What is the most accredited certification for nutrition and wellness coaching?

Hi Mary,

Congratulation on your decision.

It depends on the type of clients you are looking to train. For example, Personal Training, coaching sports/athletes, teaching fitness classes, fitness for seniors, aquatics, wellness and life coaching are some of the different options you have when deciding which certification to get. Each one offers different information and possibilities. There are many great organizations out there which offer certifications so you have to decide which way to go. Price can be a factor when chosing a certification, but cutting corners just to get the cheapest one out there might not be the smartest or best way to proceed.

Do you have in mind what you would like to do or type of clients you would like to train? Our industry it’s a great place to be in and has opportunities for everyone. ACE, NSCA, ACSM are few that come to my mind which you can search for more information. There are many more out there for you to check and research to find out which one will fit you best.

I'm sure you will get some great answers here and I hope it will help you with your search.

Good luck!

Best,
Harris

I would look at ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management as an entry level cert. I don't know much about it, but Wellcoaches might be the way to go if you want to work in healthcare/preventive medicine. For sports nutrition, CISSN would be my top choice. Your degree would make you eligible to take this. Another nutrition cert. is offered by ISSA and popular with personal trainers.

Plenty to choose from.

I'd say check out ISSA, ACE and NASM.

I would say Wellcoaches for wellness coaching. I really don't have a suggestion for nutrition.

All the best!

Congratulations on wanting to join the Health, Fitness and Wellness industry. As you've already learned there are a lot of ways to get started and a lot of different paths you can follow. All of them will help people to live healthier lives.

If you're not quite sure where you'd like to start or where to focus, don't worry, most of us don't! A great place to start is to talk to local fitness professionals (personal trainers, fitness instructors, gym managers, etc), health professionals (physical therapists, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, etc) and coaches (life coaches, health coaches, sports coaches, etc) and ask them what their day in day out job entails. What do they like? What do they dislike? How did they get started? What education do they need? Are there continuing education requirements? What advice would they give to someone just starting out?

You'll get a lot of great information and it may help you to narrow your focus. It will also be a great connection for you to work with like minded professionals who can quide you along your journey. I often work with new trainers in this capacity. I find we all learn and grow from the experience.

Good luck in your search!

Another vote for Wellcoaches - it's the only coaching certification accredited by ACSM

Mary,

I'm probably far too late to the party to help you on this one, but another option that is accredited by both the ACSM and the NATA Board of Certification is the CWC certification offered through the Catalyst Coaching Institute (www.CatalystCoachingInstitute.com). They require the face to face training too, which while not as convenient, adds a very important component to the training. They have an article that was published by WELCOA (Wellness Council of America) posted on their website that may be of interest.

All the best to you in your journey!

-Brad

No one mentioned becoming a registered and licensed dietitian. This is the professional that got an actual accredited nutrition degree, supervised practice hours (1200), and took an exam. Everything else is much easier to get and less esteemed. "Coaching" certifications are what people use to get around the licensure requirements to give out nutrition advice required by real nutrition professionals (most states require you be an RD or CNS, and RDs are numbered 80,000, whereas CNS are under 500...). If you call yourself a coach, you can do whatever you want without legal implications because you're not doing nutritional counseling, you're just "coaching," (as though there is a difference). Don't jump on this loophole because you just look like a charlatan and no one will take you seriously in the professional world. Coaching certifications will just take your money. There are WAY too many certifications out there because it is a good business to create a curriculum and make payers take a test and then call you "certified." This is not regulated yet, but you can see there are too many out there because most of them are scams to take your money and have no gravity on whether people consider you a professional or not (and like I said, unless you're a licensed dietitian/nutritionist [depending on your state what they call it], why should they listen to you about nutrition?)

I also recommend getting a degree in kinesiology rather than just getting a personal training certification. The cert is a starting point, but there is a clear difference between wannabes with weekend certifications and people who devoted their education to learning about nutrition and fitness and know what they are talking about.

I agree with Joe Fitness, no one will be able to answer your question on the what coaching certification should I get. There are too many, and the under-appreciated field of health and wellness needs to regulate health coaches, and wellness coaches in order to save us from the confusion of what is what. My recommendation; go for either a degree in nutrition or kinesiology, and you will have an upper hand, and don't settle for working at the local gym get with other health care professionals. I did this and I am much happier as I can work either individually or with a team of professionals who value my opnion.

Hi there! Im a PhD student in cancer research in Germany however my dream is to open my own business where I can provide a range of services to improve the quality of life of patients. So, I do not intend to stay in academia... since I am not a qualified nutritionist, I am looking for distance learning programs which will provide me with a degree/diploma/certificate that is recognized in europe to work as a nutrionist. If you have any idea or recommendation, I will be really happy to hear it!

Cheers,
Sara

In your case, instead of going with one of the expensive certs, you're much better off going with a nutrition certification that is designed for people like you in mind who are passionate about health and fitness, don't have experience yet, and want to start their own practice teaching clients how to get in shape, lose weight, and achieve their ideal physique. The best nutrition certification in this case would be one like Venice Nutrition. Especially if you want to start your own small business, you are going to want to do a certification that teaches you how to set up and grow your own practice, as well as offer support to someone who is just getting started. The Venice Nutrition Certification also has a nationally recognized nutrition expert at its head, Mark MacDonald, who is on the national news every week giving health and fitness advice, which is a huge bonus when you are looking for clients. You can show them his videos to build trust and show them who you are connected with. If you just tell someone you have a certification from ABC Certificate, it will mean nothing to them. Make sure you do a certification program that is going to give you the knowledge and tools to help you grow your business.

Hi mary!H
I know this post is old but im currently in the exact same boat you were in! I have my degree in communications but bave been working retail and cant stand it anymore. Ive been really wanting to get into fitness and nutrition as well because i love it but have no clue where to start. What did you end up doing after all??

Props to you for wanting to join such a beneficial industry! I think the best thing you could do is contact an experienced health and nutrition coach like Jereme in Salem, Oregon. You don't have to be certified to do what you want to do, but it does help to have some experience with someone who's been through the crucible. Here's his website: http://www.rootfitnessandnutrition.com/