What does (W).holistic Life Coach mean?
When I first told my husband I wanted to be a “holistic life coach”, he cocked his eyebrow and gave me a funny look. It was that moment that I understood that not everyone really understands what “holistic” means and that the term might need some clarity. The word holistic is sometimes confused with homeopathic medicine and natural or alternative forms of health care and while at times that might be true, the meaning is much broader than that.
The way that I explain it is by simplifying the idea with a simple letter — W. When you add a “W”, you begin to see the true meaning of the word, which is really more about focusing on the WHOLE—the whole person: mind, body and soul, and the whole life.
In order to cultivate a truly healthy person, you need to focus on creating health in their whole being and their whole life. The truth is every part of you is interconnected—and when you’re unwell in one of these areas and it remains untreated, it becomes an infection that can spread, and it’s only a matter of time before it begins to affect the others areas. Similarly, there are several elements required to live a life that feels happy, healthy and whole — health and wellness in your being (mind, body soul) are just two of those areas (Health and Spirituality), the others three are your career or calling, love & relationships and your finances. If you don’t focus on cultivating health in all of these areas, you risk leaving a hole. A hole in any of these areas prevents you from feeling whole — and from living and loving yourself and/or your life fully.
Ovet time, the addition of the W has come to take on deeper meanings to me as well…the “W” reminds me of my focus— the women I focus on helping and the 5 W’s I help them focus on:
1. Where are you right now and where do you want to be instead?
2. Who are you at their core and who will you be(come) when you embody your best self?
3. Why is that important to you? What will having that do for you?
4. What are they going to do about it?
5. & When?
Just imagine it’s a year from now, and you’re in the exact same place—still doing the same things, still feeling the same ways…
You don’t have to be.
If you’re ready to take the first step, I’m here for you.
My Approach to Holistic Health
I care about a holistic approach to health that values your mental and emotional wellness just as much as the physical! I do NOT believe in fad diets, calorie counting or restrictive eating. I believe in eating foods that nourish your body and give you energy, and finding a form of movement that makes you FEEL great, because if it feels like we’re punishing ourselves or we’re working out from a place of self loathing, we will not see the results we want. My health coaching uses belief and identity change in order to change your behaviours and habits, so that you can act differently without having to THINK about acting differently. I also believe that that whatever your health and fitness goals are, that true lasting change CANNOT be achieved if not endeavored from a place of self love.
Disclaimer: As health coaches we DO NOT replace medical assessment, directions and/or advice of health professionals. We are trained in coaching modalities and do not diagnose or treat disease, prescribe medication, or perform the functions of clinical occupations. Instead, we act as a companions to medically recommended or personally desired health changes. Think of us as a support system and an accountability partner because we know making change without support and accountability is difficult. It’s not that we don’t know what we need to do most of the time, but more that we have issues executing on it. We have a hard time getting unstuck from our current habits and/or getting new habits to stick. According to the Health Coach Institute ninety-five percent of our behavior occurs out of habit—either unconsciously or in reaction to external demands. That’s why the foundation of my coaching training is in habit change and is certified by the Canadian Health Coaching Alliance and accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).
NUTRITION - FUEL YOUR BODY, FUEL YOUR DREAMS
My belief is that you have the most success in sticking to healthy eating when you find foods you like that increase your energy and make you feel good in your mind and body. Using the eight dietary paradigms of the Health Coach Institute, I can help you with: losing weight, increasing energy, balancing blood sugar, resolving digestive issues, overcoming binge eating & emotional eating, cure cravings, stop chronic dieting and experiment to find what diet works best for your optimal health! I also recognize that many health challenges or things keeping you from making the needed changes are rooted in your beliefs and mindset so we use tools in these areas to root out the things keeping you stuck in order to create real habit change! In the end you’ll fall in love with your body & be comfortable again in your own skin!
