In developing friendships, I strive to find people that are similarly like-minded. We aren’t all the same, which keeps it fresh, but we have several things in common. Among my friend group, one aspect of life that we all find commonality in is fitness, health and nutrition. We practice fitness, strive for good health and continually get on and fall of the nutrition wagon.
How is it that we can be so dedicated to the first two, but continually fail at the latter?
It’s not because we don’t have strong enough convictions, and it’s not that we don’t keep each other accountable. It’s just that clean eating and proper nutrition are very difficult to keep up, day in and day out.
For many of us in the fitness industry, we regularly practice proper nutrition. We avoid fatty foods and will rarely, if ever, eat fast food. However, it’s fair to admit that even as a fitness professional, you probably have occasions when you don’t follow your dietary plan.
This is fine for a fitness professional, because most likely you’ll get right back on, beginning with the next meal. However, for the typical member, that’s not always the case.
For my friends that struggle with fitness and nutrition, I know that falling off the wagon can be the end. It might be months before they find themselves back on the wagon. Mentally, they will develop excuses as to why it’s fine to eat a certain way because, 1) healthy eating is too expensive, 2) too time consuming, 3) too boring.
As fitness clubs and/or fitness professionals, it’s vital that you help your members or clients break through the barrier of excuses. When they tell you it’s too hard, you have to make it seem easier and more enjoyable than they perceive in their minds.
You’ve probably been striving to solve the hand to mouth syndrome for many years. You’ve probably developed great strides in making the day-to-day eating habits more enjoyable, and yet healthy. Don’t be afraid to share your success with your members!
Stop making excuses that you don’t have a nutrition certification or a degree in dietetics — I’m not saying you should develop a full eating plan for your members/clients. All I’m saying is share your knowledge. Tell them how you succeed at eating well and how you manage to stay on the wagon. Share your little secrets for cheating days and how a cheat doesn’t mean you’re completely off the wagon.
By sharing nutritious information with your clients, you’ll develop a greater bond, help them achieve greater results and be more likely to be referred. Start today by sharing one tip and begin solving the hand-to-mouth problem.
Tyler Montgomery is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
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Tyler Montgomery is a former writer for Club Solutions Magazine.
Keep preaching Tyler.
We need to hear more insight regarding this topic. Gyms do a great job creating training environments, but where we miss the boat is with food. It’s easy to throw more time at our training, but our clients wouldn’t spend a fraction of their training time preparing real whole food.
We know you can’t out train a bad diet. But do we specifically address this with more than supplements and protein shakes?
The purpose of all our facilities is to help our clients simple become better versions of themselves. And the best first step to take is with adapting real whole food habits.
Maybe gyms could start with building out kitchens inside their facilities that would focus on teaching and preparing real whole food.
How many clients would attend cooking classes that focus on making food simple – 30 minutes or less – 5 or less ingredients? How would this redefine your community engagement? How would this help you transform lives for the better and for the long-term?
It’s challenging to think about adding a kitchen into the mix…
…but think of the possibilities……
Thanks again Tyler.