What can a health and wellness coach do?

Personal trainers and coaches can motivate, plan and help execute the physical fitness journey. By setting fitness goals, developing workout plans and diet routines, a personal trainer is a great help especially for those who are struggling with exercise or those who need more of a challenge. A wellness coach is a professional who helps people assess their current physical and emotional state, and helps them fill up gaps that are keeping them from achieving overall wellness and health. By getting a coach, you impose a sense of organization and check on yourself. It is an investment that prepares you for the life ahead more healthily. It is like having an exclusive fitness buddy.

An important practice is to research well before fixing your coach. You should pen down your requirements, think what you essentially need, speak to a few coaches and then decide. It is an added expense and to get the most out of it, a meticulous choice should be made. Look at reviews, talk to a friend or family member who have had similar experiences and then take the call. 

What can a wellness coach actually do?

• A wellness coach will help you by developing sustainable strategies to ensure overall wellness, health, and well-being in your life.
• They will help you in achieving your goals by working on your individual strengths and values through plans for a long-term wellness strategy. Over a period of time with regular interaction, it should turn into an inspiring, empowering and motivating experience. A sense of accomplishment will seep in. 
• By means of tracking your progress numerically, coaches give an objective character to your fitness journey. Funnily enough, it is like a report card from school.
• Wellness coaches provide highly personalized help. Depending on their specialization or certification different wellness coaches will take different approaches. 

How can wellness coaches help?

Depending on the area of focus, expertise and training, a wellness coach may be able to help with setting goals for enhanced:

• Nutrition and dietary counseling
• Exercise and workouts
• Mental and emotional wellness
• Lifestyle changes in behavior to improve a person's overall well-being
• All of the above

Moreover coaches interact at interpersonal level. They work closely on a one-on-one basis to give you tools (charts and routes) to achieve their personal wellness goals. In the process they become key motivators in helping you stay on track as you make lifestyle changes. 

What to expect from health and wellness coaching?

Working with a wellness coach should be a pleasant, positive and motivating experience. A wellness coach will lend an ear about your personal situation, past experiences and discuss your fitness intentions at length. It would begin with a discussion for them to figure out what is important to you, why you are looking for help and what you want to achieve. Deriving from those initial conversations, an action plan will be worked on together.

What not to expect from health and wellness coaching?

Coaches are not magicians. They are guides who would show you the path and direct your  energies on it. The hard work and adherence to keep to the plan will be your responsibility. It will be vital for you to convey any sort of inconvenience that might befall on priority. Communication is a must. 

To sum up, getting a health and wellness coach will align your fitness journey to definite parameters. These parameters will be what you want to achieve and extract.  With the pandemic upon us, most coaches are available digitally. They would be monitoring the progress closely over video sessions. You will eventually find yourself becoming mentally empowered and physically sound.

REFERENCE:

Sforzo, G. A., Kaye, M. P., Todorova, I., Harenberg, S., Costello, K., Cobus-Kuo, L., Faber, A., Frates, E., & Moore, M. (2018). Compendium of the Health and Wellness Coaching Literature. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 12(6), 436–447. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617708562