 ESSENTIALS

OF NUTRITION
AND COACHING
THE

For health, fitness, and sport

Forms

FOURTH EDITION
Krista Scott-Dixon, PhD; John Berardi, PhD, CSCS; Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS;
Helen Kollias, PhD, CSCS; Camille DePutter
Editing: Krista Scott-Dixon, PhD, Rachel Bell, Erin Weiss-Trainor, MSc

Reviewers: Jennifer Broxterman, MSc, RD; Dan Garner, FMP, PNL2; 

Dr. Trevor Kashey PhD; Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, MD/DO; 
Dr. Mike T Nelson PhD, MSME, CISSN, CSCS; Irene Pace,
RD; Dr. Victor Peña-Araujo, MB, BCh, BAO

Design: Carmelo Galati, RGD, Galati Creative Inc.

Production art: Carmelo Galati, RGD, Galati Creative Inc.; 

Illustrations: Carmelo Galati, RGD; Alison Dungey, PhD; 

Kveta; Brendan McNeill

Print: Exodus Graphics Corp.

Copyright 2019 by Precision Nutrition

Printed 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without written permission from the publisher.

Published by Precision Nutrition, Inc.

www.precisionnutrition.com
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Outcome-based decision making.

It’s at the heart of everything you do as a coach.

1. You gather data.

2. You analyze it.
3. You decide what to do next, based on the evidence.

The best coaches are always gathering, analyzing, and using data to make informed, outcome-based decisions.

However, sometimes all that data can feel overwhelming.

Each client comes to you with:

• different life experiences and a different personality;
• different wants and needs;
• different health conditions, movement capacities, and eating habits;
• different problem-solving abilities; and
• different attitudes about change and trying new things.
As a coach, you need to triage — to understand what’s most important, right now, for each unique client. Triaging
helps you focus on “first things first” and set the right priorities.

But how do you know:

• What information to gather? And when?

• What questions to ask? And how?
• The right way to discuss assessment and analysis with clients?
• How to walk them through the process step by step?
Simple.

We’ve already done the work for you.

The assessment forms in this package will help you get to know your client better, and help you make better, evidence-
based decisions about your coaching strategy.

Using them, you’ll learn more about your client’s:

• Physiological indicators
This includes blood work, other lab tests, digestive function, and immunity
• Body composition and measurements
This includes height, weight, body girths, lean mass, and body fat
• Other health needs
This includes known allergies or food intolerances, medication use, other health problems, and the other health care
providers they work with
• Function and physical capability
This includes mobility, daily-life tasks, and athletic performance
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

• Psychological state and mindset

This includes readiness for change, resilience, and problem solving
• Environment and lifestyle
This includes social support, family, work hours and demands, and travel
• Goals and desired outcomes
This includes a specific goal weight or body composition change, decreased medication usage, improved performance
measures, and improved relationship with food
Build your “coaching information database” by using the assessment tools we’ve given you in this package. Then, use
the information you gather to generate strategic plans that your clients can stick with, and that you can feel good about.

START WITH THE BASICS.

We suggest you begin with The PN Initial Assessment and Triage Questionnaire, which covers:

• The client’s perspective

This includes expectations, goals, self-identified limiting factors, willingness to change, and what behaviors they’d like
to focus on or change.

• Social factors
This includes social support, stress, and relationships.

• Health indicators and conditions

This includes injuries, medication use, and digestion.

• Lifestyle factors
This includes how often they see the doctor, whether they smoke, how they spend their time, and how their kitchen is
set up.

Ask the client to fill it out beforehand if possible and bring it to your first session together. Filling out forms in advance
gives them time to think and remember details.

At that first session, discuss their responses with them. Look for more information, and try to understand their situation
as much as you can. Going through the forms together gives you both an opportunity to fill in any gaps and make sure
you’re both on the same page.

A good initial assessment helps you match your coaching plan to what the client can actually understand, manage, and
do. This ensures that your clients go steadily from success to success, rather than swinging wildly from resistance to
anxiety to failure.

The initial assessment also helps you to give clients an objective appraisal of what and how they’re doing, helps you
identify clients who are at risk for illness and / or injury, and helps you determine if you need to refer a client out, either
because they fall outside your scope of practice or because the relationship would be a mismatch (remember, referring out
is an important and valuable option).

After the first session, if you feel like the Initial Assessment and Triage Questionnaire raises some additional questions
you’d like to answer immediately, use some of the questionnaires and worksheets included here. These may help you:

• identify what’s most important to your client right now;

• learn what “progress” means for your client;
• identify specific ways to track progress with your client;
• collaborate on next actions together;
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

• ensure that your client is able to execute any tasks you give them; and / or
• focus on a particular area of interest, such as past / current health problems, sport nutrition, readiness for change,
planning and time use
Keep in mind:

• You don’t have to use all of these.

• We recommend you only try one at a time.
• Feel free to use them throughout the entire coaching process.
• Only use a form if you find it useful when making coaching decisions.

COACH AND CLIENT FORMS

Many of the forms have “coach” and “client” versions.

The “coach version” is like a teacher’s guide to a classroom textbook. It explains what the form is used for, how to talk
about the form with your clients, and why you might ask for certain types of information from your clients. Coach versions
have the symbol C.

The “client version” is what your clients will see. Simple, to the point, only asking what’s needed for each
C topic. You can give these to your client to fill out at home and bring to your sessions.

We suggest you review the “coach version” of each form before handing the “client” version out. This will help you
feel ready and able to explain each form. This will, in turn, help your clients better understand what you’re hoping to
accomplish and “buy in” to the process.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

The Precision Nutrition

Code of Ethics

In your professional role as a coach:

• Act in the client’s best interest. Prioritize their wellbeing, safety, values, goals, and comfort where possible.
• Respect the worth and dignity of the clients you serve. Treat all clients with professional courtesy, compassion, and care.
• Protect your clients’ privacy and confidentiality. This includes:
• Follow standard data security protocols, (e.g., protecting your personal logins and storing client data securely).
• Be careful what you discuss about clients, and with whom.
• Do not disclose personal or identifying details of clients.
• Ask permission before sharing anything publicly (e.g., on social media).
• Act with integrity. Make yourself worthy of your clients’ respect and trust. Don’t exploit your clients, financially or
otherwise. Don’t seek personal gain from your client relationship (beyond your coaching reimbursement, obviously).
• Act with objectivity. Know the rules, regulations, and procedures expected of you, and follow them equitably and
appropriately for each client.
• Set clear, accurate, and reasonable expectations. Define the terms of the coaching arrangement (e.g. payment,
frequency of meeting, how coaching works) immediately and explicitly, and reinforce them often. Be upfront about
what results the client can realistically expect to see.
• Have clear professional boundaries. Avoid multiple relationships (e.g., coaching friends or family members; becoming
friends with clients) where possible. If you must have multiple relationships, recognize the inherent power imbalance in
coaching, and be very clear what hat you are wearing in a given situation.
• Know the limits of your skills and scope of practice. If you can’t serve a client for reasons of ethics or expertise, refer
them out to another coach and/or care provider if possible.
• Keep your skills current. Pursue professional competence, excellence, and mastery. Be a credit to your profession.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Coaching Process Checklist

Good coaching requires a repeatable, systematic process.

Because we’re working with variable, diverse human beings and the messy experience of change, it may seem like each
coaching session is wildly different. Yet if you think about coaching as a template or set of common tasks, there are
underlying patterns.

Fundamentally, nutrition coaching is about 3 things:

1. Helping people change.
2. Helping them take meaningful action on their own behalf, in their own lives.
3. Building a coaching relationship that makes the first two things possible.

A checklist balances focus and freedom.

Having a template isn’t about “making rules” or being rigid in your coaching process. Rather, it’s an open-ended set of
coaching prompts that helps you remember what to do next, especially if you get stuck.

It’s also not about being perfect or having all of the answers. You will make mistakes. So long as you coach ethically
and professionally within your scope of practice, then these mistakes usually won’t harm the client. If you keep a growth
mindset, mistakes will only make you a better coach.

We’ve included 2 templates for you here:

1. Your first client meeting
2. Ongoing client meetings

As always: These are just guides and suggestions. Adapt and make them yours.

The 6-step coaching process

Assess and gather data Understand and explore

Collect information; Deepen your
identify your client's comprehension of
current goals, needs, your client's story
and skills and situation

1 2 3 Strategize and plan

Draft an initial action
plan and possible
'next steps'
Analyze and evaluate
Use outcome-based
6
decision making to
choose what to do next

4 Choose and test

Pick one next action
to try, and try it
Observe and monitor
Record what happens
5
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

The ongoing cycle of coaching

Action Action Action Action Action Action

Initial assessment Progress check Progress check Progress check

Gather data Gather data Gather data Gather data
Understand data Understand data Understand data Understand data
Create plan Agree on action Agree on action Agree on action
Agree on action Test action Test action Test action
Test action
Measure progress

Your first client meeting template

Prepare for your first client meeting

 Book time in your calendar.

Include:
• preparation time before the actual session;
• session time, with a buffer as needed between other engagements; and
• follow-up time afterwards.

 Review this planning and preparation resource.

 Give the client any forms you want them to complete beforehand.
E.g., Initial Triage & Questionnaire, legal waivers, etc.

 Pause and establish your own mindset.

Temporarily set aside other concerns and issues so that you can give your client your full attention.

Connect, set the tone and build the agenda

 Establish a warm, friendly, welcoming vibe and build rapport.

 Set the agenda and cover any “housekeeping” up front.

For instance, how long the session will last and what you’ll cover.

 If needed, briefly explain your coaching approach.

For instance: “I use a behavior-based model that emphasizes skill building, daily practice and a progressive series of
actions.”

 Emphasize their self-determination and autonomy.

Explain that you are the guide and support system, but it is their journey and they make the choices.

 Identify the session goal.

Most of the time, this will be to have a clear, manageable next action that the client buys into and feels comfortable
and confident doing.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

 Let them know what they might reasonably expect as part of the normal process of change and coaching, and that
you’ll deal with those together.
For instance, “Sometimes you may have challenges as you learn. That’s completely normal. We’ll address those
things together as a team, as they come up.”

 Encourage them to ask any questions or raise any concerns they may have.

Step 1: Assessment

 Gather client information; identify and clarify their goals.

Go over the PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire together. Use any other forms you need to get helpful
information, but use as few as possible. Use the Form Flowchart to help you determine what next forms, if any, to
use.

 Determine their nutritional level.

Refer to your textbook for guidance, or try:
• Level 1 Habits Self-Assessment Worksheet
• Nutritional Level Assessment Worksheet

Step 2: Understand and explore

 Get to know who your client is, what they value, and what their life is like.
Ask open-ended questions; learn the story of what brought them here.

 Identify existing strengths/advantages and limiting factors.

 Identify any normal anxieties or ambivalence.

I.e., competing demands or goals, concerns, etc.

 Find out what they’re ready, willing, and able to do to reach their goal right now.
Worksheets and resources you can try:
• Want-Willing-Won’t Worksheet
• Push-Pull Habit Anxiety Worksheet
• Ready, Willing and Able Worksheet

 Listen actively, and try to reflect back and confirm what you are hearing.
Do not give advice at this stage. Listen ONLY.

Step 3: Strategize and plan next steps

 Turn the client’s outcome goals into behavior goals.

What results do they seek, and what do they need to do to get there?

 Propose ideas for next steps that move the client towards those goals.
Try using one or more of these resources for ideas and guidance:
• Goal > Skills > Practices > Small Daily Actions framework
• Limiting Factors, Advantages, and Next Actions worksheet
• From Goal to Action worksheet
• Make it an Action worksheet
• Level 1 Skills, Practices, & Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

 Apply the 5 S framework.

Make any potential task Strategic, Segmental, Sequential, and Simple; show how you’ll Support it.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Step 4: Choose one next action step and test it

 Choose a simple action together.

 Clearly define and agree on what “doing the action” involves.

 Assess how ready, willing, and able they are to consistently do this task.
You can simply ask, or use the Ready, Willing, Able worksheet.

 If needed, shrink the task down to a simpler version until you get 9/10 confidence.

Close the session

 Check in with the client.

You can use the Coaching Feedback Questionnaire or simply make this an informal discussion:
• How are they doing and feeling?
• Have they understood what you’ve asked them to do?
• Do they have any other questions, comments, or concerns?

 Explain what will happen next.

Identify how you’ll connect in future, and what you’ll do at the next check-in

 (Optional) Provide any resources that could help the client do the task.
E.g. PN Plates; Hand-Sized Portion Guide, shopping lists, etc.

 (Optional) Provide any forms necessary to reflect on the assigned task before the progress check.
E.g. Looking Back, Looking Ahead worksheet; Meal Consistency Worksheet, etc.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Progress check-in template

Preparation

 Book time in your calendar.

Include:
• preparation time before the actual session;
• session time, with a buffer as needed between other engagements; and
• follow-up time afterwards.

 Review this planning and preparation resource.

 Pause and establish your own mindset.

Temporarily set aside other concerns and issues so that you can give your client your full attention.

Connect, set the tone and build the agenda

 Establish a warm, friendly, welcoming vibe and build rapport.

 Set the agenda.

For instance, how long the session will last and what you’ll cover.

 Identify the session goal.

Most of the time, this will be to have a clear, manageable next action that the client buys into and feels comfortable
and confident doing.

 Let them know what they might reasonably expect as part of the normal process of change and coaching.

 Encourage them to ask any questions or raise any concerns they may have.

Step 1 (Step 5): Observe and monitor

 If necessary, remind client, and yourself, there is no failure, only feedback.

Whatever you discover together will simply be data that helps you make better decisions in the future.

 Discuss the previously assigned task and gather data:

• How often / consistently / well did the client do the assigned action?
• What went well, even just a little bit?
• Did any challenges or questions come up?

Step 2 (Step 6): Analyze and evaluate

 Has doing this task moved your client closer to the results they want to see?

 Look for trends, patterns and relationships between things.

In general, focus on what went well, and how to help them do more of that.

 Explore together: What do the data you’ve collected suggest about what you might try or do next?
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Step 3: Strategize and plan next steps

 Review: Was progress moving in the right direction? Do you both feel confident in sticking with the initial plan?
If yes to both, keep going. If no to either, work with your client to brainstorm the next task and/or strategic direction:
• Add a new action.
• Change the original action.
• Shrink the original action.
• Make the original action more challenging.
• Return to the 5S and Goals > Skills > Practices > Actions framework to create a new plan, or adjust the
previous plan.

 If needed, use worksheets and resources to collaborate on what to do next.

For example:
• Red-Yellow-Green Worksheet
• Limiting Factors, Advantages & Next Actions
• From Goal to Action Worksheet
• Level 1 Skills, Practices, & Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

Step 4: Choose one next action step and test it

 Choose a simple next action together.

 Clearly define and agree on what “doing the action” involves.

 Assess how ready, willing, and able they are to consistently do this task.
You can simply ask, or use the Ready, Willing, Able Worksheet.

 If needed, shrink the task down to a simpler version until you get 9/10 confidence.

Close the session

 Check in with the client.

You can use the Coaching Feedback Questionnaire or simply make this an informal discussion:
• How are they doing and feeling?
• Have they understood what you’ve asked them to do?
• Do they have any other questions, comments, or concerns?

 Explain what will happen next.

Identify how you’ll connect in future, and what you’ll do at the next check-in

 (Optional) Provide any resources that could help the client do the task.
E.g. PN Plates; Hand-Sized Portion Guide; Shopping lists, etc.

 (Optional) Provide any forms necessary to reflect on the assigned task before the progress check.
E.g. Looking Back, Looking Ahead worksheet; Meal Consistency Worksheet, etc.
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Using the Precision Nutrition forms

Here’s how to choose which form to use when.

Initial Client
Session: Step 1
Initial Assessment Use Goal Eating Athletic / sports Quality Social support Past or current
& Triage form appropriate clarification behaviors nutrition of eating habits and household health problems
assessment
Enough data N forms; collect 5 Whys Emotional Athletic 1: Eating Habits Social Support Medical History
for now? only the data Eating Journal Nutrition Needs & Present
Ready, Willing, Able 2: How Food Feels; Kitchen Set-up
you need Eating Behaviors Athletic Medical Condition
right now. Want-Willing-Won't Behavior Awareness;
Y Journal Nutriton Journal
Meal Consistency
3: 3-Day Diet Record
Planning and Stress Readiness
time use and recovery for change

Planning & Time Use Stress & Recovery Ready, Willing, Able
Sphere of Control Sphere of Control Want-Willing-Won't
Want-Willing-Won't
Keep it simple.
Move to Step 2: Use as few forms as possible. Gather
Understand Use Goal Social support Readiness
and explore appropriate clarification and household for change only the information you need right
assessment
Enough data N forms; collect 5 Whys Social Support Ready, Willing, Able
now.
for now? only the data
Ready, Willing, Able Kitchen Set-up Want-Willing-Won't
you need
right now. Want-Willing-Won't Push-Pull- Have a conversation first.
Y Habit-Anxiety
Use the forms to open up a
Move to Step 3:
Strategize and
discussion with your client. Ask
Use Possible Coaching plan
plan next steps appropriate ideas sketch for more explanation about their
assessment
Enough data N forms; collect Level 1 Skills, Limiting Factors, answers, or “Tell me about…”
for now? only the data Practices & Advantages
you need & Next Actions
right now.
Troubleshooting Address one thing at a time.
Y Red-Yellow-Green From Goal to Action
Make It A Habit
4 Circles
Collaborate with your client on setting
Move to Step 4: priorities and deciding what is most
Choose one next
action step Use Ready, willing Helpful take-home Behavior tracking important to work on.
and test it appropriate and able guidance or progress
assessment reflection
Enough data N forms; collect Ready, Willing, Able
Make outcome-based decisions.
for now? only the data Hand-Sized Looking Back,
you need Portion Guide Looking Ahead Decide what to do next based on the
right now. PN Plates Meal Consistency
Y
PN Infographics Coaching Feedback evidence and information you have.
Food Shopping Lists
Sleep &
Recovery Ideas
Ideas for Movement
Progress Check:
Step 5:
Observe and Use Action Body composition Quality of Eating Clarity Other food journals
monitor appropriate consistency or weight change eating habits behaviors or worksheets
assessment
Enough data N forms; collect Looking Back, Body Measurements 1: Eating Habits Emotional Red-Yellow-Green Eating Behaviors
for now? only the data Looking Ahead Eating Journal
2: How Food Feels; Want-Willing-Won't 80% Full
you need Meal Consistency Eating
right now. Behavior Awareness; Behavior Awareness Eating Slowly
Y Behaviors Journal
Meal Consistency The Hunger Game
3: 3-Day Diet Record All-or-None
Worksheet

Move to Step 6:
Analyze and Use Ready, willing Helpful take-home
evaluate appropriate and able guidance
assessment
Enough data N forms; collect Ready, Willing, Able Hand-Sized Portion
for now? only the data Guide
you need
right now. PN Plates
Y PN Infographics
Food Shopping Lists
Sleep & Recovery
Ideas
Ideas for Movement
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Index of Precision Nutrition forms

Here’s a list of all the worksheets, assessments and questionnaires contained in this package, including what each
is used for.

WORKSHEET, ASSESSMENT,
OR QUESTIONNAIRE WHAT IT’S USED FOR VERSIONS PAGE

Coach resources

Level 1 Skills, Practices & A quick-reference guide to the most common Level 1 fundamentals, and Coach version 18
Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet how to troubleshoot problems with them.

Coaching Feedback Helps you gather immediate post-session feedback from clients to build your Client version 20
Questionnaire coaching relationship and improve your coaching skills.

Assessments & data gathering

PN Initial Assessment and Helps you match your coaching plan to what the client can actually Coach version 21
Triage Questionnaire understand, manage, and do. Also helps you to give clients an objective Client version
appraisal of what and how they’re doing, helps you identify clients who are
at risk for illness and/or injury, and helps you determine if you need to refer
a client out.

Athletic Nutrition Needs For understanding a client’s training goals, training volume, current recovery Coach version 41
Questionnaire practices, and current nutrition practices. Client version

Athletic Performance For tracking metrics of performance and recovery and potentially correlating Client version 52
Indicators with other factors, such as sleep or nutrition.

Body Measurements Form For tracking body composition in clients who might benefit from regular Client version 53
(Men) measures.

Body Measurements Form Client version 55

(Women)

Eating Habits Questionnaire For learning more about a client’s eating patterns. Coach version 57
Client version

Kitchen Set-up Assessment For highlighting the relationship between a client’s environment and their Coach version 70
food habits. Client version

Level 1 Habit Assessment Enables clients to measure and track their consistency with fundamental Client version 78
behaviors; can also be used to determine whether a client is ready for more
advanced protocols.

Medical History and Provides more detailed information about the client’s overall health. Coach version 81
Present Medical Condition Client version
Questionnaire
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Nutritional Level Assessment An in-depth assessment of a client's nutritional level. Coach version 95
Worksheet

ORTO-15 Orthorexia For exploring a client's behaviors and mindset, and opening a conversation Coach version 101
Assessment about orthorexia (see your text for more). Not to be used for clinical
diagnosis.

Sleep Assessment Worksheet An in-depth assessment of a client's sleep quality, duration, and habits. Coach version 103
Client version

Social Support Assessment For showing how social support influences a client’s eating and movement Coach version 111
decisions. Client version

Stress & Recovery For showing patterns of sleep, stress, and recovery. Coach version 117
Questionnaire Client version

Yale Food Addiction Scale For exploring a client's behaviors and mindset, and opening a conversation Coach version 126
about addictive behaviors around food and eating (see your text for more). Client version
Not to be used for clinical diagnosis.

Food and eating journals

3-Day Diet Record For recording exactly what a client is eating. Client version 134

80% Full Meal Journal For helping clients learn how to eat until satisfied versus stuffed and tracking Client version 138
progress in this area.

Athlete Nutrition Journal For correlating mood, energy, and motivation with dietary intake in hard- Client version 139
training athletes.

Eating Behaviors Journal For capturing a client’s urges, cravings, and behaviors around meals. Client version 140

Eating Slowly Meal Journal "For tracking a client’s meal speed and whether they’re consistently eating Client version 142
and Meal Duration Journal slowly and mindfully. Use Eating Slowly for subjective self-assessment or
Meal Duration for objective self-assessment.”

Emotional Eating Journal For capturing a client’s emotions and thoughts and how they might lead to Client version 144
different food choices.

How Food Feels Journal For capturing a client’s physical sensations (like allergies or intolerances) Client version 146
related to food.

Meal Consistency Worksheet For tracking a client’s consistency with agreed-upon behaviors and practices. Coach version 148
Client version

Mindset and psychology / conversation starters

4 Crazy Questions For helping clients think through the benefits of the status quo and what Client version 151
Worksheet they’ll have to give up to change. (Can also be used as the 2 Crazy
Questions.)

The 5 Whys For exploring clients' deeper motivations. Client version 152
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

All-or-None Worksheet For helping clients see choices as a continuum versus all or nothing. Coach version 154
Client version

Looking Back, Looking Helps clients celebrate progress and use those successes to set future goals. Client version 156
Ahead

Push-Pull-Habit-Anxiety For identifying what’s pushing clients away from old ways of doing things Client version 159
Worksheet and pulling them towards new things.

