Day after day.

The thing is:

Getting up to speed on coaching insurance doesn’t have to be painful.

This article walks you through a straight-forward three-step process that won’t require a legal degree to understand. You’ll learn whether you need insurance, as well as the types that work best for health coaches.

One note:

This content focuses on the needs of health and nutrition coaches in the U.S. and Canada. If you live in another region, you may or may not need the type of insurance discussed here depending on your local laws. When in doubt, check with an attorney, other coaches in your area, or a local insurance company to find out what they have to say.

What kind of insurance do coaches need?

To figure out whether you need insurance, consider your personal vulnerability to malpractice claims and license complaints.

Both issues are usually covered by professional liability insurance—the most common type of insurance for health and nutrition coaches.

(FYI, we’ll tell you about other types below.)

Let’s start with malpractice issues.

(Check out the video below yo see a more detailed discussion—with an actual attorney—of some of the legal issues coaches encounter.)

All health professionals are vulnerable to malpractice claims.

That means if a client gets injured or sick, and believes it’s the result of your advice, they could make a malpractice claim against you. In other words, you could get sued.

If you’re self-employed and don’t have professional liability insurance, you’ll be responsible for your own defense as well as any judgement against you. That means all of your personal assets are fair game: your house, your car, and your savings account.

Professional liability insurance protects those personal assets.

(FYI, if you started a business, like an LLC, to protect your personal assets, liability insurance for your business may be a good idea.)

Some health professionals are also subject to license complaints.

This is mostly a concern for coaches who need a license to practice some of their services, so think:

• health coaches who are board-certified
• mental health professionals who also do health or nutrition coaching
• nurses, pharmacists, and physical therapists who coach as a side-gig

Let’s say you’re a physical therapist and a health coach. You get a DUI, and your neighbor finds out. Your neighbor complains to the health coaching and physical therapy organizations where you’re licensed. Those organizations will investigate whether to revoke your license.

During that time, these organizations might put your licenses on probation, so you can’t work. And you may have expenses related to defending yourself during the investigation. That’s when your insurance policy will kick in.

All this might sound a little far-fetched, but these things do happen.

The benefit here? Insurance should pay for the costs related to the investigation (up to the limit on your policy).

An employer’s insurance policy may not completely protect you.

If you work for a hospital, gym, or company that provides insurance coverage, do you need your own personal insurance policy?

Potentially, yes. 

Generally, your employer’s insurance priority is your employer and not you. That usually means no coverage for those license complaints. (Reminder: License complaints are where you are at risk for getting your license revoked.)

An employer’s policy may also leave you vulnerable to certain types of malpractice claims.

For instance, your employer’s insurance probably won’t cover situations that arise when you:

• Casually give coaching advice to a neighbor
• Perform coaching volunteer work
• Coach clients outside of work

What’s more, personal liability policies may insure you for a higher amount, and will usually stay in place if you change jobs,.

In fact, some organizations require that their employees (and independent contractors) have their own personal liability insurance for exactly these reasons. That means you might be required to carry your own insurance even if an organization covers you under theirs.

If you decide you want health coaching insurance coverage, use these steps to get started. 

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Step 1: Identify potential providers.

You have several options.

Option 1: Use a health coach-specialized insurance company.

Quite a few insurance companies work specifically with health professionals.

Some examples include HPSO and Alternative Balance. (Full disclosure: PN has partnered with HPSO to provide a smooth application pathway for PN Certified coaches).

Some PN graduates also find the policies they’re looking for with insurers that specialize in all types of small businesses, such as NEXT Insurance and Hiscock Insurance.

If you’re having trouble finding a company that provides coverage in your area or for your specific type of coaching, ask around. Other coaches in your area or niche can most likely provide solid leads.

Option 2: Find out if any of your professional associations provide insurance.

Many personal training certifying bodies include an insurance option when you pay your membership dues.

For many people, this is the easiest insurance route.

Option 3: Check to see if you your existing insurance provider can cover you.

If you have homeowners or vehicle insurance, your provider might be able to add a rider that covers your home-based business as well.

Similarly, if you already have professional liability insurance for another health profession—for instance, you’re a pharmacist with a nutrition coaching side-hustle—you may be able to add health or nutrition coaching onto your policy.

One quick note: Insurance companies can decide whether they want to insure you. You can be declined for coverage based on any number of factors, including which certifications you have/don’t have, where you’re based, and the type of coaching you do.

If one insurer won’t cover you, don’t get discouraged—there may be another that’s a better fit.

Step 2: Be clear and honest when collecting quotes.

Insurance companies can only make a payout on a claim if you’ve provided them with accurate information when applying for your policy.

Be prepared to answer questions about:

• The services you provide: Do you only do nutrition coaching? Or also personal training?
• Where you practice: Do you have a home-based business? Do you do virtual coaching? Do you go into clients’ homes?
• Any other certifications or qualifications you have: Are you also a therapist, nurse, or any other type of health professional? Insurance companies need this information in order to give you an accurate quote.

Most of the time, you apply for insurance and get a quote online.

Step 3: Compare your options.

Once you’ve collected quotes, look at the fine print.

What’s covered?

Take note of whether the policy covers malpractice claims only, or whether it also includes licensure complaints (if that’s relevant for you). Will you be covered if your client’s data is breached? Or if they slip and fall while you’re training them?

If you’re not sure, call the insurance company and ask. Pose hypotheticals, asking about certain situations and whether they’d be covered under the policy you’re looking at.

How much insurance coverage will you get?

It can be tricky to figure out how much coverage you actually need. Insurance companies stay up to date on the average legal fees and settlement payouts related to each profession they cover. They use this information to recommend minimum coverage amounts to their clients.

For instance, HPSO’s standard health coach policy covers $3,000,000 aggregate, and up to $1,000,000 for each claim. That means if you had 3 claims against you in one year, you’d get up to $1,000,000 in coverage for each one. It also covers up to $25,000 to defend your license.

If you think you might need more than the standard coverage, however, talk to the insurance company about your specific needs.

How much will it cost?

Know the premium (what you pay up front) and deductible (how much you pay out of pocket before the policy kicks in). Some policies offer lower premiums, but higher deductibles—and vice versa.

What’s the company’s reputation?

Ask other coaches about their experiences with the insurance companies you’re considering. Check each company’s Better Business Bureau profile, or look them up on TrustPilot. See if you can find out how easy it is to file a claim, and how people’s experiences interacting with the insurer have been.

From there, all that’s left to do is choose your policy.

3 ways to get the most from your health coach insurance

So now you’re insured. What happens next? Hopefully nothing. But here are some tips to keep in mind in case something does happen.

1. Document anything weird.

Let’s say a client gets injured in a session. Or says a supplement you mentioned made them sick.

Write down what happened, and include as many details as possible. You can also give your insurance company a heads up.

Particularly if it’s something serious, it’s good to get everything documented as soon as possible while the incident is fresh in your mind.

2. If you receive a formal complaint, call your insurance provider ASAP.

This gets the process of defending you started, and leads us to…

3. Don’t ask any random lawyer for help.

You don’t want to use your divorce lawyer down the street for a malpractice lawsuit or a licensure complaint.

First, that divorce lawyer probably won’t be an expert in this area of law.

Second, lawyers can be really expensive. If you’re looking at $500 an hour, you could drain your defense coverage pretty quickly.

Insurance companies usually have lawyers they work with that are experts in defending against these types of claims and complaints. These lawyers also generally have a relationship with the insurance company that makes them more cost effective.

Most people get insurance hoping they’ll never have to use it. And in most cases, that’s exactly what happens.

So sit back and relax, because you’ve got it covered.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Do nutrition and health coaches need insurance? appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

There, we said it.

But does anyone believe it?

Gentle yoga sessions and extra time in bed can feel like the opposite of what you need to see results. It’s as if they’re more of an indulgence than a necessity—nice for when you have extra time. (And who has extra time?)

Only that’s just not true. Here are six charts that’ll show you why rest and recovery should be at the top of your to-do list.

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There’s a right amount of stress.

It might be amazing to have a completely stress-free life for a few days.

But after that? Without any challenges, adversity, or obstacles, you’d eventually get bored.

Of course, there’s absolutely such a thing as too much stress, too.

And aside from the obvious stuff, lots of things count as stressors that many people might not even realize: your fitness efforts, eating in a calorie deficit, the construction noise from next door…

(For more unexpected sources of stress, read: Invisible stressors: Are they sucking the life out of your health?)

So how do you stay in that “sweet spot” where you’re thriving?

Solve your clients' biggest problems.

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From childhood, you're taught the basics of staying healthy:

✓exercise, ✓eat well, ✓manage stress, ✓get enough sleep.

But when one area falters, the others can quickly follow.

So why do most coaches focus only on fitness and nutrition? Sleep and stress often determine long-term success.

Discover PN's Sleep, Stress, and Recovery Certification—and how it can transform the way you coach.

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That’s where rest and recovery come in.

When you recover, you regain, restore, or recuperate what you’ve lost. And you return to your baseline state of wellbeing, health, and performance.

For example, recovery could involve:

• Replacing the fluids you sweated out during exercise, or the glucose that you used up to power your muscles.
• Getting your immune system back to full strength after you’ve been sick. (And rest is definitely a key factor in that!)
• Something intangible, such as feeling mentally or spiritually restored after a vacation.

Stress and recovery go together like shoes and socks, Batman and Robin, and rocks and hard places. That’s because recovery is part of the process that helps you get stronger, faster, better, and more resilient, as this chart shows.

Let’s take a closer look at the chart above, using an intense workout as an example of a stressor.

You start in homeostasis, or your baseline. This is your body’s status quo.

Then, you encounter a stressor that disrupts your homeostasis. In this case, it’s that intense workout. Your breathing rate, heart rate, energy needs, and body temperature all increase.

Next, you enter an alarm phase where you deal with the disruption. During this phase, your performance temporarily gets worse. (This is the part where that barbell/those dumbbells/your legs start to feel reeeeally heavy.)

Now you enter the recovery phase. As long as you replenish fluids and nutrients and don’t keep adding additional stressors your body can’t handle, you’ll recover and rebuild any damaged tissues over the next several days. During this process, you get stronger and more resilient.

Lastly, you enter a new homeostasis or baseline. Now, you’re slightly better than before.

Thus, if you take time to recover, you adapt and get better. 

So, what happens when you skip the recovery part, and just do the stress part?

It’s not great.

Let’s take sleep as an example. Sleep is a recovery rockstar. Getting enough good-quality sleep:

• improves your mood and the ability to manage your emotions
• improves cognition, concentration, and attention
• helps you lose fat and build valuable lean tissue like muscle and bone
• regulates your hunger, appetite, and satiety (which helps you make wise food choices, eat the right amount for your body, and eliminate cravings)
• helps clean up and get rid of your body’s waste products

Not getting enough sleep, on the other hand, really tanks your recovery, and can have far-reaching effects, as you can see below.

The point? Not getting enough rest can make you feel very crappy and make it much harder to see results.

After all, it’s pretty hard to make smart food choices and give your workouts your all when you’re cranky, tired, and wired.

Plus, all these negative effects can interact with each other and create vicious, self-perpetuating cycles. Here’s just one example of how some of those factors build on each other and make it harder to stop the cycle:

But there’s a bright spot here:

Recovery is so much more than sleeping and taking rest days.

And that’s actually pretty exciting. Because it means there are dozens of ways to promote and enhance your (or your client’s) progress.

In the table below, you’ll see examples of stressors, and ways you can recover in each of them.

As you can see, for every stressor, there’s a way to recover.

Recovery doesn’t have to be complicated.

Making it part of your routine can be quite simple.

Think about the balance of stress and recovery as a tank that can be simultaneously filled by a faucet (recovery), and drained (stress).

• To add more water to the tank, plug the leak by decreasing stress.
• If that’s not possible, you can also turn up the faucet by adding recovery.
• Or, do both: Lower stress while increasing rest and recovery.

When you think about it, many recovery practices deliver maximum impact for relatively minimal effort.

Sure, good nutrition and restorative sleep absolutely take some work to achieve. (You can learn more about what to eat here and how to get better sleep here.)

But laughing at your favorite TV show, spending time with friends, and sitting in the sunshine count as recovery, too.

So go ahead and enjoy them—guilt free. They might be exactly what you need to slay that next workout.

If you’re a health and fitness coach…

Learning how to help clients manage stress, build resilience, and optimize sleep and recovery can be deeply transformative—for both of you.

It helps clients get “unstuck” and makes everything else easier—whether they want to eat better, move more, lose weight, or reclaim their health.

And for coaches: It gives you a rarified skill that will set you apart as an elite change maker.

The brand-new PN Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification will show you how.

Want to know more?

The post 6 charts show why recovery isn’t a “worthless trend.” It’s a health & fitness cheat code. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Burnout is gaining recognition in the work and wellness worlds. This makes sense, as self-reported stress levels are higher than ever.¹ (And global pandemic, you’re really not helping.²)

But, like many health conditions, especially those related to mental health, there’s still a fair bit of stigma around burnout.

Some people hear the term “burnout” and say:

“This wasn’t a thing when I grew up. When did people become allergic to hard work?!” (As they take a big gulp of their mid-morning bourbon.)

Truth is, burnout is nothing new.

It’s been around as a clinical concept since the 1970s, and it surely existed before we slapped a formal name on it.³

But in 2019, the World Health Organization officially recognized it as a workplace phenomenon, and are currently working on developing tools to help recognize, treat, and most importantly, prevent burnout in workplaces.⁴

That’s good news because: Knowing you’re burned out also means you can recover from it sooner—and better.

