Let’s be real: the path to becoming a Certified Nutrition Specialist isn’t short.
It starts with graduate coursework—often layered on top of jobs, family responsibilities, or career changes. Then there’s the board exam, supervised practice, documentation, and the not-so-small task of figuring out how to build a sustainable career in a field that’s both incredibly meaningful and can be emotionally demanding.

And somewhere along the way, even the most dedicated people hit a wall.

If you’re feeling emotionally fried, intellectually drained, or like the passion that brought you here is flickering out, you’re not alone. Burnout happens—it’s a completely normal response to a long, complex, often isolating process. So let’s talk about what to do when it hits, and how to keep moving forward without pushing yourself past the edge.

If there’s one thing we hear over and over again from CNS candidates, it’s this: “I’m doing my hours… I’m just not logging them.”

And we get it. You’re seeing clients, writing protocols, joining case reviews, studying for the exam—there’s a lot happening. But no matter how many hours you complete, if they’re not in the tracker, they don’t count.

In fact, the biggest issue we see with candidates nearing the end of their supervised practice isn’t the hours—it’s the documentation. So if logging your time feels like the hardest part of this process, you’re not alone. Here are a few tried-and-true strategies to help you finally get your hours into the CNS tracker and keep them there

Top 10 Resources Every CNS Candidate Should Know About

Whether you’re just getting started with your CNS journey or are deep in supervised practice, the right resources can make all the difference. From study guides to supervision support, these tools can help you stay organized, confident, and on track to becoming a Certified Nutrition Specialist. Here are 10 must-know resources every CNS candidate should have in their back pocket

When I brought Christine’s case to Grand Rounds, I wasn’t presenting a finished protocol—I was asking for help.

If you’re new to the Clinician’s Incubator community, Grand Rounds is one of our core learning experiences. Everyone in the program is welcome, and we offer sessions throughout the month. Some focus on specific themes like lab interpretation or behavior change, while others—like this one—are open-ended.

In each session, a supervisor or CNS candidate presents a case where they’re feeling stuck, need feedback, or want help planning next steps. Then, as a group, we work through it—sharing ideas, clinical reasoning, and practical strategies in real time.

That day, I shared Christine’s story. She’s a 52-year-old woman with IBS-D, a long history of chronic dieting, and significant early life trauma. Her nervous system was already working overtime, and she told me clearly: “I can’t do the full low FODMAP diet. It’s too much.”

When I graduated from my CNS program, I was armed with clinical knowledge, PubMed alerts, and a head full of biochemical pathways. What I didn’t have was a map for what it would actually be like to sit in the chair across from real human clients—or how to run a practice in a way that didn’t lead to burnout.

In the years since, I’ve learned a lot. Not just about the science (which, of course, is ongoing), but about how to build a practice that works for me—and works for my clients. If you’re just starting out, or even if you’re a few years in, I hope these hard-won lessons help you skip a few bumps in the road.

If you’re a nutrition clinician or health coach who works with complex cases—or even if you’re just trying to organize your process for more streamlined care—you’ve probably realized that having a solid protocol can be a game changer. But what does it really mean to create a clinician protocol? And how is it different from the protocol you give to your clients?

Let’s break it down.

When we don’t prioritize burnout prevention, the consequences can be severe. Trust, here, and do what I say, not what I did :)

When I graduated from school I was beyond thrilled to finally begin my nutrition career. Fueled by excitement, determination, and an overabundance of energy, I dove headfirst into building my private practice. During the week, I juggled dropping off and picking up my son from school with client sessions, but also offered client sessions at night and on Saturdays to account for the “time lost” during the day. Most weeknights I stayed up until 12 or 1 a.m. working on my business creating a website, developing marketing materials, and researching potential referral partners. Within just a couple of months, I was completely burned out and, due to the sleep deprivation and resulting immune system effects, gave myself shingles at age 37. That experience taught me a hard but valuable lesson: success isn’t sustainable if it comes at the cost of your health and well-being.

The world of nutrition is evolving rapidly, and artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a powerful tool for personalizing dietary recommendations. As a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS), I use AI in my client sessions to streamline research, find tailored recipes, and create food lists that align with specific dietary needs, allergies, and health goals.

But while AI offers many advantages, it also comes with risks—including misinformation, lack of evidence-based recommendations, and HIPAA compliance concerns. In this blog post, I’ll break down how AI is revolutionizing personalized nutrition, how I use it responsibly in my practice, and what every nutrition professional should keep in mind when leveraging AI for client care.

As a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) or CNS candidate, you want to stay informed about the latest nutrition research to provide evidence-based recommendations to your future clients. However, keeping up with new studies, clinical guidelines, and emerging trends in biochemistry, metabolism, and clinical nutrition can feel overwhelming—especially when juggling practice management, coursework, clinical hours, and exam prep.

Fortunately, there are efficient and strategic ways to stay up to date without drowning in information. In this guide, we’ll cover how to create research alerts, find high-quality evergreen trainings, and organize information into actionable protocols—so you can build a solid clinical knowledge base without spending hours sifting through studies.

When Sarah, a CNS candidate, first started preparing for her exam, she felt completely overwhelmed. “I didn’t know where to start,” she admitted. “There was so much material to cover, and I wasn’t sure if I even remembered half of what I learned in school.” After reassuring Sarah that nearly everyone feels this way about the CNS test (you’re not alone!!!), we started to explore the different steps to make studying for the CNS exam manageable.

At Clinician’s Incubator, we have a tried-and-true set of steps we use with every exam prep cohort. Let’s break them down together so you can feel confident on exam day.