Coach potato??

March 30th, 2010 by Chris Adcock BA Hons, Dip.

Coaching is of huge value to the weight loss/slimming arena.

The body is a topic that is of huge significance to people in todays lifestyle of pills and quick fixes. So how can coaching be of real value to those individuals wanting help to lose weight and maintain a healthy figure?

To answer this you need to understand that there are 3 main areas to unlocking weight issues. No one person will fall into just one area, though they may lean toward one more than the other. In our experience they are:

Physiological diabetes, hormone/chemical imbalance, metabolic issues, digestion complexities, thyroid issues.

Emotional/psychological comfort eating, food providing protection, self sabotage, unconscious behaviour, obsession.

Lifestyle lack of exercise, lack of motivation, too busy, poor diet, excuses, no goal to aim for, not committed, yo-yo dieting, afraid of obstacles, eating too much etc.

If the underlying issues are not dealt with then it is of little use trying to diet your way to your success. You will simply create a further frustrated attempt and the viscous cycle begins again.

Coaching wont address the physiological issues or the deep emotional issues. Coaching shines in the 3rd section lifestyle. Yes, coaching can occasionally merge into the other 2 areas but they are best dealt with by another professional such as a nutritionist or counsellor for example. If you feel you could benefit from seeing another professional, please have the confidence to do so. You may find it of great benefit.

So, if coaching is of great use in this field, how can it be applied?

A typical coaching session will create a detailed plan including a weight goal, highlight inevitable barriers, ways to overcome those barriers and then create action for you to concentrate on immediately.

This then creates focus, motivation, control and relaxation about the issue. Subsequent sessions can be done periodically to ensure progress is made. Ideally the plan should consider the options of improving exercise, creating additional reading on the subject, seeing a nutritionist, a hypnotherapist or even speaking to a counsellor if necessary.

Lets see how a goal is created. Try this out:

Think of a point in time where the issues with your body no longer affect you. Everything is as you want it to be. What has happened? How do you know it has happened? Where are you? What can you see? How do you feel? What are you thinking?

Think of a realistic time scale to achieve this. If that timescale feels too long or short, adjust it until it feels right to you.
If this doesnt feel achievable or realistic, what would be more realistic for you to achieve?

What can you use as a means of measurement? What is your weight now? What is a comfortable weight for you to aim for? Now work out an average amount to lose per week/month between now and then.

Summarise it in writing:

E.g. I intend to improve my weight with a 2 stone weight loss goal. I will be able to feel more relaxed, think clearer and more confidently. It will enable me to go to friends houses with more confidence and wear nicer, brighter clothing. In order for me to maintain this, a timescale of 7 months feels realistic: average 1lb per week. This is a challenging enough goal to take me gently out of my comfort zone.

Current weight: 14st 5lb
Target weight: 12st 5lb

You now have a goal.

With that small exercise, you can see how coaching can be used to help weight loss in a powerful way. It creates empowerment, control, motivation and peace of mind that other professions cannot achieve. It also understands that losing weight is more than just eating less and exercising more.

The follow up to this article is currently being written and will be here soon. This will look at highlighting inevitable barriers, something that you should gently welcome and not be afraid of. This is because they allow you to accelerate your weight loss success by overcoming what once troubled you.