Weight Management Consultancy diploma

Learn how to become a Weight Management Consultant with the client's health & wellbeing at the core.

A message from the Author

As you enter into this study, I want you to be fully aware of what lies before you. If you save people from overweight, you will also increase life-expectancy and/or prevent the onset of serious debilitating diseases. There will also be those clients whose life has been long limited in a psychological sense and you will be able to help them to restore their sense of verve and vitality so they can again live life to the fullest extent. This will be done through learning special expertise both technically and in person-to-person relations. With these words of encouragement, I warmly welcome you to this course of study where the amount of potential job satisfaction is incalculable.

Dr. Lawrence Plaskett

Course Duration

0 months

Study Hours

0 hours

Course Content

0 sections

Course Fee

£0

Course Overview

The Plaskett Weight Management Consultancy course will provide you with a detailed, systematic and scientifically-based training, fuller than any other we know of in the field. It will enable you to practise as a well-informed Weight Management Consultant and most importantly, you will be able to help and support individuals in their quest to lose weight whilst maintaining health and well-being.

Learn the Basic Elements of Nutrition
You will gain an understanding of the basic elements of nutrition with a focus on the key nutrients in order to avoid deficiencies when working with weight loss clients.
Create Individualised Weight Loss Programmes
You will develop the confidence to be able to make informed choices from a wide span of weight loss options and avoid the use of rigidly fixed methods, thereby delivering programmes best suited to individual needs.
Become a Skilled Adviser
You will learn the skills to be able to counsel on a one-to-one basis, we believe that this favours the resolution of individual circumstances and problems. You will receive the training to see your clients through every stage of the process, thereby maximising their chances of success.
Expand Practice of Current Health Professionals
In addition to those wanting to set up practice as a Weight Management Consultant, this course is ideally suited to current health & fitness professionals looking to enhance their practice.

Why Choose Us?

Some reasons why our Weight Management Consultancy course sets us apart from others in the field:

A Wide Range of Working Methods

A wide range of working methods is given in the training. Adjustment of the programmes to meet individual priorities and needs leads to programmes being more acceptable to slimmers.

Flexibility

Flexibility should mean higher success rates and more satisfied clients. That should mean more recommendations to your business.

One to One Sessions

Our consultants offer one-to-one sessions, rather than group sessions, since the latter do not favour the resolution of individual circumstances & problems.

Weight Loss is put into Perspective

Slimming is put into perspective with the factors that make it so important, including the medical consequences of overweight.

The Psychology of Losing Weight

The course includes relevant aspects of the psychology of slimming.

Nutrients & Herbs

The practitioner will work with diets and also with those nutrients and herbs that have shown up positive in the literature of weight-loss investigations and trials. This added dimension eases the client’s burden of unrelieved dieting.

The Safety Factor

Quite unlike most other training, this course gives you key information for looking after your clients’ health positively while slimming is being undertaken. Many slimming programmes out there neglect to protect health and a few are potentially rather dangerous. In your case your expertise and knowledge will provide the safety factor and also the ability to guard and protect health while slimming. In fact, health should often improve markedly on the programmes that we teach. This is a vital difference.

Inclusion of Exercise Programmes

We teach how best to use exercise programmes where these will be acceptable.

Breakdown of the Course Sections

The Weight Management Consultancy Diploma includes the following 13 sections:

Section 1

Basic Science Support

Whilst our main concern will be with weight loss, we need to understand some of the basic aspects of nutrition. These deal with the key nutrients that we have to control to reduce weight. They will also help us to understand how to lose weight without developing deficiencies.

In Section 1, we begin the study of nutrients and foods by looking at the main bulk nutrients that our diets contain: protein, carbohydrate and fat. Before one can consider individual vitamins and minerals, one has to know about the nutrients that make up most of our diets, namely the bulk nutrients. These are the suppliers of food energy and ultimately help to decide an individual's size. You will need to understand these so as to manipulate them with skill.

Areas Covered

What are the bulk nutrients?
Chemical elements contained in the bulk nutrients
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Fibre
Fats
The energy reserve role of fat
The lipoproteins of the blood

Section 2

UNDERSTANDING THE FIELD & NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

This section introduces the basic ideas of the training. The purpose of this course of training is to enable the student to help others who are overweight or obese to lose weight, and to do so in a professional manner. At the same time, it aims to motivate you and empower you to set up a practice as a ‘Weight Management Consultant’ that will lead to your gaining a good reputation in this field, developing a panel of satisfied clients and bringing you both status and income.

Since losing weight is not easy, one has to be aware of all the different methods and ramifications that are a part of this intriguing subject. The professionalism comes from knowing a number of different “ways in” to help the clients and also from being able to develop awareness of the individuality of each client.

This will put you in a position to find the best and most successful route to weight loss for each person who consults you. This will mean giving individual advice, not just the same advice to everyone. By recognising individuality we earn the client’s trust and appreciation and we also increase the chances of achieving the fullest possible success by being in a position to find individual solutions to each client’s problem.

