Health Coaching in San Francisco

If you live in San Francisco with diabetes or another chronic condition, you already know the city asks a lot of a tired body. The hills, the stairs, long workdays and a busy calendar all shape whether a health plan actually fits your life. That's where coaching can help.

Who coaching in San Francisco is for

I'm Cheri Sacks, a registered nurse and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. I work with people living with diabetes and other chronic conditions who want help turning their doctor's advice into something they can keep doing week after week. I coach by video anywhere in California, and in person around the Bay by arrangement.

Many of the San Franciscans I meet have quietly started planning their routes around hills, or skipping the walk because the transfer on the 22 feels like a second job. If that sounds familiar, there's nothing to apologize for. It's simply a city meeting a body, and we can build a plan that works with both.

Why chronic care feels different here

The medicine is the same here as anywhere, but the logistics aren't, and logistics usually decide whether a plan lasts. Some days include real, breath-shortening climbs, and some people have reorganized their lives to avoid them. Work can mean being available at all hours, so the only free time is the hour you meant to sleep. Friends move, too, so a routine built around a walking buddy can disappear when they do.

San Francisco's Department of Public Health Community Health Assessment reports that the share of residents 65 and older is expected to rise from 20 percent in 2021 to 25 percent by 2030. The same assessment notes that in 2021, 175 deaths in the city were due to diabetes, and that hospitalization rates for type 2 diabetes were much higher among Pacific Islander, Black and Latinx residents than among San Franciscans overall. A coach can't fix that on her own, but she should understand it.

The CDC's chronic disease page shows the same picture nationally: most adults live with at least one chronic condition. You're not failing at something everyone else finds easy.

How coaching with me works

Sessions are by video, so a 45-minute appointment takes 45 minutes, not half an evening crossing town. Camera off is fine. California nursing licenses are state licenses, so I can coach anyone living in California.

I coach through a simple framework I call PATH: Personalized care, Awareness, Transformation, Health. In practice, that means we start with your San Francisco, whether that's the Pacific Heights stairs, a quick lunch hour on Union Street, the climb out of Noe Valley or the flat walk along the Marina. We notice what the city already asks of you before we add anything, and then we choose one small step you can actually keep, like a block you can finish or a simple, balanced meal. Walking after meals and the balanced plate are good places to start, and the longer map of PATH is in working with a nurse health coach. If you leave the city on weekends, you might also like low-impact walks near Silicon Valley.

One woman in Noe Valley felt she was "failing" a walking plan written for a flat loop. Together we named the hill, chose the downhill walk to the store after lunch and took the bus back. She kept it up, because the plan finally fit her neighborhood.

Working alongside your doctors

I offer coaching and education, never diagnosis, and I work alongside your own San Francisco clinicians, not instead of them. NIDDK encourages people with diabetes to build a care team and says the most important member of that team is you. Please talk with your physician before you change a medicine, a meal plan or an activity plan that could lower your blood sugar.

If diabetes is part of your story, living well with type 2 diabetes and what a CDCES is are helpful next reads.

What to expect from the first call

I offer diabetes education and coaching one-to-one, and in a group when that's a better fit. The first conversation is a free discovery call, and you can book that here. It's simply a conversation about what's going on and whether coaching makes sense for you.

If you're weighing your options, group vs private explains the difference, and your first session walks through what that first hour looks like. For the wider area, see chronic illness health coaching in the Bay Area, or virtual health coaching across California if video from anywhere in the state suits you best.

A final thought

You don't need a different city. You need a plan that works in this one, and I'd love to help you build it.

You don't need to do more. You need to do what works for your body.

With Care, Cheri Sacks, R.N., C.D.C.E.S. Your Neighbor, The Nurse

This article is education, not medical care. Keep your own clinicians. Please talk with your physician before you change a medicine, a meal plan, or an activity plan.

Related reading

• Health coaching in the Bay Area
• Virtual health coaching across California
• Living well with type 2 diabetes
• What is a CDCES
• What to expect in your first session