What Is a Health Coach & How They Can Help You

Bridging the space between your healthcare provider, your goals, & your everyday habits

You’ve taken the first step to own your health journey by visiting your healthcare provider with a goal or several goals in mind: manage your blood sugar, lower your stress, or get better sleep. Healthcare is invaluable to clearly determine the ‘what’ and the ‘why’. But then you go home, and what’s not so clear is the ‘how’. There’s a palpable distance between knowing what good or great health looks like and having the tools, strategies, and sustainable habits to live it every single day and between appointments. 

This is where health coaching comes in and can narrow the gap. Based on a general approach or a specific niche, health coach designations can include holistic health coach, lifestyle coach, integrative health coach, functional health coach, or behavioural change specialist. From an integrative health perspective, health coaches can see the link between sleep, diet, stress, digestion, mindset, and energy.

A common misconception about a health coach is that they tell a client what to do. On the contrary, here is the role of a health coach:

• Partner and co-creator. They guide and support clients in designing personalized, manageable action steps that fit an individual’s real, messy, complicated life.
• Accountability partner. Sometimes a client only needs someone to keep them on track.
• Help build health from clarity, not confusion. Wanting to get healthy is a vague idea. Committing to eat a high-protein breakfast 3 times/week to maintain muscle mass is clear and actionable.
• Help identify blocks. Why have past attempts failed?

There are also some things a health coach can’t do, such as:

• Diagnose conditions. A health coach works with the medical information a client already has.
• Adjust or prescribe medications or controlled supplements.
• Provide therapy or mental health counselling.
• Push a specific ideology. A client’s values, body, and lifestyle dictate their path to a desired outcome.

Health is not just the absence of disease. Which brings up the question: If I’m not sick or don’t have a chronic condition, do I still need a health coach? Health doesn’t refer to physical health alone. Integrative health encompasses emotional, mental, spiritual, and cognitive health. Whether you’re managing a new health challenge, are overwhelmed by your current lifestyle, or are a busy professional who wants to get back to feeling like yourself, a coach can assist in mapping out what to do next. 

Almost anyone can benefit from having a health coach. But, if you’re unsure, many coaches offer discovery calls or a coaching conversation, where you can discuss the coaching process and assess mutual fit. 

So, while you consider the benefits of having a heaving a health coach in your life, here are simple, daily foundational actions you can do today to take charge of your health and well-being:

• Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning before your coffee.
• Chew your food a little longer to improve your digestion.
• Step outside for 5 minutes or take a short walk for fresh air and sunlight.
• Pause multiple times a day.
• Do one thing at a time, or single-tasking. 

“Your health isn’t a destination you look forward to; it’s an intentional journey you’re on every day of your life. “

Try a proactive approach, practice self-compassion, and know coaching support is there if you need someone to help you figure it out.