Sphere of Control Worksheet For helping clients identify what they have control over… and don’t… to Coach version 160
better manage stress and expectations. Client version

Want-Willing-Won’t For negotiating what clients want, and what they’re willing to do (or not do) Coach version 164
Worksheet for that goal right now. Client version

Wheel of Stress Client version 166

Planning & problem solving

4-Circle Exercise Links daily actions to outcome and identifies what small task clients can do Client version 167
today to work towards a larger goal.

Behavior Awareness For helping clients change unwanted habits and behaviors (such as stress Client version 168
Worksheet eating).

From Goal to Action Uses the Goals > Skills > Practices > Actions framework to create a Client version 171
flowchart that helps a client work towards a goal, as well as visualize what's
involved.

Ideas for Movement Suggestions for daily movement outside of scheduled “exercise”. Coach version 174
Client version

Limiting Factors, Identifies what blocks a client or helps them take action, and what next Coach version 176
Advantages, and Next actions can be taken based on this information. Client version
Actions Worksheet

Make It an Action Worksheet Allows coach and client to work step by step from a vague initial direction or Coach version 178
discussion towards a concrete action plan. Client version

Planning & Time Use For clients who have problems with time management and prioritization. Client version 183
Worksheet

Ready, Willing and Able For helping establish how ready, willing, and able a client is to make a Client version 186
Worksheet given change. Also helps coaches “shrink the change” to make it more
manageable.

Red-Yellow-Green Foods Client version 187

Worksheet

Sleep and Recovery Ideas For helping coaches discuss sleep rituals and stress management. Coach version 188
Client version
PRECISION NUTRITION FORMS | Introduction When to use the forms

Handouts & information sheets

Hand-Size Portion Guide A simple guide to calorie control without calorie tracking. Coach version 193
Client version

PN Plates Simple visual templates for organizing meals.

Precision Nutrition’s Balanced Plate Client version 195
Precision Nutrition’s Low-Fat High-Carb Plate Client version 196
Precision Nutrition’s Low-Carb High-Fat Plate Client version 197

Fruits and Vegetables Client version 198

Shopping List

Healthy Carbs Shopping List Client version 199

Healthy Fats Shopping List Client version 200

Protein Foods Shopping List Client version 201

The Hunger Game For helping clients better tune into hunger and appetite cues. Client version 202
Level 1 Skills, Practices C
& Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

Use this “cheat sheet” for reference, or to open a coaching conversation about what your client might need or try next.

Skill: Plan, prioritize, and prepare Skill: Provide adequate nutrients

Practices: Practices:
• Make time • Eat lean protein at most meals
• Take small action moving in the direction of your goals • Eat colorful vegetables and/or fruits at most meals
• Include slow-digesting, high-fiber carbohydrates
if appropriate
Skill: Regulate eating behaviors
• Choose healthy fats
Practices: • Hydrate properly
• Eat slowly and mindfully • Supplement with basic nutrients, as needed
• Recognize physiological hunger and fullness cues
• Normalize and routinize eating habits
Skill: Move often and well
Practices:
Skill: Match energy intake to needs and
• Get regular physical activity
goals • Manage training loads
Practices:
• Monitor and adjust energy balance as needed Skill: Rest and recover
Practices:
Skill: Choose higher-quality foods more • Improve sleep behaviors and environment
often • Do purposeful recovery

Practices:
• Establish criteria for “better” Skill: Create a supportive environment
• Eat less processed food Practices:
• Add more whole, minimally processed foods
• Change your environment to help meet your goals
• Experiment, upgrade, and explore

Skill: Regulate emotions without food and

eating
Practices:
• Identify physical sensations, emotions, and thoughts, and
their connections to eating
• Separate urges from behaviors

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Level 1 Skills, Practices & Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet (cont’d)
C
Look for what is
Did that fix Great, you’re
already working. Could Y Do it. Y
the problem? done for now.
you do more of that?
N
Not sure N

Are progress Identify where the expected outcome is

Review progress
3 metrics still Y different than the measured outcome.
indicators and
meaningful? Identify whether the measured outcome is
outcomes
Assess and find out different than the baseline.
Look for:
• What is already working; 2 1 N
• Where ‘the problem’ Discuss changing the progress metrics and
(e.g., over-eating, any new goals that may have emerged.
lack of exercise) does
not happen; Are expectations
• What your client can reasonable?
already do confidently If consistency is less than 80%,
and well; what engages Are you focusing discuss how to make the task easier
Y N
them. mostly on Y and/or more do-able.
behaviors? Ensure that the client is focusing
on important, essential behaviors that
really matter.
N

Awesome. That’s
rare and special. Why not?
Celebrate! Review inputs
and outputs
N

Make expectations reasonable if Does task Do outcomes

possible. Help clients understand N difficulty match match behaviors?
what is involved for a given outcome. expected result?

Y Y

Could something be refined

or improved? Review the quality of the process.

Improve what needs Could routines be streamlined

Y or made more effective?
to be improved.
Could the client be doing
a task more skillfully?
Could the client be doing
Are you absolutely, a task more consistently?
N
positively, 100% sure? Could you calibrate the client’s
performance objectively, rather
Yes! I have investigated
than relying on self-reporting?
every possible avenue!

Okay, fine. Reframe plateau

as a period of consolidation.
Well...
Wait a week or two and see
what happens.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Coaching Feedback Questionnaire

NAME DATE

Please share your feedback.

As your coach, I’m committed to being accountable to you. The more I know about your experiences and perspectives in
coaching, the more I can help you, and ultimately the better your results will be.

As the client, commit to being accountable to yourself. That means checking in and speaking up to ask for what you want and
need, and communicate what you’re observing.

Please be honest. I won’t be offended or upset by anything you share. I really want to know if you feel that you aren’t being
understood or helped, or if there’s something you want to do differently.

How did today’s session go for you?

Our coaching relationship and connection

I DIDN’T FEEL HEARD, I FELT COMPLETELY

UNDERSTOOD, NOR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 HEARD, UNDERSTOOD,
RESPECTED AT ALL. AND RESPECTED.

Goals and topics

WE DIDN’T TALK WE TALKED ABOUT
ABOUT / WORK / WORKED ON
ON ANYTHING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 THINGS THAT WERE
IMPORTANT TO ME. IMPORTANT TO ME.

Coaching approach and method

THE COACH’S THE COACH’S
APPROACH OR WAY APPROACH OR WAY OF
OF WORKING IS NOT A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WORKING IS A PERFECT
GOOD FIT FOR ME. FIT FOR ME.

Overall experience
THIS SESSION WASN’T THIS SESSION WAS
RELEVANT, USEFUL, EXTREMELY RELEVANT,
OR VALUABLE FOR ME 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 USEFUL, AND/OR
AT ALL. VALUABLE FOR ME.

Any specific comments you’d like to share?

Form adapted from Session Rating Scale (SRS) in Miller SD, Duncan BL, & Johnson L. Feedback-Informed Clinical Work: The Basics. International Center for Clinical
Excellence, 2012.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire C

NAME DATE

Coaching tips
• You can use this form both for an initial baseline assessment and to track progress periodically.

• Client responses to questions can suggest what areas to work on and track.

• You can also use questions such as the 1-10 numeric scores to track objective progress in particular areas (e.g., “Right
now, how would you rank your overall eating / nutrition habits?”).

Tell me more about yourself.

By learning more about your lifestyle and your habits, I can take better care of you and make sure coaching is a good fit for your
goals and individual needs.

DATE OF BIRTH GENDER

Staying in touch
Please print clearly.

EMAIL MOBILE PHONE HOME PHONE

How do you prefer me to contact you?

 Email Emergency contact name:

 Phone

 Skype or other video chat

 Text Emergency contact phone number:

 Other (please specify):

Coaching tips
• Ensure that all contact information is complete and correct.
• Confirm with client how they would like to be contacted, and how often.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
What do you want?
In general, what are your goals? Check all that apply.

 Lose weight / fat  Improve physical fitness  Get control of eating habits

 Gain weight  Look better  Get stronger

 Maintain weight  Feel better  Physique competition / modeling

 Add muscle  Have more energy and vitality  Improve athletic performance

 Improve overall health  Healthy aging  Get off or decrease medications

 Other (please specify):

Coaching tips
• Don’t take any of these at face value. Clients may change their goals, say what they think you want to hear, think they
want one goal but really want another, and / or simply not have a clear idea of what these categories mean.
• Use these categories as discussion starters. Ask for clarification and help clients explore how they will know when they
reach their goals.
• “When you say ‘improve physical fitness’, what specifically do you mean by that?”
• “When you say ‘get stronger’, is that in a particular exercise? Or just an overall feeling? How will you know when you
are ‘stronger’?”
• “You’ve listed ‘look better’. Is there a particular event you want to look better for, or is this more of a general thing?
What does ‘look better’ mean to you exactly?”
• Revisit this question above periodically to ensure that these goals are still meaningful and important to your client.
• “On [date], you said that goal X was important to you. Does that still feel true?”

What do you want to change?

How, specifically, would you like your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your body to be different?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Out of all of the changes you’d like to make, which ones feel most important / urgent?

1.

2.

3.

Coaching tips

• These two questions above ask your client to start organizing their thoughts, and begin to define:

• What does “change” look like to them?

This clarifies exactly what they imagine as different or better, and focuses them on a hopeful future, rather than on
“fixing problems”.
It also helps you identify potential metrics or indicators that are meaningful to the client. For instance, if a client
says “I’d like to have more energy”, you can track energy levels as part of their progress.

• What is most pressing for them right now?

In other words, out of all the things they’d like to work on, which ones matter most? This can help you clarify your
coaching agenda, and prevent you both from feeling overwhelmed by all the possible options and work ahead.

• You can also ask with compassionate curiosity about why these 3 priorities feel most important and/or urgent —
“Why this, why now?”.
This helps to surface your client’s values, perspective, motivations, and expectations. They may also tell you about a
particular situation or event that prompted them to change.

• Consider using the 5 Whys exercise if you’d like to learn more about your client’s deeper motivations.

• Asking “why” can also help bring up any potential tensions or areas of resistance (e.g., “My doctor says I should
change X, but I’m not sure if I agree.”).
• When these tensions appear, explore them with motivational interviewing.
• If something seems especially urgent, ask more about expected timelines.
• How quickly does the client need / want things to change?
• Is there a deadline (e.g., an upcoming wedding, competition, or other specific event)?

• Ranking priorities can help later on when a client may want to switch goals or do several things at once.
• “Back on [date], you said that goal X was the most important priority for you because reason Y. Is that still true? If
so, then let’s stay focused on that. If not, let’s revisit what is a priority for you now.”
• “Looking at these, focusing on goal X might conflict with focusing on goal Y, because of trade-off Z. If you had to
choose one goal, which one and why?”

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Have you tried anything in the past (or recently) to change your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your
body? If so, what?
Y N

Which of those things worked well for you, and why? (Even just a little bit, and even if you might not be doing them right now.)

Which of those things didn’t work well for you, and why not?

Coaching tips
• These questions help you learn more about a client’s general history of health, eating and exercise, as well as how
knowledgeable and / or competent they may be in these areas.
• These questions also offer some coaching opportunities.
• Testing the evidence: “How did those things work for you?”
• This highlights that most fad diets / workouts are ultimately unsustainable. Admitting this can help a client “break”
from previous unhealthy or unworkable options.
• If previous things worked well, these can be “bright spots” and clues about what might help your client (e.g., “I was
most consistent when…”)
• Learning moments: “What did you learn from doing this?”
• If the client is are focused on “what didn’t work”, this can reframe their experiences.
• Affirming the client’s drive, courage, and grit: “What strikes me here is how many times you tried to change. Even
though you didn’t make as much progress as you wanted, you were still trying. That tells me you really want to move
forward with this, and that you’re courageous and persistent.”
• Here, you can reframe “failures” and highlight change potential by pointing out that despite setbacks, the client kept
trying to find solutions.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
If you were to consider maybe making more changes to your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your body, what might
those be?

Coaching tips
• These questions help you and the client identify what actions may be priorities for the client; and / or what the client
feels ready, willing, and able to do right now.
• Keeping the question open-ended and about the potential (“if you were to consider”) encourages the client to think
about change, and to identify what they want to happen, without feeling too much resistance.
• These questions can help the client start to commit to a possible course of action, if they are ready, willing, and able to
do so.
• Many clients have already started to make changes by the time they get coaching. Call this early change out, validate it,
and look for “bright spots” that you can build on.
• If the client suggests several potential changes, talk with them further about which changes might feel most important,
urgent, and / or possible, and why.

Until now, what has blocked you or held you back from changing these things?

Coaching tips
• The client’s answer here will help you understand what forces are acting against change for the client.
• What are their limiting factors?
• What forces are “pushing back” against change?
• This question can also help you find out why the client is considering change now.
• Why this, why now? Why not last month, or next month?
• What happened to bring your client here now?
• Given the forces acting against change, what propelled the client to act?
• Often there is some significant, precipitating event (e.g., an injury, a medical diagnosis, a family member dying or
getting sick). Knowing this can tell you more about the client’s motivation and drive.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
What are you doing right now?
Right now, how would you rank your overall eating / nutrition habits?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

Why?

Coaching tips
• Clients often rate their eating / nutrition as better than it actually is. Thus, if the client scores 8 or lower, consider using
the Eating Habits Questionnaire.
• If the client describes behavior that sounds like possible disordered eating / emotional eating, consider using Emotional
Eating Journal as part of a coaching action plan.

Are you regularly active in sports and / or exercise? Y N

If so, approximately how many hours per week?

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

Coaching tip
If the client indicates 5 or more hours per week, consider using the Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire.

What types of sports and / or exercise do you typically do?

Approximately how many hours a week do you do other types of physical activity? (e.g., housework, walking to work or school,
home repairs, moving around at work, gardening)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
What other types of movement and / or activities do you do?

Coaching tips
• Look for a balance of activities, as well as between activity and rest, intensity and rejuvenation. Is your client getting
enough variety and recovery?
• For clients who want to lose weight or improve nutrient partitioning, look for opportunities to add daily-life activity,
ideally by building on what they already do, for example:
“You mention you walk your daughter to school every day. I’m wondering whether you could take a slightly longer
route home to give yourself a few extra minutes of walking?”
• Explore your client’s attitudes towards and expectations of sports, exercise, movement and activity, for example:
• Are they having fun? Do they know how to play? • What are their expectations for their performance?
• Does activity seem like a chore? • Do they expect exercise will help them lose weight?
• How hard are they driving themselves? Is that expectation accurate?

• How consistent are they?

What’s around you?

Who lives with you? Check all that apply.

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)  Other family (e.g. parent, grandparent,

sibling, etc.)
 Roommate(s)  Pet(s)

Do you have children? If yes, how many and what are their ages? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Knowing about your client’s household, relationship, and / or family situation will help you understand things like:
• what roles they might play in relation to other people (e.g., caregiver, financial provider);
• what other time and energy demands they might have (e.g., child care, elder care, stay-at-home parent vs. working
outside the home);
• who might be setting the agenda in the household (e.g., “I have to please my kids” or “I’m in charge of menu
planning”); and / or
• how much structure the household might have (e.g., student household with roommates vs. mature family with well-
ordered routines).
• Knowing the specifics of your client’s family situation will also allow you to relate to them as individuals (e.g., Client X is
newly married, Client Y is starting a family, Client Z is a dog lover)

Who does most of the grocery shopping in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Who does most of the cooking in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Who decides on most of the menus / meal types in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Coaching tips
• These questions can tell you more about:
• your client’s skill, knowledge and responsibility around shopping and food preparation; and
• your client’s ability to make choices (real or perceived).
• If any other people are doing the bulk of shopping, cooking, and / or food decisions, consider how to include them in
your client’s coaching program so that they are on board with any changes.
• If the client doesn’t seem to have strong food preparation skills, or if the kitchen / home environment may be a limiting
factor, consider using the Kitchen Set-up Assessment.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Right now, how much do the people and things around you support health, fitness, and / or behavior change?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

Coaching tip
If the client scores 7 or lower, consider using the Social Support Form and Kitchen Set-up Assessment.

What’s your health like?

Have you have been diagnosed (currently or in the past) with any significant medical condition(s) and / or injuries? Y N

Right now, do you have any specific health concerns, such as illnesses, pain, and / or injuries? Y N

Right now, are you taking any medications, either over-the-counter or prescription? Y N

Coaching tip
If the client answer “yes” to any of these, consider using the Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your health right now?

WORST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

Why?

Coaching tip
If the client scores 7 or less, consider using the Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

How are you spending your time?

In an average week, how many hours do you spend...

In paid employment? At school or doing school work? Traveling and / or commuting?

Taking care of others? Doing other unpaid work? Volunteering?

(e.g., children, person with (e.g., housework, errands)
a disability, older person)

Adding up all these things, how many total hours per week do you spend doing all these activities?

Coaching tip
Is this how many hours the client prefers to be spending on these activities? If they feels rushed / busy / time pressured,
consider using the Planning & Time Use Worksheet.

On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about your schedule, time use, and overall busy-ness?

MY LIFE IS MY LIFE IS
PANICKED AND 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PERFECTLY CALM
INSANE AND RELAXED

Coaching tip
If the client scores 7 or lower, consider using the Planning & Time Use Worksheet as well as Stress and Recovery
Questionnaire.

How is your stress and recovery?

Think about all the activities you’re involved in (e.g., work, school, caregiving, housework, travel). Then assess as best you can:
Given all the demands of your life, what is your typical stress level on an average day?

EXTREME
NO STRESS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STRESS

Coaching tip
If the client scores 4 or higher, consider using the Stress & Recovery Questionnaire.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
On average, how many hours per night do you sleep?

 4 or fewer hours  7 hours  10 or more hours

 5 hours  8 hours

 6 hours  9 hours

Coaching tip
If the client sleeps 7 hours or fewer, consider using the Stress & Recovery Questionnaire.

How do you normally cope with your stress?

Coaching tips
• Look for red flags here around coping and recovery methods, such as:
• alcohol or other addictions;
• eating (or not eating);
• high stress levels; and / or
• poor or no recovery methods.
• Consider using the Stress & Recovery Questionnaire if anything pops up.

How ready, willing, and able are you to change?

Right now, on a scale of 1-10:

How READY are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

How WILLING are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
How ABLE are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

Coaching tips
• If the client scores 7 or less, use Ready, Willing, and Able Worksheet.
• Consider also using the Limiting Factors, Advantages, and Next Actions Worksheet.

What do you expect?

What do you expect from me as your coach?

What are you prepared to do to work towards your goals?

Coaching tips
• Having clear expectations for both coach and client is essential.
• Identify and discuss any potential areas of ambiguity or misfit (e.g., client wants to be contacted daily, but you normally
contact clients weekly).
• The second question not only clarifies what clients are bringing to the table, but emphasizes that the coaching
relationship is largely about the client’s responsibility. You can use this as a jumping-off point to talk about your role as a
guide and facilitator, but not “the boss” or responsible for the client’s participation.
• The second question here can open up a discussion about “ready, willing, and able”.
• Consider using the Ready, Willing, and Able Worksheet here if needed.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Disclaimer
Please recognize that it is your responsibility to work directly with your health care provider before, during, and after seeking
nutrition and / or fitness consultation.

Any information provided is not to be followed without prior approval of your doctor. If you choose to use this information without
such approval, you agree to accept full responsibility for your decision.

Client signature:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire

NAME DATE

Tell me more about yourself.

By learning more about your lifestyle and your habits, I can take better care of you and make sure coaching is a good fit for your
goals and individual needs.

DATE OF BIRTH GENDER

Staying in touch
Please print clearly.

EMAIL MOBILE PHONE HOME PHONE

How do you prefer me to contact you?

 Email Emergency contact name:

 Phone

 Skype or other video chat

 Text Emergency contact phone number:

 Other (please specify):

What do you want?

In general, what are your goals? Check all that apply.

 Lose weight / fat  Improve physical fitness  Get control of eating habits

 Gain weight  Look better  Get stronger

 Maintain weight  Feel better  Physique competition / modeling

 Add muscle  Have more energy and vitality  Improve athletic performance

 Improve overall health  Healthy aging  Get off or decrease medications

 Other (please specify):

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

What do you want to change?

How, specifically, would you like your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your body to be different?

Out of all of the changes you’d like to make, which ones feel most important / urgent?

1.

2.

3.

Have you tried anything in the past (or recently) to change your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your
body? If so, what?
Y N

Which of those things worked well for you, and why? (Even just a little bit, and even if you might not be doing them right now.)

Which of those things didn’t work well for you, and why not?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

If you were to consider maybe making more changes to your habits, your health, your eating, and / or your body, what might
those be?

Until now, what has blocked you or held you back from changing these things?

What are you doing right now?

Right now, how would you rank your overall eating / nutrition habits?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

Why?

Are you regularly active in sports and / or exercise? Y N

If so, approximately how many hours per week?

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

What types of sports and / or exercise do you typically do?

Approximately how many hours a week do you do other types of physical activity? (e.g., housework, walking to work or school,
home repairs, moving around at work, gardening)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

What other types of movement and / or activities do you do?

What’s around you?

Who lives with you? Check all that apply.

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)  Other family (e.g. parent, grandparent,

sibling, etc.)
 Roommate(s)  Pet(s)

Do you have children? If yes, how many and what are their ages? Y N

Who does most of the grocery shopping in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Who does most of the cooking in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Who decides on most of the menus / meal types in your household? Check all that apply.

 Me  Roommate(s)  Other family

 Spouse or partner(s)  Child(ren)

Right now, how much do the people and things around you support health, fitness, and / or behavior change?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

What’s your health like?

Have you have been diagnosed (currently or in the past) with any significant medical condition(s) and / or injuries? Y N

Right now, do you have any specific health concerns, such as illnesses, pain, and / or injuries? Y N

Right now, are you taking any medications, either over-the-counter or prescription? Y N

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your health right now?

WORST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

Why?

How are you spending your time?

In an average week, how many hours do you spend...

In paid employment? At school or doing school work? Traveling and / or commuting?

Taking care of others? Doing other unpaid work? Volunteering?

(e.g., children, person with (e.g., housework, errands)
a disability, older person)

Adding up all these things, how many total hours per week do you spend doing all these activities?

On a scale of 1-10, how do you feel about your schedule, time use, and overall busy-ness?

MY LIFE IS MY LIFE IS
PANICKED AND 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PERFECTLY CALM
INSANE AND RELAXED

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

How is your stress and recovery?

Think about all the activities you’re involved in (e.g., work, school, caregiving, housework, travel). Then assess as best you can:
Given all the demands of your life, what is your typical stress level on an average day?

EXTREME
NO STRESS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STRESS

On average, how many hours per night do you sleep?

 4 or fewer hours  7 hours  10 or more hours

 5 hours  8 hours

 6 hours  9 hours

How do you normally cope with your stress?

How ready, willing, and able are you to change?

Right now, on a scale of 1-10:

How READY are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

How WILLING are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

How ABLE are you to change your behaviors and habits?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 COMPLETELY

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

PN Initial Assessment & Triage Questionnaire (cont’d)

What do you expect?

