Do you often why no matter what you do, your clients simply can't change their habits around nutrition? In this article, we explain how the key to successful change is to identify the level the client is to help them find the best strategy for them. Here is how I identify a clients level in my coaching practice. 

Level 1 Client: This is the client who is a totally nutritionally newbie. They are over 20% body fat for males, 28% for females, they aren’t aware of nutritional requirements, aren’t sure of what each food contains or how to implement portion control.

These clients will ask questions like:

“Is too much protein bad?”

“Are carbs at night making me fat?”

“Is butter a carb?”

In all seriousness though, as trainers we need to remember not to judge clients when they ask questions like these. We all started at the exact same spot. I remember once been a guest on a podcast and the host asked me what my least favourite question is to hear. He was excited about this question as it always led to the guest going on an expletive-filled rant and criticising their clients. My response was quite different:

“I get passionate about doing things well. I don’t get tired about addressing myths. The day I get tired of doing this is the day I need to stop. The day I get tired of saying weights don’t make you bulky and carbs at night make you bulky is the day I need to stop as I will no longer be helping people. I need to get across and reach my clients in a way that is meaningful and that they get benefit from”

I was then told it was one of the coolest answer he has ever heard. We need to remember that as trainers we are here to serve and these level 1 clients are going to form the majority of our client bases for a long time so we need to get comfortable speaking to them and communicating to them in a way that adds value to their lives. They do not need another critical voice detracting form their confidence and self efficacy.

For these clients, I have found the best strategies to be more habit based in nature. These require the least amount of measurement and complexity and are easily quantifiable and set a very solid foundation for future success. These could include:

• Drink 8 glasses of water a day
• Walk 8000 steps
• Eat a portion of fruit or vegetables with every meal
• Eat protein at 2 meals a day.

These aren’t recommendations that are going to change the world, or lead to life changing results in two weeks. What they will do however is lead to gradual and sustainable improvements that a client will feel confident in and develop autonomy with. These recommendations are simple on purpose because level 1 clients have no history or experience following a nutrition plan, so compliance will generally be on the lower side. Simply providing strategies to push this compliance to around 80-90% can be an extremely powerful strategy with these clients.

Level 2 Client: These clients have a pretty good understanding of key nutrition concepts. They get what protein, carbs and fats are and what they are good for. They understand baseline ideas around nutrient timing and workout nutrition.

What they struggle with is generally guidance, planning and direction. It is very often see them get swayed by the latest dietary or instagram fad as it the ‘secret sauce’ they need to finally get in six pack ab shape. The saying “A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing” is especially pertinent here as these clients have a tendency to overstep their capabilities and will try anything to get ahead.

One client comes to mind with this concept. She was pretty strong, in decent shape, could lift a decent weight and understood calories and macronutrients pretty well. She was a very avid proponent of the If It Fits Your Macros approach mentioned in the previous chapter, following a pre-determined amount of macros each and every day.

She came to a nutrition seminar I did for my trainers and started getting very aggressive when I said the IIFYM approach was not ideal to be used for all clients. She was enraged why I wouldn’t give it to all clients because science had determined what macros everyone should eat and what they ate didn’t matter as long as they achieved the desired macronutrient allotments.

My staff were a bit shocked because it was rare for anyone to challenge me and tell me I was wrong. I have to admit it was a bit of a shock as this was a client I had invited to a staff development session as a favour.

I decided to quiz her on why she chose that particular approach for her. After a few minutes of back and forth it was revealed that she did that because it allowed her to binge on copious amounts of Nutella every night. She spent most of each day totally avoiding carbs and fats so she could fit in as much Nutella as possible. When I then asked her about her daily intake of foods she was woefully inadequate in her consumption of fruits and vegetables. She would be lucky to average one serving a day. When this was brought to her attention it was claimed that it wasn’t important as the macros were being hit every day. I then brought up the list of skin, digestive and other health issues she was suffering and also her worsening performance in the gym.

This was a moment when something finally clicked and she put two and two together. Her choices of substituting all her other calories so she could eat more Nutella (personal note: I have never understood the obsession with it) was one of the contributing factors to the roadblocks she was experiencing. Having a coach question her about it led her to an “aha” moment and then being able to create a plan to get her back on track, with just a little bit extra Nutella.

For most clients in the level 2 category, it is best to offer them guidelines where it allows them to have some wiggle room. Portion control becomes quite useful here and same with some basic timing strategies.

Level 3 clients are the final types we will discuss. They will generally come to you with a spreadsheet of what they have been eating, timing and more. They are familiar with all the dietary buzzwords and have probably a full cupboard full of different supplements for different goals.

Advising level 3 clients can either really fun or really challenging. Some level 3 clients will be the easiest to coach, most compliant clients imaginable. You tell them what to do and they will have it ready to go by the end of the day. I had one level 3 client who I gave some simple recommendations to and all I had to do was update them every 2 weeks based on his results. In 12 weeks he dropped to 5.4% body fat and didn’t go off plan once. This is the perfect situation.

On the flip side, some level 3 clients are the hardest people you will ever have to coach. They will argue over every point and question you on every element on your approach and get bogged down in every detail no matter how small and insignificant.

One level 3 client I worked with was a trainer who wanted to undergo a body transformation. He wanted to know the minutia of every decision I made, down to why I didn’t recommend he time every rest interval and repetition cadence. He wanted to know why I didn’t have him eat every meal at the same time each and every day. When I spoke to him about it and said I wanted to know how he went before we started going that granular, he was more than annoyed. He could not believe I would question his adherence and believed the approach he was given was not “advanced” enough for his requirements. To give some context to this, he was over 20% body fat and had never successfully dropped below 15% and maintained it.

This brings up one of the other considerations with client levels, you need to not only see knowledge that puts them as a Level 1, 2 or 3 but also the results to back it up. If someone can tell you all the cellular physiology behind carb loading and glycogen replenishment but has a terrible food journal (or refuses to fill one out) they need to be treated as a level 1 client. The level of strategy you give the client depends on their current physical state and behavioural habits.

This is something that is so important to recognise and can be particularly challenging as a coach. Many clients are resistant to doing things that they feel are “beneath them” so we need to use all our coaching tools to get them on board with what we are doing. It may be tough, but the results you get will make it all worthwhile.