Are you trying to eat healthy? But maybe feeling a little bit stuck or confused?
I know it can be hard.
Are you reaching your health goals? Or maybe you don't even know where to start?
Those are a few of the main reasons why people decide to reach out to a Health or Nutrition Coach. Do you ever wish you had that extra voice in your head to just tell you what to eat, or to help you make healthy decisions? Do you wish those pounds would fall off without having to count calories?
I'm here today to tell you a bit more about what it is like to work with a Holistic Nutrition Consultant. Also I have some tips for you to find one if you are interested in having a bit more help in that area of your life.
What is a Holistic Nutrition Consultant?
You might hear the term Nutritionist, Holistic Nutrition Coach, Nutrition Consultant or something else similar to that. Not all Nutrition Coaches are the same and every different province and state has a different term, as well as different training schools.
A Nutrition Coach is someone who has training and experience in Nutrition and Health and understands the way food, nutrients, vitamins and minerals (or lack of) can affect our health.
Where do you find a Nutrition Coach?
You will want to do your research for this part. Places to get started are:
Ask a friend or colleague for recommendations
Ask in your local community Facebook group or social media group
Ask your Doctor or other healthcare provider for a recommendation
Ask at your local Health Food Store. This is a great one as they will often know of a few in your area.
Not all Health Coaching needs to be done in person! For example about 80% of my clients don't even live in the same City or Province as I do! The internet has allowed me to work with women in any time zone, and in any country! We can still chat and even see each other via Skype. So don't feel restricted to your local area if you live in a small town or are having a hard time finding someone.
How to pick a Nutrition Coach?
Each different Nutrition Coach is going to have different training and different experience. Here are a few questions you will want to ask.
Where did they go to school? You will want to make sure they have had formal training, and because Nutrition is not regulated in some places, people can call themselves a Nutrition Coach without a school certificate. I recommend you find a professional that has attended a reputable school.
Ask for references. Keeping our clients information confidential is extremely important, but there is a good chance you can find customer feedback or business reviews on places like their Facebook page, their website or Google. For example of what I mean, check out my Facebook business reviews here: Facebook Reviews
Check out their website. You can learn a lot by looking around someones website. Make sure they have topics that interest you and you get a good feel from their information. You can check out my reviews page here: Client Reviews
Ask them 'who' they work with. For example, some Nutrition Coaches specialize in children, elderly or work with people that have specific health concerns. Make sure you find someone that fits your needs! If they don't, you can usually ask them to recommend you to someone who does. Many of us work together and refer back and forth to make sure our clients get the help they need!
Ask if they belong to a professional association. Professional Associations generally require continuing education to make sure we stay current on health topics.
Do you have to follow a certain diet?
No! Certainly not. This is one of the most important questions to ask your potential Nutrition Coach!!! I mentioned before, but following a 'diet' often ends badly.
This is a typical cycle of a diet. You feel overweight/sick/tired or whatever, so you diet, restricting certain food, amount of food and sweets intake. Its hard! You stress. You 'cheat'. You feel bad. You try hard again. You stress. You get grumpy and feel deprived of your favorite things. You 'cheat'. You feel bad.
Does that sound familiar? Uugh. What an awful way to go about being healthy. Stress and overwhelm and being strict is not setting you up for success. And its NOT a long term solution.
Instead, working with a Holistic Nutrition Coach (myself included), you learn about incorporating healthy, whole foods and yummy, nutritious foods. You keep adding in MORE good food, which in turn slowly pushes out the bad. If you mostly eat healthy, then some sweet treats here and there really isn't going to be a problem because your body is much more capable of dealing with it. Plus, another bonus is, the more 'healthy' food you eat (think tons of veggies and whole foods), then eventually the less and less do you crave sweet treats. I'm not joking! Many of my clients have gotten rid of sugar cravings for good!
How much does a Nutrition appointment cost?
