ISSA Nutritionist Certification Review

They’re the questions every new trainer (and some seasoned ones) often dread. Clients start asking about what to eat, how much, and how many supplements they can take without turning green and looking Hulk-ish. As a personal trainer, you’re quickly capped at what you can tell them while staying in your scope of practice. It’s really a Catch-22. You can’t get too specific, but the specifics are often what people need and seek. If they don’t hear it from you, they’ll look for it somewhere else, frequently from unreliable sources (I’m looking at you, bro-science). 

Early in my personal training career, I had a client who needed nutritional direction. He was in the headspace for it, but I was limited both by my certification and employer as to what I could share. It was that experience that made me realize I needed to know more, so I could do more. 

Enter nutritionist certifications.

In a world where you can get certified to do just about anything, a good certification matters. Fast-forward several years to when I was a more seasoned fitness professional, and I was doing the hiring. Certs and job experience were numbers one and two in matter of importance in hiring. More times than not, those with more than one certification were the better, more serious candidates. 

A nutritionist certification, along with your personal training certification, shows an employer that you’re dedicated to helping your clients truly change and aren’t just there to give them a workout and send them on their way. This review is an honest, comprehensive look at ISSA’s nutritionist certification, one I’ve seen come across my desk on resumes for years.

Key Takeaways

The ISSA Nutritionist Certification is a great entry point for self-starters looking to add to their resume and knowledge base. It builds on the basics learned in personal training certification programs and dives into two key components of nutritional counseling: understanding nutritional science and applying it to real people.

Pros:

• The course comes from a well-known organization and is known to be one of its better certifications.
• It offers a well-rounded curriculum with a great mix of science and practical application content.
• The course is self-paced, but also offers weekly live study and Q&A sessions, which students and graduates of the program rave about.
• It provides ready-to-use forms and a well-written textbook for you to use and reference even after completing the course.

Cons:

• The course is very textbook-heavy, so it isn’t a good fit for those who learn best from audiovisual content or enjoy a gamified experience.
• The content is deep enough for the average personal trainer or health coach, but is not enough for someone who already has a strong background in nutrition or is pursuing a career as a registered dietitian or clinical nutritionist.
• While the content is up-to-date, the course delivery feels outdated compared to other platforms.

Ultimately, the ISSA Nutritionist Certification is a great choice for personal trainers and health coaches looking to up their game and expand their knowledge and offerings. If you’re looking toward a more clinical track or advanced nutritional counseling, you may want to look elsewhere. 

What is the ISSA Nutritionist Certification?

The better starting question to ask might be “What is a nutritionist?” This is such a confusing question for trainers and clients alike because the answer varies depending on your education, certification, and location. ISSA defines a nutritionist as someone who “offers nutrition counseling, nutrition coaching, or other nutrition care services” that are more general than they are specialized. 

The acceptance of nutrition certifications varies from state to state. In some places, a nutritionist can provide meal plans, while in others, they can only provide the most general of advice. So, before you jump in and get a certification, check your local laws so you can stay within your scope of practice and the law.

Program Overview

For me, this is one of the areas where ISSA’s nutritionist certification really stood out. Other similar certifications preach meal plans and no regulations, with little guidance on where the line between a nutritionist and a dietitian lies. ISSA’s cert focuses on actual nutritional science, taking you through body systems as they apply to metabolism, nutrients and their role in the body, and coaching elements that you can actually use. This includes chapters on dietary guidelines, product labels and claims, and behavioral change. 

I really enjoyed this because I could actually share this information with my clients. Teaching people how to understand the dietary guidelines and read product labels can help so much with teaching healthy habits like portion control and being more intentional about what they’re putting into their bodies.

Who is the Nutritionist Certification For?

With the deep dive they take into nutrition science, you’ll learn a lot more than what they talk about in a CPT course. While you can certainly go in with no background knowledge, I think it pairs well with the nutrition content from your CPT as the next step in your personal training career. It feels like a natural progression without being overbearing. 

That being said, this certification is not for those who already have extensive nutrition education or experience (unless you’re just looking to add a certification to your resume). Before certifying as a nutritionist, I had taken enough nutrition classes to be one course shy of a minor in nutrition, so I found it was a lot of repeat information from my college days (which made for a great refresher a couple of years later). 

ISSA’s Nutritionist Certification is ideal for:

Personal trainers who want to add to their resume and expand their offerings.

Health or life coaches who need more credibility and background in nutrition.

It is not ideal for:

Professionals with a solid background or experience in nutrition.

Individuals who are on the path to becoming a registered dietitian or clinical nutritionist.

Key Course Features

The course has been put together with intention and offers a more traditional textbook-style approach to learning, with more modern elements added to enhance the reading experience. 

