Here’s a Q&A I recently conducted with one of my star clients, Matt, who signed up for private 1:1 coaching.

Matt, why bother doing EvolutionEat? Why did you want to master your diet? You’re a freelancer, a solopreneur, you play basketball, you work out, you’re trying to grow your business, you like spending time with your friends. You have loads of stuff going on. Why EvolutionEat, and why now?  

Because it was finally time to stop feeling shit about my diet. And about myself, in a way. I’d often come home from basketball, or be stressed and tired from work, and I’d use that as an excuse to just eat a load of crap. Which, in my case, was a load of sugar. Cookies, cakes, sweets, chocolate. Sometimes I’d literally eat an entire bag of cookies, a few cakes, a big bag of sweets, and a whole bar of chocolate. And I’d keep going until I was way past full. I’d just eat until I felt sick, pretty much. And even then, sometimes, I’d just keep going because I needed more and more of that instant high

I didn’t seem to be able to stop. But then part of me also didn’t want to stop, which was confusing.

I guess I just felt out of control. These binging episodes held complete power over me. And I knew it wasn’t sustainable. Was I just going to do this for the rest of my life? What about when I had a wife and kids? Would I still do it then?

I didn’t want to be the person I was being. Not any more. So that’s when I knew I had to do something – even though, yes, I’m a fairly busy guy. But busyness could forever be an excuse.

How were the first few weeks of EvolutionEat?

Put it this way: I don’t think I would’ve been able to get close to succeeding if it weren’t for you holding me accountable. Thank god for EvolutionEat coaching. Sending photos of every meal to you helped me make healthy choices, even when, being totally honest, I didn’t want to. There were plenty of times when I wanted to binge and just eat crap, and I’d even be pissed off that I “couldn’t.” BUT, afterwards, I’d always feel empowered and happy that I’d made a healthy choice. Always.

That’s the weird thing about binging – you really feel like you want to do it, and then when you do, you feel terrible. We’re strange creatures, aren’t we?

When did you begin to notice a “shift” occur (internally and externally)?

It was at the beginning of Week 4 that I really felt like I’d hit a turning point. Everything just seemed… easier. It wasn’t even like I was trying to make healthy choices anymore. It was like healthy living and healthy eating was just what I did. It was just who I was. I started to value eating healthily over any kind of short-term sugar “fix” or “high.” I got a kick out of eating healthily and knowing that I could’ve chosen to eat a load of crap but didn’t.

To be clear: it’s not like I never got tempted. I’m still a human being. But the temptations didn’t seem as manic as they did before. They didn’t take a hold of me like they perhaps used to. They just seemed to be there, and I just seemed to acknowledge them. But then I’d sort of smile and think, no, I want to keep this thing going. I’m going to make a healthy choice and I’m going to be proud of that, rather than “giving in” to temptation and inevitably feeling bad about myself.

I should also be clear that I’ve had a few cheat meals. I’ve been doing this for six weeks now and I’ve had maybe four cheat meals. That’s a cheat meal, not a cheat day, by the way. And having a cheat meal every now and again has been fascinating, because – especially the last couple of times – I haven’t felt any desire to then go and binge. None whatsoever. It’s almost like I’m actually still investing in the process of mastering my diet by having a cheat meal, because these cheats are planned. They’re a night off and nothing more, and they actually make me look forward to getting back to eating healthily. They sort of…reset me, I guess. In the best possible way.

What have been the benefits of EvolutionEat so far?

Man…it’s hard to know where to start. I mean, I’ve lost 20 pounds in 6 weeks without even trying to lose weight, so that’s definitely a big one. I also look better – apparently, I have cheekbones. I have more energy, I feel better about myself, I’m clearer in mind, I’m more motivated. But I suppose these are the benefits I expected.

There are others I didn’t expect. For example, I feel massively more extroverted. I’ve discovered how much I love people and how much I love interacting with people, sharing, flirting, having banter, listening, asking questions, laughing together. That surprised me, and pleasantly so.

The biggest one, overall, is that I feel more like myself. I feel more ME. I don’t know how else to describe it. I really think my poor diet and binging on sugar seemingly all the time were stopping me from being me. Which they were, because doing them meant I was sabotaging myself. I feel like, through not eating sugar and eating three healthy meals a day, every day, I’ve been able to get out of my own way and start really becoming the person I knew I could eventually become.

I know. It sounds crazy. How can this have happened just from me, essentially, cutting out sugary stuff and eating three healthy meals a day?

I think it’s because mastering your diet is about a whole lot more than just food.

It’s about mindset. It’s about patience and persistence. It’s about the beauty and terror and burden and responsibility and privilege of having a choice, and then making one that serves you as opposed to one that doesn’t. It’s about trusting the process over desiring immediate results, just like you tell me when we talk about mindset.

Really, it’s you vs you. The you that’s holding you back vs the you that you want to (and know you can) become.

Holding back is easier, I guess, because we’re used to it. It’s familiar, even if it’s not comfortable. It’s simpler to not exert effort. But doing something to become the person you know you can is more worth it than maybe anything else in this world. It’s hard, obviously, it takes effort, but man…I feel just incredible. Better than ever, I’d say. And the longer I’m on this journey, the more unbreakable I feel.