Pod Insights Change Wired 3 useful beliefs that helped 500 clients to lose stubborn weight for life. About this episode If you’ve ever said “I eat pretty healthy, so why isn’t this working?” this one is for you. But it also goes a lot beyond weight loss attacking unhelpful beliefs that keep you stuck in other areas of your life. I’m pulling back the curtain on the hidden reason so many nutrition plans fall apart: not a lack of willpower, but a handful of beliefs that quietly sabotage consistency, calorie balance, and long-term results. I walk through my own winding health journey, years of experimenting...
Transcript 0:09 Speaker 00 Hey guys and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Shorina. I'm your host. I'm your partner in change transformation, collective unlocking of human potential to create the most positive impact we're capable of and have the most extraordinary life experience. Today, guys, we are going to be talking about a very grounded topic that connects us all, nutrition, food and looking and feeling our best, something that I spent quite some time coaching people on, obviously, or maybe not obviously, but also learning a lot about myself.
0:53 Speaker 00 So today, we're talking about food, nutrition, healthy eating and how to help yourself to create the kind of change and transformation physically and again with your eating habits that allow you to also feel your best and ultimately do your best. How to create that kind of transformation consistently and in a lasting way so you get to reap the results for your whole life moving forward.
1:24 Speaker 00 Today, we're not going to be talking about diets, but we will talk about how to create the kind of behaviors and consistency that will help you to get the results in terms of your body and your health that you want. You know, when I was starting out on my health journey as a teenage girl, I felt like I needed some sort of diet or some sort of protocol, some sort of guru or influencer, quote unquote, to tell me what to do to unlock that magic where I would feel my best, look my best and do my absolute best as a result. You know, I tried at that point.
2:10 Speaker 00 You know, for the next decade, starting from the age, I don't know, like twelve or thirteen, I probably tried every single diet out there. From vegan and plant-based and raw vegan to bodybuilding type of diet to low carb to then later, when it became popular, keto and carnivore and Whole30 and zone and all kinds of juice cleanses and fasting protocol. It's been a journey. And it would work for a while and then it wouldn't. Whether that was something wrong with my health or energy levels or mental health or emotions
2:53 Speaker 00 or my sleep or something just would feel off and it would make it unsustainable. And I would go to and go and search for another better diet. And obviously, there was no lack of different diet approaches and gurus and all kinds of doctors all over the world telling you that this is the way humans supposed to eat to be their absolute best. And that continued until I
3:28 Speaker 00 started getting serious about my health, nutrition, education as a coach. And because I was just, I started to learn from scientists more than from gurus. And even though scientists don't have, you know, this magical approach that will fix everything. What science has over all these other approaches, however, you know, proven by time and evolution, what science has all over all of that is approach that is consistent. Now, science doesn't always have the perfect, you know, answer to everything. It doesn't always have the answer to everything.
4:13 Speaker 00 The good scientists always say, you know, we're not really sure or at least this is what we know for now. So there is a lot of like of gray area which science admits. But then when it says, hey, based on the best evidence we have, this is what's been shown to be consistent among like group of populations or this kind of people. When they say that there is consistency, you can trust it. And that's what I loved about science and still love about it is when you apply scientifically proven methodologies and knowledge and approaches, it actually worked quite consistently.
4:53 Speaker 00 And for a lot of people or specific population that intervention is designed for, and you can rely on it, which I found to be very satisfying. When I started following more science-based approach to nutrition, and that means following the things like energy balance, that our bodies are designed to get energy of different sources, and that what we put in and get out and the sort of difference of that, whether that's deficit or surplus, gonna end up, you know, being stored as a energy source like our fat.
5:34 Speaker 00 And when you, for example, focus on getting enough essential nutrients, that science knows by this time, nutrition science specifically, knows a lot about what we need and what we need for thriving, longevity, good health, immune system. Like, again, the science doesn't claim to have all the answers, but it does have a lot of knowledge that we've gathered and accumulated and studied for many, many years. You know, nutrition science, I think, it began with discovery of certain vitamins in the 20th century. And now it's just accelerating with all the technology, AI and testing methodologies and technologies.
6:19 Speaker 00 But anyhow, so I started paying attention, learning about putting into practice more science-backed approaches. And I found something that delivered on that promise of delivering health and fitness. And most importantly, what I was looking for that I didn't realize at the beginning is that consistency. If I do this, this will happen. If I follow this eating pattern, then more likely on most days, I feel I will feel pretty good amazing. And if I overdo on food and I count calories and I believe in energy balance. If I will overdo it, my weight will go up.
