Breaking up with a Personal Trainer

gbargsley · February 2012

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

dad106 · February 2012

Unfortunately the trainer is correct.. when you are gaining lean muscle mass, the scale is not going to go down as fast... but you will be losing inches all over and body fat, which I feel is better then a number on the scale.

If you don't want to continue, then tell the trainer that... I guarantee they go through this a lot with all their clients, and probably won't be offended.

Other option to find a different trainer.. explain what is going on and see if they can better help you.

gbargsley · February 2012

Good advice, but goals in my opinion have to be measurable. I have a hard time believing at my weight with my activity that I am not just shedding weight.

I feel it would be more awkward to change trainers at the same gym that just dropping the personal training all together.

dad106 · February 2012

Good advice, but goals in my opinion have to be measurable. I have a hard time believing at my weight with my activity that I am not just shedding weight.

I feel it would be more awkward to change trainers at the same gym that just dropping the personal training all together.

Inches are measurable... Bust out the tape measure and ditch the scale... After all, the scale is not the only measure of progress. Plus you could be working your butt off but if your diet is off, then you won't lose weight... As the saying goes, can't out exercise a bad diet.

As someone who has gone through two personal trainers(1 got fired, 1 got promoted to manager) the only awkward moment was when my 1st trainer got fired and never told me about it... I had to find out through the 2nd trainer that the 1st got fired.

Trainers understand that sometimes they don't work for everyone and that it takes a few(if not more!) to find the right one. For me, it took 2...and now I'm pretty satisfied with my 3rd trainer. There are somethings we need to tweak but it's how it is with every trainer.

Sidesteal · February 2012

Is the trainer responsible for helping you with your diet or is he/she just in charge of your fitness program/exercise/etc?

I have mixed opinions on this.

First, at your stats (forgive the blunt-ness here) you should be dropping weight at a good pace even if you are weight training and lifting heavy *kitten* weights. If you were in the low teens for bodyfat% I'd buy into the idea that you're possibly recomping a bit, but given your size the weight should steadily come off at a pretty good clip.

But the question remains: Do you hold the trainer responsible for your weight loss?

Your progress will be driven so heavily by your food intake that I don't know whether or not I'd fire a trainer based on what the scale does, unless that trainer is also giving you dietary advice AND you are following his/her dietary advice and then failing.

In closing, congrats on your progress so far and I hope you don't think any of the above commentary is taking away from that. You have done excellent so far.

gbargsley · February 2012

My current trainer is helping with nutrition and exercise. She gave me a "custom" meal plan that outlines each day of the week. I follow what I think is pretty strict nutrition plan of 2000 calories a day. I sometimes have a hard time getting to 2000 calories. This calorie count mixed with the amount of calories my HRM says I burn during a workout based on the math I feel as though I would be loosing faster. I do believe in a spike day as I read more information. That is usually on Saturday, but I still workout on that day so spike day or cheat day I don't get too crazy, just don't track calories through MFP. I have fallen off the wagon this weekend as the one pound I gained at my Thursday weigh in screwed with my head and has me in this weird place. I feel as thought I am putting 1000% in to diet and exercise and not getting the results I would expect.

I have outlined my goals to my trainer and they are based around weight loss amounts over specific time frames and she seems to be ok with what I have outlined.

getalife9353 · February 2012

A Personal Trainer should work with you to achieve your goals; you are after all the one paying the bill. If your goal is weight reduction, then that is what your trainer should be helping you with. If your goal is to increase lean muscle then that is what they should help you with. Have you clearly communicated what YOUR goals are? If so, and the trainer is pushing you in a different direction, I would not continue with that trainer. Personally if I was having success I wouldn't bother with a personal trainer. If your goals change and you need advice, then it may be time to consider a personal trainer to help get you started in the right direction. If you find yourself at a point where you are not making progress, a personal trainer may be able to help you refocus. If a Personal Trainer helps motivate you, then that would be another reason to continue. It’s your money you need to get what is of a value to you.

lacroyx · February 2012

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.

he/she is correct. it will take time. you will plateau. I've dealt with it in the past 2 ½ months of the scale not moving. but I was never discouraged. I measured myself and tracked my BF%. I needed to buy smaller sized clothing, was off the diabetes meds, blood pressure was normal, over all I just felt great. alot of people have hang ups with the scale. who cares? it's just a number. it doesn't tell the whole story

AnninStPaul · February 2012

I'm in the camp of

1) also look at inches
2) at your current weight your fat loss should outweigh your muscle gain
3) you are paying this person, they should be focused on your goals UNLESS your goals are unhealthy
4) we outgrow personal service providers - the trainer that worked in 2011 might not be what you need in 2012, just like the stylist who keeps you in the 90s isn't helping you today or the pediatrician you saw as a child isn't appropriate for a 30-year-old.

Also...twice a week is spendy. I see mine once a week, to check form, update the routine, and maintain motivation.

cockneypaul · February 2012

I was about to put exactly what lacroyx had put. but to add a couple of things.
Instead of using those markers, weight loss etc. change them measure the muscle mass you are putting on. stat your arms, your waist (not trouser size), legs etc you may see that they are actually getting bigger due to mass going on. That sunshine is a good gain of weight not bad. your mind will have trouble quantifying that as it works on visual images that mirrors supply etc.

