What is a health coach, exactly? We work with personal trainers to improve our physical health, dieticians for our eating habits, a therapist for our mental health, and a life coach for our personal endeavors. So what does a health coach do that is any different?
Well, how many times have you started off strong with that personal trainer or new eating plan, only to fall off the wagon once motivation starts to wane? Or, how many times have you simply lost your enthusiasm because those plans just weren’t right for you, only to leave you feeling back at square one again?
When you’ve started to lose faith in all the supposedly foolproof methods, that’s where a health coach can make all the difference. “Most of us aspire to have excellent health,” says certified health coach Erika Schlick. “We set bold intentions to make this year the year that everything changes. Setting goals is an excellent way to better ourselves, but sometimes we need a little help to obtain those goals.”
What Exactly is a Health Coach?
A health coach is someone who can help you with the multiple aspects of your health journey, both in the practical sense and the personal. “Think of a health coach as a partner through your health journey,” says Schlick. “Each body is different. As a result, each health plan is unique. Meeting with a health coach is an excellent way to curate a health plan that is designed specifically for you.” She also adds that an often overlooked aspect to any health journey is education — understanding how certain food and exercise regimes work, and more importantly, why you are doing it. “The plan starts with knowledge, which you’ll no doubt gain by working with a certified health coach,” she explains.
Setting Realistic Goals — And Achieving Them
Many of us are all too familiar with that dispiriting cycle of highs and lows in our motivation, where it just feels like we will never hit our stride and stick with it. “Many of us have great intentions for our health, but between the daily demands of our busy schedules, our health, the most vital part of our existence, gets compromised,” says Schlick. But working with a health coach means tackling that aspect of the challenge together, too. “When you work one on one with a health coach, you don’t just set goals together, you create an actionable plan that helps you achieve your goals realistically. There’s also the element of accountability that helps sustain motivation that otherwise might dwindle without someone there to check in with you.”
Recovering From Chronic Health Conditions
Anyone who has experienced a chronic health condition will know how hopeless the path to recovery can feel. A health coach can be important in helping you to explore alternative recovery modalities, in addition to helping you make the most of your time with the doctor. “Depending on the conditions of the client, health coaches tailor a treatment plan to ease symptoms and treat the route of the illness,” Schlick says. “This can span many health facets including physical and emotional healing. They can also help you get ready for doctor appointments to get the most out of your short time with your physicians.”
Someone to Advocate For You
Suffering from an illness or general poor health can feel extremely lonely at times. It also involves a lot of advocating for yourself. But a health coach can be the person who does the advocating for you. “It’s absolutely crucial to have a health advocate, particularly when it comes to exploring alternative healing modalities outside of conventional western medicine,” Schlick says. “What’s often written off as ‘fatigue’ or ‘stress’ is just a wastebasket diagnosis because the doctor can’t conclude what the actual diagnosis is. This can be extremely disheartening when you’re in pain or suffering. A health coach advocates for you and helps you embark on the trail to health.”
If you have found yourself growing increasingly weary of tried-and-failed methods of health and wellness, it might worth asking if it’s time to recruit the expertise of a coach who can bring all of the elements together to create a suitable and realistic plan to help you become the healthiest version of yourself — or as Schlick describes it, embarking on the “trail to health”.
— Erika Schlick is a personal health coach. Find out more on her blog, thetrailtohealth.com.
