Every new year, scores of Americans vow to lose weight. But with the average “diet” lasting exactly 72 hours, many people seek help in improving their health. What if that “help” leaves you worse off?

When Cyndi Thompson, a 28-year-old graduate student from Austin, Texas, joined a ‘Biggest Loser’-style weight loss challenge, she was assigned a “personal coaching team” consisting of a personal trainer and a health coach. At the time, she didn’t realize her “team” was also competing for a prize. It was a big advertising package to boost their business. Thompson (not her real name) was given a precise diet to follow and trained at the team’s gym.

Over a 60-day period, she lost nearly 50 pounds.

But she felt that she suffered mental and emotional abuse at the hands of her trainers, who were desperate to win the free advertising and publicity.

“I did everything they told me, though I was starving,” said Thompson. “Yet in the weeks when I didn’t lose enough to please them, they accused me of lying and cheating. They’d assign me more treadmill or elliptical work, which only made me hungrier. It got tough to keep up with my schoolwork. Near the end, they were suggesting water pills and all kinds of ways to sweat so I could lose a few more pounds.”

Unfortunately, her trainers did not win the contest — and one blamed her for wasting their investment of time and money.

Two years later, Thompson has regained the 48 pounds she lost, plus taken on additional weight.

Allie Adams, a 45-year-old legal assistant from Raleigh, North Carolina, had a very different experience with a “coach.” She had gained weight after giving birth to three children in six years and felt challenged by her sedentary job. That’s when her cousin, who had begun a health coaching business, offered help.

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Over the next year, Adams spent more than $4500 on products from a major multi-level marketing supplement business, including shakes, exercise programs and appetite-suppressing snacks. Her weight went up and down, depending on how strictly she kept to the program. When she stopped drinking the shakes (out of boredom or indifference), the weight seemed to bounce back fast.

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When her cousin urged her to become a “health coach” too, saying she could help thousands of people lose weight, Allie balked.

“I didn’t want to sell anything,” she explained. “My own weight loss felt shaky and I was sick more often. But she pressured me until I agreed to a phone call. I was so turned off by the hard sell formulas and fake voices of the ‘leaders’ on the call, I finally got the nerve to tell her off.”

Related: Those Low-Fat Lies

Allie’s story is unfortunately typical, according to Joe Robinson of Sustain Nutrition in Leeds of Yorkshire, in the U.K.

“Good coaches sell knowledge; bad coaches sell products or quick fixes,” Robinson said. “Watch out for someone claiming unbelievable results and friends or family who suddenly begin espousing a product noisily out of the blue or who becomes a ‘coach’ with little training.”

Training is key, say coaches who have invested years in their training and often have science or medical degrees as well.

Internet-based companies often lure out-of-work people to their quickie health coach training programs with words such as, “No specific educational requirements are needed to be a health coach and a good number of coaches haven’t taken classes to become a coach.” Some also promise, “Train over the phone in just six weeks.”

Confusion Over Terminology
When professional coaching debuted some 50 years ago, the big challenge was distinguishing the process of professional coaching from sports coaching. Today, it has become a catch-all job description.

Many personal trainers, hypnotherapists, yoga teachers and even stay-at-home moms claim to be “health coaches.” One woman with a consulting certification said she uses the term “coach” because “it’s popular. Everybody is a coach.”

Not so, states the International Coach Federation (ICF), which investigates and accredits coach training programs internationally. ICF defines coaching as: “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential… Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work.”

It’s important for those seeking help with whatever it may be — heath, career, relationships — to know that not everyone calling themselves a “coach” has the core competencies of coaching.

Related: Getting Fit Step by Step

Rob Arthur, a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) in Lexington, Kentucky, explained the often confusing overlap between coaches and trainers: “Training and consulting are analogous to drawing someone a map from point A to point B. Coaching is walking beside that person as they travel from point A to point B, helping them overcome roadblocks along the way.”

So how to go about finding a legitimate “creative partner” who can help you achieve your health or weight loss goals?

Jim Burdumy, a health coach in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, suggests consumers look first for a coach with a long-term approach.

“A health coach will help you realize where you are out of balance and help you change perspective through good questions and suggestions. A health coach should teach you about proper nutrition, and help you recognize when you aren’t eating right for your body.”

Michael Tamez, of Transformative Nutrition in St. Petersburg, Florida, suggests looking for someone who can help work with thoughts and emotions that may be derailing progress. “That is where a certified health coach can make a real difference.”

Clients wanting to make health changes may also benefit from deep introspection before looking for a coach.

“Used properly, health coaching can be a fantastic resource,” said Anne Marshall of StressDrop.com. “But it does involve commitment and effort on the part of the person being coached. Don’t expect the coach to ‘fix you.’ It’s teamwork.”

Professional coaches suggest the following five tips to find the right health or wellness coach:

1: Research a coach’s certification and credentials.

2: Check the coach’s website for red flags, such as whether supplements are advertised or pushed. “Dieting does not work in the long term and supplements and pills are potentially dangerous,” said Dr. Ellen Albertson, a psychologist and nutritionist. “Good, experienced coaches facilitate behavior change and provide support and accountability.”

3: Investigate the coach’s social media. If posts are “more about selling products vs. being an education resource, chances are that is the coach’s main objective,” said Kerri Axelrod, a certified holistic health coach.

4: Speak with the person before you hire him or her. Some coaches offer sample coaching sessions or consultations beforehand. Notice the coach’s attention level, communication style and energy. “A good coach empowers you. If a coach tells you what to do instead of helping you figure it out and boosting your self-efficacy and self-confidence, that person is  not a true coach,” said Dr. Albertson.

5: Ask about the coach’s scope of practice, she also advises. “Good coaches will reveal their limitations and let you know when they’d refer you to a licensed health professional if your situation requires a different or deeper expertise.”

Pat Barone is a professional credentialed coach in Madison, Wisconsin, and author of the “Own Every Bite!” body-centric re-education program for mindful and intuitive eating.