I continue to receive a lot of questions about the profession of a Holistic Health Coach, how to become a Holistic Health Coach and in particular my experience with IIN (the Institute For Integrative Nutrition), so I thought I would cover everything in further detail in a dedicated IGTV series.

In Part 1 we talk about

• What a Holistic Health Coach is

I like to think of a health coach as a health support mentor, someone that educates and supports people in their journey to build healthy new habits and create sustainable lifestyle changes. There are of course Health Coaches that generalize and others that are more specialized for example in gut health or disordered eating like myself. What I’ve seen is that a lot of health coaches specialize in health struggles that they went through themselves. 

• What a Holistic Health Coach is not

A Health Coach is NOT a nutritionist, a GP, a PT or any other form of psychological or psychiatric counsellor or doctor. A Health Coach is NOT supposed to replace any of those, rather it is there to support and complement other health care professionals.

• Why the approach of a Health Coach is so unique compared to the majority of the health care system

The approach of a health coach is pretty unique compared to the traditional western system. IIN has a strong focus on the idea that health isn’t just what you eat, but recognises that things like relationships, career, movement and connectedness to oneself all play a huge part in our health. Well, it’s a pretty revolutionary viewpoint compared to traditional reactive, disease-treatment-focused health care system that we’re used to. 

• Why bio individuality is so important

IIN also strongly supports the idea of bio-individuality, being that one size does not fit all, and so a health coach will work with clients on a highly individualised basis.

• How your relationship to food is a direct reflection of your relationship to life itself

Personally, I’m a big believer that your relationship to food is a direct reflection of your relationship to life itself. In that sense, food can be a beautiful doorway to a deeper understanding of oneself. And this is where health coaching can be really powerful – because whilst we may initially look at what foods are best for you to eat, we soon start looking at how you eat and why you eat the way that you do, and that can be a beautiful catalyst to big change and deeper healing.

• The different career opportunities that are available to health coaches, from one-on-one online health coaching to corporate health coaching, hosting workshops and events, creating online courses, writing books, hosting podcasts and so much more…

Some health coaches create their own online business and solely do one-on-one coaching, others go into Corporate Health Coaching, others work in a practice alongside other health care professionals, some develop e-books, books, podcasts, the list is endless. Have a look at what you can do with a coaching degree from IIN by clicking here.

You can also learn more about The Institute for Integrative Nutrition by following this link or by downloading the Info Kit, Sample Class and Curriculum Guide below. Otherwise, stay tuned for Part 2 of this 4-part dedicated IIN IGTV series.

In Part 2, we will cover

• How my personal struggles with an eating disorder led me to discover IIN and to the work I now do as a Health Coach focused on compulsive eating, binge eating and emotional eating

• The power of working with a Health Coach who has gone through the same struggles that you are trying to overcome

• How your mess is your message, and how studying at IIN can enable you to use what you have gone through to help and empower others in their own journey