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Erica Schultz
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This article reviews the best nutrition coaching certifications in the fitness industry. Nutrition coaching is a lucrative, rewarding career that can set you up for success in the fitness industry. We break down the top nutrition certifications to help you decide which one makes the most sense for your specific career goals.
As part of our research, we consulted with Tyler Read, a fitness industry expert and the founder of PTPioneer, a website and brand that has helped thousands of nutrition coaches and personal trainers excel in their careers by choosing the right certifications for their specific goals.
Whether you are a personal trainer looking to be able to help your clients reach their fitness goals, or just someone looking to improve their own health and body composition, becoming a certified nutritionist is a good idea.
However, choosing the right Nutrition Certification program can be an arduous task. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of the best options available to you right now with details regarding why you might choose one over the other.
After finishing this review article, you should have a firm grasp on which one of these picks is right for you and go down the correct path toward success as a leader in the field of nutrition coaching.
Becoming a nutrition coach by earning one of the best nutrition certifications offers many benefits for a variety of different types of fitness professionals. As a personal trainer, adding nutrition coaching to your offered services means increasing your ability to deliver results, appeal to more clientele, and ultimately, command a higher salary.
Additionally, if you prefer not to work on the gym floor itself but enjoy the process of working 1-on-1 with clients, then nutrition coaching can be a great option. It also adds an entirely different dimension to the experience of being a fitness professional. In many cases, individuals have deeper struggles with food than they do with exercising.
As such, if you enjoy the behavioral coaching aspect of the fitness industry and helping clients, then nutrition coaching can be a great career option, and earning your nutrition coach certification is the right place to start.
If you’ve decided nutrition coaching on the whole is the right path for you, you’ll still need to decide the type of nutrition you want to go after. Depending on what your specific nutrition niche goals are, each certification has different strengths and weaknesses.
General Nutrition Certifications
Some certifications are a great overall approach across the board to bringing you on board with everything you need to adequately perform the job of a nutrition coach. In this instance, we highly recommend the ISSA Nutritionist Certification.
Science-Heavy Nutrition Certifications
That being said, other certifications have a much deeper emphasis on the actual nutrition science components of the nutrition coaching profession. If you are someone who enjoys science or prefers to really know the biological basis of everything in nutrition, then consider the NASM Certified Nutrition Coach.
Performance Nutrition Certifications
For some careers, focusing on performance nutrition in the context of athletic endeavors may be more important. Most general population-focused nutrition certifications do not have as much emphasis on nutrition strategies to optimize performance. If your career involves making nutrition plans for athletes, then consider the NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist certification.
Behavioral Change-Focused Certifications
Behavioral change is another vital component of nutrition coaching and may be relevant if you expect to train clients who desperately need to improve their health but are highly resistant to behavioral change. In this case, a nutrition specialization with a solid framework for coaching clients through each stage of behavior change is necessary. For this, consider the ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
Nutrition Certifications for Online Coaching
Finally, in the era of technology, not only are certifications taken online, but in many cases, clients want to be coached digitally as well. This can include meal plans and calendars delivered electronically, video meetings instead of in-person meetings, and other methodologies that allow clients to receive nutrition coaching without ever stepping foot into a nutritionist’s office. For this career path focus, we highly recommend the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification.
The following section does a deeper dive into each certification that is made out top 5 nutrition coach certifications list.
1. ISSA Nutritionist Certification
The ISSA Nutritionist Certification is our top choice for best overall nutrition certification, and as such, comes in first on our list. The International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) is well known for its personal training certification, but they also offer an excellent nutrition credential as well. Respected across many countries, the ISSA truly stands out as an international organization, with links to many different gyms and fitness studios.
ISSA was one of the first institutions to take their certifications online, so they made the whole process very streamlined. Everything in the ISSA Nutritionist
Certification is available through the online portal, including the final test.
This is a great nutritionist certification for those who are first dipping their toes into the field of nutrition coaching as you learn all the basics you need to know to be a nutrition coach. Plus, the structure and layout of the textbook make understanding the content a breeze.
It’s also a great option for experienced fitness professionals who may have informal training on nutrition coaching but care enough to add a more in-depth approach to their nutrition coach skillset. We cannot say enough great things about the ISSA Nutritionist certification, and it certainly won’t steer you wrong as you make your foray into the world of nutrition coaching.
Curriculum contents of the ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist Coach curriculum begins with the origins of how humans select the food they eat.
You also learn the anatomy of how the digestive system works, along with the fundamentals of energy balance and systems.
This is followed by sections on the macronutrients, how they work, and good dietary sources for each one.
Knowing the mechanisms of protein, carbs, and fat is essential to understanding why and what amounts to implement in a balanced diet.
ISSA then covers chapters on micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Hydration components are covered along with how dehydration affects athletics. Knowing the effects of dehydration and how to prevent it is key for safety and risk mitigation during exercise.
After the science of nutrition is covered, you get a section on the practical skills of coaching, including how to coach clients, create goals, assess their current status, and use the stages of change model to inform your coaching methodology. This will help your clients get the results they want from working with you.
You also learn how to build an actual business as a nutrition coach, which is a topic left out of a lot of certifications. Having this expertise in the business side of things allows you to actually create a real income from your nutrition skills. You can understand everything there is to know about diets and nutrition programs, but if you have no paying clients, it’s hard to use that information.
ISSA also includes a good section with an emphasis on the role of the nutrition coach in the overall fitness industry. As a nutritionist, you must know your place in the healthcare continuum, alongside other experts such as physicians and dietitians. Thus, ISSA ensures you fully understand the proper nutrition coach’s scope of practice.
You are not a doctor or a healthcare professional, so you cannot diagnose patients’ diseases based on symptoms like high blood pressure or prescribe specific nutrition plans or foods. You can show your clients the data that exists and use the general guidelines to inform them of healthy alternatives.
Cost and package options for ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist comes in at $639 by itself with the current discount, which you can pay upfront or in interest-free payments over a 12-month period.
ISSA’s online website is very straightforward to use but fairly basic when it comes to the user interface. You don’t get the same levels of “flash” as NASM or ACE. However, you still get plenty of assistance and the ability to take courses at your own pace. Each practice quiz provides great feedback as well, ensuring you have a seamless exam prep experience.
In my experience, ISSA’s site support staff does a really good job at answering any questions you have about the course content, so feel free to reach out to their team if you have any questions during the studying process for the exam.