What do you expect from me as your coach?

What are you prepared to do to work towards your goals?

Disclaimer
Please recognize that it is your responsibility to work directly with your health care provider before, during, and after seeking
nutrition and / or fitness consultation.

Any information provided is not to be followed without prior approval of your doctor. If you choose to use this information without
such approval, you agree to accept full responsibility for your decision.

Client signature:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire C

NAME DATE

Coaching tips
• Use with “How active are you” section from the Initial Assessment and Triage Questionnaire.

• Be sure to consider other client data, such as age, body composition, sex, and medical history.

• Combine this with a food journal to show exactly what the athlete is eating and when. Also consider combining with
Eating Habits Questionnaire to get the big picture.

What activities do you do?

Please list all the types of physical activity / exercise / athletic training you do, and how much / often.

ACTIVITY TYPE HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH?

e. g . , Recreational hockey On-ice training 2x weekl y , 2 hours per session; 1 game per week
Walk ing Daily, with the dog, 30 minutes

Are you a professional, amateur, and / or devoted recreational athlete?

 Professional athlete  Amateur, compete at local level

 Amateur, compete at national or international level  I don’t compete, but I train like I do

 Amateur, compete at regional (state / provincial) level

If you compete, what phase are you in?

 Pre-season preparation  Off-season  Currently in competitive season

 Rehab / injury recovery

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Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Review all activities and understand clearly which energy systems are being used.

• Consider mapping out the percentage of time / training your client spends with each athletic demand and energy
system. For example:

• A distance runner who cross-trains 2 x weekly with weights will spend about 80-90% of time in aerobic energy
systems and about 10-20% in anaerobic work.

• A boxer, in contrast, will spend about 70-80% of time in anaerobic work and about 20-30% of time doing aerobic
work.

• Look also at total training / activity load, in addition to other stressors.

Adding up all your activities, approximately how many hours per week do you spend doing intense activity or competitive
preparation? (e.g., skills training, strength and conditioning)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

Adding up all your activities, approximately how many hours per week do you spend doing restorative, rehab, and / or recovery
activities? (e.g., yoga, corrective exercises, hydrotherapy)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

Goals and priorities

In general, what are your goals? (Check all that apply.)

 Lose weight / fat  Look better  Get control of eating habits

 Gain weight  Feel better  Get stronger

 Maintain weight  Become more consistent  Physique competition / modeling

 Add muscle  Have more energy and vitality  Improve athletic performance

 Improve physical fitness  Take less medication

Right now, which of these is your top priority? Why?

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Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
If “Improve athletic performance” is one of your goals, please tell me more about what might look like for you?

What specific indicators would tell you that you’re improving in this area?

Right now, do you have any specific concerns or questions about your sports nutrition? If so, what?

Current habits
Right now, what do you normally eat and drink in the 1-2 hours BEFORE a training session or competition?

Right now, what do you normally eat and / or drink DURING a training session or competition?

Right now, what do you normally eat and drink in the 1-2 hours AFTER a training session or competition?

Do you currently take any sports supplements? If yes, what? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Does your sport involve regular weight cuts? If yes, how much do you normally cut, over what period? Y N

WEIGHT CUT DURATION

Right now, do you feel any pressure to change your body size / shape, or maintain a certain weight
or body fat percentage? If “yes”, please explain further.
Y N

Coaching tip
If any red flags appear here around eating habits and disordered eating, consider combining this with Eating Habits
Assessment form.

Does your sport require you to travel often? Y N

Coaching tips
• Many athletes spend a lot of time on the road and will need help with convenient, portable, travel-friendly sports nutrition.
• Explore how often and how far your client travels. Crossing time zones can further hamper recovery or change appetite.

Athletic training indicators

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your overall athletic performance? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

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Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your overall recovery? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your body composition? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your energy for and interest in training? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Do you currently have any injuries or persistent aches and pains? If yes, what? Y N

Hormonal health indicators

Heavy training can potentially change levels of many hormones that govern our metabolism and reproductive health.

Without getting too personal, have you noticed any changes in your libido, sexual and reproductive health, or overall “mojo”?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
FOR WOMEN

Should you normally be menstruating regularly? Y N

If so, are you getting a regular period? Y N

Coaching tips
• If any red flags appear here around recovery, consider combining with Stress & Recovery Questionnaire.
• Consider also combining with the Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire if any injuries or chronic
illnesses are present.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire

NAME DATE

What activities do you do?

Please list all the types of physical activity / exercise / athletic training you do, and how much / often.

ACTIVITY TYPE HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH?

e. g . , Recreational hockey On-ice training 2x weekl y , 2 hours per session; 1 game per week
Walk ing Daily, with the dog, 30 minutes

Are you a professional, amateur, and / or devoted recreational athlete?

 Professional athlete  Amateur, compete at local level

 Amateur, compete at national or international level  I don’t compete, but I train like I do

 Amateur, compete at regional (state / provincial) level

If you compete, what phase are you in?

 Pre-season preparation  Off-season  Currently in competitive season

 Rehab / injury recovery

Adding up all your activities, approximately how many hours per week do you spend doing intense activity or competitive
preparation? (e.g., skills training, strength and conditioning)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)

Adding up all your activities, approximately how many hours per week do you spend doing restorative, rehab, and / or recovery
activities? (e.g., yoga, corrective exercises, hydrotherapy)

 Fewer than 5 hours  10-14  20 or more

 5-9  15-19

Goals and priorities

In general, what are your goals? (Check all that apply.)

 Lose weight / fat  Look better  Get control of eating habits

 Gain weight  Feel better  Get stronger

 Maintain weight  Become more consistent  Physique competition / modeling

 Add muscle  Have more energy and vitality  Improve athletic performance

 Improve physical fitness  Take less medication

Right now, which of these is your top priority? Why?

If “Improve athletic performance” is one of your goals, please tell me more about what might look like for you?

What specific indicators would tell you that you’re improving in this area?

Right now, do you have any specific concerns or questions about your sports nutrition? If so, what?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)

Current habits
Right now, what do you normally eat and drink in the 1-2 hours BEFORE a training session or competition?

Right now, what do you normally eat and / or drink DURING a training session or competition?

Right now, what do you normally eat and drink in the 1-2 hours AFTER a training session or competition?

Do you currently take any sports supplements? If yes, what? Y N

Does your sport involve regular weight cuts? If yes, how much do you normally cut, over what period? Y N

WEIGHT CUT DURATION

Right now, do you feel any pressure to change your body size / shape, or maintain a certain weight
or body fat percentage? If “yes”, please explain further.
Y N

Does your sport require you to travel often? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)

Athletic training indicators

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your overall athletic performance? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your overall recovery? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your body composition? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your energy for and interest in training? Why?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Do you currently have any injuries or persistent aches and pains? If yes, what? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Nutrition Needs Questionnaire (cont’d)

Hormonal health indicators

Heavy training can potentially change levels of many hormones that govern our metabolism and reproductive health.

Without getting too personal, have you noticed any changes in your libido, sexual and reproductive health, or overall “mojo”?

FOR WOMEN

Should you normally be menstruating regularly? Y N

If so, are you getting a regular period? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Athletic Performance Indicators

NAME DATE

How well did you sleep last night?

TERRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Overall, how’s your mood today?

TERRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME

Overall, how’s your energy today?

EXHAUSTED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUPERSTAR

Overall, how much do you feel like training today?

UGH, BRING
NO WAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 IT ON!!

Overall, how’s your physical health today?

VERY 100%
SICK OR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 HEALTHY
INJURED & THRIVING

MORNING HEART RATE MORNING TEMPERATURE MORNING HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) SCORE

BPM °F / °C

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Body Measurements Form (Men) C

NAME DATE

MEAN OF ALL THREE

SITE MEASUREMENT 1 MEASUREMENT 2 MEASUREMENT 3 MEASUREMENTS

Abdominal skinfold (mm)

Triceps skinfold (mm)

Chest skinfold (mm)

Midaxillary skinfold (mm)

Subscapular skinfold (mm)

Suprailiac skinfold (mm)

Thigh skinfold (mm)

SUM OF MEAN SKINFOLDS (MM) =

BODY FAT % (USE ONLINE CALCULATOR FOR CALCULATION) =

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Body Measurements Form (Men) (cont’d)
C
MEAN OF ALL THREE
SITE MEASUREMENT 1 MEASUREMENT 2 MEASUREMENT 3 MEASUREMENTS

Neck girth (cm)

Shoulder girth (cm)

Chest girth (cm)

Upper-arm girth (cm)

Waist girth (cm)

Hip girth (cm)

Thigh girth (cm)

Calf girth (cm)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Body Measurements Form (Women) C

NAME DATE

MEAN OF ALL THREE

SITE MEASUREMENT 1 MEASUREMENT 2 MEASUREMENT 3 MEASUREMENTS

Abdominal skinfold (mm)

Triceps skinfold (mm)

Chest skinfold (mm)

Midaxillary skinfold (mm)

Subscapular skinfold (mm)

Suprailiac skinfold (mm)

Thigh skinfold (mm)

SUM OF MEAN SKINFOLDS (MM) =

BODY FAT % (USE ONLINE CALCULATOR FOR CALCULATION) =

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Body Measurements Form (Women) (cont’d)
C
MEAN OF ALL THREE
SITE MEASUREMENT 1 MEASUREMENT 2 MEASUREMENT 3 MEASUREMENTS

Neck girth (cm)

Shoulder girth (cm)

Chest girth (cm)

Upper-arm girth (cm)

Waist girth (cm)

Hip girth (cm)

Thigh girth (cm)

Calf girth (cm)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire C

NAME DATE

How to explain this form to your clients

• Here’s a sample script you can use to introduce this form to your clients:
“I’d like to understand more about your current eating and nutrition habits.
It’s very important that you answer the questions as honestly as you can. There are no right or wrong answers. I’m not
judging you (and I’ve pretty much heard and seen it all).
All we’re doing here is just gathering data and information to help you move towards your goals. The more you can tell
me about your current habits, experiences, and mindset around eating, the more I can help.”

Coaching tips
• You can use this form both as an initial assessment and as a way to track progress. You can periodically use some or all
of the form’s questions to measure improvement in eating habits.
• This questionnaire is designed to show general patterns or trends, or areas for discussion.
• For a specific food record, use one of the Food Journal forms.

General eating patterns

As best as you can remember right now, tell me generally about an average day of eating and drinking.
This doesn’t have to be perfect; just capture your usual patterns.

TIME OF DAY WHAT MIGHT YOU NORMALLY EAT / DRINK?

Example: 7 AM Toast with peanut butter & jam / Coffee with cream & sugar / Gl ass of orange juice

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• This is not meant to be a food record, just a way to start discussing the patterns of an average day. Clients probably
won’t record much that is accurate here. It just gives you a “jumping off point” to go through an average day as they
initially report it.
• For a specific food record, use one of the Food Journal forms and ensure that clients complete it as they are eating the
meals (rather than too long after the fact).

Right now, are you following any particular diet or style of eating?
(e.g., vegetarian / vegan, Paleo, kosher / halal, low-carb)
Y N

If yes, what? And for how long have you followed this way of eating?

Coaching tips
• Be aware that what clients say they do is not always what they actually do. Vegetarian clients may eat meat; low-carb
clients may have carb binges, etc. Clients are rarely as adherent as they claim to be, and recall is usually selective or poor.
• Here, look mostly for the value and meaning of a specific diet for clients. Why does following a particular diet matter to
them? For instance:
• Are they vegetarian / vegan for ethical reasons? Environmental reasons? Health reasons? Religious reasons?
• Explore the importance and significance of the diet choices, for example:
• “What do you like about this way of eating?”
• “What is working for you about this way of eating?”
• “What things did you consider when deciding to eat this way? Why?”

What are some of the foods or meals you like MOST?

What are some of the foods or meals you DON’T like?

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Explore why the client has certain food preferences. You may discover issues with taste, texture, food prep, convenience, etc.
• When building a nutrition plan, try to include the preferred foods and meals as much as possible, and / or healthier
versions of them if needed.

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how consistent would you say you are with your eating habits?

PERFECTLY
ALL OVER
THE PLACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CONSISTENT,
ALL THE TIME

If you’re less consistent than you’d like to be, what seems to get in the way or knock you off track?

Coaching tips
• Depending on the client’s answers to the questions above, consider the Ready, Willing, and Able Worksheet as well as
the Limiting Factors, Advantages and Next Actions Worksheet.

Food and health

Do you have any known / diagnosed food allergies or intolerances? If yes, what are those? Y N

Do you have any suspected or possible food allergies or intolerances? If yes, what are those? Y N

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• If yes, ask for as much information as possible, including whether this is a true allergy (i.e., with anaphylaxis) or simply
an intolerance.
• For known / diagnosed food allergies / intolerances, find out whether the client has received a clear diagnosis from a
health care provider, using valid tests.
• Be aware that food intolerance testing, while helpful, is not a validated test.

How often do you have a bowel movement?

 More than 3 times daily  1-2 times daily  A few times a week

 2-3 times daily  Once every 2-3 days  Weekly or less

Do you have any digestive system complaints right now? If yes, what are those? Y N

Coaching tip
Based on the client’s answers here, you can consider using the Medical History & Present Medical Condition Questionnaire.

Hunger cues and appetite

On a scale of 1-10, how would you describe your normal appetite / hunger?

ALWAYS
NEVER
HUNGRY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STARVING/
RAVENOUS

Do you feel like you have trouble controlling your appetite / hunger?
Yes, I feel like I always want food,
 or eating runs my life
 Sometimes; it depends  No

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• A client who feels they are often hungry may struggle with emotional / stress eating urges and / or be susceptible to
environmental cues.
• However, you may be able to help them with hunger and appetite by simply moving them towards:
• eating slowly and mindfully;
• clearly identifying physical hunger and fullness cues (rather than urges to eat, or habitual eating at prescribed times); and
• choosing less processed, more whole foods.
• Explore your client’s dieting history as well. “Always-hungry” clients may be compensating biologically for long periods
of deprivation and restriction. They may still be following this pattern of significantly under-eating for days, and then
overcompensating later.

Do you normally struggle with food cravings?

 Yes, often  Sometimes; it depends  No, rarely

If yes or sometimes, what do you normally crave?

What do you normally do when you have cravings?

Coaching tips
• Cravings may be part of disordered eating, emotional / stress eating, and / or susceptibility to environmental eating cues.
• They can also signify an underlying health issue. If you suspect that this is the case, suggest that your client contact
their health care provider.

Have you ever noticed any connection between your emotions and your eating habits? If yes, what happens?
(e.g., When I’m feeling sad I use food to comfort myself; when I’m happy I notice I have fewer cravings)
Y N

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Have you ever noticed any connection between stress and your eating habits? If yes, what happens?
(e.g., When I’m stressed I eat more / less)
Y N

How often do you think about food and eating (or avoiding eating)?

 Almost always  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

If you think about food and eating more than sometimes, what in particular do you think about?

How often do you eat to the point of being full or stuffed?

 Almost constantly  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

Coaching tips
• The questions in this section above can help surface disordered eating habits.
• You may not be able to help directly with this, but you can help your client identify what some of the patterns are. And, if
appropriate, refer them out to a qualified eating disorder counselor and / or registered dietitian.

If you feel you’ve eaten too much, what do you do afterwards? Check all that apply.

 Try to eat less at subsequent meals  Try to get back in control of things  Keep eating… what the heck,
already blown it
 Skip the following meal(s)  Purge by vomiting and / or laxatives

 Try to exercise to burn it off  Forget about it and go back to  Other:

normal eating
 Feel bad

Coaching tip
You’re looking here for compensation behaviors, which almost all of these are except for “Forget about it and go back to
normal eating”.

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
How often do you skip meals or purposely go a long time without eating?

 Almost always  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

Coaching tip
Unless you have a client for whom periodic fasting is appropriate, try to move your client towards a “normal”, somewhat
regular or relatively predictable eating schedule (if appropriate, based on their physiological hunger and fullness cues as
needed).

Daily habits and environment

How often do you normally make meals at home?

 0 meals a day  3-4 meals a day  5 or more meals prepared at home

 1-2 meals a day

How often do you normally eat meals in restaurants / cafeterias?

 0 meals a week  3-4 meals a week  All meals eaten in restaurants /

cafeterias
 1-2 meals a week

How often do you shop for food?

 More than daily  A couple times a week  I never shop for food; it just magically
appears in my house
 Daily  Once a week

 Every other day  Less than once a week

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank your food preparation and cooking skills right now?

TERRIBLE /
NONEXISTENT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 EXPERT CHEF

Do you like cooking?

 Yes  Sometimes, if I have the time / energy  No

If no, what do you NOT like?

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Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
If yes or sometimes, what do you enjoy about it?

Coaching tips
• Improving food prep and cooking skills is often a simple way to improve clients’ eating habits, food repertoire, and overall
confidence.
• For clients where shopping, food prep and / or cooking skills are limiting factors:
• Look for easy, convenient, basic tasks that can have big payoffs (e.g., preparing a slow cooker meal for the next few
days, shopping with a list).
• For clients who absolutely hate cooking / food prep and don’t have anyone to do it for them, consider a meal delivery
service.
• Consider using the Kitchen Set-up Assessment to further evaluate client’s home kitchen environment.

Your goals and priorities

Thinking about all that you have written down here, what do you think you might like to start working on or addressing first?

Coaching tips
• Here, the client can set the agenda, with your guidance. Direct their attention to things that you noticed in their answers,
and work together to decide on next steps.
• Those steps can be either low-hanging fruit, or most important limiting factors/skills to be addressed.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire

NAME DATE

Please answer the questions as honestly as you can. There are no right or wrong answers.

General eating patterns

As best as you can remember right now, tell me generally about an average day of eating and drinking.
This doesn’t have to be perfect; just capture your usual patterns.

TIME OF DAY WHAT MIGHT YOU NORMALLY EAT / DRINK?

Example: 7 AM Toast with peanut butter & jam / Coffee with cream & sugar / Gl ass of orange juice

Right now, are you following any particular diet or style of eating?
(e.g., vegetarian / vegan, Paleo, kosher / halal, low-carb)
Y N

If yes, what? And for how long have you followed this way of eating?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)

What are some of the foods or meals you like MOST?

What are some of the foods or meals you DON’T like?

Right now, on a scale of 1-10, how consistent would you say you are with your eating habits?

PERFECTLY
ALL OVER
THE PLACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CONSISTENT,
ALL THE TIME

If you’re less consistent than you’d like to be, what seems to get in the way or knock you off track?

Food and health

Do you have any known / diagnosed food allergies or intolerances? If yes, what are those? Y N

Do you have any suspected or possible food allergies or intolerances? If yes, what are those? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)

How often do you have a bowel movement?

 More than 3 times daily  1-2 times daily  A few times a week

 2-3 times daily  Once every 2-3 days  Weekly or less

Do you have any digestive system complaints right now? If yes, what are those? Y N

Hunger cues and appetite

On a scale of 1-10, how would you describe your normal appetite / hunger?

ALWAYS
NEVER
HUNGRY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STARVING/
RAVENOUS

Do you feel like you have trouble controlling your appetite / hunger?
Yes, I feel like I always want food,
 or eating runs my life
 Sometimes; it depends  No

Do you normally struggle with food cravings?

 Yes, often  Sometimes; it depends  No, rarely

If yes or sometimes, what do you normally crave?

What do you normally do when you have cravings?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)

Have you ever noticed any connection between your emotions and your eating habits? If yes, what happens?
(e.g., When I’m feeling sad I use food to comfort myself; when I’m happy I notice I have fewer cravings)
Y N

Have you ever noticed any connection between stress and your eating habits? If yes, what happens?
(e.g., When I’m stressed I eat more / less)
Y N

How often do you think about food and eating (or avoiding eating)?

 Almost always  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

If you think about food and eating more than sometimes, what in particular do you think about?

How often do you eat to the point of being full or stuffed?

 Almost constantly  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

If you feel you’ve eaten too much, what do you do afterwards? Check all that apply.

 Try to eat less at subsequent meals  Try to get back in control of things  Keep eating… what the heck,
already blown it
 Skip the following meal(s)  Purge by vomiting and / or laxatives

 Try to exercise to burn it off  Forget about it and go back to  Other:

normal eating
 Feel bad

How often do you skip meals or purposely go a long time without eating?

 Almost always  Sometimes  Never

 Often  Rarely

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Habits Questionnaire (cont’d)

Daily habits and environment

How often do you normally make meals at home?

 0 meals a day  3-4 meals a day  All meals prepared at home

 1-2 meals a day

How often do you normally eat meals in restaurants / cafeterias?

 0 meals a week  3-4 meals a week  5 or more meals eaten in restaurants /

cafeterias
 1-2 meals a week

How often do you shop for food?

 More than daily  A couple times a week  I never shop for food; it just magically
appears in my house
 Daily  Once a week

 Every other day  Less than once a week

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rank your food preparation and cooking skills right now?

TERRIBLE /
NONEXISTENT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 EXPERT CHEF

Do you like cooking?

 Yes  Sometimes, if I have the time / energy  No

If no, what do you NOT like?

If yes or sometimes, what do you enjoy about it?

Your goals and priorities

Thinking about all that you have written down here, what do you think you might like to start working on or addressing first?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment C

NAME DATE

Coaching tips

• Use this form to help show the relationship between environment and food habits. The better the environment is, the
better the food habits will be.

• Combine this with food journal(s) to show exactly what your client is eating and when. Also consider combining with the
Eating Habits Questionnaire to get the big picture.

• You can use this form for a baseline assessment as well as progress tracking. Kitchen set-ups often improve over time.

• Look for alcohol use as part of this review. You may not be in a place to discuss it openly with your client, but you can at
least include it as part of your assessment.

Berardi’s First Law

Berardi’s First Law, named for Precision Nutrition co-founder Dr. John Berardi, states:

If a food is in your house or possession, you will eventually eat it.

The corollary of Berardi’s First Law is:

If a healthy food is in your house or possession, you will eventually eat it.

Your surroundings: your “trusted safety system”

Keep healthy stuff near you and convenient. Make your routines and environment support your coaching journey.

Keep unhealthy stuff away from you and inconvenient. Make it hard for unhealthy stuff to get to you. If it doesn’t help you reach
your goals, you don’t need it near you.

A good kitchen set-up makes things easy.

When you have a clear structure and a trusted system, you don’t have to think. You can just execute. And it’s simple.

Red, yellow, and green light foods and drinks

We like the “traffic light” concept: red, yellow, and green light foods and drinks.

Each person will have a slightly different list of red, yellow, and green lights.

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Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Work with your client to decide together on their red, yellow, and green light foods and drinks.
• Ask and collaborate, don’t tell.
• Rather than lecturing your client on what are “good” and “bad” foods and drinks, ask them what foods and drinks do
and don’t work for them, and why.
• Assess each food and drink choice together. Ask the client to talk through their reasoning process, and decide how
well a specific choice works for them.
• Remember that each choice is not forever. A client may not be willing to part with red or yellow light foods right now,
but may be in a month or so.
• And remember that this isn’t about eating perfection. For example, if a client will only eat salads with croutons, then that
is a small sacrifice to increase vegetable intake. Be reasonable and focus on progress.
• Help your client stock up on green light foods if needed.

