4 Oct 2005 - Nutrition advice - Who's listening?

When it comes to healthy eating, are you a TRADER, a TRIALER or a TRACKER?

In the change room at the gym a few weeks ago I complimented a fellow member on how hard I noticed he was working out on the weights. He replied, “Thanks, it's a great feeling and I'm going to enjoy getting on the grog tonight.”

He did use more colourful language and made it clear that he was trading off his active lifestyle with an equally active drinking routine. It was Friday night, so I expected other members were at the gym with a similar motivation.

These types of gym members, the ones who primarily attend fitness centres to balance their excessive eating and drinking habits by burning calories on the weights and in classes are the hardest to reach with a healthy eating message. Sure, they may seem healthy and may have good genetics, but better health and possibly better physical results could be enjoyed if they improved their diet too.

But these TRADERS won't generally work on achieving a healthy diet. It's not until their metabolism slows as they age or they experience health conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol that they become more aware of just how important diet is to maintain their shape and health.

There's another group who are actively trying to change their diet for better results. This group, the TRIALERS read diet books, nutrition articles in newspapers and collect other nutrition tidbits. Some even make it a hobby, which means they will take a nutrition fact sheet home and read it or come along to a member seminar on nutrition. They'll trial what they learn, but often keep this to themselves without committing to a diet program. They often believe they can do it themselves, so often they don't enjoy as much success as they could with the support of a dietitian or personal trainer.

The third group, the TRACKERS, recognise the need for support and will commit to working on their diet with a trainer for faster results. They know success is not just about what you know about nutrition, but having a plan and someone to help you stick to it. If you run a fitness business, you can consider selling a combined fitness and nutrition package to these members if you are looking for a new service to provide.

So what group do you or your clients fall into? TRADERS, TRIALERS OR TRACKERS?

Not everyone needs to or wants to change their diet, but helping TRADERS become TRIALERS and TRAILERS become TRACKERS will ensure more people achieve better results for energy, fitness and weight loss with a good diet.

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