- Ashley Poladian, 34, from Chicago, Illinois, shares her fat loss tips on TikTok
- In a recent video, she talks about creating identification-based habits
- She changed, identifying with the qualities of the person she wanted to be
A fitness and nutrition coach has lifted the lid on a 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 spoke about creating identity-based habits to become the best version of yourself, a concept she learned about in James Clear’s bestseller Atomic Habits.
“This concept was the most important concept I used to change my life,” she said in the video released last month.
Poladian noted that her clients are typically focused on fat loss, but to achieve their goals, “they are required to make a series of lifestyle changes.”
She recalled reading Atomic Habits, a guide to creating good habits and breaking bad ones, saying there was one piece of advice that stuck with her over the years.
“Of all the chapters in this book, the concept that has changed my life the most and continues to change the lives of my clients is something called identity-based habit,” she said.
As Clear explains in her book, you need to focus on who you want to become and create a new identity to build lasting habits.
He suggested a two-step approach to creating identity-based habits, saying you need to “decide the type of person you want to be” and “prove it to yourself with small victories.”
Poladian gave the example of someone who wants to run a marathon, saying they need to start identifying as a runner.
“Habits only stick when they are 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.
“If you want to make lasting change, you have to change your identity.”
After learning about identity-based habits, she started thinking about key values, qualities and principles that she admired in other people and built an archetype of the person she wanted to be.
Poladian said a big part of it is “deconstructing the narrative you’ve already formed about yourself.”
“How do you reprogram a new narrative, 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 Ashley 2.0 do? How would you handle that?’ You just have to start believing new things about yourself,” she explained.
The coach advised taking a journal and writing down how you would look your best, including what you would think, eat, do, read and wear.
“Get so clear about who that version of you is and start telling yourself that this is you and there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be you, and watch your life change,” she concluded.
Poladian’s video went down well with fans, who thanked her for the advice, saying she inspired them to try it themselves.
“I’ll be working on this for 30 days!!!” one person wrote.
“I’ve heard this concept so many times but you made it CRYSTAL clear with your wording — thank you!” added another.
Someone else agreed that creating identity-based habits has also changed her life, saying that every morning at 4:52 a.m. she says to herself, “I’m a person who exercises, and that’s the type of person who would go to the gym.”