Red Yellow Green

“Red light” foods are foods that are “Yellow light” foods are foods that “Green light” foods are foods
just bad news for you. are sometimes OK, sometimes not. that make you feel good mentally
and physically, and that you can
Maybe they make you feel sick, or Maybe you can eat a little bit without
eat normally, slowly, to feeling
they trigger you to eat too much, or feeling ill, or you can eat them sanely
satisfied.
you know they’re an unhealthy choice at a restaurant with others but not at
for you, etc. home alone, or you can have them These are usually things like fruits
as an occasional treat, etc. and vegetables, lean protein, and
Red means “no go”. (Or at least
legumes.
very rarely.) Yellow means “approach with caution”.
Green means “go for it!”

Kitchen review: Food and drink

Review your cupboards, pantry, freezer, fridge, and anywhere else you have food and drinks.

Red
What “red light” foods and drinks do you have? What “red light” foods and drinks are you willing to part
with or make more inconvenient to get to?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)
C

Yellow
What “yellow light” foods and drinks do you have? What “yellow light” foods and drinks are you willing to
part with or make more inconvenient to get to?

Green
What “green light” foods and drinks do you have? What “green light foods” and drinks could you stock up
on or add?

Kitchen review: Equipment

What kitchen equipment do you have right now? Check all that apply.

 Slow cooker  Wooden spoon(s)  Cookie sheet(s)

 Blender  Spatula(s)  Aluminum foil

 Hand blender  Whisk(s)  Parchment paper

 Mixer  Mixing bowl(s)  Storage containers (e.g., Tupperware)

 Food processor  Non-stick frying / sauté pan(s)  Cutting board

 Grater  Small saucepan(s)  Strainer / colander

 Measuring cups  Medium saucepan(s)  Salad spinner

 Measuring spoons  Large soup pot(s)  Other:

 Chef’s knife  Ovenproof casserole dish(es)

 Other prep knives (e.g. paring knife,  Roasting pan(s)

boning knife, etc.)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)
C
What other equipment, if anything, might you need?

What other equipment, if anything, are you willing to add right now?

Kitchen review: Organization and systems

Right now, how would you rank your overall kitchen organization?

MARTHA
CHAOS
AND FILTH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STEWART
IS JEALOUS

Right now, do you have a system for regular food preparation? (e.g., weekly meal prep, making lunches the night
before) If yes, what?
Y N

Right now, do you have a system for shopping and stocking food? (e.g., creating weekly shopping list)
If yes, what?
Y N

What, if anything, could you do to improve your kitchen’s organization and food preparation systems?

Coaching tip
Work with your client to establish a trusted system of food shopping / stocking and preparation.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment

NAME DATE

Berardi’s First Law

Berardi’s First Law, named for Precision Nutrition co-founder Dr. John Berardi, states:

If a food is in your house or possession, you will eventually eat it.

The corollary of Berardi’s First Law is:

If a healthy food is in your house or possession, you will eventually eat it.

Your surroundings: your “trusted safety system”

Keep healthy stuff near you and convenient. Make your routines and environment support your coaching journey.

Keep unhealthy stuff away from you and inconvenient. Make it hard for unhealthy stuff to get to you. If it doesn’t help you reach
your goals, you don’t need it near you.

A good kitchen set-up makes things easy.

When you have a clear structure and a trusted system, you don’t have to think. You can just execute. And it’s simple.

Red, yellow, and green light foods and drinks

We like the “traffic light” concept: red, yellow, and green light foods and drinks.

Each person will have a slightly different list of red, yellow, and green lights.

Red Yellow Green

“Red light” foods are foods that are “Yellow light” foods are foods that “Green light” foods are foods that
just bad news for you. are sometimes OK, sometimes not. make you feel good mentally and
physically, and that you can eat
Maybe they make you feel sick, or Maybe you can eat a little bit without
normally, slowly, to feeling satisfied.
they trigger you to eat too much, or feeling ill, or you can eat them sanely
you know they’re an unhealthy choice at a restaurant with others but not at These are usually things like fruits
for you, etc. home alone, or you can have them and vegetables, lean protein, and
as an occasional treat, etc. legumes
Red means “no go”. (Or at least very
rarely.) Yellow means “approach with Green means “go for it!”
caution”.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)

Kitchen review: Food and drink

Review your cupboards, pantry, freezer, fridge, and anywhere else you have food and drinks.

Red
What “red light” foods and drinks do you have? What “red light” foods and drinks are you willing to part
with or make more inconvenient to get to?

Yellow
What “yellow light” foods and drinks do you have? What “yellow light” foods and drinks are you willing to
part with or make more inconvenient to get to?

Green
What “green light” foods and drinks do you have? What “green light foods” and drinks could you stock up
on or add?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)

Kitchen review: Equipment

What kitchen equipment do you have right now? Check all that apply.

 Slow cooker  Wooden spoon(s)  Cookie sheet(s)

 Blender  Spatula(s)  Aluminum foil

 Hand blender  Whisk(s)  Parchment paper

 Mixer  Mixing bowl(s)  Storage containers (e.g., Tupperware)

 Food processor  Non-stick frying / sauté pan(s)  Cutting board

 Grater  Small saucepan(s)  Strainer / colander

 Measuring cups  Medium saucepan(s)  Salad spinner

 Measuring spoons  Large soup pot(s)  Other:

 Chef’s knife  Ovenproof casserole dish(es)

 Other prep knives  Roasting pan(s)

(e.g., paring knife, boning knife)

What other equipment, if anything, might you need?

What other equipment, if anything, are you willing to add right now?

Kitchen review: Organization and systems

Right now, how would you rank your overall kitchen organization?

MARTHA
CHAOS
AND FILTH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STEWART IS
JEALOUS

Right now, do you have a system for regular food preparation? (e.g., weekly meal prep, making lunches the night
before) If yes, what?
Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Kitchen Set-up Assessment (cont’d)

Right now, do you have a system for shopping and stocking food? (e.g., creating weekly shopping list)
If yes, what?
Y N

What, if anything, could you do to improve your kitchen’s organization and food preparation systems?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Level 1 habit assessment

NAME DATE

This assessment can show you how consistently and well you do some of the basic Level 1 nutrition and lifestyle habits. Scoring is
at the end.

I make time for healthy habits.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I exercise or do some movement.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I eat slowly.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I eat mindfully, with few distractions. I notice the taste and texture of my food.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I include some lean protein at most meals.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I include colorful fruits and/or vegetables at most meals.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Level 1 habit assessment (cont’d)

I eat mostly slow-digesting, high-fiber, nutrient rich “smart carbohydrates” such as fruits, starchy
vegetables, whole grains, or beans / legumes.
EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I eat mostly healthy fats.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I eat mostly whole, minimally processed foods.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I plan most of my meals. (Or, I have a trusted system such as meal delivery.)

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I make time to relax, have fun, and de-stress.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I do purposeful recovery.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I practice good “sleep hygiene” and try to get plenty of high-quality sleep.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Level 1 habit assessment (cont’d)

I can manage my stress or emotions without relying on food and eating.

EVERY
SINGLE DAY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I drink alcohol sparingly, or don’t drink at all.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I have at least one positive, supportive social connection.

EVERY
NEVER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SINGLE DAY
WITHOUT FAIL
SOMETIMES

I smoke. (Yes – 1 point / No – 10 points) Y N

Your score
135 and above

Crushing it! You might be ready for Level 2, if you want. Or just keep being great at Level 1.

111-135

Doing well! Some areas for improvement, but you can still feel pretty good about your Level 1 skills.

85-110

You might be doing well with some fundamental habits, but you’re probably struggling with others.

Less than 85

Have you considered getting coaching?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition C
Questionnaire

NAME DATE

How to explain this form to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use to introduce this form to your clients.

“The information you give here will help me better understand you and your concerns. If you are uncomfortable answering
a particular question, feel free to leave it blank. Please explain any YES answers at the end of this questionnaire.”

Coaching tip
Note the date. You can use this form not only for a baseline evaluation, but as a progress indicator. While Medical
Nutrition Therapy is not in your scope of practice as a Level 1 coach, many health conditions will respond to basic
nutrition coaching and / or improvements in fitness, and you may be able to track improvement in many health problems.

IMPORTANT:
Without formal licensing or credentials, you are not permitted to offer advice to diagnose or treat any specific health
problem. Always work with your clients’ health care providers as needed.

Health and medical data is generally considered private and confidential. Follow proper data security and storage protocols
to protect your clients’ sensitive information. Treat this information with care and consideration.

Health conditions
Do you currently have or have you recently had any of the following? Check all that apply.

Coaching tip
Remember that Medical Nutrition Therapy is not in your scope of practice as a Level 1 coach. Set expectations clearly
with clients.

Where appropriate, use your referral networks and collaborate with clients’ health care providers, pharmacists, etc.

Ear, nose, and throat

 Allergies  Frequent sinus trouble  Earaches

 Hearing loss  Frequent hoarseness  Other ear, nose, throat conditions:

 Frequent nosebleeds  Ringing / buzzing ears

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Eyes and vision

 Poor night vision  Blurred or double vision  Other eye / vision conditions:

 Change in vision  Glaucoma

Neurological and cognitive

 Epilepsy  Dizziness  Numbness / tingling extremities

 Convulsions / seizures  Frequent headaches  Other mental health conditions:

 Anxiety  Tremors

 Depression  Memory loss

 Mood disorder  Loss of coordination  Other neurological / cognitive conditions:

 Trouble thinking and / or remembering  Difficulty concentrating

Mouth and oral health

 Bleeding gums and / or sore mouth  Bad breath  Other mouth / oral health conditions:

 Tooth decay

Lungs and airway

 Asthma  Brown / blood-tinged sputum  Other lung / airway conditions:

 Shortness of breath  Chest tightness

 Chronic or frequent cough  Wheezing

Heart and circulation

 Fainting or lightheadedness  High blood pressure  Painful varicose veins

 Heart attack  Palpitation (irregular heartbeat)  Bleeding / bruising easily

 Heart murmur  Pain or discomfort in chest  Anemia

 Positive stress test  High cholesterol  Other heart / circulation conditions:

 Heart valve abnormality  Stroke

 Angina  Swelling of feet

 Heart failure  Leg pain while walking

Skin

 Eczema  Skin cancer  Other skin-related conditions:

 Psoriasis  Fungal infections

 Acne

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Sleep

 Sleep apnea  Insomnia  Other sleep-related conditions:

 Snoring

Genito-urinary

 Kidney disease  Difficulty starting / stopping urination  Other genito-urinary conditions:

 Prostatitis  Urinating 2 or more times per night

 Urinary tract infection  Frequent or painful urination

Gastrointestinal

 Trouble swallowing  Bloating and / or gas  Known food allergies (causing

 GERD / heartburn  Crohn’s / Colitis / IBD anaphylaxis or hives):

 Frequent indigestion  Persistent diarrhea

 Ulcer  Persistent constipation

 Vomited blood  Frequent abdominal pain  Known food intolerances:

 Hepatitis  Frequent nausea

 Liver disease  Black / bloody bowel movement

 Elevated liver enzyme test  Hemorrhoids  Other gastrointestinal conditions:

 Hernia

Hormones

 Thyroid conditions  Trouble controlling blood sugar  Low or high cortisol

 Diabetes  Sex hormone imbalance  Other hormonal conditions:

Musculoskeletal

 Back trouble / pain  Joint injury / pain / swelling  Other musculoskeletal conditions:

 Neck trouble / pain  Carpal tunnel syndrome

Immune and autoimmune

 Swollen glands  Lupus  Other immune/ autoimmune conditions:

 Rheumatoid arthritis  Chronic fatigue syndrome

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Miscellaneous

 Cancer  Undesired weight loss

Men’s health

 Prostatitis  Infertility  Other men’s health conditions:

 Low testosterone  Trouble with sexual function

Women’s health

 PCOS  PMS Are you:

 Infertility  Hot flashes / night sweats  Trying to conceive?

 Endometriosis  Trouble with sexual function  Currently pregnant?

 Painful menstruation  Other women’s health conditions:  Post-partum (up to 1 year)?

 Breastfeeding?

Should you normally be menstruating regularly? Y N

If so, are you getting a regular period? Y N

If no, are you:  Peri-menopausal  Menopausal

Have you had a Pap smear in the last 5 years? Y N

Are you on hormone replacement or hormonal birth control? If yes, what? Y N

How often do you visit the doctor for a check-up?

 Monthly or more  Once or twice a year  What’s a doctor and why would I
 Every few months  Every 2-5 years visit one?

Are you currently under a doctor’s care? If yes, for what? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Have you had any surgeries and / or been hospitalized in the last 10 years? If yes, what? Y N

Are there any other significant health concerns that I haven’t asked about? If so, please tell me about them.

Are you experiencing any stresses, mood conditions, relationship difficulties, or substance-related conditions for
which you would like resources or a confidential referral? If so, please describe briefly.
Y N

Coaching tip
Again, where appropriate, use your referral networks and collaborate with your client’s health care providers,
pharmacists, etc.

• Eating disorder specialist • Massage therapist

• Psychotherapist • Physiotherapist
• Psychiatrist • Pharmacist
• Bariatric medicine doctor / surgeon • Naturopath
• Addictions counselor • Registered dietitian (RD)
• Sports medicine doctor

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Medication, drug, and supplement use

Coaching tips
• Medications can significantly affect your clients’ overall health and the results they’ll get from your nutrition programming.
Be sure you know all medications and supplements your clients are taking, and understand the side effects.
• Consider having a pharmacist in your referral network, and consult as needed.
• You can also refer to http://www.precisionnutrition.com/drugs-fitness-progress for more.

IMPORTANT:
Without formal licensing or credentials, you are not permitted to offer advice to diagnose or treat any specific health
problem. Always work with your clients’ health care providers as needed.

Health and medical data is generally considered private and confidential. Follow proper data security and storage protocols
to protect your clients’ sensitive information. Treat this information with care and consideration.

Do you take any over-the-counter or prescription medications occasionally or regularly? Y N

Are you on hormone replacement / supplementation, or hormonal birth control?

(e.g., testosterone, estrogen, birth control pill, Nuva Ring) If yes, what?
Y N

Do you take any sports supplements or “natural” health products occasionally or regularly?
(e.g., creatine, BCAAs, gingko, ginseng, St. John’s Wort) If yes, what?
Y N

Do you take any other vitamin or mineral supplements occasionally or regularly?

(e.g., multivitamin, iron supplement) If yes, what?
Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
How often do you consume alcohol?

 I don’t drink alcohol at all  About once every 2 weeks  More than once a week

 About once a month or fewer  About once a week  Daily

Each time you consume alcohol, how many drinks do you have (one drink = 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces wine, 1.5 ounces
hard liquor)?

 I don’t drink alcohol at all  2-3 drinks  More than 3 drinks

 1 drink

How often do you use recreational drugs?

 I don’t at all  About once every 2 weeks  More than once a week

 About once a month or fewer  About once a week  Daily

Do you smoke? If yes, how many packs a day? Y N

Did you smoke in the past? If yes, when did you quit? Y N

Coaching tips
• If appropriate, look for evidence of addictions or less-serious “substance problems” that are somewhere on the
continuum between “no issue” and “noticeable effects on health”. You can’t fix this, nor should you try (though
getting clients to cut back on alcohol if needed can be very helpful), but it will likely affect the results of your nutrition
programming.
• In particular, you’ll likely see a lot of recreational drinking among many clients. And even small changes here can help.
Going from 20 drinks per week to 10 can save a client 1,000-2,000 calories!

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Further information
If you ticked off any health issues in the “Health conditions” section, please give more details.

HEALTH CONDITION DETAILS

Coaching tips
• Ask your clients to be as specific as possible.
• You’re not a doctor, but it helps to familiarize yourself with common health problems and medications, and their
nutritional consequences or implications. For instance:
• Many skin problems and autoimmune disorders respond well to dietary changes and removing food intolerances.
• Many health conditions are a result of or exacerbated by malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies.
• Many common medications deplete important nutrients or have effects on body composition and eating / appetite.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition
Questionnaire

NAME DATE

Health conditions
Do you currently have or have you recently had any of the following? Check all that apply.

Ear, nose, and throat

 Allergies  Frequent sinus trouble  Earaches

 Hearing loss  Frequent hoarseness  Other ear, nose, throat conditions:

 Frequent nosebleeds  Ringing/buzzing ears

Eyes and vision

 Poor night vision  Blurred or double vision  Other eye / vision conditions:

 Change in vision  Glaucoma

Neurological and cognitive

 Epilepsy  Dizziness  Numbness / tingling extremities

 Convulsions/seizures  Frequent headaches  Other mental health conditions:

 Anxiety  Tremors

 Depression  Memory loss

 Mood disorder  Loss of coordination  Other neurological/cognitive conditions:

 Trouble thinking and / or remembering  Difficulty concentrating

Mouth and oral health

 Bleeding gums and / or sore mouth  Bad breath  Other mouth / oral health conditions:

 Tooth decay

Lungs and airway

 Asthma  Brown/blood-tinged sputum  Other lung / airway conditions:

 Shortness of breath  Chest tightness

 Chronic or frequent cough  Wheezing

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)

Heart and circulation

 Fainting or lightheadedness  High blood pressure  Painful varicose veins

 Heart attack  Palpitation (irregular heartbeat)  Bleeding / bruising easily

 Heart murmur  Pain or discomfort in chest  Anemia

 Positive stress test  High cholesterol  Other heart / circulation conditions:

 Heart valve abnormality  Stroke

 Angina  Swelling of feet

 Heart failure  Leg pain while walking

Skin

 Eczema  Skin cancer  Other skin-related conditions:

 Psoriasis  Fungal infections

 Acne

Sleep

 Sleep apnea  Insomnia  Other sleep-related conditions:

 Snoring

Genito-urinary

 Kidney disease  Difficulty starting/stopping urination  Other genito-urinary conditions:

 Prostatitis  Urinating 2 or more times per night

 Urinary tract infection  Frequent or painful urination

Gastrointestinal

 Trouble swallowing  Bloating and / or gas  Known food allergies (causing

 GERD/heartburn  Crohn’s / Colitis / IBD anaphylaxis or hives):

 Frequent indigestion  Persistent diarrhea

 Ulcer  Persistent constipation

 Vomited blood  Frequent abdominal pain  Known food intolerances:

 Hepatitis  Frequent nausea

 Liver disease  Black/bloody bowel movement

 Elevated liver enzyme test  Hemorrhoids  Other gastrointestinal conditions:

 Hernia

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)

Hormones

 Thyroid conditions  Trouble controlling blood sugar  Low or high cortisol

 Diabetes  Sex hormone imbalance  Other hormonal conditions:

Musculoskeletal

 Back trouble/pain  Joint injury/pain/swelling  Other musculoskeletal conditions:

 Neck trouble/pain  Carpal tunnel syndrome

Immune & autoimmune

 Swollen glands  Lupus  Other immune/ autoimmune conditions:

 Rheumatoid arthritis  Chronic fatigue syndrome

Miscellaneous

 Cancer  Undesired weight loss

Men’s health

 Prostatitis  Infertility  Other men’s health conditions:

 Low testosterone  Trouble with sexual function

Women’s health

 PCOS  PMS Are you:

 Infertility  Hot flashes / night sweats  Trying to conceive?

 Endometriosis  Trouble with sexual function  Currently pregnant?

 Painful menstruation  Other women’s health conditions:  Post-partum (up to 1 year)?

 Breastfeeding?

Should you normally be menstruating regularly? Y N

If so, are you getting a regular period? Y N

If no, are you:  Peri-menopausal  Menopausal

Have you had a Pap smear in the last 5 years? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)

Are you on hormone replacement or hormonal birth control? If yes, what? Y N

How often do you visit the doctor for a check-up?

 Monthly or more  Once or twice a year  What’s a doctor and why would I
 Every few months  Every 2-5 years visit one?

Are you currently under a doctor’s care? If yes, for what? Y N

Have you had any surgeries and / or been hospitalized in the last 10 years? If yes, what? Y N

Are there any other significant health concerns that I haven’t asked about? If so, please tell me about them.

Are you experiencing any stresses, mood conditions, relationship difficulties, or substance-related conditions for
which you would like resources or a confidential referral? If so, please describe briefly.
Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)

Medication, drug, and supplement use

Do you take any over-the-counter or prescription medications occasionally or regularly? Y N

Are you on hormone replacement / supplementation, or hormonal birth control?

(e.g., testosterone, estrogen, birth control pill, Nuva Ring) If yes, what?
Y N

Do you take any sports supplements or “natural” health products occasionally or regularly?
(e.g., creatine, BCAAs, gingko, ginseng, St. John’s Wort) If yes, what?
Y N

Do you take any other vitamin or mineral supplements occasionally or regularly?

(e.g., multivitamin, iron supplement) If yes, what?
Y N

How often do you consume alcohol?

 I don’t drink alcohol at all  About once every 2 weeks  More than once a week

 About once a month or fewer  About once a week  Daily

Each time you consume alcohol, how many drinks do you have (one drink = 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces wine, 1.5 ounces
hard liquor)?

 I don’t drink alcohol at all  2-3 drinks  More than 3 drinks

 1 drink

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Medical History and Present Medical Condition Questionnaire (cont’d)

How often do you use recreational drugs?

 I don’t at all  About once every 2 weeks  More than once a week

 About once a month or fewer  About once a week  Daily

Do you smoke? If yes, how many packs a day? Y N

Did you smoke in the past? If yes, when did you quit? Y N

Further information
If you ticked off any health issues in the “Health conditions” section, please give more details.

HEALTH CONDITION DETAILS

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional Level Assessment Worksheet C

NAME DATE

Nutritional levels are fundamental to the PN coaching approach.

Each person has their own unique goals, needs, preferences, abilities, and life situation. Aligning a client’s coaching program and
progression with their nutritional level not only ensures that you’re appropriately challenging them, but also that they will build
success on success.

Nutritional levels are targeted, goal-specific sets of skills and practices.

We divide clients into three nutritional levels based on:

• Goals: What your client wants to do

• Knowledge: What your client knows
• Competence and skill: What your client can do
• Consistency: What your client can do repeatedly and well

Remember: What matters most is what your client can do consistently and effectively. Match each client’s program to the skills
and behaviors they demonstrate regularly. Quality process leads to quality outcomes.

Always start at the beginning. Most clients (even athletes or others with high-level goals) never need to progress any further than
Level 1, if they focus on mastering the fundamentals and doing them consistently.

How to use this worksheet

You can use this worksheet as a formal assessment, or as a set of open-ended “conversation starters” that help you explore with your
client what level might suit them. Consider pairing this worksheet with the Level 1 Habits Self-Assessment worksheet for clients.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional level assessment worksheet (cont’d)
C
Nutritional level assessment
Note: People will often cycle in and out of different phases (e.g. competition vs off-season), which will change their nutritional
level. Remember that everyone must master Level 1 fundamentals before advancing, and they should, ideally, return to Level 1
for long-term sustainable practices.

