The $1,500 Coaching Mistake I’ll Never Make Again

About 10 years ago, I hired an online fitness coach.

It cost me $1,500.

And it turned out to be both the biggest mistake and the biggest lesson I’ve ever had in coaching.

Here’s what happened:

At the time, online coaching wasn’t nearly as common as it is now. I was working as a personal trainer in NYC, considering moving parts of my own business online, and I thought—what better way to learn what online training could look like than to experience it myself?

So I signed up for a well-known coach’s 12-week program.

In my application, I wrote very clearly:

👉 I’d had a history of obsessively tracking, weighing, and logging food.

👉 It wasn’t healthy for me mentally or emotionally.

👉 I did NOT want to do that again.

I asked for balance, sustainability, and a structure that supported my goals without consuming my life.

The coach assured me that’s exactly what I’d get.

...and then my plan arrived.

I was sent a link to a generic calorie counter.

Told to drink 8 glasses of water.

And to have 3 protein shakes and one "whole food meal" per day.

👇 Here's the actual plan they sent to me 👇

...balanced and sustainable, right? 🙄

When I pushed back, explaining this was the opposite of what I’d asked for, I was told to "just try it".

So I did.

And I hated every second of it.

By the end of the 12 weeks, I was burned out, resentful, and very clear about one thing:

I would never put myself in that position again.

Here are the lessons I took away from that $1,500 mistake:

✨ You are the expert on your life.

No one else lives in your body, your schedule, or your brain.

✨ Any coach who ignores your boundaries, preferences, and values is waving a giant red flag.

If they dismiss what matters to you, they’re coaching for themselves, not for you.

✨ Real coaching doesn’t hand you a set of rules—it helps you create a plan that fits your life.

Otherwise it’s just a diet with a fancier name (and price tag).

And the biggest lesson I’ll never forget?

👉 When you outsource your decisions, you outsource your values too.

You start following someone else’s version of “healthy,” even if it feels miserable or unsustainable.

You quiet your own gut instincts.

And you lose sight of what actually matters to you.

That’s why I’ll never again follow a plan that requires me to blindly follow a set of rules.

Or listen to a coach that expects me to abandon my own judgment or values.

And it’s why, as a coach, I always strive to do the opposite:

• Put you in the driver’s seat.

• Help you clarify what truly matters to you.

• Use your priorities and values as the filter for your choices.

• Support you in building a plan around your life—not someone else’s idea of “perfect.”

Because at the end of the day, that’s the only way habits actually stick.

So here’s what I invite you to reflect on this week:

Where in your life are you outsourcing your decisions, or letting someone else decide what should matter to you?

And what’s one small action you can take today to bring yourself back into alignment with what you value most?

P.S.

If you’re ready to stop outsourcing your food decisions to random diet plans and want to finally create a system that fits your life, make sure to get on the waitlist for my new Capsule Cooking course. You’ll be the first to know when doors open, get a special discount, and snag a free 30-minute call where I’ll personally help you refine your meal system.

👉 CLICK HERE to Join the Capsule Cooking Waitlist