Carley's struggle with finding a routine caused her weight to fluctuate, which led to her to feel self-conscious instead of confident. She would go back and forth trying restrictive fad diets, feeling out of control, etc. for the last 4 years.
She decided it was time to make a change, so she got the Guilt-free Gameplan for guidance and coaching. She also got confidence, self-love, and consistency. Carley liked how the weekly calls gave her accountability and helped her build realistic health habits so she could lose weight.
But the weight loss isn't the most important thing- it trickled into her work, career, income, and travel goals, and she launched her dream business, In the Kitchen with Carley.
Now she's as ready as ever to spread positivity and inspire people around her! Here's the transcript of her Guilt-free Gameplan review.
Watch the Guilt-free Gameplan review on YouTube!
-Reggie
Reggie:
Hey, welcome back. It's Reggie with Fit for Freelance, where we build adaptive business leaders through compassionate health coaching. And today, we're here on our first Guilt-free Gameplan review interview with one of the founding clients, Carley, the founder of In the Kitchen with Carley. And she's going to tell you a little bit about her experience. We're going to see how this works and going to have some fun with it, too.
All right, so welcome, Carley. Thanks for joining me. Let me know a little bit about yourself. Like who you serve, who do you help, what kind of business you're running. That kind of thing.
Carley:
Sounds good. So, my name's Carley. I am in the business of senior care. So, I serve the elderly population. I work with seniors in the community to help them maintain their independence at home. That's my primary job. And then I also started a cooking channel. I do that for fun on the side. So, that's In the Kitchen with Carley, where I cook, post my recipes and videos on social media.
Reggie:
Nice, nice. Yeah, I seen some of those videos. You're getting started with some delicious looking recipes. One of the things that you've really emphasized so far, so with the Guilt-free Framework, we have the values and everything, but you were very specific to add creativity. Can you tell me a little bit about your belief of creativity and what that means, where that comes from for you?
Carley:
Yeah, that's a great question. I believe that creativity stems from within. It's unique in everybody. Everyone's creativity looks very different, but I think it's a source of inspiration. And so, what that looks like for me was getting back in touch with my creativity. I felt like I had lost a sense of my creative spirit. So, trying to just get back to my creative roots.
Reggie:
Nice. That sounds good. What was the decision point of when you knew you wanted to go for the Gameplan, and then how did that transition work?
Carley:
Yeah, so I knew I was ready to make a change. It was back in September of 2020. Every year for my birthday, I do an annual recap where I go through my journal. I touch base on the last year and see where I'm at. I had noticed a trend in my journaling, and just this constant push to improve my health and well-being, and it tended to yo-yo. So, it was constantly fluctuating.
My weight was fluctuating. I would go from periods where I was working out and I felt like I was in great shape and my nutrition was on point, to periods where I just was restrictive eating, trying different fad diets. And then I would overcompensate and feel like I was out of control with my nutrition habits.
I just didn't feel very consistent. I didn't feel like I really had a good grasp on my health and nutrition overall. And it had been that way for probably about four years, I had noticed this trend in my journaling. And so I decided it was time to make a change. And I needed some help with that. I had been trying to do it on my own and I really needed some guidance. So I decided to join the Guilt-free Gameplan.
Reggie:
Thanks for that. I'm really glad you did. So, the three core pillars of the Guilt-free Gameplan, as you know, confidence, realistic focus and accountability. What difference did that make in your progress towards your goals?
Carley:
Oh, a huge difference. We can start with confidence. So, I was looking back at my first session with you, where I had to write out my why and what brought me to this point, and lack of confidence, self-confidence, and self-love, love for my body, was a big factor. And so building that confidence through the Gameplan has been huge and instrumental in my overall change and development.
Carley:
Accountability was huge as well, just holding myself accountable and being really honest with myself in terms of nutrition and my daily habits. Really digging into those and breaking those down. So, holding myself accountable was one of the pillars, and that has really been an instrumental change for me.
Carley:
Yeah, some lessons that I have learned. Let's see. One of the big ones is that it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to build consistency. So, I always had this perfectionism mindset where I felt like, if I didn't do something 100% correct, it was like all or nothing.
The Guilt-free Gameplan has really taught me to be compassionate with myself and understand that it doesn't have to be perfect as long as I'm still being consistent and still taking steps forward.
Carley:
So, that was something that I have really had to give myself grace on and learn to adapt that mindset. Also, I would say the other big learning lesson is that mindset plays a much bigger role in my performance, or in performance, than I had realized. And, for the most part, I'm a pretty happy person. I'm a go-getter. But these little negative moments of self-talk can really do some damage if you're not aware of them, and uncovering that was a big lesson learned for me.
Reggie:
Those are really great examples. That's one of the things I always emphasize is keep practicing and recognizing that the progress is more important than perfection and being afraid to start. And you did a really great job of practicing that practice with the Guilt-free Gameplan. And that was also something that you were able to check in on with the weekly calls. Every week, your personal progress of one thing, better, worse, or the same. And then most weeks you were feeling better about your self talk, some weeks you wanted to make some adjustments.