Needs & goals

What kind of person is your client?
Check all that apply.

 “Average person” level

 Recreational athlete or active person 1

 Serious recreational or higher-level athlete
level


Someone who is paid for physical performance (e.g. stunt performers, racing pit crew, military or
tactical personnel, etc.) 2
Professional or other elite physique athlete, celebrity/model, or someone else who is paid for their
 physical appearance level


Professional or other elite athlete who is required to cut weight for a specific event (such as a pro MMA
fight)
3
What does your client want to do?
Check all that apply.

 Generally look, feel, function, and perform better

 Get to “healthy normal” level

 Maintain what has already been achieved 1

 Perform effectively at recreational/amateur sport or specific physical activity

 All higher levels of athletic performance from dedicated amateur to internationally competitive level

 Recreational/amateur physique competition and/or modeling 2

Extreme appearance modification and “paid physique”, i.e. professional physique competition and/or
 modeling or film career level


Temporarily and drastically manipulate body water levels for a specific event of elite / professional
athletic competition
3

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional level assessment worksheet (cont’d)
C
How long will these practices and behaviors last?
Check all that apply.

level
 Long-term to lifetime
1
level
 Short- to medium-term (e.g. during a competition season for an athlete)
2
level
 Short-term (e.g. a week before a photo shoot)
3
What type of body composition does your client seek?
Check all that apply. Note that a “healthy”, achievable, and/or sustainable body composition will vary from person to person,
regardless of nutritional level.

 “Normal”, metabolically healthy to lean-healthy body composition

level


Men: 13-20% body fat

Women: 23-30% body fat

1
 Lean-athletic (whatever is appropriate for aesthetic goals or sport requirements)
level


Men: 8-12% body fat

Women: 17-22% body fat

2
 Extreme leanness and/or muscularity
level


Men: below 8% body fat

Women: below 17% body fat

3

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional level assessment worksheet (cont’d)
C
How much physical activity does your client do?
Check all that apply.

level
 Low to moderate (or high for clients who are working on sustainable Level 1 skills)
1
level
 Moderate to high
2
level
 Moderate to high
3
As a rough guide for levels of physical activity:

• Low: 5 hours / week or less

• Moderate: 5-15 hours / week
• High: 15+ hours / week

Activity can be mixed, e.g. sport training plus dog walking

What other demands, responsibilities, or commitments does your client have?

Check all that apply. The more demands, responsibilities, and/or commitments your client has that are not directly related to
doing their nutrition and exercise practices, the lower their nutritional level is likely to be.

 Caregiving (e.g. children, elderly, person  Housework and other home care  Injury rehab, chronic health condition, or
with a disability, etc.) (e.g. property management) other physical limitation

 Relationship(s)  Works 30+ hours per week  Moderate to frequent alcohol intake,
or other strong habitual attachment to
 Other family demands or responsibilities  Commuting and/or travel
addictive-type substance or behaviors
 School / education / professional training  Hobbies and other interests (e.g. shopping, gambling, social media
over-use)
 Other (specify):

What other social, environmental, and/or lifestyle supports does your client have?
Check all that apply. The more supports your client has, the higher the level they can realistically sustain.

 None  Time for recovery

 One to a few people (e.g. coach, workout partner)  Supportive employer(s) and coworker(s), if applicable

 A few to many people (e.g. training team, group class)  Flexible working hours and/or control of schedule

 Convenient location of gym, grocery store, other  Household supports (e.g. goalfriendly kitchen, helpful household
needed facilities routines, etc.)

 Supportive partner(s), if applicable  Regular body work modalities (e.g. massage)

 Supportive family, if applicable  Financial stability

 Childcare or other caregiving support  Other supports (specify):

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional level assessment worksheet (cont’d)
C
Knowledge, competence, and consistency
What’s your client’s demonstrated level of nutritional knowledge?
Check all that apply.

level
 None to moderate (or high for “expert” clients who don’t consistently implement what they know)
1
level
 Moderate to high
2
level
 Moderate to high
3
As a rough guide for nutrition knowledge:
• None: Unfamiliar with most basic concepts in nutrition
• Low: A general rough idea of food composition and what may be “healthier”
• Moderate: Nutritional knowledge up to an introductory undergraduate course
• High / expert: Graduate-level training, PN-certified, and/or professional in the field (e.g. RD)

What’s your client’s demonstrated level of nutritional skill and competence?

Check all that apply.

 None to moderate (or high for “expert” clients who are happy living at a sustainable Level 1) level

 Can do simple tasks when given clear instructions and the coach monitors completion 1
 Moderate
level
 Can do complex tasks when given clear instructions and the coach monitors completion

 Can do simple tasks easily and intuitively, often without supervision

2
level
 High: Follows a complex and precise plan almost perfectly
3

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Nutritional level assessment worksheet (cont’d)
C
What’s your client’s demonstrated level of consistency?
Check all that apply.

 None to moderate (or high for “expert” clients who are happy living at a sustainable Level 1)
level

1
Can do simple tasks up to 75% of the time

 May struggle to sustain habits or “stay on track”

 Moderate

 Can do simple tasks 90% of the time or more

level


Can do more complex tasks up to 75% of the time

Has a consistent and broad foundation of Level 1 behaviors as part of their regular routine
2
 Has a routine of effective planning and preparation to do Level 2 practices

 High

 Can do any task, no matter how complex, 90% of the time or more level

 Has a consistent and broad foundation of Level 1 and 2 behaviors as part of their regular routine 3
 Organizes entire life around getting Level 3 practices done

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

ORTO-15 Orthorexia Assessment C

NAME DATE

The ORTO-15 is a 15-question clinical assessment used to identify people at risk for orthorexia nervosa, or an excessive
preoccupation with “clean eating” or other forms of “healthy eating”.

Orthorexia is generally thought to have a few key features:

• An excessive preoccupation with “healthy eating”, “clean eating”, or other rules and restrictions focused on food’s “purity”,
“healthfulness”, or “goodness”.
• Obsessive thoughts and feelings around food and eating.
• Anxious, concerned, or even phobic responses to particular “unhealthy” foods.

Orthorexia may begin as an appropriate and normal interest in improving one’s food intake, health, and/or performance.

What primarily defines orthorexia as a disorder is the degree to which it negatively affects a person’s daily-life function and thriving
in the domains of deep health.

How to use this assessment form

You can use this questionnaire as a more structured assessment, or as an informal way to stimulate a coaching discussion.

Any one of the questionnaire’s items could be a prompt for a coaching conversation, e.g. “What do you notice about the
relationship between your mood and your eating behaviors?”

Important:
• This questionnaire can simply help you open a coaching conversation with your client around their thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors around eating.
• Unless you are professionally qualified and licensed to do so, do not offer diagnosis, counselling, or treatment for this or any
other type of disordered eating.
• Refer out to another health care professional as needed.

This questionnaire and scoring has been adapted from Donini LM, Marsili D, Graziani MP, Imbriale M, Cannella C. Orthorexia nervosa: validation of a diagnosis
questionnaire. Eat Weight Disord. 2005;10: e28–32.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

ORTO-15 Orthorexia Assessment (cont’d)
C
ORTO-15 questionnaire
ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER

1. When eating, do you pay attention to the calories of the food?    

2. When you go in a food shop do you feel confused?    
3. In the last few months, did the thought of food worry you?    
4. Are your eating choices conditioned by your worry about your health status?    
5. Is the taste of food more important than the quality when you evaluate food?    
6. Are you willing to spend more money to have healthier food?    
7. Does the thought about food worry you for more than three hours a day?    
8. Do you allow yourself any eating transgressions?    
9. Do you think your mood affects your eating behavior?    
10. Do you think that the conviction to eat only healthy food increases self-esteem?    
Do you think that eating healthy food changes your lifestyle (e.g. how often you
11.    
eat out, or your socializing with friends and family)?

12. Do you think that consuming healthy food may improve your appearance?    
13. Do you feel guilty when transgressing?    
14. Do you think that on the market there is also unhealthy food?    
15. Do you generally eat alone?    

How to score the ORTO-15

You’ll notice that scoring isn’t straightforward addition. The questionnaire is designed with a mix of scoring and question wording so
that “always” or “never” isn’t consistently or obviously the “right” answer.

The higher the score, the more likely the person is to be at risk of disordered / orthorexic eating behaviors and symptoms.

The highest score possible is 60; 40 or higher is often used as the clinical threshold for classifying a person as having orthorexia.

Questions ALWAYS OFTEN SOMETIMES NEVER

2, 5, 8, 9 4 3 2 1

3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 1 2 3 4

1, 13 2 4 3 1

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet C

NAME DATE

Note for coaches

Consider using this form with the Sleep and Recovery Ideas form.

Good sleep helps us look, feel, function, and recover better.

This questionnaire explores both the quality and the quantity of your sleep and sleep behaviors. It can also help you track progress
in this area. Not everyone can get all the sleep they need and want, but this worksheet can help you and your coach at least move
towards improving your regular sleep practices.

Sleep duration, quality, and effects

Check the box that applies best to you for each item.

I have trouble falling asleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I have trouble staying asleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I take something to help myself sleep (e.g. herbal supplements, OTC drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, etc.).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

If so, what?

I have a medical condition that disrupts my sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I try to “catch up on sleep” on weekends or other times.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I do shift work or otherwise have an irregular sleeping schedule.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)
C
I worry about not getting enough sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I wake up early in my normal sleep cycle (e.g. 2-3 AM for a regular night-time sleeper).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

If I wake up during my normal sleep cycle, I have trouble going back to sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I find it hard to wake up or get going after I wake up.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I wake up with an alarm.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I hit snooze on the alarm once or more.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I depend on caffeine or other stimulants to stay awake and alert.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

My sleep is disturbed by factors outside my control (e.g. outside noise, children, etc.)

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I seem to sleep OK, but wake up not feeling refreshed.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I feel fatigued or have low energy when I’m awake.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t recover well from stress or physical demands.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I feel moody, cranky, “down in the dumps”, and/or “blah”.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)
C
I struggle to concentrate, learn, and/or remember things.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I normally sleep:

 Fewer than 4 hours / night  6-7 hours / night  9+ hours / night

 4-5 hours / night  7-8 hours / night

 5-6 hours / night  8-9 hours / night

Left to my own devices, without having to accommodate someone else’s schedule, I’d consider myself:

 An early bird.  A night owl.  A mix, depending on what I want to

Sleep practices
Check the box that applies best to you for each item.

I take naps.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I have a scheduled bedtime, or I plan my bedtime in advance.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

At least 30 minutes before bed, I purposely start winding down and preparing for sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I practice meditation or other forms of purposeful relaxation.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I dim the lights or have darkness when it’s night time (or time to sleep).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I get bright light when I am supposed to be awake and alert (e.g. by going outside during the day or having a light box).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I exercise for at least 20 minutes per day.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)
C
I eat lightly, or not at all, within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I have a comfortable, calming sleep environment.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t check work email or do other work-related activities within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t engage in stimulating, energizing, or upsetting activities (e.g. intense workouts, first-person shooter games, etc.)
within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I shut down all electronics* 30 minutes before bed (e.g. phone, TV, video games, etc.).
*Optional: If I use a screen reader (e.g. a Kindle) to read before bed, I dim the screen brightness.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I do something else to purposely prepare for sleep / bedtime:

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

What do you do?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet

NAME DATE

Good sleep helps us look, feel, function, and recover better.

This questionnaire explores both the quality and the quantity of your sleep and sleep behaviors. It can also help you track progress
in this area. Not everyone can get all the sleep they need and want, but this worksheet can help you and your coach at least move
towards improving your regular sleep practices.

Sleep duration, quality, and effects

Check the box that applies best to you for each item.

I have trouble falling asleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I have trouble staying asleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I take something to help myself sleep (e.g. herbal supplements, OTC drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, etc.).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

If so, what?

I have a medical condition that disrupts my sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I try to “catch up on sleep” on weekends or other times.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I do shift work or otherwise have an irregular sleeping schedule.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I worry about not getting enough sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)

I wake up early in my normal sleep cycle (e.g. 2-3 AM for a regular night-time sleeper).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

If I wake up during my normal sleep cycle, I have trouble going back to sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I find it hard to wake up or get going after I wake up.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I wake up with an alarm.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I hit snooze on the alarm once or more.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I depend on caffeine or other stimulants to stay awake and alert.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

My sleep is disturbed by factors outside my control (e.g. outside noise, children, etc.)

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I seem to sleep OK, but wake up not feeling refreshed.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I feel fatigued or have low energy when I’m awake.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t recover well from stress or physical demands.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I feel moody, cranky, “down in the dumps”, and/or “blah”.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I struggle to concentrate, learn, and/or remember things.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)

I normally sleep:

 Fewer than 4 hours / night  6-7 hours / night  9+ hours / night

 4-5 hours / night  7-8 hours / night

 5-6 hours / night  8-9 hours / night

Left to my own devices, without having to accommodate someone else’s schedule, I’d consider myself:

 An early bird.  A night owl.  A mix, depending on what I want to

Sleep practices
Check the box that applies best to you for each item.

I take naps.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I have a scheduled bedtime, or I plan my bedtime in advance.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

At least 30 minutes before bed, I purposely start winding down and preparing for sleep.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I practice meditation or other forms of purposeful relaxation.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I dim the lights or have darkness when it’s night time (or time to sleep).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I get bright light when I am supposed to be awake and alert (e.g. by going outside during the day or having a light box).

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I exercise for at least 20 minutes per day.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I eat lightly, or not at all, within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep Assessment Worksheet (cont’d)

I have a comfortable, calming sleep environment.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t check work email or do other work-related activities within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I don’t engage in stimulating, energizing, or upsetting activities (e.g. intense workouts, first-person shooter games, etc.)
within 1-2 hours of bedtime.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I shut down all electronics* 30 minutes before bed (e.g. phone, TV, video games, etc.).
*Optional: If I use a screen reader (e.g. a Kindle) to read before bed, I dim the screen brightness.

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

I do something else to purposely prepare for sleep / bedtime:

 Never  Rarely  Occasionally  Most nights / days  Always

What do you do?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment C

NAME DATE

How to explain this form to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use to introduce this form to your clients:

“Social support can involve a lot of things, such as:

• what the people around us in our daily lives normally do, think, and talk about;
• whether the people closest to us help, encourage, and / or support us;
• whether we feel we can be open, ‘real’, and our true selves around other people;
• whether we have people around us that share our perspective, interests, and activities; and / or
• whether we have people we can trust to listen to our concerns or help us talk through problems.

Social support can come from many places, such as our partners and spouses, boyfriends / girlfriends, family members,
close friends, acquaintances, coworkers, or even just people we see at the gym or elsewhere in our lives. It can even be an
online community.

Having social support is an important part of meeting your goals and having good habits for life.

I’m part of your social support team, of course, but I’d like to know about how much help, encouragement and support
you might get from other people as you change, build, and / or maintain your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits.

Please be as honest as you can when answering the questions. There are no right or wrong answers.

This will simply help us both understand more about your social support system right now.”

Thinking about the help, encouragement and support you might get from various people when changing, building, and / or
maintaining your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits…

Who in your life is the MOST helpful, encouraging, and / or supportive?

How in particular do they help, encourage, and / or support you?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Look for “bright spots” and areas where things are going well.
• Ask for more details about how in particular these people listed above are supportive. For instance:
• What specific behaviors do they do (or not do)?
• What exactly makes them so helpful and encouraging?
• Encourage your clients to ask for help or simply support from these people.
• Help your client look for more ways in which they could get this existing support.

Who in your life is the LEAST helpful, encouraging, and / or supportive?

How in particular do they NOT help, encourage, and / or support you?

Coaching tips
• Empathize with your client about how lack of support can affect them negatively.
• Where possible, use motivational interviewing to learn more about the deeper tensions that may drive these situations, e.g.
• “It sounds like on the one hand, you want to ask for help, and on the other hand, you find that hard to do and value
your independence.”
• Ask for more details about how in particular these people listed above are NOT supportive.
• What specific behaviors do they do (or not do)?
• What exactly makes them so UN-helpful and DIScouraging?
• Show how “don’t-want” can be flipped into “do-want” and move into an action plan, for example:
• “You’ve said that you don’t like when X says Y. So that tells us you might like the opposite of that, which is Z.”
• If appropriate, help your client broach the topic of lack of support with others. For instance:
• Help your clients come up with a script to ask for help.
• Role play the kinds of “crucial conversations” your clients might need or want to have.
• Help your clients look for other solutions or strategies

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment (cont’d)
C
In an ideal world, what kinds of help, encouragement, and / or support would you like to have as you work to change, build, and /
or maintain your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits?

Ideally, the kind of help I’d like is:

Ideally, the kind of support I’d like is:

Ideally, the kind of encouragement I’d like is:

Coaching tips
• This question lets you learn more about your clients’ wants, needs, and wishes.
• Remind your client that this is an “ideal world” scenario, and not constrained by “reality”. Encourage them to imagine
alternatives that aren’t restricted by “what’s actually happening”.
• Encourage your client to brainstorm ways in which they could move one very small step towards getting a little bit of the
help, support, and encouragement they desire.

Right now, how could the people around you best help, encourage, and support you as you work to change, build, and / or
maintain your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits?

In particular, people could help me right now by:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment (cont’d)
C
In particular, people could encourage me right now by:

In particular, people could support me right now by:

Coaching tips
• This question gives you specific ideas about how you could build social support into a future action plan.
• Notice that this question is purposely exploratory and open-ended. It’s a “could” not a should.
• The question below can help you “funnel” the answers above into possible next actions.

Right now, what is ONE thing you could do, try, and / or explore to improve your social support team or systems?

Coaching tips
• This question lets you start developing an action plan.
• Notice that this question is purposely exploratory and open-ended. It’s a “could” not a should.
• After you get the answer to this question, test “ready, willing, and able” and how confident they are (on a scale of 1-10)
about committing to trying it.
• If the client feels ready, willing, and able, and you get a 9/10 or higher with confidence, start building it into an action
plan and move into strategy and problem solving.
• If the client isn’t yet ready, willing, or able: Keep the question open-ended and “potential” for now. Don’t ask the client
to commit to anything. Your client may not feel ready to move forward with changing their social support team or
systems right now, but keep this item on file for later discussions.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment

NAME DATE

Thinking about the help, encouragement and support you might get from various people when changing, building, and / or
maintaining your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits…

Who in your life is the MOST helpful, encouraging, and / or supportive?

How in particular do they help, encourage, and / or support you?

Who in your life is the LEAST helpful, encouraging, and / or supportive?

How in particular do they NOT help, encourage, and / or support you?

In an ideal world, what kinds of help, encouragement, and / or support would you like to have as you work to change, build, and /
or maintain your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits?

Ideally, the kind of help I’d like is:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Social Support Assessment (cont’d)

Ideally, the kind of support I’d like is:

Ideally, the kind of encouragement I’d like is:

Right now, how could the people around you best help, encourage, and support you as you work to change, build, and / or
maintain your health, nutrition, and / or exercise habits?

In particular, people could help me right now by:

In particular, people could encourage me right now by:

In particular, people could support me right now by:

Right now, what is ONE thing you could do, try, and / or explore to improve your social support team or systems?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire C

NAME DATE

Coaching tips
• You can use this form both as an initial baseline and to track progress.
• For clients with a lot of stress and poor recovery, set realistic expectations about things like:
• how fast they’ll be able to make changes;
• how significant and dramatic those changes could be; and/or
• what kind of physical results they might see while stress hormones / inflammatory factors, etc. are elevated.
• Focus on progress, not perfection

Sleep habits and quality

Think about your sleep habits and quality right now.

On average, how many hours per night do you sleep?

 4 or fewer hours  7 hours  10 or more hours

 5 hours  8 hours

 6 hours  9 hours

Coaching tips
• Poor-quality and short-duration sleep can cause or exacerbate many metabolic and other physiological problems.
• While sleep hours are an outcome (which means you can’t completely control them), sleep hygiene and pre-bed sleep
rituals are behaviors (which we can control).
• If clients aren’t sleeping enough, consider sleep hygiene and pre-bed rituals as part of a coaching action plan.

Do you work shift work? Y N

Coaching tip
Shift work can disrupt circadian rhythms, leading to many of the same effects as poor / short sleep. Help your client
manage their schedule and use pre-sleep rituals to alleviate at least some of the effects of shift work

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
What is your typical bedtime?

Coaching tips
• To move your client along the continuum, you can work on setting bedtime 15 to 30 minutes earlier. (Start small.)
• You can also work on a pre-bed ritual that starts at least 30 minutes before the client’s typical bedtime (e.g., if client
goes to bed at midnight, start preparing at 11:30 PM).

On a scale of 1-10, how good is your sleep quality?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

What tends to interfere with you getting enough sleep, and / or the quality of your sleep?

What, if anything, tends to help you sleep better / longer?

Coaching tips
Use these questions above to find limiting factors and bright spots.

Do you currently take any medications or natural health products to help yourself sleep? If yes, what? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Stress factors
Many things can cause us stress. Check all that you’ve experienced in the last six months.

 Death of partner; close family; or friend  Ongoing pressure and demands  Caring for child(ren)
at work or school
 Death of someone else you cared about  Caring for sick, disabled, and / or older
family member or friend
 Death of pet  Recently retired

 Left home  Debt, lost money, or other  Child left home

financial pressures
 Moved house  Other change to family situation
(e.g., aging parent moved in)
 Moved to a new region  Significant or frequent travel
(new state / province, etc.)
 Fast-paced / busy / rushed life  Major physical health problem
(either acute or chronic)
 Started school  Got married

 Graduated from school  Ongoing relationship problems  Substance abuse issues and / or
with partner(s) another addiction
 Started a new job / career

 Changed jobs  Relationship breakup / divorce  Heavy athletic training or other

or separation physical endeavors
 Long work hours (10+ hours/day)

 Shift work  Ongoing problems with other  Athletic competition

family, relatives, friends
 Occupational exposure to toxins  Other:

 Pregnancy / new baby

Considering all these factors, how would you rank your overall level of stress right now?

EXTREME
NO STRESS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STRESS

Considering all these factors, how well would you say you’re coping right now?

HORRIBLY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PERFECTLY

What, if anything, do you do right now to cope and / or recover from stressors?
(Include physical, mental, and emotional recovery.)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)
C

Coaching tips
• Use this section to open up a discussion about what demands are already loading your client.
• A client with a heavy stress load may have to change slowly and / or set lower expectations about what they can
manage, or the results they’ll get.
• Explore coping mechanisms, and consider healthier alternatives.
• In particular, explore coping mechanisms around food, including emotional eating / avoidance and restriction.
• If you need ideas for promoting recovery and decreasing stress, refer to the Sleep & Recovery Ideas form.

How physically energetic and vital do you normally feel on an average day?

EXHAUSTED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUPERSTAR!!!

On an average day, do you have any persistent pain, soreness, stiffness, aching, etc.? Y N

If yes, how bad is it?

ALMOST EXCRUCIATING
NOTHING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / DISABLING

How mentally “sharp”, quick, and clear do you normally feel on an average day?