AND

The more fat you loose the slower the fat loss becomes - FACT.

AND

we all plateau

Great work buddy keep on fighting..

ttkg · February 2012

Is the trainer responsible for helping you with your diet or is he/she just in charge of your fitness program/exercise/etc?

I have mixed opinions on this.

First, at your stats (forgive the blunt-ness here) you should be dropping weight at a good pace even if you are weight training and lifting heavy *kitten* weights. If you were in the low teens for bodyfat% I'd buy into the idea that you're possibly recomping a bit, but given your size the weight should steadily come off at a pretty good clip.

But the question remains: Do you hold the trainer responsible for your weight loss?

Your progress will be driven so heavily by your food intake that I don't know whether or not I'd fire a trainer based on what the scale does, unless that trainer is also giving you dietary advice AND you are following his/her dietary advice and then failing.

In closing, congrats on your progress so far and I hope you don't think any of the above commentary is taking away from that. You have done excellent so far.

^I agree with this^

gbargsley · February 2012

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Lozze · February 2012

First, at your stats (forgive the blunt-ness here) you should be dropping weight at a good pace even if you are weight training and lifting heavy *kitten* weights. If you were in the low teens for bodyfat% I'd buy into the idea that you're possibly recomping a bit, but given your size the weight should steadily come off at a pretty good clip.

I agree with this. I was reading the post thinking your PT sounded like their head was on straight and then read your current weight. You should not be stalling in weight loss at this point.

What is your current calorie intake? Would you mind opening your food diary so people can give advice?

gbargsley · February 2012

I changed my food diary to public, I think that makes it viewable by everyone.

Lozze · February 2012

Well my advice after seeing the diary is to log everything! It appears you're not logging with any consistency so it's hard to know if you're eating well or not.

Losing weight is 80% diet.

jilers · February 2012

Another option is to not break up with your trainer but change your whole fitness regimine with them. Sometimes your body needs to work muscle differently to break a plateau. This might not be your case - but it something to think about.

rayleansout · February 2012

I would just switch things up, tell the trainer u would like a little more control, split your workout sessions in half - do half interval cardio (trainer will know) half weight training - watch scale move again, you cant keep doin the same thingds over and over again, you have to change it up!

gbargsley · February 2012

I appreciate your taking a look, but I am very diligent about tracking my food diary. The days since Thursday's bad weigh in have not been tracked as mentally I am pissed about the whole situation. I typically do not enter my Saturday and Sunday because Saturday is my spike day and I just don't bother with Sunday because I am not around a computer. However, I follow my set meal plan on Sunday.

Lozze · February 2012

I appreciate your taking a look, but I am very diligent about tracking my food diary. The days since Thursday's bad weigh in have not been tracked as mentally I am pissed about the whole situation. I typically do not enter my Saturday and Sunday because Saturday is my spike day and I just don't bother with Sunday because I am not around a computer. However, I follow my set meal plan on Sunday.

Well that's info that we need to know. Based on what I could see I wasn't sure if you were or not ;-p

Based on diary, you're not eating ANY fruit or veggies. You really need to add them to your diet. If you struggle start slowly. Add one at a time until you start to enjoy them. You need the nutrients from F&V, especilly if you're doing a lot of cardio.

You're also not drinking any water from the diary. For health reasons you need to drink some water. It helps your body function as it should.

Lastly, you're not adding your exercise (and I went back two weeks) MFP sets the deficit up for you. It's based on the assumption that you will eat the calories back to keep the deficit the same as they recommend. Now there's a HUGE debate on here on whether you should eat them back or not, but if you're doing 60 minutes most days of cardio you could very easily be burning 1000 calories at your size. Which would put you at under 1000 calories some days. A healthy sized women is not recommended to go under 1200. As an obese man you need to be eating a LOT more than that to fuel your body. Since what you''re currently doing it not working for you, why not try eating your calories back and see if that changes anything?

capturingsmiles · February 2012

I do have the same problem with the scale. I started 6 weeks ago and I have only lost 16 lbs, but my husband also measures me. I've taken off 11.5 inches from my frame and some weeks the scale would not budge.

luvmybaby333 · February 2012

Something else to think about... For your stats, you should be eating somewhere around the number of 2796 calories per day. That is the BARE MINIMUM of what your body needs to survive. That is without activity level and exercise factored in. After accounting for the fact that you move around during the day, and obviously exercise on occasion, then you could probably eat closer to 3000 and still maintain a calorie deficit. But if that sounds to scary high, just pay attention to the fact that should not ever eat under your BMR.

If you are accurately logging your food on MFP (aside from the days that you're spiking and/ or are away from the computer), then it looks like you are consistently eating under your calorie goal. That isn't good at all, especially when your calorie goal is too low to begin with. Now, clearly it is possible to lose weight with a dramatic calorie deficit. You've totally proven that. You've lost 100 pounds! But it is also clear that something is wrong. I think this has less to do with the personal trainer (although I would question the meal plan he set aside for you after looking at your diary), and more to do with the fact that your body does not want to let go of the fat because you are essentially not feeding it enough to survive on.

Breaking up with a Personal Trainer

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