Who is a health coach and why is it so important?

Dietitians, athletic trainers, personal and business coaches, personal growth coaches, nutritionists… Today, it is not difficult to lead a fulfilling and healthy lifestyle, especially under the guidance of a certain specialist.

Have you heard of such a profession as a health coach?

Initially, it may seem that such specialties already exist, but we will try to dispel this myth and find out why you should make an appointment with a heath coach today.

Who is a heath coach?

In general, a heath coach helps clients start and maintain a healthy lifestyle that can prevent and even cure many chronic diseases.

And no, a heath coach does not write a workout plan or a diet plan, he uses the science of behavior change, which is that one thing works perfectly for someone, and poison for another.

Simply put, a heath coach can be compared to an understanding mother who sees our strengths and brings out the best in us.

The main goal of a health coach is not to help the client lose five kilograms in two weeks, but to teach them to take care of their health all their lives.

Here are some of the results you can achieve with a heath coach:

  • Implementing Better Eating Habits: Making the “right” food choices every day to feel healthier, more energized, and happier.
  • Improved sleep quality: You will be able to adjust your biological rhythms and energy levels throughout the day.
  • Stress Management: Your coach will make sure you prioritize your life and give you tips on how to minimize stressful situations that destroy your health.
  • After all, consistency is the most important factor in leading a healthy lifestyle, and a big part of a heath coach’s job is to help you avoid relapses for as long as possible.

But there are important BUT!

It is possible that your heath coach will have a specialized medical diploma, but otherwise, for any complication, he should always refer clients to a medical facility for proper examination.

Health coaching is not only a growing profession, but also a way of life. A health coach is a specialist who owns the tools for a comprehensive recovery of the body without the use of medicines, combining the functions of a fitness mentor and a motivational consultant.

His main task is to help himself and his clients lead a healthy lifestyle and prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases, and therefore a health coach must have knowledge and competencies in such key issues as proper nutrition, exercise, mental health and other areas.

Health coaching is a science, along with psychology.

The main difference is that a psychologist works with a person’s past, with his psychological traumas, existing internal restrictions, beliefs and thoughts. While the coach works with the future, helping the person find the answer to the question “What needs to be done for me to achieve something?”.

The coach works by asking questions to the client. This is the main condition for certification. He does not share expertise and will not teach the client about nutrients, food preparation methods and the impact of nutrients on human health. He will ask questions, answering which the client will be able to independently figure out how to make a path to achieve the result.

Why Diet Restrictions Don’t Always Work

Sometimes it may seem that the work of all nutritionists is to promote all sorts of “no” – you can not eat sweet, salty, smoked, fatty, dairy products, gluten and so on.

But building a healthy lifestyle on some restrictions will not work. After all, not only physical health is important, but also psychological. And constant prohibitions provoke dreams of “sweet forbidden fruit”. And if before that a person was completely calm about, for example, sweets and cakes, then against the background of tough “quotas”, he will definitely be drawn to sweets.

And the point here is not in the absence of willpower, but in physiology. The body always compensates for unreasonable restrictions. How about another hunger strike? Gotta stock up! And everything returns to normal, and even with weight gain.

Exclusions of some products must be justified and understandable to a person. Sometimes this is a temporary measure, and then the foods banned for a while gradually, in small portions, return to the diet. Sometimes these are permanent restrictions, for example, in the case of gluten intolerance or other health conditions.