When was the last time you felt amazing?
Signs that you may need health coaching
You want improve your health but aren’t sure where to start. You can’t recall the last time you felt good mentally, physically, and spiritually and you just want to feel good again. Perhaps you’ve had a recent diagnosis of a chronic illness or you’re just not happy with how your body feels or looks. You will provide the vision for what you want your future health to look like and together we will develop a plan on how to get you there. I will be your guide, but you will be the hero of the story.
You have an idea of what you should do but just aren’t doing it. You do what is easy instead of doing what is right. Perhaps you’ve tried something but it just seemed too hard, or too complicated or you rationalized quitting by telling yourself it just wasn’t the right time. So you wait until the pain of doing nothing becomes bad enough to outweigh the pain of starting over (again). Maybe you just need someone in your corner to listen and understand where you are and provide some guidance, encouragement and accountability. Together we figure out what exactly isn’t working for you and what adjustments will make it more achievable for your lifestyle. We all need more discipline but its more complicated than that. Some people need to start small with tiny habits or maybe we need to come up with something that’s just better suited to your lifestyle and your body.
You have difficulty eliminating bad habits or implementing new healthy habits. Your habits aren’t serving you and the consequences are starting to show. I will teach you how to use the science of habit, the power of identity, and positive psychology and how to leverage them to successfully implement change in your life.
You set goals but have a hard time reaching them. Coaching makes the difference between “I want to” and “I did”. I help you shift your focus from goals to the process. To implement tiny habits that are sustainable and then grow those habits to the point they reach your goals. Its great to have long terms goals and a vision for your health, but we need to focus on building sustainable habits first and set milestones that are achievable and realistic.
Your schedule doesn’t reflect your health as a priority. You say you want to be healthier but how you plan and how you spend your time doesn’t demonstrate that. I will work with you to find creative ways to make your health a priority. A commitment to prioritizing nutrition, sleep, exercise and rest is a commitment to being a better parent, spouse and employee. Learn to view your time and effort to become healthier as an investment not a sacrifice. Everyone wants to be healthier, the question is “what are you willing to give up?”
Your concerned about the direction your health and your body is headed. It is not healthy to compare yourself to others but it definitely is helpful to compare yourself to where you were 5 years ago. Are you making progress or sliding backwards? Many people never pause to seriously consider how they feel or what direction their health is headed, so consider yourself blessed for having the discernment to know that something must be done. The real question is “what will you do about it?” Are you ready to take action? Ready for change? (see the flowchart below) .
What is Health?
How do you view health? Most people view it just like I used to. I used to think life was divided into several different little neat compartments, health, job, family, friends, faith, finances etc. A bunch of little balls that we all attempt to juggle and keep from dropping. It wasn’t until I had some serious health issues that I really learned the truth about health. Without health none of the other balls stay in the air. Every neat little “other” area of your life comes crashing down when your health is not great. I realized that success, however you define it, in any of those areas is dependent on remaining healthy.
When you are incapacitated by an acute or chronic illness and incapable of helping yourself let alone helping others, there is no “balance” in life. In that moment, you would give anything and everything to rewind the clock and go back in time far enough to make different decisions that would result in better health. In that moment, you have clarity about how crucial your health is and the inevitable consequences of making anything less than the best health related decisions. In that moment, you realize that your happiness, your relationships, your work, your faith (and everything else that is important to you) is dependent on taking the best care of yourself you possibly can. The clarity you have in that moment is both a glimpse into the future and a potent reminder of the truth that prioritizing your physical, mental and spiritual health is literally the foundation for everything else in life.
What to Expect From a Health Coach
A health coach is an expert in helping you change the behaviors and habits that you want to make to restore your mental, physical and spiritual health. A health coach can help you set and reach health goals, make sustainable healthy lifestyle changes, navigate chronic illness, reduce stress, and overcome barriers to healthy living. We all know that we should probably eat better and exercise more. You don’t need a health coach to tell you that. But sometimes it’s hard to change your habits, especially if you’ve been struggling with them for a long time. Ask yourself if your energy level and motivation hold you back from doing all of the things you want to be doing. If your health isn’t where you’d like it to be, it might be time to sign up for some health coaching. You may think you can do it on your own, but health coaches have extensive knowledge in nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress reduction and how to successfully implement changes in those areas that are right for your lifestyle . They also understand how difficult making those lifestyle changes can be and are trained to use the powerful combination of positive psychology and the science of habit to help you implement the needed changes. The accountability and encouragement that a good coach provides will create sustainable behavioral changes and help you achieve the healthy body and mind that you long for. Heart disease, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are just a few of the chronic illnesses that good health coaching can help prevent or navigate a recent diagnosis. People with these chronic diseases receive valuable assistance from coaches who understand their diagnosis and treatment plans from their physicians and can assist with diet and lifestyle changes to improve their client’s health. Health coaches help you clarify your vision for the future of your health and then work with you to improve your food and lifestyle choices to meet your individual health goals, prevent future illnesses, and the worsening of any existing chronic conditions. Health coaching is about customizing a plan to each individual and their own unique dietary, lifestyle, emotional, and physical needs.
