Health coaching for business owners & senior leaders

You have built so much. Your health shapes what comes next.

Wake up rested. Stay calm and clear under pressure. Come home with energy to spare.

Private one-to-one coaching grounded in Lifestyle Medicine.

Book a discovery call Complimentary · 30 minutes
Portrait of Jelena Kovačević
Jelena Kovačević, PhDLifestyle Medicine Coach20+ years in leadership

You know how to deliver. Making room for yourself is harder.

You keep everything moving. Your own health keeps moving to the bottom of the list.

Your body is sending signals.

Less energy than you used to have. A check-up worth acting on. Sleep that no longer restores you.

Your work sets the rhythm.

Travel, late dinners, coffee through the afternoon and a glass of wine to switch off.

Your habits find their way back.

Strict diets and fixed workout plans hold as long as your willpower does. When work intensifies, the old routines return, because those plans were built for a calmer season that never comes.

If the next ten years look like the last five, what will that cost you? And what would you rather build?

“My blood pressure is now within the normal range, and my cholesterol has improved significantly.”

Aleksandar, surgeon and private practice owner

Your first 12 weeksBuild Your Foundations

  • Nine private sessions, 60 minutes each
  • Assessment and personal report
  • Online, in English or Serbian
See the programme

One life.
Everything is connected.

A short night colours tomorrow’s decisions. A demanding day decides what you eat at ten in the evening. How you sleep, eat, move and recover sets the energy, mood and clarity you bring to your work and your personal life.

So we work with the whole person: your daily habits and the thoughts and choices behind them. You choose the direction, and I help you build habits that hold when life happens: the trips, the deadlines, the weeks that go off plan.

Lifestyle Medicine foundations

Lifestyle Medicine is a branch of medicine that aims to maintain optimal health and to prevent, treat and reverse chronic illness, through evidence-based changes in daily habits. It rests on six foundations:

Nutrition · Movement · SleepStress · Connection · Risk reduction

As a coach, I work alongside your medical care. Diagnosis and treatment stay with your doctor.

Picture your days with energy, strength and clarity.

Energy that lasts beyond the workday

You end a full day with energy for the evening ahead.

Strength for the life you want to live

You take the stairs with ease and say yes to the long hike.

Clarity about what deserves your time

You make room for your health and your personal life, even when work asks for more.

More of you for the people you love

You sit down to dinner and you are present. You listen. You laugh.

Bring what you know into the life you live.

Your doctor has recommended lifestyle changes.

Together, we choose where to start and turn those recommendations into practical steps you can build into your day.

You have nutrition guidance, but your days are unpredictable.

We explore what gets in the way and find choices that work through business dinners, travel and late finishes.

You want to exercise, but the week keeps filling up.

We find a realistic place for movement, notice what makes it easier to follow through, and adjust when circumstances change.

I bring experience in leadership and training in Lifestyle Medicine and coaching. Together, we connect your health priorities with your everyday decisions, then practise and refine what works for you. The perfect plan is the one you actually follow.

“Ordinary things consistently done produce extraordinary results.”

Keith Cunningham

My method: awareness, then practice

Together, we look beyond the habit itself to the thoughts, feelings and circumstances that set it in motion. You try one small change in your everyday life, and we use what you learn to refine the approach, at a pace that works for you.

What does this look like in real life?

A week of business dinners

Four business dinners this week. By Thursday, you feel heavy and tired, and you sleep badly.

As we look at one of those days together, you notice: “I skipped breakfast, had a sandwich at my desk and something sweet in the afternoon. By dinner I was starving, and the bread was gone before I looked at the menu.”

What can you do a little better tomorrow?

Your small steps: a breakfast with protein, a piece of fruit and a handful of almonds instead of the sweets, and a salad first at dinner. You arrive calm, and the choice at the table becomes easier.

No time for a full workout

A busy week, and the hour of training never happens. You notice: “If I can’t do the whole workout, I skip it altogether.”

What can you do in fifteen minutes?

Your small step: fifteen minutes of movement right after you get up. Something is better than nothing, and it adds up. We practise showing up, day after day.

Late nights, tired mornings

You go to bed after midnight and wake up tired. You notice: “I answer emails until late, and then my mind keeps working.”

