Utilising my skills and knowledge as a Health Coach and Personal Trainer, I work with you to create a simple but sustainable healthy lifestyle and your most beautiful midlife. Answers to some frequently asked questions are detailed below.
What is Health Coaching?
Health Coaching is wonderful way to assist you in creating and implementing your own personal health vision and most importantly make it sustainable.
My role as a Health Coach is to partner with you. Rather than tell you what to do, health coaching allows you to be in the driver’s seat and be in control of what aspects of your health you want to work on. You make decisions about how you proceed while I am there to support and guide you.
The Health Coaching process aims to help you overcome barriers and support you to succeed with your health goals. The process also helps you find your internal motivation for change, helps you to become more confident in your abilities and helps you achieve sustained lifestyle changes unique to you.
Health Coaching is the practical application of a number of evidence-based health behaviour change theories, interventions and techniques from behavioural medicine research literature, positive psychology and coach psychology and athletic and performance coaching.
How is Health Coaching different than Personal Training?
Health Coaching is about partnering with you to identify your ideal health and wellness vision and help you reach your goals.
When operating solely as a Personal Trainer, I mainly prescribed exercises or routines and told women what to do. However, now combining both my qualifications and skillsets, I ensure there is more input about what you already know works for you and what you enjoy.
With my knowledge of movement and studies in menopause exercise, I can however help you to create an exercise regime that will help you to optimise your body and health in this stage of life.
Recognising that there are many ways to achieve a desired outcome, we formulate a plan together for your fitness that is individualised for you. As a Health Coach, I support you beyond the physical and help you stay on track.
How can a Health Coach help me in post menopause?
As a post menopausal woman you have decades of messages and experiences that influence your current lifestyle, habits and thoughts. Over time health habits become hardwired, often making it difficult to change.
Transitioning through menopause into post menopause provides another challenge. Your body and hormones take on a new operating system and to live your best life going forward into this new chapter of life, you may want to make some changes to your lifestyle to optimise your health and happiness as you age.
Approximately 80% of people fail to achieve their health goals. Health Coaching helps you to succeed.
As a Health Coach, I’m like a support system. I understand that you’re the expert of your own body and I focus on you as a whole person. It’s my role to help you create your own personal health vision and implement a plan in a way that works for you. With my knowledge in the art of change, I can help you achieve your goals by avoiding common pitfalls and overcoming barriers that arise when creating new habits. I provide resources, evidence-based information, tips, health hacks, assistance with goal setting and ongoing support.
Your Health Coaching experience is completely tailored to you. I will be your partner, advocate and guide, whose sole focus is working with you to achieve your own personal health vision. You will feel empowered by having your health back in your hands.
What’s the difference between Health Coaching and counselling/therapy?
Health Coaching is not therapy. Therapy looks backwards whereas Health Coaching works in the present, helping you define goals and create a new future.
Saying that, there may be times where it’s helpful to re-assess some of your past beliefs that are holding your back from creating your health vision. There are other times when looking at how you have managed previous situations and utilising your strengths gained from past experiences, help you to move forward.
How long will it take to see results?
The amount of time we spend together is dependent on many factors including where you are now in your health journey, where you would like to be and what you would like to achieve.
Change takes time. Generally, it may require at least 3 to 6 months to establish a new behaviour. For post menopausal women, it has possibly taken years if not decades to develop your current behaviours and it will therefore take time to create a new way of living that is sustainable.
It’s important that you are ready to invest your time and have realistic expectations of yourself and the health coaching outcomes. My approach is not based on quick fixes, as they rarely work. Sustainable change takes time.
During our time together, you’ll be implementing small steps, possibly experimenting with movement, food and any other aspects of your lifestyle as you require.
With behavioural change, it’s recognised that implementing changes in these small steps is the recipe for long-term success.
Do I really need to make changes?
The simple answer is that you are responsible for your decisions relating to your health and wellness and that includes whether you want to (or are ready to) make changes.
However, if you’re considering working with me then it’s imperative that you make a commitment to showing up to sessions and working on your health vision together.
I view change as a process of experimentation, trial and correction. I do not believe in extremes or quick fixes – I therefore will never encourage fad diets or punishing exercise regimes.
When change is viewed as a gift rather than a hindrance, you will feel empowered.
I’ve tried a lot of other things – will Health Coaching really work for me?
My approach to post menopause health and wellness is unique. I have a broad knowledge gained over almost 30 years as a personal trainer and now as a Health Coach. I have also completed numerous qualifications specifically related to menopause. As I am post menopausal myself, I have first hand knowledge of many of the challenges that you may be facing while also understanding that every woman’s menopause experience is very individual.
With Health Coaching, your chances of success increase greatly because I will be walking with you step by step through all the challenges that often prevent women from creating change. I will support and guide you across all aspects of the plan to create your personal health vision.
That said, you do have to be open and curious about the possibility of change and be prepared and willing to participate in the process.
What I’m not qualified to do as a Health Coach
– Diagnose syndromes or illnesses
– Act as a therapist or counsellor
– Prescribe supplements or medications
– Design a diet plan
I can however refer to your appropriate professionals to assist you in areas where I am not qualified and can work with health professionals to help you create and implement your health vision.
What happens in our initial session?
Our discussion involves getting a full picture of your ultimate health vision and also understand all the pieces of your current health puzzle.
During this time, you’ll be able to share and ask as many questions as you like, as we explore your goals and motivation to create change.
Towards the end of the session, we will begin to formulate a health plan personalised to you and start to develop strategies.
You’ll walk away from the session with insight and the way forward. You’ll also likely feel a sense excitement about your future health!
What happens in our review sessions?
Each follow up session will be individualised to your needs on the day.
You may want to explore more about your motivation for the changes you desire, set actions plans, discuss strategies for implementing your plans or work through any barriers or challenges that you need to overcome. Ultimately, you will become more confident in your abilities as you move towards your self determined goals.