Why would a trainer say this?
msarro
Posts: 2,748 Member
So, one of my friends is currently employing a personal trainer to help her lose weight. I mentioned hungry girl to her, and I was shocked when she started picking out a flaw with every recipe, "I can't have that. I can't have that. I can't have this. I'm not allowed to have this for a few more weeks. I can't have..." so on and so forth.
Now, I tried to be tactful, she is paying good money and is seeing results. But when she said she's not allowed to have peanut butter I was just like, "WTF!?" She said that he basically told her she had to quit 'a bunch of her favorite foods cold turkey.' Right now she can't have any milk products because of fat. She listed a number of other things but i can't recall them all.
Now, if your goal is long term weight loss, why would a trainer tell a client that they have to quit their favorite foods? Thats like telling a 5 year old that an oven is hot and then putting a great big jar of candy on top of it. Yeah, they're going to get burnt, but they're also going to chow down on candy. The key isn't cutting them out completely, its teaching moderation and self control.
I asked about his credentials, and she just showed me a picture, he's a body builder.
This made me wonder, 'has he ever been obese? Does he know what its like to lose a large amount of weight?' Its easy to draw up a perfect plan, but our minds keep us from being perfect people. Learning to work with our weaknesses and control them works a whole heck of a lot better than trying to suppress them cold turkey. Ask anyone whose been to rehab.
So, ultimately I told her that he seems like someone I could have a cool conversation with, but really... what gives? Am I missing something? I could understand abstaining from peanut butter for awhile, but not forever. But telling a woman not to eat milk products? Thats idiotic, especially when her family has a history of osteoperosis.
Now, I tried to be tactful, she is paying good money and is seeing results. But when she said she's not allowed to have peanut butter I was just like, "WTF!?" She said that he basically told her she had to quit 'a bunch of her favorite foods cold turkey.' Right now she can't have any milk products because of fat. She listed a number of other things but i can't recall them all.
Now, if your goal is long term weight loss, why would a trainer tell a client that they have to quit their favorite foods? Thats like telling a 5 year old that an oven is hot and then putting a great big jar of candy on top of it. Yeah, they're going to get burnt, but they're also going to chow down on candy. The key isn't cutting them out completely, its teaching moderation and self control.
I asked about his credentials, and she just showed me a picture, he's a body builder.
This made me wonder, 'has he ever been obese? Does he know what its like to lose a large amount of weight?' Its easy to draw up a perfect plan, but our minds keep us from being perfect people. Learning to work with our weaknesses and control them works a whole heck of a lot better than trying to suppress them cold turkey. Ask anyone whose been to rehab.
So, ultimately I told her that he seems like someone I could have a cool conversation with, but really... what gives? Am I missing something? I could understand abstaining from peanut butter for awhile, but not forever. But telling a woman not to eat milk products? Thats idiotic, especially when her family has a history of osteoperosis.
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Replies
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So, one of my friends is currently employing a personal trainer to help her lose weight. I mentioned hungry girl to her, and I was shocked when she started picking out a flaw with every recipe, "I can't have that. I can't have that. I can't have this. I'm not allowed to have this for a few more weeks. I can't have..." so on and so forth.
Now, I tried to be tactful, she is paying good money and is seeing results. But when she said she's not allowed to have peanut butter I was just like, "WTF!?" She said that he basically told her she had to quit 'a bunch of her favorite foods cold turkey.' Right now she can't have any milk products because of fat. She listed a number of other things but i can't recall them all.
Now, if your goal is long term weight loss, why would a trainer tell a client that they have to quit their favorite foods? Thats like telling a 5 year old that an oven is hot and then putting a great big jar of candy on top of it. Yeah, they're going to get burnt, but they're also going to chow down on candy. The key isn't cutting them out completely, its teaching moderation and self control.
I asked about his credentials, and she just showed me a picture, he's a body builder.