What we like about the ISSA Nutritionist
This program includes sales skills, which are a necessity for any trainer looking to make a career as a nutrition coach. Having the right overall business practices is certainly a game changer.
I also think the textbook strikes a good balance between detailed content and a conversational style that helps make complicated nutritional topics easy to understand. ISSA also allows you to retake the final open-book exam for free versus other options which add a retest fee if you fail the first time.
What we don’t like about the ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist is a really good value if you bundle it with ISSA’s training certification, but as a stand-alone program, it can feel a bit pricey.
Comparatively, NCSF and ACE both cost less.
We also personally like the user interface of the online study systems from NASM and ACE better than ISSA.
ISSA Nutritionist’s overall rating
Overall, ISSA gets a 9.3 out of 10. It is perhaps the most practical choice of all the certifications on this list, given the business skills and content coverage. Fitness professionals should know how to coach but also sell their services, so they have someone to coach.
2. NASM Certified Nutrition Coach
The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) offers its NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC) program, which is probably the most well-known certification course on this list. They are most known for the CPT, but they offer a huge range of certifications and specializations. They also partner with AFAA for their Group Exercise Certification.
You don’t need a bachelor’s degree or any other nutrition degree to become a NASM CNC, although the NASM CPT is recommended, and you need to be 18 years of age. The NASM CNC also gives continuing education units and is great for most careers in the fitness industry. This is true for most personal trainers as well as group fitness instructors, who experience a ton of overlap when it comes to nutrition coaching.
Note that like any other nutrition certificate program, the NASM CNC doesn’t have official accreditation itself. This is because professions like health coaches and nutrition coaches are not considered licensed, unlike professionals in dietetics who are licensed through the rigorous process of becoming a registered dietician.
However, as a provider of other NCCA-accredited certification courses, NASM maintains an incredibly high standard of professionalism and commitment to science-backed nutrition coaching.
As we’ve mentioned, the NASM CNC is incredibly valuable if you are a science-minded person who enjoys or would benefit from a deep look into the scientific components that go into nutrition coaching.
Curriculum contents of the NASM CNC
The NASM Certified Nutrition Coach curriculum is perhaps the most in-depth of all the fitness certification providers on this list. You get 800-plus pages of content delving into nutrition information. Certainly, of all the textbooks, this is the largest and reflects NASM’s commitment to a scientific approach to all the curricula they publish.
You learn the science fundamentals, but also a focus on practical mindful eating tips.
One of my favorite sections is where NASM discusses popular nutrition myths and the research behind why that’s the case. Most coaches run into clients who believe these fallacies, so knowing why they’re false and the evidence behind why will take you far. Plus, when you are armed with the actual research needed to debunk these claims, you have a much better shot at steering your clients in the right direction.
NASM also includes a chapter on the dangers of alcohol and how to include or exclude it in a diet plan. Nutritionists need the skillsets to coach clients through problematic drinking habits. It’s not uncommon to have clients who binge drink on the weekends, for example. This habit, along with daily drinking habits, can make success on a weight loss program difficult given the caloric value and metabolic effects of alcohol products.
You may have clients who eat well overall, but then consume surplus calories through their alcohol consumption. Although you cannot prescribe any clinical treatments for alcoholism and must be prepared to refer to the appropriate professionals, you do have the ability to steer clients toward healthier habits and discuss what generally healthy drinking patterns might look like for adults.
As with any nutrition certification, you learn about nutrients and energy balance principles as well. The final section of the book puts everything you’ve learned together into case studies where you see how to actually coach clients in regard to nutrition. This benefits you as you can take what you’ve learned and apply it in a variety of scenarios.
The case studies are also great for any new nutritionist who might have anxiety about the process of working with clients.
Cost and package options for NASM CNC
Right now, the NASM-CNC is $539 with current discounts, but the price does move around.
Normally NASM has a number of package options with their certifications, but in this case, you just have one option.
This pricing includes the following course materials:
The NASM study portal is excellent. In fact, NASM actually has the largest online educational video library of any of the certification organizations. This is as true of their CPT as it is with their nutrition coach program. Overall, NASM’s CNC gives more than enough resources to ensure you pass the certification exam and can successfully work as a professional nutrition coach.
What we like about the NASM CNC
The NASM CNC is perhaps the most detailed of all the nutrition certifications. Also, NASM’s online study materials are among the best in the industry.
If you want an excellent deep dive into the topic of nutrition with a world-class learning system to match, this is the program for you.
What we don’t like about the NASM CNC
Similar to the ISSA, the NASM CNC is also a bit pricey for a nutrition certification, but this is the price you pay for the NASM name and high-quality study materials.
The lack of business skills in this certification does sting a little bit as well since it can be tough to build your own nutrition coaching practice without any prior experience or business training development.
NASM CNC’s overall rating
NASM also gets a score of 9.5 out of 10 here. Their curriculum is second to none and this is a well-respected organization with a great study system. This is one of our top recommendations, despite the slight shortcomings.
3. NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist
The NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist is a performance nutrition-focused certification with an incredibly in-depth curriculum. The National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF) is a comparatively newer organization than many of the others on our list. The NCSF has been around for over 25 years in the fitness industry, but that’s still less time in the game than NASM, ISSA, or ACE.
They are known for their affordable but high-quality certifications. Each of their certifications can be purchased at an extremely competitive individual price or bundled with other certifications for a discount on each. In many cases, the bundled cost for NCSF certifications comes in lower than the cost of individual certifications from other providers, without a corresponding drop in quality.
Their Sports Nutrition Specialist (SNS) is a little different from the other credentials on this list because it’s a sports nutrition credential.
As such, this type of certification places more emphasis on nutrition approaches in order to improve sports performance as opposed to the general weight loss and health focus of traditional nutrition coaching certifications.
This means the SNS pairs well with other strength and conditioning certifications out there such as the NCSF Certified Strength Coach or NSCA CSCS, which are great certifications if you plan to be in the sports performance coaching business.
Curriculum contents of the NCSF SNS
The NCSF SNS is designed as a sports nutrition coaching certification program rather than a general population nutrition coaching credential, so the coursework focuses slightly more on the connection between nutrition and performance in athletics. With that said, the curriculum certainly gives you the flexibility to apply this sports nutrition education towards your personal training clients, provided you refer out to the appropriate healthcare professional as needed to stay within your scope of practice.