 The key features of the course that I found particularly helpful were:

• Live study and Q&A sessions – These are mentioned again and again in reviews for the course. Most would say they are the best part and not to be missed.
• Well-written textbook – It’s available online (and it’s searchable!) and as a hardcopy (although you do have to buy it).
• Ready-to-use client forms – I love it when a course offers access to good forms. It helps a ton when learning the practical application side and prepares you for taking new skills into real life. It also saves you time and keeps you from having to recreate your own forms, which is a game-changer for those practitioners who own their own business or coach independently.
• At-home, open-book exam – Who doesn’t love an exam that lets you use your book and notes, while sitting in your pajamas? 

Inside the Program: Is the ISSA Certification Worth It?

Curriculum Breakdown

This course consists of several types of content (which we’ll explore in a bit when talking about user experience) to facilitate your learning. A quick glance at the textbook’s table of contents will reveal the depth of the work you’ll be doing. These topics include:

• Nutrition
• Cells, Organ Systems, and Digestion
• Metabolism and Energy Balance
• Carbohydrates, Protein, and Fats
• Vitamins and Minerals
• Water and Hydration
• The Role of The Nutrition Coach
• Stages of Change and Motivational Interviewing
• Client Assessment and Goal Setting (plus helpful client forms!)
• Business in Nutrition Coaching
• Dietary Guidelines
• Product and Supplement Labels and Claims
• Supplements
• Navigating Successful and Trending Diets
• Special Nutrition Scenarios (which many certs do not offer nearly enough info on)

The distribution of content between actual science and real-life practical application was well-rounded and did a great job in bridging the gap between nutrition professionals and the Average Joe client. I felt like there were some key points they touched on really well. The course talks about how culture, economics, and religion play a role in food intake. That was hugely important! It matters so much more than people know, and yet it is addressed so infrequently. 

Another important feature, at least for me, was the breakdown of vitamins and minerals. Before getting my nutritionist certification, I had a textbook from my college days with this information, and I used it more often than most other resources. The fitness industry loves focusing on macros, but forgets that micronutrients matter too. 

ISSA also provides a chapter on special scenarios where you may encounter allergies, hypersensitivities, and cases beyond your scope of practice. It’s another great chapter that many certs or courses miss out on because they’re individual scenarios rather than blanket statements.

The information presented in this course is great, but depending on your learning style, the user experience is where this course may fall short.

User Experience

Actual course experience is much more subjective. I personally really enjoyed the way the content was presented, but I’m also a textbook junkie. ISSA’s course is heavily textbook-focused. When you purchase the course, you receive a digital copy of the textbook (which few users really like), but you can purchase a hard copy of the book for $60. If you’ve ever bought university-level textbooks, $60 is a steal and absolutely worth it. 

The course pairs textbook reading with links to additional online content and videos, which many will say are behind the times. There are short quizzes at the end of each reading assignment to help prepare you for the final exam as well. Many have said that the videos are short and somewhat lacking. If you’re a learner who enjoys visual representation of topics and more of a gamified approach to learning, this is not the course for you. Many users have said that while the content itself was updated, the way the course was presented seemed out of date when compared to other platforms like NASM or ACE. 

This didn’t pose an issue to me at all, as I’m a diehard old-schooler when it comes to my highlighters and sticky notes. If you enjoy a good (and long) read or a more traditional approach to learning, this course is for you. For me, it was a nice step away from the audiovisual fireworks display that some courses employ to keep you interested. 

If you are someone who learns best through visual and audio content or enjoys a gamified experience, you may want to look elsewhere. 

Cost & Time Commitment

ISSA’s certification is pretty on par when it comes to pricing against other nutrition certifications. 

At the time I’m writing this, ISSA is offering their nutritionist certification for $52/month for 12 months or a one-time payment of $530. Other similar programs include Precision Nutrition’s Nutrition Coaching certification for $59/month or $599 upfront, and NASM’s Certified Nutrition Coach for $49/month. ISSA sits nicely in the middle of the two and offers both types of payments to fit your budget.

According to ISSA, their nutritionist certification can be completed in as little as 10 weeks. According to the internet, that time ranges from 2 to 6 months, depending on how fast you read and take in information. Even at 6 months, that’s a bit longer than a college semester, and is totally doable for most people. Many graduates of the certification have mentioned they completed it while working a full-time job without feeling strained or taxed. 

The course is self-paced, giving you the ability to complete it in your own time, without the structure of strict deadlines.

Final Thoughts

ISSA’s Nutritionist Certification is a thorough, highly applicable program for personal trainers and health coaches who want to do more for their clients. It’s a great course for self-starters who enjoy the more traditional aspects of learning, such as reading and studying. Even if you like self-directed study, don’t miss out on their weekly live sessions. They’re the highlight of the course! This program is a solid place to continue your nutrition education after a CPT or health coach certification, and is ranked up there with the best.