, relationships, or personal growth. While some people are inherently very disciplined, and consistency seems to run in their genes, some are not. But they can be coached. Like sportspeople and athletes are coached on their game, anyone and everyone can be coached on discipline and consistency. This is where a life coach steps in and explains the significance of D and C, identifies why you have difficulty practising it, and addresses the obstacles you face. In addition, a life coach recognizes your blind spots and notices things you cannot see for yourself.

It would help if you were coached on D and C first, before anything else. It is the missing link between goals and success that almost 95% of people struggle with. But the moment we hack D and C is the moment we can achieve anything we wish. Anything.

This is about Avishkar, a 35-year-old techie from Pune, who did not realize how fast his life took turns. From being a fit young man in his 20s who loved weight lifting, treks, and taking risks, now became a responsible married man, father of a beautiful daughter, a stable job, but highly unstable and miss managed blood parameters. Juggling various responsibilities as husband, father, and bread-winner, he overlooked his health until he could not overlook it any longer. He was given three months to turn things around and improve his lifestyle. And so, he came to us with the hope to get his health back in order; else, he would be on medications, which he did not want. He chose lifestyle changes over medication and was ready to give his best for the next three months that followed. His journey was nothing short of awe-inspiring!

Avishkar’s journey from session 1 to 8:

• Initial few sessions
  The journey started with just one session because he was unsure of what life coaching had to offer. It was a relatively new concept to him, so he decided to approach it step by step. Soon after, he was onboard. We planned our first life-coaching session, where we spent about an hour deep-diving into his long-term goals, short-term goals, identifying why, his daily routine, the environment, his relationships with family, friends, the nature of his job, emotional wellbeing, and mental health.

As a life coach, understanding him and creating goals like losing weight, improving the quality of his life, finding stability and satisfaction in his career, and identifying his life purpose were vital.

We also identified several obstacles that he thought were coming in the way, like laziness, procrastination, inconsistency, an erratic work schedule, family situations, limited mindset, and lack of sleep. It took a little bit of explaining to make him realize how necessary it was to address the obstacles before listing the goals, and assured him that we would deal with all of them one at a time.

He seemed patient about the process and understood how each session would lead to the other, eventually getting closer to his goals.
Goals were set, action plans were decided, all he had to do now was to take the first step, execute the actions, and do it over and over again till it became second nature to him
Our initial goals mainly were around forming better habits, like:

• Chewing his meals slowly
• Keeping a bottle of water at his desk, so he remembered to stay hydrated
• Creating to-do lists for the day
• Creating a structure and plan around yoga (Avishkar was a yoga student and had completed yoga courses in the past)
• Adding pre and post-workout meals
• Reducing junk food from three times a week to just once
• Getting more intentional with time and how he chose to spend it. He started to learn a new skill over socializing, which would help him move closer to his goal.

• Midway
  This phase was a turning point. He was slowly doing his chores without reminders, and his goals were no longer goals, they had become habits. He felt confident about stacking new goals and making them a focus.
  • His consistency with workouts and yoga improved.
  • He felt calm and in control of every situation.
  • He was not getting affected despite the enormous work pressure.
  • His discipline towards eating choices improved.
  • He made it a point to chew every meal well.
  • He started to feel lighter, lost a couple of inches, looked young and leaner!
  • He also began to learn how to balance each of these aspects in his life so that he could have fun whenever he wanted.
  • He planned outings with friends and ate out, but he did it mindfully and in moderation.
  • He celebrated his achievements and talked about all the good things coming his way. Seeing and believing what his body was capable of made him feel a lot more determined now.

• A turning point
  In the middle of all of this came a turning point, which helped him to introspect. I remember, Avishkar expressed that he wanted feedback from me which was sincere and open. Now, that was remarkable because when he said honest he meant it. And, so in our subsequent session, we kept 15 minutes aside for a candid and open feedback session.
  I think that was the turning point for him because the changes seen in his body language, conduct, discipline, focus, and clarity were remarkable. While he did say that he could not sleep that night because the session gave him such an accurate and raw picture of himself, which his family or friends never showed, it was helpful for him to receive honest feedback.
  Here, I would like to appreciate and applaud his honesty and readiness to accept feedback gracefully and then apply it towards his self-development. His receptiveness stood out for me, and as his coach, I felt proud to see this shift in him.

