![Recommend [CoachRick]](http://s3.amazonaws.com/arkayne-media/img/badge/logo-recommend-badge-medium.png){kind=icon}
I get to enjoy going in to work every day and talking with some of the most interesting people. Many of them I am sure think I over-analyze stuff all the time. After all I am the computer geek so it is natural to be accused of this often. I am also the guy that talks way too much about weight loss, health, and fitness to make most people happy.
- Image via Wikipedia
Today was no exception. I was talking about the trip up to the summer camp on the bus with the “at risk” kids on their way to be treated to loving one on one care all week. I was then asked if I “had to” go back up on Friday to bring them back. Which I responded with “No I don’t have to, I get to!” Well you know what I meant was the response. To which I explained there is a difference.
The difference is in how you approach the task. I hear it all the time from clients. The ones that “have to” do something consider the sacrifice and the work they are doing as a chore or an unwanted task. It is all about the food they miss or how tough it is to stay on track. The one’s that “get to” consider it a chance to improve their lives and their health. The things they get to do are simply part of the process towards being a better, healthier individual.
You see I am blessed. I get to go to a gym 3-5 times a week. I get to walk 2 miles during my lunches around a beautiful park and river run. I get to pay attention to what I eat. I get to compete with other walkers and runners after years of hating to run or walk any distance. I get to go up on Friday and see the faces of a group of kids that this week may be the only week this year that they feel really appreciated and blessed. They will be excited, they will be energized and they may even be a handful. I am sure that it will be another blessing to be at their service and perhaps find one more opportunity to encourage and bless them on the way.
So if that is over analyzing then I will continue to do that to. Cause, I get to choose the way I think, the way I feel, the way I handle challenge and the way I handle blessings. You see I have found out it is a lot more fun to see life as a choice instead of a “have to”. I come at it feeling empowered and motivated, instead of repressed and forced. I get to enjoy life! Hey maybe even tomorrow I will get to write another story from the joy of having a job and having people think I am cut from a different cloth than many.
To continue the series I want to address the people who you will want to coach. If you are reading this series as a possible client you may see yourself in one of the categories mentioned.
First Timers
This is a group of folks that have decided for the first time in their life to really take on their health. They are ready to take an honest look or have been motivated recently to take care of themselves. Often one would associate this with age, but I see a trend that it is about awareness of their personal health condition. They may have recently visited their doctor, taken an honest look in the mirror, or even heard someone say something when they thought they weren’t listening. Something has them thinking about needing to make a change without any knowledge of how to get started, more or less to finish the journey successfully. They need someone with the expertise to do it right and teach them how to make it stick!
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Yo-Yo’s
I was one of these so I have particular affection for them. This person is someone that tries to lose weight, in fact often has tried many times. They may have had some measure of success. The hard thing for them is the ability to find it inside to try one more thing. Why would they think this diet would work for them, everything else failed at some point, why this one? They don’t understand why and they don’t know about metabolism and diet, they just know they have really tried and failed. They need someone that understands they are serious about it, they just struggle with something that keeps them from succeeding. Often they are the hardest to get to try again. They need an uplifting coach to believe in them and motivate them to give it effort and determination that this time they will succeed.
The Expert
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
This bunch is a hard bunch to even get to work with. They know it all. They have read every book. They have tried everything, and yet they have not reached optimal health. Another version of these wonderful people show up at trade fairs and run when they see a weight loss booth. They know nothing will work for them. I was also part of this group. I was convinced that nothing would ever work and that somehow I had messed up my body so bad that I would never be able to lose weight. I knew that there was no magic pill, no patch, no abs system, and it seemed like there was nothing that would work. If there was certainly I would have found it already, after all wasn’t I the real expert on what would work for me. This group has one question to ask them: Are you happy with the results you are getting now? If the answer is yes, they automatically become un-coachable. To be coach you have to be willing to admit you don’t have all the answers.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=afc3b159-7f4f-4719-9677-bcb6158be9d3)
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
It doesn’t matter if you are thinking of being a coach or a client of a coach it is helpful to understand the reason for the need of a coach. I hear it all the time. I can do weight loss and achieve health on my own. I have one honest answer to that. If you can then why aren’t you? When you look in the mirror are you happy with what you see? Why aren’t you at your optimal health then?
You see in today’s faced paced world many of us don’t have time to focus on all the education we need to optimize our health. I know personally I have worked on this journey for 20 years before I made the decision to focus all my spare time in that direction. Sure I had to give some things up. What I have gotten back was well worth the journey. Now it is a focus and one of my biggest purposes in life. Many of my clients simply can’t devote the time. Coaches are primarily self-made, self-developed. They work on themselves continually, learning, growing, and becoming more capable and competent over the years.
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
People want results. They want the most effective use of their time and commitment to their health. A good coach can make all the difference if they are wasting their time or getting the most out of it. Why do you think when people yo-yo diet they often fail their attempts to lose weight and keep it off? It is because they don’t understand what is going on within their body when they diet.
