The Coaching Skill AI and GLP-1s Can't Touch | EP 111

Dr. Kasey Jo sits down with program mentors of The Health Mindset Coaching Certification, Brooks Hurbis and Greg Sutton, for a roundtable on what's actually changing coaching right now, and what hasn't changed at all.

In this episode, they cover:

• Brooks and Greg's own coaching journeys, including the exact moment each of them realized giving clients a plan wasn't enough
• How to take responsibility for your clients' success without feeling burdened by it
• Where ChatGPT is genuinely useful for coaches and clients, and the one thing it can't replicate no matter how good the plan it generates is
• How GLP-1 medications fit into coaching (and why "one powerful tool" is a very different thing than "the whole plan")
• The real shift Brooks and Greg see in coaches' language from entering to graduating HMCC, from "my client has excuses" to "my client has valid reasons and I can help"
• What confidence looks like before and after, backed up by a very telling detail about the HMCC Facebook group

ENROLLMENT FOR THE FALL 2026 CLASS OF HMCC IS OPEN NOW! [LEARN MORE]

If you've ever wondered whether AI or a GLP-1 prescription makes a coach less necessary, or you've felt like you've run out of things to try with a struggling client, this episode is for you.

Connect with us on Instagram: 

@drkaseyjo

@sweat.simple

@coach.greg.sutton

Transcript

0:00

if you're a coach who is just still giving your clients nutrition and workout plans, then AI is going to be a really big competitor for you because you are essentially doing the same thing as AI. Hello my friends, and welcome back to not another Mindset show. I'm your host, Dr. Casey Joe. My goal with this podcast is to take the science of mindset and behavior change and distill it down into actionable takeaways for you. Together we're gonna unpack research around motivations, self-sabotage, willpower, and so much more, and we're going to take all of that and translate it into strategies you can immediately apply to your health. Fitness, relationships, business, marketing clients, all of the things. But just to be clear, it's not all serious and sciencey around here. We're gonna have a ton of fun too, and I'm so excited to share all of this with you. All right, let's go ahead and get into the episode. Hello, hello, my friends, and welcome back to not Another Mindset Show. This is a very special episode. In fact, it's the 111th episode, which means something. We decided it means something special. Don't know. Maybe we'll find out later. But I'm really excited because I have two of my favorite people on here to chat with us today. Brooks and Greg and I, us three, together, like w- all three of us have been working together, like as a unit for a couple years now in the Growth Collective, which is my business mentorship program, and both of them have been through HMCC level one and level two, and have now graduated, got massive promotions to be program mentors inside HMCC. So because enrollment is open this week, I figured why not talk to the people that you're gonna be talking to inside HMCC and get some of their perspective, not just being a student, but also having worked with a lot of other students who have gone through HMCC. So would love to first hear from Brooks. Tell us a little bit about where you're at in your coaching journey, we'll say, where you kind of started, how long you've been coaching. Tell us a little bit about your business, who you work with, when you went through HMCC, what that looked like for you to come all the way here to now be a program mentor. Yeah. I am super excited to be here. I'm Brooks. I own Sweat Simple Coaching, and I started coaching back in 2018. I was deep in the early TikTok era. That's where most of my clients were coming from. And I've always helped the very type A woman who was deep in that perfectionist cycle, you know, being really restrictive Monday through Thursday, and then kind of as soon as, uh, the weekend hit, it was all bets are off, which is very similar to what I went through in my own health and fitness journey. And I very quickly realized I didn't know how to help these people. I knew how to give them calorie counts. I knew how to give them workouts. And when I was just working with a small handful of people who were really motivated, that felt like enough. My clients were getting results. But eventually, as I started to work with more and more people, I started to have those clients who, no matter how consistent they wanted to be, no matter how motivated they started the coaching journey, they just couldn't stick with it, and eventually they would start ghosting or getting really frustrated. And as a coach who got into this because I genuinely wanted to help people, I started getting really frustrated too, because I felt stuck. I wasn't sure how I could get them to start following through. I felt like if they weren't motivated, there was nothing else I could really do to help them. So I started to learn a little bit more about health mindset. I, I read a couple books, but books can only get you so far. It felt like that application piece was really missing, and when I had actual clients in front of me, I still didn't quite know how to apply things- things like, you know, motivational interviewing. So one of my colleagues actually referred me to HMCC. She had gone through, like, the very first round. She had mentioned this certification that was all about behavior change, and I was like, "This sounds exactly like what I need." So I went through, level one in, I think it was fall of 2021. I always forget, because at this point I feel like I've drank the Kool-Aid so hard that HMCC has just always been a part of my life. So went through level one, uh, very quickly realized that there was a big gap in the way that I had been coaching and supporting people. Uh, and it just, like, completely upleveled the way that I was able to help these women, not just with nutrition and workouts, but truly following through. and as a result, my clients started to get a lot more results. I started to, appreciate and fall in love with coaching even more because I felt like I was really supporting these people. And then along the way, I deeply became obsessed with mindset and behavior change and everything we do in HMCC. I immediately joined the alumni group after I wrapped up level one because I was like, "I need more of this." went through level two, and then, like I said, I have just fallen in love with this stuff so much that when the opportunity, to become a mentor popped up, I jumped on it. Because, uh, not only do I wanna continue to support my clients through these things that other coaches feel like are really big obstacles or, you know, feel like, "Oh, these people are just helpless, we can't help them," being able to support other coaches to ultimately, you know, help more people out in the world, is really, really, amazing. And, you know, just being able to help people realize these people aren't stuck, these people, actually are very capable of change. We as