Q & A

Answers to commonly asked questions from the experts on Thumbtack.

What is a health coach?

A health coach is a service provider you can hire to help you realize your wellness goals. You can hire a health and wellness coach to guide you through life changes, keep you focused on weight loss or fitness goals, help boost your mental health, and more. Many health coaches work with their clients for set periods of time as the client moves toward a measurable goal. Wellness coaches come from varying backgrounds, and may have different areas of focus depending on their education and training. Research potential coaches by reading their reviews, researching their academic and personal backgrounds, and learning about any certifications they have earned from coaching institutes. Often, health and wellness coaches sell coaching packages ranging from three to six months or longer, depending on the client’s needs. The average national cost for an individual health coach session ranges from $60 to $90, although prices may range as low as $30 or up to $130 or more, depending on your location and the coach.

How much does a nutritionist cost?

A nutritionist provides expertise and guidance to help clients with all diet-related health matters, including losing weight, gaining muscle, improving their sports performance, and managing diabetes or high cholesterol. Nutritionists can help people learn to follow special diets in a healthy way, such as becoming vegetarian or vegan or developing a low-sodium or gluten-free eating plan. The average national cost of a nutritionist is $60 to $100. Nutritionists often require an initial consultation with a new client, during which they’ll take a medical history, assess the client’s nutritional needs, and determine the best course of action; this first meeting usually averages $100-$120 for a 45-minute to 90-minute consultation. Subsequent nutritional counseling sessions generally cost less, ranging from an average of $45 for a half-hour session to $60-$90 for a one-hour session. Like many professional service providers, nutritionists may offer discounts through package pricing. For instance, a one-month package with two sessions and email support costs an average of $190; a three-month package with three sessions and email support costs an average of $360; and a six-month package with six sessions and email support costs an average of $540.

Are nutritionists covered by health insurance?

Nutrition counseling can be a critical component of good health care, especially for people recently diagnosed with diabetes or high cholesterol who need to adhere to a specific diet. People also meet with nutritionists for help developing a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet, developing an eating plan to lose weight or gain muscle, or improving their sports performance by changing their diet. Nutritionists may be covered by health insurance depending on your reason for meeting with them. Nutrition counseling is more likely to be covered if it is part of a doctor-prescribed treatment for a particular medical condition, such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or coronary heart disease. For example, Medicare covers medical nutrition therapy services only for people diagnosed with diabetes or kidney disease, as long as they get a referral from their doctor. Also, insurance providers more often cover nutrition visits if the patient has been referred to a registered dietitian within the carrier’s network of providers. Insurance plans vary greatly, so research your benefits before visiting a nutritionist.

What is a holistic wellness coach?

When you want to reach new heights with your health and wellness, consider hiring a holistic wellness coach. Much like a health coach, a holistic wellness coach is focused on your well-being and meets with you in one-on-one sessions to help you identify and reach your targeted goals. A holistic wellness coach will typically have you take all components of your life into account when working to achieve your goals. If your goal is to lose weight, a holistic wellness coach will not only offer recommendations for your diet and exercise, but also discuss your emotional health, your work/life balance, your spiritual side, and each area of your life that affects your ability to follow a nutrition and fitness plan.

Although they are highly motivational and often can help clients achieve great results, holistic wellness coaches are not professional health care providers or registered dietitians. Different institutes and training centers provide certifications for holistic wellness coaching, so be sure to research your coach and read their reviews to understand more about their techniques and training.

Alyssa A.

Verified review

Heather is amazing. I'm three weeks into my training and I am so incredibly grateful that I hired her. She is encouraging and motivating and has already changed my mentality when it comes to health and fitness. She is SO professional and has been really amazing about listening to my needs and making sure that I am always safe, have proper form, but still makes sure that I get an amazing workout. You won't regret hiring her!

Sam S.

Krisztian has been working with my 12 year old son Sammy for almost a year now and I could not be happier with the results. Krisztian has developed a great relationship with my son and has pushed Sammy to work hard to get the results that he was looking for. As a father, it has been great to see my son set goals, put in the work, and achieve those goals with Krisztian leading the way. I've seen my son gain stamina, agility, quickness, and strength while having fun doing it. Sammy looks forward to his workouts and Krisztian has been instrumental in making it a fun and competitive environment. I would recommend Krisztian to anyone looking to improve their health and fitness, at any experience level. Krisztian is dedicated to every client and has really made an impact on my son. Sam Sabedra

Amy N.

