Idiot personal trainer. (rant)

angiechimpanzee

So I have a good friend who's quite overweight, and its because her eating habits are trash. She eats stuff like snickers bars, cookies, pizza, fast food, on a daily basis. Kind of like how I used to eat.

Well, I told her about my efforts to lose weight about a month ago & I guess it inspired her, because recently she told me she got a gym membership & a personal trainer. Excited for her, I told her "Yay! We can be diet & fitness buddies! Did he give you a meal plan?" She replied "Nope, he said the workouts will be enough to make me lose weight!"

Okay. I was already annoyed by that statement. Then, she went on to tell me that her workout was running a mile, and then a variety of intermediate resistance exercises. Something that couldn't possibly burn more than 150 calories. But even if her workout burned 500 calories, that's besides the point. I'm irritated that her personal trainer wouldn't even attempt to advise her on how to eat? Making her rely solely on her workouts to lose weight seems just cruel to me. What she could burn in an hour at the gym, she could eat back at McDonald's within minutes. & I'm not exaggerating, she loves fast food, just like I used to.

I wanted so badly to tell her that the exercise won't be enough and she needs to change her eating habits too to get the best results. But I didn't want to sound like a know it all or seem like I'm pushing my lifestyle on her (because she knows how healthily I eat & she doesn't seem interested in adopting my ways). And I didn't want her to be like "Wow, you think you know more than a professional?" I feel like the reason her trainer didn't explain to her the importance of nutrition is because he wants her to continue coming to the gym everyday, seeing little to no results and ultimately spending more time and money on his services. Idk, maybe I'm just being cynical.

/endrant

fatboyruss

Personal trainers are a mixed bag. Even if they have been properly trained, some people will have their own agenda which will override their education, others may feel awkward about advising people about their eating habits. It's really unfortunate that your friend has got a trainer that doesn't have a good overall aproach (especially since food intake is most of the problem). If you have a personal trainer , or have friends that have one, swap notes with her, maybe she'll think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. When my wife had a personal trainer last year I didn't think some of the things she was doing were good either, but when I criticised her practices (such as making her work out in a heatwave outside) she (my wife) would honk at me and become quite defensive. She has finally swapped trainers (and inspired me to get trained by him as well) and the difference is amazing. Ultimately positive reinforcement is the way to go here.

jen10st

when i first joined the gym the fitness trainers there asked me how my diet was and i'd say "fine i'm watching what i eat and cutting down on the junk" i thought i was at the time but since joining mfp i know i really wasnt. did your friend tell the truth about her eating habits to the instructor? i'd introduce her to mfp, especially if you have the phone app, show her how easy to use it is and perhaps use one of her favorite meals as an example of how it calculates calories the huge number might bring it home in a way you just saying it won't. often seeing how much we're really eating in black and white makes it real. this worked for a friend of mine even though i wasn't concerned about her weight and didn't think she needed to lose at all but now she's joined on here aswell.

melaniecheeks

Say something like "That's interesting - Jillian Michaels is always emphasising that you can't out-exercise a bad diet, workouts alone aren't enough"

Jo2926

I agree that positive reinforcement is the way to go. Her trainer sounds pants, but on the plus side she is now in the gym which she wasn't before. Encourage her to keep going, and when she says she is disappointed with her weight loss then thats the time she might be ready to talk to you about food.

For me it took a long time to face up to food being my problem. I came to it slowly, and I'm sure it was frustrating to be healthy friends, but getting there in my own time meant I ultimately wanted to be there and had the will power to stick to it.

Maybe in a few weeks invite her on one of your workouts - and inspire her to push a little harder!

needles85365

I would not want a personal trainer who I hired to help me get fit, giving me unwanted nutrition advise

chubbygirl253

encourage her to join mfp!

fatboyruss

As for what I said before, her personal trainer may have a very good exercise routine for her, so it may not be wise to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are no easy answers here. First and foremost, your friend must still keep up enthusiasm for a better lifestyle, even if it comes in slow steps (exercise with poor diet being the first one) then improve on that as she gets inspired

Fozzi43

Some PTs are not nutritionists ..that said, I'm a power plate personal trainer and I give nutritional advice to those who ask for it, even though I'm not trained for it, I only give out the basics though and what works for me.

Eleanorjanethinner

Exercising regularly is a jolly good start - hopefully she'll learn more and slowly change her eating habits as she goes (but that's her road to walk, yours as a friend is to support and encourage).

DavPul

He's her personal trainer, not her nutritionist. Plus, his #1 job is to make sure he has a job, and pushing new clients to make drastic life changes right away is a good way to have them drop you. I don't get paid to train my friends but I still ease them into fitness concepts a step at time. Once they become comfortable with part of the process I tell them about the next sacrifice they have to make.

My rant is against you. You're her friend and you know what she needs to do. She's already indicated that you inspired her to change her life. And instead of telling her what she needs to hear you hope that a stranger will do it. What's the point of having a friend with knowledge about a subject that you're interested in if they won't share that knowledge with you? Step up to the plate and give her the support she's already have come to you for.

bluefox9er

pfffft personal trainers. I never paid anyone a penny to show me how to tie my shoelaces.

Capt_Apollo

there are good and bad personal trainers out there. a good one will recognize that you need to change eating habits, but will also know their limitations in the fact that they are not a nutritionist or dietician.

SuperstarDJ

You say that her diet is mainly junk food so is there any chance that he did give her some nutritional suggestions but she's not willing to change her eating habits (and chose not to share it with you you got in case you gor on her back about it)?

gddrdld

Being a "Personal Trainer" (this "certification" can be obtained online with no formal education) does NOT make them an expert in nutrition or exercise physiology for that matter. In my fitness center, the personal trainers are not supposed to give out nutrition advise. The thinking that they are "nutritionists" (this term also has no formal deliniation as to credentials) or "health experts" is a big problem in the health/fitness industry, in my opinion.

Some personal trainers DO have actual nutrition degrees, however...This may just not be one of them.

Dave198lbs

I feel like the reason her trainer didn't explain to her the importance of nutrition is because he wants her to continue coming to the gym everyday, seeing little to no results and ultimately spending more time and money on his services. Idk, maybe I'm just being cynical.

/endrant

unless you have a foundation for this feeling, then yes, that is being cynical

tell her about how when you started tracking your food, you were shocked at the nutrition content of your choices

dad106

Unless PT's are licensed in Nutrition, they are not allowed to give meal plans.

Also, Strength Training keeps burning calories for 24-48 hours after the fact. So while it may look like she's not doing much now, the after burn will help her out.

I think your just jealous that she's starting to get healthy also.. and not that her PT wants her to be dependent on him.

ckmama

Maybe he is starting with "Baby steps" Maybe his exact wording was more like "right now we are going to focus on making exercise a habit".

crimsoncat

I'd let it go. Lifestyle changes are hard to do and making too many at once can leave you frustrated and unhappy. Let her do the workouts. If she changes nothing about her eating style and does them she very may well lose weight. I didn't watch my diet for 5 years (except to stop drinking pop) and still lost 20lbs through exercise alone plus got my body into better shape.

When she comes to you later asking for advice on how to lose it faster, point her to MPF.

The key is let her come to you. Unsolicited advice can be unwelcome no matter how correct it is.

Also, be glad that the personal trainer is saying nothing about nutrition. At least he/she isn't tell her to do the wrong thing. Can you imagine if he/she put her on some 200 calorie diet of carrots and water? :noway:

MrsGSR

I'd let it go. Lifestyle changes are hard to do and making too many at once can leave you frustrated and unhappy. Let her do the workouts. If she changes nothing about her eating style and does them she very may well lose weight. I didn't watch my diet for 5 years (except to stop drinking pop) and still lost 20lbs through exercise alone plus got my body into better shape.

When she comes to you later asking for advice on how to lose it faster, point her to MPF.

The key is let her come to you. Unsolicited advice can be unwelcome no matter how correct it is.

