Nutrition coach, holistic health
coach, lifestyle coach, nutritionist…the world of wellness and nutrition
information, and the variety of professional designations, can be daunting.
So how do you know if you need a nutrition coach? Here are five clues that
you may want to look at. But first, let me share a little about my health
coaching & nutrition coaching approach.

Today’s food supply looks much different than it did 100 years
ago. Modern farming, demand for convenience, economics, and other influential
factors have us eating a lot more calorically dense, yet nutritionally
insufficient, and many times toxic foods and beverages. Our conventional
health care providers are not always set up, in the best way, to provide
in-depth education and guidance to people on the importance of establishing a
healthy lifestyle. This leaves many at a loss for a practical,
nutrition-based solution to their basic health and wellness goals and
objectives. Many of these can be supported by a more consistent,
healthy-eating lifestyle. But many people need the extra education,
knowledge, creativity, and personal guidance to make that happen. Simply
turning to a diet or a fad doesn’t really get to the core of what makes the
body function and thrive. That is where nutrition coaching comes
in.

So how do you know
if you need a nutrition coach?

1. You Feel Run Down & Want More
Energy

Proper nutrition is the key to maintaining healthy metabolism and
consistent energy levels. When we feel hungry, it is our cells telling our
stomach that they need nutrition. The key is to fuel your
cells throughout the day with the right kinds of foods.
Because most of us are running to the next convenient package of carbs or
caffeinated pick me up, we are filling up our stomachs but not necessarily
giving our cells the nutrition they are asking for. So our
cells continue to ask for more food, we oblige with more nutritionally
inadequate foods, and we enter a vicious cycle of poor eating habits without
even realizing it. Over time, this will have a negative impact on your energy
and overall well being, and could lead to all sorts of inflammation and
illness. A good nutrition coach has the knowledge and skills necessary to
help someone understand the basic roles different foods play in our bodies,
and how to adapt their own lifestyle and behaviors to make sure they are
getting the right foods at the right times. While the client is learning how
to develop healthier eating habits, at the same time, they are learning to
celebrate and enjoy healthy foods, eat mindfully, and feel satiated
throughout the day. The result is a more empowered relationship to, and
understanding of your food, healthier metabolism, a more balanced body, and a
more energized day.

2. Stubborn Weight Has You Stumped

There are a lot of ideas out there about why stubborn weight
persists, and what to do about it. In this article, The
Weight Loss Secret You’ve Never Heard, Registered Dietitian,
Valerie Berkowitz suggests that liver health has a lot to do with why our
bodies retain unwanted weight. Further research and reading will
find  everything from your bodies’ pH to whether or not you eat
gluten, as possible reasons for weight retention. Whichever of these apply to
you, a practical, healthy lifestyle approach to your daily eating routine can
help support you in addressing the issue. Let’s just take good liver health
for one example. Working with a nutrition coach provides the education and
guidance needed to uncover what is hiding in your pantry, or in your eating
habits that you may not realize is working against you. With the right
knowledge, and knowing yourself better than anyone, you can finally take
steps to achieve optimal body mass and well being.

3. Digestion & Bodily Function Doesn’t Feel Quite
Right

Sometimes we get so blind sighted by our world and our day to day
activities that we forget to properly maintain our most important
possession– our bodies. If you don’t take your car to get serviced
regularly, the valves, tubes, and other workings get dirty, clogged, and
eventually your car gives out. The exact same thing happens to our bodies if
we don’t eat the right amounts of the right kinds of foods. Our modern food
supply can fall short on delivering exactly what our bodies need to stay
maintained and running like a well oiled machine. When we rely too heavily on
pre-packaged dinners, fast food, or even dining out in finer restaurants
(that could be dishing up any number of not-so-healthy ingredients to get the
great flavors we love), we risk getting too much of the foods that might bog
down our system, and too little of the foods that could support our system.
Learning a healthier lifestyle with more whole foods in better variety, will
help support digestive health, produce healthy probiotics, and support proper
elimination. A nutrition coach can help teach the skills needed to get on top
of this.

4. There’s a Bad Eating Habit Bugging You

Do you have a nasty little food habit that makes you feel bad
about yourself? In this article, Food
Addiction is Real, Dr. and author Pam Peeke explains that 1 in 10
people are susceptible to food addiction, and how an all encompassing, whole
approach can help overcome the addiction. Whereas nutrition coaching is not
intended to diagnose or treat food addiction, a nutrition coach can help
someone learn about better food choices, overcome hurdles, uncover
easier access to healthier habits, and provide the hand holding and personal
guidance needed to help someone through the vulnerable periods and the
challenges that may arise. Nutrition coaching is not telling you what to eat.
In fact, that would technically be prescribing food and most nutritionists
and even dietitians are not legally allowed to do that. A nutrition coach
will help empower you with the knowledge and be the listening, compassionate
human that you might need to actually make something meaningful and
sustainable happen for yourself.

5. You Are Disillusioned by Dieting

Most “diets” don’t work. There are different reasons why
this is so. Some diets may help you lose weight in the short term, but if you
aren’t learning permanent healthy habits or getting truly healthy on the
inside, a rebound is likely to happen. Other “crash” diets may
leave you feeling deprived and hungry all the time. This is another
recipe for failure. And some diets are nothing more than dangerous
experiments with the participant serving as the guinea pig! I discuss this in
more detail in a recent blog post titled Why Diets
Don’t Work. True holistic health makes the whole person the
priority, with a nutritionally sound, practical, realistic,
and sustainable approach
to the diet. Nutrition coaching can help you get on to a permanent path to
better health and off the diet yoyo for good.

So, Is Nutrition Coaching For You?

That is for you to decide. It is always a good idea to check with
your doctor or licensed health care practitioner before taking on any
substantial changes to your diet or eating lifestyle. Any good doctor will
probably tell you that eating healthier is a good idea. And you don’t have to
become a serious expert in nutrition to get healthier. You just need to learn
some basics and get a little help from people who have well being at
heart. A good nutrition coach always puts the client’s health and wellness
needs first, and will teach you how to eat healthier, but in a way that
works in your life and schedule. With this foundation of knowledge you
can become empowered to take your health and well being into your own hands,
and be your own barometer of when its okay to indulge, and when its better to
stay the healthy course. You will know that nutrition coaching has helped you
when you are able to experience long term, sustainable, positive results in
your wellness goals and objectives.

If any of this resonates with you, I would encourage you to give
nutrition coaching a try. I offer a variety of nutrition coaching services to
suit one’s specific needs and budget. We start with a complimentary phone
coaching call, to learn how it works and see what is possible.
Then I assist the client on a self directed journey to create a healthier
lifestyle, achieve wellness and physical performance objectives, and help
overcome their unhealthy habits. I’d be grateful for an opportunity to help
you!