Many give up even before they lose any amount of weight because they can’t figure out how to create a plan for themselves. They simply don’t have the time for it. But do they have time for the illness that will follow if they don’t do it? No, this is where you come in as a coach. You spend the time to sort through the noise of why they are where they are now and how to get to where they want to be. You help to create an individual plan for their success. You bring the panel of experts with you to make it all work.
After you get them going then your role shifts a bit. You still measure and adjust the plan, however your main role is to believe in them and inspire them to be accountable to their plan. Your goal is to get them to believe in themselves. It is important to work towards always raising that level of belief in themselves. This by the way is another area where many dieters have given up.
Look for the next in our Why Be a Health Coach – Part 3 Who to Coach.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=7df5096a-ce78-4139-a04e-d4359cb63fa6)
Don’t read this set of articles, if you don’t enjoy working with people. Don’t read them if you haven’t got time to spend with people. Last but not least, don’t read these articles if you don’t believe that you can make an impact on others performance. A coach has to be willing to go beyond their comfort zone and learn they can’t control others and they have to think differently.
- Image via Wikipedia
Many people who experience some level of success have a coach or a mentoring relationship. Health and fitness are no different. A health coach teaches people to build on their successes, work on their skills, come up with a plan, monitor important milestones, and stay on top of the feelings that go along with it.
When talking about success on any journey we have to remember that success is never an accident. It takes planning, training, commitment and monitoring. The dictionary defines a coach as someone who trains people in order for them to prepare. Wouldn’t we prepare them for success? What better success could be achieved that optimal health and fitness? My goal as a health coach is to improve your performance in all of the areas of health. Do it in a planned and tested way and offer guidance. But like all forms of coaching, the steps of the journey are still up to the person being coached.
In order to facilitate success a coach should have a range of learning experiences to draw from to help their client bring about improvement. I honestly believe that the most successful coaches are either very teachable themselves (intense observers and learners) or they have walked the same journey before themselves. Take a coach that has both and you have a power-packed combination of skills to assist and guide others.
Check Back for Part 2 – Why be a Health Coach? Health Coaches Role
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3f67a76f-2fbb-4186-8e8f-14f53e6e5b6e)
- Image via Wikipedia
Yesterday was my birthday. It was a day of mixed emotions and feelings as birthdays normally are for me. My wife remembered as did many of my friends on Facebook. My son remembered by giving me an extra special dose of a hard time. My mother chose to be mad enough with me not to call so I had to deal with those emotions. Then at work the usual happened, I fell through the crack of the usual card and well wishes system we have there. All in all it was a very normal day, some sweetness, some sorrow and a lot of gratefulness for the good things in life.
But this morning I am reflecting on my own age and where I am. I am coming up on the first year anniversary of my 100 pound weight loss. The middle of April last year I went back to eating what I wanted and how I wanted. I looked at that this morning and realized after another year in my life I am in better shape than I was 30 years ago. I can do things that I couldn’t do physically and mentally. I am stronger all the way around. I have given myself the gift of life and as a weight loss coach I am able and willing to give it to others.
This time last year I felt like I had arrived. I had reached my big goal in life. Now I realize I am just getting started. This month alone I started working with three new health coaches. These people will join me in making a difference to people. Being there with them in a journey that can often challenge people to their core. The rewards are there each step of the way but it often feels like a hill that cannot be climbed. It is great to walk side by side with some one and say, of course you can do this, look how far you have come already.
Today then I am grateful for all the new friends I have. I am grateful for my journey even when that last step might seem a bit harder. And I am grateful that my spirit has moved me in the direction it has. I can’t express the joy I have being involved with so many good friends and people that are taking on the same journey. Optimal health is a journey, weight loss is just a beginning. Loosing weight is just the start of the search for better health and happiness. Come and join us!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ec950bc6-f5fa-430b-b0c6-c4630a0b2ed3)
Image via Wikipedia
I had an experience yesterday that I won’t go into a lot of detail with, but I found myself severely disappointed and feeling let down. Perhaps you know the feeling. You work really hard during the week. You eat right, you work-out as planned, and you even pass right by that tempting desert. Yet at the end of the week you don’t see the results that you had great expectations for. Well this disappointment wasn’t weight related, it was people related. It also didn’t involve days, weeks, or even months worth of work. It involved years! Thank goodness I have had this last year to learn a few things. Otherwise I might have been even more crushed by the results.
- Image by ninahale via Flickr
First Lesson: No matter what you think the results should be, they are what they are. You have to dig down to find that hero inside to keep going. After all why do you do what you do? Is it the short term results or the long term journey that you are after. For instance in weight loss. Loosing weight and adding years to your life is a long term goal. In the scheme of things does it matter if it moved today? No what matters is your consistency of doing the right stuff to reach the long term goal.
Second Lesson: Don’t count on anyone else to get you where you want to be. After all they are so focused on themselves they might not even give you another thought. Now don’t confuse this with coaching and mentoring. They are essential to success. It is just a clear statement that if it is meant to be it is up to me! I will need to take the steps each day to achieve that dream I have. I need to stay on my purpose.
