With temperatures rising across the country, swimsuit season is officially here. Just check your Facebook timeline and you’ll notice the number of people checking in at the gym has jumped as folks work to shed that “winter layer.” However, what you probably won’t see as much as those gym check-ins is a change in folks’ diet. Unfortunately, this is a self-defeating behavior.
I recently caught up with Coach Bryndan “Be” Moore of AlumniWellness.com, a nutrition coach who went through a physical fitness transformation of his own, and eventually decided to educate everyone willing to listen about the importance of diet within the greater scope of wellness.
Like many of us, in the beginning Coach Be hit the gym intermittently, but after a while he realized he wasn’t achieving the physical results he was looking for. Still, it was his father’s congestive heart failure and kidney failure that rattled him to his core. After years of dialysis, as his father headed in for what would be a successful kidney transplant, Be had a moment of introspection that led him to pursue a significantly healthier lifestyle.
“There is a sense of helplessness that comes to the loved ones of those facing major surgery. In retrospect that was the day I decided to do the most I could to minimize my chances of passing on that experience to the people who care for me,” he said.
The decision to hire a coach came after listening to rave reviews, and finally witnessing the physical transformation of a friend. With a combination of exercise, ridding himself of counterproductive habits, and improved nutrition, the scale finally began to move for Be. Inspired by his experience, he began learning the basics of cellular biology, human energy cycles and coaching.
“It was truly a lesson in our interaction with our food from the molecular level through the organism level. That’s just the science!” he shared. “Then there is the study of the psychology of coaching and the learning to deal with varying personality types as well as people with varying goals. It’s completely different coaching an athlete for sports-specific performance than it is to guide a person living a sedentary lifestyle, trying just to reduce excess fat.”
After several long months of studying, he passed his certification exam and entered the world of nutrition coaching—in person and online.
When it comes to creating the coaching plan for his clients, Be spends a lot of time listening. By understanding his clients’ current lifestyle, motivations, and level of commitment, he can determine if his program is a good match for their goals.
“From then on we introduce you to exercises that will move you toward your desired body. We discuss any supplements that might fill gaps in your diet and we work on building strong nutritional habits,” Coach Be said. “We spend a lot of energy redefining your relationship with food. We make simple changes and focus on them one at a time so that we can solidify the change in your life and make the changes last.”
By maintaining open and constant communication with his clients, he works with them on their personal strengths, weaknesses and individual goals—no program is the same. Working with a nutrition coach is completely different than popular weight loss programs.
Coach Be doesn’t count calories/points like Weight Watchers, and won’t sell you prepackaged foods a la Jennie Craig. The success of his clients relies solely on their level of commitment.
“If you guarantee the work, I’ll guarantee the results,” he said with a laugh.
And the words of his clients echo his sentiments.
One client recently told him, “The coaching isn’t hard, it’s doing what I need to do while on travel. Your availability is incredible.”
And for those of you wondering about the effectiveness of having a nutrition coach online, another client shared, “The distance has not been an issue because I’m in constant contact with Coach Be. He’s always quick to respond to questions and concerns.”
Coach Be’s relationship with his clients is one of mutual trust and accountability. “Each client and I share an online worksheet that tracks the one action item that we are working on at any time, and they check in daily to say they did it or didn’t, or are having an issue.”
To drive home the benefit of having a nutrition coach, Be told me the story of a client who was working to fit into a bridesmaid dress.
Despite spending considerable time working out with a personal trainer, she still wasn’t fully satisfied with her results.
“We talked about her goal, and daily routine and what she was eating. Together we made a few significant changes in her meals and meal timing and in a very short time; she dropped from a size 8 to a size 6. Most importantly, she comfortably fit into the dress and wore it with great confidence which is what she really wanted,” he explained proudly.
Another impactful story about the power of nutrition involves Coach Be’s son. The youngster suffered mood swings and periods of high energy followed by periods of lethargy, which eventually affected his classroom performance. Academic administrators suspected it was a case of ADD/ADHD, but Be and his wife instead decided to change their son’s diet.
“We replaced all the sugary, fast-burning foods in his diet with higher quality foods which would give him sustained energy throughout the day and it worked wonders,” he said. “With no other significant changes, his classroom experience improved dramatically.”
The key to total wellness isn’t just in exercise, it also lies in nutrition. Check your diet—you’d be surprised to learn what’s holding you back from your fitness goals. And when you’re fully committed to making a change, find Coach Be at www.alumniwellness.com.
