I don’t need a wellness coach, thanks…

This is a rant. It isn’t even Friday, but I am annoyed and it’s my blog space so we will call it a pre Friday Rant and let that go…

I am very active on social media. I have an Instagram account, a Twitter account and a Facebook account. I get a lot of followers which is lovely and have formed a community that I interact with regularly. I follow some lovely people and generally enjoy my little feed.

However, there is one thing that gets my goat, burns my boat and winds me up…

People who have signed up to schemes that promote themselves as “wellness coaches”, “lifestyle coaches” or “personal coaches”. They have signed up, done an exercise programme, bought some diet products or essential oils or herbal products and now they are pushing themselves as experts on wellness and health on social media.

Here’s the thing, in fact several things…

Using a product, buying a product, selling a product DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT. It doesn’t make you a health coach, it doesn’t make you qualified to diagnose, prescribe or treat health issues that other people may be dealing with.

These schemes are a HUGE scam. They are not regulated by any health governing bodies, they make outrageous claims about what they can do, for people and in some cases they have ingredients in them that actually could cause health issues, or reactions medications.

People are encouraged to take these products and stop taking prescribed medications. People are given medical, health and nutrition by unqualified people on social media.

I don’t care if drinking shakes and taking tablets that make you poo three times a day has made you loose weight and it worked for you (apart from the fact that’s a terribly bad way to loose weight) it doesn’t make you a wellness coach or health coach and you have NO right to be giving health. medical or nutrition advice on social media.

I see you follow me. You have been told who to follow and how to interact with on social media, to recruit and sell to. I know you lurk and follow and prey on new mums to sell them a false idea of getting their bodies back after birth. I know you watch for certain tags for certain conditions and situations and pounce. You also offer false promises to women that they can “work at home” and play the guilt trip that mums who actually go out to work are somehow less than you and that selling diet pills, essential oils or “skinny wraps” will make them suddenly able to stay home and not have to work.

I don’t want or need medical, nutritional or wellness advice from someone who has no real qualifications. No, going to a conference and hearing a few motivational speeches, reading websites and being friends with the CEO of your “company” on Facebook does not make you an expert in medicine, nutrition, or exercise. Watching DVD’s and sharing videos of yourself doing weights and squats on instagram does not make you a personal trainer.

So please don’t follow me. Please don’t try and recruit me. Please don’t come onto my posts and offer me “advice”.

I have a doctor, I have knee surgeon, I have a physiotherapist, I attend an exercise class with a qualified and trained coach, I have seen a qualified dietician for nutritional advice. The difference between them and you is the word QUALIFIED. They are trained, they have been to college, university and worked in those fields and they are real experts. They are also held accountable if they make mistakes and I know my life is safe in their hands.

Stop trying. It won’t work. I block and report you. You are scamming. I don’t care how much money you claim to make, and how amazing you claim your life is, I don’t want to know and I don’t want your health or advice. Go to medical school, study nutrition and diet through a recognised body, become a qualified exercise trainer and then I might be interested.

Until then, please take your “wellness” coach title and shove it.

*this angry rant is based on me being approached by three different people approaching me in the past week with cures for my anxiety, my fertility issues and weight loss, unasked and they are in now way qualified to treat or help me. I have had enough. Every time this happens now I am going to call them out for it. I wish social media would stop these fraud companies from allowing their minions to prey on people on social media*

You can go back to what you were doing, my rant is done….