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
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