When Alexander G. (Alex), a Healthcare Administrator, signed up for his first Best Health® coaching program, he planned to test it out and share it with his staff. After finishing his sessions, he signed up for two more programs — and has since completed three of them back-to-back. Check out Alex’s experiences and his tips for success with Best Health.
“My coach and I speak every Monday,” Alex says. “It's a good way to start the week and maintain progress towards your goals.”
The accountability of having someone who is invested in your success is important, Alex explains. “If you could bottle this mentality, it would be a bestseller.”
Working with a coach, rather than a friend or a spouse made a difference for Alex. “You can't ask your wife or friend or coworkers to pay really close attention to your health and your goals and keep you in check and advise you,” he says. “The dynamics of the relationship simply don't support that type of interaction.”
Health coaching allowed Alex to envision his goals and stay on track.
“I think I really took to health coaching because it forces you to spend about 30 minutes planning or reaffirming your goals for the week,” he explains. “Something about the short-term visualization makes self-made challenges a lot more palatable.”
“One thing I found surprising is that once you're in the middle of it — it’s really not that difficult to just stay the course,” Alex says. “At the moment, I am feeling like ‘Could I have just done this at any time?’ There were not nearly as many barriers in my way as I thought there were.”
When you’re focused on your goals, try not to get caught up on the things you can’t change. Alex encountered a few challenges, but with encouragement from his coach, he continued to move forward.
“I had to move apartments, was very sore and missed a run. [My] coach reassured me that I had a long life to live and to just start up the following week. Don't [dwell on it] and make too big of a deal about it,” he says. “I continued that next week and maintained it for four runs after that.”
“A similar thing happened about five weeks into losing weight,” Alex says. “I got so hungry one night; I was insatiable. Coach Michelle had already mentioned that this may happen, and encouraged me to simply ensure I was eating nutritious whole foods and not get overwhelmed by individual aberrations. I did indeed go over my calorie budget for the day; but was back on track the days and weeks after that.”
No need to overcomplicate: Alex recommends keeping your routine simple and easy to follow.
“Just start, don't overanalyze everything and ruin the actual results and process,” Alex says. “You can — and I did — drive myself absolutely bonkers getting into the weeds: Which running shoes? Steamed or air-fried Brussels sprouts?”
“Keep the goals ultra-simple and clean,” he says. “When I started running, I kept the time the exact same (30 mins), and only focused on running ‘further and faster,’ which I could track with the free suggested app from my coach.”
Although he counts calories, Alex doesn’t focus on the exact amount of weight he loses. Instead, he considers whether he lost weight during the past week. “[This] pass/fail makes it so much easier than worrying about losing 1.1 lbs. or .9 lbs. that week. It's just not that important how far you're going, just that it's in the right direction.”
After completing the stress management program: “[I had] about an 8% flat reduction in my average stress level. This has been sustained for three months since its completion and seems to be permanent.”
After completing the physical activity program: “Over about 12 weeks, I went from not running, to running every Sunday, to running a 5K in under 30 minutes.”
After completing the healthy weight program: “[I] measured healthy, safe weight loss of about 11 lbs. over eight weeks. It's challenging, but I'm not starving, and continuing to be competitive at jiujitsu even at a calorie deficit.”
Book your first appointment with a Best Health coach. Sign up for a Best Health account or log in to book your appointment with a wellness coach today.
FBT: SharpHealthPlan.com no longer supports this Internet browser. For the best experience on our website, please upgrade your browser to the latest version.