Meet Janice Naimy, a seasoned health professional whose path unfolded from personal training to nationally certified health coaching. With a focus on holistic well-being and personalized strategies, Janice has been transforming lives, one healthy lifestyle at a time. Learn more in her exclusive MysticMag interview below.
Can you please introduce yourself and share a few details about your professional journey?
I’m Janice Naimy, a Certified Master Health Coach. I started in health and fitness back in 2002, as a personal trainer. I focused on older adults helping them regain their healthy lifestyles and helping some be able to enjoy it better and be more physically fit. I worked for the YMCA as a Lifestyle coach and trainer teaching the evidence-based Diabetes Prevention Program. I also taught their other evidence programs for high blood pressure and weight loss.
After the Y, I started taking care of my mother and working as a health coach. I became nationally certified with the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute in 2019 and returned to Dr. Sears Wellness Institute to complete my Master Heath Coaching training in 2022. I enjoy helping people find their path to healthy living, however, that looks for their lifestyle.
What health issues can you assist people with and what areas of health do you focus on the most?
I can help people lose weight, gain weight, manage stress, develop a healthy lifestyle, sleep habits, and smoking cessation. In my business, I have mostly helped people set and reach lifestyle goals, which include losing weight and eating better.
What specific services do you offer?
Specific services I offer include health coaching, personal training coaching, and pantry makeovers (local only). The best service I offer is meeting my clients where they are, meaning sometimes clients think it’s about losing the last 5lbs, but it really is about them developing a healthy lifestyle so they don’t have to diet anymore and can maintain their desired weight.
Can you share some success stories?
Success stories are usually about people’s weight loss journeys. For me and my clients it’s sometimes about letting go of habits, what we think we need and want, and being able to overcome what holds us back.
A client came to me while on a weight loss program, she was worried that she couldn’t eat cake on her daughter’s birthday. She went on and on about this cake, she wanted the cake, she always has cake, how could she not have cake, etc. I finally asked about the cake, what type of cake was it? Was it a family recipe, do you bake this together? She answered no, it was just a store-bought cake. Then I asked what she thought her daughter would remember the cake or the day. When she answered the day and being with her friends and family. Do you think your daughter will remember you not having any cake?
She said she probably wouldn’t even notice. Then I asked what do you think would happen if you had a smaller piece of cake at the party, and then went back to following your plan at the next meal? She said she didn’t think about it that way. She also realized that she didn’t want the cake now, it was the thought of being denied that made her upset about not having cake. She ended up having a small piece of cake and didn’t even finish it because it wasn’t something she really desired anymore.
When we took a deeper dive into her reasons it was more about what she had built up in her mind about the occasion more than the food. Her success came from realizing she could be in a social situation and not have to have certain foods for the occasion to be special, she no longer felt she was missing out.
I have helped clients lose weight and reach those goals, but I have also helped clients who are not sure where to start. They want to change everything all at once, to get years of unhealthy habits changed and lose weight in a week. I had a client who had 6 healthy lifestyle goals she wanted to achieve. We worked on what goals she wanted to start with and how she wanted to make these changes. She chose 3 habits and started to think about the “how” of making the change. She used a reminder system and the alarm on her phone, printed her goals out, and decorated the paper so it would be pretty for her to look at instead of overlooking a plain list. After a few months, she noticed she was following her new habit without even thinking about it.
What would be the most important advice you would give to someone looking to start living a healthy lifestyle?
We are all unique in how we run our lives. Choose steps or goals that work for your lifestyle. Just because your sibling, friend, or coworker had success with something, it doesn’t mean you will if it doesn’t fit your lifestyle.
The second piece of advice would be to set small goals and focus on one change at a time. When you decide to change your eating habits and start exercising at the same time it’s often overwhelming and we give up. Smaller goals are easier to reach and maintain, then you can set the next goal.
Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
I enjoy listening to people and guiding them to find what works for them. It’s my passion to help people live a healthier lifestyle.
To learn more about Janice and her work, you can visit thepositivehealthcoach.com
