Feeling ‘off’ but not sure why? Health coaching could be the missing link to feeling like yourself again

Is this you? You’re not exactly sick. But you’re not as well as you could be, either. You’re tired more often than you’d like to admit, your digestion’s unpredictable, your mood dips, and your body doesn’t feel like ‘yours’ anymore.

You might feel like you’re doing all the right things, but nothing’s really working. Maybe you've tried a few things – cutting back on sugar, getting more sleep, the odd yoga class – but nothing seems to stick. 

Either way, it can be so frustrating when there are no clear answers.

If this sounds like you, health coaching could be what you need to reconnect with what your body is trying to tell you.

What is health coaching?

Working with a health coach means working in a collaborative partnership to improve your health and wellbeing. It involves making manageable and sustainable changes, step by step and at your own pace.

A health coach provides nutrition and lifestyle guidance where you need and want it, along with mindset coaching. They guide behaviour change, offer accountability and support and help you uncover your own motivations and solutions.

Health coaching supports you in:

• Listening to your body’s messages

• Developing awareness of your habits, triggers and unmet needs

• Formulating a plan that feels supportive, not restrictive or overwhelming

  
  

Health coaching is not:

• Medical advice

• A diet 

• Therapy

• Personal training

  
  

Why health coaching is so helpful when you feel ‘off’

Often our symptoms can be seen as being “just part of life.” You might have been quietly living with things like stubborn weight, bloating, irritability or low energy for months – or even years – without the support or guidance to truly turn things around.

Maybe you’ve tried several other diets or quick fixes promising benefits that either never appeared or just didn’t last. This cycle of disappointment can leave you feeling discouraged or even disconnected from your body.

A health coach can help you slow down and notice patterns, gently explore the root causes of your symptoms (sleep, food, stress, boundaries?), and get back to trusting your own instincts relating to your health – and your life.

Essentially, coaches help bridge the gap between your intentions and your actions, with the programme you choose tailored to fit your unique circumstances. The accountability and mindset support alone can be game changers – especially for people who’ve tried several different approaches previously. 

How a health coach can support you

A health coach can support you in a range of different ways, including:

• Identifying foods that energise you (and those that drain you)

• Tuning in to your digestion and mood in relation to what you eat and how you live

• Rebuilding a caring relationship with your body

• Addressing emotional eating or mindless snacking

• Supporting consistent energy levels through food, sleep, movement and boundaries

  
  

A typical health coaching session might include working through a coaching tool to: 

• Establish where health currently sits on your list of priorities compared to where you’d like it to be

• Create an inspiring and motivating vision for your health and wellbeing

• Overcome barriers to regular movement

• Develop non-food-based rewards

• Swap habits that don’t serve you for new healthier ones

  
  

There are many more possible tools that can be explored in a session. Some sessions may not call for a coaching tool at all. It all depends on what you need at the time.  

Before each session ends, you’ll walk through a process with your coach to set a weekly action that feels doable – not overwhelming.

Real-life example (anonymised)

Anna, a woman in her 50s, had simply gotten used to afternoon energy slumps, irritability and feeling bloated and uncomfortable after eating. 

After eight weeks of health coaching, she had unpicked some hidden barriers to truly prioritising nourishing herself. 

She made small but significant tweaks to what she was eating. She was making time for lunch every day and enjoying her food in a way she hadn’t ever before. 

She was beginning to allow herself breathing space like never before. 

Other niggling symptoms, like a small but persistent area of acne, also cleared up as a side benefit.

What to expect from health coaching

Health coaching usually involves working through a programme of weekly or fortnightly sessions over a pre-agreed number of weeks. Some coaches work in person while some work through online video calls. 

Others offer a hybrid approach, such as having the initial session in person, giving you the chance to meet your coach ‘in real life’ and get more of a feel for who they are. This approach can help some people to feel more able to open up in the online sessions that follow.

Within each confidential session, you have the space and safety to say what you really think and feel, without judgement. 

If progress feels slow, stick with it, as the changes that you make through health coaching are usually changes that actually stick. This is because they come from within you, on your terms.

Once the initial programme comes to an end, there will usually be an option to continue, either on another full programme or with fortnightly or monthly maintenance sessions.

How to get started

Here are three tips for finding the right coach:

1. Look for someone who listens first, advises later. The real gold of the health coaching process lies in the fact that it doesn’t just provide a list of instructions from a source external to you. The changes come from within you, with your coach there to shine a light on the path and provide nutrition and lifestyle guidance when you need and want it.

2. Ask about their training. People with previous relevant experience, or those on a fast-track programme, might be able to complete a health coaching qualification in months. However, the most comprehensive (Level 5 Diploma in Health and Wellness Coaching) programmes tend to take around a year to complete. The UK & International Health Coaching Association holds a list of accredited health coach training providers at ukihca.com/ukhca-approved-training-programmes. 

3. Trust your instincts. As with any relationship you have with a practitioner, how secure you feel with your coach counts for a great deal. Can you see yourself feeling comfortable enough to open up in your sessions with this coach? If so, this is probably more important than finding the perfect coach to fit your exact list of goals and challenges.

   
   

If the coach you’re looking to work with offers a free introductory session, this is usually the best way to get a feel for how it would be to work through a full programme with them. 

Before you go: you’re not imagining it

Whether or not you’ve received a diagnosis, the discomfort you’re feeling in your body is real. The good news is, you don’t have to work it out alone.

Health coaching doesn’t offer quick fixes or one-size-fits-all plans. What it does offer is personalised support – every step of the way – to help you reconnect with your body, uncover what’s holding you back, and take small, meaningful steps towards feeling like yourself again.

If now’s the time to get started on changing your health for the better, just book your complimentary 40-minute Health & Energy Review. 

Want to learn more first? Visit my website – laurenhellicarhealthcoach.com – for the details of my 4-, 8- or 12- week health coaching programmes, which include the option to have the first session in person at The Open Door in Lewes. 

If you have questions, I’d love to hear from you – just email me at laurenhellicar@gmail.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.