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Certified Nutrition Coach Certification (NASM-CNC)

Help your clients create lasting nutrition habits for optimal health and wellness.

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$53 /month $25 down + 11 interest-free payments. 0% interest, no fees, penalties or credit check!

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Course Highlights

  • Written and reviewed by 20 leading experts
  • Learn on any device (smartphone, tablet, computer)
  • Digital learning platform:
  • Five-year unlimited access to online content
  • One-year exam expiration date

Certified Nutrition Coach

$899

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Become an NASM Certified Nutrition Coach

The NASM Certified Nutrition Coach (CNC) is your education solution for guiding clients toward optimal nutrition choices for health- and wellness-related outcomes. The course arms you with evidence-backed nutrition science that has been peer-reviewed by multiple experts in the industry. It also teaches you how to use behavior change and coaching strategies with your clients to develop long-lasting weight loss and healthful nutrition habits.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate client nutrition needs based on evidence-backed and peer-reviewed nutritional science.
  • Employ behavior change strategies during client conversations about health, fitness, and wellness.
  • Coach clients on navigating various nutrition choices based on their needs, goals, lifestyle, and food preferences.
 

Our Certified Nutrition Coach Curriculum

Click here to view the NASM-CNC Author/Contributors list.

There are no prerequisites for the Nutrition Certification. But we always encourage preparing for a career in nutrition by familiarizing yourself with the many nutrition courses NASM has to offer.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Learn about the role of a Nutrition Coach and how the NASM Nutrition Certification can help enhance your career.

Chapter 2: Scope of Practice
Understand a Nutrition Coach's scope of practice, professional expectations, and differentiate among related nutrition professions.

Chapter 3: Evidence-Based Nutrition and Practice
In this chapter, you'll learn the importance of evidence-based practice as a nutrition specialist, the difference between basic scientific principles and methodology, and how to define scientific research processes.

Chapter 4: Food Preference and Influences
Understand the effects of nutritional intake on individual health, identify the role of dietary habits in overall health, and describe factors that influence dietary patterns. You'll also be able to recognize the dangers of a one-diet-fits-all approach and identify how different factors can influence eating patterns.

Chapter 5: Energy Balance and Metabolism
This chapter explores how macronutrients fuel activity and bodily functions, as well as how to balance the energy in versus energy out equation. You'll understand the First Law of Thermodynamics, energy balance, and energy systems.

Chapter 6: Protein
Protein is an important macronutrient that many bodily functions depend on. Learn the structure and function of protein, total daily protein requirements, and methods for establishing protein requirements in a dietary program.

Chapter 7: Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide energy for the body. Understand their structure and function, the digestion and absorption process, daily carbohydrate requirements, and more.

Chapter 8: Fats
Dietary fat has many important functions. In this chapter, you'll learn about the function and intake recommendations, healthy versus unhealthy fats, as well as key myths and hot topics related to fat.

Chapter 9: Alcohol
This chapter explains the digestion and absorption process of alcohol, as well as the physiological effects and methods for accommodating alcohol in a dietary program.

Chapter 10: Micronutrients
Micronutrients help maintain the metabolic processes required to produce energy. Understand the difference between water-soluble vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins, and minerals, identify common food sources, and learn to calculate daily recommended intakes and the values for each micronutrient.

Chapter 11: Hydration
In this chapter, you'll learn the compartmental aspects and shifts of water in the body following significant sweat losses. You'll also discover methods to help decrease excessive hypo- or hyper-hydration and learn about proper hydration strategies.

Chapter 12: Nutrient Timing
Discover appropriate nutrient-timing strategies for performance and for altering body composition, as well as the role that nutrient timing plays within an overall nutrition strategy.

Chapter 13: Supplements
Understand the role of supplementation across various goals, explain the strength of the evidence base for commonly used supplements, and learn to communicate with clients about the pros and cons of supplementation.

110 Infographics

14 Videos

53 Knowledge Checks

1 Printable Handout

110 Infographics

14 Videos

53 Knowledge Checks

1 Printable Handout

Chapter 14: Psychology of Weight Control and Behavior Change
In this chapter, you'll learn how psychology affects fitness and wellness. Identify barriers to diet and exercise, common eating disorders, and common client types used to develop customized programs.

Chapter 15: Coaching and Communication
It's important for Personal Nutrition Coaches to communicate in a way that positively influences adherence to their programs. You'll identify strategies for building rapport and use effective communication skills to elicit behavior change.

