DO YOU NEED A HEALTH COACH?

Today I got an email from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition telling its past graduates and anyone coming into the program in the future that they are going to be called Health Coaches rather than Health Counselors. I guess I saw this coming as I have been calling myself a Health Coach since I graduated. I have always wanted to be more of a coach to my clients, understanding a client's weaknesses and strengths and cheering them on to victory. I need to listen to my client, get to know him/her well enough to make healthy and realistic choices not only with their nutritional needs but also Fitness and Wellness needs. I want to support them in any way I can. I want to be the one on the sideline cheering them on when they need it, coaching them through losing weight, eating better and taking care of themselves. Once my clients begin a program with me my hopes are that they will experience a different more hopeful and healthy world around them. I want my clients to experience foods they haven't eaten before, exercises they never would have entertained to try and begin to experience a different more hopeful and healthy world around them. Most clients just need to be taught about all the different food options out there. We get stuck in the what we know and there is so much more to learn. Its about the support system most of us need to get us to the outcome we are hoping for and of course it's the belief in ourselves and the desire to get us to the finish line. The buzz out there from articles in the New York Times to stories on ABC and NBC about how the wave of the future is having a health coach in your life. It's an amazing feeling when I can be someone's coach. Let me help you Amaze Yourself!

Below are a few links to some recent stories about Health Coaches. Check some of them out.

Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing magazine reports: "When athletes want a competitive edge, they hire a private coach to monitor their progress. When it comes to your health, using this mindset could also be beneficial. Health coaches are increasingly being hired by corporations to help employees stay healthy and by individuals seeking to improve well-being. For some, these coaches offer assistance in managing dietary constraints (due to conditions such as celiac disease or diabetes), and for others, they might focus on teaching stress-reduction methods. In some ways, the health coach picks up where your physician left off, helping you implement wellness strategies suggested after a check-up or diagnosis." In the article, Integrative Nutrition graduate Christi Collins recommends finding a coach who has received training from a reputable program, and whose personality resonates with your own.

CBS reports (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/05/health/cbsdoc/main5535824.shtml): "Congress will miss the boat if it ends up perpetuating a system that reacts to illness rather than preventing it. Chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes wreck our quality of life and cost a fortune. In recent years, a new and intriguing concept has emerged in the prevention and treatment of chronic illness: the health coach.

ABC News reports on health coaching - what it is and how it can help you.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9493792

New York Times article on health coaches:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/business/yourmoney/22food.html?_r=4&scp=1&sq=nutrition%20coach&st=cse

39 RULES FOR A GOOD LIFE!

39 Rules for a Good Life
I am not sure of the author of this Handbook but today I came upon it and thought I would share with my NEW DAY fans. Check them out and try to implement as many as you can. I think it will make for an amazing 2010 if we do!

HANDBOOK 2010
Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did last year.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. Time heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank your God for it.
39. Your Innermost is always happy. So, be happy.