Health Coaching?

Coaching is one of the fastest growing industries. Recently an associate of mine quipped, “Yeah, the economy takes a downward turn and suddenly everyone is a coach of this, that or another.” At first I was taken aback, but then after some thought I realized that from one perspective that statement has some truth behind it. Over the last few weeks I made a conscious effort to keep an eye for how many coach-type emails, advertisements, etc., came my way. Let’s just say I stopped keeping count, which gave me cause for concern—especially when it comes to one particular area of coaching: Health Coaching.

We are given one body this lifetime, and to put the longevity and wellness of it in the hands of an individual who is not properly trained can be scary. Further, there is no real regulatory body overseeing the coaching industry. Yes, we have the International Coaching Federation and the International Association of Coaches that most certified coaches register themselves through, but I know that having a niche such as health coaching means there doesn’t seem to be any real criteria around how to discern a true health coach and one who went through a weekend crash course certification. Let’s take a few minutes to at least give you a few guidelines to look for when considering partnering with a health coach.

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Fitness and the Working Mom

Is what seems the impossible really possible?

We are inundated with fitness tips – the quick fix, the fast track, the best diet pill – and metabolism boosters, and the hot subject lines keep on rolling. But how effective are they, and for those moms who work full or part time, how do you fit it in while keeping any sanity about yourself?

Difficult? Yes! Impossible? No! Challenging? Yes! Impractical? No!

We can banter about what excuses override the benefits till the cows come home. But in the end, it all boils down to how important being physically healthy is to you personally. This doesn’t mean being an example to other mothers or your children but rather to yourself. You’re your mental health and your longevity of life as well as the quality of life you are living.

Prioritizing physical exercise (even 15 minutes three times a week) can seem absolutely impossible to those working mothers who also act as a roller coaster behind their children all day. It doesn’t mean the fitness isn’t important to them; it shows us they put a higher value on their children than their own well-being. The fitness tips they read are not necessarily wrong; they are just not right for them. One of the challenges that exists among the mothers who have a completely scheduled calendar is that they forget to put in time for themselves BEFORE scheduling their children’s hectic schedules. It isn’t even that these moms don’t want to change their routine. Even if the changes are highly beneficial to them, they just don’t see the value in themselves great enough to make physical exercise a priority.

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