I recently read a blog post of a Dietitian that is in my area. She goes on in her post as to why she does not do Weight Loss Coaching. In it she implied (well basically said) that Weight Loss Coaches put their clients on diets, and who needs another diet, as there are lots of those out there.
Well I'm here to tell you most Weight Loss Coaches, do not.... I repeat do not put their clients on a diet plan. In fact many nutritionists I know, are switching from teaching strictly nutrition to more Weight Loss Coaching. Why is that do you suppose? Well I'll tell you, because we all (well many of us) know what we are 'supposed' to eat, but honestly, most clients I come across know more about nutrition than I do, but they still struggle with losing weight.
Working with people to lose weight in most cases is not about teaching them what and how much to eat. It is working with people to understand why they sabotage themselves, why they can't stick to their chosen eating plan. Why they continually over eat, and why after following a healthy eating plan and losing a couple of pounds will binge and gain it all back.
Weight Loss Coaching is not about giving meal plans, or diet plans, it is about transforming the way you think about weight loss.
It saddens me when a Dietitian is so mislead about what a Weight Loss Coach really does, that is makes me wonder how many people out their are not hiring a Weight Loss Coach because they think it will be just another diet plan.
So just out of curiosity I looked up what a Dietitian is, what a Nutritionist is, and what a Weight Loss Coach is. Which one seems most like they provide a diet plan? Which one seems most likely to be able to transform your habits, so you can lose weight without dieting?
Here are the definitions I found:
On Wikipedia a Dietitian is: "A dietitian (or dietician)[1] is an expert in dietetics; that is, human nutrition and the regulation of diet.
On Wikipedia a Nutritionist is: "A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health."
On Wikipedia a Weight Loss Coaching is: "Weight loss coaching is the use of personal coaching techniques to bring about long term weight loss."
Isn't it interesting... only the Weight Loss Coaching is it mentioned about long term weight loss. And in fact only the Dietitian of a dietitian does it mention the regulation of diet (diet plan?? just what you need right, another diet plan). I know that most of my clients are tired of the short term weight loss of eating or diet plans, they are looking to lose weight and keep it off.
I am proud of the fact that I am a Weight Loss Coach, and yes, I help clients with long term weight loss, with out dieting.
By Adriana Ellis. Adriana is a Certified Life Coach, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Certified Nutrition Coach and Nationally Certified Food Addictions Coach. Adriana teaches her clients how to change their thinking and habits to help them feel better in life and lose weight. www.attunedws.com