7:03 Speaker 00 And if I cut it out, cut something out, then it will go down. And it has been very consistent and reliable, and that's what I loved about it. And now that I designed my daily menu based on this science-backed approach and what we know about nutrition, essential nutrition and what nutrition is needed for a healthy, thriving human. Now that I designed my meals around that, I never feel like I'm on a diet. I feel actually pretty damn awesome and nourished and fit and looking good and very satisfied with where I am physically, mentally, emotionally, sleeping well and feeling well and doing quite well.
7:45 Speaker 00 So today I want to share with you three specifically unhelpful beliefs that kept me stuck on my journey to perfect health and fitness. Not perfect, but pretty damn good. And what I learned was more than 200 clients over the course of my 18-year career, specifically on their health, nutrition and weight journey, also nutrition for fitness and recovery. And I can tell you that specifically for weight loss or weight maintenance or adjusting your body composition, whether that's building more muscle and burning fat or just building more muscle.
8:26 Speaker 00 So I'm going to tell you, I'm going to share with you three most unhelpful beliefs about calories that kept a lot of my clients stuck, that kept me stuck for so many years before again I Discovered a scientific method and nutrition science and actually put it into practice. So I'm gonna share with you these three beliefs and how you can substitute those beliefs for more helpful ones, so that you get unstuck on your health, nutrition, your eating journey, your weight adjustment journey. So three beliefs that kept more than, again, two hundred of my clients, almost all of them had at least one of those beliefs that kept them stuck.
9:12 Speaker 00 And why it's important to address your beliefs, guys, first and foremost, because based on the beliefs that you hold about anything, whether that's nutrition or life or business or relationships, you're gonna act in a certain way, you're gonna interact with reality and people in a certain way, and that will produce results in your life, in your health and your fitness. But it all begins with the belief. Belief is an assumption about reality, about people and business or any other aspect of reality, based on which you then take action and then you get results.
9:50 Speaker 00 And where most of us get stuck is at this point of having the wrong assumption or the wrong belief and the wrong from a point of it's not useful, it's not helpful to you to reach your goals or to create the kind of result or quality of life or work results, business results that you want, and that is what defines a wrong belief. It's not always against either, you know, science or certain methodologies or certain maybe rules. It's not always that the belief is fundamentally wrong, but if it's not serving your goals,
10:34 Speaker 00 it's just not useful. Let's jump into beliefs about calories. I used to believe, like a lot of my clients, that if I eat clean food or plant-based foods or low carb or no carb foods, or if I just drink juice, or if I just eat raw food, that somehow that cancels energy balance and, you know, nutrition science. I just didn't know better at that point. And that's where, like, it was very inconsistent. My weight would fluctuate, I would feel all over the place when I believed this like magical approaches.
11:15 Speaker 00 And of course, when I was at the very beginning of my journey, I didn't know better. And also nutrition science was really not that widely known and used. And we just did not have that much practical information. So it actually was hard to navigate. And so all we had are these diets and approaches that, you know, kind of worked and kind of didn't. And especially at that age of twelve, thirteen years old, when I was starting out and being in Russia, Siberia, like not having access to all of the information. It made it especially difficult, so I just did my best. But I believed that, you know, like there was this magical approach.
11:58 Speaker 00 And I tried all of these approaches over the next decade of my life. And again, what I, it really didn't work. Because A, as I understand now, it was against this fundamental principle of energy balance, energy in, energy out. And the surplus or deficit would define, like, for example, how your body weight fluctuates. But also having certain essential nutrients or not having them, like not eating enough protein, or not eating enough fiber, or not having a certain essential fats, or not having certain vitamins and minerals, will define how you feel, whether you want it or not.
12:37 Speaker 00 First and foremost, you are this physi, uh, physical, biological machine that needs a certain Building blocks and certain nutrients to function properly. And now we know a lot more about that. And I personally know a lot more about that. And what I learned, if I follow science that we know about human physiology, then it works pretty damn well and consistently. So the first principle, the first unhelpful belief is you are, if you are on the journey, that there is this magical solution. Or another variation on that is that you can just skip the science and do whatever and naturally figure it out.
13:21 Speaker 00 You know, guys, in our unnatural world with AI phones and all kinds of flavorings and manufactured foods and all kinds of stuff that we do to our senses. It screws up our naturalness, our instincts a lot. And so trying to do it naturally will almost always backfire unless you live in a very like natural environment. But even then, you're probably going to be missing a lot of nutrients that could improve your health, your well-being, your performance and make your life just a lot more enjoyable, not just now, but many years from now.
