Creating Your Personal Health and Wellness Programme: A Step-by-Step Guide

When working with a new client, it is really important that our initial introductory call gives me a real flavour of who they are as an individual, what their challenges are, what the barriers are and most importantly, why now, i.e. what has prompted them to reach out and start to take action.

Being a health coach I encourage clients to create a brand new vision of health and wellness for themselves, that excites them and pulls them forward. This is a really important part of the coaching process, for them to visualise and shape what it is they want for their future.

How will they look, and feel? How will life be different? What are the benefits, who else will be benefitting from the changes they make? This vision has to be truly aspirational in order to help keep them motivated throughout the process. There will always be bumps in the road, but my job is to help keep their future vision alive, whilst overcoming barriers and limiting beliefs, whilst learning from their challenges too.

As Steve Jobs said ‘If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed, the vision pulls you’ and this is exactly what we need to create, that spark, enthusiasm, and energy that helps them to reach their ultimate goals.

How do we create a personal programme?

Step One – What’s not working?

The first step in creating your own personal health and wellness programme is to look at what’s not working and to review old habits and behaviours that no longer serve you. Often there are patterns in our lives that have been established from a young age, particularly around eating and drinking. Are you someone whose parents always told you to finish all that was on your plate before you could leave the table? Are you someone who started drinking back in their teens and continues to drink the same volume even as you have got much older? Are there certain environments that are triggers for what you eat and how much? Do you allow peer pressure to stop you from making more healthy choices? These are all questions that we rarely confront, and yet when breaking down these kinds of behaviours these can be extremely revealing and can hold the key as to where the focus lies in creating change.

Step Two – What do you want and why?

It is important when embarking on this journey that you understand what your ultimate goal is. As mentioned earlier, this stage is something that needs to be explored in real depth, and it is important to identify the key motivators in your life. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What drives you? What energises you? How do you want your life to look in the future, how are you feeling, what has changed, what have you achieved, what else are you doing with your life?

Step Three – Strengths and Achievements

When you apply for a job, you will review your achievements from the past. In coaching we apply a similar approach to the health and wellness goals of our clients. What have you overcome in the past that has brought you to where you are today? How have you tackled challenges previously, what skills do you think you possess that has helped you to overcome those challenges? We all have various strengths and weaknesses and it is easy for us to revert to what is not working and how we are at fault, eg I’ve no willpower, I was never any good at sports or exercise, too tired, never have the time, and the list goes on. However, I find that once you ask a client to start looking at their achievements and their strengths their energy changes and they realise they do have the ability within them to reach their goals.

Step Four – What is the plan?

This step is the stage where having worked through the other stages, we are now in a place to take ‘action’! We review what the plan is in order to reach their goals, and ultimately reach their Wellness Vision. During coaching I work with various tools in order to help get clients thinking differently. During each session we will come up with one goal for them to work on that helps move them closer to their broader vision. As nutrition is a key part of the health and wellness programme, I review each clients’ eating habits and encourage them to keep a food and mood diary. This provides a key focus for each week in order for them to learn how to make small changes that can be hugely impactful for their health and overall wellbeing.

Step Five – Taking committed action

The rationale for coaching is that you have someone working with you who is not only supportive, but is also someone you become accountable to. With each session clients are usually learning more about themselves, and starting to understand healthier ways of eating, seeing changes in their energy levels, sleep, weight, and so on. However, these results will only happen if they are fully committed to the process. The key to each session is to remain focused on ‘why’ you are doing this and ‘why now’. Plus to work through various exercises that help provide some insight as to why you haven’t been successful in the past, and to be committed to working on small goals each week in order to help you progress.

By having each session scheduled and knowing that you will be seeing your coach again on that day, provides real motivation to keep on track and to achieve the goals you have set together.

Step Six – Experience Success

The final stage is when the programme comes to an end and clients have reached their goals. They are feeling energised, happy and truly motivated to stick to their health goals. At this stage it is really important to review how far they have come and once again look back at their achievements.

The coaching process can be challenging, but truly rewarding. For those clients who put the effort in, it is truly life changing.

"What you do today sets the foundation for the life you will have tomorrow."

Heartsill Wilson