coaches just needs the right tool in our toolbox, and coaching can become a lot more rewarding once we are actually able to better support these people as opposed to just brushing them off. so that's a little bit about how I got here and where I started. Love it. Oh, it's so nice to hear all of this. I love it. yeah, I didn't know that you were actually, like, referred by someone else too. Yeah.'cause- I'm thinking about it, I, yeah, I don't know actually where any of you guys came from most of the time, you know? Uh, and I'm so grateful because It was, uh, from another, business mentorship that I was in, and people were kind of looking for some sort of course to help with behavior change, and someone had gone through HMCC. And like I said, I'm super grateful, because I don't know how else I would've stumbled upon- Yeah the content and yeah. That's great. I love it. Okay, thank you so much for sharing. Greg, let's hear, let's hear your story. Thank you so much for having me, first off. my name is Greg Sutton. I'm the co-owner of Evolve 2 Excel Nutrition and Performance with my lovely wife, Vanessa. And we work with people who wanna perform their best, basically, long story short, whether that is Olympic level athletes, current world record holders, Pan Am champions, uh, people who are competing in the Commonwealth Games, or recreational athletes, or people who are wanting to perform their best in, in their profession. Basically, people who wanna perform their best both physically and mentally. I have worked with over 1,300 clients, myself, over the last 10 years. And similar to Brooks, I have gone through this huge journey that evolving what, what my coaching looks like when starting as basically what was like a macro coach, like, "Here are your macros," motivation ebbs and flows, trust the process, to now, uh, I would like to consider myself a, a behavior change expert, thanks to everything that I've, I've gained from HMCC. And now considering actually going and getting my master's in, uh, sports psychology, which is gonna be very exciting if, uh, if I'm able to pull the trigger on that. but similar to, you know, everything that, that Brooks is saying, going through HMCC has not just, you know, improved my coaching and improved the, the client experience that my, my clients have working with me, but it's also, like, how it's changed my relationship with coaching and made coaching so much more enjoyable for me. Where before I would maybe have a difficult client that I, I wasn't sure how to help, and then now I just don't feel like that's the case at all. I used to have, like, dread checking in with certain clients. Kind of like, "What, what else can I try with this client? I don't know what else to do." And just like, I don't have those, that feeling anymore. I don't have those experiences anymore, I fell in love with behavior change before HMCC, diving into, what's the one book? Motivational Interviewing for Nutrition and Fitness. That, that really got me started And then doing my own, uh, personal research, and then my wife, Vanessa, was like, "I think HMCC is the next logical step." So I pulled the trigger and haven't looked back ever since. And because I've been so insufferable with just inserting myself into everything HMCC, now I am a, a program, mentor. Just, yeah, forced yourself into here. Okay, awesome. Thank you guys so much just to make sure that everybody has a solid lay of the land on who these people are and why, why you should care to listen to them, 'cause you, you really should. They've all been in the position that you are in right now, in… Sure, maybe you have less experience than them right now or more experience than them right now, whatever. You have a different client avatar type of person that you work with, different style of coaching. There's always going to be a lot of overlap with these specific issues, with having clients struggle to actually stick to the thing that you're telling them to do, and then questioning whether it's your coaching, is it some clients are just uncoachable, blah, blah, blah. I mean, we can run the gamut. There is, there is a through line that every coach experiences. Like, I, I don't think… You guys could tell me, but I feel like it is impossible to not run into these issues with clients when you're trying to help them change something, change their behaviors, change their lifestyle. this happens to everybody, but there is something you can do about it. There's something you can do about it. Okay. so something actually, and I mentioned this to you guys off air a little bit, I did a power hour call with someone this morning, and we got to talking about the responsibility as a coach that you have. And I think there's, like, different stages of coaching. First stage, you're kind of thinking like, "Okay, I'm the expert. I have all of this knowledge, and I just need to deliver it to this person. I just need to write the plan, and that's it." And then you start to recognize, like, okay, th- it kind of feels like maybe something is missing here, something's not clicking. I don't know what else to tell this person. I'm running out of options. What's going on? And then you might start to think, "Okay, I'm, I'm willing to look at myself as a coach and see what maybe I could be doing differently, what I can take responsibility for, and maybe it's not all on the client." And then what I often see is when coaches get to that spot, and they're willing to be, honestly, like, be brave and recognize that, like, I have some stuff that I could probably work on here, and it's not just about the client and their discipline and their commitment to things, that once you've opened up this world of, oh, real, actual science-based mindset coaching, behavior change, understanding client psychology, there is a whole other world there that you can have access to. However, once you recognize that, this is actually kind of similar to, you guys have heard of the double-edged sword effect with growth mindset, something that we see in the research when someone starts to cultivate more of a growth mindset and really believe that they can change and that they have control over their situation, sometimes that means that they start to feel bad and guilty and ashamed for where they're currently at because they recognize that they are responsible, that they do have control. So great, because now this means that you have the control to change and do things differently, but also can feel not so great to realize, like, oh my God, there's, there's so much I've done wrong, potentially, mistakes that I've made, and now there's this, like, mountain I need to climb up in order to change my coaching approach, do things entirely different, learn so much new stuff, invest in a certification. And that can feel just a little bit, like, paralyzing. And it's a lot easier, this is, like, very mindset-oriented conversation. It's a lot easier to just do nothing, kind of like ignorance is bliss type of situation. And instead of having to climb that mountain that you now realize is in front of you, to just, you