Becoming A Sports Nutritionist

Choosing a profession begins with understanding your own passions. My passion for baseball and health and wellness, through my career as a Massage Therapist and a Qigong instructor, has brought me to my goal of becoming a Sports Nutritionist. Upon deciding to start this journey, I began to research what a Sports Nutritionist entails. What requirements are needed both educationally and legally? Sports Nutrition as a profession requires one to advise athletes on what nutrition they should consume in order to achieve peak performance within their sport or activity. They advise on everything from quality and quantity of food and liquids consumed; for example consuming the healthy amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats. As a Sports

A Sports Nutritionist must have the educational level of at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition. According to my research this is the only requirement for the state of New Jersey. However there are some accreditations that are required according to certain job postings. These associations are as followed: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Sports Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionist Association, and The International Society of Sports Nutrition. These associations increase your credibility in the field of Sports Nutrition by providing further proof that you have obtained the education level required for this

It may be beneficial for a Sports Nutritionist to possess some of the following personality traits in order to be successful. The traits that they may need in the field are: good listening skills, good communication skills, excellent critical thinking skills, skills in guidance or instruction, analytic skills, and managerial skills. Upon learning of the skills needed for this profession, I began to look at the skills I have. To determine if I would be successful as a Sports Nutritionist, I took an online personality trait test at Onet Interest Profiler. My results were enlightening. I scored the highest in social interests. People who scored high in this category are people who tend to like to teach, to give advice, and to help others. I already use these skills in my career as a Massage Therapy Instructor. These traits will help me in advising and educating the athletes in proper nutrition. I also scored high in the investigative category. Those scoring high in that category enjoy searching for facts and solving problems. Having this trait will help with analyzing the athlete’s body structure, workout regiment, and already in place eating habits. Through collecting this data, as a Sports Nutritionist, I will be able to work out a diet plan based on their goals, family history and body