What is wellness coaching?
Wellness coaching takes your wellness-based goals and turns them into action by helping you make and sustain healthy lifestyle changes. You will learn how to harness your strengths to work towards building your healthiest, best self. A wellness coach will work with you one-on-one to create goals, overcome barriers and move towards achieving your nutrition or physical activity goals. Wellness coaching has been shown to promote successful behavior change through a collaborative approach between participant and coach.
A wellness coach can help you get “unstuck” and create a customized strategic plan of small, sustainable and realistic changes that work for you and your life!
What are the eligibility criteria?
- Must be benefits-eligible faculty and staff
- Must have a BMI of greater than 25—check my BMI
- Must not: be actively being treated for cancer, have an eating disorder, have uncontrolled high blood pressure, have uncontrolled diabetes, have had a cardiac event in the last six months.
- Interested in a coaching path of either (1) general nutrition and improved eating habits or (2) physical activity and movement.
How do I enroll?
We ask all those interested in participating in the wellness coaching pilot program to complete this brief wellness coaching interest form by Monday, Jan. 17. At that time, there will be a select number of participants randomly chosen for each path. *As this is a pilot program, we are only able to enroll a certain number of participants.
Once enrolled, what does the wellness coaching process look like?
- You will complete the online wellness coaching intake form for your wellness coach’s review.
- The first appointment will be in-person for about 45-60 minutes. This meeting will consist of:
- Your coach obtaining your weight, waist circumference and blood pressure
- You and your coach together will develop a wellness vision and create a few long- and short-term goals.
- Follow-up meetings will occur weekly via Microsoft Teams and will be 20-30 minutes. These meetings will focus on creating and modifying short-term goals, celebrating successes and creating plans to overcome challenges.
Who are the wellness coaches?
Gail Grozalis: Gail has been a registered dietitian for about 20 years, also becoming a certified diabetes educator. She is the current executive director of the Wellness Initiative. She is a certified health and wellness coach and licensed mindful eating facilitator.
Kim DeStefano: Kim received a bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science here at the University in 2005. She is the current senior health and wellness specialist of the Wellness Initiative. She is a certified health and wellness coach and licensed mindful eating facilitator.
The fine print
- Wellness coaching focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, and not the treatment of health conditions. Therefore, our coaches do not address diagnosed health conditions that require medical nutrition therapy or pharmacological treatment. Some medical conditions may disqualify you from moving forward with wellness coaching. Your application will be reviewed and the Wellness Team will reach out to you shortly.
- Once coaching sessions have begun, if the coach believes it is in the best interest of the client to seek further medical attention or needs resources beyond the coach’s expertise, it may be recommended that coaching is terminated.