This certificate course is composed of 4 categories:
From the start, the certification reviews the specific nutritional needs of different sports. This is sports nutrition knowledge that you’ll need to know if you coach athletes on nutrition for any length of time.
The Macronutrients section discusses how to determine carbohydrate needs for athletes and different strategies. You also learn protein and fat needs and how to determine the quality of the types of nutrients for each, along with the proper timing to ingest fuel for different performance needs. These include increasing the size and strength of your clients’ muscles, reducing body fat when appropriate, improving endurance for long-distance events, and ensuring your clients meet their macro and micronutrient requirements within their individual sport.
Some of my favorite content is in the Nutritional Evaluation section of the textbook, where you get a plethora of ways to calculate energy needs and understand food labels and ingredients.
Other areas covered in the certification that you won’t find in other courses are the sections on performance-enhancing supplements. Supplementation is a topic covered in these other nutrition programs, but not to the same level of detail as you find here.
Cost and package options for NCSF SNS
You can either take the exam by itself or choose 2 of the study programs: the Home Study ($349) and the Home Study Plus ($399).
Both package options include NCSF’s eLearning platform, more than 200 practice questions, online videos, and study flashcards. Overall, the packages hand you everything you need to not only pass the exam but perhaps more importantly, you’ll develop the skills for success in the performance nutrition coaching industry.
We’d recommend the basic Home Study package for most learners on account of the fact that it includes most of everything.
However, if you would like to have a hard-cover textbook option, adding another $50 to the package is still a good deal. Many students like being able to highlight a physical copy of the textbook, so definitely consider the home study plus if you fall into this category of learner.
What we like about the NCSF SNS
Here are the pros of the NCSF sports nutrition. It’s a great program at a reasonable price, especially if you’re looking for a sports nutrition coach certification, this is a quality option. Like ISSA, the textbook for this is well organized and easy to get through. I especially like all the tables they include for various sport-specific needs and ways to tailor your athlete’s nutrition protocols to meet those needs.
The combination of competitive pricing and stellar curriculum make the NCSF a solid contender in our list of the top nutrition coaching certifications.
What we don’t like about the NCSF SNS
Because this is a sports nutrition certification, there isn’t as much content on how to motivate regular clients to change their eating habits, such as simple tips and tricks to eat healthier. You do learn the science behind nutrition, but knowing how things work is only half the battle.
Behavior change coaching is a practical skill needed in a lot of cases with clients.
You also need to get your clients to stick to choosing healthier habits, and the NCSF program doesn’t have as much material on this subject.
With that said many athletes do not lack the motivation needed to achieve success. By the time an athlete is in front of you and ready for coaching, they should more or less be fully on board with whatever nutrition program you will implement.
NCSF SNS overall rating
Overall the NCSF SNS gets an 8.5 out of 10. It does a fine job at teaching sports nutrition. However, if you want to be a nutritionist for the general population, you might want a nutrition program with a greater degree of behavioral strategies to aid your coaching or you will need to supplement these skills from other sources.
4. ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist
The American Council on Exercise Fitness Nutrition Specialist (ACE-FNS) is a specialization that provides CEUs but also can be taken as a standalone course. The ACE FNS covers many tools you can use to help clients stick to a diet and nutrition plan.
It’s an excellent choice to pair with the ACE Certified Personal Trainer program (ACE-CPT) or other personal training certifications that require you to complete continuing education units.
Since this applies to virtually all NCCA-accredited certifications, the ACE FNS course is a good option for most personal trainers.
As an organization, ACE provides some of the best certifications that revolve around habit change, including their Health Coach Certification. Health coaching is a field similar to nutrition, so you might want to look into that as well.
Overall, stacking health coaching with nutrition coaching can be a good approach for offering a complete holistic coaching program to clients who want fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle improvements in order to reach their different goals.
Curriculum contents of the ACE FNS
ACE is well known for its behavioral coaching tools.
The curriculum here starts with a lecture series that gives an overview of the nutrition coaching scope of practice, which has some differences from fields like being an RD (registered dietician), which requires a bachelor’s degree, sometimes a master of science or another graduate degree as a requirement, and additional licensing lessons under qualified faculty.
On the flip side, the ACE FNS only requires a high school diploma, making it a career with much more accessibility than RDs (registered dieticians), provided you stay within the scope of practice.
After covering the scope of practice, you learn how to develop sound nutritional programs and there’s a grocery store tour, so you can give your clients a cursory guide on how to choose healthier grocery store options. This is an excellent practical element of nutrition coaching in the real world and guiding clients through making good choices about their nutritional needs.
ACE even includes other nutrition advice like cooking demonstrations, so you can teach your clients how to make healthy recipes in your coaching sessions or share the content with them.
Often, people think they need a larger budget to eat healthy meals without excess sugar and empty calories, but that’s not the case if you are able to cook your own foods and prep nutritious options rather than buying unhealthy alternatives at the last minute because of a busy schedule. Plus, disease prevention by addressing nutrition needs lays the foundation for lower medical bills in the future, so framing food choices in this way can be helpful as well.
Lifestyle changes can take a big push and the ACS FNS has a whole section on Stages of Change theory, which can help move a client from a place where they’re thinking of making healthier nutrition choices to a stage where those changes are fully integrated into their lives.
The impact and difference of improving these nutritional factors cannot be understated. Having the ability to implement these changes with a client from any background is a great way to increase the compensation you receive as a nutrition coach or instructor. Plus, you’ll boost your confidence as well after you begin providing real results.
ACE also includes some business development guidance as well, which is great for helping you think about prices, planning, and other career considerations.
Cost and package options for ACE FNS
ACE offers two packages that include access to the study portal. The version with an ebook option for the textbook costs $399, and the package with a hard copy textbook comes in at $424.
Both of these costs include study materials and ACE’s online study system accompanied by learning modules along with the textbook itself. The format allows different learning styles to succeed within the ACE coursework.
Everyone has their own learning style, so it’s nice to have options when immersing yourself in the material. Of course, these other certifications have online tools as well, but I think ACE training courses do it better than almost everyone else save NASM.
What we like about the ACE FNS
Because, as a nutrition specialist, you are not a dietitian, most of what you’ll be helping your clients with is providing ways to change their daily habits to achieve their nutrition goals, whether those include weight loss, overall wellness, or muscle gain.
You won’t be giving specific nutrition plans, just general advice.