What would help you switch off an hour earlier?

Your small step: your phone stays outside the bedroom. Together, we find a calming evening ritual and a clear time when work ends.

The afternoon headache

By three o’clock, you are on your fourth coffee, and your head aches. You notice: “After back-to-back meetings, I have not had a glass of water or left my chair since the morning.”

What could remind you to pause?

Your small step: your wearable reminds you every hour to stand up and drink a glass of water.

See the pattern. Make your choice. Practise what you want to become natural.

Meaningful progress, made visible.

As an engineer, I bring to your health the same rigour you bring to your work. At the start, we agree on what a worthwhile result looks like for you and record your baseline. Then we follow what you do week by week and what changes in your body over months, and review both together.

See what we trackClose

Leading indicators: what you do

They show early, week by week, whether the changes are holding.

  • Energy across the day
  • Movement, strength training and eating habits in a typical week
  • Sleep rhythm: duration, bedtime and wake time
  • How your habits hold in demanding weeks

Outcome indicators: what changes in your body

They move more slowly and show where the work is taking you. Depending on your goals and the data available:

  • Cardiorespiratory fitness: VO₂ max from a fitness test, or an estimate from your wearable
  • Body composition: the ratio of muscle to fat, from an InBody assessment or a similar smart scale
  • Body measurements: waist circumference and weight
  • Resting heart rate and blood pressure, measured at home
  • Blood markers: cholesterol and other relevant laboratory results, with repeat testing and interpretation guided by your doctor

All measurements are optional, and you do them where you live. Wearable numbers are estimates, while measured the same way over time, they show the direction clearly.

Coaching works alongside your medical care. Diagnosis, treatment and clinical targets remain with your doctor.

Book a discovery call Complimentary · 30 minutes

Private coaching, built around your life.

Begin with a conversation.

In a complimentary 30-minute call, we explore what brings you here, what you would like to change and whether we are a good fit. You talk, I listen and ask questions, and you decide in your own time.

Book a discovery call Complimentary · 30 minutes
Your first 12 weeks

Build Your Foundations

Move beyond knowing that something needs to change. Make it part of how you live.

You set high standards at work. Now set them for your health.

Nine one-to-one sessions 60 minutes each Online, in English or Serbian

Weeks 1–6

Clarity and first steps

Your whole-person assessment and personal report, then weekly sessions. We set your priorities, see the patterns that get in the way and take the first steps.

Weeks 7–11

Practice

Sessions every two weeks, with time in between to make changes last in real weeks: travel, deadlines, family.

Week 12

Integration

A closing review: what has changed, what to keep and where to go next.

In twelve weeks, you know where you stand, you have changes tested in your busiest weeks and a clear plan for what comes next.

What you receive:

  • A whole-person assessment and your personal written report
  • A plan grounded in Lifestyle Medicine, shaped around your schedule
  • Skills you keep: improving a meal wherever you are, fitting movement into a full day, and asking “how can I do this a little better?” instead of all or nothing
  • Your doctor’s recommendations turned into daily habits
  • Progress tracking, reviewed together at set points
  • Notes after every session

A partnership between sessions.

Between sessions, you can message me, and I reply on working days. When a trip, an intense week or new results from your doctor come up, we look at it together and adjust. You gain a thinking partner outside your organisation, and what we discuss stays between us.

Book a discovery call Complimentary · 30 minutes

After your initial 12 weeks

Build on your foundations.

After the first 12 weeks, many clients continue for six months and longer, with someone who knows their story and what they are working towards. By then, the foundations have held through travel, deadlines and holidays, and we can work with the deeper patterns behind them.

I have sat where you sit.

For more than 20 years, I worked in leadership roles, as VP of a technology company and head of a university department, while working as an engineer, researcher and professor and raising two children. I was often tired, and when health problems arose, I began to question whether the way I lived was supporting me. That question started a decade of learning in Lifestyle Medicine, behaviour change and coaching: the evidence first, then testing it in my own life.

Today, I have more energy and clarity than ever before, at work and in the way I live.

I offer a space where you can step back, speak openly and decide what you want for yourself. I work with a small number of clients at a time, so each of them has my full attention.

