During a session yesterday, a client said something that stopped me in my tracks. I had asked her, “What was your biggest takeaway from today?”

Her answer: “I am important.”

Simple. Powerful. And deeply familiar.

It immediately brought me back to my own turning point –  not just with weight, but years ago when I quit smoking. That session reminded me of how both journeys, though they seem different on the surface, are really about the same thing: honouring yourself, even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

She went on to say, “There’s nothing wrong with it taking this long  –  it did with smoking!”

That truth hit home for me. Because for a long time, I thought success meant speed. If it was “working,” it should be fast. But just like with smoking, lasting change takes time. And it’s not because you’re weak –  it’s because you’re rewiring your whole relationship with yourself.

Why Managing Weight for Life Is Like Quitting Smoking

When I finally quit smoking, it wasn’t because I found the perfect method. It was because I stopped trying to force change from the outside and started making it from the inside. I realised I was no longer someone trying to quit. I was someone who didn’t smoke anymore.

The same shift happened with my weight – but only when I stopped seeing it as a constant battle and started seeing it as an act of self-care, and became truly, genuinely happy with eating less.

Here’s how the two journeys are surprisingly alike:

• Both are about identity.
  You don’t just stop smoking or change your eating patterns overnight. You become someone different – someone who treats their body with respect and care.
• Both require compassion.
  Slipping up isn’t failure. It’s learning. When I quit smoking, I had many “one last” cigarettes before I truly stopped. Same with food. One off-track day doesn’t undo the work –  it’s what you do next that counts.
• Both take time.
  My client reminded me –  there’s nothing wrong with it taking this long. That message needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Lasting change is supposed to take time.
  

In fact, I have to remind my clients of this all the time. It took me 5 years to properly change my behaviour, going from unhealthy, unfit, overeating and smoking, to properly taking care of myself, and another 5 years to realise that I’d done it! But I wouldn’t have done it any faster… it’s because I took my time that I succeeded long term. I had to go through the lived experiences of learning. 

• Both are fuelled by deeper motivation.
  For me, a major driver was health anxiety. I was terrified of what might happen if I didn’t change. But over time, fear transformed into care. Into value. Into the belief that I am important. That my health — mental, physical, emotional — is worth protecting.
  

When Health Anxiety Turns Into Empowerment

Let’s talk about that health anxiety for a moment.

For a while, it was what pushed me. The worry, the “what ifs,” the worst-case scenarios — they were loud. And yes, they got my attention. But they also left me feeling reactive, panicked, and stuck in a cycle of urgency.

Eventually, I realised that living in fear of illness wasn’t the same as living in pursuit of health.

That shift changed everything. I stopped making choices from panic and started making them from love — for my body, my future, my life. That’s when things began to stick.

It wasn’t about controlling everything. It was about caring deeply enough to keep showing up – even when I didn’t feel like it. Even when it was slow. Even when I was afraid.

Final Thoughts: You Are Worth the Time It Takes

If you’re reading this and feeling like it’s taking too long… like you “should have figured it out by now”… please hear this:

There is nothing wrong with you.

You are not behind.

You are becoming.

And that takes time.

Just like quitting smoking, managing your weight for life isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about rewiring your habits, reclaiming your health, and rewriting the story you tell yourself –  from “I’m failing again” to “I am important.”

That truth is worth repeating. Every day, if needed.

Because you are important. And it’s never too late to start treating yourself like it.