This made me wonder, 'has he ever been obese? Does he know what its like to lose a large amount of weight?' Its easy to draw up a perfect plan, but our minds keep us from being perfect people. Learning to work with our weaknesses and control them works a whole heck of a lot better than trying to suppress them cold turkey. Ask anyone whose been to rehab.
So, ultimately I told her that he seems like someone I could have a cool conversation with, but really... what gives? Am I missing something? I could understand abstaining from peanut butter for awhile, but not forever. But telling a woman not to eat milk products? Thats idiotic, especially when her family has a history of osteoperosis.0 -
Ugh, I am so with you on this!!0
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I totally agree with you. Low fat dairy products are recommended by all the good health experts and websites. This guy sounds like he is trying to burn fat and build muscle as quickly as possible. He does not sound like he cares about long term health at all. Hopefully, when your friend is done with her "guru" she will let you show her this site and teach her some real health info.0
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The fitness industry is not, to my knowledge, regulated. Although there are certifications there's no educational or certification required for someone to call themselves a personal trainer. They are certainly not required to be registered dieticians. At the same time there are a ton of people who call themselves "nutritionists" who probably know less about nutrition than we do.
My personal trainer was very clear from the beginning that he was not a nutritionist. He had some common sense advise but told me that if I needed anything further he could refer me to someone qualified to advise me on nutrition based on my personal needs.
I've read quite a lot of material from body builders. There's some good advise but some of it is sheer bunk!
Let the buyer beware!0 -
maybe its like a cleanse
you cut out all your fav things and after so many days your body does a reset and you wont crave them anymore!
ive do so many cleanses and they work!
lol "the master cleanse" was great!0 -
The trainer sounds reasonable to me... but then again I take things to the limit. She can easily offset the lack of dairy with supplements.0
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the other day i was reading in a magazine that some people have major trigger foods. If peanut butter is hers then by cutting it completely out for say...a month, she may have a easier time dieting. :ohwell: Just an idea but the guy should have told her that if that is the case so she would know whats going on0
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I agree and difficult high intensity work outs and diets are not for me.
For me going cold turkey and rapid weight loss goals don't teach sustainable habits. For example, I really wonder about the continued success of the participants of 'The Biggest Loser'. The kind of training that they do hurts to even watch and I just couldn't sustain that kind of work.
On the other hand taking my dogs for a 1 hour walk in the morning and a 1/2 hour walk in the evening is a joy.
And, I've set my goal at 1/2 pound per week and can't believe how much and how good of food I can eat. It's easy, educational and completely sustainable. 1/2 pound a week = 26 pounds a year = 52 pounds in two years with very little effort or strain and when you meet goal you just continue your new life style, why not?0 -
i personally could never do that kind of diet.I am a beleiver in being able to eat what you want, just doing (as you should do everything) in moderation. I guess different stuff works for different people, but its true that what body builder looks at as a healthy 'lifestyle' is quite a different thing than say.. one of us trying to get the healthy idea while including all natural ingredients and options that we desire. esp milk products. Alot of wholistic drs will also argue that the egg is the perfect food. Some types of fat are the good types!0
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the other day i was reading in a magazine that some people have major trigger foods. If peanut butter is hers then by cutting it completely out for say...a month, she may have a easier time dieting. :ohwell: Just an idea but the guy should have told her that if that is the case so she would know whats going on
I agree with Cassia about trigger foods. I know that it's hard for me to stop eating peanut butter when I start. In fact I was thinking about having another 2 tbsp now ...
I don't work out with a trainer but my man does, and I remember finding some photocopied diet plan that his trainer gave him. It was very strict, down to the volume of each food you could eat.
It does seem ridiculous to me that a trainer would banish peanut butter and dairy. My running coach encouraged us to eat peanut butter on half a bagel before a training run. And I've never heard anyone say that dairy is bad for athletics.
