Hi, I’m Heather! You may know me mostly as a self-help and wellness blogger, but I’m also a Holistic Health & Accountability Coach. Since I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I’m able to coach people threw a variety of health concerns and wellness goals – whether they be emotional, mental, or physical.
As an Holistic Health Coach, I take a full-body approach to health and wellness. I understand that every single aspect of our lives nurtures us, from the food on our plates, to our finances and relationships, to the amount of joy we have in our lives. If even one aspect of our lives is out of whack, we’re off balance and unable to be our highest selves. (And we often try to comfort ourselves through this unbalance by doing things like eating unhealthy foods, drinking, smoking, Netflix binging, or compulsive shopping).
As an Holistic Health Coach, I work with people on every aspect of their lives so that they can fully thrive. Because health is not a destination, but rather a vehicle to achieve happiness, life-long goals, and aspirations.
Need a health coach?
If you ask me, I think that every single person in the world could stand to have a health coach. As I said on my home page, our modern-day life -while wonderful- poses many challenges to our mental health and physical wellbeing. Think about it….
- We sit for more than 40 hours a week in cramped office chairs
- We eat foods filled with sugar that are created to be addicting
- Our products are overflowing with chemicals and pesticides
- We have text neck from staring at screens all day
- We hardly exercise
- We eat more inflammatory foods than we do fruits and veggies
And those are just a few examples.
But here’s the real kicker: “People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.” – Wendell Berry
It’s no wonder why Americans are unhealthy and chronic diseases are rising! It’s no wonder why we’re “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dying.” We’re creating extensive health problems for ourselves and then we’re put on prescription medication to manage symptoms rather than treat the root cause of disease.
Then when you factor in our heavy technology use and culture of treating people as if their value is based on their productivity, that only furthers our health problems in America by creating enormous amounts of stress and anxiety.
That’s why having a Holistic Health Coach is so beneficial!
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION WITH ME
So, what is a health coach?
As an Health Coach, I support and encourage you in meeting your personal wellness goals. I am not a nutritionist or dietician. I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. Instead, I work with clients to focus all of the aspects of life that nourish them: Food, Relationships, Spirituality, Career, and Physical Activity. I can provide general recommendations and strategies for improving your health and encourage you and assist you through your own health journey.
Because while many people know what they SHOULD be doing for their health and wellbeing, they are often overwhelmed by the amount of change they need to create in their lives and need assistance and accountability in implementing small lifestyle changes one at a time – that’s where I come in.
As a Holistic Health Coach, I can help you accomplish any of your personal health and wellness goals including:
- Finding a balance between work and home life
- Losing weight to feel confident in your body
- Finding relief with chronic digestive issues
- Incorporating more joy in your life
- Managing depression and anxiety
- Getting a hold on negative self-talk
- Crowding out unhealthy snacks and meals with better options
- Creating a spiritual practice
- Mending stressful relationships
- Exploring self-help and self-discovery
- Finding regular exercises (that are enjoyable)
- Developing a self-care practice
- Managing your time to decrease stress
- Going dairy-free, fragrance-free, sugar-free, etc.
- Developing a daily meditation practice
- Actually wearing your yoga pants to a yoga class!
The list goes on and on.
I am NOT a Doctor, Nutritionist, or Therapist. I cannot diagnose, treat, or cure medical conditions or even take responsibility for another person’s health and wellness journey. Rather, I guide and support the development of progress towards personal goals through making low-risk recommendations and healthy habits one week at a time.
What’s the difference between a health coach and a nutritionist?
There’s tons of confusion about the difference between a nutritionist and a health coach. The main difference is that a nutritionist tells you WHAT to eat and what NOT to eat – they give you a list.
They point out how many macros you should be getting and they give you rules to follow such as “the amount of meat on your plate should be about the size of your palm.” Nutritionists can be extremely helpful for some, so I’m discounting the role that they play in helping people.
But guess what? The average person already knows that advice!
Everyone knows that they should eat leafy greens and exercise daily, and not smoke, and choose colorful foods, and avoid sugar. They know they need to be hydrated; they know they need to practice self-care; they know they need to meditate. (The problem is that they’re not doing it). I don’t know about you, but I learned all of the basic wellness advice back in my eighth-grade health class, maybe even before then. If health education is all that we needed, there wouldn’t be a global health crisis.
