There are weight loss groups, personal trainers, group fitness instructors, nutritionists, dieticians, weight loss psychologists and therapists. There are weight loss doctors and thousands of books, videos, and programs available through electronic media as well as applications telling us exactly what is right for us. Let\u2019s not forget all of the weight loss pills and supplements that are being thrown at us through advertising every hour of every day. Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n
Weight Loss Groups: <\/strong>There are hundreds and hundreds of group weight loss methods. Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are examples of the more popular ones. Many people like the group atmosphere and may start out doing well. However, the methods followed are very general and not specific for each person. The long-term failure rate is not better than dieting in general (97%).<\/p>\n Personal Trainers: <\/strong>Most personal trainers, as long as they have a good, legitimate certification like ACSM or ACE, have some knowledge in healthy weight loss. But this doesn\u2019t mean they have a great understanding of nutrition and even how to design and exercise program that will be the most effective in helping for long-term results. Some trainers have done extra course work in weight loss and nutrition and those individuals will be the most helpful. Obviously, check out their track record. But remember, it takes a lot more than exercise in order to lose weight effectively. The same is true on group fitness.<\/p>\n Nutritionist: <\/strong>A\u00a0nutritionist\u00a0is a person who advises on matters of food and\u00a0nutrition\u00a0impacts on\u00a0health.\u00a0There are nutritionist who have extensive background in their field but the field of nutritionist isn\u2019t necessarily regulated. So in many localities, people who have done a limited amount of course work can advertise themselves as nutritionists. There are a sufficiently large number of practicing nutritionists without appropriate qualifications to be a potential danger to the general public! Again, check out if the nutritionist you are considering has appropriate credentials, how long she\/he has been practicing and what her\/his track record says.<\/p>\n Dietitian: <\/strong> A dietitian is an expert in dietetics; that is, human nutrition and the regulation of diet. A dietitian advises people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or to achieve a specific health-related goal. A registered dietitian (RD) is a dietitian who meets all of a set of special academic and professional requirements, including the completion of a bachelor’s degree with an accredited nutrition curriculum, satisfactory performance on the registration exam and an internship at an approved health-care facility, foodservice organization, or community agency. Their profession is highly regulated! A dietitian who specializes in weight loss is one of the right professionals to see in order to learn how to eat properly and NOT go on a doomed-to-failure diet.<\/p>\n Psychologists: <\/strong>There is no question that modifying our behaviors is one of the keys to successful, long-term success in losing weight. First, make sure that you choose a psychologist who specializes in behavior modification. Second, be sure he has a lot of experience in weight loss\u2014this is tough stuff. Third, make sure they are NOT the ones giving you exercise or nutritional advice\u2014they don\u2019t have training for that. This is especially dangerous if you have health issues due to being overweight. The good weight loss psychologists will actually insist that you see and registered dietitian and a personal trainer as part of a team approach.<\/p>\n Weight Loss Therapist: <\/strong>Therapists are trained in psychology, but they are not psychologists. Again, someone who might be trained on a master\u2019s level in behavioral therapy or behavioral modification can be helpful, but they also need to understand and have training in the ins and outs of weight loss. BEWARE: Many states and countries allow the use of the word \u201ccounselor\u201d or \u201ctherapist\u201d pretty freely. And I must emphasis again, a therapist should NOT be giving you any counsel in diet or exercise-only in behavioral modification. They are not trained or certified to do so and may cause harm.<\/p>\n Weight Loss Coach: <\/strong>The word \u201cCoach\u201d is also not regulated in most places. Is your coach certified and what are their qualifications to be a weight loss coach in particular? If they tell you that it is because they once lost a lot of weight themselves (as I have heard quite a few times), be suspicious. Understanding of why people have a hard time losing weight requires a lot of knowledge and training. A good coach helps people break through issues that have been holding them back. There are good and qualified weight loss and wellness coaches. Make sure that is who you are seeing.<\/p>\n Today, many well-trained personal trainers and dieticians have done course work in behavioral modification and are able to combine their skills to assist their clients. Weight loss isn\u2019t just about exercise, it isn\u2019t just about learning how to eat right, and it isn\u2019t just about changing a lifetime of bad habits. It\u2019s about all three and even more than that. Unfortunately, there are many people who aren\u2019t really qualified to help people lose weight effectively and in a healthful way who are touting their services, taking people\u2019s money, and may actually be causing more harm than good.<\/p>\n Picking the right professionals, who understand all the aspects of weight loss will \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI\u2019m not coming into any of your programs! I should be able to do this myself.\u201d If I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I wouldn\u2019t have to work anymore. There is nothing wrong with needing help in order to improve any particular area or areas in your life. As<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-physical-health"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\")
<\/p>\n