Trainer Question-Long Rant

samfez

My husband, who weighs 400+ pounds, has been working out with a trainer since November, and he has had minimal weight loss and very minimal inches lost. When he first started with this trainer the trainer told him to follow Paleo. Great, except my husband doesn't like vegetables or fish, so he was getting burned out on steak and chicken. Then the trainer suggested low carb. Okay so we tried that. Still minimal weight loss. Then the trainer suggested Adovcare, (he is a distributor). He said just follow the directions and you will be good to go. So $500.00 plus and we bought it. He lost 10 pounds on the detox portion but once he finished the detox he didn't lose any additional weight. He has maintained that 10 pound loss for the past 68 days.

Honestly, I am frustrated. I feel like my husband should be at least losing inches and weight after this long with this trainer, but this is our first experience with a trainer so maybe I am expecting too much.

I told my husband this morning that he is going on Weight Watchers because it will include all food groups.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

quiksylver296

Buy a food scale. Weigh and log everything you/he eats. No skipping, cheating or forgetting.

He'll lose if he stays within the calorie allowance this website gives him.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

100_PROOF_

Weight loss occurs from creating a caloric deficit.
Just because someone does low carb, Paleo or multi level marketing schemes doesn't automatically mean they will lose weight.
That trainer should know this already.
Weight loss- calorie deficit

If your husband isn't losing he is not creating a calorie deficit.

There's no magic pills, potions or anything else. If he wants to lose weight he must create a calorie deficit. It makes no difference what diet he picks or what multi level marketing products he uses.

meritage4

time for a new trainer and your husband needs to watch the amount he is eating as well as what he is eating.

urloved33

im so sorry. this sounds like a nightmare.

fluffigkattunge

What kind of education/experience the trainer has on nutrition? While weight loss is a result of calorie deficit, a good nutrionist/dietician can take into consideration a person’s food preferences, restrtictions, and general health and help suggest an eating plan easier to adhere to.

Purplebunnysarah

My suggestion is that your husband download the MFP app, input his stats and set a goal of losing 2 lbs/week. Because he has a lot to lose and can afford some wiggle room, I don't think he needs to pull out a food scale or measuring cup for everything he eats - better to get in the habit of tracking first.

So - log everything he eats. For fruits and veggies typically the recommended serving size is about the size of a fist. Meat is about the size of a deck of cards.

Weigh or measure things you know are really high in calories. Examples would be oil used for cooking (use a measuring spoon), peanut butter (weigh), avocado, or cheese.

Reduce sugary drinks (if he's used to having a lot, I recommend reducing slowly rather than cold turkey - and if he drinks a lot of coffee don't give it up, just gradually replace sugar and cream with artificial sweeteners and skim milk or even just cut back the amount of both). Processed treats should be cut back to once a day (e.g. chips, cookies) and measure out a serving size.

This should work well in the beginning. Once weight loss slows down, that's the time to tighten up logging.

stanmann571

For just a second, let's discount the nutrition advice.

How is your husband progressing in Mobility, flexibility, strength, and speed?

Diet/calories are relatively easy. Just track and go, and adjust as necessary to maintain an appropriate deficit.

If the trainer is providing useful advice on getting stronger, faster, and generally fitter, don't fire him/her. Because that's job 1. 6-7 months is long enough to evaluate whether or not those goals are being met.

If he's doing that, gently let him know that you'll be continuing to keep him on for fitness advice, but you'll be seeking nutritional advice elsewhere.

Then do it. Either here, or elsewhere.

TavistockToad

You told him he is doing weight watchers...?

What does your husband actually want to do?

samfez

His mobility and strength have improved.

He is fine with doing Weight Watchers because he said he won't feel like he is on a diet and can still have foods that he likes, just less of them.

TavistockToad

samfez wrote: »

His mobility and strength have improved.

He is fine with doing Weight Watchers because he said he won't feel like he is on a diet and can still have foods that he likes, just less of them.

At 400lbs your husband should be losing each week.

Has he had a medical check up ahead of starting to lose weight?

If he isn't losing weight then the likely answer is that he's not in a deficit

1BlueAurora

I maintained the same weight for a year because I continued to eat the same as always, even though I took up exercise. I started logging with MFP and the weight came off. I developed the discipline to stay within my calorie goal most days. My uneducated guess is that your husband is eating at a maintenance level rather than a calorie deficit. As for the trainer... I'd think by now your husband might know what exercises to do to stay healthy and I wonder whether he could do them without the assistance of his workout guru.

jfan175

If a trainer can't get a 400+lb person to lose 40-50lbs and quite a few inches in 5 months, he needs to change careers. He has no business taking your money. He should have been having your husband log his calories and adjusting his diet from the get go.

MelanieCN77

This is why trainers should mostly shut up about food and nutrition. They’re no more qualified than anybody else. Get your husband to start a MFP profile, plug in his stats and a 2lb a week loss goal and eat the calories it tells him, and report back.

stanmann571

1BlueAurora wrote: »

I maintained the same weight for a year because I continued to eat the same as always, even though I took up exercise. I started logging with MFP and the weight came off. I developed the discipline to stay within my calorie goal most days. My uneducated guess is that your husband is eating at a maintenance level rather than a calorie deficit. As for the trainer... I'd think by now your husband might know what exercises to do to stay healthy and I wonder whether he could do them without the assistance of his workout guru.

Unless there's a financial reason to stop, for many people, paying for a workout/accountability buddy is worth the cost.

Muffintoppingloving

I've hired a few trainers and learned quite a few things along the way. Each trainer is different and tend to specialize in a particular area so you have to make sure their style of training align with your goals or interests. You'd be amaze but it's their work ethic primarily and not not their aesthetic that determines if they are a great trainer. There's plenty of articles and youtube videos that you can read or watch on good/bad trainer that will help you conclude your situation.

There are so many advice I can give from my own experience but my main ones are:
(1)NEVER ever hire a trainer that is trying to sell you something (whether protein powders, diet pills, detox stuff, or etc.).
(2) Make sure your trainer is knowledgable and up to date with the current research and studies. If they tell you something and you research it, the information should align.
(3) Personal trainers are great at teaching you proper form and exercises but very few are good at nor should be giving nutrition advice. If you have health issues, please hire a registered dietitian (especially being at 400+ lbs, a registered dietitian might even be covered under your insurance).
(4) Make sure you have a good connection with your trainer before you commit (ask for a trial). You'll know in your gut if they are the right one, like a blind date at the end of the night.

Remember, hire a professional to give you knowledge not hold you accountable. They are merely a tool for "you" to use to get to your goal but you are ultimately responsible for doing the work.

Chieflrg

Yes, the trainer knows nothing about nutrition if he/she suggests by eating certain foods alone will cause weight loss.

There are absolute no benefits to paleo or low carb over the CICO. If one chooses to do one of the former, they still must be eating in a deficit to achieve fat loss.

Sunshine_And_Sand

Most trainers aren't actually qualified to give nutrition advice, so I would be suspicious of one who does. This one seems to recommending all the trend diets that still rely on calories in being less than calories out (despite what they claim). Some people do well on these and naturally lower their calories on them, but this isn't the case for everyone. Any "diet" that gives you results is because of calories in, calories out. All the organic meat and veggies in the world will be useless for weight loss without a calorie deficit, and you can get fat on low carb (or keto or Atkins or whatever you want to call it) if you aren't in a calorie deficit.
Get a food scale, weigh/measure anything you eat and drink, log it, and stay within the calories MFP gives you. No need for trendy diets.