A huge obstacle to people considering a Health Coaching career is the idea that they�re not healthy enough themselves to give wellness advice to others. Well I�ll let you in on a little secret: It�s also a huge myth about Health Coaching.

I decided to enroll in the Health Coach Training Program at Integrative Nutrition because I needed a new career. I also enrolled because I needed to do some serious work on my own health.

Let me back up a bit.

Inner Demons and Unhealthy Habits

I came to New York to pursue a career in musical theater, and�shocker�it was much harder than I�d imagined. Working the crack-of-dawn shift at a Starbucks and dragging myself to auditions at night, my life didn�t look like the one I�d envisioned.

On top of the career stress, I was also putting some serious stress on my body. Having struggled with body issues my whole life, I took drastic action to drop weight when I moved to New York. I hit the gym every day and cut my calories severely�by consuming little more than coffee and ice cream.

Not healthy, that�s for sure. But hey, the pounds came off.

I realized just how unhealthy I was when I quit coffee for a cleanse and the withdrawal symptoms were so bad that I thought I was going to die. I knew I needed to make some big changes.

Learning More and Letting Go

Fast forward to a few years later, and I was still battling my food and body demons, but had gotten off the coffee-and-ice-cream kick and had taken an interest in health and nutrition. Friends and family members had started coming to me with questions about food and diet, and though I usually had a response to their inquiries, I definitely didn�t feel qualified to be the go-to health expert in the group. Doling out tips to people who looked way �healthier� than I did made me feel like a fraud.

Then I found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

It was perfect: I needed a career shift, I needed to improve my own health and relationship with food, and on top of that, I was interested in the subject matter.

As I learned about dozens of conflicting dietary theories, I finally understood that there is no �right� diet, no �right� answers, and no �right� weight or body. I learned about Bio Individuality�the idea that there is no one right way of eating that works for everyone�and realized what was nourishing my raw vegan peer�s body might leave mine feeling lethargic and sick.

A New Definition of Healthy

I also came to understand that there�s no perfect version of �healthy� that we can achieve once and for all. Our definitions of health evolve, and our bodies change throughout our lives. The journey to health never ends�I would be on it for the rest of my life, as would everyone around me. And that�s okay. In fact, it can help you:

• Empathize with the struggles your clients share
• Speak from a place of authenticity
• Get experience: you�re your own first client!
• Keep learning after your training ends
• Provide a relatable and inspiring example to clients

You�ll always be working on your own health, and that doesn�t make you unqualified.

It makes you human.

Do you feel �healthy enough� to be a Health Coach? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments below!