know, stay at the bottom, pick the flowers, and hope that everything's going to be okay. so I would love to hear from you guys on this perspective and if maybe you experienced anything like that, like a, whoa, there is so much here that I was not considering. And, like, yes, I care about my clients, and I wanna be a better coach- However, at the same time, this seems like a lot of, like, burden to have to carry, to pull on that responsibility, and things I have to learn. If you've seen that in yourself, or you've seen it in some of the coaches in HMCC or just coaches you've talked to in general who are interested in HMCC, Really take this wherever you want, whatever's coming up for you guys. I think it's really important to stay on top of our own mindset as coaches with a situation like that because you can have the perspective of like, wow, this is so overwhelming of all these different things that, that I have the potential to, like, learn and then implement with my coaching. But, like, for me personally, especially, like, going HMCC and I'm looking at, like, this list of modules of all these different behavior change topics, strategies, all these different worksheets, everything, I saw it as something that was, like, very exciting. Mm-hmm. Like, wow, look at all these different things that I, I can potentially use with my clients rather than, like, I need to memorize all of these things. I need to be perfect at all of these things. And with HMCC alumni who I've talked to about this who feel overwhelmed with all the content, I also like to remind them, it's like you don't need to use, like, all of this stuff, period. You don't need to use all of this stuff, but you don't need to use all this stuff on day one. It's like what, what speaks to you the most right now? What's connecting? what do you think is gonna be the most useful with your clients? And maybe that's like three different things, and you use that, and then you just build over time. But it's also this, like, r- what kind of- career, I guess. Like, what kind of coaching do you want to do? And I don't think there's a right answer and a wrong answer. Mm-hmm. Like, if you wanna do very surface-level coaching, then m- maybe that's fine. but if you want to, like, empower yourself and, and help your clients to the best of your ability, it is a re- like, I'm, I d- I don't like saying, like, black and white things, but, like, it is a requirement to have some behavior change tools in, in your back pocket. because, you know, for me it was always like, how can I word things differently? Like, how can I say things differently to get them to care, to get them to act, to get them to, like, really start implementing this stuff? And I didn't realize at the time what I was thinking of was, like, behavior change tools. Like, 'cause basically behavior change is, as a coach when you implement it in your coaching, it is, a different way of communicating. And that, that's what I was thinking of at the time, not realizing it was behavior change, and then ever since, you know, implementing this stuff and, and adopting it into, into my coaching, as I said before, it's improved my relationship with coaching, it's improved my clients', experience with me. but yeah, I kinda went in, went in a circle there, but, uh, I think it's really important to stay on top of our mindset with implementing this stuff. Brooks, what do you got? like what you said about how you're allowed to have whatever kinda coaching business you want, because I definitely do think there are coaches out there who are just in it for a quick money grab. I've heard horror stories of coaches who run all of their check-ins through AI. They set up some sort of, uh, you know, automated system where they basically essentially aren't responding to check-ins. Yes, Casey. and that i- that could, that could never work for the way that I do check-ins after going through HMCC, and I, I would never feel okay with that. That's not why I got into coaching. I didn't get into it to just- take a bunch of people's money and not give them a result. I got into it because for the reasons that a lot of people did, is I genuinely wanted to help people. And in order to help people, you do need these deeper behavior change skills. Even though it might feel like a lot of work upfront, the long-term payoff is so much better, especially from just a business standpoint, from a retention standpoint. If you are easily getting, you know, 10-plus clients a month, then it's a lot easier to give them a poor experience and just say, "Hey, if you can't follow this plan that I'm giving you, that's kind of on you, and you have to figure it out," because you always have those clients coming in. So, you know, if you have some crazy, insane lead generation system, and you're okay with just constantly turning clients in and out, in and out, then sure, you can probably stick with only giving them the very bare minimum surface level, you know, type of coaching. But if you're someone who retention is really important to you, and you want to genuinely help people, taking the time to climb this uphill battle, like you said, Casey, is going to be so much more rewarding and so much more beneficial, than just, you know, kind of putting the responsibility fully on the client. Yeah. That's interesting, too, to think about, because with, like, the, the level of, yes, responsibility that you are taking on here, r- like, yeah, it's more effort upfront to, like, go learn new things, better understand how to speak to your clients and deliver these behavior change strategies beyond just, like, nutrition and fitness type programming, But isn't that also, I'm, like, drawing a connection here, what we see with our clients all of the time, right? Like, how often are we trying to help them understand that this is going to feel like a heavy lift upfront to change your behaviors, to do things differently than you ever have before for this long-term outcome goal that you have? But if you do it the, quote-unquote, like, "right way" upfront and develop these habits and behaviors and really instill into your lifestyle and look at the type of motivation that you're operating from, then it just becomes easier and easier and easier as time goes on until you get to the point where many coaches, you have got to this point, where going to the gym, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, drinking water, it's like, it's not even really a lot of things for you to even have to think about. It's just so much of that has become automatic and just, like, part of who you are and part of your life and just embedded into the fabric of all of that. And that is so much of what this is, too. Like, y- you are telling your clients, "Hey, it'll get easier. You just have to put in the effort upfront, and I promise we'll get there." Like, that's, that's what this is also. The other thing about, like, responsibility, and this is a point that I forgot to say before about, okay, I have all these behavior change tools now, and, like, now I feel like I have no excuses but, but to give my