Health Coach
Health Coaching is real yet misunderstood
If you have been looking into ways to support your wellbeing or upgrade your lifestyle in terms of healthy living, you probably stumbled upon the terminology Health Coach. Either on an informative post on social media, a healthy recipe hack, a health success story, or a lifestyle transformation blog or online article. But you may have also stumbled upon it as a marketing term to mislead the health conversation or from an old-school medicine perspective that misunderstands the approach of holistic living.
But then, which one is it? What's the truth behind health coaching? Is health coaching an honest career or a profitable hobby? Can it heal you, or is it just a marketing scam to increase product sales?
With this blog post, I want to set the record straight.
A Health Coach is a great resource to support your health goals, but it is not a miracle worker. It can help everyone improve the quality of living, yet having a health coach alone is not about a magic pill or perfect health formula.
If you are curious to know where a Health Coach draws the line, keep reading. Heads up, it's coming from the Horse's mouth - yet I'll share the good, the bad & the ugly.
What’s the deal with a Health Coach?
I'll start with the most important & crucial fact. A health coach is not a medical professional - it does not diagnose, treat, heal or prescribe for any health condition. Its academic preparation is not the same as a doctor's.
A Health Coach is a health advocate that supports a transformation journey towards better quality living, understanding that lifestyle choices greatly impact health markers. Its academic preparation is to support & guide in achieving sustainable transformation in terms of nutrition, emotional resilience, physical activity, spiritual and growth mindset.
IMP: This depends on the expertise or knowledge base of the health coach, yet it's pretty standard that transformation entitles coaching in more than one area.
It's relevant to mention this distinction because the difference largely falls on each's role & approach to health. A doctor, while knowledgeable & trained in how to treat the disease or illness, will not have the time to connect how your lifestyle is negatively impacting your health. A health coach on the other hand seeks & connects every aspect of your lifestyle to support a transformation aligned with your health needs or goals.
While the doctor looks to provide remedies to address the symptoms or a condition so you can live your life, the health coach aims to discover the root cause and provide alternative modifications so you can avoid taxing your body into disease.
I'll go ahead and add that a Health Coach is not a certified nutritionist, a mental health professional, or a certified physical trainer. Again different academic preparations & certifications. Although, many of these professionals add health coaching certifications to their medical training.
Now, if many medical professionals believe it's a good add-on to their medical offering, do you believe it should be discredited because it's a different academic preparation? Different doesn't mean less valuable or less beneficial to you. It just shows the potential of integrating both perspectives to benefit your well-being.
It is not about choosing one or the other, it's wiser to see it as a combination of perspectives that provide you the best probability of a successful outcome. Then again, it all depends on your circumstances. While it can be great to have both resources at your disposal, some people will thrive on coaching and others on doctors.
How do you coach for Health?
The next question will probably be if a Health Coach is not a medical professional, how can the services impact health and wellbeing?
A Health Coach is trained to see health as a holistic engagement. For a health coach, everything connects and interacts to determine your wellbeing. What is on your plate impacts your body's performance at the core. What is outside your plate, can trigger body responses that affect your body's biological rhythms. If one is off, your well-being takes the hit.
A health coach guides you to connect the dots & explore what is happening inside and out. Therefore you can come up with a tailored solution fit for your needs and circumstances. The objective is to get you away from negative health markers and closer to achieving a successful pro-health transformation.
So while Health Coaches can't diagnose, they can identify which areas of your life are negatively impacting your wellbeing. Not only that but can showcase ways to support healthy living using elements outside medicine or pills.
Don't read this and interpret 'lemon water will heal my condition'. It doesn't work like that. It's a matter of giving your body a fighting chance to properly heal by creating an ecosystem that nurtures your body's natural way of operating. It's not that lemon water heals all, but it's a better option or substitute over soda or sugary juices that help your body respond better and favor good health.
Now it gets tricky. When a Health Coach is offering a one size fits all formula, run away. One formula will not work out the same way for everyone. Yes, everyone may need to improve similar areas like nutrition, stress management, or physical activity, but each person should address it from their circumstances. Bioindividuality is key here.
