What is a Health Coach?

That's a great question.   And I think it's an important one.  Health coaching is a new term in today's health and wellness world.

Let me start with the mission statement I have with my health coaching practice.

"Our goal at Bee Fit is to bring a simple approach to health and wellness based on the same time tested methods our ancestors used throughout human history."

Who would benefit from having a personal health coach?  

If...

• you experience constant weight gain and/or loss and never get a grasp on how to maintain weight loss,
• you are trying to make better, healthier decisions at the grocery store but struggle with the amounts of "healthy" food to choose from,
• you are sick and tired (perhaps literally) from trying to many programs, products, and other weight loss plans or gimmicks,
• you don't want to waste time trying to achieve your best life now when it comes to health, lifestyle, and fitness,  
• you want someone to work for you and help you decided what works for you and what doesn't,
• you feel like you have no will power and there is no hope for you to lose weight and maintain weight loss,

.......then you may want to consider hiring a health coach to get you on the right track.  

But, not everyone needs one.  Many people are great at recognizing an area they want to improve, finding information or methods to improve, and putting forth a great DIY effort with success.  Other people want to make life changes, but simply don't trust any of the different methods on how to bring about that change and want a trained leader in that field to lead them in the right direction.   

For me, I wasn't ever fully satisfied with my body composition and my relationship with food.  I thought I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I worked out and burnt off all those calories.  Knowing what I know now, that was a recipe for chronic fatigue, inflammation and various autoimmune disorders.  I was well into the chronic fatigue and inflammation zones when I recognized the need to improve and find a better way.  You can read all about my story here.   

So what does a health coach do? 

• Empowers you to become an advocate for your own health.
• Emphasizes "whole-health" care like stress management, good sleep patterns, and other practical ways to live a more natural life in todays unnatural world. 
• Provides dependable attention, support, and accountability. 
• Helps you discover what healthy eating really looks like.  
• Helps you develop an exercise patterns that works for you and your lifestyle. 

When shopping for a health coach it is VERY important to find out what education they possess and what kind of programs they offer.  There are lots of health coach certification programs available.  It's also very important to ask for testimonials or past clients that have had success with their program or methods.

A health coach is just that.  A coach.  Just like you would want to hire a coach to teach you a new sport or activity, you'd hire a health coach to teach you about making better lifestyle and eating decisions to set you up for the best chance of success on living a healthy and vibrant life.

Do you have any long term research?

Is this sustainable? What are the long term effects of eating the way you do?

I get this question a lot when people ask about the way I eat.  I eat a higher fat, moderate protein and lower carb diet with my primary fuel source being the fat I eat and fat that is stored on my body.  My fitness and health have never been better.  My recovery thanks to the anti-inflammatory nature of this way of eating is a breeze.   As of late,  I've been venturing into a more primal way of eating.  This basically means expanding upon the massive amount of vegetables that I already consume.

So the TL, DR version from above, I eat some meat, a lot of above ground veggies, healthy fats like coconut oil and ghee, some fruit and very minimal processed meats/cheeses/full fat dairy.

Even more TL, DR.  My diet contains almost entirely real food that grows in nature in the most natural way possible today.

It's essentially what humans have eaten for tens of thousands of years.  But didn't they die young?  Yes, around 33 was the hypothesized average life span.  Complications from childbirth, predators, and infections from flesh wounds were probably the common culprits.   It most likely wasn't from heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.   It also wasn't out of the ordinary for many to live full, healthy lives up into their 60's and 70's, some as old as 94.

Heart disease deaths

My question back usually is, have you looked at the long term effects of what you are eating?  Did you know 71% of the items at a grocery store didn't exist 100 years ago?  While I don't want to make any brash claims here, but take a look at graphs like these.  The two leading causes of death in America are heart disease and cancer.   Look at the graph for Soybean oil and start reading your ingredients list.  Soybean oil is in nearly everything.   But I'm not going to completely throw soybeans under the bus for all people,  and I'm not going to say correlation equals causation.  But the massive increase in the rate of consumption is very problematic.   Consuming to many omega 6 fatty acids leads to inflammation,  one of the primary drivers of heart disease.  For more reading on the harmful effects of soybean oil, here's a start. 

Next, there is a tremendous amount of new research coming out about the role of sugar in cancer cell growth.  Cancer cells fuel of off the sugar in your blood.  Just like every other cell in your body.  However, there is another fuel source, ketones.  Ketones are made from the breakdown of fat.  Cancer cells cannot use ketones for fuel.  So they struggle to survive.  There is a great evidence based article about that here.  

All that to say.  I'll take my chances eating real food similar to the way humans have eaten for the vast majority of human history.  I've found most people don't ever stop and think about the long term effects of what their diet currently consists of.  But they ask with skepticism about mine as they are drinking soda or juice and eating twinkies or "health" bars loaded with soybean oil.

Scared for Survivals Sake

Our brains are pretty awesome.  So many of us take them for granted and treat them poorly.  Our brains are the number one reason we are still alive.  So thank and be kind to your brain.

