#374; Want to ENHANCE your physique? Why You’re Stuck in a Diet Cycle (& How to Break Free)

In this episode, Ruby Cherie dives deep into the mindset shifts and practical strategies that help women break free from diet culture, self-sabotage, and generational body image struggles.

Tune in to learn how to align your goals with what truly matters, overcome diet fatigue, and stop chasing quick fixes. It’s time to build the body you love while feeling strong, confident, and unstoppable.

Ruby discusses her own fear of seeing the scale rise and how it hindered her progress. Her coach’s advice to increase carb intake helped her break free from this mindset. Many women face similar struggles, and educating them about glycogen, water retention, and muscle gain as temporary factors can build trust in the process.

1. Building Confidence Through Performance:

Ruby shares a client story of focusing on improving form and movement rather than external measures like the scale. This shift led to noticeable physical changes.

2. The Value of Coaching:

Ruby highlights that while many people "know" what to do, implementing it is another challenge. Having a coach provides accountability, personalized strategies, and emotional support, which are often critical to long-term success.

4. Diet Fatigue and Misaligned Expectations:

Ruby addresses how constant dieting without breaks leads to "diet fatigue," making it harder to achieve goals. She emphasizes the importance of maintenance phases, which many overlook. This reflects the need to educate clients on periodized nutrition and why constant fat loss isn't sustainable.

5. The Allure of Extreme Transformations:

Transformation photos often set unrealistic expectations, neglecting the nuances of those journeys, such as time, effort, and sustainability. Ruby advises against comparing oneself to these images, which often mask unhealthy practices. Instead, she advocates for celebrating incremental, realistic progress.

6. Self-Sabotage as a Symptom, Not a Problem:

Ruby reframes self-sabotage as a symptom of unmet core needs, such as feeling good physically and emotionally. Addressing these foundational needs prevents cycles of self-doubt and impulsive behaviors. Coaches can help clients identify these needs through reflective questioning.

7. Raising the "Floor" of Bad Days:

Ruby suggests that minimizing the impact of "bad days" by improving habits over time leads to sustainable progress. This concept resonates with building resilience and reducing the severity of setbacks. focus on small, manageable changes during challenging times.

8. Understanding Fat Loss is Hard Work:

Ruby emphasizes that fat loss requires effort and is not easy, but it should also be smart work. Aligning effort with effective strategies is key. This underscores the importance of planning and personalizing approaches to align with clients’ unique needs.

9. Muscle as the Key to Body Shape:

Ruby explains that muscle gives the body shape, while fat loss reveals it. Women often overlook this, leading to dissatisfaction even after weight loss. Coaches can reinforce the value of muscle-building phases to achieve the aesthetic many clients desire.

10. Maintenance Over Perfection:

Maintenance is easier than constant dieting, yet many people lack the skills to sustain it. Ruby advocates for teaching maintenance strategies early in the coaching process to help clients feel empowered and confident in their long-term journey.

11. The Misunderstanding of Training and Eating for Goals:

Ruby stresses that most women don't train or eat adequately to achieve their goals, especially when it comes to building muscle or reducing fat. Educating clients on optimal training techniques (e.g., hamstring training) and nutrition is essential for bridging this gap.

12. Evolving Goals and Self-Awareness:

Many people fail to adjust their goals as they evolve, leading to frustration and self-sabotage. Ruby encourages regular reflection to align current efforts with desired outcomes. Coaches can facilitate this by revisiting clients’ goals during check-ins.