Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I am a success story for Paleo nutrition as far as weight loss is concerned, recently I have been helping a friend lose weight by teaching them about proper eating habbits and why, and assisting with getting them more active. Its been a few months and they have made great gains. This past weekend my friend said that I should look into doing this on the side as a way to make supplemental income while also helping people.

I know a lot of people that dont have the self discipline to stick to meal plans, go to the gym alone or stick to a plan, I honestly believe I can help these people and I want to.

I know I cant legally just put an ad in the paper or in the lobby of my building etc offering my services to help. So what I want to know is what do I need to have in order to start this up on the side? Do you need nutrition certs or personal trainer certs? I dont plan on putting on a routine like regular trainers as the people I would be helping would be people with obvious weight issues who need more attentive care and nutrition advice, but if im advocating these people eat contrary to the governments recommendation and im taking them out to get active what do I do to ensure myself and my client would be safe?

Any information would be great, im based in Canada so if anyone knows specifics for Canada thats even better.

Thx

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flag	asked Jul 18 2011 at 12:30 CR 1,304●4●16

	issaonline.com – Edward J. Edmonds Jul 18 2011 at 12:55
	Have you moved forward on this? I would be interested to know as I am having the same thoughts on paleo nutritional coaching. – My Paleo Life Jun 3 at 13:38
	In a manner of speaking yes, I helped a colleague who had not been able to wear his wedding ring in over 10 years lose 30lbs and now can wear his ring. It was mostly diet coaching and advisory into paleo eating. It worked the trick for him, however he did regress recently as he went through some traumatic life events that had him go back to his previous diet. When he wants to go back ill help again. Since then I have helped two others with advice getting started and they have seen great results. So it is more of a side gig advisory role to people who want to make the change. – CR Jun 5 at 16:06

ben61820 · Answer 1 · 2011-07-18 12:33:22Z UTC

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this might give you some food for thought:

http://ericcressey.com/so-you-want-to-be-a-personal-trainer

answered Jul 18 2011 at 12:33

ben61820
16.1k●1●11●57

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that's freakin hilarious – Jeff Jul 18 2011 at 14:09

very funny, I hope to god no one in the paleo community is like this.. – CR Jul 18 2011 at 15:13

Cyn · Answer 2 · 2011-07-18 14:58:16Z UTC

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How about a "Paleo Life Coach"? I don't see why you can't meet "clients" for a couple of hours and have them "tip" you. I would much rather go to, and pay, a Life Coach who has successfully proven themselves and their "program", rather than some skinny chick with muscles, who tells me to eat whole grains because she is a real dietician.

answered Jul 18 2011 at 14:58

Cyn
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	This is exactly the mind set I had. I didnt mean personal trainer in the strict sense as in weight lifting etc, but a diet and health counselor but more attentive and maybe helping get the person more active maybe not in a straight away weight lifting but more like mobility and conditioning. – CR Jul 18 2011 at 17:05
	tell your friends to tell their friends that you are available for consultations - $50 for 2 hours? Do an intense educational session, give them a list of good websites, and do an hourish of personal fitness training. I bet they will tell their friends, and so on. Eventually, you could offer classes at a local gym. You know those Zumba instructors don't have any insurance; the gym does. – Cyn Jul 18 2011 at 20:13

PersonMan · Answer 3 · 2011-07-18 13:13:51Z UTC

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check out C.S.E.P(Canadian society for exercise physiologists): it is THE certification body for personal trainers in Canada. Get your C.S.E.P-CPT today!

answered Jul 18 2011 at 13:13

PersonMan

FifthApe · Answer 4 · 2011-07-18 13:22:33Z UTC

Real quick (kinda):

You actually don't need ANY kind of certification to become a personal trainer... but it's a good idea both from a personal development standpoint and a liability standpoint. The standard accredited certs most people get are ACSM, NASM, & NSCA (in the USA). Each one has a slightly different approach so do some research. There's also a myriad of specialty certs out there, some of which might be worth checking out, but most are a waste of money.

You will absolutely need to get liability insurance no matter what. You may also want to consider forming some kind of corporate entity to give you some shell protection. LLCs are pretty easy to set up and will accomplish this. A lawyer will be able to tell you a lot more than me - if you're serious about this you should consult one.

As for the nutrition side of things, you can say you are a "nutritionist" without and kind of certification, but to become a "dietician" you need to get trained and certified. Most of what they teach you during this process would not gel with the paleo diet approach. Again, the more credentials you have the less vulnerable you are to liability concerns.

Ultimately, experience is your best teacher. I'd advise that you stick to "amateur" status for a while longer, help out a few more friends, and see if you really like it. You'll learn a ton by teaching... more than any kind of cert will ever teach you. If you decide to go for it, make sure you're protected legally... might as well do it right. Seek good council.

And best of luck to you!

sage_ · Answer 5 · 2011-07-18 14:59:21Z UTC

you could do some night school classes like this https://www.senecac.on.ca/ce/programs/fitness_leadership.html or http://calendardb.humber.ca/LIS/WebCalendar/CE/ProgramOffering.do?name=01663

check out http://www.canfitpro.com/en/types-of-certifications or http://www.acefitness.org/getcertified/default.aspx or http://www.cptn.com/

or you could call yourself a personal health coach like the sales people at Jenny Craig/Herbal Magic do. reveiw this job post http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/detail-eng.aspx?OrderNum=5830529&Source=JobPosting&ProvId=06&CommGrouping=GON015&Category=6*&OfferpPage=50&Student=No and see the educational requirements.

i think insurance would be the biggest issue for you to get right.

Becoming a personal trainer of a sorts?

5 Answers