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The Road to Lasting Change: Why Signature Programs are the Best Way to Serve Clients
When I first started out as a health coach twenty years ago, I was bursting with energy to tell everyone how to eat. I saw the whole world through the lens of food, and it was hard to reconcile my utopian vegetarian vision with the fast-food reality of American culture. My friends and family got an earful about the evils of trans fats and simple sugars, as I shouted Drink more water! Eat more kale! from every rooftop.
As I began working with clients, I was filled with a manic urgency to help them learn everything they needed to live a more balanced life. Each of my sessions was crammed with information, and my notes filled pages. I can only imagine how overwhelmed those early clients must have felt, leaving my office with nine different action steps, their heads spinning with all my well-meaning advice.
My youthful exuberance blinded me to a few crucial things, including how many people were actually willing to cook spelt or whip up a Tofurkey for the holidays. But the main thing I was missing was a recognition of how to create lasting change. For years I thought the key was offering more information, and that once people had the knowledge they needed — the recipes, the tips, the exercises — they would simply apply it. I didn’t understand that the most effective coaches don’t…