This is why I sometimes hate the fitness industry and my pee

Azdak

I was reading some comments on a forum of "fitness professionals" on the topic of "cleansing".

Here was one guy's job title:

Enzyme Counselor, Leadership Developer, Attitude Coach

"Enzyme Counselor"??? That's the kind of thing that makes me want to slap someone upside the head with a Body Bar.

Three guesses as to the nature of his comment:

"I personally don't recommend a colon cleanse to my clients, but I help them eliminate the stored digestive sludge through the use of a powerful probiotic (40 Billion Micro-organisms) and Digestive enzymes. I also help detoxify with an anti-oxidant "Super Greens" product (ORAC 13,474). I also recommend fiber to aid in clearing out the digestive system. "

4 of the 6 commenters recommended some type of cleanse--and one of those who did not counsels her clients that "jumping helps open up the cells" (I'm not kidding -- that's a direct quote), and that they should drink 1/2 their body weight in water each day (I can only assume that means using the 1/2 "pounds" number to calculate number of ounces".

And the worst thing is that these are "fitness professionals" -- some have degrees, some work for clinics, a couple of them own their own companies.

No wonder the average person is confused and misinformed about fitness, exercise, and health. When I am at seminars full of people like this, I feel like an Old Testament prophet walking through Babylon. It's one of the reasons why I have spent the majority of my professional life working in the medical and medical-fitness related environments.

EDIT: OOOPS--didn't check my headline length--it's "peers", not "pee". I actually don't have much of an opinion about my pee one way or the other.

Dom_m

That's hilarious. In economics we have the same stupidity. The main difference is that every now and then stupidity from this end of town erupts and everyone notices.

sonjavon

I couldn't agree with you more! As a life-long dieter, I find it scary how much misinformation and crap was shoved down my throat. And I latched onto it like a drowning person holding on to a life raft. I'm not a stupid person... in fact, I'm quite intelligent, but at some point you start thinking... "OK, I've tried it my way and it seemed logical - it didn't work - so let me try something else." That... and I think we all tend to convince ourselves that we are somehow "special" - the exception to the rule....what works for everyone else won't work for us... lol

What bothers me is this... WHY was it so difficult for me to learn what it means to "eat right". No one could ever give me an easy answer... doctors would say, "Eat right and exercise". It SOUNDS easy - but honestly, no one tells you what the heck that means!

Like I said - not much on the gimmicks - but I will say that i have used probiotics and there has to be something to it... thought probably not as a weight loss aid. My doc put me on probiotics after a particularly rough bout of food poisoning... it was the only thing that worked to make me feel better. AND - most recently we had my dog on probiotics as well.... but for the most part, I think our bodies generally do what they're supposed to do when given the right foods.

Chenoachem

I think you find this type of thing everywhere. Where do we think the people that got the degree (just barely) went? Out into the world to confuse people.

Thanks for posting. :laugh:

3babybeans

I have to admit that I read this topic out of pure curiosity from the topic title...

This is why I sometimes hate the fitness industry and my pee

I was so confused for a minute. :laugh:

This is proof though that people need to get educated information, research for themselves, and hopefully weed through the nonsense to figure out the best choices. Nice post!...even if you hate your pee. :laugh:

Azdak

I have to admit that I read this topic out of pure curiosity from the topic title...

This is why I sometimes hate the fitness industry and my pee

I was so confused for a minute. :laugh:

This is proof though that people need to get educated information, research for themselves, and hopefully weed through the nonsense to figure out the best choices. Nice post!...even if you hate your pee. :laugh:

I didn't even notice that -- Man, caught by the old headline limiter again.....:embarassed:

Azdak

I couldn't agree with you more! As a life-long dieter, I find it scary how much misinformation and crap was shoved down my throat. And I latched onto it like a drowning person holding on to a life raft. I'm not a stupid person... in fact, I'm quite intelligent, but at some point you start thinking... "OK, I've tried it my way and it seemed logical - it didn't work - so let me try something else." That... and I think we all tend to convince ourselves that we are somehow "special" - the exception to the rule....what works for everyone else won't work for us... lol

What bothers me is this... WHY was it so difficult for me to learn what it means to "eat right". No one could ever give me an easy answer... doctors would say, "Eat right and exercise". It SOUNDS easy - but honestly, no one tells you what the heck that means!