Plus, preventing burnout usually means improving overall wellbeing.

In this article, we put together a handy quiz to help you spot the signs of burnout—either in yourself or in clients. (If you want to jump to it, click here.)

After that, we’ll share three ways to counteract burnout—even if you can’t make stress “go away.”

Ready? Let’s dig in.

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What is burnout?

Burnout, also known as burnout syndrome, is a state of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion that can happen when the demands in our lives consistently and chronically outweigh what we’re able to do or produce.^5,6,7

It’s not a single bad day—or even week—at work. Rather, it’s an ongoing, long standing pattern of feeling like you’re trying and failing, without success, support, recognition, or recovery.

In most countries, burnout isn’t considered a medical condition, but rather an occupational (workplace) phenomenon.

That said, some places (hi, Sweden and the Netherlands), do recognize burnout as a medical diagnosis that requires time off from work.

Folks most at risk for burnout have jobs where:

• Actual demands are high (fast-paced work, high stakes, lots of decisions, significant consequences for mistakes)
• Perceived demands are high (it feels rushed, overwhelming, urgent, and busy—especially for people who care about “doing a good job” or “being a team player”)
• Ideals are high (people have high personal standards and strongly believe in the value and importance of their work)
• Resources are low (such as time, money, support, and rest)

When you think of this combination, you might already be imagining who feels it most: service jobs like health care, first response, teaching, or coaching are prime examples of occupations with high rates of burnout.

But burnout can affect people in any career. And even though it stems from work, burnout’s shockwaves can impact all areas of your life.

Luckily, recovery can also come from many areas of your life. We’ll get to that part in just a minute.

Burnout quiz: Are you showing signs of burnout?

For each statement that sounds like something you experience relatively often, tick the box.

At the end of the quiz, you’ll get a score.

In general, the more signs you experience, the more likely you are to be on the road to burnout. (Check out the tips we offer at the end of this article.)

Important: This is not a clinical diagnostic test.

If you’re noticing more than a few of the below, even if it doesn’t feel like a “big deal,” consider consulting a healthcare professional.

Sleep, fatigue, and energy levels

Physical symptoms

Cognitive / mental symptoms

Emotional symptoms

Relationship symptoms

Your burnout score:

Score: 3 or less

Sounds like you’re doing alright. You may have an occasional bad day, but you recover from it, and move on.

Score: 4 to 8

Hmm. You might benefit from a little more recovery and self-care. Consider consulting a qualified mental health professional, even just for a chat.

Score: 9 to 13

Be careful—you’re at risk of burnout, particularly if you feel several of these intensely and often. Consider consulting a qualified mental health professional.

Score: 14 to 18

You are at severe risk of burnout. Do something about this urgently. Seek help and support from a qualified professional.

Score: 19 or more

You are at very severe risk of burnout. It’s time to take action and seek help and support from a qualified professional.

3 ways to counteract burnout syndrome

Whether you scored high and are looking for a solution, or you’re curious what to do if you’re concerned about burnout creeping up on you in the future, here’s what can help.

(And if you’re working with a client showing burnout symptoms, you’ll definitely want to share these strategies with them.)

#1: Protect your time, space, and emotional investment with good boundaries.

Boundaries, or the lack of them, are a key factor in burnout.⁸

This can be boundaries between:

• Home and work (for instance, struggling when working remotely, finding yourself doing work outside of work hours… or in your bed)
• Personal and professional identities (accidentally venting about personal stuff to a client, or being asked to do work that’s outside the scope of your job)

Conversely, having clear, strong, and well-defined boundaries can alleviate burnout by:

• Helping you switch “work mode” on and off.
• Protecting time with friends and loved ones.
• Reducing the amount of emotional labor you’re doing.

(Emotional labor means managing other people’s feelings, as well as controlling your own emotional response to them. Learn more: Invisible stressors: Are they sucking the life out of your health?)

How do you maintain good boundaries? Here are a few ideas.

Identify what you can and can’t control. Try our Sphere of Control Worksheet.

Implement a “focus filter.” Consciously tell yourself, ‘I’m choosing to focus on THIS right now.’ This applies to work—you don’t do housework or counsel your mother-in-law while you’re trying to do your job—but it can also look like spending time with your partner without thinking about work as you gaze across a candlelit table.

Be intentional about your environment. If remote working muddles your work-life boundaries, set up a separate space for work-related duties—even if it’s a specific corner of your kitchen table or the middle seat of your couch.

Because as fun as it is to take conference calls from bed in your housecoat, creating separation between “work” and “home” will make turning off “work mode” and getting into “rest mode” at the end of the day feel much easier.

(Plus, if you can go somewhere and shut a door, it might—slightly—reduce your “on-call” status for other family members. Cue: “MOM!! Billy is touching my Tonka truck with his Lego!!”)

Clarify your boundaries—what you’re saying “yes” and “no” to at a given time. Maybe you tell yourself you want to say “yes” to family time (or plain old sanity time for yourself), so you’re no longer checking emails after 6 pm.

You could uphold that boundary by putting your phone on mute, so you don’t hear emails pinging as they come in.

Communicate your boundaries clearly to others, and enforce them as needed. Tell others what your boundaries are. Be explicit and clear. Don’t expect folks to “just know.” (As Brené Brown says, “clear is kind.”)

It can be uncomfortable to advocate for your needs, but it’s kinder to yourself—and the other person—to be honest about what you can and can’t sustain. In our work email situation, that might mean putting on an auto-responder that lists your office hours, so people know when to expect to hear back from you.

Remember, it’s not just about the “no.” It’s also about the “yes.” As in, what have you consciously decided is worth your time, energy, and attention?

What activities are aligned with your values? What do you want to do and feel more of? What needs to be cleared, constrained, or revised so that you can prioritize better, and “replenish your tank” more effectively?

#2: Cultivate engagement by spending more time on what you love doing, with people you love working with.

The flip side of burnout is engagement.^9,10

Engagement means you’re thriving in your work role. You’re energized by your work, and the people around you support you and respect your boundaries.

Rates of burnout are lower in workplaces that focus on the following six engagement-promoting components:¹¹

• Appropriate workloads
• Control over work (at least a little)
• Rewards, including simple appreciation and recognition
• Community and genuine, supportive social connections
• Fairness and equity
• Values that feel meaningful

Of course, if you’re an employee, you may not have control over whether or not your job has all these components. But you can:

Talk to your manager about workload, what you want to work on, and how you’d like to receive feedback. Rather than trying to do all the things like a hero, ask for help prioritizing, if needed.

Build strong connections. Invest time in relationships that feel genuine and supportive. If possible, connect with colleagues… and also have relationships that have nothing to do with work.

Consider your values. What matters to you? Think about what your personal values are, and how they align with the work you’re doing. Have your values changed? Or do you just need more help finding a match between job demands and what you truly feel is important?

Model productive, collegial, and growth-oriented behavior. Many teams bond over a shared hatred of workloads, clients, bosses, or the general day-to-day BS.¹²

In some ways, this is practical and realistic. However, research suggests that only venting—without productive and positive action—doesn’t make us feel better.^13,14

In fact, focusing all our attention on awfulness tends to make us feel worse. So, if your coworker had a crap day, instead of complaining about how horrible the job is, buy them a coffee or suggest you both sneak out for a walk in the park.

Consider constraining the complaints. Some psychologists suggest using a “complaint window” during which you specifically allot time and energy to complaining. Outside of that time, you don’t.

For instance, “I’m going to devote the next ten minutes to saying all the things I hate about work, then that’s it for the day.” (The same principle works for a “worry window”—establishing a set period of time to worry about things.)

Practice compassion. Sure, some customers might just suck, and some bosses are just grouchy tyrants. But many people are under pressure themselves, or struggling with stress they don’t know how to manage.

Unless it’s clear you work with a sadistic sociopath, try to find the human underneath, and consider what they might be going through. If you can’t find compassion, that can be a sign of compassion fatigue. Try our Compassionate Coaching Worksheet.

If you don’t have a boss or manager (maybe you’re a self-employed coach or you’re a caregiver to a family member), consider how you might implement these ideas into your work situation.

That might mean delegating or outsourcing tasks to manage your workload, saying no to things you really don’t want or have time to do, or finding a mentor to provide advice and social connection. (A mentor can skyrocket your potential. See: How to find a mentor, and why mentorship is so important for you—and your clients.)

#3: Focus on deep recovery.

There are going to be times when you can’t lower your demands.

What happens then?

Increasing recovery can help offset increased stress.

By pumping up your recovery practices, you may find you’re better able to handle workplace (and everyday life) stress.

Recovery isn’t just sleep and taking days off from the gym. The best kind of recovery addresses multiple aspects of your health—your physical health, yes, but also your emotional health, your social health, and more.

We call this “deep recovery.”

With burnout, the mental, emotional, and existential pieces are particularly important. However, many people might experience these as physical issues too. For instance, you might not consciously feel angry… but your jaw muscles are grinding like a wood chipper. You might not consciously feel hopeless… you just feel exhausted.

Having a professional as an ally to work through those areas—especially one you like who you feel understands you—can help you get better results and feel less alone.

Consider reaching out to your primary care physician or a therapist (or encouraging clients struggling to do so).

And remember:

Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. (Even The Rock needs a spotter when he benches 900 pounds.)

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a health and fitness coach…

Learning how to help clients manage stress, build resilience, and optimize sleep and recovery can be deeply transformative—for both of you.

It helps clients get “unstuck” and makes everything else easier—whether they want to eat better, move more, lose weight, or reclaim their health.

And for coaches: It gives you a rarified skill that will set you apart as an elite change maker.

The brand-new PN Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coaching Certification will show you how.

Want to know more?

The post Are you suffering from “burnout”? Take this quiz (and learn what to do) appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

You’ve heard that fitness advice. Maybe you’ve even said the words yourself.

(Sheepishly raises hand.)

And it’s time for this cliché to end.

Especially when it comes to fitness, nutrition, and health.

Because most of the time: 

It’s not true. 

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean someone else can do it.

More importantly, this phrase backfires, making people feel worse than before.

Here’s why, and the fitness advice you might want to offer instead.

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When we use this fitness advice, we usually have the best of intentions.

Maybe we’re trying to relate to a client: “Hey, I’ve been there!”

Or perhaps we’ve felt inspired by any number of news stories. Think: Blind man climbs Everest.

But there’s a problem.

No two people are exactly the same.

We might, as coaches, think we’re comparing apples (our life) to apples (our client’s life). But more likely, our client knows they’re an orange… and feels misunderstood and alienated—usually for one (or all) of the following reasons.

#1: Someone’s background impacts their health.

Things like where we’re born, how we grew up, and what we do for work shape how we eat, move, and live. They also affect our ability to change for the better.

Technically, these factors are called social determinants of health. And they can influence us positively or negatively.

Examples of social determinants include:

• Income
• Education
• Job stability
• Work conditions
• Food access and security
• Housing and environment
• Early childhood development
• Social community
• Neighborhood environment
• Access to affordable and high-quality health care

Social determinants can be more important than lifestyle choices in influencing health, according to the World Health Organization.

Here’s how this can play out with clients.

You tell someone to hit the gym. If you can muster the effort to get to the gym on a busy schedule, so can your client, right?

Well no, not necessarily.

Especially if they work long hours and don’t have childcare.

Or maybe you suggest “more veggies” to a virtual client.

You don’t like veggies either, you say, but if you can find a way to eat them, your client can surely figure it out. Except, your client lives with their mother-in-law who cooks all of their main meals, which tend to include few veggies. In your client’s home, everyone thanks the cook, whether they like the food or not.

Does your client have some options? Sure—but not as many as someone who has more control over their dinner plate.

There are thousands of ways social determinants of health can make what’s possible for you (with some hard work) straight up impossible (or a whole lot harder) for someone else. Some social determinants of health are really hard to recognize—especially if you haven’t walked in that person’s shoes. So heed this universal rule of thumb: Don’t make assumptions.

#2: Every person’s body is unique.

Let’s assume you and your client have the same social circumstances.

Is it okay to say “if I can do it, you can do it?”

Spoiler alert: Nope.

Because genetics also play a role. 

Say you’re a person who puts on muscle easily. For you, maintaining a lean, athletic physique means working hard in the gym and keeping a close eye on your nutrition.

Of course, those two things require effort. Maybe a lot of effort.

But a person who has a harder time building muscle, and tends to store fat around their middle thanks to their genes?

They’re not going to get the same results as you—even if they eat and exercise exactly the same way. Those are the genetic cards they’ve been dealt.

So no—they can’t “do it” just because you can.

#3: Some people are luckier than others.

Most people who’ve worked hard to get where they are don’t want to admit that the universe might have helped them out a bit.

Imagine this: You’re an athlete competing at the CrossFit Games.

The final workout—the one that decides who’ll win—happens to be deadlift-focused, something you’re specifically great at. (If it’d been snatches, it’d be a totally different situation.)

When you win the CrossFit Games after that final workout, it doesn’t mean you haven’t worked hard. But did you also benefit from the luck of the draw? Yup.

Perhaps a more relatable example: Maybe you met a coach or friend—just as you’re ready to make a change—who revolutionizes how you think about nutrition and fitness. And that sets you down the path to a healthier lifestyle.

In an alternate universe, where you didn’t meet that amazing coach at the right time, it might’ve taken you a whole longer to get where you are today.

The point: Don’t discount the “right place, right time” effect.