14:02 Speaker 00 So that is belief number one, skipping science and thinking you will just naturally figure it out following some magic formula. Belief number two, that is specific for calories. If you do really good job, let's say during the week or for, I don't know, a couple of weeks, then, or if you do the right thing, eat the right thing during the day. But then at night, let's say you overeat or you drink alcohol. Or let's say you do really good on your health and nutrition and everything for five days
14:43 Speaker 00 a week and then two weeks you go really crazy or just overdo it to that and overdo alcohol, overdo sweets, overdo the amount of food. And then on Monday. Day you step on the scale or you wake up and with with a headache and you feel like crap and you and you're like, well, it's like, I don't do anything throughout the week. Why bother, right? Like, why exercise? Why eat healthy throughout the week if I don't get the result that I want? So that notion that just because you did a couple of things right, or you do things for a certain period of time, that it's gonna cancel out or somehow make it better.
15:26 Speaker 00 Everything that is not that great for you, or you know, that alcohol or over consuming certain foods or over uh over indulging when you're trying to lose weight. Your body keeps the score. And by that, I mean, everything that you do counts. And sometimes, hey, sometimes you can do really well. And for sure, on some days, have a little bit more dessert, have, I don't know, a little bit more alcohol if you like alcohol, even though the whole scientific community agrees now, so no amount of alcohol is good for you. Like, sometimes it's okay to enjoy yourself. Actually, it might be needed.
16:07 Speaker 00 And to go over or cancel your rules and try things out, etc. But just like in business or in relationships, in health, it's the same thing. If you want certain result, every single thing counts for your progress forward. So there is no sort of magic formula for, okay, if you do it consistently on that many days. And then, you know, one or two days a week, you do whatever, like, it doesn't count, everything counts. And so the degree of your results, your progress will highly depend on what you do on all of the days.
16:46 Speaker 00 The same, it's like a lot of clients who I work with on weight loss, like, but I do everything right, you know, during the week. And then on the weekends, they kind of disappear. I'm like, what did you do on the weekends? And they're like, well, I didn't really pay attention. I'm like, okay, so basically you just canceled out all of the work that you did Monday to Friday. What can I say, right? Do you want to work on that? Or do you want to keep getting frustrated? So that's the belief number two, like weekends or those special days or or something else doesn't count because you know, life and universe don't really care. Everything counts. Everything your body, including keeps the score. So if you're not moving forward, not making the kind of progress you want,
17:30 Speaker 00 then you need to figure it out. You need to adjust, you need to change or start doing better on those days that you skip as well. So that is belief number two, weekends or something else doesn't count. Everything counts.
17:46 Speaker 00 Belief unhelpful belief about calories, number three, that you have to overeat a lot in order to gain weight. Like very often when I would work with my weight loss clients, they would sort of think like, come to me frustrated and saying, well, I don't really eat that much. And then when we start looking into their intake, they're like, oh, there is, you know, additional cappuccino here, there is a piece of chocolate, or a couple of cookies there, and there is oil in my takeout. And over the course of the day, they accumulate additional three, four hundred calories. And to give you an idea, three hundred calories is additional tablespoon of olive oil
18:29 Speaker 00 that you don't even notice, additional cappuccino and ten grams, ten grams of some nuts. And you get three hundred extra calories. And you do it for months and you're gonna gain a kilo, right?
18:43 Speaker 00 So it doesn't actually take that much to screw up your progress. Just like in my business for quite a long time, and I'm just now recovering from that. It took me to understand that I don't do enough consistency in order to get results that I want. And it does take more than I think it should. And if I want those results, I shouldn't be getting frustrated, angry or mad at life that it requires that much work. No, I should ask myself, what do I honestly want and do as much work as required?