clients the best results because all of these things- Mm-hmm are at my disposal. I don't think that's fair also because, like, I could be the most experienced behavior change practitioner on the planet, and I still can't, like, 100% guarantee someone is gonna make change. I can't make them make those changes. Mm-hmm. I can… You know, we always say the quote, like, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Well, you can make him really thirsty. You know, I can do my best at making the clients really thirsty. But still, ultimately, they gotta, they gotta be the ones to go, go and do it. So I think coaches feeling that way, like, oh, if that's, like, something, some internal dialogue going on, oh, if I have all these skills, then I'm gonna have no excuses, and I have all this pressure to, like, make sure my clients change. That's not fair, to yourself. I still run into very challenging clients, and I, I can't imagine a client situation that I don't feel comfortable handling, thanks to all the experience that I have with, with these strategies. That being said, I still have really challenging clients, and I don't feel like it's my responsibility to flip their lives upside down. I'm just empowering myself with the tools to give myself and them the best chance possible at succeeding, and I think that's a really important reframe as far as, like, responsibilities that we have as coaches. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, this is, like really making me think. Again, just kind of like drawing the same through line between what your clients are going through to make changes and update their lifestyle and lose weight and whatever, and your journey as a coach. And it's a lot easier to just, like, not get started and kind of like turn a blind eye to the other strategies and things that maybe you should be learning as a coach in order to be better. Because what if you get all of these strategies? What if you go through HMCC? What if you learn all of this stuff and you're still not able to help every single client to 110% capacity, and then that makes you a failure. There's gotta be something wrong with you at that point if now you have all of these tools and strategies and you've done the thing, and it still doesn't work. I mean, it's a lot easier to just be like, "Mm, I don't even want that to be a possibility, so instead I'm just gonna keep coaching the way that I have," and that feels safer. And that's, I mean, that's classic growth versus fixed mindset kind of territory. It's a lot easier to not fail than to try, put a ton of time and effort and money and dedication into something, and then fail, right? It's like, at least I can guarantee failure by not doing anything. But, you know, of course, the flip side is you are also guaranteeing that you will never be successful by doing it that way, too With, what you just said, Casey, it's like, yeah, uh, do, do we wanna finish the marathon? Do we wanna perform as best as possible, or do we wanna, like, stab ourself in the leg when we get started so I can be like, "Aha- Mm … I didn't, I didn't perform See …very well." It's like, wh- when you kind of point it out that way, it's like, okay, that's ridiculous, and that's, like, completely self-sabotage. But, like, that's what, that's what our brain does because- Mm-hmm it is very scary to think that you're going to fail at something, and we sometimes give ourselves a way out to make our- ourselves feel, like, more mentally comfortable with that, that possibility of failure. But again, it's like, what kind of a coach do we wanna be? Do we wanna be one that we're actually making a career out of this? do we wanna be one where we are a part of the solution in the health and fitness industry, or do we wanna be one that's a part of the problem in the health and fitness industry and that is a part of the, the cogs in the wheel that is keeping people in the cycle of starting and stopping over, or do we want people… We'd be one of the coaches that actually helps people, get out of that cycle and make lasting change happen, and if you wanna make that happen, you need some behavior change tools, okay? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You just gotta, you gotta do it regardless if it seems like a risk, right? And again, that's what you're telling your clients all of the time. Like, if you want this, if you wanna make these changes, if you wanna do it, then, like, you gotta hire a coach. You gotta get some support. You gotta, you wanna fast-track your success here. but then so many clients, because we're all people, right, are still thinking, "Yeah, but then if I hire this coach, and I sign up, and I do this, and then I can't follow through, or if I can't show up in the way, it's gonna be a waste of time, and money, and energy, and it'll make this person feel bad." And I think coaches get stuck in that, too, where it's like if I go spend time, and money, and effort on this certification, for example, and then I'm not able to implement it, 'cause I don't believe in myself, or if I don't get the ROI out of it that I am expecting because I don't know if it'll actually work for me or whatever, it's like, yeah, but then, same thing, you know? Then you're just guarantee your lack of progress, growth, success. Yeah, and I always tell my clients who are struggling with those fears, 'cause it typically comes up before we actually, commit to coaching. It's coming up in those initial conversations. I always tell them, like, "Hey, yeah, we can't fully guarantee s- your success, but what we can do together is stack all the odds in your favor that you will be successful. Like, being in coaching means that you have all the tools, the skills, the years of expertise that you need in order to be successful. So I can g- guarantee that you're going to get at least 10% further than you were if you were trying to do this on your own," and that's exactly what HMCC is. It's just stacking the odds in your favor that you'll be a better coach, be able to better support your clients, and not fall into the same cycles that you have been. