Lifestyle Medicine for Coaches

Coaches with foundational knowledge in lifestyle medicine partner with clients seeking self-directed, lasting changes, aligned with their values, which promote health and wellness and, thereby, enhance well-being. In the course of their work, lifestyle medicine coaches display unconditional positive regard for their clients and a belief in their capacity for change, and honoring that each client is an expert on their life, while ensuring that all interactions are respectful and non-judgmental. This 16.5 hour self-paced, e-course was built in collaboration with ACLM.

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Eligibility for the course and an Attendance Certificate:
This course is open to ANYONE and you will be presented with a "Certificate of Attendance" upon reviewing all of the materials and completing feedback surveys and knowledge assessments.

Eligibility for the Lifestyle Medicine Coach Certificate:

With the acceptable prerequisites, you may also earn a "Lifestyle Medicine Coach" certificate upon upon reviewing all of the materials and completing feedback surveys and knowledge assessments.

To be eligible for the "Lifestyle Medicine Coach Certificate" you must have one of the following:
1. Wellcoaches Coach Certification 

2. National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching Certification

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TOPICS INCLUDE

Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine and the Six Pillars from ACLM

·      Define lifestyle medicine

·      Discuss the importance and timeliness if lifestyle medicine

·      Review evidence and current endorsements and guidelines for lifestyle medicine

·      Illustrate six pillars to treat, reverse and prevent non-communicable chronic disease

·      Explore unique components of a lifestyle medicine practice

·      Describe opportunities to train and certify in lifestyle medicine

·      Discuss the emerging priorities for lifestyle medicine

 

Healthy Nutrition with Dr. Melissa Bernstein

·      Appraise the evidence supporting the benefits of a Food as Medicine approach for promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors.

·      Describe the relationship between dietary patterns and health.

·      Describe an understanding of basic nutrition principles to support health and well-being.

·      Describe the role of the Health Coach in supporting Food as Medicine efforts for their clients.

·     Explain the ways in which Health Coaches can participate as part of the interprofessional healthcare team for empowering clients to adopt health dietary patterns. 

 

Health and Lifestyle Diseases with Dr. Michael Greger

·      Summarize the defining characteristics of ultra-processed foods and explain how food processing (beyond nutrient composition) contributes to chronic disease risk and mortality.

·      Analyze the relationship between dietary patterns (e.g., plant-based diets, meat consumption, ultra-processed food intake) and major health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, and biological aging.

·      Apply evidence from randomized controlled trials and epidemiological studies to recommend practical dietary substitutions (e.g., replacing animal protein with plant protein, plant-based meats, or whole legumes) to reduce LDL cholesterol, inflammation, and disease risk.

·      Evaluate the comparative health impacts of plant-based meat alternatives versus conventional animal products and whole plant foods, considering nutrient profile, additives, contaminants, microbiome effects, and long-term disease outcomes.

·      Design an evidence-based dietary strategy for longevity and chronic disease prevention that integrates whole food plant-based nutrition, minimization of ultra-processed animal products, and lifestyle factors such as physical activity and weight management.

 

Emotional Well-being and Resilience with Dr. Liana Lianov

•    Explain the physiology of stress, common stress response patterns, and their impact on health behavior change.

•    Describe and analyze the relationship between depression and chronic diseases such as diabetes and coronary artery disease, including its role as a comorbidity.

•    Explain the bidirectional relationship between emotional well-being, positive psychology, and the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors.

•    List and describe at least three lifestyle behaviors that improve emotional well-being (e.g., cultivating meaning and purpose, social connection, physical activity).

•    Identify and evaluate evidence-based mind–body practices that support positive mental health and resilience.

•    Apply practical tools and coaching strategies to enhance clients’ emotional awareness, resilience, and overall positive health.

 

Mind Body Medicine with Dr. Christina Lombardo

•    Describe Mind Body Medicine and its history.  

•    Describe and summarize the tools and core principles of mind–body medicine based on published research.

•    Identify guidelines for and benefits of applying principles of mind body medicine.  