Justin is very knowledgeable about all muscle groups. He is able to give many options for the moves you can’t do. He’s dedicated and you can tell he loves what he does. He’s an amazing coach!

Kat T.

Barbara has been my personal chef for more than 2 years because I eat a special diet. She's brought delicious, magnificent, nutritious food and fun into my life. She is a treasure of a human being. I wouldn't think of giving a party without her, and I can't imagine my life or health without her nourishing soul food. She should have a million stars. Consider yourself extremely blessed if she cooks for you!

Tonia A.

I had the pleasure of being one of Supreme's customers and I was highly satisfied with his professionalism, knowledge and customer service. He is a very good communicator, chef and wellness coach. He listens to your needs and is very patient. Also, the meals he prepped for me were well thought out, tasty and exceeding my expectations. I will definitely refer him to friends and family!

Kirk M.

Charlotte always puts together the most dynamic, challenging, and rewarding fitness routines. Her abundant knowledge and enthusiasism for fitness and health is what separates her from any other fitness professional I have ever used.

Emily A.

Kyle has extensive knowledge and experience in fitness and physiology. His know-how is clear but he does not approach clients in a clinical way. Kyle's work outs have been consistently effective, fun and interesting. His sense of humor and ability to clap back at whatever sass you throw his way makes him fun to be around! If you want individualized work outs that get stuff done, I recommend Kyle!

Aundrea C.

This Girl Rocks! I have met with her a 3 times now and am looking forward to the long haul. She has provided me with take home workouts, accountability charts, and coaches with nutritional information! I'm definitely glad I found her. She has also taken on a friend of mine that has some back issues. She adjusts workouts according to ability level. To be totally honest, I have never seen my friend so motivated! :)

Jonathan D.

I have been training with Beth for about 6 months, both in private and semi private session, and have only great things to say about all of it! Her private sessions are a truely tailored workout experience, with the most up to date techniques and excersises available. Semi private training has the same tailored experience, at a more accessible rate. These sessions have a certain amount of routine so you can really perfect the movements, while also adding in different variations to keep it interesting. Also, you get to train with a friend which is always fun. Beth keeps knowledge base very up to date and has a passion for teaching, so as a client I was able to learn an amazing amount about mobility and overall conditioning. I have been able to take this knowledge and maintain my workouts outside of the gym. From an improvement in overall health, to eliminating my back pain, learning from and training with Beth has been an immeasurable asset in my life!

Aileen Z.

Gina was amazing. She took 6 of us on a beautiful hike in Santa Barbara. She discussed nutrition, overall health and wellness. Her knowledge was great and her patience even better with six of us hiking with different abilities. I would highly recommend her for any of your athletic and Wellness needs

Eric S.

Very knowledgable in fitness and diet. Really asks you about your goals and builds a plan about how to achieve it from multiple directions. Very motivated and driven, cares foremost about your results and working a healthy plan that fits your lifestyle

Mario R.

First time I worked out he was very helpful with training and gotta say good with exercise and health questions if u got good questions and need some answers then Oscar is your man for the job and :-)

Audrey B.

Paige is an amazing individual to work with. Her holistic approach to both health and fitness is something that is hard to find in the fitness realm today. Her passion for helping others reach optimal health and fitness shows in her personalized approach, and she really does make sure you feel like you are not on this journey alone. I have absolutely loved all of her insight, guidance and focus over these past few months. I wouldn't be where I am today on this journey without her help. Thank you Paige!!

Sheri B.

Being in the Health and Fitness industry myself, I know there are plenty of Personal Trainers out there, but I chose Kit to lead my own wellness program. I needed a professional with extensive education, whole-body knowledge, creativity, and the drive to practice personally what he teaches his clients. I've been 100% satisfied with Kit's service. He is well versed in strength and stability training, including safe restorative exercise to accommodate injuries and/or surgeries, and has tremendous insight for effective, individualized workout design. It's rare when a trainer knows how to challenge each client uniquely and produce even more positive results than expected. I love that each workout is different and that he helped me hone in on lifestyle nutrition. In 5 months of his skilled planning, and gauging success through routine body measurements, we produced steady, healthy progress toward my goals. I've made significant decreases in pounds, body fat, and total inches because of his motivation and support. In addition, my doctor and I are impressed with my markedly improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and all my lab results are in desired ranges. My energy has skyrocketed. For me, nothing is more valuable than my health, vitality, and strength. I thank Kit for his focused commitment in helping me find this deep sense of satisfaction in myself. I highly recommend him if you are results-driven and want to look and feel your best. Sheri Burgoyne Camarillo, CA

Ashley H.

