REC Center offers new Primal Health Coaching program

MT. PLEASANT - MT. PLEASANT - The Mt. Pleasant Family Recreation and Fitness Center (REC Center) is offering a new Primal Health Coaching program that will address nutrition as well as physical training. The new program, led by Jordyn Dingman, will involve one-on-one coaching between a certified health coach and participants.

Currently, Dingman is the only certified health coach on staff, however the REC Center plans on expanding their program and adding more coaches by the beginning of next year. Dingman serves as associate director of the REC Center.

Community members interested in partaking in the program have three different packages to choose from: 21 Day Challenge, a one month coaching program and a three month coaching program. The programs not only vary in length but also in the amount of personal coaching participants receive. While the 21 Day Challenge involves group coaching, the other programs offer one-on-one coaching focused on nutrition. The three month program also includes personal training.

Dingman says the REC Center decided to implement the Primal Health Coaching program because they 'knew [they] were missing a nutrition component” in their programming.

'We offer the training part, exercise, personal training and all of that but we were missing a nutrition component, which is such a huge part of any goal, to lose weight or put on muscle, just coming to the gym isn't going to do it. You need to work on nutrition first,” she said.

While the REC center offered personal training, trainers are not qualified to provide nutrition guidance. Dingman's role as the primal health coach is to educate participants on healthy eating and nutrition as well as serve as a motivator to help keep participants accountable to their goals.

When the center began looking for programs to implement, Dingman suggested the primal health coaching program after discovering a myriad improvements to her health after completing the 21 Day Challenge herself. The health coach did the program in January and said it helped with 'not just weight loss,” but also in how she 'felt and looked.”

'I always felt kind of bloated and my skin was always red, and more than people noticing weight loss, they would say ‘you're skin looks amazing,'” Dingman said.

Dingman said she had dieted in the past but never experienced success like she had after the 21 day challenge.

'[It's a] new way to live, not just a diet,” she said. 'It's just very different. Lots of programs give people supplements and shakes, but that's not something you're going to do for the rest of your life. The program shows you how to get real, wholefoods that aren't going to cost you an arm and a leg.”

In order to become a certified health coach, Dingman participated in a 20 week program where she learned about how the body breaks down different fats and macro and micro nutrients. Much of her training also involved learning how to speak to participants and motivate their health journey.

The Primal Health Coaching program began its first 21 Day Challenge on Sept. 9, which will end on Sept. 29. The REC Center will offer four more cycles through May of 2020. Dingman says the cycles are set during times when people are generally working to get healthier, like right after the holidays or at the beginning of summer.

Dingman also stressed that the program was more than just a quick diet fad and looks to help people embark on a new and healthier lifestyle. Participants will be coached on how to begin eating on a Paleolithic diet, which mimics the eating habits of cave men and emphasizes foods high in fat and proteins, as well as vegetables, fruit and dairy.

'Anyone wanting to be more vital and live healthier and have more energy, this program would be great for. Most people are looking to do the program to lose weight but I also hope people come just to feel better. The program can also help take inflammation out of the body or help with aches and pains.”

'It's a big commitment and it won't be easy but it'll definitely be worth it,” Dingman added.

In order to make the program accessible to community members, the REC Center made sure to keep prices down.

'We purposefully kept the price point down pretty low. Diet programs and diet centers can be pretty pricey, and we wanted to be able to help more people who are needing help but may not be able to pay for it,” Dingman said.

'A lot of members asked us for that nutrition aspect and so we wanted to make it available to them,” Dingman concluded.