Our Nutrition Coaching Program Explained
Let’s talk about nutrition coaching.
If you’ve decided to click on the link to this blog post, then there is a good chance that you are interested in nutrition coaching for yourself or someone you know. Not only are you interested, but you probably want to know what exactly nutrition coaching even is. It’s not as clear as say, a coach for your local basketball team or a trainer at your local gym, but we are coaches nonetheless.
So that’s why we wrote this blog to specifically break down how Xplore’s nutrition program actually works. How do we pair clients with coaches and dietitians? What kind of access do you have? How does our team figure out how many calories or macros to give you? Do we work with clients using things other than macros?
“Those questions are my questions!”
If that sounds like you, then you are in the right place to learn more about our program, and what it can do for you. So let’s get started.
“What is a ‘nutrition coach,’ and why might I want one?”
This is a great place to start, because it’s a question that we get frequently and one many people ask themselves before pursuing any nutrition program.
Our team of nutrition coaches are a mix of registered dietitians, coaches with Precision Nutrition certifications, masters degree holders, and PhD’s. They have backgrounds in operating gyms of their own, working in medical groups and hospitals for patients with various medical conditions, and most importantly - being all-around amazing, compassionate human beings I’m honored to call my team. Each of us brings years of experience working with individuals from every kind of background, with almost any goal you can imagine, and love what we do.
So why would signing up for our program and having a nutrition coach be beneficial for you?
Accountability, guidance, experience, and a passion for helping people achieve their goals.
We’ve had people sign-up with us to help guide them towards losing weight, understanding how to manage social events without feeling stressed, to work towards having a healthier overall relationship with food, for performance, gaining weight (it’s a thing), and not fearing food anymore. The list could go on and on, but those are some of the more common things we find people seek us out for. If you have a goal, and our team can help you achieve it, we will pair you up with a coach that will be by your side every step of the way while you do.
Our mission isn’t to just help you achieve your goal while you are in our program, but to help you learn more about nutrition as a whole, have the tools to conquer life after we are gone, and establish a healthy relationship with food that will last you for years to come.
“How do you pair me with a coach on your team? What if I don’t like them?”
When you first sign-up through our website, we take a little bit of time to get to know more about who you are. We’ll ask you basic questions about your dieting history, medical conditions that our team should be aware of, any kind of eating concerns you might have, and just more about who you are as a person. From there, we take that information and do our best to pair you with a member of our team that we believe will compliment you well!
But try as we might, sometimes personalities don’t mesh. For that exact reason we have a “no questions asked” policy if you ever decide you’d like a different coach! While the information may be the same, the person who delivers it to you matters, and we want you to be as comfortable as can be.
“So I have my coach, now what?”
Once we have paired you up with one of the amazing individuals on our team, they’ll reach out to you with an in-depth questionnaire to personally get to know you on a deeper level, as well as exchange contact information so you can always get ahold of them. Based on your answers to those questions in your intro email, they’ll either whip together some macros for you to start following, or start down a different path if they feel macro counting may not be the best for you. They’ll also ensure your profile in Xplore’s web app is setup, get you a copy of our intro to nutrition guide, and make sure you’re invited into the Xplore Nutrition private group on Facebook!
“How do you figure out my macros? Is the plan made for ‘me’ instead of everyone?”
Your coach will do some nutrition math wizardry behind the scenes to come up with a starting point for your calories and macros. A few of the things they look at when calculating those are; your age, sex, height, career, activity level, and more. Sometimes those initial macros are spot on and we have you headed in the right direction within the first week! Other times, it may take a couple of weeks to dial things in for you specifically as everyones metabolism is different, medications or health conditions play a role, and so does your personal adhesion to the plan (which is crucial).
“Alright - you gave me my macros, I know how you got them, so now what?”
Communication, communication, communication - that’s the name of the game from here on out.
Your coach can’t answer the questions they don’t know you have, or guide you out of the dark if they don’t know you are lost. Put simply - they can only help you if they know what you need help with. They are by your side to answer every question, and help you through every scenario they can, but it’s up to you to make sure they know what you need. Text or message your coach when you have a question. Make sure you are submitting your weekly check-in to talk about deeper topics from the previous week.
We want to help you feel as though nutrition is second nature and achieve your goals, but your coach can only help as much as you allow.
“Ok, so it’s up to me to ask questions! How do I know I’ll progress towards my goal? What do you do to ensure that?”
Here’s the best way to put it…
Your coach can hand you a million dollar plan, but if you approach that plan with a $1 effort, you’re only going to get a dollars worth of results. Whether it’s a personal trainer, a coach, or even a teacher, they are there to guide you and do their best to make sure that you reach where you want to go. What none of them can do, is put in the work for you. It’s up to you to make that happen.
Think of it like following a world-class recipe. If you take the time to follow that recipe, you’ll end up making some of the best food you’ve ever had. Sounds great right? Now imagine you have that recipe, then do your own thing by using random ingredients, not mixing things properly, you turn the stove up too high, and just wing the whole thing. You wouldn’t expect the same meal would you? No, none of us would. The same goes for coaching, and getting results - follow the recipe you are given, ask questions when you get lost, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying the meal you’ve always dreamed of.
“How do I know how long to sign up for? What if I want to continue after my time is up?”
The first part of this question really depends on what you need, and what your goals are. If your goal is to lose 100lbs instead of 10lbs, signing up for a year of coaching makes more sense than signing up for three months. On the flip side, if you really just want to fine tune things to lose those last few stubborn pounds - working with a coach for three months likely makes more sense than a full year. Overall, the more complex the goal, or bigger our goal might be, the more time with a coach the better!
Don’t worry - once your time is up you can always sign up for another session from within your profile in our web app. Our goals change, much like life itself does, and so do the struggles that come with it. Tacking on some extra time with your coach can help you pursue a new goal you have in mind, learn how to manage life while simply maintaining your weight once you do reach a goal, or to hone in on your relationship with all things food. Either way, just know that you can work with us for as long as you’d like.
Now that this blog feels forever long, let’s wrap things up.
In the end our coaching program can help almost anyone, from any background, work towards every goal they might have. If our team can help - they will! We do our best to pair people up with not only an incredible person and coach, but someone we think you will “click” with that can guide you through all things nutrition. Not only does our team strive to make sure you accomplish your goals, feel less stressed, and understand nutrition more than you ever have before - but we genuinely care about every person we work with, and want nothing more than to watch you thrive.
If you have more in-depth or personal questions, or you just want to talk to our team about your goals to see if we are a good fit before getting started, you can reach out to us by clicking here. Someone from our incredible team will be in touch to answer your questions.
This blog was created by Xplore Nutrition founder & nutrition coach - Sam Karoll.