4 REASONS TO HIRE A CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH
First off, what is a health coach?
Per Wikipedia’s definition, a certify health coach is a professional who uses “evidence-based skillful conversation, clinical interventions and strategies to actively and safely engage client/patients in health behavior change. Health coaches are certified or credentialed to safely guide clients and patients who may have chronic conditions or those at moderate to high risk for chronic conditions.”
Your health coach will “sit down with you” to better understand your daily habits of food and drink intake. Explain the basic function of your body mechanics and how much nutrients does your body actually require to make weight loss and healthy habits sustainable. Most of all, a health coach will teach you how to become self-reliant. He or she will guide you in taking ownership of nutrition and exercise while adopting life long healthier habits. Lastly, and most importantly, a certified health coach does not sell shakes and supplements!
What is the difference between a certified personal trainer vs a certified health coach?
In general terms, a personal trainer typically helps clients with their physical health. Sometimes they help with nutrition, but mostly they are hired to help their clients achieve a specific physical objective. A health coach is one step above a personal trainer certificate. According to American Council on Exercise (ACE), the health coach certification requires you to be a personal trainer and/or nutritionist.
Health coaches are not only trained on the elements of a physical fitness, but also are well-versed on the nutritional needs of their clients. Health coaches possess behavioral change tools which help their clients adopt lasting and sustainable lifestyle habits.
4 Reasons to Hire a Certified Health Coach
REASON 1: You are confused by all of the conflicting advice that exists in the weight loss community.
A health coach is trained on ways to decipher the information that exists in the industry. A health coach develops a plan that works for your individual needs and lifestyle. Ideally, you want to find a health coach that teaches you how to eat every day foods and does not get you hooked on supplements or pre-packaged meals.
REASON 2: You are tired of the 7-day cleanse, 28-day challenge, drink your meal weight loss programs you have experienced in the past
You are an experienced dieter and despite what the commercials say, you know that these programs do not work in the long run. A health coach will understand your food and drink intake and will customize a program that works for you!
REASON 3: You are coming to realization that you need to change some of your lifestyle habits, but do not know which ones to do first
Do you need to exercise more or eat less? If I do eat less, will it be too little? A health coach will guide you in the most effective methods for long term weight control through a balanced nutritional and physical approach.
So, if you are interested in learning a bit more about the benefits of a health coach in your weight loss journey, give LightenUp a call. We are helping our members understand the weight loss process in a clear and sustainable way.
We would love to hear from you. Please post your thoughts and opinions relative to your experience with a health coach.
REASON 4: You know what to do, but can’t seem to find the motivation.
Losing weight and acquiring healthy habits can be challenging. At one point, we all struggle to overcome barriers such as: lack of time, commitment, motivation, negative thinking and emotional eating. A strong one-on-one support system from your health coach allows you to get over these barriers, lose weight, reach fitness goals and, most of all, adopt a healthier lifestyle for you and your loved ones.
My sister has always had trouble with her weight and is tired of doing a bunch of useless diets. So thanks for letting us know that if you’ve gone through a lot of diets a health coach may be able to help you pick a food plan that will actually work. I’m sure my sister would love to hire a health coach since they are actually trained to know the right types of foods and intake levels are.
That is really nice that a health coach can customize a program that works for me. I have been having a lot of trouble getting to the weight I want and having help with a program would be wonderful. I will have to see if there are any health coaches in my area!
Hello, Deb.
We offer a virtually-based lifestyle improvement program that you can do anywhere in the world. We would love to learn more about your specific health goals and barriers that keep you from achieving those goals. If you get a chance, give us call. We can help!
All the best!
Mike
It really helped me when you said that a health coach develops a plan that works for your individual needs and lifestyle. My cousin tried to lose weight but sometimes her diet did not work for her. I will advise her to consider hiring a diet coach that can help her to design a diet plan that is effective for her.
Thanks for the comment, Andrea. I would be more than happy to talk with your cousin to see if we can help her find a lifestyle that is more conducive for her health goals. All the best.