MOVEMENT - RAISE YOUR ENERGY
The links between exercise, physical + mental health and energy are undisputed. It increases confidence, boosts serotonin, balances blood sugar and the list of benefits goes on. I probably don’t need to tell you, because you already know that you NEED to move your body! So many of us feel the weight of the “have-tos” and “shoulds”, we’re are trying to motivate ourselves the wrong way. When exercise seems more like a punishment, it develops a negative association and obviously you won’t want to do it. The biggest way to change this is to find something you actually enjoy doing! Movement should make you feel good. That means how you do it is completely up to you. The point is finding something that you love! Maybe you’re like me and you thought, I don’t “love” physical activity of any kind, but trust me when I tell you there’s something out there for everyone! Don’t worry, we’ll work with you to find it!
YOUR MENTAL & EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Your mental and emotional health is extremely important. Properly fueling and moving your body should help with this but mental and emotional health is about our ecology — our beliefs about what we should (or what it is safe to) do, have and be. Here we work on drawing awareness to harmful and negative thought patters, break through fears, and weed out limiting beliefs that may be impacting your self-love, self-esteem and self-worth. You will learn how to give yourself more compassion and accept and love yourself more fully. You will also work on cultivating your relationships with yourself and with others which goes a long way towards your mental and emotional health!
I’m ready to say yes to myself and my health.
8 Dietary Paradigms of the Health Coach Institute
1. There are as many "right" diets as there are people on the planet.
- This really just goes into the idea that there is no “right”way of doing anything, but especially eating. We eat to give ourselves energy and to feel good — we also have unique needs and lifestyles so the “diet” that works for you is going to be unique to you. Sure there are nutritional guidelines that can be followed but there are an infinite number of ways to arrive at the same place!
2. What's healthy for one person might not be healthy for YOU.
Everyone’s body has different needs and sensitivities. For example: While eggs may be a healthy protein source for some, it can cause inflammation or irritation in someone else. Kale might be great for one person but indigestible for another. What is right for anyone is a very personal experience that involves experimenting with the foods that make you FEEL good and give your body the energy it needs so that you can conquer your day like a badass!
3. Your body is the most powerful, least expensive and BEST dietary experimentation lab in existence.
Why? Because the body has an innate wisdom beyond any book or authority. Trust you “gut”—-literally and metaphorically. No matter which phase of life you are in, your body is the ultimate dietary authority.
4. Diets are generally only useful as references.
Nutritional research is changing all the time but what that research promotes really depends on who funds the study. Even unbiased research is consistently producing new findings and with it comes new diets. That is why there are hundreds if not thousands of different kinds of diets in existence. Many diets have some wisdom or benefits that can be gleaned from them but refer back to #1. - which is why they should be used only as reference.
5. Your diet changes as you change
People grow and change, and as they do, their body’s needs may change—and of course, if our body’s needs change, so should our diet. It’s important to pay attention to how different foods may affect you differently as you get older - whether it’s late onset allergies or other health concerns that may cause you to need to change what you eat.
6. Your RELATIONSHIP with food and your body impacts your health more powerfully than the food you eat.
Of course the food you eat can be a key component of your health but research suggests that HOW you think and feel about food and how and when you eat is also highly important. Our mental, emotional and physical state can not only affect the food choices we make but can also impact how much you eat and how much you breath or chew your food while eating. These can also have an impact on your digestion and wreak havoc. Any distressed mental or emotional state can impact how your body breaks down and absorbs the food you feed it.
7. Every symptom, craving or behaviour around food has a POSITIVE INTENTION; therefore, symptoms, cravings or behaviours are not the problem, they are the best SOLUTION you have come up with so far. Whether you have a menstrual craving for chocolate or an emotional I want to sit on the floor of my kitchen and eat a whole tub of ice cream” kind of moment, or you struggle with a more severe eating disorder — your symptoms, cravings and behaviours are serving a purpose - they’re trying to guide you to something that needs to be addressed in one of the big five areas of you life.
8. Nourishment is about much more than just food.
Your body craves nourishment but nourishment is also about helping your body slow down and get the nutrition it needs such as vitamin Z (sleep), vitamin R (relaxation), vitamin D (sunlight) and O2 and H2O (oxygen and water)—which can be achieved by getting outside in nature. Nourishment is also about nourishing the body through movement and nourishing our mind and soul with creative activities and things such as reading, learning and connecting with those we love. All of these acts and so much more also nourish your body in their own ways, and are just as important as the food you eat and the way we move.