Frustrated with trainer

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  • RabbitLost
    RabbitLost Posts: 333 Member
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    Honestly - I do not know, but she did set me up with someone different this week so I am hoping maybe I can switch. She did admit that she has no nutrition training...and didn't understand what I meant when I said I thought weight loss was all about calories in/calories out. I think I have learned more reading this forum than I did from her OR WW.

    I've learned way more from MFP and the suggested links and research from certain users and focus than I ever did through trainers. Just to clarify, when I told my current trainer that I use MFP for my calories, his response was perfect. He basically said, Good enough. And he never brought it up again.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    How is she measuring your BF%? Most techniques have an error of 5-8% depending on your hydration level and operator error (aka, she doesn't know how to use calipers or you are using a crappy bioimpedance meter).
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
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    Okay I looked at your dairy and have a few small suggestions that do not amount to "artificial flavors are making you fat".

    I'm not seeing much food volume for your calorie count. When you make dinner try to have half your plate be raw or steamed veggies or fruit. The other half can be your protein or spaghetti, whatever. That will give you lots of fiber (another problem I'm seeing) with a low calorie count. I see broccoli and cheese. If you want to add flavoring to your veggies instead of cheese, Mrs. Dash has a wide variety of spice mixes you can buy and sprinkle on top.

    Snacks seem pretty non-existent. Again fruits and veggies. I swear Costco must wonder at the amount of strawberries, blueberries, and apples I'm eating.

    I definitely converted over to the "weigh your food" camp. Strawberries and other oddly shaped food can be hard to do "a cup" but 100 grams, easy.

    Buy magnum mini bars and have those instead of the full size ones when you need a spot of sweet.

    Since there will be fluctuations in calories counts and burn estimates, only eat back 50% of your exercise calories and see it that improves things.

    Track your water and anything else you drink. Keep your body well hydrated. Because according to your diary, the only thing you've had is alcohol, no water, no tea, no coffee, no fruit juice, no milk.

    There are definitely items on there where what you think you are ingesting and reality can be very different (restaurants meals are notorious for having way more calories then you think). You may think you are having 700 calories and are having 1,200 or more.
  • sun_fish
    sun_fish Posts: 864 Member
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    This is a great post, written by one of the moderators of the Eat, Train, Progress group that was recommended.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    I do not eat clean. I pay attention to calories, making sure I meet my protein and fat goals (set by the formula you will read about in that link). I eat chocolate almost everyday. I just ate some cinnamon roll bread. I have lost 60 pounds.

    Your trainer is crazy.

    Edited to add: How are you measuring your body fat%? Most methods have some level of inaccuracy, so you may not have gained 1%.
  • kjarvo
    kjarvo Posts: 235 Member
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    I know this comes up all the time but are your calories accurate. There is a lot of measuring by cups. How do you know if something is 1/2 exactly, like for the boiled rice did you put the cooked rice in the cup or estimate? You might be adding 300 calories unintentionally which would put you at maintenance. Weighing your food pre-cooking with a digital scale is probably the most accurate method. Also everything seems very precise, 100g, 50g, 300g etc, are these estimations? sorry if they aren't.

    I weigh everything when I have the ability to - when I am at home. The precise ones are exactly what I ate - to the point where I will put one chip back in the bag so I am not over.

    sorry, like many other English people's comments, measuring my cups just baffles me. I just don't know how it is used to weigh anything other than flour, pulses etc lol. Especially cooked food :S or oddly shaped items :S
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,521 Member
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    Just to put it out there, I've never been to a trainer. My husband met with a trainer at our gym for 3 sessions, which was extremely beneficial for him, b/c he learned how to use the equipment properly and got instruction on proper form. He then started to use a strength-training program on his own.

    Then he showed me how to use the various machines, different movements with dumbbells. He is now helping me with my form on bench, squat, deadlift. So, you don't necessarily NEED a trainer. What you need is a strength-training program to follow...and someone to check you form when you first start.

    Honestly if you have been at a plateau since last fall...something isn't working...and it might not be your diet. If I were you, I would evaluate my diet...see what I could change. I know for myself...I had to cut back on sugar (I wasn't consuming a lot, but I was consuming some form of a sweet treat everyday). It might be time to change your gym routine too. If you are only meeting with your trainer twice a month, you are doing most of the work alone anyway. Try a new program.
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
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    No loss is unexpected based on your foods logs for the past month.

    Have you considered a DEXA scan and V02 testing? Sure, these each are an extra $50, but they would help you calculate your calories burned during exercising, body fat percentage, and daily metabolic rate more accurately. If you're hiring personal trainers, you probably have discretionary funds for fitness.

    Obviously, if you're not using a food scale, start there.
  • ashlafer
    ashlafer Posts: 42 Member
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    OP: Please, please, PLEASE do some research on IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros). It addresses your concerns directly! There are SO many people in the fitness industry who are tired of eating clean and yoyoing between super-strict dieting and huge guilt-ridden binges, you're not the first! :):):) I've been slowly rebuilding my metabolism in the last month through IIFYM (aka flexible dieting), and have seen a great fat loss progress. Of course, this isn't just because of my diet--I kick *kitten* and lift intensely at the gym :) But I was on the low-calorie-restricted-clean-eating-going-nowhere train for a year and a half, unhappy and without progress.

    Good places to start:
    http://iifym.com/
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/diet-doesnt-need-to-mean-denial.html
    Look up "iifym" and "flexible dieting" on instagram for some CRAZY inspiration!
    http://www.brittanydawnfitness.com/ (This is the IIFYM QUEEN. She works her *kitten* off in the gym and eats over 3000 calories a DAY. Follow her on Facebook!)

