Over the years, I’ve learned that the best nutrition advice is simple, actionable, and tailored to each individual. Today, I want to share my top nutrition coaching tips with you, so you can get better results with your clients and actually make a lasting difference with your coaching.
1. Focus on Building Habits, Not Perfect Plans
One of the first lessons I learned as a coach is that the perfect plan on paper means nothing if your client can’t stick to it. I once worked with a busy mom who was determined to follow a strict diet because she’d heard it worked wonders for her friend.
But between work, kids, and her love for Friday night pizza, the plan just didn’t fit her life. Instead of overhauling her entire diet, we focused on manageable habits: adding more vegetables to her meals and drinking water before every snack. Over time, those small wins built her confidence and led to better overall choices.
Teach your clients to prioritise consistency over perfection. Help them set realistic goals, like prepping one healthy meal a day or swapping sugary drinks for water. These habits are the foundation for sustainable progress.
And remember, celebrating these small wins reinforces behaviour change and keeps motivation high.
2. Teach the Basics of Nutrition
Many clients come to us overwhelmed by misinformation. They’ve been bombarded by fad diets, conflicting advice, and promises of quick fixes. As coaches, our job is to cut through the noise and teach them the basics:
- Protein: Why it’s essential for muscle repair, satiety, and overall health. Encourage them to include a protein source with every meal, like chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, or lentils.
- Carbs: The body’s primary energy source. Explain the difference between refined carbs (like sweets and pastries) and whole carbs (like oats and potatoes). Empower them to see that carbs are not the enemy, but a necessary part of a balanced diet.
- Fats: Essential for hormone function and brain health. Teach the value of healthy fats from sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil while moderating less beneficial fat sources.
- Micronutrients: The vitamins and minerals from fruits, vegetables, and whole foods that keep the body functioning optimally. Show them how to “eat the rainbow” to ensure they get a variety of nutrients.
Your clients aren’t stupid just because they don’t know the information that you do. Educating them on nutrition will ultimately set them up with a skill for life, so it should be a large focus in your coaching. A deeper understanding of basic principles empowers clients to make informed choices without overthinking.
Translating vague guidelines into easy to understand and relatable snippets also helps. For example, rather than telling someone to eat specific calories and macros, you can translate that into what it actually looks like on a plate with foods they actually eat. Such as:
- A quarter of the plate: Whole grains or starchy carbs for energy.
- Half the plate: Vegetables and fruits for fibre and nutrients.
- A quarter of the plate: Lean protein for satiety and muscle maintenance.
This is probably one of the most impactful nutrition coaching tips every coach should take from this article.
3. Encourage Mindful Eating
I’ve had countless clients come to me frustrated that they aren’t losing weight, even though they “exercised all the time and ate healthy.” When we dig into their habits, we very often discover that they often snack mindlessly while watching TV or eat in a rush between other things during the day. No doubt this sounds familiar to many of you coaches.
Mindful eating can be a game-changer. Encourage your clients to:
- Sit down for meals without distractions, like phones or TVs.
- Chew slowly and savour their food, noticing textures and flavours (this is also super important for improving their relationship with food).
- Listen to their hunger and fullness cues. For example, on a scale of 1 to 10, encourage them to start eating when they’re at a 3 or 4 (hungry but not starving) and stop at a 7 (satisfied but not stuffed).
One simple exercise is to ask clients to take three deep breaths before starting a meal. It helps them shift out of autopilot and into awareness. Over time, this practice can prevent overeating and improve their relationship with food. You can also encourage journalling around meals to help identify emotional eating triggers, if they need it.
4. Meet Clients Where They Are
Not every client is ready for big changes, and that’s okay. Your job is to meet them where they are and guide them one step at a time. If someone’s diet currently consists of fast food three times a day, asking them to cook all their meals from scratch isn’t realistic.
Instead, start with one small change, like drinking water or the sugar free soda instead of the regular soda.
Every small step builds momentum. Help clients recognise and celebrate progress, no matter how incremental it seems. For some, a single healthy swap can ignite the motivation to try bigger changes.
I know many coaches are eager to make lots of changes at once, and in some clients, this does work, but a lot of your clients would actually get better results if you focus on small changes and build momentum instead.
5. Highlight the Importance of Preparation
Failing to plan is planning to fail, and nowhere is this truer than with nutrition.
Encourage your clients to think ahead:
- Meal Prep: Cooking a few meals in advance can save time and prevent reliance on takeout. You can also share recipes or tips for simple batch cooking.
- Healthy Snacks: Keeping options like nuts, fruit, or Greek yoghurt on hand can curb hunger and reduce temptation. Suggest organising snacks into portioned containers to avoid overeating.
- Emergency Meals: Suggest easy go-to options, like a pre-cooked sliced chicken with a salad from the local shop, for busy days.
More preparation eliminates perceived decision fatigue and makes healthy eating seamless, even on chaotic days. Some clients will be hesitant to be more prepared, but it really is a game changer. So helping them to see the value of preparation is key. This is another one of those super impactful nutrition coaching tips I wish I knew earlier in my career.
6. Don’t Demonise Foods
The moment you tell a client, “You can’t eat that,” is the moment they start craving it more. Instead of labelling foods as “good” or “bad,” help clients see the bigger picture.
I will very often explain to clients that nutrition is not all or nothing. It is more about momentum and the general trajectory of the diet, rather than any individual meal or food choice. Of course, small choices add up, but there is still a lot of wiggle room in the system.
This approach allows room for treats and indulgences without guilt. It’s all about balance and moderation, not restriction. For example, enjoying a small dessert after a balanced meal can satisfy cravings without derailing progress.
Teaching clients that occasional indulgences are part of a healthy lifestyle and can actually support long-term adherence.
7. Be the Coach Who Listens
Lastly, remember that nutrition coaching is as much about listening as it is about teaching. Your clients’ lives, preferences, and challenges are unique, and your advice should reflect that. Ask questions. Understand their “why.” Are they eating for fat loss, better energy, or improved athletic performance? Tailor your guidance to their goals and lifestyle.
You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Do twice as much listening as talking, and you will see your coaching practice improve dramatically.
Final Thoughts on The 7 Essential Nutrition Coaching Tips Every Coach Needs To Hear
So there are some of my top nutrition coaching tips, and I hope they help you to create a more effective coaching practice and help more people.
If you need more help or want to learn more, we have a lot of free content available in our content hub. If you want even more free information, you can follow us on Instagram, YouTube or listen to the podcast. You can always stay up to date with our latest content by subscribing to our newsletter.
Finally, if you want to learn how to coach nutrition, then consider our Nutrition Coach Certification course, and if you want to learn to get better at exercise program design, then consider our course on exercise program design. We do have other courses available too. If you don’t understand something, or you just need clarification, you can always reach out to us on Instagram or via email.
Paddy Farrell
Hey, I'm Paddy!
I am a coach who loves to help people master their health and fitness. I am a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and I have a degree in Biochemistry and Biomolecular Science. I have been coaching people for over 10 years now.
When I grew up, you couldn't find great health and fitness information, and you still can't really. So my content aims to solve that!
I enjoy training in the gym, doing martial arts and hiking in the mountains (around Europe, mainly). I am also an avid reader of history, politics and science. When I am not in the mountains, exercising or reading, you will likely find me in a museum.