Nutrition advice in training--how far do you go?

[flexedlats]

Hello,

I was wondering, as a personal trainer, how much nutritional advice do you give your clients? Do you ask about their food intake? Do you ask them to give you a food recall to see where they could improve? Do you give them nutritional advice? Do you write meal plans for them?

I am curious as to how far you can advise a client on his or her diet. I am two semesters away from finishing my BA in dietetics and nutrition, and I would love to share this knowledge with my future clients. But how do you broach this subject with clients, and see which are more interested and okay with probing? I feel that diet can be a touchy subject, especially if a client is overweight, and I would want to approach it in a kind, professional manner. I mean, they are not primarily seeing me for nutrition advice.

Any input or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

[jwelle4]

Also finishing a B.S. in dietetics and legally, there are barriers until you're registered (unless you're in one of the two states that doesn't have those regulations). It's a tough road for a PT- but clients have to understand the importance of intake too. Stay away from specifics (individualized numbers) for legalities but generic info can't hurt if the client is receptive.

You know by talking to them who is willing/able to integrate that advice and who isn't. Try asking them if they're consulting with a nutritionist/dietitian or following any specific intake plan, or if they're under medical advisement. You can ask for a rundown- quick recall- to "ensure they're meeting their needs with their level of activity" or some line along those. As long as they feel it's coming from a place of concern and they're not going to be shamed or guilted they'll be more likely to be forthcoming.

[flexedlats]

Also finishing a B.S. in dietetics and legally, there are barriers until you're registered (unless you're in one of the two states that doesn't have those regulations). It's a tough road for a PT- but clients have to understand the importance of intake too. Stay away from specifics (individualized numbers) for legalities but generic info can't hurt if the client is receptive.

You know by talking to them who is willing/able to integrate that advice and who isn't. Try asking them if they're consulting with a nutritionist/dietitian or following any specific intake plan, or if they're under medical advisement. You can ask for a rundown- quick recall- to "ensure they're meeting their needs with their level of activity" or some line along those. As long as they feel it's coming from a place of concern and they're not going to be shamed or guilted they'll be more likely to be forthcoming.

I've heard of those regulations, but I know that many trainers give dietary advice (and sometimes bad advice from my experience) and rarely get busted or even reprimanded. Of course as a future nutrition professional I would want to respect that. So how much advice can we legally give? Can we help a client assess how many calories they need with equations, or would it have to be professionally done with a BMR test? If a client has a BMR test done and they ask for help as to how to reach/stay within those caloric limits, how can we advise them without crossing the line?

[JoeCannonMSCSCS]

You are correct. Nutrition advice /personal training can be touchy. You are going to love my blog post on this topic http://helpforpersonaltrainers.com/p...rition-advice/

Also take a look at these posts I also wrote

http://www.joe-cannon.com/personal-t...ements-ephedr/

http://www.joe-cannon.com/what-weigh...plements-work/

I hope this helps - and congrats on getting your nutrition degree!

Joe

[flexedlats]

Thanks JoeCannonMSCSCS, this really helped. I wasn't quite sure where to draw the line, but now I have a much better idea.

Are we allowed to refer clients to resources, such as eatright.org, mypyramid.gov, caloriecount.come, etc? Or would this be crossing the line?

[jwelle4]

Referring to resources is absolutely fine- giving calculations/specific numbers is not.

And I know what you mean about other trainers giving dietary advice I've heard some terrrrrible nutrition advice and strategies from trainers: guess that's why there are regulations. :-) I had a friend who was competing who, under advisement of his trainer, began taking potassium supplements to REPLACE sodium intake because as his trainer explained, "they are both salts". He became incredibly ill. Go figure!

Congrats on your upcoming degree and dedication to improving your clients' successes.

[WoofieNugget]

Basically I tell clients that I can go as much into detail or not as they want. My main goal is always not to change necessarily what they are eating and how much, but also how they perceive food and to prompt them to make simple changes for their overall health, not just losing weight. Most of it is stuff they already know - eat more vegetables, don't eat processed foods, don't drink booze all the time, etc they just need someone to hold them accountable for it. That's probably 90% of the battle. Then if they want fine tuning and I believe they are actually going to do it then I'll make an extra effort.

I find nutrition advice with clients largely a waste of time because most of the time they don't listen/apply anyway especially with weight loss clients who are already overweight. If you spend time saying "you need to eat x calories with x grams of protein" most of them are just going to nod and then totally forget it.

Bodybuilding coaches are the worst because they typically go the supplement route immediately and this can cause way more problems than anything else. Get a person loaded up with pre-workout stimulants, post-workout shakes and protein bars and watch their body go crazy. I know several fitness "coaches" who are so messed up hormonally they simply can't eat regular food any more.

[SFT]

My nutrition approach is pretty simple. I make everyone log their food for at least 3-4 days. I try to get them registered on a calorie tracking software if they are tech savvy. After they come back with their log, I usually provide them with 1-2 changes, as well as strategy to sticking to it. For example, if you tell people to stop drinking soda, you need to give them a better alternative. If they can keep up with the new habit for at least 4-6 weeks, then I will move on to the next one.

I will also provide them with basic information on caloric intake. For example, I will calculate BMR for them. I will also educate them about accurate reporting of Calories. Almost everyone will under report Calories, so I try to squash that from the start. If their macronutrients are completely out of whack, I will give them suggestions, but no specifics. For example, if they are eating 80% carbohydrates because they are afraid of fats, then I will let them know that some fats are okay. Likewise, if people are eat no carbs at all, I will let them know that some carbohydrates can be good for them, particularly after meals.

The way I look at it, the dietitian comes in for tough cases or special populations. A diabetic will probably be best off visiting a dietitian.

[JoeCannonMSCSCS]

yes I see no reason why we cant refer clients to well accepted resources on nutrition.

[Ronin4help]

Hello,

I was wondering, as a personal trainer, how much nutritional advice do you give your clients? Do you ask about their food intake? Do you ask them to give you a food recall to see where they could improve? Do you give them nutritional advice? Do you write meal plans for them?

I am curious as to how far you can advise a client on his or her diet. I am two semesters away from finishing my BA in dietetics and nutrition, and I would love to share this knowledge with my future clients. But how do you broach this subject with clients, and see which are more interested and okay with probing? I feel that diet can be a touchy subject, especially if a client is overweight, and I would want to approach it in a kind, professional manner. I mean, they are not primarily seeing me for nutrition advice.

Any input or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

It may depend on where you live. Each state has its own laws governing nutritional consultation but you can find out online what limitations, if any, your state has.