Scope of Work

Food coaches help clients improve their eating, focusing on:

• Food eaten - determining type and quantity of food
• Health Awareness - understanding food affects on wellbeing
• Psychology - motivation, behavioural change

Work may include:

• Discussing the essentials of nutrition to optimal health – in a range of clients: pregnant, obese, sports people, vegetarians etc.
• Motivation - How to motivate clients to adapt changes for weight management.
• Relating nutrition to personal performance – e.g. sports, business, school, etc.
• Assessing and reviewing clients’ goals, behavioural changes and progress over time.
• Empower a client to evaluate and change attitudes and behaviours connected to their health and wellbeing through diet.
• Setting health and well-being goals through diet.
  
  

What You Need to Learn

• Assessment -  evaluating client health and nutrition; pregnant, obese, sports people, vegetarians etc., body/mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP)?
• Motivational skills - using praise, motivational interviewing, incentives, behaviour modification techniques
• Coaching theory - constructive criticism, goal-setting & reviewing, wellness vision, empowerment
• Communication - verbal, non-verbal, interviewing, educating clients/patients on essentials of nutrition & optimal health
• Human biology - anatomy, physiology, digestive & respiratory systems, microbiology
• Human nutrition - diet, calorific intake, nutritional value of foods, general dietary advice, diets for chronic conditions
• Fitness - aerobic, muscle, exercise planning & appropriate execution
• Physical disorders - terminology, chronic health conditions (obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, etc.) 

Starting a Career

Careers may start one or several different ways, including:

• A passion for food - learning, preparing, eating different foods
• Volunteering - eg. charities feeding homeless, aged care services, hospitals, clinics
• Retailing - eg. working in a health food shop,
• Health/Fitness  - work in health or fitness, then develop to specialise in nutrition
• Learning - formal courses, reading books, seminars,
• Networking - joining organisations,

Learn to work with clients to examine what they eat and how to improve eating habits.
Help them diet plan and monitor change. Also learn to motivate clients. For example, if a person eats junk food whenever they are stressed, a food coach may help them recognise triggers to their bad eating and find techniques of how to deal with this behavioural change.

Progressing a Career

To progress a career, you need to:

• Build your experience by working in different branches of Nutrition
• Continue learning - through experience, formal studies and professional development.
• Develop a history - become known and appreciated by peers and potential clients

There are many things you can do to achieve these things:

• Write and Publish -blogs, newsletters, magazine articles, conference papers
• Give talks - to community groups, professional conferences, schools
• Network - join professional associations, serve on committees, visit peers, engage social media
• Gain experience working with clients – offer your services as ‘work experience’ or undertake that during training. 
• CPD schemes - be part of continuing professional development schemes