Why Did I Become A Health Coach?

Read about my journey from being a Registered Nurse to becoming a Health Coach.

Where My interest in Healthcare Began

During my teenage years, I became increasingly interested in becoming a healthcare professional and once I graduated, I chose to study Nursing and loved the life of a student as well as my subject! As part of my professional journey, I began to temp and transitioned to a Gastro-Enterology Ward for 3 years in Antwerp, Belgium.

In Antwerp, it was super busy and it was here I knew I had to eat for fuel, and kept myself physically strong through running. This helped me cope with my professional work and keep up with the fast pace of the work environment.

Time for a New Challenge

Although I was enjoying my lifestyle, I felt I wanted a change and got itchy feet. I decided to explore somewhere new and chose to experience Guernsey in the Channel Islands. I chose a different speciality in Surgical Nursing for a new challenge.

My Realisations While Working in Guernsey

As I spent time working on the Island of Guernsey , I noticed a significant amount of – mostly elderly – people have so much faith in, and rely so much on our healthcare systems. So many tablets are being taken, and people do not know what they are for, or why they are taking them. I recognised that there are patients who don’t question about what they were taking. I believe knowing how to look after my body includes knowing what I put into it, and how it affects me. I wondered if anyone else felt the same.

A New Perspective

I felt the urge to make a change once again and find a new perspective. I travelled New Zealand and finished studying Tropical Medicine. I had initially planned to work in Third World Countries in crisis situations. But while travelling, I knew deep down that it would become an upsetting and frustrating mission. I decided I wanted to make change closer to home, so I decided to work in a hospital back in the Netherlands. All these experiences thought a lot about the different healthcare systems.

I observed more of similar scenarios as I did in Guernsey - people not knowing which tablets they take and why, and how it wasn’t always helping them. It was also during this time I realised night shifts were not agreeing my body.

Changes I Made

Moving back to the Island of Guernsey, I began work in a Day Patient Unit. The hours felt so much better for my body, and noticed a quiet knowing from within that I wanted to work for myself, and to find something connected to healthcare ideally but not in Nursing. During my Nursing career I became aware of people who need took more ownership of their health, and what impact it would make on their overall wellbeing, and on the healthcare system as well. The healthier someone lifestyle is, I noticed the need for less tablets and reliance on our healthcare system to “fix” problems.

I then came across Kangen water. It is ‘Electrolysed Reduce Water’ and abundant in antioxidants and super-hydrating. It was just the start, but I found this helped take my health to another level. Take a look on my website if you would like to learn more about Kangen water or sign up for my weekly newsletter to explore what it is if you are interested.

Although I am totally in love with this “golden” liquid, I continued my search for better health and how to help others. I found a Health Coaching Training by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), and fell in love straight away!

All their content resonates with me so much. It covered everything to facilitate people to take their health in their own hands, in an intuitive and a sustainable way that suits their lifestyle. With time, this would mean more people navigating their health in an intuitive and intentional way, and less reliance on healthcare systems which can’t always solve the root problems.

Becoming a Health Coach

I feel so passionate by coaching others in their health journey, and now make positive change closer to home. Being able to give power back to the individual to find the root problem, and work on prevention over cure, is so satisfying to me and brings me a lot of joy. I believe this is an amazing way to create change, to living a more healthy and fufilling life.

Does my story resonate with you? If you would like to get a taster of my work, take a look at my website to learn more, or find my monthly wellness newsletter here. I am always available to answer any of your questions, please feel free to get in touch with me by email charlotte.scherders@gmail.com.

P.S If you are inspired to explore training with INN, you can sign up for a free sample class here and mention my name to save, or sign up for the same, brilliant and upgraded course with IIN I did and would love do it all over again; here.

Much love,

X Charlotte