IAM1316 – Wellness Coach Helps Clients Struggling with Emotional Eating

Nicole is a certified nutrition and wellness coach and owner of Dark Horse Nutrition LLC. Nicole has a passion for helping individuals struggling with emotional eating to create healthier habits and alternatives to food. Since Nicole has struggled with emotional eating and needing to lose 50lbs herself just a short few years ago, Nicole can not only empathize with her clients' struggles but has the education and knowledge she gained through her own journey to help clients lose weight and keep it off while still enjoying the foods they love!

• CEO Story: Went through her own weight loss journey that took her years in therapy for mental and emotional health, with that experience, she realized that no matter what you do in the kitchen and gym, you are not going to make a lasting change until you really get to the root cause. That’s the reason why Nicole dived into getting certified in nutrition and seeing the need in the industry, she found her niche in line with her experience.
• Business Service: Meeting the client where they are. After a week in the back seat, then she creates a plan to work on.
• Secret Sauce: Focused on the root cause, behavior change, and lifestyle change.
• CEO Hack: App Asana for project management and planning. Trello for project management. Closing the web tabs that are not in use.
• CEO Nugget: Lay the foundation of your business first and not be in a rush. Get the systems in place, so that when you have clients, it would be easier and smoother.
• CEO Defined: Making a positive impact in other people’s lives.

Website: www.darkhorse-nutrition.com

Facebook: @nutritiondark

Linkedin: @nutritiondark

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Transcription

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00:23 – Intro 

Want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, And CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:49 – Gresham Harkless 

Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO Podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Nicole Malone of Dark Horse Nutrition. Nicole, super excited to have you on the show.

00:59 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah. Thanks so much for having me. I'm super excited.

01:02 – Gresham Harkless 

Yes. Absolutely excited, to hear about all the awesome things that you're doing and drill down a little bit more. But before we do this, of course, I wanted to read a little bit more about Nicole to hear about some of those awesome things. Nicole is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Coach and owner of Dark Horse Nutrition LLC. Nicole has a passion for helping individuals struggling with emotional eating to create healthier habits and alternatives to food.

Since Nicole has struggled with emotional eating and needing to lose fifty pounds herself just a few short years ago, Nicole can not only empathize with her client's struggles but also has education and the knowledge she gained through her own journey to help clients lose weight And keep it off while still enjoying the foods they love. Nicole, super excited again to have you on the show. Are you ready to speak to the IAM CEO Community?

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01:46 – Nicole Malone 

I'm ready.

01:47 – Gresham Harkless 

Let's make it happen then. So to kinda kick everything off, I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

01:55 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned in my bio, I went through my own weight loss journey as many in my field do, through personal experience. So to make a super long story short, on my wedding day in 2015, I was five feet short and I was pushing 200 pounds. I was the heaviest I've ever been in my entire life. It did take a few years, but I did go to therapy for my mental and emotional health. It was through that experience that I realized no matter what you do in the kitchen, no matter what you do in the gym, you are not going to make lasting changes until you really get to the root cause of your unhealthy behaviors.

And it was for that reason that I decided to, dive into nutrition and get certified. It was more so to help me on my journey. But as I started losing weight, I realized that the industry is lacking, going beyond the numbers as far as calories and macros and just making it super stressful. So, I wanted to help others in my previous situation, come out on the other side and not feel restricted, or deprived, and really make lasting changes and stop the yo-yo dieting. And I figured since I've been there, I would be the perfect person to help others do the same.

03:16 – Gresham Harkless 

Yeah. I appreciate you so much for sharing your story because I think so many times we forget, that going through our experiences, through our journey, through our stories, kind of empowers us to be a superhero, so to speak, so that we can help how so many other people in the same way? It sounds like you have had that experience.

03:33 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah. It's like so I'm Certified in Exercise Nutrition as well, but, I feel like the people like the previous me, right, that were underserved because it's more complicated and there's more baggage, if you will, than working with the typical athlete. And unless you have been overweight yourself, then I'm of the belief that you really don't have the empathy you think you do, but you really don't have the empathy to help those types of clients. So that's why I figured I would help them because they need more help. And so many people in the industry who are helping that clientele, if they didn't go through the transformation themselves, I feel like they're not giving them a hundred percent of what they could be getting.