So, we talked about those, and I was really glad to support you in that. And you did really great. And looking forward to your continued growth with that. That's awesome. So, how did you feel using the Guilt-free Framework? Was it simple and clear? What was your journey like?
Carley:
Yeah, it was very simple and clear, and I think what really helped, in the beginning, you do this vision and focus exercise that really helps, you're doing some internal work and really honing in on what it is that you want to focus on and where it's coming from. And so, that really helps to put things in perspective as you move forward into the rest of the framework.
Carley:
And then breaking it down into weekly keys, to win the week, makes it very user friendly, so to speak, because that's overwhelming for me. And so, the way that you help break it down into smaller pieces to make it more sustainable, I think was huge. That was one of my favorite parts about the framework and how easy it was to just flow with everything week to week.
Reggie:
Nice. That's such a heartwarming compliment. So, you're describing things like breaking things down, reducing the overwhelm, making it sustainable. These are all things I really focused on when I was developing the Guilt-free Gameplan. I'm planning to continue to develop that skill, to help clients like you. So, what other things made a big difference for you?
Carley:
I would say the weekly calls. That really, I think, has been the biggest help for me, is just that accountability with somebody else, that check-in. And also being accountable with myself. So, being upfront with you on those calls, even though sometimes I want to be like, "Yes, I did," even though I didn't. That's not going to help me.
And so, just being honest and upfront and transparent and working with you on regrouping for the next week and going over the challenges. We talk about challenges and you help to brainstorm ways that those will no longer be a challenge in the upcoming week. And that has really helped a lot.
Reggie:
Nice. That's good. Thanks. Yeah, the guilt-free is probably the most important part of the Guilt-free Gameplan. So, it's always good to be transparent and develop your own skills for it. Right. Because that's where you're making a difference. You also signed up for the 30-Day Plant-based Training Camp. Can you tell me a little bit about your experience with that?
Click to learn more!
Carley:
Yeah, so I have tried different styles of eating, I should say, to just try to feel what works best for my body. I've always been curious about going plant-based and how I would feel, and how my body would react to it. And I've never had the courage to do it fully because it's a lot. I'm not familiar with plant flavors, plant-based recipes.
And so having to figure that out and each week come up with a grocery list, all the recipes, how do I even cook that way, was overwhelming. And it was something that I never wanted to just jump into on my own. So, when that program launched, I was really excited about it and really wanted to give it a try. So, I'm super glad that I did.
Reggie:
Yeah. Thanks. Me, too. It was fun to try those new recipes. I made it easy for people to try for free with that Snack Pack that I made with the five free recipes. So, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Because it was definitely an adventure. I'm more of an omnivore myself. So, trying some of those plant-based recipes was really fun.
Click to get the free 5-recipe pack!
Carley:
It was. There were some vegetables in there I had to Google. I had never even heard of.
Reggie:
Seriously. I still am not even sure if I can recognize an escarole.
Carley:
Yeah. Yeah. And I'm a food person. So, if I don't know, that's impressive. It was exciting to learn how to cook with them, too. So, it was fun.
Reggie:
Okay. All right. Something I love about the Guilt-free Gameplan is that it's a health coaching structure that is part of your life. It's not just in isolation or something you do in addition to your day to day thing, for its own sake. So, something I really liked and admired in the vision and focus exercise for you was how you're able to make your health about deepening your love for your body. Can you tell me more about that?
Carley:
Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll do my best. So, I've always struggled with that. I was an athlete all through high school, middle school. Up until college, I was playing volleyball, tennis. So, I had, I would say, a very athletic structure and was always used to being just naturally physically fit. I really didn't have to work for it just because I had such an active lifestyle. My workouts came through playing sports.
And then after college, I didn't have that structure or that routine anymore. I wasn't playing the same sports and found that I got really out of shape for what I was used to. And I just started to have these negative feelings towards where my body was at and really struggled with that. And it was just something, that self-conscious feeling of being in a bathing suit and just not really feeling like my confident self was a trend that I was starting to notice.
Carley:
And so, I think that really helped me to want to work on it. That was not the norm for me. And I recognized these feelings that I was having towards my own body and really wanted to work to improve that and work on building that confidence back, and having that respect for my body and building that self-love.
Reggie:
Wow. Thanks for sharing that. Glad to help.
Carley:
Yeah. It's been a huge help.
Reggie:
Wow. If someone's thinking about signing up for their own Guilt-free Gameplan, what would you say to them? If they're hesitant, if they're on the fence or wondering if it's worth it, what would you tell them?
Carley:
Yeah, I would definitely start by saying that it's not your typical or your average weight loss program. I've signed up for a couple of online coaching sessions with some other coaches and it was basically, I just get emailed a template. I never talked to anybody. It's just this very standard, non-customized plan, and that did not work for me.
And so, what I would tell people that are interested or curious is that the Guilt-free Gameplan not only focuses on your health habits and your health routines, but ways that you can be sustainable and flexible at the same time.
