Will Health Coaches Shape the Future of Health Care?

It's certainly not unusual for me to hear those questions "So what do you do?" or "How can you help me?

Health Coaches are sometimes referred to as "change agents," because we'll help you implement transformation in your life. Here's an example: I always ask every new client what they're "wake up" problem is--you know, that thing that eats at you, whether you're tossing and turning at 2:00 AM or rising at 7:00 AM.

My client said she was unhappy and frustrated that she had gained over 65 pounds in a relatively short time and, no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't lose it. So we took baby steps, first getting her blood sugar balanced, teaching her how to eat healthfully even with little or no time, showing her the most effective way--for her body--to exercise at the gym. She didn't know how to read food labels, so off we went on field trips to the supermarket and health food emporium.

After about seven sessions, however, what we uncovered was her ROOT problem, a severe time management problem. That problem affected every single thing in her life, from how she ate to how she managed her career. Needless to say, she had no such thing as work/life balance.

I ran into her recently and she was glowing. Everything changed instantly, she said, once we figured out what the real problem was. To quote the old cliche, "knowledge is power." Once she understood her problem, she knew how to handle it--and then rid herself of it once and for all.

What health coaches DON'T do is:

• Send you away with a list of so-called good and bad foods. Everyone reacts differently to a food, so what could be a good food for you for could be poison to ME.
• Leave our program open-ended with no end in sight. Starting with day #1, we'll write down and discuss your goals and challenges. Midway through your program, I review them to see if you're on track--or if we need to reset in order to reach them within your timeframe. '
• Mask issues-we get to the root of the problem, so you can get rid of it once and for all.

Many feel that health coaches will shape the future of health care. One is Dr. Mark Hyman, who's also a guest lecturer at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition from where I graduated.

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Irene Ross, CHHC, AADP is a certified nutrition and health coach.  She works with people to get them off the diet roller coaster so they can live a lifetime of balanced health, wellness, weight and energy.

Author of the forthcoming book, 25 Ways to Fire Up Your Day:  Increase Energy, Get More Done in Less Time, Balance Your Life, her website is:  www.irenefross.com