The time I went grocery shopping w/a client

[Keltron]

Ok, so this was actually going to be a reply to the previous post but it ended up being so long that I decided to give it it's own little private Idaho. You may be thinking, "Doesn't this guy have anything better to do than write essay-length thread replies?"

Well, since I like writing and am thinking about being a comedic writer on the side, I think stuff like this is excellent practice and a perfect creative outlet.

So about grocery shopping....I did it as a last resort w/this one particular lady. It was a waste of time. Not that I'm knocking the idea in general. It's actually a good idea provided that it's done w/the right client....

So It took me forever to just get her to start keeping a food journal. Once I finally got her to keep track of her food, every time I'd look at her journal, it would be full of crap; especially drive thru McDonald's for breakfasts.
"I'm just so busy in the mornings, I don't have time to make breakfast."

"Ok" I said, "If there's absolutely no other alternative, then I'll just work it into your calories. Let's just forget about specific food and just try to get you to take in the right amount of calories. It's not as healthy but you'll still drop a good amount of fat."

So she starts hitting her calories almost exactly but after a month she still weighs the same with the same bf and same circumference measurements.

"There's got to be something wrong." I said. This lady was 300lbs and according to her journal, she was taking in 2200 calories. There's no way in hell for her to not see SOME kind of change if she really was eating this many calories.

Turns out she was still eating out but she was "eating healthy" and that she was eyeballing and guessing how many calories were in her food.

"You can't eyeball and guestimate. I'm a professional and I still don't trust my eyes. Don't eat at restuarants. I don't care if you get the salmon w/steamed veggies and brown rice. If you're eating too much you won't lose fat regardless of how "healthy" it is. Don't eat anything unless you can accurately determine the calories."

"So does that mean I have to cook everything and measure and weigh everything out?"

"Umm.. YEAH."

"But I don't have time to sit down and figure all that out."

"Ok, how about this? I'll go with you to the grocery store and we can pick stuff out that you like together. I'll tell you exactly what to eat at what times and at what weight/quantitiy. I'll even find breakfast food for you that you don't have to prepare.. you don't even have to eat it at home.. it'll be stuff that you can take out of the fridge on your way out and eat in the car on your way to work."

"Ok, that I can do that."

"Wonderful.. Now Jackie, I've exhausted every single means possible for you to eat properly. From this point, I can see no possible excuse for you not to lose weight. I've eliminated every conceivable reason for you not to follow your diet. There should be no reason for you not to lose weight from this point. OK?

"Yes, you're right. Let's do it!"

So the next day I skip my personal workout so that I can take care of this. Just as we head out, she says that she doesnt shop at the grocery store near the gym. She shops at the safeway near her home which is about 10 miles from the gym. I don't know what godfosaken difference it made but whatever. We get in and get out fairly efficiently. I help her sorry ass load everything in the car and I figure if I get back to the gym now, I can squeeze in a pretty good workout.

"Hey Khalil [my name is Khalid by the way, NOT fxcking Khalil, it says KHALID right on the name tag that you've been seeing on my chest for the past few months] " can we just drop this off at my house first? I'll drop you off at the gym right after we're done. It's just that it's hard for me to get up the stairs while carrying all this stuff. Normally I get my neighbors son to help me bring up groceries and stuff from the car but he's out of town. The road that goes up my hill is not even two miles away."

Ok, screw the workout, I think to myself. Getting Jackie to her goals is more important so I agree to it

. It took us 5 minutes tops to get to the base of the hill but it turns out this mothergrabbing hill has more twists and turns than the vericose veins on her legs. On top of that, she lived at the VERY top and the roads were narrower than Amy Whinehouse's neck so you had to go super slow. By the time I unloaded all the crap and got back down to the hill it was damn near 30 minutes.

I got to the gym just in time to eat and prepare for my next client. "Screw it." I thought, "It was for a good cause."

A week later I look at her journal and it's got the same crap from McDonald's and all those damn restaurants near her work.

I honestly was in too great of a state of shock and disbelief to even be upset at her or even react. I closed her journal and just stared at the floor in a catatonic state. I never spoke to her after that aside from directing her workouts. I was utterly fed up. Luckily she only had 2 more sessions after that. On her last session she said, "I can't resign today but I'm getting my check next week so give me a call when you want me to come down and I'll get the biggest package this time."

I never called her. And I was having a slow month at the time as well.

So my point in all this is that grocery shopping w/your clients is a wonderful idea provided that the client is serious. Some people are just full of kaka-doo-doo, full of excuses, and full of blame directed at anyone and anything besides themselves. They will be disgustingly obese for as long as they inhabit this wretched earth. Don't waste your time, energy and mental well-being for these people.

[Grinners]

They will be disgustingly obese for as long as they inhabit this wretched earth. Don't waste your time, energy and mental well-being for these people.

Here, here!

Good read, i enjoyed it

[Simmo0508]

Our gym has set days in which groups of 5-10 clients go around a local supermarket with one of our trainer's and learn about nutrition in general. It's pretty good that you can do em in groups like that, but **** doin it for just one person. Takes up way too much time bro.

There's showing interest and helping a person, and then there's screwin up your own day when ya didn't urgently have to.

You're not even required to bother about their calories etc. It's a bonus thing us trainers do to speed up the process, but a dietician is paid to do that sort of thing.

I often get them to bring in food logs into their workouts, so for me it's a conversation starter and we have somethin to work with. But don't feel as if you have to babysit them and guide them the whole way. They have to change their life, not you.

[FreddyKrueger]

Once I realize that clients wont give up certain things I just work them out and forget about motivating them. They joined the gym because they didn't know what it entailed. Most of the time they join the gym just so they can have something to talk about with their friends.
Having a trainer is a serious thing, and once a client realizes that we have to baby sit grown people for 8-10 hours a day with all kinds of different needs the world would be a better place. So, no nutrition is something I leave up to them. If we are not making progress I know exactly where to point and tell them whats going on. They usually start listening after not seeing results that they want. Most of them anyways.

[Ya Heard Right]

I am not a certified PT or nutritionist but people respect my opinion on the matters. I have gone through similar things you wrote about OP, and I concur on the staring at the floor deal. I have helped a lot of family members, but there are some that just can't be helped. They just dont have the motivation I suppose.

[alottaboost]

Wow. I can't believe people spend that much money to "try" to get in shape and not take it serious... good read though!

[oregonpanthers]

This is why I work exclusively with college athletes and bodybuilders. Still get some apprehension from time to time but compliance issues are normaly minor and transient. Its just them coming to me, askig what to do and how, and me giving them guideance, end of story. I love it this way!