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's really good. One thing, um, I want to circle back to when you mentioned the AI coaching. I would love to jam on just a couple of these really big industry disruptors, we'll call them, that we are experiencing in the health and fitness space, which is, yes, AI, whether that is your clients going to ChatGPT to support them, maybe trying to use AI instead of, yeah, hiring coaches. I think that that's a big thing. AI can whip up a training program and help you track your macros, and you can check in with ChatGPT if you wanted to. that and then the other big one, other elephant in the room, GLP-1s and people leaning on weight loss medications maybe instead. And, like, also not a cheap endeavor, so can also be hard for people, as we can understand. If you're paying $400 a month for something like that, how can you also afford a coach at the same time? But as we know, just having the GLP-1 is not going to actually help you learn new behaviors. And kind of like what we were talking about before is, like, putting the effort in upfront for long-term, lasting results, maintaining that. You're not getting that with an injection, right? so I know two really big topics. Maybe we start with AI and just general. I would love to hear you guys, like, predictions, like what you've seen with your clients, what you've seen with maybe some of the HMCC students, how as a coach to continue to, with both of these things really, to still continue to be the better option compared to these other things I I think that this is when having that deeper understanding of long-term behavior change makes all the difference in the world. being a coach, I wasn't super v- well-versed in how people were using ChatGPT for their health and fitness journey outside of what my clients are doing with, you know, meal inspiration or whatever it might be. But my hairstylist actually let me know that she full on plugged in, inspiration photos into ChatGPT, said,"I want my body to look like this. Give me a nutrition and exercise plan to follow." and for her, it, you know, works really well 'cause she is someone who I can just, you know, easily follow through with a plan. She was super motivated. She had a ext- lot of, like, external motivation for these, you know, body goals, if you will. but most people aren't able… Their issue isn't the plan itself. Their issue is the actual follow-through. So ChatGPT just giving you this blanket plan to follow, it's not actually going to help you be really consistent when you're super stressed from work, when your kids are sick, when you are going on vacation and you wanna throw in the towel for the 10th time, which are the things that most of our clients are struggling with. So yeah, if you're a coach who is just still giving your clients nutrition and workout plans, then AI is going to be a really big competitor for you because you are essentially doing the same thing as AI. ChatGPT can provide you accountability. but most of our clients, they don't just need accountability. They truly need these deeper skills in order to change their behaviors for good. So that's why having the Health Mindset Certification really just sets you so much further apart from other coaches in the industry, from your clients using something like ChatGPT, because they really need to start to understand the value of, okay, n- it's not just about a nutrition plan that this coach is giving me. It's truly that I'm starting to change things that I've done in my life for years and years and years, that AI can't talk me through that in these moments Mic drop. Mic drop. Because, because you're so right. Like, I think I have this love-hate relationship with these, these AI applications, whatever, because I think they can be fantastic for, like, search engines basically, right? Like, if you're, like, wanting to, like, go on a vegan or vegetarian diet and you're like, "What, what are good protein sources?" Like, I think, like, ChatGPT is, like, one of the best resources. Like, and, and- Or like, "Yeah, here, here are my macros. Can you give me some recipes based…" Like, that's cool. Exa- exactly. Yeah. It's like it's gonna take you half an hour to do that yourself, where it literally takes ChatGPT seven seconds, and, like, you're spit- no, a, a probably better plan than you would've come up with. So, like, if you're looking for the what, like, those things can be very good. But, like, as Brooks is saying, it's like that isn't what people struggle with, and especially with the kind of people that I work with. I work with, like, generally people who aren't new to health and fitness. I work with people who have been doing this for sometimes decades. It's about, like, the mentality and the motive. Like, what is our mindset towards making these changes? Why am I struggling with all-or-nothing thinking? How do I break that cycle? Or where are my motives coming from right now? Like, am I, as Brooks was saying, extremely extrinsically motivated? I keep on looking for a certain number on the scale. I keep on chasing a certain body competition, et cetera. And then that's one of the reasons I'm struggling, and then how's ChatGPT gonna help me build more intrinsic motivation? It's, it's not gonna happen. You need to work with someone who actually understands this stuff. At least where the AIs are right now, you know, they're not doing that. And also, like Brooks, that's insane that you know someone, or know of someone who's using AI to, like, do check-in responses. And that's also, like, super risky too, because Like, we've talked about this. It's blatantly obvious when coaches are using AI for content. Like, I can spot it from a mile away. Like, when I see someone's B-roll, it's like, "Okay, that's just ChatGPT." And if I was working with a coach and then I got a response that's ChatGPT, I'm gonna know in a heartbeat that that is ChatGPT, just'cause of the sentence structure. It talks weirdly. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I don't know. That's risky business. I think it also shows- Yeah, and if your clients are using ChatGPT for anything, right, they're getting used to how it responds and how it says things, and they will be able to notice. They will be able to tell. Yeah. And I think it shows just the difference in the type of check-in, though, that we're doing, Greg, as opposed to what some of these other coaches who don't have these extra tools in their toolbox are doing. because, you know, I've even been in coaching containers where your weekly check-in is, "Oh, submit all of your data. How adherent to the plan were you last week?" And the response is very much like,"Oh, good job. Oh, you know, maybe be a little bit more consistent." Um, and you know, no shame to coaches like that. I- that's what a lot of my check-ins used to look like too. So, those are a lot easier to put into, you know, this AI automation, and maybe you won't even pick up on it because your coach is giving you such surface-level answers anyways. but it's, you know, when we're spending 20 minutes on Loom helping a client build that intrinsic motivation, like you said, that doesn't really compute to an AI response. