Many people ask so what do you mean by a health coach? Are you like a personal trainer? Health coaching is a relatively new concept for a lot of people. We have a good sense of what a hockey coach does or even an executive coach but health coaching can leave us scratching our heads.
The biggest ‘why’ for health coaching in my mind is that many of us want to improve our health and we have an idea of what we should be doing, but we really have a hard time doing it.
A health coach helps you select the lifestyle changes that are specific to your goals (no, we don’t all need to be eating broccoli and chicken breasts every day) and then guides you through the behaviour change process required to make those changes a reality, for the long term.
We meet you where you are, starting with the changes you are ready and willing to make and then we build on that foundation.
While a lot of folks in the health and wellness space are very good at telling us what we need to do (here is your exercise program/meal plan for the week, now do it) there are not a lot of people helping us with the how. That’s where health coaching comes in. We help you to define the what but more importantly we help you figure out the how, even when you’re juggling work, family, school, parties, holidays and the dog puking in the night.
So how do you know if you could benefit from a health coach? Here are 5 signs a health coach might be right for you:
1. You want to improve your health
This should be obvious that someone wanting to improve their health might seek a coach to help them. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily what people think of when they receive a medical scare, want to avoid a chronic disease that runs in the family or they wake up one morning thinking ‘this has got to change’.
Often people start with hiring a personal trainer, seeing a dietitian or getting some general advice from their doctor. Let me be clear that these are all great ways to start. There is usually nothing wrong with the advice, programs and plans you’ll receive from these individuals as long as you can implement them, and that’s where a health coach comes in. If you have this type of information, we work with you to figure out how you can best incorporate it into your life. We help you stay focused on the basics, avoid overwhelm and layer on additional changes only when you’re good and ready. We look proactively at the opportunities and obstacles in your life and then develop a plan that works with your life, not against it.
2. You're paralyzed by information and not sure where to begin
Sometimes you don’t have any specific information. You just know you need to make a change and your friends, your family, the media are all bombarding you with lots of potentially conflicting information as to what you should be doing. Right when you think you’ve settled on a first step, you second guess yourself.
Your health coach is your personal guide to sifting through all of the information and helping you decide what will work best for you. We provide you with information as you need it, whether it’s a simple explanation of how different foods are digested in your body, to deciphering some of the medical mumbo jumbo you might have received from your physician. We help you to cut through the health and wellness noise we’re exposed to every day and keep you focused on your goals.
3. You know what you need to do but you just aren't doing it
Maybe you have a plan or a good sense of what you need to be doing to improve your health but a day or two, maybe a week into this grand plan and you’re throwing in the towel. Maybe it was too overwhelming or, maybe you didn’t feel like it was working for you or, maybe you decided this just isn’t the time. So, it all goes on the back burner until the pain of feeling crappy becomes greater than the pain of starting it all over again.
A health coach will work with you to evaluate the program and figure out what exactly isn’t working for you. Do we need to just make some small adjustments to make it more doable for your lifestyle? Maybe we need to break it down into smaller chunks that we implement over time. Or maybe we need to come up with something that’s just better suited to your preferences, your lifestyle, your goals, your body.
Most importantly, a coach helps you with your mindset. What are your expectations for this program? Are they realistic? What are you telling yourself when you didn’t follow the program exactly one day? How’s that working for you? What is your relationship with food, exercise? Do we need to address that first?
4. You've never acheived permanent change
You’re a great starter. You get your hands on a plan and you follow it exactly. A few months in and your blood pressure looks great, your knee pain has gone away and maybe you’ve lost a few pounds along the way.
Your friends and family are remarking on how much better you’re looking, your doctor is pleased by the improved health markers and you’ve loved basking in the praise. Then you reach your goal and it all falls apart.
Maybe it’s an immediate crash and burn as you celebrate reaching your milestone and shed the restriction you’ve been feeling. Or maybe it’s more gradual – your activity level starts to drop off, or a new job wrecks your routine, your eating habits start creeping back to your old ways and before you know it, you’re right back at square one.
We can do just about anything for a period of time, especially if we’re seeing changes along the way. Sure, maybe you’ve seen your friends less, skipped on your favourite foods and devoted your free time to the gym, but look at the results you got!
You hit your goal and the people around you get used to the new you. The compliments stop coming in, the encouragement fades away and you really start to miss your old life, your favourite foods, you’re tired of the treadmill at the gym.
This is the difference between layering a lifestyle change ON TOP of your existing life and incorporating a lifestyle change INTO your existing life.
A health coach helps to integrate changes INTO your life so we’re growing a life you love that INCLUDES those healthy behaviours, not a life you can grit your teeth and bear for a period of time as you work toward your health goals.
A health coach also teaches you the tools you need so that you can adjust as your life adjusts. Whether you move across the country, change jobs, have a child or adopt a puppy, a health coach ensures you have the tools you need to make the necessary adjustments to maintain your health when the rest of your life is changing.
5. You want a partner on your journey, not a drill sergeant.
While sometimes a little tough love is required to open our eyes to our blind spots, yelling, insults and generally breaking you down do not have a role in the health coaches tool kit.
We work alongside you, troubleshooting, progressing, listening, understanding, educating, building your confidence and providing you with the accountability you need to move toward your health goals.
We’ve got your back and we want you to learn how to have your own.
Still not sure if you need a health coach? Book a free 30-minute consultation to find out how a health coach can help you.
