What Is A Health Coach?

Kathy McIntyre

Often times I get this question, what is a Heath Coach and what do they do? It's a great question because often people don't know what I'm talking about.

Health Coaches are often referred to as Wellness Coaches and we are seeing more in doctor's offices, spas and clinics all over the country. Many Institutions define a wellness coach as an authority and supportive individual that nurtures positive health choices. 

We teach and guide clients to achieve their health goals through lifestyle and behavior transformations. In short, we are educated mentors in nutrition wellness, mentoring and bio-individuality. Bio-individuality specifically means that weight loss and wellness plans aren't 'cookie cutter'.

As a student of the Health Coach Institute I  have been trained in over 100 diet theories. I will use the word 'diet' here because many do not work. They don't promote long term weight management. Each individual diet has good components and bad components. Health Coaches look for and use exactly what will work for you. We look for what is holding you back.  I prefer to say 'weight loss program' and 'life style transformation'. We focus on not only what you are eating, but your lifestyle as a whole.

So how do I do that? Another great question. I break down a lifestyle into four elements. Wellness can be generally defined as “the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.” Weight gain and Weight loss are directly related to overall personal wellness. So, we focus on four key Elements Of Wellness to drive successful weight loss and weight management.

Four Elements Of Wellness:

1. Emotional/Mental Wellness – how you care and feed your mind; your awareness and acceptance of your feelings; your thoughts, attitudes, and self-talk; your resilience and self-esteem.
2. Physical Wellness – how you care for your body; your health and vitality.

3. Spiritual Wellness – your sense of meaning and purpose in your life; how you integrate your beliefs and values into action.
4. Social Wellness – how you relate to self, others, and community; having supportive relationships and a sense of belonging. 

There are three key points of weight loss and management in this definition and one that is often overlooked…I will explain: 

1. Successful and lasting weight loss encompasses the mind, body and spirit (i.e. the four key elements of wellness).
2. It is the result of specific efforts.
3. Those efforts are deliberate. 

The missing piece is lasting weight loss as part of total wellness. Weight loss isn’t something we achieve and check off our to-do list. We must plan and choose an individualized weight loss process that will lead us toward a total wellness state. If we think of weight loss only as a state of being, then we increase the probability of failure. Why? Because we overlook important considerations that will help us sustain our total state of being.   

A Comparison: 

Here’s a comparison to illustrate how wellness can be a ‘state of being’ and a ‘process’. In business, ‘Quality’ allows a consumer to declare whether or not a product is superior or inferior – as in ‘good quality’ or ‘poor quality’. The success of a product depends on specific standards of quality. Numerous processes are created to ensure those standards are reached and maintained. Entire departments and quality management teams are formed to develop new processes and throw out or adapt the ones that don’t work. It’s an ongoing process. It never stops. Just as in our quest for wellness, once we achieve our desired state, there are likely specific behaviors we will have to maintain or adapt in order to stay there.


So, our definition of wellness becomes: the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate, and ongoing, effort. Lets look at an example of how this starts.

Our Example:

Someone Like Sue

Six months ago I had a client that we will call 'Sue'. Sue would not have described herself as “well.” She was overweight and as a result of many years of what she describes as “neglecting her body”. 


Many people can relate to Sue. She developed high cholesterol and diabetes.She looked down upon herself, often quietly insulting herself. This is called 'Fat Eyes' or 'Fat Shaming'. It's a very negative and powerful condition. Then she began to wonder what it would be like to be healthy and well. She learned that all three conditions could be improved with a healthy diet and regular exercise. She had tried different diet programs in the past but always gained the weight back and gave up. She decided to make a change but this time something needed to be different. She began to reach out for support. Through commitment and hard work she achieved her goals. Today, Sue's weight and cholesterol are within a healthy range and she no longer has diabetes. Through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and techniques for stress management, she reached her desired state of wellness. But she didn’t stop. She continues today and we continue to help her. She knows that what she does everyday not only keeps her body healthy, but helps her believe in and feel good about herself. Sue now describes herself as ‘well.’

What Is Your Problem?

Make the 'Impossible'..' I'm Possible '

This is what a Health Coach looks for....making the impossible, possible.If weight loss is needed, then one or more of these four elements also needs help. 



We focus on a total wellness concept so that you should never have to do this again. Many diets would tell you that they want this to be your very last time. This may be true however a number of these simply don't 'finish the job'. They help you lose the weight by simply controlling your calories and portion sizes but they often don't or can't get to the root cause. In other words, they don't answer 'how did this happen in the first place?' This is why understanding the elements of your wellness are important. In each of these areas, do you have a balance of the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of wellness? Where are things going well? Where would you like to see a change? 

We can help get to the root cause(s), provide a plan and support for a Wellness Transformation. Remember, if weight loss is needed, it’s not a ‘Do It Yourself’ process. 




As we work toward achieving your goals, we use these Key Elements of Wellness to focus on things going well in your life and where you would like to see a change. By concentrating on and positively nurturing those  Elements Of Wellness , I can help you create a strong foundation for total personal wellness. 

As a Health Coach, I will mentor and provide recovery based coaching to assist a client in pursuing his/her individual health and wellness journey by:
· Providing individualized health coaching to clients in obtaining their health objectives.
· Teaching others about managing their mental and physical health.
· Supporting clients in learning how to make good choices for themselves.
· Creating and adapting wellness objectives to overcome barriers to good mental and physical health based on needs of, and with input from, clients.
· Co-facilitating groups/classes to support improved health outcomes for clients
· Working closely with my Providers to engage clients in appropriate services and resources and assist with coordination of care.

Non-Surgical/Healthy Weight Loss

So this is why I am different. This is what Health and Wellness Coaches do. We assist clients in finding new ways to inspire healthier habits through health & wellness. I will work closely with you in promoting wellness and helping realize their personal best.



I will take responsibility to develop our relationship and assist you through the process of actively working towards better health by providing support, encouragement, and education.

Learn How We Can Help You At Vivante Weight Loss And Health