3 better ways to help your clients

Use all three together—or pick what works best in a given conversation.

1. Use limited relatability.

Say someone’s going through a divorce, and their coach has been through one, too. It could be tempting to offer advice like:

“I know this is a hard time for you. My divorce was brutal! But I managed to stay on top of my nutrition while going through mine, so I know you can do it.”

Ouch.

There’s a better way to use the experiences you have in common with a client, without making assumptions about their situation.

It’s called limited relatability, which helps you relate, while also allowing your client to feel heard and understand.

To master the technique, use this simple two-step formula.

Translated to a real-life coaching conversation, you might say something like:

“That sounds tough. When I was struggling with binge eating, I felt so powerless and frustrated. What are you feeling in this moment?”

2. Notice and name the bright spot.

This strategy is all about taking a moment to appreciate and applaud what your client has just shared.

You might say:

“You know what? It actually takes pretty amazing self-awareness to identify and acknowledge that this is a barrier for you right now. What does it feel like to have such a firm grasp on your situation?”

Or maybe:

“We can talk problem-solving in a second, but before we do that, I want to pause and tell you that it’s amazing you’ve pinpointed this as an issue. I don’t know if you’d have been able to do that six months ago!”

This can be really effective because the client isn’t expecting to pause. They’re expecting ways to move forward. You’re giving them a moment to stop, take stock, and reflect on their awesomeness before taking action.

3. Inspire them with their own accomplishments.

Let’s say your client’s apprehensive about the idea of shutting down earlier to get more sleep.

Instead of that old “if I can do it, you can do it” advice, try highlighting their past accomplishments. That could sound like:

“You know what? You actually told me this exact same thing a couple of months ago about going to the gym. And now you’re going regularly! We can talk about specific strategies to make going to bed earlier more doable, but also, remember how far you’ve come.”

Basically, instead of saying “if I can do it, you can do it,” you’re saying, “if you can do this one thing, you can do this other thing!”

You’re showing them that you see their hard work.

And most importantly, because of that hard work, you believe in them.

When you use the above strategies with your clients, you’ll accomplish something that the phrase “If I can do it, so can you” just can’t:

You’ll help them feel heard, seen, and valued.

That’ll go a long way towards strengthening your relationship—and ultimately help your clients get better results.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Truly horrible fitness advice: “If I can do it, you can do it.” appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

What is it? | Principles | Weight loss | Mindful eating | Advice for coaches

Many people think they know what “intuitive eating” means.

And a lot of them are wrong.

They’ll say things like:

“Intuitive eating is eating whatever you want, whenever you want.”

“If you’re not on a diet, you’re already eating intuitively.”

Or everyone’s personal favorite: “It just means ‘listen to your body.’”

But none of those are accurate, at least not according to the people who coined the term.

And that matters.

Whether you’re interested in practicing intuitive eating yourself, or you’re a coach considering using it with your clients, you’ll want to know what intuitive eating is and isn’t—so you can decide whether it’s the right tool for the job.

In this article, you’ll discover:

• The 10 principles of intuitive eating.
• Why intuitive eating might be right—or wrong—for you (or your clients).
• A number of handy ways to try intuitive eating—starting today.

Ready? Let’s dig in.

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What is intuitive eating?

First popularized by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch in their 1995 book Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach, intuitive eating rejects diet culture, a set of beliefs that values thinness, appearance, and shape above health and well-being.

This framework enthusiastically welcomes people of all sizes, helping them to improve their relationships with food, mind, and body without encouraging them to lose an ounce.

Intuitive eating also forgoes typical eating rules (think weighing, measuring) and instead helps people rediscover body cues like hunger and fullness.

That sounds great, of course. But can it really work?

For many people, intuitive eating can be powerfully transformative.

By the time we hit our 20s, most of us are eating for lots of reasons besides actual hunger.

6 pm? Time for dinner.

Bored? Let’s see what’s in the fridge.

Rough day? Give me a spoon and some cookies n’ cream.

But imagine how life might work out if we ate like babies.

Babies naturally eat intuitively, stopping when they’re full, no matter how much milk or formula is left.

They don’t go to battle with themselves thinking, “I want more. But, no, I shouldn’t. But, my gosh, it tastes so good. A little more won’t be so bad, right? What is wrong with me? Why can’t I stop?! Okay, I know. I’ll do 250 crawling laps around the room to burn off the extra milk…”

Intuitive eating helps people get closer to this natural instinct again.

The 10 intuitive eating principles

If you want to understand what intuitive eating has to offer, the 10 principles are a great place to start. One way to use these principles: Work through them in order. Master one, and then move on to the next, which is what the creators originally intended.

Principle #1: Reject the diet mentality.

Intuitive eating isn’t about weight loss, and that’s precisely what attracted Lisa Dahl, PN2, a Certified Intuitive Eating Lay Facilitator and body image coach.

She’d noticed that many of her clients felt stressed and upset when they stepped on the scale or tracked their measurements. So when she discovered intuitive eating, she shifted her entire coaching practice away from weight loss.

That shift had a major impact on Dahl’s clients and her coaching: “When we removed the diet mentality, we shifted our focus to behaviors and actions that were making them feel better—regardless of the number on the scale. It became a much more positive experience for both of us.”

If you’re interested in trying this approach, think about your goals outside of weight loss by using a thought experiment called The 5 Whys.

You start with the question: What do you want to accomplish? And then ask yourself why five times to get to the root of what you really want.

Often, people start by saying they want to lose weight. By the end, they end up with goals about confidence, happiness, and having a good life—all of which can be achieved without weight loss.

To learn more about how to use The 5 Whys to reject the diet mentality, see: Are you body-shaming clients? How well-meaning coaches can be guilty of “size-bias.”

Principle #2: Honor your hunger.

The more we try to resist hunger, the more we want to eat. (Thank evolution for that one.)

And once we get extremely hungry? Our plan to eat a perfectly portioned chicken breast with a side of kale becomes a bucket of fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a side of cheesecake.

The solution? When you’re hungry—eat.

But that begs the question: How do you know when you’re truly hungry? Try ranking your hunger on a scale of 1-10. Usually, we think of 7 as “time to eat,” but what feels right for you might be different.

Letting your hunger guide you may mean eating at new and different times.

For instance, you may normally eat breakfast at 9 am out of habit. But maybe you’re super hungry right after you wake up at 7:30 am. Or you may find you’re not actually hungry until 10 am. Whatever your body tells you, go with it.

Principle #3: Make peace with food.

Give yourself unconditional permission to eat.

“When people are restricting really hard, that pushes them into binge eating and shame eating and emotional eating. You’ll never address a restriction problem with more restriction. It just doesn’t work,” says Mills.

If you’ve ever gone on a super restrictive diet and then crashed and burned face-first into a tub of caramel popcorn, you know what we’re talking about.

The goal of making peace with food is to avoid situations like that. But in order to get there, intuitive eating says you need to welcome yourself to eat that caramel popcorn whenever you want.

You’re probably wondering: Won’t unconditional permission lead to donuts the size of people’s heads coupled with a lifetime without vegetables?

Not usually.

Quite often, the opposite happens. Once people allow themselves to eat what they really want, their cravings suddenly don’t feel as urgent. That yearning for a whole box of cookies eventually turns into a more manageable desire for just one or two.

Fair warning, this principle can take a while to master.

One thing that might help: Self-compassion, which is an attitude of generosity, honesty, and kindness towards yourself. Try to notice what you say to yourself when you eat—especially if you are going for foods that you haven’t given yourself permission to eat in the past. If your internal chatter is negative, take a deep breath and consider: “Is this how I would talk to someone I love?” If not, think about what you might say to a friend who is trying to break free from a negative relationship with food. Then say those words—to yourself.

For a full rundown of how to give yourself permission to eat, along with several ways to use self compassion, see: Solutions for stress eating.

Principle #4: Challenge the food police.

The food police are those little people in your head telling you not to eat such a big portion, that this food is “good,” and that food is “bad.”

Of course, once those annoying head mates deem a food “bad,” that food becomes all the more attractive and irresistible.

So stop using phrases like “good foods” “bad foods” and “cheat meals,” recommends Denise Allen, a Precision Nutrition Women’s Coach.

If you’re planning a special meal that goes outside of what you’d normally eat, you could try calling it a “choice” meal instead of a cheat one, Allen says. Even better, don’t label it anything at all. It’s just a meal—there’s no need to assign morality to it.

“Language and words matter so much, and how you talk to yourself about this process makes a difference,” Allen adds.

To learn more about labeling foods, see: We’ve told 100,000 clients, “There are no bad foods.” And we’re not about to stop. Here’s why.

Principle #5: Discover the satisfaction factor.

Taking pleasure in what you eat—enjoying food that you truly like in a comfortable environment—helps you innately decide when you’ve had “enough” to eat, whatever that means to you.

To do it, consider transforming your meals into an event.

Rather than scarfing things down over the sink or in the car, sit down—at a table. Maybe put some mood music on. Then consciously think about:

• What does your meal taste like?
• What’s the texture like?
• What does the chair you’re sitting in feel like?
• Who are you eating with? Is that part of your meal enjoyable?
• What’s good about your experience of eating this meal?

Principle #6: Feel your fullness.

As you eat, look and listen for the signs you’re no longer hungry.

Imagine your fullness on a scale from 1 to 10. One is “I don’t feel like I’ve eaten at all” and 10 is “I’m completely full and can’t eat any more.” Five is something like “I’ve eaten some food, but I definitely have room for more.”

Ask yourself (or your client): What level of fullness feels right to you? Some people might want to be at a 7 or 8 when they’re done eating. Others might want to get closer to 9 or 10.

If you struggle to stay tuned in for an entire meal, try checking in just three times: during the first, middle, and last bites. (Of course, the middle bite will usually be approximate.)

Experiment until you figure out what’s right for you.

Principle #7: Cope with your emotions with kindness.

Intuitive eating nudges you to ask important questions, especially when you find yourself turning to food when you’re not physically hungry. Rather than berating yourself, you gently explore what’s really going on by asking yourself:

“What do I really need? Is it connection? Better relationships? Am I feeling tired, stressed, frustrated?”

Those questions might lead you to much more nourishing solutions that happen to be located far outside of the kitchen.

“Intuitive eating is about being willing to listen, trust, and respect your thoughts and body,” Dahl adds. “It’s not a free-for-all; it’s actually about digging deep. It takes time, patience, practice, and self-compassion.”

One great resource to get you (or a client) started: The Break The Chain Worksheet, which helps you examine what’s really behind experiences like stress eating, cravings, and feeling out of control around food.

Principle #8: Respect your body.

Stop measuring your body against outside standards of how it “should” look. Instead, try to accept your body as it is.

In a world where we’re bombarded with images of what our bodies are “supposed” to look like, this is often a challenge. But it’s crucial.

All bodies are different, and for many of us, it can be helpful to accept that our bodies may never look like the ones on the cover of fitness magazines. With intuitive eating, you’re encouraged to lean into that and practice not feeling bad about it.

Principle #9: Movement—feel the difference.

Choose movement that feels good to you, and that you genuinely enjoy.

Hate running? Don’t force it. Love Zumba? Stick with that.

Or maybe you don’t like purposeful workouts at all. In that case, you might just focus on moving your body as much as possible throughout the day.

Principle #10: Honor your health—with gentle nutrition.

Intuitive eating is basically the opposite of most other approaches when it comes to how they handle the nutrition piece. Generally, diets focus on the relative health of various foods and what to eat before anything else.

Intuitive eating, on the other hand, deliberately does the opposite. You focus first on tapping into hunger and fullness signals, emotional awareness around food, and body respect.

Then you start talking about practical points like how much protein you need or the idea that adding veggies to your meal is usually a good move. And even when you consider these nutritional fundamentals, you do so hand-in-hand with pleasure. This isn’t about forcing yourself to eat nutritious foods that you hate. As Precision Nutrition super coach Kate Solovieva says, “It does not matter how good kale is for you, if you hate kale.”

Who should try intuitive eating?

When it comes to choosing an eating strategy, it’s all about picking the right tool for the right job.

So consider your (or your client’s) goals before making a decision on whether to try intuitive eating.

Intuitive eating fits these goals:

✓ Improving your relationship with food

✓ Recovering from disordered eating

✓ Reducing guilt around food

✓ Letting go of diet culture

✓ Getting to know your hunger and fullness signals

✓ Living as well as you can for as long as you can

For these goals, intuitive eating isn’t the best choice:

✓ Purposeful weight loss or body composition changes

✓ Preparing for an athletic competition or performance that has specific nutrient needs

✓ Changing the way your body looks for a modeling or acting job

Caveat: Intuitive eating principles can benefit athletes and people who get paid for their appearance when combined with other nutritional strategies. But again, intuitive eating isn’t meant to be used for purposeful weight loss, and it alone probably won’t help them reach their goals.

An alternative: Mindful eating

Intuitive eating and mindful eating often get confused, probably because they’re similar in many ways.

Here’s yet another alternative: blending mindful eating and parts of intuitive eating with nutrition fundamentals.

That’s what we do at Precision Nutrition. We’re agnostic when it comes to the best way to eat, but we do incorporate some principles of both mindful and intuitive eating with our clients and in our certification.

We teach clients how to sense into their hunger and fullness, notice and name the thoughts and emotions that trigger cravings, and to eat slowly and deeply enjoy every bite.

In addition, we show clients how to include protein and veggies with meals. And for people interested in fat loss, we explain how to tap into hunger and fullness cues to eat to 80 percent full.