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Okay Then GLP 1s Yeah, I was gonna say next. Yeah Next. Yeah. How does it like sh- how do you guys see it showing up in your coaching? And like, obviously I'm no longer working with one-on-one health and fitness coaching clients, and all of my understanding is coming through the people that I know, whether it's, like, in my physical world or my online world who are coaches and are working through this. So yeah, have at it. I mean, the, the results are in as far as studies go. Like, GLP 1s are the most effective weight loss tool, period. and I think that is phenomenal. Mm-hmm. I think that's amazing, especially in places like the United States that has an, an obesity epidemic. that's gonna really improve a lot of people's quality of life. And, you know, if people aren't m- willing or aren't in a position to, or maybe just uneducated and don't, don't know how to make the diet and lifestyle changes, if they then go on those medications, I think that's phenomenal. and I know a lot of people in the coaching industry who feel threatened, clearly, by how they talk about it online, feel threatened by GLP 1s. and I'm not one of those coaches. You know, I've worked with, um, already I think, like, a dozen people who have been on, uh, GLP 1s, and they continue to work with me. I d- I haven't had a single one of them that, like, stopped coaching because they started a GLP 1, because there's still more work to do. there's gonna be people who go on GLP 1s because they do see it as a quick fix, and guess what? Those aren't the people who are ever gonna be interested in coaching anyways. And the people who are interested in coaching and are interested in, in improving their diet, improving their lifestyle, improving their health and fitness habits, et cetera, those are gonna be the ones who are going to lean on GLP 1s to help reduce food noise, help them see those wins, improve their health markers, but then continue to work with a coach on how to make that a long-term change. Because these drugs are so new, we don't know the long-term repercussions of these drugs. and I would imagine the majority of people don't wanna be staying on it for the rest of their life. So what's that off-ramp gonna look like? Probably working with a skilled coach with, behavior change tools and, and knowing how to actually translate that into a long-term lifestyle change Now, the, the off-ramp perspective is, is I think one of the most important pieces here. I mean, it's just like, it's not just like, it's quite different, but, uh, the same idea with you go on a diet for X amount of days, X amount of months, and you, like, heavily restrict yourself, change everything about your life for that period of time. Yeah, maybe you lose the weight, but how many times do we hear from clients, like, lost the same five to 10 pounds and then regained it however many times? Like, that's this will not change that. Like, that still becomes a thing. I actually think I saw, and, like, don't fully quote me on this, but something around people who have been on a GLP-1, 65% of them are getting off of it within a year for that reason, that they just don't want to continue to feel like they have to be on it, and they have to do this. And probably not fun to, like, inject yourself once a week or multiple times a week, how- however many times a week forever and ever and ever. Like, most people at some point are like, "Yeah, okay, like, "I wanna be done." But You guys are gonna laugh at me with this for a while. I'm thinking about, like, recidivism, so when people go to prison, they go to jail, they're there for a period of time. A lot of times, most of these places, some are better than others, have programs that the inmates can go through. And hopefully, yeah, you can get a GED while you're in prison. You know, you can learn things, skills, whatever. But then they just get tossed back out into the same groups of people and the same environment, and it's just now what, you know? this is, like, such a silly silly connection. Dr. Casey Jo compares GLP-1 users to criminals in prison. Back to you, Brooks. Thank you, Brooks. But, like, s- that's so much of the same stuff, you know? Like, if you don't actually change the behavior, yeah, work on your environment and, like, your social circle, all of that stuff, like, all of that plays a role in your s- it's all behavior change. It's all behavior change. Okay, anyway, m- I need to stop talking. Uh, yeah, that was a crazy analogy, but uh, I, very similar to Greg, I always have at least a handful of clients on my roster at any given time who are on GLP-1s, or even other weight loss medications. And we always say that this is one tool in your toolbox. It's a really, really powerful, tool. It's a extremely helpful tool. but at the end of the day, it's still just one tool. And with coaching, we can give you a lot of other tools as well so that, you know, whether it's your insurance no longer covers your GLP-1, 'cause that's hap- happened to quite a few of my clients, whether you are deciding to go off of it on your own, whether… I've noticed, I've had quite a few people who are either clients or in my DMs who they've noticed the longer they're on the GLP-1, the less effective their dosage, is- Mm-hmm … and their food noise starts to increase. So it's really important that, yes, this GLP-1 is incredible. It's a life-changing medication. But at the same time, we still need those other tools in your toolbox, so that we're not only relying on that one single all-powerful tool. cause that is actually a concern that I hear from clients, so I'm sure, it's happening for other coaches' clients as well, is that they don't want to be reliant on it, and they're so worried that the only way that they'll ever fix their problems is, you know, through this medication. So being able to support them with other tools, can be really, really, powerful, too. Yeah, the insurance thing is, definitely a big one Yay, yay United States. But, yeah. Here you go. Never mind. Classic. Okay, I want to try to hit on a couple more things before we wrap up here. So moving away from my ridiculous analogies and that whole conversation. L- it makes sense, though, okay? It does. okay. What is different about how a coach may approach their clients before HMCC and after, from your perspective as program mentors who are quite literally outside of me, and, like, even probably more so than me, you guys are speaking to the students one-on-one directly even more so. So would love to hear what you notice, yeah, on live calls in the community, what you've seen when they enter into the program versus after. Okay, I have a really good one. Uh, so I have done a couple of the, bonus calls for Coaching Code in the past, and something that always comes up in the chat is, "My client has all of these excuses- Mm and how do I get my client to stop giving me excuses?" And what I love about HMCC is that the language that you use as a coach really starts to change and shift. So you're entering into HMCC thinking that your clients have all of these excuses, they just don't want it badly enough. Uh, you know, it's really putting a lot of that responsibility on the client, like we talked about. And by the end of HMCC, I'm seeing coaches get a lot more curious. It's no longer, "Oh, my client has all of these excuses," it's more along the lines of, "My client has all these really valid reasons why it's very hard for them to follow through. How can I best support them in overcoming these hurdles and overcoming these obstacles?" And that shift in language from excuses to these are really valid reasons, this shit is hard, can be really powerful because it, it makes you feel like you're able to do more for them as a coach. Uh, you're taking on more of that responsibility, and you're just better able to help them. So definitely that shift in how you're thinking about clients. Uh, h- honestly, you feel less resentful