Happy New Years guys, It's that time again where you're going to be bombarded with social medial posts and all types of marketing around rapid fat loss. This is my advice for anyone looking to start a diet plan and the pitfalls of embarking on a detox cleanse.
Diet plans and Supplements
As a Personal Trainer, I often get asked to prescribe diet plans or asked what the best supplements are for losing weight. This is an absolute minefield in the fitness and nutrition industry as one trainer’s ethics are completely different to another’s when it comes to getting the edge over their competitors in terms of achieving results.
It would be extremely easy for me to team up with a supplement company and tell all my clients they need XY and Z to accelerate results or they should replace meals with shakes or sell products to “cleanse” the body of toxins. I could even prescribe ultra-low-calorie diets which make you lose large amounts of weight fast (enough to get some great before and after photo’s), but it won’t be sustainable long-term, ultimately, you’ll put all the weight back on afterwards. But that’s where my personal ethics come in and where I draw the line……
My view on the subject is that the client’s health always comes first, unless a Personal Trainer also holds a Dietician (or equivalent) qualification then prescribing diet plans or selling supplements is out of their scope of work. The same would apply to Personal Trainers diagnosing injuries and prescribing rehabilitation exercises without the relevant qualifications to do so.
So, when asked about supplements and diet plans my response would be this; you wouldn’t get an Electrician to cut your hair, neither would you ask a builder to perform surgery on you, so why would you not seek dietary advice from a professional in that field.
If you feel you’re nutritionally deficient and have tried eating healthily, but still can’t get the results you want then you should definitely seek a Dietician or your GP who can carry out relevant tests and work out a plan of action.
My advice for anyone who attends my sessions that wants to drop bodyfat is:
1) Get consistent with exercise, 3-5 times per week without fail.
2) Get comfortable with resistance training, either through body weight exercises or pick up some weights.
3) Remain within a sensible calorie deficit every single day.
If someone asks what supplements I take, I am more than happy to discuss it, and why it works for me, but what works for me may not work well for someone else which is why doing your own research and speaking to a professional should be a priority.
Bottom line, If you need further help with your diet or want to know more about supplements, seek help from a Dietician.
MLM nutritional companies (Multi-level Marketing)
Where to start……you’ve almost definitely seen this on your social media pages at some point, especially now around Christmas and New Year…… All of a sudden, Julie (the local hairdresser) starts bombarding her social media pages with hundreds of success stories of people who have lost excessive amounts of weight in a miraculous timeframe by chugging down nothing but Aloe Vera…… or another "client" (she's never met before) who’s lost weight by swapping up calorie nutrient meals for shakes…….or my favourite, the "client" who’s lost 30kgs because they have detoxified their body by going on a cleanse (basically lost a shit load of water and muscle which is vital to your body functioning properly).
The majority of the people pushing these products are no more nutritionally qualified than your local Avon Rep and the success stories, motivational memes, and daily insights they are posting have been mass emailed to them by their marketing department they represent. It’s very rare they’ll post up their own client’s long-term success stories because it rarely happens.
The number 1 instruction given by these supplement companies is to take their products alongside a healthy diet and regular exercise..... Genius that!
For 99% of the population, if you follow a healthy diet, exercise regularly and stay in a sensible calorie deficit YOU’LL LOSE FAT! You’ll also keep it off long term and save yourself a tonne of money not having to buy the “magical” products.
Don’t get me wrong “some” products are nutritionally sound but nothing you can't find in your local nutrition shop and it won’t stop the Rep trying to package it up with "other" products which are totally wrong for you.
My advice if approached by an MLM nutritional Rep;
1) JUST AVOID, especially if approached to become a Rep in exchange for cheap/free products.
2) Ask for professional credentials (qualifications – Dietician or equivalent).
3) Ask LOTS of questions, see how they react (whether they’re blagging it), write down responses, research the products from a non-biased source.
1 thing you should know is that your body has its own effective detoxification system - ORGANS! If you eat cleaner food and drink plenty of water, your detoxification system will be under less stress and will do its job properly, it’s all you’ll ever need.
If you’ve got money to burn on a Detox plan, Meal Replacement Shakes, A Juice Fast or Aloe f**king Vera, my advice would be to invest that money into finding a reputable Dietician who can create a sustainable nutrition plan, tailored just for you.
On the topic of MLM companies, if you have a spare 30 mins check out ‘John Oliver's Multilevel marketing on YouTube’, it’s a few years old but still applies to a lot of companies. Very insightful and very amusing too. Here's the link, enjoy - https://youtu.be/s6MwGeOm8iI