When You Know More About Health And Learn When to Speak
I’m a certified health coach.
That sentence still feels new to say out loud not because I doubt it, but because the deeper I go into healing and nutrition, the more humility I gain. Learning about the body doesn’t make you loud. It makes you careful.
What being a certified health coach really means
Becoming a health coach didn’t make me a doctor and it didn’t need to. It gave me something different:
A strong foundation in nutrition science, lifestyle medicine, and behavior change
An understanding of how food, stress, sleep, movement, and environment interact
The ability to listen, ask better questions, and spot patterns
Doctors are trained to diagnose and treat disease. Health coaches are trained to zoom out to look at daily habits, nourishment, nervous system health, and sustainability.
It’s not about knowing more than doctors. It’s about knowing different things, and knowing how to support people between appointments.
The awkward truth: learning more can make friendships harder
No one warns you about this part.
As you heal and learn:
You start noticing patterns others don’t want to see
You understand why certain habits keep people stuck
You can often trace symptoms back to food, stress, or lifestyle
And suddenly you’re sitting across from people you love friends you’ve known for years realizing you now speak a language they didn’t sign up to learn.
That gap can feel lonely.
When knowledge turns into restraint
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned isn’t what to say it’s when not to.
Early on, it’s tempting to:
Offer fixes
Share articles
Explain the “why” behind someone’s symptoms
But here’s the truth: Unsolicited advice rarely feels supportive even when it’s correct.
Healing taught me that people don’t always want solutions. Sometimes they want:
To be heard
To feel safe
To arrive at readiness on their own timeline
The difference between helping and holding space
There’s a quiet line between:
Caring
Controlling
Health coaching and life lives in that line.
I’ve learned to ask myself:
Did they ask for my input?
Am I trying to reduce their discomfort or mine?
Would listening be more supportive than educating right now?
Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is say nothing and stay present.
When it is okay to speak up
There are moments when sharing matters:
When someone asks directly
When safety is at risk
When your experience could help them feel less alone
When I do share, I try to lead with curiosity, not certainty:
“This might not apply to you, but here’s something I learned…”
That softness changes everything.
Healing while becoming a health coach
Here’s something I don’t hide: I’m still healing.
And that doesn’t disqualify me it grounds me.
Being in process keeps me:
Compassionate
Honest
Careful with language
Aware that healing isn’t linear
I don’t coach from a pedestal. I coach from experience, education, and respect.
For anyone outgrowing old dynamics
If you’re learning more about your body, your health, or your nervous system and finding relationships feel strained you’re not alone.
Outgrowing people doesn’t mean you think you’re better. It usually means you’ve changed and you’re learning how to stay kind without shrinking.
That’s a skill.
Where I’m headed
My work moving forward isn’t about fixing people. It’s about:
Education without pressure
Support without judgment
Conversations that feel safe
And knowing when the most healing thing I can offer… is simply to listen.