NASM CNC Study Guide – Flashcards, Quizzes, & Exam Prep

Hey everybody and welcome to my study hub for the NASM certified nutrition coach (CNC). This page contains a full study guide covering every chapter, a practice exam with answers included, flashcards, and a video to help you learn the 10 most important things needed to pass the exam. Make sure to bookmark/star this page.

You can easily navigate every post in this study guide series using the navigation below as well as on the side of each page. Good luck with studying!

If you have not yet signed up for the NASM CNC certification, receive a big discount here.

Get your copy of the NASM CNC exam cheat sheet. It helps immensely for studying for the exam.

Make sure to check out Trainer Academy for premium NASM CNC study materials. They will reduce study time by 50% and have an exam pass guarantee. Read my full review on them here. You can save $100 on their MVP study system with the code: PTPSUB

Intro to the NASM CNC Study Materials

My Bitmoji counterpart will be walking you through the NASM CNC study guide to make sure that you are on track for passing the NASM CNC exam. Say hello to Tyler-Moji.

For us to get started, you need to have access to the NASM CNC online portal. Here, you will be able to access a digital version of the textbook that contains all 24 chapters.

Once you are logged in and have accessed the first chapter, you can start following along with this study guide. Let’s jump right in!

Top 10 Tips for Passing the NASM CNC Exam (Video)

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FREE NASM CNC study guide

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Scope of Practice
• Chapter 3: Evidence-Based Nutrition and Practice
• Chapter 4: Food Preferences and Influences
• Chapter 5: Energy Balance and Metabolism
• Chapter 6: Protein
• Chapter 7: Carbohydrates
• Chapter 8: Fats
• Chapter 9: Alcohol
• Chapter 10: Micronutrients
• Chapter 11: Hydration
• Chapter 12: Nutrient timing
• Chapter 13: Supplements
• Chapter 14: Psychology of Weight Control and Behavior Change
• Chapter 15: Coaching and Communication
• Chapter 16: Motivational Interviewing
• Chapter 17: Goal Setting
• Chapter 18: Dietary Assessment and Body Composition testing
• Chapter 19: Food and Supplement Labels and Portion Size
• Chapter 20: Helping Clients Navigate the Real World
• Chapter 21: Navigating Diets
• Chapter 22: Nutrition Hot topics and Controversies
• Chapter 23: Managing Weight Loss Plateaus and Maintaining Weight Loss
• Chapter 24: Programming – Putting it All Together

FREE NASM CNC Practice Test

• Section 1: Nutritional Science; (Represents 50% of the final exam)
• Section 2: Behavior Change; (Represents 17% of the final exam)
• Section 3: Nutrition Coaching; (Represents 33% of the final exam)

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NASM CNC Practice tests answer key below ⬇️ (Don’t Peek Until After!)

Q1: How does the WHO define health?

A1: A state of complete physical, mental & social well being

Q2: What foods elicit faster satiety-signal responses?

A2: Complex carbohydrates & proteins

Q3: The best approach to eating for a population’s diversity & differences includes which of the following?

A3: A flexible approach

Q4: Roughly what percentage of daily energy expenditure comes from the thermic effect of activity (TEA)?

A4: 15-30%

Q5: A deficiency in which hormone is associated with an increased fat mass (central adiposity in particular), reduced insulin sensitivity & impaired glucose tolerance?

A5: Testosterone

Q6: Which protein timing strategy has been shown through research to be the most optimal for continued muscle protein synthesis throughout the day?

A6: 4 meals with 20g protein each

Q7: Do the dietary guidelines for American’s adjust RDA’s according to a person’s activity level?

A7: No, only based on body size

Q8: How much daily protein is recommended for someone who participates in regular moderate-intensity resistance training?

A8: 1.5-2.0 g/kgBW

Q9: What glycemic score ranks carb foods as a high GI food?

A9: GI score over 69

Q10: Which complex carbohydrate chain contains straight-chain structures?

A10: Amylose

Q11: On average, how long do glycogen stores last during exercise?

A11: 90-120 minutes

Q12: Bile is an example of which of the following?

A12: Emulsifier

Q13: What is the end-product of ethanol metabolism, which is then converted to acetyl-CoA similar to the beta-oxidation of fatty acids?

A13: Acetate

Q14: How many sugar units are contained in oligosaccharides?

