What is a Nutrition Coach? + What’s Changing Around Here

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you may remember that back in January I signed up through the ISSA to train to become a Nutrition Coach. I’m happy to say that as of May 12th, 2020, I now have my certification!!

This is the job I’ve always wanted but never knew there was a title for. After losing my 20 pounds of baby weight in 2015 and working on my nutrition, I’ve had a passion for cheering on women who also want to lose weight. I believe that while outside accountability isn’t completely necessary to hit your goals, it’ll make things SO much easier. And that’s why I’m now here to help!

Before I get into how things on the blog will be changing, let me explain what a Nutrition Coach is.

What is a Nutrition Coach?

My job isn’t to be your boss and tell you what to do. Think of me as a tour guide in a place you’ve already been. More than likely, you KNOW what you need to do to lose weight. You may just not know where to begin or how to organize your thoughts and processes. And that’s where I come in!

I help you set ACTIONABLE, SMALL, SIMPLE-TO-FOLLOW steps and behaviors to get you to your goal. For example- if your goal is to lose 20 pounds, I’ll work with you to find a specific behavior to work on for a week or two until you’ve mastered it. This could be anything from setting a time while you eat to using a smaller plate.

It’s not always about the food, either. While eating healthier foods will certainly help lose weight, it’s your behaviors around food and your lifestyle that will make the biggest difference. And my job is to help you change your mindset so you can make those better choices for yourself!

A Nutrition Coach CAN:

• Mentor
• Encourage
• Motivate
• Give general nutrition advice
• Help you set healthy habits- including eating healthy food, getting good sleep, cooking at home, shopping smartly, and having a healthy relationship with food
• Work with you to set specific behavior goals to help with weight loss
• Give you recipes and lists of whole foods to choose from
• Help you figure out how much food you need to eat

A Nutrition Coach CANNOT:

• Diagnose medical conditions
• Provide medical nutrition therapy- If you have diabetes, I can’t give you a plan to treat your diabetes.
• Create specific meal plans or tell you exactly what to eat

What happens during a Nutrition Coaching session?

During an initial session, we’ll figure out where you struggle- whether it’s overeating, not knowing how to cook, or not knowing how to eat mindfully- and I’ll help you set up specific measurable behaviors to work on for a set time. Usually, these plans will be for anywhere between 8-12 weeks.

I’ll help keep you accountable during that time, whether it’s through text or email, and we’ll get together twice a month to track your progress and see if anything needs tweaked.

If one-on-one coaching isn’t your thing, you can join group coaching sessions. These last anywhere from 6-12 weeks and they focus on specific goals: Losing weight, managing eating behaviors, etc. You’ll be in a Facebook group with others going on the same journey, and we can all encourage each other along the way.

What will change on the blog?

For the most part, things are staying the same! I’ll still post my grocery hauls, recipes, and meal planning tips. But now I’ll be adding topics related to weight loss and healthier eating. I’ll also be posting more often in my Facebook group, Meal Planning and Easy Freezer Meals, like free challenges you won’t want to miss. So if you’re not currently a member, I invite you to join me and many others!

If nutrition coaching sounds like something you need, I’d love to work with you! For more detailed information on the types of coaching I offer, click here to see the options and fill out the form to schedule your free consultation!