People often ask me what a health coach does. Usually I give them the text book version. I help people implement strategies to enable them to achieve more than what one could achieve on their own. Today I thought it would be more interesting to show my readers what a typical conversation in health coaching may look like. If you read the conversation below you’ll see that it is a first meeting with a client’s husband who is interested in improving his life, by improving his tennis game. As you will see, the conversation opens up some interesting insight into exactly why Paul is failing at his tennis game.
The goal in the following dialogue is to assess where Paul is at regarding the stages of change and what he actually would like to change. It’s also designed to assess gaps in information regarding his health that he may not be aware of. The questions are open ended to give the most latitude to the person being interviewed. Open-ended questions allow the person being interviewed to speak more freely creating a relaxed atmosphere that is conducive to finding out where, and if, there is a starting point for change.
“Hi Paul, it’s nice to meet you. I am enjoying training and coaching your wife. She tells me you are a tennis player?”
“Yes. Yes, I play a little. At one time, I thought I was pretty good. But lately, not so much so, however I still enjoy the game.”
“Yes, I enjoy tennis a lot as well and play some myself.”
“Well.” said Paul, “It’s a little complicated. My wife is concerned to a degree that my energy level has been low lately. And it has been. My guess is that it that I am just getting older that causes my lethargy.”
“My weight is a little up, but frankly that does not bother me. I think I look pretty good anyways. My doctor says my blood sugar is up somewhat, but advises that we will wait and see what it is next time and to watch the sugar intake in the meantime. Nothing serious. The same with my blood pressure. A tad high but not alarming.
“I guess the reason why I am really here is that I am lethargic a good part of the day. My energy seems low and my tennis is failing because of my decreased energy. I don’t feel old but I wonder if something could be done to help me play better tennis and increase my energy during the day?”
“How great!”, I said, “Increasing energy levels is one of my favorite things to help people with! Everyone thinks I specialize in helping people lose weight and get fit, but really all I want to do is help people feel their “old self again”
“Sometimes,” I said, “feeling better is about losing weight and sometimes it has nothing to do with losing weight. It often has more to do with movement patterns and implementing just a few better eating habits. Everyone is different.”
“What do you think is causing you to lack energy and not play tennis as well as in days gone past?
“Well. I am not certain,” Paul replied. “My job is stressful and sometimes I don’t even want to play tennis because I can’t compete at the level I did before. Guys I used to beat handily are beating me now. I don’t mind losing but it just seems they are not playing any better, but I am slower or something.”
“Yes, slower is seldom a winning strategy on the tennis courts. It is especially tough when you believe your slowing up is not due to aging but rather, as you say, due to lack of energy. However, energy level can be improved. We can get to specifics later on this aspect of tennis.
“You mentioned that your doctor said your blood sugar and blood pressure are both up. Are you aware that there is a corresponding lack of energy that tends to take place when blood sugars and blood pressure are up?
“Really? I did not realize that”.
“Yes! It sounds contradictory, but that your blood pressure and blood sugars are up, in a way, is actually good news. It makes my job a little easier. If you came to me after a great physical with your health numbers and weight perfect then I would have little to work with. Your lack of energy and deteriorating tennis game would be a mystery to solve. Your situation seems to call for a straightforward fix. Fix the blood pressure and the blood sugars watch your energy soar. How does that sound?”
“It sounds great! What do I need to do?”
“Well here are a few questions I am wondering about. They are kind of cut and dry but they will help me to move you forward more quickly if that is what you choose to do of course. And if not, that’s ok too. Would it be ok for me to ask you a few questions regarding your desire to change?”
“Sure that’s fine.”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being highly motivated, how motivated are you to increase your energy levels?
“Well from the little I know now, reducing my blood pressure blood sugars seem doable. Unless you are going to have me running five hours a
day or something like that? What do you think I need to do to decrease these number and how long would it take?
“Those are good questions. It makes sense to know what you are getting into before you decide on how motivated you can be.
“My experience says to give us three months of weekly coaching conversations on lifestyle changes and exercise habits. The weekly conversations will help you determine what changes, changes that you will want to maintain, such as eating more vegetables, will move you towards a better tennis game and health numbers.
“Weekly, we’ll progress your exercise habits taking small incremental exercise steps that will pay off over the 12 weeks. It is finding out what you are doing now exercise-and-eating-wise then tweaking it towards your ultimate goal of more energy. It is an interesting and intriguing process because unlike a personal trainer who tells you exactly what to do, you set the stage for improvements and exercise with a little help of me at our discussions. You will be the captain of this team because that is the way that change is best made. You do not have to be concerned that you will have a will of steel to do this. You will do just fine. I am certain.
“Ok, so do you have a number between 1 to 10, regarding your on the level of motivation to make changes for increased energy?”
“I feel like a 9 or a 10 now.
“Great. I want you to feel like that. In my mind, how we feel is what it is all about- so bring on the tennis boys and give us 3 months for a better game too.
“I am curious though, why a 10 and not a 5 or 6?”
“Well, what you are saying makes sense. I would have never thought that the levels of my blood pressure and blood sugars were hurting my tennis game and causing me to feel lethargic. I thought it was just me getting older. And I have to confess, I did not tell you, but my doctor said I should lose weight and get on a diet. Right now, with your help, I feel I can do that too. They must be all connected, right?”
“Yes absolutely, we can view it that way. Personally, I dislike the word diet. I am glad you came to me more focused on improving your tennis game as opposed to losing weight. When we focus on what really matters in our life the good stuff begins to happen. This is how I see us structuring our time together. Let us not focus on weight, although the weight will come off, and yes, you guessed right, the blood pressure and blood sugar will then come down and because of that, your energy skyrockets and your guy tennis-playing friends get slaughtered! It’s my answer to all the people out there who are just focused on a number on their bathroom scale. I like your thinking. It is the right approach. Oh and by the way, I think this will really be a positive force in you and your wife helping each other to be the best you can be. What do you think?
“I think you are right. Pamela and I enjoy each other’s company. We do a lot together but we never really have been able to exercise and eat better together. I am wondering if that couples coaching would work for us?
Although the above conversation is not exact, it is typical of how I begin to help people explore the possibilities of becoming even more happy, healthy, lean and fit!