A14: 3-10

Q15: What is the intracellular-to-extracellular ratio of potassium?

A15: 30:1

Q16: Studies show that diet A causes more weight loss than diet B. A client can better adhere to diet B. Which item represents the best option for this client?

A16: Diet B

Q17: A client tells his Nutrition Coach he is on a 2,100 kcal/day diet. If he is trying to consume 30% of his calories from fat, how many grams of fat should he be consuming?

A17: 70 grams of fat

Q18: What goals are focused on helping individuals to reach their performance goals?

A18: Process goals

Q19: Which of the following is not a motivational interviewing strategy?

A19: Creating arguments

Q20: Which of the following is considered the top barrier to healthy eating?

A20: Emotional eating

Q21: According to the SCOFF eating disorder assessment, what is the minimum number of positive answers which might indicate an eating disorder?

A21: 2 

Q22: Which of the following is the best source of information?

A22: Peer-reviewed scientific journals

Q23: A scientist proposes that sugar is inherently fattening and performs a study comparing a high-sugar diet to a low-sugar diet with equal calories. He finds that fat gain was the same between the diets. Which term describes how this study affects the initial proposal?

A23: Falsification

Q24: joe is on a 3500 kcal/day eating plan. based on AMDR guidelines, what is the best range of calories for his fat intake?

A24: 700-1225 kcals

Q25: In an adult who gains 20 pounds of excess body weight, about how much of this is lean tissue?

A25: 5 lbs

Q26: Based on the U.S. style eating pattern, how much energy should come from discretionary sources?

A26: 14%

Q27: Which of the following is the leading cause of death? 

A27: Heart disease

Q28: An important factor impacting satiety includes which of the following? 

A28: Palatability

Q29: In what process does selenium play a critical role?

A29: Antioxidant system

Q30: What medical therapy is used to remove metals from the body, specifically things like iron, mercury, arsenic, and/or lead?

A30: Chelation

NASM CNC Flashcards

NASM CNC study tips

I thoroughly believe that these study materials are an excellent aid for anyone trying to ace the NASM CNC final exam.

Given that, it is no replacement for a full textbook.

I recommend that you try some of these materials below, also.

Additional NASM CNC Practice Tests

The NASM CNC practice test on this page only includes 30 questions and answers.

If you want to get a full grasp of all of the possible questions that can be asked on the exam, I suggest picking up additional practice tests as well.

These are incredibly important because they really let you know if you are fully prepared to take the real final exam.

The biggest reason that we see for failure is that they did not take enough practice exams to gauge if they were really prepared or not.

I suggest the Trainer Academy practice tests as they let you know which chapters/sections you are doing good or bad in and they have a large base of questions for their exams.

NASM CNC Spaced Repetition Flashcards

The NASM CNC flashcards above contain 100 flashcards from all 24 chapters of the free NASM CNC study guide above.

You can either study them right off the bat or come back to them after you have finished all 24 chapters of the study guide.

If you would like a program with around 700 spaced repetition flashcards, I recommend trying out Trainer Academy and their premium study materials.

They offer excellent study materials and a pass guarantee for the exam. Check it out here.

Spaced repetition CNC flashcards

We feature regular flashcard studies here on the NASM CNC page.

The best option would be spaced repetition flashcards.

This term “spaced repetition” means the material you already know will come up less often, and you can instead focus on the things you have not mastered.

This is how Trainer Academy does its study system, which I highly recommend. It is proven to work. Check it out here.

NASM CNC Study Mnemonics

Fun, interesting and memorable mnemonics are one of the other great NASM CNC study tips I have for my students.

Memorizing difficult topics such as the Micronutrients we take in through our diets, can be challenging.

Creating interesting and fun mnemonics is the best way to memorize these challenging concepts. This can be helpful in the examples of the various specific nutrition terms and categories we need to know for the certification.

If you are going to create these mnemonics yourselves, try to make them as weird as you possibly can. The weirder the better!

For mnemonics already made and proven to work, I suggest checking out Trainer Academy, also.

NASM CNC Cheat Sheet

Make sure to check out the Cheat Sheet we offer, also. It consists of some of the most important concepts from the NASM CNC all in one concise page. Just click the button below.

FREE NASM CNC Study Guide

If you are looking to dive into our free study guide for the NASM CNC, check it out right below.