When it comes to weight loss, we all know the challenges are very real. Metabolic Research Center’s client Sarah (name changed for privacy) is a great example of the difference the right program and coach can make. For Sarah, whether it was keto or juice cleanses or plain old calorie counting, nothing seemed to work. The diet would start well, and the pounds would come off, but then – after a while – it would all suddenly grind to a stop. And, eventually, even those lost pounds would be regained (along with a few extra). The weight on her body represented a lifetime’s labor, spent trying to get from one diet to the next, month after month, year after year. But finally, something clicked, and with the help of her coach the pounds came off and stayed off.

In this article we will talk about why coaching works and the scientific support for a program that includes coaching.

Understanding Weight Loss Coaching

Before we jump into the science, let’s get an understanding of what coaching is and how it works. Weight loss coaching is a professional service, provided by trained coaches, that assists people in effectively losing weight and improving their health. This happens through personalized guidance, support and accountability. 

A weight loss coach helps individuals develop and follow through on strategies for losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Through one-on-one coaching, a personalized plan is created, including discussing any special circumstances you're facing, such as upcoming social events, home and work environments, and emotional triggers. When you are open about these challenges, you and your coach can create plans for and follow up regularly about them. 

Some of the key components of coaching include:

Assessment and Goal Setting: 

 A coach will conduct a brief health interview, assessing current health status, usual diet and eating patterns, physical activity habits, lifestyle, living and working conditions to help them understand your lifestyle and any triggers you may have. Next, a coach will help you create specific and realistic health and wellness goals targeted to you specifically. 

Most generic weight loss programs do not include coaching and do not take the time to tailor weight loss goals based on the client’s individual needs, taking into account any health issues, stressors, food preferences and time constraints. This is why traditional approaches without a coaching component or DIY approaches may not be sustainable long-term for many people. 

Education and Skill Building: 

Your coach can also provide education on nutrition, portion control, and healthy eating habits. Things like how to read food labels, how to plan meals, and make healthier food choices. 

Behavioral Support: 

A coach can also aid in recognizing and addressing emotional and psychological barriers to weight loss (including stress, emotional eating and self-sabotage), leading to specific strategies tailored toward overcoming barriers and maintaining motivation.

Monitoring and Accountability: 

One of the reasons coaching works is that you’ll communicate on a regular basis, so you can track where you are, receive feedback and adjust your plan and approach in real time. Ongoing support and encouragement help to keep individuals going even when things get tough. 

Maintenance and Long-term Success: 

Coaching helps clients develop strategies and healthy new habits to maintain their weight loss and prevent relapse. Weight loss coaching is available in person, via phone calls or video. 

Now, let’s get into the science of why coaching works.

The Psychological Aspects

When it comes to the science behind why coaching works, psychology is one of the most important to consider. 

Self-Determination Theory

Self-Determination Theory focuses on the types of motivation that lead people to action or behavior change. The two main types of motivation are: intrinsic motivation (i.e., doing an activity for the inherent satisfaction of it because it is meaningful or rewarding) and extrinsic motivation (i.e., doing a behavior or activity for some extrinsic reward such as a prize, attention from others, or a trophy).

For long-term weight loss – which is what you want! – research has shown that intrinsic motivation is likely to be more sustainable than any extrinsic approach. A coach can help you identify these intrinsic motivators and create a plan around them. 

Accountability and Support

In terms of lasting weight loss, accountability and ongoing support have been shown in many research studies to be very important. 

Accountability 

Having clearly set goals with a coach is a key element of accountability. The more specific you are about what you expect from another person to be, the more likely that he or she will work towards it. Clear goals increase the likelihood of success and provide a much healthier route to get there.

 Accountability should include regular check-ins with a coach to review the goals and progress toward them. This cultivates discipline because individuals know that someone is going to be checking in on their actions and progress. In fact, research shows that your commitment to your goals can be enhanced when you know others are aware of them and can track your progress. Accountability is not to be confused with judgment though. Professional coaches such as those at Metabolic Research Center will always use accountability tactics to motivate and keep you on track, and will never use them to judge, berate, or belittle you.