Chapter 16: Motivational Interviewing
This chapter explains motivational interviewing and strategies that are used to help clients understand the underlying reasons for their own change while affirming their motivation.

Chapter 17: Goal Setting
Understand different types of goals, the benefits of effective goal-setting, methods for providing feedback and tracking progress, and identify obstacles commonly encountered when setting goals.

18 Infographics

11 Videos

16 Knowledge Checks

18 Infographics

11 Videos

16 Knowledge Checks

Chapter 18: Dietary Assessment and Body Composition Testing
In this chapter, you'll discover a step-by-step approach to assessing dietary intake and monitoring body composition. You'll compare body-composition assessment methods and understand the importance of consistency and accessibility.

Chapter 19: Food and Supplement Labels and Portion Size
Learn about the labeling standards for food and supplement products, as well as portion size recommendations.

Chapter 20: Helping Clients Navigate the Real World
This chapter explains strategies that can help clients make healthy food choices in everyday situations, such as at the grocery store or dining out.

Chapter 21: Navigating Diets
Learn the latest facts regarding diets and how they impact health, body composition, and athletic performance. This chapter explores many different diets and provides details regarding their safety and effectiveness.

Chapter 22: Nutrition Hot Topics and Controversies
An in-depth approach to explaining the science behind many of the nutrition hot topics and controversies faced by clients today.

Chapter 23: Managing Weight-Loss Plateaus and Maintaining Weight Loss
This chapter examines the science and psychology of weight-loss plateaus and how to help clients avoid this vicious cycle.

Chapter 24: Programming - Putting it All Together
Nutrition Coaches must have a foundational level of knowledge regarding nutritional science and behavior psychology. However, knowledge without action is virtually useless, especially when helping clients achieve their health-and-wellness goals. This chapter puts all of this knowledge into practice and details a step-by-step process for nutrition programming.

62 Infographics

16 Videos

29 Knowledge Checks

10 Printable Handouts

62 Infographics

16 Videos

29 Knowledge Checks

10 Printable Handouts

After the completion of the course, you will take an online final exam from the comfort of your own home, or wherever you prefer to take tests. The test is 100, multiple-choice questions. You are allowed to go back and reference the course while taking the exam. The exam is timed and cannot exceed 90 minutes. To pass, you need a score of 70% or higher and you have up to 3 attempts to pass.

 

Take a Tour of NASM’s Digital Learning Platform

Study for your NASM Nutrition Certification anytime, anywhere, and on any device with our revolutionary digital learning platform. See the interactive platform's features by taking a quick tour below.

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Why Become an NASM-CNC?

Backed by 40 years of experience, NASM can help you reach a whole new level of clients, earnings, and knowledge with the industry’s most sought-after nutrition program.

  • Customize a learning pace and cultivate an effective and enjoyable learning experience by utilizing NASM’s state-of-the-art digital learning platform.
  • Guide clients through nutrition solutions that address real-world problems such as, reading food labels and assessing portion sizes.
  • Create nutrition intervention programs that align with specific client needs and goals like calculating client caloric intake needs and macronutrient ratios.
  • Apply a systematic nutrition coaching approach for a variety of client case scenarios.
  • Leverage behavior change strategies for sustainable health, wellness, and weight-loss-related results.
  • Describe nutrition hot topics and diet options such as, GMOs, gluten-free, Paleo and Keto diets.
  • Become a trusted expert with an increase in clientele and income.
5 stars

Jill R

It's great to be apart of the NASM community! The NASM Nutrition Certification course was very helpful to the knowledge I had already possessed in my past 8 years experience in the Nutrition industry. Great online course with detailed information to attain the knowledge needed. You can also learn at your own pace to fully retain information. I plan to continue my education in other programs NASM offers.

Florida

5 stars

Paul G

This Course was excellent. It is an absolute must, if you want or expect to be the best trainer/nutrition coach that you can be. Short of a PhD in nutrition, which will cost you tens of thousands of dollars and take multiple years to obtain, This is the most comprehensive nutrition material on the market. Buy now, do not hesitate!

California

5 stars

Gadi S

Highly recommend the course, even for people who are not looking to get into the field, but just to enhance their own (and their family's) nutrition habits. The course was fun and the videos were enjoyable with great speakers. Worth the investment into self!

Florida

5 stars

Jonathan A

Best thing about NASM courses is the amount of research behind every section of every chapter in the course. All claims are backed by some form of solid evidence-backed scientific research. I feel much more informed and ready to pass along my knowledge to my clients.

