Don’t Laugh – I Have A Health Coach

Yes, I admit it – I have a health coach.

I feel like I’m making some sort of AA confession here. Hi, I’m Cheryl and I have a health coach. “Hi Cheryl”, says the group.

When I tell people about my health coach, Kathy (whom I am in love with, by the way), they kind of give me a weird look. I guess this is a foreign concept to most – and I can see why. When most people are not feeling well they go to their doctor and their doctor gives them some prescription for something and they take it (without question) and move on. I, on the other hand, will resist a doctor visit with all the power I can muster. If something is wrong with me I do what any normal functioning crazy person would do – I look up my symptoms online! And then I find some sort of natural remedy, if I can, and fix myself. For me, doctor visit = last resort!

So, if I am so adverse to a doctor visit, how in the world did I end up with a health coach (which is even a little hippy dippy for me)?

Cue wavy dream sequence…It all started with a little emergency room visit situation some months back. I was sitting at dinner with friends when I noticed that my lips were making it slightly difficult to chew. As in, they were swelling to epic proportions! My dear friends (possibly sweet, possibly evil – I haven’t yet decided) swore that I was fine – no swelling detected on their part – LIARS! Within 30 minutes my lips (and entire face) looked like I was recovering from some type of plastic surgery gone horribly wrong! And my whole body was on fire – I thought that I was literally going to crawl out of my own skin at any moment. By the time Shea had driven me to an urgent care facility I was in really bad shape. I walked to the check in desk and was greeted by a lovely gentleman that once he laid eyes upon me, gave a little “yahh” noise that I’m assuming was a barely controlled “yikes”, pointed to a door, and said, “Go straight in there”! (You know the Seinfeld episode where Kramer sees the ugly baby? Yeah, that’s how he looked at me – it was pretty much like that.)

Once inside the ER room it was apparent that the full body “fire” I was experiencing was actually full body hives! I remember bits and pieces from this point on. I remember gently lifting the back of my shirt for the nurse to take a peak. Shea says I practically ripped my bra and shirt off. I remember walking gracefully across the room when I started feeling dizzy. My husband says I crawled. I thought we were in and out of there in 30 minutes. He says it was more like 2 hours. Who’s right? I would typically say I was, but in this case I may have to take his word for it.

Long story short – I apparently had some sort of allergic reaction to the combination of items that were in the (super healthy) shakes that I had ingested over the past 3 days from the detox that I was doing (thanks Dr Oz!). They were all vegetables and fruits by the way – things that I would normally eat, just in quantities and combinations that I wasn’t used to.  You see, I was trying to be “healthy” and apparently I was doing “healthy” quite wrong.

So the friend that I was at dinner with told me that her mom was a health coach and I should probably go see her – so I did.

Did I need my health coach to tell me to exercise regularly?

No.

Did I need my health coach to tell me to eat more vegetables?

No.

Did I need my health coach to tell me to drink water more regularly?

No.

Did I need my health coach to tell me to tell me to get more sleep?

No.

You see – I know all of these things! And I didn’t need to be taught any of it. But what I did need was the accountability that my health coach brings! I needed someone to answer to – because I probably wouldn’t stay consistent without her. (Let’s be honest – there is NO WAY that I would be consistent without her!) I know that every other Sunday night at 8pm I’m going to have to tell her if I stayed the course – or if I totally blew it. And because I know that I have to answer to her I do what I’m supposed to.

Since the first meeting with my health coach my health has greatly improved. I am eating better and exercising almost daily. I even make my children feel my arm muscles on a regular basis – yes, it’s true! I have less frequent headaches – once every few weeks as opposed to once every couple of days prior to our first visit. I get more concentrated work done in a shorter amount of time. I now catch myself when I start to stray and easily make adjustments to get right back on track. I generally feel happier! It’s meant all the difference in my health and well being!

As you can see, I strongly believe in the accountability of coaching! Business, Personal, Health – if there is any area of your life that you struggle with or simply want to do better at, you should consider receiving coaching in that area.

Sometimes it takes time – sometimes the results are immediate. I made a 6 month commitment to my health coaching program and I suggest you make at least the same time commitment to whatever coaching program you choose. Any less and it’s easy to get discouraged and call it quits. Stick with it and see the process through. You’re worth it – and your success depends on it!