Just enter your information below and you will receive the STRENGTH™ fundamentals to help you to:

• End “emotional eating” forever
• Follow through with all of your weight loss goals
• Gain the strength of mind to say “no” to foods that make you fat
• “Download” the thought patterns of thin, healthy, happy people
• Put all of that expert advice you’ve read to work
• Create and stick with the perfect fitness and nutritional program for you
• And many more STRENGTH secrets to help you improve your life…

Plus… you’ll also receive a free subscription to the STRENGTH™ Insider newsletter, where Dr. Ellick will share dozens of practical tips anyone can use to turn their weight loss goals into real-world results!

This is a $129/year value, but it’s yours FREE when you sign up for this breakthrough 8-part e-series!

Each letter of the word STRENGTH represents one of the steps to weight loss that lasts- Sign up now and you'll learn what the S stands for TODAY.

Just type in your First Name and Primary Email address below, and click the “Free Instant Access!” button you see below and you will instantly receive via email you all the details on getting the free 8-week e-series. Please note that ALL your information is kept 100% confidential.

NOTE: We will NOT rent, trade, or release your information to any third party for any reason - ever.

Keep reading to learn more about how you can use STRENGTH™ to get and keep the weight off…

Interested? Keep reading…

Weight Loss Coaching

What is weight loss coaching?

After working with dozens of people on losing weight and getting in shape, Dr. Laura Ellick observed that people often knew what they needed to do to get in shape. There is no secret to losing weight and keeping it off. Basically, you need to eat healthier and exercise more. This should come as no surprise!

If it’s so simple, what’s the problem? As you probably have found out by experience by now, losing weight and maintaining the loss is often easier said than done. Most people struggle with how to actually make the lifestyle changes needed for success while balancing busy lives and struggling with ingrained habits.

You may know how many calories and what types of food to eat to lose weight. You may know the importance of doing both cardiovascular and resistance training exercises. What you may not know is how to get yourself to actually do these things! This is where the psychology of weight loss comes in and this is Dr. Ellick's specialty.

Dr. Ellick wants to assist you in making lifestyle changes that will lead you to long-term success in weight loss. The coaching program described on this site will help you create and maintain the eating and exercise program that will work for you. “Yo-yo” dieting will be a thing of the past!

How we help you change

Many personal trainers say that their clients are exercising and doing the work, but are not seeing results. Why? Typically it is because they are not changing eating patterns.

Changing eating patterns is a very difficult thing to do. Eating is determined by a variety of behavioral, situational, emotional, interpersonal, psychological, and habitual variables. This coaching program is based on extensive research data and experience with how people actually increase motivation and change behaviors.

Dr. Ellick helps her clients to:

Identify and change unhelpful habits. Changing habits is a complicated process but can be achieved through techniques such as regulating the environment and reversing your habits.

Deal with the fear of deprivation. Feeling deprived often sabotages your diet plan. Learn how to use the power of your thoughts to feel satisfied with fewer calories. In addition, learn other strategies for rewarding yourself without using food so that deprivation is no longer an issue.

Stick with a motivating exercise plan. Exercise is critical to getting and staying in shape. The key is to create the right program—one that is challenging but not impossible and that is easy enough to work into your lifestyle..

Ending the loss-gain dieting cycle which is frustrating and dangerous to your health. This program promotes LONG-TERM change so that you will not need to “diet” again. Many clients actually seek out coaching AFTER they’ve lost the weight to be sure to keep it off.

Change emotional eating patterns, such as eating due to anxiety, frustration, distress, discomfort, embarrassment, sadness, relationship problems, boredom, or guilt.

Each aspect of the STRENGTH™ Weight Loss & Wellness program is critically important in helping you create the mindset and lifestyle that will take the weight off and keep it off for good! When you become a coaching client, you will receive the secrets behind making each of these areas work for you in your weight loss. You will work on identifying and developing strategies to overcome your weight loss roadblocks including those that are emotional, behavioral, and motivational..

While coaching cannot guarantee any particular weight loss result since that varies from individual to individual, most clients DO experience:

• A greater sense of control over what, when, and how they eat
• A solid understanding of what motivates them to eat and how to make changes
• Less anxiety and worrying about eating and exercise
• Increased support for weight loss from those in their lives
• A feeling of empowerment over food and exercise choices

How do I know if it’s right for me?

IIf you know that you want to learn the psychology of long-term weight loss and you are ready to begin now, then review the Customized Coaching Programs to learn more about how it works. If you are serious about beginning the process of coaching, Dr. Ellick will give you a free 15 minute consultation to determine whether we are the right match and answer your questions about coaching. Contact Dr. Ellick to learn more.

Wellness Coaching

What is wellness?

