why does every PT want me to survive on fish and veg?

Strangegirlz
Strangegirlz Posts: 92 Member
Hey guys. I saw a new PT last night. He seemed really decent, he has a great track record, seems to get results. He gave me a few meal plans. Firstly I was glad he didn't want to starve me and secondly the macros were good. Unfortunately the rest is the same old story, 6 meals a day, fish, veg, and egg whites, you know the thing, don't forget the sweet potato, these gym guys love sweet potato. Anyway I asked him about just meeting the macros with my choice of good food and he said you absolutely can not do this because it's not just about the macros, it's about chemical reactions in the body and how foods respond to certain hormones and blah, blah, blah. I don't know how to argue with this. Maybe you can help. I mean there are awesome looking people here, training hard and eating well without it being a miserable chore of just eating bland boring food, same thing day after day. I said to a few guys in the gym I want to be strong, train hard, shed fat but I want a life where I can still eat with my kids, not crap but good home cooked meals. I don't even care so much about the rest of the day but when it's dinner time i really don't wanna sit down with a protein shake and fish oils. They were like, it's your choice, you make this your lifestyle or you don't, you can't have it both ways! This is BS, yes?

Replies

  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I think he's a twatwaffle. (Although he probably means well) :flowerforyou:



    Can you share your stats please, and what macros and calorie totals he set up for you?

    I would discourage you from relying on a meal plan and instead suggest that you hit your calorie and macronutrient targets with the following in mind:

    1) Keep a reasonable fiber goal and hit that too as part of your macros.
    2) Select mostly whole and nutrient dense foods for the "majority" of your diet.
    3) Allow a bank of calories for "treats", while fitting these into your diet.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    If you were given a boilerplate "meal plan" that he gives to everyone, it's safe to assume that this "trainer" doesn't have the first clue what he's talking about.
  • Strangegirlz
    Strangegirlz Posts: 92 Member
    I think he's a twatwaffle. (Although he probably means well) :flowerforyou:



    Can you share your stats please, and what macros and calorie totals he set up for you?

    I would discourage you from relying on a meal plan and instead suggest that you hit your calorie and macronutrient targets with the following in mind:

    1) Keep a reasonable fiber goal and hit that too as part of your macros.
    2) Select mostly whole and nutrient dense foods for the "majority" of your diet.
    3) Allow a bank of calories for "treats", while fitting these into your diet.

    LOL
    Sara did my macros for me a while back, she recommended 1700 cals, 165 carbs, 55 fat and 124 protein. I was following this very nicely until I went on hols and ate like a pig, but it works really well. This guy didn't mention calories, he just said 160 protein( based on me being 160lbs) 100g carbs and 42g fat. I put his diet plan in and it was coming out around this and 1705 cals. Also 6 litres of water?!
    Better than the last guy I saw, he nearly killed me with around 1680 cals, 240 grams of protein(honestly thought I was going to grow feathers and wings), 127 carbs and 28 fat!!!! When I didn't get any results he changed it to 1120 cals, 190 protein, 28 carbs and 23 fat. I feel like crying when I think how I paid him for a 12 week transformation and the only thing transformed was his bank balance!
    Do they just make this **** up?
    The new guy did seem like a good trainer and like I said he has a good portfolio of successful clients. You think they would have got the same results if they went with the IIFYM approach? You think he could still be worth training with? Are their any "professionals" out there that actually know about nutrition, seriously.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Most trainers do not have the first clue about nutrition. He is talking a bunch of brosh!t.

    Is he a good trainer? - as in do you feel like you are getting a good session with him and do you feel that he listens to your goals and preferences as regards training. If yes, tell him that you do not want to follow the nutrition plan and just keep him for workouts. If no, then I would drop him.

    Even nutritionists in gyms are usually terrible. They had one at my work gym who gave people a suggested meal plan - it was 'one size fits all' with no condiments or sauces and really boring, but they did have a vegetarian one...that included fish and the occasional bit of chicken! I gave my feedback as to the 'vegetarian' meal plan.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    Maybe I don't know something about trainers but how come he's telling you what to eat. Is that part of what we pay for when we hire one, because I thought it was for physical stuff only and that's what we did. Just regular workout stuff. He said if I had questions I could ask him and I told him I thought I was okay but was glad to know that. I was just eager to workout.
  • Strangegirlz
    Strangegirlz Posts: 92 Member
    Most trainers do not have the first clue about nutrition. He is talking a bunch of brosh!t.

    Is he a good trainer? - as in do you feel like you are getting a good session with him and do you feel that he listens to your goals and preferences as regards training. If yes, tell him that you do not want to follow the nutrition plan and just keep him for workouts. If no, then I would drop him.

    I just went with a trial for him and I really thought he was good, much better than the guy I just finished with. I'm not going to rush in to a decision this time as I don't want another disappointment. I'm on hols next week anyways and again second week in August, so I'll do my own training until I come back and decide whether to go with him. Thanks for your input
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Locking so we can keep better track of active threads. Please PM either myself or SideSteel if you have further questions or comments, including a link to this thread, and we will unlock.
This discussion has been closed.