After being a Certified Fitness Professional for the past decade I began to feel very limited in what I could do to help my clients. There are so many obstacles to living the most healthy life for them, and I had so little time to properly help them using fitness sessions alone. I also grew very angry at hearing experiences from my clients seeking health assistance through (EXPENSIVE) and ineffective means, frequently preying on their insecurities (see my blog on objectification where I dig deeper into this https://wordpress.com/post/alignrochester.com/127). Through research I discovered Functional Medicine Health Coaching by the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy https://functionalmedicinecoaching.org/. This course encompassed health on all fronts, including behavior change using positive psychology. When discussing Functional Medicine Health Coaching I am usually asked these two questions; “What is Functional Medicine” and, “What is a Functional Medicine Health Coach?”.

I came upon the idea of the Functional Medicine Health Coach from reading my favorite health and fitness trade magazine, Experience Life (that I was in a couple times, nbd https://experiencelife.lifetime.life/article/jessica-tobins-success-story/).

When I enjoy an article I usually check the alphabet soup of Certifications after the name of the person that wrote it (if you wonder what mine is it’s Jessica L. Tobin, NCPT, ACSM PT, F.I.T.A. – which just means I hold current certifications for teaching Pilates, Personal Training and Group Fitness). I kept seeing FMCHC after articles on holistic health and behavior change. After looking up the meaning of the acronym, at first I was dubious. “Health Coach? Isn’t that like a Life Coach who does motivational speeches and lives in a van, down by the river?” But once I did slightly more research (googling) I realized this was a certification that I could use to give my clients the real help they needed. It also builds on the education I already have and fills in gaps. The reason why it is termed coach as opposed to teacher, practitioner, instructor etc. is because as a coach you help your client use the information they have already acquired through; teachers, practitioners, instructors etc. and actively integrate it into their everyday life.

“So what’s Functional Medicine” you may ask, which I was hoping you would. Functional Medicine is a method used by a Healthcare Professional to get to the route cause of a health issue (or issues). This means a real solution to ongoing chronic health problems that impact the joy of daily life and not just patching up symptoms or worse, denying they even exist. Unfortunately most of us have suffered disappointment at the limitations of conventional medicine. Conventional medicine is great at addressing acute issues ie; broken bones, burst appendix etc. however when it comes to systemic issues ie: Crohn’s disease, lupus, fibromyalgia, diabetes etc. there, it is limited. Conventional Medicine is also behind in preventative care, however we are beginning to see some progress. Unfortunately it isn’t fast enough to outpace the huge increase of chronic illness. A Functional Medicine Healthcare Professional will take the time to get a solid picture of your entire health history. They factor in everything about you, nothing is too small or subtle for them to investigate.

So I decided to embark on a year long, rigorous program to become a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach. AND NOW – to explain what that is! A Coach is trained through the International Functional Medicine Curriculum to help clients work through issues that they struggle to resolve. The role was originally intended to work in conjunction with a Functional Medicine practitioner. The Practitioner would prescribe lifestyle interventions such as: getting more sleep, less stress, improve nutrition and exercise and the coach helps the client to integrate them. However I’m sure most of us already know what lifestyle interventions we need. We just have a HARD time implementing them because we all have lives! So now that I have my certification I am working as a Health Coach independent of a practitioner because I want to be able to help everyone, not just those who have seen a practitioner. I feel this is very important because a lot of times a Functional Medicine Practitioner may be hard to get in to see because they are so booked, or are cost prohibitive to see because they don’t always accept insurance. As a Coach we know you are aware intrinsically (if not quite consciously) of what you need to be healthy and happy. We listen to you and when you get stuck we help you to find your own best SUSTAINABLE solution.

So now I can add FMCHC to my alphabet soup of certifications. This means I am certified to practice and I am presently accepting clients so please reach out. I would love to apply all this knowledge to you!