Imposter syndrome

Ben, you don't need to be an expert to share your story

Recently I’ve been trying to overcome my fears by writing publicly about them.

And another fear I’m trying to conquer is feeling that I’m not qualified to talk about losing weight because I lack a nutrition degree.

I’m probably just stuck inside my own head, but I worry what I say will fall on deaf ears because I have no formal qualification, and I only have my experience as a professional athlete who struggled with his weight to point too.

And this frustrates me because I want to help people who are beating themselves up for what they ate like I used to, and let them know it doesn’t need to be that way.

Human nutrition and the psychology of eating are very complex topics, both of which I’m fascinated by. But often I see articles from experts putting the boot into calorie counting, which I find confusing because it’s helped me lose and keep off 20kgs.

I agree that nutrition and losing weight is more than just calories in vs calories out, but it’s the simplest way that helps me make sense of what is a very complex topic, and I understand how experts can feel annoyed when their area of expertise appears to have been dumbed down.

I was sent this article recently explaining the origins of calories and says how we should focus more on “calories absorbed” than just calories consumed. But despite agreeing with the article, I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how I’d track that. How would I know how much of the energy I’m eating is being absorbed?

I have so much respect for nutrition, as eating well (along with sleep) is what I focus on to have enough energy to manage everything that’s on my plate.

But I get frustrated when people exacerbate an already confused society about what it takes to lose weight, and I hope it’s not so they can profit from the confusion by making people feel like they need to pay an expert or trainer to help them feel better.

Anyways, apologies for the brain dump but writing and sharing my thoughts is helping me organise my brain, and your feedback is giving me the confidence to speak up and try to help those whose self-esteem is being impacted by their weight like mine was.

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PS: The pitch last night at the Canberra Innovation Network went great, and a huge thanks to everyone who gave feedback as it helped refine my pitch.

Especially Esse who encouraged me to finish with a stronger statement, and it got quite a laugh from the audience! Thank you.