Answers (10)
2
Hello Nicole,
I noticed that you took the WITS course in order to become a personal trainer. I am a former instructor for WITS.
One of the things that I thought was a key point in the WITS course was the section on macronutrients. This section is key as many of our clients really don't understand why we need four of the five main macronutrients in our diet on a daily basis, and even more so, we need them if we are using our bodies in such a way that the fuel sources for energy (carbs, fat) are being consumed at a greater rate than if we were not physically active.
However, to answer your question, I'd like to share a story with you that transpired between me and one of my clients who had a great amount of weight to lose. She was finding her new healthy way of eating very challenging and posed this question to me:
Joanne, what is the difference between eating 1650 calories of ice cream throughout the day or 1650 calories of eating fruits, grains, lean meats etc? She added, if weight loss is, as you mentioned, all about energy consumed and energy expended, does it really matter what I eat?
Nicole, to this day I thank her for that question as it forced me to think about food, specifically macronutrients, in a different way.
My answer to her was, "Yes. You can eat 1650 calories worth of ice cream throughout the day, engage in physical activity and lose weight. However, because you omitting important macronutrients in your diet, specific metabolic processes that must occur in order to stay alive can not happen at an optimum level as a consequence of the the omission of these macronutrients. It would be a pity for you to have reached your desired health/fitness/weight loss goals t the expense of your health."
Here is the take home point. Keep it simple. If you don't know already, learn first for yourself why we need, carbohydrates, fats, water and proteins in our diets and what role they play in carrying out specific metabolic processes related to maintenance of a healthy organism. In this way when our clients eat they see the VALUE of what they are ingesting and how it plays an important part in reaching their health/fitness/wellness goals.
I sure hope this helpful to you and wish you success with your clients.
I noticed that you took the WITS course in order to become a personal trainer. I am a former instructor for WITS.
One of the things that I thought was a key point in the WITS course was the section on macronutrients. This section is key as many of our clients really don't understand why we need four of the five main macronutrients in our diet on a daily basis, and even more so, we need them if we are using our bodies in such a way that the fuel sources for energy (carbs, fat) are being consumed at a greater rate than if we were not physically active.
However, to answer your question, I'd like to share a story with you that transpired between me and one of my clients who had a great amount of weight to lose. She was finding her new healthy way of eating very challenging and posed this question to me:
Joanne, what is the difference between eating 1650 calories of ice cream throughout the day or 1650 calories of eating fruits, grains, lean meats etc? She added, if weight loss is, as you mentioned, all about energy consumed and energy expended, does it really matter what I eat?
Nicole, to this day I thank her for that question as it forced me to think about food, specifically macronutrients, in a different way.
My answer to her was, "Yes. You can eat 1650 calories worth of ice cream throughout the day, engage in physical activity and lose weight. However, because you omitting important macronutrients in your diet, specific metabolic processes that must occur in order to stay alive can not happen at an optimum level as a consequence of the the omission of these macronutrients. It would be a pity for you to have reached your desired health/fitness/weight loss goals t the expense of your health."
Here is the take home point. Keep it simple. If you don't know already, learn first for yourself why we need, carbohydrates, fats, water and proteins in our diets and what role they play in carrying out specific metabolic processes related to maintenance of a healthy organism. In this way when our clients eat they see the VALUE of what they are ingesting and how it plays an important part in reaching their health/fitness/wellness goals.
I sure hope this helpful to you and wish you success with your clients.
2
Our clients need to learn the truth about calories, and replace the false beliefs with true fitness related beliefs, and in this case about calories. A common false fitness belief is: "Cutting back on calories will help me to lose weight and be fit". They must learn that following this belief they will lose weight - but the wrong kind: mostly lean body mass and fat burning muscle. They need to learn and understand Caloric Balance, or the Energy Balance Theory. This can be taught in the initial consultation, or as soon as possible along with other related nutrition concepts. However, this can "go in one ear and out the other" if you only tell them and not provide the information for them to take home with. Provide your clients with your referral of a good book that explains calories in detail. I teach them from my own paperback book "The Fitness Quadrant", which explain it all in detail, and saves both me and my clients a lot of time and money as they can learn the knowledge at home and not only when they are with me in a consultation or session.
In a short nutshell, as we move through our day our activity and caloric intake must balance. If our caloric balance is that being that we are consuming more calories than we require then our bodies store the excess calories as body fat (adipose tissue) as a fuel reserve. If we are not supplying enough calories for fuel then our bodies will cannibalize themselves by converting existing muscle mass into fuel and hence give up our lean body mass that requires caloric fuel so that the lower amounts of fuel will balance with the amount of lean mass requiring fuel.
During their fitness evaluation I determine their body composition, learn their individual daily activity level between sedentary and active, and using a formula determine their total calories and daily caloric percentages of Protein, Carbs and Fats.
In a short nutshell, as we move through our day our activity and caloric intake must balance. If our caloric balance is that being that we are consuming more calories than we require then our bodies store the excess calories as body fat (adipose tissue) as a fuel reserve. If we are not supplying enough calories for fuel then our bodies will cannibalize themselves by converting existing muscle mass into fuel and hence give up our lean body mass that requires caloric fuel so that the lower amounts of fuel will balance with the amount of lean mass requiring fuel.
During their fitness evaluation I determine their body composition, learn their individual daily activity level between sedentary and active, and using a formula determine their total calories and daily caloric percentages of Protein, Carbs and Fats.
