5 min read
Can you explain to us what healthcoach by laya healthcare is?
In a word, it’s phenomenal. It has the potential to empower people to live and feel better every day. It provides laya healthcare members with a complete health programme that gives them access to professionally developed fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing plans that have been customised to the health goals in their lives. We’ve worked to create a range of physical exercises and challenges, nutritious recipes and meal plans coupled with meaningful mental wellbeing programmes that - because everyone is different – are tailored to individual health goals.
Your healthcoach programme is developed following the completion of an online Insights questionnaire and face-to-face consultation with a Healthcoach or if you prefer, an online self-assessment. It is delivered over eight weeks to help you change how you approach your fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing in an achievable and sustainable way.
What’s the benefit in seeing a Healthcoach?
It’s the personal interaction that is the key here, the ability for a qualified and experienced Healthcoach to assess your individual health needs and customise a programme to address the physical, nutritional and wellbeing goals you want to set.
Our job is to educate and help you understand your overall health and wellbeing, and how to improve and manage it for a healthier future.
What makes healthcoach by laya healthcare different?
With a huge number of free fitness and wellness apps and programmes available today, healthcoach is truly unique in that it’s the first programme that offers a face-to-face consultation with a qualified Healthcoach. Healthcoach personalises all your fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing activities to YOU. So, whether you’re a seasoned runner or just starting out, your programme will reflect your current level of fitness.
Similarly, the mental wellbeing elements of your programme are specific to your personalised goals. Perhaps you want to improve your sleep habits, or you want to budget your finances better? Healthcoach will have an answer that’s right for you.
We favour the carrot over the stick approach, so as you progress through the eight weeks of your programme you’ll enjoy rewards from healthy smoothies, to vouchers for Lifestyle Sports, Chopped, Deliveroo and Easons.
What should people expect from their face-to-face consultation?
The face-to-face consultation only takes 30 minutes and there are eight convenient healthcoach locations for people to choose from. During the session, your Healthcoach will assess in detail your individual health requirements including lifestyle habits, dietary needs and any injuries or medical conditions that may impact on the health programme we create for you.
Your Healthcoach will discuss Insights provided before your face-to-face consultation and what you want to achieve; we’ll go through your specific goals and where you want to take your health journey. This is followed by five simple non-diagnostic health assessments that focus on areas of your health that can be improved with exercise and nutrition:
- Body composition generates your current total body mass, bone mass, muscle mass, body fat percentage, body water percentage, and visceral fat. This is very simply performed on a Bioelectrical impedance device
- Fitness analysis helps to better understand how your body works during exercise. Once the short exercise portion of the test is finished your Healthcoach then attaches a pulse oximeter to your finger to assess your final readings
- Lung function and strength is assessed when you breath into a digital spirometer
- Blood pressure is assessed using a wireless blood pressure monitor wrapped around your upper arm
- Blood sugar testing takes a droplet of blood from your fingertip and is instantly analysed
Once the consultation is complete, we have all the information we need to put together your fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing plans to match your personal goals.
What should you wear for the face-to-face consultation?
Bringing yourself is enough, but maybe ditch the heels! There’s a short fitness test involving a bit of stepping so if it’s more comfortable to dress in some active wear and runners then do, but it’s not entirely necessary.
How do you follow the healthcoach programme?
Very easily is the quick answer! Once we create your programme, you’ll access it from a dedicated healthcoach app on your phone. When you log into the app your programme is ready and waiting for you with your goals and activities clearly displayed; and your progress easily updated as you go.
For your fitness plan, there are video and written descriptions on how to perform all activities. There’s a mix of cardio and resistance training in most programmes to give you a wide variety of exercise choices so that you enjoy your training. You also have the choice to manage your rest days so that your programme fits around your lifestyle.
Your nutrition programme gives you recipes and meal plans to follow, and you can also manually input meals of your own. You can log all your food intake in your diary as your day progresses, to help you stay on track for your health goals.
Your mental wellbeing programme will be delivered through blogs, podcasts and videos. In addition to the activities specific to your goals, there is a whole library of mental wellbeing resources that you can choose to take part in.
How can people stay motivated?
The easiest way to stay motivated and on track is by holding yourself accountable to yourself. Do this by logging your data, making sure you’re reaching your daily fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing goals. When you set your goals with us during the consultation there is great satisfaction that comes from achieving that goal.
We’ve created some extra challenges to keep you motivated along the way so you can choose to complete a Ring of Kerry challenge, Causeway Coast Way or even an Inca Trail challenge. Remember, as you progress you’ll also enjoy rewards like healthy smoothies and vouchers for Lifestyle Sports, Chopped, Deliveroo and Easons.
What happens when the eight-week programme is finished?
Well firstly, if you’ve completed your eight-week healthcoach programme congratulations on a great personal achievement!
On completion of the programme you can set new goals and choose to increase, decrease or maintain the difficulty of your exercise plan. You can even change the plan entirely to help match your new goals. If you're feeling fitter and would like to take up running or cycling, why not try a plan built for that?
If you haven’t managed to complete a full eight weeks, you also have the option to reset your programme and start again. Your personalised programme and goals are still available for you to achieve.
What’s your favourite thing about healthcoach?
It’s for everyone! Old, young, fit, not so fit, sports enthusiasts or people who simply just want to learn more about living a healthier life. I enjoy giving people the tools and motivation to help improve their health because it’s a rewarding job when you know that you are making someone happier and healthier by doing so.
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