04:24 – Gresham Harkless 

Yeah. And I love that you use the word kind of transformation because I imagine that, and I often say this a lot, we forget about the human aspect of business. And just as you said, I think you're speaking directly to that idea. As you said, you know, it's all about the numbers or the micros and this, that, and the third. You kinda forget to kinda sit down and just have a conversation and get to know somebody and really drill down and have that human-to-human interaction and that connection that I think so many times in so many different industries and definitely in fitness we find that happen so much.

04:52 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah. For sure. And as you said, the business industry as a whole, I've had business coaches and all that. And, so many coaches just get stuck in the hamster wheel and give cookie-cutter, advice or things to do, and tasks, but it might not necessarily be what fits that business. So I think just slowing down and taking the time to really get to know your client rather than trying to rush through and move on to the next. I think that's a huge, huge gap as a whole, like, not only nutrition but just as a whole in the industry, business.

05:32 – Gresham Harkless 

I mean, absolutely. I think, I hope it seems like that's becoming a little bit more at the forefront of people being able to kinda have those discussions and that understanding, but it doesn't matter like you mentioned, whether we're talking about dieting or we're talking about securing a business plan. You can have all the steps of success and know exactly what to do. But if you hadn't got to that root problem that you said so well, you might start to create roadblocks when you're starting to see success and just all those things and not understanding why, which is why it's so important to really drill down and treat the true cause and true root of whatever is happening.

06:07 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah. absolutely. It can apply to any aspect of your life, not just nutrition and wellness. So there's this thing called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and that's actually what I went through. And it's kind of like putting your thoughts on trial. So it doesn't have to be like the negative self-talk. It could use that for anything, any aspect. And I find it very, very powerful. It's a very powerful tool. And if you use that in your business as a CEO, right, because so often we work on our business, not in our business. So, if you use just that one tool and just change your mindset, it's powerful.

06:47 – Gresham Harkless 

Yeah. absolutely. I think so many times we don't realize that we have that tool built into our tool kit, so to speak. And I think to be able to kinda understand that you can, maybe rewrite or change or even maybe just tweak your perspective related to what's going on in your life and how you're looking at it. It becomes extremely powerful as you said so well.

07:09 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah, absolutely.

07:10 – Gresham Harkless 

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to drill down a little bit more and hear a little bit more on how you work with your clients. Could you take us a little bit more through a little bit more about how you serve your clients and how you're creating that impact in their lives?

07:21 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah. So, I typically meet them where they are. So often, people are quick to, prescribe, nutrition protocols or wellness plans, right out of the gate. And I fell into that trap and did that at first. But, as I've matured as as a business owner and a coach, I realize that it's important to meet them where they are, and in order to do that you need to understand where they are. So I wait, I actually wait a week and I kind of take a back seat the first week and just let them journal and make their comments.

And I'm kind of, like a ghost watching, like a fly on the wall. And then it's after that first week, I know it's only a week, but I kind of get a sense of how they eat on a typical especially work week. And then that's where I really dive in and create a plan. I keep notes that they cannot see everything I want to work on but I piecemeal the plan, right? You don't want to overwhelm them and say these are all the things that we need to work on.

So I kind of make that list for myself. And then when I create their initial plan, I kind of break it down into where I want to start, take one or two things, and then kind of slowly start chipping away. I don't believe in restriction or deprivation. I don't put them on any particular diet plan if you will. I literally just take what they're eating and modify it to, make it better. Oftentimes, I modify it to add more volume because they're under-eating, but in a healthy way, water, protein, and fiber are my weight loss trifectas because all three of them keep you satisfied longer, keep you full longer, and lower in calories. So I truly just focus on those three areas and making modifications to how they currently eat and just starting from there so I don't turn their lives upside down. I also start them on movement plans.

So while I'm not a personal trainer, I can still say, hey go for a walk? So the easiest thing to do is go for a walk. So I do prescribe some exercises, basic exercises. Again, I'm working with folks that need to lose 50 to 100 plus pounds, so I'm not going to be giving them hit stuff in the gym anyway so yes that's pretty much how I operate. I just believe in meeting them where they are, you know, still allowing them to enjoy the foods they love in moderation, and just modifying how they currently eat. If that answers your question, diet literally means the way you eat and it's just been misconstrued to this weight loss term.

So, whenever I say diet, I literally mean how you eat. So it's important to recognize how you're feeling or your emotions too, because then you'll start to notice a pattern and triggers for like, if you're stressed, you tend to eat cookies or these types of foods. And then we can start that behavior change and habit change and replace the food with something else.

