80% OF MOST DIETS FAIL....HOW NUTRITION COACHING IS DIFFERENT

WHAT NUTRITION COACHING IS 

Nutrition Coaching is a partnership between the coach and the client to examine the client’s eating patterns, the reasons behind their food choices, and to determine what steps can be taken to improve their overall eating habits and reach their nutrition goals.

Yeah….

So, what does all that mean?

First, why do you need/want to work with a nutrition coach? 

Well, a few reasons. 

Each person is unique – and by unique, I mean we all have different things that influence our eating habits. I didn’t try LASAGNA until I was an adult. Why? Because I grew up in a rural farm community, both of my parents did the same, as did THEIR parents, and even though there was limited access to grocery stores, my family for several generations ate off the land, so to speak. Beef, pork, and chicken was butchered from their farms. Eggs gathered every morning. Vegetables grown in the garden. There was not a lot of cultural diversity in the area, either. So….no lasagna until adulthood because my parents didn’t make it, so I never tried it.

I could go on and on with examples of each individual’s personal history with food (raised in an obese household, in a “food desert”, in a strict household where you don’t leave the table until you clean your plate, busy family where fast food was the go-to meal solution), but I think you understand what I mean now by unique.

Each person has their own reason “why”. Weight loss. A medical condition. Weight gain. Energy. Food allergies. Improve their immune system. Again, the list goes on.

Each person has their own likes and dislikes when it comes to food, even within the same household. I don’t like lettuce. I’ll eat it when I must, but I don’t prefer it. My husband can chop an entire head of lettuce and dump half a bottle of dressing on it and call that his dinner. He loves mushrooms. I hate them – it’s a texture thing. I love cauliflower. He thinks it looks like pieces of a brain. I like ham, he’s not a fan. My daughter will give MOST things a try – but not all. My sons won’t eat ANYTHING – pickiest eaters I know. When we are all under the same roof, what EVERYONE will eat becomes a game of chess and a battle of wills.

A nutrition coach understands there are all kinds of reasons why a client may eat the way they do, and that clients have their own reasons why they want to CHANGE those eating habits.

Can’t people just do this on their own? Without a nutrition coach?

Sure. But most people don’t.

Again, for VARIOUS reasons, most people who start a new diet [in this case I’m calling a “diet” any change in their eating pattern] will fail after 3 to 6 months and will have lost any gains they made in improving their health (weight lost, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar) within a year. Approximately 80% of people who start a new diet will fail.

That number sucks.

And a hard concept to explain, or get people to understand, is that not being able to follow a new diet or meal plan or whatever isn’t necessarily your fault.

Now, my dad is probably rolling over in his grave because he was an old-school, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps kind of guy.

But it’s not just about motivation or willpower.

We are bombarded by food commercials. We are super-sized every time we turn around. We were raised to clear our plates. Most of us don’t know what an ACTUAL serving size is SUPPOSED to look like. Or how many extra calories are added to some of the processed foods we eat (like a muffin) thinking it’s got blueberries (or sugar-globs with artificial blueberry flavor) so it must be healthy for us, right? Sometimes you may be in a rush, starving, and have to grab the quickest thing you can find without the benefit of going through a nutrition analysis first.

As much as I hate sounding like a conspiracy-theorist, the food world around us is a minefield, and if you don’t know how to navigate your way through, you’re going to blow up your health.

Having a nutrition coach can help you work your way through all the ups and downs of improving your nutrition and changing your eating habits to improve your health in whatever way you need. YOU are in the drivers’ seat. The coach is there to help you navigate the terrain.

Now let’s talk about WHAT NUTRITION COACHING IS NOT.

“Are you going to give me a meal plan each week to follow?” I’ve been asked this several times.

Nutrition Coaching is not a Meal Plan. You can go on Pinterest and find a meal plan. Google “meal plan” and you can find millions of paid or free plans available.

BUT! 

Nutrition coaches DO work with you to customize your eating habits. What does that mean? It means we work together to determine what your goals are; what changes are you willing to make; what fits into your current lifestyle; what fits in your budget; what are your food preferences; what are your nutritional needs…we take ALL these factors (and MORE) into account as we work on a plan that fits YOU!

Nutrition Coaches DO NOT diagnose health problems, nor do they prescribe a diet or meal plan to treat an underlying health condition – heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. For example, if a client comes to me with high blood pressure and says, “I need you to create a meal plan for me to get my blood pressure under control before my doctor puts me on more medication,” the answer is no, that’s out of my scope of practice.

HOWEVER!

A nutrition coach CAN help a client follow a specific diet plan that has been prescribed to them by a doctor or dietician. The same client can come to me and say, “My blood pressure is too high and since I don’t want to go on more medication, the doctor said I should try the DASH diet to lower my blood pressure.” In this instance YES, I can absolutely help the client learn about the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and together we can work on the client adhering to the DASH diet guidelines.

Nutrition Coaches do NOT diagnose or treat eating disorders.

Nutrition Coaches do NOT prescribe cleanses, detoxes, or specific diets such as Keto, Vegan, Low-Carb, etc.

These things are out of our scope of practice and should not be done.

But if you’re looking for guidance….support….accountability….habit building….and positive change in your relationship with food, maybe a nutrition coach is the right step for you.

Book a FREE Consultation Call with me and find out how you can tailor your nutrition needs to meet your individual health and wellness goals.