Why I Became a Nutrition Coach So I Can Better Help You

Posted on January 09, 2020 by Joe Ferrara, One of Thousands of Health and Fitness Coaches on Noomii.

I never thought I would be a nutrition coach. When I got out of college, I knew nothing about good nutrition. My diet consisted of pizza, beer, and Taco Bell. I was exercising but I found getting out the door to do anything incredibly hard. I had no energy and I found it hard to get through a whole day of school. Towards the end of my college days, I began to get into triathlon training. I was in no shape to go to compete, but I still did it! I finished my first triathlon and fell in love with the sport.

After school ended, I decided I wanted to get into shape so I could compete better. Little did I know how much getting healthy would change my life…

I want to share my journey to becoming a nutrition coach, so I can inspire you to get healthy. The benefits from committing to health are more than you could ever imagine. I thought the biggest draw for me would be losing weight and being able to train better. Little did I know how much it would change other areas of my life. After committing to better health, I had more energy, I was more productive, I tried new things, and I challenged myself. Good nutrition changed my life. Becoming a nutrition coach was the next logical step.

Few Plan on Becoming a Nutrition Coach

If you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up, they likely won’t say nutrition coach. Getting kids to eat any kind of vegetable or try anything new can be a headache. A lot of kids keep this mindset when they grow up throwing good nutrition on the back burner. I was the same way when I was a kid. It was hard for me to try new things, and I grew up knowing nothing about nutrition. As a result, I lost my health along the way.

Most people live their life like this. They grow up eating anything they want and before they know it, they aren’t happy with their bodies. They don’t know anything about good nutrition even though they want to eat better. The plentitude of processed food makes it hard to eat well. When I started to eat healthy, I realized how hard it was. This inspired me to help others. I wanted to make eating better easier for others by becoming a nutrition coach. It became hard for me not to share my knowledge when there were so many people out there that needed help.

I’ve Always Wanted to Learn MORE

For a long time in my life I didn’t understand the value of learning. School fed me facts and figures that didn’t apply to my life. It decreased my appetite for knowledge. It wasn’t until I rediscovered my lust for learning, that I began to appreciate the pursuit of new knowledge. As a result, I dedicated myself to learning everything about nutrition that I could. Becoming a nutrition coach would involve knowing as much about how to eat as possible. I tried everything. From eating 6 meals a day to fasting. I attempted to see how different foods affected my energy levels and my mood. If it was a new diet, I tried it.

My self-experimentation helped a lot but I had a limit. I only discovered what I tried. It wasn’t until I gained my certification from Precision Nutrition that I learned more about nutrition and nutrition coaching. I absorbed the science and mindset needed to create better nutrition habits. Most importantly, I learned about creating nutrition habits that actually last. Instead of crash diets and binges, Precision Nutrition taught me to how to create sustainable health habits for life. It was at this time that I had to share this info with the world.

Nutrition Coaching Became Incredibly Fulfilling

I started coaching friends and family to get familiar with nutrition coaching. My first “clients” were so diverse. They came from different food backgrounds with different issues. They were good at certain things, but worse at others. I began to understand that nutrition coaching is highly individualized. I worked hard to give all my clients an individualized approach that would work for them. I helped them start small allowing them to create wins every week. Months later, it was evident my techniques were working. My clients were eating better and doing things they never thought possible! Many ran their first race, took a trip they were always planning on, or simply kept up with their kids. Seeing their wins was inspiring.

I knew I at this point I had to help as many people as possible. The process of bringing someone to better health was intoxicating. I enjoyed seeing people change their lives in so many ways. They did things they never thought were possible. Seeing people make these incredible changes was amazing. I was still learning, but seeing people improve their lives only inspired me to work harder.

I Love Refining My Practice

One of the best parts about nutrition coaching is being able to refine my practice. There are constantly new ideas in the nutrition arena. Some are helpful and some can be completely derailing. I enjoy being able to go through these concepts and decide what can help others.

There is way too much information out there. You can get sucked down the rabbit hole of dieting. There’s keto, paleo, south beach, and Akins to name a few. I enjoy being able to distill this info into quick and easy habits for my client.

I am able to refine my practice by understanding what helps and hurts most people. I distill ideas and diets to their simplest root allowing confident adherence. My clients make small changes that add up to big changes over time. I stay updated on the latest nutrition news, so that I can make the quickest and most efficient changes in my client’s lives.

I Wanted to be Different

A lot of nutrition experts recommend certain diets or certain ways of eating. I discovered that no one is the same. There is no method that works for everyone. Most diets are unstainable and do not work long term. You can’t change everything about the way you eat all at once. Diets are impossible to keep up long term. I wanted to break the diet dogma and show that you can establish nutrition habits that last. I needed to show you that you can be healthier despite failing in the past. This inspired me to work even harder so that I could help even more people.

I began to understand that anyone can build better eating habits. It became about giving people the right support where they needed it. I still work tirelessly to ensure I give my clients what they need. I love being different and showing you that health is a habit. Like any habit you start small and build. Adding vegetables to one meal is so much easier than going full keto. Being different makes me happy and allows me to help more people

I Became a Nutrition Coach for You

Most importantly, I started nutrition coaching because I saw how much I could help people. I saw people change their lives right before my eyes. I loved seeing people change the way they thought about food. I saw the changes in made in their lives! This inspired me to try to reach as many people as possible.

If my coaching resonates you feel free to sign up for a free 30-minute nutrition coaching consultation. No obligation. I’m happy to help you with anything you’re struggling with so you can find the life you’re looking for. You can read more about my program here!

Thank you for reading my story and I hope you find your path in the confusing world of nutrition!