Getting to know your Health Coach - Coach Laura K.

Left to Right: Casey (husband), Thomas (son), Laura (Coach)

After working with MyHealthCoach and Dedication Health for over a year now, it is time for a little get to know your Coaches.

What do I do and where am I located?

I am Coach Laura Kilgos, or just Coach Laura K. I am a Certified Health & Wellness Coach as well as yoga instructor out of North East Pennsylvania. I am one of the two Coaches that work with

MyHealthCoach & Dedication Health. The other Coach is Christina Kamins, who lives and works in the South Western side of Pennsylvania. Her and I are a little over an hour drive apart and have met multiple times and have become good friends through My Health Coach. We often speak to each other when we run into something we are not familiar with or we use eachother as a sounding board at times to make sure we are doing right by the patients with Dedication Health.

What drives me?

The most important thing in the world to me is my Family. I have an adorable little "micro family", as I like to call ourselves. As pictured above, there is my Husband Casey, my son Thomas and myself. It's just the three of us up here in North East Pennsylvania, as our extended family is scattered across the United States and Canada. My husband Casey is prior Navy and is now serving his community in another aspect through infrastructure as an Electrical Lineman. He keeps the power going and at times not in the best of conditions, so we continue to live that "on call" life. Casey and I first met when he was Navy and I was Army in South Texas and have been married for 20 years. My son Thomas is a very active kid. He plays football, active in MMA (mixed martial arts), Motocross, Hunting and Snowboards in the winter. We also have 2 German shorthaired pointer dogs, June & Bell (pictured below). June is actually Bell's mom, as we breed German Shorthairs as well. We are a tight knit micro family and spend as much time together as possible! In the summer times we are very active with concerts, travel and spending time outdoors. If you ask Thomas where his favorite vacation was, he will always say Jamaica.

June & Bell - The Mascots

Why do I do what I do?

I initially fell in love with nutrition and fitness during basic training in the Army. There you had no choice in your nutrition or how you exercised. You just did it and the results speak for themselves. What a difference a balanced diet really makes for your body, with an active lifestyle. But unfortunately, I did not follow a career in nutrition at that time, but my life would continue to take me into the medical field whether I realized it or not. From the Army, I went into Long Term Care, and worked in a LTC , nursing facility in South Texas as a an Office Manager working with Insurances and as a department head. I worked under an Administrator that was adamant that my job was more then just billing but taking care of the patients as well. I got to know their care, their nutrition needs, their therapy goals, and I got to really know them as people. After I left the nursing facility and moved to Pennsylvania, I went back to college for nutrition and business. While I was going to school, I became pregnant with Thomas. My pregnancy had it's ups and downs medically, but it wasn't until after he was born that my body took a turn for the worse. I was diagnosed with 2 pulmonary embolisms two weeks after he was born. This led me down a path of constant medical problems. It was in 2015 that I said "ENOUGH", went back to school part time - finished my certifications, and still continue to grow in my knowledge of Nutrition and Fitness. I am currently working on a certification in Herbs and personal training for body building competitions, so my training and education never takes a break.

What can I do as your Coach?

As your Coach, my job is to guide you in the right direction of your health goals and to meet you where you are at, as opposed to restrictive dieting or a restrictive lifestyle. As your coach we approach everything that makes you unique from what drives you and what feeds you to what gets you down and how can we pick you back up. Its a total body and mind approach. Getting to know what works for you and what doesn't, allows for better results in weightloss, blood pressure, cholesterol, or glucose levels. As your coach I am right along side you and help you make better choices for a better tomorrow in a positive sustainable way.

Why I love my job!!

I love watching and listening to patients have the AHA moments of "this isn't that hard" or "I am catching myself making better decisions" ... or my favorite "I don't feel as stressed" - This is why I love doing what I do ... Its all of the patients and I get to celebrate those successes with them, how awesome is that?!! Your success and your move towards a healthy style is what makes me love my job every day and I am forever grateful for that.

Thanks for Letting me be your Coach,

Coach Laura K.