How do you find a health coach as a physician?
After all, you need someone who understands your needs and requirements. Itโs not like you can follow a restrictive diet and work long, irregular hours.
I get it! Some of my top clients are physicians. To successfully lose weight and live healthily as a busy physician, you need the right plan that works for your lifestyle.
Want to learn more? Read on to learn how to find a health coach for physicians.
How to lose weight on a busy schedule
As a physician, you donโt have a lot of extra time. I have so many clients who live an extremely busy life and they might even have kids and a family.
We all know what itโs likeโฆ Youโre running late in the morning, trying to get your kids to school, and youโre starving. You donโt stop to think, โWhat should I eat?โ
Thereโs no time. Instead, you grab whatever you have in the kitchen, like those sugary cereals or some white bread.
And those pounds keep creeping on.
The more weight you gain, the less confident you feel in a bikini or just wearing a fitted dress. Whatโs more, your energy dips and you feel sluggish. Thatโs not great if you have a demanding job where people actually depend on you and you want to spend quality time with your family.
Plus, everyone assumes that you as a physician should know all about healthy eating. While, yes, you might have received some nutrition information in medical school, that was only 15-20 hours. Whatโs more, itโs more about chemistry and not behavioral change.
How I lost 40 pounds in 9 months
Believe me, I know! I used to work as a busy management consultant in New York. I had two small children and my life was really busy.
I had tried to lose weight over the years, but nothing worked. Iโd start a diet, lose a bit of weight, but then BAM- it would stick itself right back on.
But after I had my daughter, I decided that things needed to change.
So I began to read everything I could find about long-term weight-loss.
And after a lot of trial and error, I started seeing results. Suddenly, my pounds melted off and within nine months, I had lost 40 pounds.
But the best part was that I kept that weight off. And I didnโt deprive myself. I kept eating foods I loved and treating myself to chocolate and wine when I felt like it.
I had so much more energy and could use it on spending time with my family. We started hiking, and playing outside, and, as I finally felt comfortable in a bikini, we spent (and still spend) a lot of time on the beach.
I even built this business, MasalaBody, as a side business and itโs now my full-time business!
What successful weight loss comes down to is having a plan in place.
Thatโs what helped my client, Dr. Pernia, use my strategies and lose 3.5 inches off her waist in less than five months.
How my physician client, Dr. Pernia, lost 3.5 inches off her waist in less than 5 months
Dr. Pernia works as an internal medicine physician with a certification in obesity management.
Caption: Hereโs my quick chat with Dr. Pernia, who shares her results.
As a mom to two small boys, she is busy.
And while she used to lose weight with low-carb diets, intermittent fasting, and paleo, her efforts never paid off because that weight loss didnโt stick. Instead, pounds kept creeping back on.
Dr. Pernia felt frustrated, especially because she knew from her work in obesity management that diets arenโt a long-term weight loss strategy.
As research shows, diets destroy your metabolism so for every diet you try, itโs going to be harder to lose weight.
Dr. Pernia had put on 20 pounds since high school. As a physician in obesity management, she felt bad because she wasnโt really practicing what she was preaching.
When the three-oโclock sugar craving came, sheโd reach for something sugary. And as a foodie living in Houston (one of the best food cities in the US) who loves to eat out, Dr. Pernia noticed that her lifestyle was keeping her back.
But after going through my program, Slim Down Transformation, Dr. Pernia completely changed her habits and attitude toward food.
The key for her was planning. While she initially thought it would be difficult and she wouldnโt be able to maintain it, she quickly found out that planning wasnโt hard at all.
And as Dr. Pernia doesnโt love to cook, she didnโt want to spend hours in the kitchen. With the strategies we taught her, she doesnโt have to because the food doesnโt take long to prepare.
While before, sheโd come home hungry and eat whatever was in her fridge, she now has a quick 10-minute lunch during the day. She comes home, full and satisfied.
Plus, she doesnโt even have to restrict herself on her vacations. She has fun and eats, but without putting on weight.
And Dr. Pernia finally feels like she practices what she preaches to her patients. Even her kids have started making healthy choices. And as healthy habits start in childhood, this is one of the biggest benefits she got out of the program.
In 4-5 months, Dr. Pernia had lost 3.5 inches off her waist and 11 pounds. Sheโs going to continue using what sheโs learned to lose even more weight — because as she points out, itโs not really a weight loss program, itโs a lifestyle change.
How a health coach for physicians can help you
Why should you choose to work with a health coach for physicians?
The thing is:
A health coach with experience working with physicians (and other busy women) understands your requirements and needs.
After all, you donโt need another diet.
You need a lifestyle change that works for your career and life.
What you need to successfully lose weight
You see, you canโt follow a restrictive weight loss plan and walk around hungry all day. Your job is stressful as it is and making the right food choices when youโre stressed and starving is not a good idea.
Whatโs more, if you have to work out several times a week, youโre not going to stick to your plan for too long. The same applies if you have to spend hours in the kitchen or eat food the rest of your family canโt eat.
You need a program that works for you:
…That doesnโt require you to spend hours in the kitchen.
…Or the gym.
…Or keep you stuck counting calories or restricting yourself.
Thatโs where Slim Down Transformation can help.
How Slim Down Transformation can help you get your dream body
In my accountability weight loss program, Slim Down Transformation, we work with you for 12 months. During that time, you completely change your habits and build up habits that stick.
We work with busy women, including physicians. In fact, Iโve coached 100s of women to achieve their weight-loss goals. Theyโve not only managed to lose 20-60 pounds, but theyโve gone on to keep this weight off and lose even more after the program.
We also have specialized plans if youโre vegetarian or vegan or have other food restrictions.
The plan is simple:
As 80% of weight loss is the food you eat, you learn what foods to eat to boost your metabolism and help you lose weight even as youโre watching Netflix with your spouse.
The food isnโt just healthy, itโs tasty, too. Itโs food that your family can eat with you, so you donโt need to prepare separate foods for everyone.
And you donโt restrict yourself. When I lost 40 pounds, I ate more than I had before.
To build up muscle (which helps boost your metabolism), you add on 2x 30-minute strength training sessions every week. (We teach you the exercises.)
Plus, another crucial part of losing weight is getting support and accountability. Different research studies have shown that these are essential for successfully losing weight and keeping it off.
For example, a study from Drexel University shows that the trick to losing weight is to get accountable by sharing your progress and data with a person who encourages you, such as a coach.
And in Slim Down Transformation, you get an accountability coach who holds you motivated and accountable throughout the program and helps you move past plateaus that would otherwise keep you stuck.
This makes it simple for you to follow the plan. Even if you slip (which is part of the process when youโre changing something as fundamental as your daily habits), you get the steps to get right back on track.
Plus, ultimately, learning from a coach to make behavioral changes will help you adopt a healthier lifestyle and be better equipped to teach your patients about how to make lifestyle changes to lose weight and get healthier.
Over to you!
There you have it! Now you know what to look for in a health coach for physicians.
Now, Iโd love to hear from you:
Whatโs the #1 thing holding you back right now?
Let me know in the comments below.
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