Last Lesson: It is not if there will be disappointments in a journey. There will days when it seems like everything is going as planned. The scale is moving, people are noticing, you are feeling stronger, and you make all the right choices towards your goal. Then there will be days that everything seems to go in the opposite direction. It is on the days that you feel like nothing is changing, you question yourself on if you will ever get there. Remember this one thing: “What the mind can conceive it can and will achieve.” Stay faithful to your journey and mindfully take each step. You will get there!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=0b445998-a2bf-4134-bd3c-4b15e9862045)
On my last post I talked about the many reasons I (and many I meet) use to not even begin to work towards weight loss or physical fitness. They are the excuses that kept me from taking an honest look several years earlier. I am not saying anything about the way we make choices other than to address it from a single question: Why? We have a society here in America that second only to maybe Great Britain and it is becoming the most obese society in the world. We top the research in the world in figuring out that obesity kills and robs the quality of our lives, yet the numbers are still climbing. I know I was one of those statistics. We look for the magic solution or the right surgery for the quick fix. We don’t want to look at the behavior.
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
In part two I wanted to address exercise. You know the saying “No Pain No Gain” I used this as a mantra when I was at 297 lbs and trying desperately to loose weight. I would repeat that I was just one more workout away from getting strong enough to keep going. Facts where I was too heavy, was pushing too hard, and I needed to figure it out. Meanwhile my joints where killing me because of all the extra weight and my blood pressure was still shooting up through the roof. Finding a way to drop the weight saved my life. Keeping it off and keep reaching for the right weight was the next level of determination.
On to workout/exercise excuses that I hear when I talk to people about my life these days. And yes I have used them as well in the past.
“You only live once – Hell enjoy life and stop worrying about when you are going to die.” Now I am not a big fan of worry and self loathing, however I found out if you use this one long enough the quality of life goes down pretty quickly. What is enjoyable about having to say “No I don’t have the energy!” or “Sorry I am hurting all over my body and I am just not up to it!”. Or my favorite one “Hold on I need to catch my breath!” This one always came out when I felt my heart thumping through my chest and wondered if it was going to burst. Truth – You only live once – Why not enjoy it with a healthy body and an active life. Being a couch potato isn’t all it is cracked up to be. There is a whole lot more fun out there waiting to be had.
“The weather sucks today, guess I can’t do my workout.” This is a great excuse. I could use it when it was too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry, and even if the wind was blowing or not. This one only fails on the perfect day. As long as you never define the perfect day to some one that cares about you, then you can pull this one out almost any day. It fits in well with “I didn’t sleep well last night and I am too tired, besides it is raining out.” Fact was the gym was less then a 10 minute drive from the house and inside. Funny thing about the gym it is almost always the same temperature and lighting settings. This last year I found out that you can do a lot right in your living room to get fit. Oh and running on a cold wet morning even has some great moments. If nothing else you know you have joined the ranks of people that realize that every step towards health matters.
Image by ninahale via Flickr
“I travel all the time.” Now this was not one of mine. I do hear it from people when they ask about the changes they see in my physical condition and here about my workouts these days. Well if you fit into this one there are portable resistance bands, inflatable balls for all kinds of exercises, etc etc. More and more hotels have exercise rooms or in Seattle I even found a hotel with an agreement with Ballys gym to allow us to work out there while staying. As you might guess this one doesn’t work for me either.
“I just had a baby.” Well I can honestly say I have never used this one! I have heard it more than once however. Some good friends of ours had their new baby boy last year when I was in the middle of my weight loss phase. And she was back at it right away. She had to work past many of the other excuses because of the baby not getting on schedule right away, odd sleeping patterns, etc. She and my wife just did a walk with a local woman’s fitness challenge where the baby carriage was pushed up hill and they both (baby and mother) had a great time. All because she worked out before the baby was born and got right back at it afterward.
“I’m too (fill in the blank here ..)” The universal I am too this or that excuse. Let me give you an example of some of my old I’m too’s. I am too old. I am too fat/heavy. I am too out of shape. etc. etc. What it really was I was too wrapped up in what wasn’t working and not find things that would work for me. I relied on having the excuse to keep from having to do the work. Sure I worked out, heck I even tried many diets. I just never took the time to stick with it till I found the right combination. I relied on what I knew and it wasn’t till I found some one with some answers to help me that I got started in the right direction. From there it was like gliding down hill, the longer you stick with it the faster you go.
Point of all this excuse busting is that excuses will change the quality of life you live tomorrow. They will rob you of your health. They will steal time away from you with your loved ones. They will take your life breath away until you don’t have the breath to speak them. Maybe even get you to the point you want to quit trying. Time to find something that you want bad enough that you will work to experience more of it. Maybe that is a relationship, or something you love doing. Maybe it is a purpose you always wanted to full fill to some how change the world around you. But find it as the pull to live longer and healthier. Start with help if you need it, but start. Baby steps or leaps, the only thing that matters is the journey anyway. GO FOR IT!
Loading...