Filtering out weeds of fitness influencer promises
By: Ange Dim
Tags: Exercise, Personal Development, Healthy Lifestyle, Nutrition, Fitness

Does the amount of followers influence your own industry professional choices?

I’m a sucker for searching the ends of Google earth for a particular expert in a subject I’m curious about. I can spend hours upon hours in the endless filtering of words, searches and subtopics. Have you ever experienced this scenario?

When it comes to weight loss, I know all too well what it’s like to keep on searching for that golden nugget that’s going to make things happen for me. It’s a realistic expectation. We have thousands of people posting resourceful information online for us to digest.

Does that information become all too overwhelming at times? I most definitely can attest to that one as well!

One of my colleges admitted to me today, that when she’s in an endless pursuit of finding an expert, her initial reaction is to go onto social media to find the person she believes will suit her ideal role model. Picking the best of the best, the most searched, expensive and most famous in our “social media world” dictates an individual who knows what they are doing and is an expert. Put your hand up if you feel this is you too?

Now, I’m not a nutrition expert, and my qualifications aren’t university-based, I’m no doctor or a practitioner. I’m from the school of hard knocks — which is what I call “life.” See, I have come to see that most experts are those who have gone through the trenches of those endless days, when weight loss is not moving ahead, or when you don’t know why you are always doing it hard. Does everyone else but you get it easy? The short answer is no. We all have our own separate and individual gene pool — composed of all relatives, parents and a bit of environmental noise. This is the basics of nutrition.

It’s very realistic to point out that sometimes we don’t receive the luck of the gene pool, and that means perhaps hard work will be involved in the nutritional aspect of our plans. Whatever the case may be for you, know that cookie-cutter diet and exercise plans DO NOT work. I remember many years ago when I finished a personal training session (that was particularly hard — that’s why I remember it) A friend pulls me aside and we start having a great conversation. Then she asks me “what do you think of our trainer? Have you been getting good results?” Now, this guy was the best and busiest trainer in the whole gym. He was muscular, clean-cut, friendly, lean and good-looking mind you. I always looked up to him for how he looked (until I found out he did steroids lol). Was I getting good results — well, not particularly? But I can’t blame it on him entirely, because it was my diet after all.

Just because someone has thousands or millions of followers, doesn’t mean they are an expert in anything. Perhaps they are a couple of levels higher than you on the subject.

When it comes to getting results, I like to look at what the person does when no one is watching. Check out a personal trainer. What do they do in the gym? What do you see them eating? How does their skin look? Are they lean, or are they overweight? Same goes for nutrition. Does the actual person who’s studied a million books know the fundamentals of particular subjects? Have they been through the weight loss journey many times, or are they just naturally skinny since birth? All these play critical factors, because if someone has not even gone through the situation your in, how can you trust they will be able to help on a deeper level. Sometimes we need something more than book smart options.

Personally, if someone doesn’t walk the talk, then I don’t feel they know enough or are deeply passionate about the subject. Those kinds of people I want in my life, as their advice and energy is beyond infectious.

Next time your stuck on finding a professional, or someone to mould you into the person you want to become, really think about what they do when no one is watching. Then ask yourself, do you admire their integrity, grit and passion on the craft they teach? If so, go all the way and take the chance.