Also, be glad that the personal trainer is saying nothing about nutrition. At least he/she isn't tell her to do the wrong thing. Can you imagine if he/she put her on some 200 calorie diet of carrots and water? :noway:

This, if I was you I wouldn't mention anything for now, if she's not losing weight and comes to you for advice point her here and suggest she tracks calories

AyaKara

Have your friend join MFP immediately so she can see the dangers of what she's eating. My sister (both of them!) is the exact same way & doesn't believe me at all that she's going to end up with cardiovascular diseases or disorders from eating too much of bad foods -- one of my sisters just found out that she has CROHN'S because she eats Wendy's everyday, & she STILL eats Wendy's every single day. Please, stop your friend before it's too late & educate her as best as you can. Introduce her to MFP & show her. Tell her that the progress you've made was by eating HEALTHY. Tell her how those things are ruining her body.

I hate situations like this. I'm getting frustrated just thinking of how hard it is to convince my sisters to help themselves. It's going to be hard, but your friend will turn around eventually. Don't give up on her, & try to see if you two can work out together or attend a nutrition class together or something. Good luck!

dad106

Have your friend join MFP immediately so she can see the dangers of what she's eating. My sister (both of them!) is the exact same way & doesn't believe me at all that she's going to end up with cardiovascular diseases or disorders from eating too much of bad foods -- one of my sisters just found out that she has CROHN'S because she eats Wendy's everyday, & she STILL eats Wendy's every single day. Please, stop your friend before it's too late & educate her as best as you can. Introduce her to MFP & show her. Tell her that the progress you've made was by eating HEALTHY. Tell her how those things are ruining her body.

I hate situations like this. I'm getting frustrated just thinking of how hard it is to convince my sisters to help themselves. It's going to be hard, but your friend will turn around eventually. Don't give up on her, & try to see if you two can work out together or attend a nutrition class together or something. Good luck!

Right.. because this advice is not going to ruin any and all chances that she has with this friend.

BTW, Chron's disease is not caused by eating Wendy's. Does eating Wendy's aggravate it? Yes, probably, but it is not caused by that.

I suggest you do research before going around making claims that are totally false.

samanthawarren

I agree with the person who said to have her join MFP. She could start with just logging her workouts and maybe being here would motivate her to watch what she eats. I don't think you should tell her to log her food unless she is ready to do it. I would leave that alone. She has to accept it on her own. Maybe if after following the trainers advice she doesn't see any progress she will be motivated to look at her diet.

At least she is making a change. Exercising will only help her even if she doesn't loose much weight she will feel better.

Exercise alone is not enough when you are eating 4000 to 5000 calories a day. I have been exercising on and off for years. This year I started training to teach Hot Hula classes and was not losing any weight even though I was feeling great. I didn't realize how much I was eating and thought I wasn't doing to bad, until I logged one day of my typical diet. I didn't even eat a lot of junk food like candy or desserts yet still I was shocked to find I was eating about 3500 calories a day easily. Now that I have accepted that I need to change my eating I have started losing weight and am hyped to continue this journey.

divacat80

Maybe the personal trainer DID tell her to change her eating habits but she's too stubborn to admit she's doing things the wrong way. And maybe she's making it look like it was the trainer who told her that exercising was enough.
As another poster said, I'd wait until she says she's not happy with her progress. She's already doing somethinggood for her health,even when she's not burning the amount of calories she needs. She started with the wrongfoot,but at least she's giving it a try and she needs to feel she's going in the right direction.
Encourage her to keep on with the exercise and to improve her physical abilities. You'll find the right moment to tell her what you truly think of her trainer.

When I started this battle I joined a weightloss forum and I got so discouraged by those who knewbetter that I left the forum and I left MFP even when MFP didn't have anything to do with the whole thing. I was told I was eating too little (even when I had been put ona diet strictly supervised by my endocrine specialist), I was told I wasn't exercising enough,and that I had to lift more than I could handle at that moment. I felt like i wasn't able to make a single good choice. Those who told me those things were quite right though, but I did better staying away from them, and I felt better.

It might sound weird but I felt I needed to trust those who were in charge of my progress and health checks. The doctors and fitness monitors eventually made me realise the changes I needed to make once they found out what worked for me. And they definitely made me work harder towards my goals once they knew my potential and once my abilities and skills were getting improved.

