The Chair Almost Exploded
My very first nutrition client? I invited her to my student rental, and nearly broke a chair. This is the honest story of how I started coaching, totally unprepared — and what I wish every beginner had instead: a simple, confidence-boosting framework.
Happy 2-Tips Tuesday!
Here are two ideas to consider this week.
By Jennifer Broxterman, RD
1. My First Client Flashback
Your very first nutrition coaching session is one you’ll hopefully never forget. Mine is equal parts horrifying and crazy that I actually pulled it off.
It was 2010, and I didn’t have a clinic. Online coaching wasn’t really a thing. So I invited my very first client over to my student rental house.
I scrubbed the place like a maniac. Every surface sparkled. I couldn’t have her thinking I was a slob.
As my doorbell rang, my heart pounded with excitement and nerves as I let Susan in.
She’d seen my flyer in a coffee shop. Her doctor was pushing bariatric surgery, but she wasn’t so sure.
We went to sit down at my wobbly kitchen table — a hand-me-down from my great aunt, part of one of those creaky wooden 1980s dining sets.
The second Susan sat down, the old rickety chair let out a long, loud groan.
We both froze. Her eyes widened in fear. Mine did too.
Her weight was in the high 300s — maybe even low 400s — and the chair creaked under her in a way that made us both feel that raw panic:
Was this thing about to give out and explode into a pile of splinters?
This wasn’t about body shaming. It was the kind of panic where you both feel like you’re about to mess something up in a way you’ll never forget.
That’s when it hit me:
I had no idea what I was doing.
Not with nutrition coaching.
Not with the setup.
Not with emotional safety.
I believed in the power of coaching. I just didn’t know how to do it yet — or how to help someone feel safe while I learned.
I’ve come a long way since that creaky chair.
I know now you don’t have to master everything to start.
But you do need a solid framework. Something that helps you feel confident on Day 1, even if you’re still learning as you go.
That’s why I built Accelerator.
It’s for Kind Nerds who care deeply about being a client-centered coach — and who want to bring more play, more trust-building, and more actual human connection into their coaching sessions.
So your clients feel like they’ve hired a pro. So you don’t second-guess every appointment. And so you can deliver real results without just telling somebody to eat 40-30-30 with their macros.
2. Comic Relief for Beginners
“First day on the job and I accidentally sent the entire company an invite to my cat’s birthday party.”
– Probably someone who went on to become CEO
…or in the words of Elizabeth Gilbert:
“Everyone is a disaster in the beginning. That’s how beginnings work.”
#share
Want to share this issue of 2-Tips Tuesday?
www.prospernutritioncoaching.com/blog/first-client-flashback
❤️🐻🌈
Jen Broxterman
Registered Dietitian
Prosper Nutrition Coaching
Thanks for reading. Here are a few additional ways I might be able to help you.
Free
Free Stuff: All Prosper Freebies
Podcast: Podcast Shows
Masterclass: Liftoff Course
Paid
Mini-Course: Accelerator Program
Certification: Nutrition Coaching Certification
Jennifer Broxterman, MSc, RD
REGISTERED DIETITIAN & SPORTS NUTRITIONIST
• Award-winning Foods & Nutrition University Professor
• Successful entrepreneur of owner of NutritionRx
• 16 year CrossFit affiliate owner with my husband
• Founder of Prosper Nutrition Coaching & lead nutrition coach