    There's a "secret" facebook group just for women, full of inspiration, ideas, and Q&As...members are SUPER supportive, and are all in different walks of life (women who are just getting started, women who have been doing IIFYM for years, women in between, obese/overweight women, women who are coming out of a lifetime of eating disorders, young women, old women, bikini and physique bodybuilding competitors...you name it): https://www.facebook.com/groups/574355965957597/
    ^^This also has multiple tabs where you can read some solid advice and FAQs. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE look at this! It's not a miracle diet, there's no pills or laxatives or magical ingredient involved. You CAN pay for and get a coach, but there's no "catch" to it. Just dedication, knowledge, and hard work. And believe me, it pays off...as in, I eat cookies, peanut butter, and chocolate on a daily basis (in moderation, and they always fit into my macros) and am actually starting to see my abs for the first time! :)
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Get rid of the trainer and read this link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
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    Thanks everyone - my plan is to take what she said try to incorporate some of her thoughts, I know I could be better about eating vegetables. Prior to April 28th I wasn't paying nearly the attention I should have been so I am hoping if I just keep on the path I am on the scale will move.

    Interesting about the body fat % - she does the calipers, perhaps she is not using them in the exact same spots every time. I hate that the numbers get me down, I am losing inches, which made the body fat increase even more confusing to me.

    I really don't have extra income to be wasting on a trainer that is not helping me. I will definitely check out the links and groups everyone provided.

    As for my diary - if it says "cups" I probably scanned it, but I did weigh out the appropriate grams rather than use a cup - I do know that cups are for liquids. I should probably set up my own foods and weights so I am not trying to use something already in the database all the time.
  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Looking at your diary at a glance, I would advice to start tracking sodium - the two days I looked at, I guess that your sodium is pretty high.
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
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    Okay I looked at your dairy and have a few small suggestions that do not amount to "artificial flavors are making you fat".

    I'm not seeing much food volume for your calorie count. When you make dinner try to have half your plate be raw or steamed veggies or fruit. The other half can be your protein or spaghetti, whatever. That will give you lots of fiber (another problem I'm seeing) with a low calorie count. I see broccoli and cheese. If you want to add flavoring to your veggies instead of cheese, Mrs. Dash has a wide variety of spice mixes you can buy and sprinkle on top.

    Snacks seem pretty non-existent. Again fruits and veggies. I swear Costco must wonder at the amount of strawberries, blueberries, and apples I'm eating.

    I definitely converted over to the "weigh your food" camp. Strawberries and other oddly shaped food can be hard to do "a cup" but 100 grams, easy.

    Buy magnum mini bars and have those instead of the full size ones when you need a spot of sweet.

    Since there will be fluctuations in calories counts and burn estimates, only eat back 50% of your exercise calories and see it that improves things.

    Track your water and anything else you drink. Keep your body well hydrated. Because according to your diary, the only thing you've had is alcohol, no water, no tea, no coffee, no fruit juice, no milk.

    There are definitely items on there where what you think you are ingesting and reality can be very different (restaurants meals are notorious for having way more calories then you think). You may think you are having 700 calories and are having 1,200 or more.

    Ha - yes I drink a LOT of water, I just don't bother to log it. I have a 64oz jug that I fill twice a day at work and then I usually drink 3 bottled waters when I get home from work. Funny you mention the alcohol, since I rarely drink - just happens that I have been out a few nights in the last couple of weeks.

    I have really been trying to cut back on eating out - I used to eat out at least 5-6 times a week and I am down to just once for dinner and maybe once or twice for breakfast. I hate to cook - so that is a huge challenge for me.
  • fvtfan
    fvtfan Posts: 126 Member
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    Looking at your diary at a glance, I would advice to start tracking sodium - the two days I looked at, I guess that your sodium is pretty high.

    OK - thanks :)
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
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    My trainer told me i needed more fiber, i said its calories in vs calories out, he didnt agree. Alot of people will disagree with me but ill say it anyway, your hormones are fighting you every step of the way. If you are doing all the right things and not losing weight. I went through the same thing nothing worked, i lost and gained the same 4-5 lbs i went thru hormone rollercoaster hell,refused to take hormones and finally everything leveled out and with intense exercise 1 hour a day 5-6 days a week and 1400 or less in calories i lost 25 lbs in two years. I would go months with not losing anything but my body was changing ,my clothes were loser and i just didnt give up,i keep increasing my weights and keep doing cardio and i still want to lose 5 more lbs but im liking the muscles so i might not ever get there. Dont take this to mean im saying you need to go on hormones cause im not you just have to work out at more intensity and be diligent with your diet.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    Thanks everyone - my plan is to take what she said try to incorporate some of her thoughts, I know I could be better about eating vegetables. Prior to April 28th I wasn't paying nearly the attention I should have been so I am hoping if I just keep on the path I am on the scale will move.

    Interesting about the body fat % - she does the calipers, perhaps she is not using them in the exact same spots every time. I hate that the numbers get me down, I am losing inches, which made the body fat increase even more confusing to me.

    I really don't have extra income to be wasting on a trainer that is not helping me. I will definitely check out the links and groups everyone provided.

    As for my diary - if it says "cups" I probably scanned it, but I did weigh out the appropriate grams rather than use a cup - I do know that cups are for liquids. I should probably set up my own foods and weights so I am not trying to use something already in the database all the time.

    Even with perfect use, calipers have an error range of 3-5%. Go by the inches and visual appearance--the pictures won't lie (as long as you use the same outfit, room and lighting).

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