This is where ACE shines. Instructors get a plethora of habit-change tools to help every person they work with succeed in all aspects of their nutrition and potentially improve health conditions.
What we don’t like about the ACE FNS
Technically the ACE FNS is a specialist program, not a full certification. In addition, you have to already be a certified personal trainer (from an NCCA-accredited organization) to hold the title of Fitness Nutrition Specialist. Graduates of the program who are not CPTs can still take the program, they just do not get the title once they pass the exam.
This is one of the only programs with these certification requirements, so take this in mind.
While these are not huge negatives, they are important to keep in mind. Remember these are only prerequisites that apply to you holding the title, you can still take this course without being a PT.
ACE FNS overall rating
ACE gets a 9 out of 10. The lack of full certification and exercise science stands out from a negative perspective; however, this is one of the best specializations if you want to learn behavioral coaching strategies to use with clients.
ACE also wins out from a price standpoint. On a final note, ACE research methods and credibility, such as on plant-based nutrition, are incredibly in-depth, with the reason being in large part due to their non-profit status.
5. Precision Nutrition Certification Level 1 (PN1)
The Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification comes in at #5 on our list and is the best option if you want to coach clients with an online nutrition coaching model.
Precision Nutrition was founded by Dr. John Berardi and Phil Caravaggio in 2005. Unlike other certification providers like NSCA, ACSM, and NASM, Precision Nutrition as an organization focuses solely on nutrition.
They are the largest private nutrition certification organization out there with a solid reputation as one of the best names in nutrition coaching. Level One, is one of two nutrition classes Precision Nutrition offers, with the addition of Level Two. This is a great option if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree as well since it does focus heavily on the marketing component.
Precision Nutrition is also known for its coaching software, ProCoach.
Curriculum contents of the Precision Nutrition
The Precision Nutrition Level 1 course outline covers these topics:
Unit 1 – The Precision Nutrition Approach
Unit 2 – The Science of Nutrition
Unit 1 – Working through the PN Coaching Process
The assessment of your learning throughout comes from the workbook/study guide, various case studies, and chapter tests. This is an optimal way to ensure students understand the new information and stay on track.
The case studies and online video tools are perhaps some of the best sections in this program and give you a good framework to coach anyone and everyone. You can even use the templates they provide to give you a head start.
After completion of the course, you have a free trial of Precision Nutrition’s online software: ProCoach.
The ProCoach software is excellent as well and definitely gives you a leg up in terms of tracking everything with your clients (although it’s a bit expensive to use after the free trial expires).
Cost and package options for Precision Nutrition Level 1
The main package available to you is $999, but if you join the pre-sale list you get 20% off.
This makes this one of the more expensive nutritionist certifications out there even with the deals Precision Nutrition offers.
With your purchase, you get the following materials:
This program is the most detailed in regards to the coaching aspect of nutrition coaching. The software you get access to is superb and the case studies and business skills in the course prepare you for growing your roster of clients and knowing how to use your nutrition skills in real-world scenarios.
What we don’t like about the PN1
On the cons side, there is less nutritional science information in the PN1 than I’d like to see from a nutrition program. Also, as previously mentioned, the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification is quite pricey compared to the competition and you have to get a waitlist to even qualify to take the course. No other nutrition certificate has this waiting list prerequisite. There is certainly some exclusivity with this cert, because the enrollment is capped, but the extra step in terms of registration is a downside from my perspective.
Precision Nutrition’s overall rating
Precision Nutrition gets an 8.5 out of 10. The name carries a lot of weight and this program gives you excellent coaching advice and a platform to use with clients, but the cost makes this the most expensive of all these companies and I don’t know if you get the most from a money-to-value ratio.
What are the prerequisites to become a nutrition coach?
Individuals and candidates who want to become a nutrition coach typically just need a high school degree. Most certifications allow you to take the program without any other specific qualifications like a bachelor’s degree.
What is the difference between nutrition coaching for men and women?
The needs and men and women are similar nutritionally, however, there are some differences, especially with regard to pregnancy, but those are beyond the scope of most nutrition coaches.
What are the benefits of improving nutrition habits in clients?
Benefits of nutrition coaching include improved health and even beauty. You might see improved skin, hair, and face appearance due to overall health improvements, and addressing many other types of problems average people face that are caused by poor nutrition.
Do you need an Instagram to be a nutrition coach?
No, you do not need Instagram to be a nutrition coach. However, if you have a product that solves a problem for your customers, including nutrition coaching services or even physical items, then a strong social media presence can be an asset. Take a page from successful influencers if you want to be an online nutrition coach and consider growing your online presence.
Personally, we think ISSA is the best pick here. It’s not as expensive as Precision Nutrition, and they’re more comprehensive than ACE or NCSF.
NASM will be the best for anyone looking for the most amount of knowledge on exercise science, but ISSA is a good place to start if the content in NASM seems overwhelming.
We still think NCSF, ACE, and Precision Nutrition have their place and would be good ones as well. There are times when you would pick these options for the various reasons we discussed. NCSF gives you more in regard to sports nutrition. ACE stands out in the exercise psychology and behavior change area, and Precision Nutrition is a premium organization with a lot of clout and tools to help you from an online nutrition coaching perspective.
Becoming a nutrition coach can be an amazing thing. You have the ability to alter someone’s life for the better, so they might not have to rely on blood pressure medications, diabetes intervention, or just so they can feel better about themselves. This treatment revolves around positive changes that you get to see them enact in their own lives. Plus, you get to be part of these healthy outcomes.
This article should give you a good idea, based on your individual needs, of what company to pick.
Good luck out there with your decision!
M&F and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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As part of our research, we consulted with Tyler Read, a fitness industry expert and the founder of PTPioneer, a website and brand that has helped thousands of nutrition coaches and personal trainers excel in their careers by choosing the right certifications for their specific goals.
Whether you are a personal trainer looking to be able to help your clients reach their fitness goals, or just someone looking to improve their own health and body composition, becoming a certified nutritionist is a good idea.
However, choosing the right Nutrition Certification program can be an arduous task. Therefore, we’ve compiled a list of the best options available to you right now with details regarding why you might choose one over the other.
After finishing this review article, you should have a firm grasp on which one of these picks is right for you and go down the correct path toward success as a leader in the field of nutrition coaching.
