TThe next time your personal trainer tries to sell you a new protein powder or diet plan, hit the pause – you shouldn’t take nutritional advice from a trainer who isn’t properly licensed. While a trainer’s suggestions have the best of intentions, nutritional advice and personalized meal planning should be left to the professionals.
“Exercising trainers interested in the use of nutritional tools are subject to the requirements of applicable state nutrition laws,” according to the American Nutrition Association. “In a state with exclusive nutrition law, it is illegal for a personal trainer / fitness trainer without a nutrition / dietetic license to use nutritional tools in their work unless the practitioner’s nutritional advice is covered by an exemption from nutrition / dietetics License. Dietetics licensing law. “
The laws vary depending on the state. For example, in Tennessee, an athletic trainer or coach cannot provide nutritional advice unless properly licensed. However, there is no legal process in Arizona to provide nutritional counseling without a license.
However, if your unlicensed personal trainer offers you a protein bar, it is unlikely that they will face legal action. Trainers can talk to their clients about basic nutrition without a special license – they just need to know their limits, says Lindsay Ogden, certified personal trainer, nutrition coach and small group training manager at Life Time.
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“In most places, trainers can talk about nutrition in general to support overall health and fitness goals for otherwise healthy clients,” says Ogden. “Registered nutritionists earn a degree and pass an admission exam that qualifies them for medical nutritional therapy – for the treatment of conditions such as diabetes or obesity. Unless you are a registered dietitian, it is best to avoid treatments, prescriptions, and diagnoses. In some states, even writing a meal plan is considered a “prescription” and is not allowed unless you are an RD. “
Your trainer might encourage you to have a drink of water after your workout, and that’s fine. But let’s say, for example, they advise you to eat a plant-based diet to treat the underlying health conditions, it isn’t.
Instead of going from state to state to learn the rules, it is best to hire a personal trainer or athletic trainer who is also formally trained in nutrition and nutrition. After all, food is essential to healthy fitness – it is literally fuel for the body that directly affects performance and recovery.
“The best fitness professionals look for certifications to educate themselves and support customers,” says Ogden. “Unless your trainer is an RD or a certified nutritionist, I would recommend that you look for this separately from your workouts.”
Michelle Gottfried, MS, CNS, Senior Nutritionist at the Nutritional Genomics Institute, agrees with Ogden that trainers and nutritionists can work together to better serve their clients.
“Since nutrition includes the biochemistry of the body, it is important that a trainer who gives nutritional advice on a particular diet or nutritional supplement has the appropriate teaching in biochemistry,” says Gottfried. “If a nutritionist prescribes certain exercises beyond the general recommendations, they must be qualified to advise a client on how best to do that particular exercise so that they do not get injured. It is ideal to have someone who has the appropriate training in both areas. “
The next time you’re looking for a personal trainer, make sure their resume includes nutritional certifications. Or, get nutritional advice from another expert who can work with your non-certified athletic trainer. Keeping trainers and nutritionists on their own is designed to help you get the best results.
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