Where to go next: Intuitive eating advice for coaches

Whether or not you agree with the premise of intuitive eating, it’s worth exposing yourself to the methodology, Mills says.

Aside from the book by Tribole and Resch, you might also want to check out some of the following resources:

• Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight by Lindo Bacon
• Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield
• Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison

Some coaches reject intuitive eating without truly exploring it, Mills points out. “But it speaks to a really prevalent demographic, which is people who have been deeply hurt by diet culture. And when you understand that context, intuitive eating makes perfect sense.”

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Intuitive eating: How to make it work for you (and your clients) appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

What is collagen? | Collagen vs. gelatin | Joint pain | Skin health | Hair growth | Protein content | Gut health | Pregnancy and postpartum | Should you take collagen?

Every morning, thousands of people dump some white powder into their coffee or tea.

That white powder is collagen, and it’s (still) having a moment.

Many people (maybe yourself or your clients included) use it because of the claims that it can improve skin, hair, joint, bone, and gut health. And also that it’s the “cleanest” and “most absorbable” protein source. (At least, that’s what the collagen supplement companies say.)

But do collagen supplements actually work?

In this article, we’ll find out.

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What is collagen?

Collagen is an important structural protein in the body found in our skin, bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. As we age, we produce less collagen. (Hi, wrinkles and creaky joints.)

While there are at least 16 different types of collagen, types I, II, and III make up 80 to 90 percent of the collagen in our bodies.¹

Where does collagen come from?

Collagen supplements are usually derived from bovine hide (bovine collagen) or fish (marine collagen). These generally come in a flavorless powder that dissolves in liquid. They can also come in pill and liquid form.

Collagen can be found in foods too. Bone broth, certain cuts of meat and poultry, and fish (especially the skin) are all good sources.

Some brands promote vegan or vegetarian collagen options, but these products don’t contain collagen. Instead, they contain nutrients that may promote collagen production, such as vitamin C.

The real benefits of collagen supplements

Here’s a rundown of what we know about collagen supplements.

Collagen for joint pain

Of all the buzzed-about benefits of taking collagen, this is one of the most well-studied. (Hey, we want to play tennis without knee pain!)

Some research suggests that type II collagen could potentially support joint health when taken with vitamin C.³ The vitamin C part is important, since the body needs vitamin C in order to make collagen.

That said, reviews and meta-analyses have failed to find collagen supplementation benefits people with joint conditions like osteoarthritis and tendinopathy, the breakdown of the tendons.^5,6

One common argument is that since collagen is generally made from bone and cartilage, it should contain everything we need to repair these parts of our body. However, most of the amino acids in collagen are ones we can make on our own (like glycine, proline, and alanine) or ones that we can’t use very well in our body (like hydroxyproline).⁷

Bottom line: Some research shows collagen may help with joint concerns when taken with vitamin C, but the evidence overall is weak.

Collagen for skin health

Collagen is what makes our skin plump and elastic. That’s why collagen and collagen-enhancing ingredients are common in skincare products. Similarly, collagen supplements promise to increase skin elasticity and combat wrinkles “from the inside out.”

While collagen has the potential to improve skin, the evidence isn’t definitive.

Taking collagen may stimulate hyaluronic acid production in the skin, which keeps skin moisturized and plump.^8,9 And one review did find that collagen supplements increased skin elasticity, hydration, and dermal collagen density.¹⁰

But collagen supplements do nothing to reduce collagenase, an enzyme we all produce that degrades our collagen stores over time. So, positive effects from taking collagen supplements can only be maintained if you continue taking those supplements indefinitely.

Further, many of the studies on collagen for skin health (as well as other areas of health) have been funded and run by the companies who’ve created the products. Industry-funded studies aren’t always biased, but it’s a risk.

Last thing: There are more reliable ways to enhance collagen production and maintain collagen stores in your skin:

• Using skincare products with vitamin C ¹¹, retinol/retinoid acid^12,13, glycolic acid, and/or hyaluronic acid¹⁴
• Wearing sunscreen¹⁵

Bottom line: More research is needed, but collagen supplements may help (minimally) with skin health.

Collagen for hair growth

Collagen contains some of the amino acids needed to produce keratin, a protein found in hair.

But currently, there’s no evidence that taking collagen will make your hair grow faster, thicker, or stimulate hair regrowth.

Bottom line: Don’t rely on collagen to make your hair grow.

Collagen as a protein supplement

Despite the claims of being “superior” and “highly absorbable,” collagen is not an ideal protein source. In fact, until pretty recently, it was considered a “junk” protein that wasn’t used for much of anything.

There are a couple of reasons why.

Reason #1: Collagen is an incomplete protein.

That means it doesn’t contain all nine essential amino acids (EAAs).^7,16 (Collagen is missing tryptophan, as shown in the graphic below.) Your body can’t make EAAs, so it must get them from food.

Incomplete proteins have a place in a healthy diet, but to get the most bang for your buck, collagen is simply not worth the cash due to its status as a low-quality protein.

Collagen lacks tryptophan and is overall lower in EAAs than whey.

Reason #2: Collagen is low in other EAAs.

Because of this, even when tryptophan is added, collagen still scores low in terms of quality compared to other proteins like whey, casein, or soy.

(To understand protein quality and why it matters, read our guide to choosing the best protein powder for you.)

Also, if you want to enhance workout recovery, muscle gain, or muscle retention, collagen isn’t your best bet.¹⁷ Muscle protein synthesis requires the amino acid leucine, and collagen has very little of it.¹⁸ (Learn more about leucine in our article on BCAAs.)

Bottom line: Collagen is not the best quality protein supplement.

Collagen for gut health

Collagen is rich in amino acids glycine and proline, and has some glutamine. Some say these amino acids have the potential to help heal the gut lining and promote digestive health, particularly in people with “leaky gut.”

However, while intestinal permeability is associated with certain digestive diseases, it doesn’t have direct symptoms.

While there’s some research showing glutamine and glycine may be helpful for intestinal health, robust evidence is lacking.¹⁹

(To learn more about how to improve gut health, check out this comprehensive resource on probiotics.)

Bottom line: It’s unlikely that taking collagen improves gut health.

Collagen in pregnancy and postnatal recovery

Collagen is high in glycine, which is considered a non-essential amino acid (your body can make it).

But new research shows it’s conditionally essential—meaning you might need to get some from food—in the later stages of pregnancy (~35+ weeks). This is due to increased nutritional demand to form a baby’s collagen stores.²⁰

This has led some prenatal nutrition experts to suggest supplementing with collagen during pregnancy, especially in the later stages.

While this isn’t a bad idea, it’s not necessary if you’re getting adequate complete proteins through your diet. (Protein needs in late pregnancy are 1.52 grams/kg of body weight per day.²¹) Whole-food proteins like meat, fish, protein powders, and dairy contain more than enough glycine to meet your needs.

(The only exception is vegans, who may not get enough glycine in late pregnancy from whole foods. But collagen isn’t a vegan option anyway.)

On a related note, some women swear supplementing with collagen helped them heal and recover post-pregnancy. There’s no evidence showing supplementing with collagen is better than eating a diet with enough protein. However, collagen is safe for new moms, so if this is an approach that interests you, have at it!

Bottom line: Collagen may be helpful for women who are pregnant or postpartum, but it’s no better than eating a healthy diet with enough protein.

Should you take collagen supplements?

Ultimately, that’s up to you.

Here’s a quick recap of the potential benefits and their quality of evidence:

Collagen supplements might help minimally with joint and skin health, but are unlikely to help with anything else.

Here are some other factors to consider when making your decision.

Supplement quality varies.

There are some concerns about heavy metal contamination with collagen. So, look for third-party tested options to ensure purity and quality. (Read the “purity and quality” section of our article on protein powders for specifics.)

Gelatin is a safe, cheap alternative.

Not only is gelatin much cheaper, it may be safer. That’s because, in most countries, regulations for food production are much stricter than regulations for supplement production.

And remember, key research used to support collagen supplementation was actually done with gelatin.

Get enough dietary protein and vitamin C.

It’s probably not worth spending money on collagen if you’re not already doing these two things.

Aim for a minimum protein intake of about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (0.36 grams per pound). That said, many people can benefit from more:

• Adults over 65: 1.2 to 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.55 to 0.91 grams per pound)
• Athletes and active people: 1.2 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.55 to 1.0 grams per pound)
• People who want to change their weight or body composition: 1.6 to 3.3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (0.75 to 1.5 grams per pound)

In terms of vitamin C, adult females need 75 mg a day, while adult males need 90 mg. It’s safe to supplement up to 2,000 mg a day.²²

FYI, research on collagen and vitamin C used 48 mg of supplemental vitamin C, so you don’t need to megadose to stimulate collagen. Also, solo vitamin C has been shown to increase collagen synthesis.²³ Neat!

More collagen isn’t necessarily better.

Exercise, sleep, water—it’s possible to get too much of anything.

Considering that collagen’s benefits are minimal, taking extra doesn’t make sense. (If you choose to take collagen or gelatin, 10-15 grams per day is likely sufficient, which is the quantity studied in most joint and tendon research.)

Because collagen is a low-quality protein, it shouldn’t replace other forms of protein in your diet. That’s when we could cross over from “can’t hurt, might help” territory into the “possibly harmful” zone.

Currently, we don’t have research comparing collagen to higher quality sources of protein, such as meat and whey, which would help us find out if collagen really is “special.”

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Do collagen supplements actually work? Learn the facts about this popular supplement. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

For Jennifer Ernst, MSCN, PN1, it started at age 10—when her grandfather had a heart attack. It shook the family up, and they decided to eat in a more healthful way. So they became plant-based—they just didn’t know to call it that.

Most of their meals revolved around home-grown produce. “We lived on a farm and grew our vegetables,” she says. “Except we had chickens and cows, too.”

As Ernst got older and moved away from the farm, she grew uncomfortable buying meat that wasn’t coming from her backyard.

She didn’t have a problem with eating meat overall, but without knowing where it came from or how it was raised, it just didn’t feel right for her.

The moment Scott Burgett, CSCS, PN1 officially decided to become fully plant-based happened while watching a Netflix documentary.

He’d been gradually working his way towards a more plant-based lifestyle for a couple of years.

But when the documentary showed the heartbreaking fate of male baby chickens in the egg industry (they’re usually killed at one day old since they can’t lay eggs), he knew it was time switch to a fully plant-based diet.

Both Ernst and Burgett are now successful plant-based nutrition coaches. And their stories signify pivotal moments in their lives when their values became impossible to ignore. Those moments put them on the path they’re on today.

If you’re reading this article, chances are you have a story of your own. 

But while personal stories are impactful and inspiring, they don’t always help others change their behavior. Mastering plant-based eating for yourself and helping other people do it are two totally different things.

That’s why we spoke to established coaches about the process of becoming a plant-based nutrition coach, and how you too can help clients benefit from this way of eating.

In this article, we’ll share:

• What plant-based nutrition coaches do
• How to become a plant-based nutrition coach
• How to know if you need a plant-based certification
• How much plant-based nutrition coaches make
• The biggest challenges plant-based nutrition coaches face and how to tackle them
• Why now is the best time to get into plant-based nutrition coaching.

So, put on your plant-pants and let’s get started.

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Question #1: What is a plant-based nutrition coach, anyway?

“Plant-based nutrition coach” is more of an umbrella term rather than a specific designation. It describes a person who practices a style of nutrition coaching that focuses on plant-based eating.

That doesn’t mean a plant-based coach has to be vegan or vegetarian. Or that they only coach people who want to be vegan or vegetarian.

The definition is much looser than that.

Simply put: A plant-based nutrition coach helps people eat more plants.

But let’s break it down a little more.

Eating more plants isn’t just about eating more fruits and vegetables. “Plants” is a broad category of foods that also includes grains, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and plant-derived fats.

The table below is a non-exhaustive list of plant-based foods, but as you can see, there’s plenty to choose from.

Plant-based foods

* These foods are considered proteins if there isn’t a more protein-rich food in a given meal. Otherwise, they’re considered carbohydrates.

Now here’s the thing: There are lots of ways to be a plant-based eater. And this is good news, because it means there are lots of ways to be a plant-based nutrition coach.

For instance, you might coach any or all of the following:

• Plant-curious eaters: People who are considering eating more plant-based foods, and are wondering how to do it. (It doesn’t mean they have to stop eating meat.)
• Plant-forward or plant-centered eaters: People whose diets are made up of mostly plants, but who might still eat some non-plant foods. These might be pescatarians, vegetarians, or folks who occasionally eat meat.
• Fully plant-based eaters: People who only eat plant-based foods. This includes vegans, who usually eschew all animal products. (Not just food but also leather, fur, personal care products tested on animals, and so on.)

Successful plant-based nutrition coaches vary in their approaches.

For example, Ernst eats mostly plant-based, but she won’t turn down a restaurant meal that contains milk. With her clients, she focuses on gradually moving them toward a more plant-based diet, based on their starting point.

“If a client’s currently eating all takeout food, I don’t think jumping into a fully plant-based diet is fair,” says Ernst. “They rebound the other way too quickly.”

Burgett takes a different approach. He’s vegan, and his business is called Evolution Vegan Academy. As you can probably guess, he only coaches vegans and aspiring vegans.

In particular, he works with vegans who are interested in athletic performance.

We’ll delve deeper into how to define your plant-based coaching niche below, as well as the benefits that draw people to plant-based eating.

But the takeaway: There are many ways to be a plant-based nutrition coach.

