Just like veggies and protein on a well-balanced plate, personal training and nutrition coaching go hand in hand. When you work with clients to help them get stronger and healthier, sometimes the lines of your scope of practice become blurred.
How much can I actually talk about diet and nutrition with clients? If you’ve been asking yourself that question, Insurance Canopy’s webinar, Crossing the Line From Personal Trainer to Nutrient Coach: Risks and Realities, has your answers.
This essential conversation, hosted by Kyle Porter, featured an expert panel:
- Chelsea Ramsey – Certified Personal Trainer
- Tanya Batche, RDN – Registered Dietitian and Owner of HungerBombCookies.com
- JoAnne Hammer – Insurance Expert and Program Manager at Insurance Canopy
What Personal Trainers Need to Know About Giving Diet Advice
The short answer: Most personal trainers should not give clients specific diet advice.
Nutrition plays a large role in clients reaching their health goals, but your certification level and state laws affect how much you can veer into diet and nutrition services.
Registered dietitians (RDs) are trained professionals who can legally give nutrition advice personalized to each client. If you’re not an RD, then you should avoid offering anything beyond general nutrition advice.
Once you step outside the legal and certification boundaries, you risk your certifying organization (like NASM or ACE) revoking your credential or the state nutrition regulatory board issuing a fine or taking legal action against you.
These boundaries exist to prevent you from making a harmful nutrition-related recommendation and, ultimately, to protect your clients’ well-being.
You want your clients to succeed — our experts talk through how you can support clients safely.
Watch the Webinar to Hear It From the Experts
Can personal trainers give nutrition advice? Click the timestamps to hear more.
- 7:27 – Changing someone’s diet can have serious medical consequences, which is why only professionals with proper training, like registered dietitians, should provide personalized nutrition advice.
- 9:48 – Personal trainers should use health history questionnaires and never make specific diet recommendations for clients. Offer general nutrition information, and when it doubt, refer out!
- 24:24 – Professional liability is hands down the most important coverage for personal trainers. If you can only afford one type of insurance, make it this one. It protects you if a client gets hurt because of your instruction.
- 29:14 – Stay within the scope of your certification and local regulations. If you give advice outside your role (like nutrition counseling without the proper credentials), your insurance likely won’t cover you. That could leave you personally responsible for legal costs and potential settlements.
- 33:50 – Suggest clients start a food journal. Writing down everything — even the creamer in their coffee — can help them spot patterns and make their own decisions without trainers telling them what to change.
- 43:26 – It can be tough as a professional to admit when something’s outside your scope, but try to come from a place of care. “It sounds like you’d really benefit from someone with deeper expertise in nutrition or overall health. I’d never want to risk giving advice that could do more harm than good.”
What Personal Trainers Can and Can’t Say About Nutrition
When it comes to talking nutrition with clients, keep your explanations general. Instead of saying, “You need to eat 90 grams of protein a day,” frame your language like, “Protein is important for recovery; many people aim to include it in every meal.”
“As long as you don’t promise that you can do a customized meal plan or anything specific to any kind of medical condition, that’s where the line crosses. When you get into the specifics, the customization, the guaranteeing weight loss — that’s where you’re going to flip to the other side of not being in your realm,” explains Batche.
What Personal Trainers CAN Say About Nutrition
✔️General advice on healthy eating
✔️USDA guidelines, like MyPlate resources
✔️Explain nutrition concepts in general terms
✔️Pros and cons of diets, like Keto or Paleo (without a recommendation)
✔️Your personal experiences (clarifying that everybody is different — what worked for you might not work for them)
What Personal Trainers CAN’T Say About Nutrition
❌Prescribing personalized meal plans
❌Assigning specific macronutrient targets
❌Giving advice related to their medical conditions
❌Diagnosing nutrient deficiencies or intolerances
❌Recommending supplements for health
Ramsey explained further, “Keep it generalized. I tell clients, ‘These are the well-established or accepted [guidelines], like there’s a certain amount of grams of protein per day per pound of muscle,’ but I always preface things by saying, ‘This is the standard recommendation, but again, everybody is different.’”
How to Stay Compliant While Supporting Client Wellness
1. Be Transparent About Your Limitations
2. When in Doubt, Refer Out
If you’re unsure whether a client needs additional nutrition support, go ahead and refer out to a registered dietitian. A trained nutrition expert can pick up where your scope of practice ends to give your client tailored diet advice.
Batche says, “Thinking about that as a comprehensive team approach for your clients is really going to be the most successful for them and for you.”
3. Offer RD-Written Resources
Another great way to support clients is by offering handouts or resources written by a registered dietitian. These will be full of helpful tips and guidelines — and since they come from a qualified expert, you can feel confident passing them along. It also takes the pressure off you to come up with generalized information on your own!
4. Always Include Disclaimers
Whether you train clients in person or offer workout tips on social media, always include a verbal and written disclaimer that clients should get medical consent before participating and modify movements to their abilities.
And if you’re sharing personal recommendations, make it clear that it’s based on your own experience and may not be right for everyone. Clear disclaimers protect your clients and your business, too.
5. Use a Liability Waiver
Always use a personal trainer liability waiver to let clients know the associated risks of training and protect your business from potential lawsuits. Hammer stressed the importance of having clients sign waivers — not as a replacement for insurance but as an extra layer of defense when you work with clients.
Passionate about nutrition? Consider earning a nutrition specialization through NASM certification or expanding your scope of practice by becoming a nutritionist.
Image source: MyPlate.gov
Are Diet Recommendations Covered by Personal Trainer Insurance?
Personal trainer insurance from Insurance Canopy is designed to cover your training services exclusively. If you offer general diet and nutrition advice to clients, add the Diet and Nutrition coverage add-on to your policy to protect this aspect of your business.
Personal trainer and dietitian insurance can be confusing, but Insurance Canopy simplifies the process — simply add on the optional coverage if you need it!
Protect Yourself With the Right Personal Trainer Insurance
From slip-and-falls in the gym to clients claiming you gave a harmful recommendation, personal trainer insurance is an essential safety net for your training business. It gives you peace of mind to focus on supporting clients on their health journeys — frog jumps, fluid intake, and all!
Get affordable, top-rated personal trainer coverage, plus general nutrition coaching insurance from Insurance Canopy from $21.83/month. Your policy follows you wherever you work, plus it covers 100+ fitness styles.
Common Questions About Personal Trainer and Nutrition Advice Liability
What’s the Difference Between General Nutrition Advice vs. Medical Advice for Trainers?
Can Personal Trainers Give Meal Plans?
Personal trainers can suggest general meal ideas but cannot prescribe personalized meal plans based on medical conditions, typically unless they are also licensed dietitians. It depends on your state, so check your local regulations to ensure you’re staying within scope.
What Happens if I Accidentally Go Outside My Scope of Practice?
If you accidentally go outside your scope of practice, you can get fined, lose your certification, or become liable if a client is harmed. It’s crucial to stay informed and err on the side of caution when it comes to giving clients nutritional advice.
