You’ve been struggling for years now. You’ve hit the gym (and immediately felt alienated by the newly acquired population of woke PTs and instructors who irritate you even further by claiming to “understand” your circumstances while they couldn’t be further away from your set of struggles…) and it’s not budging. You did that keto diet Dave next door suggested but it was really hard and you kind of lost your way. You tried calorie counting, then not calorie counting and now you’re heading off for a quick fix fat wrap with Carol ahead of the holidays next week because over the last six months when you PROMISED yourself you’d get in shape, FINALLY, for THIS summer…it ain’t happened.
Sound familiar?
That’s where coaching comes in.
It’s actually a pretty tough job being a performance coach. By the time people get to me, they’ve tried pretty much everything. And yet here they are, exhausted, overwhelmed, still piling on the pounds, energy waning by the day. And it’s up to me to help them untangle themselves.
What do nutrition coaches actually do?
You’ll hear nutrition coaches refer to themselves in lots of ways since there is no formal pathway for actually becoming one (which can be problematic…). Health coaches, nutrition coaches, lifestyle coaches are all things I’ve heard, which on further investigation essentially refer to the same thing; helping people reach their health, fitness and/or weight goals through advising them on the food and drink they consume. Simples.
That’s why I am none of those things.
I’m a performance coach. While nutrition is at the heart of what I do in a lot of cases, what I also help people to really focus in on BEFORE we start trying to tackle the stressful topic of what you’re putting in your mouth, is why it hasn’t worked before. Why is that so important? Because usually, there’s a shit tonne of stress getting in the way. When it comes to changing your dietary habits, it’s physically and mentally stressful for you. If you’re simply trying to pile that up on top of your other life shit, it becomes a very short game of buckaroo and the first thing to be lost is the new diet regime.
I also help you tackle your mindset around food and drink. It’s a HUGELY emotive issue and a lot of people carry a lot of perspectives on food that are really unhelpful when it comes to changing the story. Added to that, we often see it as the last piece of the puzzle rather than the first.
So in short, nutrition coaches usually help you achieve stuff by looking at your diet. I help you to look at where your nutrition fits into your life as a whole, why you want to achieve health related goals and more importantly, how that links into your life as a whole – how are we going to allow you to achieve success in whatever field it is you’re looking for it – it could be sport, business, family life, social life – and more importantly balance, so that you’re happy, healthy and more fulfilled longer term.
Are you bored, stuck and overwhelmed?
The truth is that trying to achieve your health and fitness goals alone is often way too hard than we give it credit for. The ambitious people I tend to coach, give themselves a really hard time! They say they haven’t lost the weight because they’re “weak” or “not disciplined enough” and that’s rarely the root of the problem, because they’re demonstrating all those characteristics in other areas of life. Repeated failure makes things worse. It reinforces the idea that “I can’t do it”. It carves a deeper and deeper furrow with every attempt. People get bored, stuck and overwhelmed. It all seems further and further away. That’s where having someone to regularly check in with, share the individual struggles with and help point you back in the right direction is invaluable. It becomes a tool to help you get out of the rut, so you don’t keep digging your way further and further into it. It’s support, but it’s also a brainstorming session, something to help you map your way out and get rid of that feeling of overwhelm when it comes to conquering something that has seemed impossible for so long.
Performance coaching with me is all about that. It’s about nutrition coaching and more. In fact there’s often a lot of stuff that comes BEFORE the nutrition coaching – because after all, if you’re seeking my help, it hasn’t worked just focusing on the food has it? Or even focusing on food and exercise alone? Performance coaching is about integrating all areas of life and seeing how they fit together. THAT’S how you overcome those negative feelings and achieve your goals.
So nutrition coaching; is it worth it? I’d suggest if you’re asking that question, yes it is. But then you need to ask yourself another question; if all the strategies you’ve tried haven’t worked so far, is it simply the nutrition you need to look at? Or do you need to address the bigger picture? Nutrition coaching is worth it if you have all the rest of your shit together. But I’m willing to bet if you’re reading this, maybe you don’t. So maybe look at something a little more than the food alone…
If you want to have a quick chat about how performance coaching could help you, get in touch and arrange your FREE intro call with me here. You can also check out the weekly coaching episodes on my “Do Better” podcast and sign up the weekly newsletter, with exclusive tips and advice on how to keep yourself moving forward with your goals.