Why You Can Benefit From A Health Coach (Even If You're Healthy)

With a health care system that prioritizes treating diseases rather than preventing them, health coaches have become more valuable than ever. Even if you don't struggle with any glaring health issues, there's a good chance that you, too, could benefit from meeting with one.

Health coaches differ from doctors and other health care professionals in a number of ways. While they may not have Ph.D.s, health coaches are still certified experts in the field of well-being who provide their clients with holistic and informed guidance for how they can better improve their overall health.

There are a variety of certifications you can opt for when becoming a health coach or selecting your perfect fit, but it is the NBHWC certification that is most widely known for providing the benchmark of care for health coaching.

Beyond addressing obvious health concerns, health coaches can help you build habits that support your goals so you can be the most well-rounded version of yourself. It's their expert insight that takes your health plan to the next level.

The benefits of meeting with a health coach are wide-reaching, and there are several areas of your life that can improve by connecting with a professional who has been trained (and certified!) to create a specialized plan of care:

"How are you living, how are you eating, how are you sleeping, and how are you moving?" are a few questions LeVeque has noted that she asks clients in order to gauge their lifestyle and which areas they may need to address to feel their best. This information in tandem with scientific research allows your health coach to "support the resolution of [a client's] symptoms and potentially the resolution of [their] disease state," LeVeque added.

If weight loss is a goal of yours, health coaches are qualified to provide specialized advice on how to go about it. In fact, a clinical trial of 415 individuals who were classified as obese revealed that those who met with a health coach to improve their diet and overall lifestyle experienced more significant weight loss than those who did not receive outside support. Remember, a health coach is there to help you reach your goals—just like any other coach.

Not only will your health coach create an easy-to-follow plan that will help you improve your overall well-being, but they will also guide you in selecting actionable goals that you'll actually be able to reach, contributing to an improvement in mental health and general healthy behaviors, according to a 2015 study1. The study abstract explains that over the course of 12 weeks, participants improved their healthy behaviors, eating self-efficacy, and even goal-setting skills with the support of their coaches.

In one study evaluating the clinical effectiveness of lifestyle health coaching, the results revealed that over the course of a coaching program there was a significant improvement in health factors2 such as:

A good coach is one that looks at all of your lifestyle factors, avoiding a "one-size-fits-all" approach, so take your time finding someone with the right personality (and credentials) for the job.

If you're interested in health coaching as a potential career choice down the line, mbg offers our own Health Coach Certification designed to provide real-world experience so you can practice your skills and gain the confidence you need to treat your patients with the knowledge and care that they deserve. Because at the end of the day, we could all use a health coach.