Areas Covered

The aims of the work
The clients’ motives
The clients themselves
The clients’ knowledge of nutrition
The place of psychology
The arithmetical equation of body weight
Ways of working
Getting fat is all too easy – we review how it happens
Definition and classification: criteria for weight normality

Section 3

THE THEORY OF THE CAUSES OF OVERWEIGHT & OBESITY

In this section we explore 'The Theory of what Causes Overweight and Obesity'. We look at the underlying reasons for this current epidemic scale of the problem in developed societies throughout the world. Understanding this will give you an insight into what needs to be done.

The Weight Management Consultant clearly needs to understand as fully as possible the causes of obesity in order to be able to formulate good advice. It is necessary to understand that, although the ultimate cause is always eating more than the body requires, that factor is modified by many subsidiary factors.

One, that always interests clients, is whether or not one may be predisposed by one’s inheritance to put on and retain weight, so we deal with this question.

Areas covered

Relative effect of genetics and environment
Hormonal disturbance in obesity
Slower than normal rates of energy expenditure
The role of fat cells
Role of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase

Section 4

The Health Consequences of Excess Weight

It is well known that being overweight or obese increases the chances of contracting chronic illnesses. This section examines the types of illnesses involved and the way that their incidence is affected by body weight.

From the standpoint of a Weight Management Consultant, the use of this information is to present clearly the vital benefits that your work can bring to your clients in terms of freedom from illness. This knowledge can augment your job satisfaction, especially when you can see the client’s health condition improving as weight comes down. That can be expected to happen sometimes, but of course not always.

So, potentially this information can serve to inform your clients about the degree to which slimming down from an overweight or obese condition can help them to avoid very negative health consequences. By passing on parts of this data to some carefully selected clients, you may perhaps either improve their flagging motivation, or increase their satisfaction level with their early results or with the efforts they are making.

Areas covered

The connection between overweight and ill health
The risk of early death
Illness and death from cardiovascular disease
Illness and death from diabetes mellitus
Illness and death from hypertension
Illness and death from respiratory problems
Illness and death from gallbladder disease
Illness and immobility from arthritis
Illness from gout
Illness and death from cancer

Section 5

FIRST PRINCIPLES OF CORRECTING EXCESS WEIGHT

In this section we approach the practical side of the Weight Management Consultant’s job.

The greatest skill required of the Consultant is that of formulating the advice in a way that combines efficacy with client acceptability. The mistake most often made in the approach to weight reduction is to employ only one method yet in pursuing reduction in a person’s weight, it is best to come at the problem from multiple angles simultaneously.

The person’s diet may well have to be the first and foremost approach however, the main alternative approaches involve several different ways of preventing excess food materials from being stored, leading to overweight.

If control of the diet is the only method one employs, then so much depends upon strict dietary control that the will and the motivation of the client may be too severely tested. However, an approach in which dietary control takes pride of place, but is supported by a number of other approaches, is more likely to find client acceptability and is therefore more likely, ultimately, to be successful.

In this section we list these “prevention of storage” approaches before dealing more fully with the diet.

Areas covered

Strategy of weight control
Reduction of food intake
The use of balanced hypocaloric diets
Strategies for reducing food intake in practice
Using foods intended to increase metabolic rate
Mixtures of the various strategies

Section 6

REDUCING WEIGHT THROUGH DIET & DIETARY COMPOSITION

The principal purpose of this section is to understand the scope that we have to reduce food calories in the diet without necessarily reducing the total weight of food consumed. It looks closely at understanding and measuring food energy.

Working in this way with diet is kindest to the clients and makes fewer demands upon their efforts and their will to succeed.

Areas covered

Understanding food energy
The make-up of daily diets
What does the body have to do with tis energy?
Water content of foods
The differing energy contents of food dry matter
Substituting low-calorie for high-calorie foods
The first stage of calorie reduction
Combining diet with exercise
A further stage of calorie reduction

Section 7

Selecting individual foods

The previous section talks mainly about the first principles of reducing calorie intake while keeping the weight of daily food dry matter level. This is done mainly by varying the extent to which each food class contributes to the overall diet; we simply reduce the proportions of those food classes with the higher calorie content.

This section now looks within food classes to pick out those foods that, individually, have lower calorie content than the average for foods within the class concerned and make the best contribution to an individual client’s diet. This is a further step to calorie reduction without loss of food bulk.

Areas covered

Different foods within any given class have different calorific values
Choosing foods within food classes for calorie reduction
Specific recommendations for individual foods within each class
Care needed in using the information
Calorie contents of the “more suitable foods”
Dietary results from substituting individual foods
The necessary provision of dietary fat
The quality of dietary protein
The quantity of dietary protein
Choosing foods for overall dietary suitability

Section 8

Building your knowledge of foods into diets

In the Sections that have gone before, we have noted several key strategies aimed at reducing the client’s intake of calories.

