Nutrition Beyond Diets: A Health Coach's Guide to Optimal Eating Habits
I sometimes imagine what my life would have been like had I never dieted.
If I never believed that my body wasn’t good enough and if I never placed more trust in random diets than in my body’s own intelligence. I wonder what my relationship with food would have been through my teens, twenties, thirties and some of my forties if we didn’t have the plethora of guilt-inducing diet messaging AND access to SO MUCH processed food.
Have you ever thought about this?
It’s a complicated food world we live in. When we want or need to make improvements to our nutrition or lose weight, the only tool we access is restrictive (fad) diets put into place by so-called diet experts (who know nothing about us). If you’re lucky, they work for a time. Until they end up being intolerably restrictive, boring, or require so much upkeep that you can barely focus on anything else.
The good news though, is that people are becoming more aware that diets are not the ONLY tool we have to improve our health and/or lose weight. There’s a much better approach and it’s personal health (wellness/nutrition) coaching. This approach seeks to understand the person as a whole and meets them where they are. A good health coach guides their clients with their knowledge (but is not the authority); helps them reconnect to their bodies through mindful eating practices; and considers an individual’s personal preferences, lifestyle and unique history to help craft a personalized plan to create long-term sustainable healthy eating habits. They are so much more than just a nutrition advisor: They are a mentor, educator, and support system rolled into one!
My Practice
My first task is always to get to know all about you: what you like to eat, what your goals are, what your daily routine is like, what crazy diets you have tried before, what your support system is like, what your medical history is and so much more because nutrition, wellness and bodies are NEVER one size fits all. Being able to understand your unique position is critical for me to know where our starting point should be. Here are some topics we will most likely cover during our time together:
- Building a Healthy Relationship with Food
- Practicing Mindful Eating Habits
- Rewriting Our Food Story & Other Mindset Work
- Nutrition Education & Lifestyle Choices
Building a Healthy Relationship with Food
A core aspect of a personal health coach’s approach is helping clients develop a healthy relationship with food because so many of us don’t have one! We have overruled our bodies and minds with diet plans and often view food as the “enemy”. We think food what is responsible for making us unhappy in our bodies. But the truth is that most of us have such a distorted relationship with food that we have learned to become distrustful of it and fearful of it.
If you’re over 40, you’ve had front row seats to witness the wild swings of vilification that macro groups have experienced over the years. Fat was the enemy, then carbs, and now protein is enjoying it’s time in the limelight. Food has literally become a moral compass for us.
A good health coach will gently help you view food in a much more positive light and will focus on the healthy foods that you like and can easily tolerate. Don’t like asparagus? You don’t have to eat it! There are plenty more highly nutritious foods to include.
Practicing Mindful Eating Habits
One of my favorite focuses in my own practice is mindful eating. Almost all of us eat mindlessly. We’re running full-steam-ahead in our lives and eating (although enjoyable) is often one of those things that we just want to check off the to-do list.
Eating is also something we are often doing alongside other activities like driving, watching TV or scrolling on our phones! Sometimes, all we need to do to improve our eating habits is to focus on the task at hand: Eating! Nothing else. There is something about being present and fully aware during meals, that can significantly impact one’s eating habits and overall health.
When was the last time you actually paid attention to the colors, smells, textures and flavours of what you were eating? When was the last time you ate s-l-o-w-l-y, savoring each bite? When was the last time you felt totally in tune with your own body, paying attention to how certain foods affected you (your mood; your digestion) and your hunger and satisfaction along the way? It’s one of the simplest yet most difficult tasks because of our busy environment. But if you want to take some amazing free advice? Try this out.
Re-Writing Our Food Story & Other Mindset Work
Have you ever stopped to think about where some of your attitudes and habits around food came from? We don’t think too much about it, but all of us have our own unique food story. Our food stories are the sum total of our experiences, memories, cultural influences, emotions and beliefs related to food – every and all experiences with food – the good, the bad, and the ugly. They include the memories of when you first considered going on a diet, recognized that your mom didn’t like her body, what friends and family have said jokingly (or not) about your body, how you have “used” food in the past, all the diets you have been on and what those closest people to you thought about food and taught you to eat.
They are deeply personal and unique to each individual. I have two sisters and even though we grew up in the same house with the same parents – our own food stories are very different. Yours too, is truly unique. Food stories shape a person’s attitudes and behaviors towards food, such as their eating habits, food choices, and even their relationship with their body and overall well-being. You might not even be aware of your own inner narrative.
By exploring and understanding one’s food story, we can get insights into personal values, emotional connections, and the impact of food on various aspects of life. It can also be a way to reflect on and potentially reshape one’s relationship with food, fostering a more positive and mindful approach to eating. And it’s something that we work on together to help us understand why you do what you do and why it might be difficult to change.
Nutrition Education & Lifestyle Choices
I love some people’s reactions when I tell them that nutrition plays only a small role in our overall health and wellness. Most are surprised. Most just want to be given the “perfect diet plan” with promises to follow it “perfectly” because all of their problems will be solved and life will be grand. Sound familiar? It sure did to me, because I was in search of that plan for YEARS.
But the truth is that each and every lifestyle decision we make affects our nutrition choices and vice-versa. Didn’t get enough sleep? You’re going to find it harder to resist the office treats. Sleep, stress levels, hydration, mental wellness, movement and more all have their effects on nutrition—both positive and negative. A lot of my work with clients is spent on these other lifestyle factors which is a relief because it takes away the burden of feeling you have to be “perfect” when it comes to your eating.
The Impact of Support and Accountability
One of the most significant advantages of working with a personal health coach is the accountability they provide. In my experience, I find that my clients usually do have some awareness of what to eat. They already know that they need to include more fruits and veggies in their diets and less packaged convenience foods. They already know that they need to adopt some sort of movement in their day. What they actually need is help with the implementation. They need support when they are on a “screw it” day. They need guidance to navigate social situations when they arise.
While health coaches have more nutrition knowledge than the average person, we cannot take away the fact that each person is the expert on their own bodies. Empowering clients to take back that “expert” seat is also part of what a good health coach will do.
Conclusion
Everyone’s nutritional needs and preferences are different. A health coach offers personalized advice that considers the individual’s lifestyle, goals, and health conditions, ensuring a tailored approach to optimal eating habits. Changing eating habits can be very challenging, especially when faced with life’s inevitable setbacks or emotional triggers.
Achieving optimal eating habits is not about following the latest diet trend but about developing a healthy relationship with food and adopting mindful eating practices. A personal health coach plays a pivotal role in guiding individuals towards these goals. Through a combination of education, support, and personalized advice, they help clients build sustainable, long-term eating habits that promote overall health and well-being. If you have struggled to implement healthier eating habits on your own—it’s time to get yourself one!
You do not have to “do healthy” on your own. In fact, research tells us that you are much more likely to succeed if you have accountability layered in.
Let’s face it — healthy eating and healthy lifestyles can be boring and require a lot of patience. Having the support of an accountability coach and a community of like-minded individuals on your team can make all the difference. Share paths with a practicing holistic nutritionist, receive one-on-one coaching regarding your meals, and be connected on the app with my other clients and Ambassadors. You will have fun, stay motivated, and feel inspired!
Find out more by visiting my website www.stacyyates.com
