A fitness and nutrition coach has opened the lid on the one concept that changed her life and is now changing the lives of her clients.
Ashley Poladian, 34, of Chicago, Illinois, is known as @proteinsnackqueen on TikTok, where she shares her fat-loss tips and recommendations for high-protein, low-calorie meals.
She recently opened up about creating identity-based habits to become the best version of yourself, a concept she learned in James Clear’s bestseller “Atomic Habits.”
“This one concept was the single most important concept I used to change my life,” she said in the video posted last month.
Fitness and nutrition coach Ashley Poladian, 34, is known as @proteinsnackqueen on TikTok, where she shares her fat-loss tips and recommendations for high-protein, low-calorie meals
In a recent video, she opened up about creating identity-based habits, a concept she learned in James Clear’s bestseller “Atomic Habits.”
Poladian noted that her clients are usually focused on fat loss, but to achieve their goals, “they need to make a series of lifestyle changes.”
She recalled reading Atomic Habits, a guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones, and said there was one piece of advice that has stuck with her over the years.
“Of all the chapters in that book, the concept that has changed my life the most and continues to change the lives of my clients is something called an identity-based habit,” she said.
As Clear explained in his book, you need to focus on who you want to become and create a new identity to build lasting habits.
He offered one approach in two steps for creating identity-based habits, saying that you need to “decide the type of person you want to be” and “prove it to yourself with small victories.”
Poladian gave an example of someone who wants to run a marathon and says he needs to start identifying as a runner.
“Habits only stick if they’re part of our identity,” she told viewers. “Your current behavior is simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a direct reflection of the type of person you think you are.
Poladian explained that she changed her life by identifying with the qualities of the person she wanted to be, saying, “Your current behavior is simply a reflection of your current identity.”
The coach said this concept also changes the lives of her clients, who must make a “series of lifestyle changes” to reach their fat-loss goals
As Clear explained in his book, you need to focus on who you want to become and create a new identity to build lasting habits.
“If you want to make lasting change, you have to shift your identity.”
After learning about identity-based habits, she started thinking about the key values, qualities and principles she admired in other people and built an archetype of the person she wanted to be.
Poladian said a lot of this is “breaking down the narrative you’ve already formed about yourself.”
“How do you reprogram a new story, a new identity for yourself, and hold that so close to your heart that every time you’re faced with a decision you automatically think, ‘What would my better self do? What would I do? Ashley 2.0 do?” How would she handle this?’ You just have to start believing new things about yourself,” she explained.
The coach advised getting a journal and writing down what your best self would look like, including what you would think, eat, do, read, and wear.
Poladian said she started by thinking about the key values, qualities and principles she admired in other people and building an archetype of the person she wanted to be.
“Make it so clear who that version of you is, and start telling yourself that’s you and there’s no reason it can’t be you, and see how your life changes,” she advised
“Make it so clear who that version of you is, and start telling yourself that it’s you and there’s no reason it can’t be you, and see how your life changes,” she concluded.
Poladian’s video struck a chord with fans who thanked her for the tip and said she inspired them to try it out for themselves.
‘I’m going to work on this for 30 days!!!’ one person wrote.
“I’ve heard about this concept so many times, but you made it CRYSTAL clear with your wording – thanks!” added another.
Someone else agreed that creating identity-based habits also changed her life, saying that at 4:52 every morning she says to herself, “I’m a person who works out and that kind of person would go to the gym.” ‘