Nutrition Certifications - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

[LauraMomOf4]

Hi again,

I'm new here, just joined yesterday.

I'm not a personal trainer but have an interest in the field...my goal is to work with special needs populations in the areas of fitness, nutrition, and herbs, I think all three but I am not sure at this point.

My specific question is if any of you are familiar with any of the following programs or if any of you are graduates of any of them, and if you have any comments to please share. Ultimately I might like to get my master's degree in nutrition but as a first step I have thought about a personal training certification with added on education/training in nutritition, not necessarily sports nutrition but probably something a little broader-based.

Here are the programs I have looked at:

Global College of Natural Medicine
www.gcnm.com
Nutrition Consultant Program... A little more expensive than some of the certifications below (around $1,000) but quite in depth, not necessarily just for personal trainers but I think would go well with this... can also do holistic health practitioner training, which is nutrition plus herbs plus some extra subjects. I have talked to several instructors and the director of their school and have been very impressed with their level of support and customer service.

Institute for Integrative Nutrition
www.integrativenutrition.com
Expensive, but everything I know about it looks top notch.... this would not just be an "add-on" kind of thing for $9,000 or so and travel to NYC. They seem to train their students extremely well in marketing and train them to have profitable consulting businesses. The websites of their graduates are impressive and the faculty includes some very big-name people like Deepak Chopra and Dr. Andrew Weil.

AFPA - Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant
www.afpafitness.com

NESTA - Certified Nutrition Coach
www.nestacertified.com

Venice Nutrition
www.venicenutrition.com
They have several different options and price ranges. I am especially curious to know more about their reputation and how they compare to other similar programs.

www.nutritioncertification.com Certified Nutrition Specialist through Exercise and Nutrition Works (ENW) I know they give CEUs for NASM and possibly several others.

www.lifestylemanagement.com Incorporating Nutrition... it looks like they train you how to effectively implement a program working closely with a dietitian. They give CEUs for ACSM and several others also.

I think I have done a lot of homework but there sure are a lot of choices! Would love to hear more from people with some actual experience with these types of programs! Thanks in advance for any insight! I hope some of you can help.

[akyoda32]

While I am not familiar with any of the programs that you listed I just want to point out that you cannot legally give nutritional advice unless you are a registered dietitian or nutritionist. I suggest that you check your states laws on such before wasting time money and effort on something you cannot use. Some states are more strict than others on this topic.

[Christina]

Hi Laura! I don't know anything about these nutrition certifications, but check out this new pt certification from the ACSM. It sounds like something you may ultimately be interested in.

http://www.pearsonvue.com/acsm/cift/

Christina

[kelli m]

Hi!

Regarding dispensing nutritional advice, aykoda is right on. Some states are VERY strict.

There also is a difference is giving nutritional advice and strict meal planning. Educating clients on proper food choices is an integral part of your job as a pt, but meal planning (without the proper credential)is not as it can be a complex process and even dangerous if certain medical conditions are present.

About the master's in nutrition, that sounds like a good possibility for you. Not knowing what your academic background is, I just want to warn you that many prerequisites may be necessary. Many programs require at least 16 hours of upper division chemistry (some schools may have some of those geared to those who are majoring in an applied science, like nutriton). But if it is a subject you are truly passionate about the extra time required won't be too great of a sacrifice.

And, of course, your state may be one of the ones with much fewer restrictions on the profession.

[LauraMomOf4]

Thank you for all the helpful replies. There is also going to be a new certification by the ACSM for working with cancer patients that I thought looked very interesting for down the road.

The two master's degrees in nutrition that I am most interested in are either through Bridgeport University or Huntington College of Health Sciences, probably HCHS because it is close to half the price of Bridgeport's. These are both online master's degrees in nutrition. There's also one through Western Michigan University that is online, but I again think I would prefer HCHS because it is very holistically oriented.

I definitely agree it will be important to be fully aware of legal issues when it comes to nutrition and what a person can and cannot do. That was one thing that impressed me about the Lifestyle Management site. They do work very closely with registered dietitians and seem very up to date on legal issues. There is a list there of individual states and the laws regarding nutritionists and dietitians. Here is Indiana's (where I live):

Indiana Licensure Law
Indiana has a certification regulation. Under this law persons not certified can still practice the occupation or profession of nutrition, but may not use particular titles, such as dietitian, certified dietitian, or licensed dietitian.

HOWEVER, While this state allows non-licensed professionals to provide weight management and nutrition services, it is not recommended - for professional and legal reasons. Nutrition and weight management is beyond the scope of practice for allied health professionals and can result in possible harm to clients. Another serious concern is the possibility of litigation.

FOR THESE REASONS, ALL NUTRITION MANAGER CONSULTANTS SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES TO CONFER WITH AN AASDN PROFESSIONAL.

There is also another site I am aware of, and this is a nutritionist whom I have corresponded with personally. He does seminars about legal implications for natural health care practitioners, including nutrition consultants. I thought this looked very helpful. He is a former attorney. His website is www.healthfreedomseminars.com or his nutrition site www.createvibranthealth.com.