If a Health Coach says: "ditch the medicines and eat whole foods" or "Food is medicine" it's not a lie. If they believe it, it probably worked for them. Their foundation is correct. Food is the fuel of your body, food kind & quality affects your wellbeing in more than one way. In some cases, it is a possibility to heal conditions with nutritional improvement. But before blindly agreeing and dropping your meds, check if that is feasible for you. In some cases, food is not enough as other elements have to take into consideration. Now, don't read this and say 'Take the pill, food doesn't matter because that is a lie that can cost you your livelihood.
So take the time to review every relevant aspect. Your health is worth the research. It's okay to admit you have lost your way and can't find your rhythm back into a healthy living that works for your circumstances. But know that a Health Coach can help you find your way back.
Is a Health Coach a fit for me?
Health Coaching is an investment in your wellbeing. A Health Coach like a trainer or therapist can potentially be great for everyone, yet not everybody thrives with a trainer or in therapy. Health is responsive to a very individual configuration - that should be your compass to see if a health coach is for you.
If you are curious to see if health coaching would work for you, check the bullets below that showcase when is beneficial to have a Health Coach.
You have tried multiple times to change your unhealthy ways but are still not experiencing the desired results.
You are at a turning point in your life where transformation is not optional but necessary.
You need support to design a lifestyle that honors both your life & health goals.
You are on a healing journey for a particular condition (hormonal, chronic illness, mental stability, etc.), and the load can get overwhelming for you.
When basic needs like sleep, stress management, eating habits, life balance are not met, and you feel the impact on your health.
You thrive when you are supported and guided, you don't mind people's advice and can leverage it beneficially.
Quick Survey:
Accountability + Listening + Complicity = Transformation
Transformation, especially health kind, is NEVER easy. It's not an overnight event and is not without some sacrifice. Yet, transforming your lifestyle doesn't have to be a misery sentence. You are allowed to enjoy -for the most part- becoming a better version of yourself. That is one thing a health coach can understand and will always advocate for. It's a 3 part equation that needs no medical training: accountability, complicity & listening.
A Health Coach is extensively trained in being a source of supportive accountability. Accountability based on knowledge and trust, not a checklist or to-do list. Is a connection to get you going, when the going gets tough.
The complicity comes from understanding firsthand the struggles, the failures, and the victories. From wanting a better outcome of living not as an individual, but as a community. Understanding that you lead the way, but that support and guidance play a role as well.
Lastly, is all about listening. Because you have the answers to the puzzle, is all about creating awareness of a conversation. Putting the pieces together and create the formula that nurtures your wellbeing.
Ultimately a Health Coach is that accomplice to accompany you on the journey. An entity that believes in the results even during the foggiest scenarios. Why? Because most, if not all, have gone through a similar path and have a success story to share with you.
Wouldn't you want one with your name on it?
Shifts to Try Supported by a Health Coach
If you do, participate in Discovery Calls and share your pain points. Explore the possibilities for your goals. Ultimately go with a Health Coach that speaks your truth in a way that resonates with your life philosophy or healing approach. Here are a few shifts Health Coaches can help you out with.
Curious about this Shifts? Feel free to reach out to talk more about them here.
From my journey to yours
Integrated is better!
I know firsthand how valuable western medicine can be and positively impact health markers. Yet, I also experience the wholes western medicine has when addressing healing from the root cause. Problems solved from a holistic viewpoint.
Fact: It's no one's fault. It's just the design of the system.
Having the best of both worlds allowed me to create an environment that nurtured and favor my healing all around. Therefore, I cannot discredit health coaching or compare it to doctors. Both have something to offer. It's your call how you implement both aspects in your formula for successful and sustainable health transformation.
Today I don't need a pill for my body to properly 'work'. But without that treatment, I would have never managed my condition in a timely fashion to take my time and properly work on my lifestyle transformation. It went from 85% western medicine + 15% lifestyle to 40% western medicine + 60% lifestyle up to 100% lifestyle healing.
As a Health Coach myself, I truly believe everyone can benefit from coaching services, but not everyone will thrive on it alone. Find your balance, create your ideal support system, achieve your healing. Because if one thing everyone can agree on is that you have to take care of your health proactively.
Until Next One!
Stay happy, stay healthy, Stay BALANCED,
