Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness (Applications of Motivational Interviewing Series)

I'm a beginning holistic health coach and I found it to be very helpful

I was prepping for a class on using MI for physical activity behavior change and this book was super informative with a step-by-step approach that is evidence based! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

As a Registered Dietitian, I am always on the lookout for ways to learn to do my job better. By that I mean, ways to help my clients more effectively. I was turned onto Motivational Interviewing a number of years ago and have read a few books on the topic. The other books were helpful but I would get a bit frustrated with the examples they provided as they were often related to issues other than food and healthy lifestyle choices. This book, on the other hand, is all about helping clients with their eating and making healthy lifestyle changes. It is the best book I have read on the subject and I would say it is a "Must Read" for anyone who works with people to help them make healthy diet and lifestyle choices.

I had NO IDEA Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques was a thing. This book opened my eyes to what's possible for (Nutrition) Coaches. I love the case studies and example dialogue provided throughout the book. Highly recommend this book to aspiring coaches like me :-)

As a personal trainer and Registered Dietitian, I encounter people who want to both work out and eat well.I've always considered myself a bit more compassionate and empathetic than the average trainer, evidenced by my higher than industry average retention, but this book took things to a higher level.It had an immediate and measurable impact on my revenue - people felt better understood and heard, and thus, spent more money with me. They would also tell others that I'm "caring, understanding, and non-judgey".There's a one star review here that states this book is worthless and that you should just "talk to your clients". The problem with this review is that is stinks of someone who actually didn't read the book or understand the essence of Motivational Interviewing (MI).We all "talk" to our clients, but perhaps it's this "talking" that isn't working, and is what MI is trying to address. I've seen countless trainers "talk TO" their clients instead of "talk WITH" their clients, which is a form of advocacy. A MIer is more of a sleuth who is working with the client to help them develop more autonomy. After all, most clients KNOW what they NEED to do; they just don't WANT to do it. It's our job to nudge them and help them understand why they WANT to do what they NEED to do.This book gives you tools and scripts to help guide you through some common rebuffs employed by clients who are resistant to change. It also explains the concepts through simple enough terms that even a person who isn't a health professional can benefit from.The biggest gripe I have with this book is that the scripts may sound too SCRIPTED if repeated verbatim. You have to be able to mold the wording to your personality so that the client doesn't feel like you're just reading from a script.I can also see how this wouldn't be helpful for people who are extremely driven and Type-A. I have a few clients like this, and they don't respond well to MI, not because MI doesn't work in concept, but because they're the type who don't NEED motivation and encouragement. They know exactly what they want. Their problem is letting the gas go a bit, rather than not pushing the gas enough. MI can still work in these cases, but you'll have to finesse it a bit more.Hope this helps.

Amazing book. I am a weight loss coach/personal trainer and the information here is gold. Disregard the negative reviews cause my book was printed well and by using this information I have helped so many more. I am now an ally to my clients rather than another person pointing out their bad habits and what they should do to change. These methods work much better.

This book is excellent for anyone who is interested in improving communication skills and engagement skills with clients.

This is an excellent and fun read and a must-have starting point for dietitians or clinicians of any background or age. More applicable to the outpatient population for sure, but it does cover more fast-paced inpatient examples of motivational interviewing. I recommend this book to all food and nutrition professionals - students, interns, new RDs, or the most experienced RDs with a million more letters after their names. Concrete examples which are numerous and helpful.