Value(s)

How do you determine value?

This is a question I approach quite often. I deliver a service that is abstract in many ways. Yes, people pay me to help them lose or gain weight. Yet that is rarely the ultimate goal in our work. No, we are often focused on things like behaviors or relationships with food. So how do you put a price on that? .

A question I often receive is “I’ve been doing ok but I haven’t been 100%, does it make sense for me to continue?”

If the value you derive from coaching is dollar-per-pound then you should be very judicious with how you spend your time (and money) with a coach. You should be singularly focused on one goal and one goal only, whether that be fat lost, muscle gained, or contest PRs. There is no room for compromise.

I work with some people like this. Competitors, high level athletes, people who’s paychecks depend upon their adherence. It’s fun to test the bounds of humanity and see just what scientific application can do.

But that’s not my specialty. That’s not my niche. It’s fun and makes for some really great IG transformation posts but the reality is that’s about 10% of my work. 90% of my clients are normal people who have goals of being healthier, happier, and improving their relationship with food.

They struggle with living in an obesogenic environment. They struggle with the emotions tied to eating. They struggle with feeling alone and ashamed and have grown tired of the hamster wheel of dieting.

So in order to determine value, we talk values. We prioritize. We set goals. We take action. We build daily skills. Life skills. Creating change.

In order to see value in what we do, we must first determine what it is we value. Without context, dollars are meaningless.