I notice so many people that become aware of their poor health and decide to correct this. This is a great thing but so many people immediately go to popular media such as magazines, TV ads, internet ads and various other "resources". The problem with this is the amount of misinformation contained within these resources. Popular media is about making as much money as possible with as little effort as possible. Don't get me wrong, a specialist trained in Fitness/Nutrition is also trying to make money but a true professional is going to try their utmost to help you achieve your goals while still being cost effective for you. They genuinely care where as popular media could care less as long as you pay them. Below is a list of differences between Fitness/Nutrition Specialist and Popular Media:
Fitness/Nutrition Specialist Popular Media
Tailored to fit your schedule, preferences and goals | Gives a cookie cutter routine that does not take the individual into account |
Lower rate of injuries | Higher rate of injuries |
Wants to improve peoples’ quality of life | Wants your money |
Will point out contraindications (exercises you shouldn’t perform and foods you shouldn’t consume) | Don’t care whether something will hurt you or not |
Utilize tried and true information grounded in research and applied sciences | Always jumping from one fad to the next |
Debunk myths | Create myths |
Can help you with fat loss, strength, muscle building (hypertrophy, mobility, flexibility, pain management and improvement at a specified task (sport/daily activities) | Usually geared towards weight loss or building muscle |
Can prepare you for popular training | Don’t normally have any preparatory period before beginning popular training |
Help you understand the reality of what it takes to achieve your goals | Give false promises |
Take into consideration your physical attributes, abilities and pre-existing conditions which may cause limitations | Assume you can handle whatever they tell you to do |
Take into consideration your health/medical history and gear your diet towards your goals and specific body chemistry | Gives a cookie cutter diet which may make pre-existing health/medical conditions worse |
This is by no means an exhaustive list or even always right but I have found for this to be the trend. Always be wary of popular media and strive to find the best specialist you can within your budget to achieve the best results you possibly can. I myself go to other specialist in my field to continue to educate myself and ad to my toolbox so I can better help my clients. I want to perform at my utmost since God calls me to do so.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”
Do all things in Christ,
Rick Haven
One issue I have had with the nutrition industry is their propensity to accept anti-conventional-agriculture positions simply to make a buck. An example of this is the demonization of high fructose corn syrup. I have recently seen some of them admit that HFCS is molecularly equivalent to table sugar. Others include the obsession with grassfed beef and the demonization of GMO foods. The first insinuates that only grassfed beef is healthy for people... completely ignoring the fact that the current population of the world may not even be sustainable without the amount of beef on the market today as a result of using a cheaper forage. The latter essentially declaring war on the poor of the world who could at least be fed something if only the Euro countries would embrace GMO foods (which increase yield). As an economist, I'm no fan of the idiotic policies (such as sugar tariffs, corn subsidies, and legal monopolies for companies like Monsanto) that make using these products/technologies artificially profitable, but these half truths can be just as sinister.
ReplyDelete