10:44 – Gresham Harkless 

So, I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. And this could be for yourself, the business, or a combination of both. You might have already touched on this, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

10:54 – Nicole Malone 

I think just the things I mentioned, not only did I go on the journey, I met the clients where they are and really focused on the root cause of behavior change and, lifestyle change. And I think the industry is slowly moving towards that and kind of away from the macros and calories like Noom, is a good one. I tried to actually, kind of knock Noom down and I actually went through their site and it's actually a good one right like because they do the Psychology and they do get to the root cause and the behavior. And I think that's so important. So a lot of people in my industry still focus on the numbers. So I would say, my transformation journey and, just focusing on the root.

11:40 – Gresham Harkless 

Yeah, absolutely. Because I think it becomes digging a little bit deeper, and I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So it could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

11:53 – Nicole Malone 

Well, I would say two things. So the first is I use Asana. I don't know if you've heard of Asana. So, I use it for both Project Management and Planning, and that's helped me immensely, just log all my tasks and I get alerts when something's overdue or whatever. So that's definitely helped me not deviate because I kind of have a squirrel mentality sometimes. So,  Asana helps me keep on track and not use my phone for the first two or three hours when I wake up. Well, one more thing I will add is, I also recently started closing out the tabs I'm not working on. So I will have, like, Facebook, LinkedIn, like, all these things open. And then whenever I get a notification, my score ring goes, I'm like, oh, what's that? And then I'll click.

12:43 – Gresham Harkless 

Yeah.

12:44 – Nicole Malone 

Rather than working on my blog post or whatever I'm working on. So I try to only have, just my email, Asana, my coaching platform, and then whatever I'm working on at the time and that's it. All my social media like all that stuff I try to not have up while I'm actually working on something. I'll close everything down.

13:04 – Gresham Harkless 

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So this is a little bit more of a word of wisdom or piece of advice. It might be something if you were to happen to a time machine, you would tell your younger business self.

13:15 – Nicole Malone 

I would say to lay the foundations of your business first. So when you're first starting out,  it's natural to say, oh my God, I need a client. How do I get my client? But then so you put the cart before the horse and then you get your client and then you're like, how do I onboard them? What's you have no processes or systems in place? You just immediately go to we go to selling and marketing so, so if I could go back in time I would totally start laying the foundation first and not be in such a rush to get that client, to do the grunt work and lay the foundation first. Then when you start getting clients, they'll just be that much easier and smoother. You'll know who you want to work with your ideal client and all that. So, definitely laying all that groundwork first rather than coming out of the gate hot and trying to make all the money.

14:11 – Gresham Harkless 

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So, I was asking now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on this show. So, Nicole, what does being a CEO mean to you?

14:22 – Nicole Malone 

Oh, man. I would say making an impact on people's lives, whether it's in your company or the client to serve. It all starts with you, the owner of the company or CEO. So, I'd say making a positive impact, on people's lives.

14:42 – Gresham Harkless 

Nicole, truly appreciate that definition. Of course, appreciate your time even more. So what I want to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know and, of course, how best people can get a hold of you, find about all the awesome things that you're working on.

14:56 – Nicole Malone 

Yeah, absolutely. I will say stay away from the fad diets, please. Do your research before starting anything new, especially when it comes to your health and talk to your doctor, of course. But, if you have any questions or wanna learn more about me and, Dark Horse Nutrition, I can be found at www.darkhorse-nutrition.com and Dark Horse Nutrition LLC on Facebook and LinkedIn as well.

15:24 – Gresham Harkless 

Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And then make it even easier. We'll have the links and information in the show notes too so that everybody can follow up with you and find out about all those awesome things you're doing and, of course, the impact that you're having. But I truly appreciate that last point, I think, related to a diet of trying to go for the fast things, the quick things, the things that can get me where I wanna be in, sixty seconds or less, sometimes doesn't allow us to kinda build the foundation that we need, and as that came up a lot where we're talking about business, we're talking about nutrition or, you know, education, whatever, it's usually that reminder of good things taking time and really being able to kinda treat and make sure that we are building that foundation in the right way is so important. So appreciate you for reminding us of that, of course, doing that for your clients, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

16:08 – Nicole Malone 

Alright. Thanks. Take care. Thank you for having me.

16:11 – Outro 

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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