Question #2: How do I become a plant-based nutrition coach?

It’s possible to get a certification in plant-based nutrition, but there’s no official entity that deems you a qualified plant-based nutrition coach.

That’s actually kind of exciting, because it means how you become one is largely up to you.

A logical first step, established coaches say, is to get the education you need to really help people. 

And according to the plant-based coaches we talked to, there are a variety of ways you can do that. In fact, many of them used a combination of the tools below to get themselves established as coaches.

Tool #1: Get a plant-based nutrition certification.

There are only a few certifications out there that focus exclusively on plant-based nutrition.

And as we mentioned, no certification will give you the official title of “plant-based nutrition coach.” Most often, they offer a “certificate of completion” in plant-based nutrition.

Ernst has taken two of the most well-known courses in this space.

The first is the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies Plant-Based Nutrition eCornell Certification Program. This is a six-week online course that costs $1,260 (USD).

Because Ernst had recently been in school for nutrition when she took this course—she went to college at 37 and completed a master’s degree in nutrition shortly after—she’d covered nutrition science thoroughly already. However, this plant-based certification provided an in-depth look at two areas: the ethics of plant-based eating and the potential health benefits.

Ernst also did a program with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. This organization offers courses for physicians, health coaches, and allied health professionals who want to introduce their patients or clients to whole-food plant-based eating. Courses range in length and price—from $300 USD to over $1,000, depending on which one you choose.

What these courses lack, Ernst says, is guidance on the art of coaching, including how to:

• effectively communicate with clients
• draw out their deepest motivations
• understand the various factors that make it harder or easier to change their habits

This is one of the reasons that, despite her deep knowledge of the science of nutrition, Ernst ended up getting value out of the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification (more on this below).

Also, plant-based nutrition certification courses don’t usually have information on how to coach non-plant-based clients.

So depending on your target clientele, they may or may not provide all the information you need to get started.

Tool #2: Get a general nutrition certification.

A standard nutrition certification will give you the tools you need to coach clients who follow a variety of eating styles.

We talked to a number of plant-based coaches who (full transparency!) are also Precision Nutrition certified, to get a better picture of how a “general” nutrition certification compares to a plant-based certification.

(Note: Graduating from of our Level 1 certification qualifies you to take our specialized course, “How to Coach a Plant-Based Diet.”)

“One of the things that really grabbed me about the Precision Nutrition certification was that it was more well-rounded,” says Renée Rolls, PN1, EIF Master Trainer, CF-L1, who improved her own health through exercise and plant-based eating.

She’d already done a lot of plant-based eating research, so felt she already had the information she needed in that area.

“When you’re used to doing something a certain way, it’s beneficial if you can start seeing different points of view,” she says.

For Rolls, it was key to learn how to coach all types of eaters, even though she wanted to focus on plant-based nutrition coaching. “I can still have my own way of eating and coach a variety of different ways of eating,” she says.

Emilie Rice, MS, RDN, LDN, CPT, PN1, chose to get a PN certification as part of her continuing education as a dietitian. She liked that the program offered guidance on the specifics of how to coach, especially explaining nutrition concepts for the average client.

“I was looking for ways to simplify how I teach when I’m coaching nutrition,” she says. Rice loved learning the hand portions system, which is an easy, accessible way clients can regulate and track food intake.

Of course, there are lots of other general nutrition certifications out there. To learn more about them, check out our resource on how to choose the right nutrition certification for you.

Tool #3: Go the self-taught route.

At first, Burgett opted to learn about plant-based nutrition on his own rather than getting a nutrition coaching certification. Because he had a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and worked as a strength coach for a professional baseball team, he was already comfortable with science-heavy material.

But rather than jumping right into nutrition coaching, he took his time to ensure he had the knowledge he needed before getting started.

When he first became vegan in 2017, Burgett gathered as much information as he could from books, documentaries, YouTube videos, and more.

He also started a popular plant-based blog, where he answered common questions. (Think: Is it okay to eat tofu? How much protein do plant-based eaters really need?) He also created recipes from scratch.

As he learned to answer his audience’s questions, Burgett developed the expertise he needed to start a plant-based coaching business. But it wasn’t until 2019 that he debuted his online offerings and started offering plant-based nutrition coaching.

There are a couple potential drawbacks here: That’s a solid two years of self-education, which is significantly longer than most formal certification courses will take.

Plus, unless you have a background in science or health like Burgett did, it might be difficult to figure out what information you need and where to get it.

On the other hand, this option is probably less expensive than a course, and is a nice complement to any other educational tool you choose.

Whether or not you decide to go this route, Burgett has some advice: Seek out educational sources that you agree with, but also ones you don’t agree with. (For instance, you might pick up a book on the Paleo or carnivore diet.)

“Expose yourself to different philosophies so you get a well-rounded background,” he says.

Tool #4: Experiment on yourself.

Self-experimentation is one of the cornerstones of Precision Nutrition’s own coaching program.

Why? There’s no better way to figure out what works for YOU. And while every person’s nutrition preferences and habits will differ, it’s important to have experience with plant-based eating yourself if you want to be a plant-based nutrition coach.

This is particularly true if you want to work in the fully plant-based or vegan space, Burgett says.

“Vegans and people in the plant-based world are just different from omnivorous clients. Their ‘why’ and their values are different, and they want to be able to trust that the person on the other end is living their values.”

Burgett’s advice for new coaches looking to get into this space: “Try things, talk to people, practice it yourself. Ultimately, you’ll learn what works, and what doesn’t.”

Rolls says this is good advice even if you want to take a more flexible plant-based approach.

“I did my CrossFit certification in February, and they have their own way of eating, which was really difficult for me as a plant-based eater.” (CrossFit enthusiasts often eat a Zone diet, which tends to favor animal proteins.)

Even though it didn’t work well for Rolls, the experiment was worth it: “Just being able to go into that open-minded and see how it worked was valuable.”

Question #3: What do plant-based nutrition coaches do?

Most plant-based nutrition coaches provide one-on-one nutrition coaching.

Others coach groups, create online programs, or speak at events. In fact, there are a ton of options for what a plant-based nutrition coach’s day-to-day job can look like.

Burgett’s coaching business is completely online. And because of his background as a strength coach, he also provides all of his clients with personalized workout programs.

When he’s not programming or talking to clients via phone or video calls, he’s consulting with the assistant coaches who work under him, tending to his active Facebook community, or creating content for his social media accounts.

Ernst primarily does one-on-one nutrition coaching, both in-person and online. Pre-COVID, she also taught in-person plant-based cooking courses a couple of times a month.

These courses helped her connect with potential clients in her community, and provided her existing clients with the skills they need to be successful with plant-based eating.

“People know a carrot’s better than a Cheeto, but they don’t know how to eat that carrot,” she says. “Kale tastes kind of terrible unless you massage it, or use little lemon to break down some of the plant walls.” In other words, Ernst helps people actually enjoy the foods they know they should be eating.

Aside from having their own nutrition coaching businesses, plant-based nutrition coaches might also work as:

• Health coaches in doctors offices, hospitals, or wellness centers
• Consultants in health food, natural beauty, and supplement stores
• In-house nutrition coaches at gyms, spas, and yoga studios
• Wellness consultants in corporate settings
• Chefs or recipe developers for private clients, meal-prep services, or plant-based restaurants
• Speakers, bloggers, or social media influencers in the plant-based space

Question #4: How much do plant-based nutrition coaches make?

Based on the information we gathered for this article, certified nutrition coaches might charge anywhere from $40 to $100 per hour.

And some coaches believe that within the plant-based world, there’s more income potential for coaches than elsewhere.

“I’m a firm believer that plant-based is where the world’s heading,” Burgett says. There are several reasons for this. Environmental destruction is at its highest, and people are starting to get more clued-in to how their food choices could impact the environment, explains Burgett.

So while plant-based eating might be trendy, Burgett doesn’t see interest in it fading anytime soon. “If you’re thinking about it, now’s time to get into it.”

Ernst agrees that now is a great time to be a plant-based coach. Even with COVID, she’s busier than ever.

“Fiscally, I’m up this year,” she says. And that’s after reducing her prices to make her services more accessible to clients during the pandemic. She’s had to press pause on her in-person cooking classes, but she’s more than made up for that with virtual one-on-one client sessions.

So what does this mean for you?

Okay, it’s great to know that plant-based coaches can be successful financially. But how do you leverage the interest in plant-based eating to become a high-earning coach?

You can start here: A full report—Nutrition coaching: How much should you charge?—we created that details what we learned from a survey of 1,000 nutrition coaches, including tips on what you can do to earn top-tier rates.

Question #5: Why do people become plant-based nutrition coaches?

At Precision Nutrition, we often talk about finding your “why,” or your deeper reason for doing something.

People don’t usually commit to plant-based coaching as a career because it’s trendy, or because it sounds cool.

Instead, plant-based nutrition coaches often have a deep passion for what the eating philosophy can do for people, animals, and the planet.

For Rice, one of the most compelling aspects is the health benefits associated with eating more plants. And as a plant-based dietitian who works with athletes, she’s also interested in emerging research about plant-based diets and athletic longevity (the portion of an athlete’s life where they can continue to perform).

For many plant-based coaches, sustainability and animal welfare are critically important, and the two actually go hand in hand.

“When I think of a sustainable diet, a big part of that is obviously ecological sustainability,” says Ryan Andrews, MS, MA, RD, RYT, CSCS, a plant-based dietitian and nutrition adviser for Precision Nutrition. “But under that umbrella is everything else, like individual health, animal welfare, farmer welfare, and food equity in general.” For our food system to be truly sustainable, we need to address all of these things, he says.

That starts with eaters making dietary changes, according to Andrews. “But I also want to be cautious and not place all the burden on individuals. Because right now, it’s not that easy to always make new choices with how we eat.”

That’s where you come in as a plant-based nutrition coach. 

It might seem like a small drop in the bucket, but each person who makes small changes (subbing lentils for meat three times a week, or switching from whey protein powder to pea protein powder) adds up.

Andrews thinks of the global shift towards eating more plants like a morning traffic jam: “If one person doesn’t drive one day, there’s probably still going to be a traffic jam. But if collectively, everybody starts to make modifications, then it changes traffic patterns.” The same goes for plant-based eating.

Question #6: What do you need to know before you become a plant-based coach?

When we talked to plant-based coaches for this article, we asked them what they wished they knew when they got started, and what they think other plant-based nutrition coaches should know. Here’s what they said.

There are a lot of myths about plant-based eating.

Burgett says for him, dispelling myths about plant-based eating and certain foods, like soy, has been one of the biggest challenges he’s encountered.

Another myth that seems to be pervasive: The idea that protein isn’t important for vegans.

“A lot of people in the plant-based vegan space, even doctors, just kind of disregard protein,” he says.

It’s not that he’s obsessed with protein, Burgett says, but it’s an important macronutrient for anyone, especially if they’re active.

So with his clients, Burgett always works to educate about the importance of protein and choosing diverse plant-based protein sources.

People also worry that plant-based eating is expensive, Ernst says. “But it’s actually a very inexpensive way to eat.”

This is an important myth to address with potential clients, she adds. “I think some people might have hesitations about signing up with a plant-based nutrition coach if they think it’s too expensive.”

There’s a growing interest in plant-based sports nutrition.

Rice has chosen to work with plant-based athletes as her niche, due to her personal interest in athletics and the fact that there’s a growing community of plant-based athletes where she’s based, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

While there’s a lot of buzz in this area, Rice says there are some things you need to know if you want to go into this niche. Therefore, getting specialized knowledge through a certification or mentorship may be necessary.

For instance, eating too much fiber, which can happen with a fully plant-based diet, can cause feelings of early satiety (fullness), and possibly lead to (unintentional) undereating, which can put athletes at risk for relative energy deficiency in sport (known as RED-S), Rice explains.

RED-S can affect athletic performance, as well as an athlete’s overall health.

“This is one reason plant-based diets must be balanced, without too much of one nutrient (fiber, fat, carbs, or protein),” she says.

Be aware of disordered eating.

Plant-based eating is often seen as a “healthy” way to eat. That perception can be a driver for people with disordered eating and orthorexia to choose it, Rice says. (Orthorexia is an eating disorder where people become so consumed by “healthy eating” that they damage their own mental and/or physical health.)

For the record, this can happen with any specialized way of eating; it’s not specific only to plant-based eating.

But it’s important for plant-based coaches to be aware of, Rice says. “As a coach, I want to know the reason why you’re choosing plant-based.”

Clients might choose the eating style for health, sustainability, long-term athletic development, among other reasons, she says. But if they dig deeper and discover it’s related to disordered eating or even just bragging rights, Rice encourages clients to reevaluate.

This is one of the reasons it’s smart to set up a referral network. If you encounter a client or potential client in this situation, you can refer them out to a qualified mental health professional.

In many ways, plant-based coaching is the future.

There’s no one best way to eat. That’s for sure. “But what’s different about a plant-centered, plant-forward, or plant-based diet is that it’s not a single dietary pattern,” Andrews says. “It’s just working towards including more plants in somebody’s diet, wherever they are.”

Emphasizing plants in our diets is one of the biggest adjustments we can make towards a more sustainable food system, Andrews points out. It’s also one of the most powerful things we can do to reduce our risk of disease and ensure we get the nutrients we need. (For more, check out The 5 principles of good nutrition.)

So becoming a coach who helps people eat more plants in some way, shape, or form? That’s something you can be really proud of.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Plant-based nutrition coaching: What you need to know appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

Because they were.