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Active Living with Dr. Michael Lopez

•    Define and differentiate physical activity, exercise, and fitness, and explain the historical and ecological foundations that position physical activity as a pillar of lifestyle medicine. 

•    Describe and classify the major categories of physical activity (aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening) and interpret intensity using practical tools such as METs and the talk test. 

•    Apply the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines across different populations (children, adults, older adults, pregnant individuals, and those with chronic conditions) to develop safe, individualized recommendations. 

•    Analyze common barriers and facilitators to physical activity and select evidence-based coaching strategies (e.g., SMART goals, motivational interviewing, self-efficacy building, accountability, values alignment) to support sustainable behavior change. 

•    Design a client-centered physical activity plan that integrates movement patterns, safety principles, activity tracking or low-tech monitoring options, and long-term professional development considerations. 

 

Culinary Coaching with Dr. Rani Polak

•    Define the positive impact of home cooking on nutrition and health.

•    Discuss common barriers to home cooking and explore cooking skills and coaching principles to address those barriers.

•    Define culinary coaching and apply it for empowering clients to adopt home cooking.

 

Small Acts, Big Impact with MJ Shaar

•    Explain the evidence-based psychological, organizational, and physiological impacts of kindness and incivility, including effects on engagement, burnout, gene expression, inflammation, and long-term health outcomes. 

•    Differentiate and analyze the concepts of kindness, civility, niceness, and indifference, and evaluate their respective impacts on psychological safety, resilience, collaboration, and workplace culture. 

•    Apply the PERMAH framework (Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment, Health) to assess how kindness strengthens well-being across personal and professional domains. 

•    Implement practical strategies to make kindness an “operating system,” including self-kindness practices (e.g., identifying glimmers), value affirmation exercises, and intentional microconnections that foster positivity, consistency, and vulnerability.

•    Design a personal or organizational action plan that embeds values-based kindness into daily behaviors to enhance relational trust, performance, resilience, and long-term health outcomes. 

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Shared Decision-Making with Beth Tansey Peller, RN

•    Define and describe the definition, purpose, importance, and key models of Shared Decision Making (SDM). 

•    Explain and analyze how the being skills of coaching and the facilitation of client-led decision-making align with the principles of Shared Decision Making.

•    Identify and evaluate credible training programs and evidence-based resources that support the implementation of Shared Decision Making in healthcare settings.

 

Chronic Conditions with Beth Tansey Peller, RN

•    Identify and describe the evidence-based risk factors associated with the development of chronic health conditions. 

•    Explain and analyze the shared risk factors and interrelationships among common chronic diseases, including the consequences of unaddressed health risks and warning signs. 

•    Evaluate and apply synergistic lifestyle interventions that can prevent, reduce, or potentially reverse chronic disease risk to optimize long-term health outcomes. 

 

Brain Health with Dr. Wes Youngberg

•    Define and describe dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, including the functional criteria used for diagnosis and the role of hippocampal degeneration in memory consolidation. 

•    Explain the structure and function of the hippocampus, including the role of index neurons in autobiographical memory and cognitive function. 

•    Interpret hippocampal volumetric data and percentile rankings (e.g., NeuroQuant metrics) to assess relative risk and progression of cognitive decline. 

•    Differentiate the four stages of cognitive decline—presymptomatic, subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia—and analyze their clinical significance. 

•    Administer and interpret cognitive screening tools such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to monitor changes in cognitive performance over time. 

•    Analyze epidemiological trends in dementia prevalence, including sex differences, early-onset increases, and public health implications. 

•    Explain and apply the two foundational laws of health (providing necessary elements and removing interfering elements) to the prevention and reversal of cognitive decline. 

•    Evaluate the concept of the Hippocampal Resiliency Index by identifying factors that promote neurogenesis (e.g., nutrition, sleep, exercise, metabolic health) and factors that contribute to atrophy (e.g., toxins, inflammation, insulin resistance). 

•    Design a personalized, multi-factorial lifestyle intervention plan using precision medicine ​