One woman’s weight loss journey takes her from client to coach.
By Beth Bilton, Certified OPTAVIA Coach, Bilton Better Health LLC
It’s January and most people are looking ahead and setting goals for the new year. Some of the top resolutions: getting finances in order, losing weight, exercising more, eating healthy, and spending time with others. For me? Mine was always to lose weight and keep it off so I would feel better about myself, both physically and mentally. I thought that meant hitting the gym every day, trying to eat healthy and hoping the number on the scale would go down. I didn’t really have a plan or support, just more of a wish, thinking I should be able to do it on my own. However, according to a recent survey, 81 percent of U.S. adults value support from someone with similar experiences when creating healthy habits.
In 2016, everything changed when I found OPTAVIA: an Optimal Health and Wellness Company that provided support while teaching me how to live a healthy lifestyle instead of just following the latest diet trend. I had a coach who walked alongside me, guiding, and supporting me — and most of all, providing accountability. We talked about what was important to me on my health journey and why achieving my goals really mattered to me. I said YES to learning healthy habits, losing weight (23 pounds), lowering my cholesterol levels, increasing my energy, sleeping better, and having more confidence in myself. *OPTAVIA provided everything that was previously missing in my life — healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy finances!
I realized that I wanted to share my life-changing experiences with others and so I became a Certified OPTAVIA Coach. Now I help clients look and feel their best. I also partner with others who want the opportunity to build their own OPTAVIA coaching business.
With OPTAVIA, we focus on six “macro habits” that give us the freedom to create optimal health and wellbeing in our lives.
Habits of Heathy Weight Management — Reaching and maintaining a heathy weight is the most important gift you can give yourself and those you love and care about. Just a 10 percent reduction in your weight lowers your risk of disease by over 50 percent, and that risk continues to drop as you reduce your BMI (body mass index) below 25.
- Habits of Healthy Eating and Hydration — Our structured eating plan teaches clients to have six, small meals per day (based on the low-glycemic index), eating every two to three hours and drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water. (Hydration check! How much water have you had today? Grab a glass of water to drink while you read the magazine.)
- Habits of Healthy Mind — Shows us how to create and maintain optimal health by organizing our lives around what matters most.
- Habits of Healthy Sleep — The right amount of high-quality sleep (restful, restorative, and uninterrupted) is essential to health and wellbeing. Sleep is your body’s way of restoring organ function, stabilizing chemical imbalance, refreshing areas of the brain that control mood and behavior, and improving performance.
- Habits of Healthy Movement — Increasing your activity level with exercise is essential to disease prevention and optimal health. Find a plan that is tailored to your current state of health, activity level, weight and that is something you will enjoy.
- Habits of Healthy Surroundings — The world we live in has a tremendous influence on our behavior. We tend to make excuses and blame others when things go wrong. What many people don’t realize, however, is that we have power over our surroundings. A supportive network of friends and family with similar health goals makes all the difference. If we can consistently change our surroundings and optimize their conditions, we can help create and sustain our Habits of Health.
Our Optimal Health and Wellness Program is comprised of four components that all work together throughout your entire journey: Personal coaching, Habits of Health® Transformational System, Community support, and a healthy Nutrition Plan. I have found that the clients who embrace all four components have the greatest long-term success.
When someone becomes a client, they will get me as their Personal OPTAVIA Coach and I provide one-on-one personal support and mentorship. I guide my clients through the program, teaching them the habits of health as they begin to change their lifestyle. I link arms with them to support them through challenges and celebrate their successes.
We offer the Habits of Health® Transformational System because it’s not just about improving your physical health. Mental wellbeing is key to achieving your physical health goals; you can’t have one without the other. This educational component is designed to help you plan, reach, and maintain your health goals.
In addition to having an OPTAVIA coach, you will find a Community of like-minded people who are all focused on creating better health and sharing their experiences, WOW’s (Wins of the Week) as well as NSV (Non-Scale Victories), Client webinars, recipe pages, and a private support group. Our community is a place where you can find support, ask questions, and share triumphs.
Our Nutrition Plan is easy to follow. You don’t have to count calories or macronutrients; it’s all done for you. Most people follow our Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan® where your body enters a gentle but efficient fat-burning state. Once you reach your goal weight, we show you how to thrive and live a healthy lifestyle. We offer other specific programs to target special needs, such as a Diabetes Plan, Nursing Mothers Plan, Seniors Plan, and a Teen Plan.
If you are interested to see if OPTAVIA is your long-term solution, please reach out to me. I coach clients all over the country and would be honored to partner with you, your friends and family members and assist them to live a longer, healthier life.
About OPTAVIA
Medifast, the parent Company of OPTAVIA, has been named one of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies by Fortune Magazine for the third consecutive year and the only Health & Wellness Company on the list. Our program is unique in the health industry and fills a great need. Our clinically proven Comprehensive Program includes Accountability, Support, Community and Lifestyle/Behavioral Education to help individuals make sustainable, lifelong change. *Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan® is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.
Contact Beth:
Beth Bilton
Certified OPTAVIA Coach,
Bilton Better Health LLC
biltonbetterhealth@gmail.com
404.271.4420