New York

5 stars

Tobi O

10/10 would recommend. Truly engaging format that allowed for much more palatable and easier learning. I also feel more confident in my Nutrition Knowledge due to this course.

New Jersey

5 stars

Rachel B

The NASM CNC Course prepared me for a fulfilling career as a Certified nutritionist. I highly recommend this course alongside the NASM CPT course to become a well-rounded coach.

Tennessee

5 stars

Madison S

I really enjoyed this course. The information I learned is practical and easily implemented to my own life and within my scope of practice, in working with clients. I can't wait to put what I learned into practice, helping others to live happy and healthy lives.

Arkansas

5 stars

Marcus S

I found the information presented in the CNC course to be very relevant to my clientele's needs and expectations and it significantly increased my understanding of nutrition fundamentals and its application to my clients needs.

Arkansas

 

 

NASM Certified Nutrition Coach FAQs

The short answer, no. The longer answer is that while it may sound similar, a Nutritionist is very different from a Nutrition Coach. A Nutritionist is limited in what they can offer their clients. In contrast, as a Nutrition Coach, you’ll stay plugged in to current trends and diets to help clients work through their individual needs.

When you sign up to become a Nutrition Coach through NASM, you learn how to navigate nutrition needs through three unique yet equally important modules:

• Nutrition Science: From proteins to fats, energy balance to counting macros, get a comprehensive look at the scope of your practice as a nutrition leader.

• Behavior Change: Learn how to use motivation and communication to enhance the psychology behind how we eat.

• Nutrition Coaching: Put everything together to create a personalized course of action for your clients. Whether it’s weight loss or weight gain, bulking up or maintaining where they’re at, you now have the keys to nutritional success.

NASM-CNC is approved for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by the following organizations:

NASM Provider logo

1.9 CEUs

AFAA Provider Logo

15 CEUs

ACE Provider Logo

3.0 CECs

CIMPSA Provider Logo

10 CIMSPA Endorsed CPD Points

Learning Hours/EREPS Logo

10 Learning Hours

Mobile NASM Provider logo

1.9 CEUs

Mobile AFAA Provider Logo

15 CEUs

Mobile ACE Provider Logo

3.0 CECs

Mobile CIMPSA Provider Logo

10 CPD Points

Mobile Learning Hours/EREPS Logo

10 Learning Hours

A Nutrition Coach works with a more general clientele to develop strategies that address issues like obesity, body composition, aging, and lifestyle approaches to disease management. A Sports Nutrition Coach digs a little deeper, working specifically with athletes to educate and provide coaching around performance nutrition within sports.

While these two roles differ in the audience they serve, they do work hand in hand to provide a well-rounded understanding of nutrition.

To that end, our CNC course sets down an effective foundation in nutrition to build from, helping through a fundamental understanding of how to serve clients’ nutrition needs. From there, our CSNC program takes what you learn throughout CNC and builds upon it to target a specific client base to focus on strategies that impact performance and recovery.

Absolutely! You can complete the NASM Nutrition Certification while also working full-time. The study material is 100% online and self-paced, and can be accessed on a computer, or a mobile device such as a phone or tablet.

You can start anytime! Once you begin, you have one year to complete the course and take the final exam, which is more than enough time. On average, if you are studying 8-10 hours a week the course will likely take about 10 weeks to complete but can be completed in as few as 4 weeks.

Renewal of the Certified Nutrition Coach (CNC) is required every two years through completion of the CNC Renewal Exam. The CNC Renewal Exam will offer three exam attempts and will have an enrollment duration of 365 days. The CNC Renewal Exam will recertify the credential for another two years from the new completion date.

Why Choose NASM

Certified Nutrition Coach

There is a reason the National Academy of Sports Medicine is the most trusted name in fitness and wellness. For almost 40 years, we’ve prided ourselves on developing certifications and specializations that are evidence-based and backed by the latest in science and research. By doing so, you can rest assured that you’re learning the most accurate and trusted methods and providing your clients with the best insight and guidance available.

By combining our time-tested approach to research and product development with 24 of the biggest and brightest names in nutrition, the Certified Nutrition Coach program provides you with the most in-depth and up-to-date certification on the market. That's not all, though. Our state-of-the-art digital learning platform, high-end videos, and interactive learning materials give you a first-class experience available only with NASM.

Learn what thousands of other Nutrition Coaches already know. NASM knows what it takes to build fitness and nutrition certifications and specializations that make a difference for your career and clients.

Do You Still Have Questions?

Talk to one of our program advisors to learn more about the NASM-CNC. Fill out the form and you will be contacted within 1 business day.

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