CI Level 4 (UK) Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching (VRQ)

It is designed for those wishing to coach and inspire individuals and groups towards long term diet and lifestyle changes for improved health and wellbeing. Students will gain a highly effective combination of scientific knowledge and essential practical skills in diet and nutrition, meal planning and recipe production, and communication and coaching skills in order to help different parties in achieving their health goals. This nutrition course is also ideal for those wanting to improve their knowledge of diet and nutrition in order to benefit their own health and that of their families.

Through an engaging and interactive programme of lecturers, workshops, group exercises, talks from industry experts and practical assessments we examine food from farm to fork and discuss exactly how food is grown, processed and thus nutritionally depleted and the cumulative effect this can have on different systems and the body as a whole. Students discover the beneficial impact of different nutrients and foods on the body are instructed step by step how to analyse nutritional needs.

This nutrition course will give them the knowledge and skills to develop meal and lifestyle plans to help promote optimum health and to work long term with clients in different scenarios to embed changes. Students will explore how nutrition and lifestyle coaching can be used in different professional contexts, and an additional add-on unit will develop skills in one to one nutrition and lifestyle coaching consultations.

“This nutrition course is very detailed with a very good mixture of learning resources including video, audio, quizzes, group work with fellow students, practical sessions and using Nutritics with assignments which I enjoyed. Some topics really made me think about what is in the food we buy and the nutrients or potential toxins contained in some food. The course helped me to improve my own diet and lifestyle. The coaching aspect of the course was very interesting and will help me in a better way to assist clients to take responsibility to improve their health with knowledge and guidance. I thought overall tutor support was excellent. I feel confident after this year that I can now apply myself as a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach to enhance the health of my clients. Big thanks to the IHS Team to have such dedication to students providing a very high standard and wonderful course. Looking forward to the next level. Thank you.” Britta Stewart Dolan, Diploma in Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching Graduate

• Constantly updated material. All units have a unit leader responsible for them. The role of the unit leader is to continually update the material delivered in lectures, student notes and online, set and mark assignments and to answer student queries on the unit forums. This keeps IHS material up to date using evidence based research and the very latest theories in healthcare.
• Comprehensive and well structured study material supplied. Including presentation slides, case studies, video clips, quizzes, short answer questions and opportunities to reflect on your knowledge – all designed to make the learning experience as interactive as possible
• Dynamic and interactive lecture weekends (in-class students only). Designed to suit all learning types and engage students in the learning process. Lecture weekends include a mixture of formal lectures, group discussion, group exercises, role play and case studies
• Expert lecturers. Lecturers for the Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching include leading Nutritional Therapists, certified health and wellness coaches and health promotion experts, giving our students access to a wealth of knowledge and experience from their first day of study and students will be taught by at least four different lecturers to benefit from this
• Health and Wellness coaching underpins the Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching. Students are trained in the most effective ways of improving patient compliance; ensuring clients take responsibility for their own health, establishing how ready they are to change and then helping them overcome barriers to change
• The IHS commitment to pastoral care and student support. All Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching students are assigned a personal tutor, all of whom are practicing Nutritional Therapists with a wealth of clinical experience and knowledge to share. Most also hold a degree in a related subject. IHS also has a dedicated student support officer employed to help struggling students or those with specific learning difficulties. We ensure that all students have access to both staff and peer support whilst studying with IHS
• Flexible study options. Students can study in-class, solely online or a combination of the two (blended learning)
• Learn practical and saleable skills as well as the latest nutrition theories. Using the latest dietary analysis software – Nutritics – students learn to assess clients’ diets quickly and professionally. Body composition analysis includes in-depth training covering key body measurements and their links to health and disease. These all add potential income streams to you as a practitioner.
• Register with a professional body and insure yourself to practice. Graduates can join the Complementary Medical Association (CMA) or UK Health Coaches Association (UK practitioners), giving them all the support they would expect from a professional registering body and insurance to practice – including allowing them to give basic supplementation advice to their clients. Insurance is also available directly via Balens for a number of European countries.
• Start seeing clients and earning immediately upon graduation.  All consultation paperwork and client fact sheets are provided to graduates to help them get started in business straight away
• Upgrade your knowledge and skills whilst beginning your career as a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. Graduates can transfer onto either the Diploma in Nutritional Therapy or further their behavioural change skills with the IHS Certificate in Health and Wellness Coaching or Certificate in NLP for Healthcare Practitioners, depending on their interests and goals.

With 410 guided learning hours, including in Ireland 10 lecture weekends (approximately 1 per month) and 5 in London, tutorials, home study and assignments, the Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching nutrition course programme offers students practical training in key areas – specifically designed to ensure IHS graduates have a unique and diverse set of skills. This allows them to work successfully with a broad range of clients over a number of consultations. Our dietary analysis training is done using the very latest and most comprehensive dietary analysis software available, body composition analysis includes in-depth training covering key body measurements and their links to health and disease. Our health coaching skills are based on the dynamic and fast growing field of health and wellness coaching from the US, whereby students are trained in the most effective ways of improving client compliance, ensuring clients take responsibility for their own health, establishing how ready they are to change and then helping them overcome their barriers to change.

Students are organised into ‘buddy groups’ to allow them to practice key coaching and communication skills with their peers within a supportive environment. Clinical practice includes seeing live clients, recorded consultations and example case studies.

All of the above are designed to produce confident and competent graduates ready for a successful career as a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.

