5 Ways Health Coaches Help New Year's Resolutions Stick | Functional Medicine Coaching Academy

New Year’s is the time when everyone is looking toward the year ahead and all that they want to achieve. While people make resolutions with the best of intentions, few follow through and achieve their goals. This is where health coaching comes in handy.

Health coaches help support clients as they work toward making sustainable lifestyle changes. They are passionate about helping others live happier and healthier lives. This includes helping them stick to New Year’s resolutions. Whether you want to reduce stress, eat better, or move more, health coaches can guide the way.

Here are five of the most popular New Year’s resolutions made every year. Learn how FMCA-certified health coaches can help make these resolutions into healthy habits before the end of 2024.

Get Better Sleep

Getting quality sleep is crucial for our physical and mental well-being. It affects our mood, concentration, and overall health. From creating a bedtime routine to sticking to a sleep schedule, there are many ways you can improve your quality of sleep. Health coaches may suggest options such as avoiding screens a few hours before bed. Perhaps practicing mindfulness in the evening will quiet a busy mind. Even something as simple as lowering the light in your room at night to trigger your sleep cycle are a small change that can result in a big outcome.

Check out our blog, “The Sleeping Supplement: Facts About Melatonin” for information on how this popular supplement benefits your sleep cycle.

Eat Healthier

Nourishing our bodies with a balanced and nutritious diet is essential for optimal health. FMCA certified health coaches are trained in Functional Nutrition and can help you navigate diet changes. Whether you are looking for grocery shopping tips or healthy recipes, health coaches love sharing their tips and tricks for delicious and filling meals. What’s more, if you are in need of making prescribed dietary changes, such as removing gluten or dairy, limiting salt, or reducing sugar, a health coach can offer great resources to help you find foods that work for you.

For a great recipe that is both healthy and tasty, try Dr. Mark Hyman’s Coconut Curry Shrimp recipe. It is full of protein, veggies, and just the right amount of spice.

Exercise More

Regular physical activity is not only good for our physical well-being but also has numerous mental health benefits. Regular movement helps increase strength, flexibility and relieves stress. However, the world is full of exercise plans that can be intimidating trying to find out what works for you. A health coach can help you focus on your exercise goals and guide you down a path to achieving them. This can include helping you research gyms or personal trainers, encouraging you to try something new, or even just celebrating your wins as they come.

For insight into the benefits of strength training and building muscle, listen to an interview with fitness expert Gabrielle Lyon. She discusses the importance of building muscle as we age and how you can add strength training to your routine.

Reduce Stress

Stress can take a toll on our overall well-being. It can lead to worsening mental health conditions, weaken the immune system, increase the risks of cardiovascular disease, and disrupt sleep, cognitive function and digestion. Health coaches understand the importance of stress management and offer helpful resources and techniques. For example, practicing mindfulness and meditation has been shown to reduce stress for many.

Explore our podcast featuring Dr. Romie Mushtaq, where she shares her experience with burnout and recovery. Learn about her program to help reduce stress and increase mindfulness.

Be Happier

Cultivating happiness and positive emotions is a vital aspect of our well-being. FMCA certified health coaches practice positive psychology. This technique encourages clients to focus on their personal strengths, which has been shown to increase overall happiness, improve relationships, and more. Live a more meaningful life filled with gratitude, connection, and happiness.

Start off the new year on the right foot with an in-depth positive psychology course. Our free Basics of Positive Psychology course will teach you how to apply it to your life and what makes it different from other schools of thought.

Bonus: Jump Start Your Career

Another popular New Year’s resolution is to find a career that speaks to you. If you are passionate about health and wellness, have a desire to help people live a healthier life, and want to follow your passions, then consider becoming a functional medicine certified health coach. FMCA is the gold standard in health coach certification programs. Our curriculum is taught by industry experts and was created in partnership with the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Explore the FMCA Health Coach Certification Program.

Make the most out of 2024. Create healthy habits. Follow your passions. Achieve your goals. Whether you choose to work with a health coach, or become a coach yourself, let FMCA help you mark off every one of your new year’s resolutions this year. Start your health coaching journey today.