Are you looking for a change, need to regain balance in your life, or simply just want to establish healthier habits to feel better and be more resilient?
In today’s ever-changing and fast-paced world, the stresses and demands of life, family, and work can take a toll on all of us. Often, the first things we neglect when we lose perspective and balance in our lives are the healthy habits that are essential to our overall well-being, happiness, and productivity.
A Health Coach is a professional who acts as a change agent, collaborating with you on identifying personal values, outlining realistic goals, and implementing actionable steps to help improve your overall health and well-being. Health Coaches are trained and certified by accredited coaching associations, meaning they have gone through extensive training and are held to a professional code of ethics.
Coaching is ideal for individuals who are ready for a change but may feel stuck and unmotivated and simply do not know where to start.
What Does Coaching Look Like?
Health and Wellness Coaches use evidence-based and client-centered approaches to co-create realistic goals with each client to foster growth, self-confidence, accountability, and sustain change in their health and well-being.
You may have struggled in the past to follow recommendations by common healthcare professionals, such as your general practitioner, because you’re not sure how to incorporate these suggestions into the lifestyle of yourself or your family. A Health and Wellness Coach will not only instruct you on what to do, but instead collaborate with you to figure out a plan with realistic and achievable steps that is tailored specifically to you. A coach will help you explore your intrinsic values and motivators to ensure that your plan is aligned with who you are, which is an essential step that is often overlooked to make changes stick.
You will follow an evidence-backed, personally-curated plan for your goals and work directly with a coach who will become your guide and partner in making these changes.
So what are some of the results you can expect from coaching?
At 12 Weeks to Wellness, a wellness coaching company located in Vancouver, BC, many of their clients have illustrated the benefits of having a health coach through their testimonials. Here are what they are saying:
“I feel so much more inner-peace, empowered, and confident in the skills I gained to apply to future scenarios.”
“The coach’s ability to hone in on the root of my problem was extremely helpful for me. She quickly provided me with some tools to help me change my behavior and in turn, people around me changed their behaviors towards me.”
“My weight is down over 20lbs; I have more energy, more consistency in my routine and I have increased my resilience. I have a healthier routine in my life. My workouts are great - I feel 7-8 years younger from all I have achieved this year so far.”
“My coach was exceptionally knowledgeable about diet, exercise, and helping me to identify the triggers/emotions that get in the way of me improving my eating and exercise behaviors and my general outlook on life.”
Coaching empowers you to create permanent changes in your life that are difficult to do on your own. It can help you set goals and address whatever barriers that may be holding you back.
Ready to make a change? Here are some areas that Health Coaches can help:
Weight Positive - Building confidence and a positive relationship around food and your body at any size.
Making Peace With Food - Creating a healthy relationship with food and conquering emotional eating.
Move for Life - Building a realistic plan around a movement that works for you.
Confident Healthy Me - Building a customized lifestyle plan for optimal wellness or to manage a health condition.
Mind My Wellness - Creating a toolbox for improved mental health and stress management through daily mindfulness.
Written by Bettina Mackenbach, RD, 12 Weeks to Wellness