Improving Nutritional Habits With No Diet Prescription: Details of a Nutritional Coaching Process

Abstract

Thousands of dollars are spent today with policies encouraging physical activity and healthy eating, but nutritional consultation per se has continuously failed to yield consistent and lasting results. The aim of this case report is to detail and evaluate nutritional coaching (employing health coaching techniques) in promoting lifestyle changes, enabling improvement of nutritional and body composition associated parameters. The patient in this study had previously engaged in a series of different diet regimens, all of which failed in achieving the proposed aim. After 12 nutritional coaching sessions (one per week) with the strategy presented herein, reductions in body fat mass and in total body weight were attained. Nutritional habits also improved, as the patient showed decreased total energy intake, decreased fat intake, and increased fiber ingestion. Daily physical activity and energy expenditure were enhanced. The coaching program was able to induce immediate health benefits using a strategy with the patient at the core of promoting his own lifestyle changes. In conclusion, the nutritional coaching strategy detailed was effective at helping our patient develop new eating patterns and improve related health parameters.