Breaking up with a Personal Trainer

gbargsley

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.

Helloitsdan

OP whats your body fat %?

ninerbuff

I have recently become stagnate with my weight loss. I began my weight loss journey February 2011 alone and lost 60 pounds on my own by eating better and walking 4-5 days a week for about 30 minutes.

Then in August I was approached by a personal trainer at my gym commenting on how good I was looking. What a complement. I thought that adding a personal trainer to my program would take me to the next level and get some professional advice on things to tweak on my nutrition and exercise program.

Well I lost another 40 pounds by the end of the year which was my goal for 2011 to be down 100 pounds. So all was good.

Now fast forward 6 weeks and my weight has not changed since that first goal was met. Talk about discouraging. I am working out with the trainer twice a week and doing 60 minutes of cardio 4 other days. Even some jogging on the treadmill.

The trainers response is that the scale is not important right now and that I am gaining lean muscle and dropping fat percents. True I do feel better and my endurance is a lot better than a year ago. However, the scale is my metric for determining how well I am doing. It is time to renew for another 6 months and I am on the fence as to if I am getting the results that warrant the amount of money I am spending.

I feel as though I did better last year without assistance and have not progressed as fast as I think I should with the effort I am putting in.

Any advice on how you would handle this situation.

Stats:
Starting Weight (02/01/2011): 489
Current Weight (02/19/2012): 387
Height: 6'4
Age: 35
Sex: Male

Honest answer from a trainer: if you're not getting results due to not doing your part, it may not be the trainer. If you are doing your part, then the trainer isn't helping you to get results, then it's time to move on.
Realistically, my belief as a trainer is that a client should only be with me long enough to be able to continue CORRECT lifestyle habits by themselves.
And don't worry about the trainer. Part of our job is to continually pick up a new client where one leaves. It's just part of the business and a good trainer won't take it personally.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Sidesteal

Honest answer from a trainer: if you're not getting results due to not doing your part, it may not be the trainer. If you are doing your part, then the trainer isn't helping you to get results, then it's time to move on.
Realistically, my belief as a trainer is that a client should only be with me long enough to be able to continue CORRECT lifestyle habits by themselves.
And don't worry about the trainer. Part of our job is to continually pick up a new client where one leaves. It's just part of the business and a good trainer won't take it personally.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Good post Niner. I was hoping you'd reply to this.

Srdking

Your trainer is right! Let me give you details about the scale with me, I started in Nov and joined this site in Jan. all together I have lost 32 pounds. The scale for over a month now is hardly ever moving for me it goes up and down. Will from Nov to Jan I lost 14.5 inches from my measurements I did take. Recently as in the past few weeks I have dropped another 7 inches. That's 21.5 inches total. Does the scale reflect most of the inches I have lost? No way!

Sure we all want the number on the scale to go down. But do you want to be thin with a high body fat? "it's possible", or would you rather be slim as in "lean". I don't know about you but lean to me is a heck of a lot more better:) Losing weight the way you are is better for you, why? Because you have already lost weight and it won't be as easy to put back on that weight you have lost. If you lose the weight the right way that is. I have tried all sorts of different ways to lose weight. I used to be so worried about the scale! Screw the scale. The truth is in your measurements!

Good luck to you! You sound like you are on the right track, don't give in now and stop!

The more fat you loose the slower the fat loss becomes - FACT. " this is very true"

I was just thinking if I was in your shoes, I would change my diet! I would stop using the one the trainer has outlined for you. Go on another diet. Sometimes our bodies get used to the same old diet and exercise. Even changing up your exercises could help you as well.