Making Nutrition Recommendations

[George Grigoryan]

I started working part-time as a personal trainer at a NewYork Sports Club (commercial gym facility).

In the company foundations class we were told that we are not permitted to talk nutrition, period. It was said that we are not nutritionists and therefore legally cannot make any recommendations.

Well, this sure make the job harder. The number 1 goal for clients is fat loss and we all know the importance of nutrition in this regard.

I am convinced that there is a way around this issue, and I would like to find out what others out there are doing. Is there some certifications that you can get that permit you to talk about diet? Is there some other way?

Also, what about supplements? I am only talking about fish oil and protein powders here and I believe I can get results without those, but it would be a bit harder.

Thank you.

[Keith S.]

gx3,

I too work at a commercial gym, and we're not allowed to discuss nutrition for the same reason.

For example, you can't say "You should take Whey Protein and Fish Oil."

BUT you can say "I recommend you increase how many vegetables you eat." or "Cut down on ..."

[George Grigoryan]

Another thing is that I prepared a one-pager that I wanted to hand out to my clients with basic recommendations, but I guess that's not allowed either.

This is very moot. If you can say "Cut down on..." can you also say "eliminate..." or "eat X at every meal"

[Keith S.]

u just have to be very vague with what u say...

[George Grigoryan]

As an aside - I overheard the the following exchange between a client and a trainer:

Client: What about bread?
Trainer: I LOVE bread.

[LisaS]

can you do any of these?
a) tell the client how you eat
b) tell the the client the basic science w/out it being a recommendation for the client
c) tell the client what others (that you know) have done and how it worked for these others without making a recommendation for the client
e.g. "many people I've worked with have had good results by increasing veggies & cutting back on white foods like bread, rice & potatoes ..."
d) suggest resources for them to read on their own or refer to them in passing - e.g. "I was reading about a study that found ..."

[George Grigoryan]

I am not sure what exactly is and isn't OK.

[Lost Dog]

Doesn't the company have a nutritionist? Couldn't you ask him/her for something to hand out or discuss with your clients?

Maybe find out if it's okay to recommend a book or something, at least.

[LisaS]

I think it may also come down to what is legal in your state vs what is company policy - they're just trying to build a fence around their potential liability. if the mgmt can't/won't guide you other than stating policy - can you ask other trainers there what they do when their clients ask about nutrition?

[theleip]

The best thing you can do is lead your clients to solid resources if you aren't allowed to give specific advice.

"You"-Understand that I can give you all the training in the world, but if you aren't eating the right diet and the proper amount of calories then the changes wont come.
"Client"-Well what should I be eating?
"You"-Due to my current certification and state laws I cannot give you specific details of what to eat, what I can do though is direct you to how exactly you can find out this information for yourself.

-hand client a document with the following-

-Harris Benedict Formula and BMR calculation-This will allow client to find out their caloric intake needs. Explain to them any question they have on how it works, activity level and so forth.
-Breakdown of Macro's-Short staple/List of Good Carbs,Lean Proteins and Good Fats
-Book/Website list-List of books or websites they can read to find out more detail on the subject of sports/fitness nutrition.
-Detailed Success Story-Pick out one of your clients or just a random person who had success losing weight that list what they did, a sample menu of their diet and exercise and how they reached their goal. This will allow you to show them how to make a menu in a round about way.
-Facts and Myths-List out some common facts and myths for example-
Starvation Mode, Bulky Muscles (important for female clients), Water importance, Ratio discussion and so forth.

This is what I tell a lot of PT's to do and they have found great success and a whole new ground to work with as far as their clients are concerned. You get to address the issue but in a manner that lets them be in control of the situation, you help educate, but you make no decisions or choices that could effect your job, or their health.

[Lost Dog]

I'm not sure why someone with a training cert can give training advice, but not simple and basic nutritional advice. Don't these certs have any nutritional basics covered? Are there not similar certs that one can get for nutritional aspects?

Nutritionist isn't even an official title. I know a lot about nutrition. I could call myself a Nutritionist. I can also call myself a Handyman, Writer, etc.

Do they have a path that they suggest you follow in order to give nutritional advice? Or, do they want no part of it at the club?

[tonymcclellan]

What NYSC if you dont mind my asking?

