Time for a quick redheaded trainer rant. Yes I believe in calories in calories out. No I don’t think people’s bodies can violate the laws of thermodynamics. BUT there can be different hormonal or metabolic states and conditions that can throw that equation out of whack. For example, take a look at untreated type 1 diabetes. A person can actually begin to starve on what would appear to be a rather large caloric surplus because the body can not use or store glucose.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, folks with an under active thyroid, large amounts of cortisol or even an estrogen imbalance can cause them to gain weight and store fat in what would seem to be a large caloric deficit.
A third example of a situation that would seemingly defy the laws of thermodynamics is the existence of resistant or stubborn fat which is essentially made up of cells with alpha receptors that do not respond to caloric restriction and exercise the way that cells with beta receptors do. This is the fat that clings to the body regardless of how much cardio and dieting you do. Yes at a certain point you can create a big enough deficit that you’ll tap into it but you will have to burn through some muscle as well. But there are much better strategies to release that fat that don’t require 3 hours on a treadmill.
So what is the point of this post? I guess I get a bit frustrated sometimes when the bodybuilding/fitness world can find the idea of an ectomorph or “hardgainer” to be a acceptable classification that needs to be overcome with it’s very own set of rules for eating and exercising but you rarely hear of trainers talking about their clients who are “hardlosers.” What I suspect is that most trainers assume that a client who’s body is not responding must be either cheating or under-reporting intake and over-reporting activity.
Sometimes, that is simply not the case. Sometimes that client is nailing the program to a T or even putting in more effort then what’s been asked of them yet they are still not seeing progress. Sometimes, there is something medical going on that hasn’t been taken into account. I personally have had clients that were taking medications like antidepressants or antianxiety meds that were affecting how their body processed insulin and as soon as the diet was tweaked the weight would come off. I’ve seen folks with nutritional deficiencies like B12 that were slowly grinding progress to a halt. I have also seen people working out at 4:30AM when cortisol is naturally at its peak doing fasted workouts who were squishy as hell through the middle due to the stress response. There have been many others that had food allergies or sensitivities that had never been detected. I have also had folks eating or doing things that were canceling out thyroid medications.
These are the people that you DON’T see trainers bragging about. You don’t see pictures of these clients on anybody’s walls. These are the clients who aren’t following the program. So either the trainer gives up or the client gives up out of frustration. These are the people that come to me and break my heart with their stories. I know there are people out there that are delusional or who are simply lying to themselves about what they’re doing and what they’re eating but I think it’s easy to spot the difference between those folks and the desperate folks who have starved, done fasted cardio and have beaten the living hell out of themselves in the gym. They can simply do no more.
I just wish that more trainers would recognize that these “hardlosers” do exist and they don’t deserve to be disparaged, accused of lying or cheating or made to feel like they are lazy or inadequate. These people do exist and they need help just like everyone else…it just may not be the same kind of help. Much like “hardgainers” these people may just need to use a different strategy to reach their goals. So again I’m just throwing it out there that in the world of fitness and body transformation there is no such thing as ONE SIZE FITS ALL!
I am now stepping down off of my soapbox