Support 

The social support provided by a coach offers a sense of belonging, empathy and recognition. Encouragement and positive reinforcement from a coach has been shown to help people maintain their morale and keep them going in tough times. 

A coach can help to decrease feelings of isolation and stress. Just knowing that a coach is there, prepared to help you can reduce anxiety, enabling you to remain more focused on your goals. When people make mistakes, fail or face difficulties, a relationship with a coach can provide the additional push needed to stay with the challenge, instead of quitting. 

Biology

What many people don’t realize is there is a biological basis to body weight and composition. Coaches can customize weight loss programs to someone’s individual biology based on their metabolism, hormones, genes, epigenetics, microbiome and environmental and lifestyle influences. 

The ways a coach can do this include things like:

Genetic Testing 

Your coach can review the results of genetic testing with you. Genetic testing can assess differences in metabolism, fat storage, appetite, and individual responses to diet and exercise.

Based on your genetic profile, they can also make personalized nutrition recommendations as well.

Hormone Testing 

A coach can go over the results of hormone testing and create a plan based on the results.

They can help to address imbalances with specific dietary adjustments, supplements, or recommend referrals to medical interventions if necessary. 

Supplements and Weight Loss Medications 

A trained coach can help to recommend vitamins, minerals, other supplements as suggested by deficiencies or health needs observed in their assessment. A coach can also refer you to healthcare professionals who can prescribe weight loss medications. 

Emotional Aspects

Eating and weight are powerfully influenced by emotions and stress, and weight loss coaches know how to help people cope with these. With a deep understanding of the emotional and physiological factors involved in losing weight, a coach can provide real insight and support that includes emotional coping and regulation strategies, as well as nutritional advice and stress reduction tools. This coaching helps people better control and maintain a healthy weight and wellbeing. 

Emotional and Behavioral Support from a Coach 

Coaches, rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, personalize their interactions and methods for each of their clients, taking into account differences in personality, lifestyle, home life, and work life. Individuals are supported, encouraged, challenged and held accountable by their coach to help them overcome emotional eating, cope with stress and triggers, and focus on their goals. Ongoing communication, check-ins, and continuous adjustments to the coaching plan are a crucial part of what makes weight loss with the help of a coach successful. 

If things like emotional eating, stress eating, or reward-based eating are a challenge for you, then a coach can help create a plan to overcome these common obstacles.

Social Aspects

Social support is a key component to the success of most health and wellness programs. Studies have shown that peer and social support results in more successful weight loss. 

A weight-loss coach can provide critical social support and reassurance. Having a coach helps people feel that they are not struggling with their weight alone. Losing weight is a deeply emotional task, particularly if someone feels socially or emotionally isolated or feels uncomfortable discussing their weight with friends and family. That’s where a weight loss coach can come in and be the social support a person needs to be able to openly discuss challenges, setbacks, and feelings that might come up during the process.

In Summary

In this article, we discussed some of the essential elements of weight loss, and the importance of coaching. The personalized, supportive and accountability-based one-on-one relationship with a trained coach provides the backbone for effective weight loss. By providing tailor-made strategies, ongoing monitoring and behavioral support in the face of challenges – in essence, by sharing the burden – the coach-client relationship centers, supports and empowers individuals to be motivated to ultimately achieve success on their own. 

This article emphasizes the strong science backing the importance of coaching – from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to accountability to personalized weight management and the role that genetics and hormones play. When it comes to the importance of intrinsic motivation, tailored plans and social support, a weight loss coach acts as an advocate and mentor, advising when appropriate and personalizing the experience so it can be sustainable long-term. 

Based on this evidence, methodologies for weight loss that include coaching are likely more successful because they help individuals become empowered to identify and plan for challenges, make healthier choices and, ultimately, take back the reins of their own health to no longer feel like slaves to their cravings or to fad diets that they inevitably fail. 

The science of weight loss coaching underpins a path forward to sustained transformation that allows people to be in control of their health by finding sustainable solutions to meet their bodies’ needs.+++++