My Life as an Eating Psychology Coach: Caroline Edwards

What made you want to become an Eating Psychology Coach?

I have worked in the health industry for 20 years as a nutritional therapist in the UK. Throughout the years of having my own personal battles, my passion for good health and wanting to help others achieve their best health grew. What I have discovered over the years is that despite people wanting to make changes to their health and weight and having every intention of committing to that, they often end up failing to follow through and then feel defeated. I was intrigued by this and wanted to understand human behaviour and why people tend to continue with lifestyle habits that aren’t serving them.

What do you love about being an Eating Psychology Coach?

For me this work is really fulfilling my highest purpose. Even before I qualified as a nutritional therapist I was visualising talking to others about their weight battles. At that time I hadn’t experienced any weight gain and didn’t really understand it on a personal level. After a few years in practice I began to gain weight. At that time I didn’t understand why and I felt a great shame knowing that I was in the industry and “should have known better”. It took me a number of years before I really understood it and I would have loved to have had an Eating Psychology Coach to support me through it. When the same breakthrough is achieved with my clients it is truly an inspirational moment. I believe that the work that I am doing is life-changing for others; and for me, it is a privilege to be part of that experience.

What does your practice look like?

My practice has developed over the years and now with modern technology I tend to do a lot of consultations via Skype and telephone. I am also an energy medicine practitioner so I see clients for hands on work as well. I work directly with a US laboratory representing their testing in the UK. I tend to specialise in a functional medicine approach, particularly digestive function, adrenal stress, and weight. I offer different levels of programmes to suit each individual which vary. I offer basic programmes where a client may decide that they want to try out just one session and I also offer a one-on-one intensive coaching programme which involves interaction on a daily basis.

How did your education at the Institute prepare you to work successfully with clients?

The education received was in-depth and covered many aspects of personality and weight gain issues. It helped me to understand the broader aspect of weight gain, looking at many different angles which I would not have even been aware of before. It is a complex issue and this Training allowed me to delve deeper into understanding those with weight concerns, particularly when they did not resonate with my own situation.

What was your favorite aspect of the Training?

At the time of the Training I wasn’t really a social media fan, so I missed out on the Facebook group. I did interact with the online forum which was very informative and a place where you could exchange views and gain more insight. There was a lot of material so I particularly liked the fact that I could go through the audios at a time that was convenient to me and is obviously something that I still refer to now whenever I choose to.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted your professional life/financial well-being?

Becoming an Eating Psychology Coach has adding a new dimension to my business. I have never been one to promote diets and deprivation as an approach to weight issues. Unfortunately this approach is often seen as the “only way” and it was difficult to get a different message across. Being an Eating Psychology Coach generated new interest with a willingness to try a different way of doing things. Financially it has been very rewarding, especially when I work with clients on an intensive one to one coaching programme.

How has being an Eating Psychology Coach impacted you personally?

Personally, I recall many times when I was listening to the audios when I had an “a-ha” moment. It made so much sense and has helped me to keep focused with my own life issues. It gave me a new platform to work with and this is where I feel that I have really come into serving my life purpose. That level of fulfilment and enjoyment of the work means that I live my life with a great sense of joy, peace, and meaning.

What do you see for yourself in your future as an Eating Psychology Coach – where is your work evolving towards?

Whilst I love all aspects of my work, I see my business evolving more fully towards this work as an Eating Psychology Coach and I really believe that this is the future in understanding the epidemic of obesity and weight gain. I really enjoy speaking and giving talks to other practitioners as well as potential and current clients.

Why Would You Recommend the Training to Others?

If this is a field where you feel you have a particular interest and even personal experience of unwanted weight, then it is a really great way to put it all together and help others. There is a lot of material to work through and I found that I had to listen again and again to a lot of it, but it is worth it. The experience of being an Eating Psychology Coach can feel as though you are part of a major transformational process which is an amazing feeling.

Anything else you’d like to share?

The work can be deep but highly gratifying. I recall the first breakthrough with a client who had absolutely zero self-worth but didn’t even realise it. She put herself last in all ways and, although she was reasonably happy, she appeared completely disconnected from her true sense of self. From this she wasn’t able to fully embrace life and used food as a means of filling in this loss. After just one session we were able to work out the root cause of this lack of self-worth, which had stemmed from losing a friend at the age of 12. She had listened to distraught adults around her that had referred to how beautiful her friend had been and from this she had carried a guilt that it would have been better if it had been her. To cut a long story short, she had blanked this whole episode out of her mind completely. As soon as she became aware, she was able to process it in the right way. She began to lose weight effortlessly without any feelings of deprivation, and began to feel worthy of her place in this world.

NAME: Caroline Edwards
BUSINESS: Red Apple Clinic

BIO: Caroline Edwards is the founder of Red Apple Clinic, a nutrition based therapy clinic in South Wales, UK, established in 2000. As well as running a busy practice, Caroline is also commissioned as the UK representative for US laboratory DiagnosTechs, offering support and test interpretative guidance to practitioners and clients throughout the UK and Europe. Caroline, a qualified Nutritional Therapist for almost 20 years, is also a certified Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner and Eating Psychology Coach and has also trained in EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and NLP (Neurolinguistics Programming). Catch up with me on Facebook Caroline Edwards Nutritional Therapist/Wellness Coach.