Functional Medicine

 

 

As a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, I partner with clients to create a personalized path in four areas:  holistic nutrition, movement, sleep, and stress management.

Why Should You Work with a Functional Medicine Health Coach?

Because you’ve already read all of the articles, heard all of the advice, and I believe that YOU actually hold the keys to your health.  Because health begins in the kitchen and the grocery store, but first it starts with a new perspective.

The sheer volume information around health and nutrition can actually make it more difficult to figure out what works for you.  Sometimes more information isn’t necessarily helpful.  Should I jump on the Keto bandwagon?  Would a detox help me?  Should I eat a plant-based diet or try the carnivore diet?  What about intermittent fasting vs. eating 6 times a day to keep my blood sugar levels steady?

You don’t need another person telling you what everyone else should do.  You need a partner to help you navigate these seemingly incongruent ideas and figure out what works for your body and in your real, everyday life.  It doesn’t matter if a specific strategy works for other people.  Your health plan has to work in your life, otherwise it won’t help you at all.

The greatest wealth is health.   – Virgil

How is a Health Coach Different from a Nutritionist or Functional Medicine Practitioner?

A nutritionist prescribes food plans and supplements for clients, while a health coach works together with clients to find the foods and ways of eating that work best for the client’s body AND lifestyle.  As a Functional Medicine Health Coach, I also help my clients with movement and exercise, sleep optimization, and stress management.  Coaching is more like counseling than medical treatment in that the client brings goals, concerns, and questions to our sessions and we work to find solutions together.  I don’t diagnose, prescribe, or treat any medical condition.  And I won’t tell you what to do.  I’m your coach, not your mom (or your physician).  I am not a licensed medical professional, I’m a partner to clients ready to take charge of their own health.   I will always suggest options to choose from as we work together, so that YOU can make choices that works best for you.

How is a Functional Medicine Health Coach Trained?

I am a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and completed my training with the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA).  The FMCA is a collaboration with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) and is an approved program by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaches.  What does that mean to you?  It means that I am trained on the IFM’s methodology and food plans, sleep optimization, movement, stress management, motivational interviewing, goal theory, and change theory.  I use these tools to help my clients create their personalized vision of health and then work with them to move toward that vision.

Does Health Coaching Actually Work?

A 2018 review of 11 controlled trials found that, for people who used a health coach, 82% showed significant health benefits. These benefits included weight loss, lowered blood pressure, and improved diet quality.  More and more,  studies are showing the benefits of health coaching for diabetes, obesity, chronic pain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and many other health indicators.  As this evidence becomes more clear, insurance companies are beginning to offer health coaching as a covered benefit.
The American Medical Association has approved Category III CPT codes for health coaching to allow for data collection and assessment of coaching.  In the future, Category I codes will allow insurance billing of health coaching sessions with board-certified coaches.
Don’t take my word for it.  Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal on the benefits of Health Coaching:

Who should partner with a health coach?

Are you ready to take responsibility for your own health?  Is now the right time for you to roll up your sleeves and choose to make changes that will improve your future?  Do you know that you want and need to make changes to your lifestyle but just don’t know where to start?  Have you come to the realization that, without taking decisive action now, your future ability to live the way you want to live and do the things you want to do is in jeopardy?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’re in the right place.  Schedule a free discovery call now and let’s get started!