TOTAL
BRAIN FOG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 GENIUS

How happy and cheerful do you normally feel on an average day?

COMPLETELY RAY OF
DEPRESSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUNSHINE

Today, how interested are you in exercise and / or training? How excited to train?

UGH, I’D
LET’S
RATHER TAKE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CRUSH IT!
A NAP

For women: If you should be having regular periods, are you? If no, how long has it been since your last period? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)
C
Record your resting morning heart rate before getting out of bed. Place your index and middle finger on either your carotid artery
(neck) or radial artery (inside of wrist) and count the number of beats you feel in 60 seconds. Morning heart rate:

Record your morning temperature when you wake up. Morning temperature:

Coaching tips
• A HIGHER morning heart rate can signal poor recovery.
• A LOWER morning temperature can signal poor recovery and / or metabolic downregulation (for instance, from chronic
dieting, hypothyroid, overtraining).

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire

NAME DATE

Sleep habits and quality

Think about your sleep habits and quality right now.

On average, how many hours per night do you sleep?

 4 or fewer hours  7 hours  10 or more hours

 5 hours  8 hours

 6 hours  9 hours

Do you work shift work? Y N

What is your typical bedtime?

On a scale of 1-10, how good is your sleep quality?

HORRIBLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 AWESOME!!!

What tends to interfere with you getting enough sleep, and / or the quality of your sleep?

What, if anything, tends to help you sleep better / longer?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)

Do you currently take any medications or natural health products to help yourself sleep? If yes, what? Y N

Stress factors
Many things can cause us stress. Check all that you’ve experienced in the last six months.

 Death of partner; close family; or friend  Ongoing pressure and demands  Caring for child(ren)
at work or school
 Death of someone else you cared about  Caring for sick, disabled, and / or older
family member or friend
 Death of pet  Recently retired

 Left home  Debt, lost money, or other  Child left home

financial pressures
 Moved house  Other change to family situation
(e.g., aging parent moved in)
 Moved to a new region  Significant or frequent travel
(new state / province, etc.)
 Fast-paced / busy / rushed life  Major physical health problem
(either acute or chronic)
 Started school  Got married

 Graduated from school  Ongoing relationship problems  Substance abuse issues and / or
with partner(s) another addiction
 Started a new job / career

 Changed jobs  Relationship breakup / divorce  Heavy athletic training or other

or separation physical endeavors
 Long work hours (10+ hours/day)

 Shift work  Ongoing problems with other  Athletic competition

family, relatives, friends
 Occupational exposure to toxins  Other:

 Pregnancy / new baby

Considering all these factors, how would you rank your overall level of stress right now?

EXTREME
NO STRESS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STRESS

Considering all these factors, how well would you say you’re coping right now?

HORRIBLY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 PERFECTLY

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)

What, if anything, do you do right now to cope and / or recover from stressors?
(Include physical, mental, and emotional recovery.)

How physically energetic and vital do you normally feel on an average day?

EXHAUSTED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUPERSTAR!!!

On an average day, do you have any persistent pain, soreness, stiffness, aching, etc.? Y N

If yes, how bad is it?

ALMOST EXCRUCIATING
NOTHING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 / DISABLING

How mentally “sharp”, quick, and clear do you normally feel on an average day?

TOTAL
BRAIN FOG 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 GENIUS

How happy and cheerful do you normally feel on an average day?

COMPLETELY RAY OF
DEPRESSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 SUNSHINE

Today, how interested are you in exercise and / or training? How excited to train?

UGH, I’D
LET’S
RATHER TAKE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CRUSH IT!
A NAP

For women: If you should be having regular periods, are you? If no, how long has it been since your last period? Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Stress & Recovery Questionnaire (cont’d)

Record your resting morning heart rate before getting out of bed. Place your index and middle finger on either your carotid artery
(neck) or radial artery (inside of wrist) and count the number of beats you feel in 60 seconds. Morning heart rate:

Record your morning temperature when you wake up. Morning temperature:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale C
Developed by Gearhardt, A.N., Corbin, W.R., & Brownell, K.D. (2009)

NAME DATE

Important:
• This is a tool that can be used to begin a coaching conversation and increase the client’s awareness of their own
feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences.

• Unless you are professionally qualified to do so, you cannot engage in clinical assessment or directly counsel and/or
offer targeted therapy to a client with disordered eating.

• Make sure to refer out if you and your client feel there may be a more serious problem with this or any other addictive-
type behaviors.

This survey asks about your eating habits in the past year.
People sometimes have difficulty controlling their intake of certain foods such as:

• Sweets like ice cream, chocolate, donuts, cookies, cake, candy, ice cream
• Starches like white bread, rolls, pasta, and rice
• Salty snacks like chips, pretzels, and crackers
• Fatty foods like steak, bacon, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries
• Sugary drinks like soda pop

When the following questions ask about “certain foods” please think of ANY food similar to those listed in the food group or ANY
OTHER foods you have had a problem with in the past year.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)
C
In the past 12 months: 4 OR MORE
TIMES A
ONCE A 2-4 TIMES 2-3 TIMES WEEK, OR
NEVER MONTH A MONTH A WEEK DAILY

I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating

1. 0 1 2 3 4
much more than planned.

I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I

2. 0 1 2 3 4
am no longer hungry.

3. I eat to the point where I feel physically ill. 0 1 2 3 4

Not eating certain types of food or cutting down on certain types

4. 0 1 2 3 4
of food is something I worry about.

5. I spend a lot of time feeling sluggish or fatigued from overeating. 0 1 2 3 4

6. I find myself constantly eating certain foods throughout the day. 0 1 2 3 4

I find that when certain foods are not available, I will go out of
my way to get them. For example, I will drive to the store to buy
7. 0 1 2 3 4
certain foods even though I have other options available to me
at home.

There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or

in such large quantities that I started to eat food instead of
8. 0 1 2 3 4
working, spending time with my family or friends, or engaging in
other important activities or recreational activities I enjoy.

There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or in

such large quantities that I spent time dealing with negative
9. feelings from overeating instead of working, spending time with 0 1 2 3 4
my family or friends, or engaging in other important activities or
recreational activities I enjoy.

There have been times when I avoided professional or social

10. situations where certain foods were available, because I was 0 1 2 3 4
afraid I would overeat.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)
C

There have been times when I avoided professional or social

11. 0 1 2 3 4
situations because I was not able to eat certain foods there.

I have had withdrawal symptoms such as agitation, anxiety, or

other physical symptoms when I cut down or stopped eating
12. certain foods. (Please do NOT include withdrawal symptoms 0 1 2 3 4
caused by cutting down on caffeinated beverages, such as soda
pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)

I have eaten certain foods to prevent feelings of anxiety,

agitation, or other physical symptoms that were developing.
13. 0 1 2 3 4
(Please do NOT include consumption of caffeinated beverages
such as soda pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)

When I cut down on or stop eating certain foods, I find I want

14. 0 1 2 3 4
them more, and/or more strongly.

15. My food and eating behavior causes significant distress. 0 1 2 3 4

Food and eating causes me significant problems in my ability to

16. function effectively (daily routine, job/school, social activities, 0 1 2 3 4
family activities, health difficulties).

In the past 12 months:

NO YES

My food consumption has caused significant psychological problems such as depression, anxiety,
17. 0 1
self-loathing, or guilt.

18. My food consumption has caused significant physical problems or made a physical problem worse. 0 1

I kept consuming the same types of food or the same amount of food even though I was having
19. 0 1
emotional and/or physical problems.

Over time, I have found that I need to eat more and more to get the feeling I want, such as reduced
20. 0 1
negative emotions or increased pleasure.

22. I want to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food. 0 1

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)
C

23. I have tried to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food. 0 1

24. I have been successful at cutting down or not eating these kinds of foods. 0 1

I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much 1 5
2 3 4
25. OR FEWER
TIMES TIMES TIMES
OR MORE
more than planned. TIMES TIMES

Reference: Gearhardt, A.N., Corbin, W.R., & Brownell, K.D. (2009). Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Appetite, 52, 430-436.

How to understand the Yale Food Addiction Scale

The Yale Food Addiction Scale is a measure that has been developed to explore behaviors that are similar to symptoms for
substance dependence as stated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV-R:

1. Taking in more a substance, and for longer, than intended or preferred

(Questions #1, #2, #3)

2. A persistent desire or repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit the unwanted substance or behavior
(Questions #4, #22, # 24, #25)

3. Spending a lot of time or effort to obtain, use, and/or recover from the substance or behavior
(Questions #5, #6, #7)

4. The person has given up or reduced important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of the substance or
behavior
(Questions #8, #9, #10, #11)

5. The person keeps consuming the substance or doing the behavior, despite knowing about adverse consequences, e.g. feeling ill.
(Question #19

6. It takes more and more of the substance or behavior to soothe the person or create the desired effects, and often the substance
or behavior doesn’t quite “do the job” any more (Questions #20, #21)

7. Characteristic withdrawal symptoms; somehow the person attempts to relieve withdrawal

(Questions #12, #13, #14)

8. The substance or behavior causes clinically significant impairment or distress

(Questions #15, #16)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale
Developed by Gearhardt, A.N., Corbin, W.R., & Brownell, K.D. (2009)

NAME DATE

This survey asks about your eating habits in the past year.
People sometimes have difficulty controlling their intake of certain foods such as:

• Sweets like ice cream, chocolate, donuts, cookies, cake, candy, ice cream
• Starches like white bread, rolls, pasta, and rice
• Salty snacks like chips, pretzels, and crackers
• Fatty foods like steak, bacon, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, and French fries
• Sugary drinks like soda pop

When the following questions ask about “certain foods” please think of ANY food similar to those listed in the food group or ANY
OTHER foods you have had a problem with in the past year.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)

In the past 12 months: 4 OR MORE

TIMES A
ONCE A 2-4 TIMES 2-3 TIMES WEEK, OR
NEVER MONTH A MONTH A WEEK DAILY

I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating

1. 0 1 2 3 4
much more than planned.

I find myself continuing to consume certain foods even though I

2. 0 1 2 3 4
am no longer hungry.

3. I eat to the point where I feel physically ill. 0 1 2 3 4

Not eating certain types of food or cutting down on certain types

4. 0 1 2 3 4
of food is something I worry about.

5. I spend a lot of time feeling sluggish or fatigued from overeating. 0 1 2 3 4

6. I find myself constantly eating certain foods throughout the day. 0 1 2 3 4

I find that when certain foods are not available, I will go out of
my way to get them. For example, I will drive to the store to buy
7. 0 1 2 3 4
certain foods even though I have other options available to me
at home.

There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or

in such large quantities that I started to eat food instead of
8. 0 1 2 3 4
working, spending time with my family or friends, or engaging in
other important activities or recreational activities I enjoy.

There have been times when I ate certain foods so often or in

such large quantities that I spent time dealing with negative
9. feelings from overeating instead of working, spending time with 0 1 2 3 4
my family or friends, or engaging in other important activities or
recreational activities I enjoy.

There have been times when I avoided professional or social

10. situations where certain foods were available, because I was 0 1 2 3 4
afraid I would overeat.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)

There have been times when I avoided professional or social

11. 0 1 2 3 4
situations because I was not able to eat certain foods there.

I have had withdrawal symptoms such as agitation, anxiety, or

other physical symptoms when I cut down or stopped eating
12. certain foods. (Please do NOT include withdrawal symptoms 0 1 2 3 4
caused by cutting down on caffeinated beverages, such as soda
pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)

I have eaten certain foods to prevent feelings of anxiety,

agitation, or other physical symptoms that were developing.
13. 0 1 2 3 4
(Please do NOT include consumption of caffeinated beverages
such as soda pop, coffee, tea, energy drinks, etc.)

When I cut down on or stop eating certain foods, I find I want

14. 0 1 2 3 4
them more, and/or more strongly.

15. My food and eating behavior causes significant distress. 0 1 2 3 4

Food and eating causes me significant problems in my ability to

16. function effectively (daily routine, job/school, social activities, 0 1 2 3 4
family activities, health difficulties).

In the past 12 months:

NO YES

My food consumption has caused significant psychological problems such as depression, anxiety,
17. 0 1
self-loathing, or guilt.

18. My food consumption has caused significant physical problems or made a physical problem worse. 0 1

I kept consuming the same types of food or the same amount of food even though I was having
19. 0 1
emotional and/or physical problems.

Over time, I have found that I need to eat more and more to get the feeling I want, such as reduced
20. 0 1
negative emotions or increased pleasure.

22. I want to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food. 0 1

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Yale Food Addiction Scale (cont’d)

23. I have tried to cut down or stop eating certain kinds of food. 0 1

24. I have been successful at cutting down or not eating these kinds of foods. 0 1

I find that when I start eating certain foods, I end up eating much 1 5
2 3 4
25. OR FEWER
TIMES TIMES TIMES
OR MORE
more than planned. TIMES TIMES

Reference: Gearhardt, A.N., Corbin, W.R., & Brownell, K.D. (2009). Preliminary validation of the Yale Food Addiction Scale. Appetite, 52, 430-436.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

3-Day Diet Record

NAME DATE

Please record everything you eat and drink for 3 days. Be as thorough and detailed as possible.

Please be as honest as you can be. I am gathering data, not judging. Don’t change your normal routine. Just record what you are doing.

If your eating habits change over the week, pick 3 days that are representative (e.g., 2 weekdays plus 1 weekend day).

To measure, simply use hand-sized portions (e.g., 1 palm, 1 fist, 1 cupped handful, 1 thumb) or something else standardized
(e.g., baseball, deck of cards). You can use measuring cups or a food scale if you want, but you don’t have to.

Record any other notes about other things we’ve agreed you’ll record, such as why you are eating, physical sensations from eating,
how you felt after you ate.

Example
MEAL TIME WHAT YOU ATE / DRANK AND HOW MUCH NOTES

2 pieces whole-grain toast

7 AM 2 thumbs peanut butter Rushing out the door; busy day
1 mug of coffee with milk + 2 sugars
Bran muffin (about 1 fist sized)
10:15 AM 1 medium-sized orange In a meeting
Medium coffee from Dunkin Donuts

12:30 PM 12” Subway turkey sandwich No cheese

1 can Diet Coke

3:30 PM 1 strawberry Greek yogurt Ate at desk

2 handfuls Triscuits
3 slices meat-lovers pizza
6:30 PM 2 light beers Got home late, no energy to cook
1 bowl moose tracks ice cream

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

3-Day Diet Record (cont’d)

Day 1
MEAL TIME WHAT YOU ATE / DRANK AND HOW MUCH NOTES

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

3-Day Diet Record (cont’d)

Day 2
MEAL TIME WHAT YOU ATE / DRANK AND HOW MUCH NOTES

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

3-Day Diet Record (cont’d)

Day 3
MEAL TIME WHAT YOU ATE / DRANK AND HOW MUCH NOTES

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

80% Full Meal Journal

NAME DATE

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? 80% FULL?

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

Athlete Nutrition Journal

NAME DATE

Instructions: Write down what you eat, and jot down a few notes about how you’re feeling.

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

Eating Behaviors Journal

NAME DATE

Instructions: Capture any urges or behaviors that you notice, especially around eating time.

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? WHAT ARE YOU FEELING, DOING OR THINKING?

Remember to stay on track with diet today! Doing

7:00 AM Black coffee intermittent fasting - no breakfast. Stay strong!
Did 45 minutes fasted cardio.

Large coffee with cream & sugar Hoping to wait until lunch time.
10 AM Gave in and ate the muffin at the meeting.
Muffin Feeling guilty and ashamed.

12” Subway sandwich Feeling rushed and anxious. Urge to over-eat is

12 PM strong. Got extra-large sub and ate it quickly.
Diet soda Planning longer workout tonight to make up for it.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Eating Behaviors Journal (cont’d)

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? WHAT ARE YOU FEELING, DOING OR THINKING?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

Eating Slowly Meal Journal

NAME DATE

DID YOU EAT

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT?
SLOWLY?

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

Y N

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

Meal Duration Journal

NAME DATE

WHAT TIME DID YOU WHAT TIME DID YOU

WHAT DID YOU EAT?
START EATING? STOP EATING?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

Emotional Eating Journal

NAME DATE

Instructions: Capture any urges or behaviors that you notice, especially around eating time.

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? WHAT ARE YOU FEELING, DOING OR THINKING?

Remember to stay on track with diet today! Doing

7 AM Black coffee intermittent fasting - no breakfast. Stay strong!
Did 45 minutes fasted cardio.

Large coffee with cream & sugar Hoping to wait until lunch time.
10 AM Gave in and ate the muffin at the meeting.
Muffin Feeling guilty and ashamed.

12” Subway sandwich Feeling rushed and anxious. Urge to over-eat is

12 PM strong. Got extra-large sub and ate it quickly.
Diet soda Planning longer workout tonight to make up for it.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Emotional Eating Journal (cont’d)

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? WHAT ARE YOU FEELING, DOING OR THINKING?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

FOOD JOURNAL

How Food Feels Journal

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Instructions: Capture any physical sensations that you notice throughout the day, especially after eating.

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? ANY PHYSICAL SENSATIONS? IF SO, WHAT?

Whole wheat bagel and cream cheese Noticed stuffy nose and headache about half
8 AM hour later. Stomach a bit rumbly.
Glass of milk

Bowl of vegetable soup Ate until just satisfied. Feeling good, not over-
12 PM stuffed.
Medium-sized bowl of bean salad with tuna

3 PM Large coffee Low energy; hoping coffee would pick me up. Now
Muffin I have a headache.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

How Food Feels Journal (cont’d)

MEAL TIME WHAT DID YOU EAT? ANY PHYSICAL SENSATIONS? IF SO, WHAT?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Meal Consistency Worksheet C

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How to use this worksheet

• Each time you eat a meal that’s consistent with the habits you’re working on, put an X in the box.
• Each time you eat a meal that’s NOT consistent, put an O in the box. (Leave a cell blank if you didn’t have that many meals.)
• At the end of the week, total up all your Xs and divide by the number of meals to get a consistency percentage.

Coaching tips
• Emphasize “consistency” rather than “compliance”.
• Use this as both a progress tracker and as a way to surface limiting factors.
• As a progress tracker: Client has made progress when consistency (as a percentage of all meals) improves.
• Treat improvements in consistency as progress in and of themselves (in other words, simply being more consistent is worth celebrating).
• Look for the reasons why consistency improved, and build on those “bright spots” as well.
• As a way to show limiting factors: Use non-adherence / non-consistency to open up a discussion about why the client didn’t do the task.
• Do NOT treat non-consistency as “failure” or “mistakes”. Treat it as useful data.
• Explore “ready, willing, able”.
• Look for patterns over the course of a day, and over the course of a week.
• For example, the client does well in AM, struggles in PM; client does well Monday-Thursday but struggles Friday-Sunday.
• NOTE: not all clients need to achieve the same amount of consistency to reach their goals.
• Level 1 clients, or clients with more moderate goals, will do incredibly well shooting for 75-80% consistency.
• Level 2 clients, or clients with more advanced goals, will need to aim for 90% consistency or higher.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Meal Consistency Worksheet (cont’d)
C

My consistency checklist MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL DAILY NUMBER
OF ADHERENT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total MEALS
What counts as an “adherent meal” for you? What are you working on?
Sample Day x o x x o 5 3/5
Practice 1 Monday

Tuesday
Practice 2
Wednesday

Practice 3 Thursday

Friday

Practice 4
Saturday

Sunday
Practice 5

TOTAL MEALS EATEN THIS WEEK TOTAL ADHERENT MEALS CONSISTENCY PERCENTAGE

Coaching tips
• You don’t have to use all 5 Practices. Generally, the fewer
Coaching tips
the better. However, as clients get more advanced, they
may be working on a few things at once (e.g., lean protein • Help clients remember to do this, especially if food tracking is a new task. Consider setting
+ colorful fruits and vegetables + eat slowly). up automated reminders around each meal time.
• Agree in advance with the client what will count as • Make it clear that having 7 possible slots to record meals doesn’t mean that clients have to
“consistent” or a focus of adherence. eat 7 meals.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Meal Consistency Worksheet

NAME DATE

How to use this worksheet

• Each time you eat a meal that’s consistent with the habits you’re working on, put an X in the box.
• Each time you eat a meal that’s NOT consistent, put an O in the box. (Leave a cell blank if you didn’t have that many meals.)
• At the end of the week, total up all your Xs and divide by the number of meals to get a consistency percentage.

MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL MEAL DAILY NUMBER

OF ADHERENT
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Total MEALS

My consistency checklist
What counts as an “adherent meal” for you? What are you working on?
Sample Day x o x x o 5 3/5
Monday
Practice 1
Tuesday

Wednesday
Practice 2

Thursday

Practice 3 Friday

Saturday
Practice 4
Sunday

Practice 5
TOTAL MEALS EATEN THIS WEEK TOTAL ADHERENT MEALS CONSISTENCY PERCENTAGE

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

4 Crazy Questions Worksheet
Note for coaches: You can do this as the “2 Crazy Questions” described in the
textbook, simply by asking the first two questions.

NAME DATE

1. What is GOOD about NOT changing?

What is working for you with the status quo? What are the benefits of staying the same?

2. What would be BAD about changing?

If you changed, what might you have to give up or lose? How would your regular routine be disrupted?

3. What might be GOOD about changing?

If you changed, how would that be helpful or beneficial? What new opportunities or possibilities could open up?

4. What might be BAD about NOT changing?

If you didn’t change, what bad things could happen? If you keep going the way you’re going, what might things look like in the
future (say, 10 years from now)?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

The 5 Whys

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Why coach?
Whether it’s a client’s nutrition habit or your own career choices, it’s important to understand why you’re doing something.

Of course, you won’t always know why you’re doing something. Nor will your clients.

So here’s a little thought exercise we use in our PN Coaching program: The 5 Whys.

The idea is that you ask a “why” question, like:

Why do you want to be a nutrition coach?

You answer that question as best you can. For instance, you might answer:
I want to help people.

Then, you ask “why” again. Like this:

Why is helping people important to me?

You answer that question as best you can. Maybe you might say:
I believe that helping people is an essential value.

Then, you ask “why” again, like this:

But why is helping people an essential value for me?

And you answer that question.

Well, because...

And so on, five times in total. (Or as many times you as want.)

Each “why” builds on the previous answer.

By the time they’ve gotten to the fifth “why”, most people will have a pretty good idea of some of their core priorities, values and
motivators. You can also try variations on the questions, such as:

• What seems so important or valuable about that?

• What pushes you towards doing that?
• If you got that thing, what would it give you, or change for you in your life?
• If you didn’t do or get that thing you wanted, what would bother you about that?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

The 5 Whys (cont’d)

Q. Why... Q. Ok, why...

A. Because... A. Because...

Q. But why... Q. Ok, why...

A. Because... A. Because...

Q. Ok, but why...

A. Well, because...

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

All-or-None Worksheet C

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How to explain this form to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use when discussing this with your clients.

“Sometimes it can be tough to consider the big picture when it comes to nutrition. We have so many things we are trying
to juggle. It can often feel like we do the ‘healthy thing’ or do ‘nothing’.

