Not that kind of engagement, and not the TV show either. Nope, this time we’re talking about hiring and working with a personal trainer. So, what are these rules of engagement?
Search for trainers who are a good match for you in these basic areas:
expertise, experience and credentials in your goals
convenience in schedule and location
personality that suits yours
affordability
How do you find them?
Seek recommendations, do phone screening, visit clubs and observe trainers in action, contact national certifying bodies like ACSM, ACE, NSCA, NASM, NESTA. Once you have narrowed it down to 2 or 3, set up a visit to ask them:
What experience do you have working with people like me, with these goals?
What results have you and your clients like me achieved?
Can I talk with some of your clients?
Will you give me a plan for working out on my own?
Describe your style?
Are you available when I want to workout? What do you charge?
Pick 1 or 2 for a trial workout and make your decision.
These apply to both of client and trainer:
Be clear about your goals and where you are now, so the trainer can map out the best plan. If you don’t see how something helps with your goal, ask.
Be open, so the trainer knows how to communicate with you. If you are not getting what you want, say so.
Be honest. If you’re hurt or uncomfortable with something, say so. If you haven’t been doing your homework, admit it.
Be on time. The trainer cannot usually go past your hour without inconveniencing other clients. Plus you may not get the whole workout in.
Be attentive. Get your sleep, don’t be distracted by TV or chit chat. Focus!
Be good on the eating side. You won’t reach your goals without good nutrition.
Be trusting. If you don’t trust the trainer, get a new one. Your trainer does not profit from you getting hurt or being unsuccessful.
Be excited! It’s your goal, it’s your time, it’s your expert. If you don’t care, no one else will. Work hard.
Frequent readers know that I usually go on a rant about nutritional supplements every year or so. You can read past articles on this subject in the July, August and September newsletter archives. This time I am going to narrow my focus to a particular type of supplement, vitamins. The source for much of this article comes from the August, 2011 issue of the Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Newsletter.
About 40% (and growing) of Americans take a multivitamin daily, which is the single most popular type of supplement. But many Americans take individual vitamins also. Why have they become so popular?
I think there are several reasons:
1. We all learned in grade school about how a lack of vitamins caused scurvy, rickets and beriberi. Those discoveries were played up big in science classes.
2. The government has mandated that certain foods be fortified with particular vitamins as a public health measure.
3. There is a growing belief that our food supply is not a good as it used to be.
4. We all know that people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables – which are vitamin-rich – have less risk for chronic diseases.
5. Our medical system tends to emphasize drugs over other forms of care, which plays into our own preference to take the easiest way out whenever possible.
6. The 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act had the effect of separating supplements from food, and from regulation, giving marketers the advantage over scientists.
7. Finally, the media are very sloppy about their coverage of research findings, inadequately covering potential harms and benefits, as well as the quality of the findings. Think about this the next time you hear a news story about vitamin research: If you were in the study, would you be able to eat any strictly regimented diet prescribed to you, in the way they want you to eat it, with no additions or subtractions, for the entire length of the study? If you can, why can’t you stick to your weight loss diet?
The science is clear that the most important factor in health outcomes is not any individual vitamin or supplement, but rather it is the whole dietary pattern. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables provides a lot of vitamins, and a lot of health benefits, but taking those same vitamins as supplements does NOT seem to have the same health benefits. Yes, some people with certain conditions can benefit from taking a supplement of certain vitamins or minerals, and that should be a medical decision, not a whim after reading a magazine article about a Hollywood star.
So, for a summary of the research findings on vitamin supplements and chronic diseases, click on the link to see which are HOPE, HYPE, or HARM.
When considering which supplements to take, here’s the latest research on which provide benefits, which don’t, and which may be dangerous.
Hope
There is encouraging evidence that Vitamin D supplements can increase bone mineral density and decrease fractures, although specific advice is still a guess. Calcium is also required.
Vitamins C and E, along with beta-carotene and zinc, are strongly supported by the research to have a preventive effect among high risk people for age-related macular degeneration.
Hype
B 12 deficiency is common in older adults, including those with Alzheimer’s, but supplementation does not slow or prevent Alzheimer’s.