• Nearing the end
  As we neared the end of our journey, he had already knocked off a good amount of fat from his midriff and experienced around 3 kilos weight loss, although we targeted more on fat loss. When we were going through the form he initially filled during our last session, it was hard for both of us to believe that the details were furnished by the same Avishkar I now know.
  It was remarkable how these eight sessions and a lot of self-work in between the sessions led to many changes and transformations in just about three months. His improved sugar levels and weight loss is a delightful outcome of all the other aspects we focused on.
  Except for the Rejuvenation and Cleanse program, where the experts from our team took him through a 14-day extensive cleanse and consultation with Head Nutritionist Sneha, his journey did not involve even a single food plan, superfood, or supplement. Instead, it was all about discipline, consistency, efforts, accountability, and a regular update on his goals and the process.

• Additional help taken:
  Avishkar was very open to taking any additional help whenever necessary through the course of his eight sessions. We got him to take a consult with one of our Head Nutritionist as well as a 14-day Rejuvenation and Cleanse program because he felt the need to have some professional guidance towards understanding his body’s nutritional needs concerning his goal, as well as cleanse his body, all of it while his life coaching sessions were also on. Of course, we would work together on everything recommended to him and put an action plan to help him keep up with all the changes he needed to make in his daily life.
  A couple of additional tasks (better known as homework) were also given to him throughout these eight sessions to help him understand himself better, like identifying his values, strengths and weaknesses, talents and unique abilities, and so on. He was proactive in participating in several challenges initiated by Luke on social media around that time, including the Super Power Hour Challenge, which he won because of his sheer grit and determination.

• Overall achievements:
  What Avishkar achieved in three months and eight sessions was way beyond what he signed up for. Some of his most remarkable achievements are:
  • Fat loss and normalized blood sugar levels. His HbA1C levels came down to 5 from 7.5 and fat % to 27 from 32!
  • Better control over food choices
  • No sugar cravings
  • Improved confidence levels
  • Better control over time
  • Efficiency at work
  • Improved relationship with work
  • Improved ability to set work boundaries
  • Healthier relationship with food
  • More organized
  • Regular exercise as well as yoga
  • Calmer, less irritable, and more clarity
  • Improved sleep patterns
  • More positive mindset and approach towards life
  • Increased confidence levels regarding the current career path

• Way forward:
  So, what was next? His journey began after his life coaching program, where he had to apply what he learned and practiced all this while. He had a clear understanding of how necessary it was to sustain this newly discovered lifestyle and mindset to get better and better. When we connected last, he mentioned that he was on track with his goals and now looked forward to setting new plans on the professional front.

Summary:
More than anything, it is the magic of discipline and consistency that worked so well for him. We figured that he already knew where he was going wrong, which food habits could harm his health, what has worked for him in the past, his workouts, and so on, so it was just about tying it all together with discipline and consistency.
This means that we already know what we need to be doing in most cases to achieve our weight loss goals. Yet, we chase fad diet plans, superfoods, supplements as quick fixes because, of course, let us face it, exercising is effort, it is about moving out of your comfort zone, it is about sacrificing your lazy time. It takes effort to move, eat clean, be mindful of how much you socialize, sleep patterns, and so on, and most human minds are not hardwired for effort. Instead, they are wired for pleasure and quick fixes. But we all know, quick fixes do not work, and if they do, the results are rarely sustainable. So when shortcuts are not an option, the only way is to put in effort and do it with dedication and discipline.

Avishkar’s Report

What does Avishkar have to say about his journey:

Hi Taarika, I got my blood report done today, and the results are excellent. HBA1C readings are normal, and my lipid profiles have improved too.

It is an incredible feeling. I am going to maintain it now. Also, I will be visiting the same doctor soon to show these results. Also, many things that are putting extra stress have cleared now, and I think that has had a significant impact on these changes and would not have happened without your guidance.

I am so glad that I chose a life-coaching option. One thing to notice is that these reports are the best in the last 3 to 4 years.

Thank you so much.