Want to find a weight-loss coach to help you lose that extra weight?
So that you can let your belly fat melt away, feel confident in a bikini or fitted dress, and have more energy to perform at your best.
Today, you get the best strategies to find and choose the right weight-loss coach in 2021.
Want to learn more? Read on!
Steps:
How can a weight-loss coach help you?
Where to look for a great weight-loss coach
How to choose your weight-loss coach
What you need to know about working with a weight-loss coach
How can a weight-loss coach help you?
First:
What does a weight-loss coach do?
Good question! A weight-loss coach is someone who uses her experience, expertise, and methodology to help you get faster and better results.
Because the thing is:
You want to have a dream body, look great, and enjoy spending time at the beach in a bikini (without having to worry about belly fat pouting out). You also want to have the confidence to perform better and have more energy to play bigger in life.
And you want to look your best in pictures, on video, on stage, and overall, you want to show up bigger in your life.
Extra weight will easily make you stay hidden without truly unleashing your own power. Weight loss helps you stay more energized and feel confident about yourself.
And you know JUST what an energy-drain it is to feel sluggish and uncomfortable in your own skin. Every meal is a decision and you feel unsure, frustrated, and ashamed of what you eat or should eat… And you can’t survive your day without a coffee cup in your hand.
That’s where a weight loss coach can help.
Why should you work with a coach?
If you’ve been struggling with your weight for a while, a weight-loss coach is someone who can help you finally achieve your goals.
For example, if you think about top athletes, business leaders, and other high-performers, they all get help from a coach.
Did you know that Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, worked with a coach? Or that Michael Phelps, the Olympian swimmer, broke world records thanks to habits his coach had helped him master?
Many business leaders improve their leadership skills by hiring executive coaches.
It’s the same with a weight-loss coach. You lose weight and adopt healthier habits that will help you perform better at work.
Saving time with online coaching
You can work with an offline or an online weight-loss coach. A virtual weight-loss coach is usually the more flexible alternative because you have many coaches to choose from. You can choose a coach who is completely aligned with your goals and needs.
A virtual coach meets with you through online video or phone calls. With online weight loss coaching, you don’t have to spend time going to a location, which would just suck up more time in your already busy schedule.
Getting results with weight-loss coaching
There’s even some research that shows just how effective weight-loss coaches are.
For example, a pilot project by The Miriam Hospital’s Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center in Providence, R.I, analyzed the effects of weight-loss coaching on 44 obese study participants.
They were enrolled in a weight-loss program that met 12 times in 24 weeks. 56% of those who worked with a professional health coach lost at least 10% of their initial body weight. Of those who worked with “mentors” (in this study, mentors supported students less than professional weight loss coaches), 17% lost 10% of their initial body weight.
3x as many participants lost significant weight working with a health coach than other methods.
How I became a weight-loss coach
I struggled with losing weight my entire life.
Back then, I followed restrictive weight-loss strategies and every single plan out there, like Weight Watchers, Atkins, and the South Beach Diet.
Granted, I would lose 10 pounds. But then I would gain 15 pounds back right after I lost it.
When I had kids and I was in my mid-thirties, I was at my heaviest weight ever.
I knew I needed to make a lifestyle change. I worked a 60+ hour demanding corporate job and had two children. In other words, I didn’t have time to lose weight and gain it all over.
That’s why I started reading scientific studies and medical journals. I found different foods and approaches that felt less restrictive to me than all the diets I was trying to keep up with.
So, I started testing them. For the first time, I enjoyed what I was eating — I felt satisfied. As a result, I was able to lose 40 pounds in nine months.
Little did I know that AFTER having two kids, I would be able to wear a bikini comfortably for the FIRST time in my life.
I also had more energy to take my family on hikes, walks, and go swimming and skiing.
…All this while eating MORE, not LESS.
This massively helped my corporate consulting career because I had so much more energy and felt more confident.
I even started my own side business, which grew to MasalaBody, a 6-figure business.
Since then, I’ve helped 100s of students lose weight. I’ve been featured in publications like Business Insider and Mind Body Green. I’ve appeared in cooking videos for Money.com and Health.com.
What types of results can you expect?
You might be thinking:
“All this sounds good, Nagina. But what type of results can a weight-loss coach help me get?”
A weight-loss coach helps you keep yourself accountable to your plans when you’re juggling so many other things.
How a coach works with you
You have work, kids, and never make yourself a priority. Sound familiar?
A coach helps you get out of that mindset and gives you new ideas, like new ways of eating, preparing food, and boosting your metabolism.
You get results faster and you learn how to make long-term changes in your life.
What does this look like?
Some of the ways weight-loss coaches help you get results are through regular check-ins and being in contact with you all the time so that you don’t lose motivation.