Quick Roundup of the Best Nutrition Certifications
- Best overall certification: ISSA Nutritionist Certification
- Best nutrition science: NASM Certified Nutrition Coach
- Best for performance nutrition: NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist
- Best for behavior change: ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist
- Best for online nutrition coaching: Precision Nutrition Level 1
Benefits of Nutrition Certification
Becoming a nutrition coach by earning one of the best nutrition certifications offers many benefits for a variety of different types of fitness professionals. As a personal trainer, adding nutrition coaching to your offered services means increasing your ability to deliver results, appeal to more clientele, and ultimately, command a higher salary.
Additionally, if you prefer not to work on the gym floor itself but enjoy the process of working 1-on-1 with clients, then nutrition coaching can be a great option. It also adds an entirely different dimension to the experience of being a fitness professional. In many cases, individuals have deeper struggles with food than they do with exercising.
As such, if you enjoy the behavioral coaching aspect of the fitness industry and helping clients, then nutrition coaching can be a great career option, and earning your nutrition coach certification is the right place to start.
Types of Nutrition Certification
If you’ve decided nutrition coaching on the whole is the right path for you, you’ll still need to decide the type of nutrition you want to go after. Depending on what your specific nutrition niche goals are, each certification has different strengths and weaknesses.
General Nutrition Certifications
Some certifications are a great overall approach across the board to bringing you on board with everything you need to adequately perform the job of a nutrition coach. In this instance, we highly recommend the ISSA Nutritionist Certification.
Science-Heavy Nutrition Certifications
That being said, other certifications have a much deeper emphasis on the actual nutrition science components of the nutrition coaching profession. If you are someone who enjoys science or prefers to really know the biological basis of everything in nutrition, then consider the NASM Certified Nutrition Coach.
Performance Nutrition Certifications
For some careers, focusing on performance nutrition in the context of athletic endeavors may be more important. Most general population-focused nutrition certifications do not have as much emphasis on nutrition strategies to optimize performance. If your career involves making nutrition plans for athletes, then consider the NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist certification.
Behavioral Change-Focused Certifications
Behavioral change is another vital component of nutrition coaching and may be relevant if you expect to train clients who desperately need to improve their health but are highly resistant to behavioral change. In this case, a nutrition specialization with a solid framework for coaching clients through each stage of behavior change is necessary. For this, consider the ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
Nutrition Certifications for Online Coaching
Finally, in the era of technology, not only are certifications taken online, but in many cases, clients want to be coached digitally as well. This can include meal plans and calendars delivered electronically, video meetings instead of in-person meetings, and other methodologies that allow clients to receive nutrition coaching without ever stepping foot into a nutritionist’s office. For this career path focus, we highly recommend the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification.
Best Nutrition Certifications: The Deep Dive
The following section does a deeper dive into each certification that is made out top 5 nutrition coach certifications list.
1. ISSA Nutritionist Certification
The ISSA Nutritionist Certification is our top choice for best overall nutrition certification, and as such, comes in first on our list. The International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) is well known for its personal training certification, but they also offer an excellent nutrition credential as well. Respected across many countries, the ISSA truly stands out as an international organization, with links to many different gyms and fitness studios.
ISSA was one of the first institutions to take their certifications online, so they made the whole process very streamlined. Everything in the ISSA Nutritionist
Certification is available through the online portal, including the final test.
This is a great nutritionist certification for those who are first dipping their toes into the field of nutrition coaching as you learn all the basics you need to know to be a nutrition coach. Plus, the structure and layout of the textbook make understanding the content a breeze.
It’s also a great option for experienced fitness professionals who may have informal training on nutrition coaching but care enough to add a more in-depth approach to their nutrition coach skillset. We cannot say enough great things about the ISSA Nutritionist certification, and it certainly won’t steer you wrong as you make your foray into the world of nutrition coaching.
Curriculum contents of the ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist Coach curriculum begins with the origins of how humans select the food they eat.
You also learn the anatomy of how the digestive system works, along with the fundamentals of energy balance and systems.
This is followed by sections on the macronutrients, how they work, and good dietary sources for each one.
Knowing the mechanisms of protein, carbs, and fat is essential to understanding why and what amounts to implement in a balanced diet.
ISSA then covers chapters on micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Hydration components are covered along with how dehydration affects athletics. Knowing the effects of dehydration and how to prevent it is key for safety and risk mitigation during exercise.
After the science of nutrition is covered, you get a section on the practical skills of coaching, including how to coach clients, create goals, assess their current status, and use the stages of change model to inform your coaching methodology. This will help your clients get the results they want from working with you.
You also learn how to build an actual business as a nutrition coach, which is a topic left out of a lot of certifications. Having this expertise in the business side of things allows you to actually create a real income from your nutrition skills. You can understand everything there is to know about diets and nutrition programs, but if you have no paying clients, it’s hard to use that information.
ISSA also includes a good section with an emphasis on the role of the nutrition coach in the overall fitness industry. As a nutritionist, you must know your place in the healthcare continuum, alongside other experts such as physicians and dietitians. Thus, ISSA ensures you fully understand the proper nutrition coach’s scope of practice.
You are not a doctor or a healthcare professional, so you cannot diagnose patients’ diseases based on symptoms like high blood pressure or prescribe specific nutrition plans or foods. You can show your clients the data that exists and use the general guidelines to inform them of healthy alternatives.
Cost and package options for ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist comes in at $639 by itself with the current discount, which you can pay upfront or in interest-free payments over a 12-month period.
- For that price, you get the following resources:
- ISSA Nutritionist Textbook (Digital)
- Practice Exams and Section Quizzes
- Nutritionist Education Bootcamp
- Library of Client Forms
- Online and Home Study Exam
- Online Student Forum
- Free Professional Website
- Unlimited Educational Support
ISSA’s online website is very straightforward to use but fairly basic when it comes to the user interface. You don’t get the same levels of “flash” as NASM or ACE. However, you still get plenty of assistance and the ability to take courses at your own pace. Each practice quiz provides great feedback as well, ensuring you have a seamless exam prep experience.
In my experience, ISSA’s site support staff does a really good job at answering any questions you have about the course content, so feel free to reach out to their team if you have any questions during the studying process for the exam.
What we like about the ISSA Nutritionist
This program includes sales skills, which are a necessity for any trainer looking to make a career as a nutrition coach. Having the right overall business practices is certainly a game changer.
I also think the textbook strikes a good balance between detailed content and a conversational style that helps make complicated nutritional topics easy to understand. ISSA also allows you to retake the final open-book exam for free versus other options which add a retest fee if you fail the first time.
