What a Health Coach Can Do For You

Discover how a health coach can help you to create positive lasting changes in your life.

MARQUETTE, Mich. – Most of us have had a coach at some point in our lives perhaps for athletics, academia, childbirth, etc.  However “health coach” aka “wellness coach” is a fairly new twist on the concept of coaching.  If you’re reading this you must be wondering what a health coach can do for you and how does it work?

Mercedes Turino, health coach for Healthy Intuition counsels a client during an online session to get a picture of thier health and wellness goals in Marquette, Michigan. (Marquette Magazine photo by Ronen Zilberman)

We’ve all broken those promises to ourselves for making necessary changes in our lives to improve our health and well-being.  Even though we understand in our minds why it’s important and we have every intention of sticking to our personal commitments, procrastination and lack of follow through get the best of us time after time.  So what’s happening here? Why do we continue to fail at the things we know can improve every aspect of our lives.

A health coach can help to answer these questions and more… they are dedicated to supporting you towards realizing and attaining your health and wellness goals by facilitating healthy behavior change.  We recently spoke with a local health coach here in Marquette, Michigan and are excited to share some of the knowledge and inspirations we gained in just one conversation.

Introducing Health Coach Mercedes Turino

Mercedes Turino, health coach for Healthy Intuition based in Marquette, Michigan. (Marquette Magazine photo by Erica McMillan)

The first thing we noticed in speaking with Mercedes is what a genuine person she is.  We felt comfortable immediately by the warmth of her presence.  Health coaching is a heartfelt passion for her born from her own experience with self-healing as she dealt with severe eczema and infertility issues.

After becoming frustrated with the band-aid medications prescribed by her doctors she decided to go deeper and incorporate a more holistic approach. By educating herself she came to better understand the reasons why her body was out of balance and was then able to the initiate healing mechanisms within her own body to create lasting changes (including the natural conception of her son!)

After the success of her own positive health changes she became certified as a health coach and started her own business; Healthy Intuition; to assist others in their own journey to create balance with their bodies.  She has learned by experience and truly practices what she preaches on a daily basis.

What does a health coach actually do?

As Mercedes puts it, ” a health coach facilitates discovery of a greater awareness of our bodies so people can make their own knowledgable choices about how and what they eat.”  This is done by helping people sort out and understand underlying issues they hold pertaining to their relationships with self, others, and food.  Longterm visions are created for these health and relationship goals that they can get excited about and maintain.

Mercedes Turino fills her cart with with examples of healty food choices in the produce section of Econo Foods in Marquette, Michigan. (Marquette Magazine photo by Ronen Zilberman)

The holistic perspective that Mercedes incorporates as a health coach goes beyond educating her clients on what to eat.  It involves looking for the sources and causes for current patterns in order to make real changes for the long-term.  She feels it’s necessary to understand what is going on under the surface in order to know how best to move forward and begin caring for oneself.   As Mercedes says, “Food is not just food! It carries nostalgia that ties into our social, emotional, and cultural identities.”

What is a health coaching session like?

Mercedes Turino speaks with a client via video conference during an online health coaching session (Marquette Magazine photo by Ronen Zilberman)

Mercedes offers many options for communicating with her clients. Although face to face meetings are offered for those in her immediate area surprisingly, most of her consultations are done over the internet by video conference or over the phone! Imagine having your consultation in the comfort of your own home.  🙂

Depending on your needs you can participate in one on one coaching to address your individual needs, group coaching with others who share similar goals (perhaps with friends or family members), and group programs created around a pre-designed program such as “going grain free to promote gut health.”  In addition clients have access to share with others via her online support groups. Whatever your desires are for achieving optimal health Mercedes offers a way to accommodate your needs.  You can visit Mercedes’ website to learn more about her services at myHEALTHYINTUITION.com

We’d like to welcome Mercedes as a regular contributor to Marquette Magazine!

Mercedes will be sharing her knowledge and insights via her own column in the health section of Marquette Magazine. Look for monthly articles starting now!

As a special offer to our readers Mercedes will be offering a free consultation to those who subscribe to Marquette Magazine!  Subscribe to our magazine by entering your email to receive our latest posts to your inbox.

by marquette_magazine