Has anyone ever used a weight loss coach?

[EvenStrangerThings03]

I have been yo yo dieting for about 10 years now and I am pretty much the same weight I started at all those years ago! Has anyone ever used a weight loss coach and did you find that it helped?

I have been speaking to a coach who charges £40 p/w or £65 p/w for the premium package (the same but with fortnightly one to ones as well) and whilst I’d gladly spend money to lose weight it’s not an insignificant amount.

So has anyone used a coach and did you have more success than doing it on your own?

What are they offering for that money though?

Suppose it really depends how much you understand nutrition. If you feel you could benefit from their nutritional advice then it's maybe a good idea but if your just looking for someone to hold you accountable then a diet buddy might work.

No, but my exercise coach offers this and I have discussed it with him. He's just started a new online offering (fully personalised and includes 1-2-1 contact) which is proving popular and people are getting results. His huge focus is on getting you to build habits that you can sustain ongoing rather than just getting a quick fix and then piling the weight back on again later. He gives exercise plans as part of this, though you don't need gym access and it might be as simple as making sure you get your steps in at first. The price your coach is quoting seems on the high side and I'd be expecting a lot of personalised help for that. Ultimately it comes down to whether you're going to get good advice and stick to the advice. Sometimes paying for it is the best way to get going and it can be very helpful to have someone who can help you through rough patches or days when the wheels come off.

I paid for a six week online group coaching. Completely changed my mindset on food and life. I've been to the gym three times a week (apart from illness/holidays etc) for the past year, since I completed the six weeks. I think it was £160. You get fortnightly check ins, a fb group where they answer any questions etc. I highly recommend.

I only pay £20 a month for gym membership, and have found all of my nutritional advice online. You haven’t said what you’d get for the £40 a week, is that a one hour 1-1 consultation or a group meeting, an online thing etc? You could pay the same for a Personal Trainer. So it depends what you hope to gain, and why you think you need it.

As a pp said above, might be worth a few sessions to get you going, but tbh I wouldn’t pay that amount.

If you know where you’ve been going wrong, there are plenty of threads here that can provide support and advice. Do you successfully lose weight, then just go back to old ways of eating, for example?

I really recommend the EC method, it's online group coaching but they are brilliant and will give you as much time as you want, plus have tons of nutrition info and exercise plans for home and gym. They have a really helpful podcast too so you can listen to it first to see if you like their style but they are great for sustainable, enjoyable weight loss and physique changes plus being part of a community who support each other. I think it's about £100 for each 8 week 'round' but there's people who have been on it for 2 years.

Use Noom. It's £20 a month ish. You get an online coach.

What exactly are they offering for that?
The only thing I have found that works for me is enough protein to stop my blood sugar going up and down too quickly.
You might want to look into the metabolic balance program. The weight comes off quickly. It is challenging but the up and down sugar swings stop.

Depends on what your issue is but if you think your macros are basically right just cutting portion sizes down really works. I started off just chopping mine in half and freezing the rest for lunches. That worked - previously I had plateaued for a long time. If the plate looked a bit empty I just filled it up with salad or green veg. I was surprised I didn't feel hungrier, my plate was full and it took me just as long to eat.

Let's face it you won't starve. Food is available pretty much everywhere so it's unlikely you'll have a fading away emergency.

A lot of these ‘coaches’ are thinly disguised MLM’s like the BeachBody ‘coaches’. They seem to be either dangerous ‘accountability’ style groups based on disordered eating and have a cultish borderline ED feel, or they are shakes/powders/Cambridge diet type MLMs designed to sell you unnecessary and expensive processed food and/or supplements that you end up just peeing out.

What qualifications does this ‘coach’ have?

Can you comment on who you used (pm me if you can't say on here - I'm relatively new to MN so not sure of etiquette!)

I've googled before and found a couple of people, websites look good and FB/Instagram pages are quite interactive and busy but I've been reluctant to sign up because I've been such a massive failure with my weightloss attempts, I'm worried I'll be chucking good money after bad!
Thanks 😊

@Onlyhuman123 no problem. I did commit to 6 with ESG fitness. She also does the EC method as someone else recommended up above. I really rate Emma because everything she says is evidence based, backed up by science and she doesn't do things for 'sponsors' she also constantly offers free advice on Instagram and is just so knowledgeable and passionate about what she does.

Thanks!

Thanks everyone! So the coach has said it would include the following:

online coaching (WhatsApp access)
personalised nutrition and exercise plan
Weekly check in
Facebook group
healthy recipes

there is also some coaching on mindset, generally the thinking seems to be about changing my attitude to food to try and develop healthier eating habits rather than a specific diet. It’s the mindset side they really interests me, I have had success at losing weight in the past but as soon as I stop focusing on it I gradually gain it back. I feel like, I know what foods are healthy and what aren’t but I struggle to transfer that into real life 😂

Is the general feel that this is quite expensive? If anyone has any recommendations I’d be really grateful!

It's a lot of money. I think you can get better for less.

Is she actually qualified to give nutrition advice of have they just done some 2 hour shitty online course.

I did the 3 month Wildfit programme with a coach. Completely changed my relationship with food FOREVER.

Focus is on optimal health, rather than weight loss but 3 stone fell off me (in 3 months). Best money I’ve ever spent on myself. I highly recommend it.

Let me know if you want me to put you in touch with a coach.

No exercise needed on WF. I now do weight training to maximise the benefits of the programme.

If I was going to spend any where near that, I would want a trained Personal trainer who could also help with meal planning. That would pay for two sessions a week.

Thanks for the advice, @Dashel i was thinking the same, that perhaps a local PT with a nutrition qualification would be better. The coach was qualified and had some great testimonials but it felt like a lot for virtual coaching!

I joined the Joe Wicks Body Coach app when it was on offer for £50 a year and I am finding that works for me. He is so positive and encouraging and the food plan is really good. I tend to have a lot of curries, stir fries and salads which I like and falafel (I’m doing the vegan plan) but the Facebook group raves about meat/fish/veggie dishes and are super supportive with lots of people posting their transformation photos, which is inspiring.

if you enjoy his free HIIT stuff on you tube then it might worth thinking about. There is a planner on the app which is ok and different levels for the workouts. Weights get introduced in the intermediate section.

This could compliment a PT possibly?

I put weight on with Joe Wicks. :-/

@OnceAgainWithFeeling it took about 5 weeks for the weight loss to start for me. I think it’s probably because I was building muscle and water retention , but it seems to be quite common for people to struggle for the first 4 to 6 weeks with weight loss and then for things to happen after that. I think with the food choices it’s important to keep them varied as a few my options (such as the granola) look high in calories, so I think if they were constantly picked it would slow down any weight loss.

The worst thing about it for me, is having DOMs in my bottom quite regularly.

I don’t focus on scale weight at all anymore. My best friend weighs the same now as she did on her wedding day but is 2 dress sizes smaller.