Becoming a Mind Body Eating Coach: Do the Numbers Add Up?

You’re passionate about nutrition and wellness, and you want to channel that passion into a career where you can help people heal from challenges around food, eating, body image, weight, digestion, and more. That’s great! Now what?

If you’re just starting out, or if you’re changing careers from a different field, you’re probably thinking about going back to school – and you’ve probably realized that there are many different educational options that you can pursue.

From 2 year associate’s degrees all the way up through master’s and doctoral degrees, traditional universities offer well-trodden career paths, but these programs can be very costly and time-consuming, and may not take you in the direction you wish to go.

On the other hand, the past few decades have seen the emergence of a whole new generation of career training programs. These programs typically take only 1 to 2 years to complete, and cost tens of thousands of dollars less than a college degree. Which is right for you?

Finding the perfect school for you can take some time and research, but it’s well worth the effort when you discover that place that feels like home. There’s no one right choice for everybody, and the best option for you will depend on factors such as your vision, your beliefs about health and wellness, and your values, as well as such practical considerations as your schedule, your budget, and your specific career goals.

In this article, we’ll take a look at several of the most popular ways that people prepare themselves for careers in the fields of nutrition and psychology. We’ll look at traditional college degrees first, and then see how contemporary alternatives such as our online Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training add up.

Considering a Career as a Nutritionist or Dietitian?

If you want to work as a nutritionist, you’re probably thinking about a bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science. For a 4-year degree in Nutritional Science, tuition costs will range from $15,000 to almost $60,000 per year of study. But since “nutritionist” is not a regulated job category in most states, you’ll be competing with people who have no formal education in the field, people with master’s or doctoral degrees, and everything in between.

Registered dietitians can prescribe specific meal plans and supplements to treat a range of medical conditions. Although there are associate degree programs in this field, in order to obtain licensure or certification at the state level, a bachelor’s degree is usually the minimum requirement. Bachelor’s programs in the field of dietetics include a strong focus in the hard sciences, and they typically cost a little more than nutrition degrees, with an average annual tuition of about $34,000. Add up these annual fees over four years, and your total tuition cost for a bachelor’s degree in nutrition or dietetics is likely to cost well over $100,000.

If you want to advance in the field of nutritional science, a master’s degree is recommended.
And depending on what school you attend and what you study, you’ll pay anywhere from $20,000 to $120,000 for that MS.

In addition to the basic tuition fees, of course, there are other fees that go into becoming a licensed dietitian. You’ll need to pay state licensing fees each year, for as long as you are practicing in the field. Depending on your state, practicing without a license may be illegal. You’ll also need to carry liability insurance, since you’ll be directly treating people with medical conditions. This will cost between $100 and $300 a year. Finally, for professions that require you to be licensed by the state, continuing education units (CEUs) must be submitted every few years. The cost of CEUs varies widely, depending on where you obtain them and what topics you study, but the fees for this additional schooling add up quickly and must be considered as part of the cost of doing business in this field.

More Interested in Psychology?

If, on the other hand, you are considering becoming a licensed psychologist or psychotherapist to help people with the mental and emotional aspects of their eating-related challenges, you’ll need at least a master’s degree. This is also the preferred educational preparation for working with people with clinically diagnosed eating disorders. The average cost of a master’s degree in psychology from an online university is about $27,000, but tuition at elite schools can be more than $95,000.

Like dietitians, psychologists and psychotherapists also need to be licensed by their state, carry liability insurance, and obtain continuing education credits. The licensing process normally includes a required internship (typically unpaid) as well as hundreds of hours of supervised practice. While you are under supervision, you can be paid for your work with clients, but you’ll also need to pay a senior professional in your field to supervise and consult with you. There are also fees for your state licensing exams and for legal clearance.

What About Mind Body Eating Coaching?

If what you really want to do is help people work with the most common and compelling eating concerns of our times – issues like weight, body image, overeating, binge eating, emotional eating, endless dieting, digestion, fatigue, immunity, mood, and more – in a way that creates true breakthroughs and lasting changes, there may be a different option that suits you perfectly. Our Mind Body Coach Certification Training is a much faster and more economical route to a job focused on nutritional psychology, and it’s designed to comprehensively prepare you with the coaching skills and nutritional knowledge you need to launch an entirely new career.

Our 250 hour Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training takes 8 months to complete, and costs $6950. For this tuition cost, you’ll receive:

• A thorough foundation in the fields of Mind Body Nutrition and Dynamic Eating Psychology, taught by Marc David, a pioneering and award-winning researcher who helped to originate these fields of study
• Over 200 hours of presentations with videos that you can stream online when it fits your schedule, and audio files that are yours to keep for life
• Hundreds of pages of handouts and exercises that will lead you through your own journey of transformation while equipping you with the proven, results-driven tools and techniques to help your clients transform their lives
• Two live teleclasses with Marc each month, where you can ask any question you have about the content of the Training and how to apply it in real-life situations
• Done-for you forms and market-tested website copy so you can spend less time figuring out the perfect way to explain what you do, and more time doing it!
• Lots of opportunities to interact with your classmates and develop your coaching skills through our Peer Coaching program and our private online forums

And in addition to the core curriculum, you’ll get these amazing optional opportunities to continue your learning at no additional cost:

• A bonus Nutrition Module for anyone who wants to review the basics of nutritional science or deepen their understanding of the nutrition field
• A bonus Business Development Module that’s packed with practical suggestions and useful information for building your practice – whether you’re just starting out or expanding a business that’s already going strong
• An incredible Live Event at the conclusion of the Training, where presentations by our teachers combined with plenty of time for sharing with your classmates will help you integrate everything you’ve learned as you move on to the next stage of your journey as a Certified Mind Body Eating Coach

Once you’re certified, your credentials are good for life. There is no need to buy liability insurance, register with the state, or submit continuing education units. There’s not even a fee to take the final certification exam – it’s included in the cost of your tuition. Our graduates charge anywhere from $75 to $300 an hour, and they often let us know that they are able to earn back their investment in the Training within the first year of working with clients.

And as a Certified Mind Body Eating Coach, your services will be in demand. In 2014, Americans spent $64 billion on weight loss alone, according to Fortune Magazine. Sadly, so many of the diet plans and gimmicks offered to people with weight challenges simply do not work.

You, however, will be equipped with a wide array of tools to help clients experience real, lasting changes – working not just with their body, but with their heart, mind, and soul.

Of course, weight loss is just one of many concerns you’ll be able to help with. From issues with digestion, fatigue, and immunity to challenges that may not appear to be related to eating on the surface – such as self esteem, stress, anxiety, and mood – the approach that we teach at the Institute is will allow you to offer revolutionary new insights that will transform your clients’ lives.

So many people are looking for real help, honest answers, and effective solutions, and you will be well prepared to meet their needs.

If you want to start a new career using nutritional science and psychological insights to help people heal from their suffering around food, body, and health and live the lives they were meant to live, the Institute for the Psychology of Eating’s Mind Body Eating Coach Certification Training can help you get there in less than a year.

The price tag for this Training is far less than you’d pay for college or graduate school, and you’ll come away with a powerful, reputable education and a certification that’s recognized around the world. Maybe it’s time to try a new kind of career training. Join the Dynamic Eating Psychology movement today!