What is Health Coaching?

What comes to mind when you hear the term "Health Coach"? Do you think of someone who will offer you a meal plan and fitness regimen to help you lose weight? Or perhaps you think of someone who can diagnose your aches and pains and recommend some medication or exercises to get rid of those symptoms? Well these functions more closely describe nutritionists, dieticians or doctors, and in this post I will clarify how health coaches differ from them and all you stand to gain from working with one!

In contrast to other healthcare practitioners mentioned above, a health coach does not direct or instruct you on how to manage your health and wellness. Rather, they take a holistic approach to supporting you in discovering your bio-individuality by tailoring your wellness journey to your unique needs and preferences. A health coach empowers you with tools you can use on your own to take charge of your health in a sustainable, long-term way, and provides you with support in managing not just food and fitness but also what we call primary foods - your mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing too.

What are the benefits of health coaching?

There are so many positive outcomes from health coaching such as gaining a deeper understanding of food, nutrition and movement, and how these can be tailored to your body's specific requirements. Health coaching gives you control over your own transformation while offering guidance, support and information along the way. A health coach can help with accountability in reaching goals you've set for yourself, and can also help you identify stuck points in your primary foods that could be holding you back when it comes to your secondary foods.

There are really no down sides to investing in a health coaching service which is what the Happy Healthy Human practice is all about!

Do Health Coaches Replace Doctors, Nutritionists and Dieticians?

Absolutely not! Health coaches serve as a safe bridge between clients and other healthcare providers and can even improve communication between both parties by paying more attention to the nuances of clients' lives and bio-individuality and assisting them in effectively communicating their needs or concerns to their healthcare providers. Health coaching works hand-in-hand with traditional medicine to provide all-round, holistic care for the client.

What's a Health Coaching session like?

Health coaching sessions vary in style from coach to coach depending on the niche focus of the practice. At Happy Healthy Human for example, we focus on “whole person care”, first identifying what the client's preferences, joys and most prevalent struggles are on their health and wellness journey. Then we will work together through any challenges while simultaneously fostering a positive self-concept. We will prioritise incremental improvement in all aspects of their lives from relationships and career to nutrition and physical activity / movement. We will take a very patient and loving approach to nurture true control over your own life and health without the need for an instruction manual from an external source.

In summary, health coaching is a partnership between the client and the coach in which the client learns to steer the ship of their own health with support and guidance from the coach through regular, open and judgment-free sessions.

A number of health coaching services are available at Happy Healthy Human for black African women who struggle with their body image and are keen to take charge of their health and fall in love with themselves at the same time. For more information on how you can access these virtual services please click "Learn More" below!

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