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Why women go quiet
The women who kept off 30 pounds contacted their coach before things went wrong. Most women hold the belief that they should be able to figure this out alone and shouldn't need help with something as basic as eating. A coach can only adjust what is visible, and a gap in the data means starting over.
A useful check-in
A useful check-in is short and specific: sleep was terrible this week, waking at 3 a.m., with cravings at 2 p.m. That points to a cortisol and blood sugar pattern, and it gives something to adjust, like evening meal timing, what is in lunch, or a wind-down before bed. Answers like good, kind of tired, and digestion is fine are feelings, and they give nothing to act on.
Planning for trips
Telling a coach about an upcoming trip works the same way. The conversation covers meals, snacks, nearby grocery stores, and restaurants, so the return feels like momentum instead of a restart.
Why does shame make people go quiet?
Psychologist June Tangney's research distinguishes shame from guilt. Shame is a judgment about the whole self and is linked to hiding and withdrawal, while guilt is a judgment about a specific behavior and is linked to repair and making amends. Tangney developed self-report scales to measure the two, and many studies have used them since.
How does bad sleep drive afternoon cravings?
In a 2004 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Karine Spiegel and colleagues at the University of Chicago limited healthy young men to four hours of sleep for two nights. Leptin fell about 18 percent, ghrelin rose about 28 percent, and hunger ratings rose about 24 percent. Appetite for calorie-dense foods rose the most.
How does cortisol affect blood sugar?
Cortisol signals the liver to make and release glucose, a process called gluconeogenesis. Levels normally peak shortly after waking and fall through the day. When cortisol stays elevated, blood glucose and insulin tend to run higher. Cushing's syndrome, in which the body makes excess cortisol, often comes with raised blood sugar.
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