towards clients, you feel more excited about the coaching process, and you feel like you're able to make more of an impact, going from this is all my client's responsibility to, hey, there's actually a lot that I can do for my client and there's a lot of this that I can help them Mm, that's good. Yeah, the excuse versus… Did a podcast episode on that. Like, is it an excuse or is it a valid reason, like, that your clients are giving you? And me, my biggest argument was that it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter what you label it, you should just be still helping them work through whatever is a barrier to their progress, end of story. Problem is, though, to your point, Brooks, coaches who start using the label excuse and seeing it as that, then it seems honestly kind of like fixed mindset territory. Like, there's nothing I can do about it if my clients just keep making the- excuses instead of seeing it more as like something that you can actually work with. It's actually just information that there is something getting in the way and you as the coach need to put on your researcher hat and help them find out Yeah. That ex- excuse versus resistance, basically. Mm. It's like my client has excuses. It's like, no, my client is feeling a lot of resistance to ABC, XYZ. Mm. And yeah, like- Love that … that's in a, a representation of coach's fixed mindsets. And then unknowingly they're, increasing their client's fixed mindset because they're making it seem like there's something wrong with the client. Like, you should just be able to do this. You shouldn't have these excuses. You should just do ABC, XYZ. Um, to answer your question, Casey, what is the biggest difference between coaches pre and post HMCC? Mm. The first thing that came to my mind is just confidence. Mm. Confidence in their coaching, right? Where before they're, seeing that one client check in and they're, they're, there's a knot in their stomach because they're like,"Fuck, like how do I, how do I deal with this?" Here we go again. Yeah. Yeah. How do I help this client? And they're, the coach feels helpless. And then after it is confidence. Mm-hmm. It is these, all of these different things I can try, these, all these different strategies we can use, and just actually approaching those challenges strategically, basically. Mm-hmm. It's like going from, "I feel like I've ran out of options. I've tried everything," to, "Oh my God, I have so many more options. I have so many more things I could try before I would ever get to that point again." Yeah. I think you can really see that confidence too in the HMCC Facebook group because, uh, y- Greg and I are both in there as mentors, and whenever… Sometimes, you know, members will bring a… Students, I don't know, what are we calling them in HMCC? Students. Yeah, Coaches. Students. Students will, uh, you know, bring a, a client case study or something that they need help with to the Facebook group and ask a question. And at the start of the program, it's absolute crickets until Greg and I jump in. No one else is giving ideas or examples. And then by the end of the program, before, you know, Greg and I even have a chance to get in there, a lot of times other coaches have already provided solutions or things that they've tried or things that, you know, have worked for them. So just having that confidence as to like, "Hey, yeah, I know how to solve these things too," you can actively see that happening just in the Facebook group alone. Oh, I love that. Yeah. And that's like, that is classic, like you're starting to master something. And obviously when you enter into a new room and you're the new kid, the new student, you know, in the class, and you don't know anything yet, you don't feel like you know anything yet, and you're worried you're gonna say something wrong to, "Wow, I can actually support my peers now," that's, yeah, that's a really cool result. Okay. With that said, let's wrap it up here. Is there any final words, Greg and Brooks, that you might give to someone who is thinking about enrolling in HMCC? They're on the fence, they're not certain. And don't, don't just come back and be like, "Just do it. It's gonna be awesome. You're gonna be fine." Like give, give something, really sit, sit in the shoes of that coach, especially if you were that coach. What would you say to them? Where do you wanna be, Where do you wanna be, in one year? Hmm. What kind of relationship do you wanna have with coaching? And like I said before, it's like if this is something that you're, you're wanting to make a career out of this, I think having something like HMCC is the difference between being an amateur coach and being a professional coach. So if you're wanting to do this, like, as a profession, you're wanting- you're taking this seriously, you're wanting to grow your business, help as many clients as possible, do you wanna be an amateur while you're doing that, or do you wanna be a professional while you're doing that? Because I do think that having behavior change tools is the difference. And yes, you can, you can do that through other avenues. You can try to get your master's, you can try to get all this other stuff, but, like, HMCC is the resource that wraps everything up that is very specific for your niche, and that is astronomically helpful. Like, there's all these different resources that you can go out and get for behavior change tools, and I encourage everyone to, to do so. There's books, there's podcasts, there's all these different things you can get. But, like, all of these different tools specific for coaching and exactly your profession, exactly what you're doing, that's huge. So again, where do you wanna be in a year? What kind of coach do you wanna be? What kind of relationship do you wanna have with, with your work? I think those are important questions to ask. Mm. So good. All right, Brooks. I agree with Greg, and I would also say it goes so much deeper than just the certification itself. The community that you have built, Casey, is incredible, and honestly, I can't say for certain if I would still be a coach if I hadn't discovered HMCC for a variety of different reasons. One, my own fixed mindset about being a business owner and things being really hard. I don't know if I would have had the tools to overcome that on my own. Two, coaching can be really lonely, and this is seriously the most supportive, welcoming fr- I mean, I feel like you guys are my real friends, and we had never met in real- Glad you feel that way. Yeah. But, like, a lot of people in the HMCC and the alumni group, I feel like I genuinely know them, and some of them I've never been- met in real life, but they are just so quick to help you with business questions, uh, you know, client things. And you can just tell they're coaches who genuinely care, which is very, very rare to find in the industry. and then also from a client retention standpoint, having the tools to keep clients happy, to help them, is so much more valuable now, um, these days, especially when the coaching industry can be a little bit more difficult. So