1
I have clients with the same issue, they don't take in enough calories to build lean muscle and lose fat. They don't understand the basic concept that having lean muscle will boost BMR, and ultimately burn fat.
However, one client of mine, who didn't eat enough before the workout, always hit a wall halfway through the workout. They would get dizzy, nauseus and need to cut the workout short at times or take longer breaks in between sets. I always asked them what they had to eat before coming to see me and the answer was usually something like "I had a banana" or "Just some coffee". I had to explain that their bodies are machines that need fuel to operate, and without fuel the machine can't work as effective. Then I would tell them, as and experiment, to eat some oatmeal with a banana and a cup of yogurt before our next workout, then eat a protein shake right after the workout and see how they feel. Sure enough, their workouts got more intense and they got the results they were looking for quicker.
Hope this helps.
However, one client of mine, who didn't eat enough before the workout, always hit a wall halfway through the workout. They would get dizzy, nauseus and need to cut the workout short at times or take longer breaks in between sets. I always asked them what they had to eat before coming to see me and the answer was usually something like "I had a banana" or "Just some coffee". I had to explain that their bodies are machines that need fuel to operate, and without fuel the machine can't work as effective. Then I would tell them, as and experiment, to eat some oatmeal with a banana and a cup of yogurt before our next workout, then eat a protein shake right after the workout and see how they feel. Sure enough, their workouts got more intense and they got the results they were looking for quicker.
Hope this helps.
0
I am not sure that your scenario is problematic. A 20 lbs. weight loss over a period of 7 months sounds entirely reasonable to me. You are not describing any problems of low energy during the workouts either. It sounds to me that the client has found a proper way of balancing energy in versus energy out.
I am also wondering whether the client, while being ask to keep a food diary for a week, may have during that time self-restricted his caloric intake simply on account of the fact that he was writing it down. I also would consider the fact that self-reported food quantities and calories are usually underestimated.
I would much rather pay attention to the quality of the food; Joanne has made that point beautifully.
I am also wondering whether the client, while being ask to keep a food diary for a week, may have during that time self-restricted his caloric intake simply on account of the fact that he was writing it down. I also would consider the fact that self-reported food quantities and calories are usually underestimated.
I would much rather pay attention to the quality of the food; Joanne has made that point beautifully.
0
The key is education. I use my time training to also "school" my clients on such concepts. I explain how the body works and why it is necessary to eat to grow and burn fat.
Scott
Scott
0
One of the first things I explain to clients is that if they want their body's to burn calories and become fit they need to take in the right amount of calories. Digestion itself burns calories, and to increase metabolism, a higher amount of calories needs to be taken in to increase workload. The next thing I explain is that these calories have to be broken down to certain percentages according to what you find should be their total intake. Carbs, proteins, and fats need to be shown to the client as specific amounts in percentages of the total (ex: for a 2,000 calorie diet would be how many kcals should be carbs, how many protein, how many fats (specifically healthy fats)) Explain that this will maximize lean muscle growth and provide energy to burn. My most successful clients have proclaimed that they eat more now than they did when they tried some mainstream diets on their own.
Bottom line is that you exert an amount of energy, your calories taken in are nutrient dense and balanced, and you are involved in a healthy workout regime you're body will conform to a healthy shape. If you're client feels like he is more advanced or can do w/o the extra calories make sure he is aware of how the body works and performs at peak such as the above comments have illustrated.
Bottom line is that you exert an amount of energy, your calories taken in are nutrient dense and balanced, and you are involved in a healthy workout regime you're body will conform to a healthy shape. If you're client feels like he is more advanced or can do w/o the extra calories make sure he is aware of how the body works and performs at peak such as the above comments have illustrated.
0
Sounds to me like your client needs to cycle out of a fat loss cycle and move into a metabolism repair cycle then go back into fat loss with higher calories.
Explain that the metabolism is damaged (slowed down) because of dieting and it is important to find the metabolic set point then boost it up, without gaining weight.
Explain that the metabolism is damaged (slowed down) because of dieting and it is important to find the metabolic set point then boost it up, without gaining weight.
0
I just tell everyone that I never want to see them go under 1200kcal-1400kcal as that is the bare essentials for basic metabolic functions (ie nervous system, liver, kidneys...). I, also, explain how the body is a highly adaptive machine. If you are cutting back on your fat intake (as most of society does), your body is going, "Oh NO! I am not getting fat and I need fat. I am going to store every ounce of fat that I can!!" This throws people into the yo-yo-loop.
To Deprive Earns you NO HIGH FIVE! In my book :)
To Deprive Earns you NO HIGH FIVE! In my book :)
0
Ultimately this is up to your client
We can only go so far and say so much, in the end the cllient needs to change their behavior in order to be successful
We can guide, coach, suggest, support, persuade, and talk until we are blue in the face
Change begins inside your client!
We can only go so far and say so much, in the end the cllient needs to change their behavior in order to be successful
We can guide, coach, suggest, support, persuade, and talk until we are blue in the face
Change begins inside your client!
0
Hi Nicole. Any "convincing" has to come from the client themselves. What we as trainers CAN do is give our clients our opinions, our recommendations, and arm them with the facts so that they can then make up their own minds with the best information that we can provide for them.
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
larue.cook@lecfitness.com
I hope that this helps.
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
larue.cook@lecfitness.com
