If you’re like every fitness professional I know, myself included, health isn’t just a job; it’s a passion. You truly believe that health and wellness have the potential to empower, enrich and energize the body and mind. Passion is a good thing, until it’s not.
We do our clients – and ourselves – a disservice when we let our passion overshadow the fact that any health habit – under the “right” set of unhealthy circumstances – can become toxic. “Health” is too often confused with thinness, youth and the mirage of perfection. Exercise is a healthy habit…until it’s not. Being aware of your diet and weight can be productive…unless that awareness becomes all-consuming. The dose makes the poison.
Habits, beliefs, and actions born from judgment and comparison can perpetuate underlying insecurities and support a lifestyle that is anything but healthy. According to the National Clearinghouse on Eating Disorders, 1 million Canadians meet the diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses; 1 in 10 people die from this disease. In my experience, the official figures only scratch the surface. In my 20s, I almost developed RED-S – a relative energy deficit in sport – which changed my life. In my quest for perfection, my calorie intake often did not meet my training needs. Unfortunately, my story is no exception. I have never trained anyone who – after learning to trust me – didn’t admit to suffering from some body shame, eating disorders, overexercising and/or dysmorphia. Someone may not meet the formal criteria for living with an eating disorder, but that doesn’t mean their inner world isn’t cruel and demeaning and/or that they don’t flirt dangerously with disordered activities. .
As fitness professionals, we need to be sensitive to these issues. We cannot bury our heads in the sand like ostriches.
Obviously, know your scope of practice. I’m not suggesting anyone become an armchair doctor. What I’m saying is: be a safe container for yourself and your client, a place to land with compassion and knowledge.
Teach your clients that health is a sum of all their decisions, that “healthy” habits are only beneficial when they enrich their lives. Exercise only places positive stress on tissues when the body receives the ingredients it needs to recover. Without adequate recovery, the body will become exhausted, possibly injured and overtrained. An unhealthy fixation on food and weight will leave clients, at best, in an unhealthy relationship with food and, at worst, in the hospital due to malnutrition.
Develop a network including a sports nutritionist as well as a doctor specializing in eating disorders and mental health. Refer as needed. Have resources on hand. I’m a big fan of Carol Dweck’s book Mindset and Brené Brown’s book The gifts of vulnerability. If you think a client needs additional professional counseling, consider resources such as the National Initiative for Eating Disorders ([email protected]).
To ensure your client’s quest for health remains healthy, help them find – to borrow from Aristotle – their “golden mean”, the Goldilocks zone where they can truly thrive – the zone where we make choices that are neither excessive nor deficient.
True long-term health requires us to be Goldilocks. If an individual acts recklessly and drastically by cutting calories and overtraining, they will become a mixture of undernourished, injured, and unhappy. At the other extreme, if a person decides they are too afraid to even try, they will quit without ever actually trying to be healthy. If you have someone training for an athletic competition, their Goldilocks zone will be different than a client who wants to be mobile and active into their 80s. Each person’s Goldilocks Health Zone will depend on their unique goals, age, genetics, exercise history and injury profile.
The key is to teach your clients to respect where they are now, their injury history, and where they want to get to. Teach them to be Goldilocks – to know what is “too much,” what is “too little,” and what is “just right” for them.
Final Thoughts
Don’t just talk. Take the walk. Make choices that actually serve your health rather than choices that create an image that you think will “sell.” Find your Goldilocks zone. Respect yourself enough to give yourself what you need. Burnout, overtraining, and exhaustion are not badges of honor. If you are having difficulty, ask for help. If you need a break, take a vacation. If you need rest, sleep.