Carley:
So, your eating habits, with the flexible food game plan, that was huge for me. Learning how to be flexible with my diet, I think it's going to give me a lot more longevity in my progress. Then some of these other methods that I've tried in the past and just working with you to establish and really dig into core habits and the habits that are creating the choices that you're making, that is some framework and that I've never dug into before.
Carley:
So, that was really interesting. I think the first Gameplan that we did, it was pretty much all habit work. I had a lot of things that we really dove deep into my sleep routine, my water intake, my nutritional and eating late at night. So, just digging into the why of those things and creating a plan to form habits that align closer with the goal was really instrumental.
Carley:
So, I really recommend, people, if you're curious, definitely jump in.
It's not just a coach telling you to do a million crunches. It's a lot of frame work and habit work. And it also tied into other aspects of my life. So, we didn't just work on my health and fitness. It trickled into my work, my career and my overall income goals and travel goals and my goal to create In the Kitchen with Carley. So, it was much bigger than just a weight loss program. It really stemmed into a lot of other areas in my life. And I encourage you to check it out because it'll do the same for you.
Reggie:
Deal. Yeah. Thanks. That's amazing. Sounds very impactful. That's incredible. Glad to support. All right, here's a big question that you didn't get a chance to prep for...
Carley:
Uh-oh.
Reggie:
Right? Uh-oh. Let's say it is the end of your life right now, and people are reflecting on you and your impact, like your family and your friends and your colleagues. They're all talking about the impact you've had and how you've made a difference in their life. What do you hope that they're saying about you?
Carley:
That's a deep question.
Reggie:
I know, right?
Carley:
So, I hope that they are saying that I spread positivity and helped them in roundabout ways to just inspire them to be better people. I think that's what I inspire to do every day is be more positive. Just have a positive mindset. And hopefully I am spreading that to those around me. Does that answer your question?
Reggie:
Yeah. Right? That was a perfect answer. It sounds right to me. It's heartwarming and great. So, do you have any other comments, things that we should talk about with the Guilt-free Game Plan, or your experience with it?
Carley:
Yeah. Just one other thing to mention to anyone who might be on the fence:
I know one of my biggest hesitations is always cost. It can be scary to see that number or any costs to sign up for something, but really know that investing in your health and it's not just your health, it's your habits and your lifestyle, it's really worth it.
So, if I could just put that piece of advice out there, I know that's always something that, in any aspect, cost is always something that people take a second look at, and it's something that I did too, but it was worth every penny.
Reggie:
Thanks. Yeah. That's always something I'm very careful to emphasize is that people aren't just investing in the coaching. It's more that they're investing in themselves through me. And so when I have that understanding and appreciation, and when I make pitches and make sales, I'm there to help the client, to help you understand that this is what you were betting on yourself. And so, we can work together through that. So, thanks for saying that.
Carley:
Well, that's a really incredible way to... Inspiring and empowering your clients to work through their own processes instead of just giving them an answer. You really ask key questions, and I think that's really empowering, too. So, that's another one of my favorite parts about the Guilt-free Game Plan.
Reggie:
Thanks. So, how can people keep in touch with you, learn more about In the Kitchen with Carley, social media stuff?
Carley:
Yeah, sure. If you guys are interested, just follow me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithcarley. My little handle is below. I'm also now on YouTube. So, thanks to the Guilt-Free framework, I was able to put those steps into place and launch my YouTube. I'm super excited. So, In the Kitchen with Carley. Come check me out and join me.
Reggie:
That's awesome. Yeah. And I'll put links in the description when I post this on YouTube, and that is pretty much it. Thanks for giving me this great testimonial and Guilt-free Gameplan review. Shimmering. Making me look good. Really appreciate it.
Carley:
Oh, thanks for having me on here.
Reggie:
Thank you. And then we're hoping to inspire more people to take confident ownership of their path to freedom and fitness. So, I'll put some links in the description and that's it. Thanks for watching. Keep practicing.
Have you struggled to keep up with all or nothing, 1,200 calorie diets? When you tell MyFitnessPal you want to lose weight, it gives you a 1,200 calorie diet. You're like, "What am I supposed to do with that? I don't even know what a calorie is or how many calories I was eating before."
Without the right preparation, a clean eating plan for weight loss is too big of an adjustment, and it doesn’t go well. You go for a month, you fall off, you feel mentally weak, like you're not good enough. Then you start beating yourself up. It's a terrible way to lose weight and build confidence.
What we want to do is keep you from feeling lost, keep you from being a stuck casual implementer because we know that feels terrible. That's just not the way to do it. That's why the Guilt-free Framework is so important to how I teach this.
Stop focusing on the weight loss; focus on your confidence.
Without all of the hardcore weight loss plans and all or nothing diets. Then you don't even have to focus on losing weight; you'll actually just feel more energized, more confident. Then the weight loss will come after that. if you had weight to lose, right? If you make that healthy shift and you are feeling that new energy, you're going to see your body change to reflect that.
So that's what we're up to at Fit for Freelance- guilt-free.
