Why Health Coaching is so Important Right Now
Do you ever feel like everything is spinning out of control?
I sure do. And I recently read something about how our brains and bodies are designed for a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
Not for a 24/7 news cycle.
Not for constant updates on social media.
Not for bingeing the latest series on Netflix.
Our world moves way faster than our brains and bodies are designed to handle. No wonder we’re all so overwhelmed!
Health coaching, to a large degree, aims to combat the havoc the pace of modern life inflicts on us. The point of health coaching is working on your mindset and your awareness. It’s about working on the way you view yourself and your health.
The term “mindset” is aggressive to some, but really it’s similar to breathing.
It is constant (not to mention vitally important). In health coaching, we rarely focus on changing your mindset. Instead, it’s something that organically happens as we start to bring awareness to other facets.
“Awareness” is another key component idly working throughout the health coaching process. When you focus on any given element of your health, you will positively impact other aspects just by being aware.
Together your “mindset” and “awareness” are players on your team working with you to bring out that focused, motivated, sharper you.
In our current world, taking actionable steps to improve your mental health is paramount. That’s where health coaching can help.
I have nothing but a nutritional certification (through Precision Nutrition), and am far from a therapist. However, seeing the positive effects of health coaching on mental health is some of the most humbling work I do.
At Humble Hustle, we do an initial assessment with ever single person who starts our health coaching program. I’ve done hundreds of assessments, and help with anxiety and depression are some of the most common things people talk about.
Ask any therapist about steps you can take to positively affect anxiety and depression. They’ll likely tell you to:
Exercise
Eat nutrient-dense food
Start a mindfulness practice
Get better sleep
Drink more water
You see where this is going, right?
If you are someone who’s suffers from anxiety and/or depression consider what health coaching could have on you.
You want to proactively change your physical and mental health, so you work with a health coach. Here’s what happens next:
You pay attention to your hydration and begin drinking half of your bodyweight in water (bare minimum by the way of what you should be drinking).
You become more physically active throughout the day, finding the right exercise and cadence that works for you.
You learn how much and how often you should eat. You know how many portions of proteins, veggies, carbs and healthy fats you should be filling your body with everyday.
You learn how to plan and prep your meals, while creating strategies so you don’t fall victim to only grabbing what is convenient.
You start getting better quality (and quantity!) sleep. The thought of this just made me yawn…in a good way. We will help you set up patterns so that you look forward to going to bed at night. “We all have a chance to go to the best doctor in the world everyday”! That means to sleep at night in case you were wondering.
You become more mindful about seeking activities that “fill up your bucket”, not just drain you. Meditation, journaling, getting out for a daily walk, doing something that brings you joy…there are so many more. Just like everything else, it is what fills you up, completely customized to fit your needs.
You establish a morning routine that inspires and fires you up. You’re excited to jump into the next part of your day.
You develop an evening routine that makes you excited to hit the pillow and gets you excited to face tomorrow.
When all of these aspects of your life are humming along in a way that fuels you with energy, you will feel a difference mentally as well as physically.
Here’s a real-life example:
A client of mine said anxiety was one of her biggest daily stressors. We worked on sleep. We worked on nutrition. We made sure she moved her body in ways that felt good. After a few months I asked her, “Do you realize you haven’t said the word anxiety in one of our calls in 10 weeks?”
She hadn’t even noticed. She just felt better.
So, how can we help with your mindset? How can we work on your awareness?
Remember, you choose where to start. This is your boat and you are driving. We are here to help you steer.