“It is amazing how alert and energised I feel since beginning the program. I’ve had a number of appointments with Lynne over the past two months re: dietary plan with the hope of continuing to lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle. From the moment of our first consultation I found I was very relaxed talking to Lynne, she listened and together we set realistic goals that suited my life and schedule. I found picking a small number of goals to start and increasing them as the weeks passed less overwhelming and easier to follow through. Lynne e-mailed and texted to see how I was getting on as the weeks progressed. Also sending on some interesting recipes and the introduction of coconut oil which is a big hit with not just me but the rest of the family. My starting weight was 187lbs. within the two months it’s down to 174lbs.” Testimonial of Arlene, Client of Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching Graduate

Unit 1 – Reflective Practice for Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaches

This unit considers the role of reflective and reflexive practice in the professional development of nutrition and lifestyle coaches. It also explores the importance of feedback.

Unit 2 – Health and Dietary Trends in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit explores the definition of health and wellbeing, focusing specifically on how contemporary diets and lifestyles impact overall health. It also considers the principles and practice of nutrition and lifestyle coaching and how this fits into the healthcare model.

Unit 3 – The Human Body, Nutrition and Health

This unit provides an introduction to the major organs and systems of the body and how they work, both independently and together, with a particular focus on maintaining homeostasis. It also begins to explore how nutrition can negatively impact health.

Unit 4 – Professional Communication Skills

This unit introduces the learner to professional communication skills in nutrition and lifestyle coaching. It explores the need for research based decision making and how to use referencing appropriately.

Unit 5 – Macronutrients in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit explores the dietary significance of macronutrients. It considers the role of macronutrients in meal planning and introduces techniques for analysing diet.

Unit 6 – Weight Management in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit will support the learner in considering weight management as part of nutrition and lifestyle coaching. It will consider how energy is produced and consumed in the human body. It will also explore the area of weight management in the context of energy consumption and body composition recommendations alongside individual physiology and lifestyle.

Unit 7 – Micronutrients and Phytonutrients in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit covers an initial exploration of micronutrients and phytonutrients. It also explores factors which could affect their absorption in the body and their contribution to a healthy diet.

Unit 8 – Toxins and Health

This unit introduces the learner to the sources and potential consequences of exposure to both food based and environmental toxins. It also introduces evidence based theories on how to manage toxicity in the human body.

Unit 9 – The Role of Food Groups in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit explores the classifications of different foods and the role of different food groups in a healthy diet. It encourages the learner to consider foods as a whole instead of their component parts; they will then apply this knowledge to nutritional planning.

Unit 10 – Optimising Nutrition in Practice

This unit explores how to maximise the nutrient content and health benefits of an eating plan by using specific foods, food preparation techniques and food related products.

Unit 11 – Food Production and Health

This unit explores how food is grown, produced, manufactured and labelled, as well as which bodies are responsible for overseeing the safety and traceability of food from farm to fork at European and national level.

Unit 12 – Supporting the Body through Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit explores the basics of how food, supplements and lifestyle can support the functioning of different systems of the human body and the body as a whole. It also introduces the learner to the role of specific nutrients and their requirement by every cell of the body to maintain homeostasis.

Unit 13 – Nutrition for Population Groups

This unit focuses on the unique nutritional needs of population groups whilst exploring how different dietary models may be used to enhance nutrition and health. It also considers how nutritional needs can be met irrespective of budget.

Unit 14 – Coaching Skills for Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching

This unit focuses on the coaching and communication skills the learner will need to develop in order to become a nutrition and lifestyle coach. It considers how effective coaching can support individuals in effecting long term dietary change.

Unit 15 – Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching in Practice

This unit allows the learner to explore how nutrition and lifestyle coaching can be used in different professional contexts.

Unit 16 – Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching for Individual Clients (Optional)

This unit covers the processes the learner will need to undertake in order to provide nutrition and lifestyle coaching sessions to individual clients wishing to improve health and wellbeing.

These units make the CI Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching (VRQ) qualification the most comprehensive and practical nutrition coaching qualification available.

Please contact us for a lecture plan.

In-class.

Starting in September and with 6 lecture weekends in Dublin and London, this is the most popular way of completing the Diploma in Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching.

Please note that in class places are strictly limited.

Online.

With 3 available starting slots – September, January and May – studying this nutrition course online gives the flexibility to study wherever you are. You are assigned a Nutritional Therapist personal tutor to mentor you through the course as well as online forums and tutorials to give you the support you need to successfully graduate.

Blended Learning.

Those students studying online are provided with a timetable of in-class lectures at the commencement of their studies so they can decide if and when they would like to attend lectures, workshops, etc. This gives the flexibility of online learning with the benefits of attending lectures.

Approximately 10 – 15 hours of study per week are required. All students are enrolled onto the IHS learning management system. Here you will find all course material, forums, quizzes, assessments etc in one place to help you organise your study and study material as efficiently as possible. You will also upload all assessments here and can also use it to communicate directly with unit leaders, other members of staff and fellow students.

What if I need to put the course on hold?

Simply finish the unit you are on, take the time you need and then join a later cohort – just as long as you’re back within 2 years, this is no problem!

Add-on Module

Enhance your skills and knowledge with the IHS Certificate in Personalised Sports Nutrition

Normal minimum entry requirements

The minimum academic entry requirement for this nutrition course is 4 grade Cs (preferably including a science subject) at Leaving Certificate or 4 GCSEs grades A to C (preferably including a science subject). Equivalent international qualifications will also be accepted.

Prior Learning and Prior Experiential Learning

Applicants with Prior Learning and Experiential Prior Learning will also be considered. All knowledge, skills and competencies accumulated through life and work experience will be considered.

All applicants will be interviewed to determine their suitability for the course.