Wellness is achieving a state of mind and physical being at which you are content, at peace, healthy, and happy. To achieve wellness, you need to integrate the various areas of your life, such as your career, family, physical activities, eating, hobbies, spirituality, and relationships into a balanced system.

How do I know if I can benefit from wellness coaching?

Here are some signs that wellness coaching may benefit you: 

• You are experiencing a good deal of stress about your job or personal life
• You feel overwhelmed by trying to manage life’s daily tasks
• You want to create more optimism and attention to the positive things
• You seek to achieve a greater sense of true happiness and contentment
• You struggle with time management and want to become more organized and productive
• You want to have a more balanced life and increase your enjoyment of life
• You want fulfilling, stress-free relationships at home and at work
• You’d like to create the mental strength and stamina to pursue an important goal

How do I learn more?

Review the Customized Coaching Programs page to learn more about how the process of coaching works. If you think that you could benefit, then contact Dr. Ellick. She will give you a free 15 minute consultation to give you the opportunity to speak about your goals. Dr. Ellick will let you know if coaching is the right option for you. If not, Dr. Ellick will provide referrals.

Secrets of Weight Loss Surgery Success- Losing the Weight Without Losing Yourself

Are you considering Weight Loss Surgery? Have you considered all the changes that are likely to occur?

Weight Loss Surgery (Lap band, gastric bypass, gastric sleeve) is a life changing experience and requires long-term commitment to lifestyle and dietary changes to ensure success. It is likely that you will experience a flood of emotions including anxiety, depression, excitement, and joy as you engage in the process of deciding on the surgery, finding a qualified surgeon, and having the procedure done. In addition, you may struggle after the surgery with frustration related to compliance with diet and exercise. You may also experience a range of emotions as you adjust to weight loss and learn how to accept and get used to your new body. Some post-surgical clients also speak of relationship changes with friends, family members, and significant others as roles change and others begin to adjust to the “new” you.

As the former Senior Psychologist for a hospital-based weight loss program, Dr. Ellick has had extensive experience working with clients who have had weight-loss surgery, as well as those who are still deciding if surgery is the right option for them.

Through your coaching work with Dr. Ellick, you will:

• Explore the issues involved in deciding whether or not surgery is right for you
• Build a support network to improve the likelihood of post-surgical success
• Recognize and learn to manage effectively the changes in your mood, relationships, and eating behaviors and patterns resulting from surgery and weight loss
• Maintain your new eating and exercise habits so that you do not regain weight.

This program is not psychotherapy, counseling, or advice-giving. It is a supportive coaching process in which your coach will ask key questions to get you thinking differently. This coaching is not a substitute for therapy, and if it appears that you have an issue that would be better addressed by therapy, a referral for therapy or counseling will be given. Interested? Contact Dr. Ellick to receive a complimentary 15 minute consultation to see if the program is right for you.

Parent Training

Dr. Ellick also offers training for parents whose children can benefit from losing weight. Pediatric obesity is a growing epidemic that threatens the health, socialization, well-being, and future of millions of children. Parents have enormous power to help their children change their eating and exercise and change the course of their lives. In fact, most of my adult obesity or eating disorder clients report that their poor eating habits or disordered eating patterns began in childhood. You now have the opportunity to help your child break the food obsession and dieting cycle early on and be able to support them in learning how to have a healthy relationship with food.

While Dr. Ellick does not directly work with your children, she will help you to:

• Provide healthy food options and learn how to explain nutrition to your child
• Teach your child about portion control
• Help your child find enjoyable ways to exercise
• Build your child’s self esteem, courage, and confidence
• Learn what triggers their eating and substitute new behaviors
• Help children deal with being teased or made fun of for weight
• Develop new, healthy behaviors that will last a lifetime

Parents often report the dual-benefit of learning strategies which help both them and their children. You can help your children avoid a life of embarrassment, self-loathing, and health problems, and they will appreciate it forever. Please contact Dr. Ellick for more information on parent training programs.

Customized Coaching Programs

How does the process of coaching work?

The process of individual coaching follows a four stages approach, including:

1. Initial Evaluation: Over the first 1-2 sessions, a complete evaluation is conducted using a combination of interview and questionnaire measures. You will take an assessment called Fitness Thoughts and Behaviors Questionnaire. Dr. Ellick scores it and develops a profile of your current strengths and areas to change. Dr. Ellick may also use other assessments, such as: Who Do You See in the Mirror? and The Self Motivation Inventory
2. Action Steps: A goal plan is created and specific action steps are developed and assigned. Goal setting is extremely important in weight loss. You will work on your goals during and between sessions. You will work with Dr. Ellick to create 2-5 action steps to work on between each session.
3. Assessment of Progress: Your achievement of short term goals is assessed and the action plan is modified as needed. Dr. Ellick will also ask you to evaluate the effectiveness of your coaching thus far.
4. Maintenance & Achievement of Long Term Goals: Once your initial goals are achieved (typically in the first 3-6 months of coaching) the focus may shift to long-term goal achievement.

