A health coach empowers you to heal yourself naturally with nourishing foods and lifestyle. They work with clients to help them set goals, take action and implement healthy habits into their life, that will allow them to achieve their desired health and wellness goals, whether it is to lose weight, gain more energy or alleviate symptoms of chronic illness. A Health Coach focuses on disease prevention, not disease management.
How do I Add Value to your Life?
As a Certified Health Coach, I use a holistic approach to achieve health and wellness, which means I begin to look at your body as a whole, not just your symptoms. I go beyond food (nutrition) and lifestyle to explore ways that a you can improve the quality of your life.
When your body is signaling that there is something going on inside, on a deeper level, you experience symptoms. Instead of suppressing your symptoms with medication, I will work one on one with you, supporting you through dietary and lifestyle changes, to achieve YOUR wellness goals. I will listen carefully and we will navigate the world of contradictory nutrition and health advice together as we explore what works best for you. In the realm of health, there are other factors that may be contributing to the success of your overall health, such as career, relation and stress. As we work together we will analyze how all parts of your life is connected to your health: Job, Stress, Relationships etc.
Taking all those factors into consideration, I will personally empower you to heal your body naturally with nutrition and lifestyle. I do not advocate the use of prescription medication. I believe pharmaceuticals are necessary in a life threatening emergency. If you are currently taking medication, I am not at liberty to advise you to stop.
I will accompany you on your health and wellness journey, which includes access to real informative nutrition; so that you understand that REAL FOOD IS MEDICINE, REAL FOOD IS INFORMATION, that REAL FOOD IS MOOD and will heal your body on a cellular level.
Now there are some people that HAVE to be on medication for the rest of their lives; no matter what! If you are an organ transplant recipient, say for example; a kidney transplant recipient, then that means you HAVE to be on prescription medications for the rest of your life. Once you begin to remove organs, it becomes a whole different ballgame.
Now don’t get me wrong. I do not dislike doctors. What I have an issue with, is the ‘dis-ease management and treatment of symptoms”.
If I ever have an emergency, PLEASE take me to the nearest emergency room and have the doctors administer whatever medications are pivotal in stabilizing my condition. When I say emergency, I am not referring to the common cold. An example of an emergency includes, but is not limited to, heart failure; gunshot wounds to the head; a baby falling 60 feet from a skyscraper to the ground; a car accident which leaves you amputated. An emergency is life threatening and requires immediate attention. You get my drift?
Our medical system is beyond flawed. Currently, there is an overuse of prescription medication and antibiotics. For every diagnosis, there is a pill for an ill. Our minds are so conditioned into believing that whenever we are sick, all we need to do is take a pill and we will be better. These medications may provide quick relief but there is nothing HEALING about them. Pharmaceutical suppresses your symptoms. They tell your body to shut up, when your body is desperately trying to send you signals that something is wrong and you need to act on it. When you ignore your body’s warning signal, they gradually become chronic. Your body becomes acidic and dis-eased.
In an effort to assist you, your doctor may prescribe medications after medications (sometimes multiple medications for one issue), which results in side effects that create other issues, which warrants more medication to treat those additional symptoms. They may increase or decrease the dosages of the medications that are creating havoc behind the scenes, which usually spiralize into another medical issue, for which you will be given more medication. Are you with me? It is a never ending cycle.
You may be told that you need to have a surgical procedure done…and more medications. And the cycle continues…without addressing the root cause of the health condition/s. Then you become sick and tired of being sick and tired. And then you become so disgusted each time you look at your medications and sometimes you begin to gag before you even put them into your mouth.
Does that sound familiar?
Why Work with a health Coach?
A health coach utilizes a completely different approach to healing. Where modern/allopathic/western medicine treats and manages dis-eases, a health coach wants you to improve your health and the quality of your life. A Health Coach has no desire to have you as a lifelong customer. A Heath coach really wants you regain your health on a cellular level so that you can thrive.
Most medical doctors can not giving you advice on nutrition and it’s not because they are with holding information from you; it’s because they simply don’t know. Truth is, most doctors received little to no nutrition in medical school. They can not offer basic insight on how your diet and lifestyle affects your health. Matter of fact, most doctors will tell you that your diet has nothing to do with your health.
Medical doctors are NOT trained to uncover the root cause of your disease. Unless they practice functional or holistic medicine, they are not trained to understand that all parts of the human body is INTERCONNECTED and how it works to create or prevent dis-ease. They are trained to diagnose, prescribe medications and/or surgery to treat the symptoms vs. looking at the body as a whole being to uncover the root cause.
My mission is to get the entire world focused on health and wellness. As a cancer survivor since 2004; my favorite slogan: Cancer is NOT a death sentence.
I could have gone to medical school. But, because the medical model and approach that allopathic medicine/western medicine utilizes doesn’t align with my vision of REAL medicine, which may reverse health related issues, I decided to become a Certified Health Coach instead. I myself have overcome many health related issues that I had been struggling with for years.