The problem is NOT that we don’t know what to do to be healthy and create positive change in our lives. The problem is that most people don’t have accountability, help, and support!
As a health coach, I provide that support and teach you how to actually incorporate these new habits in our lives and implement them ONE AT A TIME so that they are sustainable.
The second difference between me and a nutritionist is that I take a WHOLE-istic approach to wellness because every aspect of our lives nourish us. I work with clients on everything from food, finances, spirituality, home cooking, creativity, home environment, social life, and more. Because when your primary food (relationships, spirituality, physical activity, and career) is abundant, you thrive and actual food stays secondary. Similarly, if you ate all the kale in the world and exercised two hours a day, but had toxic relationships, bad finances, and a job you hate, you still wouldn’t be able to feel good.
The last thing that sets me apart from a nutritionist or even a medical professional is that I’m not an authoritarian on health and wellness. I’m not going to tell you what to do and what NOT to do as if I know it all – Psh, I don’t. I’m a real person just like you who’s on my own wellness journey. For that reason, I offer a safe and non-judgmental space to discuss health stumbling blocks and see improvements in your well-being.
Why YOU Need a Health Coach
I would be willing to bet that RIGHT NOW you can think of at least one thing that you SHOULD be doing to improve your health. Heck, I bet you can think of at least three. Think about it for a second.
What is it?
- Do you need to start exercising and lose 20 pounds?
- Do you need to move to a new location because the town you’re living in is making you unhappy and fueling your bad habits?
- Do you need to give up fast food and learn how to cook?
- Do you need to meditate daily?
- Do you need to stop drinking Pepsi and start drinking water?
- Do you need to switch career paths because your work is sucking the life out of you?
Whatever it may be, I know that you’re smart and that you know WHAT you have to do to be healthier and happier. So why haven’t you done it?
While you know intellectually what you have to do to improve your health and wellbeing, it’s extremely difficult to take that leap because it involves breaking habits you’ve had for 5, 10, 20 years while also setting realistic and achievable goals.
Lastly, you need support and accountability to make these changes happen! You need someone to really hear your health concerns and work with you to make those goals a reality. NOT just repeat the same health advice you’ve heard over and over.
I can work with you no matter where you are in your journey to set realistic goals, tracking your progress, and provide recommendations that will work for YOUR life and YOUR body.
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION WITH ME
My Integrative Health and Wellness Approach
I believe that humans are nourished by many different aspects of our lives, not just what we put on our plates. In fact, I believe that we are nourished by 12 aspects of our lives equally and this is called “The Circle of Life.” These aspects include spirituality, creativity, finances, career, education, health, physical activity, home cooking, home environment, relationships, social life, and joy. If you’re struggling in even ONE aspect of your life, you can’t fully thrive.
- Have you ever noticed that you can’t bring 100% to your relationships and be your best self with the people we love if you’re overwhelmed and freaked out about money? Or if you never get a chance to express yourself creatively or have that spiritual practice that fills you up with joy?
- Have you noticed that healthy home cooking is the last thing on your list of priorities if you have a toxic home environment?
- Have you noticed that you feel anxious and overwhelmed when you don’t get the chance to exercise or meditate?
Each aspect of the Circle of Life nourishes us and is equally important.
I also believe that we’ve been programmed to think that health is a destination. Health is not the end goal. Health is a vehicle to being happy and fulfilled, becoming the best version of yourself, and accomplishing your goals. Without it, you’re not able to accomplish the things that you want most in this lifetime.
BOOK A FREE CONSULTATION WITH ME
My Coaching Programs
In order to help you get control of your health again, I offer a six-month and three-month health coaching program conducted in person (at my home office or coffee shop) or over the phone. OR a weekly accountability coaching program conducted over the phone.
Six-Month Health Coaching Program
This program is meant for people who are looking for dramatic change in their lives and who need more direction and help achieving wellness goals. It’s meant for people who are looking for more guidance and communication about self-help, self-discovery, and self-care practices OR are concerned about deeper ingrained habits, health problems, mindset, and negative self-talk. In this program there is a much greater emphasis on Primary Foods and helping you to implement baby steps to achieve larger goals.