It took her longer to complete the group session than everyone else, and the coach made a point of having the whole class stick around and encourage her.

Afterward, the coach and classmates approached Lili to say: “It’s really great that you’re exercising. Good for you.”

She understood everyone was trying to be inclusive and nice. But, deep down, Lili also knew she was being singled out for her 300-pound frame. It made her feel incredibly self-conscious.

So she never went back.

Ranjan had a similar experience. He struggled with binge eating, and felt ashamed when his coach said, “It’s not that hard to avoid fast food,” and “Unless you’re about to run a marathon, there’s no reason to ever eat a bagel.”

He quit two weeks into a 12-week group diet challenge—even though he’d already paid in full.

Angele ghosted her coach, too, after months of great progress.

She’d originally signed up to feel stronger and more in control of her body. And though her trainer knew weight loss wasn’t her goal, his compliment about how fit she looked was met with a blank stare.

Turns out, Angele was struggling with the trauma of an assault that happened years before. Comments about her body were majorly triggering.

These coaching scenarios? They’re all inspired by real client stories.

The coaches who made these mistakes never knew what went wrong. Or how much pain they’d inadvertently caused.

But the underlying reason for each is the same:

Many health and fitness professionals tend to focus too much on weight loss and body size.

If reading that made you feel like putting your fist through the screen, hear us out: We’re not suggesting that helping clients lose weight is wrong.

Many of your clients WILL absolutely want to lose weight, for various reasons.

But there’s a difference between helping clients who come to you for weight loss and assuming all clients want to lose weight.

This is especially important to understand if you work with clients in larger bodies—many of whom may not want to lose weight right now, or ever.

Here’s the most important thing to know: Regardless of whether a client wants to lose weight or not, the way you talk about weight, body image, and fat loss can make or break the coach-client relationship.

It affects how freely clients share information—and ultimately whether they’re able to succeed.

This is particularly true with clients who:

• have trauma and/or negative feelings around their body or weight
• are in a body that doesn’t fit the norm of what their culture considers “fit and healthy.”

(FYI: It’s pretty likely that many of your clients will fall into one, if not both, of these categories.)

In this article you’ll find:

• 5 strategies for forming strong, lasting relationships with clients of all body sizes.
• Dozens of resources that can help you understand clients on a deeper, more personal level.
• What to say (and not say) to clients who are struggling with body image, guilt, and shame.

(Note: This article isn’t intended to “fix” complex issues like weight stigma. But it can help you avoid reinforcing harmful ideas about weight, weight loss, and what health truly means.)

+++

5 ways to respectfully support all clients—no matter what kind of body they’re in.

It’s not a coach’s job to tell a client how their body should be. 

Here at Precision Nutrition, we believe all clients:

• Get to decide their own goals, whether that’s weight loss or anything else.
• Deserve to feel safe and supported sharing their goals and decisions with their coach, whatever those goals and decisions are.
• Benefit from being informed about ways they can improve their health—including options that have nothing to do with weight or size.

Okay, so what does that look like in practice?

We’ll show you.

(And if you’d like more deep insights and helpful takeaways on the hottest health, nutrition, and coaching topics, sign up for our FREE weekly newsletter, The Smartest Coach in the Room.)

#1: Give every client the blank slate treatment.

See if you can spot what goes wrong in this coach-client interaction.

Martha is a 48-year-old woman. She’s always lived in a larger body. In the past year, she’s struggled with chronic back pain. She thinks making some changes to her exercise and nutrition habits might help, so she contacts a coach she found on Facebook.

In the initial consultation, Martha introduces herself in her customarily lively, outgoing way. The coach says:

“I’m so glad you reached out to me. In your email, you mentioned you’re dealing with back pain. I think we can definitely make some changes that’ll help with that! How much weight do you want to lose? It’s so smart of you to be proactive about this!”

Martha’s utterly deflated. This coach won’t be hearing from her again.

Why? Two big problems:

1. Martha never mentioned wanting to lose weight.
2. She said she’s dealing with back pain, but that’s all the coach knows about Martha’s health.

What the coach in this scenario didn’t know was that Martha has struggled with her weight for what feels like her whole life. She’s often felt too big, too bulky, too awkward in her body.

Now in her late 40s, she’s starting to feel at peace with herself. After all, this body has been home for nearly five decades.

So when Martha hears what this coach has to say? She feels those old emotions creeping back. She’s frustrated, angry, and fed-up with people—like this young, genetically-predisposed-to-be-fit coach—assuming she can’t possibly be happy with her body.

This isn’t just a rookie coaching mistake, by the way. Experienced coaches do stuff like this, too.

Thanks to our cultural conditioning, many of us have hidden biases in this area. So it’s important to be conscious of not equating:

• weight with health
• desire to improve health, fitness, or food choices with weight loss

Because when you’re fine with your weight but someone assumes you’re not… or they imply you shouldn’t be… it stings.

Even the most confident people will likely feel a pang of, ‘Wait, is my body okay? Am I okay?!’ Or even: ‘I was right. This fitness stuff just isn’t for me.’

The takeaway: Don’t assume your clients want to lose weight.

Check your assumptions. Consider what you don’t know about your clients, and how you might learn more about them.

Wait for them to tell you what they want. 

Otherwise, you risk damaging your relationship—and causing your client pain—before you even get started.

#2. Dig deeper—even when a client’s goal is as simple as “I want to lose weight.”

About half of Americans say they want to lose weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ¹³ (And that trend is likely to translate to other similar cultures.)

There’s also this: Some clients say they want to lose weight simply because they feel that’s the only societally acceptable option for their body. Or because they’re living in a culture that tells them losing weight will automatically make them happier and healthier.

Plus, clients often have important secondary goals, in addition to weight loss. For instance, our Precision Nutrition Coaching clients are almost always interested in fat loss. But that’s not all they’re after.

On a 1 to 10 scale, clients commonly rank the following as a 9 or higher:

• looking and feeling better (81 percent), which may or may not have anything to do with weight loss
• developing consistency (75 percent)
• maintaining their healthy habits (74 percent)
• gaining energy and vitality (59 percent)

Over time, these goals may become more important than weight loss.

Talk with your clients to clarify their goals and motivations so:

1. They understand that weight loss isn’t the only option available to them.
2. You get the information you need to help your clients succeed.

The following strategies will help you do just that.

Present a variety of goals that are all treated as equally valid.

One way PN Master Coach Kate Solovieva normalizes all types of body goals: giving clients options.

For instance, whether she’s working with a 75-year-old woman or a 25-year-old man, Solovieva might ask: “What are you hoping to achieve through coaching? Do you want to gain weight, lose weight, feel stronger, move without pain, love how you look naked?”

By letting your clients know they have lots of different choices, they’re more likely to feel safe telling you what they really want. You might even open their eyes to the fact that weight loss isn’t their only way forward.

Ask this secret-weapon question.

Here’s a powerful coaching question for any client who wants to lose weight, courtesy of Precision Nutrition’s Director of Curriculum, Krista Scott Dixon, PhD:

“What else is going on for you right now?”

Just ask it, and let your client talk.

Why?

“Being ‘on a diet’ is an A+ way to avoid all the other crap in your life,” says Dr. Scott-Dixon. Sometimes when people realize they don’t have anything to fill the void, they decide going on a diet will help them feel better and more fulfilled.

Your client might reveal that they’re going through a divorce, dealing with a sick parent, or feeling unhappy in their job.

Losing weight won’t fix those problems.

This is why it’s a good idea to…

Always ask why.

We often use an exercise called The 5 Whys with our clients.

It starts with a simple question: “Why do I want to change my eating and exercise habits?”

Then, whatever answer your client comes up with, ask why again. And so on, five times, until you get to the heart of what’s really behind their goal.

You can use this worksheet to get started.

This exercise helps clients move past motivations that focus on comparing themselves to others.

Sometimes, when people can’t come up with a compelling deeper reason to lose weight, they realize weight loss might not be what they’re really after. 

(And sometimes it IS weight loss. That’s okay, too.)

#3. Understand that body image exists on a spectrum.

“If you work with clients enough, you know that almost everyone has some kind of body angst. It doesn’t matter what shape they have,” says Dr. Scott-Dixon.

As a coach, you can help people develop more productive, deep-health promoting experiences of themselves in their bodies.

Why should you care? “We know objectively that the more you hate yourself, the worse your life is,” Dr. Scott-Dixon says.

Struggling with body image:

• Makes it harder to do well academically (especially for women), which can shut down future educational opportunities and chances at landing your dream job ¹⁴
• Increases the likelihood of disordered eating, as well as eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia, making anything related to food feel like an uphill battle ^{15 16}
• May make you feel afraid to date or get romantic with someone. (Think: turning off the lights so they can’t see you, or never speaking up about your romantic feelings for someone out of fear of being rejected) ¹⁷
• Can lead to generally feeling like your life sucks (officially, this is called “poor quality of life”), along with having a difficult time going through the motions of daily life, including interacting with other people ¹⁸
• Means you’re less likely to work out or be active, maybe because the idea of going to the gym or moving your body feels super uncomfortable or intimidating ¹⁹
• Increases risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem ²⁰

Many people believe that criticizing themselves will help them excel at changing their habits and living better, healthier lives.

But constant self-criticism and being “down” on yourself can make it much, much harder to adopt healthy habits. 

For example, clients in larger bodies who also struggle with body image sometimes tell us they don’t feel comfortable entering gyms and other fitness or wellness spaces. Often, it’s because they don’t feel these spaces are meant for people who look like them.

While it’s true some gyms aren’t particularly welcoming to people of all body sizes, improving body image can make finding a supportive fitness space and developing regular exercise habits feel much more manageable.

Of course, you can’t just snap your fingers and decide to love your body. So think about body image on a spectrum. 

On one end: Body negativity, or actively disliking your body.

On the other end: self-love.

And body neutrality, or “meh,” as we like to refer to it? Somewhere in between.

Here’s the thing: We might exist on multiple parts of the spectrum at once. Human beings are complex, and body dissatisfaction and positive body image aren’t direct opposites of each other. ²¹

But the goal is to nudge ourselves up the continuum, so we’re spending more time in the body neutrality and self-love sections than before.

The bottom line: You can’t make a client love their body.

But you can refrain from adding more negativity to someone’s baggage. 

And remember, complete body positivity and absolute self-love aren’t necessarily the goal.

“For many people, getting to ‘meh’ is actually a pretty good goal,” says Dr. Scott-Dixon.

#4. Use language as a signal.

Here’s another coaching scenario to consider:

Your client tells you they ate a pint of ice cream last night. 

What’s your gut reaction?

Think about it. Then read on.

As much as possible, avoid saying anything that might make your client feel ashamed, Solovieva recommends.

Beware of responses that sound supportive, but are actually criticism, like, “Oh, that’s a bummer. How’d you get so off track?” or even, “No worries! We all slip up from time to time.”

“Clients are always listening to see how you talk about things,” Solovieva says. It helps them determine how trustworthy you are with their most difficult feelings and behaviors.

This is important in many areas, but especially when it comes to food. That’s why, when faced with a client eating a late-night pint of ice cream, Solovieva starts with:

“What flavor was it?!”

She might follow it up with any number of questions, like “How are you feeling this morning?” or “Did you enjoy it?”

These kinds of open-ended, judgement-free questions help clients feel comfortable talking about what’s really going on in their heads.

Normalize all food choices.

People aren’t great at remembering or estimating what or how much they’ve eaten. ²² This is often what’s at play when clients say they’re not overeating (or undereating), but still aren’t seeing results.

But there could be another reason clients aren’t reporting their food intake accurately: They don’t feel safe doing so.

And this can be conscious OR unconscious.

Conscious: Your client chooses not tell you about their late-night pint of ice cream because they fear your response—and how it’ll make them feel.

Unconscious: They underestimate their food intake because they want to avoid being shamed for eating eight ounces (or thumbs) of cheese instead of the “acceptable” serving size of one.

In either case, it’s going to make it hard for you as a coach to see what’s really going on.

One way to normalize food choices, according to Solovieva: Openly talk about foods that people may believe are “off limits.” (Friendly reminder: There are no “bad” foods.)

For instance, you might ask:

“What do you normally eat for lunch at work? Is it more like a salad, or a sandwich, or tacos?”

When talking about food planning for the weekend, you might say:

“What are you having for dinner Saturday night? My family always has pizza!”

From there, you can still encourage clients to make their meals “a little bit better” by adding a side of veggies, or upping the protein content. But normalizing your client’s food choices helps you meet them where they’re at.

Skip body-shaming “motivational” language.

Many coaches don’t realize certain phrases and cues can make people feel “less than.”

Here are some ways coaches might unintentionally be signaling clients that there’s something wrong with their bodies, plus what to say instead.

(Note: Many of these cues have been commonly used for what feels like forever. So we’re not criticizing coaches for using them. We’re pointing out why evolving your language will ultimately help your clients—and your coaching.)

Model healthy, or at least neutral, body image.

You set an example for your clients. In many cases, they look to you for information about what it means to be healthy and fit.

So saying you’re going to “shred for summer” probably isn’t the best way to signal to your client that their post-baby body (or whatever kind of body) is completely fine.

We’re not saying you need to have it all figured out yourself. 