I'm sure so many of you remember the days as a child when our friends were leaping from boulder to boulder and when it was your turn, you hesitated.  You were frozen.  You didn't want to jump.  Fear.  Then the taunting began.   Scaredy Cat, momma's boy, and wuss are some pretty common terms used to describe your frightened "friend".  These taunts can be carried with us our entire lives.

A few days ago I was hiking with a friend and rather than taking the trail, we were traversing several boulders.  Some of them had a significant drop-off and would have resulted in serious life altering injuries.  We are both well aware of our limitations and neither want to make a risky decision.  I got the end of a boulder with about a 12 foot drop.  There was a tree larger enough to bear hug that I wanted to cling to and slide down about 3 feet from the edge.  I was feeling good, ready and confident.  But I didn't want to break my watch, so I paused and turned it to face outward.  In that 30 seconds, something happened.  I begin to think about the consequences.  I questioned the safety of what I was about to do.  I began to feel like a failure and weak for not wanting to do what I was just about to do.  Fear.  Remember those taunts from childhood about being "afraid"?  They all came back.

Why is that many consider fear as a negative.  Fear is designed to keep us alive.  Fear is put in place to help us make safe decisions.   Being fearless is bragged about.  But in reality, being fearless could also mean being very dangerous not only for yourself but for others.

I didn't climb down that tree.  And I walked back the way I came, feeling like I let myself down.  When I got to the base of the tree and looked up, it didn't seem very far.  So I wrapped my arms around the tree, climbed up a few feet and tried to lower myself down slowly.  It was hard.  It hurt.  And I realized that my brain may have just saved me from serious injury.

We need to reframe how we teach what fear is.  Being fearful does not mean you are a "fraidy cat".  Just like being fearless is not the same thing as being careless or reckless.  Don't ever be ashamed of not jumping across those rocks, picking up that snake of unknown origin, eating those berries that you aren't sure about, or jumping off the 4th stair from the bottom.  Having a healthy realization of what the fear response is will keep you alive.  There is also a way to move forward while facing fear that is neither careless or wreckless.

But what about adrenaline.  Our brains also control that too.  And when you've got adrenaline pumping, all bets are off.  You feel super human.  But you don't want to abuse or over use this hormone either.  For example, just because I could grab ahold of that tree and slide down it when a bear is chasing me does not mean that I could or should do it when a bear isn't chasing me.  Adrenaline is powerful.

Fight or flight.  It happens every single day.  And our adrenal glands do have a shelf life.

Whoa, Carbs.

Carb refeeds.  What are they and what aren't they? 

If you've been following a low carb/ketogenic lifestyle (50g total/20g net) for a while now, the thought of a carb refeed sounds like blasphemy.   But what is a carb refeed?   In short, it is a day or meal in which you strategically increase your carbohydrate intake.  What isn't a carb refeed?  It is NOT a cheat day or meal.  Sorry, no cupcakes.

But why?  

For starters, if you have more than ten pounds to lose you most likely don't need a refeed day.   But if you have hit a stall or plateau (what a good problem to have, right?) you may benefit.  Often times when following a low carb diet, calories become restricted.  Not really intentionally, but because you just aren't that hungry.  This may cause decreased leptin levels.  Leptin is the "satiety" hormone.  It is responsible for regulating your appetite and energy expenditure.   Having a carb refeed can reverse this and cause an uptick in leptin levels.

Who needs to do a carb refeed?  

No one really "needs" a carb refeed.   If you are steadily losing weight, have plenty of energy, and feel good you're probably fine.  A proper diet should prevent you from needing one.  But that doesn't mean they aren't helpful.  If done the right way, it's most likely not going to hurt you.  But as always, if you are following a specific diet plan under the care of a medical professional, always consult with them.   But if you are just feeling a little "off" on your low carb eating pattern, have plateaued, or want to shed those last few stubborn pounds a carb refeed may be just what you need.  If you are new to keto/paleo/primal, develop good eating habits in your modality before considering a refeed.  

Ok, so how do you do a proper carb refeed?  

It's actually quite simple.  If you've been low carb primal/keto for awhile you've probably missed sweet potatoes.  Well guess what, go buy some.  The first important thing to remember on these days is to decrease your fat intake.  Shoot for no more than 40-50g or fat.  If you've been really low carb at less than 50g per day aim for around 300g of carbs.  50-100g aim for 250g. 100-150g you only need  little bump to around 200.   Then, go work out like you've never worked out before.  Hopefully you've worked out before.  Do some sprints or a hard run.  Lift lots of heavy things.  Go play ultimate frisbee.  Run up a mountain.  Do as many pull ups, squats, and push ups as fast as you can.  Whatever you have to do to deplete your glycogen stores.   Then eat.  Yams, sweet potatoes, squash, fruit, and any other starchy carb.  Grains and legumes are problematic and you won't enjoy the feeling, so stay away.  Remember, you're still focused on health.    Keep your protein at a relatively normal amount by topping off the day/meal with a lean cut.  

How often should you do a refeed? 

That really all depends on how you feel and your goals.  Some do once a week.  Others bi-monthly.  You may feel good at once a month, or none at all.  There is no one size fits all pattern.  Give it a shot, keep it healthy, and see how you feel!