Health Coaching 101: What you need to know before hiring a health coach

In this article we discuss Health Coaching 101. Learn what health coaching is and why you should work with a health coach towards improving your health and wellness.

What is a Health Coach?

A Health Coach is a wellness expert who educates, motivates and guides clients toward lifestyle and behavior choices that support optimal well-being. Health coaches have a non-invasive holistic approach to health, their mission is to empower people towards approaching a healthier lifestyle that will support individual health goals long-term.

Before we move on to what a health coach can or can’t do for you, I’d like to make this very clear from the beginning: A health coach is not a medical doctor, neither a chiropractor, nutritionist or a personal trainer. A health coach does not exclude or compete with these professions.

In fact, a health coach is not a life coach either and health coaching should not be mistaken for life coaching (sometimes also referred to as coaching), Health coaching is a different speciality with a focus on general health and wellness.

Health coaches see health as a balance of different factors that can make or break your health – nutrition, exercise, sleep, mindset, environmental toxins. A health coach’s goal is to guide and support you towards making small lifestyle changes that will adjust these factors, until you reach optimal health.

A health coach can work with you to discover what are the solutions that might work for you, based on your current situation and health goals, helping you establish positive habits towards meeting those health goals. Health coaching is more than just knowing the science behind nutrition and exercise. It’s also about understanding how to guide and motivate people to live happier, healthier lives.

Health coaches do not focus on medical care, instead they focus on having a holistic approach to health. They provide the lifestyle guidance and support needed to make sustainable changes towards your health, at a time when chronic diseases levels are at a rise.

What does a Health Coach do?

Now that you know a bit more about health coaching, let’s focus on the ways health coaches can help you with your health challenges.

Learn what a health coach can do for you, and what are some of their strategies towards helping you:

• A health coach is a wellness expert that can be skilled in coaching, nutrition, wellness, and/or environmental toxins. Health coaches support and empower people about their general health and well being, through embracing a personal health routine.
• A health coach will educate, motivate and guide you towards achieving your personal health goals.
• It’s all about giving you tangible, step-by-step tips to help with a certain problem that might not seem directly related to other issues.
• A health coach will help you improve your life in different areas such as balance stress, change your habits, improve your mindset, change your body, strengthen your immune system, improve your stamina, change the way you look at food, etc.
• Health coaches have the skills to put things into perspective, explaining complicated health and wellness concepts in a simple way.
• A health coach creates individualized solutions that support lasting lifestyle changes.
• After working with a health coach, you’ll rediscover natural ways of approaching your life, regardless if we talk about diet, exercise, sleep, motivation, work-life balance, or other areas of your life.
• Health coaches always start from the idea that each client’s needs are unique, thus everyone needs a personalized solution for their health challenges.
• A health coach sees health as a balance between mind and body, and can work with you to achieve that balance.
• Health coaches can work together with your medical doctor or your personal trainer, helping you to manage your health goals and your challenges.

What a Health Coach doesn’t do?

We know by now what health coaching is or isn’t, and how a health coach can help and guide you towards a healthier lifestyle. But how do you differentiate health coaches from medical doctors or nutritionists?

Let’s look at the ways health coaches differentiate from other medical practitioners:

• Health coaches are not doctors and do not rely on pills or medical treatments of any kind. They won’t name diseases or other kinds of medical conditions.
• A health coach doesn’t have a medical diploma nor does s/he need one to be called a health coach. Health coaches are independent from medical doctors.
• A health coach will not compete with your medical doctor or other types of practitioners.
• A health coach will not implement regimented diets or regimented training sessions.
• While health coaches can be good motivators, health coaching is not about motivation but about natural solutions that can work easily, improving your health long-term.
• A health coach will not focus on one aspect of your health (eg: nutrition, fitness). Health coaching looks at the whole body and the root cause of problems.
• Health coaches are not nutritionists, dietitians or personal trainers. They should have experience in these fields, but their way of seeing health goes far beyond these approaches.

Why Health Coaching?

There are many reasons why you may want to work with a health coach. As I’ve explained above, a health coach can help you figure out what keeps you from being healthy and what are the steps you could take to improve your health.

Here are a few situations where you may benefit from working with a health coach::

• Medical doctors do not have the time to follow-up with you on all the advice they might give you, nor are they skilled in areas such as nutrition, exercise or environmental toxins.
• You have one or more health challenges but you don’t know where to start.
• Some examples include: lack of energy, weight gain, poor sleeping, hormonal imbalances, a compromised immune system, feeling tired all the time, specific disease or health condition.
• Maybe you feel something is not ok with you or you just want a positive change in your life.
• You feel overwhelmed by all the choices out there and are in need for guidance.
• You feel the need to change something in your life but don’t know how or where to start.
• Maybe you want to improve something: gain muscle mass, get the body you always wanted, change our eating habits, learn how to prepare real food.
• You’ve tried various approaches, but your health hasn’t improved as you expected.
• You want to take a holistic approach towards improving your health.
• You feel the need to work with someone that can support and guide you towards reaching specific health goals.
• A health coach will take into consideration all aspects of your life: stress, medical conditions, mindset, sleep, eating preferences. the place where you live, current and past situations in your life, etc.
• Maybe you’ve made your way through the Western medical system and you’re feeling frustrated by the lack of guidance.
• Or maybe you’re tired of not knowing or not understanding what is the root cause of your health problems.
• Health coaching is about sustainable long term health and helping you figure out how to achieve optimal health.

The future of healthcare

Health coaching is about you, your health goals and finding natural ways to achieve those health goals (as varied as they might be). Anything from losing a few pounds, to better sleep, getting back the energy you’ve once had, learning all about real food, preventing cavities, even helping with autoimmune disease or other health conditions.

Read more about my health coaching services.

When I used to be sick a few years ago, I wish I had a health coach by my side, helping me in my journey towards recovery. Instead, I had to pause my entire life and do everything possible in order to improve my health on my own.

It was a period of research and extensive learning, trial and error, and a lot of fear of the unknown. I was afraid for my life but I’m also grateful that I could rediscover and become aware of my body, to learn how to appreciate the gift of health (for more details on this, check-out my health story)

I’m forever grateful that I had the chance to study holistic health, but not anyone can afford to pause their life whenever disease strikes. And that’s where health coaching comes in.

Rediscovering your true health doesn’t have to be that hard for you, as it was for me. That’s why I made it my mission to help others understand and troubleshoot health problems, overcome disease or just prevent it. Health doesn’t have to be hard, right?

As a health coach, I will give you the “tools” you need and I will assist you in your health journey. I’m here to support and guide you in your health journey because I believe that health is your natural state and being sick shouldn’t be an option for anyone. There are ways to manage even the most complicated health issues, and a health coach can help you figure out everything.

I’m curious to know if you’ve worked with a health coach before? What was your experience like? Share in the comments!