19:24 Speaker 00 And in that case, there is more work than I think, the more work is needed to get that result. So if there was a mismatch between what I thought it would take and what it actually takes. So that is number one. For calories, again, a lot of people have this notion that it takes a lot to gain weight or it doesn't take that much to start losing weight. No, actually it takes a lot of consistency. And again, just adding those three items on a daily basis, which is a reality for a lot of people, like again, so one coffee drink, some nuts here or some cookie there and additional, just one additional tablespoon of oil in your cooking, which you easily
20:08 Speaker 00 get an overdue in any restaurant or takeout meal with all the sauces and dressing. And you're done, you're not making progress. In, in fact, you're gonna be gaining. The same with business. You, if you get stuck in this notion, like this is the amount of work I think it's gonna take, and if it's not moving forward, then something wrong with me, with the world, et cetera. No, it just maybe that you underestimated the amount of work that actually needed to get this result that you want. So that is unhelpful belief number three. You know, I need to do less or more, or it takes a lot more to gain weight, to overeat,
20:52 Speaker 00 and therefore I think that I'm somehow broken and/or punished by the universe that I don't really eat that much and I gain weight, or I really do a lot, but I'm not earning enough, or I don't have enough sales, or I don't have enough results. No, the universe is okay and the systems work perfectly fine. You just haven't adjusted what you do to the reality of things. So that is unhelpful belief number three. Again, why are those beliefs are unhelpful? Because they don't allow you to move forward to where you wanna go. And you can believe whatever you wanna believe, but if your beliefs are not useful to you, they do not produce the behavior that is needed to reach your goals, then why have them?
21:38 Speaker 00 Either change the goal that you want, or stop getting frustrated, or change your beliefs so you can actually stop moving forward. And you know, till this day, when I talk about how I eat or what I do with my nutrition and health, people would start arguing like, but this is so unhealthy, or this is so wrong. And I would always ask, it's working for me. I'm in really great shape and state of health. So if you think it's not working, it's not working for who? It's wrong for who? And like, I'm not here to be some sort of moral post
22:21 Speaker 00 or do everything right according by someone else's playbook. I am here to create life experience that I want. And so far, things have been working pretty well. So I'd say they are quite right for me. And everyone else can believe whatever they wanna believe if it's working for them. You know, in coaching, there is this beautiful question. Whenever clients start defending the things that aren't working for them, we ask, well, how is it working for you? Because if it's not, what's the point of arguing whether that's right or wrong? Do what's useful, so you get to move towards where you wanna go.
23:04 Speaker 00 And that's it for today, guys. I'm gonna sum up to you three unhelpful beliefs about calories and what you can do about them to start moving your weightless health and fitness journey forward. But before we do that, don't forget to share this podcast episode with one other person who might be holding these beliefs and not moving forward, getting frustrated, trying to figure out what's wrong with them, with the world, or with their approach. Maybe a good place to start is their own kind of beliefs that not serving them. So please do share, also rate, review for us to reach more ears willing to learn, change, improve, and do their absolute best around the world.
23:48 Speaker 00 So guys, to sum it up, belief number one. Clear and clean, eating sugar-free, low carb, no carb, carnivore, vegan, raw vegan. Calories don't matter. As long as I follow this methodology, it must be working. And if it doesn't, maybe I'm not following it well enough. Maybe not. Maybe it's just not scientifically proven. And the loss of physical, like, energy balance and certain nutrient requirements for human still work. So that's number one. What do you do with that? Well, you get with your, I don't know, GPT, call it some AI agent and ask like,
24:33 Speaker 00 what are some fundamental truths we know about nutrition? And how do you put it in my meal plan? Number two, if I do everything right on certain days, the rest of the days don't matter. No, everything matters. If you eat clean, whatever that clean or right is for five days a week, and then you go bonkers on the weekend, guess what? Your body keeps the score and you might be not getting what you want. And so the solution here, if it's not working, look at the inputs. Change those and see whether your actions match the goal that you want.
25:15 Speaker 00 Don't get mad at the world. Control your inputs, your actions, and then see what happens. Very often, you need to adjust what you do to get what you want. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with you or the world, just your strategy. Number three, it takes a lot to overeat to gain weight, or it takes a little, you know, consistency to get the result that you want. It takes what it takes, right? But also, to overeat, it doesn't take that much. One cappuccino, a spoon of oil in your food, and a little bit of nuts, and you're done with weight loss.
25:57 Speaker 00 Just like in many other areas of life, it doesn't take that much often to get you out of your progress and into stagnation. So.
26:09 Speaker 00 Change that, you know, make sure that you have solid consistency of the right inputs. And if your inputs don't match up with the results you want, again, the problem is most probably in your inputs, not the world. That's it for today, guys. I hope you found this useful and insightful and you'll be able to reconsider and adjust your beliefs. The first point of change where mistakes happen and you, and that is the first place to look into, to analyze your results, whether, why you're not getting them or getting the wrong ones. And thank you, guys, as always. Thank you for listening. Thank you for willingness to learn and change. And till next time, keep growing.
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