Is Working with a Nutrition Coach Right for You?
Have you tried and failed changing your diet before? Do you start on a new program full steam ahead only to peter out soon after? These are just two examples of situations where you benefit from a nutrition coach.
Getting healthier means something different for all of us. Our reasons for wanting to work with someone will likely be different as well.
You might be wondering if your reasons justify hiring a nutrition coach to work with you on your health goals. I’m here to confidently tell you – they are. Your desires and motivations for wanting to feel better about your diet and lifestyle will always be important.
Let’s talk about what a nutrition coach is and why you want to work with one. And make sure you also check out the Sugar Free January Challenge for 2025 post!
What is a Nutrition Coach?
A nutrition coach is someone who is educated and trained in nutrition. They have the knowledge and skills to help you optimize your health. They assist in improving your wellness through changes to your eating habits. They also work on modifying lifestyle behaviors.
Well-trained nutrition coaches take into account your medical history and current medical concerns. They also work with your eating preferences to build a plan that works in your life.
Who Should Work With a Nutrition Coach?
If you have specific nutrition goals, working with a nutrition coach will help you achieve those goals.
Some of the most common goals individuals go to nutrition coaches with include:
- I want to lose weight
- I want to feel better and/or healthier
- I want to be fit and active like I used to be
- I want to improve my relationship with food
- I want to ditch diets and find a way of eating that is sustainable for me
- I want to stop worrying about everything I eat and eat more intuitively
- I want to improve my health
- I want to live a long, healthy life
A good nutrition coach will guide you through each of these factors. They will assist you in formulating the ideal plan that works for you. They will use their knowledge and skills to help you move incrementally from your current state to your ideal self. They will help you navigate the inevitable bumps in the road. This journey leads to your healthiest self, whatever that means to you.
5 Benefits of Working With a Nutrition Coach
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving your health. Different strategies work for different people, especially when it comes to overall health and wellness.
We don’t all need the same things, and certain strategies are only necessary or applicable to certain people. There are, however, numerous benefits to working on a personalized plan with a coach versus going it alone.
Here are 5 benefits of working one-on-one with a nutrition coach:
1. Personalization
Diet and lifestyle changes that work for one person may not work for another. When you work one-on-one with me, we work collaboratively to find what is right for you.
Using information unique to you helps determine the best strategies. These strategies will move you closer to reaching your personal goals.
Your personalized plan is influenced by factors such as:
- Height, weight, age, and gender
- Medical history and medical concerns
- Current medications and supplements
- Consultation notes
When relaying your medical history to me, remember that there’s no such thing as too much information! The more I know about you, the better and more effective your plan will be.
2. Support
Consider me as your personal support system throughout your journey. I am here to listen, understand, and empathize. I will ask questions and offer ideas. All of these will help you get closer to hitting your goals.
There’s nothing like the support you receive from someone who gets to know you and your journey better. I am dedicated to your goals. I am committed to helping you reach them in an approachable and sustainable way. I offer the support you wouldn’t receive from a less hands-on approach.
As your nutrition coach, I am not only your coach but also your personal cheerleader. I celebrate your wins alongside you and review your struggles and obstacles in a judgment-free way.
It’s helpful to have someone reminding you that those wins are moving you closer to your end goal. The struggles and obstacles also serve to provide insight into what isn’t working so that you can adjust and reset. There is no such thing as failure in the journey – only ways to learn and grow.
We are all human beings sharing similar challenges. More often than not, I can empathize with the things you’re experiencing. I am genuinely happy when you succeed. I am also someone to lean on when you occasionally miss the mark.
3. Accountability
This is one of the top reasons people hire a coach in the first place.
That’s because knowing what to do is one thing. Doing it is quite another.
Being accountable to someone else helps you follow through. This could be a coach or a friend who’s on a similar journey.
Accountability can often be the missing piece for starting long-lasting change.
Reaching your goals isn’t just about building knowledge and gathering information, it’s about transformation. Having someone who is asking the hard questions, holding you responsible for reaching goals, and frequently checking in to measure your progress is the key to your success.
Crushing your goals starts with building and staying committed to them utilizing the strategies that we discuss together. I will be there to give you gentle nudges and reminders when you need them for you to keep moving forward.
4. Building Healthy Habits
Building habits over time that you can make a part of your routine in the months and years ahead is truly one of the most successful markers of progress on your health journey.
Working one-on-one with me, you will implement small changes that lead to big results over time. The best part? These changes aren’t as daunting or impossible as you may think.
To accomplish this, habits need to be created TOGETHER.
Coaching is collaborative because it is much more effective to make a plan with input from you. Otherwise the plan is more than likely to fail.
For example:
- I tell you to batch cook on Sunday, but you don’t even know how to boil an egg. The plan has no chance of getting off the ground!
- I advise you to keep things simple and eat the same thing over and over. You sit down to eat dinner with your family and there is a collective groan when you serve chicken AGAIN!
Your plan needs to address what you can do and what you want to do.
5. Make changes based on outcomes
I can offer specific recommendations around your unique challenges (and we all have unique challenges). Plus, I can check in with you to make sure the solutions are working.
If those solutions aren’t working then we can brainstorm new strategies you can implement.
This personalized solution can be very helpful. It is beneficial if you haven’t had much success with a “right out of the box” approach.
My recommendations are almost like experiments. I’ll ask myself questions like:
- Did my clients perform their assigned tasks?
- Is it helping them with their goals?
- Are they enjoying themselves?
Like any good scientist, I won’t judge the outcome. We just continue moving forward and adjust your plan along the way.
Taking the Next Step
The next step to see how the above list can benefit you and your personal health journey is to contact me about a one-on-one evaluation.
As a nutrition coach, I talk to people like you every day. People who read things on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and find themselves confused and discouraged. I help people like you navigate the information online so you can find out what works for you and let the rest go.
If you are ready to regain your health and well-being, contact me at melmcadams@aol.com.
Pricing
Initial consultation plus coaching:
6 weeks of coaching plus bloodwork interpretation with general suggestions on improving markers
$200 + the cost of lab work
This includes an initial phone consult, background information questionnaire, and weekly phone calls to check in.
Monthly coaching after the initial consult:
$150 per month
or
$400 for 3 months
