Nutrition Coach

jadu1536

Hello Everyone!

Has anyone tried a nutrition coach? Did it help achieve your goals ?

cmriverside

Sort of. The Myfitnesspal forums and FOOD diary were my coach.

I lost 80 pounds in 2007-08 and I've kept it off by using this site to keep me on track for 15 years now. It's free!

I don't do well with people telling me what to do and I don't enjoy support groups like Weight Watchers etc. I do much better on my own.

Good luck with whatever you do. In 2022 all the tools I need are at my fingertips.

Chef_Barbell

Nope. I like to teach myself things and do things myself. All I ever needed was calorie counting.

sijomial

I would be wary of someone describing themselves as a Nutrition Coach and would check they actually have proper and relevant professional qualifications.

No I didn't need or want outside coaching except for the very specific niche aspect of fuelling of endurance cycling and that helped achieve specific performance goals.

AnnPT77

I'd be careful with someone whose advertised as a "nutrition coach". Depending on where you live, that's the kind of title that may be claimed by . . . just anyone, maybe someone with no more education or certifications than you have yourself. And they may have something they want to sell you, like supplements, shakes, diet programs, etc.

In most places, what you'd want is a "Registered Dietitian (RD)", ideally one with specialization/certifications/experience in the thing you care about: Weight management, athletic performance, management of a specific health condition(s), aging/geriatrics, or whatever.

I consulted a registered dietitian at my cancer center, trying to learn about special issues for me as a an ovo-lacto vegetarian who'd been treated for a hormone-fed advanced-stage cancer. I had particular concerns about soy and dairy in that context (back in 2015), and she was very helpful. She was very experienced in oncology nutrition, but not up to date on my specific questions. She did a great deal of research for me, gave me useful advice as well as a good stack of reading materials that she'd vetted for me as reliable information for my situation.

For general nutrition, or weight-loss nutrition issues, I agree that there's information here on MFP that will cover many/most needs, for someone with a bent for reading and learning. If you are that type of person (vs. someone who just wants to be handed a structured program to follow), then ask some specific questions here or provide more information about your goals. Folks will do their best to provide information for you.

For starters, the MFP default nutrition goals aren't unreasonable as a starting point, as long as a person isn't trying to lose weight dangerously fast (won't get enough nutrition at too-low calories), and as long as there's no significant diagnosed health condition or deficiency in the picture.

cwolfman13

In my state, anyone can be a nutritionist or nutrition coach, including personal trainers. This isn't the case in every state as some states require you to be a registered dietician to give nutritional advice. Given that my state isn't one of those, I've seen quite a bit of everything ranging from pretty good nutritional advice to someone obviously just reading the latest magazine article on X, Y, or Z and they're parroting that to their clients. In my state specifically, I would be incredibly leery of a someone calling themselves a "nutrition coach" and thoroughly looking at their education and qualifications.

In general, I think proper/good nutrition is really common sense but people just don't get out of their own way and make things way too complicated. Eat your veg and fruit, lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. The only reason I would seek out a registered dietician is if I had some kind of medical condition for which I would benefit from professional help in structuring a diet conducive to helping with that condition.

springlering62

I didn’t use a nutrition coach. As @cmriverside said, I learned 95% of what I needed to know via the boards, devoting a few minutes to reading every night.

The Stickies (pinned posts at the top of each board) were particularly helpful, as was input from other experienced users.

My gym, however, did offer discounted sessions with a Registered Dietician. I did three or four sessions, and made sure I had a list of questions for her before I went in, so I could use my consultation minutes most efficiently.

She was the one who recommended MFP, and of all her suggestions, that was far and away the best.

ninerbuff

Registered dietician would be a much better choice.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition