Mission accomplished!...Well, kinda...

It was a big day on Saturday, I had my level 3 trainer assessment day through in Glasgow. I was sitting 2 theory exams, personal training (theory, anatomy, advanced training etc), and weight management and nutrition. I also had a weight loss/ nutrition case study, I had to review and assess a "clients" nutrition history and food diary and make recommendations and suggest improvements. I then had my practical session and 12 week predictive programme review.

I'm glad to say that the programme and practical assessment couldn't have gone much better, despite feeling so nervous I barely ate anything all day! I have to wait 3 - 4 weeks for my theory results but I feel confident that I've done well!

So I'm 1 step closer to completing this particular goal of mine. Step 2 is to get the hell out of the soul sucking abyss that I call work!

What I realise now, is that all the reading I've got planned (approx 12 books that have been patiently waiting for me to finish my course!), is gonna be the beginning of my continuing  education en-route to becoming the best trainer I can be. Which makes it slightly really, really incredibly frustrating when I see articles like this where a "celebrity trainer" is making money from desperate women with dangerous advice. Don't get me wrong, the article is great because it shows how bad her advice really is. I mean 700 cals/ day with 2 hours of exercise! No solid food. No steady state cardio because repeated actions make muscles bulky, and this from a woman who regularly gives 100s of reps...

If you give anyone a massively unhealthy calorie deficit and get them working out for hours on end, that person will lose weight. Unfortunately, this leads to a few issues... so few calories lead to a major loss of energy, low carb stores also cause you to get irritable, lose focus, get headaches and on and on  and on... The deficit also causes your body to go into starvation mode, slowing the metabolism down in a desperate attempt to hold onto any energy it can. When carb stores get depleted, fat burns, which is good, it also burns protein, which is bad! Muscle loss is not clever!

I could rant on and on about this woman and her stupid, dangerous methods, but I'm not gonna waste my time. All I ask is that if you are tempted to try any of her methods, ask someone with some knowledge to look it over before you give it a go. Think about what she is asking you to do in her "method," don't get sucked in by her celebrity endorsements, then go find a good, intelligent trainer and get a safe effective nutrition and workout plan.

Then go kick some ass in the gym!

Needless to say, I fully intend on becoming a trainer whose ideas are based on research, experience and providing a safe, effective and enjoyable system that gets results for my clients.

You can (if you so wish) follow me on Twitter or Facebook (dave ballantine).

See you later...