We start to feel like healthy nutrition is taking away from something else we value, like social time or hobbies. We think to
ourselves, ‘I can eat a healthy meal OR go out with friends to dinner.’

Instead, we can find ways to integrate the two. We can avoid ALL or NONE, and embrace the middle ground.”

Consider the following continuum and how it relates to your current situation/decision.

ABSOLUTE WORST CHOICE ABSOLUTE BEST CHOICE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

First, what would you say is:

The absolute WORST choice?

The absolute BEST choice?

Now, think about the choice you’ve made. Think about where it fits on the continuum and write it in.

Finally, what would be a slightly better choice? Where would it rank on the continuum?

What would be a slightly worse choice? Where would it rank on the continuum?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

All-or-None Worksheet

NAME DATE

Consider the following continuum and how it relates to your current situation/decision.

ABSOLUTE WORST CHOICE ABSOLUTE BEST CHOICE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

First, what would you say is:

The absolute WORST choice?

The absolute BEST choice?

Now, think about the choice you’ve made. Think about where it fits on the continuum and write it in.

Finally, what would be a slightly better choice? Where would it rank on the continuum?

What would be a slightly worse choice? Where would it rank on the continuum?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Looking Back, Looking Ahead
How to evaluate your own progress (and feel good about it)

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Have you ever worked towards a goal, only to feel like you can never arrive
at the ‘end point?’
Say you want to lose weight... and you do. But you keep thinking, ‘just 10 pounds more.’

Or you run a marathon... but can’t help wishing your PB was a little lower.

Or you get a raise... but you’ve already started gunning for the next promotion.

Sound familiar? If you love progress, but feel like the end point— that perfect, happy place where you’ve finally ‘made it’—feels
never-ending, you’re not alone.

Progress is like a horizon. As we strive to improve, we run to- wards that horizon. Yet the horizon is an imaginary line: we can
never reach it.

If we forget that simple fact, it’s easy to get frustrated, tired, or burned out. We never get there. “There” is imaginary.

So how do you evaluate progress in a positive and proactive way?

First you need to look back. See where you started. Notice the strides you’ve taken. Use distance you’ve already traveled as your
true measure of progress.

Then you need to look ahead. Think about where you’re going and plot out your next moves to ensure success.

To use this worksheet, either print off this document, or write directly in the pdf.

First, fill out the questions about your progress. Next, fill out the ones about what’s coming next.

And no matter where you net out, give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Cont’d)

Five questions to ask yourself about your progress so far

1. What have you put the most effort into during the last few weeks?
If you’ve been showing up, even just a little, it means you’ve been working on something. So jot that down and remind yourself of
where your focus and energy has been.

2. What are you most proud of from the last few weeks?
Here we’re looking for daily wins. Like having a good breakfast on your busiest morning. Or making a smart eating decision in a
tricky situation. You’ve done something to be proud of. Now’s the time to call it out.

3. How will you high-five yourself for the great work (in a healthy way)?
Think about how you’ll celebrate your progress, even if it’s just a small reward that supports your goals.

4. What more would you have liked to accomplish?

Everyone thinks this kinda stuff...coulda, woulda, shoulda. Let’s get it down on paper, and then let it go. Write down what you
wanted to get done... but didn’t.

5. What next thing can you do to move past what you think you ‘should’ have done, and keep you moving forward?
Think about the next step you can take, right now, to stay on track.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Cont’d)

Four questions to ask yourself about what’s coming next

1. Looking ahead to the next few weeks, what are you most looking forward to?
In other words, what are you excited about? Looking forward to? Ready to tackle?

2. Knowing what you’re about to work on, what advantages do you think you have that’ll make progress more likely?
Tune into your own unique abilities. What ‘superpowers’ do you have that can help you in your efforts?

3.Knowing what’s coming up in the next few weeks, what things are likely to stand in your way?
Consider the things that might prevent your progress.

4. How can you prepare, right now, to make sure those things don’t get in your way?
Having listed things that might stand in your way, think about how you’ll prevent them from sabotaging you. How can you avoid
obsta- cles before they happen?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Push-Pull-Habit-Anxiety Worksheet C

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(Adapted from Jobs To Be Done. Read more at jobstobedone.org.)

Push What is pushing you AWAY from your old ways of doing things?
What feels uncomfortable, annoying, and / or unworkable about your previous routine?

Pull What is pulling you TOWARDS new ways of doing things?

What’s appealing about this potential change? What seems valuable, fun, useful, helpful, etc. about your goals?

Habit To try something new, what old habits and routines would you have to change?
Thinking about how you normally do things, what would have to be different if you tried this new path?

Anxiety When you think about changing or doing something new, what do you worry about?
What are your concerns and / or questions about changing?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sphere of Control Worksheet C

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How to use this form

• For helping clients identify what they have control over… and don’t.
• Can be helpful for clients who are trying to control things they cannot AND for clients who aren’t controlling things they can.
• Taking time to do this simply raises awareness and highlights discussion points.
• We’ve given you an example here. Your client’s circle will be blank.

Use the image below for the following exercise. Now, start filling it in.
• What in your life do you have total control over?
• What do you have some control over?
• What do you have no control over?

My kid’s schedule Weather

Anticipating familiar What my

My actions daily challenges coworkers think
Total control Some control No control

Paint color for my room Everyday routines

Whether my clients are
Helping clients clarify ready to change
My thoughts their ideas
My spouse’s behavior

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sphere of Control Worksheet (cont’d)
C
Review the diagram. Test your evidence for each one.
For example:
• Are you absolutely sure you have zero control over certain things? None? How do you know for sure?
• Are you absolutely sure you have total control over certain things? How do you know for sure?
Make sure each item holds up under critical scrutiny.

Then, look at the circle and see where you’ve allocated everything.

1
Highlight the items under “total control”.
Start there. You are the boss of those things. For the next few weeks, focus on making deliberate choices that reflect this
reality. Control what you can actually control.

2
Think about the items under “some control”.
What could bring them into the “total control” sphere? What pushes them out into the “no control” sphere? When and
how could you control these items? Do you need to control these? For now, just think about them.

3
Let go of the items under “no control”.
All you can do is manage and dynamically respond to these, using whatever behaviors and other factors that you can
control. Release your grasp on things you can’t control.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sphere of Control Worksheet

NAME DATE

Use the image below for the following exercise. Now, start filling it in. (If you aren’t sure how to do this, ask your coach.)
• What in your life do you have total control over?
• What do you have some control over?
• What do you have no control over?

Total control Some control No control

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sphere of Control Worksheet (cont’d)

Review the diagram. Test your evidence for each one.

For example:
• Are you absolutely sure you have zero control over certain things? None? How do you know for sure?
• Are you absolutely sure you have total control over certain things? How do you know for sure?
Make sure each item holds up under critical scrutiny.

Then, look at the circle and see where you’ve allocated everything.

1
Highlight the items under “total control”.
Start there. You are the boss of those things. For the next few weeks, focus on making deliberate choices that reflect this
reality. Control what you can actually control.

2
Think about the items under “some control”.
What could bring them into the “total control” sphere? What pushes them out into the “no control” sphere? When and
how could you control these items? Do you need to control these? For now, just think about them.

3
Let go of the items under “no control”.
All you can do is manage and dynamically respond to these, using whatever behaviors and other factors that you can
control. Release your grasp on things you can’t control.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Want-Willing-Won’t Worksheet C

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How to explain this form to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use to introduce this form to your clients.
“I’d like to understand more about your current goals, limitations, and priorities. When we are trying to change our body
and health, we have to make certain trade-offs. In order for X to happen, you may have to change Y. And not everyone is
ready to take certain actions. That’s okay.
I just want us to get clear on what you are willing — and not willing — to do right now. Of course, this can change. We
can re-visit this discussion any time you like.
Please be honest. There are no right or wrong answers. The more truthful you are, the more I can match your coaching
program to your unique situation. I just want to help you stay safe and sane about your trade-offs.”

Please answer the questions as honestly as you can. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. What do you want to do or change in our work together?

2. What are you willing to do for that goal right now?

3. What won’t you do for that goal right now?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Want-Willing-Won’t Worksheet

NAME DATE

Please answer the questions as honestly as you can. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. What do you want to do or change in our work together?

2. What are you willing to do for that goal right now?

3. What won’t you do for that goal right now?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Wheel of Stress

NAME DATE

Color in each wedge with how strongly each particular stressor is affecting you right now. The more you color in, the more stress
you have in that domain.

Environmental stress
Pollution, noise, violence, etc.

Social stress Physical stress

Stress in relationships, loneliness, Injury, illness, overtraining,
rejection, lack of community, etc. poor sleep, etc.

Existential stress Mental stress

Hopelessness, despair, Decision fatigue, information
lack of meaning, etc. overload, perfectionism, etc.

Emotional stress
Grief, anger, shame, fear, etc.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

4-Circle Exercise

NAME DATE

This exercise helps you:

• see how small daily actions can lead to a bigger goal, and
• break down bigger goals into smaller pieces.

Begin with the outcome or results you’re seeking, and work backwards from there to identify a small related action that you’re
ready, willing, and able to do today.

OUTCOME:
End goal

Today This month

I will: I will:

This week
I will:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Behavior Awareness Worksheet

NAME DATE

Research shows that while our behaviors may seem “spur-of-the-moment”, when it comes to over-eating the groundwork is
laid several hours in advance by our daily rituals, habits, mindset, and automatic thinking. Over-eating is simply the last link in
a long chain. If you can break the first link, you have a much better chance of never getting to the last link.
The goal of this exercise is to build awareness of what your eating episodes have in common. Maybe it’s a time of day, or a
situation, or a type of food, or another person (or being alone), or a feeling – or all of these.

Describe in as much detail as possible what you are experiencing, or remember experiencing, at each stage. Then go back and
review. Look for common features. Look at the steps you took.

This helps you build understanding of the process, which you can then use to disrupt these patterns. For instance, if you habitually
over-eat in your kitchen at 6 pm when stressed, then figure out strategies to deal with a stressy dinner hour before it happens – as
far in advance as possible. If you habitually think certain thoughts beforehand (e.g., “I’m a failure”, “This will make me feel better”,
etc.) then come up with ways to respond to those thoughts before they hit you.

Complete this worksheet every time you have an episode of over-eating. Be honest and thorough. You are collecting data so that
you can analyze your own patterns and eventually develop strategies to deal with them.

1. In the 1-2 hours beforehand:

What are you doing?

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling, emotionally?

What are you feeling, physically?

Where are you?

What time is it?

Who’s with you?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Behavior Awareness Worksheet (cont’d)

2. Immediately beforehand:

What are you doing?

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling, emotionally?

What are you feeling, physically?

Where are you?

Who’s with you?

3. In the middle of it:

What are you doing?

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling, emotionally?

What are you feeling, physically?

What are you choosing to consume?

Why are you choosing this particular food(s)?

Where are you?

Who’s with you?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Behavior Awareness Worksheet (cont’d)

4. Afterwards:

What are you doing?

What are you thinking?

What are you feeling, emotionally?

What are you feeling, physically?

Where are you?

Who’s with you?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

From Goal to Action

NAME DATE

How to develop the skills to achieve your goals

Goal achievement only happens — reliably — when you do three things:

1.Break down your goal into specific skills.

2. Build and improve those skills through targeted practices.

3. Break practices down into small daily actions that you can do reliably and consistently.

Skill development, 101

What is a skill?
A skill is an ability, competency, and/or capacity that you need in order to move in the direction of your goal.

A skill reflects the power to do something. So don’t mix a skill up with information or knowledge (e.g. reading nutrition and fitness blogs).

Skills take time and practice to develop. That’s why we break them down into practices, and small daily actions.

What makes a good practice?

A practice involves exercises and applications that help build the skills.

Break practices into actions: small, specific, concrete tasks that people can easily do daily, or as often as possible.

Repeated over time, these actions become habits, or automatic behaviors that are ingrained seamlessly into people’s lives.

A good practice or action should follow the “Five-S formula”, which means that it’s:
Strategic: Deliberately and purposefully moves towards the goal while removing blocks to progress.

Segmental: A small, manageable part of a larger process.

Sequential: Introduced at the right time, in the right order, step by step.

Simple: Clear, concrete, and easy to understand.

Supported: Accompanied by support, mentorship, and accountability.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

From Goal to Action (cont’d)

Build your skill & practice plan

Here’s how to use this worksheet:
1. Pick a goal — any goal — that you want to work on. Using the flow chart below, write your goal at the top of the page in the
“goal” box. Note: you can print off the flow chart, or type directly into the PDF.

2. Now brainstorm what skills may be needed to achieve your goal. They don’t have to be perfect — just get your brain working.
Write your ideas in the “skills” boxes.

3. Think up some practices that may help you build those skills. Again, perfection not required. Write your ideas in the
“practices” boxes.

4. Now, imagine a very small activity or task that you could reliably do every single day, no matter what, in order to help
reinforce the practice. That’s your daily action.

5. Once your worksheet is complete, review the plan. Do you have the expertise to know whether it’s right for you? If so,
consider the right time to get started. If not, is there someone who can help review the plan and help you revise it?

6. Choose a next action. Shuffle the skills and practices around until you identify the thing that makes the most sense to work on first.

7. When you’re confident with the plan, consider what you’ll do for support and accountability. Who will you check in with?
How frequently? What can they help with?

8. Get started. Begin with your first practice and see how it goes. We suggest you try 2 weeks of daily practice.

9. Iterate and adjust as you go along. Gather data about how well your plan is working, and tailor it as needed.

Remember to have fun!

Why can’t I do it all at once?

Don’t try to race to the finish line too fast! Skills take time to develop.

Consistent practice will ensure that skills, practices, and actions “stick” and sustain themselves relatively easily. No heroic effort
required.

Plus, by making each small action manageable and realistic, you’ll be much more likely to succeed. Each small success improves
your competence and development, which means you get to “level up” consistently.

Celebrate every small victory, no matter how apparently insignificant.

The more you reinforce even tiny accomplishments, the more motivated you’ll feel, and the more likely your brain is to learn that
this new path is the right one to be on

Want some more help?

For more PN coaching secrets, tips and insights, check out our accompanying article: Precision Nutrition Coaching revealed: A
practice-based formula for helping clients change their lives.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

From Goal to Action (cont’d)

YOUR GOAL
What do you want to accomplish?

SKILL SKILL
What abilities, competencies, and capacities will move you towards the goal? What abilities, competencies, and capacities will move you towards the goal?

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

What behaviors do you need to repeat What behaviors do you need to repeat What behaviors do you need to repeat What behaviors do you need to repeat
to build the skill? to build the skill? to build the skill? to build the skill?

ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION ACTION

What small What small What small What small What small What small What small What small
specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks specific tasks
can you do can you do can you do can you do can you do can you do can you do can you do
realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every realistically, every
day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the day, to build the
practice? practice? practice? practice? practice? practice? practice? practice?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Ideas for Movement C

NAME DATE

How to explain this to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use when discussing this with your clients.

“Based on the assessments we did, it appears that you are having some trouble getting enough movement each day.
This is likely limiting your progress right now.

Most of us can only spend so much time at the gym. So I thought maybe we could brainstorm some other ways of
building movement into your regular routine.

If you are interested, I have some ideas that I can share with you.”

Ideas for movement

{{ A short movement routine at home first thing in the morning or right before bed
{{ Walk or bike to work
{{ Walk or bike to do errands
{{ Sign up for a class that involves physical activity (dance)
{{ Take the stairs whenever possible (seriously, this adds up)
{{ Join a sports league
{{ Play with kids / grandkids / nieces / nephews
{{ Do your own chores
{{ Wash your own car
{{ Volunteer doing something physically demanding (e.g., food recovery networks, farming)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Ideas for Movement

NAME DATE

Ideas for movement

{{ A short movement routine at home first thing in the morning or right before bed
{{ Walk or bike to work
{{ Walk or bike to do errands
{{ Sign up for a class that involves physical activity (dance)
{{ Take the stairs whenever possible (seriously, this adds up)
{{ Join a sports league
{{ Play with kids / grandkids / nieces / nephews
{{ Do your own chores
{{ Wash your own car
{{ Volunteer doing something physically demanding (e.g., food recovery networks, farming)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Limiting Factors, Advantages, and Next Actions Worksheet C

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How to use this worksheet

In making changes, clients will have both limiting factors and advantages (or “superpowers”). Limiting factors are things that block or work against your client doing something.
For example:
• not enough time
• don’t know how
• not getting enough recovery
• other people sabotaging progress
Advantages and superpowers are things that can help your client move through these blocks, things that are already working, and / or things that your client is already
doing well. For example:
• client is motivated to change
• client is organized and a good problem solver
• client is already doing part of the behavior
• client has supportive family
To use this form:
1. Capture your client’s limiting factors and advantages / superpowers in the form below.
2. Use these limiting factors and advantages / superpowers to identify possible skills, practices and possible next actions for the client.
NOTE: A good next action:
• decreases, manages, or prevents limiting factors; and
• uses client advantages / superpowers.
Behavior goals are meant to build specific skills.
• Use the 5S system to help you determine which skills should come first (strategic, segmental, sequential, simple, and supported).
• To now turn these potential skills, practices and actions into a coaching plan, use the From Goal to Action Worksheet

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Limiting Factors, Advantages, and Next Actions Worksheet C

NAME DATE

DATE LIMITING FACTORS ADVANTAGES & SUPERPOWERS SKILLS NEEDED PRACTICES / ACTIONS TO BUILD SKILLS

x Not eating enough during Planning Regulate eating behaviors Recognize physiological hunger and fullness
the day cues; Normalize and routinize eating habits

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Make It an Action Worksheet C

NAME DATE

How to make goals into actions: a quick reference

1. Start with the awesome.
2. Let the client choose the direction.
3. Set the right kind of goal.
4. Break the goal down.
5. Choose ONE small piece.
6. Shrink the task even further.
7. Confirm the fit.
8. Set up an accountability system.
9. Use outcome-based decision making to assess how well the action worked and plan next steps.

Step 1: Start with the awesome

What are your client’s existing: To ask your client:
• skills • Where / how are you already successful? How can you do
• solutions to other problems more of that?

• successes • In what situations do you tend to be successful? How can

we reproduce that for you in the service of a new nutrition-
• strengths
related task?
• superpowers
• Where do you feel strongest? How can we build on those
strengths?

What’s awesome about your client?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Make it an Action Worksheet (cont’d)
C
Step 2: Let them choose the direction
Let them choose what direction they want to go in. Give them several options, based on your expert guidance.

As a coach, the top 3 areas I’d suggest they focus on are:

Based on these suggestions, my client and I agree to focus on this ONE area:

Step 3: Set the right kind of goal

What’s your client’s general goal?

This goal is (check all that apply):

 behavior-based (focuses  approach-oriented (it pulls  mastery-focused

on what the client will do) the client towards something) (emphasizes skill learning)

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Make it an Action Worksheet (cont’d)
C
Step 4: Break the goal down
Break the larger general goal down into smaller pieces.
Always show the client how every task you give them relates to the larger goal. No task should be without a larger purpose.

Small piece 1: This piece is:

 clear and concrete

 specific
Related to the big goal because:  do-able

Small piece 2: This piece is:

 clear and concrete

 specific
Related to the big goal because:  do-able

Small piece 3: This piece is:

 clear and concrete

 specific
Related to the big goal because:  do-able

Small piece 4: This piece is:

 clear and concrete

 specific
Related to the big goal because:  do-able

Small piece 5: This piece is:

 clear and concrete

 specific
Related to the big goal because:  do-able

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Make it an Action Worksheet (cont’d)
C
Step 5: Choose ONE small piece
Ask the client which small piece they would like to focus on for the next while, as a daily (or regular) action. Focus only on that
task. Their objective is to do this action consistently, every day (or regularly and frequently). That’s it. One thing at a time, until
they’ve got it.

The ONE small piece we’ve chosen is:

Step 6: Shrink the task even further

Shrink the proposed action so it’s slightly smaller than the client thinks they can manage.

A slightly smaller version of the ONE small piece we’ve chosen is:

Step 7: Confirm the fit

My client is:  ready  willing  able to do the task laid out in Step 6. And:

 The proposed daily action matches the client’s nutritional level and overall agenda.

Step 8: Set up an accountability system

 We have agreed on what defines “doing the action”, plus a system of accountability for measuring whether the client has done it.

The system we will use is:

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Make it an Action Worksheet (cont’d)
C

Step 9: Use outcome-based decision making to assess the action

After the client has had time to try doing the action, and you have reviewed the accountability system, ask the client:

How’d that work for you?

Based on the information above, what is your next step as a coach-client team?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Planning & Time Use Worksheet

NAME DATE

How to use this worksheet

• Start with the time diary.
• Pick a day to keep a time diary. (You can do this for more than one day, but one day is often enough to tell you where your time
is going.)
• Capture your activities in 30-minute increments. You don’t have to write stuff down every 30 minutes, but try to do it once an
hour so your recall is accurate.
• Obviously, if you’re doing something for a few hours (like sleeping) just fill it in when you can.
• You don’t have to be super-detailed, just get the general idea.
• The goal here is simply to show how you spend your time. Try to be as accurate as possible.

Then, look for patterns and consider what to adjust.

• The time diary will show you where your time is going, and what things you might need to anticipate in your routine.
• Work with your coach to explore options for planning and preparing more effectively, as well as plugging any “time leaks”.

Time diary
TIME WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

12:00 AM

12:30

1:00

1:30

2:00

2:30

3:00

3:30

4:00

4:30

5:00

5:30

6:00

6:30

7:00

7:30

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Planning & Time Use Worksheet (cont’d)

8:00

8:30

9:00

9:30

10:00

10:30

11:00

11:30

12:00 PM

12:30

1:00

1:30

2:00

2:30

3:00

3:30

4:00

4:30

5:00

5:30

6:00

6:30

7:00

7:30

8:00

8:30

9:00

9:30

10:00

10:30

11:00

11:30

12:00 PM

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Planning & Time Use Worksheet (cont’d)

Review and analysis

After reviewing your time diary, what do you notice about how you spend your time?

Do you notice any patterns?

How could you plan and prepare more effectively to take advantage of the time you have?

What is ONE small improvement you might be willing to make to your time use to help yourself improve your health, fitness,
and / or nutrition habits?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Ready, Willing and Able Worksheet

NAME DATE

PROPOSED TASK

How ready are you to do this task?

NOT AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 LET’S GO NOW!

What might make you more ready to do the task?

How willing are you to do this task?

NOT WILLING
AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DYING TO DO IT

What might make you more willing to do the task?

How able are you to do this task?

100%
CAN’T DO IT
AT ALL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 CONFIDENT
I CAN DO IT

What might make you more able to do the task?

Revised task

REVISED TASK

Revised task score

 Ready  Willing  Able

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Red-Yellow-Green Foods Worksheet

NAME DATE

Use the “traffic light” system to identify which foods work best for you.

Green light foods Yellow light foods Red light foods

Foods I like Foods I can somewhat tolerate Foods I dislike
Foods I digest well Foods I digest OK sometimes Foods I don’t digest or tolerate well
Foods that support my goals Foods that I can eat in some situations Foods that don’t support my goals
Foods I can eat moderately and sanely Foods I can eat a little of Foods I can’t eat moderately and sanely

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep and Recovery Ideas C

NAME DATE

How to explain this to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use when discussing this with your clients:

“Based on the assessments we did, it appears that you are having some trouble with sleep.

