Our Certificate IV in Weight Management (10576NAT) graduate, Isabel, has started her own Weight Management Coaching business! Isabel began her studies for her own personal interest and has now turned her passion into her career. Isabel has shared her honest account about her studies & building her business and while not always easy, her many achievements (like building her own website) just go to show determination and passion will lead to success!
What lead you to decide to study the Certificate IV in Weight Management?
Don’t get me wrong, I like being a legal secretary working for a busy IP attorney in the city, however, I always thought there must be something else out there I would enjoy doing. After struggling most of my life with my weight and having body image problems, I found the Onfit course for Certificate IV in Weight Management. Reading through the course program, I knew that this course would at least provide me with the information I needed to help me overcome my own weight struggles. At best, I would be able to use the course to build a small business and work for myself.
How did you find your studies?
The course was not easy. It was harder than I expected. At first, I thought I would “wing it”, but that was not the case. Into my studies, I quickly realised, that there is so much information that this will take up a good part of my evenings and weekends, sitting down, reading workbooks and writing assignments. But I worked out a good plan: I read through the workbooks on the train commuting to and from my city job. While the weekends were dedicated to writing my assignments.
Having said that the course wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, finishing the course and graduating has given me an enormous sense of achievement.
What did you find to be the most valuable part of your studies?
The most valuable part of my studies would be the psychological part of the course. What actually makes you eat – why do we eat – there are so many reasons that we call “triggers” that make us eat, other than being hungry.
Not only was the psychology of eating super interesting, but I can also apply some of what I’ve learned to other parts of my life. I learned about “active listening and communication skills” and became more aware of other people’s actions and reactions when asking open-ended questions. I find this very interesting and this skill might give me an advantage in any kind of interview or when communicating with other people.
When did you graduate, and what have you done since graduating?
I graduated in July 2018 – exactly one day before I went on a four-week holiday to Europe. I needed this holiday after working full time in the city and studying part-time. Yeah, I made it the day before I flew out to Frankfurt/Germany.
After returning from the break, I got right into setting up my business. I designed my business card and car stickers, created flyers, researched background information and designed my own website. That was a bit of a challenge and a work-in-progress for a while. But me being determined and not leaving anything undone, I worked out how to do it all, and finally finished my website. And I’m proud of having that achieved. It still is a bit of a work-in-progress, but there is already some really good information available.
I have also started working on a “Mindful Eating Workshop”. It will be a workshop spreading over a couple of weekends. There will also be “add-on” workshops that I currently work on covering “Nutrition” and “Physical Activity / Movement”.
Depending on popularity of the workshops, I am even considering holding “Retreat Workshops” that allow participants to stay overnight and get practical with what they learn from me. Well, it’s all still a bit in the clouds, but I have a vision and feel very passionate about the matter of Mindful Eating.
What does the future hold for you?
Hopefully, my passion for fighting obesity and helping people overcome emotional overeating will create a spark that spreads to a fire – I mean, hopefully, my vision will turn reality and I can make a living from it. That would be my ultimate goal: concentrating on just teaching workshops and making a difference in people’s lives
Do you have any advice for someone who’s considering studying the Weight Management Course?
You need to be dedicated to your studies and self-motivated. At times it might get tough because some modules are more difficult than others, but if you really feel passionate about weight management and weight counselling, do it!
If someone wants to get in touch with you, how can they do this?
There are various options to get in touch with me, but these are probably the easiest:
Email: Isabel.hall65@bigpond.com
Website: www.WeightManagementNarangba.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsabelHallWeightManagementCoach
