What Makes A Good Diet Coach?

The greatest things in your life won’t happen by chance, they’ll happen by choice.

In the article What is the Value of an Online Diet Coach? I talked about the specific benefits I think working with an online coach holds vs one you can hire locally.

This article focuses more on the specifics of what I personally do and my thoughts on what I feel a good coach does.

Online Coaching Relieves You from the Information Overabundance Problem

In many ways we are lucky to live in a world where information is freely available at our fingertips, however, I would say that the fitness industry is suffering because of it.

We are swamped, and when it comes to achieving our physique goals there is so much information that reading and studying more quickly becomes counter-productive.

For every opinion you read on this site, you will find someone somewhere on the net saying the exact opposite. That doesn’t make them wrong – there is certainly more than one way of doing things – the problem comes when people start taking pieces of different systems, putting them together and confusing themselves over the inevitable advice conflicts.

If you’re a fan of someone’s work, the results they get and are frustrated with your own, then you’re better off sticking with what they say and the system they use until you start making good progress. – Better to bend yourself to meet the rules than try and bend the rules to meet you. For now anyway, leave the debate for later.

Online Coaching Gives You the Right Answer for YOU

There are times when what people want to know and what they need to hear are different. This is the difference between a coach and Google.

I’m often asked why someone would pay me for advice when I publish so much information on the website for free. “You probably don’t need to hire me, just have a look at the website. All the information is there and if you have a question just ask me in the comments.”

So what is it that people pay for? – I call it, the ‘right answer’.

Though the articles and guides are well intentioned, I’m painfully aware that the more in-depth I explain things, the deeper many people dig their hole. – People have a tendency to assume that the most complicated answer is the right one for them. Complication appeals to us, and we love to change things and assume the worst.

Consider the following questions I’ve had in the comments:

• • Is it better for me to train fasted?
  • What’s the optimal carb split for meals across a day?
  • Should I squat every session?
  • How do I adjust things if I do another sport aside from the lifting?

There is no single answer to such questions, and I can’t give one without knowing the person’s individual situation. This is what the coaching relationship allows for that the comments don’t. It means I can make an objective decision: clear, concise*, actionable advice for you.

(*Baffling someone with technical bullshit spanning several paragraphs may seem impressive and feel good, but if it leaves the client paralyzed because they are given too many possibilities then that isn’t coaching.)

Important Considerations When Choosing an Online Coach

Do They Seek to Assess Compatibility?

Choose a coach you think you’ll get along with. You’ve got to agree with the person you are thinking of hiring about what can be achieved and the method in which you’ll go about achieving it. This is vital to avoid frustration down the line.

If you’re a fan of large amounts of cardio, metabolic conditioning, high meal frequency and exactitude then it makes sense to choose someone that works with and gets good results from such methods. I don’t, and I can only make a prediction based on using the methods that I am familiar with.

Within this context the most common ‘mistakes’ (which I’ll list here as it may be useful for you) I see are:

• Inflated expectations.
• Underestimation of body fat.
• Lack of a clear direction/goal.
• Emphasis on training over diet.
• Over-reliance on cardio or ‘conditioning’.
• Too much stressing over minor details.
• Inappropriate training volume.
• Inadequate tracking methods.
• Lack of patience.
• Too severe a calorie deficit for too long.

Making suggestions for change is relatively easy. Predictions are harder. I have a good idea what will happen when the changes are implemented but there is always a degree of educated guesswork. Still, it’s important to make a prediction to check we’re on the same page with expectations on what we can achieve and I always do this before working with someone.

Are They Prepared to Make Difficult Decisions?

Several weeks have passed. Nothing seems to have happened. Body measurements are the same, scale weight is the same. Do we need to adjust the macros to keep things moving or just be patient? Or to put it another way, is this a stall that will be fixed with patience or does something need to be changed?

Either way, you need to choose someone who you believe in and has the confidence to tell you with conviction what you need to do.

As a coach, there are some times where I need to be soft, and others where I need to be firm. A good coach does not pander to the whims of their client if those whims threaten to throw them off course. I don’t believe in hand-holding but I do believe in supporting people. If I think you’ve been faffing around, you can guarantee that I will tell it to you straight and I won’t mince my words when I do so. By the same token if you’re blaming yourself for something that I feel you have no blame for – I will tell you.

Thanks for reading. If you’re interested in coaching find out more here.