Lauren was searching for an opportunity to change careers.

She hadn’t been happy in her corporate 9am-5pm job for a while now, and she was not only ready to be in charge of her own schedule, but she was ready to do something she felt truly mattered and made a difference in the world. She felt a pull, a calling, to do something more.

After overcoming her own struggle with Crohn’s Disease and Irritable Bowel Disease, Lauren had become increasingly interested in health and nutrition.

After all, her physician had given him prescriptions to mask the symptoms of his diseases, but she was able to do her own research and help herself feel better without the need to continually take medication using holistic nutrition.

“Maybe there’s a way I could help others overcome their health struggles,” thought Lauren. “Maybe I could become a health coach.”

If you’re like Lauren and finally want a career that gives your life meaning and purpose, health coaching may be the right career choice for you.

But what exactly is health coaching? What do health coaches do? And is there a demand for health coaches?

WHAT IS HEALTH COACHING?

Health coaching, in its most basic form, is simply having a conversation around one’s motivation, habits, and health goals in an effort to explore ways they can improve their quality of life.

Health coaching is about supporting people through their health journey, co-creating a health plan personalized to their needs, and holding them accountable so they reach their goals.

It’s clear that “eat this, not that” diets, or any cookie-cutter health plan simply doesn’t work. If it did, the statistics around health across the globe would be very different.

People need, want, and are actively searching for others to guide and support them. To hold their hand and educate them. To involve them in creating a plan that is personalized and works for their very unique needs.

This is where health coaches come into play.

At ITN, we believe that health coaching goes beyond simply providing clients with cookie-cutter diets and nutrition plans while having them focus on food and lifestyle habit changes only.

We believe a successful health coach is able to use functional nutrition and a personalized approach to co-create a health plan with their client that results in them getting results.

We also believe you have to move beyond food and nutritional science and focus on psychological and spiritual factors as well. In other words, it’s critical that health coaches understand how to help people discover what they’re really hungry for.

DOES HEALTH COACHING WORK?

The short answer is yes! But let’s look at the facts.

In a study published in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes, patients working with a Health Coach achieved significant improvements in blood sugar levels, exercise, stress levels, and overall health.

The Journal of the American Medical Association Patients found that patients with coronary heart disease in a health coaching program achieved a significantly greater decrease in total cholesterol and an improvement in mental health.

And finally, the Lancet published a review of thirteen studies that found that health coaching significantly contributed to weight loss and helped to increase physical activity in overweight patients.

It’s clear that health coaching works, which is why more and more people are turning to it.

IS THERE A DEMAND FOR HEALTH COACHES?

Absolutely.

Health coaching has been a top emerging trend over the past several years and is predicted to grow another 21% in the next 5 years, making it one of the fastest growing industries.

According to the 2016 State of Health Coaching Survey, 60% of Americans want health coaching. Not to mention, “Health and Wellness Educator” is one of the top five fastest growing, highest paying positions available right now.

Workplace wellness is estimated to be a $6 billion industry, creating a demand for health coaches in the next couple of years while the average salaries of Health Coaches will range between $50k-75k with the top Health Coaches earning $100k or more.

The NIH estimates up to 23.5 million Americans suffer from an autoimmune disease.

The average lifetime risk of cancer for American males is 40.8%. The risk for females is 37.5%.

1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year and every year, unhealthy eating and poor lifestyle habits kill 13 times more people than guns.

With these dangerous diseases continuing to expand, people are turning to health coaches to help them ward off disease and stay healthy so they can live a long life and see their children and grandchildren grow up.

Not only are health coaches in high demand, but the world needs more of them to help combat these rapidly expanding diseases!

IN SUMMARY

There is no better time than now to break into the health coaching industry. Don’t get left behind! Whether you have had your own health struggle that you’ve overcome and now want to help others or you just have a passion for health and wellness, you can become a successful health coach. We can help.

Health coaching is not about having all the answers. It’s about following a proven system that works for everyone, everywhere to get your clients real results.

At ITN, we make it easy for people looking to become health coaches by providing a unique, proven step-by-step health coaching system that allows you to co-create protocols with your clients – no guesswork required! This proprietary foolproof system is offered in our Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach (CTNC) program.

You bring the big heart and passion for changing lives, and we’ll bring the knowledge, expertise, experience, and education you need to become successful.

If you’re interested in learning more, please take a look at our programs to learn more about our certification offerings, and start living a life filled with passion, purpose, and freedom today!

Better yet, with ITN, health coaches can do all this and more with a proven, step-by-step system to personalize their coaching and remove all guesswork so they can become the powerful force in the world that they want to be.