Category: nutrition philosophy
re: Fit for TV, The Reality of the Biggest Loser…what I would do differently
I remember when the Biggest Loser first came out. I had already been working as a personal trainer for a couple years by that point and had a blog where I had called out some of the unsafe/unethical/stupid practices they had done. When that Netflix docu-series came out, I thought about hitching up to it, and calling out the original series again when all my suspicions were confirmed.
But I decided to go an alternate route and make it a positive/productive one instead.
I’d be thankful they chose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs 🙂
So first, lets look at the contestants and what their needs are. I didn’t watch the original series because truth be told, I would get disgusted with the trainers and the way they treat the contestants so I don’t know all of their stories. But there were a small handful of the former contestants that were part of the docu-series.
All of the contestants wanted to lose weight, knew they needed to lose weight but didn’t know how. They thought the Biggest Loser represented the ticket to better health and thought that the show had their best interests in mind. But Hollywood is Hollywood and the better approach doesn’t make for good tv. Also just having a basic understanding of how reality shows really work is why when I was approached about having cameras in my studio, I said there would have to be very specific ground rules that eliminates things like misrepresentations about the truth.
So, lets look at the contestants, what their goals are etc. Their goal is simple, gain health by losing weight and keeping it off. Now if you look at the actual results of what the contestants did…they lost a lot of weight and in a very short period of time but most of them gained it all back. The approach was crazy (people leaving in ambulances makes for great tv) they were screamed at and encouraged to fight amongst each other (because drama makes good tv) and made to do humiliating things (because once again, that sort of thing makes for good tv). My personal training business isn’t dependent on television ratings, it’s built on real people with real struggles, getting real results and continuing to choose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs and telling their friends about it.
Phase 1: Establish better relationship with food, progress custom workouts that build muscle/cardiovascular fitness. Body fat would come off, strength and biomarkers for health improve dramatically, confidence and life outlook improves drastically.
Phase 2: Maintain and build upon your results, continue to live the best life for years on end.
So my approach would be a multi phase approach. The first phase for training would be centered around the basics to get them to build muscle and strength, improving their cardiovascular system and burning body fat right out of the gate while teaching eating skills that set them up for quick wins with longer term success. The results for building muscle and strength will come fast. Reason for this is because they spent so much of their life feeling like they weren’t enough and I’d want them to feel good about themselves for a change. Nothing builds confidence like the way effective training can. In addition to that, building muscle helps you burn fat and keep it off.
The workouts would be challenging, but never outside of what the person can safely do. There is a sweet spot between too much and not enough, and keeping them in the sweet spot is the key to both fast progress and sustainable progress without the body ruining it’s metabolism along the way.
The nutrition would be something that simultaneously fuels the workouts, provides enough protein to build muscle while keeping them in a caloric deficit…but not enough of a deficit where they feel hungry all the time resulting in the body fighting back with the rebound effect (work with your body instead of against it). Instead of overly strict dieting which wasn’t even effective in the first place, I would have them use their hand size to help with portion control while practicing the healthy skills and habits that will set them up for long term success. According to Dr. John Berrardi and his staff at Precision Nutrition, using your hands as guides for your portions has approximately 95% the accuracy of weighing your food…and is much easier and more practical. If something is going to be effective, it needs to be consistent. And if it’s going to be consistent, it should be convenient.
You can learn about it on his website https://www.precisionnutrition.com/hand-portion-faq
For the way I coach them. I wouldn’t BS them and I wouldn’t belittle them or yell at them either (unless they were doing something unsafe and I only would do that to get their attention). What the contestants were looking for is a guide to help them. I would be the caring guide that treats them like a friend/family member and help them strategize how to make the process fit their lifestyle. The plan works and I’d get them laughing throughout the process to make it enjoyable for a change.
When phase 1 is done, I’d show them how far they’ve come, and I wouldn’t use the scale. I don’t think the scale is that useful of a metric because it doesn’t take into account things like muscle growth. For body composition I prefer progress pictures and possibly waist measurements. And I wouldn’t use it as a public spectacle for embarrassment. If I have people post their progress pics, it’s because it will make both them and me as their guide look good.
I’m not about guilt and shame, I’m about building gains, because life is for living.
Now you may not be a contestant for the Biggest Loser, but if you need help and if you are in or near Boonton NJ and if what I say vibes with you, I offer a free trial so you can see if you think it’s for you. Just send me a text at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself to get started on the road to better health, strength and confidence, quickly but sustainably.
Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strength performers more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and travels across the country doing presentations on goal achievement for conferences, corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Kinnelon, Pine Brook, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.
Stop Giving up before Getting Started
The other day I was having a conversation with one of my personal training clients. She was getting stronger, losing body fat and basically all the things that personal trainers typically put into the bullet points of the ad copy on their website and flyers. She’s a hard worker, she works two jobs, she consistently comes in, she puts in the effort, and it’s paying off. Do the right things, and the right things happen.
When the right things happen, people start to notice. When people start to notice, they often give compliments and ask questions about “How?”
And when they hear how, they often give up before getting started.
As she was explaining the training and the nutrition philosophy (slow carb diet, google it…but do it after you finish reading this) they might say things like “Oh I could never give up bread”….or pasta or insert whatever beloved food you enjoy eating that prevents you from reaching your health and fitness goals. And btw, she LOVES doughnuts but understands how delayed gratification will benefit her in the long run.