[Ian Kay]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

I'm not sure why someone with a training cert can give training advice, but not simple and basic nutritional advice. Don't these certs have any nutritional basics covered? Are there not similar certs that one can get for nutritional aspects?

Nutritionist isn't even an official title. I know a lot about nutrition. I could call myself a Nutritionist. I can also call myself a Handyman, Writer, etc.

Do they have a path that they suggest you follow in order to give nutritional advice? Or, do they want no part of it at the club?

As far as the blurry line of scope of practice/study, two examples:

(1) An older woman walks up to me at the gym and asks if we have a leg-extension and leg press machine. I say yes. She explains that her doctor told her to use them for her knee. I said most trainers I know wouldn't recommend eother, especially the leg extensions. She said, well, he's an expert... so, can you show me how to use these? I said 'He didn't show you how?' No, he just said avoid the, uh... (and she pointed at the dumbbells)"

(2) A woman walks up to me at Vitamin World, and asks me what what the best supplement is post-surgery for hypo-thyroidism. I stared at her in disbelief and said, "I think you should ask your doctor about that." She said, "Well, I'm on meds, but he told me to ask someone here about the supplements." [the evil me in my brain now hands her a large bottle of NO-Explode... ]

[Lost Dog]

Those are pretty bad. Shows the ignorance of both the patient and the doctor.

While I tend to trust my doctors, in general, I think I know when to stop trusting their opinions. I think...

[Lost Dog]

In a way, I can undestand that they don't want you to give specific nutritional advice, but there's really no inherant danger in saying things like:

avoid processed foods
avoid added sugars
avoid drinks with calories
eat fruits and vegetables
eat lean protein sources
avoid transfats and products that have them as ingredients

There's nothing there that the general public shouldn't know, but when your trainer tells you these things, along with the training plan, you might be more likely to listen. Some people think the training is enough.

You can't even discuss the Govt food pyramid? That would be better than most people's diets and it's endorsed by the govt. Maybe you could print off those pamphlets and hand them out. Then point them to a book or two for more specifics?

[kuri]

Intersting discussion. I'm going to have to work on some strategies to deal with this for where I'll be working.

Good advice so far.

[Lisa~]

You have to be an NSCA member to look at this forum, but this discussion sheds a lot of light on this topic.

Nutrition Guidelines for Personal Trainers

In 2005 the NSCA tried to create guidelines for personal trainers that outlined what they could and could not say about nutrition. It was shot down and never implimented as far as I know. It's mostly about liability issues and a whole lot about a turf war with dieticians and what they consider to be their domain.

I agree with, and suspect a lot of personal trainers agree with, this commentary (which comes from the FemaleMuscle site's getting certified section):

All personal training certifications include nutrition as part of their curriculum. However, personal trainers are usually advised (warned, even) by their certifying organizations to give only general nutrition guidelines to their clients. They recommend that trainers focus on exercise prescription while leaving the detailed nutrition programs to highly trained nutrition specialists such as RD’s and CCN’s.

In my opinion, the qualifications and education required to give nutrition advice should depend on who you are giving the advice to. Are your clients going to be athletes, bodybuilders, the obese, the elderly, first-graders, or kidney patients? A certified personal trainer, especially one with a degree in exercise science and years of practical experience, would be more than qualified to discuss basic nutritional needs for healthy people in non-clinical settings. RD’s and CCN’s have the specialized training necessary to prescribe a wide variety of nutritional programs including clinical and medical cases. On the other hand, most RD’s, due to their conservative and traditional educational background, would not be the best people to turn to if a client’s goal was bodybuilding, fitness or figure competition. The best advice for personal trainers who do nutrition consulting is to always keep in mind the limitations of your knowledge and expertise and be careful not to overstep your bounds.

Not overstepping your bounds happens to be very, very vague. These topics will continue to be discussed in the March 2007 NSCA Personal Trainers Conference in Las Vegas. I do not plan to attend, but will be looking for the review information after the conference. I don't, however, expect there to be any definitive outcomes.

What I actually do regarding nutrition advice for my clients adhere's to what is outlined in the NSCA Nutrition Guidelines for Personal Trainers, even though it didn't make it to an official status.

[George Grigoryan]

Originally Posted by tonymcclellan

What NYSC if you dont mind my asking?

Astoria, Queens.