In the last few weeks we covered Who, What, and Why of Lifestyle coaching. This week we dive in to the process of HOW a lifestyle coaching program works. I will take you step by step through a typical timeline of working with me. It can seem intimidating to reach out for help. If there is anything you get from this post, I hope that you feel a little more at ease with the whole process and are ready to take that next step toward your goals.
Information gathering
Good ole Google search has led you to my website or maybe a friend or coworker was talking about how they just finished a program with me. Whatever it is that has piqued your curiosity, here you are trying to find a little bit more information about me and my services. WELCOME! My website does have some basic information, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Step 1 is to go ahead and reach out. It can be via phone, email, or even Facebook messenger. I can answer some basic questions and we can schedule a free phone consultation to go into more details and see if we are a good fit to work together.
Free phone consultation
This phone call is like a 2-way interview. You get to ask me all the questions you have. I ask you a few questions about your goals, where you are currently at, where you would like to be, things you have tried in the past, and I get an idea of your commitment and motivation levels. I explain my services and then we get to decide if this is a good fit for both of us. If we decide to move forward, I draw up a program proposal with listed services included and pricing. Once that proposal is signed and paid, we set up our first meeting. Before that first meeting, though, we have an important step: pre-meeting homework.
Pre-meeting homework
I get a general idea of your current lifestyle during our phone consultation, but the pre-meeting homework will give me a more detailed look at your day-to-day life. There are 2 things that I ask for you to do and send to me before our first meeting. 1) 2 days worth of writing down everything you do in a day. I usually ask for a week day and a weekend day. 2) Food and movement journal for 2-3 days. With these two things, I get to see what your current habits and routines are and the wheels start turning on simple changes we can start to make. There is never any judgement or criticism. We all start somewhere and these logs help us both know what the baseline is. These are really great to look back on after our time working together and to see just how far we can go in 6-8 weeks.
First meeting
During the first meeting, we cover all the formalities. There are a few healthy history form and a liability waiver we go through together. Then we dive deep into goal planning. We break those big goals down into small goals and then we break them down even further. We come up with an action plan and we troubleshoot any potential problems. This session is like a war room. A lot of communicating and working through things together. I don’t believe in lecturing or forcing people to do things they don’t want to do. I do believe in educating and encouraging. By the end of this meeting, we have come up with 1 simple change to focus on over the next few days.
WEek 1
During our first meeting, we decided on 1 small change to focus on over the coming days. We made a plan and now it is up to you to follow through. I will check in with you via text every couple days. You are always welcome to reach out for more ideas and support as well. When I can see you are consistent and starting to gain confidence, we add another small change.
Week 2-5
This cycle continues for 5 weeks. We meet once weekly in person and check in frequently throughout the week. We celebrate the small victories and we troubleshoot and learn valuable lessons along the way. Each week, as more changes get added to our habit tracker, we are one step closer to those big goals we talked about on day one. Prior to wrapping up working together, usually around week 5, we have a reality check. Where are we compared to day 1? Where are we compared to our goals? What needs to happen for us to continue making progress? This is a team effort and the finish line is in sight.
week 6 (typical end of program)
Wow! We have worked together for 6 weeks and the changes you have made are incredible. This concludes our time together, but the work doesn’t stop there. Typically, not all of the BIG goals can be achieved in 6 weeks, but what is more important is that you are now on the right path with all the right tools in your back pack. At this point, we typically take a 2 week break. You go out on your own and see how strong you are using the tools. I check in in a couple weeks and we evaluate where to go from here. Are you ready to journey solo OR do you need another program to help strengthen your toolbox and get your further along?
Yes, it can seem like a big step to work with a lifestyle coach, but if you have been stuck or what used to work is not working anymore, it may be time to think outside the box. This process is simple, but it is not always easy. Let me help you reach your goals!
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