Jelena Kovačević standing in a studio portrait

Jelena Kovačević, PhD

Academic
PhD in Computer Engineering · Associate Professor
Coaching & health
Lifestyle Medicine Coach (ELMO)
Erickson Professional Coach (EPC)
Precision Nutrition Level 1
Presence & personal development
Teacher of Presence (Eckhart Tolle)
NLP Master Practitioner (IANLP)
Leadership
20+ years in leadership

Client stories

Meaningful change looks different for each person.

David

Business Executive

“What I value most is that Jelena does not simply help me solve the challenge in front of me. She helps me see the patterns underneath it.”

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I have worked with Jelena since 2024 and consider her a true growth partner. Our work has helped me recognize and challenge beliefs that were holding me back, make important decisions with greater clarity, and change the way I approach both my life and my health.

During that time, I became stronger physically than I have ever been. But what I value most is that Jelena does not simply help me solve the challenge in front of me. She helps me see the patterns underneath it.

As new challenges and opportunities emerge, I am better able to question old assumptions, make more intentional choices, and continue growing. That is why I see our work as a partnership rather than simply coaching.

Aleksandar

Surgeon and private practice owner

“At 56, I am in better physical shape than I was at 40.”

Read full storyClose story from Aleksandar

For years, my work dictated the rhythm of my life. Long hours, night shifts and emergency cases meant little sleep, irregular meals and almost no time to stop and think about how I was living. My blood pressure was high, my cholesterol was elevated, and I simply accepted all of this as part of the job.

Working with Jelena made me question that assumption for the first time.

I learned how to create a rhythm around meals even when my day is unpredictable, and I made sleep a genuine priority — after years of joking that I would ‘sleep when I’m dead.’ My blood pressure is now within the normal range, and my cholesterol has improved significantly, although it remains slightly elevated.

At 56, I am also in better physical shape than I was at 40.

But the most important change goes beyond my health markers. I have created space in my day to step out of constant reaction and think: What actually matters? What am I spending my time on? Where am I going?

Jelena helped me see that even in a demanding profession, I can make more intentional choices about how I live. That change has affected not only my health, but the way I approach my life.

Ivana

Visual Facilitator and small business owner

“I no longer feel that I am simply following a plan. I understand what works for me and have a structure I trust and can sustain.”

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Working with Jelena has been one of the most valuable investments I have made in myself. I came to her tired, scattered and looking for balance. Through our work, I regained my energy, but more importantly, I began to understand myself and my habits differently.

We created a practical structure around my everyday life, including how I eat and organise my day. I now consistently get enough protein and fibre, feel stronger, find it easier to focus, recover more quickly after physical activity, and experience better digestion and fewer cravings.

The biggest change, however, is that I am much more aware of the choices I make and why I make them. I no longer feel that I am simply following a plan. I understand what works for me and have a structure I trust and can sustain.

That is what makes Jelena’s approach different for me. She combines practical guidance with conversations that go much deeper than habits themselves. She helps me notice the patterns behind my behaviour, clarify what really matters to me, and make choices with greater intention. The changes gradually begin to feel natural rather than forced.

Client experiences are individual. Outcomes depend on personal circumstances and engagement.

Questions before you begin

My schedule is already full. How will I fit this in?

The sessions take 60 minutes, weekly for the first six weeks, then every two weeks. Between them, fifteen minutes a day is enough to start: a short walk, a good breakfast, ten minutes of stretching. We build on what you already do.

What if I travel or my week changes?

Sessions are online, so you join from wherever you are, and we plan demanding weeks together. To move a session, let me know at least 24 hours in advance.

I have a health condition. Can coaching still help?

Yes. Your doctor leads diagnosis and treatment, while our work focuses on the daily habits that support that care.

Why 12 weeks?

The habits that support you need practice, the same way the old ones did. Twelve weeks give us time to set priorities, practise through a few busy weeks and see the first results.

What is the investment?

Build Your Foundations is a fully private programme. I share the investment on the discovery call, once we know what you want to achieve, so you decide with the full picture.

Make your next chapter intentional.

Keep building. Be present with your family. Return to something you enjoy. Find a new direction.

In a 30-minute call, we explore what matters to you, what is getting in the way and whether Build Your Foundations is the right next step.

Book a discovery call Complimentary · 30 minutes