5 Surefire Ways to Help Your Members Stay on Track with Their Nutrition Plan
Thank You Haley Perlus !
A trainer once asked me if it was appropriate to fire a client who wasn't conforming to healthy eating. My response? Rarely do I believe firing a client is the best solution. Instead, I do my best to support my client's intentions of staying on track on their diet.
Through my education and experience as a Doctor of Sports and Exercise Psychology, group fitness instructor, and health enthusiast, I have discovered five specific tips that help people follow through on their nutrition program.
Before we dive into these five tips, it's important to understand that, despite an intense desire to look and feel great, for many people committing to healthy eating is a challenge. In fact, Steve Edwards, vice president of results for Beachbody®, stated, "So many people consider the diet the toughest exercise—but it is absolutely key to achieving your best results."
Obviously, as a Certified Instructor, you cannot be with your class participants 24/7 to make sure they toss the junk, eat every few hours, and stay in control of their overall diet. However, during your time together, there are ways to help them adhere to their nutrition plan.
As I mentioned above, there are five specific tips that you can pass along to help your members get results, ultimately making you a significant hero in their Success Stories.
It's All About the Small Steps: Daily Achievements Are the Best Focus
Although keeping our eyes on the ultimate prize seems like a great idea to stay motivated, for many it often distracts from their daily intentions. Also, if the long-term results don't seem to be coming quickly enough, frustration and doubt can set in, making that piece (or two) of chocolate cake look like the perfect way to immediately feel better.
Setting daily intentions and, just as importantly, patting themselves on the back for every achievement will keep them committed, confident, and concentrated on doing what it takes to look and feel their best.
The Compound Formula of 1+1=11
There is strength in numbers! It's a lot easier to let yourself down than it is to let someone else down. That is why social support is one of the greatest ways to stick to your goals. Even having one person hold you accountable can exponentially enhance your performance and increase your shot at reaching your ultimate goal.
To help your members take advantage of social support, pair up each participant with another and ask that each pair have a two-minute phone call each day to discuss up to three achievements related to fitness and nutrition.
At first, some may not like this strategy, but if they really want to succeed, it's important they experiment with it for at least one week. Plus, it is a great tactic to develop team cohesion, making them more likely to consistently attend classes.
Change the Environment
When people have an off day, they experience a reduced level of motivation for healthy living. Fortunately, there is an easy fix for this problem. Research continues to prove that motivation and productivity increase when our environment changes. In fact, a commonly used phrase in sports psychology is "A change is as good as a rest."
Any type of change, such as stepping outside for some fresh air, or turning on motivational music can generate fresh motivation to help someone stay on track on their diet. Whenever they feel a lack of motivation for staying healthy, tell them to change up at least one aspect of their environment and experience what it's like to have their batteries recharged and motivation restored!
Mindset Control: Out With the Bad and In With the Good
Many people have been conditioned to harp on their mistakes while quickly moving forward from their successes. Consequently, this way of thinking and behaving robs them of the opportunity to develop maximum confidence—a cornerstone for a healthy lifestyle.
In sports, professional athletes and coaches will often say that the person who wins is usually the person who can best recover from errors. Top athletes have learned to identify their mistakes, but instead of dwelling there, they quickly learn from them and move on. Also, as tip #1 highlights, they take the time to pat themselves on the back for all of their achievements.
It's okay to strive for perfection, but as soon as someone starts demanding it, they set themselves up for disappointment. When life gets in the way of following the diet and fitness plan to a "T," advise them to take five minutes for personal reflection. Ask them to remind themselves that it's okay if things don't go 100% according to plan. It's helpful to identify the things they could better control for next time, but then quickly move on and focus on at least one achievement they have already made that day (or yesterday if it's first thing in the morning). Taking the focus away from the negative and highlighting personal strengths and accomplishments creates a boost of positive energy necessary for finishing the day with success.
Social Proof Leads to Success
Imagine one of your class participants comes to class excited about an upcoming vacation, but is also worried that she won't be able to stay healthy while out of town. Then, through conversation with another person in class about specific ways she was able to have fun yet stay on track, your client becomes confident that she can use the same strategies to stay healthy on her own vacation.
Vicarious experience—seeing someone similar to you accomplish something you also want to achieve—is a scientifically proven technique to gain confidence and motivation for an upcoming challenge.
Although you are the expert, allow your members to benefit from each other's experiences by allotting time to discuss with each other any upcoming challenges and ways to conquer them. During the cooldown section of class may be the perfect opportunity to engage in this type of dialogue because it will not interfere with the workout.
Although your primary responsibility is to effectively lead your class through a productive and enjoyable workout, there will undoubtedly come a time when you are asked for some advice about nutrition. Sharing these five tips about how to stay on track will allow you to not just send your members away with a great workout, but also with some actionable ways to follow through on their plan so that they can have every bit of success they deserve!
About The Author:
With a PhD in Sports and Exercise Psychology and an MS in Sports Pedagogy, Dr. Haley Perlus is an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, seminar leader at top sport and fitness conferences, consultant to National Team and Division I athletes, published author of The Ultimate Achievement Journal and The Inside Drive, and IHRSA-appointed Industry Leader. A former elite athlete, coach, group fitness instructor, and trainer, Dr. Haley Perlus is an expert at empowering individuals to achieve peak results.
I offer Live Insanity classes 2 times a week. Click on the tab for the schedule and you can also message me for your free team beachbody account!
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