Unfortunately, the clients who have the surgery never end up happy and satisfied with the results. They weigh themselves and the scales finally shows that magic number, the weight they always dreamt of. But no matter what, they still just don't like what they see in the mirror. And now they can't even exercise and perform like they used to, due to the lack of one or more limbs. This in turn leads to their mental health suffering, which in turn often leads to poor food choices, which in turn leads to putting all that weight back on and they end up more over-weight now than before the arm or leg removal.
The clients who are happy and satisfied with their body recomposition results though are the ones who chose to go for my second option. First of all I convince them to not lose weight, but to lose fat and gain muscle. I forbid them to measure and weigh themselves. So how do I measure fat loss and muscle gain? You can't! It's impossible to put an accurate number on it. Those are changes you can only see and feel. Even Dexa Scans are absolute bullshit. Do yourself a favour and don't buy into that crap.
I take pictures of my clients, but most importantly we focus on how they FEEL. I educate them on nutrition and we set performance based goals. Do they want to be able to squat 100 kilos, do a pull-up or run 400 metres in less than a minute? The feeling of succeeding in the gym and beating personal bests far outweighs the feeling of seeing the scales go from 85 to 83 kilos. Besides, how do you know those two kilos are fat and not just the massive poo you just did? As soon as the scales and their weight comes into the picture it starts playing mental games with them. I often hear my clients in huge excitement:
"I could fit into a pair of jeans that always used to be way too small for me the other day!!!"
Only for them to five seconds later turn around and say, with the biggest disappointment in their voice:
"But I haven't lost any weight..."
It breaks my heart seeing PT's assessing their clients with skinfold calipers, measuring tapes and making them step on the scales. I know the anxiety, frustration, fear and tears it has caused me in the past and I know how it causes the exact same feelings in clients. Not only will the clients beat themselves up when the numbers never meet their expectations, the dumb trainer question their results and effort too. And right there starts an endless cycle of guilt, shame, body dissatisfaction and anxiety.
The numbers are IRRELEVANT and here's proof. A client of mine who have only lost 1 kilo in the past 5 weeks. Look at the significant changes, which have been achieved by practicing a sport she loves and lots and lots of food:
http://eatforperformance.com
https://www.facebook.com/Eat-For-Performance
No comments:
Post a Comment