What is the Health Coach Collaborative?

Heather Creamer, Lynne Faires, and I, Lisa Tsakos, three holistic nutrition consultants, each with unique backgrounds and specialties (fitness and coaching, business, environmental nutrition, corporate wellness, and education) joined forces to create the Health Coach Collaborative, with a vision to build a global community of Natural Nutrition Coaches.

We’ve combined our education and experience into a comprehensive Program that provides the nutrition education, coaching know-how, and the business skills needed to start and build a successful practice that includes natural nutrition consulting. HCC programs are built on the foundation of self-care and a four pillars approach to health: nutrition, stress management, sleep and movement. 

Visit our website to learn more: Health Coach Collaborative

Who Are We?

Heather Creamer

After a mastectomy in 2012, Heather turned a health challenge into opportunity and a passion to share the benefits of exercise with other cancer survivors. Recognizing a gap in the fitness industry, Heather took early retirement from her corporate role to follow her dream–to help fellow survivors enjoy the benefits of exercise. She became a personal trainer and Cancer Exercise Specialist® with the Cancer Exercise Training Institute (CETI). During her training, Heather discovered that many fitness trainers are not aware of safety and efficacy protocols that should be followed post-operatively or with clients who are functional but compromised, like she was during her recovery period. In 2019, Heather created MedeXN Fitness Institute and partnered with other associations in the Medical Fitness Exercise and Nutrition field to offer unique Certifications and Courses that train fitness experts to safely help Canadians living with chronic illness. After graduating from a natural nutrition program, Heather recognized the healing role of food and added a nutrition course to MedeXNs offerings. She founded the Health Coach Collaborative in 2019, partnering with Lynne and Lisa to create a comprehensive Natural Nutrition Coach Program. Heather is the primary author of the Coaching component, but her expertise is evident throughout the Program materials. HCC is Heather’s vision and she keeps us excited and motivated every day!

Lynne Faires

Lynne’s nutrition journey began when she noticed that her small garden was helping her resolve some minor health issues (eczema, fatigue, headaches, and more). Food from her garden, along with some additional modifications recommended by health experts, resulted in improvements within a few short weeks! In a quest to understand her body more, she returned to school to study natural nutrition, graduating in 2016. 

Following graduation, Lynne’s love for our environment and nutrition continued to grow. Her work, endless commitment to learning, and everything outside of work are united by her desire to make the world a healthier place. Lynne has taught Environmental Nutrition at post-secondary institutions, including the school she studied at, and she mentors and coaches new holistic practitioners to succeed in business. She and her husband, Sean, started the Holistic Nutrition Hub in 2017 to assist other practitioners to streamline the business and administrative parts of their practice. The Holistic Nutrition Hub has become a core resource for the Natural Nutrition Coach Program. Through her previous work experience in sales, administration, and management, Lynne joined the Health Coach Collaborative and created the business component of the Natural Nutrition Coach Program to help graduates launch their careers with a strong start. One of the biggest issues we frequently hear from graduates of other health and nutrition programs is that, while they may have a good grasp of nutrition concepts, they don’t have a clue about how to start or run a business. Lynne runs HCC’s social media pages and keeps the rest of us on track!

Lisa Tsakos

Way, way (way!) back in 1996, I stopped dieting, counting, and obsessing about food and decided instead to learn about it. After university and a year of international travel, I returned to school to study natural nutrition. Out of my desire to learn and a passion to share the exciting information I was sure would change the world, I began teaching natural nutrition and nutrition symptomatology at post-secondary institutions, including the natural nutrition school where I studied, and launched Nu-Vitality Health & Wellness, which included corporate wellness and a nutrition consulting practice. Since then, I’ve consulted with thousands of clients and hundreds of businesses across Canada, presenting seminars and healthy eating programs to their employees. On the side, I wrote and co-wrote books, had kids, and dabbled in other aspects of the natural health industry. When Heather Creamer reached out to me about joining forces to create a nutrition program that was science-based and current–yet based on the principles of holistic nutrition, and provided an equal emphasis on coaching, counselling, and business training, I couldn’t resist being involved. As a curriculum creator and lead instructor at HCC, I’m thrilled to share what I’ve learned over the past 25 years and to collaborate with others in this field!

Heather, Lynne, and I recognize what clients need to reach their goals and make lasting changes, what practitioners need to learn in order to succeed–both with their clients and in business, and we are aware that most other health and fitness programs fail to teach adequate one-on-one coaching and business skills. Each of us brings to the Program our extensive experience and desire to help people understand how their food choices impact their health, take responsibility for their health, and improve our food supply.