They also create customized meal plans and fitness plans for you.
Now, specific results depend on the weight-loss coach.
For example, the results I help my students get is to lose 20-40 pounds, even when their weight has been stuck for 20 years.
They also keep this weight off because together, we create a lifestyle transformation. As a result, they are able to wear bikinis and fitted, flattering dresses (clothes they haven’t felt comfortable wearing for years).
Example client results
Some of the results I’ve helped my clients get include:
Losing weight in a matter of weeks when previously, this weight hadn’t come off for years, creating a multi 6-figure business after losing 30 pounds, setting healthy examples for their children, and transforming their lifestyle, energy, and performance.
One of my clients, Louise, used to not be able to go on hikes with her athletic husband. She had struggled with her weight for 13 years. After we worked together, she lost 13 pounds in 10 weeks and now has the energy to go on long hikes and enjoy time with her husband.
Another client, Tree, lost 20 pounds and stopped a lifelong cycle of emotional eating. She lost her belly fat and now has a flat belly (something she always wanted).
Fun fact? Tree actually told me she wouldn’t do “one sit-up” because she hates exercising. And you know what? She didn’t. That weight loss was all due to her changing her eating habits.
Deepshikha is a mom of two children who started her own multi-six figure business thanks to the energy she gained from transforming her eating habits. She lost a total of 29 pounds, went two dress-sizes down, and melted three inches off her waist.
Aga lost 23 pounds and as a result, she feels much more confident on stage whenever she gives talks. She even fit into her dream wedding dress!
Pam is in her sixties and she lost 50+ pounds. Thanks to losing all that weight, she got off all medication.
How are a weight-loss coach and a nutritionist different?
Are weight-loss coaches and dietitians any different?
Yes, and the difference is this:
A nutritionist or dietitian gives you different types of foods or a list of foods to eat.
But a weight-loss coach tells you exactly what to eat based on your tastes and preferences. It’s a much more transformational, action-oriented, and customized service for your specific situation.
For example: Let’s say a dietitian tells you to switch your daily sugar intake to healthy alternatives. But to change your bad habits, you need accountability.
And that’s what a weight-loss coach helps you with.
Also, a weight loss coach will give you exact and easy ideas for foods that will help remove your sugar cravings. You get go-to healthy snacks you love that replace sugary foods you may have been eating.
One caveat: If you have a medical condition, allergies, or have any other condition that you need to take into account when losing weight, always consult a medical expert.
Weight-loss coaches can work as a supplement to that medical advice, but they aren’t medically trained experts. So if this is you, you might first consult a registered dietitian or a doctor and then implement that plan together with a weight-loss coach.
Where to look for a great weight-loss coach
Now you know how a weight-loss coach can help. But how do you find one who you know will help you get results?
Some of my favorite ways are to ask friends who’ve worked with weight-loss coaches, listen to podcasts, and read their articles. The weight-loss coach you work with should be a thought leader.
Ask yourself:
Do you align with their strategy and approach?
Also, be clear on if you want personal weight loss coaching to only help you lose weight or if you want to lose weight with a lifestyle approach.
A lifestyle approach is one that will fit YOUR lifestyle (and help you keep your weight off for good) instead of using short-term, trendy strategies, so be clear on what you want.
My own clients have found me through referrals, my podcasts (like this one for Do It Scared, this one for So Money, or this one for Eating Enlightment), and my articles (like this one published in Business Insider).
How to know if a weight-loss coach is actually good
To figure out if a weight-loss coach is as good as she says, take a look at her testimonials.
An established weight-loss coach will have at least a few testimonials that show what specific results clients have gotten in the past.
And, does the weight-loss coach have a background in health?
For example, my entire career has been health-focused. I also have a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology from UC Berkeley, the world’s best public university.
I worked for years as a consultant at various Fortune 500 companies in the health industry.
And today, I run my own weight-loss coaching business that I’ve built from scratch to six figures.
How much does a weight-loss coach cost?
There’s no “standard” rate for weight-loss coaches. They can charge anywhere from a few $100s to six figures.
But what’s important to note is this:
It’s not about the hours someone puts in. Instead, it’s about the results they can help you get.
After all, the rate will pay itself back in many ways. For example:
- You feel more confident and energized, which can help you advance at work and even find the time to start a business.
- You have more energy to spend time with your family.
- When you lose weight, you also reduce the risk of getting weight-related illnesses (diabetes, cholesterol, and more).
…And you feel GREAT when you put yourself out there, whether that’s on stage, in pictures, or on video!
Now you know how to find a weight-loss coach. But how do you choose one? That’s what we’ll look at next.
How to choose your weight-loss coach
How do you choose to work with a specific coach?
