New to Training - Help! - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[jumpy]

I am starting to offer home training and I am getting asked how I handle the nutrition side of it. I am wanting to learn what personal trainers use for the nutrition part if one is not licensed or certified for it. Do you do any kind of handouts for meal plans or do you use any kind of software or website?

Thanks.

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

Jumpy,

Check to make sure your state has no laws or regulations on the extent of nutritional information you can give out.

If you client doesn't suffer from a special medical condition that requires a special diet you should be able to:

1) Give general calorie guidance using the Harris Benedict equation
2) Develop "Sample" or "Suggestive" menus. (But always put the disclaimer that these are just "Suggestions" or "Examples" never call them a "Prescribed" or "Recommended" meal plans.
3) Stick to basics when recommending macronutrient breakouts. IF they want to know "How many carbs should I eat" or "How much protein" there is a ton of verified research on what combinations of macronutrients will lead to weight loss and/or muscle gain on the internet. Typically you'll see recommendations for protein of 1 gram per pound of body weight and then you can break out the fat and carbs from their using the daily calorie total you get from the Harris Benedict Equation.

4) DO NOT RECOMMEND QUESTIONABLE SUPPLEMENTS. As a trainer you should know that 90% of all supplements are useless and offer nothing but exaggerated claims and anecdotal evidence. I'd steer clear from offering any "Thermogeneic" or "Anabolic" supplement of any kind. Even if you offer up a suggestion for a Whey Protein supplement make sure you add the disclaimer that they (The client) should make sure they are not allergic to whey or dairy products if they decide to add a Whey supplement to their regimen.

I've developed a spreadsheet that has the Harris Benedict equation in it and factors for lifestyle/activity level that determines a basic guideline for the clients daily caloric need by just entering their height, weight, and age and corresponding it with their activity level. Then it has weight loss formula that subtracts 10% or 15% from those daily calories to create a calorie deficit. The spreasheet also breaks out the grams of Protein, Carbs and Fat based on the latest research. The spreadsheet also has a six meal daily log where the client should track everything that they eat during the day.


Hope this helps,

Dave

[jumpy]

Dave,

Thanks, your advice makes sense.

[Christina]

Jumpy, adding to what Dave said...

I was just reading this in my NSCA text and wanted to pass it along. This is located at the bottom of page 490 in NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training.

"Although it is not in the scope of practice for personal trainers to offer dietary prescription and counseling to their clients, personal trainers can support their clients' efforts by offering nutrition education or orientation. Topics may include low-calorie food choices (see the "Lower-Fat and Lower-Calorie Eating Strategies" on page 492), low-fat food preparation techniques, food label reading, holiday eating strategies, the importance of adequate hydration, ways to include more fruits and vegetables in the diet, and so on."

You could write articles about the topics just listed and pass them out to your clients. You could also have your clients sign up for an account at www.FitDay.com and track their diets through this software. There are lots of free online resources. I will list some of them for you when I get a moment.

Hope this helps.

Christina