B vitamins such as folic acid supplements have not been shown to affect heart disease, cancer, or mortality by lowering homocysteine, but the jury is still out because the research that was done was poorly designed.
Vitamin D is thought to be a potential help for heart disease, cancer and diabetes, but definitive trials have not been completed.
Multivitamins have not been shown to have any effect on chronic disease, but have not been shown to cause any harm. The NIH says that the current evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against multivitamin usage. Personally, I used to take one daily but have discontinued that practice.
Harm
Vitamin E was thought to be cardio – protective by keeping LDL cholesterol from oxidating, but repeated large clinical trials using high-dose supplements found no benefit, and later research indicated that doses of Vitamin E above 400 IU actually increased mortality.
Beta-carotene in high doses was initially thought to reduce the risk of lung cancer, but clinical trials found that it actually increased risk for smokers.
If external cues can lead you into bad eating habits, you can use the same cueing process to eat better, and less mindlessly. Stop relying on your all-too-exhaustible supply of will power or your intelligence and education, which has been demonstrated not to work. Think about financial planning. Companies with 401K plans used to make people sign up to contribute to the plans, and participation was low. But when they automatically enrolled people, with an option to opt out if they wanted to, participation went way up. Set your default to healthy rather than unhealthy.
Here’s how:
Use smaller bowls, plates, glasses, etc. Put the big ones away so you can’t get to them easily.
Leave salad and vegetables dishes on the dinner table, where they are easy to reach, but put the entree on the counter, where it is harder to get to.
Buy foods in smaller containers, or if you buy in bulk, repackage them into serving sizes.
Leave fruit out on the counter in bright serving bowls so it is attractive and people can take it easily.
Put carrots, celery, and other vegetables in water in clear containers in the front of refrigerator to attract the eye.
Put the ice cream, cheese, and other high fat foods in the back, out of site and out of mind.
Put leftovers in plastic containers to encourage or discourage their use: clear containers in the front for veggies & salads, opaque containers in the back for entrees.
If you must eat fast food, change your default order from burger & fries to grilled chicken & side salad. You may also have to change your default place to make this work.
Think about your own life and how you can use your intelligence and awareness to change your daily cues from overeating to healthy eating patterns.
You do deserve a break today – a break from self-destructive eating. Good luck!
Please post your own suggestions or examples of how you have used re-cueing to eat better.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org
A health halo effect is when a good thing’s goodness is overestimated. I used to work at a hospital, and I was convinced that nurses believed they were either immune to lifestyle diseases because they were nurses, or that the doctors they saw every day would just fix them if they did get one.
Places Have Halos
A study was done at a mall which had both a Subway and a McDonalds. The Subway eaters ate there because it was perceived as a healthy choice, but they underestimated their meal’s calorie intake by 27%. They didn’t count the extra meat or cheese or mayo they requested, and they thought that even the chips were healthier. McDonalds eaters also underestimated their calories, but only by 19%.
Another study gave people the same Italian sandwich, along with a menu from a fictitious restaurant, either Jim’s Hearty Sandwich Shop or Good Karma Healthy Foods. Good Karma sandwiches were estimated to be 24% lower in calories than those from Jims. And, those with the Good Karma sandwiches were more likely to order chips, sugary drinks and cookies as well.
Labels Have Halos
One study showed that people estimated that food labeled “organic” was 15-20% lower in calories than food with no label.
News Flash: Being organic has no effect on calorie levels.
Another study showed that foods labeled “low fat” have a halo. People were offered trail mix and M&Ms, both labeled either “low fat” or “regular”. Those who chose the “low fat” versions ate 21-46% more calories than those eating the “regular” versions, even if they rated the food as tasting worse. Why? One reason is that they believe low fat foods are 40% lower in calories, when they are actually only about 11% lower. Another is that people think they can reward themselves for being virtuous – which of course wipes out the virtue.
Exercise Halo
Exercise can bring about the same “rewarding” behavior. In one study, different groups were led on the exact same walk at the exact same pace by leaders who described the walks as either “exercise” or “scenic” walks. Those on the “exercise” walks ate more calories than those on the “scenic” walks, with most of the increase coming from dessert. The”exercisers” figured that they’d burned more calories so they could reward themselves.