Ask yourself:
Does a weight-loss coach have a proven methodology that helps students get results? Does that methodology apply to YOUR lifestyle and situation?
If the answer is yes, that’s a coach you might want to work with.
Which methodology is right for you?
Your own goals should steer your decision to work with a weight-loss coach.
For example, if you’re a busy manager with kids and little time to exercise, a coach who recommends that you spend hours in the gym is not going to cut it.
And if you’re in your sixties and looking to lower your blood pressure or cholesterol medication, a coach who recommends counting calories so that you feel hungry will not be a sustainable, healthy approach to getting healthier.
Choose someone whose methodology appeals to you and who understands your life situation.
Plus, there are a few things research tells us about weight loss:
- Trendy diets don’t work (UCLA). People on diets tend to lose 5-10% of their starting weight in the first six months, but one-third to two-thirds of people gain more weight than they lost within four or five years.
- High-quality food matters (Harvard University). Processed foods will make it harder to lose weight. Foods such as vegetables, whole grains, and fruits make people lose weight, even if the actual calorie count is the same as for processed foods.
- Accountability makes it easier to lose weight (University of Illinois). A focus group with 23 women showed that those women who were accountable lost weight and were able to keep it off.
The weight-loss coaching methodologies that build on long-term strategies instead of short-term, trendy diets are the coaching programs that will help you lose weight in the long term.
My weight-loss methodology
Some weight-loss coaches focus on exercise or a specific diet. My own methodology is a lifestyle transformation in a non-restrictive way.
Getting in shape is hugely dependent on what you eat, and then building in some exercise that you like is frosting on the cake.
In fact, 80% of your weight loss journey is based on what you eat. I only work with healthy, natural foods instead of processed foods or supplements.
The reason my clients have chosen to work with me in the past is that I help women with extremely busy lifestyles and a lot of responsibility show up in a bigger way in their careers and keep their weight off for good.
I give them the exact solutions that fit their life. Instead of a diet, I help my clients create a lifestyle transformation.
For many of my students, enjoying food is part of their lives, whether that’s a glass of wine or a sweet dessert. They can’t sit hungry at their high-demand jobs (how would they be able to focus on their work with a churning stomach?) and so a restrictive diet won’t work for them.
My approach is non-restrictive, which means that my students can eat chocolate cake if they feel like it. They have a structure and a plan for 80% of the week so these “dips” don’t hurt their weight-loss goals.
Plus, my students choose to work with me because I personally lost 40 pounds with a demanding lifestyle and two children.
They know I’ve been in their shoes and that I have a plan that 100% works for them.
What you need to know about working with a weight-loss coach
Finding and choosing a weight-loss coach is the first step.
But what does it take to successfully work with a coach?
To be a student who gets results, you need to understand what a coach is and isn’t. A coach is not a teacher. Instead, a coach is more like a mentor or adviser. This is someone who supports you and advises you but doesn’t do the work for you.
You as the coachee need to do the work. But with a coach, you have a clear plan.
A great coach helps you think in new ways, change your mindset, and take you step-by-step through the process.
What successful students do differently
There are a few things that my most successful students do differently.
First, they’re fast action takers. The faster you are at taking action, the faster results you will get.
Second, they communicate. They share what they like, what might be challenging, and what they need. If you share this information, your coach can create shortcuts and ways for you to get around it.
Third, they’re open-minded to new ideas. Things will change depending on what weight you’re at. As you lose weight, be open to making changes to go along with your new weight.
A few of my successful students include:
Anjali, a Vice President at a bank, who first lost 15 pounds in my program and then went on to lose 25 more pounds. Anjali’s belly fat melted away in the first four weeks and she now has a healthy relationship with food.
Harleen, a busy paralegal, lost 17 pounds and dropped four dress sizes. She ate more than she had before and in general, feels happier and more energized.
Julie, who used to struggle with stagnating weight loss even though she worked out five to six days a week, lost 19 pounds in ten weeks.
What to share with your weight-loss coach
One of the core elements of a successful weight-loss program is to have a system in place that lets you share your results.
The things you’ll want to share every week are:
- 1) Your weight loss.
- 2) Your measurement changes.
- 3) Your body fat changes.
These three things give your coach a picture of your weight loss.
The thing is: The weight on your scale is not everything. If you instead communicate this information to your weight-loss coach, she’ll know how to improve your results even more.
Over to you!
There you have it. Now you know how to find a weight-loss coach who works with YOUR lifestyle and goals in mind.
What it comes down to is looking for a coach who has a proven methodology and a track record of successful students.
Now I’d love to hear from you:
What questions do you have about working with a weight-loss coach?
Let me know in the comments below.
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