What we don’t like about the ISSA Nutritionist
The ISSA Nutritionist is a really good value if you bundle it with ISSA’s training certification, but as a stand-alone program, it can feel a bit pricey.
Comparatively, NCSF and ACE both cost less.
We also personally like the user interface of the online study systems from NASM and ACE better than ISSA.
ISSA Nutritionist’s overall rating
Overall, ISSA gets a 9.3 out of 10. It is perhaps the most practical choice of all the certifications on this list, given the business skills and content coverage. Fitness professionals should know how to coach but also sell their services, so they have someone to coach.
2. NASM Certified Nutrition Coach
The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) offers its NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC) program, which is probably the most well-known certification course on this list. They are most known for the CPT, but they offer a huge range of certifications and specializations. They also partner with AFAA for their Group Exercise Certification.
You don’t need a bachelor’s degree or any other nutrition degree to become a NASM CNC, although the NASM CPT is recommended, and you need to be 18 years of age. The NASM CNC also gives continuing education units and is great for most careers in the fitness industry. This is true for most personal trainers as well as group fitness instructors, who experience a ton of overlap when it comes to nutrition coaching.
Note that like any other nutrition certificate program, the NASM CNC doesn’t have official accreditation itself. This is because professions like health coaches and nutrition coaches are not considered licensed, unlike professionals in dietetics who are licensed through the rigorous process of becoming a registered dietician.
However, as a provider of other NCCA-accredited certification courses, NASM maintains an incredibly high standard of professionalism and commitment to science-backed nutrition coaching.
As we’ve mentioned, the NASM CNC is incredibly valuable if you are a science-minded person who enjoys or would benefit from a deep look into the scientific components that go into nutrition coaching.
Curriculum contents of the NASM CNC
The NASM Certified Nutrition Coach curriculum is perhaps the most in-depth of all the fitness certification providers on this list. You get 800-plus pages of content delving into nutrition information. Certainly, of all the textbooks, this is the largest and reflects NASM’s commitment to a scientific approach to all the curricula they publish.
You learn the science fundamentals, but also a focus on practical mindful eating tips.
One of my favorite sections is where NASM discusses popular nutrition myths and the research behind why that’s the case. Most coaches run into clients who believe these fallacies, so knowing why they’re false and the evidence behind why will take you far. Plus, when you are armed with the actual research needed to debunk these claims, you have a much better shot at steering your clients in the right direction.
NASM also includes a chapter on the dangers of alcohol and how to include or exclude it in a diet plan. Nutritionists need the skillsets to coach clients through problematic drinking habits. It’s not uncommon to have clients who binge drink on the weekends, for example. This habit, along with daily drinking habits, can make success on a weight loss program difficult given the caloric value and metabolic effects of alcohol products.
You may have clients who eat well overall, but then consume surplus calories through their alcohol consumption. Although you cannot prescribe any clinical treatments for alcoholism and must be prepared to refer to the appropriate professionals, you do have the ability to steer clients toward healthier habits and discuss what generally healthy drinking patterns might look like for adults.
As with any nutrition certification, you learn about nutrients and energy balance principles as well. The final section of the book puts everything you’ve learned together into case studies where you see how to actually coach clients in regard to nutrition. This benefits you as you can take what you’ve learned and apply it in a variety of scenarios.
The case studies are also great for any new nutritionist who might have anxiety about the process of working with clients.
Cost and package options for NASM CNC
Right now, the NASM-CNC is $539 with current discounts, but the price does move around.
Normally NASM has a number of package options with their certifications, but in this case, you just have one option.
This pricing includes the following course materials:
- 1.9 NASM continuing education credits (CEUs)
- 24 in-depth chapters
- Chapter quizzes
- Over 40 high-quality lecture videos
- Over 200 downloadable handouts and infographics
- High-quality, user-friendly digital portal
- NASM nutrition final exam
The NASM study portal is excellent. In fact, NASM actually has the largest online educational video library of any of the certification organizations. This is as true of their CPT as it is with their nutrition coach program. Overall, NASM’s CNC gives more than enough resources to ensure you pass the certification exam and can successfully work as a professional nutrition coach.
What we like about the NASM CNC
The NASM CNC is perhaps the most detailed of all the nutrition certifications. Also, NASM’s online study materials are among the best in the industry.
If you want an excellent deep dive into the topic of nutrition with a world-class learning system to match, this is the program for you.
What we don’t like about the NASM CNC
Similar to the ISSA, the NASM CNC is also a bit pricey for a nutrition certification, but this is the price you pay for the NASM name and high-quality study materials.
The lack of business skills in this certification does sting a little bit as well since it can be tough to build your own nutrition coaching practice without any prior experience or business training development.
NASM CNC’s overall rating
NASM also gets a score of 9.5 out of 10 here. Their curriculum is second to none and this is a well-respected organization with a great study system. This is one of our top recommendations, despite the slight shortcomings.
3. NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist
The NCSF Sports Nutrition Specialist is a performance nutrition-focused certification with an incredibly in-depth curriculum. The National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF) is a comparatively newer organization than many of the others on our list. The NCSF has been around for over 25 years in the fitness industry, but that’s still less time in the game than NASM, ISSA, or ACE.
They are known for their affordable but high-quality certifications. Each of their certifications can be purchased at an extremely competitive individual price or bundled with other certifications for a discount on each. In many cases, the bundled cost for NCSF certifications comes in lower than the cost of individual certifications from other providers, without a corresponding drop in quality.
Their Sports Nutrition Specialist (SNS) is a little different from the other credentials on this list because it’s a sports nutrition credential.
As such, this type of certification places more emphasis on nutrition approaches in order to improve sports performance as opposed to the general weight loss and health focus of traditional nutrition coaching certifications.
This means the SNS pairs well with other strength and conditioning certifications out there such as the NCSF Certified Strength Coach or NSCA CSCS, which are great certifications if you plan to be in the sports performance coaching business.
Curriculum contents of the NCSF SNS
The NCSF SNS is designed as a sports nutrition coaching certification program rather than a general population nutrition coaching credential, so the coursework focuses slightly more on the connection between nutrition and performance in athletics. With that said, the curriculum certainly gives you the flexibility to apply this sports nutrition education towards your personal training clients, provided you refer out to the appropriate healthcare professional as needed to stay within your scope of practice.
