Why You Should Be Honest With Your Health Coach

Let’s be honest. Most of us have something about our physical build we’d like to improve. Unfortunately, too low of a percentage of us actually do something about it, and only a fraction are successful. So what is the difference between success and failure in physical transformation?

It starts with honesty. You must be honest with yourself, and you must be honest with your health coach.

If you can’t be honest with yourself, what good is even the best of resources? You can have the best trainer, best diet plan, the best equipment, and it won’t matter if you are the weak link. Whenever a professional is assisting you in a journey of physical transformation, they need to know who you are.

Your (real) strengths/weaknesses and ups and downs of your personal and professional life affect and partly define you. Whether you are receiving coaching for physical training or diet, these are often the most important details you need to share.

Any professional working with you only know the “you” that you share. But who are you presenting? All too often, individuals present who they want to be, or who they think others want them to be.

Who expresses commitment to a trainer and then doesn’t follow through? Who says they will make time and then finds excuses? Who professes a commitment to preparation and fails at the most basic of tasks?

You need to share your good, bad, and ugly realities first with yourself, and then be honest with your health coach. A trainer or diet coach needs to know the real you. For example, if you hate running, don’t agree to run on your own. You won’t. If you have a sweet tooth, acknowledge it and don’t pretend that you can just turn off that switch without a plan.

Most of us aren’t wired with “on/off” switches. It’s ok to acknowledge you need to travel through the grey. Instead, set yourself up for success by creating reasonable, manageable goals that can be met. Meet and exceed them, and then make new goals.

So what might a personal trainer or diet coach need from you regarding honesty? Do they need to know everything? Of course not! You don’t need to share your every life detail, but at times sharing an intimate detail of your life or history can be important to find what works and is best for you.

A diet coach would need to hear the severity of your challenges, addictions, and obstacles. If there is something you have never conquered with your dietary lifestyle, that would be great information to share. Do you have triggers for dietary mishaps?

Go ahead and share them. Sometimes even personal, private issues are relevant. And don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself, interrupt if you need to! If you have objections or concerns to a program, don’t keep them to yourself. Share your truths!

Not good with confrontation? That’s understandable, many people aren’t. But it’s easy, even constructive. Here are a few examples.

Diet Coach: “I want you to eat chicken breast” (interrupted)
You: “I hate chicken breast, can’t do it. Sorry. Are there other options?”
Diet Coach: “Well, of course, there are, how about…”

Trainer: “I want you to come to the gym on days we don’t train and perform cardio” (interrupted)
Me/You: “I’d love to get in the gym more often, but with my job and family requirements, it’s tough getting in here the days that I already do! Maybe there are other options?”
Trainer: “Well, of course, there are, you mentioned a hill in the fields where you take your daughter to soccer practice…”

This conversation is seemingly simple, but individuals more likely to fail in their physical transformation efforts struggle in these conversations. Instead, they steer these conversations towards excuses or an escape. Notice in the above conversation examples the individual expresses a challenge/inability, but the response is also accompanied by being open to other options and possibilities.

Being honest isn’t so hard. And it usually leads to better results. If you can’t be honest, the biggest obstacle standing between you and success isn’t time, money, equipment, supplements, professional expertise, or information…it’s you.

That’s the truth about transformation. If you had all the answers already, you wouldn’t have failed in previous efforts.

Be Honest with Your Health Coach by Mario Singelmann

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