Most of us can’t go from 0 to 100 immediately in the morning. We need time to wake up and ‘get the motor running’.

The same is true in reverse: Most of us can’t go from 100 to 0 before bed.

Developing a ‘transition plan’ or ‘sleep ritual’ can really help.

30-60 minutes before bed, you can find ways to wind down, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and tell the
body it’s time to relax.

If you are interested, I have some ideas that I can share with you now.”

Sleep hygiene best practices

1. Keep a regular schedule. Our bodies like regularity. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times. With a regular schedule,
your body will know when to release calming hormones before bed, and stimulating hormones to wake up.

2. Keep alcohol and caffeine moderate. Both will interfere with sleep. Try to avoid caffeine within 8-9 hours of your bedtime.

3. Eat and drink appropriately. A regular to smallish-sized meal about 2-3 hours before bed, one that is balanced in nutrients,
can help facilitate sleep. Try not to drink too much liquid in the hours before bed, which will help you avoid waking up for
bathroom breaks.

4. Do a brain dump. Take a few minutes to write out a list of whatever is bugging you. Whatever is in your brain, get it out and
on to paper.

5. Turn off electronics. Digital devices stimulate our brain. We recommend unplugging from all screens at least 30 minutes
before bed. This includes television, computers, and smartphones. The screens release a blue light that prevents our brain
from preparing for sleep.

6. Stretch / read / de-stress before bed. Consider trying some yoga poses, reading, or meditation.

7. Go to bed before midnight. This is better aligned with natural light cycles.

8. Set an alarm to go to bed. Work backwards and add buffer time: If you need to wake up at 6 AM and want to be in bed for 7
hours, start moving towards bed around 10:30 PM with lights out by 11.

9. Exercise regularly. Physical movement (especially outdoors) can promote restful sleep at night.

10. Take a bath or shower. A warm bath with epsom salts or even a cool shower (depending on personal preference) can promote
restful sleep.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep & Recovery Ideas (cont’d)
C
11. Keep the room dark. This means curtains, shades, and / or a sleep mask.

12. Have a stress-free / clutter-free bedroom. Get rid of stacks of mail, boxes, clothes strewn about, etc.

13. Keep it cool. Anywhere from 60-68 F (15-20 C) appears to work best at night.

14. Use white noise. For instance, turn on a fan, humidifier or HEPA filter.

15. Get outside in the sunlight and fresh air during the day. Or, if you work shift, try to get lots of bright light and movement
when you should normally be awake.

How to explain this to your clients

Here’s a sample script you can use when discussing this with your clients:

“Based on the assessments we did, it appears that you are having some trouble with stress and recovery.

We live in a society that promotes over-scheduling and being busy. It can be tough to ensure balance and allowing
regular recovery.

If you are interested, I have some ideas that I can share with you now.”

Ideas for promoting recovery and decreasing stress

1. Take up an enjoyable hobby (at least once weekly): This could be anything. You’ll not only get some time to focus on
something that brings you joy, but you’ll also be around people whose company you enjoy (well, most likely).

2. Volunteer once per week: This will likely increase the time you spend around people whose company you enjoy. Plus, you’ll be
living according to your values, which always provides a nice dose of goodness.

3. Get a regular massage every few weeks, or on your own preferred schedule.

4. Take ownership of your situation: Acknowledge what role you play in how your life is organized.

5. Spend time outside daily.

6. Set limits on screen time: Yes, this means not constantly checking emails, texting, and reviewing social media.

7. Meditate / pray / quietly reflect (any word you prefer) as often as possible.

8. Include low impact movement (e.g., yoga, walking, biking, hiking) daily. Walk to get your groceries. Bike to the gym. And so on.

9. Gain perspective: Step back and think about your entire life, then consider how today’s stressors fit into the big picture.

10. Practice being alone: Turn off your phone and go somewhere. Maybe out to dinner, a movie, a play, or on a hike. You are with
yourself always and forever. The more we can learn to enjoy our own company, the better.

11. Take deep breaths, focusing especially on a long out-breath: This immediately calms your stress response.

12. Practice gratitude: This might mean a daily journal. Or maybe a weekly letter to someone you appreciate.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep & Recovery Ideas (cont’d)
C
13. Try a mind body scan: Find a quiet place with no distractions. Sit or lie down. Set a time, for 5 minutes if you like. Start at the
top of your head, and slowly go down to your toes. Notice all physical sensations: hot / cold, itchy, tense, etc. Observe, don’t
judge. You can do this anywhere, at any time, in order to slow down and calm your body.

• Question 1: What are you feeling, physically?

• Question 2: What are you feeling, emotionally?
• Question 3: What are you thinking?
• Question 4: Based on this scan, what have you learned about yourself today?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep & Recovery Ideas

NAME DATE

Sleep hygiene best practices

1. Keep a regular schedule. Our bodies like regularity. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times. With a regular schedule,
your body will know when to release calming hormones before bed, and stimulating hormones to wake up.

2. Keep alcohol and caffeine moderate. Both will interfere with sleep. Try to avoid caffeine within 8-9 hours of your bedtime.

3. Eat and drink appropriately. A regular to smallish-sized meal about 2-3 hours before bed, one that is balanced in nutrients,
can help facilitate sleep. Try not to drink too much liquid in the hours before bed, which will help you avoid waking up for
bathroom breaks.

4. Do a brain dump. Take a few minutes to write out a list of whatever is bugging you. Whatever is in your brain, get it out and
on to paper.

5. Turn off electronics. Digital devices stimulate our brain. We recommend unplugging from all screens at least 30 minutes
before bed. This includes television, computers, and smartphones. The screens release a blue light that prevents our brain
from preparing for sleep.

6. Stretch / read / de-stress before bed. Consider trying some yoga poses, reading, or meditation.

7. Go to bed before midnight. This is better aligned with natural light cycles.

8. Set an alarm to go to bed. Work backwards and add buffer time: If you need to wake up at 6 AM and want to be in bed for 7
hours, start moving towards bed around 10:30 PM with lights out by 11.

9. Exercise regularly. Physical movement (especially outdoors) can promote restful sleep at night.

10. Take a bath or shower. A warm bath with epsom salts or even a cool shower (depending on personal preference) can promote
restful sleep.

11. Keep the room dark. This means curtains, shades, and / or a sleep mask.

12. Have a stress-free / clutter-free bedroom. Get rid of stacks of mail, boxes, clothes strewn about, etc.

13. Keep it cool. Anywhere from 60-68 F (15-20 C) appears to work best at night.

14. Use white noise. For instance, turn on a fan, humidifier or HEPA filter.

15. Get outside in the sunlight and fresh air during the day. Or, if you work shift, try to get lots of bright light and movement
when you should normally be awake.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Sleep & Recovery Ideas (cont’d)

Ideas for promoting recovery and decreasing stress

1. Take up an enjoyable hobby (at least once weekly): This could be anything. You’ll not only get some time to focus on
something that brings you joy, but you’ll also be around people whose company you enjoy (well, most likely).

2. Volunteer once per week: This will likely increase the time you spend around people whose company you enjoy. Plus, you’ll be
living according to your values, which always provides a nice dose of goodness.

3. Get a regular massage every few weeks, or on your own preferred schedule.

4. Take ownership of your situation: Acknowledge what role you play in how your life is organized.

5. Spend time outside daily.

6. Set limits on screen time: Yes, this means not constantly checking emails, texting, and reviewing social media.

7. Meditate / pray / quietly reflect (any word you prefer) as often as possible.

8. Include low impact movement (e.g., yoga, walking, biking, hiking) daily. Walk to get your groceries. Bike to the gym. And so on.

9. Gain perspective: Step back and think about your entire life, then consider how today’s stressor fit into the big picture.

10. Practice being alone: Turn off your phone and go somewhere. Maybe out to dinner, a movie, a play, or on a hike. You are with
yourself always and forever. The more we can learn to enjoy our own company, the better.

11. Take deep breaths, focusing especially on a long out-breath: This immediately calms your stress response.

12. Practice gratitude: This might mean a daily journal. Or maybe a weekly letter to someone you appreciate.

13. Try a mind body scan: Find a quiet place with no distractions. Sit or lie down. Set a time, for 5 minutes if you like. Start at the
top of your head, and slowly go down to your toes. Notice all physical sensations: hot / cold, itchy, tense, etc. Observe, don’t
judge. You can do this anywhere, at any time, in order to slow down and calm your body.

• Question 1: What are you feeling, physically?

• Question 2: What are you feeling, emotionally?
• Question 3: What are you thinking?
• Question 4: Based on this scan, what have you learned about yourself today?

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Hand-Size Portion Guide

NAME DATE

A serving of protein A serving of vegetables A serving of carbs A serving of fats

= 1 palm = 1 fist = 1 cupped hand = 1 thumb

Using hands to measure portions is a good approach for most clients who don’t need specific amounts of foods or macronutrients.
1. Hands are portable. They come with you to work lunches, restaurants, social gatherings, etc.

2. Hands are a consistent size, providing a consistent reference.

3. Hands scale with the individual. Bigger people need more food, and tend to have bigger hands, therefore getting larger
portions. Smaller people need less food, and tend to have smaller hands, therefore getting smaller portions.

4. Hand-size portions can help you track food choices, nutrients, and energy simply and easily. This saves time-consuming and
often unnecessary weighing and measuring, which most people don’t need.

Hand portion table

FOOD CATEGORY HAND PORTIONS MACRONUTRIENT CONVENTIONAL MEASUREMENT EQUIVALENT

Proteins 1 palm ~20-30 g ~3-4 oz (85-115 g) cooked meat / tofu, 2 whole eggs, 1 cup Greek yogurt

Vegetables 1 fist N/A ~1 cup non-starchy vegetables

Carbohydrates 1 handful ~20-30 g ~1/2-2/3 cup (100-130 g) cooked grains / legumes, 1 medium fruit /
tuber

Fats 1 thumb ~7-12 g ~1 tbsp (14 g) oils, nuts, seeds, nut butter, cheese, etc.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Hand-Size Portion Guide (cont’d)

Use the following meal framework or template for a simple and flexible meal planning guide.

For each meal, you might begin by eating:

• 1-2 palms of protein-dense foods;
• 1-2 fists of non-starchy vegetables;
• 1-2 cupped handfuls of carb-dense foods; and
• 1-2 thumbs of fat-dense foods.

For most moderately active men, this translates to a daily And for most moderately active women, this translates
intake of about: to a daily intake of about:
• 6-8 palms of protein dense foods • 4-6 palms of protein dense foods
• 6-8 fists of vegetables • 4-6 fists of vegetables
• 6-8 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods • 4-6 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods
• 6-8 thumbs of fat dense foods • 4-6 thumbs of fat dense foods

Work with your goals, needs, activity level, and more importantly, results.
Track progress closely, use outcome-based decision making, and stay flexible.

This per-meal template is just a starting point.

Individual needs and preferences will vary.

For instance, men generally need more food than women, younger people more than older people, and athletes more than
sedentary people.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Precision Nutrition’s Balanced Plate

NAME DATE

Beverage

Fruit

Protein

Veggies
Starch

Fats

Protein Starches Fats Veggies Fruit Beverages

including seafood, including sweet including healthy including a wide including a wide including water,
poultry, red meat, potatoes, potatoes, oils, nuts, nut variety of colorful variety of colorful tea, coffee and
eggs, Greek yogurt, corn, whole grains, butters, seeds, non-starchy fresh or frozen fruit other low-calorie
tempeh, tofu, beans, lentils avocados, cheese vegetables drinks
seitan

• Eat slowly and stop eating when you’re appropriately full. • Choose local or organic foods when possible.
• Choose mostly whole foods with minimal processing. • Use smaller or larger plates based on your own body size.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Precision Nutrition’s Low-Fat High-Carb Plate

NAME DATE

Beverage

Fruit

Protein

Veggies

Starch

Protein Starches Fats Veggies Fruit Beverages

including seafood, including sweet including healthy including a wide including a wide including water,
poultry, red meat, potatoes, potatoes, oils, nuts, nut variety of colorful variety of colorful tea, coffee and
eggs, Greek yogurt, corn, whole grains, butters, seeds, non-starchy fresh or frozen fruit other low-calorie
tempeh, tofu, beans, lentils avocados, cheese vegetables drinks
seitan

• Eat slowly and stop eating when you’re appropriately full. • Choose local or organic foods when possible.
• Choose mostly whole foods with minimal processing. • Use smaller or larger plates based on your own body size.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Precision Nutrition’s Low-Carb High-Fat Plate

NAME DATE

Beverage

Fruit/Starch

Protein

Veggies

Fats

Protein Starches Fats Veggies Fruit Beverages

including seafood, including sweet including healthy including a wide including a wide including water,
poultry, red meat, potatoes, potatoes, oils, nuts, nut variety of colorful variety of colorful tea, coffee and
eggs, Greek yogurt, corn, whole grains, butters, seeds, non-starchy fresh or frozen fruit other low-calorie
tempeh, tofu, beans, lentils avocados, cheese vegetables drinks
seitan

• Eat slowly and stop eating when you’re appropriately full. • Choose local or organic foods when possible.
• Choose mostly whole foods with minimal processing. • Use smaller or larger plates based on your own body size.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Fruits and Vegetables Shopping List

NAME DATE

These are just some suggestions, sorted by color. Feel free to add other fruits and vegetables that you enjoy.

Purple Orange Red Green White

& blue & yellow & pink  Beet greens (the  Bean sprouts
tops of beets)
 Eggplant  Winter squash  Beets  Cauliflower
varieties  Broccoli, broccolini,
 Purple carrots  Red cabbage rapini
 Celery
 Yellow zucchini &  Daikon radish
 Purple peppers  Red onions
summer squash  Brussels sprouts
 Purple cauliflower  Red leaf lettuce,  Fennel/anise
 Pumpkin radicchio
 Fresh herbs (e.g.
 Purple asparagus parsley, basil)  Garlic
 Orange & yellow
 Red peppers  Jicama
 Purple cabbage peppers  Green beans, snap
 Red-skinned peas
 Mushrooms
 Purple kale  Orange & yellow radishes
carrots  Kale  Onions, leeks,
 Black cherries
 Tomatoes shallots
 Orange cauliflower  Okra
 Black currants
 Rhubarb  Iceberg lettuce
(fresh)  Yellow-orange beets  Spinach
 Berries such  White carrots
 Black grapes  Apricots, peaches, as raspberries,
 Any other dark leafy
nectarines green (e.g. turnip
 Black/purple plums salmonberries,  Bananas
greens, collard
 Blueberries,  Cantaloupe cranberries or
greens, Swiss
lingonberries
blackberries,  Mangoes chard, arugula)
haskap berries  Cherries
 Oranges  Tomatillos
 Pink dragonfruit
 Papayas  Zucchini, cucumber
 Pomegranates (if you eat the peel)
 Pineapple
 Red grapefruit  Romaine lettuce
 Red grapes  Green peppers
 Red-skinned apples  Asparagus
 Strawberries  Cabbage
 Watermelon  Kiwis

For an exhaustive list of vegetables check out this infographic: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-should-i-eat-infographic

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Healthy Carbs Shopping List

NAME DATE

Here are some suggestions for foods that are good sources of healthy carbs.
As with all our suggestions, think of it like a buffet: Take what you like, and leave the rest.

Whole grains Dairy

 Whole, intact grains such as brown or wild rice, amaranth,  Kefir, plain
barley,buckwheat, millet, oat groats, quinoa, teff, wheat
berries
 non-Greek yogurt, plain

 Whole or sprouted grain flour foods: breads, bagels,

English muffins, pastas, and wraps* Starchy tubers
 Steel-cut or old-fashioned oats  Potatoes (all colors)
 Corn  Sweet potatoes (all colors)
 Taro
Beans and legumes  Yuca
 Beans (all)
 Lentils Fruits**
 Peas  Fresh fruit
 Frozen fruit
 Dried fruit, unsweetened

*Whole grains foods made from flour can affect blood sugar differently in different individuals. If flour-based grains seem to
negatively affect you, consider whole, intact grain foods.

**In the case of fruits, it might take some work to know how long a particular fruit “stays with you”. Some folks find that fruit will
hold them for a while; others find that starchier carbohydrates work better than sweeter ones (or that particularly sweet fruits, such
as tropical or dried fruits, seem to spike their blood sugar).

For an exhaustive list of carbs check out this infographic: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-should-i-eat-infographic

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Healthy Fats Shopping List

NAME DATE

Here are some suggestions for foods that are good sources of healthy fats.
As with all our suggestions, think of it like a buffet: Take what you like, and leave the rest.

Plant-based Animal-based
 Avocado and avocado oil  Aged cheese*
 Cacao (dark chocolate)  Butter*
 Cold-pressed nut and seed oils  Cream*
 Fresh coconut and coconut oil  Higher-fat dairy*
 Nuts and seeds  Egg yolks*
 Nut and seed butters
 Olives and extra virgin olive oil Higher-fat animal proteins+
 Fattier cuts of beef and pork*
Supplement  Fattier cuts of lamb and mutton*
 Omega-3 fatty acid supplement  Fattier cuts of poultry (e.g., dark meat)*
(e.g., fish oil, krill oil, or algae oil)
 Fattier fish (e.g., salmon or herring)**

* The fat quality will be best if these are grass-fed and/or pastured (depending on the type of animal), rather than conventionally farmed.

**The fat quality will be best if these are wild-caught, rather than conventionally farmed.
+
These are protein-rich foods that are also relatively rich in fats, but as hand portions only count as proteins.

For an exhaustive list of fat sources check out this infographic: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-should-i-eat-infographic

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

Healthy Protein Foods Shopping List

NAME DATE

This is an extensive list of high-protein foods.

You might notice there are protein sources you’ve never even heard of or thought of… maybe some that make you say “Yuck!”
Cuisines and tastes can differ dramatically.

For instance:

• Someone who lives in California might think toasted grasshoppers (chapulines) are icky; and someone else who lives a few
hundred miles south in Mexico might think they’re delicious.

• Puffin is commonly eaten in Iceland (along with whale, as in other Arctic regions), while pigeon often appears on menus in China.

• Frogs and snails are part of French cuisine; horse is common in Italy; alligator, crayfish, and rattlesnake can be found in the
southern United States.

As with all our suggestions, think of it like a buffet: Take what you like, and leave the rest.

Notice that these are relatively lean protein sources.

So, bacon and pork skins didn’t make the list. These, and foods like them, are higher in fat than protein.

Animal-based  Mollusks such as clams, mussels, Plant-based

scallops, snails (escargots)
 Beef, bison, and buffalo  Beans, lentils, and legumes
 Eggs and egg whites
 Lean cuts of pork and boar  Tempeh, tofu, or edamame
 Dairy such as cottage cheese or
 Lamb strained Greek yogurt  Seitan
 Goat  Rodents such as rabbit, squirrel,
 Wild game, such as elk, venison, beaver, guinea pig Supplement
caribou, moose  Horse  Protein powder such as whey, casein,
 Poultry such as chicken, turkey,  Reptiles and amphibians such as egg, bone broth / collagen, cricket,
duck, pigeon snake, alligator / crocodile, frog plant-based blends (e.g., pea protein,
rice protein, hemp protein)
 Fish  Insects
 Seafood such as shrimp, squid,  Whale (non-fatty tissue)
octopus, lobster, crayfish
 Seal (non-fatty tissue)

For an exhaustive list of protein sources check out this infographic: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-should-i-eat-infographic

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

The Hunger Game

NAME DATE

The “how you should feel timeline”

Today, notice how you feel before, during, and after eating. Rank your physical hunger on a scale from 1 (no hunger) to 10 (worst
hunger ever). When you’re truly physically hungry, eat. Eat slowly, and stop at 80% full. Adjust your meal size and frequency
depending on your body cues.

Just before Are you physically hungry? Pause and check in. Look for signals like a rumbling stomach,
lightheadedness, irritability, etc. You want to be around a 7 out of 10 on the hunger scale.
eating

Immediately To be 80% full, shoot for about a 2 or 3 out of 10 on the hunger scale. Pause for 15-20
minutes before you eat more. This will give your brain time to catch up. You want to feel
after eating satisfied, not stuffed.

One hour You should still feel physically satisfied with no desire to eat another meal.

after finishing

Two hours You may start to feel a little hungry, like you could eat something, but the feeling isn’t
overwhelming.
after finishing

Three to four Check in. You may be getting a bit hungry, perhaps a 4 to 6 out of 10. If you’re around a
7, eat. Not really hungry yet? That’s OK. Follow your body cues.
hours after
finishing

Four or more You’re probably quite hungry, like nothing is getting between you and the kitchen. If you’re
around a 7 or higher, eat. Not really hungry yet? That’s OK. Keep checking in with your
hours after body. You may find you need to act fast once your body decides to be hungry — so be
finishing prepared with a healthy and quick option, just in case.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

The Hunger Game (cont’d)

This worksheet helps you get into the habit of noticing how physically hungry or full you are. Look for body cues such as:

• growling stomach or sense of stomach

emptiness The more you practice observing your physical hunger cues (and
• lightheadedness; headache differentiating them from just wanting to eat), the better you will get.
• irritability, shakiness

Goals
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Stay aware of your Start eating when Stop eating when you’re Notice your thoughts, Try to distinguish “need
physical hunger cues you’re around around a emotions, and physical to eat” from “want to
and learn to calibrate a 7 or higher. 2 or 3 (80% full). sensations around eat” or “should eat”.
your eating. eating times.

How to use this worksheet

1. Mark TWO numbers for each meal: how hungry you are when you start eating, and how hungry you are (or aren’t) when you
finish eating.

2. Observe and record your physical and emotional sensations at each meal. For physical sensations, focus on how your
stomach feels in particular

Example
DATE TIME HUNGRIEST NOT HUNGRY

Jan 26/14 12 PM 10

Notes
0Starving when I started out… didn’t eat breakfast. Over-ate. Feel real0ly
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

gross and full now; upset stomach.

5 PM 10

Notes
9 8
0 7 6 5

Didn’t stop soon enough; feel sluggish and bloated.

4 3
0 2 1

9 PM 10

Notes
9 8 7
0 6 5
0
4 3

Feel good. Went to the store and bought some nice berries to eat.
2 1

Stomach upset subsiding.

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com

The Hunger Game (cont’d)

1. Mark TWO boxes for each meal: how hungry you are when you start eating, and how hungry you are (or aren’t) when you
finish eating.
1 = not hungry; 10 = hungriest you’ve ever been. Your goal is to start eating when you’re around 7-8, and finish around
2-3 (80% full).

2. Observe and record your physical and emotional sensations at each meal. For physical sensations, focus on how your
stomach feels in particular. Also feel free to jot down any thoughts or other notes about what helps or hinders you to eat slowly
and stop at 80% full.

DATE TIME HUNGRIEST NOT HUNGRY

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Notes

© 2019 Precision Nutrition precisionnutrition.com