How did I do this? I NOURISHED WITH NATURE by simply using REAL FOOD AS MEDICINE. I am now aware that I can correct my health issues with NOURISHING food and lifestyle.
A Typical doctor visit vs Health coaching
During your doctor visit, your doctor may spend a total of 2-3 minutes with you. Let’s say they spend 7 minutes with you. Ask yourself this question: What can they possible find out about you in that short timeframe?
If your complaint is a headache. Without even bothering to find out why you are having headaches, you may be prescribed a pain reliever, then sent on your merry way.
Being a health coach, I would have asked about your water intake. Maybe you were just dehydrated.
If you complain of anxiety or depression; chances are you will be walking out of their office with a prescription for antidepressants.
A health coach would want you to elaborate on WHY you were feeling depressed.
If you complain of a hyperactive child, your doctor may diagnose the child with ADHD and prescribed something like adderall or ritalin. The next thing you know your child is doing everything in slow motion or may become very angry, have major mood swings, heart palpitations and a host of other side effects.
I would have enquired about the child’s diet and dive deeper.
If you have low iron, your doctor may simply advise you to buy iron pills without trying to find out WHY you have an iron deficiency, (as there are many reasons for iron deficiency) OR explain that in order to increase the absorption of iron, it needs to be taken along with Vitamin C.
So, if at any given time, you decide to ask me a question on instagram, facebook or youtube, please be prepared to answer the ‘WHYS’.
What is the Difference between a Health Coach, registered Dietician and a Nutritionist?
A health coach uses holistic approach to achieve health and wellness, meaning they look at your body as a whole, not just your symptoms. A health Coach goes above and beyond food (nutrition) and lifestyle to explore ways that you can improve the quality of your life.
A Health Coach works with clients to help them set goals, take action and implement healthy habits into their life, that will allow them to achieve their desired health and wellness goals, whether it is to lose weight, gain more energy or alleviate symptoms of chronic illness. A Health Coach focuses on disease prevention, not disease management.
Health Coaches are highly trained in nutrition and dietary theories. What is one man’s food is another man’s poison, and as such, a Health Coach help their clients to determine which foods works best for their bodies, so that they can use food as medicine..
A registered dietician is a healthcare profession who has completed a minimum of a bachelors’s degree, work in a supervised program for approximately 1 year at a health care facility and pass a national exam to become licensed.
They are overseen by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and as such, they must adhere to and follow a certain set of guideline in terms of recommendations that they can make to patients.
They fall under the allopathic/western medicine umbrella and their focus is purely on disease management and suppression of symptoms instead of aiming to achieve a higher level of health.
Their methods doesn’t support individuality. They do not take into account the non-dietary aspects of life that prevents healing, such as lack of sleep, dehydration, relaxation or emotion.
The advantage of being a Registered dietician is that it is widely accepted and recognized within the medical field.
A nutritionist is an person who studies or is in the field nutrition. Many professionals who have a wide range of experience in health, wellness and nutrition call themselves nutritionist. Registered Dietitians and Health Coaches also use the title interchangeably.
Why Should you work with a health coach instead of a doctor?
A Health Coach focuses on disease prevention, not disease management. A health coach will spend at least an hour with you during each session. The goal is to get to the root cause of your unhealthy situation.
And because I want to get to know you, I strive to have healthy relationships with my clients. As a health coach, I dive deeper into your life to connect the dots to discover what ails you. I will gather information from the health history that you completed prior to our session, as it gives me insight about your present and past health/family history. Based on the information presented, I provide valuable recommendations that will empower you to heal yourself naturally.
If you want to treat your symptoms (which is what western medicine specializes in), as opposed to getting to the root cause of your dis-ease, then I strongly suggest that you work with your primary care physician.
If I am already working with a doctor should I continue seeing my doctor while working with a health coach?
Yes. If you are under the care of a licensed medical practitioner, it is highly recommended that you continue to follow through with them.
Health Coaches are not doctors. They do not give medical advice. They do not diagnose. They do not administer or prescribe pharmaceuticals. With that being said, if you are ever in need of medical advice, a diagnosis or prescription medications, please consult a qualified licensed medical doctor.
Health Coaches are highly trained in nutrition and dietary theories, which sets them at an advantage to help their clients determine what foods works best for their bodies, so they can use food as medicine, as well as integrating lifestyle shifts to combat stress and the risks of developing chronic dis-eases.
What should I expect when working with a health coach
You are expected to take full responsibility for your health; set realistic goals and be held accountable for the necessary steps to achieve them. You will find yourself on an amazing journey of self discovery as you learn about and become more in tune with your body. You will learn new healthy habits to living a healthier lifestyle; practice self care techniques on a daily basis; be open to new foods that will change the course of your life and your bodily functions on an optimal level; prepare healthy recipes; gain confidence in the kitchen and your ability to create your own reality through your health and wellness goals.