In fact, it’s common for coaches to:

• feel shame about or have a complicated relationship with their own bodies
• feel like an imposter for not fitting into a certain body ideal
• worry they don’t look “good enough” to attract clients
• have gone through their own body transformation journey
• have experienced living in a bigger body themselves (whether currently or in the past)

Ironically, coaches who have been through their own process of coming to health and fitness after feeling ashamed about their bodies are often the best qualified to really understand what clients go through, Dr. Scott-Dixon points out. That’s a superpower in itself.

So if you’re comfortable, it may help to share your own body image journey with clients once you’ve gotten to know them.

Showing vulnerability lets clients know they’re not alone.

Plus, people are more likely to be open and honest about their challenges when they feel you can relate.

No matter where you are on the body negativity to self-love spectrum, be conscious of the language you use. This includes what you say around your clients, in your marketing materials, and in your social media posts.

That way, you can ensure you’re not passing any of your own body image struggles onto others—or reinforcing their existing ones.

#5. Be trustworthy.

Trust is a key element in the coach-client relationship.

Here’s the tricky part: “You can’t make clients trust you,” says Precision Nutrition Coach Jon Mills. “You have to be trustworthy.”

So how do you do that, exactly?

The art of coaching is about being trustworthy for ALL your clients, including those who:

• are in larger bodies
• have a disability or chronic illness
• identify as trans and/or non-binary
• are part of marginalized communities
• come from cultures different from your own

You might be thinking: “I don’t have any clients like that!” or “I don’t really cater to any of those groups.”

The truth is that you probably do—even if you don’t realize it.

Many disabilities and health issues, like ADHD and diabetes, can be completely invisible from the outside. You won’t necessarily know someone’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or race from looking at them.

And just because you don’t currently have clients who outwardly appear different from you in terms of body size, race, gender, or in any other aspect doesn’t mean you can’t coach those clients.

It’s not as hard as you think.

Maybe you’re wondering: How can you possibly become an expert in body positive coaching, coaching trans athletes, working with people with disabilities, and anti-racism?!

This may come as a relief: You don’t have to be an expert. 

First, you can turn to plenty of experts for help. Many of these activists have courses, books, and other resources, like the ones listed in the boxes throughout this article.

But what’s even more important, Mills says, is this:

Clients are experts in their own experiences. 

Usually, you can learn directly from them.

That doesn’t mean it’s their job to educate you.

But you can listen to and engage with the lived experience of the person right in front of you, Mills suggests.

“Often, it’s not even that they need you to be really involved in their personal experience as their coach. They just need to know that you’re not going to devalue it.”

We have work to do.

Many of us have hidden biases, body image concerns, and areas where our awareness is lacking.

To grow into more inclusive coaches, according to Mills, we first must lose the “fix it” mindset. We won’t solve weight stigma, racism, or any other type of discrimination by changing the equipment in a gym or taking a course. (Though those can be good action steps.)

“When we try to fix problems, we’re trying to get a sense of control,” Mills points out. “And to meet people where they’re at, you need to lose that desire to control things and be open and receptive.”

And meeting clients where they’re at? That’s what matters most.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

If you’re a coach, or you want to be…

You can help people build sustainable nutrition and lifestyle habits that will significantly improve their physical and mental health—while you make a great living doing what you love. We'll show you how.

If you’d like to learn more, consider the PN Level 1 Nutrition Coaching Certification. (You can enroll now at a big discount.)

The post Level 1: Are you body-shaming clients? How even well-intentioned coaches can be guilty of “size-bias.” appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

No, this isn’t the beginning of a terrible joke…

The answer: We interviewed people in each of these careers, and they all said getting a nutrition certification was worth it. 

But is a nutrition certification worth it, for you?

In this article, we’ll explore that question.

The truth is, a nutrition certification’s worth-it score depends on your situation.

To help you weigh all the pros and cons, we put together this comprehensive guide, complete with a free self-assessment tool to help you make the decision for yourself.

In this article, you’ll also find:

• The essential questions to consider before getting a nutrition certification.
• 5 unexpected side benefits of getting certified.
• Why a nutrition certification often translates into greater client success.
• How a nutrition certification can boost your income potential.
• Insights from seven successful certified nutrition coaches from a wide range of professions.

(Sign up for our FREE newsletter, The Smartest Coach in the Room. Every week you’ll get helpful takeaways on the hottest nutrition and health topics and the world’s most effective coaching techniques.)

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5 questions that’ll help you decide if a nutrition certification is worth it

Figuring out whether a nutrition certification is worth it can be tricky. In part, because we all define “worth it” differently.

For instance, is a nutrition certification worth it if you:

• Gain knowledge you need to achieve your career goals?
• Earn more money because of it?
• Get more clients or new opportunities afterwards?
• Learn something that changes your nutrition philosophy?
• Create connections with like-minded people in your industry?

Consider the following questions to define what “worth it” means to you.

Question #1: Does a nutrition certification fill a gap in your knowledge?

A nutrition certification is worth it if it helps you gain key knowledge or skills, according to the coaches we interviewed.

Here are a few real-life examples of how a nutrition certification can fill knowledge gaps.

The personal trainer who wanted to master nutrition

The release of a massively popular Netflix nutrition documentary, coupled with a resulting deluge of client questions, made personal trainer Tyler Buckingham, PN1, PPSC, realize the full extent of nutrition misinformation.

He wanted to better understand the discussion as well as be able to answer client questions with authority. “I was like, okay, it’s time to get certified in nutrition,” says Buckingham, who trains a group of former athletes.

Since getting certified, he’s much more adept at answering the nutrition questions clients lob his way—especially tricky ones with no clear answer.

“I like having that flexibility and being able to say, ‘Hey, you could try this, or you could try that. What do you want to do? Let’s have a conversation about it.’”

In the end, Buckingham knows his clients are getting answers to their questions, and the actionable advice they need to keep moving forward.

The doctor who wanted to give better advice

A family medicine resident and CrossFit Level 1 coach, Kristina Hines, DO, PN1, felt confident talking to patients about exercise. But the few hours of nutrition education she got in medical school just weren’t cutting it.

“I didn’t really know what to tell patients nutritionally,” she says.

Her patients often had specific questions about how to eat, whether various diets were right for them, and what foods calmed their symptoms.

Dr. Hines wanted a deeper level of nutritional understanding, so she decided to pursue a nutrition certification.

Thanks to the certification course, Dr. Hines now feels comfortable answering just about any nutrition question patients come up with.

The registered dietitian who wanted to learn about behavior change

Jennifer Broxterman, MS, RD, was already a dietitian when she got her nutrition certification. But she wanted to learn more about the psychology of behavior change and motivational interviewing.

“As a university professor, I like to see different teaching methods and different learning styles,” she says.

For her, getting a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification meant gaining perspective on how behavior change actually works, so she could better implement it with her clients.

Will a nutrition certification fill a gap in your knowledge?

Question #2: Will a nutrition certification bring you additional and valuable benefits?

People often cite benefits of becoming certified that go beyond their initial reason for doing so, such as:

• enhanced credibility
• more confidence
• improved communication skills
• opportunities to learn from peers and experts in the field
• a healthier relationship with food

Below, we’ll cover each of these benefits in detail, so you can decide if they’re worth it for you.

Benefit #1: Enhanced credibility

After Vivian Gill, MA, RN-BC, CPT,  earned her nutrition certification, she noticed something that surprised her: “My credibility increased,” says the registered nurse, personal trainer, and lifestyle coach. “Clients know I’m evidence-based and not biased, and they’ve felt the difference.”

Gill saw that lots of other trainers in her community pushed dieting, counting macros, and detoxing. Her nutrition certification helped her realize that a different approach would resonate more with her clients.

“I’ve decided to be the voice of reason and grace,” she adds.

Benefit #2: More confidence

What does Buckingham see as the biggest hidden benefit of getting certified? “Definitely the confidence I have now,” he says.

Not long ago, a client came to him wanting to lose weight. During their intake, Buckingham learned the client had already lost several pounds. Clearly, the person was doing a lot right.

In the past, Buckingham would have felt pressured to deliver a completely different program—for the sake of it. Thanks to what he learned from his certification, however, he confidently encouraged his client to keep going with some of the same strategies.

Buckingham also feels more at ease talking about nutrition’s gray areas.

Instead of claiming to know it all, he feels comfortable saying: “Hey, I don’t know the answer to this question, but I’ll find out,”  or “Why don’t we see if it works? Then after a week, we can see what happened, and take it from there.”

Benefit #3: Improved coaching and communication skills

Some nutrition certification courses, like Precision Nutrition Level 1, include information on the art of coaching as well as nutrition science. In other words, part of the course trains you to talk to your clients more effectively. (Want to see what we mean? Check out our FREE Nutrition Coaching e-course.)

Josh Chang, PN1, a dietitian and owner of Mycro Nutrition, says getting a certification was worth it for him because it taught him how to talk to clients about their barriers.

“Dietitians are trained to use a little bit of motivational interviewing and empathize with clients, but Precision Nutrition teaches you to take that one or two steps further—to get to know the client and how to dig into why they might be saying what they say or doing what they’re doing.”

“A nutrition certification may be worth it if you need a little help strengthening those communication or rapport building skills,” he adds.

Benefit #4: Opportunities to learn from peers and experts in the field

Some nutrition certifications offer Facebook groups, online forums, and even in-person events. These resources provide coaches with a chance to connect with like-minded health professionals, get input from others on challenges and, in some cases, access top experts in the nutrition field.

Having a large community of coaches at his fingertips was one of the biggest unexpected benefits for Chang.

“Once you enroll in PN Level 1 or 2, you get invited to a Facebook group. I particularly enjoy seeing how different coaches respond when people post questions. Some coaching suggestions are just so out of left field, in a good way. I’m like, ‘I would’ve never thought of that, but it’s brilliant.’”

Benefit #5: A healthier relationship with food

Jenna Ashby PA-C, PN1, an oncology physician assistant, decided to become a nutrition coach after overcoming disordered eating.

Though Ashby primarily uses her nutrition certification in her side job at Breathe CrossFit in Derry, New Hampshire, she also came away from the experience with some personal takeaways.

“It helped solidify what I’ve been building upon the last few years, and it helped me find more peace with myself,” says Ashby. “I now know, without a doubt: I can love my body, be okay with my body, and appropriately nourish it.”

“That’s huge because I once thought that, if I wanted to eat, I had to exercise, or vice versa. Now, that mentality is reversed: In order to be strong and feel strong I need to nourish myself. The PN certification really solidified that for me,” she says.

Will a nutrition certification bring you additional and valuable benefits?

Question #3: Does a nutrition certification line up with your career goals?

A nutrition certification enables you to make nutrition recommendations to otherwise healthy clients. 

With a nutrition certification, you’ll be qualified to:

• Give the right nutrition advice at the right time
• Develop an action plan your clients will actually follow
• Help people transform their bodies and their health

These qualifications can be useful in a variety of careers.

What are your career opportunities with a nutrition certification?

People often wonder if they need to go to (or go back to) a university to get started with a career in nutrition. For certain jobs (such as registered dietitian), you need a specialized degree and training.

But there’s also a lot you can do with a nutrition certification alone. Coaches in our community have job titles like:

• Nutrition coach
• Sports nutrition coach
• Weight loss coach
• Weight management consultant
• Corporate wellness educator
• Nutrition program manager at a gym or other health facility
• High-performance consultant
• Stay-at-home parent and part-time nutrition coach

If you already have additional certifications or degrees (or plan to get them), there may be other career options. Some PN-certified coaches are also:

• Registered dietitians
• Sports nutritionists
• Personal trainers and strength coaches who do nutrition coaching
• Physical therapists who do nutrition coaching
• Doctors, nurses, and physician assistants who do nutrition coaching
• Psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers who do nutrition coaching

What are you not qualified to do?

It’s important to note that Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)—which involves giving nutrition advice to treat or cure disease—is out of scope unless you’re specifically MNT-accredited. You won’t be qualified to do this with a nutrition certification alone, and you should never try.

Depending on where you live, rules and regulations vary on what people with nutrition certifications are allowed to do.

For instance, in some states in the US, the only people who can provide meal plans are registered dietitians. But in these states, nutrition coaches can still help people with their eating as long as they’re not telling people exactly what they should and shouldn’t eat.

If you take a Precision Nutrition certification, you’ll learn that meal plans, deeming foods “off-limits,” and telling people exactly what to eat aren’t our style anyway. In our nutrition certification, you’ll learn how to get results without using these tactics.

Does a nutrition certification line up with your career goals?

Question #4: Will a nutrition certification help the clients you work with (or want to work with)?

Our grads say a nutrition certification can help you provide a better service to your clients (or potential clients). This service can not only focus on what they eat, but also how they think, feel, and go about their daily routine. (We call this “deep health” coaching.)

This allows you to figure out what’s really holding clients back from making the lasting changes they really want.

That’s important since many people get a nutrition certification, at least partly, because they want to help people—even if it’s their friends or family members. So it’s worthwhile to consider how getting certified will help the people you work with (or eventually want to work with).

For instance, Buckingham now includes nutrition coaching his personal training clients as an added value service. “If you’re meeting me in person, I’ll often say, ‘Hey, let’s talk nutrition. Let’s make sure that you get those questions answered,’” he explains.

Getting a nutrition certification may also improve client experiences. “I think it’s made me a better practitioner,” Dr. Hines says.

Developing her motivational interviewing skills, she says, helped her approach conversations about nutrition in a way that makes patients feel more at ease.

“Now, I’m able to meet my patients where they are instead of having them feel like I’m just lecturing them. I really try to empower patients to know that they have a say in this. It’s not just me telling them what they have to do.”

Lastly, a nutrition certification may help clients get better results.

