I want to share with you a very quick, and interesting story from my past that has nothing to do with fitness, yet it has everything to do with where you are getting your information!
Some time ago, when I was still in college pursuing my degree in criminal justice (yes, i have a degree in criminal justice and I am now a fitness business owner. I suppose I am like most who get their degrees then end up doing something completely different!)
I had this one exceptional professor.
He holds a degree in criminal justice himself, 27 years on the job experience, and 8 of those years as a police chief. He was extremely informative, always had great stories,with many lessons learned from those stories. I learned a great deal about police and the criminal justice system I would say mostly from this one professor.
Then continuing my degree, I eventually transferred schools, and in the aftermath of that long, and drawn out headache, I had to take the same class I had taken in the previous school over again!
So this professor was a young guy, looked like he was in his late 20’s early 30’s. He had a PhD in criminal justice, which I would say is actually quite impressive, but he was never a police officer, wasn’t a chief of police, no background in law; basically his experience came from the textbooks he read in college. Whenever I would ask a detailed question, he’d just respond with “yeah, I suppose that could happen,” Or “its quite possible.”
I really just wanted to tell this guy that I probably had more knowledge than him based on what my last, EXPERIENCED professor taught me!
I trust by now you have uncovered the point to my story. Just because the person giving you advice may have a fancy degree or is in a position regarded as “the most knowledgeable individual in their field,” it may not always be the case.
In my time in the fitness industry, I have meet several doctors, nutritionists, and dietitians whose advice seemed a bit questionable to me. And in this industry, you can sometimes make that assessment even on the persons appearance!
I’m personally not going to take nutrition advice from an dietitian who I can visually see they need to lose at least 4 pant sizes. Are YOU going to take the advice?
And just today, I was reading an article in a magazine and some doctor was saying how eating hot and sour soup from panda express is a good health choice when you are on the go and want to lose weight. And I bet for a second you just said to yourself, “is that really true? Well I suppose so since a doctor said it…” STOP!
Eating hot and sour soup is NOT a good health choice. Yeah, its only 100 calories. But has little to no nutritional value and not to mention has about 1000mgs of sodium. If I ate a small amount of french fries up to 100 calories, i’d probably still loose weight just because I would be extremely low in calories, and I even bet the fries have less sodium
Now please don’t go eating french fries, that’s not what I am saying. I just wanted to point out that your so called credible information may not always be the most sensible.
Look, I am a fitness professional and personal trainer. I have no fancy degrees and am not a dietitian.
What I do have though is years of experience working out, dieting, and taking supplements personally combined with a ton of trial and error. I have learned what actually works and what does not. I have a dedication to my craft that goes hand in hand with my business. And most importantly, I practice what I preach.
The next person that gives you fitness and nutrition advice, make sure that they are practicing the advice they give you themselves! Make sure that they are credible, not just in their knowledge, but in the experience they have in their own lifestyle, AND the ability to understand YOURS.
