I am a personal trainer: when my overweight clients ask me if they are fat, what should i say?
Posted by Weight Loss Master on Friday, July 29, 2011 · 28 Comments
I’ve in my early twenties, and i have been a personal trainer/dietitian for 4 years. Basically, my job is to help people lose weight. I know basically everything about work outs and food – i actually am currently working behind the set of “The biggest loser” and helping design the workouts and challenges to make sure the contestants lose as much weight as possible.
My only problem, is that a lot of my clients are insecure 17 or 18 year olds who always take out their problems on me and ask me if they are fat, or if they are ugly. How can i be professional, honest, blunt, and kind? Any tips?
And feel free to email me about weight loss, if you have any questions.
I love Jillian, she is a great friend of mine.
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say, yes you are, get on the tredmill.
Ask:
If you didn’t think so, would you be here?
Zach-Asa: We’ll make a Jillian out of her yet!
Don’t lie it olny enables them to not do what’s needed.
Tell them being overweight doesn’t make them any less worthy of love/affection/whatever and it doesn’t make them ugly but, losing the weight will improve their health and the way they see themselves…
To the chick above me, I see a dietition to gain weight okay. Not everyone wants to lose weight ya dill.
Say yes.
If they ask if they’re ugly, tell them they’re beautiful, because everyone is, in their own way.
If they ask if they’re fat, just tell them they’re ___ over what they should be, and it doesn’t matter what word you attach to that extra weight, because it’s going to be gone as soon as you’re done with them. (:
It’s easy to be honest but also be kind too by offering a way out, if they so choose.
I mean of course your gonna have to be respectful, you have to tell them the best to keep there hopes up and fight through, its like me i get patients who call 911 for a little cut but i still treat them like no others….(There paying you for your work)
Say, you are here for your own personal reasons, and I am here to help you reach your goals.
You cannot give your opinion because it is just your opinion isnt it.
Well if I were in your position I would say this: “Right now your overweight. If you want that to change your going to have to work for it.”
Tell them the truth, they’re paying you to get them in shape, not to lie to them.
No ppl jus look at you when you orderfive mcdonald meals because their wondering where it all goes
When a person asks you a question like “Am I fat?” and they are … look right in their eyes and say “Well, I am hoping with some work, you will not be!” or “Hmmmm … this is not the place to go for help with anorexia, if that’s what you are asking. Looks like we are in the right place, so let’s get started!”
if they ask, then tell them the truth. But also, follow up with the fact that they are working with you to change that.
I have learned over the years that lying really does not help, you can tell a person they are not fat all you want but that is not going to change the fact that they are. What IS going to change the aforementioned “fact” is that they are trying to change it.
Be honest but don’t push them beyond their limits or say things that they will remember for a lifetime. Fat people can pass out on the treadmill because they aren’t used to physical exercise so please be patient and take your time with them.
Hmm how interesting you got the job you did with such an inflated ego and such a poor idea of what it is to be overweight. You say they “take out their problems” on you? Dear, I think you have issues of your own because if you do not understand people and weight issues from every aspect you are clearly in the wrong career. You ask how to be blunt and honest when people ask if they are fat. I will be blunt (and try to be kind) by saying you are unqualified for your profession and highly immature.
tell them they are well prepared for the coming famine (they’ve got enough stored energy). lol, no.
since it’s your job, AND they are asking you, i personally think you can tell them directly that they are overweight and that a little (or a lot) exercise will do them good. it’s not your worries if they are ugly or not so rather not answer that one.
Be like Jillian, and tell them they need to lose weight if they are fat. Then start working them. If they aren’t fat, tell them to start toning up muscles they have. Be tough like Jillian. If they ask if they are ugly, tell them ugly is inside them, not outside.
I would tell them the truth based on their body mass index. Explain how the index works and at what percentage they are considered overweight for their age and hieght. Shy away from using the word fat, and get them away from using it too. If they ask if they are ugly just tell them “you look fine to me!”
What two books have you’ve written do you even work on the biggest loser. Stop lying.
Answer with a question! Ask them if they like the way they look. Tell them you’re there to help them reach their goals. Ask them what they think of themselves. If they’re annoying and you don’t want them to come back, then yes, tell them they’re fat! Otherwise, answering truthfully will rarely get return customers. You’re in sales, it’s our job to lie!
Of course tell them the truth sometimes the truth hurts, but if your there to help them get healthy then just tell them.
Well you don’t want to tell them “Yeah you are fat.” Teenagers are at the age to where if you even tell them that they are fat, they become anorexic, belemic and you don’t want to be known as the personal trainer that caused them to go through that. If they ask you again “Do you think I’m fat?” Simply look at them and say “I don’t think you are fat, but I do feel you should lose a few more pounds so you can be a healthier person.” If they ask you “Do you think I’m ugly?” Don’t tell them “Yeah you are ugly.” That is very cruel. Especially since you are in your twenties. These teenagers look up to you. Tell them that “Everyone looks different. Everyone has a different built. Everyone has unique features. Which makes everyone beautiful in their own way.”
First I have to say that I love the biggest loser diet it has to be the best diet ever I’ve lost 40 lbs on it and it’s easy as can be.
next it’s not a question of if you think they are fat it’s more about how they feel about themselves. they wouldn’t be asking you if they were fat or ugly if they didn’t feel fat or ugly. they need to find out why they feel this way. if you don’t figure this out first they will be fat and ugly no matter how much weight they lose. if there is anything I’ve learned from watching that show is that self esteem is key. help them build that up and then ask them how they feel about themselves.
Rather than saying yes or no when they ask if they’re fat, be professional about it and tell them that BMI is a good measure of whether or not they fall within a healthy weight range. You should not give them your opinion, just let them know where they fall in the BMI and that should give them enough of an answer. This way your answer is not based on opinion, but is based on a commonly held scientific basis.
If they ask if they’re ugly, say “why would you say that?” That way you’re not giving your opinion and you’re asking them to come up with an explanation of why they’d think that. If they give you an explanation, eg. “my nose is too big,” tell them that what’s on the inside counts most but if they feel that insecure, they should try to enhance a different feature, like their hair (or something feasible like that) to make them feel more confident about their appearance.
Don’t say anything hurtful. They obviously know they need to lose weight otherwise they wouldn’t be paying you for your help. As a professional, I’m surprised that you think they are taking their problems out on you. You aren’t there to simply tell them what to do, you are there to motivate them to work on feeling better about themselves through exercise. If you feel that you are being bombarded by their problems, then unfortunately, you have chosen the wrong field of work.
Redirect the conversation – talk about being a healthy weight for their height. Just keep steering the convo back to ‘healthy weight’ whenever the word ‘fat’ comes up. Use a heigh/weight chart to show where on the scale they are in comparison to everyone else, so that it is fact, and not your opinion. It can also help in making goals.
say you need to be at a healthier weight and i will help you with that.
well turn it around on them an say its not what i think what do you think? if they think they needed your help then yeah they have a pound or to more to lose but that has nothing to do with beauty or good looks.
Anyone who is fat knows they are fat. I would just tell them that, that’s why they are here to get help and that all people are beautiful.
short and sweet