Best Online Nutrition Counseling Programs

Teladoc is a relatively well-known telehealth company that first focused on primary care. Since its inception in 2002, Teladoc has expanded its services to dermatology, mental health, sexual health, and nutrition. With Teladoc’s online nutrition counseling, you have access to a registered dietitian seven days a week, and the company works with registered dietitians (RDs) in every state.

To start, sign up for Teladoc services and complete a questionnaire online or in the Teladoc app. Based on your answers, you’ll be put in touch with a dietitian who specializes in your needs. After an initial consultation that covers your medical history, current dietary habits, physical activity, and more, you and your dietitian will work together to create a personalized nutrition guide with a custom meal plan, shopping guide, and educational materials.

Teladoc Nutrition integrates nicely with the rest of Teladoc’s offerings, including preventative clinical care, which helps members see all aspects of their health in one place. Teladoc pricing for nutrition services starts at roughly $95 per visit, but costs vary based on the service you choose and your insurance plan. Some insurance companies may cover Teladoc Nutrition services.

Amwell, another telehealth company, offers online nutrition counseling for around $70 per visit, but this may vary based on your health insurance plan (some companies may cover Amwell nutrition services). This is a great rate, considering that standard rates for registered dietitians go up to $300 per hour, depending on location and expertise.

With Amwell, you can virtually visit a registered dietitian at any time during operating hours for the pay-as-you-go fee. There are no monthly fees or mandatory memberships, and all visits last 30 minutes, which puts the hourly rate at the lower end of what’s expected for nutrition counseling.

Amwell dietitians can help with weight loss, food sensitivities and allergies, diabetes, prenatal nutrition, sports nutrition, supplementation, high blood pressure, celiac disease, and more.

If you need online nutrition counseling for your child or the whole family, consider Lemond Nutrition (physically based in Texas, but offering online nutrition counseling in 23 U.S. states). The company was founded by Angela and Jeff Lemond when the couple realized there was a need for pediatric and whole-family nutrition counseling in their region.

With Lemond Nutrition, you can expect an initial 60- to 90-minute session, followed by 45-minute to one-hour follow-up sessions with a dietitian matched to your child’s needs. Pediatric nutrition counseling is tailored to the individual’s needs, but with whole-family nutrition counseling, Lemond Nutrition dietitians look at your entire family’s eating dynamics.

You can expect customized assessments, as well as individual and family goals. Contact the company for pricing information.

Noom has mixed reviews online, but there’s no arguing that it has a great success rate. It relies on basic nutrition tactics that are proven to work, such as meal logging and weigh-ins.

This app-based, self-paced program includes access to a coach (for an extra fee) that can answer your questions about nutrition, help you make choices that support your diet needs, and guide you toward weight loss (or whatever goal you may have).

The main downside to Noom is that it doesn’t require its coaches to be registered dietitians, which is a major drawback for some and something to consider if you’re looking for comprehensive meal plans. Noom can’t provide that.

Noom, with subscription plans that start at about $17.42 per month (if you pay for the annual plan of $209 upfront) is best for people who want to focus on habit change and overarching nutrition principles.

Medical nutrition therapy is a subset of nutrition counseling that deals with specific medical conditions. People who have digestive disorders, nutrient deficiencies, chronic illnesses, or autoimmune diseases can benefit from medical nutrition therapy. In some cases, it can reduce the need for prescription medication.

With physical locations in Arizona and Pennsylvania, Anderson’s Nutrition offers online nutrition counseling across the U.S. for almost all major chronic diseases and conditions, such as cancer and autism. Be aware that some specific types of medical nutrition therapy may not be available in your state due to certification or licensure laws.

You can choose a pay-as-you-go format starting at roughly $165 for your initial consultation and around $90 for follow-ups with an Anderson’s Nutrition dietitian. You can also add a monthly meal planner program for approximately $40 per month after purchasing an initial starter month for close to $100.

If you’re looking for something even more self-guided than Noom, Renaissance Periodization might be a good fit for you. Known as RP for short, this program has long been popular with the fitness community, especially with people who like to track macronutrients to enhance their workout regimen.

RP nutrition counseling—or, as the company calls it, nutrition programming—is best for people who already have a rather strong grasp of nutrition. If you’re a true beginner, RP may not work for you.

RP offers both template-based programs and one-on-one coaching via email. Template programs include an easy-to-follow PDF that takes you through progressive nutrition phases based on your gender, weight, height, activity level, and some other key factors. One-on-one coaching is attuned to your specific needs, but depending on your needs, may still follow general RP protocols that you could get with the more affordable (sometimes even free) templates.