NASM FNS key terms

The legally and professionally defined boundaries of what a nutrition coach may do, including educating clients about food choices while avoiding medical diagnosis, prescribing diets for disease, or dispensing supplements as treatment.

Written expectations describing competent, ethical conduct for a profession, covering competence limits, confidentiality, documentation, informed consent, and when to refer a client to a licensed provider.

The act of directing a client to a qualified licensed professional, such as a physician or registered dietitian, when the client's needs exceed the coach's training, legal scope, or competence.

The limits that keep the coach-client relationship focused, appropriate, and non-exploitative, including avoiding dual relationships, romantic involvement, financial conflicts of interest, and excessive personal disclosure.

A process of clearly explaining services, risks, fees, confidentiality limits, and the client's right to stop, then documenting the client's voluntary agreement before coaching or assessment begins.

The ethical and often legal duty to protect client information from unauthorized disclosure, sharing it only with permission or when required by law, such as in cases of serious harm.

Ongoing formal learning, such as approved courses, workshops, and conferences, required to maintain certification and keep knowledge current with evolving nutrition science and practice standards.

Making professional decisions by integrating the best available research evidence, practitioner expertise, and the client's values and circumstances rather than relying on trends or anecdote.

A collaborative, client-centered counseling style that uses open questions, reflective listening, and affirmation to strengthen a client's own reasons and confidence for changing behavior.

Client statements that favor movement toward a goal, such as desires, abilities, reasons, and needs for change; coaches deliberately evoke and reflect it because it predicts behavior change.

Client speech that favors maintaining the status quo or argues against change; it is treated as normal ambivalence to explore rather than as resistance to confront or correct.

A model describing readiness to change across precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination, used to match coaching strategies to a client's current stage.

A person's belief in their capability to perform a specific behavior or task successfully; stronger self-efficacy predicts greater effort, persistence, and adherence to nutrition and exercise plans.

A goal written to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, which makes progress observable and gives coach and client a shared basis for review.

Systematically recording one's own behavior, such as food intake, hunger, activity, or body weight, to build awareness and generate data for coaching feedback and accountability.

A concrete, client-chosen statement of what will be done, how often, and when, negotiated at the end of a session to convert intentions into a specific near-term behavior.

Energy-yielding nutrients needed in relatively large amounts: carbohydrate, protein, and fat. They supply calories and raw materials for fuel, tissue repair, and metabolic regulation.

Vitamins and minerals required in small amounts that do not supply energy directly but support metabolism, immune function, bone health, and other regulatory processes in the body.

The unit commonly called a calorie in nutrition, defined as the energy needed to raise one kilogram of water one degree Celsius; it quantifies the energy in food and in human expenditure.

The nitrogen-containing building blocks of protein; nine are essential and must come from food, while others can be synthesized. Their sequence and availability determine protein quality and function.

A protein source providing all nine essential amino acids in adequate amounts, typically from animal foods or well-combined plant foods, supporting tissue synthesis and nitrogen balance.

A measure of how well a protein supplies essential amino acids and how digestible it is; scoring methods include the PDCAAS and the newer digestible indispensable amino acid score.

A ranking of carbohydrate-containing foods by how quickly they raise blood glucose compared with a reference food, influenced by fiber, processing, preparation, and accompanying nutrients.

A measure combining a food's glycemic index with its available carbohydrate amount, giving a more practical estimate of the total blood glucose effect of a realistic serving.

Indigestible carbohydrate and lignin from plants; soluble types can slow glucose absorption and bind bile acids, while insoluble types add bulk and support bowel regularity.

The proportion of a nutrient consumed that is absorbed and available for use or storage, affected by food form, absorption enhancers and inhibitors, and the individual's physiologic status.

The amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other beneficial nutrients a food provides relative to its energy content; nutrient-dense choices support adequacy within calorie needs.

The calories a food provides per unit of weight or volume; low-energy-density foods such as vegetables and soups promote fullness with fewer calories, aiding weight management.

The energy cost of digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing nutrients, roughly ten percent of intake and highest for protein; it is one component of total daily energy expenditure.

The energy expended at rest to maintain vital functions over a defined period, typically the largest component of daily energy expenditure and influenced by body size and composition.

A structured intake form collecting medical conditions, medications, allergies, injuries, and lifestyle information to screen for risk and determine whether a client needs medical clearance or referral.

An interview-based assessment in which a client reports all foods and beverages consumed during a specified recent period, such as the previous 24 hours, relying on memory.

A questionnaire that asks how often and in what portions a client usually consumes listed foods over weeks or months, useful for ranking habitual intake patterns.

A prospective record in which a client logs foods, amounts, and often times and contexts as they are consumed, reducing recall error and revealing eating patterns and triggers.

A screening ratio of weight in kilograms to height in meters squared, used to classify weight status at the population level but limited because it cannot distinguish fat from lean mass.

A circumference measurement taken at a standardized site to estimate abdominal fat and health risk, interpreted alongside body mass index rather than as a stand-alone diagnosis.

The proportion of fat mass and fat-free mass in the body, assessed by methods such as skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance, or densitometry, each with specific assumptions and error.

Systematically increasing training demands, such as load, volume, or difficulty, over time so that the body must continue adapting rather than plateauing at a familiar stimulus.

The principle that training adaptations reflect the exact demands imposed, so exercise selection, energy systems, and movement speeds should match the client's desired outcomes.

Planned, cyclical variation of training variables across weeks or phases, including volume and intensity, to manage fatigue, reduce stagnation, and time peak performance appropriately.

A subjective scale, such as a 6-to-20 or 0-to-10 scale, on which a client reports effort during exercise, useful for regulating intensity when heart rate is unreliable.

The difference between maximum heart rate and resting heart rate; it underlies the Karvonen method, which sets target heart rates as a percentage of reserve plus resting rate.

An informal intensity gauge based on whether a client can speak comfortably; the ability to hold a conversation suggests moderate intensity, while difficulty speaking suggests vigorous intensity.

The relationship between energy consumed from food and beverages and energy expended through metabolism, activity, and thermogenesis; a sustained surplus or deficit drives weight change.

A state in which energy intake falls below total energy expenditure, creating the net energy withdrawal needed for weight loss, ideally paired with adequate protein and resistance training.

The pace of body weight reduction over time, commonly targeted at roughly half to one percent of body weight per week to preserve lean mass and support sustainable habits.

Deliberately matching calorie and macronutrient intake to training phases and goals, such as higher carbohydrate around intense training and adjusted intake during reduced-activity periods.

Food and fluid consumed before training to top up glycogen and hydration, typically emphasizing familiar, easily digested carbohydrate with moderate protein and low fat and fiber.

Intake after training designed to restore glycogen, supply protein for muscle repair, and replace fluids and electrolytes, with timing and amounts scaled to the session and the next event.