The Sérénité Womens Wellness Program. Teaching you how to manage your health & take care of yourself well.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the endless stream of health advice, you’re not alone. We’re constantly told to eat this, avoid that, and follow strict rules, yet true, lasting change can feel frustratingly out of reach. We try to force new habits, only to fall back into old patterns, leaving us wondering what we're doing wrong.

But what if the most powerful strategies for wellbeing aren't about adding more rules, but about challenging our most fundamental assumptions? What if the path to sustainable health is surprisingly counter-intuitive? This article explores five profound yet simple shifts in thinking that can unlock real, sustainable results by getting to the root of what holds you back.

These topics are included in the 12 module course that accompanies your Metabolic Balance plan.

To Stop Self-Sabotage, List the Downsides of Success

It sounds backward, but one of the most effective ways to stop derailing your own progress is to confront your fear of success head-on. This begins with a simple but powerful exercise: list five reasons you believe your life will be WORSE after you achieve your goal.

This technique is incredibly effective because it forces your subconscious fears into the light. We often think a lack of willpower is our problem, but the real issue is often an inner conflict. Perhaps you fear the new expectations that come with success, the social pressure of dating after weight loss, or the vulnerability of being seen in a new way. By writing these fears down, you can see them for what they are—rationalizations your mind creates to protect you from the unknown. Once these reasons are in your conscious mind, you can challenge their logic and strip them of their power.

But challenging your fears is only half the process. To complete the psychological shift, the crucial second step is to then list five reasons you believe your life will be BETTER once you achieve your goal. This moves your mind from a state of confronting fear to one of empowerment, anchoring you to the positive future you are creating and solidifying your commitment to the success you truly desire.

Until we identify and deal with the reasons we fear success, we'll never be successful. A lack of knowledge about what's good for us is rarely the real problem in this day and age. Instead, we tend to suffer from a lack of consistent action... and that usually comes down to what's going on between our ears!

This mindset shift moves the focus away from a perceived lack of discipline and toward a deeper understanding of your own internal conflicts, allowing you to clear the path for the success you truly desire.

The Most Important Health Metric Isn't on Your Scale

For decades, we’ve been conditioned to track our progress by the number on the bathroom scale. But this single metric can be misleading and emotionally draining. A far more valuable indicator of your health progress is your waist circumference.

Why the waist? Because the scales can lie. Your body weight fluctuates for many reasons, but your waist measurement is a strong predictor of insulin sensitivity. Improving this metric is directly linked to reducing your risk of metabolic diseases. To provide a clear, actionable target, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends men aim for a waist measurement of 97cm or less, and women 80cm or less, to significantly lower the risk of chronic disease.

For the most accurate reading, use a tape measure around your waist at the level of your navel, or belly button. It's important to note that this is not the narrowest part of your waist. This single change can free you from the emotional rollercoaster of the scale and refocus your efforts on what truly matters: building a healthier body that is more resilient to chronic disease.

Build a Movement Habit in Your Head First

If you dread exercise, the key isn't to force yourself through another workout you hate. The key is to build the habit in your mind before you ever take a step. This powerful technique is called "Mental Rehearsal."

The process involves creating a custom audio recording of yourself vividly describing the experience of the movement you want to adopt. Using rich, sensory details, you walk yourself through the entire process. For a jog, you might describe how you "feel the warmth of the sun," "hear the crunch of leaves underfoot," and "savour the sensation of my legs burning." By listening to this recording daily, you anchor the new habit and build a genuine craving for the positive feelings associated with the movement.

This practice rewires your brain, transforming exercise from a dreaded chore into an anticipated source of deep fulfillment. It connects the physical act to a potent emotional reward, building a craving not just for the movement itself, but for the feeling of being more powerful, more confident, more attractive, and even euphoric.

Discover the Real Reason You Want to Change

We often set generic health goals like "lose weight" or "get fit," but these surface-level desires rarely have the power to carry us through challenging moments. To build motivation that lasts, you must uncover "the why beneath the why."

This simple but profound technique involves a series of probing questions. Once you've stated your goal, ask yourself, "What's important to me about achieving that?" Then, to your own answer, continue digging with variations like, "What will having that give me that I don't currently have?", "What will that mean for my life?", and "What will I experience when I have that?". Continue this process until you get to the core emotional driver behind your goal. You might start with wanting to lose weight but discover that what you truly crave is the confidence to be present in family photos or the energy to be a role model for your children.

This is the deep, intrinsic motivation that makes a goal "sticky." It’s the real reason that will keep you going long after the initial burst of enthusiasm has faded, providing a powerful and personal anchor for your journey.

Consider Focusing on 3 Meals Instead of Snacking

In a world that promotes grazing and mini-meals, the idea of reducing snacks can feel radical. However, experimenting with a guiding principle of "3 Meals & No Snacks" can be a game-changer for stabilizing your energy and improving your digestion.

Contrary to popular belief, constant snacking can, for some, lead to poorer digestion and weight gain by keeping blood sugar on a perpetual rollercoaster. By focusing on three balanced, nutrient-dense meals a day, you give your digestive system a rest and help keep your energy levels stable and sustained. This approach can help break the cycle of cravings driven by blood sugar spikes and crashes.

It is crucial to note that this is a guiding principle, not a rigid rule for everyone. The source of this advice explicitly states: if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or you're preparing food for children & growing teens, then snacks may be enjoyed as needed. The goal is always to listen to your unique body.

This shift can simplify your relationship with food and help you re-learn how to listen to your body's true hunger cues, rather than eating out of habit or boredom. It’s a return to a more traditional rhythm that allows your body to find its natural balance.

What Will You Challenge?

Achieving sustainable health and wellness isn't always about adding more complex rules or pushing harder. Sometimes, the most profound progress comes from challenging our own assumptions, understanding our inner psychology, and choosing a simpler, more intuitive path. By embracing these counter-intuitive habits, you can build a foundation for health that is both effective and sustainable.

Looking at your own health journey, what is one piece of conventional wisdom you're ready to question?