What is weight loss coaching?
Coaching explained in four simple steps
Consultation
--How to Start--
First, we'll have a thorough consult, where we'll talk through your personal weight history and your current nutritional and exercise habits. I will get a feel for your lifestyle and routine, and you can asses whether I am the right person to guide and motivate you. From there we will set up our initial long and short term goals as well as decide on a 3 month, 6 month, 9 month or year long coaching plan.
Weekly Ongoing Coaching
--How to change--
This is where we do the work. Each week we will have a 45 minute call to asses the previous week's behavior and outcomes, then plan for the future. This is also the time where we will work in small adjustments to nutrition and movement that are sustainable. By starting small and working to improve foods you already like and finding joyful movement we will practice growth and change on a week-to-week basis.
In-Betweens
--Extra Support When You Need it--
Within any weight loss journey, there will be a point where you stumble, fall down, hit a wall, get frustrated or just plain want to quit. In my many attempts to lose weight, sometimes this would happen 24 hours in, a week, or in extreme white knuckling situations, as long as six months. The manner and timeliness in which you get back up after falling down is the single most critical part of the journey. I still fall down. I still get back up, but the difference now is I have a plan. It's also in these moments we need to know we're not alone. Let me be your support companion in the struggle.
Freedom
--Go and live your life--
This is where you have built up your new healthy habits to a sustainable point, and you're ready to take the reigns on your own. At this point, we will determine our phasing out timeline for coaching.
Post phasing out, should you need a one-off refocus session or tune-up, those services will also be available.
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With college came food freedom, and the ability to eat whatever I wanted. Instead of the freshman fifteen, I gained the freshman forty, kicking off the cycle of extreme dieting followed by rapid weight gain. I only knew those two modes of existing —restricting or eating whatever I wanted. With each regain, the total number climbed up higher and higher. First, it was 182 pounds, then 215, then 229, then finally with pregnancy 245. I remember having the thought if I keep doing this, next time I’m going to be 300 pounds. I was also terrified that I wouldn't have the mental strength to take off the weight again. And then the last desperate thought was I don’t know how to eat. Someone, please— teach me how to eat.
I began my new approach by subscribing to a nutrition magazine and teaching myself how to cook and adopt healthy eating patterns. I stabilized around 205 pounds I lost and gained the same ten pounds for three years (which I didn’t realize at the time was maintaining my weight), then finally took a gradual, sustainable approach to weight loss. Over three years I lost 40 pounds, achieving my goal of 165 in November 2023 and have been maintaining it ever since. Some days it feels like a breeze, and others I really struggle. I look back at my past self, and can see clearly that she suffered from a sub-clinical binge eating disorder. All I wanted was to lose the weight, and turned to fad diet after fad diet as the solution. I realize now what I was looking for a coach—someone who could analyze my personal habits and behaviors and pinpoint small changes to make for improvement.
I obtained my certifications as a master coach through The National Acadamy of Sports Medicine —the gold standard of the field— so I can give people what I never had— the education, support and tools to make sustainable change for good. If you’re reading this and resonate with my words, know you’re not alone. There is hope, and I am here to support you.
Twenty years of riding the diet roller coaster
I love food. I love to eat. Bread, pasta, steak, ice cream, candy, chips, chocolate—all the things. Growing up, I never thought much about diet and exercise, I just lived my life and ate the food provided. Now that I am a mother, I understand how much work it takes to provide meals for my family. But as a naïve teenager, I only wanted what tasted good, and whenever I could, I snuck in treats.
Cycle 1 - '90s-2002
Going from living life as a normal teenager who didn't think much about food, to a college free-for-all. Assume I started between 135-145, since I almost never stood on a scale. Gained 40 pounds then entered the dieting world at 182. Did the '90's Atkins / low carb craze as well as kickboxing my way down to 150.
Cycle 3 2012-2016
Desperate, I went to a diet clinic and picked up my first two sustainable habits —food tracking and how to consistently choose my meals from the four food groups. Lost 60 pounds in a year, dropping back down to 166 for my wedding and blogged the journey. My dirty little secret was I smoked cigarettes through this attempt. Almost immediately after I quit, I regained 30 pounds, then slowly crept up and up until 2016.
Cycle 2 -2003-2012
Adjusting to post-college adult life led to my second significant gain, climbing up to 212. This time I turned to Optifast (yes, the same diet Oprah did and dragged a trash bag full of fat on stage in 1988) losing 75 pounds in 6 months, dropping to an all-time low of 137 in 2004. This time it took 7 years to gain the weight back plus 20 pounds reaching an all-time peak weight of 229.
Cycle 4 — 2016 on- the final cycle
Reached a peak weight of 245 in 2016 with pregnancy. I went crazy eating all the things, and for the first time, struggled to walk for more than 10 minutes. Dropped 40 pounds with almost no effort after birth, stabilizing around 205 (green dress). Maintained until 2021, then, for the first time, took a long-term, sustainable approach to weight loss. Reaching my goal of 165 in 2023.
This all sounds great, but how much is this going to cost me?
I get it. I am the first person to walk into a business and ask for the bottom line. The consultation is $150, in which you will walk away with the program outline, and you can run with it solo if you want. However, should you opt for coaching, the consult fee will then be put towards whichever package you choose with monthly fees ranging from $220-$350. Veteran, teacher, student, and low-income discounts are also available.
Tell me a little about you and we'll set up a consult
Disclaimer: The information provided by Coach Bonnie Bracken is for educational and inspirational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or dietian. Always consult with your doctor or before making any changes to your diet or exercise routine. While Bonnie Bracken is a certified nutrition coach and personal trainer, the content on this site should not be considered medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individual results may vary, and you should not disregard medical advice or delay seeking it because of the information found here.
