What is an Intuitive Eating Coach?
Great question! And one I get a lot when I introduce myself as a Certified Intuitive Eating Coach. So, what is it that I actually do?
I support people to heal their relationship with food, their body, movement and themselves. Notice it doesn’t just focus on the food and eating side of things? Yes, a lot of the work I do with clients is focused on healing their relationship with food, but as a Certified Intuitive Eating Coach, I also support those clients to look at and work on their relationship with their body, exercise and themselves.
Eating, body image, exercise and self-acceptance are all entwined and tangled up. These areas of our life require gentle unpicking, often with the guidance and expertise of a professional like me!
I personally coach in a very gentle way, I know the power of my words and tone. I’m very aware that you’re going to have that voice in your head as you do this work on healing your relationship with food and learning to be an intuitive eater, so it’s important to me that I set the tone right. So that the words I use and my tone shapes and moulds your own inner voice to be kinder and more understanding.
Whilst I’m gentle, I’m also a fierce cheerleader and I’ll check in with you and ensure you’re staying on track with your goals.
Practically, how does coaching work?
I work with clients for around 12 sessions, this is the minimum amount of sessions I advise having, as we need time to properly evaluate your relationship with food and begin digging deep.
Sessions are an hour long and held via phone, zoom or in person here in Cornwall in the UK. (I work with clients all over the world via Zoom)
In the session we discuss your food diary, not looking at what you’re eating but your behaviours and thought processes around food. We discuss your assignments you were set for the week, which you will have sent to me beforehand and delve into anything else that has come up for you around eating that week. Once the call has finished I send over session notes and your assignment for the following week.
Between sessions I’m available to my clients via email and Voxer, a voice messaging app during business hours Monday to Friday, to support clients with in the moment issues. This has been a fantastic addition to my coaching services as it gives me an insight into exactly what is happening for the client with food in the moment, which we can then work on either during our session or through assignments.
Sometimes clients opt for regular sessions after the 12 sessions are up and sometimes they’re read to fly the nest, it’s totally individual to each client.
Assignments & Workbooks
Each of my 1:1 Intuitive Eating Clients receives a textbook, workbook and journal on intuitive eating. Most of the assignments will be connected with the books however some assignments are practical tasks which are tailored to the individual.
The books are sent out via post to the client ahead of our first session.
What if a client can’t make a session?
It’s not a problem at all, life happens and we have to reschedule! I ask wherever possible for clients to give me as much notice as they can to allow for rescheduling.
I’ve never been coached before, is it difficult?
It’s totally normal to feel worried, apprehensive and/or nervous if you’ve never been coached before. A good coach will always support you in feeling comfortable first before delving into any questions. Sessions are conversation led and I’m often told by clients they feel lighter, clearer and more focused after sessions. The way in which I lead sessions is by questioning and delving into possible reasons why you may feel or act how you do, guiding you to your own personal answers - after all, you are the expert of yourself. Sometimes you may just need a helping hand in finding those answers.
Here’s what some of my clients have to say about coaching with me:
““From the first discovery call up until today I felt comfortable talking and working with Peta. I always felt understood and supported and Peta tailored the 8 weeks around where I was up to on my Intuitive Eating journey so I didn’t feel like I was starting over again. I loved the weekly chats and discovering more about my eating patterns that stemmed from diet culture and childhood. Journal prompts and the Pinterest recipe board were so useful. I feel like I now have the tools to keep me eating intuitively and much more than that I am happier and feel like myself again! Thank you Peta! ””
“This is absolutely Peta’s passion and her sensitivity and investment in you and your growth, well-being and happiness is a rarely found thing in the world. Thank you. ”
“Peta is so much more than someone who is able to advise us about food (although she is a qualified Eating Psychology Coach) because she really has been on one heck of a journey with her own body and what she can eat to maintain optimum health. This lovely lady really is one of the sweetest, most approachable and non-judgemental humans you could work with when it comes to these emotional, deep-rooted issues and will never tell you what you ‘should’ be eating or what you ‘should’ be doing; she simply helps you un-pack your own thought and patterns in a really friendly, helpful, realistic and kind way.
I honestly cannot recommend her enough because she has really helped me so much. For me, food is the biggest issue in my life and everything surrounding it: body image, binge-eating, restrictive eating...you name it; so to finally work alongside someone who is not clinical and will listen and react out of love and not judgement is truly a big relief for me.”
1:1 Intuitive Eating Coaching with me
If you’d like to find out more about 1:1 Intuitive Eating Coaching or book your sessions, you can discover all about this service here.
You may prefer to have a chat with me first and ask any questions you have, if so, feel free to book in a discovery call with me, email peta@nourishingsoulfully.com
