August 11th, 2009
Personal Trainer Gains 90 Pounds15 Comments
What if I told you that I gained 90 pounds in 6 months, so that I could empathize with my clients and understand obesity better? How would you feel about me? Would you be worried about my health? Would you still consider me as a reliable and credible source of fitness information?
Well one personal trainer did just this. He is now experiencing joint pain, high cholesterol and high blood sugar. His medical costs have escalated. Medical costs for obese people are on average $1400 a year more than people not obese. So its actually a lot more expensive to be overweight than to to be in shape. He is now trying to lose the weight, but having a bit of a difficult time.
Anyway, I would love for you to watch the video and leave your comments. What do you think about what this trainer did?
Have a great day.
Scott Colby
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15 Responses to “Personal Trainer Gains 90 Pounds”
1:41 pm
Hi, thanks for posting. I had heard about this story but had not actually seen the story. It really goes to show how easy it is to gain a lot of weight fast and how truly difficult it is to get back into shape. As we move forward in our goals toward great health, once there, we need to be reminded and remember to maintain what we've got. Don't let it go.
Peace.
1:54 pm
I think it was absolutely unnecessary for him to go to such extremes! I'm sure before he started exercising, he had to work to get the muscle he gained. Everybody starts somewhere. Others have more fat to lose than some, but to put your health in jeopardy to understand WHY people are overweight is just insane!! I wouldn't do drugs just to understand why users are addicted. This goes to show people will do crazy things just to get their 5 seconds of fame.
2:03 pm
He probably never realized just how difficult it is to lose weight and become fit – much harder than he thought . He likely would not have undertaken this journey if he had any idea what it would be like for him. But he will have the empathy he was seeking! Very extreme indeed.
2:27 pm
Hi Scott, this short video reminds of the "SuperSize Me" documentry movie when a guy was on a diet of nothing but Mcdonalds fast food for a month. I hope this guy consulted with a physician before he put his heath at risk. Going to this extreme just to relate to your clients struggle is not worth it in my opinion.
3:01 pm
This is just what that Spurlock guy did in the movie "Supersize me" when he ate nothing but McDonald's Super size meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a whole month. He gained crazy weight, had all the same health problems, couldn't function in the bedroom, had all kinds of up and down carb crashes and cravings, etc. It's been a while since I saw the movie but it took him some time to lose the extra weight and I don't think he ever did lose the last 5 or 10 pounds he needed to in order to get back to his pre-movie weight. Definitely an extreme measure, something I wouldn't want to do but it did (does) illustrate what that kind of lifestyle will do to a person. Myself, I use to be that guy and over the past several years have lost over 100 lbs and never want to go back to that again. A friend summed it up great when told me the next time I was in the grocery store, pick up to 50 lb bags of potatoes and carry them on your shoulders while shopping. Then you'll realize just what that much extra weight does to your body.
6:32 pm
I have to admit, I am impressed with this trainer to go ahead and gain so much weight and feel what it's like for the most folks. As a trainer it is ESSENTIAL for us to be compassionate to our clients; unless (the trainer) in the past was overweight or not an athlete we’ll NEVER understand what is like to be this heavy … I have been there; I know what it like; But in the future please don't do this again… our body’s are to precious to put them through something like this.. you proved the point! Great! Now get back into you gorgeous body you have; and stay there… Next time just wear a weight vest to feel what it’s like…
7:34 pm
OMFG! I just can say I think it was absolutely crazy to go from a super shaped body to THAT… many people traying hard to gain a body like he was.. and he did the opposite. very extreme. wouldnt have done it for a million bucks. i rather prefer my health and good shape.
9:02 pm
I commend him for what he's doing. Unless you've been there, how can you understand how someone who is obese feels? As someone who is obese and trying to work out, I know what he feels at this point in his journey. I haven't sought out a trainer and don't go to the gym because of judgments and lack of understanding from others. I have a goal to get fit, and blogs like this have helped me to get started. Once I am fit, I will have credibility in helping others, because I have been there, and now I'm fit. When this guy comes back, he'll have an empathy and qualification that a lot of trainers don't have. I'd go see him as a trainer any day.
3:42 pm
I'll be interested to see how long it takes to get his good shape and good health back. I admire him but am worried for his health. Renee Zellweger gained weight for 'Bridget Jones' but perhaps not as much comparatively. She lost it again within a sensible time frame I believe. It should be noted that everyone's journey in fitness is individual, and both she and this trainer have the time, and probably the money and encouragement to get this done as efficiently as possible. The rest of us have to live real lives and you are part of that! Scott, you don't need to do this to be interesting and credible. Your email updates with the food info and short workouts are what keep me going and made me realise I don't need hours in the gym every day to look and feel better.
1:00 pm
I think this may have been a good thing to do to get into your client's shoes. Most of us have not been grossly out of shape at any time in our life, so we really don't know what a person who isoverweight goes through day to day. I gained a slight bit of weight years ago and had aching joints and lower back pain so I can imagine carrying around extra weight on a daily basis. Its a challenge but it should make you strive to want to shed additional pounds.
5:39 pm
I don't think what he did was necessary or even helpful. Following the logic that he had to do this to empathize with his clients more would mean that oncologists should get cancer, couple therapists should go through a divorce, or addiction therapists should get addicted to a drug. Silly.
Also, in the video they show him doing cable crossovers and bicep curls. No wonder the weight is coming off so slowly! If you need to lose 90 lbs, drop the isolation exercises for awhile and focus on some hardcore compound exercises.
I agree it seems he did this as a publicity stunt more than anything.
Bobbi
http://www.funfitchicks.com
7:57 am
HI Scott,
Thanks for sharing this video.
Really nice video, its quite inspiring (for me especially).
several lessons from this video are:
-never try to be an obese people (so keep away from sugar and fat of course)
-actually its so true, to have a great body is quite hard, so keep moving forward to get it, never give up, and once we got it, try to maintain it (actually maintain our body is more difficult)
Thanks.
Joe Revod
11:43 am
I would feel great respect for you if you did that for your clients. I have followed PJ's "Fat and back" news items over the past few months with great interest as I have done that myself gaining 75 pounds. I started a few months before PJ did, and unlike him I did plenty of exercise. I was amazed how it made it so easy for me to talk with people about their weight, a subject that most people are extremely unwilling to discuss. I am enjoying getting back into shape again. I have been shocked to hear that PJ is having difficulty getting back in shape. Maybe he is impatient.
2:25 pm
You really have to admire someone who takes their job so seriously and really wants to "walk a mile" in the shoes of their clients…but 90 pounds may have been a bit much. It doesn't say in the video if he was a chubby kid or if he has always been lean but I think a lot of folks, when they are lean and sexy and if they were never really obese have no idea what it is like and cannot relate to their clients/friends/family who are/have been. I would not encourage people to do it…I mean look at the bad turn his body and health took…but it does give you some perspective on things and really illustrates what we intentionally do to our bodies if we neglect it. It will be interesting to see how long it takes and if he gets his body back to what it was before. I will be watching to see. But seeing his transformation, the obvious back problems and hearing about his health problems has absolutely caused me to think about my goals and reaffirm my commitment to getting the body that 1) I see when I close my eyes and 2) will turn all sorts of heads.
Thanks for the video and for all you do every day to educate, encourage and motivate!!
8:13 pm
I've watch the video and it is true that it is very easy to gain weight than to loose, plus it cost too much for the person who is fat and want to be fit than those who are fit and just maintaining what they have.
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