Chances are you’ve heard the word “health coach” before, maybe even from me. There are many different types of health coaches, fitness coaches, nutrition coaches, etc. out there. Everyone has their own specialty and their own way of doing things, so it easily could get confusing. Do you need a health coach? Should you look into a health coach? What REALLY is a health coach? 

Let’s dig in. 

What Is A Health Coach? 

According to The Institute of Integrative Nutrition:

A Health Coach is a supportive mentor who helps clients reach their wellness goals and feel their best through personalized, one-on-one encouragement around finding the foods and lifestyle practices that work best for them.

Simply put, a health coach isn’t someone to tell you exactly how many calories to eat, what foods to cut out (although they may help you with an elimination diet) or how many hours to exercise to do a day. 

At least not the health coaches I hang around. 

We are here for HEALTH, not crash course diets. Together we will work to find what foods agree most with your body, what’s holding you back and develop ways to build a sustainable healthy lifestyle that works for YOU.

5 Reasons To Hire a Health Coach

1. Accountability

One of the number one reasons people give up on their health journey is because they don’t have a support system in place to help encourage them on the good days and work through the bad days. 

By hiring a health coach you would be gaining a built-in accountability partner. They may not be next to you physically every step of the way, but they will immediately be that extra level of support.

2. It’s More Than The Scale

They will help you focus on more than the scale. A Health Coach can help you with a variety of concerns. It’s not just about weight loss. Maybe weight loss is your main goal, but working with a health coach can take you further than the weight loss and help you maintain the healthy lifestyle long term. 

Health coaches also help focus on maintaining chronic conditions, improving diet, helping with exercise and working on your mindset around a healthy lifestyle. 

When working with a health coach, health is more than a number. 

3. Goal Setting

A health coach will help you plan for the long term while setting realistic goals along the way.

It’s no secret that your health can’t be improved overnight. However sometimes it can be hard looking at how to break your long-term goals into short-term goals. Working with a health coach can help you do this. 

4. There Is No Timeline

Working with a health coach means working on your own timeline. It’s not a 21-day program and there is no forced end date if you’re not ready to be done. 

You may accomplish some of your goals in 6 months, but it may take 18 months. There is no right or wrong timeline for health. Your health coach is there by your side for as long as it takes. 

5. It’s All About YOU!

It’s all about YOU! A health coach should not sell you into a special diet program or protein shake (immediately). Your health is their best interest and their job is to work with you through your specific concerns.

Some health coaches may also offer group coaching. It simply means working with a group of people who share similar concerns or are looking for group support instead of 1:1 support. 

At the end of the day, every person’s body is unique, so even if you are in a group setting you may get something different out of coaching than someone else.  

How Does it Work? 

Every health coach is different and has their own program. Some may focus specifically on women’s health, while others focus on mental health.  Some focus only on nutrition, etc. 

At Be Your Best Self Coaching, I work my clients through my Best-Self Formula: Research, Adjust, Heal.

Using these three steps we will be able to dig deep into your health history, your concerns, what’s holding you back and challenges you may face. From there we will be able to work on small adjustments that add up to big results.

Those results? Healing. 

You may be starting to see an underlying theme:  there is no one-size-fits-all health coach. There are a lot of different things you can do with a health coach. The most important thing to keep in mind is that your body is your body. There is no one else out there with the same body. Working with a health coach can help you figure out what works best for you and only you. 

If you are interested in learning more about working 1:1 with a health coach, stop by my health coaching page to learn about my programs. 

What do you want to know about working with a health coach?