Course
15

Energy Balance

Overview
Build precise calorie and macro targets with sustainable nutritional strategies to ensure continued fat loss or hypertrophy by offsetting metabolic-adaptation and working around psychology.
Format
Online
Units
6
Recommended for
  • Sustainable fat loss
  • Weight regain
  • Calorie tracking
  • Athletes
  • Body composition
Energy Balance

The learning framework

1
Why energy balance is more than calories
Energy regulation underpins every aspect of human health, influencing weight management, metabolism, hormonal balance, immune function, cognitive performance, mood stability, and recovery capacity, yet most approaches rely on outdated "calories in, calories out" models that ignore physiology, metabolic adaptation, hormonal regulation, and the psychological realities of behaviour change.
2
The limitations of conventional weight management
Conventional weight management focuses on caloric restriction and willpower, treating energy balance as simple math without accounting for metabolic slowdown, hormonal disruption, adaptive thermogenesis, hunger and satiety dysregulation, psychological stress, sleep deprivation, or the behavioural factors determining whether clients can sustain progress long-term, leaving practitioners unable to calculate individualised energy needs, adjust for metabolic adaptation, address weight loss resistance, or integrate flexible strategies that prioritise health and adherence over rapid results.
3
A framework for sustainable energy regulation
The Energy Balance module trains you to assess basal metabolic rate, total daily energy expenditure, and thermic effect of food, identify adaptive metabolic responses, calculate and adjust calorie and macronutrient targets based on physiological feedback, and integrate evidence-based strategies that support sustainable weight management, metabolic resilience, and long-term health without deprivation or psychological burnout.

What you'll learn

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

Why this matters

The ability to support sustainable weight management
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Rather than promoting crash diets that lead to metabolic damage and rebound weight gain, you'll design evidence-based strategies that work long-term.
Confidence in addressing metabolic resistance and plateaus
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You'll troubleshoot stalls, adjust protocols, and support clients through adaptive responses.
Better client outcomes
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Supporting gradual, sustainable fat loss or muscle gain while preserving metabolic health, hormonal balance, energy, mood, and quality of life creates loyal, successful clients.
Professional differentiation
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Energy balance expertise positions you as understanding metabolism, hormones, behaviour change, and long-term sustainability.
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Energy Balance
Metabolism
Weight Management
Fat Loss
Muscle Gain
Body Composition
Metabolic Adaptation
Metabolic Health
Nutrition Planning
Macronutrient Balance
Your path to becoming a Certified Practitioner

How to get started

1st Step
Submit your Application
Apply online in just a few minutes. Our team will review your experience, education and goals to ensure this certification aligns with your professional path.
2nd Step
Join the IOH community
Once accepted, you’ll gain instant access to our global network of practitioners, mentors and resources that support your learning from day one.
3rd Step
Begin your first module
Start your studies inside the IOH learning portal — with guided mentorship, live calls, and access to the Oracle AI system that turns knowledge into action.

Expand your knowledge

All Courses
What does an Integrative Nutritional Therapist do?
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An Integrative Nutritional Therapist utilises the latest evidence-based research to create an integrative approach to optimising each client’s health and wellbeing.

They design bio-individual nutrition plans, personalise supplementation where appropriate, and interpret functional laboratory data, including blood work, to gain deeper insights, achieve better accuracy and tailor every intervention to the individual.

How is functional medicine different from conventional medicine?
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Conventional medicine often waits until a disease is clearly present before intervention begins. Treatment is focused on managing or suppressing a diagnosed condition.

Functional medicine looks upstream. It assesses the early drivers of dysfunction and works to prevent disease from developing in the first place, or restore balance in the body. It uses a whole-systems view of the body, then applies personalised, preventative nutrition and lifestyle interventions to support long-term health rather than only reacting once things have gone wrong.

What will be my scope of practice after completing this certification?
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After completing the certification, you will be recognised and insured as a Integrative Nutritional Therapist inclusive of Nutritional Therapy and Functional Blood Work, with a clearly defined scope of practice.

You will be trained and insured to:

  • Design bio-individual nutrition plans
  • Recommend and prescribe over-the-counter supplementation up to safe, optimal intake thresholds
  • Utilise functional blood work from a wellness perspective to guide your reasoning and recommendations
  • Collaborate with and refer to medical professionals when red flags, pathology or out-of-scope conditions are identified

Our scope of practice has been aligned with nutritional therapy standards and externally audited, so you can work with confidence and clarity.

Is your course accredited?
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Yes. Our certifications are accredited by multiple independent professional bodies, including the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) and the Complementary Medical Association (CMA).

To receive these accreditations, our curriculum undergoes forensic external auditing to ensure every component is up to date, evidence-informed, ethically delivered and aligned with recognised Nutritional Therapy and Functional Health standards. This includes rigorous evaluation of our academic content, assessments, delivery methods and scope of practice frameworks.

This external oversight gives you confidence that the qualification you are investing in is credible, robust and widely recognised within the industry, with clear pathways for insurance, professional membership and global practice.

Will I be able to practise internationally?
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Yes. Our graduates are eligible for insurance through IICT that is recognised across 36 countries, including:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden & United Kingdom.

This allows you to work with clients internationally, including in online practice, provided you respect local regulations and the scope of practice defined by your insurer and professional associations.

Need help?
Get in touch with us
Clarity, confidence, and real results start with one conversation. Let’s map your next chapter — together.