This section gets down to the key job of building and structuring a diet to help each particular client - the aim now is to address the actual prescribing of diets to enable you to build upon the principles already learned and to give the client a workable diet that can achieve his or her aims.

Areas Covered

The adjusting and re-balancing of the food classes
Calculating the food replacements
Targeting individual foods

Section 9

First look at conducting consultations

This section takes you through managing the consultation, helping you to structure the activity to provide a satisfactory experience for your clients. This is the basis for a good approach to weight reduction.

The section culminates in the provision of example diet sheets with guidelines according to food classes and guidelines according to mealtimes and considers the benefits of both.

Areas Covered

The consultant’s surroundings and manner
Direction of the early conversation
Collection of the dietary data
Weight-loss ideas come to you during the data collection
Identifying the largest food contributions to overweight
Balancing the food classes
Writing down the guidelines
Substitution of individual foods
Reduction in the food bulk eaten
Integrating the entire diet
Example diet sheets

Section 10

Counting Calories. Benefits of exercise. The keto diet.

In section 10 we cover the method of calculating the calories in everyday life. We look at the benefits of exercise for suitable clients and discuss more specific diets such as the ketogenic diet.

Areas Covered

Calculating the calories
The benefits of exercise
The ketogenic diet

Section 11

Promoting good health. Understanding drug treatments. Follow-up guidelines.

Brings us to the section where we set about designing slimming programmes that are not only effective at weight loss, but also promote good health. To give you an insight into the potential problems, we also look at the drug treatments given for overweight by doctors. We also take you through the guidelines for follow-ups after the first consultation.

Areas Covered

Slimming programmes to promote good health
Understanding drug treatments for overweight
Follow-up guidelines

Section 12

use of supplements to promote loss of weight

This section deals with non-food substances, or supplements that with help with weight loss. It looks at how they actually achieve this and discuss their effectiveness and safety implications for the individual. These include some micronutrients, herbs, enzyme inhibitors and sequestering agents.

Areas Covered

Inhibition of fat absorption
Changing body composition
Substances encouraging increased thermogenesis
Appetite suppressants
Enzyme inhibition
Prevention of fat synthesis
Nutrients that may accelerate metabolism
Appendix 1 – some abstracts of key articles
Appendix 2 – summary of modes of action

Section 13

Managing

This rather substantial last section deals with a fuller and final part on “Managing the Consultations”. This further develops your consultation skills and objective setting in weight management practice.

It also addresses the tricky question of compliance and weight regain and how to avoid it.

Finally, it looks at “Running your Practice as a Business” to ensure that you have a grasp of the business principles that you will need.

Areas Covered

Managing the consultations – basic methodology
Note on progressive reduction in energy needs
Construction of the overall prescription – different components
Running your practice as a business
Appendix (more about why the slimming process slows down)

Testimonials

Here's what students have to say about the course

Mrs E. Marriott

“The Plaskett course in Weight Management Consultancy has been a really good introduction into the importance of nutrition and balancing food groups to make up a healthy diet plan for those who are obese and wishing to lose weight. It would be good if you want to do it for your own understanding or if you are looking for a step into a professional qualification or practicing yourself. The tutors communicate with you and give you detailed feedback on assignments and the work is achievable within a year, quicker if your apply yourself. There is a lot of information in the course surrounding basic nutrients, composition of foods and on how to set up and run your own practice”.

Pricing

Weight Management Consultancy Diploma

£475 or £88 over 6 months

Lifetime Access to Course Material
Full Tutor Support
Diploma In Weight Management Consultancy upon Completion
Instalment Option Available

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F.A.Q.

Can I 'fast track' through the course?

Yes. As a guide, this course takes 9-12 months based on a part time study schedule of 3-5 hours per week however if you have more time to allocate to study, you can certainly complete the course sooner.

How many assignments are there?

There are 3 short written assignments and 2 case studies to complete.

What will I receive at the end of the course?

You will be awarded a Diploma in Weight Management Consultancy which will entitle you to use the letters Dip.WMC after your name.

is this course accredited?

Yes, it is accredited by the IICT (International Institute for Complementary Therapists).

Can I receive a hard copy of the course?

If you would like a hard copy of the course material to complement your online studies, you can purchase this for £10 (p&p incl.)

Are the business prospects good?

We certainly think so, taking into account the huge interest in slimming expressed by the vast market for slimming products. Success will, of course, require some business ability in running and promoting your practice.

In addition to client's session fees, you can also earn from the sale of products with favourable trade margins on herbs & nutrients.

Note that after taking the course you are not beholden to anyone else, certainly not one of the large national or international companies. In some other systems, you have to pay a high proportion of your earnings to a franchiser and work as they tell you. Not with this course. You can be independent and keep all that you earn: a vastly important business advantage.