The terms integrated nutrition and self-care have become quite a buzz these days. From what we eat to what we think, it sounds like everyone's talking about different ways of self-care and relationships with food. We all know that what we eat has an immense impact on our personal and professional lives, it can help with managing stress and anxiety as well as improving our mood and overall health.
But do you know what precisely integrated nutrition is? What is the role of health coaching? To who is this practice suited?
Well, let's dive into all these questions and more!
What Is Integrated Nutrition?
The concept of integrated nutrition is piecing the mental, emotional, and physical components of diet and lifestyle together. Integrated nutrition avers that food is not just about physical nutrition, but connecting your mind and body or the gut and brain connection. It's how you eat, think about food and your body, and how your food choices impact your daily life.
Integrated nutrition takes a holistic approach to wellness and focuses on the whole person. The Integrated facets in holistic nutrition include,
- Lifestyle,
- Stress levels,
- Inflammation levels,
- Medical history,
- And even your sleep pattern, among many others.
Integrated nutrition is simply the concept of food as medicine. There are many parts of this concept, and they are broadly known as holistic nutrition. A health coach or holistic therapist is a person who is experienced in holistic nutrition advice and guidance.
Adopting holistic therapy or integrative nutrition has numerous benefits, which include,
- Manage anxiety with weight and food.
- Not feel shameful or guilty around food.
- Improve the quality of sleep.
- More energy during the day.
- Repair digestive issues.
- Stabilise moods and balance hormones
Holistic Health Coach
You may think, what is the difference between a nutritionist and a health coach?
To make it simple, a nutritionist focuses mainly on dietary and nutrition changes and provides support for a health condition such as diabetes or food allergies. On the other hand, a health coach specialises in providing integrated nutritional guidance while considering other factors that impact health, such as rest, self-care practices, emotions, and mindset.
Health coaches address the wellness of the whole of you. They set distinct goals that work for you and mentor you to reach these goals. By being in the center, a health coach will make you work on different yet interconnected areas of health and wellness – body, mind, and spirit.
Let's explore the benefits you can get from a holistic health coach:
- Health coaches help you identify the "WHY" (Feelings of stress and anxiety? Feeling bad about your weight? Not feeling assertive with trying new foods? Feelings of guilt and shame around food?) And the barriers related to them.
- Holistic health coaches are accountable partners who will quickly help you attain your goals. They do this by breaking the goals into small and actionable tasks.
- They provide you with individualised plans according to your needs, goals, and other factors.
- They act as navigators when you're in doubt about dietary habits.
- They help achieve the big picture – Your health, personal relationships, emotional and spiritual health, and happiness.
- They help you learn more about yourself by helping you navigate the way towards goals and methods that work best for you.
- Help you bridge the connection between food and your emotions.
In a nutshell, holistic coaches are health and wellness specialists who have been trained to assist you in achieving your health and wellbeing goals. They serve as your health behavior change expert.
You and the health coach may collaborate in a variety of ways. To develop goals and remain on track with your goals and action steps. You can work together in person, over the phone, or online.
Who Would Be Suited To Using This Practice?
If you're a person who recognises that there's an emotional aspect to food choices and wants to form sustainable food habits, integrated nutrition is a perfect fit for you. Holistic health therapy is a good fit for people, who are interested in,
- The spiritual aspect of food,
- Wants to build a more mindful relationship with food,
- To improve digestion.
- Or dealing with,
- Emotional eating.
- Digestive issues ranging from bloating and constipation to irregular bowel movements.
- Stress and anxiety.
- Weight gain and other.
So, Where Can I Find A Holistic Health Coach?
Health is the result of a complex interaction between what we eat and how we eat it and other forms of sustenance such as stress management, self-talk, and relaxation during the day.
So, when finding a health coach, make sure your holistic health coach is knowledgeable and will empower you to make healthy, sustainable lifestyle changes to achieve your goal of optimal wellbeing and health.
We at Seity are a network connecting the wellness community with trusted and leading holistic therapists in London.
Schedule a session with one of our trusted practitioners today, and together, we'll discover the ideal holistic therapy for your health, physique, and wellbeing.