My value lies in simplifying complex subjects down to simple to understand, actionable ideas to apply to your life
I used to think that I wouldn’t benefit from a coach. I wanted to help but not be helped. It wasn’t until my formal coaching training (where I had to be coached by others) that I fully realized the power of great coaching. The weekly accountability to my own stated goals was a game changer. Even more effective, was the power of the well timed and insightful questions by great coaches that led me to reflect on who I wanted to become and why I wanted the change. That experience reinforced the power of good coaching to change lives, and inspired me to double my efforts to be the best coach I could be to help others achieve change in their lives.
What makes my coaching different?
My coaching is based on truth not trends. It is based on certain undeniable biological truths that our diet and lifestyles must be aligned with. When we live the unnatural lifestyles that we now do, these truths have consequences that manifest themselves in the form of acute and chronic illness. These truths that govern our bodies are not dependent on your feelings, opinions, or moods. They are at work on your body and your life whether you embrace them or not and have far reaching effects on your physical and mental health We must all base our health related decisions on these truths or even our best laid plans will result in unintended consequences. Left to ourselves, we too often rationalize away our own behaviors and aren’t able to hold ourselves accountable to these universal truths or even to our own stated goals and beliefs. My coaching philosophy is to come alongside you where ever you may be on your health journey and listen. To understand what is most important to you regarding your health. To understand where you are now, and how you got there. What is your relationship to food? To exercise? How well do you sleep and do you get enough rest? Are your expectations realistic? We then work together to cast a vision for where you would like your health to be 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years from now. Finally, you and I will create a plan to achieve your vision by equipping you with the knowledge, the inspiration, and the accountability to reach your mental, physical and spiritual health related goals.
“Happy is over rated. I’m not aiming for happy. That word is shallow and fleeting. Dependent on external circumstances. You can find happiness in a donut or a video game. I want a rich purpose filled life full of the peace and joy and satisfaction that only comes from the inside out and is a result of living a life aligned with God’s plan for how we are intended to live. “
What makes my coaching really different?
Question: What’s better than a deep meaningful coaching session that inspires change?
Answer: A deep meaningful coaching session that INCLUDES change!
Trying to include more natural movement in your lifestyle? Outdoor coaching sessions elevate the quality of the conversation and amplify the effectiveness of the session. Let’s do your session over a walk, or a run, or a ride, or a paddle.
Trying to eat healthier? Let’s do your coaching session in the grocery store.
I embrace being labeled “unconventional”. Perhaps being “conventional” is what got us in this mess.
More about my health coaching
I believe that food is medicine and that the right food and lifestyle will help you achieve results that pharmaceuticals never will. Gut health is a top priority and is a necessary foundation for your best physical and mental health.
Certified Coach through Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. 12 months of intensive training in the science from The Institute of Functional Medicine.
5 years researching the science and power of habits. Many coaches can facilitate change talk in their clients but few have a deep understanding of “why we do what we do” and are able to guide their clients through implementing long term sustainable behavior changes into their lives.
Based on doing what is right. Not what is easy. I cannot promise you this journey will be easy. I can almost guarantee that it won’t be. What I can promise you is that it will be worth it. We will have fun along the journey, and your future self will thank you for making your health a priority.
I spent a career coaching, inspiring and developing people in the corporate world and have extensive experience inspiring and supporting change.
I believe food is medicine. It will change your body, prevent and cure illness and save your life. Gut health is at the center of that and a priority in my coaching.
I have 5 years teaching and coaching rescue mission residents with a history of alcohol and drug abuse.
I spent my lifetime researching, training and eating for better health and performance and had a front row seat to observe the drastic shifts in diet and exercise philosophy by the so called experts. I consider this real evidence for why our behaviors need to be rooted in truth not trends.
It is difficult and confusing to navigate all of the health related content online or even read a label on a box and know if it is healthy or not. I have researched thousands of hours of podcasts, books, videos and published medical papers. My value is in simplifying complex subjects down to simple to understand, actionable ideas to apply to your life and help you create a healthy lifestyle.
Some coaches like to be viewed as the experts and slip in to the role of dictating changes to clients. It is not my role to tell you what to do. You tell me what you would like to do and together we will make it happen. I see my role as more of a guide on our journey together. You are the hero of the story and will decide where you want to go, and more importantly, who you want to become. I will come alongside you on your journey and guide you with the appropriate tools, wisdom and encouragement to make it happen.
Each person is an experiment of 1. You are a unique combination of genes that have spent a lifetime being influenced by your choices. What you’ve eaten, how you moved, how you’ve slept, what chemicals and toxins you have been exposed to, and how you’ve managed stress, have all played a part in how you got to this point in your health journey. Each must be considered when guiding you on your journey to improve your health.
Let’s be honest!…
You don’t need me to tell you to put down the donut or the french fries. Your conscience has already weighed in. You don’t need me to tell you that you need to move more. Your body is already telling you that. You need help doing the things you know you should be doing but aren’t.
You need help choosing what is right instead of what is easy. Choosing what’s best for you over pursuing comfort. I make it easier to implement the healthy changes that you want in your life that will achieve the results you have been longing for.
How much of your time last week was spent on your health?
There’s no better measure of how important something is to you than how much time you spend focusing on it.
I created this flow chart to illustrate how easy it is for us to be unaware of the fact that we get stuck in a loop and do nothing to help ourselves get out. Not able to recognize that we can get out through taking action on what we know to be true.
Are you ready for coaching?
Please click here to schedule a free 30 minute session to explore if my coaching is what you need to bring the desired changes to your life.
Group health coaching for your team
Interested in getting the benefits of group health coaching for your team?