Greg Aitchison, 43, has been working as a health coach for two years now, offering a faith-based approach to sharpening the body, mind and soul. He has successfully grown his business, developing a brand with the tagline “Happy, Healthy and Holy” (happyhealthyandholy.org) and managing a dozen regular clients. He and his wife, Kate, belong to Our Lady of Grace in Edina and have four children ages 6 to 15.
Q) As a teen your older brother mailed you a letter challenging you to get off the couch.
A) Its main message was: “I believe you have a ton of untapped potential. If you truly apply yourself, you could be a great athlete and student. Here are a few tips and lessons I’ve learned along the way …” It echoed Pope Benedict XVI’s “You weren’t made for comfort, but for greatness” message, which I found galvanizing.
Q) It takes the right mix of challenging and encouraging, doesn’t it?
A) Yes. There’s something to be said for somebody who knows you well and can call you out, but to know how to call you out well. I had a physical transformation between sophomore and junior year. I lost 40 pounds and suddenly was a better athlete. Girls noticed me, and my discipline transformed my schoolwork.
It wasn’t until college that I had professors in the Catholic Studies department at the University of St. Thomas (in St. Paul) say: We are all called to be saints, and you can do it with God’s grace. To hear that message — boom! That was a huge reversion for me. I carried that with me into my teaching. I had a sticker on my doorframe that said, “Be a saint.” I’d coach my students: “As you leave my class, you carry your faith with you all day. So, slap that door on the way out and remember you’re called to be a saint.”
Q) You and your wife have a dramatic, Nicholas Sparks-type of love story. You fell in love but then felt God challenging you to consider priesthood.
A) Deep down I knew God desired our happiness and that his will would be the ultimate source of that, but letting go of Kate and all that we had was the toughest thing I’d ever done.
Q) Were you afraid Kate would move on and marry someone else?
A) Oh, for sure — she was a catch! I really enjoyed seminary — the classes, brotherhood, and spiritual formation — but it became clear pretty quickly that God wasn’t calling me to be a priest.
Q) Your new career path began when you hired a health coach, something you never thought you’d do. It can feel frivolous and hard to justify.
A) It was a 15-year hurdle. I’m very frugal, and I’m also prideful in the sense that I know what needs to be done, I think I can do it myself.
Q) It went against all your wiring.
A) Totally. This was my last resort. I was approaching 40 and I was still chasing this dream: What can I physically do? I’d signed up for these races. What if I went all in finally and tried one more thing?
Q) I bet that unlocks new career paths for many people: Seeing someone else doing the job. But you also saw how you could do it differently, or better, by incorporating faith. That creates an opening.
A) For sure. The Lord planted a seed.
Q) You’re doing a job you didn’t even know existed.
A) It was not on my radar during 14 years of teaching nor during a couple years of being a stay-at-home dad. My brain was like: I guess I will just teach until I retire. But life is short. You don’t have to just stick with the job that you’ve got just because that’s your job.
Q) God was steadily paving the way.
A) It’s fun to see. I lean into my teaching experience a lot, and as a teacher, I leaned into my year of seminary. I used to show my students my stack of prayer journals. I can see where the Lord was. I can connect the dots better because I have the evidence: “Here are all the ways the Lord was using this moment and how it all bridged.” You can stand back in amazement.
Q) Describe your work.
A) I help fellow Catholics become happier, healthier and holier through dedicated one-on-one coaching. While the primary focus is centered on improving one’s physical health, most of my clients also set and achieve goals in other areas of their life as well — starting a new prayer routine, creating better habits with technology, prioritizing self-care.
It’s a game-changer when we invite God into every area of our lives, including our health and fitness. Many Catholics already know the spiritual power of fasting from meat or treats during Lent, but in my experience, few transform their walks into kinetic prayers or their workouts into acts of redemptive suffering. When we unite our physical efforts with prayer and intention, even exercise can become a way to serve others and draw closer to Christ.
I just got a new client from Singapore who is training for the Camino (de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain). I had a previous client do the Camino and another one is doing it in a year.
Q) They’ve come to the right person! And you recently coached a priest?
A) He’s 24. He came to me after his first year of priesthood with a clear goal in mind: “I want to be healthy for a lifetime of service and be a good example for others. I want to go from 240 pounds to 200 and start a strength-training program. I want to build sustainable habits, pray a Holy Hour every morning, exercise daily and get back to regular spiritual direction.” While coaching, he got back into exercise — first walking a lot, then jogging and walking, and then he signed up for a 5K and ran it.
Q) I’m sure it’s hard — he’s so busy and is often invited to eat out.
A) Right, and all the wonderful church ladies drop off plates full of treats and cookies. One change he made that helped him a lot was with nutrition, which is 80 percent of the game. He used a program called All In Meals, a service that sends him a full meal that’s healthy, with lots of protein and not a lot of calories. He didn’t have the time to be cooking. He wants to use every minute he can serving others
Q) How does it feel to help a client who has given up on the hope of losing weight?
A) Absolutely amazing. Just in the past few months, one client’s doctor told him, “Your cholesterol is in the healthy range for the first time since 2015.”
Q) What’s the key to making changes that are sustainable?
A) It starts with two things: beginning small and having a strong “why.” In our first call, I work with clients to create their North Star Goals — where they want to be in six-plus months and the meaningful reasons behind those goals. From there, we set one or two Stepping Stone Goals. As each habit becomes routine, we build on them, stacking one on top of another until the North Star Goals are within reach.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned during my health-coaching journey is just how much mindset matters. When clients struggle, it’s rarely about lacking desire or willpower, but about the story they tell themselves and how they interpret setbacks. Learning to ditch perfection, see failure as useful feedback and realize you can be both happy with where you’re at and hungry for change are just a few mindset shifts that can make all the difference.
Q) What strengthens your prayer life?
A) I really appreciate my weekly Holy Hour: Mondays at 2 p.m. at OLG (Our Lady of Grace). It’s perfect because I go and then pick up the kids (from school) right after. I’ve found that I pray best through journaling, so I often spend that time pouring my heart out to the Lord in this way.
Q) How are you setting up your summer to allow for rest and renewal?
A) While we have a few trips planned and let our kids sign up for a few activities this summer, we were intentional about not filling every week. There’s plenty of built-in time for the kids to get bored, which usually means they get creative. We do family dinners and have time to play and relax together.
In general we’ve tried to be intentional about how many and what kinds of activities our kids are involved in. For the most part, we’ve found a good balance that lets them experience new things while still protecting our family time and giving them space to just be kids. It does feel a bit countercultural at times — so many families stretch themselves thin trying to do it all. We’ve learned that leaving some margin keeps everyone happier and less stressed
Q) What do you know for sure?
A) God loves me, is always with me and just wants me to do my best and let him take care of the rest!