So my advice is, be her friend,and act like her friend but try to find the moments to say certain things.


Maybe she does know all you want to tell her but she's not interested in changing her eating habits but wants to counteract the bad effect her eating choices make by working out.


BTW, when I first started I decided to start exercising, low impact activities that didn't burn many calories, but activities i knew i could do for life. When i got used to that routine i started watching what i ate and once i got used to cutting junk i started cutting calories. Sometimes slow is the only way to go when you're stubborn and you know it's not going to be an easy road.

Best of luck to you both! She's lucky to have a friend like you

UpEarly

one of my sisters just found out that she has CROHN'S because she eats Wendy's everyday, & she STILL eats Wendy's every single day.

Funny... I've never seen fast food (Wendy's) mentioned as a CAUSE for Chrohn's. Sure... some people's symptoms are exacerbated by fatty food and red meat, but other primary trigger foods for Chrohn's symptoms also include whole grains, raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and fiber-rich food.

I have a family member with Chrohn's disease, too, and have been aware of this condition since my childhood. Chrohn's doubtlessly has roots in a person's genetics... not where they choose to dine.

neverstray

PTs are interesting. I do think most of them have the right intentions in mind. But, it's a really tough business because the barrier to entry is very low. So, sometimes I see trainers that just want to appease their clients and tell them things they want to hear while collecting money and giving them a workout that is appropriate and making the client happy. Over time, if your friend is not getting results, the PT will likely ask her to keep track of her food, he'll take a look, and just say, "cut out some of the snacking, and you should be fine". This will get her some more slow results, and the PT will continue to just peel away slowly. This particular PT may have learned that barraging people with everything all in one fell swoop scares people away.

I wouldn't get distressed that the PT is bad, they are just climatizing the client to a new lifestyle of health. You can't eat an elephant in one bite.

HTH.

Mighty_Rabite

I have a family member with Chrohn's disease, too, and have been aware of this condition since my childhood. Chrohn's doubtlessly has roots in a person's genetics... not where they choose to dine.

This, I used to eat the hell out of some fast food (from probably 2000 to 2010 I would say I averaged once a day). I started eating much more healthily in 2011, and earlier this year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (in short, basically Crohn's but confined to the large intestine).

Unless PT's are licensed in Nutrition, they are not allowed to give meal plans.

I'm still studying up some on ACE PT certification and it is hammered in throughout both books I have read thus far that (at least an ACE Certified) personal trainer is not to step outside of his/her scope of practice, which means the most involved they are really to get on the nutritional front is to point people towards that myplate.gov business.

Hezzietiger1

Some trainers depending on the gym they work for are not allowed to give diet plans. That being said, they can advise her on good choices vs bad choices and the basics without giving her a diet to follow.

neverstray

I have a family member with Chrohn's disease, too, and have been aware of this condition since my childhood. Chrohn's doubtlessly has roots in a person's genetics... not where they choose to dine.

This, I used to eat the hell out of some fast food (from probably 2000 to 2010 I would say I averaged once a day). I started eating much more healthily in 2011, and earlier this year I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (in short, basically Crohn's but confined to the large intestine).

Unless PT's are licensed in Nutrition, they are not allowed to give meal plans.

I'm still studying up some on ACE PT certification and it is hammered in throughout both books I have read thus far that (at least an ACE Certified) personal trainer is not to step outside of his/her scope of practice, which means the most involved they are really to get on the nutritional front is to point people towards that myplate.gov business.

Dude, that's a badass move in your pic. WOW. Wish I could do that. I think you're my hero.

Also, that's interesting info. I didn't know that. Yeah, sometimes, calling someone an idiot without really knowing all the facts puts egg on your face, or foot in mouth.

skylark94

I'd rather see a PT not give advice than give advice they are not qualified to give. She needs to consult with a dietitian.

Flixie00

One of my PT's pet peeves is clients who lie about what they eat and how much time they are putting in in the gym. PT is there most days, so he knows how much work they are doing, and he can tell if the diet is right just by looking at your progress. I don't know why people feel the need to do this.