How to get healthy? Ask the coach.

Tracy Schoneman of the Town of Fredonia didn’t always want to be a wellness coach. It was her experience with troubled teenagers that encouraged her to switch careers.

Schoneman worked as a remediation instructor for at-risk youths at Lutheran Social Services’ TriCenter Alternative School in West Bend and the West Bend School District. Some of her students had failed classes, others struggled with high-anxiety and some just needed a safe place due to conflict or some kind of trouble, she said.

“Either way, these students were placed with me to remediate, which means to be corrected. But it was always after they already failed the class, after they got in trouble, after they got in a fight with another student, after they skipped class,” she said.

“This was a reactive system,” she said, “which made me realize that it’s comparable to our chronic health crisis (from lifestyle choices) today.”

Schoneman wanted to get ahead of the curve. “I want to help people remediate their health by creating valuable habits that turn into behaviors,” she said

So Schoneman became certified in health and wellness coaching through the Health Coach Institute a little more than a year ago. Now, Schoneman said, she teaches people how to be their best selves

“I help them examine their health while providing ongoing support and guidance to help them set personal goals and make sustainable changes that improve not only their physical health but their mental health too,” she said.

“Most people know what they should be doing to improve their health and well being, but they just don’t know how to do it or even where to start,” Schoneman said.

She remembers one female client who was an executive-type workaholic. She often ate lunch at her desk between calls, during her drive to the next appointment or even in an elevator just to save time.

Schoneman didn’t ask her client to change her diet, “but I did challenge her to change how she was eating,” she said

The client had been gobbling up her lunch in 10 minutes. Schoneman suggested doubling that time and eating away from her desk without work distractions or electronic devices.

“She learned to chew her food longer, savor her meals and slow down her eating.  She lost nearly 10 pounds in the next month and eventually stopped suffering from heartburn and acid reflux as an additional bonus,” Schoneman said.

It’s important, she said, for people to have help during the wellness process.

“The journey to optimal health can be challenging if you’re doing it on your own. There is a ton of contradictory nutrition advice and diets out there, and what might be healthy for one person might not be healthy for you,” she said.

Those journeys require a guide, she said. “Most people are surprised to discover that they feel trapped by their lives, their families, their jobs and all the stuff that seems to consume their schedules. That being said, they feel like they don’t have time to make their health a priority.

“The reason I’ve had clients get great results with this program is because we’re consistently considering how this all fits in — with family, friends, work, schedules, chores, social life — otherwise it’s a battle against your own health.”

Schoneman, a 1996 Ozaukee High School graduate, is familiar with the process. Seven years ago, she had open heart surgery for a valve replacement. She knows she will need another replacement within the next decade and wants to be at optimal health.

Schoneman’s typical day starts with yoga and meditation, and she tries to spend at least 30 minutes outdoors, regardless of the weather.

The rest of her day is split between client calls and creating health workshops, writing scripts for health talks and meditation sessions, developing corporate plan ideas and continuing education, aside from family activities. Schoneman is married and has two teen children.

Schoneman ideally has 12 clients at a time. She communicates via phone or video chat weekly for up to 12 weeks, but clients, who include men and women of any age, may work with her as long as they like. One client, Schoneman said, told her she no longer needed anti-anxiety medication after the 12-week session.

Her own children can be “clients” in teaching wellness, Schoneman said.

“We all know how much kids enjoy the junk food. A lot of times they even hide it from me. I get eye rolls from them when I start lecturing them about the ingredients and what they are putting into their bodies,” she said.

“I have gotten really good at hiding vegetables in meals so I feel better about balancing it out.”

Schoneman’s contact information may be found on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.