it's truly not just the certification, it's everything that comes along with it. I think it really, leads to longevity of you being a coach, not having resentment towards your clients, actually enjoying the process, much more so than if you were just on a little island on your own still just giving clients a nutrition plan. Yeah. Such a good point about the- Go ahead community aspect of things. Because, like, when I showed up to, like, the Thrive event or, like, any of these Growth Collective retreats- Yeah … I'm just, like, handing out hugs left, right, and center. I've never seen these people before in my life- … in person, right? in in person I've never seen them, but it's like, yeah, we're so… We got such a tight-knit community, which is getting more and more guys every single cohort, which I'm very happy to see. We really are, yeah. Du- dudes, you need to step your game up. Ladies are smoking us in the behavior change world. Greg's like," I can't be the token male any longer. I need support." I, well, like, when I- when when did I do my, uh, the HMCC level one cohort? It was, like, fall '23 or fall '22. One of- Oh, that sounds right I think fall '23. Yeah. Um, I, I was the only guy. Yeah. Like, I was the only guy. Yeah. And then now there's at least several guys, but, like, we're, we're, we're slowly getting there. but yeah, the community aspect is so true. I think the alumni group is so, so, so valuable. You have this, like, group of elite coaches, all these different perspectives, and it's like you can just drop your case studies in left, right, and center, and get excellent support on top of, the video calls that we host at HMCC too. Mm-hmm. Coaches Roundtable, hosted by yours truly- once per month, um, on top of the alumni calls with, uh, Casey. It's gold Yeah. I do like, I can't… I'm sure you guys do this too, where you get into the WhatsApp group and you're like, "Oh, holy, 75 messages." Like,"What's what's been going on in here?" Which I think is, like, pretty rare for online communities. Like, you hear that a lot that people are, like, kind of really struggling to, like, drum up engagement and all of this. I'm like, I- we need the engagement to turn down sometimes. I can't, I can't keep up in there. which is also really cool, really cool, especially when you think about it, because we're all, like, competing against each other technically, you know? Everyone in that group who is an HMCC coach, some of them sure… Like, we've had sleep coaches, meditation coaches, sports coaches, people who are in different areas. But for the most part, the majority of people in there are selling online one-on-one health and fitness coaching programs, and everyone's supporting each other to support their clients, to grow their businesses, to give new ideas. I mean, people are getting clients in that group. Like, "Hey, I can't work with this person because they are, have so and so, or they're, like, hypermobile or whatever. Like, who, in here can work with them?" Because they trust everybody else in that group, too, to give referrals to. similarly, like, getting jobs, too. Like, we're dropping, like, "Hey, there's a job application here. Here's, if someone's looking for an assistant coach position,"'cause we have people who come to us and say, "I want one of your students on my team." So yeah, it's a, it's a really special place. It really is. It really is. Okay, I could go on and on about how I love my people so much and love you guys so much, but let's wrap it up there. And yeah, any final, final words? Anything?@coach.gregsutton, Um, evolvetoexcel.com. Follow- Yeah, I was gonna do that part… like- Like, subscribe Like And that, that's it. I was just gonna give the canned response that you said not to give, which is, "Just do it, guys." Just do it … Don't overthink it. Just do it. no, seriously, though, uh, like HMCC is, is incredible and, could not be a, a better decision. Yeah. And then I guess I'll drop my social handles since Greg dropped his. Yes, please, um, at this point, you may now share where people can find you and reach out to you, learn, learn more about what you do. I'm sure some people may want to reach out and ask questions about HMCC as well. And again, you guys, if you do, end up joining HMCC, you will be working intimately with Brooks and Greg'cause they will be your mentors. So yeah, drop, drop your stuff. Yeah. Uh, I am sweat.simple over on Instagram. Please don't hesitate to shoot me a DM. I seriously nerd out on this stuff, so happy to chat through any questions you have, troubleshoot some client things, all that good stuff. And I also grade, like, the majority of the final assessments, too, so following me on Instagram- Get on his good side … and getting on my good side is gonna be, like, a very, very good move. yeah, you can find me at, on Instagram at coach.greg.sutton, and, uh, website evolvetoexcel.com. Like, share, subscribe. Link in bio. And I'll see you- All the things … see you in level one. See you in level one. Yeah. L- let the FOMO take the wheel. You're gonna miss out on so much fun. Let the FOMO take the wheel. I love that. Um, and everything will be in the show notes too, guys, so you don't have to, like, go back and listen to that and type into Instagram. You can just make it easy, click the links, go check them out. but yeah, thank you, both of you, Greg, Brooks, for being here. I Appreciate you so much, and I appreciate your trust over the years in helping make the industry better, and now you get to help me even more so make the industry better, which is awesome, so… Oh my God, Greg and I both did snaps for that. If that's not kismet- At the same time … to me, I don't know what is, guys. We are all just becoming one. Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much, and thank you everyone who is listening. I appreciate you being here, and I'll see you next time. And that's a wrap for today's episode of Not another Mindset show. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you get notified of the next one. Because if you're anything like me, if the episodes aren't popping up for you automatically, you'll keep forgetting to come back to the show even if you really, really enjoyed it. So go ahead and hit that subscribe button and make it super easy for you and of course. If you wanna see more episodes just like this one, I'd love for you to let me know by leaving a review. I know, I know it's super annoying to do, but the few seconds that it takes means the world to me and also ensures that I can keep providing free education and value to you. And just to sweeten the deal, I am going to be picking a random reviewer every single month to receive a free workshop or product from me. If you're looking for more free resources or just wanna connect, hang out, chat a little bit, come find me on Instagram. I'm Coach Casey, Joe over there. That is where I hang out the most in the land of social media. Alright, my friends, that is all I have for you this time. I so appreciate you being here and love to see you prioritizing your growth. I'll see you next time.