Meet your Health Coach

“Hi, I am Sheetal”

“A mum of two boys…one a young adult and the other a teenager…”

I am also a Health Coach”
This introduction invariably leads to:

“Seriously? You don’t look like the mum of two boys”.

And “What does the Health Coach do? Is it like a Dietician or a Nutritionist?”

Well, I did look like the mum of two boys many years ago. My younger son was just born and I had put on loads of weight. Often as young mothers do, I found it difficult to prioritise my own fitness needs over the needs of my family.

This would have continued had I not reminded myself of my early life experience. At the age of 17, I lost my father after a long illness; a loss I took years to recover from. That gave me the belief that I needed to prioritise my own health not only for myself but also for my family.

So, I joined a fitness club for the first time in my life. I expected to quickly fall off the wagon, as most people do who take up fitness later in life. However, much to my own surprise, I got hooked on to physical exercise and my new fitness regime became an integral part of my life. My weight fell away, my stamina increased and my overall well being improved significantly.

As my interest in fitness deepened, I began to appreciate the role of nutrition in overall fitness and well being. That led me to acquire a formal accreditation from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a USA based and world’s largest health coaching organisation.

I had suffered a hormone imbalance due to my weight loss, an experience that led me subsequently to acquire additional specialization in Hormone Health from IIN.

I firmly believe in doing work that has a positive impact on people. As a public speaker in wellness, I share my knowledge with audiences across the UAE; I have been a coordinator for a Toastmasters Club for youngsters for many years helping scores of youngsters in improving their communication and leadership skills; and I also act as a volunteer to support people of determination.

My health coaching practice allows me to combine my interest in health with my passion for impacting people positively.

Health
Coaching
Approach

A Health Coach and a Nutritionist / Dietician have a common goal: to help clients lead a healthier life. The approaches however differ:

A Nutritionist / Dietician provides nutrition based guidelines, meal plans and supplements to address specific medical issues.

A Health Coach, on the other hand, focuses on holistic health that includes nutrition awareness, other areas of life that can impact client’s wellbeing and adopts goal setting and accountability based approach.

The three pillars of my Health Coaching approach are:

Food and Beyond

It’s not just the food we eat that affects our health, but all other factors present in our daily lives. I work with my clients to identify all aspects of their life that impact their health.

For example:

Does stress at your job or in your relationships cause you to overeat?
Does lack of sleep or low energy prevent you from exercising?

Healthy relationships, a fulfilling career, regular physical activity and spiritual practice are the ‘Primary Foods’ that support what we eat. I employ specific techniques from my Emotional Eating specialization to help you identify the factors that lead to your food choices.

Diet to Nutrition

Each of us have unique food and lifestyle needs. One person’s food is another person’s poison; that’s why fad diets tend to fail in the long run.

Instead of prescribing a diet to you, I will work with you to explore the food that is right for your unique needs, lifestyle and preferences. I will introduce you to the importance of local and organic produce, whole grains, high quality proteins, healthy fats and water. I will make you aware of some simple, easy to get and inexpensive health food right for your body.

For example:

Did you know not all food needs to be organic? No need to splurge money on organic food!
Not all super food needs to be exotic or expensive. Did you know Moringa (a leaf of drumstick plant) or Indian gooseberry is one of the easily available super foods?

By eating and drinking foods that are good for you, you will naturally have less room and desire for unhealthy foods. This takes a little practice to make happen and I will support you along the way.

Advice to
Accountability

A unique role of a Health Coach is to support the client in identifying the specific steps to achieve their well-being goals. Once we have agreed the specific solutions, we will develop a plan to achieve the desired outcome.

As we know, change can be difficult; my job as a Health Coach is to help you to adhere to the change until it becomes a habit.

Nutrition + Lifestyle + Support = The New You

About
my training

I graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where I learned innovative coaching methods, practical lifestyle management techniques, and over 100 dietary theories – Ayurveda, gluten-free, Paleo, raw, vegan, macrobiotics, and everything in between.

My education has equipped me with extensive, cutting-edge knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and prevention. Drawing on my expertise, I work with my clients to help make lifestyle changes and choose health-promoting ways that produce real and lasting results. You will develop a deeper understanding of food and lifestyle choices that work best for you, improving your energy, balance, health, and happiness.

Each session will leave you feeling inspired and motivated. We will talk about things beyond food, seeking to bring balance to important elements of your life such as love and relationships as well as career and money. I will guide you to make simple, small changes to transform your life.

Certifications

I studied with the world’s top health and wellness experts including:

Joshua Rosenthal, founder and director of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Deepak Chopra, MD,leader in the field of mind-body medicine
David Katz, MD, MPH, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center
Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, chair of nutrition at Harvard University
Andrew Weil, MD, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine
Gabrielle Bernstein, bestselling author and life coach
Susan Blum, MD, MPH, assistant clinical professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mark Hyman, MD, founder of The UltraWellness Center
Geneen Roth, bestselling author and expert on emotional eating
David Wolfe, raw food leader and nutrition expert
Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, professor at New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health
Mark Bittman, food writer for The New York Times and bestselling author