For example, Kelly Lynch, LCSW, EMT, CPT, PN1, a therapist who specializes in treating first responders, began suggesting clients talk to their physicians about blood work and other diagnostic tests, especially when she suspected their mental health symptoms might be related to (or exacerbated by) nutritional deficiencies, GI dysfunction, or hormonal issues.

When one of her clients described worsening depression along with digestive issues, Lynch thought of a condition she’d learned about during her certification that could contribute to these symptoms: SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). She encouraged the client to ask their doctor about it.

Sure enough, testing revealed Lynch’s hunch was correct, and the client’s depression improved once the SIBO was treated.

Will a nutrition certification help your clients?

Question #5: Will a nutrition certification boost your income potential, or provide other financial benefits?

Based on our survey of 1000 nutrition coaches and additional independent research, coaches with a nutrition certification earn slightly more per hour than coaches without one.

If you have two to three certifications, you’ll earn an average $12 more per hour than coaches with just one.

And coaches with a Precision Nutrition certification earn 11 percent more than people with other certifications.

So it’s safe to say that, on average, certified coaches earn more.

For Chang, getting a nutrition certification was the impetus to start his own coaching business, getting him out of a hospital nutrition setting and into the driver’s seat of his own career and earning potential.

Lynch experienced greater interest in her therapy services after sharing that she’d gotten certified in nutrition. It also helped her launch a coaching side business, providing an additional revenue stream.

For some, a nutrition certification might be an avenue to saving money. In addition to enabling her to start a side job as a nutrition coach, Ashby says getting certified meant she no longer felt like she needed to pay for nutrition coaching from someone else. Now, she feels totally confident adjusting her own eating habits.

Will a nutrition certification boost your income potential, or provide other financial benefits?

So is a nutrition certification worth it?

YOUR TOTAL SCORE: –

Now find your score range to see if a nutrition certification is worth it.

20 and above: Yes, a nutrition certification is worth it for you!

Based on your answers, it sounds like a nutrition certification will pay off. By getting certified, you’ll level up your:

• nutrition science and coaching knowledge
• career opportunities and coaching services
• ability to help clients
• income potential
• and so much more.

6 to 19: A nutrition certification might be worth it for you.

Based on your answers, it sounds like a nutrition certification will pay off in some ways, but might not in others.

The big question for you to consider: Do the likely benefits outweigh the costs?

To answer that, take another look at your quiz answers, specifically at the ones where you scored a 4 or 5.

Compare the benefits with the cost associated with getting certified.

For example, let’s say you ranked high for a certification filling a knowledge gap as well as for it likely bringing in more income. For costs, maybe you already have the money set aside as well as the time to take and pass a course. In that case, you’ll likely decide that a certification is worth it.

On the other hand, let’s say you picked 5 for a certification lining up with your career goals. For all of the other questions, you choose a 3 or lower. On top of that, you’d have to borrow money to pay for a certification. And you’re already working two jobs. Oh, and you’ve got a baby on the way. Well, a certification might not be worth it to you—not right now anyway.

5 and under: It doesn’t seem like a nutrition certification is worth it for you.

Based on your answers, it’s not clear that you’ll find a nutrition certification to be worth it. That said, there are always exceptions.

You might be interested in getting a certification just for your own personal benefit—not for your career. You may not want to work with clients, earn money through nutrition coaching, or change jobs, and that’s totally legit.

No matter what you decide, it’s important to have a clear picture of your reasoning. Hopefully, that’s what you’ve gained through this self-assessment.

Where to go from here

If you decide to get a nutrition certification, you have quite a few programs to choose from.

For guidance, check out this in-depth article: How to choose the right nutrition certification program for YOU.

Learning how to coach clients, patients, friends, or family members through healthy eating and lifestyle changes—in a way that’s personalized for their unique body, preferences, and circumstances—is both an art and a science.

If you’d like to learn more about both, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. The next group kicks off shortly.

The post Is a nutrition certification worth it? appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

“Just don’t go back to what you were doing before!”

Simple, right?

Yet it often doesn’t feel that way.

In fact, maintaining your progress might be even harder than dropping those pounds in the first place.¹

This is true even if you don’t crash diet.

That’s because…

What makes you good at losing weight doesn’t necessarily make you good at keeping it off.

Post-weight loss, people often find themselves wondering:

• ‘Can I really keep saying “no” to ice cream forever?’
• ‘What’s my goal now that… I don’t have a goal?’
• ‘If I’m not trying to lose weight, but I can’t go back to my old habits, what am I supposed to do?’

Here’s the good news:

If you’ve lost weight, you do have the skills you need to maintain your weight.

But those skills likely need to evolve. This guide will show you how.

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Reaching your weight loss goal means you’ve mastered a set of skills.

That’s right, “skills.” Essentially, you’ve built a better health resume of consistent practices and experience.

For example, you’ve likely learned how to:

• Maintain your boundaries and avoid foods and situations that don’t align with your goals
• Create new nutrition, exercise, and/or lifestyle habits
• Stay with the discomfort of doing things differently
• Consistently stick to your plan (whether it’s restrictive, super flexible, or somewhere in between)

Congratulations!

This deserves some recognition.

In a world filled with hyperpalatable foods, out-of-control stress levels, and unlimited access to screens, changing your body and improving your fitness and health isn’t easy.

But once you’ve reached your goal, the game changes.

You may feel like you don’t know HOW to maintain your new progress.

Maybe you don’t know how to live your life without “being on a diet.” (Or you may have to face whatever “being on a diet” helped you avoid in your life.)

You may feel afraid that you’ll have to:

• follow a rigid meal plan
• track every morsel of food
• weigh yourself every day; and
• constantly worry about your weight

… FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER.

Ugh. Why bother?!

The good news is: Weight maintenance is a different game than weight loss. And you can learn to play that new game, just like you can learn anything else.

Weight maintenance means adjusting your mindset—and your hard-earned skills—accordingly. 

Ever rewrite your resume for a new job? Your skills don’t actually change, but how you express those skills does.

And, of course, once you start, there’s a learning curve—no matter how experienced you are.

It’s the same when you enter a new phase of weight control. But by adjusting your skills, and then practicing them, you’ll be up to speed in no time.

3 ways to evolve your skills for weight maintenance

Skill #1: Shift from a place of “no” to “sometimes yes.”

Saying no to every unplanned treat? Sure, you can do it for a short period of time. In the long-term, though, saying “no” too often feeds into something we refer to as the challenge cycle (a.k.a. yo-yo dieting), as you can see in the illustration below.

This frustrating experience is pretty familiar to most of us.—even for those who’ve lost weight sustainably. (You have to change or restrict your diet in some way to lose weight.)

So how do you break the cycle without regaining the weight? Practice saying “yes” sometimes, but not always.

You’ll probably recognize this as practicing moderation, which can be confusing and hard (and maybe scary).

But we’re about to show you how to ease your way into it. So that it feels totally doable (and not so scary).

Try it: What happens when you say “yes”?

This is a pretty straightforward process of trial and error. Fair warning: It might be uncomfortable at times.

Step one: Say “yes” when you’d normally say “no” because of your weight loss habits.

For example, maybe you say “yes” to:

• Eating birthday cake
• Skipping the gym to do something that sounds more fun
• Having two glasses of wine with dinner
• Staying out late with your friends

Do any of this too often, and you’ll likely end up regaining the weight you lost.

But these are also the types of experiences that bring color to your life. Avoid them completely, and you may feel like you’re missing out. (And end up sliding into the challenge cycle).

So experiment with saying yes. Each time, write down what happens, including:

• How did you feel?
• Would you do it again? Why or why not?
• What did you learn?

Follow this practice for a couple of weeks. Eventually, you won’t need to write down your reflections anymore.

Each time you say “yes” to something, you’ll get a better feel for what’s worth it—and what’s not.

Over time, it’ll become a new skill that helps you better balance “yeses” and “nos.”

Skill #2: Reframe your habits.

By the time many people reach their weight loss goal, they find themselves getting restless.

They know how to stick to their food and exercise habits, but it’s just not exciting, challenging, or interesting anymore.

The result: They start to let their healthy habits slide.

Here’s where a little reframing can make a world of difference.

Try it: Use the dial method and deep health framework.

Here at PN, we use these two strategies to help people reevaluate their habits and decide how they might move forward.

You could use one or the other, or both, to figure out what your “next level” or next challenge might look like.

The dial method

All of those habits that helped you reach your weight loss goal? They can be “dialed” up or down, depending on what’s going on in your life.

For instance, maybe your weight loss workout routine looked like number six on the exercise dial below: three one-hour gym workouts per week, plus a daily walk.

But perhaps in order to accommodate this, you had to dial down in other areas of your life, like socializing, de-stressing routines, or maybe even sleep.

One way to make healthy living feel more exciting now that weight loss isn’t your number one priority:

Play with the dials. 

Maybe you can dial down your nutrition habits slightly, while dialing up your sleep habits.

That might look like meal prepping for just three days a week instead of seven. Now, you have more time to experiment with a restorative yoga routine before bed and waking up with the sun.

That’s just one example of the virtually unlimited options. For more ideas on how to put this into practice, check out our infographic that shows you how to adjust your “life dials.”

The deep health framework

Health is about the physical elements of your life, but it’s also about how you think, feel, live, and connect to others.

That’s one of the reasons we coach with the goal of deep health.

There are six areas or domains of deep health: physical, emotional, environmental, mental, existential, and relational.

Your weight and body composition fall under the “physical” domain.

But there are five other domains where you can make progress. If you’re looking for a new challenge, this could be it. Simply identify one domain you want to work on and create some new practices there.

If you’re not sure where to start, fill out this deep health questionnaire and do a little self-reflection.

Where does it seem like there’s room for improvement? Where would you most like to grow or do better?

Here’s the coolest part about deep health: Progress in one domain can help improve the others. Sometimes, in ways that make maintaining your weight easier.

For instance, maybe you work on your mental health by finally going to therapy. That might result in reducing urges to binge eat.

Another example: Working out the lingering issues with your mom might mean fewer sleepless nights, giving you more energy to exercise.

It’s all interconnected, and that’s a beautiful thing. Why not take advantage of it and refresh your habits in the process?

The bottom line: Expand your view of health beyond what’s going on with your weight. 

There’s nothing wrong with caring about your weight and body composition. But by the time you make it to maintenance mode, you’re ready for the next level.

Skill #3: Use your deep reason for motivation.

Pursuing the status quo can feel… anticlimactic. 

On New Year’s Day, most people don’t say, “Hey, I think I’ll shoot for no improvement in my life this year!”

That’s how maintenance can feel, especially if you’ve made tremendous progress with weight loss.

The result: People who’ve gotten used to having a clear goal in sight might feel lost, confused, or even a little discouraged.

Whether we’re talking about food choices or workout habits, reminding yourself that your goal is to stay exactly the same isn’t very motivating.

Try it: Connect to your deep reason.

There’s one motivational strategy in particular that can help you keep going when you don’t have a big, shiny, exciting goal.

Identify your deep reason for wanting to maintain your weight—or even just live a healthy lifestyle—and remind yourself of it frequently.

We use The 5 Whys exercise to help clients identify their meaning and purpose.

The 5 Whys starts with a simple question: “Why do I want to accomplish this?”

In this case, you might start more specifically with: “Why do I want to maintain my weight?”

Then, whatever answer you come up with, ask why again. And so on, five times, until you get to the heart of what’s really behind your goal.

You can use this worksheet to get started.

What might your “why” look like? Examples:

• To be fit and mobile enough play with your kids and grandkids (because that time is precious for all of you)
• To be able to go on adventures with your partner (because these experiences strengthen your bond)
• To enjoy a high quality of life for as long as you can (because you saw how poor health affected a family member)

Here’s what’s really cool:

Your meaning and purpose can replace weight loss and become your new big shiny goal. 

Now you have a clear reason to do the hard stuff when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle.

Connecting to this deeper meaning and purpose also helps you avoid getting caught up in day-to-day struggles, like the ups and downs in your scale weight.

You’ll always have a gut check available to help you to decide whether you’re on the right track.

You can ask:

‘Is what I’m doing right now aligning with my purpose?’

And if not… ‘Am I okay with that?’

If you’re not okay with it, you’ve got a pretty compelling reason to circle back on your habits (using the process outlined in skill #2) and adjust as needed.

Together, these 3 skills help you build self-trust.

Developing trust in yourself is a life-long pursuit. It takes some time to develop, and no single experiment or practice can necessarily “get you there.”

Self-trust is the ultimate weight maintenance skill. 

In some ways, it’s the ultimate life skill.

But for life-long weight maintenance (and life-long health management), you’ve got to make the transition from having a regimented plan to facing an uncertain future without one.

That requires something big: being more flexible in your thinking and trusting yourself to course correct as needed. 

You can probably see how practicing the three skills outlined in this article set you up to develop self-trust:

• Skill #1 helps you get to know what works for you and what doesn’t. It enables you to develop healthy but flexible boundaries.
• Skill #2 allows you to learn why, how, and when to tweak or evolve your health habits to fit your current needs and goals.
• Skill #3 keeps you constantly grounded in the reason behind it all—your “why” for even caring about this stuff in the first place.

Combined, these three skills enable you to tackle whatever comes your way.

And as a bonus, you’ll develop an ability to sense your ever-changing needs. Better yet, you’ll be able to do something about them.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

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The post Level 1: Weight loss vs weight maintenance: Why the strategies that got you results might not help you keep them. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.