The length of coaching is determined by the client and Dr. Ellick together. The minimum length of time is typically three months to see changes occur; many clients choose to stay in coaching as long as it is helping them. After weight loss goals are achieved, coaching sessions are reduced to the maintenance phase, which may mean meeting by phone about once per month.

Coaching is conducted over the telephone;, however in-person meetings are occasionally set up. Before beginning any weight loss program, it is recommended that all new clients meet with their physicians to ensure that there are no underlying medical conditions that may stand in the way of success and to get medical approval. Dr. Ellick would be happy to collaborate with physicians, therapists, or other providers to provide the clients with a comprehensive team approach.

How often do coaching sessions occur?

The frequency of coaching depends on the scope of your goals, how quickly you want to meet your goals, your financial situation, and your level of commitment to weight loss. Some factors to consider are:

1. When you want to meet your goals. Increase the frequency and/or length of sessions to reach goals more quickly.
2. Scope of goals. If your goals are relatively small, specific, and circumscribed, then less frequent or shorter sessions may be what you need. If your goals are larger in scope, then increase the frequency or duration of sessions
3. Resources. Consider your time, energy, and finances. While coaching is an important venture with lasting results, it does require a financial investment.
4. Your own style. If you tend to like to have quick, to the point conversations, then 30 minute sessions may be better for you. If you like to explore different possibilities, think things through in depth, or cover multiple areas in one discussion, 60 minute sessions would be better.

Coaching Versus Therapy

When you enroll in coaching, you will be working with Dr. Ellick, who hold a doctoral degree in psychology. Psychologists are experts in understanding how people think, feel, and behave. Working with an expert in behavior change is one of the benefits of the program and one of the reasons that clients are successful in losing weight and maintaining their losses long-term. However, coaching is very different from therapy and YOU WILL NOT BE RECEIVING THERAPY through this program. The program is distinct from therapy in several ways. Coaching focuses on helping people meet an important life goal, like weight loss. Therapy focuses on overcoming a major problem or diagnosis, like clinical depression, traumatic experiences, or severe anxiety. If issues arise during the process of coaching that indicate the necessity of therapy Dr. Ellick will provide you with a referral to a therapist.

Individual Coaching Programs

You can choose from three programs to best meet your needs. Each program includes scheduled coaching calls and unlimited support between sessions. One of the goals of the program is to help you get through difficult eating and food situations without falling back into bad habits. Until you achieve this goal, Dr. Ellick is available between sessions to help you “problem-solve” your way through roadblocks to weight loss such as: finding out at the last minute that you are scheduled to attend a client dinner at a restaurant (even though you have been avoiding eating out to save calories), learning that your upcoming cruise has an “all you can eat buffet” all day, or even learning that your mother-in-law is planning a high-calorie Sunday dinner.

Program 1

• Four 45 minute sessions monthly
• Free unscheduled between session brief telephone calls (10 minutes maximum per call)
• Unlimited email correspondence (turnaround time maximum 1 day)
• Free monthly mailing of STRENGTH™ Insider newsletter
• Unlimited access to our article and resource database

Program 2

• Four 30-minute sessions monthly
• Free unscheduled between-session brief telephone calls (10 minutes maximum per call)
• Unlimited email correspondence (turnaround time maximum 1 day)
• Free monthly mailing of STRENGTH™ Insider newsletter
• Unlimited access to our article and resource database

Program 3

• Two 30 minute sessions monthly
• Free unscheduled between-session brief telephone calls (10 minutes maximum per call)
• Unlimited email correspondence (turnaround time maximum 1 day)
• Free monthly mailing of STRENGTH™ Insider newsletter
• Unlimited access to our article and resource database

Group Coaching Programs

Dr. Ellick is also available to run group coaching programs, In much the same way as having a group personal training session to save money, group coaching is a great way to share the expense of coaching with others who have similar goals. This is a great way to have Dr. Ellick come to your business retreat, workout group meeting, mommy group, or diet support group to learn ways to lose weight and stop emotional eating. To learn about group coaching options, contact Dr. Ellick for more information.

Are there any discounts?

Our programs begin at $250 per month. Coaching is not psychotherapy and is not covered by insurance. To help as many people as possible as much as possible, several discounts are available. Some of these include:

• Receive 10% off your entire costs of coaching when you commit to at least 6 months because this commitment is likely to lead to improved results of coaching.
• Join with a friend and you’ll both receive 15% off your entire costs. Dr. Ellick encourages you to enroll with a friend since you will support each other and improve your outcomes.

If you are interested in pursuing coaching, please contact Dr. Ellick to schedule your complimentary 15 minute session and get started!