They are giving up, before getting started. They are letting the perceived discomfort of what it takes to achieve the goal beat them into submission. And it’s a shame because giving something up temporarily is not that difficult. In the case of the slow carb diet, one day a week you can have anything you want, so in essence, you only have to save it for Saturday (the recommended go nuts day).
The thing is when you are committed, truly committed you don’t let anything stop you. You come into it with the mentality of “I’m going to make this happen” and then simply do so. As my first strongman mentor the late, great New Jersey’s Superman Greg Matonick used to say “Set your mind on what you’re doing.” and then simply do the things necessary to make what’s on your mind into a reality. My current strongman coach Hairculese Chris Rider would say the same thing.
My personal training studio is exclusive, it’s not because I’m some elitist type person on my high horse trying to put a metaphorical velvet rope to keep the peasants out. It’s because, among other things, I ask people to rate their level of commitment on a scale from 1-10. If it’s less than the number I’m looking for, it tells me they are not willing to do the things I ask, which is the actions it takes to make their goal a reality. If they aren’t willing to do that, then they have no business being in my studio and distracting me from my other personal training clients. It doesn’t matter how much money they are willing to spend if they are stingy with their sweat equity.
You’ve got to be willing to do the things that are in your best interest. If you are committed but simply don’t know what those things are and are willing to be held accountable to your actions, I’d be happy to teach you. And the guidance, support and accountability I provide work…plain and simple.
Try it out yourself with the personal training trial membership in the small group supportive environment of my studio. Get started by texting me at 973 476 5328 to schedule your session.
Eric Moss is a world record holding professional strongman, author, speaker and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is in Boonton Township New Jersey with Lewandowski Chiropractic and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.
Myths about Health, Strength and Fitness
One of the myths about working for yourself is that you have tons and tons of freedom. Not really. Your schedule goes where the market goes and you’re always at work because you don’t really leave it behind.
In the back of my mind, I plan out new feats of strength. I got the idea for my “Strongman in the Box” feat by watching an escape artist a year or two ago when my wife took me to see the Illusionists 1903 show. It also dominates my mind everytime I go to Home Depot. With every bit of hardware I see I think to myself “Can I break it? and if so, would it be cool in a show?”
Strongman in the Box, I’m trapped inside of a wooden box constructed of 2×4’s and held shut with locks and chains. The only way out is using my strength and breaking out.
I also have a hard time leaving the personal trainer in me at home. A week or two ago, I was out with my wife and daughter and overheard a conversation about training and had to bite my tongue. I’ve been a personal trainer for around 15 years now, I’ve distinguished myself and was asked to teach at personal training certification courses nationally and internationally, given advice to celebrity trainers, trained people that were on MTV and am a world record holding professional performing strongman. Basically, I know a thing or two about training. They already know this but I kept quiet because I knew that even if I explained in detail, they simply wouldn’t be ready to hear it.
If you are open minded, keep reading 🙂
Myth
“Strength training makes you inflexible.”
Nope. Here’s the deal. Your strength and your flexibility aren’t really about the muscles themselves. Both of them are regulated by the central nervous system.
Just like this gif illustration shows the central nervous system telling the muscle fibers to “contract”, it can also tell them to “relax” into a longer length. They are like a yin and yang of each other. Your muscle fibers are already long enough to perform full splits and things that contortionists do, but what stops them is that your central nervous system doesn’t perceive what you are doing as being safe and hence puts the breaks on. Your nervous system remembers the positions you are in habitually (if you don’t use it you lose it). With regular strength training, alongside regular flexibility training, you don’t have to rob Peter to pay Paul.
Myth
“You need to do lots of different stuff”
Nope, variety in training is overrated. Everything you do, competes with every other thing you do for growth and adaptation. The jack of all trades is the master of none. The high bang for the buck exercises will carry over to the things you don’t regularly train (we call this transfer and it’s the reason athletes have strength and conditioning coaches and not just skill coaches). Doing heavy deadlifts, transfers to making you better at most things.
Myth, kind of
“You don’t need to lift more than 5lbs”
Technically, yes. You need food, water, air, and to a certain extent human connection. You don’t need to lift more than 5lbs to survive…but why just survive when you can thrive? Thriving is partially about growth, improvement, and expansion. If you want to change your body, you need to challenge your body. You need to do something that tells your body “Hey, we need to get stronger so that we are better equipped to handle this (the stimulus) in the future”. And strength carries over to multiple goals. Using weight loss as an example, heavier weights burn more calories than lighter weights. They also deplete more glycogen and tell your body to release more of those hormones that keep you lean. You don’t “need” to get stronger, but you “should” get stronger if you want to improve yourself.
I also find that many people come to me for weight loss, and they lose weight but are more excited about the all-purpose strength they gained training with me. And as Mark Rippetoe famously said;
Strong people are harder to kill and more useful in general
If you need help with this, I have a one-week trial membership available. Text me at 973 476 5328 to get started.
Eric Moss is a world record holding professional strongman, author, speaker and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is in Boonton Township New Jersey with Lewandowski Chiropractic and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.