how to become a health coach

It’s Easy To Become A Health Coach—Here’s How

It’s so easy

Are you ready for it?

Here’s how to become a health coach…

Call yourself one!

There are no restrictions or regulations in place for the Health Coaching profession. Anyone can become a Health Coach by calling themselves as such.

The Health Coaching profession isn’t alone as this is also the case for other professions such as Nutritionists, Personal Trainers, and Life Coaches—and any other type of coach for that matter.

A Better Question Might Be—How Do I Become a Health Coach That Can Transform Lives?

Since anyone, aged 2 yrs+ can call themselves a Health Coach, how to become one probably isn’t the best question to be asking.

Sure, anyone can become a Health Coach—but not everyone can transform the life of another in ways they couldn’t have imagined without walking the road of transformation themselves and then coaching another to do the same.

This takes personal dedication to the craft of coaching yourself. Evolution into a transformational presence—a catalyst for deep change in another.

This my friend, cannot be done through a course from Udemy. You need live interaction with real-world coaches, offering you valuable coaching, feedback, and practice.

I have recommended a valuable resource toward the end of this post as a place for you to start.

On to the informal regulations of Health Coaching.

American Association of Drugless Practitioners

There is a popular regulating body called the AADP (American Association of Drugless Practitioners) attempting to regulate the health coaching industry. However, their accreditation is not recognized by any country as a legitimate licensing body.

They claim to hold high standards for the schools they approve for accreditation. However, they neglect to be transparent about what those standards are. Take what you will from this but their lack of transparency leads me to believe the accreditation is a smokescreen.

The Health Coaching industry remains unregulated. It’s not mandatory anywhere in the world to be an accredited Health Coach.

Is Accreditation Recommended?

There is an ongoing debate about this. In the end, there are valid points to argue on both sides.

Getting certified through an AADP accredited (or another accrediting board) Health Coach program does generally indicate the certification quality meets a certain standard (according to them).

Given the lack of transparency and surrounding any standards for the schools, accreditation may only be good more insurance purposes. Getting board certified through most accrediting bodies allows you to get insurance.

Health Coaching is not something one can learn by watching hours of video and all of a sudden knowing how to coach another. It takes practice, lots and lots of practice. First, you learn to coach yourself, then you learn to coach another, through practice.

It’s Your Choice Whether to get certified

Whether you want to learn the art of Health Coaching through an accredited program or not is ultimately up to you.

Would I recommend calling yourself a Health Coach without any high-quality training or practice? Absolutely not.

I surely wouldn’t want to be coached by someone who has no training or received their training from a low-quality certification like what you can find on Udemy.

Do Your Research and Find a reputable certification

Take some time to discover exactly what type of coaching approach you want to take. Make sure it resonates with you.

For example:

I wrote a long detailed post comparing 7 online Health Coach Certification programs and each of the programs offers a slightly different approach.

Some Recommended Programs

Institute For The Psychology of Eating

health coach certification online

Gold standard health coach program, nothing compares, comes at a cost

More info: Institute For The Psychology of Eating Review

Primal Health Coach Institute

online health coach certification (1)

Developed by Mark Sisson, the world leader in primal living

More info: Primal Health Coach Institute Review

Natural Wellness Academy

health coach certification (2)

A more intimate program that includes mentorship and coaching. Highly recommended

More info: Natural Wellness Academy Review

Have Questions?

Feel free to reach out to me here.

I’d love to help you find your way.