Best Health member story

Whether you’d like to start practicing healthier habits or have a specific goal in mind, the Best Health^® wellness program makes personalized, one-on-one support available to all Sharp Health Plan members. One Best Health member worked with a coach to examine challenges and identify strengths on the path to weight loss.

When the member expressed an interest in eating healthier and losing weight, Amanda, a Best Health coach, knew right where to start.

“I wanted some coaching around nutrition and weight loss to help me determine where my weak points were in terms of wanting to lose 10-15 pounds,” the member explains. “My coach, Amanda, sent me wonderful resources for exercises and weight training and gave me information about joining the Active & Fit program.”

Find chances to choose healthier options

Working with a Best Health coach helped the member to recognize more opportunities to make healthier choices. “She also encouraged and reminded me to use calorie tracker apps that I already had access to but wasn't utilizing to help me achieve my goals,” the member says, “and just keeping myself accountable once I set a goal made a difference.”

After beginning the Best Health coaching program, it was easier to see the positive behaviors they had already been practicing.

“I discovered I have pretty great eating habits in terms of eating clean, unprocessed food 95% of the time. I really don't have a difficult time changing what I eat and motivating myself to stick to a program,” the member says.

Acknowledge challenges and victories

Although weight loss presented some difficulties, they knew where there were struggles.

“I think I would sometimes beat myself up if I relied on the scale too much to determine my progress,” the member explains. “And surprisingly, sometimes it was a challenge to eat enough calories on a daily basis to best support my weight loss goals.”

Their challenges weren’t without victories — and Amanda was there to support the member every step of the way.

“Speaking weekly with my coach was my favorite part of the program,” the member says. “All of her encouragement helped me stay on track and see my progress from a different perspective. She was so positive and awesome and really made all the difference for me. And of course she helped keep me accountable, not to her, of course, but to myself.”

Embrace the journey

Continuing to work to reach their goal, they noticed other significant changes.

“I lost a total of five pounds but came to realize it wasn't so much about the weight as it was being mindful about what I eat,” the member says. “I also was proud that I was able to maintain or increase my running in both distance, intensity and frequency.”

Advice to others

When it comes to achieving your own goals, the member offers these helpful tips:

• Have realistic goals and be open to coaching from a professional.
• Make a routine for your eating and exercise plans so you're more likely to stick to them.
• Don't be hard on yourself if you don't feel you're progressing as fast as you'd like. Try to avoid sabotaging your progress if you have a bad day. Every day is a chance to do better.
• Enlist a partner, whether that’s a health coach or a friend. The accountability makes a difference.
• Ready to get started with Best Health? You can log in or register to check out helpful resources or schedule your first coaching session.