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Nutritional coaching is a process by which the person:

  • Identify and overcome obstacles.
  • Create an environment suitable for change.
  • Adopt the right attitude to achieve the goal.
  • And she is the only protagonist of the process.

The nutritional coach does not tell people what they have to do, it simply helps them evaluate what they are doing, take into account their purposes, dreams, values, and helps and accompanies them to overcome their barriers and achieve their goals.

Among the functions of the coach stand out:

  • Support the coachee throughout his or her treatment.
  • Establish a relationship of trust with the customer.
  • Ask open and powerful questions to generate reflection during the sessions.
  • Apply coaching tools to help the coachee face the barriers that arise during the change process.
  • The coach acts as a companion and guide, collaborates so that the coachee explores, reflects, and moves forward at his pace respecting his values, which favors change.
  • Analyze the basics of conscious eating and mindful eating.
  • Apply coaching tools to make personalized decisions during the change process.
  • Better understand each client and find the right accompaniment for each person and moment.
  • Evaluate the nutritional status and eating behaviors of the client.
  • Identify and accompany patterns of eating behavior linked to emotions and, if necessary, know how to refer the appropriate health professional.
  • Use food as a tool in managing emotions and explore with the coachee other tools that can help us feel better and explore our own resources.
  • Practice active listening, which shows the coachee has understood the message. For example, summarize, paraphrase, reflect what the client has said to ensure understanding, not make value judgments.
  • The coach can work with the coachee's ambivalence to change, it works with the motivation of the patient, it is important to activate their motivation and resources to change.
  • It is important to emphasize that coaching does not replace the training, nor the knowledge of the dietician and nutritionist, the approach of the nutritional coach tries to get the client to carry out the nutritional plan, that is, once the client starts a nutritional plan adapted to their needs the nutritional coach can help guide you along the way.
  • In case the nutritional coach is a dietitian or nutritionist and draws up a personalized food plan, he will always adapt your food to your goal, taking into account your tastes, schedules, and personal situation, in this way, you will create more adherence and it will be easier to achieve your goal.
  • The nutritional coach helps you evaluate the different strategies for improvement, both in the nutritional field and in other variables that refer to your lifestyle.
  • The nutritional coach helps you adopt an attitude that leads you to develop an action plan to achieve your goals.
  • The coach must know how to identify the predisposition towards a change since it is one of the main causes in the effectiveness of the coaching processes since it reflects the greater or less predisposition of the coachee for his goal of change.
  • Pre-contemplation: the person does not see or does not want to see any problems in his behavior. He begins to weigh the pros and cons even though he is not in the mood to try a change.
  • Contemplation: the person decides to try a change and requires having the confidence to be able to control the new behavior.
  • Determination: the person decides to try a change and requires having the confidence to be able to control the new behavior.
  • Action: conduct is carried out in the direction of change. The decision taken is put into practice.
  • Maintenance: changes begin to consolidate and become habits, despite the attraction to the old behavior, which is still present.
  • Relapse: the old behaviors are performed again.

The training of nutritional coach can be interesting for professionals from various sectors who want to add value to their current training and carry out complementary studies, for example, dietitians, nutritionists, psychologists among other profiles.

Coach training is a perfect complement to improve your consultations and adherence to dietary treatment and its maintenance.

Currently, nutrition and food are booming and that is why the figure of the nutritional coach is in great demand since it helps your customers get more easily make a change in their diet and quality of life.

Training in nutritional coaching is a before and after in your way of working and seeing nutrition.

Have you ever done a nutritional coaching session? Do you tell us your experience?