This certificate course is composed of 4 categories:
- Macronutrients
- Micronutrients
- Dietary Supplements and Ergogenic Aids
- Nutritional Analysis and Weight Management
From the start, the certification reviews the specific nutritional needs of different sports. This is sports nutrition knowledge that you’ll need to know if you coach athletes on nutrition for any length of time.
The Macronutrients section discusses how to determine carbohydrate needs for athletes and different strategies. You also learn protein and fat needs and how to determine the quality of the types of nutrients for each, along with the proper timing to ingest fuel for different performance needs. These include increasing the size and strength of your clients’ muscles, reducing body fat when appropriate, improving endurance for long-distance events, and ensuring your clients meet their macro and micronutrient requirements within their individual sport.
Some of my favorite content is in the Nutritional Evaluation section of the textbook, where you get a plethora of ways to calculate energy needs and understand food labels and ingredients.
Other areas covered in the certification that you won’t find in other courses are the sections on performance-enhancing supplements. Supplementation is a topic covered in these other nutrition programs, but not to the same level of detail as you find here.
Cost and package options for NCSF SNS
You can either take the exam by itself or choose 2 of the study programs: the Home Study ($349) and the Home Study Plus ($399).
Both package options include NCSF’s eLearning platform, more than 200 practice questions, online videos, and study flashcards. Overall, the packages hand you everything you need to not only pass the exam but perhaps more importantly, you’ll develop the skills for success in the performance nutrition coaching industry.
We’d recommend the basic Home Study package for most learners on account of the fact that it includes most of everything.
However, if you would like to have a hard-cover textbook option, adding another $50 to the package is still a good deal. Many students like being able to highlight a physical copy of the textbook, so definitely consider the home study plus if you fall into this category of learner.
What we like about the NCSF SNS
Here are the pros of the NCSF sports nutrition. It’s a great program at a reasonable price, especially if you’re looking for a sports nutrition coach certification, this is a quality option. Like ISSA, the textbook for this is well organized and easy to get through. I especially like all the tables they include for various sport-specific needs and ways to tailor your athlete’s nutrition protocols to meet those needs.
The combination of competitive pricing and stellar curriculum make the NCSF a solid contender in our list of the top nutrition coaching certifications.
What we don’t like about the NCSF SNS
Because this is a sports nutrition certification, there isn’t as much content on how to motivate regular clients to change their eating habits, such as simple tips and tricks to eat healthier. You do learn the science behind nutrition, but knowing how things work is only half the battle.
Behavior change coaching is a practical skill needed in a lot of cases with clients.
You also need to get your clients to stick to choosing healthier habits, and the NCSF program doesn’t have as much material on this subject.
With that said many athletes do not lack the motivation needed to achieve success. By the time an athlete is in front of you and ready for coaching, they should more or less be fully on board with whatever nutrition program you will implement.
NCSF SNS overall rating
Overall the NCSF SNS gets an 8.5 out of 10. It does a fine job at teaching sports nutrition. However, if you want to be a nutritionist for the general population, you might want a nutrition program with a greater degree of behavioral strategies to aid your coaching or you will need to supplement these skills from other sources.
4. ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist
The American Council on Exercise Fitness Nutrition Specialist (ACE-FNS) is a specialization that provides CEUs but also can be taken as a standalone course. The ACE FNS covers many tools you can use to help clients stick to a diet and nutrition plan.
It’s an excellent choice to pair with the ACE Certified Personal Trainer program (ACE-CPT) or other personal training certifications that require you to complete continuing education units.
Since this applies to virtually all NCCA-accredited certifications, the ACE FNS course is a good option for most personal trainers.
As an organization, ACE provides some of the best certifications that revolve around habit change, including their Health Coach Certification. Health coaching is a field similar to nutrition, so you might want to look into that as well.
Overall, stacking health coaching with nutrition coaching can be a good approach for offering a complete holistic coaching program to clients who want fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle improvements in order to reach their different goals.
Curriculum contents of the ACE FNS
ACE is well known for its behavioral coaching tools.
The curriculum here starts with a lecture series that gives an overview of the nutrition coaching scope of practice, which has some differences from fields like being an RD (registered dietician), which requires a bachelor’s degree, sometimes a master of science or another graduate degree as a requirement, and additional licensing lessons under qualified faculty.
On the flip side, the ACE FNS only requires a high school diploma, making it a career with much more accessibility than RDs (registered dieticians), provided you stay within the scope of practice.
After covering the scope of practice, you learn how to develop sound nutritional programs and there’s a grocery store tour, so you can give your clients a cursory guide on how to choose healthier grocery store options. This is an excellent practical element of nutrition coaching in the real world and guiding clients through making good choices about their nutritional needs.
ACE even includes other nutrition advice like cooking demonstrations, so you can teach your clients how to make healthy recipes in your coaching sessions or share the content with them.
Often, people think they need a larger budget to eat healthy meals without excess sugar and empty calories, but that’s not the case if you are able to cook your own foods and prep nutritious options rather than buying unhealthy alternatives at the last minute because of a busy schedule. Plus, disease prevention by addressing nutrition needs lays the foundation for lower medical bills in the future, so framing food choices in this way can be helpful as well.
Lifestyle changes can take a big push and the ACS FNS has a whole section on Stages of Change theory, which can help move a client from a place where they’re thinking of making healthier nutrition choices to a stage where those changes are fully integrated into their lives.
The impact and difference of improving these nutritional factors cannot be understated. Having the ability to implement these changes with a client from any background is a great way to increase the compensation you receive as a nutrition coach or instructor. Plus, you’ll boost your confidence as well after you begin providing real results.
ACE also includes some business development guidance as well, which is great for helping you think about prices, planning, and other career considerations.
Cost and package options for ACE FNS
ACE offers two packages that include access to the study portal. The version with an ebook option for the textbook costs $399, and the package with a hard copy textbook comes in at $424.
Both of these costs include study materials and ACE’s online study system accompanied by learning modules along with the textbook itself. The format allows different learning styles to succeed within the ACE coursework.
Everyone has their own learning style, so it’s nice to have options when immersing yourself in the material. Of course, these other certifications have online tools as well, but I think ACE training courses do it better than almost everyone else save NASM.
What we like about the ACE FNS
Because, as a nutrition specialist, you are not a dietitian, most of what you’ll be helping your clients with is providing ways to change their daily habits to achieve their nutrition goals, whether those include weight loss, overall wellness, or muscle gain.