Sergei is the most passionate trainer I have ever had; Passionate about training in general and passionate about positively impacting lives. Making his clients feel like they are making strides in being more fit--both physically and emotionally is another huge key of Sergei's success. Not only is he a great physical trainer, he also focuses on bettering the inner-self as well. This is a huge part of the reason why he stands out among other trainers. He takes the time to get to know and understand each client individually, which makes training from an athlete's standpoint (in my case) a whole lot easier. Sergei trains all types of levels of athleticism. From instructing and improving basic functional skills, to athletes of all sports, Sergei is the guy to go to! I'm a basketball player and he wasn't too familiar with all of the techniques used in the game, so he did his own research and came up with creative excersises that were completely helpful and super fun! I am now in peak performance shape all thanks to Sergei and his unique style of training! He's the bomb!

Janice K.

Trish Marmo is a wonderful, intelligent, and very attentive nutritional coach. She will always answer your question right away, and is very knowledgeable. I have purchased many of her programs including bye bye baby belly and six weeks to a better you. I am extremely satisfied and would highly recommend Trishto help anyone reach their health and fitness goals!!

Cela B.

The Get Happy Zone is dedicated to focusing your attention on the good and the happy things in life. With the wealth of information and tools available from Jackie, you have something tangible to work with in creating a more meaningful, purposeful and spiritual life. And that's a happy thing.

Debbie R.

In February 2014 I was on Mission for quick weight loss. So I ordered Nutrisystem and during the same time I heard about Fit Body Boot Camp. My thought was, if I did both I would be guaranteed to see quick results. The owner was not in favor of this and wanted me to eat accordong to her plan. But I was stubborn and not open to it. After 4 weeks I did have some good results. However, after stopping Fit Body Boot Camp and going back to my old eating habits I put the weight back on. Then, in 2015 I started experiencing some health issues. Per my doctor, what it boiled down to was the need to lose weight. In September 2015 I made a commitment to give FBBC another try and took on the whole plan this time, exercising AND clean eating. I have had wonderful results with weight loss and body transformation. But the most important thing is that I've become educated. I've learned how important it is to eat healthy to stay fit. I've learned how to do it and how to incorporate it into my life. It's been almost a full year and I have continued to keep the weight off. I love the workouts, the trainers and the FBBC family. I am forever grateful for all I've been taught and all that I've accomplished this far. What an amazing feeling!

Lorraine N.

Rev. Roxan has been a teacher, spiritual guide and healer for me since 1996. Thanks to her my life has transformed in ways that I would never have imagined. I attribute my physical, intellectual and spiritual well being to her impeccable and insightful healing practice. Over the years we have done guided mediations, sound healings, homeopathy readings and manifestation workshops that have had a profound effect on my physical health, career path, love life and self realization - and most importantly connecting me to my hight consciousness. Couldn't live without her!

Lisa R.

I have been working out with Jerry for nine years. After having a false heart attack from stress when I was fifty, I decided to find a trainer. I needed an appointment for health, otherwise, I would not do it on my own. Those first years Jerry respected that I was just not ready to deal with my weight and was exercising to destress. Although, when the time came, he got me down over 50 lbs. Unfortunately, one of the gifts of cancer treatment was to gain that back and then some. Jerry works with me to be strong during chemo and keeping my spirits up. So we start again on the weight thing. (Let's face it, Jerry isn't in control of my fork and mouth disease. That would be me.) I would be so much worse without him. Why is he the best trainer I've ever had? Why have I followed him to different gyms? 1. He doesn't train by rote. i.e. one training fits all. He assesses your needs, limitations and goals. 2. He keeps himself educated, knows the body and nutrition thoroughly. 3. Again, he trains to your needs not his. (If you've had bad trainers you know what I mean.) 4. He keeps the training sessions interesting with a variety of workouts. (I joke, that you could give Jerry a length of string and a brick and you'd be sweating your workout.) 5. He knows when to push and when to back off. If you want to make a difference in your life and keep an appointment for health. Do yourself a favor, do it with Jerry.

Amandeep G.

Chad is an excellent coach, and is very personable. I'm so glad I found him through Thumbtack. He also was very prompt about scheduling. Much better end-to-end experience than anticipated. I'll go back for sure. Highly recommended.

Santa Barbara, CA100 Health Coaches near you

Answer a few questions

Get quotes

Hire the right pro

Santa Barbara Health Coaches