How to Kick Butt in 2018!

James Colquhoun JAMES COLQUHOUN

The start of a new year is always a powerful time to make resolutions, set intentions and create goals to work toward as the year stretches out before you. It is a time to wipe the slate clean, embrace change and step into the year with a positive mindset. Unfortunately, no matter how good our intentions may be on January 1st, fast forward a few weeks and these steadfast goals tend to have been forgotten or displaced. Swept up in the day-to-day motions of life, these goals are placed at the bottom of the list in terms of importance. Research supports this common scenario and has shown that up to 80% of people who make new year resolutions swiftly fail to see them through.

When it comes to your health and wellbeing, no matter what your goals are, they are of utmost importance. The greatest wealth is health, and without that all other goals and intentions tend to come undone also. Often the inability to reach our health goals comes from a lack of information and an absence of support. Trying to self-diagnose a health issue or not discovering the root cause and only treating the symptoms is not a sustainable solution for vibrant health. This is where a health coach comes in. A qualified health coach will work with each client on a personal level, recognizing there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution when it comes to health and wellbeing. A health coach offers information, support and accountability and works alongside you to reach your own personal goals. Knowledge is power, and a health coach helps to cut through misinformation and empower you with the ability to take your health into your own hands with long term solutions.

So, are you ready to embark on the best year ever? If you are tired of your health holding you back, costing you a fortune, and intruding on all your other goals in life, consider bringing onboard the help of a health coach; your own personal advisor who has your best interests at heart. Discover a few more reasons why a health coach may be the missing link on your road to radiant wellness.

Accountability

Research has proven that people are more likely to achieve their goals when they are being held accountable. Having reliable support from someone you trust helps you to feel motivated, inspired, accepted and understood. Often it is too easy to find excuses and barriers to putting ourselves and our own health first. Work, family commitments, financial obligations and social interactions can all take the front seat when it comes to what is most important. Having to be accountable to someone who has a vested interest in your personal wellness and goals is often the key factor in staying on track and moving forward toward your personal pursuits.

Empowerment

When you make the choice to invest in your health, you are automatically investing in and upgrading all areas of your life, from your physical health to your relationships, career, and your emotional and spiritual wellness. Making your health a key priority is a courageous and bold step toward self-development on every level. The aim of a health coach is to offer you the knowledge and tools to take your health into your own hands. Feeling dependent on anonymous doctors and prescription medications often leaves you in the dark, feeling disempowered and helpless. A health coach works to empower you so you can become self-reliant and will arm you with everything you need to lead a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. A health coach will also help you to establish positive self-talk by identifying negative belief systems. By shifting your mindset to a more rational, logical and positive way of thinking, you become better equipped to deal with challenges and also more likely to stay motivated and committed to your own health and healing.

Lifelong Solutions

A health coach does not offer quick fix or Band-Aid solutions. The aim of a health coach is to get to the root of the issue that is causing distress or holding you back and treat that issue head on, rather than masking the symptoms, which is what Western medicine tends to focus on. A health coach focuses on helping you to create a healthy lifestyle utilizing a variety of holistic methods designed to create a system that supports you throughout your life. Health is a journey, not a destination, and setting up routines and practices that support your overall wellbeing prepares you for a long and robust life. A health coach will offer you everything you require to maintain this lifestyle long after the coaching program has ended.

Holistic Approach

A health coach will often have many tools in their toolbox to help you to achieve your personal health goals. Health coaches are often trained and certified in a variety of additional modalities such as personal training, reiki, nutrition, yoga, sound healing, massage or a number of other alternative practices. This offers a much greater scope of how they can help you to heal and thrive. Health isn’t just about the physical body, and often issues holding us back can be traced to emotional or behavioral issues that are deeply rooted within. A health coach will focus on enhancing, preserving and maintaining health, taking into consideration the emotional, physical, behavioral, nutritional and lifestyle factors that are needed to nurture and enhance overall well-being. With a personalized approach and a range of tools and practices at hand, a health coach can support you to reach your goals more effectively.

Clarity

Let’s face it- when it comes to health, it is a confusing world out there. Chances are if you are struggling with a health issue, you have been fed a plethora of advice, often contradictory in nature, that has left you feeling overwhelmed, confused, helpless and stuck. The general public is provided with a terrifying amount of misinformation on a daily basis. We are, in fact, bombarded with fear-based tactics that have ulterior motives other than keeping us well. A health coach has no other agenda than to support you to discover the very best version of yourself. A health coach will help to cut through this misinformation and decipher the contradictory advice in order to help you gain clarity, peace of mind and begin on a clear path forward. A health coach stays up to date with the most current information in the health arena and is on hand to honestly answer your questions to find effective solutions together.

Personalized

A health coach recognizes that you are a unique, one-of-a-kind person and therefore every program and treatment offered is done so on a personalized basis. Diets and medications are designed with a one-size-fits-all mentality, which in reality, simply doesn’t translate. Furthermore, your health journey is constantly changing and evolving, therefore as you meet short-term goals, a health coach will work with you to reassess and develop new goals to ensure constant progress and avoid stagnation. Perhaps along the way something doesn’t work for you - a health coach will help you to overcome hurdles, assess the forks in the road, and choose the best path forward to avoid setbacks and potholes that can be disheartening and disempowering. Each individual is different and requires a unique plan to healing. A health coach will meet you where you are on your journey and determine the most beneficial approach right alongside you.

Support

A health coach is like having your own personal cheerleader who is always there to keep you motivated and moving forward. They are also there to remind you of all the small wins along the way and to celebrate every step forward. A health coach wil help you move beyond limiting beliefs and barriers and help you to stay motivated during challenging periods. Facing obstacles is a natural part of any journey, yet working with a health coach gives you that extra support and guidance to help move through these blocks and will arm you with the skills you need and the best strategies to help you get back on track fast. A health coach also offers you a safe and confidential space to be honest and to simply open up. Often it can be challenging to talk to friends or even family when it comes to personal health issues. A health coach understands what you are going through and will support you in a non-judgmental and compassionate way.

At Food Matters, we are passionate about helping you achieve your health goals and empowering you to take your health into your own hands. Take the first steps to making 2018 your best, most radiant year yet.