Like I said - not much on the gimmicks - but I will say that i have used probiotics and there has to be something to it... thought probably not as a weight loss aid. My doc put me on probiotics after a particularly rough bout of food poisoning... it was the only thing that worked to make me feel better. AND - most recently we had my dog on probiotics as well.... but for the most part, I think our bodies generally do what they're supposed to do when given the right foods.

A lot of the fitness "scams" involved the misapplication of facts or products, or the improper generalization of a narrow research finding. As you point out, there are legitimate uses for probiotics, just as their are legitimate medical uses for certain supplements and even for colon cleansing.

It's taking those legitimate uses and inventing some generalized "benefit" that is the problem. There are plenty of studies that show that if you are deficient in a certain vitamin or trace mineral, than supplementation can be very beneficial--for fitness performance and general health. Yet, if you already have sufficient levels, any additional supplementation is useless and sometimes can be harmful. In 27 years, I've seen it all--sometimes twice.

stroutman81

Wait one damn second.

Are you telling me the fitness industry is corrupt?!

No way!!!!1111

questionablemethods

EDIT: OOOPS--didn't check my headline length--it's "peers", not "pee". I actually don't have much of an opinion about my pee one way or the other.

Oh man! That's what drew me to click on this thread in the first place! I thought maybe it was someone on an all-asparagus diet, or something. :laugh:

There really is so much "noise" out there with regards to health and fitness! I still think that Michael Pollan really did boil everything down pretty well with his "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." I'm not a professional in the area and all of my reading is purely for my own benefit, but the same themes just keep popping up (when I stick to reputable, peer-reviewed sources): eat whole foods and include about as many vegetables as you can handle.

But I agree that there is so much hoo-ha out there it can really cause analysis paralysis from those of us prone to it.

PJilly

I'd better get busy if I have to drink 70 pounds of water!

CasperO

What? This is just free market libertarianism at it's finest.

It's a fairly unregulated market, there are no gov't licensures, just a jillion private certification outfits handing out 'licenses' all willy nilly. When there's no law, the lawless (and the stupid, and the corrupt) will run the table. That's just how it is.

My wife is a mental health counselor. MA degreed, passed a board, licensed by the state, peer reviewed, meets her continuing ed requirements. In this state, if you just toss up a shingle calling yourself a 'mental health counselor' but you don't meet those requirements they will toss you in jail for practicing without a license.

Now there are some screwy counselors out there, but for the most part this works. You hear very few horror stories about MH counselors being stupid. Maybe a little gov involvement isn't always a bad thing.

rkkleist

As a registered dietitian* (working mainly with young children), I find that some people just want an easy answer.

Selling the concept of "take this pill, sleep, and eat all you want to lose weight" is WAYYYY more popular than the TRUTH.

The truth, as we know, is the day to day choices we make to "eat less, move more".

I'm on my own weight loss journey and I'm looking forward to being part of this group.


*Just as an FYI, registered dietitians (RD) have a minimum of a bachelors degree (and many of us have advanced degrees),complete a year long internship, pass an exam, and participate in continuing education hours. I'm from WI so we have certification but we're lobbying hard to get licensure like many other states. The label "nutritionist" means absolutely nothing in our state and anyone can call themselves that without any credentials.

DizzieLittleLifter

I was reading some comments on a forum of "fitness professionals" on the topic of "cleansing".

Here was one guy's job title:

Enzyme Counselor, Leadership Developer, Attitude Coach

"Enzyme Counselor"??? That's the kind of thing that makes me want to slap someone upside the head with a Body Bar.

Three guesses as to the nature of his comment:

"I personally don't recommend a colon cleanse to my clients, but I help them eliminate the stored digestive sludge through the use of a powerful probiotic (40 Billion Micro-organisms) and Digestive enzymes. I also help detoxify with an anti-oxidant "Super Greens" product (ORAC 13,474). I also recommend fiber to aid in clearing out the digestive system. "

4 of the 6 commenters recommended some type of cleanse--and one of those who did not counsels her clients that "jumping helps open up the cells" (I'm not kidding -- that's a direct quote), and that they should drink 1/2 their body weight in water each day (I can only assume that means using the 1/2 "pounds" number to calculate number of ounces".

And the worst thing is that these are "fitness professionals" -- some have degrees, some work for clinics, a couple of them own their own companies.

