A health coach is NOT a medical doctor, dietician, or mental health professional. For this reason, health coaches cannot diagnose their clients, prescribe medications, provide medical treatments or meal plans, or offer therapy. Health coaches are not meant to replace doctors, but rather, supplement the work they do by diving deeper into the lifestyle and behavior change realities of health.

Most doctors have relatively little time to spend with each of their patients, and often don't have time for (nor are they incentivized to provide) lifestyle counseling. This makes a health coach a valuable addition to an individual's health care team. Health coaching sessions are typically more frequent, longer, hands-on, and personalized, which helps clients feel much more supported along their health journey.

The simple answer is, not really - yet. The National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches has been working to qualify health coaching as reimbursable by insurance, so hopefully soon!

You'll begin with filling out a thought-provoking questionnaire all about your health, motherhood, needs, and goals. We'll dive into all of the things on a 90-minute "Discovery Session," and continue with weekly follow-up sessions ranging from 30-60 minutes long (depending on your schedule). So much of "the work" will be done in-between our sessions in your every day life, which is why you can message me anytime with thoughts, questions, or accountability through a HIPAA-compliant software.

A perk of health coaching is that it can provide much-needed structure for all of your efforts, while at the same time, YOU always remain in the driver's seat! No two health journeys are the same, so your health coaching experience will be unique to you.

I believe so deeply in each of my clients' ability to improve their health and return to the woman/mother they know they're capable of being. You can expect me to be a passionate ally who really listens, honors your preferences, collaborates, and holds you accountable.

There is an increasing prevalence of preventable lifestyle-related symptoms and chronic diseases. Unfortunately, our healthcare system focuses largely on after-the-fact sick-care, rather than preventive healthcare. Doctor and Harvard Health Publishing editor Robert H. Shmerling, MD says there is an overemphasis on procedures, drugs, and specialty care, and that during his medical training he received "relatively little instruction in nutrition, exercise, mental health, and primary care, but plenty of time was devoted to inpatient care, intensive care units, and subspecialties such as cardiology and gastroenterology."

There is an undeniable need to start helping people make and adhere to healthy lifestyle changes - and this is where health coaching comes in.

According to the American Medical Association, research shows that:

• physicians rarely have the time to do collaborative patient education or engage patients in behavior-change action plans. These items can be accomplished by a health coach.

• health coaching has a significant positive impact on patient health.

• health coaching helps people build skills they need to take charge of their own health and provides a support system for the teachings to have a lasting impact.

While losing weight can certainly be a goal we collaborate on I cannot guarantee you will lose weight during our time together. Here's why:

For one, your circumstances and choices are yours, which means I am not fully in control of any specific outcome in your life.

Additionally, many medical conditions make it difficult to lose weight, such as thyroid disorders, PCOS, taking certain medications, etc. (I've been there myself - for years I struggled to lose weight due to hypothyroidism, autoimmunity, and more. I get how frustrating this can be!) Unfortunately I cannot order labs, diagnose medical conditions, or prescribe different medical treatments, which would all have to be done through a doctor.

What I CAN do is support you through finding solutions. Weight loss (especially in motherhood or approaching mid-life) is generally not accomplished through one simple change. It often takes a variety of actions, transforming multiple habits, disrupting patterns, commitment and time - these are all things we can work through together so that you can make faster progress towards your goal!