Improving your health is not a one time appointment. Typically, I work with clients in 1 of 2 ways.
Private Nutrition Coaching- this allows us to work 1 on 1 over a period of weeks or months to address my clients specific health concerns and work on a plan very specific to their lifestyle and needs. This is usually a period of 2-4 months but sometimes 6 months or longer.
Online Group Coaching- this is a less expensive option, because you participate with a group of other clients, all working towards similar goals! In these online classes, you go through sessions together of different healthy eating topics and work through them on your own, but have me to answer questions if you need help.
Cost for these options can vary if you choose the private sessions or group coaching. It can also depend on the goals you want to accomplish, some people just want to be pointed in the right direction, some people want longer term guidance and support.
If you are interested in group programs, and just having a bit of extra motivation, support, someone to answer your questions and a group to cheer you on, then this is usually much less expensive, although you might not have answers to your specific health questions.
How long do the Nutrition coaching sessions last?
If you choose the private coaching, then you can expect to work approximately an hour each week and most Nutritionists offer packages or multiple sessions from 4 weeks, 6 weeks or 10 weeks. This gives you time to work together and achieve your goals!
If you like the idea of group coaching, then many Nutrition Coaches will offer a variety of topics to learn from, including things like healthy cooking, detox, sugar free challenges, incorporating healthy foods and more!
What happens at a Nutrition Appointment?
I can not speak for all Nutrition Coaches with this answer, but I can give you an idea as to how it works between myself and my clients.
If you come to see me 1 on 1, then we spend a LOT of time chatting together about your health concerns, including how you feel, how you want to feel, your complaints, your health goals. Then we speak about what your current lifestyle is, including your daily meals, exercise, supplements, how much you eat, when you eat and more. We move onto topics such food allergies, intolerances, specific diets, medications and doctor recommendations. We even chat about what your spouse and children like to eat so that I can get the FULL picture.
Like I said, we spend a LOT of time chatting.
From there I we work together for the next period of weeks or months working on a healthy eating program. We work to make sure its something you enjoy, find easy, and can do long term. Diets usually end with disappointment, so I avoid recommending diets, because they are generally not sustainable long term.
I provide you with recipes, meal plans, and simple solutions to get more veggies into your day. We continue to tweak your plan until we get you on track. We set up regular sessions, chat often and I'm there for my clients to reach out to me with questions, and to help motivate them along the way!
We continually assess how they are doing, and check on the symptoms that led to me in the first place. Many women come to me with digestive problems, tummy troubles, skin conditions, lack of energy, poor sleep, weight loss goals and more. So throughout our weeks together we keep checking in on health concerns and adjust our plan as we need to, to improve concerns.
Better health is a journey, and I'm there for my clients every step of the way. Make sure you choose someone who is there for you too.
I really hope this helps you understand what working with a Holistic Nutrition Coach is like! Its fun, rewarding and you can be sure you will finally reach those health goals you have been working towards.
I help women beat the bloat and boost their energy with super simple strategies designed with gut health in mind. I work with women in both private coaching and group sessions to feel better fast with Nutrition and Essential Oils.
If you would like to learn more, I offer FREE 30 Minute Discovery calls where we can chat and see if we are a good fit to work together.
Learn more about me and my services here:
Thank you for taking the time to read this, my goal is to spread health far and wide and make it more accessible to women everywhere. It is important to me that every women has access to both medical and holistic care.
If you found this blog post helpful, I would love to hear from you! Comment below!
Gaylene Gomez, NNCP, C.H.N.
A little bit about me! I'm Gaylene, a Holistic Nutrition Coach for women. I work with busy, professional women to help them learn about healthy, simple lifestyle changes they can easily implement to reduce belly bloat, lose weight and get through their day with sustained energy. My clients are committed to their health and excited to learn about healthy eating and natural living. I feel proud of them for taking charge of their health and I'm so lucky to work with these amazing women.
Learn more about me here: About Me
