--- title: Nutrition Coaching Foundations url: https://thestudyguild.com/programmes/nutrition-coaching-foundations type: programme published: 2026-08-13 last_reviewed: 2026-08-13 reviewed_by: kate-merrick publisher: The Study Guild --- # Nutrition Coaching Foundations A 10-week live nutrition-coaching programme with assessed case studies, taught by an MSc nutrition coach who will not let you impersonate a dietitian. ## Programme facts - Price: £399 (payment plans available, never discounted) - Format: Live online + self-paced - Live contact hours: 20 - Expected self-study hours: 40 - Duration: 10 weeks - Level: All levels - Tutor: kate-merrick ## Learning outcomes - Run a nutrition-coaching intake that screens for presentations that need a dietitian or GP - Coach eating-pattern change without treating diagnosed disease - Appraise a supplement claim before repeating it to a client - Write a referral to a dietitian that a clinician can use - State, in the contract, that you are not a dietitian or Registered Nutritionist - Build a twelve-week coaching plan that would survive a scope review ## Curriculum 1. **Titles, registers and the criminal offence** — Dietitian is protected. Nutritionist is not. Registered Nutritionist is the voluntary check. Topics: HCPC and dietetics; AfN and the UKVRN; What this certificate will say; Advertising standards 2. **Screening that is not a diagnosis** — The presentations that stop the work: eating disorders, unexplained weight loss, disease. Topics: Red flags; Referral notes; When a GP is the next step; Your limits in writing 3. **Eating patterns, not protocols** — Protein, fibre, regularity and the boring wins, without a detox. Topics: What the evidence actually supports; Culture and budget; All-or-nothing clients; Practice cases 4. **Supplements and claims** — How to refuse a product story without humiliating the client who believed it. Topics: Where to check claims; Conflicts of interest; What you will not sell; Case study one 5. **Weight, without the war** — Coaching behaviour in a market that sells punishment. Topics: What you will not promise; Body image and referral; Workplace wellness traps; Language 6. **Working alongside a dietitian** — The relationship that makes coaching safe rather than competitive. Topics: What to send; What not to undo; Diabetes and renal diets are not yours; Shared clients 7. **Menopause, sleep and sport — stay in lane** — Adjacent niches that touch food, and the specialists they already have. Topics: When to hand over; Sports nutrition myths; Midlife without HRT advice; Case study two 8. **The offer** — Naming the service so an insurer and a client hear the same thing. Topics: Packages; Directory listings; Insurance questions; Pricing 9. **UK GDPR and records** — Health-adjacent notes are still personal data. Topics: What to write down; Retention; Subject access; Tools 10. **Assessment clinic** — Live review of case studies against the rubric. Topics: Common fails; Resubmission; Supervision; First paying client ## Assessment Two written case studies of 1,500 words, marked by Kate Merrick against a published rubric covering screening, healthy-eating coaching and referral. Written feedback with one free resubmission. Work that treats diabetes, disordered eating or medication as a coaching task does not pass. ## Upcoming cohorts - 2026-11-04 to 2027-01-13 — Wednesdays 19:00–21:00 UK, 10 weeks (no session 23 or 30 December) (open, cap 20) - 2027-02-17 to 2027-04-21 — Wednesdays 19:00–21:00 UK, 10 weeks (open, cap 20) ## What is nutrition coaching? Nutrition coaching is structured support for eating-pattern change in people without a clinical nutrition need: regularity, food environment, and habits they have chosen. It is not dietetics, not a treatment for disease, and not a route onto the HCPC or AfN registers. A nutrition coach refers when the presentation belongs with a dietitian or a GP. ## Can this programme make you a nutritionist or a dietitian? It can make you a coach who works with food inside a written scope. It cannot make you a dietitian — that title is protected and requires an HCPC-approved degree. It cannot make you a Registered Nutritionist — that requires an AfN-accredited degree pathway. Using those titles after a short course is the market's most common lie. Sources: - [Protected titles and the HCPC register](https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/who-we-regulate/the-professions/) — Health and Care Professions Council - [About the UK Voluntary Register of Nutritionists](https://www.associationfornutrition.org/about-us/ukvrn/) — Association for Nutrition ## What can an unregistered nutrition coach legally do? They can provide general healthy-eating education and lifestyle support to people without diagnosed conditions requiring dietetic care. They must not treat disease, advise on medication interactions, or present as qualified to manage a clinical condition. Those boundaries are where real harm occurs when training skips referral. ## How is this different from a self-paced nutrition diploma? Case work is marked by a tutor who will fail clinical overreach. The certificate states that you are not a dietitian or Registered Nutritionist. A self-paced diploma can teach macros. It cannot tell a client, or an insurer, whether you knew when to stop. ## Common questions **Why not just call this a nutrition diploma?** Because that title is how this market implies a register. We teach coaching-scope nutrition and say so on the certificate. **Can I work in the NHS as a dietitian after this?** No. Dietetic posts require HCPC registration and an approved degree. **I already coach menopause or sleep — is this redundant?** Only if your current training already assessed nutrition referral. Most coaches want this as the food-specific case work their other programmes only touch. **Can I pay in instalments?** Yes. Interest-free plans total exactly £399. --- Source: https://thestudyguild.com/programmes/nutrition-coaching-foundations · The Study Guild