No wonder the average person is confused and misinformed about fitness, exercise, and health. When I am at seminars full of people like this, I feel like an Old Testament prophet walking through Babylon. It's one of the reasons why I have spent the majority of my professional life working in the medical and medical-fitness related environments.

EDIT: OOOPS--didn't check my headline length--it's "peers", not "pee". I actually don't have much of an opinion about my pee one way or the other.

:laugh: :drinker: Thank you! I have major problems with these and other issues related to the fitness industry. I will say off the soapbox today though.

MercuryBlue

EDIT: OOOPS--didn't check my headline length--it's "peers", not "pee". I actually don't have much of an opinion about my pee one way or the other.

Oh man! That's what drew me to click on this thread in the first place! I thought maybe it was someone on an all-asparagus diet, or something. :laugh:

There really is so much "noise" out there with regards to health and fitness! I still think that Michael Pollan really did boil everything down pretty well with his "eat food, not too much, mostly plants." I'm not a professional in the area and all of my reading is purely for my own benefit, but the same themes just keep popping up (when I stick to reputable, peer-reviewed sources): eat whole foods and include about as many vegetables as you can handle.

But I agree that there is so much hoo-ha out there it can really cause analysis paralysis from those of us prone to it.

.... yeah, the pee is what made me click this, too.

I agree, though. The fitness industry ticks me off. Like the above poster mentioned, there is just so much NOISE out there, and it's hard for a person to know what information to trust, and where to get started.

I like to think I'm a pretty intelligent person, and skilled at sorting through the garbage to get to the gold. But I also have ADD and I get extremely overwhelmed by all the information coming at me. I can't tell you how many 'plans' I've drawn up for myself only to have someone criticize something, which causes me to doubt my choices and scrap everything. I also have two young children, and no room in the budget for a gym membership, much less a personal trainer.

I feel that the fitness industry REALLY targets people like me! And while I've managed to shed about 45 pounds so far just by moving my body more and eating less (and better foods, generally. That didn't happen at first but came later when I realized that 1200-1500 calories worth of my favorite foods didn't go very far and left me hungry all the time) I've reached a point where I'm not overweight anymore. I don't have a huge amount to lose, and so I really need to tighten things up (not just in my body- but in the way I approach diet and exercise). 'Move more eat less' works well when you're getting started, but those last 5-20 pounds sometimes require you to take a little more tactical approach.

So I'm trying to do some research- ask questions, look around, read a lot. I really want to determine what the best plan of attack is for this last little bit of weight. I am very motivated to shed as much fat as possible, become lean and healthier overall. The problem is genuinely not knowing where to start. The noise and crap that's floating out there in the fitness industry just makes it more difficult- and I simply don't have the cash to throw at a bunch of different 'programs' and hope I'll find something that works.

And still, I get approached all the time by people trying to make money at my expense. I recently 'won' an opportunity to meet with a counsellor at U-Weight Loss (didn't remember entering anything) and get a free cleanse. Since I have very strong opinions about cleanses in general (unless they involve fibre and water) I declined.

I apologize for the rant, but I am just so frustrated by this! I know what I want, who I am, where I want to get (with regards to my physical, mental, emotional heath). And if someone could just tell me: THIS is what you need to do to get there (no bull, no lies, no trying to sell me anything) I would gladly do it. Instead, I'm left to wade through literally hundreds of thousands of pages (both electronic and paper) just to get to the real, honest truth. And it leaves me exhausted.

This is why I'm so grateful to posters such as Azdak, Banks, stroutman81 and a few others. Because they cut through all the bulls**t and give pure, honest (and sometimes blunt) responses with REAL information that is beneficial to people like me. I may still be confused and frustrated, but it helps knowing there are people here who don't buy into all the garbage and hype.

OnMyWeigh

LOL!!! Not sure about anyone else but the "my pee" part is what made me read the post in the first place!!!

LittleSpy

Yeah, I only came in here for the pee.

I'm sorely disappointed. :frown:

Now for a comment that is a little more on topic: The problem isn't just with "fitness" or "nutrition" professionals -- there are plenty of idiots in ALL professions. Many of the professors at higher educational institutions are quacks and they teach quacky stuff. And then colleges & universities give out degrees to people who didn't really even earn them by learning the quacky material the quacky professor taught anyway. So, yeah... It's not good, but it's certainly not just health/fitness professionals. And that's why the average person is pretty much confused and misinformed about um, well, about everything.

immacookie

I'd better get busy if I have to drink 70 pounds of water!

