A lot of times when I tell people I’m a health coach, they don’t know what exactly it is what I do. They say, “Like a nutritionist?” or “so you’re a personal trainer.” I respond, “Kinda!”
Yes, I focus on foundational nutrition and activity but there is a large part of the title that people seem to miss– “coach”.
When I work with clients one on one, I coach them, first and foremost. Some of my job is sharing resources and education, but really it is about YOUR life and meeting you where you’re at. Everyone is different and each person has their own challenges in meeting their health goals. Coaching is a personalized tailored experience to you- so we base it around where you are at in your life right now.
The first thing I do when coaching clients is I have them fill out one week of this food and wellness tracker–100% accurately and judgement free. That means writing down every single thing you put in your mouth. It is an incredible tool. After one week of using it - it becomes super clear to me, and to most of my clients, where they need to clean up their routine. You would be surprised how many people walk into it thinking they know the positive and negatives of their routines, but a week later have completely different findings. If you are just getting started on your health journey this is the perfect place to start. Good news for you: if you sign up to be on my email newsletter- I’m giving it to you for free!!
how to use the journal:
I fold up the journal and tuck it in my planner (which comes everywhere with me!). The key is to keep it on you- whatever is convenient for you. If you prefer to be paperless, it’s an interactive pdf- so you can type in each box.
After you eat or drink anything, write it down. It’s important to also document your water intake (it’s programed for your standard 8 glasses a day), work outs and self care too. There is a box dedicated to gratitude- and I like to set a gratitude mantra for the week, such as, “I am grateful that my body supports me in all that I do.”
When you do this exercise for the first time, don’t let the fact that you have to write it down deter you from your current habits. It just skews your data. For example, a coworker has Starbursts on their desk to share. You normally would grab one, but the thought of writing down one Starburst is just annoying so you choose not to have it. That’s a missed opportunity to see how often this happens throughout your day and week!
At the end of the week, go through the journal, day by day, and see what stands out to you. Are you having a lot of carbs at lunch? Are there more snacks than you realized? Do you not do any self care? Were you nowhere close to hitting 8 glasses of water a day? Are you skipping breakfast?
Pick one thing to focus on during the next week and set a goal for yourself. Bonus points if you tell someone else the goal so you have an accountability buddy! If you hit the goal, see if you can do it again the next week, and maybe add one more item to your goals for the week. See how quickly you begin to reform your habits!
You can continue to use the tracker as you make progress towards your goals, but try not to get too reliant on tracking. It isn’t sustainable forever, and sometimes can lead to obsessive behavior.
Are you going to try the wellness planner out? Have questions? Want to tell me your new goals? Slide into my DMs on the gram or shoot me an email alexandra@shedforthewed.com. XX -AHS