You won’t be giving specific nutrition plans, just general advice.
This is where ACE shines. Instructors get a plethora of habit-change tools to help every person they work with succeed in all aspects of their nutrition and potentially improve health conditions.
What we don’t like about the ACE FNS
Technically the ACE FNS is a specialist program, not a full certification. In addition, you have to already be a certified personal trainer (from an NCCA-accredited organization) to hold the title of Fitness Nutrition Specialist. Graduates of the program who are not CPTs can still take the program, they just do not get the title once they pass the exam.
This is one of the only programs with these certification requirements, so take this in mind.
While these are not huge negatives, they are important to keep in mind. Remember these are only prerequisites that apply to you holding the title, you can still take this course without being a PT.
ACE FNS overall rating
ACE gets a 9 out of 10. The lack of full certification and exercise science stands out from a negative perspective; however, this is one of the best specializations if you want to learn behavioral coaching strategies to use with clients.
ACE also wins out from a price standpoint. On a final note, ACE research methods and credibility, such as on plant-based nutrition, are incredibly in-depth, with the reason being in large part due to their non-profit status.
5. Precision Nutrition Certification Level 1 (PN1)
The Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification comes in at #5 on our list and is the best option if you want to coach clients with an online nutrition coaching model.
Precision Nutrition was founded by Dr. John Berardi and Phil Caravaggio in 2005. Unlike other certification providers like NSCA, ACSM, and NASM, Precision Nutrition as an organization focuses solely on nutrition.
They are the largest private nutrition certification organization out there with a solid reputation as one of the best names in nutrition coaching. Level One, is one of two nutrition classes Precision Nutrition offers, with the addition of Level Two. This is a great option if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree as well since it does focus heavily on the marketing component.
Precision Nutrition is also known for its coaching software, ProCoach.
Curriculum contents of the Precision Nutrition
The Precision Nutrition Level 1 course outline covers these topics:
Unit 1 – The Precision Nutrition Approach
- Introduction
- Your learning plan
- What is a great coach?
- Helping people change
- What is good nutrition?
Unit 2 – The Science of Nutrition
- Intro to Nutritional Science
- Systems and cells
- Through the GI tract
- Energy transformation and metabolism
- Energy balance
- Macronutrients
- Micronutrients and whole foods
- Water and fluid balance
- Stress, recovery, and sleep
Unit 1 – Working through the PN Coaching Process
- Coaching in practice
- Working with Level 1 clients
- Working with Level 2 clients
- Working with Level 3 clients
- Special scenarios
- Business 101
The assessment of your learning throughout comes from the workbook/study guide, various case studies, and chapter tests. This is an optimal way to ensure students understand the new information and stay on track.
The case studies and online video tools are perhaps some of the best sections in this program and give you a good framework to coach anyone and everyone. You can even use the templates they provide to give you a head start.
After completion of the course, you have a free trial of Precision Nutrition’s online software: ProCoach.
The ProCoach software is excellent as well and definitely gives you a leg up in terms of tracking everything with your clients (although it’s a bit expensive to use after the free trial expires).
Cost and package options for Precision Nutrition Level 1
The main package available to you is $999, but if you join the pre-sale list you get 20% off.
This makes this one of the more expensive nutritionist certifications out there even with the deals Precision Nutrition offers.
With your purchase, you get the following materials:
- The three-unit textbook
- Twenty animated video lectures
- A workbook and study guide
- Additional assessment forms and questionnaires for your clients
- Online access to the study forum
- More than 40 premium coaching tools
- What we like about the PN1
This program is the most detailed in regards to the coaching aspect of nutrition coaching. The software you get access to is superb and the case studies and business skills in the course prepare you for growing your roster of clients and knowing how to use your nutrition skills in real-world scenarios.
What we don’t like about the PN1
On the cons side, there is less nutritional science information in the PN1 than I’d like to see from a nutrition program. Also, as previously mentioned, the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification is quite pricey compared to the competition and you have to get a waitlist to even qualify to take the course. No other nutrition certificate has this waiting list prerequisite. There is certainly some exclusivity with this cert, because the enrollment is capped, but the extra step in terms of registration is a downside from my perspective.
Precision Nutrition’s overall rating
Precision Nutrition gets an 8.5 out of 10. The name carries a lot of weight and this program gives you excellent coaching advice and a platform to use with clients, but the cost makes this the most expensive of all these companies and I don’t know if you get the most from a money-to-value ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the prerequisites to become a nutrition coach?
Individuals and candidates who want to become a nutrition coach typically just need a high school degree. Most certifications allow you to take the program without any other specific qualifications like a bachelor’s degree.
What is the difference between nutrition coaching for men and women?
The needs and men and women are similar nutritionally, however, there are some differences, especially with regard to pregnancy, but those are beyond the scope of most nutrition coaches.
What are the benefits of improving nutrition habits in clients?
Benefits of nutrition coaching include improved health and even beauty. You might see improved skin, hair, and face appearance due to overall health improvements, and addressing many other types of problems average people face that are caused by poor nutrition.
Do you need an Instagram to be a nutrition coach?
No, you do not need Instagram to be a nutrition coach. However, if you have a product that solves a problem for your customers, including nutrition coaching services or even physical items, then a strong social media presence can be an asset. Take a page from successful influencers if you want to be an online nutrition coach and consider growing your online presence.
My overall thoughts on these nutrition certification programs
Personally, we think ISSA is the best pick here. It’s not as expensive as Precision Nutrition, and they’re more comprehensive than ACE or NCSF.
NASM will be the best for anyone looking for the most amount of knowledge on exercise science, but ISSA is a good place to start if the content in NASM seems overwhelming.
We still think NCSF, ACE, and Precision Nutrition have their place and would be good ones as well. There are times when you would pick these options for the various reasons we discussed. NCSF gives you more in regard to sports nutrition. ACE stands out in the exercise psychology and behavior change area, and Precision Nutrition is a premium organization with a lot of clout and tools to help you from an online nutrition coaching perspective.
Becoming a nutrition coach can be an amazing thing. You have the ability to alter someone’s life for the better, so they might not have to rely on blood pressure medications, diabetes intervention, or just so they can feel better about themselves. This treatment revolves around positive changes that you get to see them enact in their own lives. Plus, you get to be part of these healthy outcomes.
This article should give you a good idea, based on your individual needs, of what company to pick.
Good luck out there with your decision!
M&F and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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