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Health and Wellness Coach

by Team xMonks
March 14, 2021
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Home » Blog » Health and Wellness Coach

Getting to Know A Health and Wellness Coach

In the last few years, the health and wellness coach in coaching industry has evolved at a breakneck pace, and one of the most important attributes to look for in a training program is integrity. This includes investigating their affiliations and collaborations with other organisations, as well as whether they have any external responsibility for ensuring the quality of their work.

The rules for leading a healthy life tend to be straightforward: eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and practice self-care. But you also already know that it’s easier said than done because, well, life happens! You have a demanding job; you have a family to look after – you’re overworked! It’s an all-too-common tale we tell ourselves over and over, and we often make excuses for why we can’t achieve our health and well-being goals. Does this ring a bell?

A wellness coach, also known as a health and wellness coach, is a positive guide who assists clients in achieving their health goals, such as weight loss, improved vitality, better stress control, and more. Health and wellness coaches are important members of the larger healthcare team because they bridge the gap between conventional healthcare and enacting sustainable and meaningful behavioral lifestyle improvements. Wellness coaches inspire and encourage their clients to become their own experts through instilling a positive mentality towards wellness and well-being. Wellness coaches have the resources and experience to teach their clients about holistic wellness and how to make long-term behavioral changes, but it is not their job to tell them what they should do.

What separates a fitness and wellness coach from a personal fitness trainer?

A personal fitness trainer has the skills and abilities to build healthy and successful fitness programs. The task of a fitness trainer is to assist people in achieving their fitness goals by instructing and assisting them in the gym and during exercise. A health & wellness coach is concerned with all facets of an individual’s life, including physical, mental, spiritual, and occupational wellness, while a personal trainer is solely concerned with their client’s physical fitness. Fitness preparation should not require any behavior modification or lifestyle and habit development coaching.

What separates a health and fitness coach from a nutritionist?

A nutritionist specializes in assisting clients with food disorders or specific dietary needs associated with medical conditions such as diabetes or gluten sensitivity. A nutritionist may also provide advice on nutrition for specific life stages, such as pregnancy or child rearing. Furthermore, a nutritionist may be eligible to prescribe dietary supplements. A health coach, on the other hand, has a broader position. A wellness coach is concerned with the general well-being, including sleep patterns, stress levels, eating habits, physical activity, relationships, and life decisions.

What distinguishes a health and fitness coach from a life coach?

A life coach is a person who assists clients with different aspects of their lives. Life coaches usually specialize in a specific field, such as relationships or finances. People who seek the advice of life coaches are usually looking for assistance with a specific aspect of their daily lives. For example, someone who is absolutely bad at money management and is steadily falling into debt, or someone who struggles to strike a work-life balance, or someone who has long-term relationship problems. A health and wellness coach, on the other hand, assists clients in resolving personal issues and achieving self-driven holistic improvement in their health, jobs, and lives. Health and wellbeing coaching is about leading clients toward a healthy and prosperous future, not only assisting them with their present attitude.

Role of a Health and Wellness Coach

A health and wellness coach works with people, communities, and/or organizations who want to commit to a vision of being healthy, mainly through lifestyle improvements that enhance health, wellness, and wellbeing. “Health and Wellness Coaches partner with clients seeking self-directed, long-term changes, aligned with their values, that promote health and wellness and, as a result, enhance well-being,” according to the National Consortium for the Credentialing of Health and Wellness Coaches (NCCHWC). 

Health and wellness coaches demonstrate unconditional constructive regard for their clients and a confidence in their willingness to improve in the course of their practice, recognizing that each client is an expert on his or her own life and ensuring that all interactions are respectful and non-judgmental.”

Many changes in society have resulted in an increasing demand for credentialed health and wellness coaches, including but not limited to:

  1. Individuals and families becoming more aware of their family background and genetic outcomes, as well as the importance of making preventive lifestyle changes;
  2. A recognition that expert advice from health care providers on what to do and what not to do has overwhelmingly failed to assist people in making behavioral lifestyle changes to avoid and control illnesses;
  3. Health-care organizations are realizing the importance of health and wellness coaches in reducing patient readmissions;
  4. Organizations and companies are finding that investing in their workers’ health and well-being provides the highest long-term return on investment.
  5. A range of resources are available to health and wellness coaches. Recent advancements have given them many more tools to improve the effectiveness of their coaching.
  6. Nutrigenomics is progressing at a rapid rate (the study of the interaction of nutrition and genes)
  7. Evolutions in wearable technology also provided just-in-time evidence for health behavior change.
  8. Other (genomic-informed) precision health decisions are evolving.

This holistic approach to health and well-being is what sets health and wellness coaches apart from other wellness experts and is part of what makes their work so valuable and effective. The National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) was established with the goal of creating a gold standard for health and wellness coaching education, which includes the creation of a national certification exam to demonstrate competency in the field of health coaching.

As a result, health and wellness coaching is increasingly emerging as a booming industry with many opportunities to make a difference and specialize.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Who is a health coach?

A Health Coach assists people in gaining the knowledge, skill sets, techniques, and self belief they need to take charge of their lifestyle and diet, allowing them to achieve their life goals.

Who is a certified wellness coach?

A wellness coach, also known as a health and wellness coach, is a motivator who helps clients achieve their health goals, such as losing weight, increased vitality, enhanced stress management, and much more.

What is the difference between a health and fitness coach and a nutritionist?

A nutritionist specialises in providing assistance with food allergies or complex dietary requirements related to medical conditions like diabetes or gluten sensitivity. A health coach, on the other hand, occupies a more broad role. A wellness coach is interested in a person’s overall well-being, which includes sleeping habits, stress levels, food patterns, physical exercise, relationships, and life choices.

What makes a health and fitness coach different from a life coach?

A life coach is someone who helps people with various aspects of their lives. Life coaches typically focus on one region, such as relationships or finances. In contrast, a health and wellness coach supports clients in addressing personal problems and creating self-driven holistic success in their health, careers, and lives.

What distinguishes a personal fitness trainer from a health and wellness coach?

A health and wellness coach is interested in all aspects of a person’s life, including physical, emotional, spiritual, and professional wellness, while a personal trainer is only interested in their client’s physical fitness.

What is the Role of Health and Wellness Coach?

A health and wellness coach works with individuals, families, and/or organisations that want to commit to a healthier lifestyle, primarily through lifestyle changes that improve health, wellness, and well-being.

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