Last updated February 12, 2024
You know the drill: go to the gym, get enough sleep, drink ample amounts of water, eat a nutritious diet, practice meditation and yoga. Yet you are stuck, overwhelmed or inconsistent at this “doing” part.
Why is it so challenging to keep up with healthy habits? As Albert Einstein keenly observed: “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
If you’re serious about everlasting change and finally reaching your health goals, it’s time to hire a health coach.
What Is a Health Coach?
Market data estimates that the U.S. health coaching market is projected to be worth almost 28 billion USD by 2030. Needless to say, the health coaching sector is an emerging wellness trend.
The good news is that you don’t need to be rich and famous to hire a health coach. A health coach is available for everyone.
But what is a health coach? A health coach is your personal cheerleader who helps implement behavior and lifestyle shifts (anything from improving sleep and creating work-life balance to eating healthier) in order to improve your physical health.
Being healthy involves more than eating vegetables, acai bowls and going for a run. Instead, developing and creating a thriving mindset is necessary to attain a healthy body and mind.
A certified health and wellness coach uses the “whole life” perspective—combining the mind and body connection with scientifically validated techniques to strengthen, reframe and reprogram your mindset.
A health coach believes that you are the best expert of yourself—holding you accountable and helping you amplify your strengths and current resources.
The overall goal for the health coach is to work with you to establish a solid foundation of healthy habits and self-accountability systems that are customized and specific to YOU.
What you learn from a health coach is how to coach yourself and become your own health advocate. You identify what thriving health means and work toward achieving that health vision.
Why Hire a Health Coach?
Someday isn’t on the calendar. Small daily experiments (action steps) lead you to discover your personal recipe and effective mix of healthy habits.
A health coach, similar to a sports coach, helps you “train, practice, visualize and improve your skills and habits so you’re ready for the “big game” or end goal.
A health coach not only sets you up with the tools and resources you need, they also push and challenge excuses and thought patterns that interfere with your forward progress.
A health coach truly helps you outline your goals, encourages you to take small relevant action steps (daily experiments) and empowers you to figure out how, when and where to start to make your healthy lifestyle changes sustainable.
Clients quickly realize that where their attention goes, energy flows. Small steps lead to big results and any amount of progress and small wins are celebrated.
Why? Research has shown that when a positive emotion is experienced after completing a habit, this trains our brain to want to experience that emotion again—thus increasing the likelihood of repeating the habit.
The stronger the emotion, the more deeply the habit rewires and “sinks into” your brain.
Benefits of a Health Coach
Health coaching works when both parties are equally invested. A health coach is your “guide on the side” or car navigator sitting next to YOU (the driver).
A health coach can help you peel back layers of limiting beliefs and mindset blocks that you may not even be aware of. A key distinction between mental health counseling and health coaching is around the dynamics of the relationship.
A health coach is more of a partner rather than an authoritative, educational figure. The focus during a health coaching session is on the present and future action steps versus resolving and processing past emotional traumas and situations (which are done in counseling).
What to Look for
A health coach specializes in different niches from hormone balancing to gut health and self-care. Many coaches also have dual credentials as a personal trainer, dietician or registered nurse or practitioner.
There are varying degrees and credentials of a health coach. The National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) has approved more than 80 programs throughout the United States that qualify students to sit for the national exam, with a minimum of 75 instructional hours, 50 private coaching sessions and continuing education.
Important to note: Health coaches alone do not diagnose, treat, prescribe, interpret medical results, write food plans or recommend supplements.
When looking at hiring a health coach, review testimonials and see if you can get on a free discovery call to learn more about the programs offered and where there is a genuine connection between the two of you.
With so many coaches out there, be selective with who you work with. Make sure that your potential coach exudes an energy that resonates.
How Long Do You Work with a Health Coach?
The intention of a health coach is not a forever investment. Most coaching programs comprise three to six months of consistent, weekly or biweekly sessions. A coach can renew these monthly programs with clients if they still need support and accountability.
Your schedule, your action steps, your needs and priorities are all taken into account.
Investing in a health coach is a game changer for improving your health and well-being. If you want a cookie cutter formula, you might want to look elsewhere.
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