Beware the halo. Remember that a virtuous decision is its own reward.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
Many educated, informed, intelligent people believe that once they know about these external cues to overeat, they would never again be fooled by them.
WRONG!
Overconfidence
In a study of grad students, they were lectured for 90 minutes, including videotapes and illustrations, about these same external cues to overeat and how to combat them. They were told that they would eat more Chex Mix if it were served in larger bowls than they would if it were served in smaller bowls. The students went home for the holidays, and upon their return, were invited to a Super Bowl party. There were 2 identical rooms at the party, except one room had larger bowls of Chex Mix than the other. In fact, they were the same orange bowls that the students had seen in the videotapes. Sure enough, those eating from the larger bowls took 53% more food, and when asked if they thought they’d taken more from the larger bowls, they said no. And then they gave an excuse, like not eating breakfast that day.
Even professional bartenders were fooled. They were shown that they consistently poured 20% more liquid into 10 oz short wide tumblers than they did into 10 oz tall thin glasses. Within 1 minute of being shown this, they did it again!
So, if education and awareness cannot stop us from overeating, maybe we should just eat mindfully. And this can work for some people. But for the typical family, dealing with the daily chaos of kids, house issues, work problems, hectic schedules, interruptions, etc. this does not seem workable.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
Researchers were able to make people eat more by pairing them with fast eaters and less when paired with slow eaters.
A study found that when following a woman at a free buffet lunch line, another woman generally took about the same amount of food as the first woman. When following a man, there was no effect. When the leading woman appeared to be obese, the woman following often took more food than the obese person. Researchers speculated that people seemed to think that they could afford to take more since they were much smaller than the obese person. Guys were not affected by anyone else, they always filled their plates.
On a personal note, as a fitness trainer, I’m always curious about people’s reactions to my profession when I attend meal functions with people I don’t know. They often groan when they find out what I do, or try to explain their food choices. I always tell them that I’m not there to pass judgment on anyone. It seems to work, because they usually finish their plates and get dessert, regardless of what I do.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
When researchers served the same tasty brownies on either a napkin, a paper plate or fine china, the people rated them respectively as either really good, really really good, or the greatest brownie ever eaten, worth triple the price.
Note: put out the good china when you host dinner parties.
It works in your favor as well. Serve the same amount of food on a big plate and a small plate. I’ll bet you feel more full after eating the small plate than the big one, because it looks bigger on the small plate. Well, don’t eat the actual plates, just the food on them.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
Secretaries were given candy ostensibly as an award for performance. Hershey’s Kisses were put into either a clear bowl or an opaque one, and the bowls were placed either right on their desks or about 6 feet away from them. The bowls were refilled daily. When the bowls were on their desks, the secretaries averaged 9 Kisses a day; when the bowls were 6 feet away, they averaged 4 per day. The secretaries reported that the extra effort it took to go 6 feet gave them time to think about how hungry they were, and decide not to eat. Also, those with the clear bowls ate 2 more Kisses per day than those with the opaque bowls.
In homes, studies were done with serving dishes left on the dinner table or not. When the serving dishes were left on the table, men ate 29% more than when the dishes were left on the counter. The main reason for this is that men eat fast, and then they watch the rest of the family eat, so they are prone to taking seconds and thirds while they wait. Women tend to eat slower, but they still averaged 10% more food eaten when it was left on the table.
So, leave the salad and vegetables on the table at dinner and put the meat back on the counter. Maybe the kids will eat more veggies.
All the research was done by Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell and the author of Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think. You can learn even more at his website mindlesseating.org.
Healthy Habits offers 1 to 1 personal training, partner and group fitness programs, BioMetrics nutrition and exercise plans, golf fitness and weight loss programs, post-rehab clinical exercise, and beginner and intermediate yoga classes in Memphis, TN.
Not that kind of engagement, and not the TV show either. Nope, this time we’re talking about hiring and working with a personal trainer. So, what are these rules of engagement?