According to the World Health Organisation, global obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. As of 2016, there were more than 1.9 billion adults struggling with obesity – and the health issues that come with it.
With such an overwhelming portion of the world’s population dealing with weight and food addiction, there’s a good chance that you’ll run into clients with these needs. Knowing how to help them can be the key to growing your practice.
So, what can you do to successfully integrate weight loss services into your nutrition business?
Keep reading to find out…
1. Understand the science first.
The FIRST thing you need to do before ever advising your clients on anything related to weight loss or food addiction is to learn the science surrounding those topics!
This doesn’t mean spending a few hours studying blog posts or a generic course online. It means doing your due diligence and pursuing a certification path that prepares you to truly help your clients.
With our Advanced Clinical Weight Loss Practitioner certification, you’ll receive both the knowledge and the client materials necessary to really deliver results.
The worst thing you can do is to give advice without understanding how it will impact your client. At best, they won’t see any results. At worst, they’ll experience a negative impact on their health – and this can quickly end your career.
2. Approach the topic with sensitivity.
Weight loss and food addiction can be extremely personal and sensitive topics for people. Often, these issues come with emotional factors that can compound the journey to health.
When approaching a client about weight loss or their unhealthy relationship with food – you should always first advise them to speak with a medical professional to make sure that they are physically and mentally healthy enough to work with you.
Then, you need to approach the topic with positivity and hope. Never shame, degrade, or humiliate a client who is struggling with their weight or an inability to stop eating unhealthy foods. This will only destroy their trust in you and hamper your results.
At the same time, it’s important to be very honest about the impact that obesity or food addiction can have on their health. Lay out the facts from a scientific perspective rather than an emotionally negative viewpoint.
3. Avoid belittling or negative language.
Being rude or using fat-negative phrases will damage your client’s ability to progress and may even prevent them from seeking help in the future.
Honesty and compassion will get you much further and promote a healthy psychological response as well. Your client is coming to you for a change. Support that change in a positive and uplifting way.
Praise their progress and help them learn to correct bad habits and poor diet decisions as they arise. When in doubt, refer them to a medical professional and align your objectives with the professional recommendations provided.
4. Emphasise this as a lifestyle change – diets don’t work!
At The Health Sciences Academy, we believe that personalisation is the key to client success!
No two people will have the same needs, and prescribing a specific diet is both outside of your scope of practice (in many cases) and restricting. The goal isn’t just to lose weight and achieve health. It’s to make a lifestyle change that’s sustainable and achievable.
Super restrictive eating habits can have a negative impact on future outcomes. Understanding the science behind weight loss is essential to get AND sustain results. And maintaining a healthy weight is as important as achieving it in the first place.
5. Stay involved in your client’s progress.
Achieving weight loss and fighting food addiction take time. This isn’t a short-term service, and it’s important to make sure that clients understand the time needed to get results.
You’ll need to stay involved in their progress to tweak your advice to better serve their needs. Monitor their success and help them overcome their setbacks. This is a lifelong process, and you have the opportunity to be a lifelong support system.
Interested in pursuing a career as a weight loss specialist? Or maybe you’d like to augment your current offerings with weight loss services?
The Health Sciences Academy has created an amazing program focused on giving you everything you need to succeed as a nutrition professional – And we’re making it available as part of our Black Friday 2020 Event!
Click here to register for updates and be the first to know when our deals go live!