Together we will:
- Have bi-weekly coaching sessions to keep you on track with your goals
- Focus on all of the different aspects of your primary and secondary foods
- Come with up 1-3 action steps TOGETHER that you can realistically accomplish before the next session
- Establish how we will create accountability between sessions
Why six months?
So you might be wondering, “Why six months? That seems like a LONG time!” I do six-month programs with clients for a few reasons.
1. By doing a six-month program, I attract clients who are very committed to their health and wellness journey. More so than some people who are only interested in signing up for a 1, 2, or 3-month program. Clients are serious about breaking old habits and making sure that they are continuing to have their health be a priority.
2. Six-month programs are more sustainable. It takes a long time to replace past habits with healthier ones, much longer than just a few months. Six-month programs allow plenty of time so that clients will keep the positive changes going even after the program has ended.
3. By doing six-month programs, I’m able to work with people through the ups AND downs. I’m far more helpful for you if I’m able to work with you through good days, bad days, holidays, progress, stressors, and setbacks. If I were to only work with someone for a few weeks for a few months, the client would lose steam after the initial excitement of starting a program has worn off and challenges arise.
4. Lastly, you’ll see the most progress in six months. You most likely have health and wellness goals that aren’t 100% achievable in just a few weeks or a few months. If I were to work with you for only 2 or 3 months, you might JUST start to be noticing the outcome that you want, but we haven’t made it to your long-term goals just yet. We’re just brushing the surface of all of the aspects of primary food. You’ll need time to slowly make adjustments so that you can bring about substantial change.
Added Benefits
- A customized bi-weekly email with health and wellness recommendations including any additional articles and resources that I believe will be helpful for you.
- An essential oil gift based on the client and what they’re going through. I work with a DoTerra Wellness Ambassador to help me create a customized essential oil blend to help you with your concerns.
- Percussion massages at home office sessions to help release the tension you’ve been carrying from the day and relax.
- A special parting gift for additional help with your wellness journey.
Three-Month Coaching Program
Nervous about committing to a six-month program? I get it! Six months can seem like such a long time. For that reason, I offer a three-month coaching program, that’s set up the same as my six-month program.
You’ll still get all of the benefits listed above, but the difference is that we don’t have as much time to work together and focus on Primary Foods. BUT, the good news is that at the end of your program and three-month review, you can always choose to sign up for another three months!
Weekly Accountability Coaching Program
The last program that I offer is a weekly accountability coaching program. In this program, we have weekly, 20-minute calls to help you stay on track with your wellness goals. This program is geared towards people who are very health-conscious but have a difficult time following through with what they know is good for them.
Here’s how to know if this program is right for you:
- Do you have the Headspace app on your phone but NEVER meditate?
- Do you have yoga pants that have never seen the inside of a yoga studio?
- Do you own a dozen half-read self-help books?
- Do you have a gym membership but don’t go?
- Do you buy kale every week and then let it go bad in the fridge?
- Do you write out an epic to-do list to help you accomplish your life long dreams but don’t end up checking anything off?
- Do you adore the concept of self-care but don’t partake in it?
- Do you have a bunch of healthy recipes and workouts saved on Pinterest that you’ve never taken a second glance at?
- Do you geek out about wellness but for some reason find it so difficult to implement the same habits you preach into your life?
This program is perfect for people who regularly find themselves setting wellness goals and making to-do lists that never get accomplished. For clients who need help PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACH! For people JUST looking for accountability and less one-on-one health coaching.
How do you get started?
Nothing about my program is cookie cutter. It changes based on the client and their individual needs.
To start your wellness journey, reach out to set up a FREE Health History consultation either in person or over the phone. I’ll have you fill out a brief health history form and we’ll book a consultation to determine if we would be a good fit.
Please note that I do not accept every single person as a client. During our consultation, I will determine if we are a good fit. I want to be 100% confident that I’m able to help you reach your personal goals. If you’re dealing with a major health concern that’s completely out wheelhouse, I may have to recommend that you seek help from a medical professional instead.
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