Health Coaching - Why it Works
Do you ever find yourself feeling stuck or overwhelmed when trying to get motivated to make healthy changes? Maybe you tend to start off strong but never seem to be able to make these new healthy habits stick.
If you are nodding along as you read this, know that you are not alone. This is the main reason so many of us continue down the same path, with the same daily routines, even if they are negatively affecting our health.
The reality is that major health issues are on the rise. Now more than ever our medical world is diagnosing alarming numbers of patients with chronic, often preventable, health problems. Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol, just to name a few. Patients are given high cost prescriptions to treat only their symptoms and some, if they are lucky, are told to make major changes to their lifestyle to reverse or slow these conditions before they progress.
Being struck with any type of health problem is tough. It can be depressing, frustrating and with all the contradicting health information out there, downright confusing. This can be paralyzing and unfortunately the reason so many never commit to taking those first steps towards making lifestyle changes. But what if you had someone in your corner, someone to walk alongside you and support you through these difficult changes. A health coach is just this, your team member, your partner, your friend.
Why Health Coaching Works
Personalized - A health coach partners with you to co-create a wellness plan that works for you and you alone. There are no one-size-fits-all plans. Your wellness plan is personalized specifically for you, to help you reach the goals Dr. Rathod has recommended, taking you from where you are to where it is you want to be with your overall health and well-being.
Small Steps - Imagine if in one day you attempted to begin exercising for 30 minutes, eating healthy at every meal, drinking 80 ounces of water, meditating, taking care of your family’s wants and needs and practicing self-care, with a flip of a switch. Feel impossible? It may very well be. A health coach is there to help you breakdown those giant goals into actionable, achievable small steps, in a way that work for your unique life and schedule. This is the way successful goals are set and maintained.
Exploration - A health coach can help you explore areas of your life you may never have looked into before. Not only your physical health but areas like relationships, career and professional development, movement and rest, spirituality, stress, environment and so much more. Coaches can help you with those barriers and challenges that may get in the way or have in the past, formulating a detailed plan for you to rise and conquer when those situations surface.
You’re in Control - You are in the driver’s seat! You pick the speed, the direction and the final destination. Your health coach is there for you each step of the way but never are they there to push or force you into anything you are not yet ready for. A health coach is someone you will build a connection with. Someone whom you can trust and grow with. For that reason, there will be comfort in sharing when things go right for you and when they do not. Things don’t always go as planned. A health coach is there to help pick you up, dust you off and find that different path for you to navigate in it’s place.
Expertise/Navigation - Health coaches are trained in effective behavior change and are experts in the health and wellness field. Of course, you may not know all the foods in your cabinet that contain gluten or how in the world to lower your stress that you know is dangerously out of control. But they do! At FAIM, Dr Rathod works directly with you to form your team and may include a health coach if this is your desire or need. Together, we will make sure that you hit all the areas of your wellness checklist and keep moving in the right direction.
Accountability - Let’s face it. We all need this sometimes! Change can be difficult and for most, knowing that someone will be checking in with you can be exactly what you need to stay on track. You can use your health coach as much or little as you need with unlimited support between sessions. This is what makes us a unified team. We are always rooting for you and want nothing more than to see you reach your goals.
Science has shown that health coaching is extremely beneficial for not only adopting new habits but also maintaining them long-term. This is why at FAIM, health coaching is an integral part of your health journey. Whether you are looking to make small changes and tweaks or major life overhauls, Katie, your health coach, is there to walk alongside you on your path to wellness.