In fact, to all the guys out there, my father added a quarter inch to his biceps by drinking whey protein and skim milk shakes after his weight lifting workouts, and this was at age 60. So if anything, I'd say that skim milk is a wonder food for fitness!0 -
ugh that's irritating! Believe me I've tried cutting foods out completely and I only end up craving it more and chowing down. Trainers that my friends have told them everything in moderation, which I totally agree with. But who knows, maybe it'll work for your friend
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One of my personal trainers was a body builder who was a certified p.t., and he told me up front that he could not discuss nutrition needs with me. The only thing he was comfortable telling me was that I had to get off the stick and eat breakfast. He was a phenomenal trainer and worked out a program that was great for me, not body building. Sounds like this trainer can't break from "body building mentality" to regular long term weight loss/physical fitness. Depends on what type of gym your friend is enrolled in. I have worked out with several different trainers and all of them had their certifications, but they were all at established larger gyms with diff. trainders to fit diff needs.0
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The trainer sounds reasonable to me... but then again I take things to the limit. She can easily offset the lack of dairy with supplements.
What makes you think that supplements are better than real food??0 -
Personally, I believe that no one knows better how to manipulate their body with the use of food than a body builder. They learn to be scientist 's with their food intake. Myself personally I would like a life other than being in the gym. But body builders eat, sleep and drink for results on their bodies. I just want a healthy average body at a healthy weight.0
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First, let me say guys, sorry for my infrequency oh MFP lately, between the wife flying between here and Fl for work, baseball, my work, and us trying to buy the new house, I barely find a few minutes a day lately.
Now on to my comments on this topic.
I believe some people on here have it right, trainers don't necessarily go through any kind of standardized, accredited program (many do, but not necessarily the majority), therefore the industry is a "hit or miss" type. It sounds like that trainer was trying to cut all or (most) fat out of a diet, which (for the life of me I can't figure out why, since fat consumption actually has very little to do with fat loss. And good fat is VITAL for brain function).
You can, of course, ask him some probing questions to find out if he knows what he is talking about.
3 I can think of off the top of my head is this:
1) can I eat avocados?, Can I eat almonds? If the answer to either of these is yes, then I would have to question his actual dietary knowledge. Because there is absolutely, positively, no reason to allow someone to eat almonds or avocados but not peanut butter.
2) what ratio (carbs/fat/protein) is he recommending? If any of the 3 (INCLUDING fat) are lower then 15% then I would also have a serious issue with his methods.
3) Where did he receive his nutritional training? If he says he read about it, or got his knowledge from other trainers then.......well....... I'm not so sure I would be all that confident in his opinions.
The bottom line is this: ANYONE with some knowledge of how the body works can make you lose weight fast, hell, I COULD grab anyone off here who needs to lose 30 to 50 lbs and give them an extremely limiting diet and some exercise routines, and I could pretty much guarantee that they lose 20 or 30 lbs right away. That doesn't mean it's the RIGHT way to lose weight, and it's most assuredly not the HEALTHY way to lose weight. Depriving your body one of the 3 main calorie sources is a sure way to lose weight fast, it's also a very easy way to screw up the body, and also a way to start YoYoing.
I have read SO many articles about clinical trials that limit fat or carb consumption that it's getting boring (there have been like 7 trails in the last 3 years by major universities sited by the new england journal of medicine). The problem is, without exception, every trial reported a return to previous weight in 90+% of the people participating in the trials, and subsequent related health issues in about 30% of these people.
Hope this helps.0 -
maybe its like a cleanse
you cut out all your fav things and after so many days your body does a reset and you wont crave them anymore!
ive do so many cleanses and they work!
lol "the master cleanse" was great!
