Occasionally I have a client who trains regularly and makes good progress with resistance exercise and cardiovascular fitness. They may also be on carefully structured nutritional plans and yet when the time comes to check body composition there is a degree of disappointment. Sometimes there is an easy explanation: with one lady the weight did not drop significantly but the lean body mass had increased, indicating a growth of muscle and a drop in fat weight. Whilst she was disappointed by the apparent lack of weight loss, careful recording and explanation of the figures was reassuring and served as a future motivator.
Another client, however, failed to show any appreciable fat loss. In fact the fat percentage and over all body weight was higher - but so was the lean body weight. This client had made excellent progress with resistance training and his cardiovascular fitness had improved dramatically. It became apparent that something was amiss and so I became even more observant.
There may be any number of reasons for failure to lose fat weight - carbohydrate intolerance, under active thyroid, poor timing of nutrition etc - but generally the simplest explanation is the right one. Many clients who are overweight don't stick to the nutritional advice. They may indeed train hard and make progress - and they will still reap many health and fitness benefits - but if they don't make the suggested nutritional changes there will be little change in body composition.
It's not much of a problem if the client is on track nutritionally but occasionally slips up. As long as they don't skip meals and get back into the routine of regular eating the harm, if any, will be minimal. The problem is when the client professes to be following a nutritional programme but is actually gorging on ice cream, chips, cakes and fast food on a regular basis.
How is the trainer to react? Some clients will readily admit to the nutritional failings but nevertheless wish to continue with the training as a form of damage limitation. Others may become disillusioned with your training - in effect blaming you- and discontinue. Either way, the experience of a "non-compliant" client can be disheartening for the trainer - it may even adversely affect your reputation (the results your clients achieve is often the best form of advertising).
Do you just continue to train such an individual (is short-term financial reward enough to motivate you?) or does the issue need confronting?
I generally opt for an approach of gentle enquiry. It does not help the trainer or the client if an inquisition ensues. It is better to be patient, non-judgemental, and focused on the positives. It may be that the client experiences genuine difficulty making the nutritional changes; there may be hidden social pressures; they may have an eating disorder; some are fearful of succeeding; some become anxious as their body weight reduces.
The important thing is to communicate, to adopt an attitude of active listening, and to advise only where advice is sought. Suggested changes should be small and manageable, and enough time needs to pass for these changes to become habituated before further changes are made. Be specific. If your client drinks 3 litres of Coke a day suggest they switch to diet coke (or, better, water). If they are failing to drink enough water, ask them to introduce an extra glass or two and encourage them to bring a water bottle to training sessions.
Offer small amounts of education: talk about the virtues of high protein at one time, glycaemic index at another. Focus on the foods they currently eat that are helpful for their training goals. Don't label foods good and bad however.
With such clients, small changes may reap long term benefits. The key is to remain patient, to keep communicating, and never to condemn.
