Every day, we make thousands of decisions, large and small: What to eat, what to do, what to take on, what to say no to, and so on. These decisions all have their own resulting emotional and physical states, which add up and collectively have the power to tip our health in one direction or another. Throw in the added stressors of our many determinants of health—from the genetics we may have inherited to the societal constructs that influence our choices—and the picture becomes even more complex. This is why most of us end up waiting for the ultimatum from the doctor before making big lifestyle changes, and when we make them, they are difficult, uncomfortable, and usually done with little-to-no support from family and friends.

But here's the good news! We are now entering an era of understanding that gives individuals more agency over their wellness. 

• Imagine making choices with conscious awareness so that you were continually tipping the scale towards your best health.

• Imagine seeing your life as larger than the specter of potential genetic health issues, so that they aren't necessarily an inevitable reality.

• Imagine a close companion—one who is knowledgeable and caring but no-nonsense and not easy to blow off—a guide walking with you, helping you identify choices that not only bring optimal health, but clarity about YOU and what brings meaning to your life. 

This is functional medicine health coaching, and I am here to help!

Hi, I’m Shannon Ginn Robinson, MPH, NBC-HWC—a board-certified health and wellness coach, trained in functional medicine. I help people identify concrete, customized, and medically-backed strategies to get them closer to their best health. I also completed a course on hormonal health from The Institute for Integrated Nutrition, enhancing my knowledge base on all things hormone—especially for my peri-menopausal and menopausal friends!

As a health coach, I use my functional medicine expertise to ask you targeted questions designed to help YOU—i.e., the expert on you!—figure out what will work for YOU. With a background in public health and health coach mindset, I naturally see the big picture as well as the small details about your health and I use them both as a frame to guide you and keep you on the path of optimal health. 

I’ve seen it—and lived it too—how making small, steady changes, which, dare I say! can be fun to do, really does lead to large, measurable health improvements in your real life. 

What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine is an approach to health care that looks at the upstream causes of illness and works with individuals to uncover potential causes behind their symptoms, instead of masking them through “band-aid” treatments. Instead of taking a prescription to deal with a symptom (and then taking another prescription to deal with the side effects of that prescription…), it is about getting to the state of health and wellness that is potentially inherent in you, via the way you live your life in light of your predispositions and environmental exposures.

Functional medicine is patient-centered, meaning that you are treated as a complete organism, not just a liver or a knee. In this scientifically-backed framework, diet, movement, emotional health, sleep, and many other life factors are considered as part of the whole picture of health; therefore “medicine” can look like a lot of different things, depending on your unique physical, mental, and environmental circumstances. 

Why work with a health coach?

Have you ever had a doctor tell you emphatically that you need to change something about your habits IMMEDIATELY because YOUR HEALTH DEPENDS on it? Maybe you were asked to eliminate something from your diet, get more sleep, or start an exercise regimen? And it made you feel worried but resolved to do something differently RIGHT NOW? But then the moment you walked out the door, you felt completely lost about what to do ACTUALLY? And that worry and resolve that were stirred up in you by your doctor got quickly consumed by the overwhelm of everyday life? Then every so often the thought, “OH YEAH, I HAVE TO DO ______ LIKE MY DOCTOR SAID” crossed your mind, but you couldn’t connect with the motivation required to muster back that resolve? 

You are not alone. Behavior change is one of the hardest things to do. Here is where I, your health coach, come in!

Often, there is a gap between what you know and what you do—and no doubt there are multiple reasons why. As your coach, I help you uncover these reasons and find solutions to get you from knowledge to action. I'm the bridge you walk across to get from what you know you need to do for your well-being and living the reality of doing it—and feeling the benefits.

Health coaches educate, encourage, support, and problem-solve with individuals to:

• Carry out and adhere to their doctor’s care plans

• Make "do-able" changes to their diets and lifestyle

• Start or adjust physical activity routines

• Be accountable for their well-being

(And check out this article from the New York Times, “We Could All Use a Health Coach”!)

Here is an example: Maybe you need to get your cholesterol down and your doctor prescribed you regular cardiovascular exercise; however, it's not happening. As your health coach, I ask you questions about what kind of exercise is fun for you and help you work out a way to incorporate it in your schedule in a doable, sustainable way. But I also dig deeper, to better understand what is keeping you from "just doing it"—it turns out that you have really high foot arches and can’t find shoes that fit comfortably. So I accompany you to the specialized running shoe store and help you get shoes that work for you and the activities you have committed to. And now, because it’s fun and you have the proper gear plus someone to encourage you and hold you accountable, you actually do it! After months of adhering to your routine, your cholesterol starts to go down. Results!

Allow me to serve as your accountability partner in your journey to achieve better health and wellness!

Health coaches can be an important asset to a patient-care team. I'm hearing now more than ever how health care providers are overloaded and overwhelmed with the complex aspects of patient care, to the point where ensuring follow-up around lifestyle changes can easily be lost in the shuffle.

As a health coach, I work collaboratively with nutritionists, naturopaths, integrative medicine doctors, acupuncturists, and chiropractors to support individuals who need additional scaffolding and encouragement. Through one-on-one counseling as well as group sessions, I help individuals make, achieve, and sustain lifestyle changes that enhance their health, resulting in better outcomes than clients tackling behavioral changes prescribed by their doctors on their own. The reality is that we could all use some accountability—behavior change is hard!

Here is a short video from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy that describes the role and benefits of partnering with a health coach.

Let me as a health coach pick up where you, health care provider, must leave off—not for lack of caring, but for lack of time and resources.