What Exactly is Health Coaching?

Health coaching is relatively new to the scene. It can be confused with anything from a life coach to a dietitian to a personal trainer. Because people aren’t always clear about the role of a health coach, I’d like to provide an example to lend some clarity.   

Here’s a common scenario: Your doctor says your blood pressure is high. She briefly explains the dangers of high blood pressure and that exercise and a healthy diet are key to lowering it. You might get a handout to take home and a list of resources where you can go for help. Depending on your needs, you may receive a prescription. 

You agree that lowering blood pressure is important. You have good intentions about turning over a new leaf and taking some steps in the right direction. You do great for the first week. The second week you hit the mark on some days but not others. By the third week life has gotten in the way again. The kids are always complaining about dinner. Your job demands are crowding out exercise. The new recipe book has meals that take too long to make, and who wants a kale salad instead of fries, anyway? It’s not that you don’t still want to lower your blood pressure, but the situation is complicated, and so you wind up still stuck in the same rut, frustrated that your good intentions were thwarted. 

Health coaches get into the trenches with you, taking a deeper look at what’s going on in your current circumstances and helping you map out a plan based on your goals and what works for you. Practically anywhere else you go, there’s a prescriptive, expert approach: “I’m the expert, and I’m telling you what you need to do. Listen to me.” There’s a time and place for that approach, but health coaching isn’t it. I partner with you as an equal, recognizing that while I have expertise in health coaching, you are the expert on your own life. If you come to me noting that your doctor said you have high blood pressure, you will never hear me say: “We have to make this your #1 priority. You need to get on this right now because time is ticking. I know you’ve got other stuff going on, but we really have to focus on your diet and exercise now.” 

Maybe something else is first on your mind that you’d like to sort out. You’re trying to exercise and eat right, but the main thing in your life right now is job stress, practicing mindfulness, or sleeping better. If these other things are more immediate concerns, then we’ll delve into those topics to create actionable steps, effective goals, and follow-through. Typically, what we find is that when we get these more immediate concerns sorted out, then there’s more freedom to address the back burner issues, which in this example would be diet and exercise.

As your health coach, I will guide you in developing your health vision and values, choosing a focus, exploring the nitty-gritty of life, and creating a tailored action plan that includes support, accountability, and indicators of success. You choose your priorities and how to get there; I will facilitate that process for you and guide you in overcoming the craziness of life that frustrates your attempts at health behavior change. 

Let me be your coach so that you can enjoy new freedom, confidence, and the thrill of success! 

Schedule your free, no-obligation phone call today.