At roughly 8.35lbs/gal.... yikes.... :noway: :laugh:

yoginimary

If I hear one more person saying they need to detox (even a few of my otherwise intelligent friends have said this), I'm going to detox the contents of my stomach on their shoes.

mslaj

If I hear one more person saying they need to detox (even a few of my otherwise intelligent friends have said this), I'm going to detox the contents of my stomach on their shoes.

I agree with you on that one!!

lilmissy2

As a registered dietitian* (working mainly with young children), I find that some people just want an easy answer.

Selling the concept of "take this pill, sleep, and eat all you want to lose weight" is WAYYYY more popular than the TRUTH.

The truth, as we know, is the day to day choices we make to "eat less, move more".

I'm on my own weight loss journey and I'm looking forward to being part of this group.


*Just as an FYI, registered dietitians (RD) have a minimum of a bachelors degree (and many of us have advanced degrees),complete a year long internship, pass an exam, and participate in continuing education hours. I'm from WI so we have certification but we're lobbying hard to get licensure like many other states. The label "nutritionist" means absolutely nothing in our state and anyone can call themselves that without any credentials.

I agree! I'm an RD too (working mostly in acute care) and agree that people definitely do not want the truth!!

simona1972

I prefer to listen to my doctor regarding any questions about my health, including nutrition. I remember posting that one day and someone replied that doctors don't know anything about nutrition.

I think there's a lot of people in every industry who don't belong there. You always have to have a filter on and know who the source of information is.

lilmissy2

I prefer to listen to my doctor regarding any questions about my health, including nutrition. I remember posting that one day and someone replied that doctors don't know anything about nutrition.

I think there's a lot of people in every industry who don't belong there. You always have to have a filter on and know who the source of information is.

I agree with this. I think in general (and I'm a little biased haha) that a dietitian is more likely to give you accurate advice about nutrition than a doctor but there are definitely doctors that know a great deal about nutrition and there are also some that know very little and unfortunately still give patients their opinions.

lobster888

I clicked on it for the "pee" too!!! That is too funny!!!

msarro

This is my opinion whenever anyone starts talking about cleanses, purges, etc:


If something starts sounding weird, do a quick google search. It costs nothing and could save you a ton of cash on whatever the snake oil is that some people stand behind.

PS: Azdak, I appreciate that your posts are usually based on medical knowledge or experience; its kind of scary some of the things that get touted in the fitness community.

Iceprincessk25

*Just as an FYI, registered dietitians (RD) have a minimum of a bachelors degree (and many of us have advanced degrees),complete a year long internship, pass an exam, and participate in continuing education hours. I'm from WI so we have certification but we're lobbying hard to get licensure like many other states. The label "nutritionist" means absolutely nothing in our state and anyone can call themselves that without any credentials.

Yup....that happens in CA with athletic trainers. You can say your an "athletic trainer" in CA and you can be hired with no knowledge at all of what you're doing. It's kind of annoying that I had to go get my BA, spend 1500 hours interning, sit for an all day three part national exam and have to do 75 continuing education credits every year when anyone can say oh I'm that too. I wish CA would get on board with the whole licensure thing like many other states have.:grumble: :grumble:

AND on top of that my job always gets confused with a personal trainer.........2 TOTALLY different jobs. :noway:

PS......I came here for the pee also.

PJilly

I'd better get busy if I have to drink 70 pounds of water!

At roughly 8.35lbs/gal.... yikes.... :noway: :laugh:

Yeah, if I had to do that, I'd hate my pee too!

lilmissy2

hehe I too was interested by the hating pee!

I'm curious, what did people think it might have been referring to?

Giving the reference to the fitness industry, my only guess was either related to dehydrated or kidney failure caused by too much protein hahaha

PJilly

hehe I too was interested by the hating pee!

I'm curious, what did people think it might have been referring to?

Giving the reference to the fitness industry, my only guess was either related to dehydrated or kidney failure caused by too much protein hahaha

Believe it or not, I assumed it was "peers" and just got cut off. I'm a copy editor, though, so I'm pretty used to reading people's minds and translating what they said into what they meant to say.

chanson104

As I was reading your blog, I found it interesting but was wondering when I would find out why you hate your pee. So glad you clarified. :laugh:

Heather75

Also here for the pee.

I don't hate my pee, in case anyone is interested.

arewethereyet

but jumping DOES free up cells