I agree with you! I started with a trainer about 4 weeks ago - the first two weeks my diet was very bland :grumble:, but after the first two weeks he changed my diet and I started adding things back in. I will have to ask him, but I definelty think it was a "cleanse" since I had been filling my body with such toxic stuff for so long! 0 -
I used to do bodybuilding competitions and the one thing my trainer told me was to stop drinking milk and cut dairy from my diet. Bodybuilders are a big proponent of not eating any dairy because of the fat. I have to get out of that mentality myself. As for the peanut butter I am not sure why he told her not to eat that. My trainer used to tell me to natural peanut butter with celery as a snack for some good fats. Maybe he meant regular peanut butter with the sugars and hydrogenated oils. I0
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When I hit my month long weight pause, I went to a trainer to try and change things up. I was amazed this man had any form of certification. After the hour long session we went to his office to discuss nutrition. The man informed me that at 5 feet tall I should intake 1000 calories a day and burn 1200 in the gym. Now anyone who has been apart of MFP for awhile knows that starvation mode would look something like this -200 calorie deficient he suggested. When I asked him how my carb, fat, protein ration should break down he told me 60%, 40%, 40%. Now I do teach math but common’! 140%.....ek! I borrow a few of his weight lifting tips and thanked him kindly for the session. I also made it pretty clear that I would like to not have a second session and that I would continue loosing weight on my own.
Also, he suggested a million abdominal exercises. When I asked him why we were so focused on core (since all muscles are made of the same tissue) he said…and I kid you not…it was because someone told him to. Well, that’s scientific!
I was so thankful for my prior months of MFP. I knew exactly was a load of bull and what was helpful. It also made me happy because I knew a thing or two of my own!
As my dad says, when you are loosing weight everyone around you is thinks THEY are an expert.0 -
When I hit my month long weight pause, I went to a trainer to try and change things up. I was amazed this man had any form of certification. After the hour long session we went to his office to discuss nutrition. The man informed me that at 5 feet tall I should intake 1000 calories a day and burn 1200 in the gym. Now anyone who has been apart of MFP for awhile knows that starvation mode would look something like this -200 calorie deficient he suggested. When I asked him how my carb, fat, protein ration should break down he told me 60%, 40%, 40%. Now I do teach math but common’! 140%.....ek! I borrow a few of his weight lifting tips and thanked him kindly for the session. I also made it pretty clear that I would like to not have a second session and that I would continue loosing weight on my own.
Also, he suggested a million abdominal exercises. When I asked him why we were so focused on core (since all muscles are made of the same tissue) he said…and I kid you not…it was because someone told him to. Well, that’s scientific!
I was so thankful for my prior months of MFP. I knew exactly was a load of bull and what was helpful. It also made me happy because I knew a thing or two of my own!
As my dad says, when you are loosing weight everyone around you is thinks THEY are an expert.
That's just scary. 60 40 40? Really?
this guy kind of sounds like a schmuck. It takes very little knowledge to learn how to exercise, the value in a trainer should be WHY you exercise a certain way and to add some external motivation for some, I can find out great routines and form right on line if I want, what is harder is evaluating my individual needs, and tayloring a plan to me, that's the WHY part.
gonezo, I think you might be better qualified to train then this guy! :bigsmile:0 -
[That's just scary. 60 40 40? Really?
this guy kind of sounds like a schmuck. It takes very little knowledge to learn how to exercise, the value in a trainer should be WHY you exercise a certain way and to add some external motivation for some, I can find out great routines and form right on line if I want, what is harder is evaluating my individual needs, and tayloring a plan to me, that's the WHY part.
gonezo, I think you might be better qualified to train then this guy! :bigsmile:
Thats what I thought! It made me want to go to whatever online university he went to and get certified!0 -
60, 40, 40!!! I almost died laughing! I used to be a math teacher. Stuff like this makes me roll my eyes... People who can't round or estimate are funny too.0
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The trainer sounds reasonable to me... but then again I take things to the limit. She can easily offset the lack of dairy with supplements.
What makes you think that supplements are better than real food??
I didn't say that, nor would I like to debate the costs/benefits of food-based multi-v's over eating certain foods. I was simply responding to his disgust of the friend having to discontinue dairy products. You can get calcium and vitamin d from other foods, too.
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What type of foods does he want her to eat? If he has her cut out dairy but has her eating plenty of green vegies like broccolli ....... Then its ok,
But if he just limited without giving recommendations then I agree with you that he is being irresponsible with her health.0
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